Advent Devotional begins...
December 3rd: Aleph [א]
Psalm 119:1 – 8
Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
Psalm 119 is an “acrostic” poem. What’s an acrostic, you might ask? It is a poem where the letters of a line or section spell out a word or phrase. In the case of Psalm 119, each eight-verse section begins with a different letter from the alphabet, continuing successively through the whole Hebrew alphabet. This also makes Psalm 119 the longest chapter of the Bible. The unknown psalmist uses an acrostic to show how God’s Word governs every part of our language and life. As you read through this Psalm through the devotions, pay attention to the may references to God’s Word, Law, statutes, rules, and so forth. There are many even in the first section! Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord, who keep his testimonies, who fix his eyes on God’s commandments, and keep his statutes. Another emphasis in this section and the whole psalm is that our way is connected to God’s Word. This makes sense: the eternal law of God shows us the way in which to walk, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our struggle against sin to walk in God’s ways and praise him with an upright heart. Also keep in mind throughout this Psalm that John declares Jesus to be the Eternal Logos, the Word who is God (John 1:1). In this way, Psalm 119 is a psalm that puts Christ on our lips and in our hearts, reminding us to meditate on Him every day of our lives.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the NKJV Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
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