Aleph



Psalm 119:1–8







Aleph

1Blessed are those whose way is blameless,who walk in the law of the Lord!
2Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,who seek him with their whole heart,
3who also do no wrong,but walk in his ways!
4You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
8I will keep your statutes;do not utterly forsake me!

On March 1, we will embark on the annual spiritual journey of Lent. Since it is only just a few days away, and the focus of this blog will then become that preparatory path, it seems like a good idea to focus on Psalm 119. If you are familiar with the Scriptures you probably already know that this is the longest chapter in the whole Bible. The focus of this prayer is the power of the Word of God and in these 176 verses we find a stunningly beautiful poem / prayer  / song that leads one’s heart to be filled with joy over this incredible gift God has given to us. The pattern of Psalm 119 is rather remarkable. It is made up of 22 eight-verse stanzas. The first word of each line of the stanza begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the letters are, of course, taken in order. Sadly, that pattern cannot be reestablished in English (or probably any other translation) but just knowing that the author has used this alliterative tool makes it rather impressive. One can also assume that this tool helped make the psalm all that much easier to memorize.

These first 8 verses introduce the entire psalm with emphasis on the power of God’s Word (law) to impact our lives. When His law is our focus and that which informs our lives, we stay on His path. We are introduced to the idea that the one who walks in God’s law is found blameless! These words are followed closely by an emphasis on those “who seek him with their whole heart”. This is where the psalm becomes personal. Now the reader is called upon to seek after God. In that seeking there is much joy, for the Lord is always willing to be found because He is the One who initiates the search in the first place. This makes God approachable and as Christians we know that He became completely available to us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

We won’t make it all the way through Psalm 119 before March 1. That’s okay. We will be well on our way into the “search” for the face of God through this wonderful song and the blessings will be ours, for that is what we are promised in the very first verse.

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! 2Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.

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