HOW I LOVE YOUR WORD
Opening Prayer
Surprising God, be with me today in ways I cannot imagine, in love and power, and in compassion and kindness.
Scripture Reference
PSALM 119:97–112
Read
מ Mem
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
that I will follow your righteous laws.
107 I have suffered much;
preserve my life, Lord, according to your word.
108 Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,
and teach me your laws.
109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands,
I will not forget your law.
110 The wicked have set a snare for me,
but I have not strayed from your precepts.
111 Your statutes are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees
to the very end.[a]
Footnotes
- Psalm 119:112 Or decrees / for their enduring reward
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Consider
‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God’!1
Think Further
God has given us everything we need for life and godliness.2 Our only obligation is to rely on what God has provided – his Word, his Spirit – so that we can live the full and free lives that Jesus promised us.3 When we walk in step with the Spirit, feed on the Word of God and apply it humbly and whole-heartedly to our lives, we will see the fruit of spiritual victory, as the psalmist here describes. We will have the wisdom to resist our greatest enemy (98).4 We will become mature, discerning, and godly, because our knowledge of the Word is not just head knowledge. We will take God’s Word to heart, love it, and obey it (97–100,103). We will love righteousness and hate evil (101–104). The constant, trustworthy guiding light of God’s Word will show us God’s path for our lives (105).
By faith, we have chosen to follow Christ. Life can be really tough, though, and our faith is often beleaguered; sometimes we are knocked back by life’s circumstances and at other times by our own weaknesses. Loving and obeying God faithfully, persevering in faith – that needs more than head knowledge of God’s Word. Verses 107–112 are the testimony of a humble and dependent person of faith, someone who knows they need to submit daily, whose heart and soul cry out, ‘teach me your laws’ (108).
Psalm 119 has reminded us over the past few Sundays of the righteousness and goodness of the Word of God. We have been reminded that the path of life starts by relying on God’s wisdom, not our own. I am sure that you, like me, need these constant reminders so that we can persevere in our faith.
Apply
‘Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping Your decrees to the very end (111,112).
Closing Prayer
Strengthen me Lord, to be a good steward of the Bible, speaking its truth in love and embodying its truth with integrity.
1 John 6:68,69 2 2 Pet 1:3 3 John 10:10 4 See also Eph 6:10–17
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Last Updated on August 20, 2022 by kingstar
