Martin Luther said about Psalm 119: “This is a psalm one can read one’s whole life – and still not finish.” The psalm contains such deep wisdom for life that an entire life of contemplation does not exhaust its treasures. But Luther’s words also apply on a more concrete, literal level, at least almost: Psalm 119 is the Bible’s very longest chapter, a total of 176 verses. Even if it does not take an entire life to try to go through the psalm, what Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary on this psalm is likely true: “He who loves God’s Word finds Psalm 119 short; he who does not finds it endless.” Another Englishman, Charles Spurgeon, said: “If anyone thinks my sermons are long, let him read Psalm 119.” But do not worry, my sermon today will be only about the first eight verses.
Psalm 119 has been characterized as a teaching poem, which means that it is related to wisdom literature. It has a special structure because it is divided into 22 sections, as many as the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section is in turn divided into eight verses. All verses in each section begin with the same letter. Our sermon text today, Psalm 119:1–8 – the first section of the psalm – all begin with the letter Aleph, the first letter of Hebrew. Psalm 119 thus becomes an ABC book about God’s Word. It is also interesting that the last verse in each section, that is verses 8, 16, 24, 32, and so on, read in a similar way. These verses are all, in different ways, praises of God’s law.
Verse 8 reads: “I will keep your statutes; Do not abandon me completely.”
Verse 16: “In your statutes I delight. I will not forget your words.”
Verse 24: “Yes, your testimonies are my delights. They are my advisors”
Verse 32: “I run the way of your commandments, for you have strengthened my heart.” And so on.
This joy in God’s law we will return to in the concluding part of the sermon.

The Concept of Blessedness
The psalm begins with two beatitudes:
“How blessed are those who are blameless in their way, who walk in the law of the Lord” (v. 1).
“How blessed are those who keep[c] his testimonies. With all their heart they seek him.” (v. 2).
Even Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount by pronouncing blessedness upon certain people (Matt. 5:3–10). One could say that this is a kind of congratulatory formula. But what does it mean to be blessed? It has to do with being “happy.” But it is not any kind of happiness. It is a particular, spiritual joy that delights in salvation. For example, the blessed is praised who has received forgiveness of sins. Paul writes: “This is exactly what David says about the blessed state of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him” (Rom. 4:6–8). Blessedness is thus an inner, invisible state. It is not a matter of external, worldly success or well-being in general.
Especially in our days, when Christianity is by many desired to be made into something that should primarily deal with external things, such as, for example, achieving world peace, saving the environment, fighting racism, or achieving equality between the sexes, there may be reason to emphasize that blessedness and peace have to do with an inner state, the soul’s hidden life together with God. Blessedness has nothing to do with external circumstances. It exists amid all external need and danger. We can, for example, think of Paul, who wrote wonderfully faithful words – those we now have in our Bible, not least the Epistle to the Philippians – while he was imprisoned and thus endured severe external hardships. Or why not Luther, who lived under threat of death since in 1521 he was declared an outlaw. Anyone could now kill him without legal consequences. And in this situation, he wrote so marvelously about God’s grace, about the righteousness from God, Christ’s righteousness, which is given to us for nothing, and about the certainty of salvation.

The Blessed Is Characterized by Righteousness
The one who is pronounced blessed is characterized both positively and negatively.
Positively: It is characteristic of the ones pronounced blessed that they are “blameless in their way” and “walk in the law (torah) of the LORD” (v. 1), “keep His testimonies” and seek Him with all his heart (v. 2), and “walk in His ways” (v. 3).
Negatively: It is also said that the blessed “do no wrong” (v. 3). The blessed differs from the ungodly among their fellow countrymen. They do not follow the godless principles in life; one does not find them on their path, and they do not participate in their sins.
The blessed thus live according to the “law (Torah) of the LORD” (v. 1). This word, Torah, is usually translated as “law,” but it can also, as in some modern translations, be translated more generally as “teaching” or “instruction.” As time went on under the old covenant, however, it became common that “Torah” primarily referred to the commandments. Psalm 119 is generally assumed to have been composed rather late, and we cannot avoid including at least the commandments in the “teaching” in which the blessed finds delight.

The Three Uses of the Law
In our context, we may not be accustomed to speak of the law as something joyful. Luther argued that the most important use of the law is the so-called theological use, or its second use, which means that the law gives knowledge of sin and in this way paves the way for receiving the gospel of forgiveness of sins. The law does not make a person righteous but reveals unrighteousness. Important for Luther was what Paul writes in Romans 3:19–20: “Now we know that whatever the law says is addressed to those who are under the law, so that every mouth will be silenced and the whole world will be subject to God’s judgment.For this reason, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by works of the law, for through the law we become aware of sin.”
This theological use of the law is seen in verses 5–6, when the psalmist writes: “If only my ways were right so that I kept your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed when I consider all your commandments.” It is evident that the psalmist, who is otherwise anonymous – all we know is that he is a young man (Ps. 119:19, 99, 100) – is a Christian living in God’s grace. Yet even already converted people need to be exposed to the law’s second use, i.e., to have their sin continually revealed so that they do not fall into fleshly security. By being “ashamed” (v. 6) when the law exposes sin, Jesus remains precious to us as sinners’ Savior; the forgiveness He gives continues to be our valuable treasure. By living in constant forgiveness, in ongoing cleansing in Jesus’ blood (1 John 1:7), we are perfect. God sees no sin in us because it has been removed by our Savior. This is how we understand the opening words in our psalm text: “How blessed are those who are blameless in their way” (v. 1).
Before moving to the third use of the law, we should briefly mention the first use, the civil use. Every society that wishes to endure must have good legislation that punishes crimes. Therefore, God’s law is indispensable for any kingdom that does not want to perish in anarchy and lawlessness. Due to original sin, the fleshly nature which remains even in converted people, the law must be preached in its first use even to Christians.
For the person who has received forgiveness of sins, whose eyes have been opened to the already accomplished salvation, the truth is revealed that God is in a good mood with him or her – for Jesus Christ’s sake! As long as a person lived in unbelief, the law was dreadful, but when a person is saved through faith in Jesus, the law can no longer condemn. Paul writes: “So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
The Christian, no longer fearing the law, can now experience it as a good friend, who comes to him and points out the right way to a good life. This is the law’s third use, the Christian use.
The Christian, through faith, gains the ability to perceive the law as in Psalm 119, that is, as something it is a great joy to live by. He desires to accomplish God’s will in a life of God’s calling. He says: “Your people will be willing on the day of your power.” (Ps. 110:3).
The law has thus become a guide to a good life that pleases God. One who has received Jesus Christ as Savior still needs instruction in God’s law. It expresses God’s will, His thoughts, and His being. The one who wants to know God and come into closer communion with Him delights in the law and is grateful for it. That is why in our psalm text it says: “How blessed are those who keep his testimonies. With all their heart they seek him.” (v. 2), and “I will keep your statutes” (v. 8).
Just as a human couple in love wants to know each other more and more, sharing each other’s inner thoughts and feelings to deepen their love, so the Christian wants to partake in God’s law and walk in its path. This is how the joyful exclamations in Psalm 119 should be understood: “I will keep your statutes; Do not abandon me completely” (v. 8), “In your statutes I delight. I will not forget your words” (v. 16), “Yes, your testimonies are my delights. They are my advisors” (v. 24), and so on.
The law, in its third use, is not a path for a person to salvation, to become a Christian (it never is!), but it is the already saved or Christian person’s guidance for living and acting. By studying the law, God’s instruction, the Christian understands how God wants him to live. He sees that God does not require any unusual special works from him. Whoever especially wants to please God does not need to live in celibacy, enter a monastery, or live as a hermit – not climb a pillar and sit there for twenty years as the pillar saint Simon in the early church. Instead, it concerns the “ordinary” commandments: to honor father and mother, not to kill, not commit adultery, not steal or lie, etc., and above all, to love God above all else. The law’s two tablets, regarding how we live in love toward God and our fellow humans, are the guide to a good life.
And never forget, when you serve God, that God is already in a good mood with you, for Jesus Christ’s sake!
Amen.