Psalm 119:58 I sought Your favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word.

While choosing a verse for the letter chet, the word sought “chalah” (חלה) caught my attention because one of its meanings has the idea of being lovesick. I also believe it is a  play on words with  Kallah (כלה) “Bride” which though spelled differently sounds the same, giving  insight  into the heart of this verse.  We get the feel that David is seeking God because he is lovesick for His favor “panah”  (פנה) which is also the word for “face” and represents God’s presence. A second possible root word for sought “chalah” (חלה) has the meaning of “pleasant” or “sweet”, so David could be expressing the desire to “make the face of God pleasant or sweet”. This would imply changing the countenance of another, for example: to make God smile.

Next we have the words all my heart  and the word all is key in this verse. Though all does have the idea of  “not having any portion left out”, it also means so much more. In the Hebrew all has the idea of a complete expression of the heart, pure motives not being influenced by anything else, including the flesh, mind or personal agenda’s. David is simply lovesick for God’s presence and to know he brings joy to Him. Then David asks God to be gracious according to His words. The word gracious “chanan” (חנן) has the idea of showing pity and mercy on the poor and also to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior. Isn’t it amazing that God, Creator of all, the great I AM, loves us so much that He would graciously bend over and show mercy on us not because of any wonderful things we do, but simply because of His words… who God says we are we are to Him. Interestingly, words “amar” (אמר) comes from the meaning of pods that hold fruit from a date palm tree.  In addition to food, dates have been used medicinally to treat different diseases. There is healing power in God’s words and in the revelation of His great love for us.

Laura