Psalm
119:145-149; antiphon, Psalm
50:15 This psalm is based on The
Hebrew Letter “Qoph” It’s theme- “Crying
With The Whole Heart” David cries “Save
me O Lord and I will keep Your law.” As the psalm draws to a close, prayer
for deliverance becomes more dominant.
Praying to the God of the Bible.
1. (145-147) Crying
out to God with hope in His word.
I cry out with my whole heart;
Hear me, O LORD!
I will keep Your statutes.
I cry out to You;
Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.
I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.
a. I cry out with my whole heart…. I will keep Your statutes: The psalmist pleaded with God, crying out before Him. In his pleading, he wanted to keep the word of God. This was not merely a cry for help or deliverance or forgiveness; this was a cry for obedience.
“Yet these verses are not really about the psalmist’s enemies, as bad as they were. They are about the writer’s prayer life and how he learned to use God’s word when praying.” (Boice)
“The whole soul of the psalmist was engaged in this good work. He whose whole heart cries to God will never rise from the throne of grace without a blessing.” (Clarke)
b. I cry out to You; save me, and I will keep Your testimonies: For emphasis, the idea is repeated from the previous verse. The psalmist passionately cried out to God for the wisdom and strength and ability to obey God. This is a prayer that pleases God.
c. I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word: The psalmist passionately depended on God and His word, but that did not eliminate the participation of the psalmist in any way. He still woke early to seek God, in prayer (cry for help) that was helped by God’s word (I hope in Your word).
“So long as the
duty only of prayer is known, we shall be content with our set seasons. But
when the privilege is felt, we shall be early at work, following it closely
morning and night.” (Bridges)
We use prayer in our study of the word of God; this is essential. Yet we also use the word of God in our prayers. In prayer, the word of God shows us:
· The nature and
heart of the God we pray to.
· What we have
received from God, and what we should thank Him for.
· His greatness,
informing and expanding our praise.
· His moral will,
directing us to pray that we can do it.
· His promises to
His people, which we claim by faith.
· Substance for our prayers, as we pray-read the Scriptures.[2]
Persistent Prayer is the dominant theme for this coming Sunday. The Gospel (Luke 11:1-13) deals with several aspects of prayer: 1 how to pray; 2 persistence in prayer; 3 God is willing to give good gifts to His children. The Old Testament lesson (Genesis 18:20-33) deals with Abraham’s reasoning with God: getting God not to destroy Sodom because of only 10 righteous souls. Having been reduced from 50 the Lord stops Abraham at his request of ten. Not even ten were found and thus the city was destroyed as is depicted in the woodcut on our cover. Prayer is often a wrestling with God, a spiritual struggle. The Lord encourages us to watch and pray to remain vigilant and on our guard.
Collect for Psalm 119: Lord, you are just and your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus our LORD.[3]
[1]Lot flees Sodom Woodcut by Baron Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures ©WELS for personal and congregational use
[3] Collect for Psalm 119, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
[4] ibid
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