Last post, I went over Psalm 91, and I kind of enjoyed unpacking a Psalm. I recently read Psalm 119, and it might be a bit long to cover in 1 message, but it is very beautiful and covers so many topics. So I am going to get started. The poetic structure is that there is an 8 verse stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet; 22 letters, 8 verses, so 176 verses in total. Psalm 119

א Aleph

How do you remain blameless? Understand the law of the Lord. The Psalmist uses lots of words to describe God’s laws, God’s decrees, His statutes, His ways, His precepts, His Commands. The way we remain blameless is to understand God’s statutes and his regulations and rules. The Law of the Lord is an unchanging compass directing us which way is right or wrong. In this psalm and in many other places in scripture, our life journey is compared to a walk, and God’s word is how we avoid walking into a pit or ending up in a dangerous place. We seek God by studying his word. The goal is to seek God with all of our heart and follow God’s ways. The word of God is to be obeyed fully. There’s not a pick and choose style of obedience when it comes to Scripture. The Psalmist says whoever follows God’s law and walks according to his instruction is Blessed. In Verse 5 he admits, he is not perfect. He says “Oh that my ways were steadfast in obeying your commands” It is a wishful thought, and a prayer that God would help. The psalmist says I will praise you, with an upright heart. One of the ways we praise God is by learning his righteous laws and Obeying his instruction. The Psalmist resolves to obey, and asks God to not utterly forsake him. There is blessing in following God’s law, and on the other side, there is a curse for disobedience. Blessed is the blameless, God’s presence is with them, but To the disobedient is a curse, to be forsaken by God.

ב Beth

The second stanza begins by asking how a young person can stay on the path of purity? Again our life is compared to a walk, and we are walking down a certain path. This particular part of the journey is the phase of life for youth. How does a young person stay on the path of purity? Living according to God’s word. Purity is important for all of us at each phase of life, but it’s particularly important for the youth. Building healthy and beneficial habits early in life will compound over the years. And the result of being a good caretaker of your life lead to a vastly better outcome than someone who has survived through self imposed years of neglect. The Bible says as long as we can say the day is Today we can still repent and change our course for the better, but generally time is on the side of the youth. The young person has a goal to seek God with all his heart, and to not stray from God’s commands. The way to avoid straying is to hide the word in our heart. Memorize the word, or at least be very familiar with it. Not just mentally, but verse 11 says our hearts should be engaged with what God’s Word would say for our lives. When we stray or leave God’s path, it is sin, so we need to be familiar with the road map. We want to give God praise, and that requires us to be quick to learn. We should be a people who ask God to teach us something new. Every time we open the Bible, we should be taught something and learn something new. The words don’t change, but our heart and our understanding and our perspective does. The place where we are on the path has changed, and our experience may bring God’s word to a new light. Our lips should be used to praise God, and to recount God’s words. Verse 14 says following God’s commands should give us joy the same way people rejoice in acquiring wealth and riches. I was tempted to sin, but by God’s mercy, and his Holy Spirit, I was reminded of God’s word, and His commandment. Instead of sinning, instead of losing my patience, I calmed down, or instead of lusting, I looked away, or instead of cursing that person who wronged me, I forgave them, instead of thinking the worst, I kept optimistic that God had a purpose in what I was going through. Whatever it is, in that difficult situation, I honored God with my life. That type of story, those types of victories, they should give us more joy than getting a paycheck or winning a lottery. How do we increase those victories in life? We do what verses 15 and 16 say. We meditate on God’s precepts, Consider his ways, we delight in His decrees. We Don’t Neglect God’s word.

ג Gimel

The next stanza is asking God to be good to us, his servants. We want to be people of obedience, and we want God’s goodness and help for us. We want God to open our eyes to see the wonderful things in his Law in his word. The Psalmist declares that he is a stranger on Earth. Even before:

• Jesus describes what it means to be in the world but not of it (John 15:19 and John 17:14-16).
• Peter writes to live as strangers in reverent fear.
• Paul discusses these same topics (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:1).
• Hebrews 11 Author describes longing for another city
• John warns against loving the world in 1 John 2:15-17

Before all these New Testament examples, the psalmist acknowledges that Earth isn’t our home, we are strangers here. Our home and our resting place is in God, and to get there, we need to be in His word, in his commands. We should long for his laws to be fulfilled. Psalm 119 verse 21 explains that people who are arrogant and don’t listen, those people are not blessed. They are among the accursed. They heap scorn and contempt on God’s people because we are strangers to them. Even if they are in a high place now, even if it’s a ruler a governor, a manager, even if they sit together and slander us, we will meditate on God’s decree. Those who stray from God are to be forsaken. And we don’t need their counsel or their good words. We can deal with their slander, because God’s statutes and God’s word counsels us. It’s hard to be slandered, to be bad mouthed, and to remain confident that the big shots here actually don’t matter, but we serve a more powerful God, and we need to study and mediate on his Word to remind ourselves, and to receive God’s counsel.

ד Daleth

This stanza of the poem is describing a difficult leg of the life journey. It is interesting that most of the verses begin with a self focus. I am laid low, I give an account, cause met to understand, my soul, kep me, I have chosen. The psalmist says they are laid low in the dust. A place we would describe as down and out. Instead of focusing on youth and purity and walking a path; this verse seems like there is no progress or advancement. The psalmist asks to Preserve his life. Just surviving and making it through another day is the most that the psalmist is hoping for. We’ve all had days or periods of life that are so rough we just want to go to bed and try again another day. Like the Psalmist we ask God to understand the way of his laws, so that we can meditate on His deeds. Remembering God’s deeds and God’s deliverance for his people can help to encourage us when our soul is weary when we are filled with sorrows. As humans we try and be our own strength, we try and self soothe, oftentimes with earthly treats like comfort food, liquor, entertainment. But we are looking to the wrong things, those things are temporary and are dedeitful. We should be asking God to strengthen us according to his Word , to seek God’s portion. The Lord himself is our portion forever; the Psalmist will declare God as His portion, later in verse 57. The Psalmist asks God to keep him from deceitful ways, to see our sorrow and comfort and fill us with a portion of his Grace. To use a hard time in life as a way to seek instruction and God’s teaching. Relying on God requires faith because Faith is hoping for something we don’t see. That faithfulness is the way we choose to live even when we are full of sorrows and in the dirt. We set our heart on God’s laws and hold fast to his statutes. We ask God to not let us be put to shame. When we think we are making no progress, and are buried or laid low in dirt, if God is teaching us, if God broadens our understanding, then we end up realizing that we are running in the path of God’s commands like the Psalmist writes in vs 32.

ה He

• 33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.[b]
• 34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
• 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
• 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
• 37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.[c]
• 38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
• 39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.
• 40 How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life.

The first 7 of the eight lines start with a request for God to do something. This stanza sounds more like a petition to God. Teach me Lord, the way of your decrees, so I may follow it to the end. The Psalmist asks for understanding. Just knowing the commandments and being able to recite them isn’t enough, God needs to give us an understanding of what they mean, and why they are better than the alternative. Why does following a commandment give glory to God, what attribute of God is able to be seen better when his people follow this commandment? How do we potentially dishonor God if we disobey the commandment but say we are God’s people? We want to obey God’s commands, not just because we are following blindly, but because we are following God with our heart. We ask God to direct us in the path of his commands. Again our lives are compared to a journey and we want God to direct us in His commands. We should follow them with our heart not grumbling but finding delight in being in God’s presence when we do what he desires for us. The Psalmist asks God to turn our hearts toward statutes, not selfish gain. We are always tempted to live for ourselves, always tempted to make ourselves Lord, but we should ask God to direct us away from selfishness, self centeredness, self sovereignty. We should ask God to turn our eyes from worthless things. The world is full of worthless things. All things seen are passing away, and the things we don’t see, love, patience, joy, are the things eternal. The Psalmist asks God to fulfill promises, so that the world fears and respects God and his Word. We wish for God to take away disgrace. That should be what we dread the most, being disgraced and acting disgracefully against God’s commands. Disobeying God and acting as if we didnt believe that God’s laws and his Word were good and worth following. Like the Psalmist we long for God’s will to be done, we long for God’s precepts and his law to be fulfilled. We want our lives to be preserved in His righteousness. This psalm is starting to point to something greater. Preservation in Righteousness, and we know how the history goes, we understand God’s righteousness is Christ – the Law is completed in Christ, and in Christ – only in Him are we preserved!

ו Waw

• 41 May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise;
• 42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word.
• 43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.
• 44 I will always obey your law, for ever and ever.
• 45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
• 46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,
• 47 for I delight in your commands because I love them.
• 48 I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees.

The Psalmist is hoping and praying for God’s unfailing Love to come to him. According to God’s promises, we are awaiting a salvation. If we are awaiting a salvation, that means we need to be saved from something. The Psalmist wants an answer to anyone who taunts him, and he trusts the answer isn’t just a clever retort or a zinger. The psalmist trust God’s word. We trust in the sufficiency of God’s word as it is written. The psalmist has so much trust that asks God to never take the word of truth from his mouth, and his hope is in God’s laws. The goal of knowing God’s laws, again, is to obey God;s law. The very next line vs 45 the Psalmist says he will walk about in Freedom. That’s something the world and even some Christians don’t understand too well. Following God’s commandments isn’t supposed to be a chore or a harsh restriction on our lives, in fact in obedience of God’s laws, there is freedom. If we are a slave to righteousness, we have freedom from Sin and from the patterns of our sinful nature. We should be familiar enough with God’s commands and his instructions that we can speak of them before Kings and not be put to shame. God’s commands should be a delight, something that we love, we should reach out for them and we should meditate on them. The way to know God is to know his word, the way to increase our Love for God is to increase our familiarity and understanding of his Word and his instruction.

ז Zayin

• 49 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.
• 50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
• 51 The arrogant mock me unmercifully, but I do not turn from your law.
• 52 I remember, Lord, your ancient laws, and I find comfort in them.
• 53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law.
• 54 Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.
• 55 In the night, Lord, I remember your name, that I may keep your law.
• 56 This has been my practice: I obey your precepts.

The Psalmist asks God to remember his Word and his promises to his servant. God’s promise preserves his life. His hope is in God and when he is suffering, even if it isnt easy, he serves God and relies on God’s promises for Comfort. If we are strangers on Earth, we shoud be prepared to be treated poorly by those people who are of the world. There are arrogant people who mock the Psalmist without mercy. It’s hard to take verbal abuse, but the Psalmist continues in the path of God’s law. Sometimes as a pastor, I try and give the congregation some sort of action item or a way to apply God’s Word. And here is a good example. The Psalmist has a current immediate problem, he is mocked without mercy, there are wicked people who forsake God’s Law. The Solution? He stands firm, resolute. Even if a problem is facing us at the present moment, we can take comfort in God’s “ancient laws” (vs 52). We endure current hardships by focusing on God’s ancient promises. For someone who likes a check box, or to do list, or immediate ACTION, this advice doesn’t seem all that satisfying. We don’t have an immediate solution to the problem, we don’t have a response with immediate action from God, but we have these ancient examples of his faithfulness, we have his Ancient Laws. What we realize is by studying Scripture, we can derive comfort today from things that God has shown in the Past and his Promises for the eternal future. God’s decrees are the theme of our song, we remember God’s name and his laws at night, and our practice, our habits that we’ve developed in our lives is obedience.

ח Heth

• 57 You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words.
• 58 I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.
• 59 I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.
• 60 I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.
• 61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law.
• 62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.
• 63 I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.
• 64 The earth is filled with your love, Lord; teach me your decrees.

We do well to remember the Lord is our portion. Some people look to the world to supply their portion, riches, fame, possessions. But for us, Following his commandments, giving him glory, honoring him with our lives: these things should give us great joy. We rejoice in those things the way people rejoice in riches. We should be people who vow and promise to obey God. Even though we are human, even though we don’t have power and will to keep all of our promises, we should still declare our intention to follow God and Obey his words. The Psalmist says he has sought God’s Face with all his heart. The idea of God’s face is something that is rhetorical, or symbolic. God is not human and doesn’t have a face the same way we do. Seeing God face to Face is something that is mentioned a few places in the Bible. We will see him face to face one day. In the Old Testament, it was forbidden to see God’s face directly, Moses had to look away and see God pass from behind, and even when that happened Moses radiated light and had to cover himself with a veil. There is a blessing or benediction that says (Numbers 6:24-26), May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his countenance or Face shine upon you, may the Lord turn his face upon you and give you peace”. The opposite of that blessing is to be forsaken by God. To have the face of God turned away from you. The ultimate curse is to have God turn away or forsake you permanently. Being forsaken is that thing that we ultimately need to be saved from, the mockers and arrogant people here will not last forever, but to be forsaken by God forever is a curse that we need to avoid. Verse 58 The Psalmist asks God to be gracious to him according to God’s promise. We even see here the need for God’s grace, not a payback or compensation for doing the right thing, but Grace, unmerited favor. When we read the law of God, we should react like the Psalmist and consider our ways, and turn our steps. Changing our steps and our behavior requires us to repent of what we had believed before, turn away from what we had assumed about God, and turn toward truth, verse 60 says to hasten toward obedience and love for God’s law. Even if wicked people mistreat us, we should remember or not forget God’s law. The Psalmist says at midnight he rises to give God thanks. Now at midnight when I wake up, praise or giving thanks isn’t the first thing on my mind. Going back to bed is my selfish priority. The Psalmist rises at midnight and thanks God. Not Thanks for protection, Not thanks for prosperity. He Thanks God for the Righteous Law. There’s something about God’s law and his scripture that unites believers. The Psalmist says he is a friend to all who follow God’s precepts. We can learn about unity of the church and those who believe. Because the same way the Psalmist declares he is a friend to all who follow God’s laws, we can have fellowship and unity with people we share little to nothing in common with. How is it possible that I can call a Christian my brother or my sister? Maybe we don’t have anything in common, but we value the most important things. We have the same goal. We share the same belief, we desire to follow the same rules, we treasure the same Word of God. When people are united by treasuring God’s law, The Psalmist sees an Earth filled with God’s love, and desires to be taught the goodness of God’s decrees. So I read the first 8 of the 22 stanzas of this Poem, and realize it’s getting to be a long post. But we should start thinking about what it means to treasure God’s law. I started thinking about this psalm, and wondering what’s so great about God’s law, about God’s precepts, about his statutes and decrees? Does this psalmist really enjoy the 10 commandments? Is the ceremonial law and fellowship offering and sin offering and the sacrificed doves and lambs and bulls and grain offerings really that exciting? But loving God’s laws means loving a world that respects one another, that treasures the order and peace that come from everybody caring about right and wrong. The Psalmist is thinking about something greater than just what the law says. He is thinking about having law and righteousness and Godliness written on his heart, being his delight. He says things like, “Oh that my ways were steadfast” he isn’t perfect. He wants to be taught, he wants to grow and mature in his faith. He is looking forward to Law being followed, and wishes he could follow it himself better, but even more he imagines a world where he can see more people loving God and his Word. He imagines a revival, God writing his law into the hearts of multitudes, and the Law or Righteousness being done perfectly.