Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word. I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119: 97-105, NKJV.
Most Holy Father, as we greet You this day, we pray that You will remain by our sides, and give us the victory over every besetting sin. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Before we go on to some of the additional benefits, or blessings, that we receive from the study of God’s Word, I would like to highlight the fact that, the secret to these blessings lie in being constant in the study of God’s Word. Notice comments such as, “It is my meditation all the day[;]” “they are ever with me[;]” “Your testimonies are my meditation.” This is obviously the psalmist’s way of life! In other phases of life, we see that the same concept is true. We can learn to really appreciate, and discern, the benefits of the practices that we “stay with.” One day of exercise will not give you the flexibility, that you seek. One healthy meal is not sufficient to reverse the negative effects of a lifetime of unhealthy eating. One full night of sleep is not enough to replace the tremendous blessings we lose by not getting sufficient rest on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, I have heard that in order for someone to form a habit, it requires twenty-one consecutive days of practicing that habit (recently I heard that it was twenty-eight days). But how wonderful it feels when we begin to experience the benefits of doing the right thing!
Another benefit is practicing what we learn as we study the Word. Observe the following comments: “I keep Your precepts[;]” “that I may keep Your word[;]” “I have not departed from Your judgments[;]” We are enjoined by the apostle James, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (1: 22, emphasis provided). I believe that we do fool ourselves if we believe that only reading the Word, or listening to a good sermon, is going to help us in our growth as spiritual, physical, and intellectual, beings. It is as we begin to put into practice what we have learned that we can truly experience the benefits of the lesson. Listen to this three-fold blessing: “Blessed [are they] who read and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near (Revelation 1: 3, emphasis provided)! Dearly beloved, the blessing is for those peruse the Word; listen to the preaching of the Word, and practice what they learn from the Word!
Have you heard people say “I try to read the Bible but I do not understand it?” Perhaps it is because we are not putting into practice the necessary steps to a better understanding of the Word. After reading it, listen to the Word being preached, “precept, upon precept, precept, upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28: 10). Then, by God’s grace, let Him live out in your life, what you have learned from His Word! From personal experience I know that we cannot go wrong, as we seek to study God’s Word, and follow His counsel. Why not give it a try today, and may God abundantly bless you!
We will continue.