On Psalm 119.1-8 (Aleph)

¹ How happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk according to the Lord’s instruction!
² Happy are those who keep his decrees
and seek him with all their heart.
³ They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.
⁴ You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
⁵ If only my ways were committed
to keeping your statutes!
⁶ Then I would not be ashamed
when I think about all your commands.
⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart
when I learn your righteous judgments.
⁸ I will keep your statutes;
never abandon me. (CSB)

ℵ (aleph) is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and therefore, it is the first stanza of Psalm 119. And when we read the first two verses, we are immediately confronted by the simple truth that obedience to the Word of God is the only way to experience God’s blessing. The CSB (see above) renders the verb as “happy”, whereas the majority of modern translations (NET, ESV, NASB, NIV) render it as “blessed”. Interestingly, the NLT renders this word as “joyful”, and this perhaps most accurately reflects the psalmists intent. “Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.” Nevertheless, no matter which English rendering we prefer, it is clear that something more than pleasing circumstances is being described here.

In the Bible, blessing or joy is something that is experienced more deeply in the human soul than mere surface level happiness. It is that inner sense of complete satisfaction and total contentment, of unwavering peace and ultimate fulfillment. It is nothing less then the ultimate thriving of the human soul as God intended it. And lets be clear, the source of this blessed joy is completely divine. It is not something that we can manufacture or achieve on our own. Our psalmist is clear that the only way into this experience of divine blessing is by obedience to the Word of God. In fact, he goes on to say in these verses that obedience is the only way that we can be set free from the bondage of guilt and shame and bring praise into his abiding presence.

Sadly, obedience is under emphasized in most Protestant versions of spirituality. Because of our Reformation heritage, we are quick to react against anything that smacks of works based salvation. We champion the cause of sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. As Paul said in Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 9, “not from works, so that no one can boast.” However, in our haste to affirm the unconditional nature of grace, we have neglected and omitted the role that obedience plays in the Christian life. As Paul went on to say in that very next verse, “ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” (Eph. 2.10) The simple truth that the psalmist is affirming in this first stanza of Psalm 119 is that obedience to God’s Word is the only available way into the fullness of divine blessing.

Of course, the reality is that none of us are able to perfectly keep the commands of God. As the Apostle James reminds us in chapter 2, verse 10 of his letter, “For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.” The Gospel teaches us that we are all sinners, that we are all utterly incapable of obeying God’s Word. And left to ourselves, we can never experience the fullness of God’s blessing. This is why our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ became incarnate. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s Word in every way. And because we are united to Him by faith, His perfect obedience has become our obedience, His righteousness has become our righteousness. This is why Paul writes in Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 3, “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.”

And it is precisely because His perfect obedience has been graciously reckoned unto us as righteousness that we should value and cultivate the habits of obedience to God’s Word. We should love obedience the way that the psalmist does here, because when we walk in His ways, then we are able to experience the fullness of blessings that are already ours in Christ by the Spirit.

For further study:
Introduction/Overview