Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Lenten Evening Prayer

 

PSALM 119: A PRAYER OF WISDOM

 

Beloved people of God, grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

AMEN.

 

Wisdom psalms have been described as “spiritual poems that offer reflections on or advice concerning faithful life or Torah.”[1]  The Hebrew word “Torah” is often translated as “law”, but our typical understanding of “law” is too narrow.  “Torah” is probably better translated as “instruction” or “teaching”.  The primary source of Torah is God’s Word.  So closely are Torah and God’s Word connected in the Old Testament they are often used interchangeably.

 

The three classic wisdom Psalms focusing on God’s Torah are Psalm 1,19, 119.  If we translate “Torah” as “teaching,” Psalm 1:1-3 would read: “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the teaching of the Lord, and on his teaching they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

 

If meditating on the teaching or Torah of the Lord is indeed such a bountiful source of happiness and prosperity, then the author of Psalm 119 must have been extremely happy and prosperous.  Psalm 119 is 176 verses expressing delight in God’s Torah.  It is a highly structured meditation on God’s Torah characteristic of the wisdom school.  It consists of 22 stanzas of 8 verses each.  In Hebrew each line of a given stanza begins with the same letter of the alphabet.  The lines of the first stanza begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; the lines of the second stanza begin with the second letter, and so on.

 

Unlike Psalm 1, Psalm 119 is addressed directly to the Lord.  In other words, it is clearly a prayer of wisdom.  The Psalmist is so filled with delight in God’s Torah that he must share it with the Lord.  The verses we heard read by Libby illustrate the Psalmist’s delight.  Delight may be too mild a term.  In verse 97 the Psalmist exclaims: “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long.”

 

This verse illustrates why “law” can be a misleading translation for us.  We tend to view the law as a burden or obligation.  For the Psalmist and the people of Israel God’s Law or Torah was the best of gifts given by a God who loves his people.  It was not meant to constrict life, but to open up the blessings of life for the people.  It is God’s instruction or teaching to guide the people of God in living a new life of obedience.  This life of obedience is always grounded in the gracious activity of God on behalf of God’s people.

 

In Proverbs 1:7 we read: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  To fear the Lord does not mean to be in terror of the Lord.  It means to revere and respect the Lord.  It means to recognize who the Lord truly is.  For the author of Psalm 119 it would be utter foolishness not to heed the teaching of the God who created the heavens and the earth, who led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, who restore the exiles to the promised land.  Once we recognize who God is and what God has done for us, wisdom is to follow all that God teaches.

 

In Psalm 119:103 the Psalmist exclaims: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”  God’s teaching is spiritual food for us.  The Psalmist delights to partake of this spiritual food day and night.  Surely we would do well to partake of such food on a daily basis.  Meditating on God’s teaching is not a burden or an obligation laid upon us.  It is a means to nourish and sustain us.  Those who meditate on God’s teaching will be “like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.”  Why pass on a delightful meal that promises to bless us so richly?  What a blessing to be able to feast on God’s teaching day and night!

 

Verse 105 is one of the most beautiful verses in Psalm 119 and indeed in the entire Psalter: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  God’s teaching lights the way for the people of God as they walk through life.

 

When I was a Bible camp counselor for 4^th-6^th grade boys at Camp Lutherhaven in Idaho, I would always take them on a hike to an old cabin on the first night they were there.  There is no way these boys would have ventured out on their own into the night through an unfamiliar forest.  They would have been too afraid.  But they willingly followed me.  I carried a big flashlight to light the way, and most important they knew I knew the way, that I had been there before.

 

We believe that Jesus has gone where God wants us to go.  Jesus was obedient to God, Jesus fulfilled God’s Torah.  Jesus delighted in God’s teaching.  Jesus embodied God’s word.

 

We are to heed and delight in the whole counsel of God.  It is fruitful to meditate on all the teaching of God day and night.  Jesus as the embodiment of that teaching serves as a special lamp unto our feet.  He is the brightest light we have been given to show us the way in life.  Confident that Jesus knows the way, we gladly follow him wherever he may lead.  As Jesus heeded God’s teaching, we heed God’s teaching.  As Jesus delighted in meditating on God’s word, we delight in meditating on God’s word.  As Jesus gladly sought to do God’s will, we gladly seek to do God’s will.  For those who have been numbered among the people of God, for those who have been called to follow Jesus, that is the height of wisdom.

In Jesus’ name, AMEN.