Going straight for it here. Again, in the name of reprogramming and decluttering my mind and my brain.
Psalms 119:33-40
HE
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
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.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!
As I worked on the formatting of the verses, I notice a common theme through most of this portion of the Psalm – He’s asking the Lord to do something, and then he responds. Teach me the way, and I will keep it. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law. Lead me in the , for I delight in it… and so on and so forth.
In the first couple of verses, the Psalmist asks for what I’m calling a more comprehensive training: For the Lord to teach him (lessons from the outside), and for the Lord to give him understanding (or a desire to learn from the inside); all so that he not only keeps (obeys) but also observes His law, or His word.
The pattern repeats in the second pair, where he asks God to ‘lead (him) in the path of (His) commandments‘. He is aware that there is an overall path that His words are leading towards. I imagine how the Lord would lead him (and us) in the next step he would take; but the Lord would also remind him every now and then to look beyond, not only on the next immediate steps, but onto the path that each step as a group is leading him to. We thank God for Jesus, who is the Truth (the commandment), and the Way (the path of God’s commandments).
Sorry, I got sidetracked there. I mentioned the pattern repeats, by way of God leading the Psalmist (from the outside), and also by inclining his heart (from the inside); Understanding could therefore be seen as an inclination in our hearts to learn…
…and not only does teaching/leading and understanding/inclination lead us to keep and observe the commandments with our whole hearts to the end; It also directs us to delight in the Word, and not to delight in selfish gain.
There is true gain to be had in the Word. And this is further reiterated in the next couple of verses, where the Psalmist asks, straight up, for the Lord to turn his eyes from looking at worthless things (including selfish gain). We also read a little more on what we understand specifically, regarding God’s Word – that is, that is is not only His testimonies, but also His promises. When we yield to the inclinations of the Lord, and when we allow the Spirit of Truth to lead us to all Truth, we understand the Life in all the Lord’s ways… and not only are we relieved and comforted, not only are we reminded of God’s goodness, but also of God’s greatness and absolute power.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!
There is true gain to be had in the Word. The Psalmist states that in his days, it’s the Lord’s good commandments that he prioritizes – and the reproach, the reproof, the scolding that he (and we) dread is turned away. I see it differently in the light of Christ and His finished work. Our good Commandment is the Good Shepherd, who not only rebukes what we dread, but, again, inclines and turns our hearts toward Him.
Finally, that last line: in your righteousness give me life – we read of the same righteousness unto eternal life, revealed so many generations later in the epistles of Paul. Earlier we read of how the Psalmist asked for life in His ways; Here, we see that said ways are the righteousness of God. One contains Life, while the other results in Life.
We praise God for Jesus yet again, because He truly is our Righteousness, our living Word; He truly is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I pray, above all other things, that we revel in the Life we have in Christ, as we dwell on His Word. Let us seek to celebrate this Life, and, as a result, let our hearts continue to be inclined to learn and meditate more on His Word. May it also work the other way around: That, when we learn and meditate more on His Word, finding Christ as Life in all of Scripture, may we naturally be led to celebrate Him; May we be led to trust and thank Him. May we be directed to thank and trust Him… and through it all, may we flow.
No matter what the world demands of us, and no matter what frustration comes our way, we trust in the Lord to help us by His word. Through Christ, who leads us to the Word in all instances of life, just as He draws Life out of us every time we intentionally seek His Scripture, and as we seek to meditate and dwell on His promises and testimonies.
Let the solid Word hold us still, and in place. Let us seek the Word to give us full peace for all that’s happened. Let us trust in the Word to direct and propel us into the future.
There is true gain to be had in the Word.
Until the next post, may the Lord continue to bless and keep us. May He continue to move in us and through us. By the Holy Spirit, may we always remember that in Him, we live, move, and have our being. Amen.
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