Real Hope: Seeking TruthSample

## The Overall Truth Psalm 119 is not only the longest psalm (176 verses) but also the longest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem sculpted around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet with eight verses per stanza – a vast work of relative simplicity. Boil down Psalm 119, and we have an expansive hymn to God’s Word and being led by it. You can barely go a sentence without sighting a reference to living by the Word of God, from ‘keeping your statutes’ (verse 5) to ‘I wander like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commands’ (verse 176). Nearing the end of this odyssey into walking ‘according to the Lord’s instruction’ is a tipping of the hat to God’s truth. With so much to take in before the 160th verse, you are certainly forgiven for reading over it or not dwelling upon it. When you do stop to reflect on verse 160, though, there is so much power in its succinct testimony to where the truth lies. When we think about God’s Word and seek the truth, many of us swiftly dash to what Jesus declared. I get that. Being set free by the way, the truth, and the life is paramount for us all. Dwelling upon and in the truth should define us. But Psalm 119:160 upholds how God’s communication – the entirety of it – shares the same essence. Just as Jesus Christ is the Word, God’s Word overall is truth. Full stop. Seeking truth is not nearly as difficult as mystery novels, investigative journalism, or deep fakes lead us to believe. According to Psalm 119:160, it is inherent to all of God’s words. #### Written by BEN MCEACHEN