Psalm 119:105-128 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
You don’t turn a light on in the middle of a sunny day. Nor do you walk outside with a flashlight when the sun is shining. We only need lights when it is dark. In verse 105, the Psalmists is admitting he needs illumination on how to live. Not everyone wants to admit they need help. Most want to go it alone. But we live in moral and spiritual blindness without God. We need, yes, depend upon His light found in His word.
Christ called Himself the Light of the world (Jn 8:12) yet, ironically, the people He was talking to were religious leaders who rejected His message and of course, Jesus Himself. Why do we find it so difficult to say we are lost? Why can’t we say we are in the dark? Our sinful, twisted heart cannot even admit the reality of our lost condition. How much better it would be if we could admit our condition apart from Christ.
We should never think that we hold on to God as our primary source of comfort. We sing, “He will hold me fast,” which echoes John 10:28, “I give them eternal life . . . and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” This is true but not in an absolute sense if one intends that we can be passive in our spiritual growth. Another way to express this is distinguishing between justification and sanctification. In justification, God converts us, we repent and place our faith in Christ, and we are justified. In sanctification, this is not a monergestic act like justification (one person acting), but we play a role in our sanctification. We strive, struggle, and fight. We resist sin, pursue Christ, grow in Christ. Of course, not apart from Christ (John 15) but in Christ (Eph 1:11-13).
So, when the Psalmist writes, “I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules” we should not feel any cognitive dissonance. We commit ourselves to Him. We make vows and we intend to fulfill them. We do not act apart from the power of His Spirit, but we do intend to obey. The power to obey, resist sin, seek God are all empowered by His grace. Paul even says the faith we exert is a gift in Eph 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
In verse 113, we see this aspect of hating sin which we touched on in the devotion of Ps 119:49-80. We need God’s Spirit to direct our affections to love what He loves and to hate what He hates. God does hate sin. He is not indifferent to sin. Here is one verse in Ps. 11:5, “. . . but his (God’s) soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” In Ps. 97:10, “All you who love the Lord, hate evil! What would we expect? If you see God as the Supreme, lovely, wise, infinite, giving, sovereign, loving King of the universe you will have an emotional response when others despise Him. Of course. The Psalmist ends our section with “Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.”
You may also notice that he is continually asking for help in understanding the Bible as if reading and studying were insufficient in themselves. Study and meditation are the building blocks, but he needed divine assistance. We constantly read phrase like “teach me your statutes” v. 124 or “give me understanding that I my know your testimonies” v. 125 (see v. 73, similar is v. 144, 169). Going to the earlier verses, we see v. 124 is repeating v. 12 (see v. 68). The ‘famous’ v. 18, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Verse 27, “Make me understand the way of your precepts . . . .” Then in v. 33, Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.” In v. 36, a slight variation on this same theme, “Incline my heart to your testimonies” and the next verse is a more subtle way of saying the same thing, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things.” He recognized that through the Scripture, God teaches him v. 102.
Isn’t this like saying the Bible is a lamp and a light as David expresses in v. 105? I can’t even understand the words on the page without asking for God’s help. Isn’t this what we see in the New Testament? The enemies of Christ knew the words on the page but had little spiritual insight into the word. Christ kept asking them, “have you never read?” (Matt. 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:16, 42; 22:31).
This ought to encourage us. Many of us spend our days working. Some of us get paid; others do not receive a check but are busy cooking, cleaning, driving children around, washing clothes. Some of us go to school, or are occupied with other aspects of life. So, we do not have countless hours to study every day. Yet, we can ask God for assistance. We can pray that God would open our eyes, teach us, give us understanding, and incline our heart toward the Bible. You may not be memorizing this Psalm today but all of us can do more and study, meditate, memorize better.
Look at this Psalm and ask yourself, after study, meditation, and reflecting on the Scripture, is he happy? Does he express satisfaction or a dullness and wanting something else out of life? God always satisfies. He feeds the hungry and give drink to the thirsty. He is a Giver not a taker. So, enjoy time in the Word not as a duty or obligation but a sweet delight. Use the technology available and listen to the Word. How He wants us to learn and love Him more. May Christ be you all in all.
Our dear heavenly Father, who we love so much. We are not scholars, authors, or great leaders yet He allows us to know Him by opening the Word to minds and hearts that want to know more. O Lord, we do want to know You in a deeper more intimate way. Keep us from sin so we will follow You with freedom and joy. We love You and desire to love You more. We pray this so that Christ may be honored and glorified here on earth as He is adored in heaven. In Christ’s glorious name. Amen.