I worship you as I come to your Word today, Almighty God. You are worthy of honor and glory, far more than I can ever offer you. Thank you for welcoming my humble praise.
Read PSALM 119:1–24
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
ב Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
ג Gimel
17 Be good to your servant while I live,
that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Footnotes
- Psalm 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet; moreover, the verses of each stanza begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘Open my eyes that I may see / glimpses of truth thou hast for me. / … Open my eyes, illumine me, / Spirit divine!
Think Further
There is deep sadness in this psalm. It affirms old-covenant faith, that God blesses people who live by his Law, but the psalmist, the young person of verse 9, knows that he is not one of them. ‘They … follow his ways’ (see v. 3) – but he knows he doesn’t. He longs to be among those faithful people whom God blesses. Conscious of his past failings, he pleads with God not to forsake him. ‘How can those who are young keep their way pure?’ he asks. He answers that he must constantly study and obey God’s Law. My mind is drawn to the wealthy young man, whom we will soon meet in our Mark readings, who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus spoke of God’s Law, he replied that he had kept the Law since childhood. Jesus knew that was true, but it was not enough. The sadness of the rich young man, who turned away from Jesus, is the sadness of the young man who penned this psalm. The Law is, in the end, not enough.
There are verses here I have known all my life. ‘Hide God’s Word in your heart,’ we used to sing in Sunday School (cf v. 11). Reading the Bible around our dining-room table in the evening, we used to pray verse 18, that God would open our eyes to see the wonders of God’s Law. Now I look back and wonder if I understood what the words meant. Yes, it is very important to know our Bibles, to be immersed in the Word of God, but that knowledge alone cannot save us. Not even knowing and obeying God’s Law, given on Mount Sinai, was enough, because it was in the end impossible. Only through knowing the Jesus of the Bible can we gain eternal life.
Apply
Ask the Lord of the Bible to open your eyes to see him afresh in its pages and find once more your way to God, the path to eternal life.
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, thank you for the gift of Scripture. Continue to speak to me through it and plant what it says deep into my heart so that I can embrace more of what Christ has done for me, grow in faith, and live in ways that bring him glory.
Last Updated on November 10, 2024 by kingstar
