Deeper Commentary
Psa 119:1
ALEPH
Ps. 119 was apparently initially written at the time of Saul's persecution of David, although there are some verses which reflect David reusing it in later parts of his life. David was noted for behaving himself wisely, and Ps. 119 explains that this was due to his love of God's law that made him wiser than his foes.It mentions David as a young man devoting himself to the word rather than riches (:72)- the riches which might have seemed could have been his if he mentally surrendered to Saul, or if he killed Saul and took the kingdom. He often laments how he is in exile from Yahweh's word (:43,46,54), which would have been on account of his being away from the sanctuary at Gibeah. He pleads the promise of the word that he would be preserved from Saul's persecution (:41,58), and several times mentions Saul's attempts on his life (:87,95,109,110). The following verses are evidently relevant to this period: 61,63,67,79,84 (= 1 Sam. 27:1),95,98 (= 1 Sam. 18:14,15),110 (cp. the 'snaring' with Michal), 119 (the emphasis is on 'You will destroy the wicked like Saul- one day), 125 (David is often called Saul's servant), 150,154 (= 1 Sam. 24:15), 157,161,165,176. Therefore in the face of such hatred and pain, feeling he must be careful of every step he took, emotionally and physically, David could rejoice: "I will walk at liberty (AVmg. 'at large'): for I seek Your precepts" .
David was surely illiterate. This Psalm reflects his love for God's word, and is designed to be memorized. We imagine him formulating and singing it to himself as the rejected kid brother sent out watching the sheep. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and the Psalm is split into 22 sections, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each verse in each section begins with that letter of the alphabet, e.g. the first eight verses begin with Aleph (= A), the second eight with Beth (= B). This style is clearly intended to assist memorization by the illiterate. And there are other such features. Thus there are adjacent verses beginning with the same word (:1,2; 23,24; 65,66; 71,72; 81,82; 127,128; 145,146; 147,148; 167,168). And there adjacent verses containing the same word elsewhere in the line, sometimes in the same position in the line (:47,48; 57,58; 69,70; 107,108; 109,110; 111,112; 121,122; 169,170). The Hebrew text shows many examples of alliteration and assonance, similar sounding words in close proximity (:33-4, 57-8, 59-60, 69-70, 73-4, 111-12). The 22 stanzas, each following a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, each repeat a word in lines 1 and 7, in lines 2 and 6, in lines 3 and 7, in lines 5 and 8 and in lines 4 and 8. All this invites us to imagine the illiterate young David watching his sheep and repeating this Psalm from memory.
Fear of Shame
Psalm 119 gives us the impression that David loved God's commandments, but lamented he had not followed them in his life- indeed he fears some kind of shame if his sins catch up with him. His fear of shame is often repeated (:6,22,31,39,46,51,80,116,141); this could refer to some public shame for an openly revealed sin. Or it could reference his sense of shame that "in sin did my mother conceive me" and his sense of shame that he was a poor man now in the opulence of court life. Possibly his illegitimate background had been hushed up, although it was known by "the one who taunts me... the arrogant mock me... utterly derided me" (:42,51); but when his sin with Bathsheba is revealed, he openly states for all the world to know that his mother conceived him "in sin". Yet despite this potential shame, David says he will cling to God's word of promise that he would be king. If his mother were a Moabite or non-Israelite, accounting for his red hair, he may have assumed that he as an illegitimate Gentile could never be king of Israel- if that were known about. We recall how Jephthah and Abimelech were the sons of prostitutes and how this militated against their leadership (Jud. 8:29-31; 11:1,2). Jesse was asked to parade his sons before Samuel in order for a king to be chosen. None of them are chosen; but when asked if he has any other sons, Jesse answers rather awkwardly and obliquely that there is David who is minding the sheep. That sounds an excuse as the family did have a "keeper" of the sheep apart from David (1 Sam. 17:20). This would be appropriate if David were in fact illegitimate. He was therefore "a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children" (Ps. 69:8). "Stranger" is Hebrew muzar which is related to mamzer or bastard / illegitimate. All this rejection and lack of attention set David up for what was likely some form of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Dt. 23:2-4 was clear that a Moabite could not enter the congregation of Israel until the 10th generation. And David was descended from Ruth the Moabitess (Ruth 4:13-17). And so his faith in God's word of promise, that he would really be king, is in tension with his fear that he would be shamed and never accepted as Israel's king- seeing he was illegitimate, and not fully Hebrew. In addition to this Dt. 23:2 likewise says that an illegitimate man couldn't enter for ten generations: “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of Yahweh". "Let me not be ashamed of my hope / expectation" (:116 LXX) therefore reflects how David felt that his hope of being King could lead to shame if his illegitimate, Gentile background were revealed. But he asks that this shall not be the case.
Awareness of Failure Whilst Confident of Salvation
Despite his awareness of sin, he asks God to make him obedient, to turn his heart to be as he would like to be. This is a huge theme in Ps. 119. Being the man after God's own heart therefore spoke of a man who wants to go God's way, who loves God's way, even though he is not currently keeping it perfectly and admits he has not done so. He looks ahead to a day when he will "obey all Your commandments" (:6). This may be a reference to his becoming king, when he would no longer be an exile, would be able to attend the tabernacle as the law required, and could govern the land according to God's law.
The Psalm is full of language about those against the Psalmist.
All the terms could apply to Saul's persecution of David. The enemies are
'rulers' (:23,161), 'kings' (:46), 'arrogant people'
(:21,51,69,78,85,122), 'wicked people' :53,61,95,110,119,155), 'enemies'
(:98), 'plotters' (:150) and 'opponents' (:139,143,157). They plot against
the Psalmist (:23), mock him (:51), lay snares for him (:61), falsely
accuse him (:69), treat him unjustly (:78), dig pits for him (:85),
persecute him without cause (:86), attempt to destroy him (:87,95), lay a
trap for him (:110), persecute him (:161). They put him to shame
(:6,31,80), insult him (:39,42), make him suffer (:50,92,107,153), oppress
him (:134). Always, this behaviour is contrasted with David's obedience to
God's law and his hope in God's word- which I suggest is the word of
promise that he would be king. Saul was clearly suffering for extreme
spiritual jealousy of David, piqued by David's victory over Goliath by
pure faith. David sees Saul as disregarding God's law. He and his
supporters stray from it
(:21,118), abandon it (:53), disregard it (:85), break it (:126), do not
keep it (:136, 158), forget it (:139), keep their distance from it (:150)
and do not care about it (:155). Many of these terms allude to the
warnings in Deuteronomy about not breaking the covenant. David frequently
admits his past and present imperfection, and yet insists that he 'keeps'
the law. I read this as him saying that he remains loyally in covenant
with God. David parallels those who seek God with their whole heart with
those who keep His laws (:2). Seeking God implies we haven't found Him
fully yet. But this is keeping His covenant. Even though David
acknowledged his failures, he perceived that we have been given God's laws
so "that we might fully obey them". He didn't see failure as inevitable
for humans. This is our pattern- confident of our covenant relationship,
looking forward to the word of the Kingdom coming true for us, and yet
aware deeply of our failings to be obedient as we should be.
The Hope of the Kingdom
He uses various terms for God's word: His word, commandments, precepts, law etc. These aren't mere poetic variations on a theme. Some of those terms specifically reference the law of Moses and / or the ten commandments. But the "word" he speaks of has a specific reference to how he has been anointed king and despite all odds, believes that word will judge Saul, lead him to his death in battle, and make him king- the David who was apparently a loser and no hoper. This was the "word" of Yahweh for him (1 Sam. 15:1,10). "Fulfil Your promise to Your servant" (:38) clearly makes the 'word' mean the word of promise that David would be king and receive the Kingdom. He asks God to establish or accomplish His word unto David (:38), to let mercies and salvation come to him according to that word (:41). That word of promise comforted David in his afflictions (:50), he longed for the word to be fulfilled and asked how long it would be until it was fulfilled (:82,123,154), that word of promise was what he often says he hoped in, even in the middle of the night (:49,74,81,114,116,147), he pledged not to forget that word (:16) despite all his afflictions, his trust in that word was his answer to those who reproached him (:42). Despite being "weary with sorrow" he asks to be strengthened and revived by "Your word"- the promise of the Kingdom (:28). That word of Kingdom promise was the light to his path and lamp to his feet (:105), governing his short term step by step decisions and his overall life path. It was the knowledge [AV "opening"] of that word that gave light to his darkness (:130). Saul his enemy forgot that word of promise about David (:139). But David knew that this word was "true" and would come true (:160). He was in awe of that word (:161). That word governed his whole understanding of life (:169).
David was clearly hurt by all the slander from Saul, for he often mentions his "reproach" and slander. But the antidote to it was that "I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Your word" (:42). The word of promise to us likewise includes the word of the Kingdom- and this is the comforting answer to the pain of slander and "reproach". This too shall pass, and one day I shall be in God's Kingdom. "Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your word" (:161). God's word [of promise] revived him when he felt depressed and almost dead (:50). David asks God not to take away His "word of truth" (:43). Reading "the word" as 'the Bible' makes no sense but all falls into place once we understand this "word" as God's true promise of the Kingdom. His impatient longing for God's word to be fulfilled likewise speaks not of the whole Bible coming true, but of God's word of promise coming true; "Do good to Your servant according to Your word" (:65) is a common plea in Ps. 119. Verses 82,84 likewise: "My eyes fail for [the fulfilment of] Your word; I say, When will You comfort me?... When will You execute Your word on those who persecute me?". Away from Samuel, David had no real teachers; and so he asks God to teach him His laws and ways. Many who lament the absence of good teachers in their lives can feel the same. Ps. 119:76 shows that God's "word" was specifically that to David that he would be king in the Kingdom- and he feels that was by grace alone: "Please let Your grace be for my comfort, according to Your word to Your servant". And yet he tries to act now in accordance with such a gracious word of promise: "I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe Your word" (:101). And he asks for Gods help in making him righteous because of His word of promise that David would be in the Kingdom: "Establish my footsteps in Your word; don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me" (:133). But he comforts himself that if God has promised the Kingdom, it will surely happen: "Your word is settled in heaven forever" (:89).God's word created all things, and the power of that same word meant that for sure, David would one day be king: "our faithfulness is to all generations. You have by a word established the earth, and it remains" (:90). "I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil" (:162) is applied by the Lord Jesus to the man who finds the promise of God's Kingdom like hidden treasure, and rejoices. All these references to "the word" make perfect sense if we understand "the word" as God's word of promise to make David king. Likewise "the promises" are God's promise to David that Saul would be removed and he would be king. ANd he thought so often about this as we should about the promise of the Kingdom: "How sweet are Your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!" (:103). But the frequent use of "torah" may also at times refer to this same word. Although torah is used in Ps. 119 for the "law" of Moses, there are multiple examples of torah referring not to the Mosaic law but any statement of God; the word is used many times well before the Mosaic law was given. So "How I love Your law! It is my meditation all day" (:97), "Great peace have they who love Your law" (:165) could as well refer to David's meditation upon the word of promise of the Kingdom which he had received. Every night he thought about this wondrous promise, and every morning he awoke thinking about it: "My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on Your word... I rise before dawn and cry for help, I put my hope in Your words" (:147,148). And it gave him joy: "Let my tongue sing of Your word" (:172). In contrast, his enemies forgot God's word (:139)- Saul acted as if he had forgotten the word that David would be king instead of him. But David asked for understanding according to God's word of promise (:169), to understand life in the perspective of our future salvation.
In weakness David had laid up the words of the Philistines in his heart (1 Sam. 21:12), but he brings himself back on track by remembering God's word of promise that he would be king, and he lays that word up in his heart.
We too have been anointed (2 Cor. 1:21), that "anointing which
you received of him abides in you" (1 Jn. 2:20,27), it refers to the gift
of the Spirit in our hearts which is the deposit / guarantee of our place
in His Kingdom. We "were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is
a guarantee of our inheritance, of the final redemption of God's own
possession" (Eph. 1:13,14; 2 Cor. 5:5). To be anointed doesn't mean we are
now kings, just as David wasn't immediately king. But our future kingship
is likewise guaranteed by the Spirit. This is why David keeps persuading
himself to trust in God's word of promise of the Kingdom, by which word
his enemies [Saul especially] would also be judged. And this is our
pattern- persuading ourselves of the simple reality that we shall indeed
reign eternally.
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh’s
law- We wonder at David's possible arrogance in assuming that he or
any man can walk blamelessly. Only the Lord Jesus fits this. And yet this
is the phrase used in God's command to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 17:1).
It was only possible for Abraham to do so by his faith in imputed
righteousness, by grace through faith. But it's questionable as to whether
David at this point realized that; he had to learn it through reflection
upon the wonder of how God had counted him righteous after the sin with
Bathsheba.
Psa 119:2
Blessed are those who keep His statutes, who seek Him with their
whole heart-
This is not to be read as David pronouncing himself amongst those who
totally kept God's statutes, for he often laments that he doesn't (:5).
But he appears to have in view some he knew whom he felt were like this;
perhaps Samuel was among them. So
many times does David parallel those who seek God with those who keep His
word. We will never achieve perfect obedience; but
seeking it is paralleled with it. We are progressively coming to
know the
love of Christ which passes our natural knowledge (Eph. 3:19), to
experience the peace of God that passes our natural understanding (Phil.
4:7).
Psa 119:3
Yes, they do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways-
In spiritual youth and immaturity, it is easy to consider older,
faithful believers as perfect. This Psalm was likely edited over a period
of time, and we in see :99 some progression from this youthful imagination
that David's teachers were perfect.
Psa 119:4
You have commanded Your precepts, that we should fully obey them-
This clearly indicates that at this point, David didn't believe that
sin is inevitable. And neither should we, we are not forced to sin by our
natures. For the Lord Jesus had our nature but never sinned. We must hang
our heads over every sin. And yet we wonder whether the Bathsheba incident
made David reassess his position on this; for after that he reflected:
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me"
(Ps. 51:5).
Psa 119:5
Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey Your statutes!-
If a man prepares his way after God’s principles (2 Chron. 27:6;
Prov. 4:26), then God will ‘prepare’ that man’s way too (Ps. 37:23;
119:5), confirming him in the way of escape. When Solomon teaches that God must be allowed to establish or direct
our way (Prov. 4:26; 16:29), he is using the same Hebrew words as in Ps.
37:23 and Ps. 119:5, when David says the same. It’s as if he was given
God’s truth and yet he never quite made it his very own- he still
articulated it in terms of the faith of his fathers. And thus he lost it
in the end.
Psa 119:6
Then I wouldn’t be ashamed when I obey all of Your commandments-
The sense may be that when David felt he had been fully
obedient, he thereby saw the rest of his life in stark contrast, and was
ashamed that he hadn't obeyed all the commandments at other times. But he
still seems to fail to realize that even keeping all the commandments for
a period of time was still not the path to salvation. He needed to learn
the telling detail in Lk. 17:10 which reflects the grace of Jesus:
"When you shall have done (not 'when you do') all these things
which are commanded you, (you will) say, We are unprofitable servants".
It may be that this is taking us forward to the Kingdom; it is at the
judgment that we 'do all' (Eph. 6:13), it is in the Kingdom that we will
obey all the commandments (Ps. 119:6). This parable is a glimpse into the
appreciation of grace we will have as we enter the Kingdom; once we are
fully righteous, we will realize how unprofitable we are of ourselves
(notice we may still feel in a sense " unprofitable" then).
Psa 119:7
I will give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn
Your righteous judgments-
David throughout this Psalm sees a difference between knowing / being
aware of God's judgments; and learning them / being taught them. He
believes that if God teaches him the real meaning of the laws and
requirements which David already knew, then this would lead him to
"uprightness of heart" and integrity in worship. This desire for integrity
in worship ought to be known to every spiritually sensitive soul; for the
words of our songs and hymns are often of an altogether higher level than
our average spiritual level. Here David implies that he has not
yet come to a total knowledge of God’s mind / judgments; but he gives
thanks to Him for every incremental advance.
Psa 119:8
I will observe Your statutes; don’t utterly forsake me-
God counted David as having observed His statutes (s.w. 1 Kings
3:14), even though he laments that he doesn't observe them as he wished
(:5). His desire to observe them was counted finally as if he had done so.
But we wonder whether David is correct in thinking that observing the
statutes as it were bought God's 'not forsaking' him. Or we may
have here another hint that David was very aware of his sins as a young
man. He asks "forsake me not utterly" because such forsaking was the
punishment for sin (Is. 49:14; 54:7; Dt. 31:17).
BET
Psa 119:9
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to
Your word-
"Keep... pure" is the word for "cleanse" in Ps. 73:13, where David
later momentarily considers he may have wasted his effort in doing this in
his youth. David was to later realize (after the sin with Bathsheba) that
cleansing was a matter of God washing the heart by His Spirit, rather than
steel willed obedience to "live according to Your word".
Psa 119:10
With my whole heart I have sought You; don’t let me wander from
Your commandments-
David doesn't claim total obedience to God's laws, as he so often
laments in this Psalm. But he can say that he has sought God
wholeheartedly, his desire was for total obedience; and this should be our
pattern. He frequently recognizes that there is a power from God available
to keep us obedient to His ways; there would be no point in asking "Don't
let me wander..." if steel willed obedience was all God is looking for,
and waits to see who has that iron in their soul. He is more proactive
than that. And this power to keep us from wandering is what the New
Testament calls the Holy Spirit, given freely to all who ask and desire to
walk in God's ways. David here uses the same word for how Saul 'wandered'
out of the way (s.w. 1 Sam. 26:21), and David seems to have initially
written Ps. 119 in his wilderness years; he is asking to be stopped from
going the path of Saul (Ps. 119:10,21,118). We see this same request for
God to make him obedient to God's word, to act directly upon his heart and
psychology, in :10,18.
"With my whole heart" alludes to the repeated encouragement of Deuteronomy to follow God's law with a whole heart (Dt. 4:29; 6:5 etc.). Saul admitted that he had "erred" (1 Sam. 26:21, s.w. 'wandered'), and so David asks that he will be stopped from erring (Ps. 119:10,21,118 s.w.).
Psa 119:11
I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin
against You-
The Lord Jesus was the parade example of this, responding to His
wilderness temptations as David did to his, by quoting God's word to
himself, "in my heart". David often feels that God has hidden him (Ps.
27:5; 31:19,20); and this was God's mutual response to David having His
word in his hidden part. Solomon seems to allude to David hiding God's
word in his heart (Ps. 119:11) by asking his son to hide his word
in his heart (s.w. Prov. 2:1; 7:1). Again Solomon is putting his own words
in the place of God's words. Whilst his wisdom was inspired by God, I
detect something wrong here. He is effectively playing God, and not
directing people to God's word but rather to his own words, true and
inspired as they might be. This came to full term in Solomon's attitude
that personal loyalty to himself was loyalty to God- even when Solomon was
far from God in his ways. And the same trap is fallen into by those who
hold parts of 'God's truth'; they can come to thereby play God and demand
personal loyalty to themselves rather than to God.
Psa 119:12
Blessed are You, Yahweh; teach me Your statutes-
From his youth, David had asked to be taught God's way (Ps.
119:7,12,26,64,66,68,73,108,124,135), and at the end of his life David
recognized that indeed God had "taught me from my youth" (s.w. Ps. 71:17).
In secular life, teaching is something experienced in youth, and then life
is spent practicing what was learned. But in spiritual life, David
perceived that the God who had taught him from his youth was continuing to
teach him (Ps. 71:17). This is part of the "newness of life" experienced
in Christ, the ever fresh spring water that we drink.
Psa 119:13
With my lips I have declared all the ordinances of Your mouth-
One danger of Bible study, especially in the age of screens being
looked at in private, is that we are left with a mass of wonderful truths
and ideas; but they remain within us. As God's mouth had declared His
word, so David's lips and mouth would publically declare them.
Psa 119:14
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all
riches-
David doesn't claim total obedience to God's laws, as he so often
laments in this Psalm. But he can say that he loves God's word and His
ways. His desire was for total obedience; and this should be our pattern.
Often in Ps. 119 he contrasts his love of God's word with the love of
wealth. The desire for wealth is a typical issue faced by young men. And
David sets a commendable example in this.
Psa 119:15
I will meditate on Your precepts, and consider Your ways-
Mere possession of Divine truth will not of itself save anyone; there
must be meditation upon those truths, which in turn leads to meditation
upon His overall ways, which leads to reflection upon our ways.
"Meditate" and "consider" are here in parallel. God's precepts are a "way"
of being and not to be considered as isolated, ritualistic demands upon
man. For the individual commandments are not mere tests of obedience, but
aids towards a way of life.
Psa 119:16
I will delight myself in Your statutes, I will not forget Your
word-
The command to "not forget [the] word" was given in Dt. 4:9 (s.w.).
Israel were to never forget that they were in covenant relationship with
Yahweh, and the gift of His word to them was so wonderful they were never
to forget it. Our awareness of the wonder of having God's word will elicit
our delight in it. A John Carter rightly pointed out, our attitude to
God's word determines our obedience to it. This is where attitudes to
inspiration are so important in practical living.
GIMEL
Psa 119:17
Do good to Your servant; I will live to obey Your word-
The 'doing good' is parallel with 'living'. We can interpret this as
meaning that David asks God to preserve his life, because he promises to
use that preserved life to obey God's word. Perhaps the word in view was
specifically the word of promise that David was to become king and govern
according to God's will. R.V. "So will I observe thy word". David
wants his life to continue because this will give him the opportunity to
live in obedience to God's word.
Psa 119:18
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of Your law-
The allusion may be to the Angel opening Hagar's eyes to see a
well of water (cp. the word) in the desert (Gen. 21:19). See on 119:135.
We see this same request for God to make him understand and be obedient to
God's word, to act directly upon his heart and psychology, in
:10,18,27,29,34-37. LXX "Unveil thou mine eyes" suggests David felt as
Moses, who spoke to Israel from behind a veil, but unveiled himself in the
presence of God in the tabernacle "outside the camp". David felt his
seeing wonderful things in the law were those moments of personal,
unveiled encounter with God which Moses experienced. We see this same
request for God to make him understand His word, to act directly upon his
heart and psychology, in :10. Recall how the Lord Jesus opens hearts to
His word (Lk. 24:31,32,45; Acts 16:14). Therefore pray
briefly before you read the Bible, as you would for daily food, thanking God for the
power and grace of His word, and asking for your eyes to be opened to the
real meaning, and that you will have God's gracious help to apply it in
everyday life.
We should also consider that 'opening eyes' is used as an idiom for being granted a revelation of God's word in a prophetic sense (Num. 24:4,16). David was indeed a prophet (Acts 2:30). The "wondrous things" (s.w. "hidden things", Dt. 30:11) of the torah were ultimately the things of the Lord Jesus, which David indeed perceived (Acts 2:30). But they may also refer to God's miraculous acts which David vowed to share with others now his eyes were opened to them (Ps. 9:1; 26:7; 78:4; 119:27). This verse is parallel with Ps. 119:27, where the same term for "wondrous things" is used. David there asks to be made to understand them; this is the opening of his eyes here spoken of.
"Open" is the word for 'unveil' [as LXX]. Paul may have this in mind when he writes that when the veil is lifted from the eyes of those who read the Torah, they see the Lord Jesus. And it worked for David, who saw the future Lord Jesus always before his face. He came to the spirit of Christ even in the Old Testament.
Psa 119:19
I am a stranger on the earth, don’t hide Your commandments from me-
On the run from Saul, David felt like a Gentile in the land. But
thereby he became a true seed of Abraham, who was likewise a stranger in
the earth / land of promise. David had the commandments; he wanted them to
be opened to him, and not hidden. We see here the way that God can both
open and close minds to His word.
Psa 119:20
My soul is consumed with longing for Your ordinances at all times-
Devotion to God's word can so easily be something we only temporarily
manifest. But David longed for God's words "at all times". This
'longing for the ordinances' requires us to read in an ellipsis- David
longed [to be obedient to and understand] the ordinances. Perhaps he
refers to his desire whilst in the wilderness to be able to come before
the sanctuary (from which he was exiled by Saul's persecution); this is a
common theme of his wilderness Psalms (e.g. Ps. 42:2 cp. Dt. 31:11; Is.
1:12).
Psa 119:21
You have rebuked the proud who are cursed, who wander from Your
commandments-
David here uses the same word for how Saul 'wandered' out of the way
(s.w. 1 Sam. 26:21), and David seems to have initially written Ps. 119 in
his wilderness years. The proud therefore refers to Saul; Saul's curse was
that he would not be king any more, but would be replaced by David. The
"rebuke" was that Saul would be replaced as king by David.
Psa 119:22
Take reproach and contempt away from me-
David was always deeply hurt by words; the reproach and contempt from
Saul hurt him so deeply, especially as it implied that he was disobedient
to God's statutes.
For I have kept Your
statutes-
Ps.
119 reflects David's awareness that he didn't keep God's law as he should.
The first four verses speak of the blessedness of the man who is obedient.
But he laments: "O that
my ways
were directed to keep thy statutes! Then will I not be ashamed, when I
have respect unto all thy commandments" (Ps. 119:5,6). He seems to be
saying that when he feels he
is obedient, it makes him feel
ashamed because he realizes how far short he has come of obedience at
other times and in other ways. He concludes this matchless psalm of praise
for God's word with a seeming paradox: "I have gone astray like a lost
sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget they commandments" :176). Yet
often throughout the Psalm he remarks how he has kept God's law, and will
thereby be justified (e.g. :22). He expresses no doubt about salvation.
The resolution of all this seems to be that we can know that we are
obedient to the basic way of life inculcated by covenant relationship with
God, and be comforted by this fact; whilst at
the same time realizing how very far we come short of total obedience, and
therefore how far we fall short of the spiritual blessedness which is
attainable for us even now. Yet despite an agony as to his failures, David
still had a remarkably open and enthusiastic relationship with God.
Psa 119:23
Though princes sit and slander me, Your servant will meditate
on Your statutes-
LXX "For princes sat and spoke against me: but thy servant was
meditating on thine ordinances". This implies that Saul and his sons, the
princes (apart from Jonathan), sat and slandered David in his presence.
But in the face of slander he meditated upon God's words. This is a great
example to all who are slandered.
Psa 119:24
Indeed Your statutes are my delight and my counsellors-
David was in a very difficult situation whilst living at Saul's
court. Everybody likely advised him differently, all doubtless dogmatic
that their advice must be followed. And he as a young man, a shepherd boy,
could easily have been caught in an endless complex of indecision. Instead
he delighted in God's words and found that word to come alive; those verses
of print on paper became as it were his counsellors.
DALED
Psa 119:25
My soul is laid low in the dust; revive me according to Your
word!-
David felt at times that he would surely perish ["in the dust"] at
Saul's hand (1 Sam. 27:1). But he was revived from that depression by his
faith in God's prophetic word that he would indeed one day be king and
Saul's persecution would pass. Ps. 119 has many references to
David being given life in accordance with his obedience to God's word.
"Life" is repeatedly promised as the reward of obedience to God's law (Dt.
8:3; 30:6,15,19,20; 32:47). So David correctly understood that the promise
for obedience was life- spiritual life with God now, as the guarantee and
foretaste of the eternal life. Such references to "life" and living are
common in Ps. 119. David wants preservation of his physical life so that
he may live spiritually. And that really is our only reason for wanting to
be alive- to live before and with and in God.
David writes as if he was very near to death. And he told Jonathan that indeed there was but a step between him and death at Saul's hand. This desire to be kept alive is a strong theme in Ps. 119: Psa 119:37, Psa 119:40, Psa 119:88, Psa 119:107, Psa 119:149, Psa 119:154, Psa 119:156, Psa 119:159.
Psa 119:26
I declared my ways, and You answered me. Teach me Your statutes-
This declaration of his ways was perhaps an opening up of his life to
God. Although God knows all things, we are to tell Him of our life
experiences and feelings. And God responded; He opened up His statutes to
David, full of personal meaning and relevance to David.
Psa 119:27
Let me understand the teaching of Your precepts! Then I will
talk of Your wondrous works-
This verse is parallel with Ps. 119:18, where the same term for
"wondrous things" is used. David there asks to have his eyes opened to
these things; here, to be made to understand them. Again we see his belief
that God can act directly upon human hearts to make us understand.
David in the Psalms often makes the link between appreciation of God’s
ways and the inevitable witness this will result in. This contrasts with our
tendency to amassing of pure,
intellectual truth- but without very much telling of it forth to others.
“He that is wise [i.e., has true wisdom] winneth souls” (Prov. 11:30 RV).
Psa 119:28
My soul is weary with sorrow: strengthen me according to Your word-
The particular "word" in view was not simply 'the Bible' as David
then had it, but the specific word of promise that Saul's persecution
would one day end, and he would become king. His weariness is perhaps at
the time of 1 Sam. 27:1, where he felt he would perish at Saul's hand.
Psa 119:29
Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me Your law graciously!-
AV "Remove from me", again suggesting as noted on :18 that God can
keep us from temptation, acting directly on the human mind. This is the
whole purpose of praying "Lead us not into temptation". The answer to this
request to be kept from a deceitful way of life was to be through being
given God's law. Yet David had God's law in the sense that he knew the
various commandments. We may have to therefore read in an ellipsis: "Grant
me [to keep / have in my heart] Your law". See on :30.
Psa 119:30
I have chosen the way of truth, I have set Your ordinances before
me-
In :29 David has asked to have the way of deceit removed from him;
but he himself had chosen the way of truth. His request in :29 is
therefore that he should be spiritually and psychologically confirmed by
God in his choice; and he had set God's laws before him so that God could
work through that; see on Ps. 25:12.
Psa 119:31
I cling to Your statutes, Yahweh-
Referring to the plea to cling or cleave to God so that Israel might
enter and inherit the Kingdom (Dt. 30:20). To cling to God is to cling to
His words; for God is His word, "the word was God", and our attitudes to
His word are our attitudes to Him.
Don’t let me be disappointed-
Typical of men of his time, David seems to fear shame [s.w.
"disappointed"] more than death itself. Defeat meant shame, and he
desperately begged not to be shamed. Perhaps it was the function of his
failure with Bathsheba to help him redefine the motives for his trust in
God.
Psa 119:32
I run in the path of Your commandments, for You have set my heart
free-
This is a great theme of this Psalm; that obedience to God is not a
life of being shut up in a boring and constricted path of being, but
rather is the way of ultimate psychological freedom. And it is this which
many seek for, and yet look for it in all the wrong places. The
Hebrew can suggest that when David is set free, he will run in the way of
God's commands. The context is David's hope that when he becomes king, and
is free of Saul's persecution, he will use that freedom and situation to
serve God obediently.
As noted on :18, unveiled eyes reading God's law led to an openness or enlarging of heart. "Enlarge my heart" is literally 'set my heart at liberty', as in Is. 60:5. 2 Cor. 6:11,13. The same theme is in :45 . This is the liberty of the heart set free by the spirit of Christ. Regardless of all present dramas in David's life.
HEY
Psa 119:33
Teach me, Yahweh, the way of Your statutes; I will keep them to the
end-
David often suggests that understanding God's laws is what empowers
keeping them. He didn't see them as a set of ritual commands to be obeyed
for the sake of it, to as it were prove ourselves to God. Rather does he
perceive them as a way of life, and he asks God to teach them to him. He
knew the various regulations of the Mosaic law; but to keep them as a way
of life he needed to have them explained to him. And he asks God to
directly visit his heart and open his eyes to their true meaning. Mere
possession of those laws was not enough without further guidance.
David often mentions his desire to keep God's ways and laws. He has in mind how in 1 Sam. 13:13 Saul didn't keep the commandment and so was rejected from being King, to be replaced by David. And he wants to live up to the Divine expectation.
Psa 119:34
Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law; yes, I will
obey it with my whole heart-
As noted on :18, David repeatedly asks for psychological strength in
order to be obedient to God's law. This is the Old Testament equivalent of
the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. See on :33.
Moses persevered because he understood. “Give me understanding, and
I shall keep thy law” (Ps. 119:34) is one of many links in David’s thought
between understanding and obedience. " For this saying go thy way; the
devil is gone out of thy daughter" (Mk. 7:29) shows the value which the
Lord placed on correct understanding. The Gentile woman had seen the
feeding of the 5,000 and understood the implications of the lesson
which the Lord was teaching. We get the feeling that the Lord was
overjoyed at her perception and therefore made an exception to His
rule of not being sent at that time to the Gentiles, but to the house of
Israel.
Psa 119:35
Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in
them-
David inclined his own heart to be obedient to the word (:112), but God
inclined his heart that way in response (:36). David’s meditation on the
law gave him understanding (:99), but he was given understanding by God
(:34). He kept his feet in the way of God’s word (:101), but God made him
walk in that path (:35).
Psa 119:36
Turn my heart toward Your statutes, not toward selfish gain-
"Turn my heart" continues the strong theme in this Psalm of God
acting directly upon the human heart to make us inclined towards obedience
to Him; see on :18. This feature of the Divine-human interaction would
partly explain how the Lord Jesus had complete human nature, and yet
achieved moral perfection. God's hand was in that, but that same
powerfully helping hand can be in the lives and hearts of all believers.
"Turn my heart" is the word for "incline", used by David of how he himself
inclined his heart to God's word (Ps. 119:51,112,157). But David prayed
that God would incline his heart towards His word (Ps. 119:36) and away
from sin (Ps. 141:4). This is how the Holy Spirit works to this day- we
are confirmed in the psychological attitudes we ourselves choose to have.
The word is used of God's mighty "stretched out" arm and "strong hand" in
human affairs (Ps. 136:12 and often in Isaiah). This powerful hand of God
is at work in human hearts, confirming us in the psychological way in
which we ourselves wish to go. In this sense God turns or inclines the
heart where He wishes (Prov. 21:1). Solomon in the Proverbs places all the
emphasis upon a person themselves in their own strength inclining their
heart toward his teaching (Prov. 2:2; 4:5,20; 5:1). He fails to
appreciate what David his father did; that God's word is His word and not
that of the human channel through which it comes. And he totally puts the
emphasis upon human strength of will, self inclination towards God's word,
rather than perceiving as David did that without God's psychological help
in this, we shall ultimately fail. As Solomon himself did.
Psa 119:37
Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things-
"Worthless things" is the term for idols, and it seems
idolatry was a major problem to Saul and the Israel of David's time. In
the wilderness context, it was because David's heart was 'turned away'
from sin, that God 'turned away' the kingdom from Saul to David (s.w. 2
Sam. 3:10).
Revive me in Your ways-
This idea of living in God's ways was a promised blessing for
remaining in the covenant (Dt. 5:33; 30:16). Solomon uses the phrase for
living in the way of understanding (Prov. 9:6), but the difference with
his father David was that David asks to be "revived" or made to live in
those ways; whereas Solomon exhorts people to attempt to do this in their
own strength and steel willpower. And this ultimately fails, as it did
with Solomon.
Psa 119:38
Fulfill Your promise to Your servant, that You may be feared-
The specific promise in view was that he would become king and Saul's
persecution would come to an end.
Psa 119:39
Take away my disgrace that I dread, for Your ordinances are good-
GNB is better: "Save me from the insults I fear; how wonderful are
your judgments!". The fear of shame was strong in David, coming from a
shame based society, but it is in all of us. The concern for what others
think of us is balanced here against a simple awe and wonder at God's
expressed word. This is the antidote.
Psa 119:40
Behold, I long for Your precepts!-
We may need to read in an ellipsis- David longed [to be able to keep]
God's precepts. This may have been a reference to his pining to be at the
sanctuary, from which he was exiled whilst on the run from Saul, and keep
the feasts.
Revive me in Your righteousness-
Living new life in righteousness is the language used of the revival
of repentance (Ez. 18:21,22,27; 33:16). Perhaps David is aware at this
point of his sins, and asks for spiritual revival. This gift of spiritual
life is the gift of the Holy Spirit offered in the New Testament, the
difference being that the life breathed in is the life of the Lord Jesus,
now glorified and able to do this to all in Him.
WAW
Psa 119:41
Let Your grace also come to me, Yahweh-
He wanted to have the spiritual experience of God's grace which he had seen experienced by others, e.g. Samuel.
Your salvation, according to Your word-
The prophetic word that he would be king and therefore be saved from death
at Saul's hand.
Psa 119:42
so I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust
in Your word-
The specific individual was surely Saul. David trusted in the prophetic word that he would be king. The Psalms repeatedly use the word "reproach" about Saul's campaign against David (Ps. 44:16; 57:3; 74:10; 102:8)- it must've included much slander which is unrecorded in the historical record, but which clearly was extremely hurtful to David. The reproach was as "a sword in the bones" to David (Ps. 42:10). The word of promise to us likewise includes the word of the Kingdom- and this is the answer to slander and "reproach" which alone can comfort us.
Psa 119:43
Don’t take the word of truth out of my mouth, for I put my hope in
Your ordinances-
To have a word or covenant in the mouth can mean being within the
covenant pronounced in that word. David here is fearful that the "word of
truth", the promises to him of kingship and salvation, could be removed.
The phrase is specifically used of the promises made to David in 2 Sam.
7:28. By :160, David is confident that the word of truth is indeed "of
truth".
Psa 119:44
so I will obey Your law continually, forever and ever-
This could be David's vision of the Kingdom- eternally being obedient
to God's law. It's possible to interpret the strange Mosaic phrase "he who
keeps the law shall even live in it" in the same way- that the life
eternal will be all about obedience to God's law. David was vowing
to be obedient to the law oncehe became king and God's word of promise was
fulfilled.
Psa 119:45
I will walk in liberty, for I have sought Your precepts-
This is a great theme of this Psalm (:32,96); that obedience to God
is not a life of being shut up in a boring and constricted path of being,
but rather is the way of ultimate psychological freedom. And it is this
which many seek for, and yet look for it in all the wrong places.
Psa 119:46
I will also speak of Your statutes before kings, and will not
be disappointed-
Saul and Achish "king of Gath", both of whom David was "before" (1 Sam. 21:13).
He was unashamed [not "disappointed"] of God's ways, even when it would
have been politically expedient to keep his mouth shut.
Psa 119:47
I will delight myself in Your commandments, because I love
them-
David's love of and "delight" in God's word is a theme of his (Ps. 119:48,16,70).
Our attitude to God's word determines our obedience to it; if we love
God's ways, then obedience comes naturally and from the heart. If we view
His ways as a set of onerous, legalistic commandments- then obedience will
be so much harder. And this is seen in the poor moral life of legalists.
Psa 119:48
I reach out my hands for Your commandments which I love; I will
meditate on Your statutes-
As noted on :47, David didn't see God's commandments as onerous sets
of legal points to be obeyed. Rather was he eager to know what God wanted,
stretching out his hands for them, because he quite simply loved God and
His words.
ZAYIN
Psa 119:49
Remember Your word to Your servant, because You give me hope-
The idea is 'Fulfill the prophetic word that David would become King'.
This was all David had to hope for and cling on to during the years of
persecution by Saul.
Psa 119:50
This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has revived me-
As noted on :49, the word in view is the Divine word through Samuel
that David was to be king and Saul's persecution would one day end. It
seems David fainted at times, but then revived as he remembered that word.
Psa 119:51
The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from Your
law-
"The arrogant" referred to Saul, primarily (see :69,78). And yet Saul began humble. Power so often changes men into proud people. The link between power and pride, and God's desire that we should be humble, explains why we are often not given the power which we wish for in various ways. Saul was once "little in [his] own eyes".
Psa 119:52
I remember Your ordinances of old, Yahweh, and have comforted
myself-
David took comfort from the actions and justice of God as
displayed in Bible history, even though it seemed God had not yet acted in
that way to him. "Of old" may mean that the ordinances had been given long
ago; or that David from his youth, "of old" in his personal life, had
always been devoted to the same words which now gave him comforted him.
In :82, the future fulfilment of the word of promise was his "comfort"; and yet here he comforts himself at the same time, at the thought of God's previous fulfillments of His promised word, even though the word had not come true for him personally yet. It's like Joseph's confidence expressed to the other prisoners that Divine dreams come true; when his own dream of glory over his brothers seemed so far from fulfilment.
Psa 119:53
Indignation has taken hold on me because of the wicked who forsake
Your law-
The reference is again to Saul, who had once kept God's law but then
forsook it. Solomon condemns those who "forsake the law" (Prov. 4:2;
28:4), and he likely has Saul also in view. But he speaks in Prov. 4:2 of
those who forsook his law; as if he was playing God, considering
any inattention to himself as inattention to God. David by contrast
continually emphasizes the need not to forsake God's law.
Psa 119:54
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage-
Presumably a reference to David's habit of setting God's statutes to
music in the time of his exile. There is an intended juxtaposition of
ideas between the words "house" and "pilgrimage". Although he was
constantly on the move, his loyalty to God's ways gave him a sense of
permanence and stability even in that period.
Psa 119:55
I have remembered Your name, Yahweh, in the night, and I obey Your
law-
We get the impression that David obeyed God's law "in the night"
because he was aware of God's Name. I can only think of one specific
commandment which required immediate obedience "in the night". It's in Dt.
23:10 "If there is among you any man who is not clean by reason of that
which happens to him by night, he must go outside the camp". The idea
could appear to be that if a man needed to defecate, then he was to do so
outside of the camp of soldiers. Having latrines outside the camp would
have ensured hygiene within the "camp". But it seems that defecating is
what is in view in Dt. 23:12. Therefore this specifically night time
reason for uncleanness must refer to an involuntary emission of semen.
Hence the reference to what "happens to him at night". Nobody apart from
the soldier knew what had happened. Many of the Mosaic commands invited
obedience from men on a very personal and intimate level; for nobody else
apart from the soldier would have known whether or not this had happened.
This was all designed to inculcate very personal obedience to and
relationship with God. See on Ps. 119:56. To have soldiers needing to
remain ritually unclean outside the main camp of soldiers was not perhaps
seen as the most effective use of soldiers in a conflict situation, where
every man was required. But they were taught thereby that victory was not
going to come in their own strength, but through obedience to God's ways.
We likewise are tempted to think that careful obedience to God's commands
will hinder our material progress in life. But the opposite is in fact
true, and this commandment taught that.
Psa 119:56
This is my life’s way, keeping Your precepts-
As explained in :55, many of the Mosaic commands invited obedience
from men on a very personal and intimate level; for nobody else apart from
the soldier would have known whether or not this had happened. This was
all designed to inculcate very personal obedience to and relationship with
God.
CHET
Psa 119:57
Yahweh is my portion; I promised to obey Your words-
The "portion" which David looked forward to in his time in the
wilderness was the inheritance of the kingship from Saul; and he promised
to have God's words obeyed under his rulership. Or we could
render: "My portion, Yahweh, I said, is to keep your words". The allusion
would be to the portion / inheritance of the land (Dt. 10:9). As he
awaited the physical promise of rulership over the land, David confesses
that his essential inheritance is the honour of obedient relationship with
God right now. This would then continue the theme of :56.
Psa 119:58
I sought Your favour with my whole heart; be merciful to me
according to Your word-
David spoke of seeking and praising God's grace with his "whole
heart" (Ps. 9:1; 119:58; 138:1). Solomon uses the phrase, but speaks of
being obedient with the "whole heart" (1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chron. 6:14) and
applying the "whole heart" to the intellectual search for God (Ecc. 1:13;
8:9). There is a difference. The idea of whole hearted devotion to God was
picked up by Solomon, but instead of giving the whole heart to the praise
of God's grace, he instead advocated giving the whole heart to ritualistic
obedience and intellectual search for God. This has been the trap fallen
into by many Protestant groups whose obsession with "truth" has obscured
the wonder of God's grace.
Psa 119:59
I considered my ways and turned my steps to Your statutes-
Implying David fell into some sin during the wilderness years?
There are many hints throughout Ps. 119 that he had ample experience of
sin and repentance at this time- e.g. :67, and the conclusion to the whole
Psalm. David considered his ways and turned his steps / ways towards
obedience (Ps. 119:59); Solomon takes this further, using the same phrase,
but saying that God directs the ways / steps of the man who considers his
ways (s.w. Prov. 16:9). We have here an example of how the Spirit confirms
a Godly person in the way they consciously wish to go.
Psa 119:60
I will hurry, and not delay, to obey Your commandments-
It
shouldn’t just be the nearness of the Lord’s return that makes us urgent.
Our decisions to give over each part of our lives, radically, to Jesus
should be made not just because life is short and the Lord is at the door;
but also because it might otherwise be too late to undo the damage a
self-engrossed life has already caused, to the self and to others. Rebekah
responded immediately to the call to go marry Isaac, in a story which is
clearly to be read as an acted parable of the search for a bride for
Jesus. Her ‘quick’ response is one of her characteristics (Gen.
24:18,20,26,46,64). Abraham likewise “rose up early” after his night time
vision, requiring him to offer his son to God (Gen. 22:1,3). Joshua
“therefore” started to attack the confederacy of local kings, in the
middle of the night, immediately after God had assured him of victory
(Josh. 10:9). David could write: “I made haste, and delayed not to keep
thy commandments” (Ps. 119:60 AV). We cannot be passive on receiving the
opportunity to serve God. We will urgently seek to do something with what
we have been enabled to do for the Lord: “The servant who got five bags
went quickly to invest the money and
earned five more bags” (Mt. 25:16 NCV).
Psa 119:61
The ropes of the wicked bind me, but I won’t forget Your law-
A reference to unrecorded robbery whilst in the wilderness? Or an
allusion to his treatment at the hands of Nabal? We wonder if he has
Samson in mind, who was bound by ropes, and arose at midnight to carry
away the gates of his enemies (:62). Even in the heat of crisis, David was
not unaware of God's word. It was no academic study for him, in evenings
when all has gone well in the day.
Psa 119:62
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You because of Your
righteous ordinances-
See on :61. David at this time in the wilderness had not seen God's justice
['righteousness'] done in
his case, but he thanked God that God had done justice in history. This is
a parade example for those who lament the apparent injustice or
inconsistency of God in observed life at their time.
Psa 119:63
I am a friend of all those who fear You, of those who observe
Your precepts-
This and other references in Ps. 119 (e.g. :74,79) to David's keen
sense of fellowship with other sincere believers reflects his feelings
towards Samuel, and perhaps some of the others who came and lived with him
in the wilderness.
Psa 119:64
The earth is full of Your grace, Yahweh; teach me Your
commands-
David was likely illiterate at this time and his knowledge of God's law would've been taught by Samuel and faithful priests. Without them, he was driven to ask God to directly teach him.
Whilst on the run from Saul, it would have seemed all was against him. But
he looked around at the natural creation, and saw God's grace encoded into
all creation, seeing the cup half full rather than half empty.
TET
Psa 119:65
Do good to Your servant according to Your word, Yahweh-
This can be read as a request for God to fulfil His word of promise
to David, that he would become king and Saul's persecution would end. But
AV has David praising God for having "dealt well" with him. But this was only in a spiritual sense, for David in the wilderness was apparently not given immediate justice by God and had a very difficult life.
Psa 119:66
Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in Your
commandments-
Believing God's word and being taught by God are two different, if related things.
We can "believe the Bible is true", but to be open to being taught from it
can be quite another thing.
Psa 119:67
Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe Your
word-
See on :59. David implies he had sinned before the wilderness years. He
refers to his "sins of youth" elsewhere. He was not, therefore, just an
innocent teenager looking after the sheep and composing Psalms in some
ethereal teenage spiritual bliss. Yet being "afflicted" was what went on
through David's life (s.w. 1 Kings 2:26; Ps. 132:1).
Psa 119:68
You are good, and do good; teach me Your statutes-
It was Moses who 'taught [God's] statutes' to Israel (s.w. Dt.
4:1,5,14; 5:31). David in the wilderness felt such a personal relationship
with God that he felt God personally teaching him, without the
intermediary of any teacher like Moses. And this kind of intimacy is still
possible with God. Away from Samuel, David had no real teachers;
and so he asks God to teach him His laws and ways. Many who lament the
absence of good teachers in their lives can feel the same.
Psa 119:69
The proud have smeared a lie upon me, but with my whole heart I
will keep Your precepts-
"The proud" refer to Saul and his men; see on :51. David presents the
antidote to experiencing slander as focusing our whole heart upon God's
ways. So often slander elicits a desire to respond or endlessly mull over
the experience in our hearts. But instead, whole hearted devotion to God's
precepts is needed.
Psa 119:70
Their heart is callous and fat, but I delight in Your law-
Slandering others means having a callous heart, "as fat as grease"
(AV), very soon to destroy itself.
The essential difference between Saul and David was in the
state of their hearts.
Psa 119:71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn
Your statutes-
David was driven to love God's word by the wilderness persecution- and
Ps. 119 is his celebration of that.
Psa 119:72
The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces
of gold and silver-
David felt that the wonder of having God's word meant that the presence
or absence of physical blessings in his life was irrelevant (Ps.
119: 72,111). So often in Ps. 119, love of God's word is balanced against
the love of wealth. Perhaps David thought that a more politically astute
life in Saul's court might have made him wealthy, or perhaps he was
offered wealth n return for unethical support of Saul. But he was faithful
to the word of promise, that he and not Saul was to be king. And this
apparently meant the sacrifice of apparent wealth.
YUD
Psa 119:73
Your hands have made me and formed me; give me understanding,
that I may learn Your commandments-
That God has created us means we want to know Him more and form a
relationship with Him. Our search for the invisible Father is what drives
us to His word. Our attitudes to God's word are related to our attitudes
to His creative power. For the Biblical record is of creation by God's
word. If we accept that, then we will find an intuitive interest in living
by that word as it forms us into a new creation.
Psa 119:74
Those who fear You will see me and be glad, because I have put
my hope in Your word-
See on :63. The "word" is the word of promise that David would be
king. All those who feared Yahweh rejoiced in that hope. It seems Samuel's
word about David's future kingship was well known in Israel.
Psa 119:75
Yahweh, I know that Your judgments are righteous, that in
faithfulness You have afflicted me-
David seems to have felt there were aspects of disobedience in his
life before God, and he had been rightly afflicted because of them. His
great expressions of love for God's word therefore don't imply that he was
perfectly obedient to it. But this is how spiritual life is- loving God's
ways, despite still failing.
Psa 119:76
Please let Your grace be for my comfort, according to Your word to
Your servant-
The "word" in view is the promise of becoming king after Saul. But
David sees this as being by grace alone. God chose him because he was
"after God's own heart"; but that didn't mean David was perfect. The
choice was still by grace and not according to personal righteousness.
Psa 119:77
Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for Your law
is my delight-
David's survival of Saul's persecution, not dying but living, was a
result of God's prophetic word through Samuel. But that word was grace
(:76), "tender mercies".
Psa 119:78
Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me
wrongfully; but I will meditate on Your precepts-
The proud could refer to Saul; see on :51. But being "overthrown"
suggests this has been reapplied to the time of Absalom's rebellion.
Despite the huge emotional pain of all the betrayal, David's heart was
still on God's word and ways.
Psa 119:79
Let those who fear You turn to me; they will know Your
statutes-
See on :63. If the time of Absalom's rebellion is in view (see on
:78), then this would refer to men turning away from the new government
and back to David. But it would also apply to those who turned to support
David at Saul's time. And David vows that when he comes to power [again,
in the Absalom context], he will insist on teaching God's ways.
Psa 119:80
Let my heart be blameless toward Your decrees, that I may not
be ashamed-
Typical of men of his time, David seems to fear shame [s.w.
"disappointed"] more than death itself. Defeat meant shame, and he
desperately begged not to be shamed. Perhaps it was the function of his
failure with Bathsheba to help him redefine the motives for his trust in
God.
KAF
Psa 119:81
My soul faints for Your salvation; I hope in Your word-
The "word" in view is the promise of becoming king after Saul. And
this implied salvation from Saul's persecution, and David longed for that
time to come.
Psa 119:82
My eyes fail for Your word; I say, When will You comfort me?-
The fulfilment of the word of promise that he would become king
seemed so far off. David as it were loses sight of it. He feels at times
that his "comfort" would only be when that word was fulfilled; and yet he
comforts himself at the same time, at the thought of God's previous
fulfillments of His promised word (:52).
Psa 119:83
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, but I don’t forget
Your statutes-
This may refer to a custom of mellowing wine by putting it in the
smoke, implying the affliction was necessary to mature David
spiritually. But more likely the idea is that David feels like a
shrivelled old wineskin; but regardless of that and his feelings, David
continued to be focused upon God's ways.
Psa 119:84
How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute
Your word on those who persecute me?-
Whilst on the run from Saul, David felt that he was surely going to
die at his hands (1 Sam. 27:1). His faith in the prophetic word that he
would be preserved and become king after Saul's demise was pushed to its
uttermost. He felt death was but days away, and God must as it were hurry
up and fulfil His word of promise or else David would die.
Psa 119:85
The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to Your law-
We note how David correctly and continually analyzes the lead
characteristic of his enemies, be they Saul or Absalom, as "pride". David
felt pits were dug for him by Saul particularly (s.w. Ps. 57:1,6). We
might have said "jealousy", but David saw to the essence- the problem was
pride, as it is always to this day. Quite how did they seek to entrap him
with pits? The word is used of the trap of women (s.w. Prov. 22:14;
23:27). Perhaps this was how Saul used his own daughters to entrap David.
LXX "Transgressors told me idle tales".
Psa 119:86
All of Your commandments are faithful. They persecute me
wrongfully. Help me!-
Heb. "They pursued me in vain"- clearly relevant to Saul's pursuit
of David. "Help me" is s.w. in Ps. 30:10, a Bathsheba
Psalm: "Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper".
Earlier David had sought Yahweh's help on the basis that he had been
obedient to God's word (Ps. 119:173 s.w.), and was innocent (Ps. 119:86
s.w.). But the sin with Bathsheba led David to beg for God to be his
helper purely on the basis of grace (Ps. 30:10 s.w.). He had asked for
God's words to be his "helper" (Ps. 119:175), but now he quits his
academic study and begs directly for God Himself to be his "helper". And
yet we note his complaint that he was suffering "wrongfully". Despite
Nathan's clear explanation to him about the consequences of his sin, David
seems to have constantly complained about the consequences; even though he
had been spared death. And I have often noted this about David throughout
the Psalms dating from Absalom's rebellion, where David feels he is
suffering wrongfully.
Psa 119:87
They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake Your
precepts-
This sounds like David being convinced he was at the very point of
being slain by Saul (1 Sam. 27;1), despite God's word to him about being
saved from Saul and made king. He may also refer to the geographical
extent of the earth / land, from which he felt he had been made to flee in
fear of Saul. But even at the point of extinction of hope, David says he
remained obedient to God's laws.
Psa 119:88
Preserve my life according to Your grace, so I will obey the
statutes of Your mouth-
The preservation of David's life from Saul had been promised in the
prophetic word to him about him becoming king. But David recognized that
his having been chosen as king was by grace, not because he was more
righteous than others. And he vows that if his life is preserved from Saul
and he became king, then he would rule in obedience to God's laws. Note
how David perceived those laws as having come direct from God's very
mouth. The law of Moses was to him a living dialogue with God.
LAMED
Psa 119:89
Yahweh, Your word is settled in heaven forever-
David struggles throughout the Psalm to believe that the prophetic
word about him becoming king and Saul's demise would ever come true. But
he reassures himself that God's word of purpose is "settled", from the
Divine side; even if it appeared so unstable in fulfilment on earth. But
David believed that what was settled in heaven would ultimately come true
on earth.
Psa 119:90
Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have by a word
established the earth, and it remains-
This leads David to reflect that the word to him promising to
establish his kingdom would just as easily come true. Creation was by a
word, God spoke and it was done. And David perceives God's word to him,
whether in the form of Mosaic commandments or the word of promise that he
was ultimately to survive Saul's persecution and become king of Israel.
Psa 119:91
Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve You-
As noted on :90, the word through which God created the earth was the
same word as the laws and principles applicable to David. And David took
comfort that "all things" in creation were subservient to God's word, and
likewise His prophetic word about David would likewise without doubt come
true and go likewise into operation.
Psa 119:92
Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my
affliction-
AV "I should then have perished". The "then" is in the Hebrew, and
perhaps refers to the point of crisis in :87. Perhaps it was some
act of ritual obedience to the law ["torah" is the word here used] which
inadvertently saved David from death. Or perhaps he means that God
rewarded his obedience by delivering him; but this is at variance with his
expressions of faith in God's grace, and his belief that his deliverance
from his afflictions was because of God's word of promise to him about
becoming king, rather than because of his own righteousness. Or perhaps he
here is simply slipping back away from grace, and self-righteously
assuming that in fact his preservation had been because of his own
obedience to the law.
Psa 119:93
I will never forget Your precepts, for with them You have revived
me-
Just as God's word had given life and birth to creation and continues
to keep it in life (:90-92), so David felt God's word and ways gave him
life. Three times David makes the connection between God's precepts and
his inner "revival" (Ps. 119:40,93,159). God's word is a living word in
that it is creative and gives life.
Psa 119:94
I am Yours. Save me, for I have sought Your precepts-
David asks for salvation not because he has been totally obedient to
God's precepts; but because he "sought" such obedience, he loved God's
ways and so wished to be obedient, and identified himself as God's.
Psa 119:95
The wicked have waited for me to destroy me; I will consider Your
statutes-
Living in a situation where enemies set ambushes and traps of various
kinds, it would seem to the secular person that absolutely all our
attention must be given to avoiding them. But David's mental focus instead
was upon God's words and ways. David himself promises to "consider Your
statutes" (:95), but he then asks that God will give him "understanding"
(s.w. "consider") of those statutes (:125). Our freely chosen attitude to
God's word is confirmed and extended by the operation of the Spirit on the
human heart.
Psa 119:96
I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your commands are
boundless-
This is a great theme of this Psalm (:32,45); that obedience to God
is not a life of being shut up in a boring and constricted path of being,
but rather is the way of ultimate psychological freedom. And it is this
which many seek for, and yet look for it in all the wrong places.
MEM
Psa 119:97
How I love Your law! It is my meditation all day-
We meditate upon what we love. The fact David found he was meditating
upon God's law meant therefore, axiomatically, that he loved it. This
means that the statement that "I love Your law!" is not at all
self-righteous or self congratulatory. Although torah is
used here for "law", there are multiple examples of torah
referring not to the Mosaic law but any statement of God; the word is used
many times well before the Mosaic law was given.
Psa 119:98
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for Your
commandments are always with me-
David's survival at the court of Saul seems miraculous. He was in
such a difficult, compromised situation. We get the sense that David pitted his wisdom against Saul's anger and
bitter persecution; David's wisdom is mentioned in tandem with Saul's
anger against him (1 Sam. 18:5,11,15,30). "David behaved himself wisely
(AVmg “prospered”) in all his ways; and the Lord was with him" runs like a
refrain through 1 Sam. 18:5,14,15,30. These words are referring back to
Dt. 29:9: "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that
you may prosper in all that you do". David's charmed life and prospering
despite all manner of plotting against him was due to his single-minded
devotion to the Law; to those very chapters which tired Bible readers are
wont to skip over as boring and not motivating. Yet David found something
immensely inspiring and practical about the Law. The word made him wiser
than his foes (Ps. 119:98).
Psa 119:99
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your
testimonies are my meditation-
This Psalm was likely edited over a period of time, and we see here
some progression from the youthful imagination that David's teachers were
perfect (:3). Whilst there may well have been a touch of youthful
arrogance here in David, the words came to absolute fulfilment in the Lord
Jesus amongst the teachers of the law in Jerusalem at 12 years old. We
note that understanding is here predicated upon meditation. David's
requests to be given such understanding therefore imply God's Spirit
working upon the internal meditations of those who love God's law.
"Understanding" is the same word for 'wisdom' used three times about David in 1 Sam. 18. His wisdom was because he meditated in God's law.
Psa 119:100
I understand more than the aged, because I have kept Your precepts-
This may be an allusion to Job's comment and experience that age is
not at all to be linked with understanding. The Pentateuch and book of Job
were likely the only texts David had or was aware of. Understanding is
here predicated upon keeping God's precepts. The advantage of obedience is
that the life it elicits of itself gives us insight and understanding; all
part of an intended upward spiral.
Psa 119:101
I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe Your
word-
This could be read on a surface level as David saying he has kept
himself from any sin. But the idea is maybe that David knew that if he was
walking in a good way, he would find it easier to observe God's word. He
knew that there is an upward spiral in spirituality. Or "your word" may
refer to the word of promise that David would be king.
Psa 119:102
I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, for You have taught
me-
David gives God the credit for his obedience, for he recognizes that
God has worked upon him to make him obedient. He sees God's "teaching" of
His laws, not just the laws themselves, as what led him to obedience.
Psa 119:103
How sweet are Your promises to my taste, more than honey to my
mouth!-
The promises immediately in view were the promises of receiving the
Kingdom and the destruction of Saul. Elsewhere David contrasts living by
God's word with present wealth; and here we may have a similar contrast.
The "honey" offered in prospect by the house of Saul was nothing compared
to the promise of the Kingdom.
Psa 119:104
Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every
false way-
The experience of obedience to God's precepts of itself gives us
added spiritual insight and understanding, a deeper dislike of "every
false way", perhaps an allusion to idolatry.
NUN
Psa 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path-
The "word" in view may be the prophetic word that David would be king
and Saul would be destroyed. Whilst under persecution from Saul, it seemed
hard to believe that word would come true. But David lived as if God's
word of promise was what guided his feet (his short term immediate
decisions) and his overall path, and believed God would confirm him in his
choices (see on :133). Solomon reapplied Ps. 119:105 in Prov. 6:23; but
his legalism comes out, in that he changed "Your word" (of promise) to
"the law" and the "commandments". We likewise are
guided in short and longer term decisions [both our step by step foot
movements and our overall path] by the word of promise- that we will
indeed be in God's Kingdom.
Psa 119:106
I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey Your
righteous ordinances-
This appears to be another promise from David that when God's word
about his kingship came true (see on :105), he would ensure that he would
govern according to God's ordinances.
Psa 119:107
I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to Your
word-
David was aware that the word of promise was true- that Saul's days
would end, and he would become king. But there were times when this seemed
impossible of fulfilment, and David asks God to revive him, to help him
see that the prophetic word which he theoretically knew was true- was in
fact going to come true for him personally. And we need to pray likewise.
Psa 119:108
Accept, I beg You, the willing offerings of my mouth. Yahweh,
teach me Your ordinances-
In exile from the sanctuary, David was unable to offer sacrifice
there. And so he matured to understand that the offerings God accepts are
those of our mouths, our words. And perhaps David vowed with his mouth to
perform sacrifice when he was able to get to the sanctuary. His
understanding matured beyond this after his sin with Bathsheba, when he
perceived that God wants a contrite heart rather than sacrifices. But
already the Father was working to develop his young mind to perceive that
literal sacrifices weren't absolutely required. And so He works so gently
with us too.
Psa 119:109
My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget Your law-
David felt he could be slain any moment by Saul and his supporters (1
Sam. 27:1). But he says that he will not forget obedience to God's law
even in crisis situations. However torah, "law", had a wide range
of application and need not refer strictly to the Mosaic ordinances. He
may simply mean that he would not forget God's word of promise.
Psa 119:110
The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven’t gone astray from
Your precepts-
The implication is that the snares laid would have meant going astray
from God's precepts. The initial reference may have been to Saul laying
snares for David through getting him to marry his daughters and thereby
seeking to kill him. But the Psalm finishes with David saying bluntly that
he has "gone astray" (:176), as if to say that earlier [as at
this point in the Psalm] he far overrated his own obedience to God's law.
Or we can understand this as David accepting he did go astray from
obedience to God's laws, but he persistently remained loyal to the
covenant.
Psa 119:111
I have taken Your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are
the joy of my heart-
David on the run appeared to have no inheritance. But his inheritance
was God's "testimonies"- a possible reference not so much to the Mosaic
law as to the prophetic testimonies from Samuel that he would inherit the
Kingdom and Saul would be deposed.
Psa 119:112
I have set my heart to perform Your statutes forever, even to the
end-
"Set my heart" is the word for "incline", used by David of how he
himself inclined his heart to God's word (Ps. 119:51,112,157). But David
prayed that God would incline his heart towards His word (Ps. 119:36) and
away from sin (Ps. 141:4). This is how the Holy Spirit works to this day-
we are confirmed in the psychological attitudes we ourselves choose to
have. The word is used of God's mighty "stretched out" arm and "strong
hand" in human affairs (Ps. 136:12 and often in Isaiah). This powerful
hand of God is at work in human hearts, confirming us in the
psychological way in which we ourselves wish to go. In this sense God
turns or inclines the heart where He wishes (Prov. 21:1). Solomon in the
Proverbs places all the emphasis upon a person themselves in their own
strength inclining their heart toward his teaching (Prov. 2:2; 4:5,20;
5:1). He fails to appreciate what David his father did; that God's word is
His word and not that of the human channel through which it comes. And he
totally puts the emphasis upon human strength of will, self inclination
towards God's word, rather than perceiving as David did that without God's
psychological help in this, we shall ultimately fail. As Solomon himself
did.
SAMEKH
Psa 119:113
I hate double-minded men, but I love Your law-
Heb. double hearted, as Saul was in comparison to David.
David was chosen over Saul because he had a heart after God's.
AV "vain thoughts" or "vanities", perhaps a reference to idolatry as well as to the hypocrisy of Saul. David so often talks about God's "law", using the word torah. But Solomon so often speaks of his own torah, and that of his wife, the mother of "my son" (s.w. Prov. 1:8; 3:1; 4:2; 6:20; 7:2; 13:14; 31:26). Yet elsewhere in the Bible, the well over 200 occurrences of torah are always about God's law. Solomon applies the word to his own teachings and that of his wife, and thereby plays God. whilst it could be argued that Solomon's teachings were Divinely inspired, all the same he ought surely to have spoken of them as God's torah rather than his own torah. This kind of playing God is seen so often in the teachers of God's people.
Psa 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in Your word-
When hiding from Saul in the wilderness [s.w. of David's "hiding
places" at this time in 1 Sam. 19:2; 25:20], David hoped in the prophetic
word that one day Saul would be no more and David would be king.
The idea of God as a hiding place fits absolutely with
David's years on the run from Saul. As does the idea of God keeping him
safe, delivering him, :117,134 etc. Spiritually these were David's best
years, and Ps. 119 reflects that... before the rain set in. But still he
will be saved. We see this with Gideon, Samson and others. They reached
highs of spirituality which they didn't maintain until the end. But will
still be saved.
Psa 119:115
Depart from me, You evildoers, that I may keep the
commandments of my God-
This is the word for how God had departed from Saul, and maybe this
was initially behind David's desire that Saul leave him alone. But it is
also the word used for how violence would never depart from David because
of his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:10). David prayed for this to
"depart" but it never did. David was open to the possibility that through
prayer, God can remove the consequences of sin in this life; but such
prayer is not always answered. We may also have here David's
dislike of being surrounded by lawless outlaws who came out to live with
him whilst he was on the run from Saul.
Psa 119:116
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live. Let me not
be ashamed of my hope-
LXX "expectation". The parallel between "Your word" and David's hope
or expectation confirms the suggestion that the "word" in view in this
Psalm is the specific promise to David of becoming king after Saul's
judgment and destruction. But David felt that the fulfilment of that
prophetic word required him to be unashamed of it.
Psa 119:117
Hold me up and I will be safe, and will have respect for Your
statutes continually-
As David respected God's words, so he asks God to spare or respect
him (s.w. Ps. 39:13). This is not to be read as meaning that Bible study
assures a man of salvation; but rather that there is a mutuality in
relationship between God and man. Our respect of His words is reflected in
His saving respect of us. But in the immediate context, David is asking
for God to preserve him from Saul, and vowing to always enforce God's
statutes when he becomes king.
Psa 119:118
You reject all those who stray from Your statutes-
David here uses the same word for how Saul 'wandered' or strayed out
of the way (s.w. 1 Sam. 26:21), and David seems to have initially written
Ps. 119 in his wilderness years. Saul was rejected from being king because
of this.
For their deceit is in vain- "Vain" is better "wrongfully" reflects again David's deep sense of injustice (see on Ps. 35:7). He uses the word for "false witness", as if they were breaking one of the ten commandments; and he uses it often, heaping condemnation upon any who dare lie / bear false witness about him (Ps. 38:19; 52:3; 63:11; 101:7; 119:29,69,86,118; 120:2; 144:8,11). And yet David lied and deceived in order to get Uriah killed so that he could take his wife for himself. Surely reflection upon that sin made him realize that his zeal to condemn dishonesty was at best misplaced; to lament it is one thing, but David was to be taught that he had himself done the very thing he so condemned.
Psa 119:119
You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I
love Your testimonies-
The "word" so often in view in this Psalm is the prophetic
"testimony" that Saul would be deposed and David would become king. This
is the same situation in view here, when the wicked of the earth would be
put away. David speaks in the present tense of that which he believed was
yet to happen- such was his faith in the prophetic word.
Psa 119:120
My flesh trembles for fear of You; I am afraid of Your
judgments-
LXX "Penetrate my flesh with thy fear; for I am afraid of thy
judgments". The preceding verses have all alluded to how God's word of
promise was that He would judge Saul and replace him with David. But David
concludes this verse of the Psalm with a request to have God's direct
action upon his mind so that he would personally tremble before God's
moral requirements. David truly feared for Saul's judgement, his
deep concern for those disobedient to God's word and covenant is apparent
throughout the Psalm.
AYIN
Psa 119:121
I have done what is just and righteous. Don’t leave me to my
oppressors-
Oppression seems to have been a characteristic of the reigns of Saul
and Absalom. This was the equivalent of how Saul oppressed David (Ps.
119:121,122,134). Samuel's insistence that he has not oppressed
the people is in the context of his warning that Saul would do this (1
Sam. 12:3,4). When Solomon later condemns the 'oppressors' (s.w. Prov.
14:31; 22:16; 28:3,24), he has in view a wishing of judgment upon the
house of Saul. "The poor" whom they had oppressed would easily refer to
David (1 Sam. 18:23; Ps. 34:6).
Psa 119:122
Ensure Your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me-
See on :121. This appears to be the one verse in Ps. 119 that doesn't
mention God's word. But it does so effectively, once we understand that
the Psalm is largely about David's request for the prophetic word to come
true- of him becoming King and Saul's demise. Again we note that "the
proud" is Saul; this was the lead characteristic which characterized his
entire failure. His jealousy over David being more praised by the women
than he was reveals the basic pride which grew into the obsessive feature
of his personality.
Psa 119:123
My eyes fail looking for Your salvation, for Your righteous
word-
"Salvation" is Yeshua, 'Jesus', "the word made flesh" (Jn.
1:14). But in the immediate context, the fulfilment of God's prophetic
word about Saul's demise meant David's salvation. The admission that his
eyes were failing in looking for this... is as if to say 'My faith is
failing in Your promised salvation, but I accept Your word is right and
just; please give me faith in Your word again'. Constantly we see the
implication that God gives faith, and it is not true that God simply faces
off against man over an open Bible, and it is for us to summon the faith
to believe it, in our own strength.
Psa 119:124
Deal with Your servant according to Your grace, teach me Your
statutes-
From his youth, David had asked to be taught God's way (Ps.
119:7,12,26,64,66,68,73,108,124,135), and at the end of his life David
recognized that indeed God had "taught me from my youth" (s.w. Ps. 71:17).
In secular life, teaching is something experienced in youth, and then life
is spent practicing what was learned. But in spiritual life, David
perceived that the God who had taught him from his youth was continuing to
teach him (Ps. 71:17). This is part of the "newness of life" experienced
in Christ, the ever fresh spring water that we drink.
Psa 119:125
I am Your servant. Give me understanding, that I may know Your
testimonies-
David himself promises to "consider Your statutes" (:95), but he then
asks that God will give him "understanding" (s.w. "consider") of those
statutes (:125). Our freely chosen attitude to God's word is confirmed and
extended by the operation of the Spirit on the human heart.
Psa 119:126
It is time to act, Yahweh, for they break Your law-
David wants God to fulfil immediately His word of promise that Saul
would be overthrown and David established king. It was the same
frustration at the apparent slowness of fulfilment of a prophetic word
which the exiles experienced, along with all the faithful.
Psa 119:127
Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, more than
pure gold-
Again David points the contrast between God's commands, and the love
of wealth. So often love of wealth is presented as the most common form of
spiritual downfall, and the antithesis of loving God and His word.
Psa 119:128
Therefore I consider all of Your precepts to be right; I hate every
false way-
"Every false way" may refer to idols, which were prevalent in Israel
at David's time. The "therefore" connects with the previous verse, which
condemns the love of wealth. There is an upward spiral in spirituality.
Once wealth has been rejected (:127), "therefore" we appreciate the
rightness of God's precepts, and all the more hate false ways. This love
of what is just and hatred of what is false means that we will not
vicariously enjoy the "false" through viewing movies about it; we will
simply love what is right and thereby hate all that is false.
PEY
Psa 119:129
Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them-
The motivation for obedience is related to our attitude to God's
word. This is why our understanding of the nature of Biblical inspiration
has an effect upon our actual walk before God in practice.
Psa 119:130
The entrance of Your words gives light, it gives understanding
to the simple-
David likens himself to the simple who was made wise by God's word
(Ps. 19:7; 119:130), and was therefore preserved (Ps. 116:6). To be taught
by God's word we have to become "simple", unlearning and placing to one
side all our perceived knowledge and understandings. Solomon repeats
David's theme by saying that wisdom makes wise the simple (Prov. 1:4; 8:5;
9:4). But he is equating "wisdom" with the words of God, although for
Solomon, "wisdom" seems to be what he is saying and teaching. Solomon
doesn't direct his listeners back to God's word, as David did, but rather
towards loyalty to his teaching. Inspired as it was, his lack of extended
reference to God's law places his own teaching of "wisdom" above that law.
This is in sharp contrast to David's attitude in Ps. 119. David sees God's
words as entering him and giving him understanding; as if God takes the
initiative in entering the mind of man.
But the Hebrew for "entrance" is literally 'opening', and may be an idiom for explaining or teaching (as in Ps. 49:4; 78:2). Hence GNB "The explanation of your teachings gives light". "Gives light" is the word for daybreak; the idea may be that a new day dawns in the lives of the person who has God's word explained to them and they accept it. We note that the light is not simply the word of God, but its explanation.
Psa 119:131
I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for Your
commandments-
The opening of the mouth suggests a desire to have something put into
the mouth. David knew the commandments, so we surely have to understand an
ellipsis here, "longing for [obedience to] Your commandments". Constantly
we are given the impression that mere possession of God's word is not
enough; there must be some further action of God, in teaching and
strengthening- what the New Testament calls the work of the Holy Spirit.
Psa 119:132
Turn to me and have mercy on me, as You always do to those who love
Your name-
As often, David appeals to God's actions in history for other
believers in the past ["always"]- at a time when he felt God hadn't turned
to him, hadn't paid attention to him in his immediate crises.
Psa 119:133
Establish my footsteps in Your word; don’t let any iniquity have
dominion over me-
David recognized that God's word of promise that he would be king and
Saul would be deposed, was what should guide the choice of steps he
himself took (see on :105). But he asks that his choices, the steps he
chose in response to that hope and understanding, should be "established"
or confirmed by God. And his request to not be dominated by sin suggests
he realized that God's prophetic intentions for him were all the same
conditional upon his continued correct walk. And he believed God has the
power to keep us from falling into sin (Jude 24). Constantly we see the
work of the Spirit over and above a man looking at God's word and trying
to find the steel will to make himself obedient to it.
Psa 119:134
Redeem me from the oppression of man, so that I will observe Your
precepts-
See on :121. The "oppression" in view was the persecution by Saul,
and David vowed that if and when God's word came true and he became king,
he would govern according to God's precepts.
Psa 119:135
Make Your face shine on Your servant. Teach me Your statutes-
The passages which talk about God's face shining upon men refer
primarily to the Angel in the Most Holy shining forth in blessing upon
men. Far from the sanctuary in the desert, David felt this closeness to
God. It was Moses who 'taught [God's] statutes' to Israel (s.w. Dt.
4:1,5,14; 5:31). David in the wilderness felt such a personal relationship
with God that he felt God personally teaching him, without the
intermediary of any teacher like Moses. And this kind of intimacy is still
possible with God.
Psa 119:136
Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe Your law-
The "they" could refer to David's eyes, or this could be another
lament for the disobedience of his persecutors. Likewise the faithful in Ezekiel’s time sighed and groaned
over all the abominations committed in Jerusalem (Ez. 9:4); Paul spoke
“even with tears” about those in the ecclesia who lived as enemies of the
cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18), exhorting the Corinthians to mourn for those
they had to disfellowship (1 Cor. 5:2; 2 Cor. 12:21); Ezra wept for the
sins of his people (Ezra 10:1). The bleeding hearts of Jeremiah and Moses were actually for the
ecclesia. Is this attitude seen amongst us? We
lament in a gossipy way the weaknesses of the brotherhood; but is there
this bleeding heart for the cases we mention? We should never
think of disfellowshipping anybody unless the decision has been come to
through a process of such prayerful mourning for them first.
TZADI
Psa 119:137
You are righteous, Yahweh; Your judgments are upright-
GNB "just". Here and in :138 David seems to be reasoning against some
implication or position that God's laws are somehow unjust or
unreasonable. This was perhaps the position of Saul, who impatiently
disobeyed God's law (1 Sam. 15:22).
Psa 119:138
You have commanded Your statutes in righteousness; they are fully
trustworthy-
"Righteousness" and "truth" [s.w. "trustworthy"] are words found
together in 1 Sam. 26:23, where Saul recognizes David had acted in
"righteousness and truth" in not killing him when he could have done.
Perhaps David is reflecting upon how God's "statutes" had led him not to
kill Saul.
Psa 119:139
My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore Your words-
The command to "not forget [the] word" was given in Dt. 4:9 (s.w.).
Israel were to never forget that they were in covenant relationship with
Yahweh, and the gift of His word to them was so wonderful they were never
to forget it. Our awareness of the wonder of having God's word will elicit
our delight in it. A John Carter rightly pointed out, our attitude to
God's word determines our obedience to it. This is where attitudes to
inspiration are so important in practical living. Saul's enemies were Saul
and his supporters, who impatiently disobeyed God's law (1 Sam. 15:22).
Psa 119:140
Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and Your servant
loves them-
God's promises to David that he would become king and Saul would be
destroyed seemed so far away from fulfilment at the time. But David
reflects that historically, God's promises to others had been fulfilled.
We encounter this reasoning often in David's Psalms. It is in sharp
contrast to the excuse for unbelief we often encounter- that God has not
come through for me in my experience right now at this moment.
Psa 119:141
I am small and despised but I don’t forget Your precepts-
A sensitive person like David was going to be deeply hurt by being
despised as he was by his brothers and his wife (2 Sam. 6:16 s.w.), and as
he was by Goliath (s.w. 1 Sam. 17:42) and later by all his people after
the sin with Bathsheba (Ps. 22:6 s.w.). This would explain why David so
often takes comfort in the way that God doesn't despise him (Ps.
22:24; 51:17; 69:33; 102:17). It is God's perspective which is so critical
in overcoming the negative self-image which others seek to project onto
us.
The young David in Saul's court in 1 Sam 18:23 calls himself a poor and lightly esteemed man; and he uses these words "poor and lightly esteemed" about himself in Ps. 119:141, suggesting Ps. 119 was written as reflection on this period of David's life. David's thought was that although he was poor, he believed Yahweh's word of promise that he would become king.
"The youngest" (1 Sam. 16:11) is literally "the littlest / shortest", and David is presented as not as tall as Eliab. We wonder whether he was short- again, showing how God chooses not as man does. The short, youngest, runaround servant brother. The Septuagint includes a Psalm 151, which was also found in the Psalms Scroll from Cave 11 at Qumran. In this psalm David speaks in the first person about himself, and says: "Smaller was I than my brothers" [see J.A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll]. In Ps. 119:141, reflecting on his younger life, David recalls: "I am small and despised". Saul and Eliab are both noted as tall, as is Goliath. But it was David the small who was chosen to bring down Goliath and not those with the human qualification of being tall. "Despised" is the word used for Goliath despising David (1 Sam. 17:42); clearly this wasn't the first time David was despised, and it seems during the wilderness persecution he likewise felt despised. But his experience with Goliath was intended as programmatic for him, to understand that this too would cease.
Psa 119:142
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness; Your law is
truth-
GNB "always true". Thus the eternity of God's truth is paralleled
with the eternity of His righteousness (as in :160). David walked / lived
"in truth and righteousness" (s.w. 1 Kings 3:6; Ps. 15:2), because this
was how God is. The Messianic seed of David was to have this
characteristic, ruling on David's throne in truth and righteousness (s.w.
Is. 16:5).
Psa 119:143
Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me, but Your commandments
are my delight-
I suggest the parallel is with :139. David is troubled for those who
do not delight in God's commandments. But he himself does delight in them.
"Trouble and anguish" is the term used for condemnation (Job 15:24; Prov.
1:27; Rom. 2:9). David is so identified with the wicked that like
the Lord Jesus, he as it were feels their condemnation, whilst being
personally innocent.
Psa 119:144
Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that
I may live-
The internal connection of the verse is that the eternity of God's
testimonies is connected with the eternal living of David. David sees
eternity, or at least living instead of dying at the hand of Saul, as
connected with his identity with God's testimonies which are eternal.
KUF
Psa 119:145
I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep
Your statutes-
This and the following verses appear to be David's intense cry for
deliverance from a particular period of his persecution by Saul. It
appeared he faced death, but he remembers God's word promising that he
would become king and Saul would be disposed of. He promises obedience to
God's laws if he is delivered; and I suggest this primarily means he was
vowing to govern Israel according to the Mosaic law. Or it could be that
he felt he was suffering because of personal disobedience, and asks for
deliverance with the promise that in future he will keep God's laws. In
this application, these verses may also have relevance to David's
sufferings as a result of his sin with Bathsheba. But see on :146.
Psa 119:146
I have called to You. Save me! I will obey Your statutes-
See on :145. David says that he has 'obeyed Your statutes' (s.w.
:167,168). Perhaps he means that when God fulfills His promise to make him
king, which required immediately saving him from some situation with Saul,
he would continue to "obey Your statutes" in the way he governed Israel.
But perhaps he feels he is suffering because of disobeying God's statutes.
And yet later in :167,168 he says he has obeyed them. This difficulty in
self examination [which we also can identify with] is reflected in how
David also says in different Psalms that Israel both obeyed God's
statutes, and also disobeyed them (Ps. 78:56 cp. 99:7).
Psa 119:147
I rise before dawn and cry for help, I put my hope in Your
words-
See on :145.
The Psalms give further insight into the disciplined nature of David's
prayer-life: "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray" (Ps. 55:17); "I
will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning" (Ps. 59:16); "in the morning
shall my prayer come before you" (Ps. 88:13); "to praise your mercy in the
morning, and your faithfulness every night" (Ps. 92:2); "before the
dawning of the morning, I hope in your word" (Ps. 119:147). This kind of
self-discipline is the utter essence of practical Christianity. It is
through this that we will realize every morning that God is our "arm", our
strength, for the coming day (Is. 33:2); and God's mercies are only
renewed every morning in that the righteous man thinks afresh about
them every morning (Lam. 3:23)- for God's mercy itself is around the
clock! Likewise the comment in Zeph. 3:5 that God's judgments are revealed
every morning only becomes true in that the believer meditates upon God's
word each morning.
Psa 119:148
My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might
meditate on Your word-
The "word" in view may refer specifically to the promise that he
would be preserved from Saul's persecution to become king. And when that
promise seemed so unlikely of fulfilment, he stayed awake at night
imagining how it might come to fulfilment.
Or we can take "Your word" to refer to God's word generally, such as was revealed to David at that time. The whole of Ps. 119 describes how he rejoiced at God's law, staying up late at night, straining his eyes into the candlelight to read it, getting up first thing in the morning to read some more (Ps. 119:147,148). He obviously saw something in it that perhaps we don't. Perhaps he appreciated more keenly the prophecies of Messiah than we do. Peter makes the point that David knew so much about Jesus, although he wasn't even born then, that David could say: "I foresaw the Lord (Jesus) always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved" (Acts 2:25). David "foresaw" the coming of Jesus at all times; the only source of knowledge he had was the Law of Moses (remember David lived before the time of the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah). Jesus was ever present in David's thinking; thanks to his meditation upon the Law of Moses and the book of Job, which was likely all the scripture then available to him.
Psa 119:149
Hear my voice according to Your grace. Revive me, Yahweh, according
to Your ordinances-
If the ordinances in view are the prophetic words that he would
become king, even when it seemed impossible whilst under persecution from
Saul, then we note that David realized that this was all to be according
to God's grace, rather than his worthiness. Even though God saw him as a
man after His own heart. And David asks God to revive his faith in those
promises. Otherwise it is hard to see how revival of faith was
specifically promised in the "ordinances" of the Mosaic law.
Psa 119:150
They draw near who follow after wickedness, they are far from
Your law-
Heb. "Who follow after me maliciously". Relevant to Saul's
persecution of David. "Draw near" is a common idiom for offering sacrifice and
worshipping God. But that sacrifice must be from men who are near to God's
law, and not offering just as mere tokenistic ritualism. He may be
alluding to Saul's insincere sacrifices and religious rituals which led to
his rejection and David's choice as the next king (1 Sam. 14:36,38;
15:22).
Psa 119:151
You are near, Yahweh-
This continues the idea of :150. Insincere men claim to draw near to God in worship and
sacrifice, but God is near to those like David who are far from any
sanctuary of religious rituals. "Near" is literally, 'next to', 'neighbour / relative to'. This is how close God
feels to the broken hearted and crushed; and conversely, how far He is
from the self satisfied and self congratulatory, 'the strong' in secular
terms. It is this feature of Yahweh which makes Him unique; no other God
has this characteristic of 'nearness' (s.w. Dt. 4:7).
All Your commandments are truth-
"Truth" is a word often associated with the covenant. The "truth" of
covenant relationship binds Him to those truly within the covenant.
"Truth" is often used in a covenantal context.
Psa 119:152
Of old I have known from Your testimonies, that You have founded
them forever-
David may refer to how he had learnt from "of old", in his youth,
that God keeps his word. The adventures and answered prayers of boyhood
and youth remained real to him, and he didn't just pass them off as the
stuff of youth. But we note that he learnt that God keeps His word "from
Your testimonies". He saw internal evidence from his own experience of
God's word. And this is the basis of faith; not so much empirical,
apologetic evidence, as something within God's own revelation which
elicits further faith. What he had in view was that God's prophetic
testimony through Samuel that he would one day would become king- was
founded forever, and would not change.
RESH
Psa 119:153
Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I don’t forget Your law-
This could be read as one of several points in this Psalm, written in
relative youth, where David overestimates his obedience. He legalistically
assumes that he ought to be delivered from whatever affliction he faced
because of his stellar loyalty to God's word. This would explain the
otherwise strange ending of Ps. 119, where David confesses he is a lost
sheep and has not at all been obedient to God's way as he ought to have
been.
Psa 119:154
Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to Your promise-
The "promise" was the promise that he would become king and Saul
would be disposed of- which often must have seemed so unlikely of
fulfilment. Just as unlikely as the promise that "little me" shall one day
be a king-priest of God's kingdom, in the power of an endless life; when
we are so weak and faultering in our understanding and devotion. David
sees his situation with Saul as being played out before the court of
heaven; and he asks God to act not only as judge [who could "redeem"] but
also as his advocate for the defence, who could "plead my cause". Paul
uses this same idea in Rom. 1-8, triumphing that if God "be for us", as
both judge and advocate, then nothing can go against us (Rom. 8:31).
Sinners that we are.
Psa 119:155
Salvation is far from the wicked, for they don’t seek Your
statutes-
We note that David often [although not always, see on :153] speaks in
terms of 'seeking' God's laws, rather than being totally obedient to them.
Ezra 7:10 uses the same term, and differentiates between "seeking" and
"doing" the statutes. We see in Ps. 119 a man "after God's own heart"; not
in that he was morally perfect nor totally obedient, but in that he wished
and sought after such obedience, and loved God's laws rather than despised
them.
Psa 119:156
Great are Your tender mercies, Yahweh. Revive me according to Your
ordinances-
The parallel is with :154 "Revive me according to Your promise".
The "promise" was the promise that he would become king and Saul would be
disposed of- which often must have seemed so unlikely of fulfilment. And
this is the set of "ordinances" in view here. But becoming king was to be
by God's tender mercy, "the sure mercies of [i.e. given to] David" (Is.
55:3). Repeatedly David says this; that the fulfilment of God's word to
him about becoming king would be the outworking of His grace
(:41,76,88,124,149,159).
Psa 119:157
Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I haven’t swerved
from Your testimonies-
"Swerved" is the word for "incline", used by David of how he himself
inclined his heart to God's word (Ps. 119:51,112,157). But David prayed
that God would incline his heart towards His word (Ps. 119:36) and away
from sin (Ps. 141:4). This is how the Holy Spirit works to this day- we
are confirmed in the psychological attitudes we ourselves choose to have.
The word is used of God's mighty "stretched out" arm and "strong hand" in
human affairs (Ps. 136:12 and often in Isaiah). This powerful hand of God
is at work in human hearts, confirming us in the psychological way in
which we ourselves wish to go. In this sense God turns or inclines the
heart where He wishes (Prov. 21:1). Solomon in the Proverbs places all the
emphasis upon a person themselves in their own strength inclining their
heart toward his teaching (Prov. 2:2; 4:5,20; 5:1). He fails to appreciate
what David his father did; that God's word is His word and not that of the
human channel through which it comes. And he totally puts the emphasis
upon human strength of will, self inclination towards God's word, rather
than perceiving as David did that without God's psychological help in
this, we shall ultimately fail. As Solomon himself did.
Psa 119:158
I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don’t
observe Your word-
David’s eyes wept "because they keep not Your law", and yet he grieved for
those who do not keep Gods word (Ps. 119:136,158). In other words, he
grieved for where their way of life would lead them, even though he saw
that at times he behaved like them.
Psa 119:159
Consider how I love Your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to
Your grace-
Just as God's word had given life and birth to creation and continues
to keep it in life (:90-92), so David felt God's word and ways gave him
life. Three times David makes the connection between God's precepts and
his inner "revival" (Ps. 119:40,93,159). God's word is a living word in
that it is creative and gives life. Repeatedly David says that the
fulfilment of God's word to him about becoming king would be the
outworking of His grace (:41,76,88,124,149,159). Here he says that God's
grace would revive him, but elsewhere that the word [of promised kingship]
would revive him (:25,50,93,107,149).
Psa 119:160
All of Your words are truth, every one of Your righteous ordinances
endures forever-
The phrase "word of truth" is specifically used of the promises made
to David in 2 Sam. 7:28, which began with the promise that David would
become king and Saul would be deposed. David had feared in :43 that they could somehow
be abrogated, but now he expresses his confidence that the promise of the
Kingdom was eternal. Thus the eternity of God's truth is paralleled
with the eternity of His righteousness (as in :142). David walked / lived
"in truth and righteousness" (s.w. 1 Kings 3:6; Ps. 15:2), because this
was how God is. The Messianic seed of David was to have this
characteristic, ruling on David's throne in truth and righteousness (s.w.
Is. 16:5).
SIN AND SHIN
Psa 119:161
Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart
stands in awe of Your words-
Saul's sons, David's brothers-in-law, the brothers of his deep best
friend, joined their father in persecuting him in the wilderness years
. These are the "princes" in view, although later the words applied to
princes like Absalom. The continued emphasis in David's psalms upon "without
cause" surely reflects a self righteousness (Ps. 35:19; 69:4; 109:3;
119:161). For David's righteousness was only impressive relative to the
wickedness of his enemies; before God, it was filthy rags. It was true
that Saul persecuted David "without cause" (s.w. 1 Sam. 19:5), but the
experience of "without cause" persecution can lead us to an inappropriate
self-righteousness. This is what happened to Job, who also suffered
"without cause" (s.w. Job 2:3), and had to be convicted of
self-righteousness at the end of the story. And it seems this happened to
David. David himself intended to shed blood "without cause" and was only
saved from it by grace (s.w. 1 Sam. 25:31).
Psa 119:162
I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil-
The
Lord based His parables of the lost sheep and the man finding the treasure
of the Gospel in a field on the statements of David (Ps. 119:162,176), as
if He saw David as representative of all those who would truly come to
Him. The word in view was initially the promise that David would become
king. This was David's joy during his afflictions at the hands of Saul.
This is also another example of where David compares wealth against the
things of God's word of promise. The desire to accumulate wealth is
particularly strong for young men in David's position.
Psa 119:163
I hate and abhor falsehood but I love Your law-
The "falsehood" in view was likely the idolatry practiced by Saul.
Psa 119:164
Seven times a day I praise You because of Your righteous
ordinances-
This could refer to how David regularly reminded himself throughout
every day of his persecution by Saul that the word / ordinances of promise
were that he would become king and Saul would be disposed of.
Psa 119:165
Those who love Your law have great peace; nothing causes them to
stumble-
Whilst this is true in a general sense, the word in view was the
promise that he would become king and Saul would be disposed of. But the
"those" in view would have been those like Samuel whose lives of loving
God's law were known to David.
Psa 119:166
I have hoped for Your salvation, Yahweh-
These almost seem the words of Simeon in the
temple. "Salvation" is Yeshua, 'Jesus', "the word made flesh" (Jn. 1:14).
But in the shorter term, the salvation David hoped for was that from Saul,
promised in God's prophetic word to him.
I have done Your
commandments-
This could be read as one of several points in this Psalm, written
in relative youth, where David overestimates his obedience. He
legalistically assumes that he ought to be delivered from whatever
affliction he faced because of his stellar loyalty to God's word. This
would explain the otherwise strange ending of Ps. 119, where David
confesses he is a lost sheep and has not at all been obedient to God's way
as he ought to have been.
Psa 119:167
My soul has observed Your testimonies because I love them
exceedingly-
See on :166. Obedience is related to how much we love the commandment
being obeyed; and that requires a basic love of God, and everything about
Him, perceiving His character which we love revealed in all His
commandments. David in the wilderness was unable to be legally obedient to
all the commandments; hence he says that his "soul" observed them. Actual
total obedience is effectively impossible for us all, but we can still
love God's ways and testimonies.
Psa 119:168
I have obeyed Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways
are before You-
In :146 David promises that "I will obey Your statutes / precepts"
(s.w.). But here David says that he has 'obeyed Your statutes' (s.w.
:167,68). Perhaps he meant in :146 that when God fulfills His promise to
make him king, which required immediately saving him from some situation
with Saul, he would continue to "obey Your statutes" in the way he
governed Israel. But perhaps he feels he is suffering because of
disobeying God's statutes. And yet here in :167,168 he says he has obeyed
them. This difficulty in self examination [which we also can identify
with] is reflected in how David also says in different Psalms that Israel
both obeyed God's statutes, and also disobeyed them (Ps. 78:56 cp. 99:7).
TAV
Psa 119:169
Let my cry come near before You, Yahweh-
Truly can we pray David’s prayers. So often, prayer is described as
coming near to God (Ps. 119:169 etc.)- and yet God “is” near already.
Prayer, therefore, is a way of making us realize the presence of the God
who is always present. You are not alone, I am not alone; “For I am with
you”. God is with us for us in His Son. Of course, we must draw near to
Him (Ps. 73:28); and yet He is already near, not far from every one of us
(Acts 17:27). David often speaks of drawing near to God, and yet he
invites God to draw near to him (Ps. 69:18). Yet David also recognizes
that God “is” near already (Ps. 75:1). I take all this to mean that like
us, David recognized that God “is” near, and yet wished God to make His
presence real to him.
Give me understanding according to Your word-
Again, David is asking for something beyond God's word itself. God
can give us "understanding" of it. Or if the "word" in view is
specifically the promise that David would be king, he could be asking for
wisdom ["understanding"] in how to rule Israel. And this was likewise the
prayer of Solomon when he became king (1 Kings 3:9); but his motives were
less than pure because he was consciously seeking to imitate his father in
this request.
Psa 119:170
Let my supplication come before You and deliver me according to
Your word-
The reference is to the word of promise that David would become king,
and Saul's abuse of him end. He imagines his prayer for that "word" to
come true as coming "before" God. He visualized a court of heaven, before
which his prayers came for consideration.
Psa 119:171
Let my lips utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes-
It was Moses who 'taught [God's] statutes' to Israel (s.w. Dt.
4:1,5,14; 5:31). David in the wilderness felt such a personal relationship
with God that he felt God personally teaching him, without the
intermediary of any teacher like Moses. And this kind of intimacy is still
possible with God. David knew the "statutes", but he wanted God to teach
them to him in practice. There is a huge difference between mere Bible
reading, and God teaching us to the meaning of His word.
Psa 119:172
Let my tongue sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are
righteousness-
We may enquire why David speaks of his singing about God's word as
yet future; why doesn't he do so at the time? It makes sense if we
understand "Your word" as referring to the word of promise that David
would become king, and Saul's abuse of him end.
Psa 119:173
Let Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your
precepts-
"Help me" is s.w. in Ps. 30:10, a Bathsheba Psalm: "Hear,
Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper". Earlier
David had sought Yahweh's help on the basis that he had been obedient to
God's word (Ps. 119:173 s.w.), and was innocent (Ps. 119:86 s.w.). But the
sin with Bathsheba led David to beg for God to be his helper purely on the
basis of grace (Ps. 30:10 s.w.). See on :175. But the immediate "help" in
view was help against Saul. Again we note that David doesn't claim total
obedience; but that he had "chosen Your precepts".
Psa 119:174
I have longed for Your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my
delight-
These almost seem the words of Simeon in the
temple. "Salvation" is Yeshua, 'Jesus', "the word made flesh" (Jn. 1:14).
But in the shorter term, the salvation David hoped for was that from Saul,
promised in God's prophetic word to him. And his response was going to be
to govern Israel according to God's law which he delighted in.
Psa 119:175
Let my soul live, that I may praise You. Let Your ordinances
help me-
In :173 David asks for God to "help him" to escape Saul's persecution when
it seemed his soul would not live (1 Sam. 27:1) and to become king,
according to God's word of promise. And so here he asks that those
promises or ordinances would help him. "Help me" is s.w. in Ps. 30:10, a Bathsheba Psalm: "Hear,
Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper". He had
earlier asked for God's words to be his "helper" (Ps. 119:175), but later
after sinning with Bathsheba he quits his
academic study and begs directly for God Himself to be his "helper". See
on :173.
Psa 119:176
I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek Your servant, for I
don’t forget Your commandments-
This may appear a strange ending, and structurally it appears to have been
added on. I suggest it was likely written by David with his mind on his follies relating to Bathsheba,
so far from the spirit of his youthful devotion to God's law and ways. And yet it is the taken by the Lord and used as the basis for the parable of the lost sheep, whereby all who have sinned go through the David experience.
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