Psalms 119:1

ALEPH. Psalm 119:1-3 . Blessed are the undefiled — Hebrew, תמימי , temimee, the perfect, or sincere, as the word properly and most frequently signifies; namely, those whose hearts and lives agree with their profession; in the way — The way of the Lord, as it is explained by the next clause; who walk in the law of the Lord — Who order their lives according to the rule of God’s word. That keep his testimonies — Who, in mind and heart, carefully and diligently observe his precepts. And that seek him — Namely, the Lord: that seek his presence and favour, with the whole heart — Sincerely, diligently, and earnestly, above all other things. They also do no iniquity — That is, knowingly: they make it their constant care to shun every known sin. They walk in his ways — In the paths which God hath prescribed to them.

1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly. These first eight verses are taken up with a contemplation of the blessedness which comes through keeping the statutes of the Lord. The subject is treated in a devout manner rather than in a didactic style. Heart-fellowship with God is enjoyed through a love of that word which is God's way of communing with the soul by his Holy Spirit. Prayer and praise and all sorts of devotional acts and feelings gleam through the verses like beams of sunlight through an olive grove. You are not only instructed, but influenced to holy emotion, and helped to express the same. Lovers of God's holy words are blessed, because they are preserved from defilement (Psalm 119:1), because they are made practically holy (Psalm 119:2 and Psalm 119:3), and are led to follow after God sincerely and intensely (Psalm 119:2).

It is seen that this holy walking must be desirable because God commands it (Psalm 119:4); therefore the pious soul prays for it (Psalm 119:5), and feels that its comfort and courage must depend upon obtaining it (Psalm 119:6). In the prospect of answered prayer, yea, while the prayer is being answered the heart is full of thankfulness (Psalm 119:7), and is fixed in solemn resolve not to miss the blessing if the Lord will give enabling grace (Psalm 119:8). The changes are rung upon the words "way" - "undefiled in the way," "walk in his ways," "O that my ways were directed"; "keep" - "keep his testimonies," "keep thy precepts diligently," "directed to keep," "I will keep"; and "walk" - "walk in the law," "walk in his ways." Yet there is no tautology, nor is the same thought repeated, though to the careless reader it may seem so. The change from statements about others and about the Lord to more personal dealing with God begins in Psalm 119:3, and becomes more clear as we advance, till in the later verses the communion becomes most intense and soul moving. O that every reader may feel the glow. Psalm 119:1 "Blessed." The Psalmist is so enraptured with the word of God that he regards it as his highest ideal of blessedness to be conformed to it.

ALEPH. (1) Undefiled.—Better, blameless or perfect. Way.—See the same use without a qualifying epithet in Psalm 2:12. There was only-one way of safety and peace for an Israelite, here by the parallelism defined as “the law of Jehovah.” But even heathen ethics bore witness to the same truth: “Declinandum de viâ sit modo ne summa turpitudo sequatur” (Cic, De Amicitia, 17).

Verse 1. - Blessed are the undefiled in the way ; rather, the perfect , or those that are per feet (Revised Version). The "way" intended is, no doubt, "the way of righteousness" (Psalm 1:7; 23:3, etc.). Who walk in the Law of the Lord . Compare the introductory paragraph for the meaning of "Law" in this psalm. This clause is exegetical of the preceding. Psalm 119:1

PSALM 119 Ps 119:1-176. This celebrated Psalm has several peculiarities. It is divided into twenty-two parts or stanzas, denoted by the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza contains eight verses, and the first letter of each verse is that which gives name to the stanza. Its contents are mainly praises of God's Word, exhortations to its perusal, and reverence for it, prayers for its proper influence, and complaints of the wicked for despising it. There are but two verses (Ps 119:122, 132) which do not contain some term or description of God's Word. These terms are of various derivations, but here used, for the most part, synonymously, though the use of a variety of terms seems designed, in order to express better the several aspects in which our relations to the revealed word of God are presented. The Psalm does not appear to have any relation to any special occasion or interest of the Jewish Church or nation, but was evidently "intended as a manual of pious thoughts, especially for instructing the young, and its peculiar artificial structure was probably adopted to aid the memory in retaining the language." ALEPH. (Ps 119:1-8). 1. undefiled—literally, "complete," perfect, or sincere (compare Ps 37:37). in—or, "of" the way—course of life. walk—act in the law—according to it (compare Lu 1:6). law—from a word meaning "to teach," is a term of rather general purport, denoting the instruction of God's Word.

1 . Tôrâh , ‘law,’ LXX νόμος , occurs 25 times. Cp. Deuteronomy 4:8 &c. It has however a much wider range of meaning than ‘law.’ It denotes ( a ) direction or instruction , whether human ( Proverbs 1:8 ) or Divine: ( b ) a body of teaching : ( c ) more definitely, a law , or ( d ) a code of laws , whether the Deuteronomic code or the Levitical legislation, ‘the law of Moses’: and so finally ( e ) the Pentateuch. Here, as in Psalms 1, 19, it must be taken in its widest sense, as synonymous with the ‘word’ of Jehovah ( Isaiah 1:10 ; Isaiah 2:3 ), to include all Divine revelation as the guide of life, prophetic exhortation as well as priestly direction, the sum of an Israelite’s duty. (Cp. the use of ‘the law’ to denote the whole O.T. in John 10:34 .) 1 . Blessed &c.] Happy the perfect (or upright) in way, integri vitae , those whose course of life is directed and governed by single-hearted devotion to Jehovah, and integrity in dealing with their fellow men. Cp. Psalm 1:1 ; Psalm 15:2 note; Psalm 101:2 ; Psalm 101:6 . who walk &c.] Integrity of life is defined as a walking in Jehovah’s law. This is the path ( Psalm 119:33 ) which man must follow if he would avoid sin. Cp. Exodus 16:4 ; Luke 1:6 . For the meaning of ‘law’ see above, p. 703. 1–8 . Aleph . Loyal obedience to Jehovah’s law is the source of man’s truest happiness, and therefore the Psalmist prays that it may be the fixed rule of his life, and that he may learn to understand it better.