Robert Robinson’s travelling companion began humming the tune of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. After a while, she asked what he thought of the hymn. “I am the poor unhappy man who wrote it many years ago,” he sighed, “and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.”
Whilst this eighteenth-century story may be apocryphal, what seems clear is that Robinson experienced personally the wandering his hymn went on to describe: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” He’d been influenced by unbiblical friends for a time, leading to feelings of lostness and uncertainty while he drifted from God.
The psalmist described something similar: “I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant” (Psalm 119:176). He had known the immense value and joy of God’s Word (vv. 172, 174). Yet, somehow, he had wandered away.
In a world full of empty promises and distracting desires, we too can find ourselves prone to wander from biblical truth. When this happens, and like Robinson we discover our joy is gone, the psalmist shows us the way back: “May my cry come before you, Lord; . . . deliver me according to your promise” (vv. 169-170). Wherever we are, we can place our trust in the promises of God’s Word again, crying out to the One who seeks and saves the lost (Luke 19:10).
By Chris Wale
REFLECT & PRAY
When do you feel most tempted to wander away from God? How might you take to heart some of God’s promises and carry them with you?
Dear God, thank You that even when I wander, I can cry out to You for rescue. Take my heart and seal it for Yourself, Lord.
Find welcome and restoration in God’s presence tonight as you listen to the Our Daily Bread Evening Meditations at odb.org/ukpodcasts
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The book of Psalms is divided into five books (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), perhaps to reflect the five books of Moses in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Psalm 119 lands near the beginning of Book Five, which loosely celebrates rescue from captivity in Babylon but more specifically was written to celebrate the Torah. It’s written as an acrostic, with each of its stanzas beginning with succeeding letters of the Hebrew alphabet, perhaps to facilitate memorization. As you read this massive poem, pay attention to how many times the words law, commands, statutes, decrees, and precepts appear. All these words are descriptive of the Law (the Torah) upon which Judaism and the life of ancient Israel was built. Psalms 1 and 19 are also celebrations of the Torah and make better sense when read in that light.
Bill Crowder
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