Thursday 16th January
Read Psalm 119:41-48
“Waw
41 May your unfailing love come to me, Lord,
your salvation, according to your promise;
42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
for I have put my hope in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,
for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame,
47 for I delight in your commands
because I love them.
48 I reach out for your commands, which I love,
that I may meditate on your decrees.” (NIVUK)
My priority is to follow the path of love. v41-48.
The psalmist seems to continue to think about God’s promises, this time His love and salvation. Knowing these the psalmist can rebuff opposition (taunts) as he knows the Lord can be trusted. He then decides, because I am being taunted from the roadside I will reply truthfully, and I am confident I can do this because God has given me hope through His word. That hope means I can obey God and have a freedom to ‘wander’ knowing that His precepts have given me reliable (true) directions and boundaries for my journey irrespective of roadside comment. In fact, I will be bold and proclaim my confidence in God even if it is ‘leaders’ who are taunting me, they can’t make me ashamed because I know what God has said brings delight, an awareness of His love that is far more important than man’s ‘approval’. There is no doubt about it, I will reach out (continue to listen to you) because I love your words, I will ignore those who would tempt me to go in the wrong direction. To do that I need to listen even more carefully (meditate) on the directions the Lord has given. Has my listening resulted in trust and awareness of God’s love?
Geoff Hinch
