How to Be Blessed and Blameless before the Lord

Psalm 119

How to Be Blessed and Blameless before the Lord

Psalm 119:1-8

Main Idea: A blessed and blameless life comes by keeping, treasuring, and meditating on the Lord’s Word.

In his treatise “On Christian Freedom” (1520), the reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) wrote concerning the Bible,

One thing and one only is necessary for Christian life, righteousness and liberty. That one thing is the most holy Word of God, the Gospel of Christ. . . . Let us then consider it certain and conclusively established that the soul can do without all things except the Word of God, and that where this is not there is no help for the soul in anything else whatever. But if it has the Word it is rich and lacks nothing, since this Word is the Word of Life, of truth, of light, of peace, of righteousness, of salvation, of joy, of liberty, of wisdom, of power, of grace, of glory and of every blessing beyond our power to estimate. This is why the prophet in the entire Psalm [119], and in many other places of Scripture with so many sighs yearns after the Word of God. (Luther, The Christian in Society, 314)

Luther’s words beautifully describe Psalm 119, one of the most important, valuable, and precious texts in all Scripture. It is the “Word of God” psalm with so many unique features:

It is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. It is longer than seventeen books in the New Testament and longer than each of the Minor Prophets with the exceptions of Hosea and Zechariah.

It is an alphabetic acrostic psalm, like Lamentations 3, built on the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse in each stanza begins with the same letter. For example, each of the first eight verses begins with the letter Aleph (?) in Hebrew. If this had been composed in English, verses 1-8 each would begin with the letter A.

Almost every verse makes reference to the Word of God. Franz Delitzsch well says of Psalm 119 that it is

“the Christian’s golden A B C of the praise, love, power and use of the word of God”; for here we have set forth in inexhaustible fullness what the word of God is to a man, and how a man is to behave himself in relation to it. (Keil and Delitzsch, Psalms, 735–36)

At least eight different terms or synonyms are used in reference to the Word of God: “instruction” or “law” (torah) twenty-five times; “word” (dabar) twenty-four times; “judgments” or “ordinances” (mispatim) twenty-three times; “decrees” (hedot) twenty-three times; “commands” (mitswoth) twenty-two times; “statutes” (chuqqim) twenty-one times; “precepts” (piqqudim) twenty-one times; “promise” or “word” (‘imra) nineteen times (Boice, Psalms 107–150, 971).

Stanza one, stanza Aleph, gives eight truths that lead to a blessed and blameless life before the Lord.

Walk according to the Lord’s Instructions

Psalm 119:1

Psalm 119 is composed of various genres: law, lament, praise, innocence, confidence, and celebration. However, it is “best to call it a wisdom psalm” (Ross, Psalms, 461; cf. VanGemeren, Psalms, 858). Verse 1 echoes Psalm 1, another wisdom psalm. It is a twofold blessing for those who walk in the Word. Happy, fortunate, and blessed are those persons “whose way is blameless” and “who walk according to the Lord’s instruction.” It is easy to see how the two ideas support each other.

Blameless people are people of integrity (cf. Ps 101; 1 Tim 3:1). Their manner of life is above reproach. They conduct themselves wisely because they walk in the Word. Like the man of Psalm 1, such a person “delight[s] is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night” (Ps 1:2). This man is blessed because he is blameless. His life knows nothing of duplicity or hypocrisy. There is no pretense in this man. He rejoices that happiness and holiness are his wonderful companions.

Seek the Lord with All Your Heart

Psalm 119:2

Verse 2 has a second blessing, and it may be the key that unlocks the entire psalm. The blessed person seeks the Lord “with all his heart.” This person passionately pursues his Lord above all else. And he understands that knowledge of God is discovered in his Word, “his decrees.” The word translated “decrees” or “testimonies” has covenantal connotations. Spurgeon says,

Blessedness is ascribed to those who treasure up the testimonies of the Lord: in which is implied that they search the Scriptures, that they come to an understanding of them, that they love them, and then that they continue in practice of them. We must first get a thing before we can keep it. (Treasury, 141)

Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” Keep his decrees. Seek him with your whole heart. Be blessed!

Walk in the Lord’s Ways

Psalm 119:3

This verse echoes the wisdom of verse 1 and flows naturally from verse 2. If we seek the Lord with all our heart, we will not practice wrongdoing. The Message paraphrases, “You don’t go off on your own.” Staying close to the Lord, we will “walk in his ways.” God’s Word is our compass. His Word guides our course of conduct, our daily walk. God’s Word maps out our life. It forms our habits and directs our pursuits. Ligon Duncan says, “The way of the Lord is about walk, not talk” (“Not by Bread Alone”). He is right. People like that do not merely say the right things; they do the right things. Out of what I call gospel gratitude, they live out the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has transformed them and made them a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

Diligently Keep the Lord’s Precepts

Psalm 119:4

God’s Word does not have suggestions for our consideration. They are commands from a king who demands our obedience. God’s “precepts,” his instructions, come to us with the force of a command, a divine order. They are God’s (“your”) precepts. Derek Kidner says, “The word points to the particular instructions of the Lord, as one who cares about detail” (Psalms, 418). And because these are the sovereign Lord’s particular instructions, they are to be “diligently kept.” We are to obey God’s Word fully and completely. Partial obedience is complete disobedience, just as partial faithfulness or honesty is complete unfaithfulness and dishonesty. We must delightfully fixate on keeping the instructions of our Lord. They are not a burden. They are our joy.

Commit Your Ways to the Lord’s Statutes

Psalm 119:5

Verses 5-8 shift to a first-person perspective. The psalmist expresses, in a deeply personal way, his desire to obey the teachings of the Bible. Six personal pronouns fill these last four verses. The blessed man says to the Lord, “If only my ways were committed to keeping your statutes.” This is the third time he uses the word “ways” (vv. 1,3). The psalmist prays that his ways will line up with God’s ways. Further, he wants to be “committed” (meaning diligent, disciplined, and consistent) in keeping and obeying the Lord’s statutes. Ross notes, “The word for ‘statutes’ here and in verse 8 emphasizes the binding nature of God’s law. By keeping these statutes, one’s conduct will be steadfast” (Psalms, 470). The psalmist is aware that our human hearts are prone to wander. He knows we do not naturally keep God’s statutes. He readily acknowledges his need for God to enable him to be steadfast in his obedience.

Meditate on the Lord’s Commands

Psalm 119:6

Steadfast obedience has a wonderful and blessed result: “Then I would not be ashamed.” Christians cannot lose their salvation. However, we can be put to shame. Our failure to obey the will of our heavenly Father can embarrass us. Spurgeon well says, “Sin brings shame, and when sin is gone, the reason for being ashamed is banished” (Treasury, 144). Adam and Eve had no experience of shame until they listened to Satan and disobeyed the Lord (Gen 3). The same is true for us. To whose voice will we listen? The psalmist has the answer: “I think about all your commands.” The ESV says the psalmist’s eyes are “fixed” on God’s commandments, which means to gaze at with intensity, to pay attention to carefully, and to dwell on and meditate. The psalmist says he will glue his eyes on all God’s commands in order not to be put to shame. In other words, he says, “I will not pick and choose the parts of the Word that I will obey. All of your Word, for all of me, all of the time will be my ambition and holy pursuit. There will be no part-time Christianity for me.”

Learn about the Lord’s Righteous Judgments

Psalm 119:7

Verse 2 instructed us to seek the Lord with our whole heart. Now in verse 7 we declare that we will praise the Lord with an “upright heart.” Praise flows naturally from an upright heart that has fixed its eyes on all the commands of the Lord (v. 6) and that has learned his righteous rules, his righteous decisions (v. 7). Obedience is not a burden. It is not a life of dullness and drudgery. It is a life of delight, praise, joy, and blessedness. Learning the Word of God, his ways and wisdom, is a call to discipleship. It is a call to be a diligent student of the Word. To love God, we must know God. Bible study leads to praise. Theology leads to praise. Spurgeon beautifully says, “We must learn to praise, learn that we may praise, and praise when we have learned” (Treasury, 145). The Bible is a songbook, a music book. Study it and you will soon find yourself singing about it and about the Savior to whom it points.

Keep the Lord’s Statutes

Psalm 119:8

This first stanza ends on a note of resolve: “I will keep your statutes” (cf. v. 5). The psalmist resolves with his whole heart (v. 2) and an “upright heart” (v. 7) to obey God’s Word—“all your commands” (cf. v. 6). This is not a boastful declaration since he gives a humble and heartfelt request: “never abandon me” (cf. Ps 22:1).

The psalmist was in some difficulty or distress. This should not surprise us. Second Timothy 3:12 reminds us, “All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” The psalmist understands that our striving after obedience is worthless without the presence of our Lord. Feelings will certainly ebb and flow. However, in his Word we have a sure and certain promise, “I will never leave you or abandon you” (Heb 13:5). With such a promise we can press on. With such a promise, we can continually praise the Lord.

Conclusion

Psalm 119 is not only a beautiful portrait of the perfect written Word of God but also a beautiful portrait of the perfect living Word of God. Jesus alone is the truly blameless man who walks in the Word and seeks his Lord with his whole heart. Walking in the ways of his Father, he did no wrong and diligently kept the precepts, statutes, and commands of Holy Scripture. And when he died on the cross for the sins of the world (John 1:29), although abandoned while the wrath of God was poured out on him as our penal substitute (Ps 22:1), he was not utterly and forever abandoned. He prayed with his final breath, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus of Nazareth is the Psalm 119 man. In a true and real sense, “every line speaks of Jesus” (Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, 238).

Reflect and Discuss

1. What does it mean to be blessed? How does the Bible’s conception of blessing differ from the world’s?
2. What are this psalm’s criteria for knowing whether you are seeking the Lord with your whole heart? Are any of these missing from your life currently?
3. How can the promise of Jeremiah 29:13 encourage you when it is difficult to want to seek God? How can you rely on other believers to help you?
4. Why is obedience intimately connected to God’s Word in Psalm 119?
5. This stanza teaches that partial obedience is complete disobedience, just as partial faithfulness or honesty is complete unfaithfulness and dishonesty. What does partial obedience and faithfulness look like compared to complete obedience and faithfulness?
6. Why should you be concerned with obeying God’s Word?
7. In what way is one’s praise connected to one’s heart? What does this teach you about the remedy for when you or someone else does not praise God?
8. What is something you have learned about God in Scripture that immediately led you to praise him? Why do you think that happened?
9. In what place in your life can you resolve to obey God’s Word more diligently?
10. In what ways do you see Jesus living out this first part of Psalm 119 in the Gospels?