Psalm 119 מ Mem - Oh, how I love your law!

Jump to end of psalm
97) Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.
98) Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
99) I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
100) I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
101) I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102) I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
103) How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104) Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:97-104
Proper 24, Sunday between October 16 and October 22, Year C, verses 97-104

"Torah," in Hebrew means law, or instruction, direction or way, and also refers to the first five books of both the Hebrew and Christian Bible.

There is an annual Jewish holiday, Simchat Torah, which means "Rejoicing in Torah." It is customary to dance with the Torah scrolls. "Oh, how I love your law"!

What an amazing expression of love for the gift of God's Word. And particularly celebrating the way it is meant to be a guide for navigating this mortal life in accord with God's righteous design.

The psalmist believes he (it sounds like a "he"), has a deep understanding of God's torah, that he is closely connected to it, that he is making these words a living part of his life. Perhaps it is boastful, but it certainly speaks of the desire to be torah-directed and God-connected.

When your law, your way "is my meditation all day long," we hope that meditation is more than an intellectual or private act.

Love is more than an idea, more than an emotion. Love is also a verb, and God's love is always in action. The understanding so prized in these verses presumes that this love is put into practice.

We might use these words to reflect on what we are doing to cherish these words of wisdom, to walk with them and dance with them, to receive them into our very being.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth"!

Credits:
Photographer unknown, Simchat Torah celebration. Used under (CC BY 2.0).

* New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 68 - Proclaim the power of God

Image
Jump to end of psalm For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song. 1) May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. 2) May you blow them away like smoke— as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. 3) But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. 4) Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. 5) A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. 6) God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. 7) When you, God, went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, 8) the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Is
Read more

Psalm 142 - My persecutors are too strong for me

Image
Jump to end of psalm A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer. 1) With my voice I cry to the Lord; with my voice I make supplication to the Lord. 2) I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3) When my spirit is faint, you know my way. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4) Look on my right hand and see— there is no one who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me. 5) I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6) Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low. Save me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. 7) Bring me out of prison, so that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. Psalm 142 Not included in the Revised Common L
Read more

Psalm 121 - From where will my help come?

Image
Jump to end of psalm A Song of Ascents. 1) I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? 2) My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3) He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4) He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5) The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6) The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7) The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8) The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 121 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A Proper 24, Sunday between October 16 and October 22, Year C This much beloved song is frequently turned to in time of crisis or trouble. I remember it as the first scripture read in James Chapel on September 11, 2001, shortly before I headed
Read more