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2020-02-26 to 28 Pictures: Charleston, South Carolina

One of the few upsides of having to cancel our Spring Break trip last March at the onset of the pandemic is that we are "stuck" with a rather large voucher from one of those discount airlines. Last autumn, Tricia and I spent a weekend in Savannah, Georgia and had a...

A John 3:16 Craft for Kids

John 3:16 is one of the most well known and reassuring verses in the Bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16 (NIV) The following is a little craft I threw...

2020-03-01 Pictures: Lyndsey’s College Signing Day

This afternoon Lyndsey made it official, signing her letter of intent to play college basketball for the Hiram College Terriers starting next year. While she made the decision and committed to Hiram before Christmas, she has been looking forward to this day since her...

2020-02-13 Pictures: Lyndsey’s 18th Birthday

I am little behind on posting photos. These are some of my favorites from a couple of weekends ago when we got a chance to celebrate Lyndsey's 18th birthday. It's hard to believe that my little girl is officially an adult. It was nice to have the family all back...

What is DOCTRINE?

Introduction I love working with kids, and I love teaching them hard concepts in ways they can understand. To that end, for years I have been working on a dictionary of theological terms for kids and teens. In sharing those definitions, there seemed no better place to...

If You Want It Done Right

In all likelihood, you know how the phrase ends: If you want it done right, DO IT YOURSELF! This is a bit of a mantra for me, and frankly, something that I struggle with daily both in leadership and in my Christian walk.  In theory, this is easy to accept. ...

What Does God Hate?

This is the little and humble post that started it all. I happened to be reading through my Bible, and this passage impacted me so much that I posted a little blurb about it on Facebook. That was July 28, 2008, and I've been writing and sharing ever since. (Maybe...

Psalm 119 – The Word of God

I am currently working on another blog entry called simply “Why I Believe the Bible.”  However, in my daily reading today, I came to Psalm 119 again.  It is the longer single chapter in the Bible and longer than several books of the Bible.  It is also the single greatest summary of the the attributes and benefits of God’s word.  So, before I get into Why I Believe the Bible, it makes sense to take a couple of minutes to look at God’s word.

Psalm 119 says numerous times that we should meditate on God’s Word and store it in our hearts.  Part of that includes examining what this Psalm says about God’s Word.

Psalm 119 uses several different terms for God’s word.  My ESV Study Bible (which is an excellent resource which I highly recommend) includes a nifty little table which distinguishes the meaning of each:

English Hebrew Meaning
Law torah Instruction
Testimonies ‘edot What God solemnly testifies to be his will
Precepts piqqudim What God had appointed to be done
Statutes khuqqim; khuqqot What the divine lawgiver has laid down
Commandments mitswot What God has commanded
Rules mishpatim What the divine judge has ruled to be right
Word ‘imrah; dabar What God has spoken

A while back I did another post called “God’s Word….” (Http://waynestocks.com/2008/10/15/gods-word/) in which I listed out 100 different attributes or descriptions of God’s Word with scriptural references.  Many of them were from Psalm 119, but I thought it would be good to lis just the descriptions of God’s Word found in this Psalm.  It is described as:

  • My delight [v. 24]
  • A counselor [v. 24]
  • Good [v. 39]
  • Truth [v. 43, 142, 151, 160]
  • Comfort [v. 50]
  • Better than gold and silver [v. 72]
  • Righteous [v. 75, 144, 160, 164]
  • Sure [v. 86]
  • Eternal [v. 89, 152]
  • Life giving [v. 93]
  • Sweeter than honey [v. 103]
  • A lamp to our feet [v. 105]
  • A light to our path [v. 105]
  • Right [v. 128, 137, 172]
  • Wonderful [v. 129]
  • Illuminating [v. 130]
  • Well tried [v. 129]

I particularly like “well tried.”  The Bible has been “tried” for thousands of years by millions and millions of people and never found wanting or inadequate.

So, now that we know a little about the terms for God’s Word, and what God’s word is, what does Psalm 119 say we should do about it?  This Psalm says we should:

  • Keep it [v. 4, 8, 22, 33, 34, 67, 69, 87, 88, 100, 101, 102, 106, 110, 115, 129, 134, 146, 157, 158, 166, 167, 168]
  • Learn it [v. 7, 73, 108, 124, 135, 171]
  • Memorize and remember it [v. 11, 16, 61, 83, 93, 98, 109, 141, 153, 176]
  • Store it [v. 11]
  • Declare it [v. 13]
  • Delight in it [v. 14, 16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174]
  • Meditate on it [v. 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148]
  • Behold it [v. 18]
  • Long for it [v. 20, 40, 131]
  • Set it before us [v. 30]
  • Cling to it [v. 31]
  • Run in the way of it [v. 32]
  • Trust in it [v. 42]
  • Hope in it [v. 42, 49, 74, 81, 114, 147]
  • Seek it [v. 45, 94, 155]
  • Love it [v.47, 48, 113, 119, 127, 140, 159, 163, 167]
  • Lift up our hands towards it [v. 48]
  • Take comfort in it [v. 50, 52]
  • Turn your feet to it (act on it) [v.59]
  • Believe it [v. 66]
  • Consider it [v. 95, 128]
  • Live in it [v. 107]
  • Take joy in it [v. 111]
  • Have regard for it [v. 117]
  • Long for its fulfillment [v. 123]
  • Know it [v. 125]
  • Stand in awe of it [v. 161]
  • Rejoice in it [v. 162]
  • Give God praise for it [v. 164]
  • Have peace in it [v. 165]
  • Find understanding in it [v. 169]
  • Sing of it [v. 172]
  • Choose it [v. 173]

It is not enough just to read God’s Word, we must choose it and follow it.  We follow our Lord Jesus Christ, and the way we know him is through the Word of God.  We should always pray that God will use his word in our lives in the manner of Hebrews 4:12:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [Hebrews 4:12]

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3 Comments

  1. lonnie

    U got a lot out of psalm

  2. peggy

    This is great thank you -I am using these lists in my Bible class this morning!

    • Wayne Stocks

      I’m glad you found them useful!