Sept 10, 2014
Read: Psalm 119:9-16
Once in a while my wife and I open the mail to find a letter with no words on it. When we take the “letter” out of the envelope, we see a piece of paper with nothing more on it than a colorful mark made with a felt pen. Those “letters” warm our hearts because they’re from our preschool granddaughter Katie, who lives in another state. Even without words, these letters tell us that she loves us and is thinking about us.
We all cherish letters from those we love and those who love us. That’s why there is so much encouragement in the fact that our heavenly Father has given us a letter called the Bible. The value of Scripture goes beyond its words of power, challenge, and wisdom. Amid all of the stories, teaching, and guidance this Book provides, the overriding idea is that God loves us and has planned our rescue. It tells us of His love in overseeing our existence (Ps. 139), meeting our needs (Matt. 6:31-34), comforting us (2 Cor. 1:3-4), and saving us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus (Rom. 1:16-17).
You are loved beyond imagination. God says so in His inspired and inspiring message to you. No wonder the psalmist wrote, “I will not forget Your word” (Ps. 119:16). It is one amazing letter!
understand its truths, and apply its teachings to my
life. May I be as excited about Your letter to me as I
am about a letter, email, or Facebook posting by a friend.
Insight
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and chapter in the Bible. The focus of its 176 verses is God and His Word. God is mentioned in every verse of this psalm, and the entire psalm speaks of the primacy, authority, sufficiency, and efficacy of God’s Word in the life of the believer. It is a personal prayer for help. Oppressed and persecuted by powerful enemies who scorned and ridiculed his beliefs in God (vv.23,157,161), the unnamed psalmist found great strength and much comfort by trusting, keeping, and meditating on the Word of God. In this passage (vv.9-16), we see that victory over sin comes about only when we hide, meditate, contemplate, and delight in God’s Word.
