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2

Instruction

God has spoken. When we say that, we naturally think about God’s law delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Hebrew word for “law” is תּוֹרָה (towrah),⁵³ related to a verb (ירה, yarah) that means “to teach” or “to instruct.” As God has spoken to mankind, right from the beginning after creation, He instructed humans about His requirements and blessings (Gen. 1:28–30; 2:16–17). In fact, everything that the Lord has said to mankind could, in a broad sense, be called “instruction.” God’s word is always instructive for both the ungodly and the godly. The verb for instruction (ירה, yarah) appears twice in Psalm 25. The Lord “instructs sinners in the way” (v. 8, NASB), and He “instructs” those who fear Him (v. 12). Psalms has much to say about the Lord’s instruction: over 200 verses treat the subject of God’s word.

When the book of Psalms speaks about God’s law, it is referring not just to the law of Moses as God’s word but also to itself. In other words, the Psalms themselves are God’s word. There are certain indications in the Old Testament that what the psalmists are saying has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. In a Davidic psalm recorded in 2 Samuel 23, David makes the following claim: “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue” (v. 2).⁵⁴ In Psalm 49 the author exhorts everyone to listen to his poem because his “mouth shall speak of wisdom” (v. 3). This is really a claim that the Holy Spirit has revealed divine truth to him: “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Prov. 2:6). Significantly, Psalm 49 speaks about the afterlife, providing instructions to us in the form of information that could only be known by revelation from God.

The New Testament clearly indicates the divine inspiration of Psalms. Our Lord based one of His arguments on the wording of Psalm 82:6, calling it a part of the “Law”; then He says, “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:34–35). Matthew 22:43 records Jesus saying that David was in the Spirit⁵⁵ when he called his messianic Son “Lord” (Ps. 110:1). Peter affirmed that David prophesied in writing Psalm 16:8–11 (Acts 2:30–31). The book of Hebrews opens by declaring that God in the past spoke through prophets (1:1); then the author quotes from the Psalms five times in the first chapter, implying that the psalmists were indeed prophets.

Synonyms for the Word of God

As we search Psalms to gather information about what the book says about the word of God, we soon realize that there are a number of synonyms for this basic term. The book of Psalms uses eight main synonyms to refer to this instruction He has provided for mankind. In Psalm 119 these words occur 176 times, more than twice as many times as the occurrences in the rest of the book. Table 2.1 below lists these eight terms in the order of their first appearance in that psalm. Table 2.2 charts the remaining 75 uses of the synonyms for this concept.

The first synonym appearing in Psalm 119 is “law” (תּוֹרָה, towrah) from “instruct,” and like this word many of the other synonyms derive from verbs. The KJV uses “testimonies” to translate the second synonym, which is the Hebrew word עֵדוּת (‘eyduwth),⁵⁶ normally plural but used in the singular five times (19:7; 78:5; 81:5; 119:88; 122:4); the related verb means

Table 2.1 Synonyms for Instruction in Psalm 119

Hebrew words:	תּוֹרָה	עֵדֹת	פִּקּוּדִים	חֻקִּים	מִצְוֹת	מִשְׁפָּטִים	דָּבָר	אִמְרָה
towrah	‘eydoth	piqquwdiym	khuqqiym	mitswowth	mishpatiym	davar	’imrah
section	law	witnesses	rules	statutes	commands	customs	word	saying
1 (א)	1	2	4	5 8	6	7
2 (ב)		14	15	12 16	10	13	9 16	11
3 (ג)	18	22 24		23	19 21	20	17
4 (ד)	29	31	27	26	32	30	25 28
5 (ה)	34	36	40	33	35	39		38
6 (ו)	44	46	45	48	47 48	43	42 43	41
7 (ז)	51 53 55		56	54		52	49	50
8 (ח)	61	59	63	64	60	62	57	58
9 (ט)	70 72		69	68 71	66		65	67
10 (י)	77	79	78	80	73	75	74	76
11 (כ)	85	88	87	83	86		81	82
12 (ל)	92	95	93 94		96	91	89
13 (מ)	97	99	100 104		98	102	101	103
14 (נ)	109	111	110	112		106 108	105 107
15 (ס)	113	119		117 118	115	120	114	116
16 (ע)	126	125	128	124	127			123
17 (פ)	136	129	134	135	131		130	133
18 (צ)	142	138 144	141		143	137	139	140
19 (ק)	150	146 152		145	151	149	147	148
20 (ר)	153	157	159	155		156 160	160	154 158
21 (ש)	163 165	167 168	168		166	164	161	162
22 (ת)	174		173	171	172 176	175	169	170 172
totals:	25	23	21	22	22	20	23	19

“to witness” or “to testify.” How does a noun like this become a synonym for law or instruction? It turns out that one of the meanings of the verb is “to declare openly” or “to confirm a truth by oath”: in that sense a law openly declared is a testimony. A sign that says, “Warning: Bridge Out!” is a witness that confirms a truth. God’s covenant with Israel, which contained His laws, was confirmed by God’s oath (Deut. 28:9). In a context of judgment God addresses Israel and says, “I will testify against thee” (50:7).⁵⁷ That is why the word “testimony” can parallel the word “law” in 19:7 and 78:5. God has affirmed His law; thus it is a witness to the fact of sin and judgment. The plural form “testimonies” indicates that the individual laws are each a warning in the form of an instruction that one must obey.

The third synonym in Psalm 119 is the plural word פִּקּוּדִים (piqquwdiym), usually translated “precepts,” related to the verb “to inspect” (פקד, paqad). Scrutinizing is the action of an overseer or supervisor, one who investigates the work or behavior of others to determine if they are in conformity with their instructions, procedures, or the rules that are supposed to govern their conduct.⁵⁸ The fourth is חֻקִּים (khuqqiym),⁵⁹ usually translated “statutes.” Its corresponding verb means “to inscribe” by using a chiseling tool. This reminds us that God’s laws were originally engraved on stone to indicate their permanence (Exod. 31:18).⁶⁰

The fifth term, מִצְוֹת (mitswowth), “commands,” always appears in this book as a plural, except for 19:8 and 119:96. Of course, its cognate verb is “to command.” The focus is on the fact that God is an authority that gives orders to mankind. The sixth synonym is another plural, מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatiym), frequently translated “judgments” (KJV, ASV, NASB, HCSB). Related to the verb “to judge” (שׁפט, shaphat), the noun, however, has developed semantically in a couple of directions. When a judge hands down a decision, hopefully exhibiting justice and wisdom, he should make the same decision in an equivalent case, thus establishing legal precedent. As the courts hand down these “judgments” over the years, legal precedence grows, and we may speak of judicial customs, instead of “judgments.”⁶¹ This particular meaning eventually developed to the extent that the Hebrew noun could refer to any kind of “custom”: for example, note the NRSV translation of the singular in 119:132 (“… be gracious to me, as is your custom toward those who love your name”). We can therefore speak of God’s laws as His “customs,”⁶² His legal precedents, standard procedures for mankind. Tables 2.1 and 2.2 list just the 33 cases (out of a total of 65) of this term in Psalms where its singular (twice: 81:4; 119:160⁶³) or plural is used to refer to God’s law, omitting references to justice (like 119:121) or to judgment (like 119:84).

The last two terms are interesting in that one is a very common noun that has produced a cognate verb and the other is a noun whose origin is from a very common verb. In meaning there is really little difference between them. The noun דָּבָר (davar), usually translated “word,” has generated the denominative verb⁶⁴ דבר (davar), “to speak,” used over a thousand times in the Hebrew Bible. The other noun, אִמְרָה (’imrah , “saying”), originated from the verb אמר (’amar), “to say,” and is usually translated “word”;⁶⁵ however, its usage in Psalm 119 points to the nuanced meaning of “promise”; the Geneva Bible translated it this way ten times, and the NAB used “promise” for all of its 19 occurrences in 119.⁶⁶ The singular and plural forms of דָּבָר (davar) occur 67 times in Psalms, but not all of these refer to God’s instructions. In Psalm 119 every occurrence but one (v. 42a) fits this theme, but in the rest of the Psalter this is not the case. Many refer to man’s words (for example, 55:21). Table 2.2 lists just those verses that treat in some way God’s instructions.

Table 2.2 Synonyms for Instruction in Other Psalms

Hebrew words:	תּוֹרָה	עֵדוּת	פִּקּוּדִים	חֻקִּים	מִצְוֹת	מִשְׁפָּטִים	דָּבָר	אִמְרָה
towrah	‘eyduwth	piqquwdiym	khuqqiym	mitswowth	mishpatiym	davar	’imrah
Psalm	law	witness	rules	statutes	commands	customs	word	saying
1:	2 [2]
2:				7
10:						5
12:								6 [2]
17:							4
18:				22		22		30
19:	7	7	8		8	9
25:		10
33:							4 6
36:						6
37:	31
40:	8
48:						11
50:				16
56:							4 10
72:						1
78:	1 5 10	5 56			7
81:		5		4		4
89:	30			31	31	30
93:		5
94:	12			20
97:						8
99:		7		7
103:			18				20 [2]
105:	45			10 45		5 7	8 28 42	19
106:							12 24
107:							20
111:			7
112:					1
122:		4
130:							5
132:		12
138:								2
147:				19		19 20	15 18 19	15
148:				6			8
totals:	11	9	3	11	4	13	18	6

The theme of God’s instructions utilizes some additional terms that can be identified by parallelism to the eight main synonyms. In Psalm 119, where almost every verse contains some reference to God’s word, the third verse uses the plural of the term דֶּרֶךְ (derek), “way”: “… they walk in his ways,” paralleling “testimonies” in the second verse and “precepts” in the fourth verse. A similar phenomenon occurs in 119:36–38 (“testimonies,” “ways,” and “word”). Also in this psalm we find “way” connected with four of the main synonyms in the following phrases: “the way of thy testimonies/precepts/commandments/statutes” (vv. 14, 27, 32, 33). Literally, this word refers to a road; then by metonymy it came to mean “journey”; from this it developed metaphorically to refer to behavior. Hence, when David says that God “made known his ways unto Moses” (103:7), he is speaking about conduct that pleases the Lord.⁶⁷ God has prescribed such behavior by His laws; therefore, the word דֶּרֶךְ (derek), either singular or plural, can be a reference to instruction. Table 2.3 lists 17 such cases out of the 66 occurrences of this word in Psalms. Key examples are the instances when “way” is the object of a verb meaning “to teach”: “What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall [God] teach [ירה (yarah)] in the way …” (25:12); “Then will I teach [למד (lamad)] transgressors thy ways” (51:13a); “cause me to know [hiphil of ידע (yada‘)] the way wherein I should walk” (143:8b).⁶⁸ In each of these cases the psalmist is speaking about a knowledge of the Lord’s law or instruction given by revelation.

Table 2.3 Additional Terms in Psalms for God’s Instructions

Hebrew	English	#	References	Total in Psa
דֶּרֶךְ	way	17	18:21; 25:4, 9, 12; 27:11; 32:8; 37:34; 51:13; 81:13; 86:11; 95:10; 103:7; 119:3, 37; 128:1; 138:5; 143:8	66
עֵצָה	counsel	5	33:11; 73:24; 106:13; 107:11; 119:24	11
אֹרַח	path	3	25:4, 10; 119:15	14
אֵמֶר	word	3	78:1; 107:11; 138:4	7
אֹמֶר	word	2	68:12; 77:8	4
נְאֻם	declaration	1	110:1	2

The synonym of דֶּרֶךְ (derek), “way,” is אֹרַח (’owrakh), “path”; 3 of its 14 uses in Psalms have reference to God’s instructions. For example, “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways [אֹרְחֹתֶֽיךָ]” (119:15). Because of parallelism between “words of God” and “counsel of the most High” in 107:11, it is evident that what God instructs can be called His “advice,” עֵצָה (‘eytsah), a term used in this way four other times in the book.⁶⁹ Table 2.3 also lists the occurrences of three infrequent synonyms for the noun דָּבָר (davar), “word”: אֵמֶר (’eymer), אֹמֶר (’owmer), and נְאֻם (ne’um), better translated as “declaration” or “oracle.” For each of these words only some of the usages are relevant for this theme.

Characteristics of God’s Word

The 254 verses in 47 different psalms listed above in the three tables provide us with a wealth of information about the subject of God’s instructions for mankind. The Holy Spirit has indicated four characteristics. Primacy belongs to the fact that (1) God’s word is true. This is indicated primarily by the term צֶדֶק (tsedeq), “righteousness.” This Hebrew noun indicates that someone or something has met a standard.⁷⁰ In regard to words or communication, that standard is truthfulness.⁷¹ Psalm 119 attributes “righteous” to the various synonyms ten times (vv. 7, 62, 75, 106, 123, 138, 144, 160, 164, and 172), mainly “judgments” (5x). The psalmists explicitly say that God’s word is true at least four times by using the noun אֱמֶת (’ameth), “truth.”⁷² “The judgments [מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatiym)] of the Lord are true” (19:9); “your law/commands/words is/are true” (119:142, 151, 160, NIV). Additionally, in Psalm 25 if אָרְחוֹת (’arekhowth), “ways,” in verse 10 can be connected to its synonym דֶּרֶךְ (derek),“way,” in verse 9, where the term refers to God’s communication (because this is what He “teaches”), then we have the statement “All the paths [His instructions] of the Lord are … truth.”⁷³

Another way to express the verity of God’s instructions is the use of the word יָשָׁר (yashar), “upright”: “For the word of the Lord is right” (33:4) and “upright are thy judgments” (119:137b). The Geneva Bible recognized the connotation of the Hebrew verb אמן (’aman), “reliable,” and translated 111:7 as “all his statutes are true.”⁷⁴ Thus we can recognize that “sure” means “true” also in 19:7 (“testimony”) and 93:5 (“testimonies”). The word, however, that really stresses this characteristic is תָּמִים (tamiym), “perfect,” applied to the “law” in 19:7 and when referring to communication, indicating absolute veracity.⁷⁵

This veracity is part of what makes feasible the next characteristic. (2) God’s word is immutable. Lies are eventually rejected and not remembered; books full of false theories and incorrect statements are discarded. The truth, however, endures. “Lord, Your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven” (119:89, HCSB; see also KJV, ESV, NET). It does not pass away: “he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (148:6b). It does not fall like error: His “counsel … standeth for ever” (33:11a). Yes, what God says is eternal: “every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (119:160).

Furthermore, (3) God’s word is powerful. Psalm 29:4a tells us, “The voice of the Lord is powerful.” His word was the means of creation: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (33:6). It is also the means of the preservation of the earth, for all things have to obey His orders: “They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants” (119:91).⁷⁶ Psalm 147 states that God merely “sends forth His command/word to the earth” (vv. 15, 18), and things happen. When people were in great trouble, God “sent his word, and healed them” (107:20a).

Finally, (4) God’s word is wonderful. “Thy commandment is exceeding broad” (119:96b). The expression רְחָבָה מְאֹד (rekhavah me’owd), “very wide,” indicates that the law is immeasurable,⁷⁷ that it is profound,⁷⁸ containing numerous spiritual implications. Christ made some of these explicit for us (Matt. 5:21–48). Another passage uses a different metaphor to indicate that God’s revelation is unfathomable: “thy judgments are a great deep” (36:6b).⁷⁹ Thus we look with amazement at God’s Law, indeed at the whole of Scripture. Three times in 119 the author uses words from the Hebrew root פלא (pala’, “to be marvelous, extraordinary, or difficult”) to specify this characteristic: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (v. 18); “Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk⁸⁰ of thy wondrous works” (v. 27); “Thy testimonies are wonderful” (v. 129a).

Propositions

Of course, each of these characteristics has been stated above as a proposition, but this section will treat four of the many propositions which express actions rather than attributes. With regard to His word God acts on mankind, and the saints react. Constantly, the psalmists tell us that (1) God has revealed His word to mankind. “The Lord gave the word” (68:11a).⁸¹ This is also the request for the king: “Give the king thy judgments [laws]” (72:1). In Psalm 119 God’s statutes are the object of the verb למד (lamad), “teach,” 7x in requests by the psalmist: “teach me thy statutes” (vv. 12, 26, 64, 68, 108,⁸² 124, and 135). Additionally in verse 33 he says, “Teach me [hiphil of ידע (yada‘), ‘cause me to know’], O Lord, the way of thy statutes.” And the author of this psalm affirmed that God has indeed done that: “for thou hast taught me” (vv. 102 & 171, using different Hebrew verbs; also 71:17). Other ways of making this request are “grant me thy law graciously” (119:29b) and “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies” (v. 36). In 147:19 three of the synonyms are the direct objects of God’s reporting: “He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.”

(2) The saints habitually think about God’s word. That is their first reaction to God’s revelation. They must remember what God has said and consciously meditate on divine revelation. “Remember … the judgments uttered by His mouth” (105:5, NASB). God approves of “those that remember his precepts to do them” (103:18b). The psalmist affirms that he “remembered thy judgments of old” (119:52). Many times this idea is stated in the negative: the psalmist has not forgotten God’s instruction (119:16, 61, 83, 93, 109, 141, 153, 176). What makes this possible is his constant meditation on God’s word: the verb (שׂיח, siyakh) occurs in 119:15, 23, 27, 48, 78, and 148; the noun (שִׂיחָה, siykhah) occurs in verses 97 and 99. In fact, meditation about God’s instructions seems to be the defining characteristic of the righteous person: “and in his law doth he meditate [a different verb here: הגה, hagah] day and night” (1:2b).⁸³

(3) The saints emotionally react to God’s word by delighting in and loving it. The first part of Psalm 1:2 is “But his delight [חֵפֶץ, kheyphets] is in the law of the Lord.”⁸⁴ The verb חפץ (khaphats), “to delight,” appears twice in reference to God’s instructions: “Blessed is the man … that delighteth greatly in his commandments” (112:1); “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight” (119:35). In Psalm 119 a different verb (שׁעע, sha‘a‘) for this concept appears three times: “I will delight myself in thy statutes/commandments” (vv. 16a, 47a); “I delight in thy law” (v. 70b). The noun (שַׁעֲשֻׁעִים, sha‘eshu‘iym)⁸⁵ related to this second verb occurs five times: “my delight” (vv. 24 [thy testimonies], 77, 92, & 174 [thy law], and 143 [thy commandments]). Relative to this proposition are two verses that speak about joy over the Lord’s “customs” (48:11; 97:8).⁸⁶ Closely connected to this pleasure is the heart-felt love for the word: in Psalm 119 the author expresses his love ten times for Yahweh’s “law” (vv. 97, 113, 163), “testimonies” (vv. 119, 167), “precepts [פִּקּוּדִים, piqquwdiym]” (v. 159), “commands” (vv. 47, 48, 127), or “word [אִמְרָה, ’imrah]” (v. 140).⁸⁷

(4) The saints are regularly obedient to God’s word. The emotional response leads to actions. Repeatedly in Psalm 119 there is the promise to “keep” the word: verses 8, 33, 34, 44, 57, 69, 106, 145, and 146 (at least 9x). Furthermore, there are the psalmist’s affirmations that he has done this: verses 55, 56, 60, 67, 100, 129, 167, and 168. For this action Hebrew uses two verbs (שׁמר, shamar; נצר, natsar), which appear in parallel (for example, 105:45) and are semantically equivalent.⁸⁸ Sometimes these verbs have been translated as “guard” (for example, NASB 20 and 2x respectively; for example, 91:11), and that would give a better picture of what is involved with this concept. Guarding requires conscious diligence as well as a carefulness about one’s actions; thus “guarding a commandment” cannot be done casually, but requires a careful attention that avoids even an accidental violation. Only in this fashion can one achieve integrity of conduct.

New Testament Echoes

The terms “law” (νόμος, nomos, 194x) and “word” (λόγος, logos, 330x) are extremely common in the New Testament, though many of these uses do not relate to God’s instructions (for example, Rom. 7:21 and Col. 3:17). In New Testament usage “Law” can refer to the holy Scriptures of the Old Testament (for example, John 12:34 and Rom. 3:19), attesting to the idea that all of God’s communication with mankind is instruction.

The Septuagint translated the eight Hebrew synonyms of Psalm 119 by using seven different Greek words.⁸⁹ The 175 Hebrew nouns in Table 2.1 are matched by 173 uses of these Greek terms.⁹⁰ The following verses represent some of the significant uses in the New Testament of these seven Greek synonyms for God’s instructions. (1) Christ affirmed both the permanence and truthfulness of the Law (νόμος, nomos): “Til heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law till all be fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18). (2) In Matthew 24:14 we find an example of God’s word serving as a testimony of the truth: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness [μαρτύριον, marturion] unto all nations.” (3) Christ did not hesitate to identify the two greatest commandments (ἐντολάς, entolas) in the Law (Matt. 22:37–39). (4) These instructions are identified with the revelation God gave to Moses: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances [δικαιώματα, dikaiōmata] of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary” (Heb. 9:1). (5) In Romans 11 Paul employs the special use of κρίματα (krimata), “judgments,”⁹¹ for God’s customs or directives: “how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (v. 33). (6) The New Testament affirms the effectiveness of God’s word: “For the word [λόγος, logos] of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). (7) We find four cases of the word λόγια (logia) being used for the oracles of God (Acts 7:38; Rom. 3:2; Heb. 2:12; 1 Pet. 4:11).

As a fitting conclusion to this study of God’s instructions, let us each affirm with the psalmist, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (119:97). May our love not terminate with just thoughts, but may it prompt us to spread the good news, to evangelize: “My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness” (119:172).