February 28 2015 Saturday

Aleph
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the Law of the Lord
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity; they walk in his ways
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently
O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
Then I shall not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments
I shall praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments
I will keep thy statues;  O forsake me not utterly.

Beth
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
With my whole heart have I sought thee; O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee.
Blessed art thou O Lord; teach my thy statutes
With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth
I rejoice in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways
I will take delight in thy statutes, I will not forget thy Word.

I'd rather number this Psalm by letter and line number. For example: Beth 4: Blessed art thou O Lord,;teach my thy statutes.

You might think I have been slacking off in memorizing Psalm 119. You're right about that. It's difficult to memorize But I'm making progress.

I'm started liking this Psalm because it shows clearly David's way of thinking: Sanctification is God's work in man, yet also man's work in seeking God. How do we know he's talking about sanctification? Aleph 2-3 says that they who keep his testimonies do no iniquity. Beth 1 is more clear though. Remember that Christ prayed, "Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth."

I think this is more than just an acrostic; it is a journey into knowing God's Word. At least, I can see how it's moving. Aleph is like seeing the goal (Aleph 1-2), the duty (Aleph 4), and the end (Aleph 7), all the while entreating God (and thereby acknowledging His work. this is important! To acknowledge God's work is not to think that it is His work as many think about Sovereignty; it is entreating Him to work in and through us). Beth is like the beginning, asking where a man can cleanse his way implies that he begins dirty. It makes no clame of perfections; simply expresses one's desire to seek God's Word (which is also serves as a map for the journey). I won't re-read the whole Psalm to verify this "journey" hypothesis though; I will continue to memorize one verse at a time.