Last Sunday we looked at the first stanza of Psalm 119, where we see the psalmist expressing the joys of the blessed life through the word of God. Yet the psalmist also shows the gravity and demands of God’s word. I believe there is a key transition in verses 4 and 5, where he moves from a general proclamation of the blessed life, to a direct address of God about the requirements of God’s law, and finally to his own cry to God to sustain him in following God’s word.
- 4 You have commanded your precepts
- to be kept diligently.
- 5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
- in keeping your statutes!
The sober recognition of what God commands drives him to call out to God in prayer. The psalmist’s delight, devotion and love for God expresses itself in faith and dependence upon God when he acknowledges his inability to diligently and steadfastly keep God’s ways. This doesn’t exasperate God; it delights him when his people call out to him with the desire for more of him. This is how he is glorified and shows his greatness through our lives.
This is where revitalization begins, with God revealing himself through his word and our response in faith. Our life begins with hearing God’s word in the gospel, the Spirit working in our heart to regenerate our spirit and awaken us to the glory of God in Christ, and in response to what God reveals to us, we cry out to him in faith to deliver us from sin so that we can live. Our life remains and is sustained by hearing and responding to God’s word in the same way. It is not just words on a page and good literature; it is our very lives. For in it God works to connect what we are reading with the deep spiritual reality that the words represent. The Spirit, working through his word, testifies that this is the truth, the way life works, how all the universe is under the Lordship of Christ. And he constantly points us to Jesus and bids us to come and yield to him in faith. In Christ we can pursue knowing God through his word, because he has satisfied all of God’s requirements on our behalf. Rejoice in the immeasurable gift of the blessed life that he has provided!
Have a blessed week!
Jim
