Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 7 (1)
Pray Psalm 119.49, 50
Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
Sing Psalm 119.49, 50.
(Wycliff: All for Jesus)
LORD, remember all the good Word You have spoken unto me!
For I ever hope in You, LORD as I serve You joyfully.
This my comfort in affliction, this my comfort in all strife:
that Your Word is my redemption, giving me eternal life!
Read Psalm 119.49-56; meditate on verses 49, 50.
Preparation
1. What was the psalmist facing that threatened his peace?
2. Where did he look to persevere in life with the Lord?
Meditation
Those who serve the Lord will find all their hope and comfort in His Word (vv. 49, 50). Jesus is that Word (Jn. 1.1-14), and all who know Him find in Him a house for their earthly pilgrimage (v. 54) there to abide in Him, that they might bear much fruit for God (Jn. 15.1-5).
The Word of God is indeed the only hope for full and abundant life (Jn. 10.10), now and forever. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had it wrong. We must not search the Scriptures above all to find eternal life; we must search them to find Jesus, the Word of God (Jn. 5.39). Find Him, and we find eternal life. He is our Shelter, our Comfort, our Song, and our Companion on our journey (v. 54).
God offers sinners His Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and eternal life in Him. He does not offer us heaven and then point out Jesus as the way to get there. Eternal life is neither our comfort nor our song: Jesus is. Get that wrong and you’ll end up miles away from where God wants you to be.
God will remember His Word (v. 49), because He Himself is truth, and He cannot deny Himself. We are weak and doubting, prone to wander and slow to obey, but He is unchanging and faithful. He has called us to remember His Word (v. 52), Jesus Christ, that we may have life in Him. God will always remember His Word, and we must remember it as well (v. 55).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts” (Ps. 119.56).
To keep His precepts is to keep His Word (Ps. 119.11).
To keep His Word is to keep Jesus (Ps. 119.10).
To keep Jesus we keep His commandments (Jn. 14.15).
“Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’
So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’
And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw he was healed,
returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.
And he was a Samaritan.
So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed?
But where are the nine?
Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’
And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well’” (Lk. 17.11-19).
Healing became theirs because they believed Jesus and kept His commandment.
Praise became beautiful (Ps. 33.1) when the one remembered to be thankful.
Have Thine Own way, Lord! Have Thine Own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting yielded and still.
Have Thine Own way, Lord! Have Thine Own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy Presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine Own way, Lord! Have Thine Own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power—all power—surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine Own way, Lord! Have Thine Own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
(Adelaide A. Pollard, 1902)
The Word of Life, Jesus, has become Mine because He is:
my hope for forgiveness, my comfort in afflictions, my law to follow, my judgments to ponder, my statutes to uphold, my commandments to keep, and my life to enjoy by serving, praising, and glorifying Him—now and forever. Jesus and His Kingdom first—only and always.
In everything I remember Him; and I keep His Law (Ps. 119.55).
Reflection
1. What does it mean for you to “remember” the Word of God?
2. How would you explain the “life” we have in Jesus to a non-Christian friend?
3. In Psalm 119, the Law, Word, precepts, statutes, and rules of God all point to Jesus. What does that say about the importance of the Law of God—and all His Word—for our discipleship?
… the prophet says he was satisfied with the word of God itself; and that when all other refuges failed him, there he found life full and perfect… John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on the Psalm 119.49-56
Pray Psalm 119.51-56.
Pray that God will buoy you by His Word whenever the wicked or scoffers speak ill of you. Ask Him to help you remember His Word and to know more of the full and abundant life that Jesus gives.
Sing Psalm 119.51-56.
(Wycliff: All for Jesus)
Though the proud deride and taunt me, I will trust Your faithful Word.
Let Your judgments from of old be all my comfort, holy LORD.
Indignation grips me, Savior, for those who forsake Your Word.
All Your statutes, all Your favor, I will sing with joy, O LORD!
In the night Your Name attends me, and I keep Your holy Word;
let Your precepts all befriend me, as I keep them, glorious LORD.
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.
Support for Scriptorium comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
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.
