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.
We can put, life in abundance, as heading over the next eight verses that all start with the letter gimel. We gain this life through prayer and faithfully adhering to the Word of God.
G
Gimel
Psalm 119.17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
David starts this section with a heartfelt prayer: Do good to your servant. He does not come with a claim, because he has no reason or right to demand anything from God. But he can turn to God in humble prayer. This is something we can all do. We can come before God with our passionate and heartfelt prayers.
Psalm 119.16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
David finishes the eight verses that start with beth in a wonderful way. This essence is largely about the joy he finds in the word of God. Now he tells how he rejoices in God's statutes. He says that he finds joy in all the laws of God and does not want to forget to walk in his words.
Psalm 119.14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
We meet a wonderful attitude of heart in this verse. The focus is on God's law or testimony. The psalmist says that God's Word shows him how to live and that he finds great joy in living the Word. He uses strong words: "I delight, I rejoice, I find the supreme happiness in your statutes! I delight in walking by your testimonies." He actually says that he finds greater joy in following what God says than in all the riches of the world.
Psalm 119:13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
In this verse we find a content and satisfied tone. David tells of how he has built up and encouraged God's people with what he himself had learned from God's law. This is something he has done in daily life in his conversations with people. This is something he's doing all the time. He says he likes to say what the Word of God says. This is not a quiet process in his heart, but he does it with his lips. He quotes the word of God aloud, both for himself and for others to the hear what God's law says.
Psalm 119:12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
Blessed are you, Lord! The psalmist is personal when he says, "you, O Lord," and he is full of admiration and worship. You are marvelous, Lord, who has given us such good and glorious law. That law testifies about how loving and caring you are. This law shows us your glorious and holy character. Your law is good, holy and spiritual, so we worship and praise you who have given us your life-giving words.
Blessed are you, O Lord! This is some of the best we can say both about God and to God. When we use this term, we say that he is perfect, that he is worthy of worship and praise.
Psalm 119.11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
This is also a word that has followed me from my youth. I have experienced what the psalmist is talking about. Therefore, I have written this truth in one of the first pages of my Bible: This book will keep you away from sin, or sin will keep you away from this book. There is a deep truth to this.
When we store God's Word deeply in our hearts, we will be led and motivated by the Word to do what is right and good and to avoid that which is sin. With the Word of God in our hearts, we will be aware of what God wants to do for us and through us. When the word of God dwells in our hearts, we will know God's will and be able to choose the right path when we have to make choices.
Psalm 119.10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
In most of the psalms we find praise, prayers and confessions of faith and doctrine. We have already seen this in Psalm 199 as well. In verse two he talks about the joy and blessing those who seek the Lord receive from him. This is probably what David has in mind in this tenth verse when he prays this prayer: I have longed passionately for you with all my heart, do not let me depart from your commands!
Most Norwegian versions says, I seek you (in present), while many English versions say, I have sought you (in the past). This is something that goes on throughout the different versions of the Psalms. It is translated at different times, some translations are in the present and others are in the past. I do not have enough language knowledge to say anything about what is right, but find it interesting to notice. Here in this verse (10) it is not so important, but the psalmist will emphasize that he has sought God out of the whole heart and still does so. He has tasted the joy and blessing it is to seek God and keep His word. This is something he will not lose. Therefore he prays as he does: Do not allow me to depart from your words.
In the passage from verses 9 to 16, each line begins with the Hebrew letter Beth. This section is very much about true joy.
Psalm 119.9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
This verse has followed me since I was a young Christian. I am so grateful for the Norwegian prayer house movement I grew up in, because there we learned to highly value God's Word high and let it control our lives. The psalmist asks a very important question and gave us the right answer: How can a young man live clean? By living in the Word of God and walking in the truths of the Word.
Of course, this truth does not only apply to young people. But young people in their youth for the first time meet all the lusts and desires that can make life impure. In our childhood we were unfamiliar with much of these impure impulses, but in youth we encounter this with full force. Childhood is a time of innocence, but in youth we meet all the temptations that belong to adult human life.
To be somebody
is to celebrate birthdays, wedding-days,
Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday
or any other special days
and New Year with great joy!
It is to make use of all circumstances
to celebrate and rejoice
in the rich life from God!
It is to rejoice in being
uniquely created in the image of God,
rejoicing over all our gifts and talents
enjoying life to the full!
Life itself is the greatest reason for celebration
Only when I am alive
I am somebody