Theme:
The Word as light.............
The unfolding of Your words gives
light.............it gives understanding to the simple Psalm 119.130
Psalm 119 - Psalm 119 is all about the Word of God, the Word that he gives us.
And looking at Psalm 119, though
not of all of it, gives us an opportunity to reflect on what the Psalm says, on
how the Word of God takes hold of us, in our own experience.
as
verse 130 says: The unfolding of Your
words gives light.............it gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119, a psalm about God’s
Word. The Bible has some deep and wonderful things to say about God’s Word, and
its power, its effect. In Isaiah 55,
the Lord says, My word is like the snow and the rain
that come down from the sky to water the earth. They make the crops grow
provide seed for sowing, and food to eat. So also will be the word that I
speak..... it will not fail to do what I plan for it
it will do everything. I send it to do..... So that’s the first thing. The
Bible declares that God's word creates - in the opening verses of the Bible, we
read, God commanded by His Word, 'let there be light' and there was light
............... God's word creates brings growth, nourishment, strength for
human life,
How wonderfully this is expressed again, in the words of the
prophet Isaiah
in a sparklingly fresh picture
of new life......The Lord says: I will make rivers flow on barren heights
and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and
the parched ground into springs I will put in the desert the cedar, and the
acacia, the myrtle and the olive I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and
the cypress together so that people may see and know may consider and
understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of
Israel has created it.............. God, by His Word refreshes the desert, creates
new life, refreshes us, His dry and thirsty people, creates in us new life !
And yet, there is another side
to what the Bible says. While of course the Bible will declare the power of the
Word of the Lord in many places, it also speaks of the refusal of men
and women to hear the Word, the blindness of men and women to its light.
And that is probably much
close to our experience as we read the Word or hear it. Sometimes, we don’t
make much of what we read, much of what we hear, sometimes we just plain don’t
understand what we are reading. That is often our experience.
Take that Ethiopian, in the
Book of Acts, who was on his way home across the desert, the chancellor from
the court of the Kandake. Here he is, in a chariot, reading the Scriptures,
reading verses from the Book of Isaiah chapter 53, verses 7, 8, making very
heavy weather of it. Philip, runs up alongside and asks him “Do you understand
what you are reading ?”
How can I understand ? says the Ethiopian. How can I understand ? That is often our experience as we read the Word, hear it. Sometimes we just plain don’t understand.
Well, that Ethiopian official cannot
grasp what he is reading. He sees the letters there on the page, but he sees no
deeper. He knows there are depths there, but he can only see the surface. There
is a key, he knows, but he does not have it. He reads the words, but they make
no inner sense to him.
How can I understand, says the
Ethiopian official.
But there is a turning point. Philip
now begins to explain.
to
this Ethiopian man, how this passage is speaking of Jesus Christ and His cross.
And now the words once dark,
begin to be filled with light
things fall into place, Philip explains to him how the words in Isaiah make glorious
sense
in Jesus Christ.
And, so the Words on the page
spring to life
their meaning unlocked through Jesus Christ !
and the
Ethiopian goes on his way in a new and deep joy ! Why ?
Because in those moments he has received the message of salvation - he has
heard that at the cross, his sins, all of them, his deepest rooted sin, all of
this, his guilt and his sin have been taken away. He is loosed from the burden
of sin. Now he knows for himself God’s grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.
That’s exactly what Psalm 119
says in verse 130.
The unfolding of Your words gives
light.............it gives understanding to the simple. That was the
Ethiopian’s experience. He was puzzled, baffled, mystified but what he was
reading, But then suddenly, these dark words became
clear......suddenly the meaning of God’s Word unfolds.
Actually, the Scripture speaks in different ways of this experience. The
Bible says,
the Word is like good seed. In a parable that Jesus told, we learn that
there are often occasions when we do not take to heart God’s word, the cares
and concerns of life quickly smother what we have read or learnt, but the true
Word is like good seed in us. Like good seed, God’s Word takes root in
us, deep
root, and brings a good harvest in us,
an abundant harvest for life.
Again, the Bible says, that God’s Word is nourishment for us,
the Bread of Life.
You will remember, how, in that lonely spot by the sea of Galilee, Jesus gave thanks and blessed the bread held in His hands – and it was more than enough to feed those thousands gathered there. The hungry, the lonely, the lost could eat of that bread in such abundance that there were twelve baskets full of bread left over. Jesus, feeds, and nourishes those hungry men and women, filling their emptiness.
Jesus has the bread of life for us…………. to feed us, and in
such abundance that
there is enough for us all, and for the whole world over………….. God’s Word is nourishment for us, and whether hungry, or lost or
lonely, when we look for the bread of life, that which lasts, we find in Jesus,
as He has promised, Food for our souls, Food for our very souls. God’s Word is nourishment for us.
Lastly, the Bible says, that God’s Word gives us light.
The unfolding of Your words gives light........... says
the psalmist. And what light ! Light.
It was always a really great thing to look east in
In the dark
stillness, the hunters heading for the forest, the fishermen for the great
Think of a man, in a dark cell, waiting there in the darkness,
he
can light no candle or flame of his own
He tries to strike a spark in
the darkness
but
cannot.............
When suddenly in the darkness
light
springs; strikes the wall before him,
dazzling
his eyes
the cell is filled with light !
the
sun has risen !
There is often darkness, much darkness,
darkness
on every hand in life............
But there is light, a light that comes,
that springs, that takes root in us, that nourishes us,
The psalmist declares it:
The unfolding of God’s Word
gives light
gives understanding to the simple.
Let us bring our prayers to the God who gives us all good things.
We pray for all those who are suffering as a result of the swine flu; for those who are worried about their health; and for the doctors, nurses and medical staff working to treat the disease: may they have the support that they need.
We pray for the people of
We pray for Aung San Suu
Kyi, on trial in
We pray for those whose jobs and security are at risk in the economic climate: that they may be given new hope for the future.
We pray for those leaving full-time education at this time of year: that they may be enabled to find suitable employment.
Heavenly Father, just in all your ways and loving in all your deeds, we ask you to hear the prayers that we offer through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.