Psalm 119:88 Halfway Home

In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

Psalm 119:88

This is another of the 11 times David uses the phrase "preserve my life" in Psalm 119. Literally it's "make me alive".

Each time he uses that phrase, he tells us something about how God and God's Word gives us life. In verse 88, at the halfway point of Psalm 119, he tells us two things about the reason for living.

Unfailing love gives you a reason to live.

A long, long time ago I asked a young lady if she knew the best four words in the English language.

"I love you?" she said, hesitantly. "No, that's three words."

"The four best words," I told her. "I. Love. You. Too."

"I love you" can be unrequited. It can be a blurted out phrase that falls flat. But "I love you too" is only said when there's an actual relationship, whether it's just beginning or decades long.

That sort of relationship can be energizing. When that mutual spark first burst into flame, both parties feel a new joy in living, a wholly different purpose for getting up in the morning and moving through the day.

How much more, then, does the loving relationship between God and a "man after God's own heart" energize and provide a reason for living?

Psalm 119 is David's trip diary, chronicling his journey on the 1 road, and about how he developed and maintained a deep love for the God who loved him.

If you want to be energized for the remainder of your journey on the 1 road, go deep in His Word and learn to align your heart with God's heart.

Obeying the statues of God gives you a reason to live

What's your reason for getting up in the morning? What's your goal for this year, for this life?

Whatever you put at the top of your To Do list, has it ever occurred to you that this should be first?

Obey the statues of God's mouth

Obeying is so passé these days. Most people don't get too excited about obeying anyone or anything. A lot of preachers don't like to talk about obeying, preferring to emphasize our freedom in Christ.

But David writes about obeying God no less than twenty times in Psalm 119.

And Jesus was quite clear about the importance of not ignoring the Law.

Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 5:19

Then Jesus continues, making it clear that it's not as simple as focusing on obeying a bunch of rules.

But For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 5:20

If, like David, you're trying to align your heart with God's heart, then his commands and precepts and laws are windows into His heart. He doesn't make up those rules randomly. Each law is an expression of what God loves and hates, what He prioritizes, and the behaviors He knows are best for you, the one who He loves.

The laws are a description of righteousness, not the other way around. Righteousness is the reason to live. The laws are the signposts along the way.

Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.

Psalm 119:175