In Psalm 119, the author uses ten different words to refer to God’s Word, allowing us to experience its great richness. In this passage, every verse contains a reference to God’s Word — “your commandments, your word, your judgments, the word to your servant, your law, your precepts, your statutes, your law.”

In verse 73, the psalmist says that we are made and formed by God’s hands, showing that He is our Creator. If we desire to know and understand God’s Word, we must depend on Him. The psalmist first prays for God to grant him understanding to comprehend and learn His Word. This reminds us that when we read Scripture, we must rely on God and ask Him to give us wisdom and insight, to speak to our hearts. The psalmist’s prayer reflects his deep longing for God’s Word—his desire to understand and learn it.

Verse 74 speaks of hope in God’s Word. This “hope” can also be understood as waiting for God’s Word, showing that the psalmist depends on and obeys God’s Word in his life, waiting for God to act. As he seeks understanding to learn God’s Word, he also lives it out in obedience.

In verse 75, the psalmist praises the righteousness and faithfulness of God’s Word. He says, “In faithfulness you have afflicted me.” Here, “affliction” carries the sense of God’s discipline. God’s discipline flows from His righteousness, faithfulness, and love—it leads His children to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10–11). Discipline is also an experience of God’s faithful Word, ultimately for our good. Therefore, the psalmist can praise the righteousness and faithfulness of God’s Word even through such experiences.

In verses 76–77, the psalmist prays for God’s unfailing love to comfort him according to His promise, and for God’s mercy to give him life. God’s steadfast love never ceases; because of His mercy and love in Christ, we always have hope and comfort. All joy, comfort, and hope flow from the promises of God’s Word. When we seek and trust in God’s Word, we receive strength, comfort, and joy.

In verses 78–80, the psalmist prays that he may continually meditate on God’s precepts and that his heart may be blameless in God’s statutes. This expresses his desire to obey God’s law wholeheartedly — not merely outward obedience, but true obedience that flows from the heart.

God’s Word is profoundly rich and powerful. Do we often experience God’s love, joy, comfort, and hope through His Word? When we choose to obey and live according to God’s Word, we, like the psalmist, will continually experience joy, comfort, and hope through it. Since God is our Creator and His steadfast love endures forever, we can pray to Him — asking Him to give us a hunger and understanding for His Word, that we may taste its sweetness and joy, understand and learn it deeply, and commit ourselves to obey it.

Prayer:

Lord, please bless my time in Your Word. Grant me wisdom and understanding to comprehend it, so that I may delight in reading Scripture. Give me a heart that longs for Your Word and desires to hear You speak to me through it. Change my attitude—grant me humility and a heart that hungers to know, obey, and experience Your Word more deeply. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.