Psalm 119:16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
I greeted our youth group as my husband and I handed out Bibles. “God will use these priceless gifts to change your life,” I said. That night, a few students committed to reading the gospel of John together. We continued inviting the group to read Scripture at home while we taught them during our weekly meetings. More than a decade later, I saw one of our students. “I still use the Bible you gave me,” she said. I saw the evidence in her faith-filled life.
God empowers His people to go beyond reading, reciting, and remembering where to find Bible verses. He enables us to “stay on the path of purity” by living “according to” the Scriptures (Psalm 119:9). God wants us to seek and obey Him as He uses His unchanging truth to free us from sin and change us (vv. 10-11). We can ask God daily to help us know Him and understand what He says in the Bible (vv. 12-13).
When we recognize the priceless value of living God’s way, we can “rejoice” in His instruction “as one rejoices in great riches” (vv. 14-15). Like the psalmist, we can sing, “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (v. 16). As we invite the Holy Spirit to empower us, we can savor each moment spent prayerfully reading the Bible—God’s life-changing gift to us.
Read: Psalm 119:9-20
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?f
By living according to your word.g
10 I seek you with all my heart;h
do not let me stray from your commands.i
11 I have hidden your word in my heartj
that I might not sink against you.
12 Praise bel to you, Lord;
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.o
14 I rejoice in following your statutesp
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your preceptsq
and consider your ways.
16 I delightr in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
ג Gimel
17 Be good to your servants while I live,
that I may obey your word.t
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;u
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumedv with longing
for your lawsw at all times.
Reflect & Pray
1. How do you invest in studying the Scriptures?
2. How can delighting in them change your perspective on God’s call to obey Him?
Psalm 119 is the longest of the psalms with 176 verses. It’s an acrostic poem using the twenty-two successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet divided into eight-verse stanzas. Each of the lines in the first stanza (vv. 1-8) begins with the first letter of the alphabet, aleph; verses 9-16 begin with beth, the second letter; and so on. This structure for the psalm formed a helpful memory device. Since ancient Hebrews didn’t have personal copies of the Scriptures, the repetition of letters and sounds at the beginning of each couplet aided them in their memorization. The theme of the song/prayer is clearly a celebration of the Torah (the “law of the Lord,” v. 1). The books of Moses or Torah were the beginning and foundation of the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament) and to that foundation was added the Writings and the Prophets.
PRAYER
Loving God, please help me rejoice over the priceless words of Scripture as You empower me to submit to Your wisdom and authority in my life.
Read: PSALM 119:9-20 | Bible in a Year: JOB 25-27 ; ACTS 12
