God Pause: Lutheran Seminary - Moved by the Promise for Tuesday, 11 February 2014 - Psalm 119

God Pause: Lutheran Seminary - Moved by the Promise for Tuesday, 11 February 2014 - Psalm 119: ALEPH
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
    who walk according to Yahweh’s law.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes,
    who seek him with their whole heart.
3 Yes, they do nothing wrong.
    They walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts,
    that we should fully obey them.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast
    to obey your statutes!
6 Then I wouldn’t be disappointed,
    when I consider all of your commandments.
7 I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart,
    when I learn your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your statutes.
    Don’t utterly forsake me.--World English Bible
February is National Heart Month. School kids jump rope to raise money for cardiac research. Go Red for Women events educate about heart disease and warning signs. Public service announcements urge regular checkups and a healthy diet. The overarching message? You have to take care of your heart if it's going to take care of you.
Psalm 119 is an appropriate Psalm for February, then. It's all about taking care of your heart—but not simply the muscle in your chest that gives you physical life. The ancient Israelites also saw the heart as the source of reason, conviction and will. Taking care of your heart meant centering your entire self on the God who gives not only physical but also spiritual life. This poetic psalm extols the best way to do that: Follow God's law. It will protect, preserve, guide and revive you.
Open my heart to your word, Lord, that I might find my center and strength in you. Amen.
Shelley Cunningham
Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minn. 
Master of Divinity , 1998
Psalm 119:1 Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees, 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 O 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 ordinances.
8 I will observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.--New Revised Standard Version
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