I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees.  I call out to You; save me and I will keep your statutes.  I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. 
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.  Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws.  Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law.  Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true.  Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever.

David was desperately dependent on God.   He wasn’t living in denial, assuming he could make it through life in his own strength and power.  He knew he was in over his head.  He knew he needed God’s help, so he calls and cries out to the Lord with all his heart.

We all need God that same way.  The only difference is how aware we are of our need for Him.  Humility leads us to that place – to know that we can’t do it on our own- to know that we need God desperately.  The same way we need oxygen.  Not for moral support or a pat on the back, but for every moment of every day.

What does desperate dependence on God look like for you?  Is there anything getting in way from pursuing God desperately?  What am I more desperate for than Him?

Righteous are You, O LORD, and your laws are right.  The statutes You have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy.  My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words.  Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.  Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts.  Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.  Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight.  Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding that I may live.

David tried and tested the Lord’s commands and found them to be true.  He had a track record of walking with the Lord and following His standards.  From that grew a strong confidence that no matter how challenging a situation he found himself in, he could reduce it to a simple matter of obedience, and he knew that God would see him through.

God is faithful, and He loves to show Himself faithful to those who trust in Him.  What track record with God do you have to look back to?  Maybe today it’s just a matter of trusting God in the little things.  Those little things may have a huge impact in the days to come.

David engaged his emotions in his walk with the Lord.  He was far from detached and stoic and this passage is a great example.  He rejoices over the statutes of the Lord.  He talks about longing for the Lord’s commands, and at the end of the passage he is moved to tears when he sees the law of the Lord not being obeyed.

To a certain extent our emotions do reveal what we truly care about.  It is easy to disengage our emotions from God in wanting to not get out of control, but protecting that passion for the things of God is even more vital.

Ask yourself: how engaged are my emotions in my walk with the Lord?  What am I passionate about?  Is it time to recapture some of that fire and passion for Him?  How can I do that?

David talks to God about his oppressors.  We don’t know exactly who it is he is referring to, but from what we read about the life of David, it’s obvious that he experienced a fair share of oppression.  Maybe he’s referring to Saul, a madman king with all the authority inIsrael, who set his heart against David and had him running for his life.

Who are your oppressors?  Who is set against you?  Whether it be human or spiritual oppression, this prayer teaches us that we don’t have to deal with them on our own.  We can talk to God about them.  We can ask Him to rescue and release and protection, even as we entrust ourselves to Him and persevere.

Sometimes in this psalm it almost seems like David is more in love with the law of the Lord than the Lord Himself.  We tend to distinguish between the law and the Lord, but David understood that the Law actually shows us the Lord.  It reveals the character of God to us.  So when you look at the 10 commandments, each one reveals God to us.  Do not lie… why?  Not just because it’s wrong, but because we are made in the image of God who is the Truth and who does not lie.  Do not covet… why?  Not just because it will make you jealous but because God is the great Giver of all things who gives Himself to us wants us to be content in Him.

Today, take some time to explore the commands of God and see what else you can discover about the heart of God.

David describes scripture as a lantern to light up the pathway in front of him.  A lamp is designed to illuminate only at a close range distance in front of us – to give us the next step and the step in front of that.  We often want that set of bright lights to click on to see where things are heading far ahead in the distance, but sometimes God calls us to simply stay close to Him and close to His Word.  He will keep on leading and guiding and illuminating that next step ahead so we can continue step by step down on the road He is leading us on.

How does the Word of God illuminate where you’re going?

What does the next step God is leading you to go look like?

Is there anything keeping you from taking it?

David chose to make scripture his source of understanding and wisdom.  Not just book knowledge, but life instructions that would guide him safely through the crossroads he would come to and the challenging choices he would have to make.  Time spent in God’s Word pays the dividend of insight.

What crossroads are you facing in your life right now?  Where does the challenge lie – in knowing what to do, or in doing what you already know is right?  Spend time seeking out biblical principles to build a framework for making wise choices.   Thank God and celebrate with others the insight for living you find in His Word!

In the midst of crisis, David made the decision to dwell on the character of God.  He chose to focus on who His God is.  He remembered that the Lord is the everlasting God – that with Him there is no beginning or end.  The Lord forever was and forever will be.  He remembered that his God was a faithful God who wouldn’t leave him on his own no matter what his circumstances looked like.  He remembered the sovereignty of God – that the Lord is not subject to anyone of anything – instead everyone and everything is subject to Him and His will.

God has made His attributes known to us so we can cling to who He is, particularly when where we are is hard to make sense of.  Meditate on the everlasting, faithful, sovereign God and meet Him in His Word today.   What perspective do you gain by dwelling on the attributes of God?

In this passage David talks about sitting in the waiting room.  Waiting for God is hard work.  There are situations that are beyond our ability to change- so we pray and we wait.  How long must your servant wait?  Is there a tinge of frustration there?  David was real with God, but at the same time he balanced that with a steadfast hope.  There was no doubt in his mind that God was going to act – it wasn’t a matter of if – only a matter of when.  In the meantime he clung to God’s Word with all of his strength.

How about you – where are you in the waiting room right now?  What are you waiting for God to do?  Are you actively waiting like David – pouring your heart out to God and setting your hope in His Word?  Make this passage your own – personalize it to your own situation and make it your prayer to the Lord.

The God who made us has also given us His commands to live by.  There is a quiet confidence in this passage – a hope dug down deep in David’s heart that despite the present condition of his life, which was far from ideal and filled with pain and shame and affliction, that everything would ultimately work out.  That confidence came from David’s decision to walk within the boundary lines God set up in His Word.  In the Word he met the God of all comfort and compassion who ministered to his point of need.  He also learned to delight in God’s commands, recognizing that they were the path of life and hope – no matter what the present looks like, there is reason to hope in the future by following His Word.

Today, take time to be comforted by the unfailing love of God (v.76).  What does it mean that His love is unfailing - in your life right now?