“Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart…Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path…Let me live that I may praise You, and may Your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commands” –Psalm 119:1-2; 105; 175-176. (NIV. Read Psalm 119).Psalm 119 is another of the Wisdom Psalms. It is the longest of all the Psalms, divided into 176 verses. It is arranged in twenty-two sections, each headed by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This devotional is by no means an effort to unveil the rich truths of this long psalm, but to give some thoughts on how the psalmist held God’s Word in reverence and wanted to live by its precepts. The writer of the psalm invites us to do the same.
This whole psalm reflects a worshiper’s enthusiastic commitment to the Scriptures.
In the Psalmist’s day, not as much of the holy writings were available as we have today. But this psalm is rich in what the Word of God is, what it can do in the life of the believer, and the changes and responses that can come as a result of knowing the Word and walking by its precepts. “Blessed”—happy are those who walk according to the law of the Lord. Psalm 119:105 has been set to music. We sing it at Vacation Bible School and sometimes in regular worship. The tune to which it is set keeps lingering in the mind long after the occasion of singing: “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Even as I write these words, the song is in my heart and in my thinking, and I thank God for His Word.
The writer for study helps in The Disciple’s Study Bible, Dr. Alton H. McEachern, has this to say about the value of God’s Word: “The written Word leads us to praise God, live morally pure lives, teach the Word to others, want greater understanding, know God’s grace, pray for help in trouble, find hope for life, meditate, be angry at sin, sing, evaluate our lives, appreciate God’s love, see the goodness of God, understand our afflictions, recognize the value of God’s Word, become an example for others, confess the eternal trustworthiness of God’s Word, gain self-confidence, recognize God’s righteousness, experience God’s peace, confess our sins, and trust God’s promises.” (p. 728, in note) Is it any wonder that included in the wisdom Psalms is one which has the deep theme of loving and reverencing God’s Word? That every Christian should do. We all go astray like sheep. God’s Word is the staff of life that guides us back into the godly way.
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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