Prayer and Meditation on Psalm 119:33-40 Number One

O precious Father, only You can teach me what Your commandments are all about. Until You do this

precious work in my heart, my obedience will at the best be only formal and external, for without 

Your teaching no one can serve You to the end, perseverance is a fruit of Your Spirit.

This teaching must be from Your grace alone, the gift of Your Spirit. So foolish am I, O 

Lord, that I deserve only darkness as judgment for my darkness and any light I receive must be by 

Your grace. Only Your gift of understanding can penetrate the heart and cause me to serve You with 

my whole heart.

You must be the cause of my going in the path of Your commandment. I only tread the path that You 

have trodden before me, O Precious Savior. You have suffered for me, leaving me an example of 

patience and endurance. When You are the cause of my obedience, then I will run gladly in the way.

You, alone, O Savior, can bend my heart to stretch out with desire and longing for Your 

commandments. This is not natural for me, O Lord, for we all seek our own ways and desire the 

things of the world and not the things of God. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride 

of life belong to us, O Lord, and we learn not to love these only if You teach us to love the things that 

are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.

Hence, O precious Father, until You quicken me to live in Your way, I will love the world and my 

eyes and all my senses will be captive to sinful lusts, the vain things of the world. All is vanity that 

turns me away from You, O Lord, for an idol is nothing and brings to shame all those that follow it.

I pray O Lord that my heart would be established by Your grace, as You have promised, for Your 

kingdom is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. It is Your 

word that causes me to fear You, O Father, and causes me to be Your very own possession, devoted 

to Your fear, as the Apostle wrote: “Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 

iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar and special people, zealous of good works.” O that I 

might be made holy, devoted to Your fear.

Protect me, O Heavenly Father, from bringing reproach upon Your Name. Only You can put a guard 

upon my lips and prevent me from bring scandal to Your Name. The devil watches on every side to 

lay snares for my feet, and You alone can protect me from them. It is good for me to thus judge 

myself, for if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged.

I long, O Lord, after Your precepts. I see much darkness yet in me, much that has not been 

quickened. Teach me to put off the old and put on the new, that I might be renewed in the spirit of my 

mind, as You have promised. I have not so learned Christ; for I have heard of him and have been 

taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. I long to put off concerning the former way of the old man, 

which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and I long to be renewed in the spirit of my mind as 

You have commanded and promised, Dear Father.

“33 ¶ HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. 34 Give me 

understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 ¶ Make me to 

go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy 

testimonies, and not to covetousness. 37 ¶ Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken 

thou me in thy way. 38 ¶ Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. 39 ¶ dTurn 

away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. 40 ¶ Behold, I have longed after thy 

precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. 41 ¶ VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, 

even thy salvation, according to thy word.” (Ps 119:33-41 AV)