The Importance of the Bible and How It Applies to You... Part 1

On July 3rd, 2010 I started studying Psalm 119 at the suggestion of a book study of the Bible I was doing called Come Walk With Me by Carole Mayhall. I had no idea the implications this simple book would have on my comprehension, personal application and deeper love of God's Word. There were other topics and techniques for studying God's Word that I learned about but I have actually yet to finish Psalm 119 so I thought that would be a good one to post. I have been involved in many other Bible studies since then and actually forgot about good ole' Psalm 119.


Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the whole entire Bible and it is broken up into sections of 8 verses each. The whole entire 176 verses are pretty much all about God's Word and His laws which include what God's Word is, what God's Word does and our responsibility to the Word of God. It is one thing to plainly read through verses and chapters in the Bible, it is quite another thing to actually study Scripture, memorize, meditate on it, analyze it, do cross references, think clearly about how it relates to your life and what God is trying to tell you from it. That was a huge ah-ha moment for me when I started seeing how alive Scripture was and how I could use it in so many ways to learn from and grow with. The more personal applications I did using God's Word, the more excited I got about reading it and I began to really see the priceless value in the Bible and understand why God wanted me to read it. It's not about reading through the whole Bible as quick as you can so you can say 'yep, I read the Bible,' (even though reading the whole thing is important) it's about really living with the Bible as your manual to your life, wanting the things of it to show in how you live your life for Christ (if you do indeed follow Him). 


I shall start with Psalm 119:1-8 "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep His statutes they do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all Your commands. I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn Your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me."


First I ask questions about what I don't understand such as... what are precepts, statues and decrees? They are rules, laws and orders, the 10 Commandments for example, the things God wants us to be doing and how He wants us to live.


Then I do cross references which is finding other Bible verses that pertain to the verses I'm studying. At first I didn't think this was an important step and I didn't understand the value of it, but once you start finding every single verse that has to do with something you don't want to stop! It's amazing how the Bible all goes together even when its different books were written by different people, in different parts of the world and at different times. 

• Psalm 19:8 "The statues of the Lord are right, rejoicing in the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes."
• Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
• John 1:17 "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

What God's Word is according to Psalm 119:1-8... righteous, of the Lord, to be fully obeyed.

What God's Word does according to Psalm 119:1-8... those who walk accordingly have blameless ways and are blessed, it shows what doing nothing wrong is like, those who follow God's Word are not put to shame.

My responsibility to God's Word based on Psalm 119:1-8... keep the Word and seek Jesus with all my heart, walk in His ways, fully obey Him, be steadfast in obeying His decrees, consider all His commands, praise Him in an upright heart, learn God's righteous laws, obey His decrees.

And that my friends is how you do a verse study or study a group of verses. See how much more you get out of it rather than just reading it through to actually dissect each piece of it and apply it as well as find other Scripture references that back up the first verses. I'll do one more set of the next 8 verses because I love this so much! And perhaps I will post more later...

Psalm 119:9-16 "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word. I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your Word in my heart so that I might not sin against You. Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that have come from Your mouth. I rejoice in following Your statues as one rejoices with great riches. I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word."

Questions: none I can think of.

Cross Reference: 

• Psalm 37:31 "The law of his God is in his heart, none of his steps shall slide."
• Psalm 1:2 "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."
• 1 Timothy 5:22 "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourselves pure."
• 1 John 3:3 "And everyone who has hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

What God's Word is: laws from His mouth, not to be neglected.

What God's Word does: keep a young man's way pure, helps  hearts not sin against God.

My responsibility to God's Word: seek the Lord with all my heart, put His word in my heart so I may not sin against God and His Word, learn the Lord's decrees, speak and know all the laws from God's Word, rejoice in following God's Word like one rejoices in great riches, meditate on the Word, consider the Lord's ways, delight in His decrees, I WILL NEVER NEGLECT YOUR WORD LORD!