Psalm 119 BETH

Continuing through the longest psalm in scripture, we come to the next set of verses, 9-16. In verses 1-8, we read that if we live a life that is undefiled, and we walk in God's commands and statures, we will be blessed in the Lord. How can we do this? We live so en drenched in sin that it is hard to walk in any kind of spiritual and physical purity. Thankfully, the psalmist knew this, so the very next passage of this chapter show us how to live a life that is pure.

"How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart, I have sought you;
Oh let me not wander from your commandments!
I have hidden your word in my heart.
That I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord!
Teach me your statutes.
With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
I will delight myself in your statutes;
I will not forget Your word."  -  Psalm 119:9-16

In order to live a life of purity, we must know the word of God on a very deep level. We cannot be only surface deep Christians and expect to withstand heavy attacks form the enemy. We must hide the word of God deep in our hearts, not to keep it buried there, but to be able to pull it out whenever and wherever the Devil tries to trip us up. It reminds me of Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. In case you aren't familiar with the story, it goes something like this: Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist. Upon coming out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove and a voice from Heaven declares," This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased"- Matthew 3:17. Immediately, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness alone for 40 days. This time was spent with Jesus praying and fasting, and the scriptures say that at the end of the 40 day period, Jesus was getting hungry. It is at this time that Satan comes into the picture. He tries to tempt Jesus with 3 different trials of the flesh, doing anything he can to trip up the Son of God in order to make his sacrifice later on the cross insufficient. With each temptation Satan thrown toward the Son of God, Jesus blocks them all not with a legion of angels, like he easily could have done. Instead he uses scripture, God's holy word to combat the devil's attacks. Jesus had the word of God hidden in his heart, for such a time as this, so that when the enemy charged, his defense was ready and he was able to remain faithful to God.   

The psalmist makes it very clear in this passage that if we want to stay pure, God's word has to be at the center of our very being. Without the strength that comes from studying God's word and building up your spiritual armor, the attacks of the enemy are going to bring you to your knees.

"With my whole heart, I sought you; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!"

Seek God with your whole heart and when the enemy chooses to attack, you will be ready to fight back and watch as God helps you to hold your ground and not back down.

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a journey through the Psalms

Psalm 119- ALEPH

In the center of the Bible, we come to the center of the book, the book of Psalms. Composed of 150 poems, it is easy to find when randomly flipping through the Bible. Although most chapters are between 6-20 verses, we come to the longest chapter, not just in the book of Psalms, but the whole Bible itself, chapter 119. With 176 verses, it is definitely not a quick read. But, thankfully for us, the author of the psalms and the writers of the Bible split this chapter into 22 sections. 22? Sounds a bit random at first, especially since God uses numbers over and over in scripture, and 22 is not a common one. It is split into 22 sections because each passage correlates to a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, consisting of 22 letters. (Our English Alphabet was largely comprised from the Hebrew, with a few letters added to ours, totaling up to 26.) So here we go with the beginning section, Aleph:

"Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
 Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways.  You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.  Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!  Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.  I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.  I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me."- vs 1-8 NIV

1) The word blameless here, in the NKJV is undefiled, meaning complete or whole, or perfect. This first verse is saying that whoever walks complete in the way of the law established by God are blessed. God has laid out a floorplan to guide us in the direction we should go, even showing examples of what will happen if we disregard this plan. But here, it simply states that if we follow God wholeheartedly, we will be blessed. No complicated formula, no intense seeking of forgiveness, just simply reading what we should do, and doing it. 

2) Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart: Simply put; seek God and follow his word. We can either try to do our own thing and hope it works out for us, or we can simply walk behind the Father as he guides us down the right path.

3) they do no wrong, but follow his ways: This is not saying that we will never mess up or fall down. What it is saying is that when we fall, God will pick us right back up, brush us off and keep moving. We no longer need to dwell in the past, for that is only the things that shape us into who we are now, not the things that define who we will be. 

4) You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed: God has not given us rubbish commands that are just meant to fill the pages of his word, rather they are a thought out, well thought through plan intended to guide us into who we are supposed to be.   

5) Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees: May we always have a desire to not only obey God's commands, but to do so with a resolute, and faithfully committed heart.

6) Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands: When our hearts are set fully on the Father, outward appearances don't matter and the things people say or think about us have no effect on us, because we are so focused on the things of God, that nothing is able to penetrate the devotion we share with the Lord. 

7) I will praise you with an upright heart, as I learn your righteous laws: This is a heart void of motive. A heart purely focused on the needs of others, rather than the fleshly desires of ourselves. Its the act of inviting someone into your home not to show how well you live, or how great your possessions are, or even trying to bring them under your control. It is done out of Godly love to share the things you have been given with a fellow brother or sister in Christ. to live a pure and righteous life because of how connected to the Spirit and the Father, not to appease the flesh. As we learn the ways of God, our hearts will naturally mend to the things that break God's heart and brings him joy.

8) I will obey your decrees, do not utterly forsake me: We are human, and we are going to fail. This should not stop us from running after God with everything in us. God is so good and so loving that when we set our hearts on his law and commands, his grace comes in to fill in the gap when ourselves are not able to reach the outstretched hands of the Father. 

Will you run after the Father with everything in you and believe that when we focus our hearts and minds on Him and his ways, He will bless us as he sees fit and we will never go without the grace and love that comes with his commands? 

Adam Semple- A Young Man's Journey through the Book of Psalms