Aleph
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!
Beth
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 statutes;
I will not forget your word.
There is, as it were, a 'question and answer' pattern evident in these verses: one voice, the voice of God speaks of a life of blessedness (1-3), and another, the Psalmist's, asks 'How?', as if to say, 'I see what you are getting at, I see a blessedness and how attractive it is, and I want to know how to find it'. And the answer is given in 9b 'By taking heed thereto according to thy word', that is to say, by allowing the message of the Word to command, shape and direct our lives. And the Psalmist's response to this answer is given in 10, 11 'With my whole heart have I sought Thee... Thy word have I hid in mine heart'. Hiding the Word in his heart betokens his determination to let the Word do all its gracious work in him, not merely cleansing him from specific sins that have marred his life, but touching the deepest springs of his being, allowing the searchlight and disciplines of the Word to make fruitful impact upon the whole of his being: in mental thoughts and habits, in emotional, psychological development, those areas of life where disquieting symptoms of unreliability and inconstancy so often appear, and which makes sustained goodness and sheer integrity of character such uphill work. This is what Paul means by the phrase in Ephesians 4:12, 'the perfecting of the saints' - bringing them into their proper condition in the mind and purpose of God. This is the Psalmist's desire and concern, to be taught of God (12), to rejoice in the Word (14), meditating in it (15), and delighting in it (16). Such was his response to the answer given in 9. Please God ours will not be less.