Psalm 119:1-8 // Blessed & Blameless

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PASTORAL PRAYER

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INTRO

Psalm 119:

“Word of God” Psalm

Longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses

Longer than 17 books in the NT and most of the minor prophets

An “alphabetic acrostic’ Psalm, built on the 22 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet

For example, in our passage today, in the original language each line begins with ‘Apeth.’ In english this would mean each line would begin with the letter ‘A’

Almost every verse makes reference to the Word of God.

Franz Delitzsch well says of Psalm 119 that it is “the Christian’s golden A B C of the praise, love, power and use of the word of God”

eight different terms or synonyms are used in reference to the Word of God:

“instruction” or “law” (torah) - 25x

“word” (dabar) - 24x

“judgments” or “ordinances” (mispatim) - 23x

“decrees” (hedot) - 23x

“commands” (mitswoth) - 22x

“statutes” (chuqqim) - 21x

“precepts” (piqqudim) - 21x

“promise” or “word” (‘imra) - 19x (adapted from Boice, Psalms 107–150, 971)

A blessed and blameless life comes by keeping, treasuring, and meditating on the Lord’s Word.

READ

English Standard Version Psalm 119

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the LORD!

2  Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

who seek him with their whole heart,

3  who also do no wrong,

but walk in his ways!

4  You have commanded your precepts

to be kept diligently.

5  Oh that my ways may be steadfast

in keeping your statutes!

6  Then I shall not be put to shame,

having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

7  I will praise you with an upright heart,

when I learn your righteous rules.

8  I will keep your statutes;

do not utterly forsake me!

Walk according to the Lord’s Instruction (119:1)

Verse 1 echoes Psalm 1, another wisdom psalm.

It is a twofold blessing for those who walk in the Word. Happy, fortunate, and blessed are those persons “whose way is blameless” and “who walk according to the Lord’s instruction.”

It is easy to see how the two ideas support each other.

Blameless people are people of integrity (cf. Ps 101; 1 Tim 3:1).

Their manner of life is above reproach.

They conduct themselves wisely because they walk in the Word.

Like the man of Psalm 1, such a person “delight[s] is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night” (Ps 1:2).

This man is blessed because he is blameless.

His life knows nothing of duplicity or hypocrisy.

There is no pretense in this man.

He rejoices that happiness and holiness are his wonderful companions.

Seek the Lord with All Your Heart (119:2)

Verse 2 has a second blessing, and it may be the key that unlocks the entire psalm.

The blessed person seeks the Lord “with all his heart.”

This person passionately pursues his Lord above all else.

He understands that knowledge of God is discovered in his Word, “his decrees.”

The word translated “decrees” or “testimonies” has covenantal connotations.

Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”

Keep his decrees.

Seek him with your whole heart.

Be blessed!

Walk in the Lord’s Ways (119:3)

Staying close to the Lord, we will “walk in his ways.”

God’s Word is our compass. His Word guides our course of conduct, our daily walk. God’s Word maps out our life. It forms our habits and directs our pursuits.

ILLUS: Belong Q - greatest concerns about MLC - my Answer: Discipleship! The more I’ve thought about it, we talk a good gospel talk as a church, but how is God transforming our gospel walk? What is our current testimony of the trumphs of God’s grace? That’s not just for our salvation, it is also for our TRANSFORMATION!

Out of gospel gratitude, we are called to live out the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has transformed us and made us a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

Diligently Keep the Lord’s Precepts (119:4)

God’s Word doesn’t have suggestions for our consideration, it has commands from a King for our obedience.

God’s “precepts” (instructions) come with the authority of a divine order.

Partial obedience is complete disobedience

We are called to deight in fixating on keeping the instruction of our Lord

This is not a burden, it is our joy!

Commit Your Ways to the Lord’s Statutes (119:5)

Notice the shift here to a first-person perspective.

Using six personal pronouns the psalmist expresses his desire to obey the teachings of the Bible.

There is a prayer that our ways would be steadfast to God’s ways.

The psalmist is aware that our human hearts are prone to wander.

He knows we do not naturally keep God’s statutes.

He readily acknowledges his need for God to enable him to be steadfast in his obedience.

Meditate on the Lord’s Commands (119:6)

Look now at the wonderful result of obedience: “I shall not be put to shame…”

We cannot lose our salvation, but we can experience the shame of failing to obey our Lord.

Failure to obey is embarassing

CONSIDER THIS: Adam and Eve had no experience of shame until they listened to Satan and disobeyed the Lord (Gen 3).

The same is true for us. To whose voice will we listen?

The psalmist has the answer: “I think about all your commands.”

The psalmist says he will glue his eyes on all God’s commands in order not to be put to shame.

In other words, he says, “I will not pick and choose the parts of the Word that I will obey. All of your Word, for all of me, all of the time will be my ambition and holy pursuit. There will be no part-time Christianity for me.”

Learn about the Lord’s Righteous Judgments (119:7)

Verse 2 instructed us to seek the Lord with our whole heart.

Now, in verse 7, we ourselves declare that we will praise the Lord with an “upright heart”

Praise flows naturally from a heart that has its eyes fixed on all the commands of the Lord.

Obedience is not a burden. It is not a life of dullness and drudgery.

It is a life of delight, praise, joy, and blessedness.

Learning the Word of God, his ways and wisdom, is a call to discipleship.

It is a call to be a diligent student of the Word.

To love God, we must know God.

Bible study leads to praise. The study of God leads to praise.

Keep the Lord’s Statutes (119:8)

There’s a note of resolve here: “I will keep your statutes...”

The psalmist was in some difficulty or distress.

This should not surprise us. Second Timothy 3:12 reminds us, “All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

The psalmist understands that our striving after obedience is worthless without the presence of our Lord.

Feelings will certainly ebb and flow.

However, in his Word we have a sure and certain promise, “I will never leave you or abandon you” (Heb 13:5).

With such a promise we can press on.

With such a promise, we can continually praise the Lord.

CLOSE

Psalm 119 is not only a beautiful portrait of the perfect written Word of God but also a beautiful portrait of the perfect living Word of God.

Jesus alone is the truly blameless man who walks in the Word and seeks his Lord with his whole heart.

Walking in the ways of his Father, he did no wrong and diligently kept the precepts, statutes, and commands of Holy Scripture.

When he died on the cross for the sins of the world (John 1:29), although abandoned while the wrath of God was poured out on him as our penal substitute (Ps 22:1), he was not utterly and forever abandoned.

He prayed with his final breath, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Jesus of Nazareth is the Psalm 119 man. In a true and real sense, “every line speaks of Jesus” (Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, 238)