21 Days of Prayer in Psalm 119 (Day #5)

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Psalm 119:33, 35-37

         "Your Ways"

³³ Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;

    and I will keep it to the end…

³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commandments,

    for I delight in it.

³⁶ Incline my heart to your testimonies,

    and not to selfish gain!

³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;

    and give me life in your ways.

Psalm 119 is unique. Almost every verse mentions the Word of God by one of several synonyms. So, in this psalm, we don’t look for the differences between these different terms (Word, Way, Law, Testimonies, Precepts, Commandments, Statutes, Rules, etc.) but look for the similarities. One other note, Psalm 119 is what is called an acrostic psalm. It is made up of 22 separate sections (of eight verses each) starting with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This means that all eight verses in the first section start with the Hebrew letter aleph, the next eight verses all start with beth, and so on.

The psalmist has the wisdom to ask the Lord not just to teach him his statutes but the way of his statutes. The Hebrew word is "derek" and it is used both literally and figuratively for the action of going or journeying (verb), for the actual path in which one goes (noun), and descriptively for the mode in which one might go (adjective). This word is used in both verses 33 and 37, with a synonym used in verse 35.

It is my opinion that many choose to live their life in opposition to God’s statutes which is to their own harm. Others, seek to live in obedience to God's statutes but sadly miss the way in which this is to be done and settle for a weak and often offensive legalism. Disciples of Jesus, seek not merely to obey the letter of God’s Word, but its spirit as well. This latter course is not the way of compromise, for it is a harder path to follow, for it stands against the external challenge of those who reject God’s revelation and against the internal challenge to relegate God’s Word to mere rules that only touch a part of our lives. Instead, it seeks to be fully present relationally with both God and mankind.

O Lord, teach me your ways, not just your words! Let me be more concerned about adoring you than about seeking attention for myself. May I be drawn by your love to plug into your life-giving word more than I am distracted by the “worthless things” that clamor for my time. You do not merely send me on a journey, but you walk with me along the way. In fact, you are the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)! Lord, teach me about you so that I might more fully enter into fellowship with the Father! Amen

21 Days of Prayer in Psalm 119 (Day #4)

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                "My Soul"

Psalm 119:25, 28

“My soul clings to the dust;
         give me life according to your word!” (v.25)

“My soul melts away for sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word!” (v.28)

As I read this passage today, it is apparent that the psalmist is being honest with the Lord about the stress of the crisis he is facing. The idea that his “soul clings to the dust” describes a death-like experience. He is basically saying, “This is killing me!” but immediately transfers his fatalistic assessment into a prayer of faith, asking that the Lord impart to him “life according to your word” without which he could not continue.

Verse 28 continues the same sentiment regarding his soul, this time using the emotion of sorrow instead of the physical description of being laid prostrate in the dust. The result in both cases is the same—without the life/strength supplied by the word of the Lord—he is dying inside and out. But the hope we find in this passage is that the writer knew that God’s word does strengthen and give life!

I must ask myself, “Do I treat the Word of God as though it were a life-and-death issue for me?” If I am honest, I am faced with the truth that sometimes, I do depend fully on God’s Word, and sometimes I don’t—yet it is just that.

From as early as the Lord’s directive in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:16) to its reiteration to the Israelites on the eve of their entrance into the Promised land (Deut. 32:46-47), to the teaching of Jesus Christ himself as he prepared his followers for life in his kingdom, the message is the same.

• John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
• John 6:63, 68-69 “’It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life…’  Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’”

When we “thrust away” the help that comes through God’s word we like the Jews who persecuted the Apostle Paul “judge ourselves unworthy” of the “eternal life” his word proclaims but regardless of our background our response to “the word of the Lord” is an indicator of our being appointed to eternal life (Acts 13:46, 48). Are we, like the psalmist, acutely aware of our need for the life and strength of God in our lives?