WEEK: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
August 9: Verse 67: "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word." What sort of affliction was required? Is affliction always required? Are we so prone to disobedience that God needs to smack us upside the head before we'll really believe that his way is the only good? Maybe.
August 8: Verses 65-66--"You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments." God's dealings with the psalmist are determined by God's word. The psalmist's beliefs and behaviors are determined by God's word. Could verse 66 be the psalmist's reflection of God's nature in verse 65?
August 7: Verses 65 and 72--This passage is bookended by two declarations. First, in verse 65, the psalmist declares, "You have dealt well with your servant,O LORD, according to your word." Then in verse 72, he declares, "The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." His understanding of and interactions with the Scripture are completely integrated with his understanding of and interactions with God.
August 6: Verse 66--"Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments." The relationship between believing and learning in this passage shows us the truth about faith. Too often we (at least in my Baptist tradition) confuse the biblical meaning of belief, putting too much emphasis on intellectual knowledge. Such knowledge is important, for indeed there is a body of knowledge that belongs to faith. But verse 66 tells us that belief--trust--must come before real learning can take place. There is much more to our knowledge of God that mere intellect can hold.
August 4: Life is determined by and wrapped up in the psalmist's relationship to the Word. He interprets himself in the context of that Word.
All verses are quoted from the ESV.
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