The Lord’s Commandments

The Lord’s Commandments

“I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.” Ps. 119:19.

Because we sense that we are strangers here on earth, we desire the Lord’s commandments. Poor in spirit in the midst of those who are rich and satisfied in spirit, we wish we could be far away. Those who are rich and powerful delight in being lavish and serving the richest and choicest dishes. That is what they speak about, and that is what they sing about. I have tried to eat their food, but unfortunately have found it to be utterly empty and full of deceit. It is air—empty phrases, imaginations and dreams of glories that do not exist. They promise freedom while under the bondage of sin, and they boast of riches, yet they are poor, blind and naked. Rev. 3:17.

People call the Lord’s commandments bondage. They say that the closer to the world you can get, the more freedom you will have. Yet what did that man say who was so close to the heart of God? “And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. . . . And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.” Ps. 119:45-47.

When we have come to the point where we delight ourselves in the Lord’s commandments, then those commandments are no longer bondage. But for the one whose delight is the love of money and the riches of this world according to the flesh, the commandments of the Lord are bondage, and worldliness is freedom.

“You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me.” Ps. 119:98.

Determination and persistence to press in to God’s will and laws gives birth to wisdom. However, people have exchanged this for boring, disgusting and superficial conversation about a multitude of promises they believe they have received without having fulfilled one single condition. They believe they can receive everything in Christ without drinking the cup with Him, because they say, “Christ had to suffer in the days of His flesh; but we can simply enjoy life. Christ was always vigilant to find God’s will so that we don’t have to exert ourselves in the least.” No, He has become the Way, so that we can follow Him; and here you cannot sleep your way forward while dreaming sweet dreams. The whole revival has been lulled to sleep with dreams about freedom. The cross of Christ just gets in the way. Their progress has ceased because they have rejected the commandments of the Lord. Their revival to save the world no longer exists.

“I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.” Verse 99. Yes, blessed is the man whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Ps. 1:2-3. Meditating on the testimonies of the Lord is the way to wisdom, understanding and happiness. Conversely, constantly searching for means to make the way freer, broader and more comfortable is the way to apostasy. Even a child who desires godliness can understand this. However, many people who boast about having been baptized in the Holy Spirit and having received spiritual gifts cannot comprehend these simple truths. Their eyes are veiled, and their leaders ask them more about what is in their wallet than what is in their heart.

Nonetheless, light will arise for the upright in heart, and the righteous will be freed from the power of the kingdom of death.