Psalm 119.105-112 (7)

Pray Psalm 119.111, 112.
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, to the very end.

Sing Psalm 119.111, 112.
(Slane: Be Thou My Vision)
I take Your Word as the joy of my heart,
my trust, my heritage, my special part.
I bend my heart to fulfill all Your Word,
always, forever, to serve You, O Lord.

Read Psalm 119.105-112; meditate on verses 111, 112.

Preparation
1. How did the Word of God affect the psalmist?

2. To what did he commit himself?

Meditation
In various ways, the psalmist declares his devotion to the Word of God. He says it is a lamp to guide his daily walk (v. 105) and he solemnly vows to keep to that path (v. 106). He clings to the Word amid afflictions, offering praise and thanks as he listens for more instruction from the Law (vv. 107, 108). In all aspects of his daily life, though wicked men or spirits would lead him astray, he brings the lamp of God’s Word to bear on his words and deeds (v. 109, 110). He prizes the testimonies of God as a rich inheritance, one which he begins to make use of even now (v. 111), and he devotes his heart with rejoicing to fulfill all that God’s Word requires (vv. 111, 112).

In this stanza we have drilled down deep into the secrets of happiness (Ps. 119.1-3). Happiness begins in the heart where delighting in God and His Word is the defining affection of our lives (Ps. 37.4; Matt. 22.37; Jn. 14.15). We understand that only this Word can keep our feet safe as we journey toward the eternal Presence of our God (Ps. 84; Jn. 14.6). We will be assaulted and know many afflictions along the way, but if our heart is truly inclined toward God’s Law, we need not fear stumbling or straying. “This inclination of the heart is opposed to the wandering lusts which rise up against God, and drag us anywhere rather than incline us to a virtuous life” (Calvin).

And so we call on the Lord’s help to revive us daily and receive our offerings of praise, and help us fulfill our vow to keep His Word (vv. 107, 108). Thus delighting in God – and His Law and all His Word – we have everything we need and all we desire to know true happiness, peace, joy, and the accompanying Presence of our Lord Jesus day by day (Matt. 28.20; Phil. 4.19).

The heart is the heart of the matter. Make sure yours is aflame for the Lord and His Word.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Our dog CuFinnian is a leaner. Every night when I sit down in my chair, Cu jumps up and then leans with all his might into me. He then looks up lovingly into my eyes and maybe gives me a little kiss on the nose. I pet him and tell him how wonderful he is and how much I love him. It is, to say the least, a special moment for both of us.

Psalm 119.112 has this flavor to it. Because we love God so much, we set our heart, we incline our lives, we bend our every thought and path to Him. We lean into Him with all the gusto we have. And when we do, He tells us how much He loves us too. Forever, to the very end. Jesus said, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28.20). And “…when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (Jn. 13.1).

This amazing mutual love impels us to want to please God. We are inclined to do His Law (Ex. 20.1-17).
We long for ways that we can improve our love for Him. We lean into Him and His Law because this is what pleases Him (Jn. 14.15). John Calvin said as much in our quote today: [the psalmist] describes the right observance of the law, which consists in our cheerfully and heartily preparing ourselves for doing what the law commands. Slavish and constrained obedience differs little from rebellion. Yes, we obey because it’s wise, but we also obey because we love.

Solomon wrote that we are to trust in the LORD with all our heart, and wholeheartedly lean on Him and His understanding (while not leaning on our own). And then in everything that we think and do, everywhere that we go, on all our paths into every nook and cranny of our Personal Mission Field, if we acknowledge Him then He will direct our way (Prov. 3.5, 6).

Lean with all your heart into God and His Word.
Rejoice, take His Law as your heritage.
Fulfill His Word.
Lean with all your love.
Forever, to the very end.

For reflection
1. What does it mean for you to “lean into” the Lord?

2. What have you found to be some of the best ways of keeping a close watch on your heart (Prov. 4.23)?

3. How does love factor into our desire to obey God’s Law and all His Word?

In this verse he describes the right observance of the law, which consists in our cheerfully and heartily preparing ourselves for doing what the law commands. Slavish and constrained obedience differs little from rebellion. The prophet, therefore, in order briefly to define what it is to serve God, asserts, that he applied not only his hands, eyes, or feet, to the keeping of the law, but that he began with the affection of the heart. John Calvin (1559-1564), Commentary on Psalm 119.112

Pray Psalm 119.105-112.
Renew your commitment to God’s Word – to read it daily, meditate on it deeply, study it carefully, live and obey it consistently, and share it gladly. Ask the Lord to give you something of His Word to share today.

Sing Psalm 119.105-112.
(Slane: Be Thou My Vision)
Your Word a lamp is to brighten my way.
Lord from Your pathway let me never stray!
I give my word now as I have before:
Your righteous Law I will keep ever more.

I am afflicted and sorely distressed;
O Lord, revive me that I may be blessed.
Teach me Your Word, Lord, my thanks I proclaim;
Off’rings of praise I declare to Your Name!

Daily I take up my life in my hand,
working to keep to Your gracious command.
Let not the wicked turn me from Your way;
I from Your precepts, O Lord, will not stray.

I take Your Word as the joy of my heart,
my trust, my heritage, my special part.
I bend my heart to fulfill all Your Word,
always, forever, to serve You, O Lord.

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.