Psalm 119:161-176
161. Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of thy words. 162. I rejoice at thy word like one who finds great spoil. 163. I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love thy law. 164. Seven times a day I praise thee for thy righteous ordinances. 165. Great peace have those who love thy law; nothing can make them stumble. 166. I hope for thy salvation, O Lord, and I do thy commandments. 167. My soul keeps thy testimonies; I love them exceedingly. 168. I keep thy precepts and testimonies, for all my ways are before thee. 169. Let my cry come before thee, O Lord; give me understanding according to thy word! 170. Let my supplication come before thee; deliver me according to thy word. 171. My lips will pour forth praise that thou dost teach me thy statutes. 172. My tongue will sing of thy word, for all thy commandments are right. 173. Let thy hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen thy precepts. 174. I long for thy salvation, O Lord, and thy law is my delight. 175. Let me live, that I may praise thee, and let thy ordinances help me. 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments.
This man’s ardent desire is to feel God’s presence in his life. He understands that he will continually fall short of perfection, yet is confident that God will continually love him and stoop to rescue him from sin when he can no longer endure on his own.
Psalm 119 is set us as an alphabetic acrostic. Each eight-verse section represents a letter of the alphabet. This may seem a bit trite and even artificial to our modern way of thinking, but it demonstrates and represents the totality of the author’s love and devotion for and reliance upon God. To him, God is the beginning, the end, and everything in between. He is all.
The author’s seeking and his life’s goal is to fill every moment with thoughts of God—God’s love and His promises. This format is used to demonstrate not only the height, and depth, the width and breadth of God’s love – but of the love of His humble servant.
He seeks God’s face at the cost of ridicule and mocking; at the expense of sleep. He is willing to abandon every earthly reward and satisfaction; forgo earthly approval or acclaim to pursue His goal: worship God with every breath and blink of an eye. Every word and every thought. Every action and every deed.
I imagine he must have collapsed, utterly exhausted as he penned the last verse—both a confession and a promise.
I hope today you expend every breath and blink of eye worshiping God—the purpose for which we were all created.
Mary
