Psalm 119 Vs 1-8

Aleph

A Bible Devotion from Psalm 119 Vs 1-8

I Will Praise You As I Learn Your Righteous Laws

1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
3 They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

Psalm 119 Vs 1-8, NKJV

How does this Psalmist approach the Law of God in these verses? What does he think of the law; how important is God's Law to him? These are important questions, not only for the Psalmist, but also for us! It's interesting that he equates love and obedience to the law with walking faithfully with God.

Does that mean that all we have to do is obey the Law of God and we will be Christians? That would be true if we could obey the law. The problem is that no matter how much we desire to obey; no matter how hard we try, we are simply not able to keep His law perfectly.

Verse five addresses this problem by saying, Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame. So what are we to do? Because Christ has perfectly obeyed the law for us and has died to pay for our sins, we must continually cry out to Him to help us to live uprightly and obedient before God. As we continue beyond Vs 1-8 of the 119th Psalm, we will discover the great peace and joy that comes to us when we are obedient to the Law of God.

Pray today that God will help you to obey His righteous decrees. It does not matter how we look to those around us; it only matters how we look to God!

Next: Psalm 119 Vs 9-16 - I Have Hidden Your Word in My Heart

More Devotions on the 119th Psalm Vs 1-8 from my blog, Daily Bible Devotions.

Undefiled, verses 1-4

Direction, verses 5-8