Sunday scripture

 

All of my readers have surely noticed by now that I'm posting each Sunday about a simple study of Psalms that I worked on last summer.  It was such a good study to be working on amid the uncertainties of 2020 -- and some of it was done sitting at picnic tables as we camped in the midst of God's glorious creation.  There just couldn't have been a better backdrop --so awe-inspiring and so many great reminders of how amazing God is!

This Psalms study is another from Good Morning Girls.  As I've said before, these are simple studies but I really do enjoy them and get a lot from them.  I very much enjoy more in-depth Bible studies as well, but these simpler ones are also a blessing to do.  I like to use the SOAP method of Bible study, and the journal from GMG uses a very similar method.  I find this method a real blessing whether I am studying shorter passages or longer ones, so I hope you'll give it a try if you haven't ever done so. 

Today's study is from Psalm 119.  How, you might wonder, could one cover the 176 verses of this lengthy psalm in one quiet time?  The answer, of course, is that you can't.  I did read the entire psalm, and chose to focus in on four verses rather than just the one that was specified.  I think probably verse 105 was chosen because it summarizes so well how God's Word guides us through life -- and also because it's said to be the key verse of the psalm -- but I chose to add in a couple more of the verses that spoke to me.  Here goes:

S=  "Oh, how love I Thy law!  It is my meditation all the day.
"Thou, through Thy commandments, hast made me wiser than mine enemies...
"Through Thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." 
(Psalm 119:97-98, 104-105)

O=  In my Scofield reference Bible, C.I. Scofield titled this Psalm "In praise of God's Word".  He states that this psalm "extols the beauties and excellencies of the written Word of God in a way found nowhere else in the Bible."  

Verse 105 is said to be the key verse of Psalm 119.  A cross-reference to this verse is Proverbs 6:23 -- "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life."

A=  I love the thought that the light of God's Word gives comfort, wisdom, and clarity [alluded to in the reflection question].  It is so true!  And I need it so badly!  Every day!  It's also very true, though, that sometimes God gives us light only for the next step.  This can be disconcerting and potentially scary, but that's where trust comes in.

P=  "Lord, I thank and praise You so much for the light of Your Word!  So many times it has brought me comfort in the darkness.  It has shed the light of Your wisdom and brought clarity in handling confusing situations.  I am so very thankful, and I pray that You will help me continue to rely on Your Word every day of my life.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

For this study I also answered the reflection question:

Every day, we turn on lights in our house.  In the same way, every day we need to turn to the light of God's Word to give us wisdom and clarity for life.  But God doesn't promise to light our entire path, sometimes He only gives us enough light for the next step.  How has God's Word been a light in the darkness in your life?  And how does God's Word guide your steps?

I wrote: I remember being in a very dark situation for a number of months.  The light of God"s Word, especially the book of Psalms, was truly comforting to me.  It was a blessing, too, to remember the promises of God's Word and all that we know of God's character.  All of this truly helped in dealing with serious difficulty.

On an everyday basis, the principles of God's Word give us clear guidance as to how we are to live our lives in a way that pleases and glorifies Him.  His promises encourage us daily.

There's the study for this week.  I hope it was a blessing to someone today.