Word Live: Seeking God's Love
Can you list five ways in which you have experienced God’s love recently?
Bible passage
Psalm 119:153–176
ר Resh
153 Look on my suffering and deliver me,
for I have not forgotten your law.
154 Defend my cause and redeem me;
preserve my life according to your promise.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they do not seek out your decrees.
156 Your compassion, Lord, is great;
preserve my life according to your laws.
157 Many are the foes who persecute me,
but I have not turned from your statutes.
158 I look on the faithless with loathing,
for they do not obey your word.
159 See how I love your precepts;
preserve my life, Lord, in accordance with your love.
160 All your words are true;
all your righteous laws are eternal.
ש Sin and Shin
161 Rulers persecute me without cause,
but my heart trembles at your word.
162 I rejoice in your promise
like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and detest falsehood
but I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous laws.
165 Great peace have those who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble.
166 I wait for your salvation, Lord,
and I follow your commands.
167 I obey your statutes,
for I love them greatly.
168 I obey your precepts and your statutes,
for all my ways are known to you.
ת Taw
169 May my cry come before you, Lord;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 May my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
171 May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees.
172 May my tongue sing of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.
173 May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, Lord,
and your law gives me delight.
175 Let me live that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
This psalm must be one of the most elaborate expressions of piety ever produced. The poet has created 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the entire Hebrew alphabet. Every line of each stanza begins with that particular letter. Each phrase expresses devotion to God and his Law. Surely the writer has reached the pinnacle of godliness!
And yet the poem ends with an expression of deep spiritual need. For all his devotion, the poet recognises that the mercy and kindness of God are his only hope. He is like a lost sheep in need of rescue (v 176).
As Christians we sometimes misinterpret Jewish piety. We know that the apostle Paul saw his Jewish piety as ‘garbage’ (Philippians 3:8), so we tend to dismiss it as a vain attempt to earn righteousness through good works. But this psalm displays a genuine love for God’s Word, and a delight in obedience. Any means of bringing pleasure to God is prized.
We are all like lost sheep (Isaiah 53:6). As Christians we know that Jesus is the one through whose suffering we are healed, and by whom we are rescued. But that does not mean that we can’t learn from this psalm. When was the last time you wrote a love poem to God? Do you see his commands as an imposition or as an opportunity for you to express your love?
Author
Steve Silvester
Respond
God’s ‘love language’ is obedience (John 14:23). How can you express your love to him today?
Deeper Bible study
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.’1
As Psalm 119 draws to a close, the psalmist is acutely conscious that his experience of life presents some stiff challenges to his faith in God, even if he lives among God’s supposedly loyal covenant people. Verses 153–160 speak of his suffering and persecution at the hands of those who do not care about God’s Word. His repeated cry is that God would ‘preserve my life’ (vs 154,156,159). The next stanza, verses 161–168, begins by acknowledging that those in power are corrupt and lie. Their value system is the opposite of his, showing no respect for God’s words and riding roughshod over his laws. The final stanza, verses 169–176, brings the whole psalm to an appropriate conclusion when the psalmist reaffirms his praise and firm love for God and confesses to his own failures. Yet, even here, he reveals that his salvation is not yet complete and his longings are not yet fully satisfied.
The question that arises, then, is how to persevere when your context is so alien to your faith. The psalmist would say that it all begins with what you desire. Without a true longing for God, we will buckle under circumstances, succumb to discouragements and join others in being indifferent to God’s Word. The longing must be a genuine expression of our deep love for him rather than a cosmetic pretence, but if we hunger for righteousness several things will follow. Prayer will be urgent, persistent and disciplined. Praise will celebrate God’s great compassion and salvation. Eager obedience will prove to us the wisdom and truth of God’s laws. Hope will keep focused on God’s promises which are yet to come.
Psalm 119 can guide Christians into the paths of peace, joy and faithfulness, even while they are surrounded by a hostile sea of unbelief.
The letter of James has much to say about our desires.2 Look inwards and honestly assess what you truly desire and so what drives your life.
1Matt 5:6 2 Eg James 1:13–15; 4:1–3
Author
Derek Tidball
