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Psalm 119 - Daleth

By this time, the student has learned the value of keeping God's Word, the method of keeping it, and his own need of God's help to keep it.  It's a good start toward a close relationship with Jehovah.  But he soon finds what all God's people find - corruption remains within and has caused him to fall away many times already!  He's discovered that his heart hasn't yet been made perfect!

The result is the need for frequent revival, frequent repentance, and frequent renewal of his good intentions and actions.  He's found that, as he says here, "My soul clings to the dust!"  It's as Paul the apostle said of himself, "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."

There are two things he (and we) needs very much to remember as he begins to learn what a fallen sinner he is: he needs to remember that God already knew these things about him before the relationship began - they are no surprise to Him.  He also needs to know, secondly, that because God knew well how fallen and needy every student is, He supplied a way of escape - through continuing prayer. 

It seems impossible to the student that God would choose such a sinner to be His servant - but He HAS!  And in His infinite mercy, He's made prayer a constant means of relief!  So the student here uses the means.  He prays for revival.

When he prays, "Teach me Your statutes," as he does here, he means, "teach me AGAIN Your statutes."  He prays for new understanding and new and profitable meditation on them - because he's fallen away - again.

But it's distressing to this young man to learn about his own long-continuing tendencies to fall away.  He says to Jehovah, "My soul melts from heaviness!"  It's a sorrowful and frustrating experience.  If forces him to realize the one thing he needs most from Jehovah, the thing which he prays for when he says, "Strengthen me according to Your Word!"  Specifically, he means, "Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously."

Thankfully, his falling doesn't mean that he doesn't desire to serve Jehovah - he still does, and he says as much to the Lord: "I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgements I have laid before me.  I cling to Your testimonies."

The result is that he just has to cry out, "O Lord, do not put me to shame!"  It's equivalent to shouting, "HELP!"  And it's followed by confidence - certainly not in himself, but in the Lord.  He says, "i will run in the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart."

Have you found out these same things about yourself?  If you're truly a Christian you have. If you've come into a relationship to the God of grace and mercy, if you've fled for refuge to Jesus Christ for salvation, then you've also discovered that your sinful self is still with you!  Hopefully, you've also learned that God already knew about it - he knew your tendency to fall often.  Hopefully, therefore, you come, just as often, for His ALWAYS-available mercy and additional grace.  Oh how every student needs to learn these things!