Psalm 119:25-32

Daleth.

My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word. I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders. My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to Your word. Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Your law. I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.^[1]

How often have you experienced difficulty in understanding God’s Word to you and for you? If you are like me, it is more often than you want to admit. You can read commentaries that interpret the meaning of a particular passage of scripture, but still be left wondering what it means for your life. The writer had an intense desire to know and understand God’s Word. His lack of understanding so burdened him that he was filled with grief and as wfaint. To his thinking, his soul was as low as it could go.

It is rare to find someone today with such a high view of scripture. In fact, ones who do have such a high view are often ridiculed by their fellow believers and accused of deifying, making an idol, of the Bible. Perhaps the root of this present generation of believers’ defection from God is precisely because they lack the understanding the writer craves, or even the desire to have it. Note these two parallel verses: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (Proverbs 29:18); and, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). I like the sentiment of the Westminster Confession of Faith that confesses the Word of God as our only rule of faith and practice (paraphrase). May it be so or become so for each of us today.

Lord, forgive my procrastination when it comes to hearing, reading, studying, meditating, and memorizing Your Word. Give me the desire of the writer of this psalm to know Your Word so I can meditate daily upon it. Open the eyes of my understanding so that I can see the specific Word in it You have for me. Cause me to subordinate every other form of wisdom to Your Word so I can run the way of Your commandments. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ps 119:25–32.