Daily Devotional Podcasts

552_The blessedness of walking by the Word Psalm 119: 1-8 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 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! 6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. 8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! A few years ago, a young man decided to take a solo hiking trip through a dense forest in the Pacific Northwest. He carried a compass, a map, and his phone’s GPS. But midway through the trail, the fog rolled in, thick as milk, and his phone battery died. He carried on, relying on his instincts to find his way back. Hours later, disoriented and exhausted, he realized he had been walking in circles. When rescuers finally found him the next morning, he said, “I had the compass all along, but I thought I knew better.” God has given us a perfect compass—His Word—to guide us safely through life. Yet, so often, we try to navigate by instinct, emotion, or desire. Psalm 119 reminds us that true blessedness—true happiness—comes not from following our own sense of direction but from walking by the Word of God. Psalm 119 is unlike any other passage in Scripture. It’s the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. It’s a carefully structured acrostic poem. Each section begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Almost every verse speaks about God’s Word—using terms like law, statutes, precepts, commandments, testimonies, and judgments. Each word captures a unique shade of meaning—like facets of a diamond, together reflecting the brilliance of God’s revelation. This psalm is remarkable, not just for its length, but its depth. It is the overflow of joy in the scripture because it brings the soul to God. It is not intellectual understanding that sparks this joy, but the delight of living by the truth. For the psalmist, the Word is not a set of restrictions but as a path of blessing, freedom, and joy. The first eight verses of Psalm 119 form the opening “pearl” in this string of meditations. They focus on the happiness of living by God’s Word: “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.” (Psalm 119:1–2) The focus of scripture is not on reading or studying the word, but living it out. For while it is essential to read and understand the word, happiness comes from living it out. This is the truth echoed in Revelation 1:3—“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and keep what is written in

551_Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good Psalm 118 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Vs.14-16 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, 16 the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” Vs. 28-29 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Matthew Henry was a well-known 17th-century Bible commentator. One night, he was robbed while traveling. When he got home, instead of complaining, he wrote these words in his journal: “Let me be thankful, first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took all I had, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” The heart that can give thanks even in the midst of loss is a heart that knows God’s goodness. Gratitude doesn’t come from a life free of trouble, but from a heart that sees the hand of a sovereign and faithful God in everything. Psalm 118 captures this gratitude. It begins and ends with the same refrain: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.” This psalm is a song of victory and thanksgiving. It is the last of the “Hallel” psalms—Psalm 113 to 118 - those feast songs of praise remembering God’s mighty deliverance from Egypt. In fact, these very words—“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”—would have been on the lips of the Lord Jesus and His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, when they sang a hymn before going out to the Mount of Olives. Martin Luther, the great Reformer, called Psalm 118 his “beloved psalm.” The seventeenth verse—“I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord”—was engraved on a plaque on his study wall. He looked at it daily during the dark days when many of his fellow Reformers were being killed. It reminded him that he was safe in

550_Let all nations praise the Lord Psalm 117 Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! John G. Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides Islands—today known as Vanuatu—in the South Pacific, which were peopled by cannibals. Despite the danger of being killed and eaten, he went to preach to the islanders, compelled by a deep conviction that the love of Christ was meant not just for his own people but for all nations. He labored for years, often in danger, often alone. Slowly, one by one, people began to listen to his message. When Paton died, it was said that there wasn’t a single village on the island without a Christian congregation. The gospel had taken root among a people once thought unreachable. That story captures something of Psalm 117, the shortest psalm in the entire Bible. In just two verses, it contains the length and breadth of God’s redemptive purpose: His love is for all nations, and His faithfulness never ends. The psalm begins with the words: “Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples.” This call is to every tribe, every language, every culture, every continent—at a time when Israel saw itself as God’s chosen people—a unique nation called into covenant with Him. Breaking through national boundaries, it speaks a prophetic word: God’s salvation is meant, not for Israel alone, but for the whole earth. This verse, quoted by Paul in Romans 15, tells us that this has always been God’s plan. “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.” In other words, Christ Jesus came first to the Jewish people to confirm God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—but also to open the door for all nations to experience mercy and salvation. God’s covenant love, first revealed to one family, was always meant to expand and embrace the world. Psalm 117, then, is not a small psalm—it’s the seed of the spread of the gospel worldwide, even as Christ Jesus commanded his apostles, after His resurrection: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This psalm was one of the Hallel psalms—Psalms 113 to 118—traditionally sung during the Passover, mentioned as among the last acts of the Lord before he went out to Gethsemane on his journey to the cross. As he sang, “Praise the Lord, all you nations,” he knew that his impending death would make that praise possible. He saw beyond the agony of the cross to the joy of fulfilling God’s will—of redeeming, through his death, people from all the ends of the earth, to be a kingdom of priests to God. Revelation 5 describes John’s vision of the Lamb “as though slain.” And the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall down before him and sing a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for