Knowing God's Word

Did you know there was a Psalm that only had two verses?

I didn't.

It's Psalm 117.

But David makes up for its brevity

by creating 176 verses two Psalms later in Psalm 119.

I have been slow in my journey through Psalms

and manage one to three a week.

I am taking 119 in sections.

So far I've read 50 verses.

The first 50 are about following the precepts,

ordinances,

testimonies,

 commandments,

and laws

of God.

David begins with

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied)

are the undefiled (the upright, truly sincere, and blameless)

in the way [of the revealed will of God],

who walk (order their conduct and conversation)

in the law of the Lord (the whole of God's revealed will).

A mouthful huh?

My Bible version gives interpretations of words

for clearer understanding.

Actually, at times I trip over the extra  words,

and have to reread the verse without them

in order to understand !

He goes on to write in verses 2 - 5:

Blessed are they who keep His testimonies,

and who seek, inquire for and of Him

and crave Him with the whole heart.

Yes, they do no unrighteousness

[now willful wandering from His precepts];

they walk in His ways.

You have commanded us to keep

Your precepts,

that we should observe them diligently.

Oh, that my ways were directed and established to observe

 Yous statutes [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]!

Skipping to verse 10:

With my whole heart have I sought You,

inquiring for and of You

and yearning for You;

Oh, let me not wander or step aside

[either in ignorance or willfully]

from Your commandments.

11) You word have I laid up in my heart,

that I might not sin against You.

12) Blessed are You, O Lord,

teach me Your statutes.

15) I will meditate on Your precepts

and have respect to Your ways.

16) I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

Statutes according to Webster:

a formally established rule; law; decree.

I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of Old Testament law

versus Jesus' teachings.

I feel that it's all good

and I can learn from all of it.

What I have gotten from these verses:

If we want to be truly blessed and happy,

we will live according to the "whole of God's revealed will."

We do that by studying His Word

and spending time praying and quietly listening

to Him.

I do believe He 'talks' to us.

No, I've never heard a booming voice

heralding down from the sky.

It's a quiet voice inside me which I've learned to listen to

and to trust.

It's taken me years to get to this point.

                                                              I've been stubborn and proud.

Both have cost me

not because God  punished me,

but because I walked away from God's will

to follow my own will.

But I'm listening--truly--

and learning.

Well . .  most days.

I have had a rougher time having devotions

in an open schedule summer

than I have had in heavily scheduled school time.

But if I slide, I make up for it with double or triple it,

because I believe that the more I learn His Word,

the better I can live His will for me.

I can also fight the bad better by speaking God's Word

in the midst of 'trials and tribulations'.

That Word issuing from my mouth

strengthens me and enables me to remain steady,

knowing that He is in the midst of the problem

and is working on my behalf.

As verse 16 says ". . . I will not forget Your word."

Well I have to learn it to remember it, huh?!

I like this photo because the pole appears to be leaning.

Actually it looks as if the wire is pulling it downwards.

That's how I feel my life is when I'm not spending time with God

and reading the Bible.

I get pulled down by situations and people--get pulled down by "the world."

Anyway,

this is my "Psalm of the Week."

It's a little late since the new week has already begun,

but I still felt I was to write this post.

I hope this week is a good one for you all.

I have a lot going on this week.

My daughter and her two children are returning,

so she can help out with a situation at the family company

and also spend more time with all of us.

Blessings.