Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 7 (3)
Pray Psalm 119.111, 112.
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, to the very end.
Sing Psalm 119.111, 112.
(Slane: Be Thou My Vision)
I take Your Word as the joy of my heart,
my trust, my heritage, my special part.
I bend my heart to fulfill all Your Word,
always, forever, to serve You, O LORD.
Read Psalm 119.105-112; meditate on verses 105-107.
Preparation
1. How did the Word help the psalmist?
2. How did he respond to that help?
Meditation
The fallen world in which we live bristles with threats of affliction (v. 107), temptations to wickedness (v. 110), and alluring but deadly byways (v. 110). How can we navigate our way through all this so that we fulfill our calling and know the joy of the Lord?
By following the Word of the Lord. God’s holy Word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. And in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Word is the Light of the world (Jn. 1.8; 8.12). Jesus makes sense of our fallen, sorry, wicked, and weary world. His is the path we should walk, the path of God’s commandments (v. 109; cf. 1 Jn. 2.1-6). He revives us according to Himself (v. 107) and teaches us the righteous judgments of God (v. 108). His Word keeps our feet from becoming entangled in the snares of sin (v. 110).
How shall we respond to such help, such safety, such a constant Presence of Light and Life? By laying hold on Him and all His Word as that which we desire above all else, devoting ourselves to His Kingdom and righteousness (v. 106), taking His Word to heart, and bending all our strength of soul and body to carry out His Word always, forever, to the very end (vv. 111, 112).
This is our daily calling and privilege. Nothing is more precious than the Light of the World.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Your Word is
a lamp to my feet and
a light to my path.
I have sworn and confirmed that
I will keep Your righteous judgments.
I am afflicted very much;
revive me, O LORD,
according to Your Word.
Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings
of my mouth, O LORD, and
teach me Your judgments.
My life is continually in my hand,
yet I do not forget Your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.
Your testimonies I have taken
as a heritage forever,
for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart
to perform Your statutes forever
to the very end” (Ps. 119.105-112).
That is the story, beginning to end, of a person’s life.
But it is a person’s life under the control and leadership of the Word of God.
Life happens to everyone; but those for whom the Word of God is the lamp and light have a much different outcome from those for whom there is no lamp or light.
All are afflicted. All are pursued by wickedness. All are potentially tripped up and trapped by the enemy.
Yet for those who have promised to keep God’s law; for those who give of time, talents, and treasure to Kingdom work; those who remember at every trial or temptation to keep God’s Law; those who do not stray from God’s wisdom; those who cherish and are fed by the Word of God; those who keep God’s Law regardless of whatever; those whose hope in God is their heritage; those for whom there is nothing more sacred or longed for than to keep their heart set on God and His glory, honor, and Kingdom; they are those whose hearts are revived by God through His Word.
God’s Words “are not just idle words for you—they are your life” (Deut. 32.47 NIV).
“Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God” (Deut. 12.28).
This psalm not only portrays our lives, but it points to the One—Jesus—Who perfectly exemplified the living out of it. In the face of all His trials, tribulations, betrayals, sufferings, death, and resurrection, He followed the Law of God to perfection. And He continually sought time with His Father to revive His Spirit. If Jesus did that, shouldn’t we?
Jesus’ prayer for us is this: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (Jn. 17.17-19).
Jesus lights the pathway to our sanctification.
Our job is to use the lamp—to learn of Him, live for Him, and do His Law—forever, to the very end.
Reflection
1. How has the Light of Jesus been illuminating your path lately?
2. Which of the verses in this psalm most portrays your life? Explain.
3. What can you do to brighten the light of Jesus on your path?
The word of God directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit, as a light to direct us in the choice of our way, and the steps we take in that way. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 119.105-112
Pray Psalm 119.105-110.
Call on the Lord to guide your steps this day, to sustain you amid any and all affliction, and to enable you to remember His Law and stay on the path it enlightens.
Sing Psalm 119.105-110.
(Slane: Be Thou My Vision)
Your Word a lamp is to brighten my way.
LORD, from Your pathway let me never stray!
I give my word now as I have before:
Your righteous Law I will keep evermore.
I am afflicted and sorely distressed;
O LORD, revive me that I may be blessed.
Teach me Your Word, LORD; my thanks I proclaim.
Off’rings of praise I declare to Your Name!
Daily I take up my life in my hand,
working to keep to Your gracious command.
Let not the wicked turn me from Your way;
I from Your precepts, O LORD, will not stray.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
