Psalm 119 is the giant of all psalms, and each verse is about the word of the Lord. If the Bible had a theme song (a really long theme song), this would be it. Specifically, it is a song and prayer of someone who delights in the Word. Charles Spurgeon once said that this psalm could be called “the holy soul’s soliloquy before an open Bible.”
The psalmist chooses to begin his great psalm with this benediction:
Psalm 119:1 ESV, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!”
Those who have been transformed by the Word delight in the Word.
“Blessed are those…who walk in the law of the LORD.” You can hear the joy in his voice when he penned that word. Blessed! The original word is plural, so we get the picture of many blessings spilling out and over from the first verse. The psalmist is so thrilled about God’s law that he regards it as highest form of blessedness to be conformed and shaped by it. You might even hear the echoes of Psalm 1:
Psalm 1:1-2 ESV, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Do you hear the joy in the psalmist’s voice? A life in the Word is not cold and dry. It is joyful!
What about you? Does God’s word bring you joy? Are you enamored by it?
Where is your delight? Do you place it in creation? Or do you place it in the Creator and His Word?
For the psalmist, delight in God’s Word anticipated delight in God’s Christ. After all, the Word of the Law not only guides God’s people, but it prefigures Christ Jesus, who Himself is the very Word of God (John 1:1). If you delight in the Word, then you will delight in Jesus; if you delight in Jesus, then you will delight in the Word.
Curiously, the verse itself is actually a benediction (the pronouncement of a blessing), just like the first verse in the Sermon on the Mount. We should begin each day with a benediction like this, reminding our weary souls that the truest notion of joy and blessedness is found in conformity to God’s words.
Chris is a Christian, husband to Alyssa, works as Executive Director of The Gospel for OC and Writer and Editor at Blue Letter Bible. Chris and his wife Alyssa worship and serve at Reverence Bible Church in Mission Viejo, California. He is the author of The Two Fears: Tremble Before God Alone.
