Psalm 119:73-80 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 119:73-80 on biblegateway.com
Verse 73Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
Verse 74Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.
Verse 75I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
Verse 76Let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant.
Verse 77Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.
Verse 78Let the arrogant be put to shame, because they have subverted me with guile; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
Verse 79Let those who fear you turn to me, so that they may know your decrees.
Verse 80May my heart be blameless in your statutes, so that I may not be put to shame.
Devotion
At first glance, “delight in the law” seems beyond the ken of ordinary believers, perhaps a hobby of lawyers and cops. But for Israel, “the law” was more than a list of “shalts” and “shalt nots.” Far more, it expressed the order and harmony of all that was real. “Delighting in the law of the Lord” signals obedience to God’s commandments. But it also invites us to pause and watch a sunset, return a child’s smile, mark the stillness of falling snow.
Prayer
Gracious God, your commandments bring order out of the chaos of our lives, and your invention brings beauty out of the swirl of creation. May we respond with grateful obedience and awe for all that you have made. Amen.