‘Aleph. Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.’ (Psalm 119:1-8)
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible, with 176 verses. This section focuses on our relationship with God's law, and we can see the writer knows that we are supposed to follow the law in order to truly follow God. He calls them "righteous laws" - the writer knows that keeping the laws would be good for him, and that they are the correct way to live. What is also apparent is that the writer struggles with keeping them. We hear their desperation, their desire to do better in following the law. I imagine that we all feel the same in terms of our own walk with God.
Isn't it humbling to know that humans have always fallen short of what God demands of us? I find it extremely comforting to see in the Bible that my struggles are the same as this writer's. We are separated by roughly 2500 years, but the need for a rescue plan to save us from death - the price for sin - remains the same. The writer begs God to not forsake him - how amazing we live in the knowledge that we are not abandoned, but saved!
This is a great reminder, particularly on the approach to Easter. Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we don't need to be ashamed of not following all of God's commands as well as we should. It is impossible to fully keep the law, but God has brought us closer to himself again through Jesus. The end of this section speaks of praising God with an "upright heart". Thank Him afresh for saving you, and take time to meditate on this part of Psalm 119 today. We'll look at the second section next week (5/4/23).
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. NOTICES
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. ICEBREAKER
‘What has God been speaking to you about from His Word this week and how has this helped you / affected your life?’
3. STUDY AND PRAY TOGETHER
During this series, we will be using the 'Prayers of Many' course by Mike Betts.
I encourage you to buy a copy of the book from: https://prayersofmany.org/book#buybook
If you need assistance in buying a book please send an email to the church office and we will happily purchase you a copy.
Please download the course handbook from: