GIVE ME UNDERSTANDING - Psalm 119:169-176 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-TAW) - #22 Final Reflection

Perplexity.  We are perplexed.  Are we not?

Consider the questions that tend to confound us...

• why do eastern radical fundamentalists so passionately hate the west?
• how do you explain the unswerving popularity of a presidential candidate who has broken every sane rule of campaigning?
• why does racism persist?
• where does selfishness come from?
• why do the good die young, while those who promote evil flourish?
• why can't we eliminate disease, and even death?
• how could the incredible beauty, order, and irreducible complexity of life come (as some insist) from blind, unguided chance?
• why do I do the things I don't want to do, and fail to do the very things I want to do?
• how is it that even with every possible encouragement toward that which is good, my heart still wanders off into that which is bad?

There are more questions, of course.  You likely have your own list.  Our own ponderings come up short.  The perplexity persists.

Let my cry come before you, O Lord;

give me understanding according to Your word.

Let my plea come before You,

deliver me according to Your word.

My lips will pour forth praise,

for You teach me Your statutes.

My tongue will sing of Your word,

for all Your commandments are right.

Let Your hand be ready to help me,

for I have chosen Your precepts.

I long for Your salvation, O Lord,

and Your law is my delight.

Let my soul live and praise You,

and let Your rules help me.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep;

Seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.

I don't have all the answers; if you've read this blog before, you know that well.  Neither did the author of these final verses of Psalm 119.  

But, he knew where to find the best answers.  At least 9 times in 8 verses, he resets his lens on God's Word, the Lord's statutes, His commandments, precepts, rules.  UNDERSTANDING comes from a diet of deliberation of the ideas, words, concepts, commandments that proceed from the mouth of God.  Every word, Jesus said, when feasted on brings living.  Nurtures life.

Answers to the list of questions above can be found in God's Word, along with truth about how He alone rescues us from the present age and readies us for the life to come.

May you join me in this heart cry, and in a daily diet that attends it -- "Give me understanding according to Your Word."

Selah.

The GREAT SPOIL of GREAT PEACE - Psalm 119:162-168 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-SIN & SHIN) #21

Should your every day living be attended by peace, you are indeed in a season of blessing.

The living of so many today is not.  A verse in the hymn "Just As I Am" (alway sung at the close of the crusade meetings of Billy Graham) admits that those coming to Christ  walk toward him with "fightings within and fears without."

The inner world of so many in our day is fraught with anxiousness, fright, restlessness, and the worst, loneliness.   Too many, having been nurtured by dysfunctional and spiritually rootless parents, have not been endowed with a center which assures them of who they are, nor of a God who has created them and loves them and has good plans for them.  Our hearts are starving for meaning and direction, and so often not able to settle down.

The world around us does little to soothe our souls.  The culture of our politics is driven by the anger of unsatisfied demands.  Inequity has (we feel) lanced our lives too.  Someone else is to blame for my current, inadequate lot in life.  Everywhere you turn, something wrong is trumpeted.  Some group unhappy.  People are displaced, starving, sick.  Some religion is ready to execute its god's judgment on your way of life.

Granted, painting a picture of doom should have its balancing limits.  Still, people's hearts are hungry for something more.  Love that lasts.  Centeredness that provides a lifelong vector.  Reasons for the next day that are more than simply the quest for yet another set of toys.

Peace.

Princes persecute me without cause

but my heart stands in awe of Your words.

I rejoice at Your word

like one who finds great spoil.

I hate and abhor falsehood,

but I love Your law.

Seven times a day I praise You

for Your righteous rules.

Great peace have those who love Your law;

nothing can make them stumble

I hope for Your salvation, O Lord,

and I do Your commandments.

My soul keeps Your testimonies;

I love them exceedingly.

I keep Your precepts and testimonies,

for all my ways are before You.

Throughout this extended Psalm, the writer does acknowledge that trouble has found him.  People in power have made him a target, for no good reason.  Surrounding are persistent expressions of what is wrong, what is false.  Each day owns substantive challenges.

But there is a great peace which attends his life.  He is in awe, not of his trouble nor his challenges, but of His God and at His God's stabilizing words  Words which provide sufficient help to prevent stumbling over the uneven experiences of living in a tough world.   

Great love for God and His word bring about a calm in the midst of a cultural and societal whirlwind.  This pilgrim loves what His Lord says and does what His Lord directs.  The ways of his days are before his Lord.    His lips have found the habit of rhythmic praise.

Awesome...

GIVE ME LIFE! Psalm 119:153-160 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - RESH) #20

Sarah Groves' best album, in my view, is one entitled Conversations.  In one song from the collection, she sings about an aging friend, a widow, who "just turned 84" and confessing to Sarah that she's "afraid of dying."  Her husband passed years before, and though they had been married decades, (Sarah sings) "when he passed away, she still had more to say."  :-)

There was more life to share.

The song tenderly speaks of our longing to live.  Twice in these 8 verses, the Psalmist cries to God, "Give me life...!"  Affliction, persecutors, adversaries are pressing in hard.  People who disregard God and His testimonies.  Still, they have leverage to make our lives feel less than fully alive.

We all long to experience life in its fullness.  Whether it be  through relational opponents or physical decline,  we hate when our living is being robbed.

IS THERE LIFE AHEAD?

I too have a friend who is dying.  After yet another sojourn to the University of Iowa Medical Center, hopeful of another round of life-extending treatment, he and his wife were told no treatment would be successful nor helpful.  My dear friend is now at the marvelous local Hospice House.  Somehow he's preparing to exit.

Is this the end of life, or is there life ahead?

Look on my affliction and deliver me,

for I do not forget Your law.

Plead my cause and redeem me;

give me life according to Your promise!

Salvation is far from the wicked,

for they do not seek Your statutes.

Great is Your mercy, O Lord;

give me life according to Your rules.

Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,

but I do not swerve from Your testimonies.

I look at the faithless with disgust,

because they do not keep Your commands.

Consider how I love Your precepts!

Give me life according to Your steadfast love.

The sum of Your word is truth,

and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.

The verse writer understands that life uniquely comes from God.  It comes from  honoring God's word, cherishing it, deriving one's perspective and hope from it.  From "keeping" God's commands.  Believing them.  Counting on His promise, His statutes, His testimonies.

One of the  Lord's best "testimonies"  about life comes from the lips of the Lord's Son. "I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.  And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:26, ESV).

There is a life which comes to us from God that will never experience the thievery our present lives experience.  It comes uniquely from God.  The Lord to whom the Psalmist sang 3 millennia ago.  From the Son who died for us so that we who believe should never taste death.

Life in Him today.  Life from Him in unhindered fullness tomorrow.

"The same of Your word (thankfully!!!) is truth."

BEFORE DAWN - I CALL Psalm 119:145-152 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-QOPH) #19

I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I hope in Your words

There's something special about getting up before everyone else does, before the chaos of the day begins, and coming face to face with the One who holds your breath in His hands.

With my whole heart I cry, answer me O Lord

I will keep Your statutes.

Apparently, Jesus himself did this, more often than his disciples perhaps noticed.  One morning, he was ahead of the day, praying, and his disciples came hunting.  "Everyone is looking for you!" they said.  But His Father had already given him the agenda.  "Lets get to the next towns," (Mark 1:38).  "They need to hear the good news as well."

My eyes are awake before the watches of the night

that I may meditate on Your promise.

It's a good thing to read Scripture before you lay your head down on the pillow.  Last-of-the-day thoughts can become nocturnal meditations.  I find myself awakened sometimes in the middle of the night with something of value having happened while asleep.  Something gelled.  Insight was granted by the Spirit.  A fresh understanding offered.

Hear my voice according to Your steadfast love;

O Lord, according to your justice give me life.

We know that somewhere in our day, we'll face some injustice, great or small.  Bothersome nonetheless.  Someone is likely to mistreat another.  Self-serving decisions will sting.  Someone will not be held accountable.  Rather than complain, we bring those things to the Lord.  We replace hurt with thanksgiving.  Our life comes from Him, not others.  Nor from the expectation that life will be fair.

But You are near, O Lord,

and all your commandments are true

Long have I known from Your testimonies

that You have founded them forever.

In the morning, we can remember that God will not leave us today.  That God's commandments can pilot our way through a maze of challenges.  Our enemy has tactics and methods he'll throw at us, but the timeless testimonies of God about what is right and wrong, true and false, wise and unwise, provide escapes to the paths of life.  

Early, before dawn, ahead of the crowd.  That's the time to set your compass again on True North.  To give voice to your questions and challenges.  To embrace your Father's agenda for the day.

Before dawn...

DELIGHT in TROUBLE - Psalm 119:137-144 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - TSADHE) - #18

No one likes trouble.

All of us would prefer a trouble-free day.  A trouble free drive to work.  A body which doesn't need a doctor's visit, or a rush to the emergency room.  A trouble free marriage; a family that gets loves being together and encouragement shared between each other.

We'd prefer people like us and affirm what we do.  We'd prefer getting all the answers write on the test.  Better to have a car that you never have to take to the shop.  Better that our investments yield a 7% annual increase (or more).

No one wants to be attacked, or threatened, or bullied.

Yet in varying degrees, we all face trouble.  It happens in our lives, and sometimes we even open the door and (virtually) invite it in.  Trouble comes either from living in a world that is "fallen" in "frustration" (Genesis 3, Romans 8:20) or from consciously (and sometimes even unconsciously) making "fallen" choices.  Each day we live with this and we need help to manage this.

YOUR WORDS...THE KEY

Righteous are You, O Lord,

and right are Your rules.

You have appointed Your testimonies in righteousness

and in all faithfulness.

My zeal consumes me,

because my foes forget Your words.

Your promise is well tried,

and Your servant loves it.

I am small and despised,

yet I do not forget your precepts.

Your righteousness is righteous forever,

and Your law is true.

Trouble and anguish have found me out,

but Your commandments are my delight.

Your testimonies are righteous forever,

give me understanding that I may live.

Words from psalm writers like this one almost always express well what we personally feel deeply.  This 8 verse section gives voice to the life of a Christian - a great love for God's faithful, true testimonies and His compelling righteousness, combined with a walk through the days of life that can be tough, and frequently so.

"Trouble and anguish have found me out!  But...Your commandments (while I wrestle with the trouble) are my delight!"

Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus.  He lifts the sagging heads of the Corinthians in assuring us that we are always led in triumph by the Savior and His Spirit.  John reminds us in the book of Revelation that we can be overcomers.

"Give me (Your) understanding," says the Psalm, "that I may live!"  Lord, indeed, give us Your delight in days and times of trouble!!!

WONDERFUL TESTIMONIES - Psalm 119:129-136 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-PE) #17

"Your testimonies are wonderful!"

Ever have that inside adrenalin rush?

For me, the eruption comes in a quiet moment when the sheer joy of knowing God and having His refreshing word close at hand shoots up inside like a geyser.

You sense in a fresh, soul-showering way that you are incredibly fortunate to have a relationship with your Creator that is more...more than the majestic display of His power in the universe...more than the assurance than He will bring all things to their proper end, and then regeneration...just more.

The more is that His witness to what is truly true ("Your testimonies") is visited in your life when you taste and see the the Lord is good.  When you find the words of God and you eat them.  When you discover afresh something that you may have neglected (like Josiah's find of God's law in the storage closets of the temple), and the Spirit reminds you through your find that God Himself is eager to guide and direct the course of your life.

"Your testimonies are wonderful!!" (119:129)

The more you allow your life to be informed and shaped and blessed by God's testimonies...well, the more you understand the last verse in this 17th section of Psalm 119.  Notice the first verse, then the last.

Your testimonies are wonderful,

therefore my soul keeps them.

The unfolding of Your word gives light,

it imparts understanding to the simple.

I open my mouth and pant,

because I long for Your commandments

Turn to me and be gracious to me

as is Your way with those who love your name.

Keep steady my steps according to Your promise,

and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Redeem me from man's oppression,

that I may keep Your precepts.

Make Your face shine upon Your servant,

and teach me Your statutes.

My eyes shed streams of tears,

because people do not keep Your law.

The unparalleled benefits of the Lord's word are repeatedly celebrated in the middle verses.  The shout of joy over them at the first, then the deep sorrow over dismissing them at the last.  

Compassion for the hundreds of thousands of people we pass by in life -- that they neglect the light-giving, understanding-imparting, Face-shining statutes of the Lord -- causes a sobered heart at the least, and perhaps a flow of tears now and then.

We recommend the food at a delightful restaurant to our friends.  We'll share a helpful app on our smartphones with our colleagues.   We rarely hesitate to pass along a good idea or a helpful service to those in need around us.

Why not joyfully share with someone today...or at least soon...the wonderful testimonies of the gracious Lord himself?

ABOVE Fine GOLD - Psalm 119:121-128 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - AYIN) #16

I love Your commandments above gold,

above fine gold.

"It's the economy, stupid!"

Ever hear that?  I did just yesterday.  From the candidates.  Those in the hunt to be elected to  (arguably) the most powerful executive position in the world (POTUS) usually say something akin to this in order to be chosen.  Give people more money - or lead so as to make the economy vibrant so that everyone has just about everything they want or need, and the POTUS -- the "people of the United States" -- will believe that you are the leader they need.

Is that your bottom line?  For someone's leadership?  For personal happiness?

Gold.  Fine gold.  When you whittle it all down, that's just about all I want, or need.

WELL...???

I stood behind a man in tattered clothes at a gas station quick-market.  He was trying to get his credit card to work in the card reader.  To buy lottery tickets. 

It's hard not to make what may be an unfair judgment when watching this.  Perhaps more accurate to my heart was sadness.

We run after many things that inherently have negative returns.  Often in 176 verses, Psalm 119's author asks God to keep him from foolishness.  "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things" (vs.37).  "Put false ways far from me" (vs.29).   "Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to selfish gain" (vs.38).  

He realizes he must have a different economic philosophy for his life.  "The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces" (vs.72).  "I rejoice at Your word like one who finds great spoil" (vs.162).

With this PROVERBS agrees.  "How much better to get wisdom than gold" (16:16).

I have done what is just and right;

do not leave me to my oppressors.

Give Your servant a pledge of Good;

let not the insolent oppress me.

My eyes long for Your salvation

and for the fulfillment of Your righteous promise.

Deal with Your servant according to Your steadfast love,

and teach me Your statutes.

I am Your servant; give me understanding,

that I may know Your testimonies.

It is time for the LORD to act,

for Your law has been broken.

Therefore, I love Your commandments

above gold, above fine gold.

Therefore, I consider all Your precepts to be right.

I hate every false way.

You can hear the passion for something that lasts, something that lifts the press and fills the caverns of the heart with what it truly needed.

God's pledge of good, God's salvation, God's statutes, His testimonies, His commandments.  The Lord's right precepts.  A passion for a different good.

Finer, much finer, than a chancy ticket for gold.

CLEAR-MINDED CONVICTION - Psalm 119:113-120 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - SAMEKH) #15

"There are," someone has quipped, "two kinds of people in the world.  Those who see everything as either black or white, and those who don't."

Clearly, not everything must be either "white" or "black."  Many if not most of our personal preferences are neither morally right nor morally wrong.  One of our recent Presidents didn't care for broccoli while others crave it every day.  You may root for either the Packers or the Bears.   In the grand scheme of things, it actually doesn't make any real difference.

But, in the grand scheme of things, what one consistently thinks about God and His Word is not merely a preference.  It's a matter of "white" or "black."  Inconsistency on certain matters like truth, of fearing God (or not fearing), is fatal.  

In other words, courting double-mindedness becomes a matter of destiny.   How sobering to live in a day when increasing numbers of Americans prefer to think in shades of gray about black 'n white truth.

I hate the double-minded,

but I love Your law.

You are my hiding place and my shield;

I hope in Your word.

Depart from me, you evildoers,

that I may keep the commandments of my God.

Uphold me according to Your promise,

that I may live,

and let me not be put to shame in my hope!

Hold me up, that I may be safe

and have regard for Your statutes continually!

You spurn all those who go astray from Your statutes,

for their cunning is in vain.

All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,

therefore I love Your testimonies.

My flesh trembles for fear of You,

and I am afraid of Your judgment.

It is safe -- and accurate, according to Scripture -- to say that there will be no double-minded individuals standing before God in the day when destinies are declared.  Tens of thousands of people die daily and are immediately separated.  Jesus spoke of Lazarus (a poor wretch) and a rich man who died on the same day but individually went to two very different places: the former into a place of blessed rest, the latter to a place of relentless torment.

Permanently.   "A great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to (the other side) may not be able (to do so)..." (Luke 16:26, ESV).

Hebrews 9 says it bluntly.  "It's appointed to men to die once, and then the judgment."

No wonder the Psalm writer hated double-minded-ness, and those who persisted in it.  It has the veneer of open-mindedness, but the outcome of separation from God.  Such "cunning is in vain."  God spurns those who, without conviction, stray from Your statutes.  God disregards the wicked like worthless dross.

There is safety - today and in the forever tomorrow - in regarding God's statutes continually.  It is accompanied by a life-refining fear of the Lord, and the sobering reality of His judgment.

Get off the fence!  Love the Lord's testimonies!

A LAMP and A LIGHT - Psalm 119:105-112 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - Nun) - #14

No one has ever journeyed through life without realizing this world can be a very dark place.

It's not always dark.  There are joys along the way, even for those surrounded by more darkness than light.    But no one gets a "darkness pass."  And, some of the very best people I have known have had to make their way through some of the darkest furlongs.

David knew this.  "Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."  Apparently he did, many times.

Jesus knew this.  He would build a movement threatened by the gates of hell on a daily basis.

Paul knew this.  "We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength...we despaired of life itself...we felt the sentence of death."

Ask  your friends, "Is there more darkness or light in your life today?  More joy or discouragement?" The answers may surprise you.  It's amazing the darkness everyday people deal with.

We need light for dark places, light that the darkness cannot beat back.  Light that overcomes.  Five decades ago, some faithful Calvary Memorial Church Sunday School teacher imbedded in me the following --

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

to keep Your righteous rules.

I am severely afflicted;

give me life, O Lord, according to Your word!

Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord

and teach me Your rules.

I hold my life in my hand continually,

but I do not forget Your law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me,

but I do not stray from Your precepts.

Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

for they are the joy of my heart.

I incline my heart to perform Your statutes

forever, to the end.

These verses toggle back and forth - one line of vulnerability, affliction, insecurity, the second of security, resource, and reorientation.   One line the darkness, the other line the light.

Sitting at the feet of a colleague in church yesterday, I was reminded that we who wander with God through dark stretches must "never underestimate the power of simple obedience" to the Lord.  You hear that here.  The tenacity, in dark times, to "keep Your righteous rules," to "not stray from Your precepts." 

Unique light comes from the Word of the Lord.  There is light found in sticking with It, light in making It the joy of one's heart.  Light in performing His statutes to the end.

"If we walk in the light, as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, the blood of Jesus God's Son cleanses us from all our sin" (1 John 1:7).

Walk in the light...and along the way, shine His light into some darkness around you.

IQ or WISDOM? - Psalm 119:97-104 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Mem) - #13

I've never forgotten one description of a brilliant person.

"He's forgotten more than I'll ever know."

I've been around many people like that.

I remember when I first encountered Daniel Wallace (who now teaches NT Greek and Exegesis at Dallas Seminary).  Dan was a classmate in an early DTS Greek course.  Vintage 1971.  We sat next to each other in our Goodwill-rack sport coats (shirt, tie, coat required in class back then).

It wasn't long before I realized I was out-of-my-league.  A Wheaton undergrad, Dan knew more about the original language of the New Testament books than some of his profs in college.  [He even had a Greek "ball" for his IBM Selectric typewriter!!]  His passion for God's word in the street-language within ancient Roman empire was amazing.   No doubt, still is.

That's not the first time I've felt like an intellectual Pygmy.

I often preach to brilliant people who do world-class research at Iowa State University.  They've forgotten more than I'll ever know.  In a few short days, I'll be sitting in a room (with a great view of the Pacific Ocean, by the way) with 40-45 pastors, each  who's IQ likely doubles mine.   It's why I keep my mouth shut most of the time during my annual trek west.

I'm there to learn from those who have a greater command of the big picture.

But brilliance can be a blinder.   Big time.  Pride in brilliance can become a god-like idol.  Sometimes, Paul reminded Timothy, you're around people who are "always learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7).

Which is why Psalm 119's author suggests that love of God's Word trumps brilliance:

Oh how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for Your testimonies are my meditation.

I understand more than the aged,

for I keep Your precepts.

I hold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep Your word.

I do not turn aside from Your rules,

for You have taught me.

How sweet are Your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through Your precepts I get understanding,

therefore I hate every false way.

Yesterday, I sat with a very young Christian whose mind is being renewed and life is being transformed by memorizing God's Word.  He's been infected with the bug, and his hunger to have God's Word coursing through his mind and spilling from his mouth is...well, it's transformational.

It happens when someone can say, "You (Lord) have taught me." 

How sweet...

TRUE NORTH - Psalm 119:89-96 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - Lamedh) #12

Words evaporate. 

Their shelf-life is painfully brief.  Many times, that's a good thing.  Who doesn't glance back over one's shoulder and wince, "Grief...I wish I hadn't said that."  [Apparently, one of our presidential candidates doesn't think he needs to.]

Some words remain.  Lincoln's address at the Gettysburg cemetery, or his second Inaugural speech, are immemorial.  They deserve, if not demand, re-reading, even memorizing.

But many words (most?) are not worth the air that bears their vibrations. Forgettable as the score of a pro-baseball game in mid-season...1977 (or whatever year).

There are words, however, which are a fixed compass for eternity.

Forever, O Lord, Your Word

is firmly fixed in the heavens.

 

Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

You have established the earth, and it stands fast.

 

By Your appointment they stand to this day,

for all things are Your servants.

 

If Your law had not been my delight,

I would have perished in my affliction.

 

I will never forget your precepts,

for by them You have given me life.

I am Yours; save me,

for I have sought Your precepts.

 

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

but I consider Your testimonies.

 

I have seen a limit to all perfection,

but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

 

These words deserve, even demand, attention, if not memorizing.  Find in them theology (what we can know about God himself, His character), soteriology (how we are saved by God himself), cosmology ("You established the earth...all things are Your servants"), morality ("I will never forget your precepts"), and so much more.

 

The true north in this author's life are the fixed and beyond-perfection treasure of God's Words.  "By them, You have given me life."  Jesus once asked his disciples, "Are you going to go away as well?", when rootless followers were pealing off.  "To whom would we go?" Peter asked (in one of his better moments), "You alone have the words of eternal life."

 

Find delight and life in God's Words.  Let them be the magnetic field which attracts your compass and aligns your living.

LONGING for RESCUE - Psalm 119:81-88 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Kaph) #11

Almost every Sunday, for many years, I've had the remarkable privilege of opening a Bible with hundreds of people who have come longing for salvation.

Let me be clear.  Not all of them would put it that way, and perhaps each share this "longing" to various degrees.  Some come to church, to be sure, because they have to come, leveraged by this or by that. Yet my sense has been that most come because they are either hopeful to get closer to God or longing for some kind of help.  Some kind of rescue.

Life so easily goes "south."  Physically.  Relationally.  Financially.  Professionally.  Emotionally.  Personally.

Yesterday, a bright, young, female psychologist who had spent some years in our church family -- and has this year started a therapy practice in Illinois -- shared how her practice recently began.  "After I finished my training in school, I simply put out the word...and before I could figure out how I was going to run my practice, I had clients pressing for appointments."

"People are so broken," I replied.  She nodded her head in incredulous agreement.

Psalm 119's poet felt broken.  He longed for rescue.

My soul longs for Your salvation;

I hope in Your Word.

My eyes long for Your promise;

I ask, "When will You comfort me?"

For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,

yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

How long must Your servant endure?

When will You judge those who persecute me?

The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;

they do not live according to Your law.

All Your commandments are sure;

they persecute me with falsehood--Help me!

They have almost mad an end of me on earth,

but I have not forsaken Your precepts.

In your steadfast love give me life,

that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth.

These heart cries are reminiscent of Paul's admission to the Corinthian Christians.  "We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  We felt that we had received the sentence of death" (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

Why does God hang us out to dry like that?  Why does He allow it to get to such an advanced desperation?  "But that," Paul continued, "was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.  On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again" (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).

"You must," Paul draws them in, "help us by prayer" (vs.11a).

You may feel the press of these verses in your life.  Listen to God's voice.  "I want you to rely on me like you never have before."  And, call on your friends.  Tell them, "you must help me by prayer."  

And while you are at it, help them by your prayers.  Relying on Him...helping one another.  

A LIFE which MODELS - Psalm 119:73-80 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Yodh) #10

These are days when words of truth are in short supply.  When the one word flung back-n-forth, between leading presidential candidates, like a dirty-bomb full of nails, is "liar."

Honestly, don't you think twice before turning on the television these days (February 2016)?  The media is completely beholden to the fracas.  There is scarcely nothing to admire about angry men and women making statements they cannot substantiate, promises they will never be able to keep.  Perhaps there is an exemplary candidate or two.  Clearly, they're painfully in short supply.

Enough already.  Does anyone have a broad, sweeping filter to clean the air?

Perhaps the Psalmist...

Your hands have made and fashioned me,

give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments.

Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice,

because I have hoped in Your word.

I know, O Lord, that Your rules are righteous,

and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

Let Your steadfast love comfort me

according to Your promise to Your servant.

Let Your mercy come to me, that I may live

for Your law is my delight.

Let the insolent be put to shame,

because they have wronged me with falsehood;

as for me, I will meditate on Your precepts.

Let those who fear You turn to me,

that they may know Your testimonies.

May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,

that I may not be put to shame.

Line one affirms that God's hands have "made" and (literally) "given me a firmness."  That firmness comes Divine hands instilling a strength drawn from a Divine word.  The writer has a knowledge about what is right, about God's steadfast love and promises, about being able to withstand false accusations and barbs.

"Let those who fear You turn to me..." - this is not a boast, but a desire to have a life which is exemplary and winsome, a life that "whets the appetite" of others for God.  

He was often dismissed and belittled.  He bore burdens the extent of which none would know save the Lord Himself.  He became, arguably, our greatest president.  Abraham Lincoln said it, All things desirable to men are contained in the Bible.

Spent some time with God and His Word.  Let your heart be blameless, and exemplary, in His statutes.

The TEACHING of AFFLICTION - Psalm 119:65-72 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - Teth) #9

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Stand a little taller

Doesn't mean I'm lonely cause I'm alone

What doesn't kill you makes a fighter

Footsteps even lighter

Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone

Kelly Clarkson's hit from a couple of years back bullishly boasts a survivor attitude.  A relationship she had counted on, that went south, was hurtful but not fatal.  She was bowed but not broken.  Now, she stands a bit taller, strides with more strength.  She is not "over" simply because a significant someone exited left.

You have dealt with Your Servant, O Lord,

According to Your word.

Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in Your commandments.

Before I was afflicted, I went astray,

but now I keep Your word.

You are good, and do good;

teach me Your statutes.

The insolent smear me with lies,

but with my whole heart I keep Your precepts.

Their heart is unfeeling like fat,

but I delight in Your law.

It is good for me that I was afflicted,

that I might learn Your statutes.

The law of Your mouth is better to me

than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

A humility embraced.  Lessons learned.  The unique and unparalleled value of what God prescribes and directs is freshly appreciated.  Affliction..."it was good" for me.  My whole heart is ready to keep what God's wisdom calls for.

Look for the gold and silver lessons in your tough times.  The Lord's investment in your heart and life will pay dividends, when our response is humility.

Getting BACK on TRACK - Psalm 119:57-64 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth) - #8

Why are our hearts "prone to wander"?  The truth is they are.  The Bible tells us the truth about our insides, as unhappy the news might be at times.  "The heart," Jeremiah forth-told, "is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; Who can understand it?" [Jeremiah 17:9]

Don't stop reading.  "I, the Lord, search the heart, and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds" [Jeremiah 17:10].

WHAT WAY WILL WE WISELY CHOOSE?

If Jeremiah is correct, a most important choice is the "way" in which we choose to walk.   We may rabbit-chase the wanderings of an independent (and often inscrutably deceitful) heart.  Or, we may choose to make the Lord and His way our portion.

The Lord is my portion;

I promise to keep Your words.

I entreat Your favor with all my heart;

be gracious to me according to Your promise.

When I think on my ways,

I turn my feet to Your testimonies;

I hasten and do not delay

to keep Your commandments.

Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

I do not forget Your law.

At midnight I rise to praise You,

because of Your righteous rules.

I am a companion of all who fear You,

of those who keep Your precepts.

The earth, O Lord, is full of Your steadfast love;

teach me Your statutes.

Like all of us, the author of this song had to size up "my ways" and "turn my feet to" God's testimonies.  Not only did his own feet tend toward diverted ways, there were those around who wrapped cords around him and pulled him away.  

All the more important to intentionally refuse to forget God's law.  All the more important to rise at midnight and praise God for His righteous directives.  All the more important to choose companions who share a healthy, life-feeding fear of the Lord.    

PRAISE ON THE RIGHT PATH

The stanza finishes with refreshing joy.  A look at the earth that brims with God's enduring love.  Motivation to learn more of God's statutes.

Should you wake in the middle of the night, sing this song of recommitment to God's ways, and loving praise for God's provision.  And, tomorrow morning, turn your feet toward God's testimonies and run down God's righteous pathway.

When LIFE HEATS up - Psalm 119:49-56 (God's Alphabet of Truth - Zayin) #7

For most of us, life gets hotter if you will) than we sometimes admit.  

Sometimes the temperature builds over time.  Other times, the heat suddenly spikes.   Sometimes the heat comes from without (caused by others); sometimes the pressure builds within..

Prompted by the Spirit, the author of this Psalm is looking for hope, comfort, stabilizing promises, even a new song to sing and for fresh blessing to fall.

Remember your word to your servant,

    in which you have made me hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction, 

    that your promise gives me life.

The insolent utterly deride me,

    but I do not turn away from your law.

When I think of your rules from of old,

    I take comfort, O Lord.

 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,

    who forsake your law.

Your statutes have been my songs

    in the house of my sojourning.

I remember your name in the night, O Lord,

    and keep your law.

This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept your precepts.

If you're someone who has a deep passion for the Lord and the truths of His word, you may be fortunate enough to be surrounded by supporters and encouragers.  

But not everyone is so fortunate.  Some pay a personal price professionally, socially and emotionally, and in some cases physically, to walk with a humble focus on the Lord and His "law." 

There is a candid honesty in this song.  Emotions admitted.  Support and comfort sought for.  When belittled, our heart needs to rebound back toward 

• surety of what the Lord has said, 

• the comfort His truth provides 

• the peace God's name gives in the middle of a dark night 

• the bright song which gives energy to daily steps that can feel heavy

The Lord has the resources we need for the heat.

TAUNTED toward TRUST - Psalm 119:41-48 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Waw) #6

"To reproach in an insulting matter, to mock, to belittle."

Her classmates taunted her for her hand-me-down clothes.

So offers one one-line dictionary for the word TAUNT.  It's nothing new.

Let Your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,

your salvation according to Your promise.

Then I shall have an answer for him who taunts me,

for I trust in Your word.

And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,

for my hope is in Your rules.

I will keep Your law continually,

forever and ever.

And I shall walk in a wide place,

for I have sought Your precepts.

I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings

and shall not be put to shame.

For I find my delight in Your commandments,

which I love.

I will lift up my hands toward Your commandments, which I love,

and I will meditate on Your statutes.

A friend today asked for help, for his friend.  The friend's son is enrolled at ISU.  He has taken at least one religion class from an atheistic professor and has had his faith rattled.  Do I know of a book which might help?

Sure I do.  There are hundreds of them that can re-nourish the heart of faith.  Keller's THE REASON FOR GOD.  Veritas Forum's A PLACE FOR TRUTH.  Many more.

But taunts - especially when they come from teachers with advanced degrees - can unsettle.  Words of truth are needed, and need to be spoken.  They are available.  

But even more needed is the experience of the "steadfast love" (or lovingkindness) of the Lord in the life.  A rescue from the Lord in keeping with His promise of salvation.

Life's wide places and our heart's confidences come from delighting in the commandments and statutes of the Lord.  

Abraham's "sacrifice" of Isaac (Genesis 22) - Would God ask me to do that?

Has God ever asked you to do the previously unthinkable?   If He did, how could you be sure you were getting it right?  hearing Him correctly? 

"Did God really ask me to do that?" you might wonder.

These kind of questions arise when you study and apply Genesis 22, God's command to Abraham to "take your son, your only son (Isaac), the son whom you love, and offer him as a burnt offering on the mountain I will show you" (vss. 1-2). 

The surprising response from Abraham?  He went and did it.  And would have followed through had God not stopped him even as he lifted the knife.

"Now I know that you fear God," the Lord said to Abraham, "seeing that you did not withhold your son, your only son, from Me" (vs.12).  God knows that we truly fear Him when we fully obey.

DOES GOD MAKE SIMILAR REQUESTS TODAY?

Some recoil at this story from Abraham's later years.  "How could God require child sacrifice from His friend Abraham?  Wasn't that wrong?"

In my view, there was no way God was going to let Abraham follow through, even though Abraham was fully prepared to do so.  But God did ask Abraham to obey even this extraordinary, repulsive request to "test him."  Abraham's faith was immediately enrolled in a graduate-level course in trust.  Abraham was prepared to offer up his son, believing God would still fulfill His promises to him through raising Isaac from the ashes of the offering (cf. Hebrews 11:17-19).  No matter what God asked him to do, Abraham believed God would be absolutely true to His promise. 

Abraham passed the test.

There was something uniquely non-repeatable about the request God made of Abraham.  No where else in Scripture was any other saint asked to do such a thing--to make one's child go through the slaughter and burnt offering process.  So from this standpoint, the answer to the above question is "No."

On the other hand, God does make similar requests of his tested children.  He routinely asks us to obey His word in ways that push the envelope.  That call from us an obedience not based on feelings or preferences or a negotiated outcome.  He calls us on to love Him with "all your heart, soul, mind and strength."  He asks us to "love our neighbor" with the very same focused love "as we love ourselves."  Any application of these directives from God -- if we take them seriously -- will require a greater personal sacrifice than we have since imagined.

So, in this sense, God does make similar requests.  He also tests us, and wants to know if we fear Him, and desire a closer friendship with Him through obedience.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT IS GOD'S VOICE ASKING?

Here is how this works for those who give their hearts and ears to God's voice in God's word on a daily basis.  You are reading and reflecting in a passage of Scripture.  You're asking God, "What does this mean?" and "How do you want this to express itself in my life today?"  You are dialoging with God about His word.

As you reflect, the Holy Spirit (essentially) says, "OK...here's what I want.  Take this verse, and _________________________________ today."  Something comes to your mind, a specific application.  A way to live that out in the routine of your day, or with those you are going to interact.  You say, "Lord, really?  You want me to do that?"  And (quite often), the Spirit will confirm it to your thinking.

It is in those moments that you and I check the "No" box or the "Yes" box in our hearts.  Perhaps we talk about what God has said with our spouses, or a trusted friend.  "You know, in my reading and praying this morning, I sensed God's Spirit saying, 'I want you to __________________.'  What do you think (you ask your friend)?"

It's a great exercise.  It builds both of you up in the Lord.  And, you're starting to experience life with God...especially if do what Abraham did.  You actually DO what the Spirit directed you to do from the Word.

Oswald Chambers said it, "Never try to explain God until you obey Him.  The only bit of God we understand is the bit we've obeyed."

Go ahead.  Read.  Reflect.  Ask God's Spirit to prompt you to a step of obedience.  Then Nike it.  Just do it.

You'll find yourself understanding God...and becoming God's friend (James 2:23).

OPEN for DIRECTION - Psalm 119:33-40 (God's Alphabet of Truth - He) #5

The description of "stubborn" cuts both ways.

Some admire a stubborn person.  I've heard young people talk thankfully that a grandparent, or a mentor, was stubborn about standards.  "Grandma was stubborn that way...and I loved her for it."

Still, my take is that a "stubborn" descriptive is mostly negative.  Like a mule that will not budge no matter how it important getting moving might be, a stubborn person often is willfully entrenched simply because he/she finds some idolatrous identity in it.  Forgiveness is not granted because an offense is stubbornly clung to, even nurtured.  Relationships stay broken and distant.  Wrong perspectives nurtured by a sinful heart refused to be reshaped.

A farmer asked his neighbor if he might borrow a rope.
   "Sorry," said the neighbor, "I'm using the rope to tie up my milk."
   "Milk?" exclaimed the first farmer. "Rope can't tie up milk."
   "I know," replied the neighbor, "but when a man doesn't want to do something, one reason is as good as another."

TEACH ME, O LORD

Not so with the one moved by the Spirit to write Psalm 119:33-40 (ESV) --

Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes

and I will keep them as my reward.

 

Give me understanding that I may keep Your law

and observe it with my whole heart.

 

Lead me in the path of Your commandments

for I delight in it.

 

Incline my heart to Your testimonies

and not to selfish gain!

 

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;

and give me life in Your ways.

 

Confirm to Your servant Your promise

that You may be feared.

Turn away the reproach that I dread

for Your rules are good.

 

Behold, I long for Your precepts;

In Your righteousness give me Life.

 

There is a marvelous humility knitted in the fabric of these words.  A sponge-like heart that wants to soak up God's wisdom, and be taught, given understanding not previously possessed, lead in a fresh path.  Eager to avoid a life given to greediness, or being star-struck with what is actually worthless.

 

Again, there is LIFE in God's word.  There is RIGHTEOUSNESS, or "right living."  There are PROMISES which reward and bless and bring goodness.

 

Someone has said that "Obstinate men don't hold opinions--opinions hold them."  Be held by something better...God's life-changing, life-giving ways.

 



DESPERATE for LIFE - Psalm 119:25-32 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Daleth) - #4

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "cling"?

Howard Hendricks noted that the word is variously translated from the Hebrew of Genesis 2:24: A man shall leave his father and mother and "hold fast" (cleave, or cling) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  Noting that both the male and the female were fashioned from the ground's dirt, he said with a smile, "That's marriage - two clods clinging together!"  [Oh that such clinging would prevail in marriages!]

My mind's eye sees the small child, arms tightly vice-grip-wrapped around a mother's leg in the midst of a large crowd.  The little heart desperate for the feel of someone he/she trusts.  Desperate not to loose contact.  Separation would be unbearably frightening.

In this portion of Psalm 119, there is a fight between "clinging," personal realities.

My soul clings to the dust;

give me life according to Your Word!

When I was told of my ways, You answered me;

teach me Your statutes!

Make me understand the way of Your precepts,

and I will meditate on Your wondrous works.

My soul melts away for sorrow;

strengthen me according to Your word!

Put false ways far from me

and graciously teach me Your law!

I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I set Your rules before me.

I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;

let me not be put to shame!

I will run in the way of Your commandments,

when You enlarge my heart.

(or "for You set my heart free")

The dirt of life pulls us down, and wants to bury us.  Sometimes it feels like our very soul is wrapped in the decay of the earth.  Our sense of security-life ebbs away.  Indeed, tis the season.  Every four years, we hear candidates promise to virtually turn the world around with their proposals...and every four years, we realize how hollow those promises are.  There is little life in dust.

Real life comes from the life-giving Word of God himself.  To know God, and His Son Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:1-3) is eternal life, unsullied by the turf.  God's prescriptions for what can be wrong with life (His precepts), His wondrous works which revive the reflective heart, the Lord's testimonies which give bold (shame-chasing) confidence - clinging to the Lord's word and voice resurrects the soul from the downward pull.

You've noticed, haven't you, the contrast between the bookends of this stanza.  It begins with one's soul in the dirt (vs. 25); it ends with the soul set free (vs.32).  Wow...how cool is that!!

Be that child who clings to the whole person of the Lord.  You've seen it.  The little one wraps arms tightly around one leg, two if he/she can!  The parent feeling the clamp bends down and lifts the toddler up.  They exchange smiles and hugs.   Cling to the Lord's testimonies.  Wrap your arms around them.  They are full of soul-resurrecting life!  He loves to lift us up.

LIGHT for the WAY - Psalm 119:17-24 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Gimel) - #3

Deal bountifully with Your servant,

that I may live and keep Your Word.

Open my eyes, that I may behold

wondrous things out of Your Law.

I am a sojourner on the earth;

hide not Your commandments from me!

My soul is consumed with longing

for Your rules at all times.

You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,

who wander from Your commandments.

Take away from me scorn and contempt,

for I have kept Your testimonies.

Even though princes sit plotting against me,
Your servant will meditate on Your statutes.

Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.

Every week, and almost every day, I hear from people who are desperate for advice.  Financial advice, relationship advice, medical advice, parenting advice, mental health advice, addiction-beating advice...the list is endless.

That's no surprise.  Life can be complex, and is made more so by the fact that our Spiritual Enemy (Satan) and our propensity to sin consistently muddy the windshield.

A KEY CONTRAST

This set of song-prayers expresses our heart's longing for something clear, fixed, and encouraging in a world in which we are sojourners.  We are making our way through, and heading somewhere else.  Our present experience is on the move, not rooted here, not settling here.  We will not be fooled into thinking otherwise, even when others may scorn or belittle us for such an orientation.  With this perspective, we can handle the plots of even the powerful (e.g., "princes") who live privileged and self-assured.

Still, sojourners need clarity and hope.  Clarity about how to live well in temporary times, and hope about where we will land.  The shifting sands of culture and coolness and morals make our souls long for God's solid commandments and life-anchoring rules.  God's testimonies are like an encouraging friend lifting our hearts and offering timely advice.  We find ourselves eager each day to hear the stabilizing blessing of God's Voice in God's Word.  We want more from our Rock.  "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law."

OPENED EYES

I'm finding bright clarity in the eyes of young men and women who find their delight in the Lord.  Just yesterday, I reconnected with a great young ISU football player named Brian.  He is a stellar athlete, but even more an unashamed son of God by faith in Christ.   When I asked about his walk with God, his face broke into that winning smile.  Genuine.  Eager.  Delighted that he knows God and is informed, guided, and blessed by His Father's Word.

When you are checked up by the difficulty of sojourning through this sin-compromised world, beg your Father to reveal His commandments to you.  Meditate on His statutes -- portions from His word that can provide clarity and direction.

His voice in His word will not disappoint.  It gives daily direction on the journey.

KEEPING my WAY CLEAN - Psalm 119:9-16 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Beth) - #2

Christianity Today's January 2016 issue features yet another story on Christian leaders' struggle with pornography.

George Barna's firm did the research.  Three-thousand surveyed.  770 pastors in the group.  "Most pastors (57%) and youth pastors (64%) admit they have struggled with porn, either currently or in the past," Barna reported.  "Overall, 21% of youth pastors and 14% of pastors admit they currently struggle with using porn."

Most keep it mostly under wraps. "Almost 6 in 10 recommended that pastors tell their spouses (58%), and even fewer (21%) said to tell the church elders or board.  Almost none (1%) said to tell the congregation."

The battle for personal, sexual purity is as old as the Garden of Eden.  Guilty and shamed in sin, Adam and Eve worked to grab leafy greens to cover their nakedness, while hearing God draw near for his daily visit.

What we do behind our personal "closed doors" we certainly don't want published outside those doors.  Few live in glass houses.

BETH - CAN I REALLY KEEP MY WAY PURE? (119:9-16)

The second stanza of Psalm 119's alphabet of truth about God's word begins with "B", or BETH (the 2nd letter in the Hebrew alphabet).  These words are priceless.

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to Your Word.

With my whole heart I seek You;

let me not wander from Your commandments!

I have stored up Your Word in my heart

that I might not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O Lord;

teach me Your statutes!

With my lips I declare

all at the rules of Your mouth.

In the way of Your testimonies I delight

as much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts

and fix my eyes on Your ways.

I will delight in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

The young Psalmist asks a timeless question, especially for us who long for the fresh cleanness of a living void of maintaining a secret, locked closet of dirt.   Our recent American generations are flooded with sexual failure.  The question in line one seems almost ludicrous.  The answer feels like "He can't."

But, a negative answer is not the truth.  Note the keys to personal purity.

GUARD - the author knows that purity comes with keeping with, rather than being inattentive.  The Word can pull successful guard duty, if we will station it at its post.

SEEK - this young man recommits to seeing God with a wholeheartedness, even as he is fully aware how easy to is to simply wander off into trouble.

STORED UP - for the life to be successfully guarded, one must store up in the heart (or memorize and rehearse) the Lord's Word.  No stored up Word - no guarding gets done.

TEACH ME - maintaining a humble, teachable attitude to learn more.

DECLARE - speak it!  Say God's Word out loud.  Repeatedly.  It's the key to memorizing and storing.  Verbalizing it and hearing it reinforces the protection.

DELIGHT - MEDITATE - DELIGHT - loving the good that God has commanded and directed will grow inside as you meditate on Scripture.   Meditation leads to application...which becomes a guarded and clean living.

GUARDED WAYS or A SLIPPERY SLOPE?

Just a few days ago, I was discussing personal purity with a young, unmarried couple.  They were awash in impurity.  At first, they simply said it was impossible.  It was too hard to remain out of bed and in purity.  

Further discussion revealed that, in fact, they had done little to "guard  their way," often placing themselves together on a "slippery slope" (dark places, alone, at night).  "Once," I said, "you begin to slide down a muddy hill, there's little chance of stopping."

They weren't storing God's Word up in the heart.  None of the steps above were being attempted.

And, they had not known, or perhaps forgotten, this Divine pledge.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful.  He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:13-14).

True or not true?  If true, then we can guard, seek, store up, be taught, declare and delight/meditate/delight.

Yes we can.  And God's personal shepherding is also in the mix.  

We can walk purely.  Yes, we can.

------------------------
P.S.  For a teaching on Hearing God's Voice-The Cherished Word (Psalm 119), go to www.ccames.org and access the Resources tab for this sermon on-line.

FOCUS brings BLESSING - Psalm 119:1-8 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Aleph) - #1

The Bible's longest chapter is a song, with 22 sets of lyrics, 8 lines each.

Each set of lyrics begins with a successive letter from the Hebrew alphabet.  "A" (or Aleph) begins the first set, and each line of the first set also begins (in the Hebrew) with "Aleph."  The second set begins with "B" (or Hebrew, "Beth").

Yes, this song was written to be memorized.  All 22 stanzas.  All 176 verses.

So, have you started yet? :-)

SOMETHING WORTH SINGING

Psalm 119 sings of the treasure-chest of blessing which comes through genuinely cherishing God's voice in God's Word.

The first 8-line lyric (Aleph) could not be more clear:  Focus brings Blessing.

Blessed are those whose way is blameless

Who walk in the law of the Lord

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies

Who seek Him with their whole heart

Who also do no wrong

but walk in His ways

You have commanded Your precepts

to be kept diligently

Oh that my ways may be steadfast

in keeping your statutes

Then I shall not be put to shame

having my eyes fixed on all your commandments

I will praise you with an upright heart

when I learn Your righteous rules

I will keep your statutes

Do not utterly forsake me

WHY NOT MEMORIZE?...Yep, you can, and here's why

It is interesting what happens when one takes the time to memorize 8 lines of a song.  Admittedly, without the tune (which might make it easier, and fun...to make up a tune).  But even without a tune, if you verbally (out loud) say these verses over and over again, so as to memorize, something very wonderful happens.

The out-loud repetition both reveals the meaning and imbeds the truth.  There comes a moment along the way when you are saying this yet-again out loud that your head says, "Oh...I get it!"  Diligent focus on God's word brings God's blessing ("Blessed are those who...).

But then, it moves from "those" to "me."  A desire is created, personally, within.   I want in on this.   "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes."  Then the blessing, "Then I shall not be put to shame..."

Of course, it's not merely about hearing God's voice in God's word.  The blessing comes when one "keeps" and "walks" (or lives) in alignment with God's directive voice, in the word.  There is no hearing without doing.  Biblically defined "hearing" was never merely listening.

A hint of warning arises at the end of the 1st set of lyrics.  "Do not utterly forsake me."  The alternative to not focusing on God's word is the possibility of missing blessing and finding, instead, a forsakenness in life.  

For the next 22 days, let's sing together about how focus on what God has said can bring about blessing in the life God gives.