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CORE OF THE APPLE- Some have considered vs. 97-104 as the core of the
entire one hundred and seventy-six verses that make up psalm 119. The theme of the psalm
is Torah-its priceless value, the understanding that it gives those who listen to it, the
tragedies of refusing it, and the blessings of obeying it.
TORAH PIETY- we learn that the psalmist is passionate about God’s revelation
mediated through the Law. With such a passionate value of the law, the next statement is
quite natural-I think about it all day long [NIV]. The word "meditate"
[NRSV] pops up throughout the psalms generally and within the 119th particularly,
yet here, we’re talking marathon mediation-all day long. Clearly, the psalmist of
this lengthy poem has an emotional attachment to God’s word that reflects her/his
love for and commitment to God.
CONNECTIONS TO JESUS - This psalm reminds us of Jeremiah and Ezekiel who suffered for
their obedience to God’s word. For Christians who come to this passage, of course,
the theme of the love of and obedience to the Law will remind them of Jesus, whose life
and ministry is one of hearing and doing the will of God. Early in his boyhood he is
located sitting among torah lovers in Jerusalem (Luke 2:46):
Both the psalmist and Jesus were open to
God’s instruction in a variety of forms-Scripture, tradition, and ongoing events and
experiences that reveal god’s way and represent God’s claim upon humanity and
the world. [1]
connections
Describe your own relationship to Scripture: ___primarily an
academic exercise; ___a resource book; ___a devotional aid; ___an authority faith and
life; ___an answer book to settle issues that arise.
Try this (or perhaps return to): lectio divina-the ancient practice of
prayerfully thinking about a small piece of Scripture-a practice that allows the Scripture
to shape one’s soul, that reads you and that seeks to live in us. Such an approach
has been contrasted to our usual way of reading literature as the difference between
reading for information vis-à-vis reading for formation.
gambits
This would be excellent entry point spend your sermon time
sharing how you personally get the most out of your reading of Scripture. So many
Christian laypersons truly desire to understand Scripture, but yet it is a closed book to
them-so walk your listeners through helpful steps so that they too, can appreciate reading
the Scriptures for soul-nourishment.
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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), page
1175.
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