Then I won’t be ashamed, When I keep my eyes on all your commands.
I didn’t get the poetry in my translation. It’s hard to get everything into it at once.
This verse strikes at one of our most serious problems. Our identity. Our ability to live with ourselves.
You’ve surely heard stories of people going on various pilgrimages to find themselves. Others go through their lives with a continuous question of whether they are important, or contribute, or make a difference of some kind. Who are we?
Often this comes as shame. We are ashamed of things we have done. Let me confess that there are things I have done in my life of which I am not proud. Even more, I have rarely (almost never) done my work to what I consider a high level of quality. There are always things in what I do that I want to apologize for, even to myself.
But when we get our eyes on God, in this case the God revealed in the commands he gave, we can begin to find our identity. The God who did these things actually cares about us.
7 “It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (NRSVue)
For a New Testament quote,
1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
In my current series on Psalm 119, I’m doing a daily meditation on each verse. These are, by design, short. At the same time, it’s difficult to cover certain nuances effectively in individual posts. One of these is the question of why I would write this particular series.
I’ve already included my video on the various uses of “law” and related terms in scripture. I’m embedding it here again.
God’s Eternal Law
To summarize this, I believe that God has an eternal law. That eternal law is not something that we can comprehend. It rules an entire universe. It is an absolute expression of who God is. Those of us who are not in that “space,” so to speak, are not going to comprehend or attain to this.
This law expresses not only who God is, but God’s ultimate and glorious purpose for creation, including us. As a starting point for understanding my own view of law and grace, I would point out that we have nothing that is not, in this sense, a gift. We can’t take our next breath without the physical laws, which are God’s creation. We bring nothing into this world that was not given to us.
But scripture (Psalm 8, for example), also quoted and directly applied in Hebrews 2, carries this concept forward into Christian thought. While everything is a gift, we are, in fact, gifted. Every one of us.
Various Laws
Now there are many laws expressed in scripture and in various human documents and institutions. God’s laws as delivered to us are always finite simply because we cannot possibly understand something infinite. When Paul notes (Romans 3:23) that we all fall short of God’s glory, I would take this as also that we cannot really comprehend God’s glory.
Individual laws or bodies of laws are relative. People are afraid of the word relative, because they think it makes something weak. But things and statements are always relative. We are neither able to make things absolute in all ways, nor would it be desirable to do so.
To illustrate from daily life, the rules a parent makes for a toddler do not necessarily apply to that same child as a teenager. That’s because the specific commands were related to that particular time and place.
When we look to biblical laws, we find many of the same things taking place. As Christians, we acknowledge that some laws were for specific times and places.
Note: Dispensationalism is based on this very real separation, though I think it has substantial problems in that it tries to make something relative more absolute than it was intended to be. In doing so, it both makes thing more rigid, and at the same time makes laws less applicable. Few dispensationalists would agree with a man with whom I had a discussion when he informed me that one clause in a verse in 2 Corinthians referred to a different dispensation than the rest.
The Torah and Israel (Very Briefly)
Now Israel’s religion centered more and more over time on the Torah, God’s revelation at Sinai, though many, myself included, would maintain that portions of it developed over a longer period of time. So when an Israelite referred to “the law” as Torah is often translated, he was referring to the core revelation of God to the people of Israel.
So when the Psalmist starts to celebrate the Torah in this poem, he is, in fact, celebrating both the fact that God made a self-revelation to Israel, and that this revelation was available to him personally. It was not just that this was a life-giving and life-affirming way of carrying out one’s life. It was not just a moral code. It was a revelation that gave meaning to all that was, is, or could be.
The Revelation of God in Jesus
We find Jesus portrayed in a similar way in the New Testament. John 1:1-18 is the classic expression. I am a great fan of the book of Hebrews. (I say that Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Hebrews are the three books that have shaped my theology.) Hebrews 1:1-4 is also a classic, though less known passage that expresses this idea explicitly. In the past, we are informed, God’s revelation came at various times and in various ways, but now it has arrived through one who is a Son, a complete portrayal of all that God is.
So Christian theology is, quite properly, centered in the person of Jesus Christ. I’m not here trying to argue about a “better” religion. I would like to point out that this is the source of a great deal of difficulty when Christians and Jews debate the meaning of Hebrew scripture. We are looking at it with different colored glasses. Rather than seeing the Torah as God’s final and ultimate revelation of God, we see Jesus in the same light.
But note that the book of Hebrews does not say that the revelation in Jesus Christ, a Son by nature, somehow meant that the other revelation was invalid or useless. It adjusts the center. It changes our viewpoint, and thus changes what we see, but it doesn’t say that the other viewpoint fails to inform.
I, as a Christian, could actually read Psalm 119 as a celebration of Jesus, though I would not hold that the author saw it or thought of it that way. We read this passage (and most others) very weakly when we consider the point to be one of how hard we should try to accomplish a set of ethical commands and precepts. It is rather a celebration of the God who chose Israel and provided to them the revelation of divinity that is contained in Torah.
The “Law Words” of Psalm 119
Psalm 119 uses a variety of words for the the law, including Torah. They are variously translated in various versions, but let’s consider Torah (instruction/law), testimonies, ways, instructions/procedures, statutes, commands, judgments, and words.
Each of these terms overlaps in their meanings, but all are included in the overall concept of Torah. Each has a different etymology and some differences in usage, but Psalm 119 seems to be simply using them to bring together the broadest concept of God’s law that is possible.
This celebration becomes possible for any of us as we celebrate God’s revelation, no matter where or how it is given. Psalm 19 celebrates the revelation of God in the created world, for example.
Conclusion
So reading and enjoying Psalm 119 is not just a celebration of commands and a demand for a particular behavior. It is a celebration of the God of law, revealed in Torah. As we see God in other ways and sources, it can become a celebration of those elements as well.
Oh that my ways were steady, Keeping your statutes.
Any time we’re looking at a set of standards, it’s well to be realistic, especially with ourselves. As we go through this Psalm, we’ll be celebrating God’s law in many ways and places, but there are a number of instances where the author admits his limitations and calls for help from the lawgiver.
It would all be very good if …
I sure wish I could, says the Psalmist. He knows it’s good. He’s glad to know it. But can he?
I feel this. There are things in my daily life I wish I could do better. Some days are better than others.
There’s a balance here, and we can see that balance in the rhythms of the Psalm.
The praise is a prayer. I’m going for it! Please help me!
About your precepts you commanded, “Keep them diligently!”
Sometimes things are tough. You wonder what’s coming next.
I’m meditating on these passages one at a time. I read the passage in the morning, and then I write these in the evening. During the day, I keep coming back to that verse. In deciding to do 176 daily meditations (that’s how many verses there are in this Psalm), I knew that some would be more encouraging than others.
This one is just tough. God says to do this diligently. Don’t just pretend. Don’t follow these precepts sometimes. Seventh percent is not a passing grade.
I’m reminded of choosing a Sudoku puzzle. How spiritual is that? Well, I like to pick the hardest level in the app I use. Sometimes I’m tempted to do an easier one. If I give in to that temptation, I’m drawn to watch the time and try to complete it as rapidly as possible. Most of the time, however, I choose the hard one.
Is the call of the toughest “right” living just as strong for me? Do I want to take the hard, but right path whenever possible?
The bad news, which I notice even in a sparse verse such as this, is that I don’t get there. Not ever. I have a desire, but it’s often a fairly week desire. The good news is that God is working on me, and the fact that he has such high hopes is very encouraging.
I think the Psalmist shares some of my feelings. But that’s the next verse!
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.)
Continuing with Psalm 119, which I began with Psalm 119:1 yesterday. There are some notes on this series there.
Blessed are those who preserve [keep] his testimonies, who wholeheartedly seek him.
In the translation I use “testimonies” as in the KJV, though there are a number of other possible translations. I’ll comment on these various words for “law” in Psalm 119, though I don’t think the author’s intention is to discuss different types of law and say different things about them. Rather, he is pointing us to the whole of God’s law in its various manifestations through the use of these various types of law.
It’s interesting to compare two other passages that use the same word used here for “blessed.” One is Isaiah 30:18, which says those who wait on the Lord are happy/blessed. Deuteronomy 33:29 says Israel is blessed because the Lord is their shield.
There is a blessing simply in being able to seek. The history of Israel at the time of the Exodus shows us a time when we are told the people don’t even know who to call on. Moses has to ask for the name he is to give when the people wonder who sent him.
When the ten commandments are given at Mt. Sinai, they begin with the declaration, “I am YHWH your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
This verse points us to the blessing there is in simply being able to seek God. This seeking is a result of the call of God. Those testimonies (covenant provisions) are the result of God’s choosing and opening to you the opportunity to seek.
What does seeking God with your whole heart mean for you today?
I’ve been listening to Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible as an audiobook. I’ll doubtless write something about this translation later. But right now I’m listening to Judges, and it’s caused me to think a bit about the broader story of the history of Israel and then of the church.
Charismatic Leadership
One of Alter’s comments is that the judges tended to be selected as charismatic leaders with their origins in moves of the spirit, such as angelic visions. So Israel was ruled by a succession of leaders chosen by God’s call given in various ways, and the book of Judges is not very positive on all of this. It doesn’t speak negatively about God’s selection of leaders, but it does comment regularly on the repeatedly dismal results. After a period of safety, the Israelites fall back into apostasy and are conquered by their enemies.
The author/compiler of Judges tends to think Israel needs a king, presumably with a secured succession, so as to avoid these times of apostasy and failure.
It doesn’t work out that way. We see the end of the period of the Judges and the beginning of the kingdom in the books of Samuel, and it’s a turbulent time. The first king is at best equivocal, and at worst actively working against God and the interests of Israel. David does maintain the loyalty of Israel, but his son Solomon plants the seeds of failure.
The Monarchy Isn’t Better
The northern kingdom pursues an almost continually dismal process of decay, while the southern kingdom has good kings followed by bad kings in a cycle. One could say, “New system of government, same old problems.”
Following the Babylonian exile, the Jewish people no longer govern themselves and pursue a more consistent course religiously, but one has only to look at some of the leaders described in the books of Maccabees to realize that all was not consistently going well. The Maccabees end up fighting both foreign domination and internal apostasy.
Christians Have No Basis to Look Down on Others
As Christians, we sometimes look down on Israel and the Jews after reading all this history, but such a reading is self-righteous and dismally lacking in self awareness. We’ve gone through many ways of “governing” the church, and have only had very short times when one could be totally proud of the church as an organization.
I believe God as always had a Church consisting of true followers of Jesus. But I also believe God had a people in Israel throughout its history who were truly God’s people even when their brethren. For every Jason, there was a family such as the Maccabees who were faithful.
But there never was a system of government that worked.
This led me to think of conversations I’ve had about church governance. Over and over problems noted in a church are blamed on the particular approach to church governance. The church has bishops who supervise pastors? Not responsive enough to the local church. Pastors are responsible only to the local church? No true accountability! The church is led by a team of elders? Unclear leadership! The church is led by a powerful senior pastor? Hierarchical with too much power in one person.
One can certainly debate ways of managing a church, but no form of governance is likely to be 100% effective.
My Suggestion
I don’t have a structural suggestion here myself. My one suggestion is not structural. It is simply this: Look to Jesus. Keep looking to Jesus. Turn your eyes back to Jesus if they drift to other things. It’s the one effective answer to any church problems.
I’ve been meditating on Psalm 119 recently after a conversation with an author regarding a forthcoming book reminded me of it. I’m going to write a few short devotionals. I’m not sure how many I’ll write, but reading this Psalm does make me think.
For any devotional on Psalm 119, please remember that I’m commenting on no more than a few verses at a time, and thus won’t cover all, or even a substantial number of related ideas. Also, please remember that this is poetry, not a theological essay, so even within the text of the Psalm, ideas are not completed in a systematic way.
Psalm 119:1
Blessed are those blameless in their living Who act according to God’s instructions.
Now there’s a challenging verse. We all have ways of avoiding it. But I think it pursues us through all our escape routes.
Our escape routes often start from something very good. That’s what makes them so tempting.
As Christians, we look immediately to the grace of God, given through Jesus. This is a good thing. We realize that being blameless and having all our actions fall within the range of God’s instructions (Torah), is not something we’re going to accomplish, and we are driven to a gracious God who forgives. But we can use this to avoid the issue. “Because God is gracious, I can safely ignore this,” we think. We think the only reason God talks about good actions is to let us know we can’t make it. But the Psalmist, at least, is talking about doing, hoping to do, an mourning the failure to do.
We can decide that a totally blameless life is, in fact what we’re going to do, on our own and in this life. This leads us astray in two ways. It can be horribly discouraging and end up in cynicism, inevitable failure, and self loathing. On the other hand, it can lead us to imagine ourselves successful even when we aren’t and an incredible spiritual pride that falsely assumes one is blameless.
We can engage in trimming the text, so as to make “blameless” less daunting. We can’t reach the goal, so we move the goal closer, or we pretend the goal is closer. This can result in complacency and also to a trust in ourselves for our salvation. The problem with aiming low is that we generally manage to reach no higher than our aim.
That’s my long way of getting to this: God has instructions that are worth our attention. Even in our limited ways of attempting to follow these instructions there is blessing, not just bringing us to Christ, as important as that is, but also simply as good ways to live.
Torah, the word used here for “instruction” (your translation may read “law”), goes beyond giving us a list of rules. I’ll discuss the various rule/law/instruction words in Psalm 119 along with other verses. It also includes stories of heroes of the faith. They were blessed in following Gods law, but they were not generally “blameless.”
One need go no further than the last version in this section. (Psalm 119 is divided into 22 sections of 8 verses each, in which each verse begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.) “I remember your edicts. Don’t abandon me completely!”
The Torah referenced here is the story of how God never abandons, even those who do forget.
I regard as a basic manual for true spiritual warfare. I believe that it is much better to hear the themes of spiritual conflict than it is to try to identify specific referents. Of course, finding referents contemporary to the author can help us understand the themes. So these approaches are not mutually exclusive.
Previously, I’ve written about making an image to the best and the enumeration of “beastly” attributes. Now I want to look for a moment at the power of the beast and how it can oppress God’s people. No matter what else we may do with the interpretation, somewhere behind it lurks the question of why God’s people have to suffer in the ways indicated in this book.
In Revelation, God’s action/permission is often indicated with what is called a “divine passive.” This is far from an original observation by me. Let me quote two sources.
… In addition to a mouth, the beast is given authority. Four times in the Greek text of vv. 5 through 7 we read the passive edothe (“was given”), emphasizing the subordinate role of the beast. Although in vv. 2 and 4 it was the dragon who gave power and authority to the beast, John’s readers would understand in these later verses a reference to God, the ultimate source of all power. The reign of the beast is by divine permission. He operates within the limitations determined by God….
Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1977), on Revelation 13:5-7, emphasis mine. (Logos edition).
The passive “was given” is used repetitively to emphasize that the beast does not assume his power on his own, but rather that his power is given to him by God. The beast acts by God’s permission.
… To stress yet again that the beast’s powerful actions, even those that operate against God’s interests, are under God’s ultimate control, John emphasizes the divine passive in the ensuing section with an almost redundant use of edothe (“it was given,” twice in v. 5 and twice in v. 7; see the commentary on 6:2; 9:1-21 introduction; 11:1)….
Brian K. Blount, Revelation: A Commentary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009,, 337 (Nook edition). Emphasis mine.
The beast was “given a mouth”–even his ability to proclaim his message is a gift (13:5a). He was given authority for a period of time (13:5b). His ability to make war was given to him (13:7a), and so is the area of his authority (13:7b).
This is both troubling and comforting. If bad things are happening, they are because God has given permission. Thus we have an entry point to theodicy and the problem of evil. At the same time we know that evil does not exist without limits. It’s dominion, authority, and the extent of time over which it operates are limited.
As a young person attending a small Christian school I memorized (as a requirement) Psalm 119. In the KJV.
Passages such as “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By keeping heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9, KJV), or “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” (119:105 KJV) were hammered into my brain. I have, on occasion, responded to someone who was boasting about Bible memorization with the question, “But have you memorized Psalm 119?”
Rabbit trail: As I was checking my memory 55 years after the fact using BibleGateway, the displayed Verse of the Day was Psalm 119:18: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (NIV). Source of spiritual pride? I remembered the text, the punctuation, and the reference perfectly. (See below.)
Spiritual Study
I have a pamphlet and infographic titled “Seven Barriers to Hearing the Word.” This one isn’t on it, though it is closely related to #3, “Scholarly, not spiritual.” I would note that study can be both scholarly and spiritual. The problem would be in leaving out the spiritual side.
Works-Based Righteousness?
Any good thing can become a work intended to earn one’s way to righteousness (more simply, make God like you). Bible reading is no different. Ask yourself why you read your Bible. Or in many more cases, ask yourself why you don’t.
Here are some critical questions:
Are you discouraged because of your failure to read enough? Whether you are not reading at all, or reading diligently at every opportunity, the problem may be that you’re reading as a duty, something you do to earn God’s favor. Relax. Don’t let other people put you down. Don’t condemn yourself.
Are you discouraged because it’s hard to understand? You may be forcing yourself through passages at a pace that isn’t right for you. If you’re not reading now, it may be the result of such difficulties in the past.
Are you feeling pride at how much you’ve read and/or memorized? See my note about Psalm 119. I am glad I memorized it. I’m not pleased that I have used that fact to shame others. That was spiritual pride talking.
Diverse People, Diverse Approaches
Is there an answer?
I’d suggest there are many answers. God created diverse people. We don’t all function in the same way.
Think about these points:
God already loves you. You don’t need to earn it. He’s not keeping score of your Bible reading. This is a tough thing for someone like me, who wants people to read the Bible more. But works based salvation, though it sounds paradoxical, does not work. It doesn’t even produce very good works.
How do you best take in information? You may want to look for an audio Bible or a multimedia Bible. I am currently listening to Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible via Audible while I walk on my treadmill. I don’t normally like audiobooks, but oddly enough, this has become a new way of hearing the word.
Look at spiritual practices that keep you close to God. For me, the Bible is that starting point. I find it easy to read and to spend time. My most God-filled (by my perception) moments come while studying God’s Word. My wife spends time with praise and worship music. Note that we each find the other’s approach helpful from time to time. Prayer time is important.
Don’t be pressured to read specific books. Let God lead. My theological ideas are heavily centered on Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Hebrews. Those are not books that most people want to start with. The Bible is a diverse book. Find out where you best connect with it.
Conclusion
Do check out my Seven Barriers materials. They look at a list of things, often good things, that can still be barriers to you hearing the Word yourself.
Let me suggest an earlier post of mine on approaches to Bible reading, and the Fast Tracts booklet I Want to Study the Bible. These are both written for beginners.
