Promise to God
ALEPH
February 1
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:1-8
Key Verse: Verses7-8 - “I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.” (vs. 7) “I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.” (vs. 8)
Key Words:I will praise thee (vs. 7), I will keep thy statutes (vs. 8)
Most scholars agree that the human writer of Psalm 119 is unknown. But this we do know, God is the Author of all His Word. Although, I will confess to you… I believe that David is the human writer of Psalm 119.
Every verse in Psalm 119 mentions God and the Word of God. The psalm contains seventy prayer requests. The psalmist refers to himself 325 times and mentions his sufferings 66 times. The psalm is broken down into eight-verse stanzas. Each of the twenty-two stanzas is identified with the Hebrew alphabet.
The first eight verses of Psalm 119 show us what will happen if we make God’s Word the center of our lives.
They will be undefiled (vs. 1), and
They will do no iniquity (vs. 3).
The psalmist closes the psalm with a two-fold promise. First of all, he promises to praise God; and secondly, he promises to keep the statutes of God.
Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book Up From Slavery: “I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body, and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.
“Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.
“In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise.”
Are you keeping your promise to God?
What to do:
✞Keep your promise to God.
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Where to Hide God’s Words
BETH
February 2
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:9-16
Key Verse: Verses 11– “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Key Words: Thy word have I hid in mine heart
The more we know the Word of God, the more we love God. The more we love God, the more we will love the Word of God. As someone has said, “It’s like a spiral stairway to Glory.”
We do need to enthrone God’s Word in our hearts. Remember Joseph. When Potiphar’s wife made improper advances toward him, he said in Genesis 39:9b, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
The old excuses of: “Everybody else is doing it;” “We love one another;” “I don’t see anything wrong with it.” These excuses wouldn’t cut ice with Joseph. Why? Because Joseph loved God, and as a result, he loved the Word of God.
A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert I. Sumner tells about him in his book, The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.
How many times have you read the Bible through, and how many verses have you hid in your heart this year alone? About time to start, don’t you think?
What to do:
✞Don’t make excuses, just hide God’s Word in your heart.
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Meditation
GIMEL
February3
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:17-24
Key Verse: Verse 23– “Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.”
Key Words: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes
The word meditate means to concentrate on one thing.
We are told in Joshua 1:8 that we are to meditate day and night in God’s Word. Think constantly on the Word of God.
In our text verse, the psalmist says that no matter what others are saying about me, my focus is on the Word of God. What a great attitude, one we each need; and when our meditation is on God’s Word, it’s certainly “worthwhile meditation.”
I read the following article in regard to meditation.
“‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ Joshua 1:8. New Agers have stolen and perverted the concept of meditation so that many contemporary Christians seem uneasy with the term. Joshua noted the need for it centuries ago. Liu Chi Kung placed second to Van Cliburn in the 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition. A year later, he was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution in China. For seven years, he was denied the use of a piano. Soon after his release from prison he was back on tour, and the critics were astonished that ‘his musicianship was better than ever.’ The obvious question, ‘How?’ One critic said, ‘You had no chance to practice for seven years.’ Liu replied, ‘I did practice, every day. I rehearsed every piece I had ever played, note by note, in my mind.’”
Meditating on God’s Word allows us to live above our circumstances.
What to do:
✞Dedicate yourself to meditate on God’s Word today and everyday.
The Cleaving Soul
DALETH
February 4
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:25-32
Key Verse: Verse 25 – “My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.”
Key Words: My soul cleaveth unto the dust
If David is the author of Psalm 119, and I believe that he is, then something has brought David low. Something now has David lying prostrate on the ground. It could be King Saul’s persecution of David, Absalom’s rebellion, David’s adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, the death of his baby boy, or even the death of Absalom. Whatever it is, something has humbled David.
Humility is not a bad thing; it cures envy, jealousy, strife, and division – just to name a few of its cures.
Martin Luther reportedly told of two mountain goats who met each other on a narrow ledge just wide enough for one of the animals to pass. On the left was a sheer cliff, and on the right a steep wall. The two were facing each other, and it was impossible to turn around or to back up.
How did they solve their dilemma? If they had been people, they would have started butting each other until they plunged into the chasm together. But, according to Luther, the goats had more sense than that. One of them lay down on the trail and let the other literally walk over him – and both were safe.
So the next time pride raises its ugly head in your heart, defeat it with humility. Remember, humility was good enough for Jesus and David; it ought to be good enough for us as well.
What to do:
✞Let your soul cleave to the dust. If it worked for David, it will work for us.
The Pleas of the Psalmist
HE
February 5
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:33-40
Key Verse: Verse 33-40– “Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.”(vs. 33) “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.(vs.34) “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.”(vs. 35) “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.”(vs. 36) “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.”(vs. 37) “Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.” (vs. 38) “ Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.”(vs. 39) “Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.”(vs. 40)
Key Words:me; my; mine
The psalmist is not only singing, he is also praying. His prayer involves at least seven requests.
- Teach me, verse 33;
- give me understanding, verse 34;
- make me to go in the path, verse 35;
- incline me...unto thy testimonies, verse 36;
- turn me, verses 37 and 39;
- stablish me in thy word, verse 38; and
- quicken me in thy righteousness, verse 40.
All of the psalmist’s requests are for God to make him “righteous.”
Donald Grey Barnhouse tells the following story about the righteousness of God.
“Along the Avenue Louise in Brussels are several stores that sell nothing but lace. I looked at the exquisite scarves, veils and handkerchiefs in the windows and decided to purchase a handkerchief for my mother. The two old sisters who ran the store showed me some handkerchiefs; I was rather astonished at the price and asked them if they could explain why they were so costly.
“It was a few months after World War I, and I still wore my army uniform. The ladies had no other customers at that time of day and seemed pleased to tell the young American officer about their wares. One of them spread a roll of black velvet on the counter, and then began to show the lace against this contrasting background. I was initiated into the mystery of bobbin lace, and a few knots were tied for me in order to show me the method of making it.
“Finally, they went to their safe and took out the marriage veil that had just been completed for the wedding of the Duchess of Brabant. Rather gingerly, I took hold of the edge of it – the thing was valued at over ten thousand dollars – and began to look at it more closely. One of the ladies immediately lifted the black velvet that I might use the contrasting background to bring out the intricacies of this Brussels rose-point lace. From that day on, I have always been interested in the beauties of lace, beauties which two old ladies taught me to comprehend against the blackness of the velvet.
“It is unquestionable that the glories of God’s love and mercy and righteousness and goodness, and tenderness – all of the attributes of His grace – are known by the fact that God took the black velvet of man’s sin and threw the web of His grace against it.”
What to do:
✞It would be good if we all asked the Lord to teach us, give us, make us, incline us, turn us, stablish (establish) us, and quicken us.
The Trustworthy Word
WAW
February 6
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:41-48
Key Verse: Verse 42 – “So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.”
Key Words:for I trust in thy word
The psalmist uses the personal pronoun “I” twelve times in these eight verses, and on every occasion but one he is referring to his life and love for the Word of God. Surely, he sees God’s Word as worthy of his trust.
There is a great example of trust and dedication to God’s Word found in the life of Russian, Anatoli Shcharansky.
Anatoli Shcharansky, a dissident Soviet Jew, kissed his wife goodbye as she left Russia for freedom in Israel. His parting words to her were, ‘I’ll see you soon in Jerusalem.’ But Anatoli was detained and finally imprisoned. Their reunion in Jerusalem would not only be postponed, it might never occur. During long years in Russian prisons and work camps, Anatoli was stripped of his personal belongings. His only possession was a miniature copy of the Psalms. Once during his imprisonment, his refusal to release the book to the authorities cost him 130 days in solitary confinement. Finally, twelve years after parting with his wife, he was offered freedom. In February 1986, as the world watched, Shcharansky was allowed to walk away from Russian guards toward those who would take him to Jerusalem. But, in the final moments of captivity, the guards tried again to confiscate the Psalms book. Anatoli threw himself face down in the snow and refused to walk on to freedom without it. Those words had kept him alive during imprisonment. He would not go on to freedom without them.
Now, let me ask you, do you love and trust God’s Word as much as Anatoli?
What to do:
✞We have the trustworthy Word of God; read it, memorize it, live by it.
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Songs in the House
ZAIN
February7
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:49-56
Key Verse: Verse 54 – “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.”
Key Words: my songs in the house
The psalmist was continually wrestling with problems and adverse situations. These problems and situations were caused by wicked men who hated David because of his Godliness.
In spite of all this, David clings to God’s Word. As a matter of fact, it’s because of God’s Word that David is able to have a song both in his heart and mouth.
His father was a successful barber, so everyone assumed young George would follow in the family trade. Unfortunately for his dad, George was more interested in music. Unfortunately for George, his dad thought musicians were nothing more than “vagabonds.” At age seven, the Duke of Weissenfels accidentally heard George playing around on an organ. The Duke encouraged George’s father to develop his son’s obvious talent. Since a Duke’s request was not to be taken lightly, George was given lessons while his father hoped the boy’s love for music would pass. Mr. Handel was mistaken. His son’s passion only grew, and he became the “Celebrated Saxon.” George Friedrich Handel believed his music was a gift from God and composing was his calling.
It is said that Handel’s music was a result of God’s Word flowing from his heart.
So I ask you, is there a song in your heart?
What to do:
✞Make sure Godly music is a part of your life.
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Robbed
CHETH
February8
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:57-64
Key Verse: Verse 61 – “The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law.”
Key Words: The bands of the wicked have robbed me
The psalmist had suffered mental loss, but he still had not lost his joy because he still held to God’s Word. Our joy in life does not come because of circumstances, but often our joy is in spite of circumstances.
The following story illustrates the power and importance of joy in our lives. The story is taken from A. B. Earle, a pastor of years gone by.
“An incident occurred in one of our meetings near Boston that taught me a great lesson in leading souls to Christ. I can never lose sight of it.
“A lady connected with one of the city churches, but residing in that place, found she was not the humble, happy Christian she once was. She came to me, asking how she might obtain anew the joy of salvation; she felt she loved Jesus but so faintly that the warmth and power of that love were gone. The conflict was long and severe. On one occasion she said to me: ‘My husband has become skeptical. He rejects the Bible. It is of no use to speak to him. I have scarcely any hope of his being converted. But, oh, that I could enjoy the Savior’s love as I used to!’
“At last the desire of her heart was granted, and all the joy of her first love to Jesus was restored to her. And now, though she had been a Christian, and a kind, careful wife and mother, she seemed almost like another person. The false representations of religion were ended. Its sweetness and happiness shone in every feature of her face, gave melody to the tones of her voice, and added a new charm to all she did.
“She went about the house singing the songs of Zion. Anything that was not sinful that would make her husband happier and her home pleasanter, she cheerfully performed, saying but little, however, about the change in her feelings; she did not need to, it was so apparent. Her husband saw it, and compared her present state with her past. Somehow this led him to look into his own heart. The conviction was forced upon him that religion was a reality, and one he could not do without.