salmo 119 Sâmeq : choose your companion

 In Psalm 119: 113-120 we read:

I hate the two-faced,

    but I love your clear-cut revelation.

You’re my place of quiet retreat;

    I wait for your Word to renew me.

Get out of my life, evildoers,

    so I can keep my God’s commands.

Depending on our companies, we find war and anguish. The psalmist hates two-faced people. They are inconstant and untrustworthy. The evildoers block us to keep God's commands. It is good to be with the Lord's people.

I need peace and rest that only the Lord can provide me because He is my retreat. 

Psalm 119 nun: beam of light

In Psalm 119:105-112, we read:

By your words I can see where I’m going;

    they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back

    from living by your righteous order.

The Word of the Lord helps me to take decisions. Sometimes I feel that my wife doesn't treat me properly. If I were an independent guy, taking my own decisions, it is very likely that this marriage were over; however, when I pray for my marriage to the Lord, I understand that I must be patient and a blessing to my wife and children. The Word throw a beam of light on my dark path. It certainly makes me wiser.

However, as a Christian, I am not immune to problems. The psalmist says:

Everything’s falling apart on me, God;

put me together again with your Word.

This is what I sometimes face in my marriage: "Everything’s falling apart on me, God", but He has been "put me together again with your Word".

Psalm 119 Mem - empowered by the Word

 In Psalm 119, we read:

Your commands give me an edge on my enemies;

    they never become obsolete.

I’ve even become smarter than my teachers

    since I’ve pondered and absorbed your counsel.

I’ve become wiser than the wise old sages

    simply by doing what you tell me.

The psalmist has an edge on his enemies, become smarter than his teachers and wiser than old sages because he not only meditates on the Word but also obeys. The Word elevates those who are humble to learn from it.    

Psalm 119 Lamed : the wonderful Word is personal

 In Psalm 119 Lamed 89-96, we read:

What you say goes, God,

    and stays, as permanent as the heavens.

Your truth never goes out of fashion;

    it’s as relevant as the earth when the sun comes up.

Your Word and truth are dependable as ever;

    that’s what you ordered—you set the earth going.

In contrast, I say many things that are silly and irrelevant. The Lord says things that never go out of style. I think the "law of gravity" or the "law that explains electromagnetic fields" was said by the Lord. The Lord commands the principles that govern the Universe.

Despite this, it is wonderful that the Lord draws close to us, especially to me. The psalmist says:

If your revelation hadn’t delighted me so,

    I would have given up when the hard times came.

But I’ll never forget the advice you gave me;

    you saved my life with those wise words.

Save me! I’m all yours.

    I look high and low for your words of wisdom.

The psalmist clung to the principles of the Word of the Lord and was able to endure difficult times: perhaps some kind of bullying or illness.

    

Psalm 119 Caf : Tormentors

 I was bullied. I was told it was funny for others when the bullies surrounded me to scorn me. The psalmist must be in a similar position. He prays to the Lord asking for his deliverance. He asks the Lord:

84 How long do I have to put up with all this?

    How long till you haul my tormentors into court?

He makes a promise to the Lord:

88 In your great love revive me

    so I can alertly obey your every word.

Psalm 119 Iode - righteous father

 In Psalm 119, we read:

75 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right and righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

I remember very vaguely that a boy was angry with his father because he didn't discipline him when it was appropriate. The psalmist, on the other hand, understood that the Lord is just because he disciplined the psalmist.

Psalm119 Tet: Suffering and repentance

 In Psalm 119, we read:

67 Before you made me suffer, I used to wander off,

    but now I hold on to your word.

The psalmist was following his ways and the Lord made him suffer. In his suffering, he decided to hold to the word of the Lord.

Despite suffering, he saw how the Lord is good:

71 It was good that I had to suffer

    in order to learn your laws.

He understood how precious is the Word:

72 The teachings that come from your mouth are worth more to me

    than thousands in gold or silver.

psalm 119: friend to everyone who follows Jesus

 In Psalm 119 we read:

61 Though the ropes of wicked people are tied around me,

    I never forget your teachings.

I live very influenced by the worldly way of thinking. For instance: there is a movement called FIRE (Financial Independence and Retire Early), same sex marriage, etc. Certainly the ropes of wicked people are tied around me. However, as I constantly meditate on word of the Lord, I never forget his teachings.

63 I am a friend to everyone who fears you

    and to everyone who follows your guiding principles.

It is very interesting that I am a friend of people I would normally be a friend due to social status, race, education, etc. In a church, I learn to be a friend of everyone who fears the Lord.

psalm 119 Zain: the Lord promises

 In Psalm 119, we read:

49-50 Remember what you said to me, your servant—

    I hang on to these words for dear life!

These words hold me up in bad times;

    yes, your promises rejuvenate me.

I am retired. I don't have anything related to my ex job, thus, I don't belong to it anymore, but I belong to the Lord. I am his servant. 

Here is Psalm 119, the psalmist mentions the promises of the Lord many times. He hangs to the promises. 

I trust that the Lord loves me, takes care of me, feeds me, and that He is guiding me, leading me in his way.

psalm 119 vav: Let your love, God, shape my life

In Psalm 119, we read:

41-42 Let your love, God, shape my life

    with salvation, exactly as you promised;

Then I’ll be able to stand up to mockery

    because I trusted your Word.

Don’t ever deprive me of truth, not ever

Saint Paul was able to stand up to mockery because he trusted in Jesus - the Word of God. It is impossible to live the Christian life without the love of the Lord, without believing in his promises. 

I, as a Christian, I believe that the Lord has been shaping my life, but I also believe that I have to pray as the psalmist:

Let your love, God, shape my life

because my life is not perfectly according to the Lord's will.

psalm119 He: why study theology?

 I am wondering to enter in a seminary to learn theology. Why? To debate what is the right meaning of a word in Hebrew? In Psalm 119, we read:

33 God, teach me lessons for living

    so I can stay the course.

Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—

    my whole life one long, obedient response.

The psalmist wanted to learn lessons from God in order to be obedient. I think that it is very possible that one guy reads the Bible 1000 times and even so, don't understand what the Lord wants from his life because the Bible says many things and the guy may select certain verses of the Bible in order to live religiously wrong.

psalm119/Dalet: don´t let me down

 In Psalm 119/Dalet, the psalmist is in trouble, perhaps is about to die, despite a life in God's way. He asks:

I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me;

    God, don’t let me down!

In his suffering, he asks:

Help me understand these things inside and out

    so I can ponder your miracle-wonders.

It reminds me a bit of the Job story. He wanted to understand why he was suffering, but the Lord lead him to ponder on his miracle-wonders. It is difficult to understand the Lord's ways in full detail, but the Lord asks that we trust in him.

psalm119 Gimel: May the Lord guide the pilgrim

 in Psalm 119, we read the prayer:

19 I am a stranger on earth;

    do not hide your commands from me.

I will be alive for more 20 years on earth, at maximum 40 years; thus I am a stranger, a pilgrim on earth. It is very easy to get lost on the short term, on the riches of this earth, on competing with others and a lot of things that will not have any difference when I live this earth. It is common to think that the Lord's law are unpleasant, but I must see the beauty of the Lord's commands as in:

18 Open my eyes that I may see

    wonderful things in your law.

I hope the Lord continue to be kind to me, open my eyes. The psalmist prays:

7 Be good to your servant while I live,

    that I may obey your word.

He doesn't pray: "be good to your servant, that I may be rich" because to obey the Lord is above his interest in richness, his interest on the short term.

Psalm 119Bet - can a young person keep his life pure?

 We read:

9 How can a young person keep his life pure?

    He can do it by holding on to your word.

We understand that the word of the Lord is revealed in the Bible, thus, if someone holds to the Bible, does he keep his life pure? 

We understand that it is necessary that the Holy Spirit touches the heard of the reader, so that he does the anti natural things that the Lord asks as in the prayer:

9 How can a young person keep his life pure?

   He can do it by holding on to your word.

10 I wholeheartedly searched for you.

    Do not let me wander away from your commandments.

psalm119-alef: blessed who stays on course

We read in Psalm 119:

1-2 You’re blessed when you stay on course,

    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.

You’re blessed when you follow his directions,

    doing your best to find him.

Is it possible to stay on course, to take the decisions that please the Lord? I am blessed when do my best to please him. However, the psalmist knows that he doesn't stay always on course:

Oh, that my steps might be steady,

    keeping to the course you set;

Then I’d never have any regrets

    in comparing my life with your counsel.

He knows he is not perfect and must learn from the Lord. Despite his errors, he asks that the Lord don't leave him as he is committed to please the Lord.

I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.

I’m going to do what you tell me to do;

    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

Psalm 118: how to interpret it without Jesus?

 Psalm 118 is another pilgrimage psalm, where the people of Israel goes to the temple of Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. In this psalm, there is one person who had victory over his enemies. It could be David. However, the supposed king had problems:

13 They pushed hard to make me fall,

    but Yahweh helped me.

14 Yah is my strength and my song.

    He is my savior.

17 I will not die,

    but I will live and tell what Yah has done.

18 Yah disciplined me severely,

    but he did not allow me to be killed.

The victorious king is righteous:

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me.

    I will go through them and give thanks to Yah.

20 This is the gate of Yahweh

    through which righteous people will enter.

It is very problematic to read the following verses without Jesus:

22 The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone.

23 Yahweh is responsible for this,

    and it is amazing for us to see.

These verses seems very disconnected of the rest. In a commentary (Derek), "builders" points to the leaders of Israel, but it is very unlikely that it was thought in a pilgrimage. This king is to be honored:

26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh.

    We bless you from Yahweh’s house.

27 Yahweh is El, and he has given us light.

    March in a festival procession

        with branches to the horns of the altar.

We know that verse 26 refers to the multitude honoring Jesus approaching Jerusalem.

So, how to read this pilgrimage song without knowing the New Testament?

psalm 117: You are loved by YHWH, so praise him

In Psalm 117, we read;

2 His mercy toward us is powerful.

    Yahweh’s faithfulness endures forever.

The Psalm is declaring that the Lord is merciful to you and me. How should we react to this?

1 Praise Yahweh, all you nations!

    Praise him, all you people of the world!

It was difficult to me to understand that the Lord loves me, but when I believed that He loves me, I was full of joy.

psalm 116: YHWH hears my voice.

 In Psalm 116:

1 I love Yahweh because he hears my voice, my pleas for mercy.

2 I will call on him as long as I live

    because he turns his ear toward me.

YHWH is not far in heaven. He listens to my prayers. He listened to many prayers evolving health, work and relationships. I must always remember that the Lord is good and near me, so that I will call on him as long as I live.

psalm 115: For YHWH's sake

 I am always tempted to think that the Lord will show his glory to me for my sake. How so? I want a good life: money, health and friends. Would I praise Him for more money in my account? 

In Psalm 115/MSG we read:

1-2 Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake,

    but for your name’s sake, show your glory.

Do it on account of your merciful love,

    do it on account of your faithful ways.

The psalmist asks that for sake of YHWH, He shows his glory. What does it mean? I will praise him more and more for what He has done creating the world, for His interference in his creation and for his touch in me.

Psalm114: river Jordan receives the people of Israel

 The idea of Psalm 114 is to show how the river Jordan, sea and  mountains received the people of Israel as they were alive. 

In a more personal way, I can see how things were arranged so that now I believe in the Lord and trust in Him. 

A Christian is one who knows that is loved by the Lord because the Lord has moved the Universe to make him trust in Him.

psalm 113: the Creator fixes broken people

I enjoy to go to the beach and walk along the seashore breathing that sea air. No doubt the Creator made a good creation. Not only that, but He also loves people, specially, broken people.

We read in Psalm 113:

5 Who is like Yahweh our Elohim?

    He is seated on his high throne.

6 He bends down to look at heaven and earth.

7 He lifts the poor from the dust.

    He lifts the needy from a garbage heap.

8 He seats them with influential people,

    with the influential leaders of his people.

Here, YHWH blessed a poor guy, taking him out of poverty.

In a way, I was taken out of poverty. 

Praise be the Lord that fixes broken people.

psalm 112: "Financial Independence, Retire Early" vs generosity

 I think that my children should know the principles of "Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)". Why should waste money on restaurants instead of saving for a better future? It makes sense for a Christian, I believe. However, if FIRE is taken very seriously, a person becomes stingy because he trusts that his well being depends on money, basically. 

In Psalm 112/MSG we read:

The good person is generous and lends lavishly; (...)

Heart ready, trusting in God,

Spirit firm, unperturbed,

Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies,

They lavish gifts on the poor—

A generosity that goes on, and on, and on.

An honored life! A beautiful life!

Generosity and trusting in God goes together. The one trusts in the Lord is blessed (even financially blessed), but he is able to bless others (even financially).