Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105, TLV
Faithfulness. How about a little light reading for your daily quiet time? For those who read a chapter of Proverbs and a chapter of Psalms each day, Psalm 119 is a sizeable chunk of reading. Did you know that this psalm is broken up into sections using the Hebrew alphabet?
Today’s verse is the first verse under the letter נ (Nun) heading. The Hebrew sages are said to define the letter as both “faithfulness” and “the reward for faithfulness.” I’m not sure the pericope (section of text) falls into the reward, but it definitely is a section on faithfulness.
I have sworn and confirmed
to observe Your righteous rulings. (vs. 106, TLV)
The author of this beautiful poem is unknown. Scholars claim that it was likely David, but could also have been Ezra or Daniel. Within the pericope, faithfulness under persecution is a common thread.
My soul is continually in danger,
yet I have not forgotten Your Torah. (vs. 109, TLV)
The wicked have set a snare for me,
yet I did not stray from Your precepts. (vs. 110, TLV)
I turned my heart to do Your decrees,
forever, to the very end. (vs. 112, TLV)
What an important lesson for us. Although most of us in the west are not physically in continual danger, we are spiritually. So many distractions, offenses, disappointments, can pull us from our Heavenly Father. There are so many snares — temptations — that seek to keep us from what the word tells us because it is deemed “Politically Incorrect.”
The writer of this psalm ends this section of Nun with a commitment to turn their heart to His decrees to the very end.
My mother has a dear friend who is a “knitted kippah” Orthodox Israeli. He is Biblically observant, but not as strict as the ultra-orthodox, especially in as it pertains to the political world. Many of the ultra and ultra-ultra orthodox are not. This friend grew up memorizing Scripture. Every Shabbat, he and his family would “compete” against each other to see who could recite the most Scripture — mostly the psalms and proverbs. Each week was a joyful time of reciting GOD’s words and decrees.
While we may not be as dedicated to memorization of GOD’s words and decrees, we can certainly be faithful in reading, studying, and living them. Let that section of Nun — faithfulness — be a light to our path, to keep us from stumbling so that our hearts will forever be turned to Him.
