Introduction: The psalm is from book five of the Psalms (107-150), which emphasizes praise of the one True God. It is one of the Wisdom Psalms (1, 37, 73, 112, 119, 127).
When people look at Psalm 119, they might think:
• Negatively—it's too long; it's repetitive; it's disconnected; it's burdensome
• Positively—it's about God's Word, it's acrostic; it contains a favorite verse of mine
As someone has said, "It is personal (me, my, I, you, your, etc.), but not propositional (you should …). It is relentless, but it is not repetitive."
Listen carefully to the following repeated statement. "A person who has listened opens his heart to the Person who has spoken. A person who has listened opens his heart to the Person who has spoken. A person who has listened opens his heart to the Person who has spoken." [Powlison, David. Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community (p. 15).]
1) The habitual obedience of faithful believers—119:1-3
• Apart from these 3 verses and 115, all the other verses are directed to God.
• These first 3 verses are reminiscent of Psalm 1.
2) God's expectation of obedience and the psalmist's recognition of his inability—119:4-6
3) The desire to praise God for His enabling grace to obey—119:7-8
4) Things for us to remember:
a) Because of the revelation that God's blessing is with those who are devout, the faithful will commit themselves to obey His Word, anticipating that they will praise Him when He blesses them with His protective care. (Ross)
b) Love for God receives expression in doing the will of God as found in the Word of God. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15, 23-24; 1st John 5:2-3) |
