Scripture: Psalm
119:153–160
Psalm 119 is a masterful guide to meditation on God’s Word
and the Word’s impact on the believer. This part of the psalm matches with the
themes of the Old Testament and Gospel lessons this week speaking of the
conflict that comes to one who lives according to God’s Word in this world. The
psalmist is afflicted, persecuted, and surrounded by adversaries, yet his focus
is on God’s Word and his confidence is in God’s mercy. Today Christians find
themselves in conflict with the world and its culture, nevertheless we are
urged to keep God’s Word before us and to trust in God’s promises to defend us.
Teaching
One of the important things to notice in this reading (and
throughout Psalm 119) is the way the psalmist’s relationships with God and with
others are formed through God’s Word. He calls out for deliverance because he
doesn’t forget God’s law. He asks God to redeem him because of God’s promise.
The wicked do not seek God’s statutes. He asks for life according to God’s
rules. His enemies swerve from God’s testimonies. All of the psalmist’s
relationships are seen through the Scriptures.
The psalmist also knows that in God’s Word he has truth and
a foundation that lasts forever. It is in the Scriptures that he learns of God’s
mercy, God’s commands, God’s Law and his Gospel. It is also through the
Scriptures that he comes into a relationship with God, and God comes to him in
the Word to give him faith, redeem him, form him, and guide him. It is for this
reason that he is so reliant of the Word.
Life
Recently I saw a quote that said, “God never commanded that
we study his word, but we are exhorted to meditate on it and love it.” This is
a bit simplistic, but perhaps when we approach God’s Word we sometimes do so
with too much of a desire to get something out it, to find the point, or to
receive some kind of take-away for our day on our own terms. Perhaps we get too
head oriented chewing on meaning and application and not simply listening to
God our savior speak to us. Could it be that sometimes it’s okay to just listen
or read the Word and let it do its work in you on God’s terms?
Are you impacted by the way the psalmist brings everything
back to God’s Word? He seems to have the Word as his lens to look at every
aspect of his life. This is a good goal for us to strive for to constantly have
the Word of God in mind, and to see every aspect of our lives in relationship
to what God has said; to see our lives are part of the divine narrative in
which he redeems us through Jesus’ death and resurrection, delivers us in
affliction, pours out his mercy on us, and makes his Word the foundation of our
lives.
Prayer
Use Psalm 119:153-160 to guide your
prayer today. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help you to love God’s Word and
see your whole life through the lens of Scripture – especially your life of
faith. Give thanks to God for all he has done in and through you by the Spirit’s
work through the Word of God in your life.
Comments