Anna Rohlfing

THE EROTIC LAW: Language of Desire in Psalm 119

Introduction

A colossal alphabetic acrostic lasting 176 verses, Psalm 119 is often referred to as the

‘Great Psalm,’ yet it tends to be neglected or considered inferior to other . St. Augustine

of Hippo, arguably the most influential theologian of the early church, put off examining Psalm

119 for as long as possible because of its depth of content. Although some modern scholars,

including Noel Freedman, find value in the Great Psalm, a greater number of others

during the course of Christian history have had a tendency to discount it altogether. Why is this?

Is it because of the structure, the length, or the subject matter which focuses on law? Regardless

of the reason, this disregard mistakenly ignores a magisterial psalm, and Psalm 119 deserves to

be revisited, particularly for the sake of understanding its thought provoking and poetic content.

The psalmist approaches his subject matter of God’s law with intense longing and love. This psalm is a profound prayer in which the psalmist lovingly desires to know the law more completely. The desire is not simply intense or loving, it is erotic in nature. The expressions used to give voice to the psalmist’s desire are often reminiscent of the desire a lover expresses for his beloved. They imply not only a longing but a need and a heightening of the senses, similar to that experienced in an intimate relationship. This intense desire and longing for the law that the psalmist expresses again and again in an incomparable fashion has been sadly and largely neglected by modern scholars.

In order to look at this psalm in a new way, focusing on the erotic content, this paper will begin with an explanation of the basic structure of Psalm 119 and then move on to a discussion Rohlfing 2

of modern scholarship concerning the complexity of the psalm. In his study of Psalm 119,

Freedman remarks, “While scholars have praised the psalm’s thoroughness, they have also

denigrated its artificial structure, lack of originality, and repetition,” complaining of monotony.1

This comment reflects a fairly typical modern evaluation of the psalm. However, Freedman also

argues that “a dismissive evaluation of the psalm’s creativity must also be radically revised.

Psalm 119 is, in fact, inventive,” both in form and in content.2

Historically speaking, the desire to neglect Psalm 119 is nothing new, although modern

reasons differ significantly from historical reasons. Augustine of Hippo, in the prologue to his

Expositions of , explains, “Always I put off the exposition of Psalm 118, not so much because of its formidable length as because of its profundity, which few can fathom. My brethren took it badly that this psalm alone should lack an exposition in our insignificant writings…and they pressed me insistently to discharge the debt.” 3 Following this prologue, Augustine goes on to preach thirty-two sermons moving verse by verse through the Great Psalm. This implies that

Augustine saw the intense value in the content of the psalm even though he didn’t want to deal with it until he had little choice. When he did treat it, he dealt in depth with content rather than structure, unlike most modern scholars. His issue was not with the psalm’s length but with its complexity. Therefore, since Augustine deals with content, not just structure, he is a useful study for this paper, providing historical scholarly analysis since modern scholarly analysis is lacking.

Additionally, Augustine’s analysis provides some insight into the erotic nature of the psalm though it also has some shortcomings, including his projection of Jesus into his analysis.

1 David Noel Freedman, Psalm 119: The Exaltation of (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 87. 2 Freedman, Psalm 119, 87. 3Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : prologue, trans. Maria Boulding (Hyde Park: New City Press, 2003), 342. It is necessary to note that in LXX and the , which Augustine uses, the was divided slightly differently than in modern Bibles, resulting in a slight alteration to the numbering system. Thus what we know today as Psalm 119 was known to Augustine as 118. Rohlfing 3

Structure of Psalm 119: More than a Simple Acrostic

In order to understand the arguments of modern scholars, as well as the psalmist’s genius, it is necessary that this paper first examine the structure of Psalm 119. Understanding the basic structure of the psalm will also allow the reader to comprehend how the psalmist was able to maintain his single-minded subject weaving it throughout the entirety of the longest chapter of the Psalter. The composition of Psalm 119 follows a very rigid structure. In a basic sense, the psalm is an alphabetic acrostic containing twenty-two stanzas consisting of eight lines each. Each stanza corresponds to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with the letters śîn and šîn combined into one stanza. In Hebrew, each line of every stanza begins with the corresponding letter of the stanza, though this structure is not maintained in English translations. However, this basic structure is simply a framework in which the psalmist makes a large number of adjustments to the form.4

Another primary feature of Psalm 119, which is the occasion of the majority of the formal adjustments, is the existence of eight key words all related to the concept of God’s word or law.

These eight words are torah, ‘edot, mishpat, mitswot, hoq, piqqudim, dabar, and ‘imrah, which translate respectively as law/teaching, decree/stipulation, judgments/rulings, commandments, statute, precepts, words, and saying.5 In total these words appear 177 times, one time more than the total number of 176 verses. Scholars often argue that one word was unintentionally added so that the number of key words ought to be equal to the number of verses; however, even if this were true, the structure is not quite as simple as one key word per verse. 6 Only four of the

4 Freedman, Psalm 119, 31. 5 David J Clark, “Translating Psalm 119: Some Practical Suggestions,” Practical Papers for the Bible Translator 58, no. 4 (October 1, 2007): 187; Freedman, Psalm 119, 32-33. 6 Freedman, Psalm 119, 26 and 31. Rohlfing 4

twenty-two stanzas contain all eight words, one per line. In fact each word is missing from at least one stanza, some stanzas contain the same word twice, and some verses contain multiple key words. Despite all of these fluctuations, 167 verses have one key word each.7 Four verses--3,

37, 90 and 122--are completely missing any of the key words.8 If the psalm is divided into two

halves, these correspond to the five verses--16, 48, 160, 168, and 172--which have more than one term, though the fifth verse causes something of a problem since it does not have a

corresponding empty verse.9 Of the eight key words, four are feminine and four are masculine.10

Freedman argues that while only three of the words occur exactly twenty-two times within the psalm, the correct number for one per verse with an even distribution, the words when placed in pairs all add up to forty-four times, the correct number for two words, excepting the one extra word within the psalm.11 The most common word within the psalm is torah which appears a total

of twenty-five times.12 The word yhwh, though not one of the key words, is also very common,

appearing twenty-four times throughout the psalm. Despite the fact that these two words together

form the core of the psalm’s subject matter, they only occur together once, in verse 1.13 Although

many scholars argue, to varying degrees, that there are flaws within the structure, since

numerically even what initially appear to be flaws have a place, the majority of these features

were likely intentional

This strict numeric based structure does two things. Firstly, it enables the psalmist to stay

within the bounds of the Hebrew poetic structure through the use of both repetition and the

acrostic. Within the Psalter, repetition is a literary element that is used again and again as two

7 Freedman, Psalm 119, 26. 8 Clark “Translating Psalm 119,” 186. 9 Clark “Translating Psalm 119,” 186, Freedman, Psalm 119, 41. 10 Freedman, Psalm 119, 36. 11 Freedman, Psalm 119, 38. 12 Freedman, Psalm 119, 33. 13 Freedman, Psalm 119, 33. Rohlfing 5

verses in a row are often synonymous. Additionally, there are seven other alphabetic acrostics in

the Psalter--Psalms 9/10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, and 145--demonstrating that this format is not

unique to the psalmist who composed Psalm 119.14 The acrostic format allows him to explore his

subject matter, in this case his love of and desire for God’s Law, throughout the length the

twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Writing eight verses per letter demonstrates the immense importance of this subject for the psalmist; however, allowing himself to make

adjustments to the formal structure proves that he is not confined by his structure; rather, he is

using the structure as a method of demonstrating his devotion and love. Although the structure is

rigid, the psalmist uses numerous different images in order to clearly demonstrate the immense

intensity of his love, giving the psalm variety and depth.

Modern Scholars: Two Opposing Views on the Value of Psalm 119

Now that the structure of the psalm has been examined, this paper will turn to a

discussion of the work of modern scholars on Psalm 119, most of whom have made the structure

their primary focus. In making the structure their focus, these scholars have neglected the

psalm’s content, specifically the language of desire. Among modern scholars there are two

primary camps of opinion regarding Psalm 119. The first group of scholars, including W.O.E.

Oesterley and Artur Weiser, looks at Psalm 119 with contempt. The second group, of which

David Noel Freedman is one of the primary members, generally finds the psalm, especially the

structure, a captivating study. Regardless of their position, however, both groups largely neglect

the content of the psalm, focusing almost wholly on the structure. While the structure is

intriguing, the content, particularly the language of desire, is fascinating, valuable, and worthy of

closer scrutiny because of its message to modern Christians and its depth of language.

14 Freedman, Psalm 119, 1. Rohlfing 6

The primary consensus held by a large number of modern scholars, the first group, is an

attitude of disdain towards Psalm 119. The group of scholars who hold this view typically claim

that the strict structure of the psalm is simply an academic exercise on the part of the psalmist.

They claim that the structure is unoriginal and artificial, resulting in too much repetition.15 One

such, Artur Weiser, claims, “The simple form of the diction makes it unnecessary to expound the

psalm in detail.” 16 Weiser also “dismiss[es it] as ‘a particularly artificial product of religious

poetry…a many colored mosaic of thoughts which are often repeated in wearisome fashion.”17

Another scholar, W.O.E. Oesterley, concludes that “it is largely due to this artificial construction that the composition abounds in repetitions which makes the reading of it somewhat monotonous.”18 However, this criticism lacks merit since repetition is one of the key features of

Hebrew poetry and visible throughout the Psalms. Unlike Augustine, who will be discussed later

in this paper, these scholars find little value or profundity in Psalm 119, only tedious and

repetitive length.

Some of the scholars claim, moreover, the simple structure results in a sloppy

disconnected final product. As a result of this general condescension, many scholars have

attempted to find ways to “fix” the problems they see within the psalm. Some of these attempts

at so-called “fixes” come as a result of differences in the text between the Hebrew MT and the

Greek LXX.19 Others fall under the category of adding missing words or removing ones which are repeated, issues often thought of as scribal errors, though other scholars believe these to be

15 Freedman, Psalm 119, 87. 16 Artur Weiser, The Psalms, A Commentary (Philadelphia:Westminster,1962): 740-741, quoted in C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 223. 17 Robert Davidson, The Vitality of Worship: a Commentary On the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans , 1998): 388. 18 W.O.E. Oesterley, The Psalms (London: SPCK, 1955):486, quoted in Freedman, Psalm 119, 87. 19 MT is the common abbreviation for the Masoretic Text, the Hebrew text of the Bible copied by Jewish scholars between the seventh and tenth centuries CE which is commonly used as the basis for modern English translations. LXX is the common abbreviation for the , the Koine Greek translation of the translated during the third and second centuries BCE in Alexandria. Rohlfing 7

intentional deviations of form as discussed earlier in this paper. It is argued that “since there is a synonym for tôrâ in virtually every verse…then the absence of a synonym, or the appearance of two, in a verse must be a sign of textual corruption or authorial sloppiness.”20 This assumption leads to the proposal of exponential numbers of corrections which logistically seems extreme; however, given textual differences, some changes from the original text seem likely according to most scholars.21

Conversely, although this largely negative view of Psalm 119 is common, it is not the only view. In recent years, a number of scholars have spent extensive time studying the psalm and its structure and tend to disagree with the common consensus. These scholars admire the skill required by the psalmist in order to carefully carry out the rigid structure throughout the extensive entirety of the psalm, seeing many of the irregularities as deliberate and not breaking with the overall structure. David Noel Freedman, an ordained Presbyterian minister who earned a doctorate in Semitic languages and literature and taught Biblical and Hebrew studies at a number of universities and seminaries, wrote an extensive study on the structure of Psalm 119. In this study, he claims that, “Just when we think we have found a mistake, an omission, an insertion, an accidental alteration, or even an editorial change, it turns out to be a deliberate deviation from the norm, and what looks like a defect turns out to be part of a more sophisticated rearrangement of the parts.”22 He goes on to explain that this doesn’t mean that there have been no errors in transmission through the ages, however, those errors are not nearly as numerous as many claim.23 Indeed, the structure, he explains through the course of two chapters, is much more complicated than the simple acrostic it originally appears. Most of what, at first glance, appear to

20 Freedman, Psalm 119, 87. 21 Freedman, Psalm 119, 87. 22 Freedman, Psalm 119, 27. 23 Freedman, Psalm 119, 27. Rohlfing 8

be omissions or insertions in actuality follow a consistent pattern throughout the psalm. Almost everything fits together in a strict numerical pattern. For example, the number of omissions in the first half is equal to the number of insertions in the first half, maintaining the proper number of key words within the first half of the psalm. While Freedman does suggest a few corrections, they are much fewer than those suggested by other scholars.24

Freedman is not the only scholar to possess a curiosity and admiration for Psalm 119.

Others, including R.N. Whybray, Marcus Nodder, and Jon D. Levenson, have studied various other aspects of the psalm such as the psalmist’s message and purpose, how the stanzas fit together, and even what specific law the psalmist references. Nevertheless, no one, to this author’s knowledge, has focused entirely on content and specifically not on the psalmist’s desire to know and understand the law, to use the law in order to grow closer to God, and to find rest for his yearning in the depth of God’s commandments. Instead, their studies usually focus on the structure of the psalm, only referring to content when necessary.

Augustine, the Psalms, and the Content of Psalm 119

Unlike modern scholars, the content, for Augustine, is the only part of the psalm that matters. Structure is peripheral to him; therefore, he spends all of his time expounding on the details of the psalm’s content, mentioning structure almost as an afterthought in the final sermon.25 In addition to the fact that, for Augustine, the content was the important part of any text, his decision to only mention the structure as an afterthought could potentially be due in part to his lack of knowledge of the . Since he did not read Hebrew, it would have been impossible for him to study the nuances of the psalm’s structure. However, before getting

24 Discussed at length in Freedman, Psalm 119, 25-86 25 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 32.8, trans. Boulding, 495-496. Rohlfing 9

into Augustine’s interpretation of Psalm 119 specifically, it is necessary to understand his view

of the Psalms in a more general sense.

For Augustine, the Psalms are the history of the human soul, a history spent in

conversation with God.26 This conversation represented by the Psalms can be seen as a transcript

of all human conversations with God.27 Thus, the Psalter is an example of how to have a

relationship with God. Augustine’s view of the centrality of the psalms in the Christian life is

visible in the pages of his Confessions. The first sentence of the entire work, “You are great,

Lord, and highly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is immeasurable,” is a

quotation from Psalms and “for the rest of the work hardly a page goes by without one such

reference.” 28 Throughout the course of the work he references 323 different verses from Psalms, many of them multiple times.29 He appropriates the words of the psalms to tell his story,

inserting a snippet here and a snippet there, whenever it suits his purposes, because for him life

and the Psalms are indistinguishable. Augustine saw his life as revealed within the Psalms.

Moreover, Augustine correlates the Psalms to Christ, the Word, speaking as the head of

the body of believers, taking on human anguish as his own.30 It could be said that, for Augustine:

The entire Psalter represents in its language, its verbal prayer, the very heart of the Christian mystery—the exchange of God and humanity in the Word-made-flesh, still abiding in the totus Christus. In order to understand the meaning of the psalms, the hearer must already be situated in the ecclesial body. To see oneself in the psalm and be healed by it, one must see his/her [sic] own passion in the groans and lamentations voiced by the head on the cross.31

26 Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, "Augustine and the Psalms," Interpretation 58, no. 1 (January 1, 2004): 17. 27 Williams, “Augustine and the Psalms,” 18. 28 Saint Augustine, Confessions:1.1, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 3. Williams, “Augustine and the Psalms,” 17. 29 According to this author’s count from Augustine, Confessions, trans. Chadwick. 30 Williams, “Augustine and the Psalms,” 24. 31 Michael Cornelius McCarthy, "An ecclesiology of groaning: Augustine, the Psalms, and the making of church," Theological Studies 66, no. 1 (March 1, 2005): 34. Rohlfing 10

When Christ became flesh, for Augustine, he became one with humanity. Consequently, His

voice became not only the voice of God (John 1) but also the voice of the human race. In this

way, the Word made flesh speaks “to, with, and within the Church,” making the Bible, and

especially the Psalms, both the voice of Christ and the voice of Christians in conversation with

God. 32 Thus, “for Augustine, the psalms [sic] possess a dialectical character and comprise an

ongoing, communicative exchange between God and humanity within the ecclesial body, which

prays and meditates upon them,” making them a vital piece of worship and study.33

In his Enarrationes in Psalmos, the “Expositions of the Psalms,” Augustine treats every

Psalm in the Psalter, carefully examining them in sermons for his congregation. Yet he

deliberately avoided Psalm 119 as long as possible, only treating it because of pressure from his

colleagues. He explains, “My brethren took it badly that this psalm alone should lack an exposition in our insignificant writings, inasmuch as it too belongs to the collection of psalms; and they pressed me insistently to discharge the debt.”34 It seems that his colleagues were as

relentless in pressuring Augustine in this matter as they were in others, from pressuring him into

a position of leadership within the Church to the writing of various other works.35 In his

prologue to the “Expositions of Psalm 118,” he claims that his avoidance was due to the

profundity of the psalm, not its length stating, “For a long time I did not yield to their requests or

even to their commands, because every time I tried to think about it, it always seemed far beyond

the powers of my mind. The plainer it seems, the more profound does it appear to me, so much

so that I cannot even demonstrate how profound it is.”36 He clearly doubts his own ability to treat

32 McCarthy, “Ecclesiology of Groaning,” 29. 33 McCarthy, “Ecclesiology of Groaning,” 29. 34 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : prologue, trans. Boulding, 342. 35 Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000), 131 36 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : prologue, trans. Boulding, 342. Rohlfing 11

the psalm fully for he states, “Now at long last I approach the task of dealing with it, but I have

absolutely no idea what I can manage,” implying that it is simply too vast and too profound for

him to do it justice.37 It is not the length that he finds off putting but the theological depth of the psalmist’s enumeration of his passion for God’s Law.

Indeed, it does appear that Augustine found great value for the believer, in the psalm,

treating it very extensively once he began. Moving verse by verse, or group of verses, through the length of the psalm, he spent 32 sermons carefully examining the content of Psalm 119.

However, his lengthy exploration isn’t simply the result of the psalm’s profound length of 176 verses. Rather, it is due in part to his intense treatment, spending, for example, two entire sermons on verse three alone.38 There are other verses he also treats quite extensively, though

none with as great a length as verse three. In addition, he entirely skips verse 35, neglecting it for some indeterminate reason.39

The concept of torah is the psalm’s common theme, the one thing that ties Psalm 119

together in its entirety; however, it is necessary to consider whether this is the only common

theme that Augustine draws upon through his examinations. In fact, torah, or law, is a theme that

plays only a minimal role in the “Expositions of Psalm 118.” Since this is the primary theme of

Psalm 119, this is somewhat problematic, causing the reader to wonder at Augustine’s reasoning

for neglecting such a major theme. Nevertheless, Augustine does occasionally touch on the

psalmist’s desire to understand God’s law, usually in conjunction with a discussion of the

Church. Augustine draws more commonly on the ideas of sin and the commandments as well as

the presence of Pauline ideals and evidence of Christ’s presence.40 He begins his examination

37 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : prologue, trans. Boulding, 342. 38 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 2.1-3.3, trans. Boulding, 347-354. 39 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 11.4-11.6, trans. Boulding, 389-390. 40 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118, trans. Boulding. Rohlfing 12

with a discussion of the human longing for happiness and the assertion that such happiness can

only be found, according to the psalmist, in the law. For Augustine, this means it must be found

in the Christian’s walk with Christ which requires imitation of Christ.41 However, “Augustine

does not offer an exact prescription for the imitation of Christ; it is more that he underlines the

inevitability of passing through the cross if we are to speak fully with the voice of the divine

Son.”42 From this point, he moves quickly to his lengthy discussion of verse 3, a discussion

centering on sin. For the remainder of the psalm, the struggle with sin and the triumph of faith

over sin is rarely absent from Augustine’s commentary. The previously stated fact that Augustine

believes Christ and His voice to be central to the Psalms is also evident throughout the

“Expositions of Psalm 118,” even in the headings: verse 41 is “The mercy and salvation prayed

for is Christ himself;” verses 63-64, “Christ speaks in his own person and in his members;” verse

79, “ Christ speaks in his own name;” verse 81, “the Church of the ages longs for Christ;” verse

99, “Christ speaks in his own person;” verse 120, “crucified with Christ;” and verse 161,

“Loyalty to Christ does not exclude civic loyalty.”43 Over and over again Christ is present within

the psalm, despite the fact that nowhere is He explicitly mentioned. This comes, in part, from the

fact that “Augustine worked out of a tradition that stressed the prophetic function of the Hebrew

Bible. The psalms were David's prophecy and …all prophecy of the psalms must be applied to

Christ.”44 As a result, for Augustine, this Christocentric view overshadows the psalmist’s

emphasis on law since Christ is the most important aspect of all of the Psalms. Paul, a central

figure to Augustine’s own religious growth, is also mentioned, primarily in the discussion of

41 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 1.1-1.3, trans. Boulding, 343-346. 42 Williams, “Augustine and the Psalms,” 20. 43 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 13.1, 16.6, 19.6, 20.1, 22.3, 25.6, 31.3, trans. Boulding, 399, 416, 432, 434, 445, 464, 488. 44 McCarthy, “Ecclesiology of Groaning,” 31. Rohlfing 13

verse 119 in which Augustine strives to reconcile Pauline discussion of the law with that of the psalmist.45

Desire in Psalm 119: Not just Law, but Erotic Law

Having reached a comprehension of the scholarship, both modern and in the early church, regarding Psalm 119, this paper will now move to a careful examination of the language, the content, of the psalm itself. Modern scholarship that discusses the language of desire found within the psalm will be enumerated followed by a careful examination of several images of erotic desire for the Law. This examination will include Augustine’s explanation of the verses from his “Expositions of Psalm 118” as well as the author’s own exegesis. The complex acrostic structure provides the psalmist with a method of completely demonstrating the intense importance of his desire for the law. This desire that the psalmist expresses is not simply intense or loving, it is erotic in nature. The expressions used to give voice to the psalmist’s desire are often reminiscent of the desire a lover expresses for his beloved. They imply not only a longing but a need and a heightening of the senses, similar to that experienced in an intimate relationship.

These expressions demonstrate desire in three primary ways. First, there are some essential words in addition to the law key words that are used repeatedly. Secondly, they use a couple of distinct verbal structures and finally simply the images which are presented.

In addition to the eight key words, the psalm is full of images of desire and love expressing the psalmist’s love of God’s law and his desire to know and understand it more fully.

This imagery, erotic at times, demonstrates the depth of the psalmist’s commitment to living a godly life and the role he believes the law to play in that life. Two of the more common words used to articulate this desire are ’hav (love) and delight, expressed as both a noun (ša‘ašu‘a) and

45 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 25.1-25.5, trans. Boulding, 459-464. Rohlfing 14

a verb (chafats). The noun form of delight used by the psalmist only appears a total of eight times in the including in a love song in Isaiah. The verb form shows up in numerous other places besides the psalm, including in the Song of Songs as a way expressing the love of the lover and his beloved. Although desire means wanting and delight means happiness or joy, delight often comes from the fulfillment of a desire, thus it plays an important role in the imagery of the psalm. The other prevalent manner of conveying this pleading desire is through the use of grammar. There are two main verb forms used throughout Psalm 119 which demonstrate the intensity of the psalmist’s desire. The first form is the jussive which is a verb form used to express a wish, desire, or command. In this case it usually appears as the psalmist begs God for greater knowledge and understanding of the law, desiring to grow even closer to

God. Typically these passages can be translated let me or let/may it be. The other primary verb form is the use of the hiphil, or causative form of the verb. The psalmist repeatedly asks God to cause the relationship to be closer saying cause me to do something or make me.

Since scholars tend to focus primarily on structure rather than on content, they rarely touch on the language of desire that is ever present throughout the entirety of the psalm. What scholars do say about the psalmist’s desire for the law is usually brief or negative, so here

Augustine is used as a model of a positive scholarly opinion. Weiser claims that…

…one cannot fail to realize that a piety such as is expressed in the psalm, according to which God’s word and law take the place of God himself and his wondrous works (v. 13), are even worshipped (v. 48), and become the source of that comfort which as a rule is bestowed upon man by the divine saving grace (vv. 50, 92), carries with it the germs of a development which was bound to end in the self-righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes.46

This view seems unnecessarily harsh, yet it does make some attempt to deal with the intensity of the psalmist’s desire. In his brief commentary on the Psalms, C. Hassell Bullock states that, “In

46 Weiser, The Psalms, A Commentary, 740-741, quoted in Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms, 223. Rohlfing 15

view of the larger context of love (khesed) in which the Torah was given, one can more readily

understand why the psalmist would fall in love with God’s decrees and delight in them. They

were given in love and administered in love.”47 Bullock and others only briefly touch upon the psalmist’s longing for the law and then move on, giving little support to the quick claims they make. Whybray comes the closest to fully examining the psalmist’s desire, explaining that, “it

appears what the psalmist is requesting is not a knowledge of the law in a literal sense but a

deeper understanding of that law, with which he is already familiar.”48 He also suggests that,

rather than being an academic exercise, as many others have suggested, Psalm 119 is devotional

poetry full of language indicating an “outpouring of the most intense religious feeling.”49

Moreover, he argues that the psalmist’s “aim [is] to instill in his readers his own conviction that

total devotion to the will of God is the only sure route to happiness in this world.”50 While

Whybray, to a degree, pays attention to the intense desire of the psalmist to grow closer to God

through developing a greater understanding of the law, he neglects to discuss the intensity of the

language of desire and what that means for both psalmist and reader.

The satisfaction of a desire results in happiness, something which Augustine believes

human beings continually seek.51 Happiness comes from enjoyment, either legitimate or

illegitimate; therefore, any discussion involving both Augustine and desire necessarily must

include a brief conversation of the concept of uti (use) and frui (enjoyment). For Augustine the

difference between use and enjoyment is a vital differentiation. He defines this difference in

book one of De Doctrina Christiana, stating “To enjoy is to cling to something lovingly for its

47 Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms, 224. 48 Roger N. Whybray, "Psalm 119: profile of a psalmist," in Wisdom, you are my sister (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Assoc of America, 1997), 35. 49 Whybray, “Psalm 119,” 32. 50 Whybray, “Psalm 119,” 40. 51 St. Augustine, Enchridion on Faith, Hope, and Love 1.25, trans. J.B. Shaw (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc, 1996), 31. Rohlfing 16

own sake; to use, however, is to refer what has come your way to what love aims to obtain,

provided that it deserves to be loved.”52 Additionally “only eternal, unchangeable realities are to

be enjoyed, while the rest are to be used,” thus only God ought to be enjoyed.53 The human

condition is one that desires to find happiness in all that one does, and the ultimate happiness is

found in enjoyment while every small joy or pleasure points to the absolute Joy. Thus, since only

God can be truly enjoyed, when human beings are separated from the divine they have a deep

longing to return to a close relationship with the divine. Moreover, this deep longing, coming

from the depth of one’s being, causes one to desire to follow God and His Law at all times in

order to draw closer to true enjoyment. 54 Therefore, the language of desire that the psalmist

directs towards the torah would, according to Augustine’s concept of uti and frui, be the result of

his longing to grow closer to God in order to experience enjoyment. While Augustine never

specifically mentions this concept in his “Expositions of Psalm 118,” since De Doctrina

Christiana, where the concept is explained, was written later in his life, most scholars believe

that this concept is traceable throughout his body of work. Since it ties directly to desire, while

not explicitly mentioned, understanding the concept of uti and frui is helpful for examining

Psalm 119, and especially Augustine’s exegesis of the psalm.

There are a number of examples from the psalm which demonstrate this language of

desire. Each example includes the Hebrew text of the verse, the author’s literal translation, and a

popular English translation, taken from the New Revised Standard Version. In addition to a

careful examination of each verse, explanation of Augustine’s commentary on the verse is also

52 Augustine, On Christian Doctrine 1.4.4, quoted in Raymond Canning, “Uti/frui,” in Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia, ed. Allan D. Fitzgerald, O.S.A. (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), 859. 53 Canning, “Uti/frui,” 859. 54 St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine: 1.4.4-1.5.5, 1.8.8, 1.22.20-21, 1.25.26-1.27.28, trans. J.F. Shaw (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 2009), 4-5, 6-7, 13-14, 17-19. Rohlfing 17

included in order to gain the perspective of a scholar who has examined the content and

discussed desire to an extent. Also included in this section is a brief conversation on verses 3

and 105, which while not vital to the discussion of desire are connected and are very important

verses. Verse 3 is the verse which Augustine treats most extensively. Of all the verses in Psalm

119, most modern Christians are most familiar with verse 105 as it has seen the most use in

contemporary worship.

Verse 3 55 “who also do no wrong, but walk in his

ways,” literally, indeed they do not do injustice. They walk in His ways. This verse is the verse

upon which Augustine spends the most time, a total of two and a half sermons. The first half is in

conjunction with verse 2; however, his translation is a somewhat different reading, “Those who

56 break his law have not walked in his ways.”55F He heads the six sections of his sermons on verse

3 “Wholehearted search for God through his scriptures;” “The promised happiness is present in

hope;” “All the saints are sinners; true humility;” “Paul walked in the Lord’s ways, yet he was a sinner;” “Concupiscence is not the same as deliberate sin;” “Concupiscence remains after

57 baptism;” and “The sin of unbelief estranges us from the Lord’s ways.”56F Augustine deals here with the issue that saints still sin, despite the fact that after baptism Christians strive to walk in

God’s ways, as a result of original sin,. His conclusion then is that sin, if not willful, does not

58 constitute a diversion from walking in God’s path.57F This verse seems to have little to do with

desire; however, as a continuation of verses 1-2, “Happy are those whose way is blameless, who

55 The author is aware that this is a change in style as up to this point all Hebrew has been transliterated; however, since the entire verse is given here followed directly by an English translation, the author feels that the use of the Hebrew text is more practical and useful. 56 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118: 1.2, trans. Boulding, 344. This is the translation that appears in both the Vulgate and the LXX, yet it is almost completely opposite of the Hebrew. While this essentially means the same thing the Latin is the negative while the Hebrew is the positive, a continuation of the subject from the previous two verses. 57 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 1.2-3.3, trans. Boulding, 344-354. 58 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 3.1, trans. Boulding, 351-352. Rohlfing 18

walk in the law of the Lord. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their

whole heart,” it follows that, in order to be happy, to reach enjoyment, the psalmist believes that one must walk in the ways of the Lord, doing no injustice. Walking in the ways of Lord is the means for reaching enjoyment, the path that one must take to reach the ultimate Joy. Thus to fulfill the desire for happiness, something Augustine believes all humans continually strive for, one must walk in the ways of the Lord as delineated in the law, and in order to follow the law, one must learn it and understand, enjoy, and use it.

Verse 105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light

59 to my path.” The literal translation is identical to this. 58F Augustine’s heading for the section on

verse 105 is “The Word is the true light; humans are illumined.” He claims that Christ Himself,

the Word which became flesh, is the only true light, while the Bible illuminates the path of the

Christian life, causing Christians to become lamps shining the light of Christ, reflecting it in their

60 own lives.59F While the language used here isn’t nearly as indicative of desire as that used in other

examples examined, the imagery still indicates what the psalmist believes an understanding of

God’s law can do for his life. Lamps and lights are things which illuminate spaces. They cast out

darkness, replacing it with a bright space, making objects visible to the eye. Light is also often

indicative of joy or happiness. Here the psalmist states that through understanding of the word of

God, light, and therefore happiness, since light illumines God’s law and allows him to

experience enjoyment, comes into his life. He is able to understand the path which he is to follow, thus having at least some semblance of peace in his life.

Verse 20 “My soul is consumed with

longing for your ordinances at all times,” literally, My soul is crushed with longing for your

59 This verse is the one verse in Psalm 119 which many modern Christians know, largely because it forms the chorus of a well known Amy Grant song, “Thy Word” released in 1984 on her album Straight Ahead. 60 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 23.1, trans. Boulding, 450-451. Rohlfing 19

judgments at all times. The psalmist here explains that he does not simply long for God’s

ordinances and wish to obey them. Rather his soul is crushed with a longing to obey at all times.

The image of being crushed with longing is one of overpowering desire. It is a desire that

controls, one that has overcome all else. This is a desire that is often thought of in a sexual sense,

yet here the psalmist applies it to God’s judgments. He is so in love with God’s law and so

desirous of a better understanding and a stronger relationship that the desire continually

consumes his thoughts. This desire, having taken a crushing control of the psalmist’s soul is not

fleeting; rather it is all consuming, impacting every moment of the psalmist’s life.

Augustine’s headings for verse 20 are “Wanting to want God’s will,” “A subtle analysis of how we can want a desire,” and “Conclusion: the psalm has indicated stages.”61 He explains

that in order for a Christian to have as strong a desire for the law as the psalmist here suggests, one must first desire to have that desire. He explains that such a desire cannot come from one’s own power but rather comes through the power of Christ. Thus, in order to be given the desire, a believer must first ask God for that desire.62

Verses 35-6

“Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Turn my heart to your

decrees, and not to selfish gain,” literally, Cause me to walk in the pathway of your

commandments for in it I take delight. Inline my heart to your testimonies and not to unjust gain.

61 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 8.3-8.5, trans. Boulding, 374-377. 62 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 8.3-8.4, trans. Boulding, 374-376. Rohlfing 20

Here the psalmist makes two essential claims in regards to desire. First, he claims that he takes delight in the path of God’s commandments. For him, it is not something displeasing or difficult.

Instead of considering obedience to God an unpleasant task the psalmist believes that following

the path set out by the Lord is an intense pleasure, something desirous. Secondly, the psalmist

asks God to cause him to walk in the correct path and to incline his heart to God’s testimonies.

This pleasure gained by obedience to God’s commands comes not through the psalmist’s own

power but through God’s guidance. Yes, the psalmist does find pleasure in the law but he cannot

find that pleasure on his own, it takes the help of God. It is also significant to note that it is not

his mind or his actions that the psalmist requests God to incline towards the law, but his heart.

This implies that the psalmist is aware that his desire is not something logical that he can control,

but a matter of the heart, a matter of love.

In his examination, Augustine completely skips verse 35. This is notable because this

verse is the only verse in the entire psalm that he does not treat, even in conjunction with other

verses. He does seem to mention the verse in What his exploration makes this of all verse consuming 34; however, desire appealno textual to both

theindication psalmist is andgiven Augustine? of this fact. It isThus the whileknowledge he minimally that upon mentions being filled it, Augustine with such does desire not one can

doacknowledge nothing but it drawas verse closer 35. to63 HisGod heading through for study verse of 36His is word. “Disinterested Through studyservice comes of God a greater.”64 For

Augustine,understanding disinterested, and with aservice greater is understanding positive because comes by disinterest a closer relationship he means that to God worship. With and a

servicecloser relationship of God is done to God because comes God’s a grea veryter peace. nature demands it and devotion to him commands it.

This is in opposition to an interested service of God which would be done only for what the

worshiper can get out of it. He explains that it is covetousness, or greed, which can be an

obstacle to a believer carrying out a disinterested service.65 In terms of the desire expressed in

63 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 11.5, trans. Boulding, 390. 64 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 11.6, trans. Boulding, 390-392. 65 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 11.6, trans. Boulding, 390-392. Rohlfing 21

verse 36, this means that since the psalmist desires to grow closer to God, he needs God’s help to

obey God’s word rather than his own sinful nature’s inclination toward selfishness.

Verses 76-7

“Let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant.

Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.” A literal translation is

Let it be your loving kindness to console me according to your promise to your servant. Let your

compassion come to me that I may live for your law is my delight. These verses are significant

specifically for the fact that both verses 76 and 77 begin with a jussive. The psalmist is asking,

even begging, God to grant his request. In verse 76, he claims a promise from God’s word. The

psalmist asks God to console him through His loving kindness. The word ‘console’, or even

‘comfort,’ as the NRSV translates it, connotes affliction by some great sorrow. Only in God can

the psalmist find comfort-only in the arms of the Creator, his one love, can the psalmist find

consolation and peace which he longs for in his relationship with God. Verse 77 takes this idea

one step further, claiming that only through an outpouring of God’s compassion can the psalmist

have continued life. He lives as a result of the pleasure and delight he gains from the law, yet

only through God’s compassion and mercy can he understand and delight in that law. It is

through His mercy that God grants the psalmist the desire to revel in the law and, through that, to

grow closer to Him and to find rest in Him. Although the term servant at first seems in conflict with the concept of erotic love, in reality it is not. In a strong intimate relationship between two lovers, each must serve the other, giving of himself or herself in order to ensure the pleasure of the other and the health of the relationship. Similarly, the psalmist serves God, his beloved, in order to please God and strengthen the love and the relationship. Rohlfing 22

Augustine’s analysis of these verses is included in a larger section on verses 75-78 titled

“Our present life is shadowed by death, but mercy and true life will follow.”66 He argues that, as sinners, death is the fate of all humankind, yet God offers mercy and therefore hope. That mercy is the gift of life, not simply life on earth, but eternal life. This is what Augustine calls the “only state deserving of the name life” as it is “without end and without any misery.”67 He claims that the psalmist reaches that life as a result of meditation on God’s Law. This is not simply any meditation but a “lover’s meditation, the pondering of one who is so much in love that the charity fostered in his mediation will never grow cold.”68

Verse 81 The verse, “My soul languishes for your salvation; I hope in your word,” literally, My soul wastes away for your salvation. I hope for your word, provides an understanding of how essential the psalmist finds a desire for the law explaining The psalmist’s very being is failing in want of God and His law, wasting away with desire and need. Like a lover who believes that only physical loving will satisfy his need, the psalmist needs to draw nearer to God through His Law. In want of salvation, the one thing that will come to him through his meditation on the law and give him peace, the psalmist’s soul wastes away. That which strengthens him is the fact that he places his hope upon the word of

God. The psalmist knows that, if his one desire is fulfilled, he will survive; he will have peace and rest in his salvation if he is able to draw closer to God through the law.

66 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 19.3-19.5, trans. Boulding, 430-432. 67 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 19.4, trans. Boulding, 431. 68 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 19.4, trans. Boulding, 431. Rohlfing 23

In the section on verse 81, Augustine discusses both Christ and the Church, titling it “The

Church of the ages longs for Christ.”69 He argues that the psalmist, through the voice of the whole Church, falls away in weariness. However, this weariness is a good thing because it brings the speaker toward God, and salvation, not away from Him. The “Church of the ages” refers to

the fact that before the birth of Christ God’s people longed for His coming. After the ascension

the Church still longs for his coming, but this time the second coming.70

It takes then not just loving, but being

totally inVerses love with97-100 God and His law in order to build the relationship that leads to salvation and

peace.

“Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. Your commandment makes

me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. I have more understanding than all my

teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.” The literal translation is a virtually identical reading: How I love your law. All the day it is my meditation. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies for it is with me for eternity. I understand more than all my teachers for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the old ones for I keep your precepts. This set of verses begins with a simple declaration of powerful love. The psalmist then goes on to elaborate on his statement, explaining that this love is so powerful that it consumes his entire day. The law is always on his mind, the focus of his meditation, just as a lover thinks always of his beloved. Instead of the sexual gratification that the lover finds in his beloved, through his passion for God’s Law the psalmist gains wisdom and understanding. Since he knows God’s commandment he has an

69 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 20.1, trans. Boulding, 434-435. 70 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 20.1, trans. Boulding, 434-435. Rohlfing 24

eternal wisdom that outshines anyone who works against him. His all consuming passion and

continual meditation have given him more insight than those who sought to impart their

knowledge upon him. Through his obedience to God’s commands he has come to understand

more even than the elders of his people. In this way, the gratification of his intense desire and

love has proven to be a benefit, one which has elevated him over his enemies.

Here, along with a mention of Christ, Augustine includes a discussion As Augustine of the love claims of the the

Churchlaw. His longs, headings so the for psalmist these verses longs are: for “ anLove understanding for God’s law, of God’s” “Wise law, understanding and therefore with salvation regard

toand the rest, law, with” “Christ his entire speaks being. in his The own only person, path to” andreach “God’s that point commands is through versus the theword. tradition of the ancients.”71 Augustine postulates that the love that the psalmist has for the law is a love which

triumphs over all other things, especially over “intemperate desire” which holds humanity apart

from God.72 It is the psalmist’s zeal for both God and for understanding of the law which allows

him to become wiser than his enemies. He realizes that he cannot through his own strength obey

the law, but rather he must allow it to be his passion. Once the law is the psalmist’s passion, then

God leads him down the pathway of obedience; however, without passion he has no desire to

obey and therefore has no close relationship with God.73 The passion provides the psalmist with the desire to know and obey, building an intimate relationship with God Augustine goes on to argue that here Christ must be the speaker for He is the only one who could possibly be wiser than all others in regard to the word of God. This argument, as well as the explanation for verse

100, only makes sense in that Augustine regarded the psalms as prophetic.74 However, regardless

of the prophetic nature, the argument holds that the psalmist’s love for the law begets his

71 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 22.1-22.4, trans. Boulding, 443-447. 72 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 22.1, trans. Boulding, 443-444. 73 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 22.2, trans. Boulding, 444-445. 74 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 22.3-22.4, trans. Boulding, 445-447. Rohlfing 25

meditation on the law. This then propagates his wisdom and understanding, raising him to a

higher relationship with God and therefore a greater peace.

Verse 120 “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments,” literally this reads My body trembles in fear of you, and I fear your judgments. This is one of the most overtly physical images found in the psalm. Fear

means more than being afraid. In this case, it likely means awe and reverence. The word samar,

which begins the verse, means ‘bristle up’. While not a phrase commonly used in modern speech, it brings to mind a sense of goose bumps rising on the skin when the hair on the arms stands up. It also signifies a heightened awareness, similar to that which occurs during intimate relations. It would seem then that the psalmist is so desirous of drawing closer to God and obeying His judgments, so in awe of His power, that his flesh becomes alert and his body trembles.

75 Augustine’s heading for this verse is “Crucified with Christ.”74F The translation which he

uses for this verse reads “Pierce my flesh with fear of you; for I have been fearful of your

judgments,” a wording somewhat different than the literal translation. Augustine then explains

that the psalmist desires for God to crucify his earthly desires that put him in fear of God’s

wrath; therefore, he prays that God would pierce his flesh and lift up only his desire to obey

76 God.75F This reading conveys a greater sense of desire because the psalmist so wants to grow

closer to God, and the peace that relationship brings, that he pleads for help in overcoming

everything which stands in his way, much in the same way a man strives to find a way beyond

obstacles to reach his beloved, no matter how difficult those obstacles may be. Although this

75 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 25.6-25.7, trans. Boulding, 464-465. 76 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 25.7, trans. Boulding, 464-465. Rohlfing 26

process may cause pain, it also forces the psalmist to rely on God, bringing about a closer relationship and a deeper, more intense passion and love.

Verse 136 “My eyes shed streams of tears because your law is not kept.” A literal translation of this verse reads Channels of water go down from my eyes because they do not keep your law. Augustine calls this section “Tears of

77 repentance.”76F These are tears, yet more than tears. They are torrents of water, floods flowing from the eyes of the psalmist. The word ‘channel’ implies a sense of power behind the water, carving a path through whatever stands in its way. The use of this word implies that these tears are immensely powerful. What could cause such extreme sadness that the tears flow, streaming powerfully down from his eyes? Perhaps it is the fact that the people around him do not keep

God’s law. For the psalmist, God’s law is the one thing that matters, the one thing that makes life worth living, because through it he gains understanding and draws closer to God. Similarly, many couples believe that without each other, life is not worth living as their relationship is the thing which gives them joy in life. This closeness does not solve all of his problems; he still has enemies. It does give him peace because of the salvation which God offers. Thus the absence of this sentiment in the people around him, and the lack of respect they show for the faith that is everything to him, is the source of extreme grief for the psalmist. The only subject given in this verse is ‘they,’ as part of the verb, and it is not entirely clear as to the antecedent. The answer taken in the preceding explanation is that the subject ‘they’ refers to men who do not obey the law, mentioned in verse 134. However, Augustine takes another choice, believing that ‘they’ refers to the eyes themselves, crying in grief over the sins which the psalmist himself has committed. These tears then, instead of being grief over the actions, or lack thereof, of others, are

77 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 27.9, trans. Boulding, 475. Rohlfing 27

tears of immense sorrow and repentance over the actions of self.78

Verses 139-140

“My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words. Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.” This literally says My zeal has annihilated me for my adversaries have forgotten your words. Your word is well refined and your servant loves it. Zeal is synonymous with passion, and here once again the psalmist describes being completely overcome by his passion for the words of God. In this case it is a passionate grief over the neglect of the law by people whom the psalmist calls his adversaries. It seems that since they have forgotten and neglected the word of God, they wish the psalmist to do the same, and persecute him for his passion. However the psalmist is unwilling to do so. In the next verse he says that God’s word is well refined, tested and true, and that, as a servant of God, he is completely in love with his master’s word and will not turn his back on it or the service of his master.

Augustine’s headings for verses 139-140 are “Jealousy for God” and “The faith of the

79 younger son,” though the second heading also applies to several verses following.78F The

discussion of jealousy refers to verse 139. Augustine’s explanation is that the enemies are upset

because the psalmist wants them to know and love God as he does and is showing them goodwill

80 despite the fact that they do evil in return.79F Augustine then spends two sentences at the

beginning of the next section discussing verse 140, simply saying that the psalmist is justified in

his frustration over the impenitence of his enemies because of his passionate love for the “divine

78 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 27.9, trans. Boulding, 475. 79 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118: 28.2-28.3, trans. Boulding, 476-477. 80 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 28.2, trans. Boulding, 476-477. Rohlfing 28

word.”81 The concept of the younger son comes from Jesus’ parable This of theoption prodigal is equally son (Lu validke

and15:11 also-32) makes but has an littleexcellent to do argument with the verses in terms here of examined.desire, suggesting It applies that more the directlypsalmist to sobs

becauseAugustine’s he has explanation betrayed hisof thedesire, following his love verses through as he sinful discusses disobedience them in ofa group. the law.82

Verses 163-7

“I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.

Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous ordinances. Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O Lord and I fulfill your

commandments. My soul keeps your decrees; I love them exceedingly.” A literal version of this

reads, I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law. Seven (times) in the day I praise you on

account of your laws of righteousness. Great peace to the ones loving your laws and there is not

to them a stumbling block. I hope for your salvation LORD and I do your commandments. My

soul keeps your testimonies and I love them exceedingly. These five verses, plus verse 162, are

one of the longest sections within the psalm in which the psalmist continually expresses his love

and desire verse after verse. In verse 163, the psalmist again makes the simple declaration that

his love is for God’s law although this time he prefaces it with a declaration of hate toward

falsehood; this implies that to him the law represents truth. Therefore, falsehood is the complete

opposite and worthy of his contempt. Echoes of the earlier declaration of constant meditation can

be seen in verse 164 when the psalmist claims to praise God seven times daily because of the

law. Here, however, he takes it one step further here, claiming the laws as righteousness. This

passionate praise is simply one more example of the psalmist’s complete fervor for God’s law

and desire to grow ever closer to God through His word. He goes on to claim that love of the law

81 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 28.3, trans. Boulding, 477. 82 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 28.3-28.7, trans. Boulding, 477-478. Rohlfing 29

brings great peace and an ability to avoid stumbling. Peace results from the fact that through the

law the believer draws ever closer to God, and God is the true bringer of peace. Finding this

peace, it would seem, is the true purpose of the psalmist’s intense love and desire for the law

because it is the only result that can come of his continual meditation. This is further illustrated

by verse 166, in which the psalmist again professes hope in the salvation only the Lord can

bring, and in this hope he continues to live out God’s commands. Indeed, it is not just the

psalmist’s person which keeps God’s decrees, but his very soul, the part of himself that is

capable of love and desire. Thus this desire runs deep within him, filling his entire being,

enabling him not only to love but to love exceedingly.

Augustine again approaches desire-this time through the lens of delight as his headings

for this section read: “Delight in and love God’s words,” “Sevenfold praise-how not to be scandalized,” and “Keeping God’s commandments from love; living under his gaze.”83

Augustine reminds his listeners that biblically, seven is a number of completion. The fact that the psalmist praises God seven times daily is, therefore, an indication of continual praise.84 It also

implies that in God he finds complete satisfaction for all of his needs and enjoyment. His

analysis is in keeping with that already given here, explaining that the praise given and the care

to keep and obey God’s commands are indications of the psalmist’s immense love.85

Verses 174-175

“I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and let your ordinances help me” literally, I long for your salvation LORD and your law is my delight. Let my soul live that it will praise you and your ordinances will help me. Verse

174 is practically an echo of what the psalmist has already said throughout the psalm. He longs

83 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 31.2-31.8, trans. Boulding, 489-492. 84 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 31.4, trans. Boulding, 490. 85 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 31.7, trans. Boulding, 491. Rohlfing 30

for salvation, delighting in the law. The law is his delight as it brings him to salvation, and it

draws him ever nearer to God. The longing for salvation is simply a manifestation of his

immense love for God and His law. Salvation is only obtainable through the grace of God;

therefore, without a relationship with God and a love for Him, it is not possible. However, with

salvation comes the guarantee of an eternal relationship with God, a continuation of the

passionate relationship beyond the bounds of earthly life. The next verse takes this a step further

as the psalmist once again employs the jussive in order to make a request of God. He begs for

life, possibly the eternal life brought by salvation, though it is not entirely clear if he intends

eternal or earthly life, in order that he may continue to praise God, his true love. He can only

accomplish this through the help of the Lord and his commands.

Augustine’s heading for these two verses, and several preceding them, is “The ministry

of the word entails risks.”86 In these verses, nearly at the end of both the psalm itself and

Augustine’s treatment of it, he makes a passionate plea to preachers, begging them to follow the

example of the psalmist and stand firm in their convictions.87 He argues that like the psalmist’s

life was not perfect or easy, a life preaching the word is not easy; however, it is a part of the

Christian life, instinctive and necessary in order to draw near to the Savior.

Conclusion

Although often neglected by scholars, the content of Psalm 119, specifically the language

of desire for God’s Law, is the most important aspect of the psalm. The psalmist desires to

understand the Law because he yearns to grow closer God and develop an intimate, passionate relationship with Him. This closeness brings him happiness, peace, and enjoyment. The structure

86 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 32.5-32.6, trans. Boulding, 494-495. 87 Augustine, Expositions of Psalm 118 : 32.5-32.6, trans. Boulding, 494-495. Rohlfing 31

is important in that it gives the psalmist a way to give voice to his desire. It allows him to demonstrate the true depth of his love for God’s word in a quintessential example of Hebrew poetry. Exploring Augustine’s commentaries on Psalm 119 and examining the content and the depth of the psalmist’s desire enables the reader to understand the value of the psalm for modern

Christians. Augustine spent 32 sermons discussing the text because he felt that it had both immense depth and value for his listeners. This value is not something that has been lost over the course of the past millennium as the desire for a close personal and passionate relationship with

God still exists within many church bodies; it has simply been overlooked by many scholars. The modern Christian can learn from the psalmist’s devotion as he demonstrates that the only true way to know God is to understand His word and the Law. The psalmist presents the concept that the only way to fully come to understand the law is to fall in love with it and to desire that knowledge and relationship with God with one’s entire being. Thus through the study of Psalm

119 Christians can learn to completely desire the law and in so doing grow closer to their

Creator. It is not enough to simply love God and love the Law. In his analysis of Psalm 119 R.N.

Whybray argues that the psalmist’s “aim [is] to instill in his readers his own conviction that total devotion to the will of God is the only sure route to happiness in this world.” The psalmist expresses the conviction that the only way to draw closer to God and experience what Augustine calls enjoyment is to be completely in love with the Creator and his Law. It is necessary to desire God above all other things, to yearn with one’s entire being to understand the Word of

God and draw closer to Him. Psalm 119 suggests that this erotic love affair with the Law is the only way to salvation and closeness to God.

Rohlfing 32

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