Psalm 119, Verse 174

From Your word I know that there is joy in salvation—for the Psalmist says, "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation." From my relationship with a living God who speaks to us from His living word, I know that this relationship must be vibrant, alive and constantly fresh—like a tree by the river that never withers; bearing fruit in all seasons. Therefore when I recognise that my walk with You is losing that joy—where I relate with You mechanically rather than with love—and that I am not receiving insight from Your word, but that Your Word is dry and appears to be just paper and ink; then I want to be quick to run to You and cry, "I long for Your salvation, Adonai. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation and renew a right spirit within me." May I never ignore this vital sign because very soon, if I am not careful, I will slip into slumber and remain like the five foolish virgins.

Lately, I have found myself drawn to Psalm 119. Charles Spurgeon beautifully describes it thus:

There is no title to this Psalm, neither is any author's name mentioned. It is not just long only; but equally excels in breadth of thought, depth of meaning, and height of fervour. It is like the celestial city which lieth four square, and the height and the breadth of it are equal. Many superficial readers have imagined that it harps upon one string, and abounds in pious repetitions and redundancies; but this arises from the shallowness of the reader's own mind: those who have studied this divine hymn, and carefully noted each line of it, are amazed at the variety and profundity of the thought.

It contains no idle word; the grapes of this cluster are almost to bursting full with the new wine of the kingdom. The more you look into this mirror of a gracious heart the more you will see in it. Placid on the surface as the sea of glass before the eternal throne, it yet contains within its depths an ocean of fire, and those who devoutly gaze into it shall not only see the brightness, but feel the glow of the sacred flame. It is loaded with holy sense, and is as weighty as it is bulky.

The Psalm is alphabetical. Eight stanzas commence with one letter, and then another eight with the next letter, and so the whole Psalm proceeds by octonaries quite through the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, from Aleph to Tau.

I thought I should post a verse each day in the hope that we all, including myself, may get an opportunity to reflect on them.