“His heart’s desire”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Psalm 119:25-48 (Forward, p. 82) CEV p. 630
Our psalmist, who is never identified, is perhaps a bit unusual, for his heart’s desire, his desire above all else, is to know, understand, and carry out what is found in God’s word, teachings and commandments. In this section, it is God’s teachings (verses 25, 27, 39, 40, and 45) that are especially emphasized. To know and follow them is what he wants above all else. “I am eager to learn all that you want me to”, he says (v. 32a).
And so, he asks to be taught (verses 26 & 29), but also for help in understanding these teachings (verses 27, 32, and 34). And then, more to the point, for assistance in obeying them. He prays, “Make me want to obey you, rather than be rich. Take away my foolish desires, and let me find life by walking with you” (verses 36-37).
Here the psalmist picks up on a very important dynamic: it is one thing—a very good thing, actually—to know God’s word and will, and understand them, but it is a far more important thing, a crucial thing, that we put them into practice, that we obey them. Knowing them, understanding them and obeying them, should be our heart’s desire, our desire above all else. But, unfortunately, this is not always the case. We may, at times, know them and understand them, but not put them into practice. And ‘that’s the rub’, of course, that is where the tire hits the road. That’s where we can far too easily fall short and miss the mark. And so, that is especially where we need the help, the help that comes from God and from each other. Amen.
Forward notes: “Let your loving-kindness come to me, O Lord, and your salvation according to your promise” (verse 41).
“We often read in the scriptures words of love and assurance. So much of Psalm 119 is about the law of God, yet in verse 41, the psalmist recalls the loving-kindness of the Lord. In the next verse, the psalm proclaims, “I trust in your words.”
“I find that confidence in Jesus mirrors that sentiment. Jesus walks with us at all times, when we are filled with joy and wrung out with grief. He’s the light in our darkness, the friend when we’re friendless, the hand we reach out to, and the hand that reaches out to us. He’s the model of all that the law encompasses, and he’s the stretch beyond the law. Confidence, comfort, assurance, and salvation are woven into the psalm and into our relationship with Jesus.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the psalter, is often regarded as a song of praise for God’s law. How does reading the psalm through the lens that God’s law is love impact your understanding of the psalm?”