Daily Devotional Sunday 5th May 2024
by William MoodyPsalm 119:1–24
Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet
Aleph
119:1 1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.2
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
all the rules3 of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules4 at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.Footnotes
[1] 119:1
This psalm is an acrostic poem of twenty-two stanzas, following the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; within a stanza, each verse begins with the same Hebrew letter
[2] 119:7Or your just and righteous decrees; also verses 62, 106, 160, 164
[3] 119:13Or all the just decrees
[4] 119:20Or your just decrees; also verses 30, 39, 43, 52, 75, 102, 108, 137, 156, 175 (ESV)
Psalm 119 in the chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. It is divided into 22 sections with each section having 8 verses. Each section begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Another striking thing about the Psalm is how nearly every verse focuses on God’s word.
Rather than going through this Psalm in consecutive days, which could be quite repetitive, we’re going to work through it Sunday by Sunday.
The Psalm begins (v1) by linking blamelessness with obedience to the law of the Lord. Following the Lord can’t be according to our own imagination but by following His Word. Blessing comes as we keep the commands that God reveals (v2-3). But God’s word of course, is not there primarily for us to keep commandments, it is there for us to seek the Lord as this verse teaches us. But we can’t separate seeking the Lord from walking in His ways.
The Psalmist understands God’s commandments are given to be kept (v4) and he seeks the Lord’s help to do this (v5). He u8nderstands that to fail to keep God’s word is a shameful thing (v6).
Obedience is not to be done with a begrudging sense of duty but from a heart of genuine praise (v7-8). Obedience and worship must always go together.
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