Sunday Scripture

 

 It's time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Psalm 119:12-18. 

S= "Blessed art Thou, O LORD; teach me Thy statutes.
"With my lips have I declared all the ordinances of Thy mouth.
"I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
"I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.
"I will delight myself in Thy statutes; I will not forget Thy Word.
"Deal bountifully with Thy servant, that I may live, and keep Thy Word.
"Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law."  (Psalm 119:12-18)

O= Psalm 119, as we know, is devoted entirely to the praise of God’s Word and the role of His Word in the life of the believer.  There is so much that can be said about this psalm!

Just for starters, Psalm 119 has been called the golden alphabet of the Bible.  It is divided into 22 sections, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Every section contains 8 verses, and every verse in a particular section begins with the corresponding Hebrew letter.  For example, the first section —  verses 1 through 8 — is titled Aleph.  And, in the Hebrew, each verse in this section begins with the letter Aleph.  The second section is titled Beth.  So in the Hebrew, each verse in that section — verses 9-16 — begins with the letter Beth.  And so on.
  
What a work of art this psalm is!  C.S. Lewis described it this way: “The poem is … a pattern, a thing done like embroidery, stitch by stitch, through long, quiet hours, for love of the subject and for the delight in leisurely, disciplined craftsmanship.”

A cross-reference for "teach me" (v. 12) and for "ways" (v.15) -- "Show me Thy ways, O LORD; teach me Thy paths."  (Psalm 25:4)

Cross-references for "declared" (v. 13) -- "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, Thou knowest."  (Psalm 40:9)

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."  (Deuteronomy 6:7)

"All the ordinances" (v.13) can be read "all the just decrees".   

Cross-references for "riches" (v.14) -- "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."  (Proverbs 3:13-15)

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.  For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."  (Proverbs 8:10-11)

"Testimonies" (v. 14) indicate "God's own declarations concerning His nature and purpose".*

Cross-reference for "meditate" (v. 15) -- "O, how love I Thy law!  It is my meditation all the day."  (Psalm 119:97)

"Precepts" (v.15) -- "Man's moral obligations as enjoined by  God". *

Cross-reference for "delight" (v. 16) -- "Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet Thy commandments are my delights."  (Psalm 119:143)

"Word" (v.16, 17) = "Speech or utterance, a general word for the disclosure of God's will."*

Cross-references for "deal bountifully" (v.17) -- "Return unto thy rest,  O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with me." (Psalm 116:7)

"I will sing unto the LORD, because He hath dealt bountifully with me."  (Psalm 13:6)

Cross-reference for "that I may live" (v. 17) -- "The righteousness of Thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live."  (Psalm 119:144)

"Law" (v.18) = "Primarily God's instruction or teaching, then all of God's revelation for life."*

* Definitions for testimonies (v.14), precepts (v.15), word (v.16,17) and law (v.18) are from the Scofield Study Bible.

A= The well-known Bible commentator of old, Matthew Henry, said that his father, Philip Henry, “recommended that his children take a verse of [Psalm 119] every morning and meditate upon it, and so go over the Psalm twice in a year, and that will bring you to be in love with all the rest of Scripture.”  I have read through a chapter of the Gospels a day, and a chapter of Proverbs a day, at different times in my life.  But I am thinking seriously of taking Mr. Henry’s advice and meditating on one verse of Psalm 119 per day.

For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"Center my vision on Your wondrous Word." -- Rachel Wojo

As we've said, the entire 176 verses of Psalm 119 are devoted to the praise of God's Word and to the role of His Word in the life of the believer. 

Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "fix". 

 

In the ESV verse 15 reads: "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways."  This is really a great thought for believers in any situation they may face.  Fixing our thoughts on God's Word and our eyes on His ways is incredibly helpful every day.

The question was asked: What one thought can I surrender to create room for seeing moments of grace?

My response in 2018:  The erroneous thought that things are never going to get better, that God is not working in my situation.  That's just not true.  He is working, and things are improving.

Answering this same question in 2024: The thought that our country is doomed.  Sure, things do look bad, but God is not bound by the way a situation looks.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter;  the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the words I read, I was struck anew by the amazingly creative and beautiful way Psalm 119 has been structured.

For the music I hear,  there were beautiful, soaring notes as teen musicians practiced a strings piece for our missions conference.

For the rest I receive, I mentioned sleeping so well in this cooler, late-summer weather.

For the air I breathe, there was the blessing of low humidity.

For the weather I experienced, I noted the recent string of perfect, fall-like crisp blue-sky days.

A journaling prompt was this:  Everything God made is beautiful.  Where have I noticed God's beauty in the past 24 hours?

My response in 2018: In brilliant blue skies and warmer temperatures.  In the descriptive words of writers like Hal Borland and Gladys Taber concerning April.  In the glorious profusion of colors in a variegated yarn I was crocheting with.  I believe it's the one shown below.

For my response in 2024, I added: In a yellow maple leaf plastered against white clapboards by the wind.  In the intricately designed flowers of orange jewelweed.  In a gentle rain the other evening.  In the courtesy of two fine grandsons who escorted us from their house to our car with umbrellas.

P=  "Lord,  I pray that You would indeed center my vision on Your wonderful Word.  Help me never to forget that Your Word is truer than any of my own thoughts, and that it is more real and reliable than any of my feelings or emotions.  I praise You that You have indeed dealt bountifully with me.  Help me to be faithful in sharing Your Word with others.  I thank You for all You will do,  in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.