A letter from Anthony...
"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me."
Psalm 119:1–8
This is the first in a new series of reflections in
Psalm 119. Most of us would be familiar
with this Psalm because it is the longest Psalm in the Bible. It is what’s called an acrostic poem, which
means that the first word of every verse in each section begin with a different
letter of the Hebrew alphabet. These
verses all begin with the letter ‘Aleph,’ which is the first letter of the
Hebrew alphabet.
I am sure that we have all had people in our lives
that we have looked up to as examples that we hoped to imitate. In these verses the Psalmist seems to be
doing that very thing. He is reflecting
on how others have obeyed God’s law, and he is reflecting on his own
relationship with the Lord. The Psalmist
desires what we all want; which is to be blessed by God, rather than left in
our natural state of sin and shame.
The Psalmist speaks of the “blessed” as blameless,
obedient, and devoted to the Lord. He
even goes as far as to say that they do nothing wrong. This is the ideal, this is what everyone who
desires to follow the Lord wants to be like.
Imagine if our words, actions and our motives were really blameless in
God’s sight. However, if we are honest
with ourselves, and if we search our own hearts, we will have to acknowledge
that Romans 3:23 is right when it says that “all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.”
Like the Psalmist we would all like to cry out to the
Lord “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then we would
not be put to shame.” But we all know
something that the Psalmist didn’t know, that means we won’t be left mourning
our sin and shame without hope. Because
we live on the other side of the cross of Jesus.
The Psalmist finishes this section by pleading with the Lord that he would not be forsaken. In our own strength, we know we aren’t able to measure up to the glory of the Lord – we have all fallen short. But through faith in Christ Jesus, who bore our sin and shame on the cross, no one who trusts in Him will be forsaken, but rather forgiven and accepted.
Therefore “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from
sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2–3
In Christ, Anthony
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