Revival and Renewal

The word “blessed” gets a bad rap. The prosperity peddlers and profiteers have corrupted it, made it into a commodity, the result of secret knowledge, or the sign of our inherent goodness. 

But when we read Aaron’s blessing in Numbers 6, we get a different idea of what it means to be blessed: 

The Lord Bless you and Keep you 
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

A life of blessing is not a life of material prosperity, but one where God turns his face toward us. Blessing is the result of God’s grace and goodness; it is a life of dignity, of honor, and of peace; it is life lived with God. We should crave a blessed life because that’s the life we were meant for. 

That’s why, when we read the beginning of Psalm 119, our ears should perk up: 

         Blessed are those whose way is blameless, 

                  Who walk in the law of the Lord! 

         Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

                  Who seek him with their whole heart, 

         Who also do no wrong, 

                  But walk in his ways! (vv.1-3).

This is a revolution. To be blessed means, then, not to be successful, not to be rich or famous, not to have a following, but to walk in God’s ways. If we want a good life, a life of dignity, honor, and peace, a life lived with God, we have a way to walk, testimonies to keep, and a God to seek with our whole heart. 

This is what Psalm 119 has to teach us: the good life is one where we are directed by, delight in, and are dependent on God’s Word.

A Light and a Lamp

In verse 104, the psalmist proclaims 

 “Through your precepts I get understanding
therefore I hate every false way.” 

That word, “understanding,” is a key concept in the Old Testament. It is defined in Proverbs 2:9: “What is right and just and fair—every good path.” To have understanding is to be able to discern in a given situation what is the right thing to do, how to be just, and how to pursue equity and fairness. The psalmist sees that life is not easy to understand, and danger is on every side. If he is going to live the blessed life, he must know the path to go. And that path is none other than God’s commands. 

What I described above is the biblical concept of wisdom. I remember in Seminary we were told that wisdom in the Bible is the law applied to everyday life, the ability to look at a given situation and have the understanding to act faithfully. The Bible is not a “choose your own adventure” novella where you turn to one verse and it says “now go to this verse for the answer.” Rather, Scripture reveals to us all God desires for us to know about his character and will, and we are called to drink that knowledge in so deeply that it transforms every last ounce of our lives. 

This is what we see in Psalm 119. The psalmist has seen every part of his life transformed by the Word of wisdom. It directs his routine: he rises at midnight to praise God, he meditates on God’s law all the day, he rises before dawn to cry out to his God (v.147). He’s created a routine where he stops and worships God throughout the day, because of his right instruction. It directs his priorities: What he looks at (v.37), his companions (vv.74, 113, 115), how he evaluates his life. He is willing to look at his life and, if it is in conflict with the Word, he changes (v. 59). Every part of his life is directed by God’s good instruction. He knows it, he reads it, he meditates on it, and it gives him the understanding to know what is right, what is just, and what is fair in every circumstance. 

That’s the good life: a life directed by God’s Word. A life saturated in Scripture, and therefore able to know how he would have us act in our everyday.  

Sweeter than Honey

The first facet of the good life is that we are directed by the Word. But the psalmist not only views the instructions of God as a the ultimate direction for his life, but as the most precious gift that God has given him. He writes:  

“your testimonies are my delight” (v.24, 47)

“I cling to your testimonies” (v.31)

“I long for your precepts” (v.40)

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (v.97)

“how sweet are your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (v.103) 

“your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” (v.111) 

“I love your commandments above Gold, above fine gold.” (v.127). 

He has this relationship with God’s words because he sees that they are just and true (142), and hover and over again to God has proven himself trustworthy (140). 

One of the most common questions I get as a pastor is “what does God want me to do with my life?” And they are surprised by where I take them in Scripture: 

         He has told you, O man, what is good; 

                  And what does the Lord require of you?

         But to do justice, and to love kindness, 

                  And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8). 

The gods of the Greeks and Canaanites were always angry and never clear on what they wanted from their people. They would tell them to sacrifice their children, to abuse their bodies, all the while never promising love and always threatening destruction. But the God of Israel, in abundant grace, has given us a path, his clear will. We know what God’s will for us is. 

This is why the Old Testament (and the rest of Scripture, for that matter) never sees the law as anything other than God’s grace to his people. Even Paul wrote that “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). In the darkness of this world, God has given us a gift greater than we could ever deserve: his gracious instruction. 

So, do we rejoice in it? Do we crave it above fine gold? Would we die without it? That’s the good life: a life where we delight in God’s Word. 

I Have Chosen the Way of Faithfulness 

A large portion of psalm 119 is devoted to prayers, pleas to God. He prays for God to stay with him (v. 121), he longs for God’s salvation “and the righteous fulfillment of his promise” (v. 123), he asks over and over again for God to “open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (v. 18). Often, he prays for deliverance from sickness, affliction, danger, or shame. The psalmist lives in a world of danger, of persecution, and of violence, and he knows he needs God’s help. 

But in these prayers we also see that, whatever the circumstance, the psalmist is dependent on God’s instruction, and he refuses to turn from it. He exclaims: 

 “the wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies” (95) 

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set your rules before me.” (30) 

“Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” (49-50). 

Whatever may happen, the psalmist is resolute to stay faithful to the Word, because he knows that it alone can guide him when the rubber hits the road, when life gets complicated. 

It is all well and good to claim dependence on God’s Word in easy times. Yet in times of affliction, sadness, illness; at those points we often believe the oldest lie of them all: that we can figure this out on our own, that we don’t need God’s commands. 

But the blessed life is one lived completely dependent on God’s instructions. No matter how hard life gets, no matter how complicated the situation. In these moments of crisis. we cling to God’s commands, we will choose the way of faithfulness, we will stay close to God. The temptation is to turn from him: the blessed life is one where we turn to him. 

That’s life lived well: that’s the blessed life. 

Enlarge My Heart 

That’s the kind of life we are being invited to. A life full of love, peace, grace, goodness, and resilience. A life lived with in wisdom, a life lived with God.  

Yet we do not do this by our strength alone. The psalmist writes in v.31: 

I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart.

That’s where we begin: God, enlarge my heart. God, give me the strength to live by your Word. God, burn out any false wisdom and worldly love. God, make me thine, and thine alone. 

That’s a prayer he always answers.