Psalm 119 Devotional
22 Days: Knowing is Loving
Day 14 (Nun – verses 105-112)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous ordinances. I am exceedingly afflicted; revive me O’ Lord, according to Your word. O’ accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O’ Lord, and teach me Your ordinances. My life is continually in my hand, yet I do not forget Your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts. I have inherited Your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, even to the end.
The stanza today opens with what is possibly one of the most well-known verses of the Old Testament, and rightly so. Every truth we have, every bit of light we have, every bit of grace we have, and every bit of mercy we have can be found in God’s word. It can be found in the moments of great joy as well as in the moments of our greatest darkness. The lamp that lights our way is the Lord’s word and it is that same lamp which will continually revive us as we move from dark to light. We also can grab hold of the hope that we have in knowing that the Lord is always going to be with us in the light or the dark. My brothers and sisters know that we have the presence of our Lord the Shepherd with us always (Psalm 23).
The psalmist uses a word, “freewill,” which is something that each believer in Christ has. We do have the choice to follow the Lord. We can try to revive ourselves through our own works or we can choose to see the power, beauty, and truth of the ordinances given to us by our Lord. The question we may want to answer for ourselves here is what are the offerings of my mouth? Are we offering freely to God one way with our actions and another way in our speaking? That of course is hypocrisy, and we know from the word of God, that is not a pleasing action to Him on our part. But, when we know that God desires our words and actions to align, and we turn to Him in forgiveness, we can find ourselves in a place of revival, and operating in His power for His glory. God gives us a freedom to choose how we desire to live, what is the choice we are making?
Freedom to follow Christ is our choice, and many obstacles come against us to keep us from following and to distract us from the Lord’s way. Over the past two weeks we have seen our psalmist address the pitfalls and enemies that came against Him, yet his focus, as can be ours, stayed on the precepts of our Lord. The very testimonies of the Lord that have changed so many lives can be forever in our hearts. In our hearts and continuing to change us and able to revive us no matter the circumstances facing us. The Lord’s word will always be a lamp to us, it is our choice as to how we follow that light, and our reward as we do follow that light.
My Father, my Lord, my God – You are my light. Lord, I thank You for the fact that Your light has always been shining, even in the moments that I chose to look away. You forgive Lord, and You revive. Lord God, it overwhelms me at times to think about the grace and mercy which You have and do pour down on me. Lord I will walk confidently, not because of who I am, or what I have done. Rather I will walk confidently and humbly knowing that Your perfect light is a lampstand to my feet always.