Psalm 119:3 – Not Malicious
They also don’t act with malice
In God’s ways they walk.
This verse could be translated in many ways, but the basic message doesn’t change.
We’ve had too verses talking about blessed people and what it is that they do. This verse introduces an “and one more thing” moment. They also don’t act maliciously. The KJV, a bit more literal than I am, says “They also do no iniquity.”
I may just have a problem getting into this elite group!
But let’s keep a couple more verses in this very section of the Psalm in mind, such as verse 5: “Oh that my ways were steadfast, to keep your statutes.” and the plea in verse 8: “Don’t forsake me completely!”
The Psalmist sees a glory in the law, a glorious challenge. This is something he would like to do. The one keeping the law is in a blessed state.
Yet he knows he’s not perfect. In verse 176, a long ways down the road from where we are, he says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.” That can seem like a real downer of an ending for a lengthy poem celebrating the law. But it’s nothing of the sort. It comes from the heart of someone who appreciates the beauty of God’s law, and trusts in God to seek him.
There are two ways we tend to dodge God’s law. First, we can trim it down to size. We make it something we can do easily. We create a relaxing law of God, an undemanding law. We aim low, and generally we end up even lower than we aim.
On the other hand, we can say, “This law is much too hard for me to keep. Forget it! It’s no good.”
The Psalmist makes neither error. He realizes God’s law is glorious, that it is a high standard, and he’s glad of that. He also realizes that he needs the God who welcomes the seeker (119:2) is, in fact, the seeker. In this he finds great joy and great comfort.
From a Christian perspective, this reminded me of this song, which probably dates me just a bit! Note “the buyers and the sellers were no different fellers than what I confess to be.”
(Featured image generated by Jetpack AI. This post is part of a series on Psalm 119. For all entries to date, see tag Psalm 119. For a deeper look at the language and poetry of the psalm read Bob MacDonald’s series, starting here.)
