89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Psalm 119-89-96
Change is something that I am not necessarily a fan of. And yet, the world is ever changing isn’t it? Seasons change. Our bodies change as we grow older. Plans change. Jobs change. Nothing ever seems to stay the same and as I grow older, I realize that more and more. But there is one thing that doesn’t change. God! He is the same today as He was yesterday and He is the same today as He will be tomorrow. That’s what struck me in this passage. The Psalmist starts with the word Forever. Other translations use the words eternal and stays. The thought is the same. God’s word is forever and it will never change. The same God that breathed the scriptures into life thousands of years ago breathes those scriptures into life today. We find God in the pages of scripture just like the Psalmist did all those thousands of years ago. The same God that our ancestors worshipped is the same God that we worship. The same God that did things like part the seas and raise Jesus back to life is the same God that we worship today. In a world where everything changes I find great comfort in a God who never does. One thing is certain in this world and that is God. He endures to all generations, He established the earth and it stands to this day because He holds it in place. We pray to move the heart of God but we will never change the character of God. We will never move God’s heart in a direction that is contrary to His word. If you are praying for something that goes against God’s word it will not happen. Because God’s word is fixed, it is eternal.
I also love how the Psalmist says “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” One thing I know in my life is that when times get tough, if I turn to God’s word to try to get to know His heart better on the matter at hand, I am somehow sustained even to the point of finding joy when I find the Father. I have been through some stuff, but I can honestly say that I have found God as I have navigated the stuff when I turn to His word. I also find out how to pray when I am going through the stuff if I keep turning to God, and I have seen His heart move when I am praying in accordance with His word. And as I learn and make His word my delight, I know He is carrying me through the stuff I am dealing with.
The Psalmist cries out to the Lord, to save him because he is seeking God’s precepts and save He will. His deliverance may not always look like I think I want it to. And many times it doesn’t come when I think I want it to. But one thing is sure and certain is that when it comes in His time, it is better than I can think or imagine and in that I find delight as well.
Now I took a minute extra to look at this last verse because I wanted to be sure I understood what it meant. Commentary explains it like this, we see perfection in the earth but there is a limit to it. Flowers bloom and they are perfection but they are only around for a day or two. The things of this earth are beautiful for a time, but then they change, they have a limit, they have an ending. They change. But the commandments are exceedingly broad. They never change. It is just a different way of saying what he said at the beginning of the passage. But one other thing commentary pointed out, God’s commandments are exceedingly broad because they are for everyone. It is funny how the world sees us as Christians as intolerant and closed minded but the truth is God’s word is exceedingly broad because God’s word is for them as well as for us. Anyone can turn toward God’s word it is not for the closed minded but for the broad minded. It is not limited to this person or this kind of person. It is for anyone and everyone ~
“and it will make us broad-minded, broad hearted, and tolerant in the best sense if we read it and obey it. It will prevent us from being tyrants over others and to tolerate and love others even when their lives and thinking are decidedly against God and His word.” David Guzik, Blue Letter Bible Commentary
Restore 