Issue 830 – A Lamp Unto thy Path – August 30, 2022
I recently saw this light post at a regional park, and my mind immediately went to Psalm 119, the longest Psalm in the Bible.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105
Psalm 119 is an incredible piece of acrostic, devotional poetry. Its 176 verses are divided into 22 stanzas for each of the 22 characters that make up the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza’s eight verses in the Hebrew text begin with the same Hebrew letter.
To create a poem of that detail is quite a task. I can write a haiku because the structure is based on a 5,7,5 syllable structure, and the words don’t have to rhyme. Writing something like Psalm 119 is stratospheres above my ability.
The theme of the Psalm is the beauty of God’s Law. Sometimes, Christians get nervous about the law because we can tend to fall into a form of works self-righteousness rather than depending entirely on Christ’s grace.
The law is a blessing.
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Psalm 119:1
The Law is to delight us.
“I shall delight in your commands and meditate on your decrees” Psalm 119:47
Psalm 119 reminds us that the commandments of God are not some hidden trap for the unwary. They are from a holy and righteous God designed to teach us to be holy. Of course, on our own, we cannot keep the law, but the knowledge of our failure sends us to the cross of Christ’s mercy.
The law restrains us. It helps keep us from falling further into the dark recesses of sin and rebellion.
The Law is of God, and we ought to love it. We cannot live there, we must live in the grace of Christ, but believers ought to love every facet of God’s Word.
The Word is there to enlighten us and grow us. It reveals the things that are important to God and should be to His people.
Jesus summed up the law.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all bthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:28-34
Without the Law, we cannot know the love of God and our need for mercy and grace. Praise the Lord that He has given us all four – law, love, mercy and grace.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed.
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
_____________________________
All contents are © 2001, 2022 K. F. “Kevin” Corbin and Gleanings From The Word.
Check us out on the web at https://gleaningsfromtheword.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Never miss an issue. Subscribe to our email version today https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
____________________________
#Gleanings #devotional #biblestudy #dailybible #bible #love #joy #gleanings #KevinCorbin #jesus #god #faith #christian #Christ #Father #bibleverses #prayer #church #forgiveness #Holyspirit #pray #jesuschrist #worship #Biblereading #believe #dailybiblereading #dailybible #devotional #discipleship #scripture #gospel #hope #truth #worship #encouragement
#law #Psalm119 #greatestcommandment