Psalm 119:105 - 112

NUN

Your word is a lamp to my feet,

And a light to my path.

~ Ps. 119:105

Have you ever tried to find your way in the dark?  Just last night I was walking through the den with all the lights out – I couldn’t see a thing and could only take tiny baby steps so as not to bump into anything.  The verses in this stanza remind us again of the useful application of God’s word in our lives.  David opens the psalm with the lamp metaphor – isn’t it such a comfort to know that God doesn’t leave us “in the dark” – His word is a lamp to our feet and a light along our “path” of life.  How lovingly kind of our God – He  doesn’t leave us to figure things out on our own – He provides us with an excellent manual on life!  May we, like David, use God’s word to seek His mind on our decisions and choices each day.   

Phosphorescent algae

Did you ever see the movie Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks playing astronaut Jim Lovell?  In one scene, he talks about a time when he was flying over the sea of Japan and all his instrumentation went out:

I'm lookin' down at a big, black ocean, so I flip on my map light, and then suddenly: zap. Everything shorts out right there in my cockpit. All my instruments are gone. My lights are gone. And I can't even tell now what my altitude is. I know I'm running out of fuel, so I'm thinking about ditching in the ocean. And I, I look down there, and then in the darkness there's this uh, there's this green trail. It's like a long carpet that's just laid out right beneath me. And it was the algae, right? It was that phosphorescent  stuff that gets churned up in the wake of a big ship. And it was - it was - it was leading me home.

Like King David and astronaut Jim Lovell, we all need a light on our path . . . may we SEEK THE LORD and HIS WORD as a lamp unto our feet so we don't crash & burn!

I have sworn and confirmed

That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

~ Ps. 119:106

Did you ever make a "pinky swear" with a childhood friend?  You hooked your pinkies together as an "eternally binding" act that would seal the deal of a promise that had just been made!  Even as kids, we recognized that some promises required a more dramatic, "official" confirmation. Marrriage vows are like that - they are sworn publicly and solemnized by a public official with testimonial documents and often rings worn as symbols of the vow & promise made.  We get the same feeling in David's words above - regarding verse 106, Spurgeon notes:  

Perhaps mistrusting his own fickle mind, he had pledged himself in sacred form to abide faithful to the determinations and decisions of his God.  

Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth.

~ Ps. 119:108

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

~ Heb. 13:15



Prayers of praise are the freewill offerings in mind here in verse 108- do you offer these gifts to the Lord?  May we learn from David and bring them to Him daily! 

They must be free-will offerings, for we must offer them abundantly and cheerfully, and it is this willing mind that is accepted.  ~ Matthew Henry

David shows in verses 111 & 112 that he is making a deliberate choice and a lifelong commitment to the Lord and obedience to His word.  May we incline our hearts this very day to do the same!

The end of life would be the beginning of glory.  ~ Adam Clarke

It is good we have begun to do well; let us also strive to persevere to the end.  ~ William Cowper

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God's word lights my way
• God's judgments are righteous
• God revives me according to His word
• God holds my life in His hands
• God's testimonies are my heritage forever

 HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord that He has given me His word as a light to my path - He has not left me to stumble in the dark through this life
• I praise the Lord that His testimonies are my heritage, for they are sure and true
• I bless God that my life is in His hand - held firm and sure, and that He will never let me go!

O, Love that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee ~

~ George Matheson

PRAYER: by Ruth Myers:

     Thank You that I can praise and adore You and offer my requests in detail, with thanksgiving . . . that I can pour out my heart before You, being honest with You about my feelings and  my mistakes and my sins.  Thank You that when I turn to You as my Lord and confess my sins rather than hiding them or clinging to them, Your forgiveness is immediate and total . . . that I never need to fear that You will judge or condemn me.

     Thank You that I can “be still” (cease striving, let go, relax) and know that You are God . . . that You are in control . . . and that I can restfully depend upon You and absorb Your strength and joy and peace.  To think that You not only permit me to come before You, but You actually desire my fellowship, my worship, my prayers, and my eternal presence!  Your desire is for me.    

    That You should allow Your creature to have fellowship with You is wonderful enough; but that You can desire it, that it gives You satisfaction and joy and pleasure, is almost too much for my understanding.  Thank You, O Lord ~ Amen and amen.