Psalm 119:49-56

 Happy New Year! I hope you have been following along the past three months as we have been looking at Psalm 119, taking it stanza by stanza and learning wonderful things about God’s Word. Of course, if you are a person who loves to read and study God’s Word, you already know a great deal about it -- not just the facts, what it’s all about -- but about how important it is for your daily life. In the first six stanzas of Psalm 119, the psalmist has begun to tell us what God’s Word means to him: it blesses those who obey; it is a delight; it is filled with wonderful truths to be treasured and kept; it can be depended upon; it fills him with hope as it reveals God’s mercy and salvation.
 
Perhaps the psalmist’s witness to God’s Word has encouraged you to spend more time reading and considering what it means to you. Perhaps you have come to personally experience some of the truths you are learning as you read and let it sink into your mind and heart. I hope you will stay with us as we continue through this wonderful psalm in 2017. This week we're looking at the 7th stanza and the psalmist’s sweet confession that God’s Word is his song (119:54). Lets take a look and see why he says that.
 
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
     In which You have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in time of trouble,
     That Your word has given me life.
51 Arrogant men treat me with insolent scorn,
     Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.
52 I have cherished Your decrees all my life long, O LORD
     And in them I find comfort.
53 Burning indignation has seized me as I think of evil men
     Who forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
     Wherever I make my home.
55 O Lord, I remember Your name in the night,
     And dwell upon Your law.
56 This is true of me,
     That I keep Your precepts.
 
These eight verses are a revelation of what God’s Word means to the psalmist. It is as if he has been writing for 48 verses and suddenly he is overwhelmed with the goodness of God’s Word and all it means to him -- in his heart and in his life. In fact, he says God’s Word has given him life (119:50)! As he encounters troubles and troublers, wherever he goes and even in the darkest night he clings to God’s Word. As he ponders all God’s Word means to him, he comes to see that it is the song of his life.
 
God’s Word is his life. It is his hope (119:49), his comfort (119:50), His strength (119:51), and his song in the face of evil (119:54). As believers in God and lovers of His Word, we have this life too. God’s Word never leaves us without hope or comfort. Even the weakest of us is strong when we stand upon His Word. And it is our song to sing wherever in this world God has placed us. It is our song of hope to sing when we are suffering or comforting others. It is our song in the face of evil. It is our song in the night. This is true of every believer: God’s Word is your song. I’m praying that you will make it the song of your life.
 
Have you ever had the experience, when listening to music, that a particular tune may get stuck in your mind and then play itself over and over in your head all day, and even be there, repeating itself, when you wake up in the night? I’m praying that God’s Word will be like that with you. When you awaken in the night, may you remember His name and dwell on His Word (119:55). And may His word to you be the first thing that comes to mind every morning. May His Word be your song, to live and to sing. And may you sing it out loud and strong in the New Year!

with love,
Suzie
 
 
 

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