Psalm 119 – The Disciple’s Handbook – Aleph

Aleph – The Introduction

Psalm 119:1-8 – “¹ ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. ² Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. ³ They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. ⁴ Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. ⁵ O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! ⁶ Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. ⁷ I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. ⁸ I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.”

The Blessing/The Reason

Psalm 119 begins with the section entitled Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Aleph introduces the underlying theme that connects all the 22 sections of this psalm – the Psalmist’s love for the Word of God and how it benefited his life.  He begins appropriately as all great writers and speakers do when they address a crowd – he creates a hook.  The hook is the word Blessed, which is the same hook that I have used to draw you into further studying this Psalm.  “Blessed” comes from the Hebrew word esher, which means “How Happy!” (New Strong’s Guide).  This feeling of happiness is the goal of many people’s lives.  They spend their whole life from dawn till dusk, birth till death, seeking this one thing – happiness, the one thing that continues to elude them and may be eluding you.  If we truly reflect in our hearts right now, we will realize that most of what we do in life is to seek happiness.  We spend our whole lives trying to make money so that we can do things that will make us happy.  For some people, it may be that Porsche 911, for others, a family that will stick through thick and thin.  We find this common idea even in most of our movies – “Do what will make you happy.”  But the truth is, as we all know, these things will never bring us happiness, at least not the happiness described by this word esher; instead, it brings us a temporary happiness based on the conditions and time we are placed in, ready to disappear at any moment.  The Psalmist, as well as, I want to encourage you to study this Psalm; for it is in this Psalm we find the guidelines to how we can have an overflowing happiness described by the word esher – a happiness that is no longer happiness but joy.  Before even delving into the Psalm, I want to leave you with a quote that you can spend a few minutes thinking about, especially those of you who think you have happiness without God in your life already and can do without studying this Psalm.  The quote is by D.L. Moody who describes the difference between the happiness that you are feeling right now and true joy.

I think there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is caused by things which happen around me, and circumstances will mar it, but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition; if flows right along, for it is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring which the world can’t see and don’t know anything about; but the Lord gives His people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to Him.

http://www.wisdom-of-the-wise.com/D-L-Moody.htm

D.L. Moody, the famous preacher of the late 19^th century, agrees with the Psalmist that true joy is found only in those who follow the Lord, those who choose to become disciples of Jesus Christ – “Blessed are…” – the opening of Psalm 119.  Psalm 119 is one chapter in the Bible that many Christians have overlooked due to its length, but it is a treasure chest and truthfully a handbook on how one can become and live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  So let’s get to studying Psalm 119 and see how this handbook on discipleship can transform your life.

 

The Checklist

Have you ever begun a training program of some sort, whether it was for weight loss or a sports activity or cooking?  Most times the instructor begins by handing out a questionnaire that asks you to honestly asses where you stand before the program in your experience and knowledge of the topic and what goals you want to achieve at the end of the program.  The Psalmist seems to do the same thing in this first section of Aleph.  After the Psalmist creates the hook of an overflowing joy that can only come from being a disciple of God, he provides an opportunity for his listener to examine his own life to see if the checklist of characteristics that should be in a “blessed” man is in his life.  In other words, he gives his listeners a chance to honestly asses where they are as a disciple of God at the beginning of this intensive handbook on discipleship.  This checklist is found between vs. 1-3.

Ps. 119:1-3 – “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.  Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.  They also do no iniquity:  they walk in His ways.” 

The first characteristic that describes the “blessed” man, the disciple of God, is that he walks in the law of the Lord.  A “blessed” man is one who is following the Lord’s path for His life, choosing to obey all the commands that have been set by God.  This “blessing” is carried on into the New Testament, for those of you who are “New Testament” Christians in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12.  All the Beatitudes begin with the phrase “Blessed are” – the same phrase used in Psalm 119 to describe a “blessed” man, and each Beatitude describes a characteristic of one who walks in the law of the Lord.  For example, a person who walks in the law of the Lord is humble before God, realizing that he needs a Savior, giving him the characteristic of one that is poor in spirit or meek.  A person who walks in the law of the Lord hungers and thirsts after righteousness for the law of the Lord is righteous (described in later verses in Psalm 119), fulfilling another beatitude.  Clearly, by choosing to place one’s life in God’s ways, a man is blessed, so before anything in the checklist, you need to ask yourself am I choosing to walk in the law of the Lord – to follow His commands and His footsteps.  That walk begins by giving one’s life to Christ, for that is when the journey truly begins, for Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”  So the first point in the checklist is are you walking in the law of the Lord?  Are you in the path that He has designated for your life?  That path can only begin with Jesus Christ, for only when you choose to make Jesus Christ your Lord can you become His disciple.  So ask yourself, “Have I gotten on the path of God – Jesus Christ?  Or have I not?”

The second characteristic that describes the “blessed” man is that his way is undefiled or perfect.  Undefiled/perfection means “complete” or “incontestable or free from objection” (Vines).  This word has two components complete and free from objection, which then provides two points on the checklist that need to be marked off if one is to be “blessed.”  The first is that his way must be complete.  A person who is “blessed” must first be walking in the law of the Lord and following His way in Jesus Christ, but that way must be complete.  There is no half-heartedness with God.  You cannot choose to follow Christ part of the way, it must be fully done without a portion reserved.  A “blessed” man is one who completely follows the ways of the Lord not just partially.  It is just like Jesus Christ says in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”  This one verse shows a complete giving of everything to Jesus Christ.  Second, his way must be free from objection.  The way of a man of God must not be littered with impurities that may lead him to stumble but must all be removed.  Hebrews 12:1-2 describes this characteristic best, “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily best us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  We are told in these verses to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us.  We need to remove anything that can be objectionable and may lead us to falter from Christ.  This same characteristic is described in Matthew 5:8 as “the pure in heart.”  A man that is “blessed” has a way that is undefiled, perfect, or as the ESV translates it – blameless.

The third characteristic is that a “blessed” man keeps the testimonies of the Lord.  The “blessed” man is a person who has chosen to obey and follow the commands of God.  This characteristic puts in action the first characteristic of walking in the law of the Lord.  Once a person has chosen to walk in God’s law, he must then obey the rules of that way, which are the testimonies found in God’s Word.  Jesus Christ when teaching His disciples gave them a way by which they would know a false teacher from a true one for He said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits…” (Matthew 7:16).  You can quickly and easily check if you are a “blessed” man by examining if you are keeping in actions the testimonies of the Lord.

The fourth characteristic of a “blessed” man is the same characteristic encompassed by being undefiled – “seek Him with the whole heart.”  The “blessed” man is one that seeks God with his whole heart – completely seeks after God with everything that is in him.  The best example I can give you is when a person loses a wedding ring.  If the wife loses her wedding ring, she scurries frantically to find that ring.  She searches high and low, out and in until she has located that precious metal circle that symbolizes her marriage.  When she does so, she seeks with her whole heart.  That is the way we are called to seek after God.  We must seek Him with our whole heart, so that He is the only thing we have our sights set upon.

The fifth characteristic is also encompassed by being undefiled – “they also do no iniquity.”  A person who is “blessed” by God is one that does not commit blatant sin.  Iniquity is sin that is performed blatantly, in other words, when one does something wrong when he already knows it is wrong.  When you have been “blessed” by God and have this overflowing joy in your life, you should not seek sin any longer, for it should no longer have the enjoyable taste it had before compared to the joy that you have found in Christ.  Now, if you have committed iniquity then that does not mean you are unsaved, for we are all still humans and will falter; but you do realize that when you do perform iniquity that you lose that joy of your salvation.  At that point in time, you do not have that overflowing joy that you usually have as a Christian.  That is because you have committed iniquity, something a “blessed” man should not do.  So check your life.  Is there any blatant sin that you are carrying with you that needs to be removed?  Something that God has already talked to you about?  Remove it so that you can mark this point off on your checklist.

The last characteristic described of the “blessed” man is once again a close reiteration of the first – “they walk in His ways.”  We have gone through talking about how a “blessed” man will follow God’s laws wholeheartedly, but you cannot do this until you jump into His path – Jesus Christ.  Without Christ, you can never obey His law, for you are but a man full of sin.  So make the decision today to walk in His ways, for until then this study can be of no help to you, for each section in the rest of the Psalm helps a Christian to grow and stay in the ways, which cannot be done until you get on the Way.

How many points did you get to check off your checklist?

• Have you given your life to Jesus Christ and chosen to walk in His ways?
• Is your way undefiled?  Is it perfect, complete, and without objection?
• Are you keeping and obeying the laws of the Lord instead of just learning      about them?
• Are you seeking the Lord with your whole heart?
• Are you consciously avoiding sin?  Or are you constantly choosing to sin when you already know that it is wrong?
• Are you walking in His ways?

 

The Need

After going through the checklist in Psalm 119:1-3, you need to ask yourself if you fulfill all the characteristics of a “blessed” man, the disciple of Christ, just as you would when you look through a shopping list at a grocery to see if you got all your items already.  When the Psalmist evaluated his life, he seemed to come to one conclusion – that he did not, for you can hear his cry in vs. 5, “O that my ways were directed to keep thy statues!” indicating that his ways were not necessarily coinciding with God’s ways at that point.  According to the ESV, it states, “Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statues” – still indicating that he was not steadfast at that time in holding to God’s ways.  What was God’s way?  The way was described in vs. 4 simply with “Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.”  The verse clearly tells us what God commands us to do or what His way is, and that is to keep His precepts diligently.  That is why the Psalmist wishes in vs. 5 that his ways were directed or established to keep God’s ways.  The Psalmist realized that apart from God, he could not fulfill God’s commands, for they were too high, too lofty, too difficult to accomplish alone, for His ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8).  The Psalmist recognized his need for God, which is always the first step in following God’s ways for our lives; for until you recognize your need for Him, you will constantly try to do things own your own.

After crying out to God to direct his ways though, the Psalmist basically tells God exactly what he will do after God has directed his ways in vs. 6-8.

Psalm 119:6-8:  Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.  I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.   I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

The first response the Psalmist would have is that he will not be ashamed.  Shame is an emotion that occurs when one has broken a rule that he holds with respect or esteem.  It usually is a result of inadequate feelings in front of another who is held in high esteem.  For example, if one had ripped his pants revealing a set of Spongebob Squarepants boxers in front of the President of the United   States, one would automatically feel ashamed, because he held that dignitary with respect and had just done something inappropriate.  Another example hits our high school days, when we held our peers with respect and would not be caught in unfashionable clothes or doing something stupid – like holding a piece of dry ice in one’s hands.  The Psalmist as seen in this verse held God in high respect, not wanting to do something inappropriate in front of God, which would be to do anything apart from keeping his commands.  But the Psalmist in vs. 5 expresses how he needed God’s help to keep His commands; therefore, he felt shame when approaching God.  What is amazing though is that he realized that when he learned and began to respect, which in the Hebrew means to look, regard, behold (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words) God’s laws (ESV states it best as the word my eyes fixed), shame automatically disappeared, for there would be little to no reason to be ashamed, when one is clean before God.  We must like the Psalmist begin to delve into God’s Word, so that we can learn and do His commandments.  And most importantly call on Christ for when we do, we will have no reason to come before God’s throne with fear and shame for we will be clean in the blood of the Lamb; we will be clothed in His righteousness.

The second response the Psalmist has is that He will praise God with uprightness of heart.  The Psalmist decides that when He has learned how God judges, he will give praise to God.  Who in their right mind will not applaud a good decision by the court?  For example, if someone who has committed heinous crimes is sent to prison, no one in their right mind would consider the judge awful but instead praises his judgment.  In the same way, the Psalmist realized that as he learns God’s commands, he also better understands how God’s judgments are right and good, because he begins to see things more with God’s eyes.  As we draw near to God by learning and keeping His Word, we will also begin to see with God’s eyes and understand His ways and judgments and will have nothing better to do than to praise Him for every decision He makes in our lives, whether at first good or bad.  But what is even more interesting is that the Psalmist will praise God “with uprightness of heart.”  The Psalmist does not state that he will only praise Him with lips but instead chooses to do so with a pure and righteous heart.  In other words, he does so with obedience with a pure conscience.  As we come to know God’s laws more, we must praise Him through obedience, for a life that is lived for Christ is the best praise we can give.

The last response the Psalmist has is that he will keep God’s statutes.  The Psalmist decides that as God opens up his understanding to His Word, he will obey it.  As people, this response is the one we have the most difficult time with.  We enjoy listening to God’s Word and learning all His commands; some of us even enjoy memorizing Scripture; but most of us fail to keep it, which is the worst thing we can do.  We need to stop having the Word of God enter one ear and come out the other, and instead, obey every Word we hear proceed from the mouth of God.  Listening to something is not enough, one must act on what he hears.  The Psalmist resolves that he will not be a person that just hears the Word of God, but instead will obey it.  Will you make that decision as well?

The Psalmist finishes Aleph with a final phrase, “O forsake me not utterly.”  The Psalmist follows this phrase up after stating that he will keep the statues of God.  He here is asking God to never leave his presence, because he knows that without the Lord, he has no possibility of keeping God’s commandments.  It is like trying to row up a creek without a paddle.  Without Christ in our lives, we can never keep His commands; therefore, we must turn to Him before anything else and continually trust in Him to keep His commands.  Without him, we can do nothing.  I hope throughout these first eight introductory verses, you have personally made the commitment to follow God’s ways, for as you change your life to better reflect the Psalmist, you will need to remember this commitment to hold strong when the temptations to quit come.

Take these last moments to first review your checklist and see how you are doing as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Then, take some time in prayer asking the Lord to help you as you make this daily choice of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.  And most importantly, if you have not yet given your life to Him, do so today, for that is the only way you can begin to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Imitating God like a Child »