22 Readings . . . 8 verses each . . . 176 verses in total . . . 9 columns of text in my Bible . . . 4 1/2 pages . . . one grand theme . . . “Your law is my delight.” Finished up Psalm 119 this morning . . . oh, how I love this portion of Scripture.

I underline verses that pertain to the Word of God with an orange colored pencil . . . do you wanna guess that these 4+ pages are pretty orange? Yup. Next most prominent color? Purple . . . my color for obedience. The psalmist’s high esteem for the precepts of God were expressed not only in that he wrote such a wonderful treatise concerning the word but in that he determined to hold fast to the word . . . to not forget . . . to not swerve . . . but to do and keep the testimonies of His great God.

It’s not that the psalmist made a lifeless idol of the words . . . but that he adored the living Author of the book. Not that it was about legalistically checking off the “to do’s”, but that it was about experiencing real life . . . and life to the full. And so the psalmist would plead for understanding . . . would submit himself to divine teaching . . . would delight in the law of heaven. In the revealed word of God the psalmist had found a great treasure . . . and he would seek to plumb its depth and hold fast to its promise.

And it’s the last verse of this mega-psalm which captures my attention this morning . . . that the word of God can be a lifeline for those who will not let go of it . . .

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.”  (Psalm 119:176 ESV)

What an apt way to conclude 176 verses of contemplation concerning the wonder, the dynamics, and the benefits of God’s word . . . with the recognition that I am prone to wander . . . to, like a sheep, end up in places that I’m not sure how to get back from . . . to snooze at the wheel and find myself off kilter and/or off course. To acknowledge that I need the Shepherd to to seek me . . . to lead me back . . . to draw my heart once again to Him . . . to stand at the door and knock. That I need the depths of His grace and the power of His living Spirit in me to reel me back in and help me get my feet back under me. And the lifeline? . . . that vehicle by which I hear again the voice of God calling? . . . the agency by which clarity of thought is restored? It is the blessed word of God.

For those who love His commandments . . . for those who have cried out to be taught and given understanding . . . for those who have sought to hide His precepts in their hearts . . . for those who have subjected themselves to the revealed mind of God and sought to trust and obey . . . there is an abiding assurance. An assurance that though they may stray or feel they have lost their way, it will be but for a season . . . that though they might trip up, they will also get up . . . that though they wander, the Shepherd will seek them . . . and find them . . . and restore them . . . and return them to His loving fold. All through the inspired, living, and powerful, revelation of God.

His word is the lifeline. It is what keeps me tethered to the shores of heaven. It the anchor which holds fast during the storm. It is the communication link that conveys the “still small voice” of the Father during the raging cacophony of things gone wrong. It is the familiar landmark recognized in the desert which points back to the pathway of life.

Praise God for 22 readings . . . 176 verses . . . 4+ pages. Praise God for the lifeline! Amen?