GIVE ME DISCERNMENT SO THAT I MAY UNDERSTAND

Proclamation:

“Deal with Your servant according to Your love and teach me Your decrees.  I am Your servant; give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes.”  Psalm 119:124-125 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This is the sixteenth part, Ayin, of this twenty-two part psalm.  David reminds The Lord God that he is His servant and he requests His protection (Psalm 119:121-122) and His mercy. (Psalm 119:124)  Then he repeats his request for The Lord God to teach him and to give him the discernment so that he can understand His Holy Word.

Application:

It is possible for people to read The Bible and not understand it.  Some people may understand the literal words but not have an appreciation for the spiritual heavenly implications behind them.  U.C.L.A. used to offer a course entitled “The Bible as Literature” which analyzed and compared the various writing styles it contained.  This was not a course in religion and it did not address the spiritual implications of the written words.  Jesus, The Christ, often spoke in parables which He frequently had to explain to His disciples.  We need to understand that we need His help in order to grasp the full meaning of His Holy Word.  Additionally, once we develop an appreciation for and an understanding of His Holy Word, we need to live by it and become doers of His word. (Romans 2:13 and James 1:22)