The Devotional - 1500 - The Washing and Renewing!

The Devotional – 1500 – The washing and renewing!

Psalm 119:1- 8 – Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly! 

Comments and Challenges:

Before we begin, Psalm 119 has caused me think again about the Hebrew alphabet. So way back in 1976 I had the opportunity to study Hebrew with a group of young men in a church in Preston City, CT. all of us were given a book entitled “A Beginner’s Handbook To Biblical Hebrew” Authors: John H. Marks and Virgil M. Rogers, Published by Abingdon. 

Why the comment on this? I have not looked or searched for the book in nearly 30 years. Today, just this moment ago in an effort to start again a walk-through of Psalm 119 I found the book within sixty seconds of which before that minute I was thinking… “I will never find it”. Well my take on that is that God knew where the book was and He led me to it. Now the only thought left is will I refer to it, or even effectively use it over the next several days?

ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and equivalent to the English “A” but it is not a vowel, or the son of a vowel. It is a consonant. Now it is not my intention to teach or bore us with the details of the language but to show us some of ways of how the writer of Psalm 119 used every letter of the Hebrew alphabet to express the excellent, inerrant and Living Word of God. So with the start of each section of eight verses I will say something about the alphabet used, like the following.

1.      Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to YAHWEH’S LAW.

2.      Blessed are those who keep His STATUTES who seek Him with their whole heart.

3.      Yes, they do nothing wrong. They WALK in His WAYS.

4.      You have commanded Your PRECEPTS, that we should fully obey them.

5.      Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey Your STATUTES.

6.      Then I wouldn’t be disappointed when I consider all of Your COMMANDMENTS.

7.      I will give thanks with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your Righteous JUDGMENTS.

8.      I will observe Your STATUTES, do not utterly forsake me.

In all of the capitalized words the Hebrew letter ALEPH is found and the writers concern (which is throughout this Psalm is THE NECESSITY of staying tuned in to God (Yahweh) His Law, Statutes, Ways, Precepts, Commandments, Judgments and Testimonies. I find it so very interesting that the Statutes of Our God is so foundational that with each mention or thought we should immediately respond to the JOY of the LORD and the rejoicing effect it is to have on our soul.

His STATUTES as King David says in Psalm 19 “are RIGHT, REJOICING the heart”. SO in the midst of living Life to the Glory of God (God’s will and plan for us) even under suffering and affection is to REJOICE and again I say REJOICE, (Philippians 4:4) and Oh how we need to REJOICE. In fact; the writer of Psalm 119 uses the word “statutes” 22 times out of the 22 sections.

What do the statutes of God pin down for us? God is Truth, He is Noble, He is Just, He is Pure, He is Lovely, He is a Good Report to our soul. He is Virtuous and He is Praiseworthy – Meditate on these statutes of God and you will REJOICE.