Category Archives: Wednesday

Psalm 119: 161-168 ש Sin and Shin – Tooth

Posted on September 28, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119: 161-168 ש Sin and Shin – Tooth
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

Shin – tooth is an interesting title because it brought to mind this image. The Psalmist is like a dog with a bone. He fiercely defends his faith…and the Word of God, his bone. Try to take it away and there will be a struggle that ranges from a slight tug of war to fierce defense.

He’s sunk his teeth into the Word of God. It’s his “great spoil;” his bone to chew on to satisfy appetite but also to keep his “teeth” sharp and healthy to aid digestion.

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Psalm 119:145-152 ק Qoph Axe, Back of Head

Posted on September 21, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:145-152 ק Qoph Axe, Back of Head,
145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,
and I will obey your decrees.
146 I call out to you; save me
and I will keep your statutes.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I have put my hope in your word.
148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.
149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
but they are far from your law.
151 Yet you are near, Lord,
and all your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your statutes
that you established them to last forever.

I write what I “think” I know because I want God to know I think. More importantly I believe God knows what I need to know and “wants” me to know it. I wonder if that’s the process of discernment?

I’m guessing that’s why the Psalmist writes too. Maybe discernment is the secret of why he uses this obscure title Ooph – axe, back of head. The “back of the head” according to a Google search about anatomy is the “occipital lobe that controls sight.”

What the Psalmist sees are his circumstances but he knows there is a tool, that can cut away the debris of life and reveal another reality. The decrees, statutes and promises are the “axe” that can split his own worried thoughts from what he sees to what God wants him to know; “you are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.”

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Psalm 119:129-136 פ Pe- Mouth

Posted on September 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:129-136 פ Pe- Mouth
129 Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
132 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may obey your precepts.
135 Make your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.

This is what came to mind when I read the title of these eight verses; Pe – mouth. Luke 6:45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart…For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of…NIV

The “unfolding” words of God are very personal to the Psalmist. They’ve been stored in his heart as surely as if they were written just for him. They have become the song of his heart to be sung aloud for all to hear.

Years ago I heard a Christian linguist say that Hymns were the perfect and complete way to communicate the truth of God’s word and engage the whole brain; one half responds to the music itself and the other to the lyrics.

We don’t have the music that goes along with this Psalm but I bet you know at least part of a hymn or chorus by “heart,” too. Sing!…all by yourself…right there where you are…out loud [you can belt it out or sing it softly]…from your mouth to God’s ears “for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw_uBn9zJfc

 

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Psalm 119:113-120 ס Samekh – Prop, Support

Posted on September 7, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:113-120 ס Samekh – Prop, Support
113 I hate double-minded people,
but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commands of my God!
116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;
do not let my hopes be dashed.
117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
I will always have regard for your decrees.
118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,
for their delusions come to nothing.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
therefore I love your statutes.
120 My flesh trembles in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your laws.

The title and words of this section seem so easy to connect in comparison to some earlier sections. The Psalmist is clear it’s the law, the Word and God’s commands and promises that he relies on.

The fact is, while he writes this confession of faith, the awareness of risk is not lost on him. He seems compelled to mention “them” again too. This isn’t the first time he’s pointed out how God deals with “them.” I wonder if he’s reminding himself that part of his confession always has to be acknowledging the only thing that separates “him” from “them” is verse 117 – Samekh, his prop and support. “Uphold me, and I will be delivered.”

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Psalm 119:97-104 מ Mem – Waves, Water

Posted on August 31, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:97-104 מ Mem – Waves, Water
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.

I wondered whether the Psalmist was in his personal Red Sea period when I saw he’d chosen the title Mem [Waves, Water]. His life has been like the Israelites as they came up against that barrier of water that seemed like sure destruction with nowhere to go. He’s personally experienced God opening up a path for him like the parting of those waters to where he is now. This is his response. It reads like a man who’s survived the journey through the sea bed and made it to this lofty place of confidence on the mountain top.

I’m resisting “peeking” ahead to see how his own bottom line of faith, “for you yourself have taught me,” continues to change the focus of his wisdom, insight and understanding.

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Psalm 119:81-88 כ Kaph – Wing, Palm

Posted on August 24, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:81-88 כ Kaph – Wing, Palm
81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?
85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.
86 All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

The Psalmist saw his life with a different comparison; a wineskin. He wasn’t protected by a palace. Wineskins weren’t even used in a palace. They were the travel mug of the day for the person on the move; the fugitive.

A wineskin was strong, to a point, but could easily be ruined if exposed to certain elements. That would leave the traveler at serious risk of losing the very thing needed most to survive. It was from this comparison the Psalmist wrote.

This “wineskin’s” soul longed to be done with waiting for the promised comfort. The smoke of circumstance blurred what his eyes could see right then but he was counting on the unfailing love of Kaph. This was the “wing, Palm” he could trust to lift him away above his circumstances to preserve his life; the word, decrees, precepts and statutes of God that he knew.

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Psalm 119:65-72 ט Teth – Serpent, Snake

Posted on August 17, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:65-72 ט Teth – Serpent, Snake
65 Do good to your servant
according to your word, Lord.
66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
for I trust your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,
I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,
but I delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Let’s assume the Psalmists’ intention with these mysterious titles is to add another layer of meaning to the words he writes. That layering idea has kept me interested, even looking forward to the next eight verses.

His words are obviously written to let God know what he has learned. “Before I was afflicted I went astray…It was good for me to be afflicted…so that I might learn your decrees…but now I obey your word.”

There had been a “before” in the Psalmists’ life but it’s the “after” he writes about. That’s what brought him to this place of longing to trust, obey and value what God had in mind. Teth could be his subtle reminder that in between that before and after there may “still” be the danger of a serpent hiding in the garden.

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Psalm 119:49-56 ז Zayin – Weapon

Posted on August 10, 2016 | Leave a comment

49 Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
50 My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.
51 The arrogant mock me unmercifully,
but I do not turn from your law.
52 I remember, Lord, your ancient laws,
and I find comfort in them.
53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked,
who have forsaken your law.
54 Your decrees are the theme of my song
wherever I lodge.
55 In the night, Lord, I remember your name,
that I may keep your law.
56 This has been my practice:
I obey your precepts.

ז Zayin – Weapon
Look at this definition of weapons: “a means of gaining an advantage or defending oneself in a conflict or contest.”

Our recent history of events has given us terrible images of the reality of weapons used for violent and random destruction. Even in the midst of that murderous mayhem and death “defense” is the cry for the need to have personal weapons. That choice is our mistake but it may well be a metaphor of Zayin.

Many have decided the “means of gaining an advantage or defending oneself in a conflict or contest” is to justify those weapons. The Psalmist writes of recognizing the need to depend on a defense that’s much harder to recognize and accept; a radically different list of defensive weapons that justifies us instead…God’s law.

That “law” is the Word that gives hope and promises that preserve life and give comfort in suffering in the midst of this human conflict. Those are the Psalmists’ weapons. They can become the defense of our life too; wherever we are and whenever we need them because we remember and practice them.

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Psalm 119:33-40 ה He – Window, Lattice

Posted on August 3, 2016 | 1 comment

Psalm 119:33-40
33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.

I continue to be amazed at these little headings I’ve always ignored before. They don’t speak my language but it’s becoming apparent to me that they speak God’s language and therefore there’s something to consider beginning with “He.”

“He” is God/Jesus/Spirit in my mind. “He” is the window, the clear divider, allowing us to look inside and outside ourselves just as the Psalmist did.

The Psalmist could clearly see a holier place as he looked through that window from the inside out. God was offering teaching, understanding, obedience, direction and delight. Those were the things he wanted to focus on.

Looking inside the window to himself from that holier place, the Psalmist could see focus was more than just his wanting. He saw his need was to depend on God to fulfill his promises to turn his heart and eyes to the statutes and laws that would preserve his life.

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ג Gimel – Soul

Posted on July 27, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:17-24
ג17 Be good to your servant while I live,
that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.

Gimel says the specific purpose of these verses is their relationship to the soul: “the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.”

I’m learning from the psalmist. Our physical part is pleading with God to open a connection to our soul and be at work there; “be good to your servant, open my eyes, I am a stranger, do not hide your commands from me.” The soul is distinctly God’s domain – connection established!

Our first inclination is to assure God that our spiritual part “is consumed with longing” to know his laws at all times. Then we admit it comforts us to know God will rebuke the souls of those who stray, and protect us from their “scorn and contempt”…but no matter what, we’ll stay strong. Sounds humanly familiar doesn’t it?

The last verse of this section is the only possible way the spiritual and physical can unite to become a righteous soul that really does long for God’s law at all times. “Your servant will meditate on your decrees. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.”

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