The Beauty of God's Word
by Fenny West

129 Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
132 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of men,
that I may obey your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant
and teach me your decrees.
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.

Ps 119:129-136
The word of God is broad, beautiful, boundless; it shines stands out, separates the wheat from the chaff; it brings illumination, divine direction, correction, instruction, promotion, dispels confusion, points and propels you to your destination and engenders the spirit of intercession.
It is so simple, clear and unambiguous, that even children and those with learning disability can understand it.
It is rich in style and language, painting so many pictures in the minds of the reader to underscore and reinforce the mind of God.

Those who approach it with the right attitude; who hunger and thirst for it; who pine, whine, and crave for it; will doubtless be satisfied.
So what are the key lessons from this portion of scripture: Psalm 119:129-136 ?
1. Quality
2. Attitude
3. Benefits
4. Prayer
5. Imagery



Quality The quality of God's Word seen from the adjectives (and synonyms) used to describe the word:
Simple, uncomplicated, ambiguous, clear, precise and understandable.

God's Word is a class by itself, unlike other books, it not only informs but transforms, hence David finds it wonderful, amazing, illuminating ( 129,130) It's entrance bring light and I dare say life. I t is light itself, a compass, God's Advance Warning System that can sound an alarm.

Attitude determines altitude
To gain from God's word we must approach it not only prayerfully but also humbly. We need to open our study in prayer, acknowledging the Author of the Word, inviting His presence and Chairmanship during the study. We must come with a teachable spirit; see the Holy Spirit as the Guide, Counsellor, Teacher and Helper. We must come like babes that are famished and crying for the mother's breast and would not stop until the breast is in the mouth. We must come like a dry land, caked from drought yearning for water, like a deer panting for water on a hot summer's day. Yes, we must come opening our mouths, panting expectantly, longing for His commands. That is the attitude that will lead to a great altitude.

Benefits arising from the Word
Needless to say, the benefits from the Word of god are immense and I will list just a few as can be seen or implied from this passage. As indicated above these are:

Illumination when His word is taught they bring light V130; it shows us bumps on the road and satanic potholes dug to derail or destroy us.

Instruction- God's Word is a source of sound doctrine or teaching of God's principles of dealing wisely in the affairs of life. V130, 135

Correction- God corrects us through His word when we err because we are His children and He loves us.

Divine direction- V133 God's Word is Pointer to destination- because the Word of God illuminates our path, it leads us to our destination; God's will and plan for our lives. When we come to crossroads in our life, we can expect to hear a voice saying to us: 'This is the way, walk you in it.'

Promotion-As you cherish God's Word even more than your daily bread like Job, you can be sure of promotion, just like Job was rescued and promoted.

Intercession- where you weep because God's word is not obeyed or you intercede for those who are blinded by the devil; led astray to disobey God's word and are destroyed thereby. V136
Could you imagine Moses in this role praying for rebellious, stiff-necked Israelites, Jesus paying for those who were crucifying Him, Nehemiah interceding for his nation that lied in ruins And Paul, praying for his people and wishing that he were accursed to save them? When the Word of God opens the eyes of your spiritual understanding you too will find yourself weeping for those who have been blinded by the god of this age.

Satisfaction- when you pine and whine for god's word, there is no doubt that He will satisfy you. As you dig deep into God's word, as you dwell in His presence, as you wait at His gate daily, longing to hear from Him, He will fill your soul; you will hear His Voice- strong, powerful, correcting instructing and directing.

Builds great expection-V135 You expect and prayer for favour because God's mercy and your standing with Him. You love Him, Love His Word and His ways. You can pray for Him to look down on you with a smile on His face. 'Lord, let your face shine on me according to your Word.'

Protection from evil- V133
Protection or deliverance from oppression is the portion of the redeemed of the Lord. Oppression is far from us. No weapon fashioned against us will prosper. God is our refuse. However often we are oppressed, may be through our own fault or because of demonic attacks. At such times hope is not lost. We can pray for deliverance confidently.

Prevents oppression- V134- Satan plans to oppress us, keep us in bondage by telling us lies about God and His Word. He twists God's word and often quotes it out of context to deceive us. And when we buy his lies we are trapped and oppressed. God can reveal or expose these satanic strategies to us as we prayerfully read and meditate on and study the Word.

Encourages obedience V129- The psalmist obeys God's word because they are wonderful. 'Your decrees are wonderful. No wonder I obey them!' Unless we see the Word of God as wonderful, delightful, insightful and useful we would not obey it. I pray that we will see the word of God as Wonderful.




Prayer
We can also see that David interlaced his writing with prayers, underscoring the need for prayer in all that we do for the Lord.
Hear him praying:
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of men,
that I may obey your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant
and teach me your decrees
May this be our prayer too.

When you love His Name and His Word and you do it, He will have mercy on you. He will direct your footsteps and no evil will rule over you.
He will redeem you; rescue you from the oppression of men and demonic forces of darkness. Yes, He will smile on you; cause His Face to shine on You. You will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in due season. You leaf shall not wither and whatever you do will prosper. You will remain fresh and green, bringing forth fruit even in your old age, proclaiming that the Lord is upright and there is no unrighteousness in Him.


Imageries- The use of imagery paint powerful mental pictures. We are told that a picture paints a thousand words so in this passage the pictures painted are worth 1000s of words. Hence the use of such word pictures give added richness to God's Word. We need to study the Word with alertness to dig out such gems. They reinforce our understanding and remembrance of the Word and Mind of God.
Can you see the powerful imageries (pictures) in: 'Word entrance, light' (vs 130), 'Opening of mouth and panting' (V131), 'direction of footsteps' (v133), 'Face shining' (v135), and 'streams of tears flowing'.(v136).

Lord, open our eyes to see the beauty in Your Word, in Jesus' Name.

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