Read: Psalm 119 / Catch up day
Verses chosen for meditation: Psalm 119:1-8
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.[b]
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!
Reflect
According to bible scholars, Psalm 119 is likely to be a compilation of writings. This is because from the beginning to end, there is no definitive flow of thought; although there are similar emphasis on God and His word.
Rather, each section seems to be put together through a period of time. Hence, when we read this Psalm, it will be good to read it in sections, rather than trying to ascertain a story from beginning to end.
Psalm 119 starts with the word “blessed”. What does the word “blessed” mean to the 21st century Christian? Is it the same as a fellow Christian during Jesus’ time? The word “blessed” comes from the Hebrew word “ashar” which means to be happy. What does it mean to be happy?
Biblically, to be happy means to have contentment, peace and joy in the Lord. It is different from the Hebrew word “barak” which usually means having divine favour from the Lord. So in the context of Psalm 119, blessedness might be related to divine favour, but it is not the emphasis of the Hebrew word “ashar”. The emphasis here, is about having inner joy of the Lord.
And this can be had, as verse 1 suggested, when we choose to walk in the law of the Lord and be blameless. Walking in the law of the Lord certainly means more than just studying the word of God. It means practicing what God is saying to us through His word. Transformation can only happen when truth is applied.
This suggestion is similar to verse 2, which points to the keeping of God’s testimonies, or the word of God. Better still, blessed is the one who seeks after God with his whole heart. The repeated advice given to us, is that we should seek to do no wrong, because that in itself is a blessing. Not only will we enjoy the pleasure of God with a pure heart; we are likely to know how to treat people in the right way.
Verses 4-5 urge that we should be diligent to keep the word of God. It implies that while we have the grace of God in our lives; the Christian journey is not one of laziness and sloth. Rather, we are urged to make an effort, with the strength given by God, to pursue God’s precepts and statutes. This means that we need not disdain against spending a considerable amount of time studying the Bible; but what we can watch out for is that it does not turn into a form of worship. Meaning worshipping the Bible, rather than the God of the Bible.
Thankfully, this is addressed by the Psalmist in verses 6-8, who cry out to God that the intention of being steadfast in the word is to uphold righteousness and having a heart to praise God. The goal of memorising scripture verses, intense bible study, daily devotions is always to glorify God with our lives. It is not a feel good activity but rather, as the Psalmist suggested, an act of worship from a God-fearing heart. At the end of the day, the Psalmist’s reverence and love of God pull him towards a serious view of the Bible. He knew the benefits of being steadfast in God’s word; but the main thing that pulled him to want to know God more through His word, is God Himself. That I believe, should be the intention of every believer when we choose to keep the very precepts of God.
Relate
We live in world of information overload and overconsumption. We consume so much of information on a daily basis and sometimes, we don’t even think of them after consumption. We just open up our minds to constant feeding, not analysing; but just feeding. The result might be that we are increasingly building up for ourselves an almost irreversible habit of reading any types of literature. We gloss over. We skipped. We prefer to get hyped for the introduction and too eager for a conclusion.
It is as if our lives are so fast paced that we need to compress all forms of literature into tik tok feeds. So it is on how we read our Bible. We consume but not process. We read, but we seldom question our motivations. We gloss over, thinking that it is alright, as long as we do our so called daily routine of bible reading.
Sure, we all need to start somewhere. But a good habit is something which benefit and bring joy to our lives. It is not done out of guilt, done mindlessly or even done with the need to fulfil a duty. Our earlier reflection that bible reading should be done with the intention to honour God with our lives. To do so, we can only process what we read in the Bible, very intentionally with the God of the Bible. To do so, we need to apportion undisturbed time and be convinced that this is a priority. A priority for having that growing relationship with God, a priority for blessedness as suggested by this Psalm.
It is sad that sometimes, we hear remarks, even from well-known preachers that it is not so much about knowledge of the word, but about knowing Jesus. That often gives people the impression or the excuse to neglect the reading and studying of God’s word; but just talking to Jesus will do.
The fact is, how do we talk to Jesus? How do we discern that we are hearing from Jesus in that talk or are we hearing ourselves? How do we interpret what is told, if indeed it is from Jesus? Didn’t Jesus said to abide in His word? Sure, we do not want to end up worshipping the Bible. But that should not give rise to the irresponsible or even prideful suggestion that we can know God without a good knowledge of His word. Psalm 119 suggest otherwise.
Rest
Lord, help us to be encouraged to meditate on our intention to want to read the Bible. Let us be like the Psalmist, that knowing and being steadfast in God’s word, is to glorify God, with living out a life that is blameless. In Jesus Name. Amen.
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