They delight our soul and carry us along our way. Psalm 119.54
Psalm 119.49-56 (5)
Pray Psalm 119.54.
Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
Sing Psalm 119.53, 54.
(Wycliff: All for Jesus)
Indignation grips me, Savior, for those who forsake Your Word.
All Your statutes, all Your favor, I will sing with joy, O Lord!
Read Psalm 119.49-56; meditate on verse 54.
Preparation
1. How did the psalmist regard God’s statutes?
2. When did he do this?
Meditation
A literal translation of the first part of this verse would be “Your statutes were songs to me…” That’s a bit different from saying, as the NKJV has it, “Your statutes have been my songs.” That would imply that the psalmist sang the statutes of the Lord, but, unless he was including the psalms or the Song of Moses (Deut. 32) in that singing, this would be perhaps the only indication in Scripture of singing the Law of God per se.
My sense is rather that he so delighted in the Law, and found it to be such a source of comfort (vv. 50, 52), that thinking and meditating on it, as well as living out its teachings, were like singing to him. He was engaged both soul and body, thoughts and affections, and in a deeply personal manner – and he enjoyed it. Such engagement with the Law of God led him to sing – such as whatever he may have intended as melodies for Psalm 119.
And why not? As we grow to see how much love, understanding, wisdom, and foresight the Law contains; as we understand the blessings and promises it entails, and the glory it reveals; and as we see in God’s Law Jesus in His glory, looking upon us with love, we will love the Law like singing, too. And for the work of your Personal Mission Field and the entirety of your journey through life – “the house of my pilgrimage.”
Let the Law of God be like songs to you, and you will remember and be blessed by it continuously.
Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
A song of joy wells up in my heart when I think about God’s Laws; and how everything He does is done decently and in order. How He created the world, how He saves us, and how He loves us. My heart overflows! “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King;
my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Ps.45.1). A personal love song to the Lord.
The joy we feel as believers is a gift from God. He gives us the gift; He gives us the joy. “He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and I will trust in the LORD” (Ps. 40.3).
They fear because it is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1.7); and we are blessed because expression deepens impression so the more we trust Him and sing our song to Him, the more we trust Him.
We have our song, that fills our life, on our pilgrimage, through our Personal Mission Field. And we sing our song of praise each time we thank God and obey Him.
Songs are often sung antiphonally with alternate singing by two choirs or singers. And that is what happens between us and God. We sing to Him, and He sings back to us.
“The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph.3.17).
Does it get any better than that?
Singing together with the Lord on the journey.
For reflection
1. How can the Law of God be like “songs” to us?
2. How is it helpful to think of our life in Jesus as a journey? Where are we headed? What guides our way?
3. How can you encourage your fellow believers to enjoy the Law as a song along their way in life?
Singing is an indication of joy. The saints are pilgrims in this world, and must be regarded as God’s children and heirs of heaven, from the fact that they are sojourners on earth. By the house of their pilgrimage, then, may be understood their journey through life. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Psalm 119.54
Pray Psalm 119.49-52.
Remember that God remembers His Law, and that He calls on you to remember it, too. What can you do to strengthen your remembrance of God’s Law today? How about singing these verses over and over?
Sing Psalm 119.49-52.
(Wycliff: All for Jesus)
Lord, remember all the good Word You have spoken unto me!
For I ever hope in You, Lord, as I serve You joyfully.
This my comfort in affliction, this my comfort in all strife:
that Your Word is my redemption, giving me eternal life!
Though the proud deride and taunt me, I will trust Your faithful Word.
Let Your judgments from of old be all my comfort, holy Lord.
T. M. and Susie Moore
You can listen to a summary of last week’s Scriptorium study by going to our website, www.ailbe.org, and clicking the Scriptorium tab for last Sunday. You can download any or all the studies in this series on Psalm 119 by clicking here.
What is the Law of God and how should we learn and obey it? Two books can help. The Law of God arranges the statutes and precepts of God’s Law under their appropriate number of the Ten Commandments. This book is an excellent tool for meditating on God’s Law and thinking about its application in our time. The Ground for Christian Ethics, on the other hand, explains why the Law matters and how we are to use it. You can order free copies of each of these here and here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.
