Preacher: Sue
One of the things I
like about poetry is its capacity to say a lot in a short space, in just a few
words. And so I rarely see the point of
long poems…
So you can probably
imagine that my heart sank at the idea of preaching on Psalm 119 – all 176
verses of it.
But it’s not just the
length of Ps 119 that made my heart sink.
For the English reader or listener, Ps 119 is kind of shapeless. It rambles around meditatively – and
repetitively. There is a clear focus to
all the reflections – but no narrative thread or logical progression.
But, while Ps 119 may
seem shapeless in English, in the original Hebrew it has a very clear formal
shape. It’s an acrostic, in 22 chunks
(or stanzas), one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each chunk
consists of 8 sentences, each beginning with the same letter of the
alphabet. So for instance the first 8
sentences all start with the Hebrew letter aleph and the next eight with
beth and so on.
A British Catholic,
Ronald Knox, translated Psalm 119 into English using the same pattern. We’ll hear one letter’s worth of his
translation, after we hear the NRSV translation of the same verses, 9 to 16,
just to get a feel of how this works:
9 How can young people keep their way pure? By
guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me
stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may
not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your
statutes.
13 With my lips I declare all the ordinances of
your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees 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 statutes; I will not
forget your word.
A number of
commentators see the first verse of our reading, verse 9, as the key to the
psalm, that is the question “How
can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word” or
“By keeping to your word.” The whole
psalm, then, is an answer to the question of how a young person can learn to be
faithful to God. The heart of the answer
is a deep commitment to and love for God’s word.
This answer holds true
for any faithful Israelite, not just for the psalmist, and for all of us who
ask the question, “How can we keep our way pure?” Walter Brueggemann talks about Israel as a
community of joyful obedience. In the
fragility and vulnerability that followed Israel’s return from exile (when the
psalms were probably being edited into their final shape), this community
needed identity and comfort. It found
that in its relationship with Yahweh and its commitment to living within the
tradition and the story.
Brueggemann says that
Israel’s horizon is defined by the Torah, that they accept Yahweh as the
“horizon of life”. Imagine being on a
hill top or in a wide valley – or a 13th floor flat and looking into
the distance. In that word horizon
there’s openness and the reassurance of knowing that wherever Israel looks, she
is still looking at the world of Yahweh – but there’s also a sense of an edge,
a boundary to contain us and protect us.
Well, that was all by
way of introduction. In thinking about
how to preach on Psalm 119 I decided to focus on two main questions, what
scripture is to the psalmist and how he experiences scripture.
[interactive activity]
So, to pull some of
that together, we noticed a good number of different ways the psalmist refers
to the scripture. Many are connected
with direction – in both senses of the word.
God’s word is directive, giving instruction and commandment, and it
points out a path, a direction, a pattern of life for the faithful.
In our Western, 21st
century culture, commandment and direction may not sound very welcome. Yet if we move to our second question, how
does the psalmist experience scripture, I’m struck by the joy and delight and
sense of freedom in God’s word.
Let’s take one example,
verse 96: “I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is
exceedingly broad.”
The language and
sentiment of “I have seen a limit to all perfection” remind me of
Ecclesiastes, In Ecclesiastes nothing
makes sense and choosing God and God’s commandments is an expression of
faithfulness in spite of everything not because of the rewards. By contrast with Ecclesiastes, Psalm 119’s
overall mood is positive and confident.
Brueggemannn describes it as a psalm of orientation. There are some tastes of bewilderment and
pain – “81 My soul languishes for your salvation; I hope
in your word. 82 My eyes fail with watching for your promise; I
ask, "When will you comfort me? 83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes. 84 How long must your servant endure? When will
you judge those who persecute me?” But
it’s as if the psalmist has had brushes with the world of Ecclesiastes - . “I
have seen a limit to all perfection” – and then found himself rescued by God’s
word – “but your commandment is exceedingly broad.” The psalmist is intent on keeping God’s commandment but for
him this is not narrow and limiting. It
puts him on a broad open path in pleasant places. Indeed verse 45 of Psalm 119 captures just
this sentiment: “I shall walk at
liberty, for I have sought your precepts.”
Veronica’s
headline for this sermon on Psalm 119 was “the Bible is there to benefit us not to condemn us”. And this psalm certainly sets out plenty of
benefits of the Bible. Happiness or
blessedness go hand in hand with keeping God’s commandments. Obviously that’s only one side of the story –
bad things DO happen to good people – and in Brueggemann’s terms this psalm is
part of the bible’s core testimony about Yahweh and must be taken alongside the
bible’s voices of counter-testimony. But
there are many other benefits which would hold true even in times of
trial. God’s word delights the psalmist,
revives him, keeps him from sin, gives him hope, sustains him through misery,
gives him wisdom and understanding, gives him light and peace and keeps him
from stumbling. God’s decrees are
counsellors for him – a beautiful picture of scripture as companion and
adviser.
And
if this all sounds a bit self-centred, let’s notice two of the psalmist’s
prayers. In verse 36 he pleads, “Turn my heart to your decrees, and
not to selfish gain”. In meditating on
God’s precepts and fixing his heart on God’s ways the psalmist does expect some
response from God – but he also expects to be transformed into a less selfish
person – perhaps we could even say a more generous person, more committed to
the welfare of the weak who are protected by God’s law, like the widow, the
orphan and the stranger. And though he
trusts that his obedience will translate into a good outcome – “173
Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts” – he is
also determined that any good outcome for him will be a good outcome for God
too, for he will have the opportunity to continue being obedient and praising
God. To quote verses 88 & 175: “88
In your steadfast love spare my life, so that I may keep the decrees of your
mouth… 175 Let me live that I may praise you, and let your
ordinances help me.”
As I finish, let’s
return to our headline: “the Bible is there to benefit us not to condemn us”. The psalmist delights in scripture. It is his constant companion. The delight and constant companionship feed
each other. Maybe there is something
there for us to appropriate for ourselves in our personal lives. But I think there are corporate benefits too,
to our wider community as we turn our hearts to God’s ways and not to selfish
gain, and to our church community.
Brueggemann describes Israel at the time of the psalms as marginalised
(a new word to me!) and “a vulnerable, outsider community, endlessly at risk,
without serious social power”. They find
a dependable reassuring constancy in commitment and obedience to God. For the church generally in post-Christendom
Britain – and for us as a congregation as we learn to live without Lesley and
without the building in Shepherds Hill - perhaps a love for and obedience to
the bible is one response to feeling fragile, vulnerable and on the
margins. Beneficial indeed…
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