Psalm 119:145-152 “I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, LORD! I will keep your statutes. I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes. I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words. My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word. Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, LORD, according to your ordinances. They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law. You are near, LORD. All your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever.”

There is an interesting way of looking at this passage. Have you ever been at a place in your life when you’ve not been following God, and it got bad enough that you finally turned to Him? And in turning back to Him you try to bargain? “Lord, help me and I’ll make sure to obey your Word!”

Genesis 28:18-22 “Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Jacob vowed a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.’ ”

But perhaps what is here is simply a reflection of the Psalmist’s heart: “I’m in trouble. Please answer me! I’ll continue to keep your word while I wait.” In fact, if we look at this as a template for prayer, we find that we should pray:

• Wholeheartedly
• Without ceasing
• With the Word
• As a reflection of our relationship
• As a recognition of our need for help

For additional worship: I Believe You (Megan Woods)

Psalm 119:137-144 “You are righteous, LORD. Your judgements are upright. You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy. My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words. Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. I am small and despised. I don’t forget your precepts. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth. Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.”

Have you ever felt that way? “My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.” It’s frustrating to see people live in ways that are contrary to God and then ignore you when you try to help them. Truly, “streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law” (Psalm 119:136). Yes, “trouble and anguish” afflict us since others don’t believe, but God’s Word continues to be our delight and our salvation.

For additional worship: From the Breaking of the Dawn (Every Promise)

Psalm 119:129-136 “Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them. The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments. Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Establish my footsteps in your word. Don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, so I will observe your precepts. Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes. Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law.”

These verses reveal both the heart and the attitude of the Psalmist. “Establish my footsteps in your word.” “Don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me.” “Turn to me, and have mercy on me.” “I longed for your commandments.” “Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law.” Is this how you feel, weeping because you long to be in God’s Word? Is this how your pray, realizing that you need God’s help to follow and understand?

For additional worship: Your Word (Emu Music)

Psalm 119:121-128 “I have done what is just and righteous. Don’t leave me to my oppressors. Ensure your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me. My eyes fail looking for your salvation, for your righteous word. Deal with your servant according to your loving kindness. Teach me your statutes. I am your servant. Give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies. It is time to act, LORD, for they break your law. Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold. Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way.”

It’s pretty normal to expect to be rewarded for good behavior, and the neat thing about following God is that good things happen naturally. God’s Word guides us to stay away from things that bring devastation, and it shows us the things that bring joy. Beyond that, we know that not following can bring direct punishment, so why not a reward now and then, especially since God is loving and kind?!?! But, in truth, there is nothing greater or more loving than a God who came to earth to suffer and die to save His children, and there is nothing greater or more loving than a God who gives His children a guide to help them live. That’s why we should love His commandments more than gold!

For additional worship: Your Word Will Be The Last Word (Tommy Walker)

Psalm 119:113-120 “I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I will be safe, and will have respect for your statutes continually. You reject all those who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is in vain. You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgements.”

Some insights:

• God’s Word is objective truth and we can trust it.
• God’s Word gives us hope.
• God is our hiding place and our shield. We always need His help!
• One way He protects us is through His Word. That’s why we need to know it!
• We need to stay away from those who try to get us to disobey God.
• Those who disobey are full of vanity and deceit.
• Awe, respect and obedience are the appropriate responses to God and His Word.

Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.”

For additional worship: Your Words of Life (Sovereign Grace Music)

Psalm 119:105-112 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances. I am afflicted very much. Revive me, LORD, according to your word. Accept, I beg you, the willing offerings of my mouth. LORD, teach me your ordinances. My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven’t gone astray from your precepts. I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I have set my heart to perform your statutes forever, even to the end.”

The world lays snares. “If it feels good, do it!” “Life is short. Play hard.” “Your body, your choice.” The surer path is to have a humble heart that is willing to be taught, and to continually go to God’s Word to find out how we should live.

For additional worship: Thy Word

Psalm 119:97-104 “How I love your law! It is my meditation all day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word. I have not turned away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”

While we should have great respect for those who minister with the Word, not all teachers are created equal!

Jude 4 “For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

The challenge for us is to stay grounded in the Word. If we do, then we’ll have great understanding, and may even surpass the understanding of legitimate teachers. Especially if we don’t just know it, but we believe it and follow it too! Then we’ll truly hate every false way.

For additional worship: More Precious Than Gold (The Worship Initiative)

Psalm 119:89-96 “LORD, your word is settled in heaven forever. Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains. Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve you. Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for with them, you have revived me. I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me. I will consider your statutes. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless.”

God doesn’t change and neither does His Word. His law is just like the law of gravity! It’s permanent and everlasting. That’s why we need to allow it to teach us and not try to change it to something we like. It’s perfect just the way it is.

For additional worship: Your Word Will Stand Forever

Psalm 119:81-88 “My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word. My eyes fail for your word. I say, ‘When will you comfort me?’ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. I don’t forget your statutes. How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgement on those who persecute me? The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law. All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me! They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake your precepts. Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, so I will obey the statutes of your mouth.”

The Israelites had a reoccurring problem. They would worship God until it seemed like they weren’t getting anything out of it. Then they would turn to idolatry to find a more accommodating God!

Exodus 32:1 “When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, ‘Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ ”

Here the Psalmist reminds us that we don’t just give up on God and His Word when things aren’t going well. In fact, that is precisely when we need to worship and follow Him the most!

Question: Do you search God’s Word so much that your eyes “faint” from exhaustion?

For additional worship: More Precious Than Gold (Acappella)

Psalm 119:73-80 “Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments. Those who fear you will see me and be glad, because I have put my hope in your word. LORD, I know that your judgements are righteous, that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Please let your loving 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 disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts. Let those who fear you turn to me. They will know your statutes. Let my heart be blameless towards your decrees, that I may not be disappointed.”

There are several lessons we learn from our passage. First of all, the God who made us is the one who instructs us and enables us to understand His Word.

1 Corinthians 2:12 “But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.”

Second, one of the great joys of being believers is the community of faith. We encourage and help each other!

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.”

Third, when God allows bad things to happen to us, it’s for a purpose.

Romans 5:3-5 “Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Finally, it’s God’s Word that guides our steps and keeps us from sin, so that we can be blessed!

Psalm 37:30-31 “The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.”

For additional worship: The Word of God has Spoken (Travis Cottrel)