Love, delight, and the law - August 24

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:1-24; PM Psalm 12, 13, 14; Job 6:1,7:1-21; Acts 10:1-16; John 7:1-13

On this Wednesday school-day morning, the portion of Psalm 119 slated for today is perfectly suited. Now, I offer the reminder that I am a morning person; it does not take two cups of coffee and thirty minutes of silence to get me ready to take on the pressures of the day. I get out of bed and am (usually) ready to engage.

Psalm 119 begins in a way that I woke up this morning – happy and ready to follow the rules of God. The psalmist sings that those who observe the decrees of God are fulfilled, for they are seeking satisfaction to their core from the Lord alone. There is obedience and gratitude within my steadfast spirit. Getting ready for the day, there is a longing to follow the divine expectations laid out before all God’s people, “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commandments.” (v. 10) The words of promise and devotion are beautiful, faithful, and focused:

I treasure your promise in my heart,
that I may not sin against you.

Blessed are you, O Lord;
instruct me in your statutes.

With my lips will I recite
all the judgments of your mouth.

I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees
than in all manner of riches.

I will meditate on your commandments
and give attention to your ways.
My delight is in your statutes;
I will not forget your word. (v. 11-16)

The further I get from the prayerful start to the day, the more chaotic and isolated I can feel. Likewise, by verse 17, there is a shift. No longer with words of hopeful promise ahead, the psalmist looks only in the present and pleads to God to “deal bountifully” and “open my eyes”. The reality and hard parts of the day are here.

I am a stranger here on earth;
do not hide your commandments from me.

My soul is consumed at all times
with longing for your judgments.

You have rebuked the insolent;
cursed are they who stray from your commandments!

Turn from me shame and rebuke,
for I have kept your decrees. (v. 19-22)

The psalmist is really struggling. I notice the quick shift from delight in the law of Yahweh, to fear that the commandments – one of the few lasting, permanent signs of communication between God and the people of early Israel – might be taken away and obscured from sight. Sometimes the trajectory of my day pivots, swinging in a way that is askew to the way I woke up.

In this psalm, I see a surprising intermingling between law and emotion. In the dualistic paradigm of American culture, I do not expect these two to be interwoven, and yet, the ancient lyricist created this work of expressing how the structure of God – the hopefulness of our Lord – can be internalized and digested to nourish the faithful who seek to follow God.

Upon prayerful reflection, we also can proclaim heartily that the Lord’s decrees are our delight. These words, which give shape to what it means to be living faithfully with God and for God, truly become our counselors at all times, day or night.

Katherine+

Questions for Self-Reflection: 

 When you think of laws and commandments, what images come to mind? And how to God’s laws differ from the laws of our land?

Do you lead first with rules, or desires, or something wholly different?

Daily Challenge: 

Reread the rules we know as the Ten Commandments. Meditate on them (as we hear in Psalm 119:23). What words or phrases stand out? Spend five minutes (or more) journaling about how they resonate with you today.