A Well-Ordered Life

"Order my steps in your word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." Psalm 119:133

This is not the prayer of an unconverted man, or the cry of an awakened sinner foolishly expecting to find salvation in good works; it is the prayer of one who is saved, and who knows it. The verse preceding the text shows this, for he asks to be mercifully dealt with as the Lord does unto those that love his name. He therefore is confident that he is one of those, that he is a partaker of divine favor, and has the evidence of this in his love to the name of the Lord. Now, those people who are truly saved are among the very loudest to cry out against anything like confidence in good works; you shall hear them denounce with all their hearts self- righteousness in every shape; you shall hear them preach up with might and main the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only confidence upon which a soul may rest; and yet at the same time these people are of all others in the world the most zealous for good works, and the most earnest themselves to be holy, and in the fear of God to adorn the doctrine of God their Savior in all things. David was no professor of salvation by his own merits; he had been led by grace to trust in the sprinkling of the precious blood, and to glory in another righteousness than his own, but yet he is indefatigable in prayer and in earnest endeavors to be purified from all faults of life,and to be made in practical holiness the faithful servant of God. The prayer before us is the sighing of a saved soul after a higher state of sanctification; it is the panting of a spirit already reconciled to God, to be more perfectly conformed unto the Lord's mind and will.

Let us carefully note each word of the text. "Order," says David, or as some read, "direct," "set straight," "appoint," "firmly establish," or, "rightly frame my steps." David, looking abroad upon nature, saw order ruling everywhere, in heaven above, and on the earth beneath, and even among the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea; he desired therefore to fall into rank, and keep the harmony of the universe. He was not afraid of being laughed at for living by method and rule, for he saw method and rule to be divine institutions, he did not aspire to a random life, or envy the free-livers, whose motto is, "Do whatever you like." He had no lustings to be his own master, he wished in all things to be governed by the superior and all-perfect will of God. In the, text, king David bows in homage to the King of kings; he enlists in the army of the Lord of hosts, and asks for marching orders, and grace to obey them.

Note the next word, "my steps;" he is anxious as to details. David does not say, "Order the whole of my pilgrimage;" he means that, but his expression is more expressive and painstaking; he would have each single step ordered in holiness; he would enjoy heavenly guidance in each detailed portion of his journey towards heaven. Much of the beauty of holiness lies in little things. Microscopic holiness is the perfection of excellence: if a life will bear examination in each hour of it, it is pure indeed. Those who are not careful about their words, and even their thoughts, will soon grow careless concerning their more notable actions. Those who tolerate sin in what they think to be little things, will soon indulge in it in greater matters. To live by the day and to watch each step, is the true pilgrimage method. More lies in the careful noting of every single act than careless minds can well imagine.

Be this then your prayer: "Lord, direct my morning thoughts, that the step out of my chamber into the world may be taken in your fear. At my table keep me in your presence; behind my counter, or in my field, or wherever else I may be, allow me not to grieve your Spirit by any evil; and when I come to lie down at night, let the action (which seems so insignificant) of casting myself upon my pillow, be performed with a heart that loves you; so that I shall be prepared to be with you, if wakeful during the night." This brief prayer, "Order my steps," teaches us attention to the minutiae of life; may we have grace to learn the lesson.

"Order my steps in your word." Notice the expression - not by your word, nor according to your word. The sentence means that, but it means far more. The psalmist evidently looks upon the word of God as being the very path of his life, and he prays that he may walk within the lines which God's word has marked out, may keep always within the sacred enclosures which the commands of God have made for the king's highway. Not "order my footsteps by your word," as though it were a law hanging up upon the column in the market-place, to be read and studied, and then left hanging in its place; but in your word, as though it were engraven in my heart, and then encompassed all my ways, thoughts and being. The word is the road of our marching, the sea of our sailing, the pasture of our feeding, the home of our resting. Lord, never allow us to have a step out of it, nor a disorderly step in it.

"And let not any iniquity have dominion over me," adds the psalmist. He frequently adds a negative petition to his positive prayers, as if to complete them. The second expression is weaker than the first, and is pitched upon a lower key, as if the suppliant would say, "If, O Lord, my steps cannot be so ordered in your word as to be altogether without sin, yet let not any iniquity gain the mastery of my spirit; even in the aberrations of my soul, let it still be in the main true to you; if sin assails me, at least let it not enslave me, If for awhile I stray, yet let me be reckoned as still your own sheep, and not one of the flock of Satan. O my Lord, allow no iniquity to sit down on the throne of my heart, and make me its serf and vassal. If I slip into the mire let it be but a slip, and do not allow me to wallow in the mire."

Thus I have opened up the words one by one, and now leaving out the last sentence, as we shall not have time to consider it this morning, I shall ask you to give me your earnest attention while we speak upon the solemnly practical topic of sanctification. First, we shall consider the order of a holy life; secondly, the rule of holiness by which that order is arranged, "Order my steps in your word;" and thirdly, the great Director of that order - the Lord himself. When we have spoken upon these points, we shall conclude with a few practical words, and the Holy Spirit graciously bless them to us.

I. A Holy Life Is a Masterpiece of ORDER, and not a work of chance. David prays that his steps may be ordered; holiness rejoices in symmetry, harmony, proportion, order. If we consider at the outset the order of holiness to be that of conformity to the prescribed rule, we have that rule given us in living characters in the incarnate Word. The law, not in the hand of Moses, but in the hand and life of the Redeemer, is the rule of life to a Christian man. It behooves us that every single action of life should be, if judged by itself, and examined by the all-seeing God, an upright action - an action conformed into the perfect holiness of the Lord's Christ.

Alas! I fear there are many professors who do not scruple to perform hundreds of actions without so much as once pausing to use the plumb-line of Christ's example to see whether those actions are upright. But a tender conscience, a heart that has been really quickened by the Holy Spirit, will often pause, and after each distinct act will say, "O Lord, my God, I ask you forgive your servant if my words have not been ordered according to your will; and help me now in the next step that I am about to take, that I may proceed according to your mind." Every step a man takes in life, remember, is a step towards heaven or hell. We serve God or the devil in all that we do. No action of a man's life is unimportant. The pilgrim either gains or loses by each step he takes. True, being in Christ, the believer shall not perish, but being a child of God, his naughtiness shall bring upon him certain and sharp chastisement; if he sins, he shall lose rest of spirit, and somewhat of the light of his Lord's countenance if he do err.

We can never afford to trifle with our doings, words, or thoughts. Even when we are alone, and do not seem to have any duty imperatively impressed upon us, yet standing as we do even in solitude in the full blaze of the divine inspection, it is always incumbent upon us to the highest degree to watch the outgoings of our hearts, lest by any means, by evil imaginations, we vex the Spirit of God. Men become fools when they think with levity even of their most commonplace actions. Life is evermore a great solemnity, linked as it is to God; and to eternity. Take care that you so regard it, and never trifle with it as though it were a Vanity Fair. Many men seem to play at living, but he does best who lives earnestly and thoughtfully each single instant, and lifts up his heart to God, that every one of his separate thoughts, words, and deeds, may bear the scales of the last judgment, and may be found in conformity with the righteousness of God. The first order, then, of a holy life, is the order of conformity to the Lord's will.

Another form of order after which we should strive, I shall for the helping of our memories style the arithmetical. Things are never in order when the second is before the first, or the fifth takes precedence of the second. Order in life consists very much in seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and seeking other things in due place. Order in a Christian life consists in putting the soul first and the body next, in putting eternal treasure first and worldly gain second, third, fourth, or far behind - in seeking first the glory of God, and our own happiness only as a subsidiary aim. Oh! it is well with the Christian when he has learned his notation table well, and gives the first thing the first place, the second thing the second place, and the third thing the third place. Since many men make mistakes here, and put the major in the place of the minor, and the servant in the room of the master, let it be our daily prayer, "Lord, teach me this sacred arithmetic, and order my steps in your fear."

Another form of order is what the mathematicians know as geometrical. There should be a progress in Christian life. It should not merely be first, second, and third, but there should be a continual advance; and if the advance be by a constant multiple, how greatly will a man increase! Why, take but the lowest number, two, and beginning with one, you come to two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, one hundred and twenty eight, and so on, to I know not what greatness of numeration. He who did a little for Christ when but a babe in grace, should do more as a young man, andmost of all as a father. He who, having but little faith, could bid the sycamore tree be plucked up, should, when he has more faith, command the mountain to be removed and cast into the sea. The youth who rent the lion should, when a man, smite a thousand Philistines, hip and thigh, or tear up the gates of Gaza, posts, and bar, and all. We are never to be satisfied with what we have done. If you be self-contented, you shall soon be poor.

If you shall once say, "I have attained," you shall drift down the current; but a holy dissatisfaction, a craving after holiness, an opening of the mouth, a panting after something better, this it is which will conserve what you have, as well as enrich you in things to which you have not yet attained. The right order for a Christian is the order of advance. "Superior," cries the eagle, as he mounts higher and higher, and leaves the clouds below him. Higher, higher, higher, believer! this is God's will concerning you, and be not you slack to avail yourself, of the consecrated privilege. "Order my steps in your word, O Lord, by a constant geometrical progression, that I may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

There is another order which every Christian should observe; namely, the proportional order. There are certain duties which to the uninstructed appear to conflict with each other. How far am I to observe the first table; how far the second? Sometimes my duty to God may cross the track of my duty to my parents, or to my master; what course then will be right? How far shall I go in either road without sin, and where shall I halt without being guilty of omission one way or the other? All Christians should endeavor so to balance their lives that there shall not be an excess of one virtue and a deficiency of another. Alas! have we not known professors whose graces in one department have been so apparent as to become glaring, while the absence of other graces has been lamentably manifest. Courage some will have until they are rude, and coarse, and intrusive; modesty will rule in others until they are cowardly and pliable. Not a few are so full of love that their talk is sickening with cant expressions, disgusting to honest minds; while others are so faithful that they see faults which do not exist; while a third class are so tender that for the most glaring vice they make apologies, and sin goes unrebuked in their presence. The character of our Lord was such that no one virtue had undue preponderance. Take Peter, and there is a prominent feature peculiar to himself; one quality attracts you. Take John, and there is a lovely trait in his character which at once chains you, and his other graces are unobserved.

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