Committed to 150: Psalm 119 - Absorbing with delight

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

10 With my whole heart I seek you;

let me not wander from your commandments!

11 I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, O LORD;

teach me your statutes!

13 With my lips I declare

all the rules of your mouth

14 In the way of your testimonies I delight

as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on your precepts

and fix my eyes on your ways.

16 I will delight in your statues;

I will not forget your word."

This is one of the most well known stanzas of Psalm 119, so take some time to read it carefully, looking for the Gospel. It obviously follows the melodic line set up by the previous section, Aleph, and we see many of the same words for "the WORD" repeated again. We do not, however, read the word "law." It is the only one of the 8 words omitted in this stanza. 

commandments

statutes

rules

testimonies

precepts

word

ways

This is a very practical section, and the emphasis is much more on the Psalmist's verbs. The language is very similar to the book of Proverbs. We read bookends with "word" in verses 9 and 16 and at the heart of this stanza is a blessing and a plea (v. 12). 

The Psalmist says in verse 11 that storing up God's Word in his heart will help him to not sin against God. It is only when we see the gospel through The Word, Jesus, that our hearts can be made new. When this happens, not only will we be sanctified and long to know God and His Word, but we will also rejoice and delight in It, because we know what it is to delight and rejoice in Jesus. This is a sign or fruit of being "blessed."  Because of Jesus, we can have blessing (Aleph) and take delight in God and His Word.

Beth mean, house, in Hebrew. I think it is no stretch to meditate on the fact that all along, God has gone to great lengths to dwell with His people. After the garden, God had His people build a tabernacle so that He could come and be with them. After that, He had them build a temple where He could be near them. The tabernacle and temples may have all been destroyed or have gone away, but Jesus came. He declared Himself to be better than the temple. He walked among us, and He left us with the Holy Spirit who indwells those who believe. God for us became God with us which became God in us. We cling to the promise that one day we will be in the house of YAHWEH forever. Jesus, the Word of God, is our way to that Place. And those of us who claim the name of Jesus shall be forever with Him.

Tips, Tricks and Songs

• Google Psalms coloring pages. (Pinterest would also be helpful). I am going to have a piece of art or something for my children to color for each Psalm. This will use another sense to help them remember, and it will also help Scripture to be tangible for them

• If you are the artistic sort (I envy you), try drawing each Psalm or writing it out in calligraphy to help you remember and understand it
• If you have young children, sing songs over the next few weeks that talk about God's Word: The B-I-B-L-E, The Bible is a Treasure Book, Holy Bible Book Divine, etc.

• hymnary.org will be your friend. Search for Psalm 119, and you will find Watts' texts helpful. O Word of God Incarnate is also on there and one of my favorites. 

• Consider buying The Book of Psalms for Worship. I believe you can purchase a version that is downloadable for an iPad  - this just helps get the words/emphasis of the Psalm in your brain using music. This will help you retain and internalize the meaning better even though you aren't quoting the words exactly from Scripture. There is a song for each section of Psalm 119 in this book. Also, look here for songs specific for each stanza
• Use technology to help you memorize (if that does help you) - I am using the Bible memory app and have a group Committed to 150. This app sets up review and uses different ways to help you remember the verses. I am still figuring it out, because I tend to just memorize as I work on it with the children. This is a good way to keep track of what you have done and to set up review. 
• I have made a chart for our wall (it will be there for a few years) and we are marking off the Psalms as we go.