Learning for Life
Opening Prayer
Lord, as the psalmist has well said, Your testimonies are my delight (24).
Read Psalm 119:1–24
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
ב Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
ג Gimel
17 Be good to your servant while I live,
that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Love is the language they speak in God’s world, and we are summoned to learn it against the day when God’s world and ours will be brought together for ever” (N. T. (Tom) Wright).
Think Further
The guidelines sent to Encounter with God writers encourage authors to focus on a single idea in each day’s note. That’s exactly what the psalmist does in Psalm 119! By using the form of an acrostic poem, the psalm makes its way through the entire Hebrew alphabet (eight verses per letter) to provide an A–Z of the goodness of God’s law and the importance of obedience to it.
Many people in today’s liberated society are highly allergic to authority and balk at the mention of obedience. The psalmist, however, positively delights in it (14,16,24), regarding it not as the curbing of freedom but rather as the means by which people flourish in freedom (1,2,9). This song celebrates the Law of the Lord as a design for life in all its fullness, and the language defies disregard thereof as “dry legalism.” References to learning God’s righteous laws (7), to God teaching his decrees (12) and to the psalmist meditating and considering the ways of God (15) locate obedience within the context of a dynamic covenant relationship. Keeping God’s law is a means of reciprocating his covenant faithfulness.
Obedience remains a necessary expression of faithfulness to God for
Christians who have received his gift of life through the new covenant in
Christ (Rom. 1:5). Read in this light, Psalm 119 can be regarded as a treatise on how, practically, to fulfill the New Testament instruction, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). As such, it promotes a way of life that anticipates the renewal of all things and therefore poses a direct challenge to the various contemporary worldviews that compete for our attention and
allegiance.
Apply
Meditate on Jesus’ words: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love” (John 15:9,10).
Closing prayer
Lord, I understand that to follow You presupposes conformity to Your ways. Help me to fully understand them through this psalm.
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