Psalm 119 - Striving for righteousness
Psalm is looooong. But it’s all about righteousness, though the actual word is only used twice in all of its 176 verses…
‘ Aleph
 1 [a] Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
      who walk according to the law of the LORD.
 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
      and seek him with all their heart.
 3 They do nothing wrong;
      they walk in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts
      that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
      in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame
      when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart
      as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees;
      do not utterly forsake me.
Aleph talks refers to the obedience that makes one righteous. The writer knows how imperfect he is, and how the perfect the law requires one to be. However, he tries. Notice something… he will praise God with an upright heart, despite his failure in living up to the law. However, the man who prays this is righteous, for while his obedience is not completely in line with the law, the obedience he does is righteousness. Therefore, his prayer that God not utterly forsake him will be answered.
b Beth
 9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
      By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart;
      do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart
      that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
      teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount
      all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes
      as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts
      and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees;
      I will not neglect your word.
Beth now talks about purity, which as we’ve learned recently is another ingredient of righteousness. It is through purity that you can show zealousness for God’s honor, which is credited to you as righteousness. And how does one stay pure? “By living according to your word.”
g Gimel
 17 Do good to your servant, and I will live;
      I will obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see
      wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth;
      do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing
      for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed
      and who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me scorn and contempt,
      for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
      your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight;
      they are my counselors
Gimel is a confirmation of belief, the third ingredient of righteousness, and a necessary precursor of obedience and purity in God. Skipping down a bit…
 40 How I long for your precepts!
      Preserve my life in your righteousness
Belief is credited as righteousness. Obedience is righteousness. Purity out of zealousness for God’s honor is credited as righteousness. Because all of this righteousness is credited to us by God, when we live in righteousness, it is in His righteousness we live… and He preserves our lives in it.
 47 for I delight in your commands
      because I love them.
Do you love God so much, that you even love His commands? Consider this, His commands are His Word, and His Word is Jesus. So, what was your answer?
 97 Oh, how I love your law!
      I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
      for they are ever with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
      for I meditate on your statutes.
This is comforting. That probably sounds weird. Why comforting? Because it confirms what Jesus said, that we will be known by our fruits. That is what this says. I want to be known by my fruits, and obedience to God and studying His word is a path to that. However, I must not long for such out of arrogance or desire for recognition in its own right, for that perverses God’s purpose for me. Such an attitude puts me at the center of God’s acts, when God should be at the center of mine, with me a willing and joyous tool of the Almighty. It is that joy in Him that tells me, in part, where I’m at, and I thank Him for it.
 119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
      therefore I love your statutes.
Another one of those verses that Christians like to pretend does not exist. So, here is some perspective… what is more important, the life of a man or purity in God? The answer according to Psalm 106 and the story of Phinehas: purity in God. It is why Adam and Eve were banished, why Noah had to build an Ark, why Abram was separated from the world, why the Egyptians died in the Red Sea, why the Israelites wandered the desert and endured plagues for 40 years, and so on. Finally, it is why Christ came to die, because purity in God was the most important thing He could give us… but not everyone accepts that, and not everyone realizes that back in King David’s time, one had to guard themselves against all impurity, lest people fall away from God… a fate worse than death. It is becoming so again, but this time around we are to show God’s love among the unfaithful and not kill them… our direction from God has changed a bit (in the world, but not of the world), but the reason for His direction remains unchanged… valuing His purity, and now we have Jesus to keep us pure in the midst of spiritual wolves… something the Law did not do… making it safer to avoid and even kill the wolves back then. Even now in certain parts of the world, that may still be the righteous choice, but only if it is in obedience to God.
 131 I open my mouth and pant,
      longing for your commands
…like a puppy dog. 
 139 My zeal wears me out,
      for my enemies ignore your words.
Righteousness is not easy. Therefore what?
 142 Your righteousness is everlasting
      and your law is true. 143 Trouble and distress have come upon me,
      but your commands are my delight
Exactly. I’m not saying I live this perfectly… but heart pushes for me to.
 150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
      but they are far from your law. 151 Yet you are near, O LORD,
      and all your commands are true 152 Long ago I learned from your statutes
      that you established them to last forever
Jesus.
 167 I obey your statutes,
      for I love them greatly.
Because His law is written on our hearts!
Â