Tight With God - Psalm 119:8

I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me – Psalm 119:8

Is it possible for God to forsake a person? Yes it is. This is the reason for the cry of the writer in this Psalm – “do not utterly forsake me.”

But why would God do such a thing? Our rebellion, our sin, our defiant heart – that’s why.

Once a person sees just how important the Word of God is for his or her life, a decision like oath is made – “I will obey.” This is where we all need to arrive in our walk with God. We need to come to the place where we can say, “I will obey. . .” This is a strong inner determination. It is a heart attitude that recognizes that obeying God is the best and only way to live one’s life.

“Decrees” is just another word for law, i.e. the Scriptures. The writer is convinced that he cannot go very far in life without taking into consideration his relationship to God’s Word.

You know what this reminds me of? Joshua 24:15: But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Joshua had called the people of Israel into making a decision or better yet, a resolution. They had to decide on whether or not serving God (which obedience becomes a part of) would be taken seriously or not. Joshua says, “I can’t speak for any of you, but this much I can say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” That’s making a resolution regardless of what others do.

Why is obeying God so important to this author? It is important because he does not want the Lord to forsake him.

Now this is extremely important and I’ll tell you why. Would you know if God ever left you? Seriously, if God should leave you for one day, would you recognize His absence? I think many believers would not. We often can’t even recognize His presence so His absence would not alarm us at all. Most would continue to live their lives as if nothing unusual had taken place.

But to this writer of Psalm 119, the prospect of loosing the presence of God was his utmost fear. The Hebrew word for “forsake” means “to leave behind” or “abandoned.” But then he adds this word, “utterly.” The idea is this: “Do not abandon me to excess.”

You see, what was heavy on the mind of this writer was not only the possibility of God leaving him, but also what God would leave him IN. The idea is this: “Lord, do not leave me alone in my excess or mess that I am in. Do not leave me without the help I need to overcome my evil heart. If all I got is my evil heart to live with, I am going to be in far worse shape. Your presence means all the difference on how I turn out. If you utterly leave me, then I am utterly doomed.”

David said elsewhere: “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me” (Psalm 38:21). And over in Psalm 51:11, he cried, “Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” God’s presence meant everything to David, how about you?

Again I ask: “If God should walk away from you for a day, would you know He did? Would you be aware of His absence?” We often talk about being aware of God’s presence, but how aware are we of His absence?

Now we can understand better the writer’s resolution to obey God’s decrees. He does not want to take the risk of God abandoning him or losing fellowship. So to ensure a close fellowship with God, he boldly proclaims: “I will obey your decrees.”

Summary: Honoring God by obeying the Scriptures is a sure way to know that you and God are tight.