Overwhelmed

"I shall delight in your commandments, which I love."  (Psalm 119:47)

As I sat down this morning in my favorite chair and opened my Bible to Psalm 119, the word that kept coming to my mind was "overwhelmed".  Not because this word is found anywhere in this Psalm.....it isn't.  But because I find the Psalm and the psalmist a bit overwhelming.  Throughout the Psalm we find the psalmist's love for, his delight in the Word of God.  The Psalm paints a picture for us of a life aligned with God's Word.  So the question that comes to my mind is.....how do we come to love and delight in the Word in the same way the psalmist does?  To quote Pam Gillaspie, "how do we close the gap between what is and what should be?"  These thoughts will be an undercurrent of our continuing study of the Psalm.

We begin our study this week by looking back as well as by looking forward.  If you have time, read the entire Psalm again.  If your time today is limited, read the first 40 verses, the ones we have covered so far.  As you read, think back on what we have seen about the benefits the psalmist ascribes to God's Word.  Also review what the psalmist's desires are and what he has asked God for.  Think back over any personal commitments you may have made regarding God's Word, or regarding anything else that was a challenge or a "wow" moment for you during the study of the first 40 verses.  How are you doing with those commitments or challenges?

Once you have completed your review, move ahead to the next stanza, verses 41-48, the vav stanza.  I asked you to read the entire Psalm so that we can keep the "big picture" in mind.  If you did that, you may have noticed a shift in focus beginning here in the vav stanza from what the psalmist focused on in the first five stanzas.  If that is not readily apparent to you, not to worry!  It will all become clear as we go along!

As you read these eight verses, make your initial observations of this stanza.....ask the who/what/when/where/why/how questions.  Look for repeated words and phrases.  Note the words the psalmist uses for the Word of God.  If you are using colored pencils, this is the time to mark those words. Does the psalmist make any prayers or any commitments?  What do you learn about God in this stanza?  Make a note of any questions you have and anything (topic, phrase) that you want to dig deeper into.

That's enough for today.  I'll meet you back here tomorrow.