Thought for Wednesday 5 Julyy

 Psalm 119:2, 3, and 5

Joyful are those who obey his laws and decrees

and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.  Oh that my actions would consistently reflect your principles! 

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the bible and we probably all knew that. It has 176 verses and is also the longest chapter in our bible.  What I’ve just learned today is that this Psalm is divided into 22 stanzas, each containing 8 verses and each stanza relates to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  

The whole Psalm has a central thought that it is only God's Word that contains everything a person needs to know and to complement this belief, the Psalmist uses various words for the Word or Law of God; namely: Law, Testimonies, Precepts, Statutes, Commandments, Judgements, Word and Path. And at least one of these words can be seen in each stanza.  The whole Psalm is essentially a prayer by the Psalmist asking God to help us comply with and live within the rules he has laid down for us. 

The day-to-day challenges of life in general make it impossible for men and women to stick to these rules and guidance without help.  The Old Testament gives repeated examples where even those chosen specifically by God failed from time to time.  We only need to think of David, Jonah and Samson in this regard, but despite their failures, God remained with them and enabled them to complete the tasks that He had sent them to do.  Besides the direction contained within the scriptures, there is need of the Spirit and grace of God, to cause all of us to continue endeavouring to keep to the statutes God has laid down for us to live by. 

All f the above is reflected in today’s short extract from this famous Psalm and each of us needs to include the words of that last verse in our prayers to God through our Saviour; ‘Oh that my actions would consistently reflect your principles!’   

Prayer - Heavenly Father, we praise and thank you for your word and the valuable lessons it contains from the very beginning of the book of Genesis to the very last word in the book of Revelation. We thank you for the protection it affords, and the treasures that are hidden within its pages. May your word become to us, our daily sustenance, and our life-support, knowing that it alone can keep us from the evil one and enable us to live a life that is pleasing in your sight.      Amen.