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Psalm 119:1

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless We already have a mind-blowing statement! As we have seen before, to be blessed means so much more than to be happy. The “blessed” are those who do God’s will and who obey His laws. Some folk think that to be blessed means to be healthy and wealthy but it is so much more. You can be blessed and poor, you can be blessed and be sick, the truly blessed are those who live under the protective care of the Lord, who are guarded by Him and have complete trust in His will and His ways. The blessed are able to praise God in all situations because they know that He is in control, and He will care for them.  Is it possible to be completely blameless before this God? No, but we can seek to obey Him and to walk as close to Him as is possible. This verse suggests that it is those who “ walk according to the law of the Lord ” who are the blameless. The Hebrew word for law here is “torah”, in other words, all the covenant instructions and directiv
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Psalm 119 Introduction

Psalm 118 Introduction This is the longest of the Psalms, it is also the longest chapter in the Bible, as opposed to Palm 117 which was the shortest Psalm and the shortest chapter! There are 176 verses in this Psalm which means that, if we take it verse by verse, every day, it is going to take nearly half a year to get through it!  So, what is the point of the Psalm? The point is that it is a celebration of the Word of God. The Bible is the only book that humanity owns, that is written by a God, correction, by The God. It is therefore right and proper that we have a sizeable chunk of Scripture that explains that to us, and that correctly values and explains the sacred truth that God has spoken. We do not know the human author’s name, we don’t need to, these words came from the Lord and are given to instruct us in godliness and the right approach to the study of the Word of God. As we meditate on these verses, we will obtain a correct view of God’s discipline as well as His blessing. We
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Psalm 118:28-29

Psalm 118:28-29 The Highway of Praise We come back to the king whose observations occupied the first 21 verses of this Psalm. The crowds have finished their celebrations and now their leader ends the Psalm with a few final thoughts of his own.  “You are my God and I will praise You; You are my God, and I will exalt You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever .”  The Psalm ends as it started, with thanksgiving to the Lord, He is good; His love endures forever.  It would do us well to learn these words and then repeat them over and over. When darkness and depression or sadness overwhelm us. When enemy attacks seem unrelenting and very painful, and we seem to be surrounded by opposing forces and our faith is taking a battering. When relationships come to an end, or those we trusted let us down. When personal illness or sickness in others threatens our stability. When financial or work pressures build. In all these things we need to recognise that our God is with
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Psalm 118:27

Psalm 118:27 He has made His light shine on us Do you remember the Priestly Benediction that was re-enacted on countless occasions over the people who gathered at the Temple?  “May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:25. No doubt these very familiar words were in the people’s minds as they saw a direct fulfilment in their own time and they could say,  “He has made His light shine on us.” Now we have, once again, an insight into the events that unfolded in Jerusalem on the day of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. The crowds cut down tree branches, including palms, and waved them before the Lord who sat astride that lowly donkey. This is called a “festal procession” suggesting that it was carried out at a time of feasting and national celebration. Interestingly, the waving of branches accompanied the Feast of Tabernacles, in autumn, whereas the branches that were waved b
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Psalm 118:26

Psalm 118:26 Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord These words were what followed the “Hosannas” as the people exalted Jesus on His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The crowds were not making up their songs and shouts of acclamation, they were quoting from this Psalm. Remember, it was very well known, as the concluding part to the “Hallel” it was quoted countless times by the Israelites, in their homes, in their community gatherings and during their visits to the Temple.  As we have seen the writer of the Psalm was surrounded by enemies, but he had managed to cut them down. (V10-12.) He had faced the reality of death, but the Lord had saved him. (v17-18.) His personal experience had been extremely frightening, and at times, he had feared for his life. But the Lord God had brought him through and now the crowds were celebrating his victory and exalting him as the one who had come  “in the name of the Lord!”  They too understood that their recent victories had only been achieve
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Psalm 118:24-25

Psalm 118:24-25 Lord save us! I think that we can read into these verses that they describe a special celebration day, being held to give thanks to the Lord for the victory of his people over their enemies. Some commentators wonder if the day referred to was Passover or the Feast of Tabernacles? We can’t know for sure when the event took place, but what is certain is that the crowds had gathered at the house of the Lord to sing and give Him praise for their deliverance. And there is no question as to the instigator of their victory, it was the Lord. It is so sad to see the Jews currently facing enemy oppression from every side, to hear about the casualties of war and yet there seems to be no one in the leadership of the country who will acknowledge the Lord God and ask for His help to defend themselves. If they did this, the bloodshed might well be avoided, and victory might well be swift and permanent. “Lord save us” is of course “Hosanna” in Hebrew. It was these words that were shout
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Psalm 118:22-23

Psalm 118:22-23 He has become the cornerstone The singer of this Psalm comes to an end of his personal tributes to the Lord and gives way here to the wider community, his people joining in with their own exaltations. The first of these is a familiar refrain repeated in Matthew, Mark and Luke when Jesus applied it to Himself. (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17.) Peter quoted these words in his defence before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:11. He must have had a special affinity with Psalm 118:22 because he repeats the words in 1 Peter 2:7-8. Finally, Paul alludes to them in Ephesians 2:19-22 when he talks about the spiritual building that is the church. So, what do they mean? What was the psalmist trying to convey here? In the context of the Psalm, it could be that the beleaguered king, who had just poured out his heartfelt woes and recognised how close he had come to death, was the stone that the other nations rejected. Perhaps he had been rejected by some of his own people too? Equall
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