Psalm 119: 1-8

Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of all Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

  1.  Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk
       according to the law of the Lord.

  2.  Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with
       all their heart.


  3.  They do nothing wrong; they walk in 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.

1-8.  These first eight verses are a contemplation of the blessings that come from keeping the Lord's statutes.  The subject is treated in a worshipful manner.  Heart fellowship with God is enjoyed through a love of the Word, which is God's way of communing with the soul by His Holy Spirit.  Prayer, praise, and all sorts of devotional acts and feelings gleam through the verses like sunlight in the olive grove.  We are not only instructed but also influenced and helped to express holy emotion.


Lovers of God's holy Words are blessed because:

• They are preserved from defilement (1)
• They are made practically holy (2,3)
• They are led to sincerely and intensely follow God (2)
• This holy walk must be desirable because God commands it (4)
• Therefore, the holy soul prays for it (5)
• Its comfort and courage depends on obtaining it (6)
• In the prospect of answered prayer, and while prayer is being answered, the heart is full of thankfulness (7)
• The heart is fixed in solemn resolve not to miss the blessing if the Lord will give enabling grace (8)

The changes are rung on these words  way, keep, and walk:

• Undefiled in the way
• Walk in His ways
• Oh, that my ways were directed
• Keep His testimonies
• Keep your precepts diligently
• Keep your statutes
• Who walk in Your law
• Walk in His ways
• My ways were directed

The Psalmist is so delighted with God's Word that he considers being conformed to it the height of blessing. He exclaims, "Blessed is the man whose life is the practical transcript of God's will."


True religion is always practical. It does not permit us to delight in a perfect rule without stimulating a longing to be conformed to that rule in our daily lives.  A blessing belongs to those who hear, read, and understand the Word of the Lord. Yet, it's a far greater blessing to be obedient and to carry in our walk and conversation what we learn in searching the Scriptures. Purity in our way and walk is true blessedness.



1.  God's Word does not permit us to delight in a perfect rule without stimulating a longing to be conformed to that rule in our daily lives.

2.  A seeking heart reaches out after God, and when it in a measure finds Him, the soul still yearns and seeks for more of Him.  Seeking God signifies a desire for closer fellowship with Him, to follow Him more fully, to enter a perfect union with His mind and will, and to promote His glory.



3.  They love the ways of truth, right, and godliness, and they habitually walk in them, not claiming to be perfect except in their desires, and there they are pure.  They want to be kept from all sin and led in all holiness.

4.  As the heart glows with love of holiness, we long to have a personal interest in it.  The Word of God is a heart-affecting book, and when we sing its praises, it soon sets us praying that we may be conformed to its teachings.



5.  Divine commands should direct us in the subject of our prayers.  By ourselves, we cannot keep God's statutes as He would keep them, yet we long to do so.  We must ask the Lord to influence us to  will and do all He commands.



6.  A person may have a thousand virtues, and yet a single failing can cover that person with shame.



7.  God's providence is a book full of teaching, and to those whose hearts are right, as we read it, we feel compelled to burst forth in expressions of holy delight and ardent praise.



8.  This is a joyful mixture of resolution and dependence.  We meet those who to all appearances humbly pray, but there is no force of character, no decision in them, and consequently the pleading of the closet is not evident in their life.  On the other hand, we meet those who have an abundance of resolve, but an entire absence of dependence on God, and this makes as poor a character as the former.  May the Lord grant us a blending of excellencies, that we may be "perfect and complete, lacking nothing".  (James 1:4)    


...taken from the Treasury of David) updated by Roy H. Clarke


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