Originally posted: 12/03/2020
How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
3 They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways, (119:1-3).
Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is written as an acrostic using the 22 Hebrew letters to compile 22 stanzas of eight verses; the first word in each of the eight lines of every stanza begins with the same consonant, and this pattern continues in alphabetical order. In most English translations, the Hebrew consonant forming the acrostic are inserted as a heading above each of the stanzas: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Vav, Zayin, Heth, Teth, Yodh, Kaph, Lamedh, Mem, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Pe, Tsadhe, Qoph, Resh, Shin, Tav.
Psalm 119 is different than most of the other psalms. “Psalm 119 is a devotional on the word of God… Whereas elsewhere in the Psalter the focus falls primarily on God’s mighty acts of creation and redemption and his rule over all the world, here devotion to the word of God (and the God of the word) is the dominant theme,” NIV Study Bible.
The Word of God, so worthy to give our time and devotion to study and meditate. I can’t help but wish we had at least 22 days to consider this psalm about His Word; and I can’t help but wonder how to possibly concentrate on just one facet of the Lord in today’s five stanzas of this devotional psalm dedicated to His Word. And in this place of wondering, I was reminded of the most important truth we know about His Word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God… 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth… 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ,” (John 1:1-2, 14, 17).
Jesus is the Living Word; and His written Word reveals Him in His eternal glory, grace, and truth. In these first 40 verses of Psalm 119, thirteen times a form of “way” is used; eight times the writer refers directly to some aspect of God’s Way, and five times refers to either his own way or the ways of mankind.
And then of course, I was reminded of Jesus, Who Is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6 emphasis added).
And once again we see Jesus, Who Is the Word and the Way, penned within this psalm written some 400 years or more before His birth.
Consider the Way of His Word
- The Way of His Word is blameless.
- How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord, (119:1).- You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin, (1 John 3:5).
- How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
- The Way of His Word is righteous.
- I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments, (119:7).- My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, (1 John 2:1).
- I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
- The Way of His Word is pure.
- How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word, (119:9).- Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure, (1 John 3:2-3).
- How can a young man keep his way pure?
- The Way of His Word is blessed.
- Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes, (119:12).- The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9).
- The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
- Blessed are You, O Lord;
- The Way of His Word is bountiful life.
- Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word, (119:17).- “…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,” (John 10:10).
- Deal bountifully with Your servant,
- The Way of His Word is wonderful.
- Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law, (119:18).- For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, (Isaiah 9:6).
- For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
- Open my eyes, that I may behold
- The Way of His Word sends His counsel.
- Your testimonies also are my delight;
They are my counselors, (119:24).- “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you,” (John 16:7 HCSB).
- Your testimonies also are my delight;
- The Way of His Word gives life.
- My soul cleaves to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word, (119:25).- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3).
- My soul cleaves to the dust;
- The Way of His Word strengthens.
- My soul weeps because of grief;
Strengthen me according to Your word, (119:28).- I can do all things through Him who strengthens me, (Philippians 4:13).
- My soul weeps because of grief;
- The Way of His Word is faithful.
- I have chosen the faithful way;
I have placed Your ordinances before me, (119:30).- And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war, (Revelations 19:11).
- I have chosen the faithful way;
- The Way of His Word enlarges our heart in understanding and obedience.
- I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will enlarge my heart.
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart, (119:32-33).- For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, (Colossians 1:9-10).
- I shall run the way of Your commandments,
- The Way of His Word produces reverence.
- Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You, (119:38).- Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You… 5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was,” (John 17:1, 5).
- yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him, (1 Corinthians 8:6).
- For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen, (Romans 11:36).
- Establish Your word to Your servant,
How do we respond to the Way of His Word?
We must start by believing the Way of His Word.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6).
Today, let’s begin at the beginning. Are you certain that you have come to the Father through faith in Jesus? Today, if you have any doubt, you can have His assurance as you simply bow your heart in faith, confess your sin and need for the salvation only Jesus can provide, and believe that His sacrifice made on the cross for your sins has made the Way for you to be reconciled to the Father.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him,” (John 3:16-17).
Such love to give His Son for us. Oh, that we would learn from the psalmist, that we too would live with a passionate devotion to the Way of His Word. Oh, may we seek His blessing by yielding ourselves to Him, that we would live blameless and upright to walk in the Way of His Word.
How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord, (119:1).
- Let us seek Him with all our heart, that we would live in obedience to the Way of His Word.
- How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart, (119:2).
- How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
- Let us so treasure the Way of His Word that our hearts would never turn from His truth and sin against Him.
- Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You, (119:11).
- Your word I have treasured in my heart,
- Let us find our joy in the Way of His Word, knowing that nothing else in all this world can compare.
- I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches, (119:14).
- I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
- Let us ask Him to grow our understanding as we devote time to ponder, meditate and consider the Way of His Word.
- Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders, (119:27).
- Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
- Let us pray and ask Him to teach us that we will grow in our obedience in the Way of His Word.
- Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end, (119:33).
- Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
- Let us ask Him to grow our hunger for the Way of His Word, that we would be revived to live in His righteousness each and every day.
- Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness, (119:40).
- Behold, I long for Your precepts;