read the instructions

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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read the instructions

Psalm 119:73-80 (JDV)

Psalm 119:73 Your hands made me and established me; give me understanding so that I can learn your commands.
Psalm 119:74 Those who fear you will see me and rejoice because I put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:75 I know, Yahveh, that your judgments are just and that you have humbled me fairly.
Psalm 119:76 May your covenant faithfulness comfort me as you promised your servant.
Psalm 119:77 May your compassion come to me so that I may live because your instruction is my delight.
Psalm 119:78 Let the arrogant be put to shame for slandering me with lies; I will meditate on your directions.
Psalm 119:79 Let those who fear you, those who know your warning signs, turn to me.
Psalm 119:80 May my heart be blameless regarding your prescriptions so that I will not be put to shame.

read the instructions

The psalmist begins this section by acknowledging that God is his maker. That is why he is seeking to understand God’s commands. They are the manufacturer’s instructions for human life. If you purchase a product and it fails to work properly, you might reach out to the maker to find out why. One of the first questions they will ask is whether or not you read the instructions that came with the product. If it turns out you ignored the maker’s instructions, it will be embarrassing.

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the arrogant and the humbled

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the arrogant and the humbled

Psalm 119:65-72 (JDV)

Psalm 119:65 Yahveh, you have treated your servant well, as your word promised.
Psalm 119:66 Teach me good judgment and discernment because I rely on your commands.
Psalm 119:67 Before I was humbled I went astray, but now I keep your word.
Psalm 119:68 You are good, and you do what is good; teach me your prescriptions.
Psalm 119:69 The arrogant have wrapped me with lies, but I obey your directions with all my heart.
Psalm 119:70 Their hearts are hard and insensitive, but I delight in your instruction.
Psalm 119:71 It was good for me to be humbled so that I could learn your prescriptions.
Psalm 119:72 Instruction from your lips is better for me than thousands in gold and silver.

the arrogant and the humbled

The arrogant person in today’s text is described as hard and insensitive — refusing to follow God’s instruction. The psalmist counts himself as one of them at first, but then he was humbled, and now he keeps God’s word. Friend, where are you in that continuum? You may not be able to answer that question, so try this one: What kind of leader do you like to follow? Do you want a person who can help you do what is right, or do you prefer a person who can make it easy for you to do wrong? Examine your heart, my friend!

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I thought about my roads

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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I thought about my roads

Psalm 119:57-64 (JDV)

Psalm 119:57 Yahveh is my share; I have promised to keep your words.
Psalm 119:58 I have sought your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.
Psalm 119:59 I thought about my roads and turned my steps back to your warning signs.
Psalm 119:60 I hurried, not hesitating to keep your commands.
Psalm 119:61 Though the ropes of the wicked were wrapped around me, I did not forget your instruction.
Psalm 119:62 I rise at midnight to thank you for your righteous judgments.
Psalm 119:63 I am a friend to all who fear you, to those who keep your directions.
Psalm 119:64 Yahveh, the earth is filled with your covenant faithfulness; teach me your prescriptions.

I thought about my roads

The psalmist uses the word “road” as a metaphor for choices that he has made, and he indicates here that he has given thought to those choices and their consequences. Perhaps you are a young person and have not made many of your life choices. You should think about the choices you make, and consider what the consequences of those choices might be. Perhaps you are older and can look back on some of your life choices. It is not too late to turn some of your steps back, although you may still have to live with the results of your wrong choices. His word is still there to guide your next steps.

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yours, mine, and hours

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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yours, mine, and hours

Psalm 119:49-56 (JDV)

Psalm 119:49 Remember your word to your servant; you have given me hope through it.
Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my misery: Your promise has given me life.
Psalm 119:51 The arrogant constantly ridicule me, but I do not turn away from your instruction.
Psalm 119:52 Yahveh, I remember your judgments from long ago and find comfort.
Psalm 119:53 Rage seizes me because of the wicked who reject your instruction.
Psalm 119:54 Your prescriptions are the theme of my song in my house of traveling.
Psalm 119:55 Yahveh, I remember your name in the night, and I obey your instruction.
Psalm 119:56 This is my practice: I obey your directions.

yours, mine, and hours

Notice how the psalmist uses possessives here. YOUR word, YOUR servant, YOUR promise, YOUR instruction (three times), YOUR judgments, YOUR prescriptions, YOUR name, YOUR directions. These are matched by MY comfort, MY misery, MY song, MY house, and MY practice.

Even in the night hours, the poet remembers that he has a God who cares and comforts him, and he meditates on his word.

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loving his commands

Posted on November 11, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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loving his commands

Psalm 119:41-48 (JDV)

Psalm 119:41 Let your covenant faithfulness come to me, Yahveh, your deliverance, as you promised.
Psalm 119:42 Then I can answer the one who taunts me because I trust in your word.
Psalm 119:43 Never take the word of truth from my mouth, because I hope in your judgments.
Psalm 119:44 I will always obey your instruction, permanently and continuously.
Psalm 119:45 I will walk freely in an open place because I study your directions.
Psalm 119:46 I will speak of your warning signs before kings and not be ashamed.
Psalm 119:47 I delight in your commands, which I love.
Psalm 119:48 I will lift my hands to your commands, which I love, and meditate on your prescriptions.

loving his commands

These are the words of a person who has found the answer in God’s word and loves it. He is still taunted by unbelievers and cries out for God to be faithful to him, but he has chosen to love God’s commands.

You and I have a choice as to who and what we love. If we are wise we will choose to love the words of our living God as much as we love him for his actions.

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turn our eyes

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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turn our eyes

Psalm 119:33-40 (JDV)

Psalm 119:33 Teach me, Yahveh, the meaning of your prescriptions, and I will always keep them.
Psalm 119:34 Help me understand your instruction, and I will obey it and follow it with all my heart.
Psalm 119:35 Help me stay on the path of your commands because I take pleasure in it.
Psalm 119:36 Turn my heart to your warning signs and not to dishonest profit.
Psalm 119:37 Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your roads.
Psalm 119:38 Confirm what you said to your servant because it produces reverence for you.
Psalm 119:39 Turn away the disgrace I dread; indeed, your judgments are good.
Psalm 119:40 How I long for your directions! Give me life through your righteousness.

turn our eyes

It is amazing how many worthless things have our attention when we have the most valuable treasure ever in God’s word. Like David, we need to ask the LORD to turn our eyes away from these worthless things, and focus them on his holy word.

Harold Hazen wrote: “A good preacher could plan a whole year of Sunday morning and evening sermons including Wednesday evening Bible studies, and never probe all of the amazing depths of God’s truth contained in the 119th Psalm. Every verse focuses on the importance of God’s Word yet seems to be unrelated to the previous verse or the next verse, but all wonderfully expounding the timeless and eternal nature of God’s Word. As the longest Psalm it appears to be a compilation of David’s thoughts randomly expressed and unconnected to each other but all powerfully pertinent to our Christian walk. Equally impressive is how much David was able to draw from God’s Word given how little of it he had in comparison to what we have today. To our shame then if we don’t take advantage of the Scriptures available to us.” (Maranatha Devotional, Friday, August 11, 2017).

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wrong road

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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wrong road

Psalm 119:25-32 (JDV)

Psalm 119:25 My throat is down in the dust; give me life through your word.
Psalm 119:26 I told you about my roads, and you answered me; teach me your prescriptions.
Psalm 119:27 Help me understand the meaning of your directions so that I can meditate on your miracles.
Psalm 119:28 I am weary from grief; strengthen me through your word.
Psalm 119:29 Turn me away from the road of lies and graciously give me your instruction.
Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the road of truth; I have set your judgments before me.
Psalm 119:31 I cling to your warning signs; Yahveh, do not put me to shame.
Psalm 119:32 I pursue the road of your commands because you broaden my understanding.

wrong road

The person who wrote these words knows the embarrassment of following the wrong road in life: the road of lies. He wants to get off that road and follow the road of truth. I know that shame as well, so I am just as eager to find the right road. How about you?

LORD, turn us away from the road of lies.

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alien in the land

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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alien in the land

Psalm 119:17-24 (JDV)

Psalm 119:17 Deal generously with your servant so that I might live; then I will keep your word.
Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes so that I may contemplate miraculous things from your instruction.
Psalm 119:19 I am a resident alien in the land; do not hide your commands from me.
Psalm 119:20 I am continually overcome with longing for your judgments.
Psalm 119:21 You rebuke the arrogant, the ones under a curse, who go astray from your commands.
Psalm 119:22 Take insult and contempt away from me because I have kept your warning signs.
Psalm 119:23 Though princes sit together speaking against me, your servant will think about your prescriptions;
Psalm 119:24 your warning signs are my delight and my counselors.

alien in the land

The “gimel” section of this acrostic psalm records the gratitude of the psalmist, but what is he grateful for? Some versions translate verse 19 as if the author feels like a stranger on earth and is longing for heaven.

Richard Clifford says the psalmist sees himself as “an alien in the land.” (212). He feels cut off from God but feels closer when he meditates on God’s word. Clifford says the “psalmist never loses sight of the goal of being in relationship to the Lord through the word as instruction and promise.” (213).

The gimel section of Psalm 119 does not promise a relationship with God at death. It is promising a relationship with God now — through his miraculous word.

Clifford, Richard J. Psalms: [2.]. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.

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the road revealed

Posted on November 7, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the road revealed

Psalm 119:9-16 (JDV)

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man keep his road pure? By keeping your word.
Psalm 119:10 I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me go astray from your commands.
Psalm 119:11 I have treasured up your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.
Psalm 119:12 Yahveh, may you be blessed; teach me your prescriptions.
Psalm 119:13 With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth.
Psalm 119:14 I rejoice in the road revealed by your warning signs as much as in all riches.
Psalm 119:15 I will meditate on your directions and think about your roads.
Psalm 119:16 I will delight in your prescriptions; I will not forget your word.

the road revealed

I have a problem with geography. If I have a choice between two paths in the woods, I take the one less traveled and invariably get hopelessly lost. Because of this geographical handicap, I really appreciate a well-marked map that displays the clear path to the wanted destination. That is what today’s text is all about. God’s word is a map that even people like me can follow to the right destination.

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the fortunate ones

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the fortunate ones

Psalm 119:1-8 (JDV)

Psalm 119:1 How fortunate are those whose road is blameless, who walk according to Yahveh’s instruction!
Psalm 119:2 Fortunate are those who keep his warning signs and seek him with all their heart.
Psalm 119:3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his roads.
Psalm 119:4 You have commanded that your directions be diligently kept.
Psalm 119:5 If only my roads were committed to keeping your prescriptions!
Psalm 119:6 Then I would not be ashamed when I think about all your commands.
Psalm 119:7 I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous judgments.
Psalm 119:8 I will keep your prescriptions. Do not completely abandon me!.

the fortunate ones

The fortunate ones are those who realize that God’s word matters. They pattern their lives after his word, and that keeps them from the misfortune that can happen when we don’t.

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