Well-tried

“Forever, O Lord, your word
    is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
By your appointment they stand this day,
    for all things are your servants.
If your law had not been my delight,
    I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts,
    for by them you have given me life…

Your promise is well tried,
    and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
    yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is righteous forever,
    and your law is true.
Trouble and anguish have found me out,
    but your commandments are my delight…
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I hope in your words.
My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promise.” Psalm 119:89-93,140-143,147-148

Well tried: used many times before and known to be effective

The psalmist was convinced that the eternal God was faithful and His word was firmly fixed- in truth, immutability, and power to perform. All God’s creation, including His law, existed to serve Him and His purposes. Though he was himself small and despised and insignificant, God’s word was large and unshakable and evergreen, so therein he would hope and meditate and live.

Do we carry such a high and zealous hope in God’s word? Have we grounded our mindset and plans in it? When do we deeply study, hiding it in our hearts to keep us from sin and help us think rightly about relationships and current events? How knowledgable can we handle the word in stressful situations, trusting it for a ready response? Can we claim that it has indeed been well-tried in our days and over our years? What examples do we have of its enlightenment, help, protection, guidance, discernment, inspiration, power to transform? (Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 2:1-12; 1 Peter 3:15)

The better we know God’s word, the more we will cherish it as our lifeline and light. The more we trust it, claim it, and implement it, the better tried it is, proving faithful, unchanging, and solid through every situation. Others will notice our serene confidence and the wisdom the word gives as it anoints our language and tenderizes our love and care for them. The word well-tried will be the word oft-told. (Psalm 119:105)

What is our testimony about God’s word and its effect in our life? What could it be, and what will we do to make that so? How will we pass along our familiarity with and love for the word so those around us long to know its Author?

“How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!” ~John Rippon (1787)

Lord, keep me steeped in and treasuring Your word daily, so I prove it over and over for Your glory.