I have been teaching Psalm 119 at church and considering this Psalm as a template that Jesus might have used in His prayers. Therefore, I will "modify" the text to reflect it as though Jesus were praying.
You, Father, are My portion, O Father LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words. (58) I entreated Your favor with My whole heart; Be merciful to Me according to Your word. (59) I thought about My ways, And turned My feet to Your testimonies. (60) I made haste and did not delay To keep Your commandments. (Psalm 119:57-60 with notes)
Jesus' Prayer: You are my portion – nothing else works but doing things Your way. (Vs. 57-60)
Jesus' living His life in human flesh (though He was God) was controlled and directed by the written words of God found in the Old Testament. There was only one path, God's commandments being applied in a walk with the Father. Jesus was not a legalist doing the Law to gain some favor with the Father. Nor was Jesus an antinomian, disregarding the Law and doing what was right in His own eyes. No, Jesus saw that the Father was His portion, and He walked with the Father.
Portion: חֵלֶק chêleq - one's portion, one's possession, one's inheritance of land. "That is mine!"
The Father was Jesus' portion. So much so that Jesus said that "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
Then I chased this “rabbit:"
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" (Lamentations 3:24 NKJV)
Notice the context of Lamentations:
Can you hear Jesus praying Lamentations?
"Remember My affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within Me. This I recall to my mind; therefore, I have hope. Through the LORD's mercies, we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD." (Lamentations 3:19-26 NKJV)
Does the first verse sound familiar? Jesus' persecution and harassment from the religious leaders. Then there at the Cross, sour wine mingled with gall. (Matthew 27:34)
Yet we continue to hear Jesus praying: His only hope as He remembers being rejected by the very ones, He came to reveal Himself. (John 1:11) The Father's mercies are being poured out upon His Son. Morning by morning, Jesus remembers the Father's compassion and the Father's faithfulness to the mission that the Son has embarked upon in going to the Cross. Morning by morning, Jesus seeks to walk with the Father, quietly waiting and hoping for the resurrection, Jesus' salvation from bearing our sins.
Have you come to the place where you can say, "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"?
My portion, my inheritance, is Jesus being mine! Is your ONLY hope found there at the foot of the Cross? Are you growing in that walk with Jesus? Is the blood shed there on the Cross becoming more precious?
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7 NKJV)
Walking with Jesus is learning to pray like Jesus. Walking with Jesus is learning to consider your ways and turning to God's testimonies. Walking with Jesus is learning to be in step with the Spirit and not fulfill the flesh's lust. (Galatians 5:16)
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from ALL sin. Therefore, our fellowship with Jesus is without any barriers. Jesus uses many illustrations of the fellowship that we have with Him. Abiding in the vine (John 15), yoking up together (Matthew 11), The Good Shepherd and His sheep (John 10).
Take time this week and meditate on the fellowship that you have with our Lord. Meditate on the power of the blood that was shed. Meditate on your walk with Jesus day by day. Notice and rejoice that His compassions fail not, and they are new every morning.
In His Care for His Glory
Bill
Volunteer for Setting Captives Free
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