August 25, 2023 — Psalm 119 

Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. 

Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, 

who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances. I will observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me. 

How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments. I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes. With my lips I declare 

all the ordinances of your mouth. I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways.  

I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. (Verses 1-16) 

Psalm 119 is shaped in an interesting but formal structure. First, it is composed of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet — meaning it  has twenty-two sections, one for each letter of the alphabet. The Psalm also has a thematic structure involving eight terms: “law,” “decrees,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “ordinance(s),” “word,” “precepts,” and “promise”. Each section is composed of eight lines, and the first words of each line always have the same first letter — that is, eight aleph lines and eight beth lines, and so on. 

Knowing that this psalm is set up in this formal structure, you would either think the Psalm must be a work or Genius, or it has the reputation of being considered artificial and boring. As is the case with all of the Psalms, this one was meant to be read aloud to others. And because of the way the Psalm is composed, each part (eight lines) can stand for the whole, but the whole is needed for the Psalm to hold its true power.  Perhaps this is the time to talk about the importance of the Psalms. C.S. Lewis, in his book Reflections on the Psalms” says this: 

“What must be said….is that the Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung: not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons. Most emphatically the Psalms must be read as poems; as lyrics, with all the licences and all the formalities, the hyperboles, the emotional rather than logical connections, which are proper to lyric poetry. They must be read as poems if they are to be understood; no less than French must be read as French or English as English. Otherwise we shall miss what is in them and think we see what is not.” 

As such, the Psalms are perfect for worship, and they are perfect for what I have been doing for the last 118 Psalms — offering them up for meditation and devotional usage.  

Let us pray: 

Holy God, you are just in all your ways and your commandments are the greatest of treasures. Teach us to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 

Amen. 

Pastor Dave