November 16 - 22 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
November 16
Psalms 119
Lamed
89. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
92. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
93. I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
94. I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
95. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
96. I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
This Psalm contains a great promise for people in any generation. The word of the Lord is settled in an unchanging heaven and it is unshakeable on earth. The Psalmist banked on the word of God. Look at the solid results produced by His word and notice the verbs that define them: “Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue..” It is our guarantee of permanence: “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished...but, Thou has quickened me.” The things that are seen are temporal. “All flesh is as grass and the glory of man is as the flower of grass,” Peter said. God’s commandment is without limits, touching everything on earth and extending into eternity. Today, in a fragile existence, shaky atmosphere and a rapidly changing world, the believer can hold fast to the eternal and unchanging. Stick with the word, no matter what men may say. Remember that the law, commandments, precepts, ordinances, and testimonies are expressions of the unchanging nature of God Himself. “And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” “His name is called the Word of God.”
November 17
Psalms 119
Mem
97. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
99. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104. Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Love is better expressed with actions, than with the mouth. “If you love me,” Jesus said, “Keep my sayings.” The kind of meditation that the writer mentions in these verses, all-the-day meditation, is for lovers of His word. It does not leave much time for television. Wisdom is not achieved by haphazard scanning of scripture. We should not brag about the word making us wiser than our enemies, teachers, or the ancients, unless we give ourselves diligently to it. Rank (i.e. teachers) is overruled and age (i.e. ancients) is surpassed by experience in the word. Bible schools, theological theories, and worldly knowledge are often substituted for a personal passion for God and His word. The result is extreme shallowness.
Test love also by this standard: Love for the word is equal to hatred for every false way. Those, who are taught by God to handle the word, cannot walk in sin. To remain pure is not a duty, but is the natural product of a love affair.
November 18
Psalms 119
Nun
105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
106. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107. I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
108. Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
109. My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
110. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the
end.
In the bowels of this Psalm is another often quoted verse: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” We might ask ourselves, “What is lighting our pathway? Where do we go for guidance? Many afflictions and snares come to test us. Do we handle them by the word? Do we stick with that, which we have sworn in the good times?” We have seen many give in to pressure and as soon as it was applied, they forgot their vows and returned to nominal Christianity. That is an escape that robs the soul of the richness, which causes the heart to rejoice. It is also very dangerous. “He that endureth to the end shall be saved” and no one else. Many evangelical Christians today do not live, in any practical sense, according to the word of God.
Samech
113.. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto
thy statutes continually.
118. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.
119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
There is good cause for fear with trembling. There is a good reason to hate vain thoughts. Those who err and all the wicked are trodden down and cast away. Learn to love the word of God and find your hope in it. Anything outside of it is vain and detestable, though it may come from the best universities, business, banking establishments, human minds or computers. However today, the bulk of Christian enterprise leans heavily on worldly institutions. Fornication with the world system will ultimately end in divorce from God. How many Christians today can give personal testimony in accordance with verse 120, fearing the Lord’s displeasure?
November 19
Psalms 119
An
121. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.
122. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.
123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.
124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
125. I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
126. It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
127. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
Every section of this Psalm has its peculiar treasure. Verse 126 is the headliner in this one and is a great comfort to the earnest seeker after revival. Revival comes when circumstances are adverse, then God comes to vindicate His name. Link this principle with the personal dealings of God in the individual, where He also meets opposition. The only possible way for God to begin His work in our lives is with mercy. God’s good dealings with me, do not justify my actions and beliefs. Thankfully, He is merciful and we need it, but from that foundation, we are led to His school, to learn His ways, “that I might not sin against Thee.”
Love the truth and hate every false way. In the initial stages, at least, we may not know or understand much truth, but we can receive the love of the truth. In that way, when truth is revealed to us, we embrace it. By the same token, we do not have to experience or be informed of all the evil in the world, but we must have a hatred for it. Then, when it presents itself, we will abhor it.
November 20
Psalms 119
Pe
129. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
130. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
131. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
132. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133. Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134. Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
The well-known verse of this section is 130. The word of truth lights the life that receives it. It penetrates into every corner, exposing all the hidden things that are displeasing to God and harmful to the individual, as well. It reveals to him the secrets of God. Its entrance brings life in addition to light and the enlightened one personally experiences the life of God.. John introduced Jesus as the Word of God, who lights every man. Today, He is standing at the door of the Laodicean church; the one, I believe, which best represents the level of Christianity manifested in our times. Let Him in and light and life will flow into your being, not according to mental faculties, but through His indwelling Spirit. To the Psalmist, the things of God are full of wonder. He opens his mouth and pants, longing to walk in the word and be free from iniquity. He wants the light to penetrate, correcting the inner man, and then shine upon him with divine favor in his daily walk. The same passion that longs for the light of God fills the Psalmist with grief, because of the rebellion and ignorance in a world that dwells in darkness.
November 21
Psalms 119
Tzaddi
137. Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
138. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.
139. My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
140. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
141. I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.
The Psalmist expresses a consuming zeal to see the word brought into the lives of his enemies. He expresses again the depth of his love for the word. This section emphasizes the purity of the word and no man has ever perfectly experienced the full concentration of its purity. In the Lord there is flawless righteousness, such as we finite beings cannot imagine. There is unfailing faithfulness for an infinite variety of circumstances and there is truth that is absolute, beyond contradiction or question. With the revelation he has received, it is no wonder the Psalmist is consumed by the fact that God’s Word is ignored on the earth. A man with such convictions might be called an idealist, but that is not the biblical term. The Bible word is purity or perfection and is demanded from cover to cover. Those, who are not perfect in heart, meet with eventual ruin. The Bible teaches that perfection is a possibility and gives examples of those, who walked blamelessly. Arise then, Christian purists! Let us manifest purity in our lives and demand it from the church. Why should we settle for anything less than that which is purely of God?
November 22
Psalms 119
Koph
145. I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
146. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
147. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
148. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
149. Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.
150. They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.
151. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
152. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
Prayer is not all-important. The One, to whom we pray, is all-important and the first thing we must know is that we are directing our petitions in the right direction. Many diligent prayers are uttered in vain, because they fall short of reaching the ears of God. Mary and saints are recipients of many people’s supplications. There are also false Christs, nothing short of heathen gods, which men fabricate in their own minds and call upon. The second consideration in prayer is its goal. Many ask amiss, expecting God to step out of his realm and come into theirs, for their satisfaction and glory. The Psalmist cried unto the Lord that he wanted His statutes, His testimonies, His word, His judgment, His law and His commandments. This is so evident in the Psalms that we cannot fail to see it, yet so foreign to modern prayer effort, where the eternal is often laid aside, in favor of the temporal. The third consideration is the intensity of prayer. “I cried with my whole heart ... I prevented the dawning of the morning ...mine eyes prevent the night watches.” Crying is the language of prayer. Join these three ingredients and you have earth shaking, boundless prayer, based soundly on the word of God.
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