Tune My Heart, Episode 40

Happy Sunday, friend. As you prepare for worship this morning, let’s take a moment of quiet to invite God’s presence into your awareness today.

We’ve been working our way through Psalm 119 and today we’ll be reading the next two sections: verses 65-80. Listen for David to, once again, call upon the promises of God and ask God for wisdom to understand His laws.

ט Teth

65 Do good to your servant according to your word, Lord. 

66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, 

for I trust your commands. 

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, 

but now I obey your word.

 68 You are good, and what you do is good; 

teach me your decrees. 

69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, 

I keep your precepts with all my heart. 

70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, 

but I delight in your law. 

71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 

72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

י Yodh

73 Your hands made me and formed me; 

give me understanding to learn your commands. 

74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, 

for I have put my hope in your word. 

75 I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, 

and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. 

76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, 

according to your promise to your servant. 

77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, 

for your law is my delight. 

78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; 

but I will meditate on your precepts. 

79 May those who fear you turn to me, 

those who understand your statutes. 

80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, 

that I may not be put to shame.

I couldn’t help but notice the word “afflicted” being used multiple times in this passage. David even says, “71 It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees” and “that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” Interestingly enough, the word used here is originally ʿānâ in the Hebrew language, which translates often to humbled. Being humbled isn’t something we often take in a positive light, but here we see David saying it was good for him to be humbled. Being humbled helped him learn the decrees of the Lord.

This took my mind to the passage in James 4 about humbling ourselves before the Lord. I’m going to read that to close, but I want to point out two things about these passages. 1-David says that God afflicted him. God humbled him. But (2) in James, he tells us to humble ourselves. Perhaps the best thing we can do for ourselves is to humble ourselves before God, before He feels the need to humble us. We live in a stubborn, stiff-necked world, where we don’t ever like to be told that we’re wrong and our very culture fights against the idea of humility. But listen to what James says here:

1 What causes fights and quarrels among you?

Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?

2 You desire but do not have, so you kill.

You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.

You do not have because you do not ask God.

3 When you ask, you do not receive,

because you ask with wrong motives,

that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world

means enmity against God?

Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

6 But he gives us more grace.

That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Grieve, mourn and wail.

Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Let’s pray.

Father, I am convicted by these words here from both David and from James. Far too often, I’m unwilling to bow my head in humility and ask for your wisdom or your provision or your peace. I’ve been taught that I can do anything I put my mind to and that I can set my own path before me, but this is not how your Kingdom works. Convict us when this is true of us. Forgive me for my own sin here. God, I come in humility today, asking for your grace and mercy as we lead today. Truly, being humbled and realizing our own powerlessness and position is a place that allows us to truly worship you for who you are, to seek you because of our great need for you and to praise you for the way you come through for us. God, you are so good. Thank you for your kindness to humble us when we need it. It’s in Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

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