Daily Devotional • September 18
Psalm 119:
73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right
and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
76 Let your steadfast love become my comfort
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
for they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.
81 My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
86 All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.
89 The Lord exists forever;
your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my misery.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Meditation
Every Wednesday, morning or evening, we receive a portion of Psalm 119. The longest Psalm by far, helplessly devoted to the Law no less, presents to us the musings of an anxious, malcontented pentateuchal scholar who is trying to focus on the promises of God.
The Word, decree, law, commandments, statutes, and judgments of God show up in nearly every verse and not as an intellectual abstraction, but an object of desire. “My soul languishes for your salvation; I hope in your word.” His soul longs; he places hope.
He does not see salvation, nor does he sit comfortably in completed work. He looks, even if distantly, for what God will do. Trying hard to believe that God will do what he says. Bonhoeffer loved the Old Testament while he was in prison because it presents a full picture of life before the promise is fulfilled. It shows us, in other words, a life of hope.
Put your hope in his Word. The Word spoken through the prophets and in Jesus Christ — that Word which strengthens the weary and raises the dead. Hope is work because it presupposes a joy that isn’t quite here yet. Hope is work but it is the anchor. Hope in his Word as you long for his salvation.
Chase Benefiel is a friend, Tennesseean, preacher, and student (in that order) currently finishing his M.Div. at Duke Divinity School.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Irele Ese-Odo – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Austin, Texas