Psalm 119:1-8 | Aleph

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Psalm 119:1-8 | Aleph

Milt Reynolds | Last updated: January 27, 2022

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! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! - Psalm 119:1–8, ESV

Image by Harut Movsisyan from Pixabay

The Terrible Reality of Being Forsaken by God

The entire life of Aleph, all hopes and joys and emotions, are connected closely to God's Word. Most striking is the desire to avoid shame and to be forsaken by God. Doing and delighting in God's Word promises a life of no shame.

Here are some sources of shame:

  • Blame for doing wrong
  • Having an inconsistent or undependable heart
  • Forsaken by God...utterly forsaken

"Utterly forsaken" does not seem to mean merely a more complete or full experience of being forsaken...rather, "utterly" seems a description of the terrible reality of being "forsaken by God".

To be forsaken by God is an utterly, deeply. dark and pervasive end of one's life.

UTTERLY: "ad meh-ODE", vehemence, wholly, speedily - from "ood" to rake together - "ad" means as far, as long as, as much of, time or space.

To be forsaken by God means to lose everything that we reagard as good or fair or important, including things we cannot even imagine...for all time, for all things, with no hope of help or healing.

Shabbiness of My Heart

Lord, in what ways am I not walking blameless?

  • My dislike of groups, noise, too many voices, too many different perpectives
  • My preference for things rather than for people
  • My frequent discouragement and disatisfaction with what I'm doing, or must do, or have or desire

My heart does not wholly seek you.

Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in treasuring and tracking your Word! I feel the shabbiness of my heart...fix my eyes on all your Word, and be my constant comfort!

Shame and Loneliness...and Happiness

For me, the key to delighting in, and praying through Psalm 119, has been to notice the many different synonyms used for "God's Word":

  • The law
  • His testimonies
  • His ways
  • His precepts
  • His statutes
  • His commandments
  • His righteous rules

All of these are different facets of one gloriously cut gem: The precious Word of God, the Holy Bible. All of the books of the Holy Bible together are the one and only one treasury of all that God has declared to us, and done for us.

I first noticed a connection between shame and loneliness, God's Word, and my happiness, in the first stanza of Psalm 119, verses 1-8. This stanza is given the title of Aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

The English word, "blessed" is a translation of the Hebrew word, Esher. An equally valid translation of Esher is "happiness".

Psalm 119, stanza Aleph, is all about the happiness that may be experienced by a person who delights in, and does well, all that God's Word declares.

But it's not until the end of this stanza that we see the how of happiness. How does delighting in God's Word bring happiness? How does obedience to Gods' Word make a person feel "blessed" or "happy"?

The answer to how is found in verses 6-8:

  • God's Word removes shame
  • God's Word removes loneliness

Without delighting in, and doing well, all that is declared by God, the only other option is trying to delight in and doing well all that the world declares.

And the world is mortally broken. The world around us is broken, bitter, barricaded and brawling in every corner, in every generation.

The world around us will never cease being a cause of our feeling shamed, in small or big ways, for moments or for weeks at a time.

The world around us will never cease being a cause of our feeling loneliness, whether in a mall, a marriage, or atop a mountain.

But...

God's Word is our remedy for shame and loneliness, our only lasting remedy. God's Word removes our shame before God. God's Word brings his presence to relieve our loneliness.

My emotions are still broken. I'm still vulnerable to feeling shame and loneliness...but it's not from God. Shame and loneliness come from the gripping, relentless influence of the world around and within me.

From God there is only great love and great presence. From God's Word there is removal of shame and loneliness.

And that is most likely the very best I can hope for in a broken, bitter, barricaded, brawling world.

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