Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

  I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure (Psalm 119:162 NKJV). 

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the bible. It begins by talking about those who walk in the law of the Lord and ends with a confession. The psalmist obviously had gone astray from the commandments of the Lord but he had not forgotten them.

Throughout the psalm he is consoling himself that the Lord will save him from his enemies (v.95), will teach him his statues and give him understanding so that he will keep the Lord’s laws (v.33), and he will make it his duty to continually open his mouth and praise the Lord even at midnight (v.62).

One thing we can take note of is that this person is serious about his relationship with the Lord. And even though he has ‘backslidden’ that is, he has gone away from the teachings of the Lord, the words that he memorised when he was a child brings him back to the reality that everything he needs is in the Lord.

Once we recognise that everything we need is in the Lord, then our attitude towards his word, his spirit and his body, the church will radically change.

For the psalmist, being joyful because of these facts became a lifestyle. So much so that he reminds his hearers that his intention was not to sin against God, even though sometimes this was unavoidable, but that the truth of the word would convict him, bring on a spirit of repentance and propel him into praise mode.

Thank you Lord for your graciousness your mercy, your love and your capacity to forgive me even though I don’t deserve it, amen.

Read Psalm 119:160-176.