573_Meeting our greatest need in Christ (Psalm 119:169-176) Psalm 119:169-176 Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word! 170 Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. 171 My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes. 172 My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right. 173 Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174 I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. 175 Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. There is a story told about a British shepherd who, on a cold winter morning, discovered that one of his sheep had wandered far beyond the boundary of the farm. The shepherd tracked the animal’s hoofprints through snow, brambles, and over stony ground until he found it stuck in a thorny ditch, trembling and unable to free itself. The shepherd lifted it gently, wrapped it in his coat, and carried it all the way home. Later, someone asked him why he would go through so much trouble for just a single sheep. The shepherd replied, “Because the sheep didn’t know how to find me. But I knew how to find him.” In many ways, that is the story of every believer—our wandering hearts, our desperate needs, and the God who seeks us when we cannot find our way back to Him. This is also the heartbeat of the final section of Psalm 119, the longest psalm in Scripture and a beautiful portrait of a soul shaped by God’s Word. As the psalmist reaches the end of his long meditation, his tone is not one of pride or accomplishment but of humble dependence. He comes boldly—yet reverently—to the throne of grace, gathering up all his petitions and placing them once more before the Almighty. He begins with an earnest plea: “Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word!” (v.169). After all the wisdom he has already expressed, after all the experiences he has recounted, the psalmist recognizes that his greatest need is still this: understanding. Not information, not intellectual mastery, not spiritual performance—but true understanding, the kind that only God Himself can give. This kind of prayer is never ignored by heaven. It is fully aligned with the heart and will of God. Scripture repeatedly assures us that God delights to reveal Himself to those who seek Him. Jeremiah 33:3 is one of the most beautiful promises of this invitation: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” God is not reluctant; He is not withholding. He invites His people to ask, and He promises to reveal. The psalmist’s next request is one of deliverance: “Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word” (v.170). What is significant here is not
