Back to Psalm 119, let’s look at Ayin, verses 121 – 128.

The stanza opens with two “non-Word” verses, numbers three and four of the six:

I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors. Be surety for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me. (121, 122)

Like verse 84, the first non-Word verse, they are in the context of oppression. A prayer for deliverance and protection.

The stanza closes with a commentary on our age:

It is time for You to act, O LORD, For they have regarded Your law as void. Therefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. (126 – 128)

“They have regarded your law as void.” People no longer pay attention to the warnings in God’s word. A better attitude is to love his word more than money. (That would be an antidote to the rampant gambling in our society.) “I consider your precepts right and hate every false way.” Gambling is certainly a false way, beginning with the advertising. “Look how much you can win!” doesn’t remind you that for you to win someone else has to lose.

I wrote on February 26, 2024:

The real message here is that just because society’s standards are changing doesn’t mean that something that used to be considered wrong or unwise is now OK. We need to be careful not to get sucked in, especially when we are fighting not only our own weaknesses but also a Satanically-inspired industry that preys on those weaknesses. These are NOT nice people! [They could even be considered the modern day oppressors verses 121 and 122 are talking about.]

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.12, ESV)

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5.15 – 17, ESV)

And back to Psalm 119:

Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. (128)

About this time last year I wrote about what a moving experience it was to visit the Wright Brothers Memorial and see where the first flight took place, December 17, 1903. It still moves me to think about “ordinary men with no special training:”

With courage and perseverance, these self-taught engineers relied on teamwork and application of the scientific process. What they achieved changed our world forever. – From a brochure at the Memorial

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, emphasis mine)

I shocked last week to learn that a mere nine weeks before the Wright Brothers flew, an editorial in the esteemed (I don’t know why!) New York Times opined in an article entitled “Flying Machines Which Do Not Fly”:

[It] might be assumed that the flying machine which will really fly might be evolved by the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians in from one million to ten million years… No doubt the problem has attractions for those it interests, but to the ordinary man it would seem as if effort might be employed more profitably.

Where to start? The same day the editorial was published, Orville Wright wrote in his diary, “We started assembly today.”

• Just because it’s never been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
• Just because “experts” have tried and failed doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
• Sahil Bloom, who put me on to this story, uses it as a metaphor for self-limiting beliefs.

Within 40 years of when the Wright brothers first flew, aircraft from both sides were a major factor in World War 2. A mere 66 years after the Wright brothers flew, we landed a man on the moon. The Wright brothers first flight was 112 feet; their fourth of the day was 852 feet. In 1986 Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager flew an aircraft NONSTOP around the world (“they” probably said that couldn’t be done either).

Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God! (The Angel Gabriel to Mary as recorded in Luke 1.37, Passion Translation)

A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time. (Isaiah 60.22, NKJV)

Psalm 119.105 – 112, Nun, opens with a well-known verse:

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (105)

Light is important. The light went out in my dog leash, and I forgot where I put my headlamp after the move so nighttime dog walking was difficult. The light in the leash is not all that powerful, but it does illumine the next step. It’s a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It’s especially useful for finding and bagging the dog’s “business.”

Back to the lightless leash. I tried to charge it without success. I wrote to the leash manufacturer (in China), and they sent me a new one. Nice of them, but the problem turned out to be in my charging cable. The leash comes with a cable with a USB connection to plug into the source and a USB-C connection to plug into the leash. I had been using my iPhone charging cable with a USB-C connection at both ends, and it didn’t work. I don’t know why.

God’s Word doesn’t need to be recharged! In fact, if I change the metaphor, God’s Word is the power source. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” I need to be recharged! But I must connect to the Word with the right cable. Not the cable of knowledge but the cable of listening and obeying.

I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end. (112, emphasis mine)

Back to the light for my path. It’s the daily step by step that counts.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. (Psalm 37.23, NKJV)

Moving through Psalm 119 where 170 of 176 verses refer explicitly to God’s word (word, precepts, statutes, ordinances, laws,…). The eight verses of each stanza all start with the same Hebrew letter. Verses 89 – 96, the 12th stanza (beginning the second half of the psalm), start with Lamed.

It opens with a reminder of what’s permanent:

• Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.
• Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.
• They continue this day according to Your ordinances, For all are Your servants. (89 – 91)

Note that verse 90 is the second of the six verses that don’t mention God’s word, but what’s not to love about verse 89?

“Forever, O LORD, your word is settled in heaven.”

Jesus said,

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24.35, ESV)

A permanent Word provides permanent guidance for life:

• If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
• I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.
• Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. (92 – 94)

I would do well to remind myself that God’s Word is the anchor. I take that truth for granted, but it’s clear not everyone does.

A Muslim socialist has just been elected mayor of New York City despite the fact he’s never held a real job. His guidance for life would be different from mine and may permit lying, for example. He is on record as saying his aunt was afraid to go out in her hijab in New York City after 9/11. Turns out his aunt doesn’t wear a hijab and doesn’t even live in New York City! (Peggy Noonan, October 30, 2025)

I digress. Leaders come and go. Even great cities and civilizations come and go, for example, Ephesus. But God and his Word remain.

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. (Psalm 119.89, NKJV)

Moving along through Psalm 119, we come to one of the verses that don’t mention God’s Word. It’s in Kaph, verses 81 – 88:

My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word. My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?” For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes. How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me? (Psalm 119.81 – 84, NKJV)

How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me? (84)

Verse 84 is the first of six verses in the psalm that don’t mention God’s Word. (I told you five before, but I’ve found another!) It’s in the context of persecution. Here’s what the persecution looks like:

The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law. All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me! (Psalm 119.85, 86, NKJV)

“Help me!” I can’t control the actions of others, but I can pray and stay grounded in the word.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Jesus, Matthew 5.10 – 12, ESV

Moving through Psalm 119, we come to Teth, verses 65 – 72.

It’s theme is simple: sometimes God needs to get our attention.

Some dog trainers use a collar that the trainer can remotely activate to give a small electric stimulus, a tingle. The purpose of the tingle is to get the dog’s attention so it will respond to the spoken command. The objective is to get the dog to respond to the command without using the collar to get his attention.

I think the same thing is going on here:

You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes…It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (Psalm 119.65 – 68, 71, NKJV)

The testimony of one who was “afflicted”

• You have dealt well with your servant.
• Before I was afflicted I went astray.
• It is good that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes.

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. – C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, emphasis mine

Psalm 119 is so much fun…and I won’t begin to cover all of it. Please remember what I said when I introduced it:

A friend of mine once was having trouble being motivated to have his daily time with God, so he decided to camp in Psalm 119 until he was motivated. 

Today’s letter is Zayin, verses 49 – 56:

Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. (49)

I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself. (52)

I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law. (55)

Remember: a prayer that God will remember and fulfill his promises, a source of comfort, a call to obedience.

I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. (Psalm 119.16, NKJV)

As we move through Psalm 119, we come to verses 33 – 40.

He starts with a classic statement of the purpose of spending time in the Word: putting it into practice!

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. (Psalm 119.33 – 35, NKJV)

• Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
  • And I shall keep it to the end.
• Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
  • Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
• Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
  • For I delight in it. (Psalm 119.33 – 35, NKJV)

Understanding is not available for those who don’t intend to keep it. “…keep it…keep Your law…observe it…walk in it”

Here’s a choice: God’s Word or covetousness…

Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. (Psalm 119.36, 37, NKJV)

“…your testimonies…not covetousness.” Chauncy Billups and other NBA players/coaches recently arrested for gambling and being involved with rigged poker games could have learned from this.

“More to be desired are they than gold…” (Psalm 19.10, ESV)

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. (Psalm 111.10, NKJV)

The other day I asked a pastor who has been reading my book That’s Not Church!, which is a compilation of some of my blogs about disciple-making in the local church, if anything had caught his eye. I was surprised at his response.

He referred to an essay that combined several blogs on The Living Word and featured these quotes from Eugene Peterson:

As God’s word written (scriptura) the scriptures are a great, but mixed, blessing. They are a blessing because each new generation of Christians has access to the fact that God speaks, the manner of his speaking, the results of his speaking. The scriptures are a mixed blessing because the moment the words are written they are in danger of losing the living resonance of the spoken word and reduced to something to be looked at, studied, interpreted, but not heard personally…

Words, separated from the person who spoke them, can be beautiful just as seashells are beautiful; they can be interesting just as skeletons can be interesting; they can be studied with profit just as fossils can be studied with profit. But apart from the act of listening and responding, they cannot function according to the intent of the speaker…The intent of revelation is not to inform us about God but to involve us with God…Some of Jesus’ sharpest disagreements were with the scribes and Pharisees, the persons in the first century who knew the words of scripture but heard the voice of God not at all…For them the scriptures had become a book to use, not a means by which to listen to God…

The Enemy has subverted the spoken word into an ink word. The moment that happens, the imagination atrophies, and living words flatten into book words. No matter that the words are believed to be true, they are not voiced words – Spirit-voiced and faith-heard – and so are not answered. They go through the minds of readers like water through a pipe. – Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder, quoted in The Word of God with Power by Jack R. Taylor, pages 58 – 60.

This pastor, a very good guy, told me: “I wish someone had told me this 40 years ago. I thought my job was to analyze the scripture and report what I discovered. Nobody taught me how to listen to God.”

Sad. Especially since pastors are the gatekeepers. If they don’t know how to listen to God, they’re not teaching their flock how to listen to God either. Praise that this pastor heard this lesson through the blog and received it, and I’m certain will act on it.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10.17, NKJV, emphasis mine)

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4.4, NKJV)

It’s All Saints Day, a time to remember those who have gone before.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12.1 – 2, ESV)

Please see last year’s post with explanation and the marvelous song “For All the Saints Who From Their Labors Rest.”

This year, I’d like to recognize a few saints that passed since the last All Saints Day. You can click the links for their obits or something I posted about them.

• Vern Betsch: Vern was a lifelong Navigator whom I saw at one of my first conferences in the late 60s. He was moving from Viet Nam to Indonesia as a Navigator missionary. He moved to Birmingham, AL, in 1973, and we connected when we were on church staff in Montgomery, AL, 2001 – 2006. He and his lovely wife, Elsie, were faithful and humble mentors for us and continued to strongly encourage us when we moved to Colorado as full-time Navigators.
• Jim Oraker: I wrote about Jim when I saw him in rapid decline. He and I co-taught a Sunday School class in the late 80s.
• Hulk Hogan: there will be all kinds of people with us!
• Pope Francis: read my blog. He washed feet that were actually dirty!
• Bill McCartney: I’m not a big event guy, but I made an exception for the Promise Keepers’ rallies. The early ones were amazing.
• Tony Campolo: faithfully called us to minister to the poor. My blog includes his telling the story of organizing a birthday party for a prostitute. Worth listening to.
• Charlie Kirk: a modern-day martyr, killed for his ideas.

These were all commended for their faith… (Hebrews 11.39, ESV)