may

Mother May I? This is the month of May. May you have safe journeys and blessings on the way. May your days be filled with love, peace and joy. May the Lord be with you. As we celebrate the last day of May, may we be enlightened and empowered with the beauty of this spring season.

The name for the month of May—with its 31 days - comes from Latin, Maius, or “Maia’s month”. We can thank the Romans for instituting the Gregorian calendar and giving us the name. The Greek name Maia comes from a root meaning “mother, nurse, midwife” and we associate spring with birth, but the Roman Maia appears to be related to magnus, meaning “great” and source of such words as magnify. Magnify the name of Jesus!

There are multiple bible verses that use the word “may” and Psalm 119 is one of those. The Psalm is arranged according to the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet with 8 verses. Each of the sections is given a letter of the Hebrew alphabet and each line in that section begins with that letter. The psalm is about glorifying God and His word. May is after all, poetry month.

Matthew Henry, an 18th century Bible commentator, was told by his father to take one verse of Psalm 119 every morning to meditate on, going through the entire psalm twice a year. Philip Henry, the father, told his children, “That will bring you to be in love with all the rest of the Scriptures.”

Verse 125:
Give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.

The writer of the psalm wanted to understand the word of God that was of great importance because he would acquire wisdom and understand life.

Verse 148: My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.

The psalmist woke early to seek God and also stayed awake through the night to meditate on God’s Word. Jesus was an example of this as well. When we internalize God’s Word, it becomes part of how we think and as a result can function differently as a result. May you strive to think and act differently and meditate on His Word. May you have a beautiful May day.