This is the first in a series of articles on Psalm 119.
The entire series includes:
Then they sinned.
Although it is God's desire to bless us, He is holy and cannot bless disobedience.
Thereafter nearly every time the word blessed is used in scripture, it is directed toward those who love and obey God.
God can certainly bless us with material things, but the word itself deals with the spiritual - hallowed, sacred, consecrated, holy, and bringing comfort or joy.
The very first psalm describes the blessed man as one whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night.
In Matthew 5-7, Jesus did what this psalmist asked: He teaches the law of God to His disciples and describes how God blesses a godly character.
Character does not define what you do, but who you are.
These are not natural characteristics of every man.
They are produced by the grace of God and are exclusive to the person who seeks after God - a person who is spiritually blessed.
The mother of Jesus was blessed because of her obedience.
He tells His disciples (Matthew 13:16), "Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear".
He tells Thomas (John 20:29), "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
" "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin" (Romans 4:8).
What does it mean to have the blessing of God on your life? Check out Psalm 119 for some answers.
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways" (verses 1-3).
The psalmist wants the blessing of God.
In the first three verses, he speaks of "those" and "they" stating a general principle.
In verse four, he changed from speaking of God as "the Lord" and "Him" and begins his prayers with, "You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.
" Starting with verse five until the end of the psalm, his prayer is very personal using pronouns "You", "Your", "I", "me" and "my" - pledging to God the commitment of his heart.
We learn about God through His word - His Son Jesus Christ, the Living Word and His written word, the Bible.
The disciple of Psalm 119 realizes the importance of God's words expressed in His precepts, testimonies, laws, commandments, judgments and statutes.
There are many things revealed about God's nature in this psalm.
He is blessed, good and righteous.
God's word is settled in heaven.
His faithfulness endures to all generations.
He established the earth and it stands.
His righteousness is everlasting.
His testimonies have been founded forever.
Men can look around them and see God's creation and should recognize His creative genius and power and worship Him (Romans 1:20-21).
Many don't, though, because they do not relate to Him as a personal God.
The Creator to them is distant and not accessible.
I can know many things about someone else.
I can study his life and his accomplishments, but unless and until I have a personal relationship with that person, there are things about him I will never discover.
For instance, the first American president I remember was Dwight D.
Eisenhower, a five star Army General in WW II who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.
He became President in 1953 and served until 1961.
I respected and admired him, but I didn't know him personally.
Although my father also served in that war, he was known by few people outside his family.
However, I knew him as no one else knew him.
He introduced me to Christ and loved me.
When he died at age 90, I knew I was the one he wanted with him.
That made all the difference.
My personal relationship with my father had a larger impact on my life than knowing everything I could ever learn about President Eisenhower.
You may be sure that God is sovereign, good and righteous and that His Son died so that whoever would believe on Him would become a child of His.
Many people know this about God but they don't know God.
Until you come to understand that He loves you personally, you will never feel blessed.
In turn, you will not be able to bless others if you don't have the assurance in your life that God is personally interested in you.
The entire series includes:
- Psalm 119:The Blessed Disciple
- The Disciple's Personal Blessing: 7 Truths in Psalm 119
- Psalm 119: The Disciple's Path: Walk in His Ways
- Psalm 119: Making a Lifelong Choice
- 6 Discoveries in the Disciple's Journey from Psalm 119
- The Disciple's Prayers: 10 Examples from Psalm 119
- Personal Reflections From Psalm 119
Then they sinned.
Although it is God's desire to bless us, He is holy and cannot bless disobedience.
Thereafter nearly every time the word blessed is used in scripture, it is directed toward those who love and obey God.
God can certainly bless us with material things, but the word itself deals with the spiritual - hallowed, sacred, consecrated, holy, and bringing comfort or joy.
The very first psalm describes the blessed man as one whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night.
In Matthew 5-7, Jesus did what this psalmist asked: He teaches the law of God to His disciples and describes how God blesses a godly character.
Character does not define what you do, but who you are.
These are not natural characteristics of every man.
They are produced by the grace of God and are exclusive to the person who seeks after God - a person who is spiritually blessed.
The mother of Jesus was blessed because of her obedience.
He tells His disciples (Matthew 13:16), "Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear".
He tells Thomas (John 20:29), "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
" "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin" (Romans 4:8).
What does it mean to have the blessing of God on your life? Check out Psalm 119 for some answers.
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways" (verses 1-3).
The psalmist wants the blessing of God.
In the first three verses, he speaks of "those" and "they" stating a general principle.
In verse four, he changed from speaking of God as "the Lord" and "Him" and begins his prayers with, "You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.
" Starting with verse five until the end of the psalm, his prayer is very personal using pronouns "You", "Your", "I", "me" and "my" - pledging to God the commitment of his heart.
We learn about God through His word - His Son Jesus Christ, the Living Word and His written word, the Bible.
The disciple of Psalm 119 realizes the importance of God's words expressed in His precepts, testimonies, laws, commandments, judgments and statutes.
There are many things revealed about God's nature in this psalm.
He is blessed, good and righteous.
God's word is settled in heaven.
His faithfulness endures to all generations.
He established the earth and it stands.
His righteousness is everlasting.
His testimonies have been founded forever.
Men can look around them and see God's creation and should recognize His creative genius and power and worship Him (Romans 1:20-21).
Many don't, though, because they do not relate to Him as a personal God.
The Creator to them is distant and not accessible.
I can know many things about someone else.
I can study his life and his accomplishments, but unless and until I have a personal relationship with that person, there are things about him I will never discover.
For instance, the first American president I remember was Dwight D.
Eisenhower, a five star Army General in WW II who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.
He became President in 1953 and served until 1961.
I respected and admired him, but I didn't know him personally.
Although my father also served in that war, he was known by few people outside his family.
However, I knew him as no one else knew him.
He introduced me to Christ and loved me.
When he died at age 90, I knew I was the one he wanted with him.
That made all the difference.
My personal relationship with my father had a larger impact on my life than knowing everything I could ever learn about President Eisenhower.
You may be sure that God is sovereign, good and righteous and that His Son died so that whoever would believe on Him would become a child of His.
Many people know this about God but they don't know God.
Until you come to understand that He loves you personally, you will never feel blessed.
In turn, you will not be able to bless others if you don't have the assurance in your life that God is personally interested in you.
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