A Study of Psalm 119: Part 1 - Obedience that Brings Blessing v.1-8

Doctrine: God requires us to keep His commands, but it is not a burden; it is a blessing!

- In order to fulfill our duty of obedience to God's law, which leads to a blessed life, we must throw ourselves on Him in complete dependence and work diligently as we study His word.

1Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
2Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.
8I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!

Commentary:

David begins this Psalm with declaring that those who conform their lives to God's law will be blameless and will be blessed (v.1). Contrary to the world's opinion, following the way of the Lord and living a blameless life is actually the blessed life or truly the BEST* life! Sin, immorality and living in the freedom of making your own autonomous choices is NOT the road to the best life. This will cause the individual to struggle both spiritually and culturally as he or she clashes against the accepted and expected norm. Although it will be difficult, this best*/blessed life is specifically characterized by actions that reflect a saturation of the Law of God which will lead to blamelessness. V.2 reflects much of the first verse, but als adds the statement, "who seek him with their whole heart." Here we see that it is a complete devotion to the Lord that brings blessing to the saint. It is interesting to note the maxims that are used; words like "blameless", "whole" and "no wrong" (v.3). Things are not happening in part, but in totality. Focusing on "no wrong" in v.3, we see that this is a strong statement, but this is the result in the lives of those who seek the Lord and walk in His Law. In light of this, let us pursue knowing Him and His Law!

David switches gears in v.4 and emphasizes the divine command of God to His saints to keep His Law. Previously David has emphasized the blessing that comes with keeping Gods law. Why would we not want to do somthing that blesses us? Now he is pointing out that God requires us to keep His law. Plainly stated, God has commanded and we obey. As creator of the Universe and the only self-suffiencet, omnipotent being, God has all the right to demand obedience. But remember this is the way of being blessed. We praise Him that in His goodness and mercy He has made obedience a blessing as well!

By the time v.5 arrives, the reader could/should be overwhelmed by all the walking, keeping, seeking and doing. How can a person keep the laws, ways and testimonies of the Lord? David reveals the source of our strength: Prayer. "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!" Here we see David crying out to God for the ability to keep His statutes. The God who has decreed that we keep His commands also will give us the strength to obey. This will be further dispalyed later on in the psalm, but it is also hinted at in v.8b.

V.6 and 7 reveal to us two results of God answering the prayer of David by energizing him to keep His commands. The first result is honor. By keeping his focus on the Word of the Lord, David knows that he will not be shamed. Those who break God's laws are shamed when it becomes public and also will be ashamed when they stand in God's presence. Thankfully the Lord has provided so that we can obey Him. The second result is praise. David will be able to praise God with an "upright heart" when he knows and obeys God's word. You cannot praise with an upright heart when you are ashamed. We will be in a proper position and have a proper heart in worship when we are walking in God's word. David closes out this section a commitment to keep God's commands and a cry for help in v.8. "Do not utterly forsake me!"

Application questions:

#1 - Are you praying to God for help since He is the source of your strength to be able to obey His commands?

#2 - When do you study His Word?

#3 - Are you studying it diligently?

#4 - What part of His law are you not obeying because you have believed the world's lie that obeying God's law is not the path to truly the BEST*/most blessed life?

* This should not be understood as the "Best" life that is defined by the prosperity movement. God has chosen to use persecution in order to display His glory in the life of His saints. The BEST/most blessed life may (possibly will) include persecution and suffering. See scripture below:

Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

John 15:18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

See also - 2 Cor. 4:7-18

Another Test - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

When I heard that the first Transformers movie was coming out about two years ago, I was pumped! I even got together with my four brothers and planned a sweet movie night. Unfortunately, all I had after the movie was a bad taste in my mouth and a few images that I wished I could delete from my mind. My primary issue with the movie was its portrayal of the female protagonist. Her only purpose in the film was to serve as eye candy to feed people's lust. I can't remember if any of the reviews of Transformers 1 made a big deal out of it, but they sure haven't missed it with #2!


Here's some quotes from a couple of reviews I read: (warning - crude content)


http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/23/review.transformers.revenge/index.html

"Here's a sample of what Bay throws at the wall in the hope of generating some
stray laughs: small dogs humping. Hysterical middle-aged women. Autobots with
effeminate voices. A miniature Decepticon dry-humping Fox's leg. John Turturro
improvising. Tasers. A cowardly Latino. A short Arab. Snails. None of these
things is funny. Not in this movie, anyway. The truth is, Bay is a rotten fit
for this assignment; he's much too self-important to recalibrate his approach
for the younger audience this material demands. Memo to Michael: It's a toy
movie. Your audience is predominantly teen and pre-teen. My kids don't need to
see your salivating soft-porn fantasies or your reactionary militaristic
politics."

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/06/24/f-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-review.html

"The funny stuff also gives us a chance to appreciate the stone-cold Fox. True,
she's mainly here to serve as wet-dream fodder for the picture's predominantly
male demographic — we first see her in tight jean cutoffs, provocatively
straddling a motorcycle like something out of a Maxim photo spread. But she
brings a saucy edge to Sam's spunky trailer-park dreamgirl. And, after she
blithely dissed this movie in a recent EW interview, you have to love her even
more."

I hope this aids you in discerning whether or not this movie will bring you to glorify God in Christ Jesus and promote your sanctification. I have decided that this movie will not be an aid to me. Here are a couple items that did not influence my decision and a couple that did,


Non-influencers:


#1 - An expectation that Hollywood will produce God-honoring films did not influence my decision - It does not shock me when Hollywood produces immoral movies. I won't be leading any national protests to make the film industry "Family Friendly." But we do need to use discernment since Hollywood can turn a kid's cartoon into an immoral film. However, our depravity is so pervasive that I thank the Lord that He gives common grace that enables Hollywood to produce some decent family films.


#2 - The moral base provided in these reviews from CNN.com and CBC.ca did not influence my decision - I chose these reviews to act as a shocker, to reveal that the unregenerate can pick up on the immorality in this film (how much more then should we?). The Word of God and His Spirit provide far superior wisdom and light to guide the Christian in this decision than any review ever can.


Influencers:


#1 - Matthew 5:27-28 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Here is a clear command from Christ. This is what we are NOT to do. If someone can sit through this movie and not break this commandment, he is a better man than me.


#2 - Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." - Here is what we ARE to do. It will be hard to fit Transformers 1 or 2 through this grid. Paul gives us some strong motivation to "practice these things" - "the God of peace will be with you" if you do!

#3 - The example of femininity portrayed in Transformers is not biblical - This is not the model that fathers want to see their daughters follow, that young men want to use to find a wife, that women want to follow to be a wife or that young women want to follow in general. Scripture gives a completely different model that produces God-glorifying femininity. For example, in Titus 2 Paul instructs Titus to encourage the women to be reverent, self-controlled, lovers of their husbands and children, pure, kind, hard workers in the home and submissive to their husbands. This is the model we want to follow.

22 part study of Psalm 119?!

Alright, so I have been working through Psalm 119 and it has been a blast! The whole thing will be in 22 parts because I'm taking one section (one Hebrew letter) per day for my devotion. This Psalm may seem long and repetitive, but it displays many important doctrines concerning the Christian's walk before God, God's Character, His Word and our relationship with it etc. The reason I choose the word "display" vs. the word "describe" when speaking of these doctrines is due to the fact that we are observing David's prayers and interactions with God; not a doctrinal statement. Psalm 119 reveals how these great doctrines were thought of and lived out by David. This gives us a real-life model of how we should interact with these doctrines that is extremely practical. I hope that your walk with the Lord is strengthened and deepened though this Psalm in the coming days!