SCRIPTURE
Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee. Psalms 119:11, NASB.
PRAYER
Father in heaven, I sin against You in so many ways; forgive me for my sins! I long to do Your will, to do better in Your sight. Show me how to treasure Your word in my hidden life, in my heart, more than ever, in a way that guards my mind and heart from sin. AMEN!!!
LESSON
That I may not SIN against Thee. Sin is the Hebrew word chata’, which means to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit. I think we all know from experience what sin means right?
Now, I want to notice something here. The solution to a life of sin, or to overcoming sinful patterns or habits in our lives, is not resolve or repentance only from the sin. The solution is to turn to something greater. The way to get a dog to let go of a bone isn’t to wrestle it away from him, it is to present him with a steak. He’ll drop it in a moment. This is EXACTLY what he is saying. Having God’s word as a treasure, an emotional and exciting insight into His truth, is an excellent defense.
Notice that when I sin, I sin against GOD. It is the ongoing feeling of His presence and favor that I forfeit. I just don’t know personally that I can go on without God really being a manifest part of my day to day life.
A funny thing about this verse. It is not a request kind of prayer. It is not a worship kind of prayer, except in a roundabout way. The psalmist is kind of extolling his own virtue to God. Look at me Lord, I’m like this! I don’t know what this means for us, but it is interesting.
Another funny thing about this verse. It is not a command. He is not telling us or anyone else that we ought to treasure the word. He is not even telling us not to sin. He is stating his own status to God.
I think it is very important to realize that the weapon against sin in this verse is not the Word, but the treasuring heart. When the heart is engaged in treasuring the word, it is a weapon against sin.
Notice also that he says, that I MAY not sin against Thee. If we are not treasuring the word, it is hopeless – we will sin. It is certain. But if we are treasuring the word, it becomes a live option to NOT sin, although sin is still possible. We still have to resist, to flee temptation. Let’s not be fools! The battle must be fought, but this is a great weapon, to treasure the word.
Two scriptures verses came to mind in your lesson,1st Heb 4:12 – the word is living and powerful sharper then any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. the 2nd one is psalms 51 against you, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your site that you are proven right when you speak and justified when you judge…
I was taught with the word “hid” in the KJV & the NKJV but I believe treasure is a better rendering. treasure denotes something of value whereas hid can be obscure. sometimes when I sin I get angry… because when I pray I ask God bring into remembrance those things which I have hid in my heart that you have taught me that I may not sin against you (beforehand) not afterwords which is usually the case(but not always) I get upset with myself, I know I have to listen better to that soft still voice who is renewing my mind.