February 3

“My soul melts for heaviness; strengthen Thou me according to Thy Word. Remove from me the way of lying and grant me Thy law graciously.” These heart-wrenching words in Psalm 119: 28, 29 convey an anguish of spirit borne out of deep emotional turmoil and physical duress. Though our avenue to this point may be far different from that of the psalmist, our empathy with his frame of mind is acute.

We have all experienced the depth of longing from which he cries to the Lord for help, and if we will employ his technique for attaining it, we, too, shall see the hand of God move in our behalf as the psalmist did. Throughout this passage, the longest in the Bible, we see the affirmation of the power of the Word.

Vs. 49: “Remember the Word…upon which You cause me to base my hope.” Vs.105: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Vs. 116: “Uphold me according to Your Word that I may live and let me not be ashamed of my hope.”
Vs. 169: “Let my cry come near to You; give me understanding according to Your Word.

The psalmist further acknowledges that if his deliverance is to be realized, he must turn from the treachery of lies and make the Lord’s steadfast TRUTH his fortress of refuge! Like the psalmist, we must realize that there is no scheme of man that will work for us in an ultimate sense. To attain the help and the victory for which we long, we must stand on the Word, on His immutable Law, and trust the One who proclaims it!