PSALM 119 MEDITATION: WEEK THREE Deal bountifully with your servant

[NOTE: this is my first Blogger picture upload...COOL!]

WEEK: I II

Psalm 119:17-24

June 29 Wrap Up: What would happen if we--the teachers and leaders--started seeing bible study gatherings as times of passionate feasting rather than as times to "get through a lesson"? What if we viewed our time with brothers and sisters as a little bit of our homeland in this foreign land? Maybe the rolling eyes and bored faces are merely reflections...

June 27 verse 23: The psalmist IS being plotted against, AND he decides to meditate on God’s Word. There is no panic. Just decision.

June 26 verse 19: We exist as sojourners needing instructions on how to live in a foreign land, yet living according to the rules of our homeland.

June 25 verse 20: Today verse 20 fairly struck me between the eyes. The psalmist is “consumed with longing” for God’s rules. I often have such a longing, but I must admit, I am rarely consumed with it.

June 24 (Caveat: I do realize that in Hebrew verbs have different features than in English; the following comments are based on the ESV translation, not on the original text). The tense/mood of the verbs changes as we move through this stanza. In verses 17 and 18, the verbs are subjunctive, communicating likelihood and possibility. Our understanding of and obedience to the Word is contingent upon our connectedness with God and his supply. We cannot do it on our own. In verse 20, the verbs are present. The psalmist’s longing is a present condition of his life. Verse 22 changes to perfect, communicating the ongoing results of past action; the psalmist links his request for the removal of scorn and contempt to the present results of his past obedience to God’s testimonies. Verse 23 is future, with the psalmist declaring that his meditation on the Word is NOT contingent upon circumstances, but upon his decision to do so. Verse 24 returns to present, declaring the psalmist’s present and continuing delight in and submission to God’s Word.

June 23 verses 17-18: Both the doing and the knowing of God’s Word are from God. The psalmist connects “dealing bountifully” with “living and keeping the word” and “opening the eyes” with “beholding wondrous things”. In other words, our very understanding of God’s word flows from the overflow from our relationship with God.

All verses are quoted from the ESV.