RPG Adults
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY
MONDAY, MAY 20
Psalm 119:33-40
1 Timothy 2:8
“… let your requests
be made known unto God.”
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY
What a prayer-laden section this is! A sense of dependence and a consciousness of extreme need pervade this prayer-portion, with its succession of pleas.
In verse 33, the Psalmist prays for direction in its more superficial form. There were several paths leading down to death, but one path leads to life. So he besought Jehovah to show him His way, and he vowed that once seeing it he would follow it to the end. “Teach me” literally means “point out” or “indicate to me” and hence “to show.”
The phrase “I shall keep it unto the end” can be rendered, “So that I may attend to it as a reward” implying that the result of Jehovah’s teaching is obedience, and this obedience is a reward from Him.
Verse 34 is an enlargement of verse 33. Having been shown the way of truth, the Psalmist seeks the gift of understanding it, in order that he might apply it to every phase of his life. Spiritual discernment is a spiritual endowment. “Understanding” means mental comprehension, different from mere direction. The repeated phrase “whole heart” stresses the importance of undivided obedience and love to all God reveals through His Word. “The heart is never one with God till it is one within itself.” Then in verse 35, having received visual and mental perception of the way, David seeks power to walk in this Divine path. In verse 36, knowing the waywardness of his own heart, David confesses his weakness, rather than defend his own strength.
As it is with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, it is useless for the eyes to see, the mind to understand, and the feet ready to go the way of truth, if the heart be not inclined thereunto also. What is your own heart condition?
(Herbert Lockyer)
THOUGHT: (Read Psalm 119:36.)
PRAYER: (Use Psalm 119:33-36.)