#DailyDevotion Blessed Is The Man Who Walks In The Way Of The LORD
Psalm 119 Happy are those whose lives are innocent, who live by what the LORD teaches (torah). 2happy are those who keep the truths(edah) He wrote, searching for Him with all their hearts; 3who do no wrong but walk in His ways. 4You ordered us to give diligent attention to Your directions(piqqud). 5O how I want my life to conform to Your laws(huqqim)! 6I will never be ashamed when I study all Your commandments(miswat). 7I will praise You sincerely as I learn Your righteous decrees(misphat). 8I will keep Your laws(huqqim)—don’t utterly forsake me.
Today we embark on the longest Psalm. As we get started we should note several characteristics. First it is an acrostic Psalm. It has 22 sections as there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each section begins with the letter of the alphabet in sequence. Second, it speaks to us about God’s Word. It is a meditation on God’s Word. There are 8 verses in each section. There are 8 words used for God’s Word and each section uses one or more of those words. The words are in English: law (torah), word (dabar), judgments (mitspaim), testimonies (edah), commandments (miswot), statutes (huqqim), precepts (puqqudim), and word (imrah-word in this case is something that is uttered whereas dabar is any sort of word).
What words are used in the opening 8 verses? Dabar is in the first verse, edah in the second, piqqud in the fourth, huqqim in the fifth, miswat in the sixth, misphat in the seventh, and huqqim in the eighth. It’s amazing that in the opening salvo here there are six of the words used. The only ones missing are dabar and imrah. This sets the tone for the rest of the psalm. The whole of the psalm is a meditation on these words plus imrah. As we can see in the first two paragraphs there are different translations for these eight words depending on your translation. We may explore these a bit as we go.
As expected the first word of this section begins with a word that starts with aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is אשׁר. It is blessedness or happiness. Who is the man that is happy? The one whose life is innocent who lives by what the LORD teaches or walks in the LORD’s Torah (instruction often translated law). You know if you live according to the revealed will of the LORD, you simply are not going to be causing yourself or other people trouble. Certainly, with a few exceptions, you’ll be happy in that state of being. Happiness is again the result of those who keep in the sense of guarding His truths or testimonies. That is to keep them in the forefront of our minds. Ways (Hebrew derek) may also be considered a ninth word for God’s Word.
Verse four is a remembrance of Deut. 11:18-20. We should be in God’s Word regularly, talking about it with others, whenever and wherever. Digging into God’s Word, if we love the LORD and trust Him, we should love to do His Word and endeavor to do it. Given, it is often a struggle for us. We should not hate what God commands and instructs us if the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Studying God’s commandments should not make us ashamed. If anything we put them forward to those around us and they should be ashamed for following another way, another path other than the LORD’s.
As we study the LORD’s decrees, we praise the LORD for His wisdom shown by them. Those who do not praise the LORD for them are living in darkness. God’s Light is not in them. There is a vow then to keep the laws of the LORD. Yes, the Christian response to hearing God’s Word is not, “Well, I’ll never keep that,” but “If this is what the LORD wants, this is what I want and am going to do.” The plea to not have the LORD forsake us probably is from our understanding of ourselves in this weak estate. We sincerely intend to keep and do His will. We know we will fall short. For Christ’s sake then we make our plea for mercy, kindness, love and forgiveness.
Almighty God and Father, You put forth Your instructions so we may live well. Grant us Your Holy Spirit so we may walk in Your ways and be blessed. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.