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The Law of the Lord
Psalm 119.1-8
Good News Translation (GNT)
1 Happy are those whose lives are faultless,
who live according to the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who follow his commands,
who obey him with all their heart.
3 They never do wrong;
they walk in the Lord's ways.
4 Lord, you have given us your laws
and told us to obey them faithfully.
5 How I hope that I shall be faithful in keeping
your instructions!
6 If I pay attention to all your commands,
then I will not be put to shame.
7 As I learn your righteous judgments,
I will praise you with a pure heart.
8 I will obey your laws; never abandon me!
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Commentary taken from from the
'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
Scripture Union'
'The Law of the Lord'
Psalm 119.1-8
We are called to follow the Lord, walking in his ways, rejoicing in doing his will, playing our part in making a better world.
This psalm is a very long hymn, praising the law of the Lord, and at the same time it's a prayer that we will seek to learn and inwardly digest all his precepts and commands so that we are obedient disciples in every part of our lives.
The psalmist is honest about even our best endeavours - 'Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying' (v 5).
I will obey; don't give up on me!
How do we learn the way to live ethically?
How do new Christians learn to make judgements about right and wrong, good and bad?
Which commands, what laws, where do I find them?
The first answer is that we need to know our Bibles well enough to extract guidance on the whole range of issues that come up in daily life;
medical ethics, use of money, environmental issues, sex and marriage, and much more.
I became a Christian in the mid-1950s and, in a Bible class, my first taste of laws to live by included no make-up, no dancing or cinema, don't read novels on Sunday!
The Bible is so rich and glorious in the way it teaches us - lists of virtues, laws and proverbs, parables and prophetic challenge.
It is not a manual of maintenance, a list of dos and don'ts.
The Lord expects us to think things through, to work out what texts mean, to ask whether new contexts change the meaning.
We are told, for example, not to reap to the edges of our fields, but to leave the gleanings for the poor and the alien (Leviticus 19:9,10).
Sounds good, but how do we apply it to our resources today?
Margaret Killingray
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