We cannot deal with this psalm in the normal manner for a couple of reasons.The length is one reason. It is an acrostic, with eight verses beginning with each of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.This acrostic arrangement means that the arrangement of the thoughts can be difficult to follow in translation.
The purpose of the complete acrostic is likely to demonstrate the comprehensiveness of God’s law. God’s law covers all of life; it affects all of life; it must rule and remake all of life.
But before going further, we must pause to define the concept of law.Torah is the word. Law is the normal translation, but the concept is much broader than our most common understanding of the term “law.”Genesis is the first book of the Torah, yet it is not a law book in the modern sense of the term. Exodus and Numbers have plenty of laws but also have a fair amount of narrative mixed in with the laws.Some have suggested the term “instruction” as coming closer to the comprehensiveness of Torah than the word law. However, the traditional translation is not likely to be replaced. We will just have to broaden our understanding of the word law as it is used biblically.
What is the purpose of law? Of the Mosaic law particularly?Traditionally three uses of the law have been identified.
The Law regulated life. Its primary purpose seemed to be to regulate life.It regulated individual life. We see an example of this in verse nine, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”It also regulated community life. Many examples of this are found, in passages like Deuteronomy four,
“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? (Dt 4:1, 6-7).
The Law brought conviction of sin. Looking back on the law from the New Covenant point of view, Paul saw that the law brought conviction (of sinfulness, not just sin) to those who paid proper heed to it. Trying to keep the law will cause us to realize our helplessness (Rom 7:7-24). This reflects a truth that sometimes impressed itself on Old Testament believers (Neh 1:5-7).
We must know something of the law, and of our inability to save ourselves by it, before we are truly ready to accept the grace available in Christ (Gal 5:4). Most legalistic brothers I have known have been people who did not know the Old Testament very well. If they had known it better, they would not have been tempted to believe that they could save themselves by law-keeping.
The Law provides instruction in holiness. We cannot be saved by keeping the Mosaic law, but it continues to instruct us in holiness. That is taught in many New Testament passages (such as Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:6, 11; 2 Tim 3:14-17).
When Jesus spoke of the great commands, he was not bringing a new teaching but pointing to the fundamental principle of the law (Mt 22:36-40; Jn 13:34-35). When Jesus spoke of the word sanctifying us, he did not only speak of the Torah, but neither did he exclude that portion of God’s word (Jn 17:17).
To these three we might add a fourth purpose, taking into consideration the broader meaning of the term Torah — instruction.
The Law provides us with the background we need to understand the gospel. The law provides us with the background we need to grasp truth about ourselves (closely related to the conviction of sin). Why did God work through sinners like Abraham and Jacob? Is it to show us that we are all hopelessly sinful and must be saved from our own sin and stupidity?
The law provides us with the background we need to understand the atonement. The word lamb occurs at least 31 times in the New Testament. Probably very few of those occurrences would be understandable to a person who knows nothing of the Mosaic law. First Corinthians 5:7 says, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” What would that mean to the person who knows nothing of the Torah?
The Mosaic Torah no longer provides us with the ceremonial means of approaching God. But all its other functions it continues to perform in some form. It convicts us of sin. It provides instruction in holiness. It provides background to help us understand ourselves and help us understand the atonement. But it does this for us only if we know it and acknowledge the justice of its principles.