seven times a day i praise you for your righteous rules. [psalm 119:164]
how many times yesterday did you stop and thank the Lord for his righteous rules? or the day before? i certainly didn’t stop seven times to meet with the Lord and tell him how wonderful his ways are. praise him for his perfect word. worship him for his incomparable glory.
of course, seven times a day of stopping to praise God for his righteous rules is not a magic number that will earn us favor, or a formula for us to be ideally suited to follow him. it just means a lot of times. many. in all the things we do throughout the day.
we see so many times in scripture that the number seven is used as a symbol of completeness. whole and perfect, lacking nothing. and so this language goes right along with what we’ve already been seeing from this psalmist throughout this entire chapter. he is loving the glory of God with his whole heart! all of who he is, completely, cries out in praise to an all satisfying, all deserving, good and right Father who looked down in love, gave him a new heart, and saved him from the uttermost. and so should we consider his ways.
his ways are righteous.
the Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. psalm [145:17]
his ways are true.
every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. [prov 30:5]
his ways are good.
oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! [psalm 34:8]
his ways are deserving of all our praise.
worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. [rev 4:11]
his ways are trustworthy.
you keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. [isaiah 26:3]
his ways are holy.
your way, o God, is holy. what god is great like our God? [psalm 77:13]
his ways are better than ours.
for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. [isaiah 55:8-9]
these are just seven ways we can think about God’s rules, his ways, his presence, his word. again, not a magic number or a checklist to “good and faithful servant,” but a practice of remembrance. come into the presence of a wholly righteous God today, with your whole heart, and praise him for his righteous rules!
oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! [ps 95:6]
~ arwen eastman