Tag Archives: Taw

Taw

¹⁶⁹ O Lord, listen to my cry;
    give me the discerning mind you promised.
¹⁷⁰ Listen to my prayer;
    rescue me as you promised.
¹⁷¹ Let praise flow from my lips,
    for you have taught me your decrees.
¹⁷² Let my tongue sing about your word,
    for all your commands are right.
¹⁷³ Give me a helping hand,
    for I have chosen to follow your commandments.
¹⁷⁴ O Lord, I have longed for your rescue,
    and your instructions are my delight.
¹⁷⁵ Let me live so I can praise you,
    and may your regulations help me.
¹⁷⁶ I have wandered away like a lost sheep;
    come and find me,
    for I have not forgotten your commands.

Psalm 119:169-176

Dear God, what an interesting way to end this 176-verse poem/song/psalm to you: “I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands.” That’s not exactly the tone of the rest of the psalm. The rest of the psalm is about the psalmist being right and so many people being wrong against him. It’s about doing your commands and not just remembering them. But now, after having written all of those other sections and verses, is this the Holy Spirit revealing to the psalmist that he has still managed to lose his way?

I certainly lose my way sometimes. I really hope I’m not losing my way now. I’ve had something interesting happening the last several nights. I’ve been having extremely positive dreams. I don’t know how much you speak to me through dreams, but I do believe that, to some extent, the theme or overall feel of our dreams reveals the state of our heart and mind. I guess I must be in a pretty good place right now. But even that concerns me. Am I feeling too confident in myself? Am I forgetting to praise you for everything (what I perceive as good and bad), and am I doing things for the future in my own power and not through your provision and discernment? I need you every hour, Lord. “I need thee, oh I need thee. Every hour I need thee.”

Here are the different verses of this psalm. Please speak to me through what this psalmist put down thousands of years ago. In another language. In another culture. In another time.

• ¹⁶⁹ O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised. – Yes, I need discernment. I need to understand what you have for me to do. I need to remember that this is all from you. I need to point to you in all things. Help me to reveal you to everyone who sees me. That is my cry. Don’t do for me. Do through me for the sake of others.
• ¹⁷⁰ Listen to my prayer; rescue me as you promised. – I’m not sure that I need rescued as much as I need you to show me your path and bring you glory throughout it. Be glorified in me, oh Lord. And let my life be as you have ordained it. Help me to be exactly the 1/7 billionth of the earth’s population that you need me to be.
• ¹⁷¹ Let praise flow from my lips, for you have taught me your decrees. – I do worship you. You are amazing. You are everything. You are my only hope. You are my beginning and my end. I repent for wandering from your path. Help me to walk it today.
• ¹⁷² Let my tongue sing about your word, for all your commands are right. – Show me how to talk about you in a way that is not obnoxious but loving. Love other people through me. Give me your words and actions so that others might be drawn in closer to you.
• ¹⁷³ Give me a helping hand, for I have chosen to follow your commandments. – Help me, Lord. I have desires of my heart, and I don’t know if it is your will to fulfill them or not, but I do know that you want the best for those I am praying for. Heal and encourage. Love.
• ¹⁷⁴ O Lord, I have longed for your rescue, and your instructions are my delight. – I’m sure if I were in a situation of suffering like in Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Sudan, or even in a border detention center or a foreign land I didn’t know, I would long for your rescue. Or if I were in deep poverty, I would long for your rescue. But those are not my things. With that being said, I don’t want to be in Laodicea either. I don’t want to take what you’ve given me and be lukewarm. I want to be disciplined and fervent in my love and worship of you. I want to fight against my apathetic flesh and drill deeper into your heart. I want you to consume me, for “your instructions are my delight.”
• ¹⁷⁵ Let me live so I can praise you, and may your regulations help me. – Yeah. Make my life a prayer to you. Use it how you will. Use it for your worship and glory. Use it to love others and to reveal yourself to others.
• ¹⁷⁶ I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands. – I wonder if this last verse is the longest of the 176. It seems like it might be. I just went and checks. I think it is the only one that has three lines. Help me to not only remember your commands but to do them in real time. Be with me, Holy Spirit. You are my God. I am your servant. I love you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen