Psalm 119 Devotional
22 Days: Knowing is Loving
Day 2 (Beth – verses 9-16)
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
The old saying that can be a fit for us is, “What a difference a day makes.” It seems that the psalmist has moved from considering God as a rule maker to the One in which we can be delighted. Could the answer to a conundrum regarding sin be presenting itself to us? Again, as we saw in the first stanza yesterday a list of words is presented to us today. The words are different but are part of our lives as we move in the world; “pure,” “wander,” “treasured,” and “sin.” Just like the word list we had in the first stanza, where we might see the words as an impossibility, but here we can see hope that is presented to us in the words.
The psalmist teaches us that to accomplish a pure life, in which we do not wander into sin, we must treasure the Word of God in our hearts. Is this the first time that you have heard this, or is it something that you have forgotten, or is today simply the time to remind yourself of all that God has prepared for us? God knew we would need this from early on, as Moses wrote, “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead” (Deuteronomy 11:18). Have you forgotten how much the Lord loves you? His Word is for you, it is meant to change you, it is there to bring hope to you, write it on your heart and the hope of knowing God will become more real to you each day.
Maybe right now we feel overwhelmed, “How Lord can I do this, how Lord can I know you better?” Peter saw and personally knew this struggle and writes a reassurance for the people of God. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 3).
Lord give me the strength to push through my wandering that at times keeps me from knowing you in a greater way. Lord, overflow my heart with your commandments. Lord, I know I am not perfect, but You are, and I thank you for the times you have forgiving me when I have forgotten You. Thank you for the hope I have in You. Lord, let me know and love You the way that You know and love me.