His Encouragement — Psalm 119 Series

Welcome to His Encouragement Thursday!

This week I am going to continue my series on Psalm 119.

For those who may not know, Psalm 119 is broken down into 22 stanzas and each stanza begins with one letter from the Hebrew Alphabet. Each stanza is broken up into 8 verses for a total of 176 verses. It is the longest Psalm in the Psaltry. And, Psalm 119 is an example of an acrostic, which is a poem where the first letter of each verse spells out a word, message, or follows the alphabet. In this case, Psalm 119 follows the Hebrew Alphabet.

My goal with this series is not lofty. I am not an expert on Psalm 119. I just love its symmetry and message, and I want to share that with you over the next 22 weeks. Perhaps I will be able to share some insight, some interesting tidbits and facts, or just some thoughts on how the verses strike me. My true goal is that this series is an extra encouragement to you, and helps you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you. I hope you enjoy and are blessed!

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Psalm 119: 73-80

Yod (the letter Y; pronounced yood)

Your hands made me and formed me; giving me understanding so that I can learn Your commands.

Those who fear You will see me and rejoice, for I put my hope in Your Word.

I know, Lord, that Your judgements are just and that You have afflicted me fairly.

May Your faithful love comfort me as You promised Your servant.

May Your compassion come to me so that I may live, for Your instruction is my delight.

Let the arrogant be put to shame for slandering me with lies; I will meditate on Your precepts.

Let those who fear You, those who know Your decrees, turn to me.

May my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes so that I will not be put to shame.

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Psalm 119 is all about hearing and doing the Scriptures.

Verse 73 is absolutely lovely, don’t you think? It reminds me of the famous psalm by David where he wrote, “For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). I love this imagery because in both Psalms 119 and 139 it illustrates the intimate relationship God has with all of us from our foundations. And, I appreciate the truth within verse 73 as it applies to this intimate relationship — God made us, He crafted us, so we could learn about Him, His Word, and His commands. Why? So we could be in relationship with Him! The lines in the Bible about God wanting a relationship with me always blow my mind. He’s so big and powerful and perfect, yet He desires a relationship with me?! I will always find this truth amazing!

In addition, verse 78 encourages me. There is a ton of deception, evil, and just plain bad that has infiltrated our world. We fully live in the days where good is bad and bad is good (Isaiah 5:20). People spew lies and call them truth. Main stream media, politicians (all sides), secular society, and many in the Church expel these lies as if they were Gospel, then turn on those brave enough to tell God’s actual truth. I expect the world to behave this way, but to see the Church behave the same is just heartbreaking.

So, how does verse 78 encourage me? Because when I get overwhelmed by the world and its lies, when I’m heartbroken because those who claim to love Jesus hurt me the most, I always have God’s Word to go to for comfort and instruction. When the world attacks and I don’t know what to do or what to think, I can go to the Lord of Armies for help and counsel. I can meditate on Him and His Truths. What I find is that when I do this, meditate on His Word, I am filled with God’s peace, His instruction, and His advice. Meditating on God and His Promises is the BEST medicine for a world-weary soul.

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NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!

WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?

Check out more Thursday Encouragement from my fellow blogger friends:

Trisha @ Joy of Reading

Jacquelyn @ A Heavenly Home

Jessica @ A Baker’s Perspective

Becca @ The Becca Files

Gina @ Stories by Gina

Rebecca @ Rev. Rebecca Writes

Andi @ Radiant Light

Leslie @ Words of Hope

Claudia @ Claudia Moser

Keneesha @ Women Loving God’s Way