Morning Devotional 081623 Is Your Bible Covered in Dust?

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

August 16, 2023

Psalm 119:12-18

12 You, LORD, are to be blessed! Teach me your statutes. 13 I will declare out loud all the rules you have spoken. 14 I rejoice in the content of your laws as if I were rejoicing over great wealth. 15 I will think about your precepts and examine all your paths. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget what you have said. 17 Be good to your servant so I can go on living and keeping your word. 18 Open my eyes so I can examine the wonders of your Instruction!

Good Morning, Open our eyes and let us see!

Psalm 119 has 176 verses which make it the longest of the Psalms. In these one hundred seventy-six verses, all but five verse reference the Word of God. In this Psalm, David expresses his appreciation for God's goodness, mercies, severity, faithfulness, righteousness, and character, and in so doing, stands in awe of the Word of God (Psalm 119:161). These verses are included in much of the liturgy of the major Christian denominations even today. Verse 105 is often used in liturgy and song; Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

There is a tradition that King David used this psalm to teach his young son Solomon the alphabet—but not just the alphabet for writing letters: the alphabet of the spiritual life. As such, let’s consider what this short section has to teach us this morning. Reading and focusing on the Word of God as found in scripture should dominate our lives. We are called to read and reread the Bible because new meanings will be revealed to us as we are ready to hear it.

“I will not forget your word,” says David. God’s word should be part of our lives every moment of every day. We are not just to dust off the Bible and read it occasionally. We are to read with joy and find the glory of God that is infused in the words. We ask God to open our eyes so that we may see the majesty and scope of God’s mercy.

Creator God, We thank you! By your grace, we are given the tools we need to find you in our lives. Please help us to stay on our path to glory. Thank you! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: I can trust scripture to offer new insights each day.

Find God’s love in the Word! Pastor Liz