Experiencing The Word

Psalm 119:1-8

Aleph

¹ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!

² Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,

³ who also do no wrong but walk in his ways!

⁴ Thou hast commanded thy precepts to be kept diligently.

⁵ O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping thy statutes!

⁶ Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all thy commandments.

⁷ I will praise thee with an upright heart, when I learn thy righteous ordinances.

⁸ I will observe thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly! (NIV)

One of the great pleasures I have discovered in retirement is I now have the time to enjoy reading.  I love collecting books that adds spiritual depth to my daily Bible studies.  One of my favorite places to go on this quest to find new books to add to my library are the Goodwill stores around my location.  I have been amazed at how many wonderful books ends up at these stores.  Several months ago, I picked up the book title “Experiencing The Word New Testament”.  What catch my eye about this book was the subtitle “with notes by Henry Blackaby” who wrote the book Experiencing God.  I had already read some of his works, so I knew this would be a great book to add to my library.  Like many books this one was presented to Brad and Kim and Family by Kenny on Thanksgiving 2006.  The sad story about this book was that it looked like it was brand new and had never been used.  That is now not longer the case, as it is now one of the many references books that I use as I study the Bible daily. 

What is so wonderful about this book is the godly advice that Dr. Blackaby gives to the students of God’s Word as they study New Testament from this “The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)”. Dr. Blackaby uses seven themes to help the readers experience God in their everyday living experiences.  These seven themes are: Seek relationship with God first, tune your heart to hear God’s voice, live the Word through experience, surrender your rights, know God’s will by knowing God’s heart, obey, obey, and keep on obeying, relax and let your witness happen naturally.  These seven themes will help keep the student’s focus of studying the New Testament on living a life that truly seeks to experience God in every aspect of their daily living. These themes are like the nine themes that David writes about in Psalm 119.  These nine themes are: law, precepts, testimonies, commandment, ordinances, promises, statues, way, and word of the LORD.  There are one hundred and seventy-six verses in this psalm.  They are divided into twenty -two section (a section for each letter of the Hebrew language) with eight verses in each section.

By focusing on these nine key words the reader of the first eight verses of Psalms one hundred and nineteen can gain a better understanding of how to walk daily in this world.  These verses apply to those who’s desire is to walk in the way of the blameless.  These verses describe the one who walks in the law of the Lord, who keep his testimonies, who walk in his ways, who keep his precepts as well as his statues, while focusing on his commandments and his righteous ordinances.  This is the person who will be blessed by the Lord as they seek him with a whole heart. So, as you look at your daily schedule, remember to look up and realize that the God who lives way up there in the sky desires to be your personal Savior.  The key to this wonderful life is to trust Him and walk in His way.