From before sunrise to beyond sunset, God’s Law dominated the psalmist’s life. In the incredible acrostic poem, Psalm 119 we see when the Word was important to him throughout his day.
Before dawn:
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words (147).
Daily:
Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day (94).
Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules (167).
Nightly:
I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law (55).
My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise (148).
And at midnight:
At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules (62).
Why did the psalmist put such effort into studying Scripture? Why was it so important to him? Why do we need to study it and why is it so important to us? God’s Word is His trustworthy instruction manual, His marvelous salvation story, and His beautiful praise hymnal. In His Word, we learn how to offer our praise to Him, our Creator. John MacArthur says the primary purpose of the Psalms is to “engender proper praise and worship of God.”
Scripture is so very important to the believer, for not only does it instruct us in how to worship our God, but it also trains our hearts to look to Christ rather than to vain things. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways (Psalm 119:37).
We cannot speak truth to our own hearts. God’s Word is the refining fire that will do that for us. I heard an international super star express to her audience that you cannot go wrong if you simply follow your own heart. The psalmist understood that his heart was wayward and not naturally inclined to truth. He pled with God to teach his heart to align with the holy Word. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain (Psalm 119:36).
The result of this aligning is resistance to a selfish existence. The psalmist asks God to help him turn his heart away from sinful things, including self-focus. He is confessing a divided mind. He desires to pursue the things of God but his heart naturally pulls him elsewhere.
I, too, know my mind is divided. So many things vie for my affection and attention. I must pursue a deep and disciplined daily study of the Word, asking the Lord to open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (Psalm 119:18) so that I can exclaim with the psalmist, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).
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