Psalm 119: 41-88 - God's Word is True

by Becky

LINK: Psalm 119: 41 – 88

I have linked the entire chapter to retain its poetic form.

REFLECTION

There is no way for me to touch on everything that is powerful in this psalm. So I’ll focus on what has especially touched me this time.

Over and over the psalmist says that he delights in God’s word. He says that he trusts God’s law, that he loves God’s commandments, that the word gives him life, that God’s statutes are his songs, that he will keep God’s precepts with his whole heart, that God’s law is better to him than much money.

Why does he love God’s word so much?

Over and over again the psalmist points out the “rightness,” “truth,” and “faithfulness” of God’s commands, God’s principles, God’s word. He emphasizes that the word of God gives him understanding, as contrasted with the emptiness of the views of those around him.

v 28-29 – My soul melts from heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.

v 30 – I have chosen the way of truth

v 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.

vv 42, 43 – … I trust in Your word.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.

v. 75 – I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right

v 86 - All Your commandments are faithful

(There are more in the rest of the psalm, but we’re not there yet!)

One point of this psalm is that God’s word, His commands, are true. “True” here means that they are grounded in reality, because they are based on the way things really are, and on very nature of God. The LORD commands righteousness because He loves righteousness. His word is good because He is good. The psalmist delights in God’s word because it provides solid reality for living; it gives firm footing. That’s why it’s a light – it shows us the way things really are. That’s why we can cleanse our way if we heed it. That is why the psalmist longs for God’s commands. The psalmist is convinced that God’s word has intrinsic validity because it reflects God, who IS reality.

Sometimes it is hard to do what God says. This psalm recognizes that. But if we come back to the truth of God’s word and where it leads us, I think we’ll be able to say with the psalmist:

v 45 And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.

Keeping God’s principles, loving His word, doesn’t keep us from hardship or affliction. We will, more than likely, experience both internal and external conflicts as believers. Those afflictions are part of God’s way of helping us see the truth of His word.

v 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.

v 71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
That I may learn Your statutes.

v 75 I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

I subscribe to “Breakpoint” by email and this came to my inbox this week. I think it speaks particularly well to the last part of our reading for today.

APPLICATION

We are bombarded by views of life that don’t correspond to God’s Word, by values and perspectives that are not God’s. We are told to seek self-fulfillment, that power and prestige are important, that we should be “free” to do what we want. These are just a few that I’ve thought of as I write.

I hope you will take time to examine what you trust in and believe in the light of God’s Word. Does what you desire conform with God’s reality, with His word?

PRAYER

Father, I thank You that Your word guides us in what is truly real and that we have firm footing when we believe and follow it! Help us to trust You. Help us to examine ourselves and see if we are relying on something other than You.