Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight. Let the proud be ashamed, For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; But I will meditate on Your precepts.

Let those who fear You turn to me, Those who know Your testimonies. Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, That I may not be ashamed.

Ish HaElohim, the post-Excilic scribe (my name for him) who wrote the 119^thPsalm was indeed a man of God, an individual whose life was centered on the Word of God. Look at that almost dead central phrase, “For Your law is my delight.” Would someone who knows me inside and out describe me that way? Unlikely, highly unlikely!

The key to his delight lies a few phrases further on, “I will meditate on Your precepts.” Is that my immediate response to a crisis; to raise my concerns to the LORD, God, the Almighty? Betty (my beloved wife of 63 years) mentioned a few minutes ago, that rather than worrying about the forecasted hurricane, we need to be praying. We do not need to be praying that Henri will not be another Irene, but that this storm will be an opportunity to display our dependence on the LORD.

Was he familiar with or did he write Psalm 107 which contains the following passage in verses 24-30?

“They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end.

Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.”

Reading

Morning Psalm 149, Noon Psalm 119:57-64, Evening Psalm 45.

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.