Saturday of the First Week of Lent | Psalm 119

Welcome to Psalm 119, the largest chapter of the Bible. But of course, that’s fitting because it’s the chapter about the Bible. It’s a love poem giving tribute to God’s word, for a whopping 176 verses! 

We know that words are powerful. A will and testament, can immediately change someone’s life for the better. Yet, one sentence in a dispatch at wartime can devastate a military family with the words, “We regret to inform you that your son was killed in action by enemy forces.” Words have power. 

Shakespeare claimed that the pen is mightier than the sword. And consider that for every word that Hitler penned in his manifesto entitled “Mein Kampf”, five hundred people died. That is the power of words, but the Psalmist knows that when the words are God’s words, there is an immense power; where one 176, just won’t do it justice.So the Psalmist breaks this incredible Psalm into twenty-two sections, one section for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And if you look at the pages of your bible, you’ll see a symbol and a foreign word, like Aleph hovering right over verse 1. Aleph is the equivalent in Hebrew of our letter A. 

The Psalmist gives tribute to God’s word, by playing with the Hebrew alphabet, to show that when God takes those twenty-two letters and arranges them, the power is immense! Twenty-two sections of eight verses. And all eight verses in each section begin with a corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That’s right, all eight verses begin with the aleph, or the letter a. In the second section, you’ll look down you’ll see the Hebrew letter Beth, right before verse 9. Then verses 9 through 16 all begin with the Hebrew letter Beth, the equivalent of our letter B. As we jump into the Psalm, we’ll get to see what happens when God arranges those letters into his manifesto. And each section marks out a place on our journey with the word of God. Each 8 verse section is a progression of the Psalmists journey deeper into the word. And it’s a real journey, complete with highs and lows, lulls, trials, pains and joys. 

It starts off in verse 1, with the Psalmist saying,

“Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1). 

This takes us back in our mind how the book of Psalms itself starts off in Psalm 1 verse 1, 

“Blessed is the man” (Psalm 1:1). 

The psalmist is looking at the life of someone they really admire, someone who is following God. Someone who is “walking in the way” of the Lord, and they think, “Man, I’d really give anything to have that person’s life. To be blessed like that.” Maybe you’ve felt that, looking at a hero of the faith, or someone you really admire, and you want the walk with God that they have, but you feel like a child looking at the Christmas display in a department store window; on the outside, looking in, but feeling powerless to do anything about it, to push through to the other side. 

But Psalmist knows the secret; their relationship with God came through their relationship with His word. Verse 2 says, 

“They keep his testimonies. Blessed are those who keep his statues.” (Psalm 119:2)

That word there, “keep” means, to cling to. To clutch dear to the heart, clenching with a white-knuckled grip as if it’s the most important thing to you in the world. And it is.

And notice that he uses a synonym for God’s word, “testimonies”. There are eight different synonyms for God’s word in this Psalm, and 175 out of the 176 verses use them. This one refers to the journey itself. God’s testimonies are the stories of other people’s journeys with God through his word. Like when God spoke to Abraham, and Abraham believed God, and it was credited to Him as righteousness. All because he believed God’s words. And that’s a powerful testimony. And the same was done for you by the way, because you heard God’s words and believed. You believed the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, maybe Paul, other eye witnesses, and you believed. Faith came through hearing, hearing the Word of God. 

Think about it, your relationship with God in many ways has been your relationship with His word. Even as far back in the garden, Adam and Eve had to trust God’s word, but they didn’t. They trusted the words of the serpent more. That’s our struggle every single day. Whose word are we going to believe. God’s, or someone else’s?

Back to our Psalmist’s journey in Psalm 119- He sees that blessed person, and how they live God’s word, and in verse 5, he wants what they have.

“Oh, that my ways were steadfast
 in obeying your decrees!

Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.” (Psalm 119:5-6)

The shame of disobedience. That’s not blessedness. 

But he knows, he knows that rather than staring at the ground in shame when the worship starts, he could be gazing up, singing his lungs out, belting out praising God for his transformed life, and in verse 7, his longing turns to determination. 

“I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws! I will obey your decrees!” (Psalm 119:7-8).

That’s tough talk. But he means it. 

The only problem? He knows himself well, because after the pledge to obey God’s decrees, he eeks out,

“Do not utterly forsake me!” (Psalm 119:8).

That’s like saying…”I’m going to go for it this time!!!! But, uh God….please don’t give up on me.”

As we move on to the next section, verses 9-16 where the next 8 verses begin with the Hebrew letter Beth, or the equivalent of our letter b, his journey with God through his word continues, with all the twists and turns, just like your walk and mine. 

In the second stanza, or octrain, he starts off pondering in verse 9, 

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity?” (Psalm 119:9)

He knows that it’s not going to be easy. But he wonders, how do they do it? He answers his own question,

“By living according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9).

Sounds simple right? The answer is simple, but living it is complicated. That’s why we still have 167 verses to go on this journey. 

But I think you’ll find it fascinating. The fits and starts, the determinations and defeats.

If our relationship with God is largely a relationship with His word, then all of this is par for the course. It’s normal.  Let me say this, your walk with God, ups and downs, twisting around, turning inside out, is normal. 

So, in this second octrain, the language shifts from I will, to I have. In other words, in the first stanza the psalmist is saying “I will keep the law of the Lord.” In the second stanza here, he’s seeing change, like someone going to gym, and altering their eating habits sees a change in the mirror;  it’s inspiring but it’s tough. It's hard work. And the psalmist knows this is a marathon, not a sprint. I mean, it is 176 verses. 

But let’s look at some of the other synonyms for God’s word you’ll encounter in Psalm 119.

He uses the words: Law, Statues, Precepts, Ways, Decrees, Commands, and Word.

My favorite is Statute. It literally means to “cut into” or inscribe. If you remember, God wrote his commandments on a tablet of stone, literally inscribing them with his finger, carving them into stone as a permanent, well, statute. Statute means something that will never change. Something eternal. That’s why Jesus said, “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”. 

A word like command is important. They were the 10 commandments. Not the 10 suggestions. Precepts, speak of a scientific principle. Something you can bank on, depend on. Something with predictable outcomes. God tells you in his word how life works. So, when you ignore God’s words, don’t be surprised when life stops working right. 

Your journey with God is intricately linked to your journey with his word. And I can’t wait to take you on a journey through the entire Psalm. And there is a part two to this chapter. And why not? Look, 176 verses, and I tried talking to the team for 22 parts, but the team said no. So I’ll see you next time where we continue the journey of the Psalmist with the word, through the word.