Psalm 119: Zayin

The writer takes a radical turn in this Psalm.  Personally, the word rage triggered me a bit as I have felt rage many times for many reasons over my lifetime.  If I am honest, however, it has never been about people forsaking God’s Law.  I might have felt ashamed, discouraged, or disappointed in myself sometimes for recognizing when I don’t follow His Law.  But, in modern Christianity, we tend to downplay the importance of God’s Law in this sense because, “Hey, Christ fulfilled the Law, so we don’t have to worry about it!”  Right?  WRONG!

We’ve already discussed that this is a false narrative, so I won’t go down that road again.  However, Jesus did simplify the Law for us so it is easier for us to remember how to follow His Law in Matthew 22:

37 And he said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

If we consider this in light of Psalm 119: Zayin, it might look a lot different! Do we get angry when people don’t love God or others?  Has this concept of loving God and others been our “song along the journey”?  Has it preserved our lives and given us comfort when others persecute or deride us?  Does it cause us hope? Does it give us comfort?  If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” (as is the case for myself) then we must also ask the question: why not?

When we consider what it means to “keep God’s precepts,” we must realize it isn’t necessarily about following rules but that His Word becomes flesh in us.  We must ingest, process, and allow it to become part of us!  If we create a list of rules it is just behavior modification, not the changing of our hearts.  What we read in this stanza of Psalm 119 is a litmus test or rather a heart check to help us evaluate how close we are to God and how seriously we take His Word. Jesus said in Matthew 5:

Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be satisfied.

The psalmist reveals that God’s Word causes us to hope, preserves life, comforts us, and even causes us to sing with joy amidst hardship!

Lord, help us to rely on Your Word in a way that it becomes what we cling to in times of trouble.  Create in us a desire to know Your Word more so that it may become flesh in us.  Your Word is truth, a salve for our wounds, resolution for our brokenness, light in the darkness, a guide for our path, and hope in a hopeless world.  May Your Word drive us closer to You in a way we have never known before!  We want to know You intimately.  Your Word teaches us your heart, that we may grow closer to You and relate better to You.  Help us to hunger and thirst for Your righteousness!