S--Psalm 119
O--The last 6 chapters have led us in praise to God of both heaven and earth, the God of all and each who love, trust, and respect Him. Chapter 119 takes us to school to learn more about God. The ABC's (sort of 😂) of being a follower of God. (Each of the following is headed by a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.)
- Aleph--Blessed are those who start with a desire to learn God's ways.
- Beth--Start at the beginning, whether as an actual youth or as a young follower and LEARN God's Word and let it guide you as you grow. Commit to the path.
- Gimel--Tap in to the resource of the great power of God. Don't pretend for one second that you have the power on your own to know God. When you look to your own knowledge, you Will get sidetracked. Pray and ask for focus.
- Daleth--When you do get sidetracked, (and you will, it's human nature.) return to God. It's easy to get discouraged when we fail; one failure has knocked me out of God's Word for days, weeks, months. We can also get confused, and in our new excitement, drawn away by false teaching. God is a gracious teacher and will kindly draw us back.
- He--Once our minds are engaged in learning and knowing God, our hearts naturally enlarge as we soak in the steadfast love of God. The teaching of God may seem heavy to some, but when we learn they are loving laws, we will gladly observe it with our whole hearts.
- Waw--The teaching of God leads to true freedom, the ability to walk in wide spaces. People may say followers of God are narrow minded; but when we follow the instruction manual written about us, we have the ability to live to our full potential, what we are created to do. That's not narrow-minded--that's FREEDOM. Once we know that and live in it, we have the courage to speak of God to anyone, from kings on down.
- Zayin--Oh, we get ticked when we see others living so "freely", don't we? They have no thought for God or what He might have for them. But you know what else they don't have? A song in their heart; comfort from the word of the One who knows and loves us best.
- Heth--Everyone is given a "lot" in life, and the Lord is mine. When we think of the other paths we could go, we quickly choose God's way when we see His promise to never leave us. That doesn't mean we aren't tempted by sin, but if our minds are set on rehearsing God's trustworthy past, we will know the right way.
- Teth--Sometimes we have to make a snap judgement. If we have the knowledge already ingrained in our minds and hearts, we know the right way to choose. We may get "teased", but we will know with our whole hearts that we made the right decision.
- Yodh--The psalmist is recognizing that not only did God write the instruction manual for our lives, He created us with His own hands. Who better to understand the creation than the Creator!?! He realizes that others may not see the fingerprints of God in his life, but for the ones who do, he is going to make sure God gets every bit of the glory.
- Kaph--Some days are hard, following God isn't always the easiest path in the world. We get down, we get distracted. But at the end of the day, we have a choice to make--to wave a flag of surrender to those who seek to trip me up; or to choose God. The ones who seek to trip us up leave us there. But God lifts us up and gives us strength to carry on.
- Lamedh--The psalmist is seeing outside of God's work in his own life and is realizing that everything is under the control of God. God created all he sees, and everything is established by Him. He realizes that he can only see a portion of the vast creation of God and only a part of all He controls. That fact gives him the courage to stand another day in the law of God.
- Mem--We can realize through God's Word that we don't have to wait until we're old and at the end of our lives to live for God. How sweet our lives will be if we give every day to the true way. That should prompt us to truly learn and love God's word.
- Nun--This teaches us how to make it through the dark days--by the light of God shining on our path. The way that happens is once again having the inclination to KNOW God's word and apply it to the path. We don't have to, no one's going to make us. But once again, the snare laid by the enemy can only be stepped over if we know it's there. And we can only know it's there if we have decided to follow God's law, the end, period.
- Samekh--When we respect the teacher, we can trust Him to have our back. All around us are people making terrible choices, but we continue to plod along the lighted path of God. We'd be lying (maybe too strong a word but it fits for me) if we said we never ever had a little niggling of a doubt in the back of our mind that we aren't completely sure that God is going to come through for us. But the psalmist even boldly brings that concern to God by saying "Let me not be put to shame in my hope." What a wonderful relationship that is open to every conversation, even the hard ones!!
- Ayin--The psalmist calls on God to act against those who have broken the law. He is driven because he hates to see people going the wrong way. He asks God for a pledge of good for choosing right. He really wants to see good win for a change! Not for his praise but because God is worthy to be obeyed.
- Pe--After asking for God to act against those who are disobedient, the author is drawn back out into a time of praise. He's overwhelmed with love for and desire for the word of God. He actually thirsts for it!! He reminds God of His way with those He loves--steadiness, freedom, grace, redemption, blessings.
- Tsadhe--The author wants to be sure to temper his zealousness with understanding. He knows he tends to be excited when he hears something new from God, but he wants to be careful not to run ahead!! He knows the promises of God are trustworthy and he just eats it up.
- Qoph--When we are the highest in our devotion to God, the fall down seems even farther. The psalmist has taken his eyes, even for a minute, off of God and put them back on his troubles. It's keeping him awake at night, filled with cries for help. He hasn't left God, but he's definitely struggling. But he also reminds himself that he can't possibly ever, never, ever fall out of the reach of God. God is always near and His promises are always true.
- Resh--The sum of God's word is truth and it brings life, salvation, redemption, mercy and deliverance. It's good to remind ourselves of that when we are struggling. It will keep us from the enemy.
- Sin and Shin--There's nothing wrong with keeping a schedule!! If you feel led to praise God seven times a day, then you should!! The psalmist doesn't seem to be legalistic and isn't hoping his salvation comes from God being impressed with his commitment. He just really loves the law and the peace that comes with it. It gives him stability throughout his day and keeps his heart in awe before God!
- Taw--We may get off the path of God like a sheep that's prone to wander. But God!! He is always ready to listen, to deliver, to help, and to save. That should cause us to shout and sing from the top of our lungs that Our God is a delight to follow.
K--Righteous are You, O Lord, and right are your rules. I love them!!!
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