Day 1205: Firmly fixed – Psalm 119:89-96

89-90 For ever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. 91-92 By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

93-94 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts. 95-96 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. I have seen a limit to all perfection,but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Psalm 119:89-96 English Standard Version

God's word, which the writer praises, can be seen in different ways. When we think of His word we more often than not think of God's written word. Verses 93-96 suggest that this was in the writer's mind. He says: “I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.”

But there is also God's creative word! In Genesis 1:3-4 we read: “And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.“ John 1:1-3 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

So what do vs 89-92 tell us about God's creative word?

They teach that God's creation is firmly fixed, and His creation reveals His faithfulness! And what God put in place in the world all around us – should give us assurance that His spoken word is just as faithful, and can be relied upon always. So the writer says: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”

This truth is beautifully expressed in Psalm 33:6-9 where we read: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; He puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him! For He spoke - and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.”

The miracle of Jesus calming a storm which threatened to engulf the disciple's boat should remind us that God's word is still powerful to save. His disciples marveled and said: “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27)

The writer speaks of this in verses 93-96. He asks God to save him from wicked people who lay in wait to destroy him. And his confidence comes from trusting in the precepts of God's word. The author of this Psalm is not revealed to us, but many scholars agree that it was likely written by David, Ezra, Daniel, or Jeremiah. Each of these proposed authors went through serious difficulties in life, but God's word encouraged them, and kept them faithful to the end.

When we look at society around us then, like the Psalmist, we conclude that 'there is a limit to all perfection'. Fashions and ideas come and go. But the things which God has appointed will stand fast. His word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Therefore “those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides for ever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people.” Psalm 125:1-2.