How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
--Psalm 119:9,11 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on July 4, 2013 of Psalm 119:9-16; Ephesians 5:22-6:9; 1 Chronicles 3-4:23.
We do not know the identity of the author of the 119th, but this wisdom psalm is the longest at 176 verses. It is divided into stanzas of eight verses, with each stanza dedicated to the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, starting with Aleph and ending with Tav. Each verse in a stanza begins with the letter of the stanza (when written in Hebrew). The overriding theme of the 119th Psalm is that everything that man could ever need to know is contained within the word of God. With very few exceptions (for example, the first three verses), this song directly addresses God and is sung to Him.
The second stanza, associated with the Hebrew letter Beth, speaks to what we could describe as a thirst for God's word. The first verse of the first stanza (Aleph) proclaims that those who walk in the way of the Lord are blessed. We should all want to be blessed so we need to figure out how to walk in His way, we should have an unquenchable thirst for this knowledge. The psalmist tells us how in the second stanza, and the first of today's focus verses: by taking heed according to God's word. We can walk in God's way, live our lives the way He would have us to, by paying attention to and following His word. If we want to be righteous, if we want everything we think, do, and say to be right and pleasing to God, all we need to do is follow what God tells us by His word. This sounds simple enough, but we all know just how difficult it can be. First we need to know that God's word is contained in our Holy Bible, and then, understanding that, we need to actually read His word. More than just read, we need to study it, pore over it, discuss it with others, and pray over it until we can discern what God is telling us. And finally we must use His word to counteract the treacherous influence of the popular culture all around us. Then we can live by God's word.
There is one other way to look at this. The Apostle John begins his account of the Good News with the statement, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Please see John 1:1.) Through John's Gospel we know that the Word is Jesus our Christ. The psalmist may have been referring to Old Testament scripture or the Mosaic Law when he says we must heed God's word, but we now know that God's true Word is Jesus our Savior. So to live righteously we must listen to and obey what Jesus, the Word, tells us. Again we do this by studying the Bible, especially the New Testament, by prayer, and by building a better relationship with Jesus. But we have an advantage that Jesus gave us, we have something hidden in our heart that helps keep us from sinning against God if we only pay attention to and obey Him. We have the Holy Spirit of God and Jesus living in us, talking to and speaking for us. Through the Holy Spirit, we have God's Word living within us. There is nothing more we need. Amen.
O mighty Lord, Your Holy Spirit dwells within us, given to us by the grace of Jesus to be our constant Companion and our ever-present Guide through this life. Your Word, Father, is in us always, comforting us in the dark places, steering us from temptation. Help us hear Him, Father, that we might do right in Your sight. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
The second stanza, associated with the Hebrew letter Beth, speaks to what we could describe as a thirst for God's word. The first verse of the first stanza (Aleph) proclaims that those who walk in the way of the Lord are blessed. We should all want to be blessed so we need to figure out how to walk in His way, we should have an unquenchable thirst for this knowledge. The psalmist tells us how in the second stanza, and the first of today's focus verses: by taking heed according to God's word. We can walk in God's way, live our lives the way He would have us to, by paying attention to and following His word. If we want to be righteous, if we want everything we think, do, and say to be right and pleasing to God, all we need to do is follow what God tells us by His word. This sounds simple enough, but we all know just how difficult it can be. First we need to know that God's word is contained in our Holy Bible, and then, understanding that, we need to actually read His word. More than just read, we need to study it, pore over it, discuss it with others, and pray over it until we can discern what God is telling us. And finally we must use His word to counteract the treacherous influence of the popular culture all around us. Then we can live by God's word.
There is one other way to look at this. The Apostle John begins his account of the Good News with the statement, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Please see John 1:1.) Through John's Gospel we know that the Word is Jesus our Christ. The psalmist may have been referring to Old Testament scripture or the Mosaic Law when he says we must heed God's word, but we now know that God's true Word is Jesus our Savior. So to live righteously we must listen to and obey what Jesus, the Word, tells us. Again we do this by studying the Bible, especially the New Testament, by prayer, and by building a better relationship with Jesus. But we have an advantage that Jesus gave us, we have something hidden in our heart that helps keep us from sinning against God if we only pay attention to and obey Him. We have the Holy Spirit of God and Jesus living in us, talking to and speaking for us. Through the Holy Spirit, we have God's Word living within us. There is nothing more we need. Amen.
O mighty Lord, Your Holy Spirit dwells within us, given to us by the grace of Jesus to be our constant Companion and our ever-present Guide through this life. Your Word, Father, is in us always, comforting us in the dark places, steering us from temptation. Help us hear Him, Father, that we might do right in Your sight. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
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