1/ Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the LORD.
2/ Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart.
3/ They do no wrong; they walk in God's ways.
4/ You have given them the command to keep your precepts with care.
5/ May my ways be firm in the observance of your laws!
6/ Then I will not be ashamed to ponder all your commands.
7/ I will praise you with sincere heart as I study your just edicts.
8/ I will keep your laws; do not leave me all alone.
This psalm may be considered as the statement of a believer's experience. As far as our views, desires, and affections agree with what is here expressed, they come from the influences of the Holy Spirit, and no further.
The pardoning mercy of God in Christ, is the only source of a sinner's happiness.
And those are most happy, who are preserved most free from the defilement of sin, who simply believe God's testimonies, and depend on his promises.
If the heart be divided between him and the world, it is evil. But the saints carefully avoid all sin; they are conscious of much evil that clogs them in the ways of God, but not of that wickedness which draws them out of those ways. The tempter would make men think they are at them out of those ways. The tempter would make men think they are at liberty to follow the word of God or not, as they please.
But the desire and prayer of a good man agree with the will and command of God. If a man expects by obedience in one thing to purchase indulgence for disobedience in others, his hypocrisy will be detected; if he is not ashamed in this world, everlasting shame will be his portion. The psalmist coveted to learn the laws of God, to give God the glory. And believers see that if God forsakes them, the temper will be too hard for them.
This psalm, the longest by far in the psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others' fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law's consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. Several expected elements do not appear in the psalm: Mount Sinai with its story of God's revelation and gift to Israel of instruction and commandments, the temple and other institutions related to revelation and laws (frequent in other psalms).
The psalm is fascinated with God's word directing and guiding human life. The poem is an acrostic; its twenty-two stanzas (of eight verses each) are in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within a stanza begins with the same letter. Each verse contains one word for "instruction." The translation here given attempts to translate each Hebrew word for "instruction" with the same English word. There are, however, nine words for "instruction," not eight, so the principle of a different word for "instruction" in each verse cannot be maintained with perfect consistency. The nine words for "instruction" in the translation are: law, edict, command, precept, word, utterance, way, decree, and teaching.
1 comment:
Yes, I can REJOICE when I KNOW that I AM on THE PATH, and AM coming closer, closer, ever closer to whom *GOD* intended me to be, and AM! It IS the negative influences of this world, our errs, lack, and sins that bind us, defeat us, hinder us, and take our happiness away, and so, the closer we come to *GOD*, HIS WILL, and HIS WAYS, happiness is natural, and empowering! It is a happiness that stems from deep down, and IS a part of that LIGHT we reflect, though, I, personally, do not think that one has to smile all the time to be that reflection, it goes much deeper than that:))) Happiness of the righteous kind is synonymous with the PEACE which CHRIST gives us, and with LOVE...
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