OUR CRIES – OUR TEARS – OUR JOYS – OUR PRAISES - NEED A SHEPHERD

THE LIFE OF A SHEEP

Psalm 119:169-176

Let my cry come before you, O LORD;

give me understanding according to your word!

Let my plea come before you;

deliver me according to your word.

My lips will pour forth praise,

for you teach me your statutes.

My tongue will sing of your word,

for all your commandments are right.

Let your hand be ready to help me,

for I have chosen your precepts.

I long for your salvation, O LORD,

and your law is my delight.

Let my soul live and praise you,

and let your rules help me.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

for I do not forget your commandments.

Look at the progression of feeling of these verses! There is a cry, followed by a plea, followed by praise, followed by singing, a living soul, a call for guidance.

We have traveled in this long excursion through Psalm 119, learning the way the Word of God accompanies us through our lives, and how much our lives depend on the guidance of the Scriptures. Here, the psalmist almost seems to be reviewing the ways that we are utterly dependent upon God’s guidance through His Word

When we are going through difficulties, it is often hard for us to keep an eternal prospective. We want to quickly find earthly explanations, we want to understand why these things are happening, and we want to know when they will end. As the writer cries out to the Lord, he does not ask for earthly explanations, but wants the Word to be his source for understanding and help for navigating the event. How important it is to start there, as the Scriptures will point our minds toward heavenly purposes. There is so much peace in simply resting in God’s hands.

Our prayer will be like his: to be delivered, according to God’s Word. We need to have the Scriptures direct our prayer life. Oh, how different would our prayers be if they were bathed in the truths of Scripture. Because they would thus be according to God’s will, we would have great peace, knowing that God would answer them and that we would not be disappointed or upset with the outcome.

As we grow more in sanctification, more into the image of Christ, praise will become our way of life, for praise is natural, when our desires and our responses to our situations are aligned with God’s purposes. I love the fact that the psalmist says that he needs to be taught. Are you like me, often disappointed with your reactions and attitudes? What a comfort it is for me to know that I have much to learn. My learning at times prepares me for coming events, and sometimes my failures are also part of my learning curve. Praise God that He is teaching us!

Our growth and our praise for what God is doing should be visible in our lives.

Singing is an obvious reflection of God’s work in our lives, for it is both audible and visible to others. The author has come to the conclusion that the Word is right. It is there where he finds answers; confident that he can rely on the Word, he can then proclaim it through his audible praise.

His resolve is visible. He has chosen what guides his life, so his behavior and actions reflect that decision. He depends upon God’s hand to direct him and relies on the Lord for salvation. He is trustful and at peace while waiting on the Lord.

The psalmist is not forgetful of his frailty and his proneness to go astray. He knows that he needs rules and that he is a sheep. Sheep cannot live without a shepherd. There are times when he needs to be found and brought back.

Do you tend to forget that you are a sheep?

Praise God for preparing a way for us as sheep, even before we knew Him.

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Praise God for Christ dying for His sheep.

John 10:15

        just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Praise God for making a way for us to become His sheep.

John 10:9

        I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

Praise God for making us His sheep.

Psalm 100:3

Know that the LORD, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Praise God for caring for us as sheep!

John 10:27-30

        My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

How do you plan to live your life today? In grateful submission? Or in stubborn dissatisfaction? May the Word of God be the power that directs our actions and reactions!