Archive for the ‘Study of Psalm 119’ Category

« Older Entries

“The Lord is my portion”

Monday, February 8th, 2010

How Much of God do You Desire?

Psalm 119:57-64

  • “The Lord is my portion”

That is a different saying, not one that you hear very frequently. What does he mean when he declares that the “Lord is my portion”? A portion is something that you lay claim to. Think in terms of food, we lay claim to the last piece of pizza, we claim that portion for ourselves.

That is what he is doing, he is claiming for himself the Lord. Think about that he lays claim to the Creator of the universe as his portion. Of all the things that he could claim, or that he could have had desire for what was it that he desired the most?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Study of Psalm 119 | No Comments »

“The Word Works…If you’ll work the Word!”

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

THE WORD AT WORK

Psalm 119:41-48

There is a recurring pattern throughout Psalm 119. The pattern takes the form of asking and committing. He asks the Lord for help, for blessing, for fulfillment of God’s promise to him and then he immediately follows the asking with a commitment to immediately put to use what he has asked for. The pattern continues unbroken in this portion of the Psalm. He makes his pleas and then he makes his commitment to put to use what he is asking for. Think about the faith behind his commitment. The foundation of his commitment is his faith that God will deliver, that God is faithful in keeping his promises. He makes his plans on how he will use what he is asking for even before he asks for it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,
Posted in Study of Psalm 119 | No Comments »

“Lord be my Teacher”

Monday, January 4th, 2010

“Lord Teach Me Your Word”

Psalm 119:33-40

“Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. 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! “(Psalm 119:33-40ESV)

In many ways Psalm 119 is prayer, a plea from the Psalmist to the Lord. The subject of the prayer is the Psalmist relationship to the Scriptures.

He is not worshipping the Scriptures, he is worshipping the one the Scriptures describe, and you cannot separate God from his word. If you remember from the opening of John’s gospel that Jesus is described as the word. As we have previously discovered the Psalmist recognized the incredible worth of the Scriptures and he was displaying wise stewardship towards the incredible treasure that he has access too.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,
Posted in Study of Psalm 119 | No Comments »

“Is godliness your goal?”

Monday, December 28th, 2009

GOALS FOR GODLINESS

PSALM 119:25-32

“My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! When I 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! ” (Psa 119:25-32 ESV)

Our emotional state can cause problems for us spiritually. When we are emotionally depressed we are in danger of making decisions based upon how we feel rather than how God feels about it. In this portion of the Psalm the Psalmist shows us how he dealt with his spiritual depression and he also leaves us a pattern, a plan to help us in those times that we too find ourselves dealing with those times when we are emotionally low.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Study of Psalm 119 | No Comments »

Open My Eyes

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Ask and you will receive

There is a balance in this Psalm between the effort of the author and an acknowledgment that what he desires to do can only be done with God’s help.

In the prior set of verses we can clearly seen the responsibility that he takes for making sure that he has the proper relationship to God’s Word.

The Psalmist Commitment

He is going to take the responsibility to keep his way pure by guarding it with the the Word of God. He is going to seek the Lord with his whole heart.

He is the one who has stored up the Word of God in his heart so that he won’t sin against God.

He is the one who is going to meditate on the Scriptures, he is the one who is going to delight in his statutes and he is the one who has made the decision, the commitment to fix his eyes on the ways of God.

Then in the final verse of the second section of this Psalm he makes the promise that he is not going to forget God’s word.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Study of Psalm 119 | No Comments »

« Older Entries