Psalm 119 is known as the longest chapter in the Bible.
176 verses! One of the hardest chapters to read when you’re in a hurry. But all
176 verses sing of the law of the Lord, His statutes, His word.
It is from this psalm where we find a well known verse:
Psalms
119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
For a
disciple of Christ this is a truth that never leaves our heart. His Word is our
lamp that gives us light. Walking without His word in our hearts leaves us
walking in darkness. We need His Word, which is why we seek to read, meditate,
and study His Word daily. Without His Word, we are lost.
No wonder the psalmist will begin his psalm with:
Psalms 119:1-2 NIV Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. (2) Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
The rest of the 176 verses that we read in this psalm are
all anchored on this premise – that the one who walks according to His Word,
His law, are blessed. Isn’t this what we desire in our lives - a blessed life? Sadly
we seek this blessing in other things, other people, other sources of wisdom, apart from God and His Word. When we seek blessing from other sources we are walking in darkness. And we are all prone to this, tempted to follow other "lamps" when we are attracted to their light. All the more
we need to humble ourselves and ask for God’s strength and prompting to seek
His Word daily, day and night.
Look how the psalmist ends:
Psalms 119:176 NIV I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.
This psalm was not written with pride or boasting in the psalmist's heart. It was written with humility, with a deep sense of dependence upon God, knowing that the only way for someone to truly seek His Word and keep it is for God to seek us, for we are lost sheep who go astray every day, all the time.
May God and His Word be what we seek today, as we humble
ourselves before Him who alone can sustain and strengthen us.
