With my whole heart I seek you;

do not let me stray from your commandments. (Ps. 119:10)

           Have you ever used mnemonic devices to help you remember a sequence of events? In elementary algebra, I learned that “My Dear Aunt Sally” could help me remember the order of operations in solving equations: Multiply, Divide, Add, and Subtract. In band class, we learned that on the treble clef, notes on the lines from bottom to top represented E, G, B, D, and F, remembered by “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” Notes represented by spaces between the lines spelled FACE.

            Easy peasy.

Ancient Hebrew poets occasionally made their work easier to memorize by beginning each line, couplet, or stanza with sequential letters of the alphabet—or alefbet. [DD]

            The longest and most complex of these is Psalm 119. Its 176 verses encompass 22 stanzas of eight couplets each, one for each of the 22 Hebrew letters. The Revised Common Lectionary assigns readings from seven of the 22 sections during its three-year cycle.

            Within each stanza, each couplet begins with the same letter. For example, each of the first eight verses begin with the letter alef, the next eight with bet, the next eight with gimel, and so on to the final eight verses, which begin with tav.

            As the poet built his prolonged prayer on the scaffold of the Hebrew alefbet, he also utilized as building material the theme of God’s Torah, or teaching. Eight different synonyms for the concept appear repeatedly. Some stanzas contain all eight terms, and all stanzas include at least six. [DD]

            The poet believed that rules were important. The thought of life without restrictions may be appealing, but the lack of guidelines could lead to personal or societal chaos. The psalmist recognized the value of holding to certain standards of behavior in individual or corporate life. He encouraged readers to take comfort in knowing basic and acceptable guidelines for living, and to follow them.

            In the psalm, he wrote lovingly of God’s tōrah, God’s word, and God’s way, as well as God’s laws, statues, decrees, commands, precepts, and ordinances. He firmly believed in the value of studying and following the written law.

            Psalms like this point to a shift in Israel’s worship from a religion centered on temple sacrifices to one based on obedience to the law. In this sense, Psalm 119 has much in common with the book of Deuteronomy, and likely reflects a post-exilic setting, when the Pentateuch had been completed.

            The psalm contains elements of both wisdom and lament. The author repeatedly professes a love for God’s law, or teaching. He earnestly desires to follow God’s way, and he hopes that his obedience will motivate God to save him from distress and preserve him from his enemies.

A question

vv. 9-11

Today’s reading is from the second section of the psalm, one in which each verse begins with the letter bet. This one also begins with a question: “How can young people keep their way pure?” (v. 9a).

            The translation is appropriate, as young men and women alike should aspire to just living that honors God. The literal text includes the surprising word “lad” (na‘ar): “How can a lad keep his way pure?”

            The word choice probably derives from the heavy wisdom influence in the psalm. Formal wisdom teachers expected to have only male students. Wisdom texts like the book of Proverbs routinely addressed young men, referring to their readers with words like “my son.” The teachers warned them to avoid the wiles of women who might tempt them to go astray, but to follow the righteous teaching of “Lady Wisdom” instead.

            How can young people (or older people, for that matter) keep their way pure? “By guarding it according to your word” (v. 9b), according to the psalmist. Like a guardrail beside a steep mountain road, God’s teaching protects devoted followers from falling into danger and keeps them on the right path.

Repeated references to God’s “word” (dābar) are used in Psalm 119 to magnify God’s good teaching. Readers should be careful not to confuse the expression with the Bible, often described as “God’s word.” The Bible is a witness to God’s teaching and revelation, but only the most ardent literalist would claim that every word in scripture was spoken by God.

            When the psalmist wrote, the Bible did not yet exist, though it’s likely that the Torah, or Pentateuch, had been completed. The author knew of many laws, commands, precepts, statutes, decrees, or ordinances traditionally attributed to God. Such teachings could be thought of as aspects of “God’s word,” but God’s word could not be confined to a written document.

            In scripture, the notion of a direct word from God was typically associated with the prophets, who often claimed to have received revelations from God, often beginning their oracles with expressions such as “Thus says the LORD,” or “The LORD said.” They sometimes conclude with “word of the LORD.”

            The poet was committed to the narrow path of God’s way: “With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments. I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you” (vv. 10-11).

            It was the heart, not the head, that the Hebrews identified with volition and decision-making. Note how two consecutive verses draw upon the image of the heart, first as the active desire to seek God’s way, then as the repository of God’s teachings. Devotion to God’s way in both memory and action, he believed, would keep the devout away from sin and on the right path.

            When the familiar challenge of Deut. 6:5 to “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” was quoted in the New Testament, writers added “and all your mind,” because Greek thought associated volition with the mind (Matt. 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). For the Hebrews, it was in the heart.

A blessing

vv. 12-13

The Hebrew verb meaning “to bless” is bārak, so it is not surprising that the poet chose to begin the fourth verse of this section with “Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes” (v. 12).

            The psalmist was so determined to grow in faith and knowledge that even his praises included a prayer for divine help in absorbing whatever teaching God had to offer. The words of blessing are likewise conjoined with his desire to pass on what he had learned: “With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth” (v. 13).

            The psalmist was not content to limit his efforts to personal righteousness. He also saw himself as a teacher who was called to point others in the right direction so they also could live productive lives and experience God’s blessings.

            The writer understood, as we should, that we can hardly influence others for good unless we set a positive example through our own living. We know how the cause of Christ suffers when pastors or other Christian leaders get caught up in scandal—or when politicians set oppressive policies or impinge on human rights in the name of “Christian values.” God’s teaching has an inherent focus on justice, and God’s followers care called to pursue it.

A promise

vv. 14-16

The remainder of the bet section of Psalm 119 is devoted to further asseverations of devotion, prayerful statements designed both to please God and to challenge others who would hear or read his prayer.

            Following God’s way was not a burden or an obligation for the poet, but a joy: “I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches” (v. 14). Those of us who are deeply ensconced in our materialistic society would do well to ponder that thought. We can imagine the delight that accompanies wealth and the good things it can bring, but can we join the psalmist in celebrating God’s teaching as a treasure trove of resources to promote a truly good life?

            Growing closer to God and learning from God takes both time and intention. “I will meditate on your precepts,” the psalmist said, “and fix my eyes on your ways” (v. 15). The poet claimed to have a one-track mind, one devoted only to God and God’s way.

            That kind of devotion might lead to a convent or monastery, we think, but even there, nuns or monks must attend to the everyday business such as cooking, cleaning, and relationships. The psalmist, no doubt, also had other things to think about. He probably had a family to love and would have spent time earning income. He would have had friends to care for and errands to run. Still, amid the busyness of daily life, he never forgot his overarching desire to know and serve God rightly.

            The closing verse recalls earlier imagery as the bet section comes to an end: “I will delight in your statues; I will not forget your word” (v. 16).

            Most of us know how easy it is to turn our focus away from God’s way, if not to forget it altogether. Other things and other people demand our attention. As we seek both pleasure and profit in life, however, we may come to realize that they mean little without a deeper sense of connection to the life God wants us to live.

To live in a way that honors God and cares for others—that is what God calls people of every age to do. It may not be as easy as ABC, but we have to start somewhere.