A professor of mine at seminary once told me to make sure that while I worked through the Psalms that I let the Psalms work through me. My problem, you see, is that I can become enamored with the intellectual side of scripture study and miss the spiritual reason I’m reading the scripture in the first place; Psalm 119:153-160 is a perfect example of this. After reading it a couple of times it seemed to be without structure and having no central point, but after outlining it I find just the opposite. When I discover this sort of thing in Psalm poetry I get a great deal of pleasure, (I know, I’m an oddball), but sometimes that pleasure is the end of the road. I leave the Psalm laying on the table in its nice little pieces and move on to the next task of the day; but this doesn’t seem right. Let me show you what I mean.
I believe Psalm 119 – Resh has three distinct sections to it, each of which has three distinct sub-sections. The first section is Psalm 119:153-155, the second Psalm 119:156-158, and the third Psalm 119:159-160.
Psalm 119:153-155 begins with the psalmist asking the Lord to see his suffering and redeem him, giving him life by virtue of the fact that he does not forget God’s law. The psalmist states the fact that the wicked — those who are persecuting him — do not have God’s laws in mind. This section is a clear appeal to the psalmist’s relationship with God’s law, the Torah. This relationship is an intellectual one; he knows the law frontwards and
Part two, Psalm 119:156-158, continues with the psalmist praising God for how his justice and judgments give life. The psalmist reminds God that he does not walk away from the law in his daily life, but adheres to it religiously, turning neither to the right nor to the left. He perseveres on the straight and narrow, unlike the faithless who don’t attempt to live according to God’s laws. This pragmatic appeal, tells God how he follows the law in his daily life, always making choices to do the right thing.
Psalm 119:159-160, part three, concludes the psalmist’s appeal to God by the love he has for God’s words. His appeal seeks for life on the basis of God’s steadfast and unfailing love. This section, however, does not conclude with a description of the wicked, rather it concludes with a declaration of the righteous and eternal nature of God’s ways. This unexpected claim forces the reader to recall how “the way of the wicked leads to destruction.” (Psalm 1:6) God’s eternal laws bring to us life eternal, but when we disregard them we are not even a memory, we become chaff blown away in the wind.
As you can see, this psalm could preach very well with its three main points and three sub-points concluding with a twist at the very end making it memorable. A preacher could tells us how we need to know God’s word and live by it, but those things without love are nothing (I Corinthians 13). In fact, there is a slight chance I’ve just given some aspiring pastor a basic outline for next week’s sermon!
But now let’s return to my problem. Dissecting this passage and finding out what God is saying to his people fascinates me, but now what do I do with it all?
I know, some of you are saying, “Dude, it’s right there! Love God. Love his Laws and love his Word. How can you not see it?” (Okay, maybe you didn’t call me “dude,” but you get the idea.)
I know all that; I spend a lot of time reading, studying, outlining, and meditating on the scripture, but even though I know quite a bit, I still struggle with doing the right thing. I sin (and have sinned) more than my fair share, almost to the point where I often question if I really love God’s law. I know I love the process of engaging with his words, but what does it mean to love the words themselves, to love his law?
Some of the more recent retellings of Robin Hood include a character by the name Azeem who pledged his life to Robin because he had saved him from certain death. Though the characters never say the words “I love you,” it is apparent by the way they place their lives into each other’s hands that their relationship is one based on love.
I think this is the crux of the issue in this psalm, and it begins in the first section with the word “redeem.” The psalmist asks God to redeem his life from the enemy seeking his destruction, and as a
Now with all the pieces put back together, maybe the spiritual lesson is clear. I need to admit that God has redeemed me from being chaff blown away and transformed me into a tree being fed by God’s waters of life issuing from his throne. For if I do not trust in that, then God’s laws and judgments are mere intellectual fodder and not the outworking of God’s love, which can, should, and will produce my love for him.
