Devotion 7.14.26

Psalm 119

Heth

"57 The Lord is my portion;

  I promise to keep your words.

58 I entreat your favor with all my heart;

  be gracious to me according to your promise.

59 When I think on my ways,

  I turn my feet to your testimonies;

60 I hasten and do not delay

  to keep your commandments.

61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

  I do not forget your law.

62 At midnight I rise to praise you,

  because of your righteous rules.

63 I am a companion of all who fear you,

  of those who keep your precepts.

64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;

  teach me your statutes!"

The psalmist seeks God's ways in this world and the evil that is around (and within) him. The psalmist is grateful for the salvation found in the promise of God's steadfast love.

"Well of course she got straight A's. She was always on the front row, sitting up straight, had her hand raised to answer questions because she studied or read the assignment.... " You know who I'm talking about. The perfect child. The perfect student. She always came to school neatly dressed, had a bow in her hair, and her hair was neatly combed. The perfect kid.

Me and my friends were the ornery kids, hair messed up, patched jeans, hand-me-down shirts and barefooted if we weren't at school. Miss Perfect Student drew our ire (and our respect) at the same time.

In time, if we were smart, we'd seek her out, get to know her, get her number, go to her place and meet her parents, study together, cough up the nerve to ask her out. You get the idea.

Today we learn our psalmist is a Levite. The Lord is his portion which is a reference to Israel diving up the land according to tribes. Each received a portion, and the Levites were "given God." So of course, as a Levite, he's going to be perfect.

Yet he acknowledges and confesses his sin. In verses 58 and 59, he asks for God's grace and notes that when he thinks of his own ways, he turns his feet to God. He hastens to learn God's ways, but when the ways of this world (the cords) ensnare him, he remembers God's law. In other words, he turns from his sinful ways and repents, asking God to further teach him his laws or his Word.

God's law, as the psalmist notes, is a perfect compass in an imperfect world. Our friend may not be as perfect as he seems to us, but he's not saying he is. He's acknowledging God's perfect world, which when he reflects, tells him when he's been off-course and leads him to turn his feet back to the path.

If we are smart, we should seek out God's ways and get to know them. We should pray that God teach us his ways to help us stay on path, and to direct us back to that path as we lose sight of it. 

God's Word is our compass in life. Pray we always use it as a way to find direction (God's Will) and forgiveness when we lose sight of it.

Amen

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.