Running To Win – Psalm 119:25-32

ד DALETH [1]

“My soul clings to the dust. Revive me according to Your Word.” Psalm 119:25

David sounds like a collapsed runner on a race track. He cannot get up. Thus, he asks the Lord to revive him with the Word of God. He wanted to finish the race. He wanted to win the prize.

In John 6:63, Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life.” When we collapse on the race track of life, we call upon the Name of the Lord. We ask Him for a prophetic Word from the Bible! His Word revives our soul and helps us to finish strong.

“I have declared my ways, and You answered me. Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so, shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.” Psalm 119:26-27

When the enemy tells us that we are tired of following the Lord, we should just quit. We should do the exact opposite. In James 4:7-8, the Lord says, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

In Luke 24:32, after Jesus taught two of His disciples, they remarked, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Jesus is the best life-coach of all. As He coaches us, He fills us with His Spirit and sets our hearts afire.

In Ephesians 3:14, 17-19, Paul prayed for his fellow Christians, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” The Lord’s statutes, precepts and wonderful works convey to us His love for us.

“My soul melts from heaviness. Strengthen me according to Your Word. Remove from me the way of lying and grant me Your Law graciously.” Psalm 119:28-29

When the devil feeds us doubts, we should respond as Jesus did in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul wrote, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” We use the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus to throw down every thought and imagination that would defeat us.

In Ephesians 6:11, the Lord says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” In Ephesians 6:14-18, God describes to us the spiritual armor that we need to win the battle.

Discouragement is a weapon that the enemy uses against us. Thus, David asked the Lord to strengthen and anchor him to the Law. According to Deuteronomy 17:18, David would have had the Law written with his own hand, for the king was required to transcribe a copy for his own use. As one learning to write lays his letter next to the letter correctly drawn, David ensured that his thoughts and actions aligned with God’s Word. [2]

David turned to God for strength, saying. “Strengthen me according to Your Word.” I like God’s promise to us in Deuteronomy 33:25, “Your sandals shall be iron and bronze. As your days, so shall your strength be.” And in Isaiah 40:29, the Lord “gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” [3]

“I have chosen the way of truth. Your judgments I have laid before me. I cling to Your testimonies. O Lord do not put me to shame! I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.” Psalm 119:30-32

In John 8:32, Jesus said of truth, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Misinformed decisions are bad decisions. Deception is a key weapon of military strategists. An enemy army wants to appear strong where he is weak and weak where he is strong. Like a hunter, he camouflages his traps. Knowing and sticking with truth helps us to detect his traps.

The enemy wants us to gleefully reject truth. To be proud that we got rid of it!

David clung to God’s testimonies. Throughout history God has done mighty miracles. We should never for a moment begin to doubt them. The God who created all things can do what He wills with His creation. Who are we to tell the One who sustains the universe what He can and cannot do? How preposterous!

The Lord enlarged David’s heart as he ran the course of God’s commandments. If we want a healthy heart for God, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Him. No runner can win a race when he or she veers off from the path the leads to the finish line. Our finish line is God. God and His Word are inseparable so if we stick with His commands, we will finish with Him.

In Philippians 3:14, Paul ran toward Jesus, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In Hebrews 12:1-2, he urged his teammates, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

Following the Lord requires discipline. In 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, Paul declared, “I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” In 2 Timothy 4:7, he wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

“Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to run in the way of Your commandments, cross the finish line and win the prize, which would be You for all eternity. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.”


[1] From Googles sources and Bible Gateway: “Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem. It contains 176 verses divided into 22 sections, with each section named after one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Instead of just one line per letter, all eight verses in a given section begin with that specific letter. For example, verses 25–32 start with the ד Dalet, and this exact pattern continues sequentially all the way through the final letter, Tau (ת).

דָּֽבְקָ֣ה לֶעָפָ֣ר נַפְשִׁ֑י חַ֝יֵּ֗נִי כִּדְבָרֶֽךָ׃
דְּרָכַ֣י סִ֭פַּרְתִּי וַֽתַּעֲנֵ֗נִי לַמְּדֵ֥נִי חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃
דֶּֽרֶךְ־פִּקּוּדֶ֥יךָ הֲבִינֵ֑נִי וְ֝אָשִׂ֗יחָה בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
דָּלְפָ֣ה נַ֭פְשִׁי מִתּוּגָ֑ה קַ֝יְּמֵ֗נִי כִּדְבָרֶֽךָ׃
דֶּֽרֶךְ־שֶׁ֭קֶר הָסֵ֣ר מִמֶּ֑נִּי וְֽתוֹרָתְךָ֥ חָנֵּֽנִי׃
דֶּֽרֶךְ־אֱמוּנָ֥ה בָחָ֑רְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָ שִׁוִּֽיתִי׃
דָּבַ֥קְתִּי בְעֵֽדְוֺתֶ֑יךָ יְ֝הוָ֗ה אַל־תְּבִישֵֽׁנִי׃

Lamentations chapters 1-4 are also composed in the alphabetical acrostic format as are the verses of Proverbs 31:10-31, Psalm 34, 37 and 145.

Historically, each letter name corresponds to a concrete object. Over time, these pictures evolved into the letters used today. For example, ד Dalet was originally the symbol for door.

[2-3] Material developed, added to and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary