Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

We have some stories about famous paths in our literature: Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz needed to follow the Yellow Brick Road. Pinocchio had a path he was supposed to follow to go to school. In the book, The Count of Monte Cristo, young Edmond Dante had a map to buried treasure he was trained to follow, as well as an instruction to not seek revenge but God’s will in the use of the treasure.

The Psalmist here talks of a path that is made by the Lord’s decrees in life. This path is a spiritual path of sorts. It is not an easy path. It is a path of challenging discipline in life. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬)

There are rewards for staying on the narrow road to life: 1) It protects my heart. By following God’s Word, my heart is cleaned out and healed from the evil decay of sin. 2) Delight is found. I am delighted in God’s work instead of my selfish gain. The rewards of following God last forever. What I gain in this world through selfishness is fleeting. 3) Following God’s commands in his Word preserves my life. It gives me a fulfilling life in this world, and it leads to eternal life.

A look at the active verbs here is telling: teach, give, direct, turn, and preserve. There is a strong desire, a pleading with God, to help the psalmist here. It is his main focus and single-minded desire — to be obedient to the Creator of the universe. And rightly so, as he is the giver of true life. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬)

So if I believe this statement by Jesus, this psalm comes into a clearer light. It makes sense why this man is pleading with him to show him, keep him and help him to stay on the only path to true life — obedience to his commands. The law and the prophets, basically all of the commands of God, were summed up in the living out of them by Jesus in his life. He said, ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬). So if we follow him, we seek life.

Lord, I crave after your commands. Teach me to follow them wholeheartedly.  Fill me with your truth and grace. Help me to seek your path and stay on it each day. Turn my heart to follow your heart, I pray!