Psalm 119.27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. 

When meeting the many challenges in life, David prays a prayer that we need to pray over and over again: "Make me understand!" He asked to be able understand in both verses 12 and 18. We encounter things in life that we do not understand. The situation is not always the way we expected. Maybe our dreams were too big or unrealistic? Or maybe the challenges we face are part of the training to help us fulfill our dreams?

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Psalm 119.26 When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes! 

I told you about my path. I acknowledged my sin for you. Openly, I confessed to you everything I did. I told you all my ways. And you answered me!

An open confession is good for the soul. Acknowledging our sins brings inner health. It is not good to keep quiet and only struggle with our own thoughts. When we keep it all inside; our dishonesty devastate our inner lives. Then we are filled with frustration, irrepressible anguish, and misery. When we ponder and strive with heavy thoughts about something stupid we have said or done, we waste away. Then we become paralyzed. Then we lose our energy and courage. When we loudly and clearly confess our sin to God and do not cover our iniquity, then God answers and that changes everything.

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Daleth is the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. All the next eight verses begin with this letter corresponding to D in our alphabet. It seems that David is having a hard time and is depressed in this section of eight daleth verses.

Psalm 119.25 My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! 

There is a rather drastic portrayal David give us in the first sentence: "My soul lies in the dust", "my soul is depressed", "I lie pressed against the dust"! “I am close to death!” He is not doing well. Life is difficult. He lies prostrate in the dust and is pressed down. There is not much honour and royal reverence in this situation he is currently in.

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Psalm 119.24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

This verse is the last one to begin with the Hebrew letter gimel. In the first verse we found a prayer for life in abundance. Then we have seen that the psalmist faced many challenges in his life. It was not easy for him to handle the adversity and negativity he met. Therefore, I think the way he ends this section is extraordinarily great.

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 Psalm 119.23 Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.

It is a fantastic attitude David express in what he says here. He shows us who has the highest priority with him. When the officers and leaders sit and talk negatively about him, it is not important for him to defend himself. What is important to him is to give the Word the right place in his mind.

David is not in an easy situation when he writes this verse. The chieftains are sitting and conspiring against him. Important leaders sit together and talk negatively about him. The princes are plotting against him. He faces great adversity and a lot of negativity. In the former verse he met  scorn and contempt, but now it is even worse. He is opposed by great men, chiefs, powerful officers and princes.

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Psalm 119:22 Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.

David asks for grace to be saved from ridicule and contempt. He obviously doesn't like to be looked down upon. He wants, as we all do, to be respected for who he is and for what he believes in. He knows of bitter experience, that it is not always so.

We can face scorn and contempt for at least two reasons. Atheists or people who hate God will despise those who believe in God. When we are God's friends, the world quickly becomes our enemy. When we love God and His words, we must expect to be mocked and ridiculed in various ways. We can carry this mockery with a raised head, for it is really directed at God. Then it is an honour for us to suffer for his name.

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Psalm 119:21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. 

Earlier in this Psalm we have seen that the psalmist has an humble and teaCHable attitude. He longs for God and wants to gain insight into his commandments that he can live according to God's will. He is filled with joyful confidence in the Word of God. He bows to the judgments of the Lord and will obey his precepts. He is meditating on the blessings of obeying the law of the Lord.

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Psalm 119,20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.

That's a strong word David uses when he says, "I am consumed day and night!" "My soul is broken!" (NB). He is eaten up on the inside. He is crushed. He loses his powers. He feels like hs is perishing. It is not external adversity or difficulties in life that stifle his strength and powers, it is his own length.

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Psalm 119.19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! 

David starts this verse by putting words on who he is. He is a guest on earth. He is a pilgrim. He is a sojourner. He doesn't have his home here. He belongs to another city and is on his way home. So are we. It is the same position we are in, whatever status we have, or how well we succeed in life, we will always feel like alien on earth. We do not have our lasting home in this world, for our eternal and permanent abode lies in the coming age. When the earth is recreated and everything in heaven and on earth have been brought together into one under the dominion of Jesus Christ, then we will no longer be alienated.

It is the secular culture and prevailing philosophies that make Christians feel alienated in the world. What is politically correct in our time is often on a collision course with what is right, true and good for us who hold on to the Bible as God's Word.

It is this feeling of not belonging, feeling of being a stranger, feeling of being an outsider on earth that makes us cry out to God: "Do not hide your commandments from us!" We are being squeezed on all corners, but have our footing in the revelation of the word of God. We need to live in revelation. We need new light in the Word every single day. We need the safe feeling of being led by God's commandments. We need a constant reminder of the promises associated with living in accordance with the law of the Lord. We must find comfort and joy in the Word of God.

As an alien on earth, we need open communication with our right home. As pilgrims and friends of God, we need to hear the living words that come out of the mouth of God. The Bible is God's letter of love to us. We pray that we always may hear the glorious voice of our dear bridegroom through what we read in the Bible.

“My life on earth is so brief, so tutor me in the ways of your wisdom.” (TPT)

Psalm 119.18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

This prayer is perhaps the secret of David’s appreciation of the word of God. He prays that God must open the eyes of his heart to a spiritual understanding and insight. God's law is full of wonderful things, but it is not always easy for the human eye to grasp it. Therefore, we need to pray the prayer for revelation that David prays in this verse.

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