-Psalm 119 THE IMPACT OF GOD’S WORD
The psalms have always had a unique and special place in the heart of God’s people, and there is good reason. They are words written directly to God that give evidence of a living relationship, where passionate feelings and expressions of deep commitment explode before us. We enjoy them because they are fresh and spontaneous, and because they seem to describe the joys, sorrows and frustrations we also have. Furthermore, we are attracted to them because in every psalm we sense action – that something is happening between the writer and his God.
Rich VarietyUnlike the New Testament epistles, the collection of 150 psalms were written in Israel over many years. Much of the history of Israel and some of its leaders (like David, Solomon, Moses) is mirrored in them, leading to the common distinction between community and individual psalms. As is usually the case, God seems to inspire His people especially in times of change, when something significant happens in the life of the writer, his family or his nation – something that gives occasion for joy or distress.
Perhaps you have noticed this in your own walk with God: that it is in times of suspense, anxiety or pain that we experience the Lord with such reality. It is in times of happiness and joy that we feel so moved to praise our Lord. It is no surprise to find that the psalms also echo such experiences, be it a victory in Israel or expressions of wonder, as the author reflects on the beauties of creation. Some psalms are the fruit of conviction of some sin, others reflect frustration at observed injustice.
These different causes have led to the second major classification into psalms of praise and psalms of lament. Most psalms belong to one of these four types: communal praise psalms (Ps. 113); communal lament psalms (Ps. 80); individual praise psalms (Ps. 40); and individual lament psalms (Ps. 13).
There are, however, other ways of grouping psalms, such as creation psalms (Ps. 8), royal psalms (Ps. 2), enthronement psalms (Ps. 47), messianic psalms (Ps. 22), liturgical psalms (Ps. 24), wisdom psalms (Ps. 1), and so on.
A New PsalmHave you ever tried to write a psalm? Reflect on what the Lord has been doing in your own life or the life of your church. How does your experience compare with God’s revelation in Scripture? Write something to the Lord about it. Put your experience into words. If you are going through a rough time, write a lament style psalm to the Lord. At a later date you will read your psalm and may wish to add lines of praise or deliverance as you look back and see the Lord’s faithful hand. Personal psalms of praise will surely be a source of future encouragement. Perhaps someday, some friend may even put some music to one of your psalms and it could become a new communal psalm (or song, what psalm means). Classic hymns are a blessing to the Church, but there is a constant need for new songs.
A Special PsalmPsalm 119 differs from most other psalms in that it is not a spontaneous song but rather carefully structured writing. It is called an acrostic psalm because each of its 22 sections begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic psalms, though more difficult to write, were so written because they make it easier for people to memorize. Psalm 119 is probably the most elegant of the acrostic psalms, in that each of its 22 sections contains 8 verses, and each of the 8 verses begins with the same letter of the alphabet. A total of 176 (22×8) nicely arranged verses.
This psalm, together with Psalm 1 and the second half of Psalm 19 (easy to remember – 1, 19, 119) are the three psalms that have the Law of the Lord as their main subject, and therefore are usually included among the wisdom psalms: “Your decrees are the theme of my song” (Ps. 119:54 niv).
In our culture, it is difficult to get excited about the Law. We usually associate it with rules and regulations, as did the Romans. The Greeks, however, used the term “law” to refer to customs or traditions. The Jews, as did the author of Psalm 119, use the word “Law” or “Torah” to mean the whole teaching or revelation of God, which includes God’s formal laws and much more.
In order to capture this broadness, the author of Psalm 119 uses eight different words (in the niv): law (torah, singular), laws (plural), word, statutes (or testimonies), commands, decrees, precepts and promise.
The psalmist makes no secret of the attributes which attract him to God’s Word. In his mind, there are many benefits for those who would choose to meditate on God’s Word.
God’s Word is true (v. 151). Correct understanding of the truth leads to freedom. He enjoys God’s Word because God has used it to “set my heart free” (v. 32), and his desire to continue to “walk about in freedom” (v. 45). As Christians, we also can live under the bondage of social or religious pressures to conform. We can also be tied down by our own expectations. The correct understanding of Scripture truth will allow us to break free and enjoy our new life in Christ.
God’s Word is perfect (v. 96). Technology and human ideas always need revision, correction or upgrading. But God’s Word is perfect and cannot be improved. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word” (v. 9). For older men and for women, the recipe is the same! Blessed or happy are those who choose to use God’s Word as the basis for their lifestyle (v. 1). They can’t go wrong!
God’s Word is eternal (v. 160). Man’s laws are law for a while, and then they change. Politicians, like pop stars and economic gurus, are the “in thing” for a while, and then they change. Our faith rests on the eternal unchanging Word of God, a secure anchor in a temporal and changing world. “Great peace have they who love Your law” (v. 165).
God’s Word is the Word of God (v. 38). The psalmist is not primarily a lover of books and writings, but a passionate lover of God. He gets excited, not out of a love for laws and commandments, but because they are “Your laws” and “Your commandments.” He is not an academic believer but a relational one. He has learned to hear God’s voice through Scripture: “You Yourself have taught me” (v. 102). Scriptures are still God’s primary way to communicate with His people. Do you want God to speak to you?
One cannot help but notice the author’s enthusiasm with God’s written revelation. It is quite contagious. Notice these eight responses:
He is positive towards it: “I delight in Your decrees” (v. 16). “Your statutes are wonderful” (v. 129). “I love them greatly” (v. 167). Oh that we would love and value God’s Word like the psalmist!
He is humble before it: “I stand in awe at Your laws” (v. 120). “My heart trembles at Your word” (v. 161). Do we have a similar appreciation of the authority of God’s Word? Do we accept it humbly and reverently? Or do we argue with it and seek to adjust its plain meaning to our likes/dislikes?
He expects God to speak through it: I love the author’s graphic sense of expectation as he prepares to read and meditate on God’s word: “I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commands” (v. 131). “My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws” (v. 20). Does this sense of expectancy mirror our attitude as we open God’s Word?
He is determined to obey it: “I will always obey Your law, for ever and ever” (v. 44). Conversion is marked by a decision to yield oneself to Christ. Similarly, growth in the Christian life is based on a conscious decision to obey God’s Word, regardless of what we find. “I have promised to obey Your words” (v. 57). Like a marriage vow, “I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow Your righteous laws” (v. 106).
He seeks help to understand and to obey it: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law” (v. 18). “Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your decrees … Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart” (vv. 33-34). We all live under different social pressures and have our own likes and dislikes. We need a sincere heart and God’s help to avoid arriving at wrong conclusions.
He spends time with it: God’s Word is not just food for special events, or for Sundays. During the day, the writer’s mind would go back to it: “I meditate on it all day long” (v. 97). “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Your promises” (v. 148).
He makes decisions in the light of it: He not only views God’s Word as “my counselors” (v. 24), but strives to relate its principles to his daily living. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. 105). Do you allow the Word to light your path? To what degree does it influence your decisions? Does it impact your family and business life?
He admits to straying from it: We evangelicals usually find it difficult to admit to personal departure. Not so the psalmist. We have no doubt as to the direction of his heart; “Streams of tears flow down from my eyes, for Your law is not obeyed” (v. 136). Yet he ends his song with a painful admission: “I have strayed like a lost sheep” (v. 176). He pleads: “Let no sin rule over me” (v. 133). Do you also feel the pain of your own specific departures? While we try to sustain an “I’m OK” image, it is difficult to hear the Lord speaking. But the psalmist also discovered that “Your compassion is great, O Lord” (v. 156), and therefore he abandons himself in His gracious arms. Are you trying to hide something? Turn to the Lord and open up before Him. He is just as great and compassionate today!
One of the lost arts in our busy, goal-oriented contemporary culture is that of contemplation or meditation. We do and see so much, yet seldom stop to ponder the significance of our life. We are a culture of shallow people. In Scripture, the man of God is called to think, consider and weigh things. In this psalm the author stops and reflects on at least four things:
God’s Word: “I will meditate on Your precepts” (v. 78). It is a matter of turning a verse over and over on our minds, stressing different words within the verse, while asking, “What is the Lord trying to say to me?” Without meditation on Scripture, we shall never change our lifestyle, neither will we develop convictions.
My Ways: “I have considered my ways and have turned my steps” (v. 59). Is your life going where you want it to go? Have you thought about how you are spending your time and money? Have you considered how you influence your home and your local church? Unless you determine otherwise, your life, like a river, will flow in the direction of least resistance. Psalm 119:168 says, “All my ways are known to You,” but do I take the time to know them? Before we can turn our steps and improve our ways, we must stop and reflect.
God’s Works: “I will meditate on Your wondrous works” (v. 27 nrsv). We are encouraged and educated as we read about the acts of God: creation, the flood, miracles, the story of redemption, the great revivals of the last five centuries, biographies of men of God. But we know that God is still active in the world today. Do we take the time to stop and reflect on what God is doing in our life and all around us? Do we identify and enjoy the wondrous works of God in the normal and exceptional events of today?
God’s Ways: “I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways” (v. 15). It is as we reflect over time on God’s works that we begin to gain an appreciation of God’s ways (or paths), His normal routes. We’ll never fully understand God’s ways, but we’ll observe patterns in the acts of God. For example, the psalmist observed that one possible reason for affliction is disobedience: “Before I was afflicted I went astray” (v. 67). Instead of complaining, he prayed, “In faithfulness You have afflicted me” (v. 75), and then concluded, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees” (v. 71). Do we see some of our afflictions that way?
As I meditate on God’s works, one fact which fascinates me is our Lord’s love for variety and surprise – especially where we usually feel more comfortable with uniformity and predictability. As the years go by, our conclusion will inevitably be like that of the psalmist: “You are good, and what You do is good” (v. 68). Hallelujah!
Most natural processes display an order or a sequence. Before reaping, there must be sowing. Before teaching, there must be learning. We see the elements of progression also in this psalm.
Learn: “Teach me” (v. 12) is the author’s prayer, since his desire is to “learn Your righteous laws” (v. 7). Do we have a desire to grow in knowledge of the Scriptures? What I have observed is that it is usually the new believer who is keen to dig into the Word with an open heart and mind. But after a few years, we think we know enough Bible, have our theological arguments firmly in place, and stop praying, “Teach me.”
Take to heart: Here the author’s prayer is, “Turn my heart towards Your statutes” (v. 36). It is one thing to know God’s Word with our mind, another to accept it with our heart. It has been said that the slowest journey is from the head to the heart! But until we accept truth with our heart, it will not affect our values nor influence our behavior. “I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (v. 11).
Obey and enjoy: The joy in the Christian life is not an academic mental gratification of having lots of correct statements in our head. Neither is it the satisfaction of knowing you are right and proving others wrong. No, the joy is when we sense the Lord’s pleasure as we live the truth which has filtered from our head into our heart. The Ethiopian only rejoiced after he understood his need and was baptized by Philip (Acts 8:39). “I will hasten and not delay to obey Your commands” (v. 60). “Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight” (v. 35).
Teach: Only when God’s truth has settled happily in our heart and has been tested through personal obedience, are we in a condition to “speak of Your statutes before kings” (v. 46). It is not so much our knowing, but rather knowing and living which attracts others to the Lord and His Word. Yes, the beauties and benefits of God’s Law are not just for a privileged few. We have a responsibility to share them, to make them known abroad.
Although Psalm 119 has the Word of God as its main theme, it would be incorrect to say that the psalm is only about the Word of God. It is much richer in that it shows how God uses His word to alter the life and destiny of the believer, and how the believer uses God’s Word to learn about his life and his Lord. The Scriptures are the key to a growing relationship.
In Psalm 119 we note many references to this happy relationship. In the middle of trials and difficulties, the psalmist has learned to sense the presence of the Lord – “Yet You are near, O Lord” (v. 151) – and to rest in the assurance that “You are my refuge and my shield” (v. 114). It is no wonder that the writer prays, “Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth” (v. 108), and “Let me live that I may praise You” (v. 175). “You are my portion, O Lord” (v. 57).
But none of this is automatic. The Lord only reveals Himself to those who truly seek Him. Are you enjoying the Lord? Are you growing in your experience of Him? Let’s not settle for a technically correct, academic, lifeless Christianity. We are now children of God. Let’s learn to enjoy our Father. The psalmist’s prayer is nearly desperate: “I call with all my heart; answer me, O Lord” (v. 145). “I have sought Your face with all my heart” (v. 58). This can also be our plea. “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart” (v. 2).
By Philip Nunn
With permission to publish by: Sam Hadley, Grace & Truth, 210 Chestnut St., Danville, IL., USA.
Website: www.gtpress.org
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