Daily Bible Nugget #366, Psalm 119:155

The Nugget:

Psalm 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes. (KJV)

Psalm 119:155 Salvation is far from evil-doers; for they have made no search for your rules. (Basic English Bible)

My Comment:

Why is it that so many individuals are not saved? They have not been seeking out the truth by reading the Bible for themselves.

Consider carefully Psalm 119:155. This is what I have called a “cause/effect relationship” verse. Such verses are especially instructive. “Salvation is far from the wicked” is the effect portion of the verse. “For they seek not thy statutes” is the cause portion of the verse. To avoid the undesirable effect, reverse the behavior which constitutes the cause. This is not hard to do. Read your Bible and believe what it says! If you don’t or won’t read your Bible, you are far from salvation, and you are an evil-doer according to the Bible.

Calvinists often stress Romans 3:11, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Calvinists misunderstand what Paul wrote because they refuse to consider the context. Romans 3:11 is a quotation from Psalm 14:1, 2, 3 and Psalm 53:1, 2, 3. The context of the source text in Psalms is necessary to consider when understanding what Paul states in Romans 3:11. The ones who do not understand, the ones that do not seek after God, are the ones the Psalmist speaks of as fools.

You do not have to remain a fool in God’s eyes. You can decide to read the Bible to become “wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15, 16).

Here is another verse which ties in to Psalm 119:155,

Proverbs 28:5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. (KJV)

Proverbs 28:5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely. (ESV)

Clearly, those who fail to carefully study the Bible to learn what God has to say about important issues have a mistaken view of what is going on in the world about them. They do not understand justice. They have their priorities backwards. They do not understand what is right and what is wrong. On a personal level, they are far from salvation. They are without hope, eternally lost, unless and until they hear and believe the message of salvation found in the Bible.

Taking just five to twenty minutes a day to read the New Testament would remove the darkness most people live in today, and bring them to the eternal light of salvation in Christ. Eternity is a very long time. Those who are wise prepare for their eternal destiny by getting acquainted with their Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ by spending quality time reading His written word in the Bible now.

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 634 for Psalm 119:155.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 678 or in Logos 5 or 6 Bible software for Psalm 119:155.

(3) Consult the cross references given in the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 400 of the OT or on line at www.blueletterbible.org for Psalm 119:155.

(3) Most people today do not have access to those three print resources, so I have posted cross references for this passage as I have developed them even more completely for your study as given below:

Psalm 119:155. Salvation. ver. Ps 119:123. *Ps 73:27. *Ps 85:9. Jb 5:4. Is 46:12. %Is 54:14. 57:19. *Lk 16:26. *Ep 2:12, 13, 17, 18. is far. Ps 10:1. 22:1. 38:11. 65:5. Is 59:11. La 3:17. from the wicked. Ps 14:1, 2. +*Pr 28:5. Is 3:11. 57:20, 21. Ro 2:8, 9. Titus 1:16. for they seek not. ver. %Ps 119:10, %Ps 119:94, 150. *Ps 10:4, 5. %Ps 94:12, 13. *Jb 21:14, 15. *Pr 1:7. %+*Pr 28:5. Je 44:23. +Mt 21:16. Lk 16:24. Jn 5:39. Ac 17:11, 12. %Ro 2:7. +*Ro 3:11. thy statutes. ver. +Ps 119:5. Jn 20:31. 2 Tim 3:15, 16, 17. James 1:18, 21. 1 P 1:23.

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2 Responses to Daily Bible Nugget #366, Psalm 119:155

  1. Don Smith says:

    Psalm 119 describes the believer’s admiration for God’s Word. We delight in God’s law, but battle the flesh (Romans 7:21-25). Romans 3 and Psalm 142 describe characteristics of the lost and, sadly, even exposure to God’s Word has no effect without the Spirit’s illumination.

    I found a copy of the Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible online and paid only $35 including shipping – but it took me two years to do so. Blessings. Don Smith

  2. Jerry says:

    Dear Don,

    I’m delighted to hear from you again! I very much appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment too.

    That is good news that you were able to find a copy of Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible. It has just as many, actually more cross references as my first work, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. I just consolidated duplicate sets of cross references to a single main cross reference, marked by a “+” sign. Some verses actually have new references not given in the New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, such as at Psalm 9:10 on the cause/effect relationship verses, and Romans 15:7.

    I am still working on my new project to greatly expand the cross references available for Bible study. I am now doing what amounts to the final proofreading, and just finished Hosea chapter 1 this morning.

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