Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

These words are often used in worship, very appropriately, as a prayer by the minister before delivering a sermon. The request is made that the spoken words of the sermon and the silent thoughts of the whole congregation may be acceptable to God.

That's a prayer, of course, that only God can grant. But when any of us read God's Word, praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can believe that God will accept and bless the thoughts it prompts us to think and the words it prompts us to speak.

The closing address to God in a way sums up the whole psalm. God is revealed in nature as my Rock – strong, solid, powerful, dependable. God is revealed in Scripture as my Redeemer – personal, loving, rescuing and restoring.

Prayer: We give you thanks, O God, for this psalm and for the light and truth we receive from it. May our meditation on your Word, and the words we speak in witness to our faith be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

But who can discern his errors ?
Clear thou me from hidden faults.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me !
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

Have you ever had the experience of being in a room in your home when a single shaft of bright sunlight shines into it? You've always assumed that the room was clean but the sunlight reveals tiny particles of dust everywhere.

Earlier in this Psalm the writer had spoken of God's revelation of himself in nature, especially in the sun. Here as he thinks about Scripture, the image of the sun may well be in his mind again. God's Word is like a piercing ray of light: it conveys truth but it also shows up everything in our lives which is not clean. Hence the paradox that it is often the most saintly people, the people who are closest to God, who are most aware of their failings.

Again and again, as we read God's Word, we become aware of our own shortcomings and failures. We all have "hidden faults" – failings that we drift into without being aware of it. And certainly we all have "presumptuous sins" – failings that arise from our stubborn conviction that we know best and we can lead our own lives without reference to God. The correct response to the realization of our failings is not to give way to despair but to seek God's forgiveness to free us from the guilt of sin, and his help to free us from the power of sin.

Prayer: O Lord, you know our faults and failings better even than we know them ourselves. Grant us your forgiveness for the sins that have marred our lives in the past, and the help of your Holy Spirit in combating the power of sin in the future. Amen.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

There are many reasons for reading God's Word regularly and seeking to absorb it into our daily lives. Here the Psalmist highlights two reasons.

Firstly, Scripture can act as a warning to us. We tend to be impatient with those who try to warn us. But think, for example, of the flashing light and the ringing bell at a railway level crossing that warn of an approaching train. Each year unfortunately there are tragic accidents when people ignore the warning or become impatient and try to cross ahead of the train. We neglect such warnings at our peril. The warnings in Scripture are similarly designed for our own good, to protect us from harm and from doing what is foolish.

Secondly, obedience to the teaching of Scripture brings its own rewards. This of course is not to suggest that we should obey God's Word simply for what we can get out of it. Nor is it suggesting that the rewards are necessarily material or monetary. But living in accordance with God's Word does bring its own satisfaction even when it involves suffering and sacrifice on our part.

Prayer: O God, so often we are wilful and impatient and think we know best; help us to heed the warnings you give us through your Word. Help us to serve and follow you more faithfully in the assurance that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall indeed be satisfied. Amen.

More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.

In this verse the Psalmist continues to praise God's Word in a way that really challenges us to reassess our values.

It's easy to say that God's Word is precious to us, that we value it and treasure it, but can we honestly say that it is more important to us than financial success and material pleasures ? That's what the Psalmist is saying here.

Even today, gold remains the symbol of material wealth. In a society in which hockey players can make $10 million a year and "the bottom line" seems to be the only thing that counts, do we really think there are some things more important than money?

In ancient times there was no such thing as sugar; the only sweetening agent was honey. Today we have gourmet foods and an incredible array of luxury items at our disposal. Where do they rank in our scale of values?

The words of the Psalmist invite us to conduct an audit of our life style and to assess where God's word fits in our order of priorities.

Prayer: O Lord, there are so many pressures on us today which in subtle ways distort our scale of values. Help us, we pray, to value your Word, spoken to us through Scripture, above even the best of what this world has to offer. Amen.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring for ever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.

In rapid succession these verses invite us to consider six attributes of God's Word. Scarcely a day passes without the truth or the authority or the sufficiency of Scripture being questioned from one quarter or another. What a refreshing change these verses make! God's Word is "perfect," i.e. complete, all-sufficient; it is sure, right, pure, clean and true.

As such it revives us; it constantly renews our faith and brings us newness of life.

It confers on us, however foolish we may be, what the Bible calls wisdom – practical, down-to-earth direction for daily living.

It rejoices the heart, for the study of Scripture is not a dull chore but something which should brighten our day.

It enlightens the eyes, helping us to see clearly.

It endures for ever, unlike so much else in this life. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8)

It is righteous altogether; if we follow God's Word we can depend on it to lead us in the right paths.

Prayer: O God, in Scripture we have one of your greatest gifts to us. Help us to read it and study it carefully and prayerfully so that it may rejoice our hearts, enlighten our eyes, and lead us always in the right way. Amen.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.

Having spoken in verses 1-6 of the revelation of God in the world he has created, in verses 7-13 the Psalmist turns to God's revelation of himself in his Word. God's law (Torah = teaching, instruction, direction) in the following verses is equated with his "testimony," "precepts," "commandment," and "ordinances"; all these are synonyms for God's Word contained in Scripture.

God makes himself known to us in nature, but of course at best that is a partial and incomplete revelation. Nature, says Paul, displays God's "eternal power and deity" (Romans 1:20). For the revelation of God that is "perfect," i.e. full and complete, we turn to Scripture. In the words of Isaac Watts:

The heavens declare thy glory, Lord,
In every star Thy wisdom shines;
But when our eyes behold Thy Word,
We read Thy name in fairer lines.

Prayer: We thank you, O Lord, that the world in which we live is a book in which we may read of your divine power. But we thank you especially for the Bible, the Book of Books, in which we may read clearly of your divine love revealed in many ways but above all in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and there is nothing hid from its heat.

Of all the forces of nature the sun is perhaps the one that affects us most obviously and directly. So great is our dependence on its light and warmth that from the earliest times many have worshipped the sun as a god. Nowadays,of course, sun-worshippers tend to seek the sun on beaches and follow it south in the winter time! At the very outset (Genesis 1:16) the Bible makes it clear that the sun is no independent power; it was brought into being by God. But as part of creation it does point to the Creator.

The Psalmist speaks here of the sun in strong and joyful poetic images – rising in the morning and setting out on its daily course like a youthful and happy husband leaving home for his day's work, or like a powerful athlete springing from the starting blocks.

Without the light and heat of the sun life would be impossible. This psalm reminds us that behind the sun is God, the giver of all life.

The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.

(Addison)

Prayer: O God, how often do we complain when the sun does not shine; how seldom, when it is shining, do we pause to give thanks for its light and warmth. Help us to remember that all good gifts around us are sent from heaven above, and help us to respond in gratitude and love. Amen.