566_Single-minded devotion to God (Psalm 119:113-120)
Psalm 119:113-120 I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
therefore I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and theologian often called the father of existentialism, lived in a time when Christianity had become too comfortable — polite, outwardly respectable, yet inwardly shallow. In the middle of that spiritual drowsiness, he raised a piercing question that still echoes today: What does it mean to truly have a pure heart?
In one of his most profound books, Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing, Kierkegaard reflected on the words of Jesus: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” He explained that purity of heart isn’t about moral perfection but about having an undivided will — to will one thing, and one thing only: the will of God.
He warned that impurity of heart begins when we try to will both good and evil — when we want to serve God but still cling to the world; when we want to do good, but only when it benefits us; when we seek truth, yet secretly fear its consequences; or when we wish to repent but also want to hold on to our favorite sins.
That’s what Kierkegaard called double-mindedness, and that is exactly what the psalmist confronts in Psalm 119:113. He declares, “I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.”
The double-minded are never steady. Their hearts swing between love for God and love for self. They are drawn toward God one moment and pulled back by the world the next. But the psalmist wants none of that. He has made up his mind: “I love your law.” His heart is set on one thing alone — devotion to God.
James, in his letter, describes the same danger. He writes in James 1:5–8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach… but let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, for he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
The double-minded person is unstable because his heart is divided. He prays, but not with faith; he seeks, but not with intention to obey. He asks for wisdom, but only as long as it doesn’t disrupt his comfort. James says that such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. God reveals Himself to those who seek Him with their whole heart — those who are determined not only to know His will but to obey it.
So the real question for each of us is simple but searching: Why are we seeking God? Are we seeking Him for answers or for obedience? Do we want God to show His will just to satisfy our curiosity, or do we truly desire to submit to it? Purity of heart, as Kierkegaard said, is to will only the good — to will only God’s will — without mixture, without self-interest, and without fear.
That’s the kind of purity reflected in verse 114 of this psalm: “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”
The psalmist’s hope and safety are found only in the Lord. When a person’s heart is fixed on God alone, he finds in Him both refuge and protection. The storms may rage around him, but his heart remains at rest, because it is not divided. He is not running after other shelters or other saviors — God alone is his hiding place and shield.
But he also knows that this single-minded devotion must be guarded carefully, because evil companions can corrupt a sincere heart. That’s why he says in verse 115, “Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.”
He is not being proud or judgmental — he is being wise. He understands that obedience to God is easily compromised when we walk closely with those who do not share that devotion. Proverbs 13:20 reminds us, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” The people we walk with shape the direction of our hearts.
Proverbs 14:7 gives similar counsel: “Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.” And again, Proverbs 22:24–25 warns, “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”
The psalmist’s separation from evildoers is not isolation for its own sake — it is consecration. He wants nothing to distract him from his obedience to God. He knows that compromise begins quietly, in the company we keep and the influences we entertain.
Then he prays in verses 116 and 117, “Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!”
He recognizes that even the most determined heart cannot stand on its own. To live in obedience, he needs divine help. It’s not self-confidence that sustains him, but God’s promise. His life depends on God upholding him. That’s the paradox of faith — the strongest believer is the one who knows his own weakness and leans wholly on God.
In verses 118 and 119, he contrasts this with those who turn away from God’s statutes: “You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain. All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your testimonies.”
Here, the psalmist sees how God deals with the wicked. They may appear successful or clever for a while, but their cunning is ultimately worthless. God discards them like dross — the waste that rises to the top when silver is purified in the fire. The silversmith removes the dross because it spoils the purity of the metal. In the same way, God purifies His people by removing what is impure, so that only what is genuine remains.
This image of purification brings us back to Kierkegaard’s idea of the pure heart — the heart that wills one thing. Just as silver is refined until all impurity is gone, God works in us to refine our hearts, burning away mixed motives and half-hearted devotion until we are wholly His.
The psalmist ends this section with a trembling reverence: “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.” This is not the fear of punishment but the fear of offending a holy and loving God. It is the reverence of one who knows the greatness of God and the seriousness of disobedience.
Isaiah describes such a person beautifully in Isaiah 66:1–2: “Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool… But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
God is not impressed by human greatness — He looks to the one who trembles at His word. The one who is humble, contrite, and sensitive to His voice is the one who finds favor with Him.
Micah 6:8 echoes the same truth: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” And Proverbs 15:33 adds, “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
That is the posture of single-minded devotion — humility, reverence, and obedience flowing from a heart that seeks only God’s will.
Imagine a sailor steering his ship through the night. The sea is dark and vast, and the waves rise and fall around him. But far ahead, one fixed star shines — the North Star. As long as he keeps his eyes on that star, he can correct his course, no matter how the winds blow. But if he takes his eyes off it and starts watching the waves or the lights of other ships, he loses his direction.
That’s what single-minded devotion looks like. The North Star of our life must be God’s will — steady, unchanging, and bright. The winds of temptation may blow, the waves of difficulty may rise, but if we keep our hearts fixed on Him, we will not lose our way.
So today, let us recalibrate our lives. Let us will one thing — the good of seeking God’s will, not just to know it but to obey it. Let us love His Word, turn away from the double-mindedness that divides our hearts, and find our refuge in Him alone. Such single-minded devotion will never go unrewarded. For as Jesus promised, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”