Psalm 119:1-8

Read Psalm 119:1-8.

There are several terms used for God's Word; law, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgements, Your Word, Your Testimony; these are all used in this psalm and all describe the Word of God.

v 1: begins with 'blessed'. Blessedness begins when we know we are forgiven and to walk in the way of the Word gives us blessing. 

v2-3: those who seek the Lord are blessed. It's not an intellectual endeavour, but just to look for Christ when we read our Bible.This desire gives us blessing and we can get to know Him better. To 'seek him with the whole heart' is undivided devotion to Him. We can't be focused on the Lord and something else at the same time, no matter how good you are at multi tasking! We are reminded of this in Matthew 6:24: 'No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.' God also gives us a promise in Deuteronomy 4:29: 'But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.' There is no room for two focuses here. 

v4-6: to be diligent is to put effort into something. We can't read God's Word leisurely, just a chapter out of habit. Study His Word in your quiet times and when Gd shows your something, diligently keep it. God will be on our side when we keep all His commandments, so we can't pick and choose. If He tells us something, we must obey. Of course, this is much easier when we pray. 

v7-8: when we find something in the Word, we can praise and thank Him for it. For example, when we realise that everything is together and we have an answer, we can praise Him for it. Our song of praise continues into eternity. But these praises must come from the heart, not just ritual praises. God does not expect us to pray using big long words like people do in the meetings or in church, but let your prayer come from your heart.