Psalm 119: 33-40 (links validated 7/29/26a)
Quick Locator
| Readings | Related Pages | Resources | Information |
|
|
New Resources
Sermon Starters (Proper 18A)(2026)
There are two equal but opposite errors when it comes to how we become saved from our sins. One error is believing we are saved by good works. The opposite error is believing we get saved by possessing pristine right doctrine. But I recently heard that someone once wrote that if you had a choice of which group to hang out with, you’d want to choose the good works folks because they at least go out of their way to be kind and nice and actually do perform helpful actions and works. But the right doctrine crowd tends to be rather cold and aloof, judgmental and harsh even as they don’t typically seem to pay much attention to their own behavior. That may be painting with too wide a brush in both directions but still, we all probably would rather associate with someone like the psalmist who is so passionately in love with God’s laws and decrees as opposed to someone who seems in love with their own doctrinal rectitude even if it means treating those deemed to have less correct theological ideas rather shabbily.
Resources from 2023 to 2025
Sermon Starters (Proper 17A)(2023)
A fitting song that could be sung in the worship service where a sermon on Psalm 119:33-40 is preached—at least if preached on along the lines suggested in this sermon commentary—is the song Lead Me, Guide Me. Because this song nicely captures the dynamics of recognizing how good it is to stay on the path of righteousness God has mapped out for us while at the same time knowing how prone we are to wander off that road. “I am lost if you take your hand from me, I am blind without Thy light to see.” That lyric nicely captures the overarching sentiment of this part of Psalm 119. It also reminds me of the oft-quoted line attributed to the writer Samuel Johnson that for most of us a lot of the time “We need less often to be instructed than reminded.” True, there are those situations in life that present us with genuine moral quandaries. A lot of the time, though, we know right from wrong. We just can’t get the right choice made without a lot of help by God’s guiding Holy Spirit.Love Fulfils God's Law
It happened one day when Jimmy and his grandpa were fishing in a motor boat out on the lake. It was a beautiful day, and they were having a wonderful time telling stories and drinking pop as they fished. Jimmy’s grandpa was a great storyteller, and Jimmy loved to listen to him tell about all the big fish he had caught. He didn’t mind that the fish seemed to get bigger each time Grandpa told about them. Suddenly, in the middle of one of Jimmy’s favourite fish stories, his grandpa clutched his chest and fell forward into the middle of the boat. He lay there without moving or saying a word. Jimmy tried to turn him over, but he was too heavy. He could tell that Grandpa was breathing, but he knew he was very sick and needed to see a doctor as soon as possible. Jimmy was scared. He had never been more scared in all of his life. There they were, in a boat out in the middle of the lake. His grandpa had told him never to start the motor or to try to operate the boat by himself. Grandpa said, “When you are old enough, I’ll teach you how to drive the boat.” Jimmy didn’t know what to do. He tried rowing the boat, but he wasn’t strong enough to work the oars. He felt like crying, but he knew that wouldn’t do any good. He knew that he had to do something and do it soon, because if he didn’t his grandpa might die. He prayed, “Dear God, what is the right thing to do?” And then he knew. He would have to start the motor and try to drive the boat. It was the only way to save his grandpa’s life. The motor started with one pull. Now came the hard part. Jimmy had never driven anything but a bicycle. But he had watched his grandpa drive the boat many times. He did what he remembered seeing Grandpa do, and they were off. The boat didn’t go perfectly straight, but he managed to get it back to the shore. Then he ran to the nearest house and called for help. An ambulance came and took his grandpa to the hospital. The doctor told him later that they got him there just in the nick of time. A few more minutes, and they would not have been able to save him. When Jimmy went into the hospital room to see his grandpa, he was a little bit afraid of what Grandpa might say about him driving the boat, but he needn’t have worried. When his grandpa saw him, he smiled and gave him a big hug. And then he said, “Jimmy, you did just the right thing. Your quick thinking saved my life.” Jimmy smiled back at his grandpa. His heart was full of joy. He was glad he had done the right thing. Jimmy was grateful that when he prayed, the LORD gave him the wisdom and understanding to do the right thing...
Resources from 2014 to 2022
Sermon Starters (Proper 18A)(2020)
Some of the struggles we all have with sin–and with our perpetual temptation to deviate from the Law of God that we know deep down is our true source of life–is captured by this poem, this hymn of confession by John Donne: Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun, Which was my sin, though it were done before? Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run still, though still I do deplore? When thou hast done, thou hast not done, For I have more. Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin, and made my sin their door? Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun A year or two, but wallow’d in, a score? When thou hast done, thou hast not done, For I have more. I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; And, having done that, thou hast done; I fear no more.