Week 40: Psalms 118-119:1-48

Published September 25, 2025

Questions: Psalms 118-119:1-48

  • Psalm 118:18 says, “The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.” How does this interpret the distress he has been delivered out of (see vv 10-13)?
  • Psalm 119:34 says, “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.” The psalmist already knows the “law.” But he prays for understanding so that his obedience might be an obedience of his “whole heart”. Where your outward behavior already conforms to God’s law, pray for God to give you understanding so that even this obedience might grow into a whole-hearted obedience. Where else do you see this principle in Psalm 119? 

    • Devotion

    The famous English poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, famously penned the line, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”. As you might expect, the rest of the poem explores the depth and breadth of Brown’s love for her husband. In Psalm 118, we see the author doing just the opposite; he starts counting the ways that God loves him; and it’s an expansive and eternal love! In fact, the phrase “His love endures forever” appears five times in the psalm. Psalm 118 goes on to list the ways that God loves him in a variety of ways including: answered prayers (v.5), refuge (v.8), strength (v.14), and eternal salvation through Christ! (v.20-24). Of course, we understand, as children of the Living God, that we also receive these demonstrations of love from the Father. But how often do we take the time, like the psalmist, to count the ways? To write them down and meditate on them? If we did, we would certainly come to the same conclusion found at the end of Psalm 118: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

    But thanksgiving is only a start. In a healthy relationship, we receive love but we also need to find ways to show our love for the other person. The same is true in our relationship with God - and that’s where Psalm 119 comes in. Where Psalm 118 guides us to focus on God’s love for us, Psalm 119 shows us how we can demonstrate our love for Him. The not-so-secret ingredient is obedience. It sounds so simple, but it takes a lifetime to work on! In verses 1-48, the psalmist begins to count the ways to show love to the Father and obedience to His Word; it permeates this whole section right from the very first line: “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” (v.1). The word blessed in this context is referring to having a healthy relationship with the Lord - which is what we desire. Blameless is not describing perfection, but rather living with integrity according to the Word. Can we do this on our own? No. In fact, the psalmist recognizes he can’t live a loving, obedient life apart from God’s help: “Give me understanding and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart” (v.34); “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain” (v.36) Praise God that he gave us His Word so we may know Him and love Him through our obedience. May we spend more time in Scripture and seek more ways to live it out so we may join with the psalmist in saying, “Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors (v.24).

    - Gary Laird