Affliction is a central theme of Psalm 119:65–72. The psalmist’s burden was to learn something from affliction, and for his readers to learn from affliction. Affliction is a reality for everyone, but we will only learn from affliction to the degree that we are looking to learn from it. These verses reveal the source of affliction (v. 65), the purpose of affliction (vv. 66–68), and some realities of affliction (vv. 69–72).

At Calvary, God tears the curtain of the flesh of his beloved Son Jesus on the cross, and he tears the curtain of the temple that stood in front of the Holy of Holies. Has God torn the curtain that lies over your heart to understand and experience the salvation that flows from the sufferings of Christ?

God has some supernatural advice for you—truths to help you deal with your most formidable personal challenges. Do you know how to get to those truths?

The goal of Christian parenting, quite simply, is for fathers to lead their children to another Father. In order to do this, fathers must prioritise the gospel. In the text before us, Paul give two commands that, if obeyed, provide a framework for gospel-driven parenting: First, don’t stir them up; and, second, do build them up. Fathers do so by pointing their children to the Lord.

If fathers will faithfully lead their children to the Father, at least four things are required: (1) Fathers must be present; (2) fathers must not provoke; (3) fathers must parent; and (4) fathers must pray.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22:37–38). The best place to learn this love—and the associated love for neighbour as self—is in the Christian home. This seems to be a major underlying idea behind Paul’s exhortation to children and to parents in Ephesians 6:1­–4.

In the psalmist’s petition to experience God’s love, we find the true context for our prayers. And within this context we find the commitment of the Christian—as a result of this context. Only the experience of God's love will lead to a true commitment to serve him.

Innate to every person’s core is the desire to be happy. Though there are many perceived ways to gain this happiness, there is only one way to truly achieve it—and that is through knowing God and doing what he commands. To do anything else is to be foolish, but to be wise is to do as his commandments instruct us to do.

Marriage, God’s way, is a miraculous thing, but it can also be incredibly mundane at times. Marriage is not a fairy tale—a Hollywood production. Marriage, God’s way, is a miracle—both majestic (vv. 28–32) and mundane (v. 33).

Life is precious, but circumstances are sometimes desperate. Life can seem pretty hopeless at times. It can hit us so hard that the force of its punch can put us face down on the mat of circumstances. And it appears that our only hope for recovery is a miracle. But what is recorded in Psalm 119:25–32 is much more truthful, and therefore it is much more hopeful, than our circumstances might lead us to believe.

Marriage God’s way is the gospel way. This is fundamental to both husband and wife, but fundamentally so for the husband. That is, since he is the leader of the home, he needs to lovingly lead by the gospel. This means that he must learn the gospel and then live in accordance with the gospel.