BIG IDEA:
OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD IS THE PATHWAY TO BLESSING
INTRODUCTION:
Each of these 8-verse stanzas is focused around a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet = an acrostic format. This is the ALEPH stanza with each verse beginning with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
This stanza is a nice general introduction to the themes of the entire psalm.
I. THE PURPOSE OF REVELATION
look at the different terms used for the Word of God:
A. (:1) His law (torah) (“direction, instruction” – Brown, Driver, Briggs)
Zemek: “it depicts God’s special revelation as a gracious gift which points out or shows the way through life’s twisted highways and byways.”
B. (:2) His testimonies (edat)
Zemek: (from Girdlestone) “the law of God is His testimony, because it is His own affirmation concerning His nature, attributes, and consequent demands.”
Zemek: “The Word of God as ‘testimonies’ emphasizes both the authority of their source in the Lord and the accountability of their reception by men.”
C. (:3) His ways
D. (:4) His precepts (piqqudim)
Zemek: (from Eddleman) “oral or written declarations as to what he expects of man. The original meaning carries the idea of fix, appoint, designate; here is an intimation of the sovereignty of Yahweh… man must submit to it or suffer the consequences.”
E. (:5,8) His statutes (hoq / huqqa)
Zemek: (from Scroggie) “’This word comes from a root which means to hew, cut in, engrave, inscribe; and so comes to mean what is ordained, decreed, prescribed, enacted.’ The common denominator is revelational and applicational indelibility …” Preserved and binding for all time
F. (:6) His commandments (miswa)
Zemek: “from a root meaning to set up or appoint … emphasizes … the right to give orders”
G. (:7) His righteous judgments (mispat)
Zemek: Relates to “rules of righteous administation”
II. THE PRIORITY AND PRACTICALITY OF OBEDIENCE
look at the different responses to the Word of God:
(look at the different verbs used)
A. (:1) Walking in obedience = blameless
B. (:2) Observing His Word = “seeking Him with all their heart “
C. (:3) “Do no unrighteousness” = “walk in His ways”
D. (:4) Keep His Word Diligently
this is the purpose for which God has ordained His precepts
E. (:5,8) Keep His Statutes
requires Grace of God — “Oh that my ways may be established!”
F. (:6) Look Upon All His Commandments
(not just those commandments we find appealing)
G. (:7) Learn His Word
III. THE PROSPECT OF BLESSING
A. Prosperity: “How blessed are those …” (:1,2)
B. Confidence: “Then I shall not be ashamed” (:6)
C. Thanksgiving: “I shall give thanks to Thee” (:7)
D. Contrast — Opposite Prospect: “Do not forsake me utterly!” (:8)
Obedience and its associated blessing dependent on God’s continued presence and grace.
Leupold: “no smug self-righteousness here.”
He has promised never to leave us or forsake us