Psalm 119 Devotional
22 Days: Knowing is Loving
Day 9 (Teth – verses 65-72)
You have dealt well with Your servant. O’ Lord, according to Your word. Teach me good discernment 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 arrogant have forged a lie against me; with all my heart I will observe Your precepts. Their heart is covered with fat, but I delight in Your law. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Perhaps the beginning of our stanza is something that we can absolutely say, “Yes Lord,” to when we hear it. Not one of us deserves the grace and mercy of God, but yet here we are (Ephesians 2:1-10). He has certainly dealt well with us. The promises are clearly presented to us in His word. I might present here that we want to be clear of what, “dealt well with,” means. We have eternity before us and a Savior that walks with us. Discerning what we have in God and from God do become clearer to us as we see the commandments of God’s word. The greater ways in which we abide in God’s word, will provide us with a greater knowledge of Him. Affliction or trouble in our lives is brought on by sin. That sin is sometimes the sin that we fall into as well as at times it is the sin of others, since we do live in a fallen world. The psalmist is driving home his point here in that the knowledge of God and His word is what is going to bring us through the trials and tribulation which we will face. We are never alone in this world.
The psalmist’s statement about the arrogant and their forging a lie against us is something that we all need to consider. It happens, it has happened, or it may happen. I do wish I could say that every day is perfect as we walk with the Lord. That would be an unbiblical lie. Rather, every day we walk with the precepts of the Lord, we walk in the truth. His Holy Spirit is alive, present, and with us always. Remember in the opening day we learned that the psalmist uses a variety of terms to point us to God’s word (commandments, statutes, precepts, law etc.…). It is as though the psalmist is making clear that everything points to God’s word. We need God’s word, and thankfully we have it.
Let us take a minute to look at those mentioned in this stanza as the “arrogant.” They will come against us, but the answer we have in front of us is different than maybe our initial reaction to them. When they come against, God’s directive drives us to His word and the delight that we can have in it. The psalmist drives us a step further in describing the good that comes from affliction. Affliction can push us further into the word of God, and into a deeper knowledge of God. As the psalmist points out, there is nothing better in this world than what God has stated.
My Lord, my God. I am in the midst of affliction, and I am struggling. But you know that Lord, You have never left my side, and Your love is greater than anything that can come against me. Lord Jesus, you underwent great affliction on this earth and now I look to You in the midst of mine and seek to do the will of the Father. Thank you for always walking with me my Lord, and for the promises of hope that You have provided me with in Your word. Strengthen me in the midst of my trials and no matter what, may I always look to You. As I look to You, I am confident that I will find You Lord. I pray for all of this in Your mighty name.