Psalm 119:169-176: God's word shows us the Mark to aim for

Psalm 119:169 “Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word!”
Psalm 119:176 “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.”

It is always sad to come to an end. Today we come to the end of our study into Psalms 119 with this, the last section, the last octonary. Whenever something comes to an end, we as people tend to look back and restate or summarize events. We do this at funerals and weddings, graduations and promotions, whenever an aspect of our life comes to an end we look back for a time of reflection. David does the same thing in this last section. He starts off praying to God that all the preceding psalm is heard be accepted in Heaven above, before the throne of God. He starts praising God, then giving thanks, then he gives his restated and summarized request for mercy, comprehension of God's laws, and the ability to obey God in totality. Finally he summarizes up this last section with what has now become a famous image in our Christian heritage – that of a lost sheep needing deliverance.

As we have gone through this psalm, it seems to me that David becomes more and more fervent in his prayer. The deeper he goes in prayer, the more he cries out for more. He wants to desire God, he desires God, and he only desires God. If something does not pertain to God, is not involved with God's will and God's word, then David does not want anything to do with it.

I notice that in my life I have had a serious lack of really desiring only God. Sure, I am somewhat of a hyperactive guy, but that doesn't excuse me. I have wanted all sorts of things besides God – a better paycheck, a nicer car, a bigger TV, a faster computer, more books, etc. I really don't need any of those things and my desire for them stems from me, from my selfishness, from my flesh. Its greed and its not a total desire for God and His will to be done rather than mine. I know I need to learn from David how to subjugate my will and instead learn to want what God's will is, and that is something that is very difficult for me.

The Hebrew letter “Tav” means “mark” or “cross”, with connotations of a covenant or sacrifice. Tav comes at the end, the mark that we aim for, the cross we are saved by which is the end of our old life, the new covenant we are now under with a constant realizing of the sacrifice that was paid for us. We are constantly reminded about how much God loves us, how great is His grace, a sign of how much He wants to abide with us. In fact the old hHbrew word for “sign” is spelled Aleph, Vav, Tav, or literally “the first, the leader, the strong man nailed to the cross” The word sign is used all over the Old Testament, wherever prophecies are, everything from the signs God used to encourage the Hebrew nation in Slavery in Egypt to Hezekiah and the sun going up the stairs backwards. Every sign was a reference to Christ, every sign is a reminder of Christ, every sign should lead us to Christ. God wants us to draw near to Him. He loves it when we come running to Him for anything. My selfishness and pride hold me back from being totally able to run to Him and jump into the King of all Creation's arms like the little child I am supposed to be, and I want so very much to be able to do that! I want to have David's heart for God, and I know you do too.

How then do we get David's heart for God? Well we need to study and seek after God like David did: with all fervor and desperation, like its the most important thing we could ever do, like its our last chance – which it really is. We need to spend the hours in prayer that David did. We need to focus everything on God and His desires, wants, will, and greatness. I say we, but I am speaking as much to myself as to you. Join me so it truly is “we” rather than “I.”