Keep Them Diligently

Introduction

We ate a big breakfast, and we’re going to look at a big psalm. Turn with me to Psalm 119. If chapters of the Bible are cars, then this one is a monster truck. It has been called the Mount Everest of the Psalms. It has a whopping 176 verses. It is the longest chapter in the Bible and and is beautifully arranged.

22 alphabetical strophes, in order of Hebrew alphabet

Eight lines in each strophe

Each lines begins with that strophe’s letter

Nearly all line endings follow one of two rhyming patterns (many lines end with “your ___”)

Eight words used for God’s law (only one extra term inserted, though these vary by translation): law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments + word.

All but five lines (of 176) contain an explicit reference to God’s Word

And as much as I’d like to have a Men’s Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner to cover the whole psalm, we are just going to focus on the first strophe of eight verses. Before we address those verses specifically, I want to give you a few pointers on how to approach this unique chapter in the Bible.

Many commentators feel that this psalm suffers under the confines of poetic style. They say it is the “most artificial of the Psalms,” that it lacks freedom, feeling, fancy, and fervor and is instead filled with “pedestrian, repetitious, and often borrowed lines, so mechanically arranged.” And, to be honest, if you read this psalm expecting a ballad or a novel, you will be disappointed! But you’ll also be disappointed if you try to eat spaghetti with a spoon. We have to use things the right way.

Psalm 119 demonstrates the vibrant joy of knowing God through His word. These eight terms are used again and again in a variety of sentences. That variety communicates something of the richness and grandeur we find in the pages of Scripture. This psalmist is writing what you feel when you go back to that same old tired verse of the Bible and discover something new all over again. And when people are excited about something they talk a lot about it!

Furthermore, the psalmist meant his repetition to be anything but boring. Good hermeneutics teaches us that repetition implies emphasis. And this psalm blows repetition and emphasis out of the water! This is like a climax or a thundering crescendo in God’s special revelation. The drumroll beats loud and violently. This psalm declares the supremacy of God’s Word. It shouts to the world that our God has revealed Himself to us through His word, unlike mute idols.

Finally, this psalm models an appropriate response to God’s Word. Good meditation involves repetition! If you want to remember what Scripture means and how it works, then you have to review it over and over and over again. You must ponder the truths of Scripture frequently, considering different aspects and applications. And here the psalmist sets a wonderful example. See how he mulls on God’s Word! Like him, consider it day and night, all the time.

Proposition

So with that said, let me read the first eight verses, the aleph strophe, and we’ll pray to ask God’s help.

Psalm 119:1–8 LSB

1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of Yahweh. 2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, They seek Him with all their heart. 3 They also do not work unrighteousness; They walk in His ways. 4 You have commanded us, To keep Your precepts diligently. 5 Oh may my ways be established To keep Your statutes! 6 Then I shall not be ashamed When I look upon all Your commandments. 7 I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I shall keep Your statutes; Do not forsake me utterly!

Pray with me.

Just as Psalm 1 opens the psalms with an emphasis on obedience, so this strophe opens Psalm 119 with a similar emphasis. We will see in these verses that obedience is praised, commanded, and resolved. I want you to understand that obedience is desirable because it brings blessing, that obedience is commanded of you by Yahweh Himself, and that obedience frees us from shame and produces eager thankfulness when we learn God’s word.

Obedience is Praised

So let’s begin by looking at verses 1-3, where we find that obedience is praised. Verses 1 and 2 repeat the phrase “How blessed are those…,” and it seems evident that the psalmist is considering just one group of people. And this group is identified in the first line of verse 1 as “those whose way is blameless.”

Clearly this is a desirable group. They are blessed, and who does not want to be blessed! Biblically, blessing involves privilege. Typically an individual is blessed with something that other individuals may not have or get. The Queen of Sheba said Solomon’s men were blessed because they had the privilege of standing in his court, of all kings. And in verse 6, if you want to get a sneak peak, we learn that the privilege of the blessed is bold confidence. It says they will not be ashamed.

What is this blamelessness that characterizes those who are blessed? Well, in Scripture blamelessness carries the idea of an untarnished character and reputation. The term does not necessarily mean angelic perfection, but in Hebrew it described complete fullness or absolute destruction. Actually the most common use of the term “blameless” is in the context of sacrificial animals, where the same term is translated “without blemish.” It implies freedom from noticeable imperfection.

So the blameless have to be all in. Blessing is only given to those who are comprehensive in their obedience.

Now let’s look at the five behaviors, or the five verbs, that describe this category of blameless people.

You can see the first behavior in the second half of verse 1. It says they “walk in the law of Yahweh.” This trifecta of blessing, walking, and the law reminds us of Psalm 1, where the blessed man does not walk in the way of the wicked but delights in the law of Yahweh. The law occupies a position of authority, and it involves decisions and actions. It is not merely theology to be acknowledged, but truth to be applied and obeyed.

The second behavior is in the first half of verse 2, where they “observe His testimonies.” This Hebrew term for observation comes from the same word root as “watchtower” and even “besiege” as well. Those under siege are watched like a hawk by the entrenched enemy all around them. It can also mean “guard.” It is observation that leads to responsive action. Yahweh Himself uses this same language to describe His attentive care for Israel in Isaiah 27:2-3,

“A vineyard of delight, sing of it! I, Yahweh, am its keeper; I water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I keep it night and day.

How blessed are those who observe Yahweh’s testimonies every moment, night and day. They are relentless in their drive to obey.

The third behavior is in the second half of verse 2, they “seek Him with all their heart.” In other places, seek is translated as “inquire.” It involves asking questions and taking action in order to figure things out. In Ezra 7:10, we see that he “had set his heart to study [seek] the law of Yahweh and to practice it, and to teach His statute and judgment in Israel.” Blessed and blameless men do not sit passively. They get up and get to work. They put their whole heart into seeking God.

The fourth behavior is in the first half of verse 3, they “do not work unrighteousness.” This one is different because it is something the blameless do not do. This phrase refers to using abilities for evil purposes. It is different from the word for “labor” or “toil.” Instead, the phrase “work unrighteousness” is rarely used and originates in Job 36:22-23,

“Behold, God is exalted in His power; … And who has said, ‘You have worked out unrighteousness’?

It means no one can say that God used his power for evil purposes when He allowed Job to suffer. That’s the idea here. No one can accuse a blameless man of leveraging his abilities or resources for evil and unrighteous purposes. He is never complicit in sin.

The fifth and final behavior is in the second half of verse 3, they “walk in His ways.” It means someone has gone on a journey, and this man is retracing their steps in order to find out where they went. He walks in their ways. Perhaps the most pivotal use of this term is in Joshua 3:3-4,

“When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

The Israelites needed to observe and follow the Levitical priests. They carried the ark of the covenant through the uncharted territory of the Promised Land. So also, the blameless man stands a little bit at a distance, carefully watching God’s ways and imitating the same in his own life.

So now I think you’ve got the picture. The blameless man is above reproach, just like the qualification for an elder in the church. And the psalmist declares without wavering that this man is blessed. He is privileged and stands in a unique position. This is how obedience is praised, and it is a tremendous honor!

Obedience is Commanded

Now let’s consider that obedience is also commanded. At this point things take a dramatic turn in our text. This whole time we have been thinking about the blessed and blameless man in the third person. “That’s nice, it’s something he is doing.” And it is praiseworthy, so we are drawn by a desire to do the same in the hopes that we too will be blessed. But now we cross over from praise of apparently optional behavior to command of explicitly required behavior.

4) You have commanded us, To keep Your precepts diligently.

Now we are no longer free to secretly imitate the blameless man on our own terms and timeline while hoping that some of his blessing will rub off on us. The tone just shifted from opportunity to accountability, from possibility to requirement. In project management terms, it went from unassigned with no deadline, to assigned to you and with a due date. This is an urgent task and your name is on it now.

In particular, we are commanded to keep Yahweh’s precepts diligently. That is the operative adverb. You can learn diligence by comparing the stories of Adam and Noah. Adam had one job: not to eat the fruit. And he slacked off, listening to the voice of his wife, and did it anyways. He was not diligent. Noah, on the other hand, kept Yahweh’s commands for over a hundred years as he built a mammoth wooden ark by hand and to code. That required a ton of diligent work and obedience!

It seems like the psalmist is writing with Deuteronomy 4 in mind, where the same Hebrew word for diligence is translated as “careful.”

Deuteronomy 4:9 LSB

“Only keep yourself and keep your soul very carefully, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. But make them known to your sons and to your grandsons.

Deuteronomy 4:15 LSB

“So keep your souls very carefully, since you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

Verse 4 is the hinge in this strophe. It is the transition from abstract third person to direct second person. Now you are accountable.

Obedience is Resolved

Let’s look at how we should respond in verses 5-8. We have seen that obedience is praised and commanded, finally obedience is resolved.

First, the psalmist acknowledges that obedience is not within his power. So this means that on your own, you have no ability to obey or to be blessed. You must pray for divine power if you would obtain divine pleasure. Hear the psalmist’s earnest prayer,

5) Oh may my ways be established To keep Your statutes!

There is an interesting turn of words in this verse. What does it mean for our “ways to be established”? Well, Proverbs 21:29 is a start,

A wicked man displays a brazen face, But as for the upright, he establishes his way.

So apparently establishing our way means not displaying a brazen face. In Proverbs 4:20-27, the father teaches the importance of giving attention to his words. In verses 25-27 in particular, he calls his son to,

Watch the track of your feet And all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.

Establishing your ways means giving careful thought to your decisions so that they will not be overturned. It is like setting a precedent in court.

Imagine for a minute that you just went to IKEA and picked out a piece of furniture. You’ve seen the product images, and it just looks so good! You know everyone who has one of these items must be so blessed. So you’ve bought one, and now you know that you are required to put it together. IKEA has given you a manual full of commands, and you are resolved to get it done.

But now you have a decision, are you going to wing it with a brazen face, confident that you can figure it out on your own? Or are you going to read the instructions and establish your way? The outcome of that decision is the same as the outcome in this psalm. If you press on with a brazen face, you will almost surely be ashamed when you get stuck half way and cast an eye upon that booklet over there. Or, you will have read the instructions and find yourself giving thanks for a helpful guide amid the complexity! So also, you must resolve to obey God’s commands carefully so that your ways will be established to keep His statues.

In the same way, look down at verse 6 with me, where we learn about the shame of looking back at instructions we disregarded,

6) Then I shall not be ashamed When I look upon all Your commandments.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this before. You know God’s commandment, and when you sin you dread lifting your eyes to look on God’s Word again. It is like when Peter was ashamed that Jesus asked him three times whether Peter loved Jesus. Peter was ashamed to look upon that question, especially three times.

The joy of resolved obedience is that you can avoid such shame. Notice the psalmist specifically says “all Your commandments.” This is the best part. Partial obedience is no obedience. You might fan through the pages of God’s Word with a clear conscience and yet want to avoid just one page. It contains the verse or the passage that has laid a finger on your soul. It sees the crack in your self-righteous defense. It knows and exposes the hypocrisy of your feigned submission.

Resolve today in the presence of God and the men of this church that you will establish your ways to keep Yahweh’s statues. If you obey completely, you will not be ashamed when you look on all God’s commandments. This is the goal. Not merely a clean conscience before some of them, but all of them.

This is the blessing of the blameless. Consider the other half of the blessing,

7) I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments.

What joy! This thanks may take on many forms of rejoicing and praise. This is the giddy excitement of accomplishment mixed with relief. You’re thankful that the outcome wasn’t as bad as you knew it might have been if you had disobeyed. And you’re also excited that it turned out better than you expected! You might have guessed that obedience would lead to blessing, but you will not have any idea until you’re there just how much blessing it leads to.

And the context or timing of this joy is “when I learn Your righteous judgments.” This verb is fascinating. The Hebrew word for “to learn” that is used here is only ever translated as “to teach” in the rest of Scripture. It originates in Deuteronomy 4-6 with Yahweh’s commands to teach statutes and judgments to Israel and to children. Ezra 7:10 follows, where the scribe resolves to study, practice and then “teach His statute and judgment in Israel.” This verb is not often used outside of these contexts. Here the psalmist envisions himself in your position, learning from the teaching of God’s word with the pure thanksgiving of integrity.

If you are not obedient, it is hard to receive God’s word with thanksgiving. You know it to be a source of conviction and correction, yet you refuse to bend your stiff neck. But when you are fully obedient, then you can receive it with appreciation because it is something to be embraced instead of subtly rejected.

The psalm closes in verse 8 with the firm conclusion of the psalmist,

8) I shall keep Your statutes; Do not forsake me utterly!

He has considered the consequences, opportunities, and outcomes. Now he is fully resolved to keep Yahweh’s statutes.

The last phrase is a little bit hard to understand. “Do not forsake me utterly.” No one knows for sure who wrote Psalm 119, but there is a general consensus that Ezra the priest is a good candidate. Certain lines in the psalm seem to identify a young author, trained in Scripture, facing antagonism from secular officials. Ezra fits the bill there better than shepherd turned king David, and Daniel is more of a government official than a teacher of the law. If Psalm 119 was written by Ezra, it was post-exilic, written after Israel returned from exile. They knew what it was to be forsaken, and Ezra knew God was just.

Isaiah 54:7 LSB

“For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you.

This was the hope of Ezra and the post-exilic remnant. God had forsaken them briefly, but not utterly.

Conclusion

If Ezra wrote this psalm, remember that he was the one who set his heart to study, obey, and teach Yahweh’s law. He was leading Judah’s remnant back into the Promised Land. This would explain why these verses rely heavily on the opening chapters of the Torah and on the prayers that David and Solomon offered in connection with the Temple. For the Israelites, the Temple was the greatest loss of the exile. Ezra knew deeply the consequences of Israel’s forgetfulness. He did not want them to neglect God’s word ever again in the way that had brought about their exile. Obedience was absolutely paramount to survival.

Perhaps as a result he wrote Psalm 119 with this opening strophe that exalts obedience via praise, command, and resolve. The main theme throughout these eight verses is “keep.” We are commanded to keep Yahweh’s statutes. We must pray for help to keep His statues. And we must also resolve to keep His statues.

And so I charge you today, keep Yahweh’s statues!! Admire the blessing, obey the command, and resolve to obey. Pray with me now.