Bible Studies for Life By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.
Samford University & Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook
God’s Word Delights
Psalm 119:1–8
Joy comes from obeying
God’s Word. (1–3)
Psalm 119 is an eloquent, ingenious and passionate meditation on the law of God. “Law” in the Old Testament should not be confused with Pharasaic legalism. The Hebrew word is “torah,” meaning “teaching.” It refers to the will of God revealed to Israel. Some have likened it to the loving instruction of a parent (see Prov. 4:1–2). The torah here is viewed not as a burden but as a lifeline to God and a demonstration of His grace and guidance.
This Psalm has an acrostic pattern. Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet is made the initial letter of eight verses in successive sections. The major feature is the repetition of eight synonyms of the will of God: law, teaching, testimonies, statutes, judgments, ordinances, precepts and commandments. One of these terms occurs in every verse of the Psalm with the exception of verse 122.
When the Psalmist describes a follower as “blameless,” he is not referring to moral perfection; he confesses later, “I have strayed like a lost sheep” (v. 176). Likewise, the Psalmist being “happy” must involve something very different from simply reaping material benefits for obedience. Happiness has to do with entrusting one’s life to God, which means constant openness to God’s life-giving torah. Significant to note here is what is implicit throughout the Psalm, that Scripture is revered for being His sayings, and God’s followers thereby seek Him and not the book for its own sake.
God commands us to obey
His Word. (4–6)
With verse four the Psalmist addresses his meditation to the Lord. In every verse to follow, with the exception of verse 115, the Psalm is directed to God Himself.
God commanded His “precepts” by entering into a covenant relationship with Israel freely out of grace, and within that relationship He gave them His teachings to obey. Here the Lord was not asking them to earn His favor or pay for their redemption. Rather this was a means of thankful obedience for those in covenant with the grace-bestowing God. Verse five makes it clear that the Psalmist does not think of himself as an example of perfect obedience. Thus his yearning to be more steadfast in keeping God’s statutes.
The Lord has commanded zealous adherence to His expectations, and the Psalmist confesses an earnest desire to comply. His attention must zero in on the Lord’s “commandments.” In doing so the Psalmist will not be put to shame; he will have confidence toward God and boldness of access to His throne of grace.
Lean on God’s presence to obey
His Word. (7–8)
The Psalmist makes the request that the Lord never utterly forsake him. The fact that the Lord is both the Source of his instruction and the Guide and Help in executing that instruction is stressed for the first of many times in the Psalm. The word “ordinances” is the plural form of a noun usually translated “justice,” a reminder that the purpose of God’s instruction is to achieve righteousness in the world. Again, while the repeated terms in Psalm 119 can suggest written formulations of God’s will, the obedience He seeks should not be understood as a simple matter of following a set of rules.
Verses 1–8 convey that the Psalmist continually seeks God for the sake of bringing justice and righteousness into the world. We are called to be agents of such rightness all the more, as the grace of Jesus Christ has justified us before His Father. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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