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Psalm 119 – Day 2

Psalm 119:5-8

Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

The Thought

Early in this psalm, we can see that the poet recognised his own need for God’s help in being obedient. We can imagine David learning the commandments, (maybe for his Bar-mitsvah as a young teenage jew) and being challenged by them, deciding at a young age to have an upright heart.

We can also imagine David being criticised by others, especially his brothers, and maybe his father too, for being too “religious”! Early in his life story we get the impression that this young hero was not really part of the family, he was always out in the fields, and when Samuel went to anoint one of the sons of Jesse David was not invited until the last minute, until his father Jesse had presented all his other seven sons (1 Samuel 16:11)!!

It appears from the verses today that David was afraid of being put to shame.

There had been much shame in his family line when his maternal grandmother returned to Bethlehem having lost her husband and both her sons. The sons had broken Jewish tradition by taking Moabite wives, so as a foreigner, Ruth could have faced a lot of ridicule and rejection.

But God had a plan!

Action

Do you think God has a plan for your life too. Think about unusual things you have experienced at different times, and how they have worked for good or for bad. Praise God that He was there through all of it.

Read the short book of Ruth today and praise God for His saving grace bringing good things out of bad. Note the way the book ends with the genealogy of David (Ruth 4:18-22)!

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