wordandspirit

A couple of months ago I started to record a song I wrote based on the “Daleth” section of Psalm 119, which is one of my favourite parts of the Psalm. I ran into a few technical difficulties with my recording setup along the way and never really got round to finishing it. Hopefully at some point in the future, I can finish it off properly, but since I am blogging my way through Ps 119 at the moment, I thought I’d post it in its current state. Apologies for my rather out of tune singing. I did manage to record one good take, but realised later I’d got the words wrong!

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The lyrics are based very closely on Ps 119:25-32 NIV (1984)

I am laid low in the dust
Preserve my life according to your word
I recounted my ways and you answered me
Teach me your decrees

Let me understand the teaching of your precepts
That I will meditate on your wonders
I have chosen the way of truth
I have set my heart on your laws

My soul is weary with sorrow
Strengthen me according to your word
Keep me from deceitful ways
Be gracious to me through your law

Let me understand…

I hold fast to your statutes Lord
Let me not be put to shame
I run in the path of your commands
For you have set my heart free

I have set my heart on your laws
For you have set my heart free

This section of Ps 119 (subtitled ‘Teth’ – Ps 119:65-72) contains one of the most theologically controversial verses in this Psalm. We get a hint of what is coming in verse 67:

⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray,
   but now I obey your word.

The psalmist seems to be describing a period in his life when he was far from God, but some kind of suffering brought him to a place of obedience to God’s word. We don’t get the details we would like – was the ‘affliction’ a direct consequence of his sin that brought him to his senses, or was it some other type of trouble? Now comes the bit that can provoke quite a debate amongst some Christians:

⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted
   so that I might learn your decrees.

The psalmist now views the suffering he went through (an possibly is still facing) as “good”. It is good not because suffering is good, but because God used it for good. But if God can use our suffering to fulfil his good purposes, does that mean he sometimes causes our suffering? It’s a question this Psalm doesn’t answer. Instead, he affirms that despite it all, he is convinced of the goodness of God, and that God’s purposes for him are intended for good:

⁶⁸ You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.

Like many Psalms, the exact nature of the ‘affliction’ is kept hidden from us. This is part of the appeal of the Psalms – they contain an abundance of comfort for people going through all kinds of difficult situations. We also don’t get to find out if this particular ‘affliction’ has come to an end. We’ve already seen that the Psalmist faces considerable mocking and slander (see Ps 119:69 for yet another example), so that may be the nature of it. I wonder whether it also contains a financial dimension:

⁷² The law from your mouth is more precious to me
   than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

My tentative reconstruction then is this. The psalmist was far from God, popular and wealthy. But something happened, that poisoned people against him, and resulted in him losing friends, position, and money. With no where left to go, he returned to God and found himself more content than ever. This gave him new perspective on his (ongoing) affliction – it was a good thing, because through it he had been rescued from the emptiness of life without God.

The verses I want to pick out from the “Heth” section of Ps 119 (verses 57-64), highlight the nature of true repentance, which is another theme that crops up in a few places throughout this Psalm.

“I have considered my ways” (v59)

The psalmist has a very God-centred approach to Scripture. He primarily reads to learn about God’s ways and character. But this does not mean that he doesn’t evaluate his own life in the light of Scripture. As he reads the word of God he is not just seeking information, but transformation – he expects the light of God’s word to reveal areas in his life that still need to be conformed to the will of God.

James 1:22-25 compares God’s word to a mirror. It not only shows us what God is like, it shows us what we are like. And the reason we need to know is because we need to change.

In Ps 119:26, the psalmist says “I recounted my ways and you answered me”. I think he is saying that he makes a practice of talking openly and honestly with God about his life, his hopes and fears, his ambitions. He knows nothing is hidden from God, so he prays without any pretence, admitting to what he is really like and asking for God’s help.

“I have turned my steps towards your statutes” (v59)

However, he doesn’t stop at simply confessing his faults and failings. As he reads God’s word he makes a deliberate choice to turn. This is the essence of repentance – a change of mind that results in a change of behaviour. Being ‘convicted’ by God’s word is pointless if it doesn’t result in change. In fact, if we don’t, we end up becoming hard-hearted and less capable of hearing the voice of the Spirit in the future.

“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands” (v60)

Often the moment at which we respond to God’s word is not the same as the moment that we need to put it into action. We may be reading our Bible alone and realise we need to put things right with another person. Or we hear God’s word preached in church, and realise we need to change our behaviour in the workplace. It means that it is all too easy for us to be convicted as we hear the word of God and make a ‘commitment’ to respond in some concrete way, but never get round to putting it into practice.

The psalmist’s practice is to put obedience to God’s word as his highest priority, with no excuses and no procrastination. If it is the right thing to do, then now is the right time to do it. We need to be proactive about doing what God has told us to. Jesus emphasised this regularly in his teaching (e.g. Matt 5:23-25). God’s word is not simply good advice that you might want to consider following when you have a bit of spare time, or when you feel like it. The only appropriate response is immediate obedience. If God tells you to do something, get on with it!

In the “Zayin” section of Psalm 119 the Psalmist explains how it is possible that he keeps going in the face of suffering and opposition. He is determined to stay loyal to God’s law despite the constant mocking he is subjected to:

⁵¹ The arrogant mock me unmercifully,
   but I do not turn from your law.

Comfort

He mentions two things in particular that bring him comfort in his suffering. The first is that he finds comfort in the promises of God:

⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.

In other words, it is his confidence in the absolute trustworthiness of God’s word that enables him to keep going and refuse to cave in to the pressure he is facing. His second source of comfort is a little more surprising: he finds comfort in the laws of God:

⁵² I remember, LORD, your ancient laws,
   and I find comfort in them.

Finding comfort in God’s promises is something we can identify with, but finding comfort in his laws? That doesn’t seem logical. But the psalmist finds comfort in God’s laws because as he meditates on them, he knows that the path he has chosen to follow in life is the right one. Despite the opposition and mocking he faces, he takes comfort in knowing that he is pleasing God and will ultimately be vindicated:

⁵⁶ This has been my practice:
   I obey your precepts.

Remembering

The reason the psalmist is able to derive so much comfort in suffering from God’s promises and laws is that he is deliberate about “remembering” them. He regularly recalls them to his mind. As well as remembering the promises and laws found in God’s word, he remembers God’s “name”. God’s name stands for his character and in particular his utter reliability.

⁵⁵ In the night, LORD, I remember your name,
   that I may keep your law.

He has another interesting means of remembering the Lord, and that is through singing. Singing is not something to be reserved for church meetings, but should be a regular feature of our private devotion to the Lord. Singing lifts our minds off our own circumstances and onto the goodness and greatness of God. Singing is also a very effective means of memorising God’s word.

⁵⁴ Your decrees are the theme of my song
   wherever I lodge.

It is as we remember the Lord, through singing and meditating on his word, that we find comfort and hope in the midst of suffering, because we know that the Lord will not forget to keep his promises:

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,
   for you have given me hope.

One of the themes that keeps cropping up throughout Psalm 119 is that the author seems to be the subject of mocking and slander, particularly from people in positions of authority and influence. For example, Ps 119:22-23 speaks of the scorn, contempt and opposition he faces:

²²Take away from me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
²³Even though princes sit plotting against me,
   your servant will meditate on your statutes.

Here in the “Waw” section (Ps 119:41-48), he returns to this theme. He is being taunted (presumably by people who don’t consider him a fool for trusting God’s word):

⁴²then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
   for I trust in your word.

He also seems to find himself being hauled up in front of kings to give account of himself in some way. Maybe his determination to obey God’s law is causing offence. But he is determined not to be intimidated into keeping silent about God’s word. He will speak out the truth without feeling ashamed, and is confident that ultimately he will be vindicated by God.

⁴⁶I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
   and shall not be put to shame,

I think this has growing relevance for Christians in a society where there are increasingly vocal critics of the Bible. To say you believe in God’s word is likely to result either in laughter or condemnation. The temptation is to keep quiet as a result, staying under the radar. The reason we do this is that we have a tendency to crave the approval of people rather than God. But the Psalmist knows where his loyalty lies. He would rather have God’s approval and man’s rejection than the other way round.

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38

The verses that stand out for me in the ‘He’ section (Ps 119:33-40) are the middle two:

³⁶ Turn my heart toward your statutes
   and not toward selfish gain.
³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
   preserve my life according to your word.

Despite it being clear that the Psalmist has a deep passion for both God and his word, here he recognises that he has a tendency to let other things get in the way. In particular, he shares the common human tendency towards “selfish gain” – living simply for my own benefit, and is easily distracted by “worthless things” – those things which may not be ‘sinful’ per se, but idle amusements or trivial preoccupations which can so easily dominate our lives.

Meditating on God’s word reorientates our value system and puts things into proper perspective. It lets us see selfish gain for what it is – selfish; and worthless things for what they are – worthless. Meditating on God’s word will rearrange our priorities, causing us to seek first the kingdom of God. Activities such as worship, serving others, giving, and witness, will become central to our life’s ambition rather than inconvenient interruptions to what we would rather be doing.

When Jesus was asked, “what is the greatest commandment” in Matt 22:34-40, he answered immediately. This was not because he was a really quick thinker.  It was because this was a question he already knew the answer to, and he knew it because his mind had been shaped by a lifetime of meditating on the Scriptures:

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Meditating on the word of God then is a vital weapon in the fight against idolatry. Have you let your gaze turn towards selfish gain? Are your thoughts dominated by worthless things? Then turn to God’s word and get a fresh vision of the beauty of the Lord. Be captivated by something that is worth living for.

Depression

In Ps 119:25 the Psalmist says “I am laid low in the dust”, and then in verse 28 “My soul is weary with sorrow” (one commentator paraphrases “I have collapsed with intense sorrow”). These days we’d probably diagnose him with depression and pack him off to the doctors to get some happy pills. But for the writer of this Psalm, there is no question where he will turn first for comfort and strength – the Word of God.

²⁵ I am laid low in the dust;
   preserve my life according to your word.

…
²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow;
   strengthen me according to your word.

Of course, I in no way want to trivialise the very real issue of depression, or glibly claim that a few hours of Bible reading will automatically fix it, but it does raise the issue of where we do we turn in times of sorrow. Part of the battle with depression is the battle for the mind (see Matt Hosier’s excellent prayer for depression), and to fight that battle effectively we must fill our minds with truth.

Grace and Truth

The reason the Psalmist turns to the Word of God when he is feeling low is that he knows that it is a source of grace and truth:

²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways;
   be gracious to me through your law.
³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth;
   I have set my heart on your laws.

This is an interesting combination of terms since in John 1:17 it says that “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John is not denying that the law contains grace and truth, but is claiming that the fullest expression of God’s grace and truth is found in Jesus. This is why a christological approach to Scripture is so important. The Bible leads us into grace and truth as we let it point us to Christ.

Freedom

The final verse in Psalm 119:25-32 (“the Daleth strophe”) is perhaps favourite in the whole Psalm, although it would appear that the translators can’t quite agree on how the second phrase should be translated. I like the NIV 1984’s “you have set my heart free” and think it fits well with the metaphor of running:

I run in the path of your commands,
   for you have set my heart free.

It is often assumed that a life of following commands must be one of drudgery, but for the Psalmist, the opposite is true. For him, it is when he is “running” in the path of God’s commands that he is free from anxiety and fear. Running in God’s way is both liberating and refreshing. I think the Psalmist would agree with the sentiment of Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire when he says, “when I run I feel His pleasure”.

In Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s introductory notes to his Bible reading plan, he recommends that you pray the words of Ps 119:18 before each day’s reading:

Open my eyes that I may see
   wonderful things in your law.

This is another recurrent theme throughout Psalm 119. The Psalmist approaches’ God’s word as a student, eager to learn. The phrase “teach me” appears 11 times in the Psalm, and he repeatedly reiterates his desire to learn and understand.

A humble, teachable attitude is vital if we are to hear what God is saying through Scripture. Those who come to the Scripture looking only for things that they like or that will confirm what they already think miss out on the chance to be surprised by an encounter with God. There are wonderful things in there.

The Psalmist doesn’t just approach God’s word as a learner, but also as a lover. Some of his statements make him sound obsessed with God’s law:

My soul is consumed with longing
   for your laws at all times.

But this should not be misinterpreted as some kind of idolatry of the Bible at the expense of God. His passion for God’s word flows from his love for God himself. Willem VanGemeren makes this point in his commentary on the Psalms;

the beauty of this psalm lies not only in the recitation of devotion to the law but also in the psalmist’s absolute devotion to the Lord. … This is a psalm not only of law but also of love, not only of statute but also of spiritual strength, not only of devotion to precept but also of loyalty to the way of the Lord. The beauty in this psalm resounds from the relationship of the psalmist and his God.

So approach God’s word as a lover, delighting in it because you love him, and as a learner, eager to know more of it because you are eager to know more of him. There is a synergy between the two because the more you learn about God the more you will grow to love him, and the more you love him the greater your hunger to know him more. The two concepts are juxtaposed nicely in the final verse of this section (Ps 119:24):

Your statutes are my delight;
   they are my counsellors.

In the second section of Psalm 119 (Ps 119:9-16, or “Beth”), I want to focus in on two concepts that recur throughout this Psalm, and that is of the value of memorising and meditating on the Word of God. I think there is an important link between the two. In our modern age of Google, we tend to assume that there is little to no point in memorising anything, since we can look it up quick enough. But I am convinced that we will get much more benefit from God’s Word if it stays with us in our minds throughout the day, allowing us to ponder its meaning as we walk down the street, or remember a relevant passage as we face a difficult situation. If you want to meditate on God’s word, you need to do at least a small amount of memorising God’s word.

I should point out that I am not talking primarily about the kind of memorising that enables you to recite verbatim entire chapters or books of the Bible, valuable as that may be. Instead, my goal is to have a thorough working knowledge of what is in God’s word – to know the general content of each book, to know the key and most important passages, even if I can’t quote chapter and verse for each one. When the Psalmist says “I have hidden your word in my heart”, he means that it has gone deep down within him. It’s not just in his head, it’s got right inside him, and is shaping his entire way of life.

Why Memorise?

This passage gives at least two reasons you should memorise Scripture. First, the word of God is for all of life. Life is portrayed here as a journey, and the decisions we face are forks in the road. How can we remain on the “path of purity” (Ps 119:9), and avoid “straying” from the right way (Ps 119:10)? Most of the important decisions we make in life are not taken while we are in a church meeting, or even necessarily while we have our Bibles open in front of us. We need the word of God to have taken deep root within us, if the choices we make in our day to day lives are to be governed by the wisdom of God’s word.

Second, the word of God is a weapon in the fight against sin. Verses 9 and 11 state this clearly – those who know the word of God will be able to wield the sword of the Spirit against the attacks of the enemy. The greatest example of this is of course Jesus. In his wilderness temptation, again and again he turned to the Scriptures to fend off the devil. And he didn’t have his iPhone with the ESV app on it to help him. He could turn to the word of God for help because it was already in his heart.

How to Memorise

Most of us are resigned to the idea that we are terrible at memorising Scripture. But its not as hard as you might imagine. This passage gives us two powerful ways in which God’s word penetrate deep into your heart.

The first, and most important is that you need to delight in God’s word in order to be able memorise it. As a teenager I could tell you the full squads of all the Premier League teams, as well as recite every Arsenal result of the season complete with who scored what goal in what minute. It wasn’t because I tried to memorise that information, it’s just that I was so passionate about football that I absorbed vast amounts of useless trivia. The writer of this Psalm is so obsessive about the word of God that he compares the thrill he gets from it  to winning the lottery:

¹⁴ I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
¹⁵ I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
¹⁶ I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

The more we delight in God’s word, the more of it we will retain and will be able to bring it to mind as the need arises.

A second and very effective way to memorise the word of God is simply to speak it out.

¹³ With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

With two of my children I read out loud a Psalm each night before they go to bed. They repeat it back to me line by line. It takes a couple of minutes. By the end of the month, my eight year old can recite it word for word, while my five year old can get through with a few prompts. There is something about speaking things out loud that causes it to stick in our minds.

I am told that reading aloud was the normal mode of reading for centuries. Rev 1:3 says “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy”. Try doing your morning Bible readings aloud. It will slow you down and you’ll cover less ground, but you will retain more that way.

Another aspect of speaking God’s word out is making it a regular topic of conversation. The more you talk about it, the more deeply you will examine it, and passages of Scripture you discuss with others are more likely to take root in your heart. That’s one good reason why small groups should try to include discussion within their Bible study meetings. As Deut 6:6-7 says:

⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Apologies for the lack of posts on this blog in recent months. Since the birth of our fifth child (Anna-Rose) in March, I have had less time than usual for reading and blogging. However, I don’t want to completely abandon the blog, so I’m going to attempt to post a series of thoughts on Psalm 119, which I have been studying recently.

Psalm 119 is of course famous for being the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses – 8 for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The other interesting thing about this Psalm is that the dominant theme is God’s law. The word and commands of God are the Psalmist’s delight and obsession, the focal point around which his whole life revolves.

This poses something of a dilema as we try to interpret this Psalm though. Isn’t the New Covenant about grace triumphing over law? At first glance this Psalm can seem like a celebration of legalism. For example, consider the first four verses:

¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.
² Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
³ they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
⁴ You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.

We’re told here that there is a blessing for those who are (a) blameless, (b) wholehearted in seeking God, (c) do nothing wrong, and (d) obey every one of God’s laws fully. I don’t know about you, but that rules me out of receiving this blessing. But that’s not quite the end of the story. Verse 5 and 6 is an honest prayer from the Psalmist who knows that he is not always uncompromisingly obedient:

⁵ Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
⁶ Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.

He responds to this by making a personal resolution. He promises to (a) worship, (b) learn God’s rules and (c) obey them:

⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
⁸ I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.

Now we might be tempted to summarise Psalm 119:1-8 like this: “There is blessing for those who obey God, but ‘shame’ for those who don’t; therefore I will try really hard to obey and hope God doesn’t abandon me.” But that would do an injustice to the Psalmist, for reasons I will hopefully get onto if this series doesn’t come to a premature end. Suffice for now to say that for the Psalmist, obedience is primarily an expression of love not a fulfilment of a duty or an insurance policy for judgment day.

But I wonder too if there might be something prophetic about the opening section of this Psalm. In verse 8, the Psalmist prays that God won’t “forsake” him. It draws my mind to Mark 15:34, where Jesus cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. The irony is that Jesus was the only one that Ps 119:1-4 truly describes. He is the only one who was completely blameless, was devoted to seeking God, did nothing whatsoever wrong, and fully obeyed every one of God’s laws. But instead of receiving blessing for it, he was put to shame and forsaken at the cross. He lived the blameless life we could not. He was forsaken in order that we might be accepted.

Psalm 119:1-4 then, is not about an unobtainable blessing, but about a blessing that has already been made available to us through God’s grace. And it does not describe a life that we are obligated but unable to live, but rather one that we are free and empowered to live by the Spirit. It is not about earning God’s favour through your blameless life, but enjoying God’s favour earned by Jesus’ blameless life.