Our psalm selection for this week comes from a rather special and unique psalm. Psalm 119 holds a special position in the Bible, as it is both the longest psalm in the Book of Psalms, and is also the longest chapter in the Bible, containing 176 verses. In all but about five or six of these verses there is a synonym for God’s law, using words such as: law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, ordinances, word, and ways. Psalm 119 is one of nine acrostic psalms. The psalm is divided into segments of eight verses, each one beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Let’s take a look at the first two segments of this beautiful psalm which praises God’s Word.
The first segment of eight verses speak of how one is blessed by God when they order their life by God’s Word. To be blessed is to be highly favored by God (vs. 1). To be “undefiled in the way” refers to their manner of life. They don’t have sinless perfection, as none but the Lord Jesus led such a life, but they try to live their life with integrity. God’s Word governs their whole pattern of life. Such a person is truly blessed by God.
Our unknown psalmist continues by declaring that God’s blessing is upon the one that not only keeps God’s testimonies, but also seeks Him with their whole heart (vs. 2). They guard their life and heart, holding fast onto His Word. They seek after God, having no divided loyalties between Him and the world. The psalmist repeats that such a person will not commit iniquity or sin, but follow God’s ways (vs. 3). Again, this is not referring to sinless perfection, but a consistent pattern of seeking to live a righteous life by following God’s ways, revealed in Scripture. His Word should be what shapes our behavior, not our personal preferences.
God’s commands in His Word are binding, clear, and authoritative (vs. 4). They are not an option, nor are we to pick and choose what we want to obey or not obey. A faithful believer will diligently, carefully, and intentionally seek to follow them. He will cry out to God, seeking His help to obey His Word (vs. 5). We all know that even when we desire to faithfully follow God, we will occasionally fall, so we pray for His help. On the other hand, when we become lax in our obedience to the Lord, we should be filled with shame (vs. 6). This includes just partial obedience. Partial obedience is in truth, disobedience. The psalmist continues to praise the Lord and resolve to obey Him (vs. 7-8).
The second segment of eight verses highlight the cleansing and transforming power of God’s Word and Law. It begins with a question that every young person must answer, and that is how to keep oneself clean from the stain of sin in their life (vs. 9). The psalmist answers this question for us. Becoming clean from the stain of sin does not happen by self-help, but by taking heed, by careful obedience to God’s Word. The Bible is sufficient for our moral purity.
The psalmist recognized his own tendency to drift away from committed devotion, so he prayed to seek Him with his whole heart (vs. 10). We need to spend time reading and meditating on Scripture, and most importantly, obeying it. Spiritual vigilance is necessary to live a life pleasing to God.
One way to keep ourselves close to the Lord is by hiding His Word in our heart (vs. 11). To do that we need to be reading, meditating, and even memorizing Scripture each day. Memorization is an important weapon against sin. When we memorize God’s Word, it is planted into our hearts. That way we can be prepared for temptation, as it becomes our spiritual sword. Even if we stray from Him, those words will play over and over in our mind. His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:10-11). Also, there may come a time when we cannot have a Bible with us. However, if we have Scripture passages memorized, those verses will always be with us.
As we jump down to verse 14, we see that our psalmist values his Bible more than material wealth. Given a choice between his Bible or great riches, he would choose his Bible. Would you? Many people dream of getting rich. That is why places like Las Vegas exist. What if we were more excited about following the Lord’s Word than about winning millions of dollars? True riches belong to those who walk with Jesus. True joy is found in God’s Word, not in material prosperity.
The psalmist closes by saying that his delight is God’s Word, and promises not to forget it (vs. 16). To avoid forgetting something one needs to keep it forefront in one’s mind. To not forget certain Bible verses, we need to keep repeating them over and over again.
Do you want to be blessed in your life? I’m sure we all do. God’s blessing is tied to obeying His Word. Let’s follow this psalmist’s example with wholehearted devotion and submission to Scripture, and by meditation and memorization so that we can live a life of blessing, peace, and joy.
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