Psalm 119:161-176: Seeking the One

Today’s reading is Psalm 119 (vss. 161-176).

One in a Hundred

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
Psalm 119:176 (ESV)

Is this really how our psalmist’s story ends?

Of course not. Yes, it is how the psalm ends, but not the story. We find the rest of the story in Matthew 18:10ff.

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish (ESV).

In fact, the psalmist begs for God to seek him as a lost sheep. And God came into the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, the Messiah and Christ. Why did He come into the world? To seek and to save that which is lost (see Luke 19:10).

The psalmist went astray and begged God to seek him out. And God said, “Yes!”

And He has done and continues to do the same for us.

Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is Psalm 120.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from Psalm 119:161-176?

Psalm 119:161-176: The Bleating of a Lost Sheep

Today’s reading is Psalm 119 (vss. 161-176).

BAAAAAA!

We’ve already stated the surprise at the psalm’s ending yesterday. But see it again. The final stanza is one thing. The final verse takes it to a completely new level.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
Psalm 119:176 (ESV)

This psalm is not the victory psalm of a conquering warrior. This psalm is not the fight song of battling soldier. This psalm is the bleating of a lost sheep.

If we have been reading this psalm in order to compare ourselves and take pride in how well we love God’s Word, how disciplined we are in reading, studying, memorizing, discussing, quoting, following God’s Word, we’ve been wandering in the wrong field. This is the song of a desperate man. The lion prowls about, nipping at the psalmist’s heels. The psalmist is himself prone to wander. He stupidly tends to go his own direction and find himself caught in brambles, downcast in the soft earth, caught in a mud hole, stuck on a cliffside.

Our psalmist hasn’t been in God’s Word as a display of personal righteousness, a show of strength, or in hopes of being impressive. He has been in God’s Word because he knows without God’s Word he has absolutely no hope. He is a dying man tying a knot in the end of his rope and hanging on to the only handhold worth anything. He doesn’t hope to earn anything. He doesn’t hope to prove anything. He doesn’t hope to be able to demand anything. He hopes God will cast him a lifeline and draw him to safety. So he lives in God’s Word. Where else would he find God’s helping hand?

This final verse sweeps back through everything else we’ve read in this poem and sung in this song. Any time we thought we might be able to stand on our own two feet and show God how great we are because of our discipline in His Word, we suddenly realize is nothing more than when God Himself was lifting us up. Without Him, we are nothing, we have nothing.

We are sheep. We are weak. We tend to stray. We are prone to wander. Left to ourselves we won’t survive the day, let alone the night. Let us, like the desperate and drowning men and women we are, grab hold of this life preserver God has cast into the world. Let us hang on to His Word for dear life. It is, after all, the only means of the Blessed Life we have.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 119 (vss. 161-176).

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 119:161-176 prompt or improve your hope in God?