Psalms 119:1–176

The opening verses present the theme of the whole psalm — the blessedness of those who walk through this world in "the way" marked out by the Lord in His law, who "keep" His testimonies, and seek Him with the whole heart.

We have read in Psalm 118:19–20, "Open to me the gates of righteousness… This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it." But who are the righteous? Psalm 119 answers that question. It shows what will be true of Israel when God writes the law on their hearts (Jer. 31:33)… Psalms 1, 32, 41, 112 and 128 all begin with this same word blessed… In the first Psalm we read of someone delighting in the law of the LORD. Here we see how completely that can be true.

The word for "Blessed" in the Hebrew is plural. So it describes the "abundant blessings" that belong to all true believers in Christ: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3).

They were not always "perfect". Once they were sinners, every one going his own way, dead in trespasses and sins. But Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin, to redeem sinners from both the guilt and the power of sin… The word "perfect" has the meaning of "blameless, complete, whole, entire, sound".

God pronounces this blessedness on "the undefiled in the way." The world is full of defilement. There is only one path in the world… which can be undefiled; that is, God's law… It is the way wholly formed of God's expressed will for man's walk in this world. They "walk in the law of the LORD." There is a delight in what is right, in what is not defiled by sin or the world; but that which is right is found in walking in the law. It is a perfect rule, according to God, in this world for a living man.

At Sinai the law came to men in the flesh, and they loathed it, rebelled against it; in Psalm 119 the writer delights in the law of God. Clearly he has been born again. He tastes ahead of time the blessing Israel will have in a future day, when the Lord will say, "I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds" (Heb. 10:16).

Though we are not "under law but under grace," we still delight in it; and we fulfil its righteous requirements as we walk according to the Spirit. The believer can even now sing, "Oh how I love your law!" — for he has been brought to rejoice in the One who has magnified that law, and who has borne its curse for him upon the tree.

Notice that the whole Psalm, except the first five verses, is in the singular. The writer first says that the undefiled in the way are blessed, setting out that certain fact as his theme. Then he exclaims: "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!"—his personal ways.

But who are the righteous? Psalm 119 answers this question. It shows what will be true of Israel when God writes His law on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33)… Psalms 1, 32, 41, 112 and 128 open with this same word blessed. In other psalms the title describes the saint in one way or another. This is because God's estimate of people here is very different from the world's. And now in Psalm 119 we learn some of the marks of anyone truly entitled to such a name.

Verse 2: EDUTH = Testimonies. It is a revelation, or a revealed psalm… The word EDAH = Precept and occurs 14 times, in the plural. It means a testimony, or a repetition, an attestation or witness, a constant witness to Jehovah's will.

Remember what we said about this word "testimonies"? It testifies what God is, and it also shows me what I ought to be. Before we can "keep" His testimonies, we must first have received them, accepted them, and be willing to obey.

To have the law written on the heart is not a natural state but a supernatural one, a work of divine grace. And this law is not merely arbitrary, a bare expression of authority. It is also a "testimony," and the awakened conscience responds to it. In it God declares Himself. So to "keep His testimonies" is to "seek Him with their whole heart." For such people everything matches the real nature of things: they do not twist them.

Notice that they seek "Him"; they seek to please Him, to be more like Him. This is not a merely "intellectual" activity, but it is a question of the whole heart being engaged. My heart yearning after Him day by day, all day long. "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart," is the wonderful promise (Jeremiah 29:13).

You should earnestly seek to be whole-hearted in your Christian life and testimony. Notice how many times the phrase "whole heart" occurs in Psalm 119. It carries the thought that thoroughness must mark all who have to do with God. This was true above all in the Man, Christ Jesus. He could say, in the fullest sense of the words, "Zeal for your house has consumed me." He was consumed with the desire to do the will of the Father Who sent Him.

This connects itself with the desire after Himself. They seek Him with the whole heart. This is the general character of the effect of the law written in the heart. The practical effect is plain: they "do no iniquity." The heart is set right in purity, and they also do no evil, no wrong towards others. Instead of their own will and defiance towards God, "they walk in His ways." The heart recognises God's authority and accepts it with diligence, and the heart's desires go out towards it.

They walk in the way of the Lord's law — not the ten commandments, but as the New Testament tells us, "the law of liberty" (James 2:12), which involves the new birth. Only those born again will keep His testimonies, seeking the Lord with their whole heart (v. 2). They respond willingly to His commandment to keep His precepts diligently, not giving in to iniquity, but choosing God's ways (vv. 3-4).

(vv. 1-3) The opening verses present the theme of the whole psalm — the blessedness of those who walk through this world in "the way" marked out by the Lord in His law, who "keep" His testimonies, and seek Him with the whole heart.

The "way" for man is simply the way of Jehovah's law; and "happiness" is to be perfect in it. How blessed it is just to have the settled awareness in the soul that this alone is happiness. To be delivered from the misery of one's own will, one's own way — the very definition of sin (Isa. 53:6) — what a complete deliverance that is! ... With such people everything matches the real nature of things. They do not twist it: "they practise no perversity; they walk in His ways." His ways must be safe, holy, and happy.

When God writes His law on the heart, the people He speaks of will have hearts that never forget what He has commanded. This is certainly not the natural condition of anyone. It belongs only to those of whom He can also say, "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more." Psalm 119 is the fervent expression of a heart so blessed.

This connects with the desire for God Himself. They seek Him with the whole heart. This is the general character of the effect of the law written in the heart. The practical effect is clear: they "do no iniquity." Their heart is not only morally right and undefiled; they also do no evil or unrighteousness — no wrong to others. Instead of following their own will and scoffing at God, "they walk in His ways." The heart recognises God's authority, accepts it diligently, and desires it.

Negative: "… they … do no iniquity …" As they "keep" His testimonies, and seek the Lord with their whole heart, staying close to Him, they do not sin. It is not characteristic of a true Christian that he practises sin. Instead, an act of sin in a believer's life counts as an "accident", completely unlike his position. "… if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous …" (1 John 3:9; 1 John 2:1).

Positive: "… they walk in His ways." They walk with Him, and in His strength. He is the "way" in which they walk; like Him. "Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" (1 John 2:6). Our "walk" shows the effect of "abiding" in Him.

We see then that the form of this psalm cannot apply to the Christian. He never expects to be completely forsaken. In one particular case he may apply this, when he knows he has followed his own will. But the general principle teaches us much, because it shows what God works in the heart to shape its moral character.

There is first of all complete submission. Remember what a "commandment" is: an order given by God with full authority. Whether to Adam or to Noah, they had to submit. Adam did not, but Noah did submit. Are we willing to submit our will to His will? This submission is not imposed upon us, we are not forced to submit to our Lord Jesus! That would be the obedience of a slave. No, it is because we love Him that we willingly and gladly submit to Him.

Verse 4: PIK-KOO-DEEM = Precepts (or Commandments). It occurs 21 times through the psalm (always in the plural). It means a charge given to us by God for which we are responsible, "to place in trust", or "to take oversight".

The verse continues: "…to be kept diligently." There is nothing superficial about this submission! It is not a partial submission, but complete. There is no reserve, no holding back part, no hesitation, but a glad and whole-hearted surrender.

We must not pick and choose. We tend to take up the commandments and precepts that suit us, but this is really self-will. What right do we have to select some precepts from the word and neglect others? None at all. To do so is, in principle, simply self-will and rebellion. What business has a servant to decide which of his master's commands he will obey? Surely, none at all. Every commandment carries the master's authority, so it has a claim on the servant's attention. And we may add: the more fully a servant obeys, giving respectful attention to every one of his master's commands, however small, the more he strengthens his position and grows in his master's confidence and esteem.

"You have commanded Your precepts" — the separate applications of God's principles — "to be kept diligently." God does not speak in plain, definite terms and then put up with us treating His words lightly. And that is not in the least what grace means. Nothing God has spoken is unimportant. Obedience is always what matters, and an obedience we can set limits on claims for us a wisdom higher than God's.

But the God whose sons we are is holy, and demands in His children obedience. He would have us recognise His authority. If we stand in His grace, we are also under His government. We are just as much the subjects of His kingdom as we are the objects of His favour. We are as much His servants under His control as we are His sons in liberty… Knowing that I am His son makes me cry, "Abba, Father." Knowing that I am under Him makes me say, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"

It is not Christian to obey Christ merely because we must. Christ never obeyed like that. If someone only does a thing because he knows he will be punished if he does not, that shows his heart is not in it — he does not want to obey. Christian obedience is wanting to do a thing because it is the will of God. The Holy Spirit gives us the power for that by setting Christ before our hearts.

Then there is a complete giving up of self. This is a prayer! It is the deep longing of the heart expressed in a sigh! There is a deep sense of complete weakness, and of our own inability to do anything that is pleasing and acceptable to God. Here is a cry for aid, for help, for power! Surely the Lord hears such a sigh! Surely the Holy Spirit will direct you and me to "keep Your statutes," to do His will and not our own! A "statute" is a direction from God to secure our obedience, or to stop disobedience.

"Oh that my ways were directed." This is not only seeing God's ways — what the heart approves as right in itself. It is the desire that the actual course of life be ordered to keep God's statutes; our will is not satisfied, but turned towards God's. Here a man feels his dependence about the course of his life, and longs for it to be directed.

With the blessedness of God's way before his soul, the psalmist turns to God in prayer. He admits God's authority to "command," and our responsibility "to keep" His precepts. He also longs to meet that responsibility. Aware of human weakness, the godly man looks to God to direct his ways, so that he may keep God's statutes (v. 5).

How different is the spirit of Psalm 119. At Sinai the law came to men in the flesh, and they loathed it and rebelled against it; in Psalm 119 the writer delights in the law of God. Clearly he has been born again.

It is we who need to be taught wisdom. So the heart cries out: "Oh that my ways" — my goings in the path — "may be directed to keep Your statutes: then I shall not be ashamed when I have respect to all Your commandments." And it looks ahead to His judgments — His decisions in the court of conscience. These so approve His righteousness that learning them will produce a spirit of praise in an upright heart.

It was a time when Israel had gone wrong. So here there is a special looking to God not to give them up completely. We see that the form of this psalm cannot apply to the Christian. He never expects to be completely forsaken. In a particular course of action he may apply it, when he knows he has followed his own will. But from the general principle we may learn much, as to what is worked in the heart regarding its moral disposition.

Here is complete confidence. "Then" — it follows! He has learned from experience. He has learned from past mistakes. He has learned that he will not be ashamed, when he has "respect" for all the Lord's commandments! He says, in effect: "Yes, looking back I am ashamed of those times when I acted in self-confidence and in my own strength and wisdom, and failed miserably. But now I have learned not to have this self-confidence, but to have complete confidence in the Lord."

Shame does not come from people's disapproval. It comes from a conscience that is not good according to God's revealed will. But this way is complete, and it is the only one. Whatever is outside it is not clean — it is the world, which God hates. We must be in it in will, heart, and way. Otherwise we are out of it, and so ashamed — if the will of the heart is right. If my mind and soul have discerned the excellence of God's way, then my conscience makes me ashamed when I am out of it in every respect.

The blessedness of God's way is before his soul, so the psalmist turns to God in prayer. He admits God's authority to "command," and our responsibility "to keep" His precepts. He also longs for this responsibility to be met. Aware of human weakness, the godly man looks to God to direct his ways, so that he may keep God's statutes (v. 5). Walking this way, he keeps a good conscience (v. 6). When the conscience is good, praise flows, not from formal lips, but from an upright heart (v. 7).

We must learn not to pick and choose when it comes to the Lord's will for us. All His ways are blessedness and peace, all His will is good and acceptable and perfectly suited to our needs.

We are called to obey God's word as a whole — "All My law" — not just the part of it we prize most. When a believer follows only his favourite lines of truth, he is not strong and very courageous in obeying the whole of God's word. Some believers have selected certain portions of God's word for their obedience, the ones most agreeable to them, and so have in effect built a revised Bible!

No — it is we who need to be taught wisdom. So the heart cries out: "Oh that my ways" — my steps in the path — "may be directed to keep Your statutes: then I shall not be ashamed when I have respect for all Your commandments." The heart also foresees that His judgments — His decisions in the court of conscience — will so approve His righteousness that learning them will produce a spirit of praise in an upright heart.

We see, then, that the form of this psalm cannot apply to the Christian. He never expects to be utterly forsaken; in a particular course he may apply this, when he is conscious of having followed his own will. But from the general principle we may learn much, as to what is worked in the heart regarding its moral disposition.

With the blessedness of God's way before his soul, the psalmist turns to God in prayer. He admits God's authority to "command," and our responsibility "to keep" His precepts. There is also a longing desire to meet that responsibility. Aware of human weakness, the godly man looks to God to direct his ways, so that he may keep God's statutes (v. 5). Walking this way, he keeps a good conscience (v. 6). And when the conscience is good, praise flows, not from formal lips, but from an upright heart (v. 7).

The judgments of His righteousness are the decisions He makes about right and wrong. They express and carry out the righteous character of God. We have much to learn about His "judgments." We must learn that He always judges righteously — never on a whim, and never with prejudice, as men judge. We must learn from Him now on earth how to judge as He does. Then later, when we reign with Him a thousand years, we shall be able to put into practice what we have learned. Whatever He thinks best is good and right, even when He must discipline as a tender and compassionate Father. One day we shall stand before His judgment seat to be rewarded, and there we shall praise Him with uprightness of heart for all His righteous judgments.

It is we who need to be taught wisdom. So the heart cries out, "Oh that my ways" — my walking in the path — "may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments." And it looks ahead: His judgments — His decisions in the court of conscience — so approve His righteousness that learning them produces a spirit of praise in an upright heart.

Real, deep desire is clear in verse 5, "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!" If so, the psalmist would not be ashamed when he looked at all God's commandments. Instead he would praise the Lord, not in mere ritual, but in uprightness of heart, gladly learning God's righteous judgments (v. 7). So he has a settled purpose: "I will keep your statutes."

Psalm 119 has 176 verses, and no fewer than 174 of them mention the law of God under different names — law, commandments, precepts, testimonies, judgments, statutes, ordinances, word, way, path. Whatever name the law goes by, it is no longer condemnation and death threatening, but perfect delight and liberty. The writer bursts out, "My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times" (v. 20) — "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules" (v. 164).

But it was a time when Israel had erred. So here there is a special looking to God not to give them up completely. We see from this that the form of this psalm cannot apply to the Christian. He never expects to be completely forsaken. He may apply it in a particular case, when he knows he has followed his own will. But we can learn much from the general principle, as what is worked in the heart about its moral disposition. Verses 1-8.

Having cast himself upon God, the psalmist can say with confidence, "I will keep Your statutes," though recognizing past failure, which leads to the cry, "do not utterly forsake me!"

"I will keep Your statutes…" is what the Psalmist said he would do. "Keeping" means to observe and put into practice. His "statutes" are His directions, given to get our obedience. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments," the Lord Jesus said (John 14:15)… So God provides what we need to do what He asks. All this will keep us humble. We realize that by ourselves we can do nothing, as the Lord Jesus said: "…apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

The last verse is an appeal to divine government not to go far away from one who had in heart to keep the divine statutes.

Thus he has firm purpose, "I will keep Your statutes." If so, it is impossible that God would forsake him utterly (v. 8).

Another part of this state of heart is a full will and purpose to obey and keep what God has ordered or appointed. It is what carries God's authority, not simply what is morally right or wrong. But this was a time when Israel had gone wrong. So here there is a special looking to God, asking Him not to give them up completely. We see then that the form of this psalm cannot apply to the Christian. He never expects to be completely forsaken. He may use these words about some path he has taken, when he knows he has followed his own will. But we can learn much from the general principle — what God works in the heart to shape its moral character.

The Psalmist finishes this first section of eight verses with a prayer: "do not utterly forsake me!" But we who believe now, in this time of grace, have no reason to think that the Lord will ever abandon us. The Holy Spirit will not leave us and will not be taken from us, for He remains with us forever (John 14:16). This should not make us careless. It should encourage us to keep going with this constant prayer: "Lord Jesus, keep me close to Yourself."

Here is a soul with a question! He has tried to walk in a way that pleases the Lord, but he feels the defiling influences of the world around him. There has been defilement in thought and imagination. Some believers suffer from unclean thoughts or unclean suggestions from the enemy. This young man had known that kind of defilement. Now he asks the question: "With what" shall I cleanse my way, my heart, my thought life? This verse gives us the first wonderful fact about the Word: it purifies.

The young man is mentioned here because a believer needs this vital instruction at the very start of his path. The subject here is not the cleansing of his sins, but the practical cleansing of his path. Only the blood of Christ cleanses sins, and God does that work for the believer. But the believer is responsible to cleanse his path. This means a daily, practical separation from evil principles. The means of this is clear: it is the Word of God taken to heart that enables one to act with such effect.

The Word of God is that which has cleansing power for the believer. Bear in mind that we are not now speaking of that cleansing which, as guilty sinners, we get when we come to Christ. At that time we were cleansed in a very different way, even by the precious blood of Christ. But as believers we need the continuous washing, not of blood, but of "water by the word."

First, by watchful care to bring all his ways under the searchlight of God's Word.

There is a blessing where Scripture is read and in particular where it is obeyed. … We say to the little ones, we need to say it to each other, "read your Bible, pray every day." Now we can say there is a purifying effect from the reading of Holy Scripture.

In a world where Satan is very active to deceive believers, the young Christian is his special target. So the question the psalmist asked himself matters as much today as in his day. How can a young man — or a young woman — lead a holy and pure life in unholy, sin-stained surroundings? The answer of Scripture is short but enough: by taking heed according to your word. We live in a world where standards and values are changing at an ever-increasing speed. … whether young or old, we need to measure everything by God's plumb line — His Word. That is how we become overcomers in this anti-Christian or post-Christian world.

Purity. Perhaps sexual purity is the most obvious example of this. These words speak especially to young men. But let's not suppose that any of us, whatever our age or gender, is safe from the dangers. The word is clear. And of course purity involves not just what we do, but what goes on in our minds too.

The clothes stand for what touches us — our associations, what we have dealings with, what the world around us sees us connected with. Perhaps people have often seen us in the gambling halls, or in other evil places. All these associations and ways must be "washed."

Here He is "sought with the whole heart"; no guile, but the true desire of the heart towards God. God's commandments are precious, because they make His will known. So the heart that truly seeks Him prays that He will not let it wander from them. The heart looks to God as good, for when He is truly sought there is always some sense of His goodness. That is what distinguishes conversion from mere terror of conscience: desire towards Him, and a sense of goodness in God.

This verse shows us that the Word keeps the believer from wandering from the path of obedience. "With my whole heart I seek you…" We have to be in earnest about it! To rush in and out of the Lord's presence for a little reading and prayer is not what we could properly call a "quiet time." We must take time to be holy. Notice that the second half of this verse is a prayer: "…let me not wander…" We have a prayer in verses 5 and 8, and in this verse too. Prayer and Bible study go hand in hand.

Whole-heartedness is surely due to such a God as ours! "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart" (Psalm 9:1), "With my whole heart I seek you" (Psalm 119:10), "With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!" (Psalm 119:145). This is how David loved to speak to his God. Lord, save us all from dead, decent formality in divine things; give us David's spirit.

He also casts himself upon the power of God, so that God will keep him from wandering into paths of his own lust and will. He knows he is weak. He knows that right and honest desires will not in themselves keep him in the path of blessing. So he casts himself with his whole heart upon God (v. 10).

The young man is spoken of, no doubt, because life is strong in him, and the untried world is full of natural attraction… Seeking Him with the whole heart, the soul still has to pray, "Let me not wander."

The verb is "to err," as in Psalm 119:10, 21, 118 and Leviticus 4:13 — to sin through ignorance.

The newborn soul can rightly claim that with his whole heart he has sought the Lord. In keeping with this, he earnestly prays, "let me not wander from your commandments!" (v. 10). How does this happen? By hiding God's Word in his heart. How good indeed to learn verses of Scripture, not merely by memory, but by heart! This will certainly preserve us from sinning against God (v. 11).

It was not the Bible in his hand to read it, or the word on his tongue to speak of it. It was hiding it in his heart that he found effective against sin.

They took it into their knowledge and intelligence, took it into their heart as an invaluable treasure. "I have stored up your word in my heart." That is the right place for it; it is safe there. We need to be on our guard. The birds of the air in the Parable of the Sower stand for real evil spirits. They hover around us, seeking to rob us of the treasure we have received.

The Word of God should not only be a check on our thoughts. It should be their source, which is far deeper. We see it in Christ, the only perfect One. He alone could say, "By the word of your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent." "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." The Word has a preserving power that keeps the feet from sliding. Only those who receive the truth in the love of it know that power. Merely having the word hidden in the memory will not do! There is no preserving power in that. The truth must act on the heart and conscience, separating us from all defilement. Otherwise we cannot experience its preserving power.

The new born soul can rightly claim that with his whole heart he has sought the Lord; and consistently with this, he earnestly prays, "Oh let me not wander from Your commandments" (v. 10). How is this to be accomplished? By the individual's hiding God's Word in his heart. How good indeed to learn the verses of scripture, not merely by memory, but by heart!

Second, by casting himself on the power of God, so that God keeps him from wandering into paths of his own lust and will. He knows his weakness. He knows that right and honest desires will not by themselves keep him in the path of blessing. So he casts himself on God with all his heart (v. 10).

Third, by hiding the Word in his heart, which keeps him from sinning against God in secret.

God's word is a protector from sin — if hidden in the heart. Read, taken seriously, meditated on, remembered — all are involved in hiding it in the heart. Again this takes time, but it helps to protect us from sin. The Lord Jesus is the perfect example of using God's word when under temptation. For each of Satan's temptations He answered with the right scripture. He knew the scriptures, of course, but He also understood how to apply them, and which verses were right for which situation. How vitally important it is that we hide the word in our hearts; there is no better protector from sinning.

These are golden sentences for the present moment. They set forth the true place for the Word — "settled in heaven" and "hidden in the heart." That is not all. They also link the heart to the very throne of God through His own Word. This gives the Christian all the stability and all the moral security that the divine Word can give.

Fourth, by owning the blessedness of the Lord and thus in confidence looking to be taught of the Lord (v. 12).

But now we see the heart in the presence and under the control of God: "Blessed are You, Jehovah." The heart turns to Him with its awareness of its own ignorance and its yearning desire — "teach me Your statutes."

The heart owns the blessedness of Jehovah Himself, known in His ways, His goodness, His mercy that endures forever. There, in the middle of its distress, the renewed heart finds its resource and its rest. "Blessed are You, O Jehovah." This makes the heart look for what He has decreed and ordained, and for divine teaching in it. This looking at God gives courage, and an inner sense of integrity and faithfulness.

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and through the instruments that grace uses He can teach us the will of God (John 14:26). So let us echo the psalmist's prayer to the Lord: "…teach me Your statutes." And let us remember what a statute means: "a divine direction to bring about our obedience, and to keep us from disobedience."

We owe it to God to declare what He is. He ought to be known, and what He is ought to be acknowledged. Praise is different in that we speak our sense of what He is to Him.

Such simple, clear facts move the heart also to bless the Lord, who can be relied on to teach His statutes. This being so, our lips are also opened to witness to others, declaring all the judgments of God's mouth (v. 13).

Praise and testimony can only flow from a soul that is taught of God. So the psalmist says, "My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes." At once he adds, "My tongue will sing of your word." The psalm opens with prayer, continues in praise, and leads to testimony. This is always the divine order.

MISH-PAHT = Judgment. The word occurs 23 times in the psalm… It means the sentence of a judge, and above all a sentence that imposes a penalty. It is therefore a judicial sentence, a decision the Lord makes.

(vv. 13-16) The young man's way has been cleansed, so now he can bear testimony to others (v. 13). It comes from a heart that enjoys God's testimonies (v. 14), meditates on them (v. 15), delights in them, and keeps them in mind (v. 16).

"With my lips I declare …", the verse begins. The believer may speak in "living echoes of His words …", but the Lord must first be able to speak to us, before we can tell others what He has told us. Before the Lord Jesus can send us out "to preach" He calls us first to "be with Him" (Mark 3:14). Perhaps it is good to ask ourselves: "What do I use my lips for?" Surely not for gossip? How we need to pray daily: "keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3; Job 27:4).

Service flows from confidence in God and from knowing how blessed He is, with the value we place on what God has given… Perceiving divine things, with power and value for them, is what makes us declare them. It is glorifying God. Love to others may go with this, but it is another thing. We owe it to God to declare what He is. He ought to be known, and what He is ought to be acknowledged. Then we hold nothing back: "all the judgments of Your mouth." We are filled with what God is, and with its value, and we speak it out. We may be wise for others' sake, but we value God enough to declare Him fully.

He has already been speaking of what he knew. He declared God's judgments — the decisions God had given about good and evil, right and wrong — and he did it faithfully, holding nothing back. What a great help this is for keeping a clean path: confessing God in all things, and committing yourself fully to all that He has made known of Himself. Indecision invites the assault of evil. It does not honour God, and He cannot honour anyone who is ashamed of Him.

Whatever is in the heart comes out through the lips, and in the life. How important then to have the heart full of the word of God! It should be so full that we have no room for the empty, foolish things of this present evil world… "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." So we can judge what is in the heart by what comes out of the mouth. The tongue is the organ of the heart — the organ of the man.

Verses 13-16: the young man's way has been cleansed, so he can bear testimony to others (v. 13). This comes from a heart that enjoys God's testimonies (v. 14), meditates on them (v. 15), delights in them, and keeps them in mind (v. 16).

Note further: these are testimonies that come from God. They are His definite declaration of His mind and will. They are not a knowledge of God that man boasts of by his own will, or his claim to know what God must be. They are the definite testimonies of God, so man is subject to them, though they also hold him up. It is not man's reasoning, or man's conscience, but the testimonies of God, His own active revelation of Himself, the speaking of His word. Faith simply receives them, and the soul is subject to them as such.

How great a thing this is for keeping a clean path — to confess God in all things, and to give yourself fully to all that He has made known of Himself! An undecided attitude invites the attack of evil. God is not honoured in it, and He cannot honour one who is ashamed of Him. Joy in what is confessed goes with a true confession. So it follows here: "I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches." The mind, too, works on what the heart enjoys. It meditates on God's precepts, and pays attention to His paths.

God's testimonies become the riches of the soul. Owning heaven changes this a little. Yet still, for life here below, the way of God's testimonies is joy — moral joy — as riches would be to men. There is an inward life that busies itself with these things, as well as the activity of duty. There is much in God's testimonies to feed on, digest and learn. We meditate on them, and so we have God's mind — the Holy Spirit's intention in them. So the soul is fed in delight.

As the Lord Jesus Himself says, "I delight to do your will, O my God" (Ps. 40:8), so the believer may say, "I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies as much as in all riches" (v. 14). The believer cannot say that he does the will of God as Christ does. But he has the same attitude toward God's Word as Christ has.

We have already seen that the Word revives us. Yes, we may rejoice in the Word "as much as in all riches"; "as one who finds great spoil"; "for they are the rejoicing of my heart" (Ps. 119:14, 162, 111). But on the other hand it is the holy Word of God that speaks with authority to our hearts and consciences. Are we "trembling" at His Word, and trying to order our lives by it? Or do we try to adjust God's Word to our behaviour when we have already departed from it to some degree?

Several words are used, each meaning the law, but viewed from different standpoints. (1) Law (Torah) — direction, teaching. (2) Testimony (Eduth) — witness, testimony. (3) Precept (Piqqudim) — charges. (4) Statute (Choq) — decreed limit. (5) Commandment (Mitvah) — precept. (6) Word (Dabar) — word, matter, thing. (7) Judgment (Misphat) — judgment. (8) Way (Derek) — trodden path.

In this Psalm it is not the law of bondage, condemnation and death, but "the trodden path" of delight that the renewed man longs to take.

The mind, too, turns of itself to what the heart enjoys. So he meditates on God's precepts, and keeps His paths in view.

Reading fills our minds with truth. Meditation brings that truth home to us in its full force and application. The ox does not only feed in the pastures; it also lies down to chew the cud. In the same way, we need to turn things over in our minds. It is not what we eat that nourishes us, but what we digest. If we meditate on the things of God, and get right into them so that they control us, then our profit, our spiritual growth, becomes plain to everyone.

Meditation and study differ. Study is a work of the brain, meditation of the heart. Study puts the mind to work; meditation puts the affections to work. Study finds a truth out; meditation makes spiritual use of that truth. The one searches for the vein of gold, the other digs out the gold. Study is like a winter sun, with little warmth or influence. Meditation leaves the soul in a holy state. It melts the heart when it is frozen, and makes it drop into tears of love.

The devil is an enemy to meditation. He does not care how much people read and hear, nor how little they meditate. He knows that meditation settles the heart and brings it into a gracious state, and the devil is against that. Satan is content for you to be a hearing and praying Christian, so long as you are not a meditating Christian. He can stand your small shot, as long as you do not load this bullet.

The writer expresses a determination: "I will meditate …". How important it is to be determined about keeping up a daily Bible study! Most Christians are so disorganised that they cannot find time for Bible study — or that is their excuse. We can always find time for something we really want to do! The writer then continues: "… and have respect to Your ways". It is not enough to be interested and to meditate on the Word. We should follow that by putting what we read into practice. To have "respect" is to be willing to obey the Word of God.

So the heart is moved to take time to meditate on God's precepts, not just to agree that they are true. It is moved to contemplate God's ways, not just to observe them (v. 15). Such delight in God's statutes will make a person remember, not forget (v. 16).

CHUQQIM = Statute... It comes from the root to cut into, to hack, and so to engrave, to carve... It has the idea of that which is established, or definite; an appointed portion of food, or task; a definite limit... an appointed law, statute or ordinance. It is therefore a divine direction for my obedience, or to arrest disobedience. It stimulates obedience. It is the Law as a permanent record of God's will.

Happy the heart that finds its joy in the "statutes" of God. Remember that "statute" means a divine direction given for our obedience. What joy there is in obeying Him!

(vv. 13-16) The young man's way has been cleansed, so he can now bear testimony (v. 13). His heart is enjoying God's testimonies (v. 14). It meditates on them (v. 15), delights in them, and keeps them in mind (v. 16).

The section closes with a renewed experience of joy in His statutes. That joy is a sure safeguard against a bad memory.

An affectionate hearer will not be a forgetful hearer. Love helps the memory: Can a woman forget her child, or a bride her wedding clothes? No, they love them too well; if the truths of God were this precious to you, you would think of them day and night. Sometimes a Christian has a weak memory. He cannot recall the very words he hears well enough to repeat them. Even then he keeps their power and flavour in his spirit. Dissolve sugar in wine and you cannot see it, but you can taste it. Eat food and digest it, and you will not find it as you received it. Yet it cheers the man and strengthens him, and makes him more able to walk and work than before. By that you may know it is not lost. So you may taste in his spirit the truths the Christian heard, and see them in his life.

So the heart is moved to take time to meditate on God's precepts, not merely to acknowledge them as true; and to contemplate God's ways, not merely to observe them (v. 15). Such delight in God's statutes will cause one to remember, not to forget (v. 16).

How important that we do not forget what we have read: "I will not forget your word." In verse 11 we saw the need to hide it in our hearts. To store the mind with the Word of God is the way of victory... How can the Holy Spirit bring any word from the Bible back to our memory if we have not first stored it there? Today we say of the computer that it will give you nothing but what you have first stored in its memory yourself! ... So everything really depends on our appetite for the Word of God. The writer of this psalm gives us a good example: he says he delights in the Word of God at least 8 times — see verses 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143 and 174.

Psalm 119 has 176 verses. No fewer than 174 of them mention the law of God under different names — law, commandments, precepts, testimonies, judgments, statutes, ordinances, word, way, path... Whatever name the law goes by, it is no longer condemnation and a threat of death. It is perfect delight and liberty.

We depend completely on God for the ability to experience things this way. Left to himself, man walks about in an empty show and troubles himself for nothing. True life begins for us in the bountiful grace of God, and it shows itself in keeping His word. The same power that brings us into this life must keep working to hold us there. And in this way we come to know marvelous things! With eyes fully awake, what glories may come into view! Plainly, what we have here is the language of prayer. Nothing is more needed than the constant sense of dependence.

He asks for the Lord's goodness according to His word and within it. That word is the delight and guide of the Israel of God, no matter who despises it.

He pleads the servant's place he has taken, so that God may deal with him in divine love and teach him His statutes. He is God's servant. As a servant he needs discernment to know the testimonies he has to hold on to in a time of bold rebellion — and he may press the fact that he needs it.

He admits that life itself is in God's hands. He looks to the Lord's bountiful mercy to spare him, to keep him walking in obedience, and to open his eyes to behold wondrous things out of the law. This is more than finding a rule of life in the law. Anyone can do that much on his own. Only the servant with opened eyes will behold "wondrous things."

Verses 17 and 117 tie life and obedience together completely. For the man of God, to live and to serve the living God are one and the same thing.

Man lives by the word of God — by obeying it. Nothing else feeds and sustains the true life of man. Bread will not sustain it. Only the life of obedience is really life. … Because sin is in us all, the covenant of law had no life in it. Yet in another sense there really is a path of life, though grace alone can put us in it or keep us there. Eternal life and disobedience are in fact opposites. The gospel does not change this. Grace fully affirms it: "Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."

In the third part we clearly see him leaning on God's mercy in trial, with the law in his heart. The godly Israelite looks for the Lord's bountiful dealing, but he wants it so that he may obey from the heart (v. 17).

In verse 67 he speaks of the affliction he went through. He has learned this. Even when the Lord deals with us in discipline, we can give thanks afterwards and say, "You have done good with Your servant." … That word in Psalm 119, "You have dealt well with Your servant," answers the prayer he prayed in verse 17: "Deal bountifully with Your servant…" Can you look back and thank the Lord for everything?

The Holy Scriptures are open to all men, but not all have the capacity to perceive what is in them. Before anyone can grasp any of the wonderful things of God, he must be born again. We see this in the words of the Son of God on earth. He said to Nicodemus, "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). New birth gives a man the sight to discern the things of God; it opens his eyes to view what is divine.

To behold wondrous things out of the law is more than discovering in the law a rule of life. The natural man can do this much; only the servant with opened eyes will behold "wondrous things."

The single eye is God-given, and it looks with wonder into the law. "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law" (Ps. 119:18) is the prayer of a man who has the single eye. Surprise fills him as these wondrous things unfold before him. But what are these wondrous things? Not the corruption of his own heart; that is not wondrous. They are God's character and will. They are His desire that men should draw near to Him, and know and respond to the love that is in His heart for them.

The law was like a beautiful portrait — the portrait of a perfect man. Some could appreciate its beauty, like the Psalmist who prayed this very prayer. When Jesus came, every feature of it found living expression in Him. He was the original. He filled out every jot and tittle of it, brought out all its beauty and made it alive. Now the anointed eye can look on His life on earth and see in Him the blessed Man whose delight was in the law of God.

In Psalm 119 you will find the whole Hebrew alphabet run through eight times, declaring the perfections of the law of God. That is the very law they had despised, now written in their hearts. So they can say, "Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day." And they can pray, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law." This is not a repetition of Sinai. There the law was God's claim on the natural man, and it could only condemn him. Here it is the will of a gracious God, delighted in by a people born anew.

Read the Word prayerfully. In prayer you speak to God; through the Word God speaks to you. While your eyes rest on the sacred page, lift your heart to God. Ask Him to open the eye of faith to "behold wondrous things" out of His law (Ps. 119:18). Remember that the Spirit of God is your Teacher... When you discover some fresh aspect of truth, when you dig out some treasure you did not know was there, meditate on it. Speak to God about it. Praise Him for it.

In Mark 8 we read of a blind man near Bethsaida whom Jesus healed. After the Lord's first act the man said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." He could see, but not as he should, so Christ acted again. The Lord gave the man the power of sight, then the power to use his sight to tell one object from another. This suggests the step-by-step way in which we come to grasp the truths of Scripture.

A soul that knows God in this way wants to know His mind. It wants more than a rule to guide it. It wants "wondrous things out of God's law." And all this brings the awareness of being a stranger in the earth. A good God (whose servants we are), and an evil world, make a man "a stranger" — and we are far more so through Christ.

First, the one who serves God and obeys Him, in the middle of a rebellious world, is bound to find himself "a stranger in the earth." But earth's strangers are God's friends. So the soul desires to walk in the closest intimacy with God — "hide not your commandments from me." Such a person values God's intimacies. They fill his soul, not with occasional desire, but with continual longing.

This seems to be the key to the language in the psalm here: "I am a sojourner in the land." The Israelite, even if born in the land, could still say he lived there in weakness and dependence, hosted by God... These are Israelites brought home at last from all their wanderings. They come back from their long estrangement like prodigals, to learn again the ways of the One whose grace now welcomed them. For them the plea would be truly effective: "hide not your commandments from me." As His guests they will find a portion worthy of Him. It is their lodging, food and clothing, as His grace will give it — and His commands, as their sweet release from the ways of sin.

The Spirit of God delights to make known to every believer what was in the heart of God from before the foundation of the world. In verse 18 we see the prayer for open eyes. In verse 19 we see the desire for an open Bible — that is, for the Holy Spirit to give light. This is how the Christian progresses in the way through this world.

In the third part we find very clearly the reliance on divine mercy in trial, joined to the law in the heart. The godly Israelite looks to Jehovah's generous dealing, but he wants to obey with his whole heart (v. 17). Verse 19 shows his state.

Note how he speaks of himself as a stranger (or sojourner) in the land (v. 19). For the millennium is not his final rest... Yet even though he is only passing through the world, he needs God's commandments to order his short life — short, though it lasts 1000 years!

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament saints were and are strangers upon earth. David said, "I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers" (Psalm 39:12). They "acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). The same is true of the saints now (1 Peter 2:11). Their citizenship is in heaven, and this earth is no longer their home or their rest.

The word Gahras means to crush or to break in pieces, so we have this strong expression: "My soul breaks for the longing…". It is a deep desire after the Word of God and the will of God. Paul expresses such a desire after Christ: "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death" (Phil. 3:10)… This is not just an emotional moment, it is a constant longing: "…at all times." It is sometimes said, "You are what you long for."

The one who serves God and obeys Him in a rebellious world must find himself "a stranger in the earth." But earth's strangers are God's friends. So the soul longs to walk in the closest intimacy with God: "Hide not your commandments from me." Such a person values being let into God's confidence. These things fill his soul, not with occasional desire, but with continual longing.

So the eyes open to the reality of things. They see evil and good in the sharp opposition that exists between them. And the eye affects the heart. So the soul breaks with the longing it has after those judgments of God. Those judgments reach to the heart of things and make that necessary opposition clear. This passionate longing after His mind does not reach a cold, colourless sorting of things. Nor does this intense spirit wear itself out. It lasts "at all times." God stays the same, and communion with Him, if it is real, forms His character within us.

The soul that knows God wants to know His mind. It wants more than a rule to direct it. It wants "wondrous things out of God's law." And all this gives the awareness of being a stranger in the earth. A good God, whose servants we are, and an evil world, make a man "a stranger"… And here the heart is full and wholly engaged. "My soul breaks" forth, for there is infinite delight in the new nature, in the fullness of God's revelations.

Psalm 119 has 176 verses, and no fewer than 174 of them mention the law of God under different names — law, commandments, precepts, testimonies, judgments, statutes, ordinances, word, way, path. Whatever name the law may go by, it no longer threatens condemnation and death. It is perfect delight and liberty… "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules" (v. 164).

Obedience will not be automatic. It calls for serious inner effort that reaches deep into the soul. In contrast, the proud stray from God's commandments. They can well expect God's rebuke, and they are justly under a curse (v. 21).

God will fill the hungry because He Himself has stirred up the hunger. As with prayer — when God prepares the heart to pray, He prepares His ear to hear (Ps. 10:17) — so with spiritual hunger: when God prepares the heart to hunger, He will prepare His hand to fill.

He sees it already taking effect: "You have rebuked the proud" — the creature lifting itself above its place, against Him who gave it that place. "They are cursed who go astray from Your commandments."

The verb is "to err," as in Psalm 119:10, 21, 118; Leviticus 4:13, sin through ignorance.

But this delight in the word gives a true estimate of man in the world. The "proud" man acts from his own will and sets himself up. He may seem to succeed and scoff at God. He is under a curse. He strays from the one true way of man — God's way. Lifting up our own will brings a necessary curse, because it puts us away from God, in rebellion against Him. That is what all acting of human will is.

Obedience will not be automatic. It takes serious exercise that goes deep into the soul. In contrast, the proud stray from God's commandments, and can well expect God's rebuke, since they are rightly under a curse (v. 21).

The servant of God finds he is not only a stranger in the earth. The wicked are also against him. In their pride, with the wealth of princes, they heap reproach and contempt on the man who walks in lowly obedience to God. The godly man forms a true estimate of such men. He sees that God has rebuked them, and that they are under a curse. There is no need to answer those whom God rebukes. So the psalmist keeps silent when they speak harshly, and finds his delight and his counsel in the testimonies of God.

The proud who wander from God's testimonies are cursed. Proud Pharisees and priests misquoted verse 21 in John 7:49. They aimed it at the people who were struck by the Saviour's gracious words. Was it not really fulfilled in the Pharisees and priests themselves, and to their own condemnation?

GIMEL. Verses 17-24. The knowledge of the Lord in the heart separates the godly from all that is contrary to His name. This divine knowledge makes the saint a stranger in the world, and brings him into reproach with the great down here, who speak against him. There is a great gulf between those who seek the will of the Lord and those who belong to the system of this world. The godly seek counsel from His word, while the proud wander from His commandments.

First, the one who serves and obeys God in a rebellious world is bound to find himself "a stranger in the earth." But earth's strangers are God's friends. So the soul longs to walk in closest intimacy with God — "Hide not Your commandments from me."

He is surrounded by transgressors that grieve his spirit (v. 158), and enemies that oppress him (v. 134). Princes speak against him (v. 23), and persecute him without a cause (v. 161). The proud hold him in derision (v. 51), forge lies against him (v. 69), and dig pits for his overthrow (v. 85). The wicked lay snares for his feet (v. 110), and lie in wait for his destruction (v. 95). He is held in reproach and contempt (v. 22); in the eyes of the world he is little and despised (v. 141).

"Testimonies" are to fact and truth: and God's facts will assert themselves as that, and His truth will show itself at last, beyond all controversy. Then, at least, reproach and contempt will pass from those who have identified themselves with what will be seen as it really is. And this may take place sooner than the inevitable time in which it surely shall.

Meanwhile the present reproach does its own work. It tests the soul that through it all makes God's statutes its occupation and delight, and it clears that soul of suspicion.

Second, the servant of God finds he is not only a stranger in the earth. He is also opposed by the wicked. In their pride and the prosperity of princes, they heap reproaches and contempt on the one who walks in lowly obedience to God. The godly man forms a just estimate of such people. He sees they are rebuked by God and under a curse. There is no need to answer those whom God rebukes. So the psalmist stays silent when they speak harshly against him, and finds his delight and counsel in the testimonies of God.

Any part in such reproach and contempt is deeply objectionable to a believer, who asks that this should be removed from him, a desire he bases on the fact of his keeping God's testimonies.

In the third part we see very clearly the leaning on divine mercy in trial, joined with the law in the heart… verses 22, 23 show the contempt that the poor remnant suffers. Jehovah's law had been his delight and comfort under it.

Yet for all that he was a misunderstood man, not by those who were poor and humble, but by the princes of his people. Notice how he puts it: "princes did SIT." While he walked and laboured they sat and watched him. They did not sit in the learner's seat, but on the judge's bench, and from there they spoke against him. Well, that is easy, even if it is presumptuous work. It takes no spiritual power to sit and speak against others. It takes no God-given purpose, no earnest prayer, no diligent study of the Word. Yet a man needs all these if he is to walk in the way of God's commandments.

Now while these princes sat in the judgment seat they were neglecting their God-appointed work. He had called them to bring their offerings to Him, as we read in Numbers 7; and to dig the wells for the refreshment of the people, as we read in Numbers 21:18. God had given them this two-fold ministry: offering to God, and refreshing the people. But these princes had forgotten their high and holy calling. They spent their time speaking against a man whose heart was set on the ways of God.

The servant of God finds he is not only a stranger in the earth. He is also opposed by the wicked. In their pride and princely wealth they heap insults and contempt on the man who walks in humble obedience to God. The godly man judges such people rightly. He sees that God has rebuked them and that they are under a curse. There is no need to answer those whom God rebukes, and so the psalmist is silent in the presence of their hard speeches, finding his delight and counsel in the testimonies of God.

Even princes, those considered dignitaries, would calmly sit to speak against the godly... But instead of retaliating resentfully, the faith of God's servant is shown in meditating on His statutes (v.23). In God's testimonies also he finds delight and appreciated counsel (v.24).

It is a great stay to the soul of a man when he can look up into the face of God and say, "I am Your servant"... God reveals His thoughts and His will for His servants in His word, and there alone. So the Psalmist says, "Your servant will meditate on Your statutes." What peace that meditation would give him, what poise to his soul! How it would lift him above the irritation that this criticism would otherwise have caused him! How it would help him to adjust his ways not to the opinions of his self-appointed judges, but to the will of God whose servant he was!

But the Psalmist was a wise man, made wise by the Word that he loved. He felt the hard words spoken against him, and felt them keenly. Still he did not retaliate. He does not seem to have thought it worth his while to defend himself. He turned to God and His word... He knew the source of hope and comfort and peace. It was the word that had caused him to hope (v. 49), and that same word was his comfort in his affliction (v. 50). This reminds us of a beautiful word in the New Testament: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).

By reading, our minds become well furnished with truth. By meditation the truth in its force and bearing is brought home to us. The ox not only feeds in the pastures; it also lies down to chew the cud. In the same way we need to turn things over in our minds. It is not what we eat that nourishes us, but what we digest. When we meditate on the things of God, getting right into them so that they control us, our spiritual growth becomes plain to everyone.

Notice how he puts it: the princes SAT. While he walked and worked, they sat and watched him. They did not sit in the learner's seat, but on the judge's bench, and from there they spoke against him. Well, that is easy work, even if it is arrogant. It takes no spiritual power to sit and speak against others. It takes no God-given purpose, no earnest prayer, no diligent study of the Word. Yet all these are needed if a man is to walk in the way of God's commandments.

But the Psalmist was a wise man, made wise by the Word he loved. He felt the hard words spoken against him, and felt them sharply. Even so, he did not hit back. It seems he did not think it worth his while to defend himself. He turned to God and His word.

The servant of God finds that he is not only a stranger on the earth, but opposed by the wicked. In their pride and princely wealth they heap reproach and contempt on the man who walks in lowly obedience to God. The godly man judges such men rightly. He sees that God rebukes them and that they are under a curse. There is no need to answer those whom God rebukes. So the psalmist stays silent while they speak hard words, and finds his delight and counsel in the testimonies of God.

"Testimonies" point to fact and truth. God's facts will prove themselves to be facts, and His truth will show itself at last, beyond all argument. Then, at least, reproach and contempt will pass away from those who have tied themselves to what will be seen in its true character… Meanwhile the reproach of the present time does its own work: it tests the soul that through it all makes God's statutes its occupation and delight, and it clears that soul of suspicion.

It is all a question of the heart. You can see the principle in Psalm 27:8: "You have said, 'Seek My face.' My heart says to You, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.'" The natural heart finds the law an unbearable burden. "A new heart" (Ezek. 36:26) finds it a delight. No less than 184 times, under different names, does the writer pour out his deep joy and delight.

The Word of God is the first source of all light and direction for us. There we find the broad principles of action that are to govern us. Of course, there are smaller details of a personal kind, and we cannot expect to find these mentioned in Scripture. Still, we may seek and find guidance in many confusing situations. But this is only if we keep the fear of the Lord, if we wait on Him in prayer with a meek spirit, and if we obey what we know of His revealed Word.

But we should learn also to say, May Your testimonies, O Lord, be my counsellor, as well as my delight! By these may Your servant be warned, and in the keeping of them find great reward!

This word means "door" in Hebrew... The spiritual meaning of the letter seems to be "entrance", "giving entrance", or "opening up the way". The way we are in seems blocked. We are at a dead end, and emotionally we may be at our wit's end, deeply depressed and discouraged. "Daleth" will help us discover the way to being revived, restored and encouraged.

The soul, though it lives in a body formed of dust, clings to the dust only because it is fallen. Out of the awareness of this, the psalmist cries for the power of God to energize it according to the gracious promises of the Word. He has laid bare before God his whole practical condition; and he knows that God answers him.

"My soul clings to the dust..." What a discovery to make! Indeed, how much value do we attach to the things of this earth? Do we "theorise" about the Christian life, and yet live for this earth, rather than for the Lord Jesus? What are our priorities? Do we "cling" to some kind of idol that we cannot let go? We have tried so hard to get free from this thing, this particular weakness or temptation, but to no avail. We are depressed about it... Well might we echo the cry: "...give me life..." That life is the life of Christ, lived out in us. Have we come to Him, have we surrendered to Him?

Verse 25 paints a vivid picture of someone reduced to utter helplessness — "My soul clings to the dust." In such a state a person can do nothing for himself. He can only depend on the Lord to revive him according to God's Word. Thank God that one Resource remains when all else fails! For revival we may surely have confidence in the God of resurrection and in the truth of His Word.

The Psalmist says that God's Word has given him life in verse 50, yet again and again he desires to be revived. The word is evidently used more in the sense of being revived, of being restored to more vigorous life. In Old Testament times man was still on trial. God had given the law to test him, and life on earth was still held out as the result of perfect obedience to the law. Only when we come to the New Testament is that testing over, and man formally declared dead in trespasses and sins. So only in the New Testament does the full truth of quickening appear.

"I have declared my ways..." Have we told Him all? Our failures, our vain efforts? Our struggles and defeats? Have we left anything unconfessed? Are we willing to judge the root cause of our defeat? Confession is not only that I tell the Lord my faults, but that I accept myself as I really am, without any pretence and without any excuses.

The Emperor, pulling off his imperial robes, prayed prostrate on the pavement. "My soul clings to the dust," he cried; "give me life according to Your word." The people wept and prayed with him, moved by his grief and humiliation.

"When I told of my ways…" Have we told Him all? Our failures, our vain efforts? Our struggles and defeats? Have we left anything unconfessed? Are we willing to judge the root cause of our defeat? Confession is not only that I tell the Lord my faults, but that I accept myself as I really am, without any pretence and without any excuses.

(v. 26) This confidence in God is the outcome of confession to God. The soul made known all its ways to God, and knew God had heard: "When I told of my ways, You answered me."

"When I told of my ways, You answered me" (v. 26). To receive God's answer, our account of our ways must be honest — and honesty does not put us in the light we might prefer! And God's answer will certainly be for our correction, with instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). So the psalmist asks, "Teach me Your statutes."

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and through these instruments which grace employs He can teach us the will of God (John 14:26). So let us echo the psalmist's prayer to the Lord, "teach me Your statutes." And remember what a statute is: "a divine direction to secure our obedience and to keep us from disobedience."

In verse 26 the psalmist asks to be "taught" because he is conscious of his ignorance. He lacks experience of many things. Now he asks, "Make me understand…" To be taught is not enough. We must also grasp what we have been taught. Otherwise our knowledge stays theoretical.

The psalmist longs to know more of God's statutes, and the whole way His precepts lead. He is sure that there he will find the wondrous works of God to meditate on. What glories can be known on the path God has ordained! If an Israelite could say so, how much more we! We dull the prospect by unbelief. We shut ourselves out of it by choosing our own path. And we shut ourselves in to the dull, ordinary lives we so often live. This happens because we will it, not because God will have it.

Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth… And being "enlarged," or set free, from heaviness, he wants to run the way of the Lord's commandments with new energy.

Desiring God's way the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth.

In verse 26 the Psalmist asks to be "taught" because he knows he is ignorant. He lacks experience of many things. Now he asks: "Make me understand … ". To be taught is not enough. We must also grasp and understand what we have been taught. Otherwise our knowledge is only theory. We can have an intellectual grasp of the Bible, and have knowledge, and still lack the wisdom that comes from experience — the wisdom to pass that knowledge on to others.

This is the secret of true understanding. People do not understand the word because they have brighter minds than others, but because they have a more obedient heart. The single-hearted desire to do the will of God is what secures understanding of His word. And it is the Spirit of God who produces both. It is the will that darkens the understanding. When grace makes us want to do His will, God does not hold back His light.

But he longs to know more of His statutes, and the whole way in which His precepts lead. He is sure that there he will find the wondrous works of God to meditate on. What glories can be seen in the path God has marked out! If an Israelite could say this, how much more can we! We dull the prospect by unbelief. We shut ourselves out of it by choosing our own path, and shut ourselves in to the dull, ordinary lives we so often live. This is because we want it so, not because God wants it.

To be able to "talk of Your wondrous works", we must first have taken in and digested the truths of God's Word. Too many assume they are teachers because they have some Bible knowledge. But there is something lacking in their talk, their teaching. Before what I say to others can grip them, it must first have gripped me.

Having confessed his own ways, the psalmist wants to be taught God's way and God's wondrous works. In that way he finds relief from his felt weakness by God's strength.

With the power of evil pressing upon his spirit, the godly man looks only to the Lord for relief. He does not seek to find relief by escaping from the pressure. He seeks God in the pressure, praying that God would raise his drooping spirits according to the comfort of the word.

"My soul melts from heaviness" (v. 28), that is, the burden of his weakness is so great that it becomes overpowering. Where will he find strength but in the Word of God?

There is nothing more disheartening and discouraging than to be occupied with oneself. Our spirits will begin to wilt and droop. Something has happened to us, and we wonder: "Why me?" We cannot understand why the Lord has allowed this. We begin to sulk. We become depressed and burdened with heaviness. In Romans chapter seven the personal pronouns I, me, myself, appear 47 times. I ask you, with whom is the man in that chapter occupied? The capital letter "I" appears 28 times! There is your answer. He is occupied with "self".

The soul, though the dweller in a dust-formed body, clings to the dust only because it is fallen. Out of the awareness of this, the psalmist cries for the power of God to energize it according to the gracious promises of the Word. He has laid bare before God his whole practical condition, and knows that He has answered him. … "My soul melts for heaviness," he cries; but then there is pledged strength to meet him.

The heart took the low and humbled place, with no courage about outward things. It also melted within for heaviness. Inside, it was in felt weakness. Still the strength it looks for is according to God's word. It seeks nothing but this. … Through this it was downcast. But it is better to be downcast through evil than to walk cheerfully in it. More energetic faith might lift up. Still the sense of evil and dependence is good.

Let us then follow the Psalmist in his prayer: "strengthen me according to your word". Occupation with Christ, with the word of Christ, will get us out of our depressions!

He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. … And being 'enlarged,' or 'set free' from heaviness, he wants to run the way of the Lord's commandments with new energy.

Where will he find strength but in the Word of God? Anything contrary to this is "the way of lying," and we might all well pray to have this removed from us (v. 29), and that God would graciously give us His law. So, in contrast to "the way of lying," it is "the way of truth" the psalmist has chosen.

Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth.

We dull the prospect by unbelief, and we shut ourselves out of it by choosing our own path. This is because we will it so, not because God does… Feeling his own frailty, he also asks to have the way of falsehood removed from him. And he asks that God would graciously grant him His authoritative law — in keeping with the character of the whole psalm.

Of course, I can refuse the truth about myself! But that is a form of dishonesty before the Lord, as well as before others. Have you never felt like a hypocrite, talking to others about your spiritual experience on a day when you had been unfaithful to the Lord? We can hide our own spiritual poverty from others, but why try to hide it from Him?

Breaking the will brings what is in the heart into direct contact with the word. Self is judged in the forms it takes within the heart — what flesh is in its ways, however deceitful. So the heart gets to learn, freed from self.

The Psalmist appeals to the law. But we know that the law can only condemn me and make me see even more my own wretchedness. But no, it is grace we need: "…and grant me Your law graciously." It may seem strange to find these two joined here: law–grace! The literal Hebrew reads: "and favour me with Your law." If the Lord favoured His people by giving them a written revelation of Himself in the law, how much more has He favoured us in Christ! He has shown us God's wonderful grace: forgiveness of all our transgressions, and grace to do His will!

This definite choice of the way of truth brings confidence. So the soul asks the Lord that he may not be put to shame. And now that he is "enlarged," or "set free," from heaviness, he wants to run the way of the Lord's commandments with new energy.

Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. This definite choice of the way of truth brings confidence. Out of that confidence the soul asks the Lord not to let him be put to shame.

The false way, in the middle of which he lived, he would have kept far away from his heart. Because of this he was downcast. But it is better to be downcast because of evil than to walk merrily in it. More energetic faith might lift him up. Still, the sense of evil and of dependence is good. It was deliberate. He knew all this, but he had chosen the way of truth. "Lord, to whom shall we go?"

This integrity in the time of trouble, when there is no joy of God's deliverance, is very important — to be able to say, "When my spirit was in heaviness, You knew my path." Still there is confidence about the result, so the soul clings to God's ways. The heart counts on His faithfulness and is sure that, if He leads it in a faithful walk, it will soon tell of His wonderful works.

It is up to us now! There must be a choice! God does not do for us what we can do for ourselves! We can stay in our depression and keep on sulking and murmuring and get more and more depressed. But we need not. "I have chosen the way of truth …" is his decision! Spiritual advance and growth is not automatic! It demands our co-operation, an action of our will.

Here is the conviction that God's word will govern our lives: "Your judgments I have laid before me." Psalm 16:8 shows the same determination: "I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Have you made that decision yet?

He can speak of having chosen the way of truth, and of setting God's judgments before him. And this was no passing resolve: he clings to His testimonies. So he can plead with confidence not to be put to shame. In truth it is impossible for one who does this that he ever should be. So the soul assures itself, gathers up its strength, and looks at the way opening up before it. Yet at the same time it is fully convinced how weak all human powers are when it comes to grasping what is divine, and that it depends on God entirely in all things: "I will run in the way of Your commandments when You enlarge my heart."

Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. In the confidence that springs from this definite choice of the way of truth, the soul pleads with the Lord that he may not be put to shame. Also, now "enlarged," or "set free" from heaviness, he wants to run the way of the Lord's commandments with new energy.

He can speak of having chosen the way of truth and of setting God's judgments before him. And not in a passing resolve, but clinging to His testimonies. So he can plead, with confidence, not to be put to shame. In truth, that can never happen to anyone who does this. So the soul assures itself. It gathers up its strength and looks at the way opening up before it. At the same time it is fully convinced that all human powers are too weak to grasp what is divine. So it depends on God entirely in all things.

He had chosen the way of truth. "Lord, to whom shall we go?" How simple the path is then! The soul had been steadfast, and another thing went with this. The heart sees that its joys and sorrows are in the hand of God. If it were put to shame, that would be His doing. And He could not put us to shame for keeping His own testimonies. "Put to shame" here does not mean bearing shame from man's mocking. It means being disgraced as someone who comes under judgment.

So, in clinging to God's testimonies, the heart of the believer may depend on the Lord that he is not put to shame. Running in the way of God's commandments takes energy that is fully decided. It leaves no room for other pursuits, because it depends on God to enlarge the heart (v. 32).

"Testimonies" have to do with fact and truth. God's facts will assert themselves as facts, and His truth will show itself at last, beyond all argument. Then, at least, reproach and contempt will leave those who have tied themselves to what will one day be seen in its true character.

The brightness of His appearing has cleared away the foul mists of wickedness and stilled the helpless raging of the godless nations. In this way it confirms the sure testimonies of the Spirit of truth — the testimonies that the faint and weary souls of His afflicted people had held on to through the long night of darkness and rebuke (Ps. 119:31).

Desiring God's way, the soul prays to be delivered from man's way — the way of lying. He has confessed his way (v. 26), learned God's way (v. 27), refused man's way (v. 29), and chosen God's way (v. 30) — the way of truth. In the confidence that springs from this definite choice of the way of truth, the soul begs the Lord that he may not be put to shame. And being "enlarged," or "set free" from heaviness, he desires with renewed energy to run the way of the Lord's commandments.

"Breadth" comes from a root meaning "spacious," "roomy." The word appears again and again for the dimensions of the tabernacle and the temple, both in Solomon's day and in the future building described in Ezekiel. It also has a figurative use we know well. So Solomon had great largeness (breadth) of heart (1 Kings 4:29).

The Authorised Version here makes us think that the Psalmist is "striking a bargain" with the Lord: "I will … when You …". But a better rendering is: "I will run the way of Your commands, for You shall enlarge my heart". Here we have the Lord's enabling! Everything depends on Him strengthening us! How dependent we are on Him for our daily walk. What a wonderful change has taken place in his soul since verse 25, where we saw him clinging to the dust, so terribly earthbound. But now he is soaring! He is able to run, because his heart has been enlarged — given increased capacity.

So the soul assures itself. It gathers up its strength and looks at the way opening up before it. Yet at the same time it is fully convinced that all human faculties are feeble for grasping divine things — and so that it depends entirely on God in all things.

His meditation on the word of God revived his soul. It made him eager not only to walk in God's way, but to run in it. Many who want to run stumble and fail, and seem to lack the spiritual power and energy they need. The Psalmist had discovered the secret of this zeal and energy. "I will run," he says, "when You have enlarged my heart." No one can run in the way of God's commandments if his heart is narrowed and his spiritual affections cramped. The Christians at Corinth made a sad mess of their testimony. They made no progress in the heavenly race, because worldliness and party strife hemmed them in. They had only a feeble grasp of the fullness of the love with which God loved them. They saw little of the breadth and greatness of His interests on earth.

We are not likely to get enlarged in the presence of men. It is not what people see in one another, nor what they see in this grasping world, that will enlarge the heart. Whatever a man may own of this world, he is always grasping after more. He is never satisfied. It is only in the presence of God, only as we are occupied with His love, that we become enlarged.

People are not delivered, there is no motive outside of self, no liberty. What a wonderful thing it is when I can say, "This is my deliverer, who took me out of the quagmire." Then I can take up the words of the Psalmist: "I will run in the way of Your commandments when You enlarge my heart." Look at the eagerness of his heart, the liberty, the freedom he is enjoying!

These last verses look for grasp of the ways of God's precepts, so that the heart is taught in the middle of sorrow. Here it is more about keeping and observing it in his path. Otherwise the first three portions were his own resolutions; here it is the demand for God's teaching. For the heart, true in its resolutions, then turns to God. It may turn first with its sorrows, but then for guidance and dependence on Him. We need His teaching even when the will is right. We need understanding from Him, and His help too.

Several words are used, each meaning the law, but seen from different points of view. … Statute (Choq)—decreed limit. … Way (Derek)—trodden path.

He must be taught the way of His statutes. He looks for this as meaning to walk in it, and to walk in it without any mental reservation. Such a reservation is the utter opposite of obedience. It is the leaven of unbelief, and wherever it is found it will leaven the whole life. "I will keep it to the end," says the psalmist; or "to the heel" — the lowest and least noticed part.

(vv. 33-34) The desire of the soul to be taught by the Lord the way of His statutes — "Teach me, O Lord." Teaching, however, is not enough. We need the opened heart as well as the opened Scriptures. So comes the prayer, "Give me understanding."

"Give me discernment," he says again in his earnestness, "and I shall keep your law; yes, I shall observe it with my whole heart." These two things, the "whole heart" and "to the end," go naturally together. And again he affirms in the next verse: "therein is my delight." So there is no slavery here. The man who is held by his affections is the freest man possible; and so it is here.

He is determined to be obedient right to the end. Life has many difficulties and discouragements. But whatever the problems, obeying God and His word is what matters to him. He is determined to keep it until God chooses to take him away.

All these verses express his desire to be taught, to receive light and illumination from the Lord. So let us not be wise in our own eyes, or think we know better than the Lord, but repeat with the Psalmist, "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes…"

(vv. 33-34) The soul longs for the Lord to teach it the way of His statutes — "Teach me, O Lord." But teaching is not enough. We need the opened heart as well as the opened Scriptures. So comes the prayer, "Give me understanding" (compare Luke 24:27, 45; 2 Timothy 2:7).

Here the psalmist lays his need of the Lord's teaching before Him, so that he may obey and be kept.

"Give me understanding," he says again in his earnestness, "that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart." These two things, the "whole heart" and "to the end," belong together. And he says again in the next verse: "I delight in it." So there is no slavery here. The man whose affections compel him is the freest man possible, and that is the case here.

If God is really the teacher, we can be sure He will teach us in such a way that we keep His statutes steadily, right to the end (v. 33). In His presence we find understanding that enables us to keep His law — that is, the law of liberty, not the law of Moses. In fact, the whole heart will share in observing this much-loved law (v. 34).

The law of Sinai was written on tablets of stone; it wrote nothing on the heart. It told men what to do but gave them no desire or power to obey it. To be commanded to do what I have no desire to do is bondage, even if I obey. Now the word of God gives us a perfect revelation of the will of God. By that same word God has also given us a new nature, and this new nature delights to act according to the word. To be commanded to do what I desire to do is liberty.

These shocking, detestable things were still in the house where the Lord had set His name. That suggests the first cleansing was not very thorough. The second cleansing cleared every vile thing out. But why was the second cleansing more thorough than the first? Because the book of the law had come to light between the two moves. Now the King, at least, saw how hideous the long-tolerated things really were. He now had divine understanding to keep the law, and he sought to observe it with his whole heart (Ps. 119:34).

(v. 35) We also depend on the Lord for any practical result that may follow His teaching. So the next prayer is, "Lead me in the path of your commandments." Every believer does well to pray these three prayers, and in their God-given order: "Teach me, O Lord," "Give me understanding," and "Lead me in the path."

(v. 35) We are also dependent on the Lord for any practical results that may follow divine teaching. So the prayer follows, "Make me to go." Every saint does well to pray these three prayers, and in the order God gives them: "Teach me, O Lord," "Give me understanding," and "Make me to go."

Verse 35 makes it clear again that the psalmist cannot trust his own energy. He wants God to make him walk in the path of His commandments. Of course, if we ask for this, we should have the settled purpose of heart to submit to God's working. And delighting in the path is only normal for a believer.

It is my duty to keep yielding myself to the teaching of the Spirit. I must offer every part of myself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. We are not robots programmed to go through certain motions automatically. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). God's side always comes first, but man's side and responsibility are just as real. If He is going to "Make me to go … ", I must make it my delight to do His bidding!

We have "the word of the Lord." Are we bringing our consciences to it — not asking for more light or more power, but for more honest, holy obedience to what we know? Are we simply doing, in all our weakness, what God teaches us is right? If I am waiting for more power before I work out what it is His will I should do, I am denying that He is working in me to do it by His power — to will and to do.

And here he affirms again, "for I delight in it." So there is no slavery. A man driven by his affections is the freest man there is.

It is all a question of the heart. You can see the principle in Psalm 27:8: "You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, LORD, do I seek.'" The natural heart finds the law an unbearable burden. "A new heart" (Ezek. 36:26) finds it a delight. No fewer than 184 times, under different names, the writer pours out his deep joy and delight.

In this Psalm it is not the law of bondage, condemnation and death, but "the trodden path" of delight that the renewed man longs to take.

Jehovah brought forward the "man after His own heart." Psalm 119 shows how different David was from Saul: "Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it" (Ps. 119:35). "I will delight myself in your commandments, which I love" (Ps. 119:47). "I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold" (Ps. 119:127). Oh, that there were such a spirit in both the reader and the writer of these pages!

Further, we are dependent on the Lord for any practical results that may follow divine teaching. So the prayer follows, "Make me to go." Every saint does well to pray these three prayers, and in their God-given order: "Teach me, O Lord," then "Give me understanding," then "Make me to go."

Are we really sincere and determined about following the Lord, doing His will, obeying His Word? By nature we are all rebels, only thinking of ourselves and doing our own will. That is why he prays: "not to covetousness." Now that we are born of God and have His Spirit living within, we need re-schooling — we need to learn His will. Now we can see the need for this prayer: "Incline my heart…"

Following these prayers, the psalmist remembers the two great hindrances to a walk of practical godliness. One is the root of evil within — covetousness. The other is the pull toward evil from outside — the empty things on every side. The godly man prays that God will keep his heart from covetousness, and his eyes from looking at empty things.

Yet he says, "Incline my heart," on the one side, and on the other, "turn away my eyes from beholding vanity." He has his heart inclined when he says, incline it. He is turning away his eyes when he prays to have it done. But he knows how much weakness clings to him, and he longs to be wholly right with God. So his heart can find rest only in this perfect Will and Wisdom, to which he commits himself.

Covetousness involves no dishonesty. It is not even hard or sharp dealing. It is no more than the desire for more — the very spring of modern effort, the drive to better yourself that everyone recommends, from the mechanic to the millionaire. So the creature becomes the object, not God. That is why covetousness is called idolatry. It is man looking down, not up in dependence on God.

Here God's testimonies have their place: they bring in the light that reveals, and that light can never make an evil thing look golden.

It is evident in verse 35 that the psalmist cannot trust his own energy, for he desires that God will make him walk in the path of His commandments. Of course, if we ask for this, we should certainly have the purpose of heart to submit to God's working. Delighting in the path is only normal for a believer. So God is also asked to oversee where the heart leans: toward His testimonies, and not toward covetousness (v. 36). Only those testimonies will keep us from selfishness.

After these requests, the psalmist remembers the two great obstacles to a godly walk in practice. There is the root of evil inside — covetousness. And there is the pull toward evil from outside, the empty things on every side. The godly man prays that God would keep his heart from covetousness, and his eyes from looking at empty things.

The heart wants to lean the right way too, but that root of all evil turns it aside — covetousness. The same is true of empty things, but these are all around us. They do not come from the leaning of the heart. They distract, and lead the mind away from God to folly.

With the eye you can look either at what is good or at what is evil, and what you look at affects the heart. So avoid looking at improper sights. The psalmist prayed, "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things." He feared the effect. The righteous person deliberately shuts his eyes so that he may not see what is evil (Isa. 33:15). If evil gets in through the gate of the eye, it has a clear road to the heart.

The smallest event in your life may turn into a chance to sin. A great sin often gets in through a tiny gate! David's eye only casually fell on Bathsheba, and the good man's foot was straight away in the devil's trap. Do you not then need to pray that God would set a guard around your senses wherever you go?

He has his heart inclined when he says, incline it. He is turning away his eyes when he prays to have it done. But he knows how much weakness clings to him, and he wants to be wholly right with God. So his heart can only rest in this perfect Will and Wisdom. He commits himself to it: "give me life," he pleads, "in Your way."

Here again, the Lord will not do for us what we must do for ourselves. Paul tells us: "make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom. 13:14). Someone has said that it is the "second look" that is sin. He meant this: when you walk down the street, you may see something unclean, like a pornographic picture. You cannot help that. But when you stop, or turn to look again, that is deliberate.

The Psalmist says in verse 50 that God's Word has given him life, yet again and again he asks for life. Here the word plainly means being revived, being restored to stronger life.

We need God to work in our lives and turn our eyes away from worthless things. The eye affects the heart. The New Testament provides a beautiful positive to take the place of the negative in this verse: "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Heb. 12:2). The last phrase, "and revive me in Your way," surely shows that there has been failure needing revival. The eyes have been drawn away by worthless things, which can all too easily attract us.

Every believer does well to pray these three prayers, and in their God-given order: "Teach me O Lord," "Give me understanding," and "Make me to go."

Kept in this way from evil inside and empty things outside, he prays that God would establish him in the truth. He asks to be devoted to God, to walk in His fear, and to be kept from giving any cause for reproach.

Verse 38: HA-KOOM … "Make rise … (or establish, confirm)"

The second part is still an appeal, but in a different way: that God, as a living God, would confirm His Word by His deed, and so answer the faith of His people in a glorious way… There are also special promises that bring Him still nearer to the individual, and into the most hidden lives. This runs through the experience of these psalms; and here is the very place to find it spoken of — in the fifth section of this great psalm of experience.

"Establish Your saying to Your servant" would then be a prayer for the fulfillment of a specific promise. The one praying may bring his own state forward as something that does not, at least, bar the claim of faith. "Devoted" is perhaps too strong a word to add, since the text has only the preposition. But it is enough to note that it has been added, and the difficulty goes.

Then follows the deeply needed request, "Establish Your Word to Your servant" (v. 38). Scripture should not be only an occasional enjoyment. It should be so deeply settled in our souls that it becomes our constant source of instruction, correction and guidance — and especially so for one who is devoted to fearing God.

There must be a fixed purpose in our hearts. "So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Eph. 4:14). The more we are "rooted and grounded" in the Word of God, the less open we are to deception. There is no excuse for ignorance of the Word… So it is the responsibility of every believer to read and study the Word, so that he may be well-grounded and well-established in it.

"Your servant, who is devoted to Your fear" is the motivation for seeking to be established in the Word of God. We do not want to grieve the Lord, or the Holy Spirit. The fear of the Lord also means this: if we disobey, we should fear the discipline that is sure to follow, because we are children of our Father.

This fear of the Lord is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is a reverent trustfulness accompanied by hatred of evil. "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil" (Prov. 8:13). "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever." Where we keep this fear, the presence of the Lord is a reality and a joy.

Further we are dependent upon the Lord for any practical results that may follow divine teaching. So the prayer follows, "Make me to go." Well indeed for every saint to pray these three prayers, and in their divine order, "Teach me O Lord," "Give me understanding," and "Make me to go."

So he is kept from evil within and from empty things without. Now he prays that God would settle him in the truth, and make him devoted to God, walking in His fear, and keep him from giving any cause for reproach in himself. Knowing that God's judgments are good, the godly man longs deeply for the Lord's precepts, and wants to be given energy for the path of righteousness.

As well as asking God to turn his eyes away from empty things, he now asks God to turn away his reproach. Reproach comes from others, of course. He admits he dreads it, and he can only depend on the Lord to cancel it (v. 39). "For Your judgments are good" in contrast to the reproachful judgments of the ungodly.

The literal rendering from the Hebrew is: "Turn away my shame which I fear …". The psalmist may have thought that he might do some evil act, some unfaithfulness, that would bring shame on the Name of the Lord as well as on himself. So he asks the Lord to keep him from this. Paul expresses a similar thought in Philippians 1:20: "as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body". What Paul feared was this: under pressure from the Lord's enemies, he might in some measure deny the Lord's claims and so dishonour Him. This is indeed a prayer we would do well to pray daily!

No doubt those who do not fear God, and even deny His existence, will ridicule us and mock us and reproach us! It is not easy or pleasant for a believer to realise that if he wants to be faithful he may not be popular. There is definite reproach attached to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. This may be a healthy fear! Perhaps he asks here that he might not suffer reproach for holding to the Word of God. But reproach suffered for righteousness is something to rejoice in.

This verse, by the reason it gives — "for your judgments are good" — shows that the reproach has to do with some apparent failure of these judgments to show themselves in the way God governs men. Enemies often throw such reproaches at the Lord's people: "Where is their God?" (Ps. 115:2.) But the heart of the psalmist knows the goodness of these "judgments" — the decisions about good and evil. In the day of God's patience, His dealings with men do not always seem to confirm them.

Under the Old Testament dispensation; this was necessarily a much greater enigma than since the cross; and it is the occasion of much of the misapprehension of the friends of Job. With the enemies of the believer it is always a favorite reproach against him.

But the third verse takes ground that seems clearer and surer. How can God fail to answer the longing of a heart after His precepts, when that heart feels the drag of earth and pleads against it? The appeal is more confident to that degree, however lowly it is by nature: "in your righteousness give me life."

This whole section of eight verses has shown us our own nothingness and helplessness. This should not be a passing, emotional feeling. It should be what we realise all the time! Here he expresses that sense of need again: "… in your righteousness give me life." This is a confession of felt weakness. It admits our need for God to give us life and to strengthen us with might by His Spirit in our inner being. To say, "I long for your promises," would be quite human. But he says, "I long for your precepts." We remember from the introduction that the meaning of the word "precept" is: a charge given to us by God for which we are responsible. We must always remember that privileges are inseparable from responsibilities.

He has an intense desire for God's word. It is that important to him and gives him so much pleasure that he is always wanting God's word — he longs for it. I can imagine him, as he goes about his busy schedule, fervently wishing that he had more time to spend with his Scriptures. We have already seen that he meditates on God's word through the night.

He sought deliverance, no doubt, but he loves the word itself. In the soul these things go together… Still he looked to God with a true heart, and in distress, as we shall too — so did Christ Himself, in order to be heard. He looked according to the kindness of Jehovah. But he also longed for God to work with power in him, and to give him life according to the mind of God. That is, a life whose nature and desires match God's judgment. He does not speak as a dead man. He speaks of being made alive in the way he lives. We know it must be a new life.

The heart was right. It longed for God's precepts. It looked to the Lord for liveliness of heart, for the energy of a renewed will, and for freedom from distraction. All this comes through the faithfulness of God — that consistency with His own goodness and favour which we can count on in Him. "In your righteousness give me life." This assumes a growing knowledge of God, so that we can count on Him… but the last words here show a deeper intimacy of faith. That faith counts on what God must be.

We are also dependent on the Lord for any practical results that may follow divine teaching. So the prayer follows, "Make me to go." It is well indeed for every saint to pray these three prayers, and in their divine order: "Teach me, O Lord," "Give me understanding," and "Make me to go."

In the knowledge that God's judgments are good, the godly man, with deep longing after the Lord's precepts, desires to be energized in the path of righteousness.

He next asks for a taste of the grace of the Lord, of His salvation as it is expressed here, so that there may be courage and faithfulness.

Here we find the many mercies of the Lord, as well as His one great salvation, as the basis of the confidence of the child of God (v. 41). So, by God's Word, he will overcome the reproaches of men. This Word is his only source of help. So it is understandable that he never wants that Word taken out of his mouth (v. 43).

Notice here that all through there is no thought of looking, in difficulty or trial, to anything but God. He seeks help to keep the law and deliverance from trial because of it. But there is not the smallest idea of turning anywhere else. It does not even occur to the faithful man. This is true integrity of heart. God in truth, God in His will, God in mercy, God Himself as the object of the heart — but he seeks only God, nothing outside or away from Him. He looks for His mercies, and that is right, and for deliverance from Him, and this according to His word. For He has fully revealed Himself, and we want nothing short of Him. What an answer His deliverance will be to the enemy who reproaches!

The soul of the psalmist leans on the promise of God while it waits for a salvation which is still future. From the Word it trusts, it gathers confidence to answer the reproaches of the enemy. He knows God's word to be the "word of truth." He prays that it may never be taken out of his mouth completely, weak as he may be in standing for it. For he waits in hope for His judgments to show themselves.

The psalmist looks to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies according to the Word. In this way there will be an answer to those who reproach him with being forsaken by God.

The first part here rests all its assurance on the Lord's sufficiency, and this stays the same through every age… For the psalmist it was the "saying of God," the "word of God," the "word of truth," on which he rested. For us today it is the same. For him too, that word revealed the Lord's "loving-kindness," and a promised "salvation," for which he waited. And we wait in the same way today. But we have a salvation worked out by Another for us, about which we can say, in a sense no Israelite could, "He has saved us."

This is what the psalmist realises: his constant need for mercies and salvation. It is the same for the Christian. We have been saved and we are being saved. We have experienced God's grace and mercy, and we continue to need His mercies every day. The writer in these verses is afraid that the Lord might in any degree hold back His favour from him. This is a needless fear for the true Christian. We may become unfaithful, but He stays faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

The psalmist looks to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies according to the Word. So there will be an answer to those who reproach him with being forsaken of God.

Here we are told who the psalmist wants to answer: "him who taunts me." In Hebrew the verb "reproach" has the sense of scorn, fault-finding, and reproach. We all know that the Bible describes Satan as the accuser of the brothers (Rev. 12:10). Satan uses human beings also to inflict scorn on their fellow men. Unbelievers may scorn and mock the believer, or ask him "tricky" questions.

The psalmist's soul leans on the promise of God while it waits for a salvation that is still future. It gathers confidence from the Word it trusts, so that it can answer the reproaches of the enemy. He knows God's word to be the "word of truth." He prays that it may not be taken completely out of his mouth, weak as he may be in standing for it. He waits in hope for His judgments to be shown.

Loving kindness from the Lord is salvation for His people, and His answer to those who reproach them. With the word of truth in the mouth, and the feet in the path of God's will, the godly enjoy divine liberty.

Next he longs for the taste of the grace of the Lord, of His salvation as expressed here, to give him courage and faithfulness.

Here the many mercies of the Lord, and His one great salvation, form the basis of the confidence of the child of God (v. 41). So, by God's Word, he will overcome the reproaches of men. This Word being his only source of help, it is understandable that he wants that Word never to be taken out of his mouth (v. 43). It is by this that he answers his oppressors, and his only hope is in the ordinances of God.

Sure of the Lord's salvation, he now becomes a witness both to the one who reproaches him and before kings.

The verse continues to tell us that it is only as "I trust in Your Word" that the psalmist is able "to answer". Here then is another secret of victory over the enemy. Peter writes: "but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).

The psalmist looks to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies according to the Word. In this way there will be an answer to those who reproach him with being forsaken by God. He had put his trust in God's Word; if God abandoned him, the word of truth would be utterly taken out of his mouth. He would have no answer to the reproaches of the wicked. He has confidence in delivering grace, for his hope is in God's judgments.

The soul has taken the word as coming from God, delighted in it, trusted it, and held it before the wicked as something it had from God. God's word is what reveals Him. Not only does it reveal Him, it is the very thing that does so. Had God abandoned the faithful one, as fear would lead him to expect, the word would have been taken out of his mouth. Yet he does not doubt the truth of the word, or that it is God's testimony. His fear is that he would no longer be allowed to vouch for it by faith. He fears this because he values it.

The psalmist's soul leans on the promise of God while it waits for a salvation that is still to come. From the Word it trusts, it draws confidence to answer the enemy's reproaches. He knows God's word to be the "word of truth." So he prays that it may never be taken completely out of his mouth, weak as he may be in standing for it. He waits in hope for God's judgments to appear.

For the psalmist it was the "saying of God," the "word of God," the "word of truth," on which he rested; and for us today it is the same. For him also, that word revealed Jehovah's "loving-kindness," and a pledged "salvation," for which he waited; and so do we wait today. But we have a salvation worked out by Another for us, about which we can say, in a sense no Israelite could, "He has saved us."

Here the faithful one has hoped in God's judgments — God acting on what has gone out of His mouth. God acts in keeping with how He has revealed Himself in His word, and this enabled him to keep that word for ever.

This Word is his only source of help. So it makes sense that he wants it never to be taken out of his mouth (v. 43). It is by this that he answers his oppressors.

He dreads the possibility that for some reason he would not have a word to answer: "… the word of truth … out of my mouth". Only daily experience of fellowship with the Lord and study of His Word will prepare us to be His witnesses. Sin in the life would take away our testimony. Sometimes, even when we are out of fellowship with the Lord, we may try to cover up and keep testifying. But there is no power and no conviction. Those who oppose us may even say: "Your actions speak so loud that I cannot hear what you say".

The verse begins with the Hebrew letter "vau", which can also be rendered "by way of explanation", or our "If … then …". Here the King James Version has translated it "So …". "Nothing binds a man to the way of the Lord more effectively than experiencing the truth of His Word in the form of mercies and deliverances. The Lord's faithfulness does not only open our mouths against His enemies. It also ties our hearts to His fear, and makes our union with Him closer and closer. God's grace alone can enable us to keep His commandments without break and without end." So, because He strengthens us, gives us life and enables us, we can "keep" His "law" in the form of Christ's commandments for us today.

How different the spirit of Psalm 119 is. At Sinai the law came to people in their natural state, and they hated it and rebelled against it. In Psalm 119 the writer delights in the law of God. Clearly he has been born again, and he tastes in advance the blessing Israel will have in a future day, when the Lord will say, "I will put My laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds" (Heb. 10:16).

When God writes His law on the heart, the people He speaks of get hearts that will not let them forget what He has commanded. This is not the natural state of anyone. It belongs only to those of whom He can also say, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Psalm 119 is the passionate expression of a heart that is blessed like that.

The second part develops the consequences that flow from finding Jehovah and His word fully sufficient. The first of them, for the person on whose heart the law is written, is the joy of continuous, unbroken obedience to it. "For ever and ever," he says with enthusiasm. Oh that we would take up our "easy yoke" in the same way! For him it is easy. "I will walk at liberty," he says. It is freedom to walk in ways the heart approves of and chooses for itself. This is our blessedness too, whose "rule" is not the law but the "new creation in Christ Jesus", the perfect and heavenly walk of the "Second Man".

"I will keep your law continually, forever and ever" (v. 44). Nothing less than this can satisfy him. So he will walk at liberty, seeking God's precepts. Self-will and self-seeking are bondage, not liberty.

The rescued man, free from the enemy's attacks and insults, would keep the law continually and walk in liberty. In freedom of soul he would have no shame in speaking of God's testimonies before the greatest on earth. This is always God's order for His servants. First, "keep" the Word in the soul. Then comes a right "walk", as the Word has its practical effect in the life. Last comes "speaking" to others, the lips telling out what the life already shows.

"Breadth" comes from a root meaning "spacious," "roomy." It appears again and again in the measurements of the tabernacle and temple, both in Solomon's day and in the future building Ezekiel describes. But it also has a picture use we know well. So Solomon had great largeness (breadth) of heart (1 Kings 4:29): "I will walk at liberty (or breadth)" — Ps. 119:45; Ps. 119:32.

So he will walk at liberty, seeking God's precepts. For self-will and self-seeking are bondage, not liberty.

True slavery is being enslaved by our own will. True liberty means having our own will completely set aside. When we do our own will, self is our centre.

If I tell my child to stay in the house when he wants to go out, he may obey. But it is not a law of liberty to him. He is holding back his will. If I then say, "Now go where you want to go," he obeys — and that is a law of liberty. His will and the command are the same. They run together.

At Sinai the law came to men in their natural state, and they hated it and rebelled against it. In Psalm 119 the writer delights in the law of God. Clearly he has been born again, and he tastes in advance the blessing Israel will have in a future day.

Such a person knows the liberty of walking in God's ways. He also knows the miserable bondage that comes when any sin rules over him. He wants to be free from men, too, so that he can keep God's precepts.

"I will walk at liberty," he says. It is freedom to walk in ways the heart approves — ways the heart itself chooses.

The delivered man, free from the attacks and insults of the enemy, would keep the law without a break and walk in liberty. In freedom of soul he would feel no shame in speaking of God's testimonies before the greatest on earth. This is always God's order for His servants. First, "keep" the Word in the soul. Then a right "walk," where the Word has its practical effect in the life. Finally, "speak" to others, the lips telling out what the life already shows.

Confident that God will answer his prayer, the psalmist looks ahead to the blessing of God's deliverance. Once delivered, free from the enemy's opposition and insults, he would keep the law without a break and walk in liberty. With a free soul he would feel no shame in speaking of God's testimonies before the greatest people on earth. This is always God's order for His servants: first, to "keep" the Word in the soul; then a right "walk", as the Word takes practical effect in the life; last, to "speak" to others, so that the lips tell out what the life already shows.

The heart of the godly man delights in what he speaks about. He loves the Lord's commandments, so his lips find no shame in speaking of what fills his heart. He would openly declare his loyalty to God's commands — that is the force of lifting up the hands — not as mere lip service, but as an open declaration of the law he loved.

He feels the world's opposition, but without alarm. He will speak of God's testimonies before kings and will not be put to shame; and he will delight in His commandments, which he has loved. These things, I think, go together. The first is an example of the second: bold confession of the truth also keeps the joy of it alive in the heart. It is always so.

There was a time, in our unconverted days, when Psalm 12:2-4 might have been true of any one of us: "…with flattering lips and a double heart they speak… those who say, 'With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?'" I hope that my reader can say: "my lips are His". What do we use our mouths and our lips for now? Surely our verse helps us: "I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame." Think of the apostle Paul, how he stood before king Agrippa, before Festus and Felix, and gave a ringing testimony to his faith in the living God (Acts 26 etc.).

Erasmus had the courage to publish the principles of the Reformation and mock the priests, but he did not dare to join himself to the humble, uneducated and somewhat disorderly peasants led by Luther. He said Luther was "too violent and extreme." The worst of it was that this was quite true. Sadly, it is all too true that the few who hold the truth in any age are wide open to attack. Like Israel's family, they are marked by great sins and inconsistencies, and their critics are quick to spot them and exaggerate them. Still, they are the people of God, and His servant identifies himself with them. He says not only, "I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame," but also, "I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts" (Psalm 119:46, 63).

Faith has the sense of how important God's testimonies are, and is filled with it. Men take their place, and may be respected, as is due to them; but God's place fills and governs the mind, not by effort, but naturally. So the commandments of God become, instead of a pressure on the conscience, the delights of the heart. There is open confession and dedication to them. It is a solemn declaration of the heart. He has not only loved them; he openly declares that he owns their truth and authority, saying, That is what I own.

The law of Sinai was written on tablets of stone; it wrote nothing on the heart. It told men what to do but gave them no desire or power to obey it. To be commanded to do what I have no desire to do is bondage, even if I obey. Now, by the word of God, we have a perfect revelation of the will of God. And by that same word God has also given us a new nature that delights to act according to the word. To be commanded to do what I desire to do is liberty.

He will walk at liberty, seeking God's precepts. For self-will and self-seeking are actually bondage, not liberty.

The delivered man, free from the opposition and reproaches of the enemy, would continually keep the law and walk in liberty. In freedom of soul he would have no shame in speaking of God's testimonies before the greatest on earth. This is always God's order from His servants. First, to "keep" the Word in the soul. Then a right "walk" — the Word having its practical effect in the life. Last of all, to "speak" to others, the lips speaking of what the life already shows.

He will speak of God's testimonies before kings, and not be ashamed. He will delight himself in His commandments, which he has loved. These things, I think, go together. The first is an example of the second. And the boldness of confessing the truth also keeps the joy of it in the heart. So it always is.

It is impossible to lay too much stress on the importance and value of the Word of God. Love for it should be a characteristic of every believer. It would not be too much to say that our growth in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, is largely tied to it… Some of the psalmist's expressions might well humble us. They show us the place the Word held in his affections.

How different David was from Saul may be seen in Psalm 119… "I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved" (Ps. 119:47)… Oh, that there were such a spirit in both the reader and the writer of these pages!

Further, the heart of the godly man delights in what he speaks about. Loving the Lord's commandments, his lips find no shame in speaking of what fills his heart. He would openly declare his allegiance to God's commands. That is the force of lifting up the hands. It is no mere lip profession, but an open owning of the law that he loved. What is more, what he loves would be the theme of his meditations.

The commandments of God become, instead of a pressure on the conscience, the delights of the heart. There is open confession and dedication to them; I suppose this is lifting up the hands to them. It is a solemn declaration of the heart; not only has he loved them, but he openly declares that he owns their truth and authority, saying, That is what I own. And as he openly owns his allegiance to them, so he meditates on them for his own joy.

The last verse shows this delight increasing more and more. The hands (or palms) lifted up show, as in prayer, the longing and eagerness of the soul. It also implies that the soul is grasping the depths and mysteries of that blessed Word. So it meditates on that Word continually.

He feels the opposition of the world, but without alarm. He will speak of God's testimonies before kings, and not be ashamed. He will delight in His commandments, which he has loved. These things, I think, go together. The first is an example of the second. And the boldness of confessing the truth keeps the joy of it alive in the heart.

The psalmist is sure God will answer his prayer. So he looks ahead to the blessing of God's deliverance. The delivered man is free from the opposition and insults of the enemy. He would keep the law without a break and walk in liberty. With a free soul, he would feel no shame in speaking of God's testimonies before the greatest people on earth. This is always God's order for His servants. First, "keep" the Word in the soul. Then a right "walk" — the Word having its practical effect in the life. Last, "speak" to others, the lips telling what the life shows.

We read in verse 16, "I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word." All this tells of a state of soul. Often that state is only reached through much exercise and many experiences. Sometimes, even after conversion, we read the Scriptures only out of a sense of duty… Others read their Bibles eagerly, but mainly to learn the contents and gain knowledge. In neither case will the meditation of our psalm be possible. But the Lord Himself can become the one object that absorbs our hearts. Then we hear His well-known voice speaking to us through His Word… and we are often lost in meditation on His wonderful words.

In the places cited, the word means "to talk to oneself" about the subject filling the mind… The lesson is this. If meditation is to be of value and for blessing, it must be carried on in the presence of God — in a sense of dependence on Him and on the ministry of His Spirit. Otherwise we would be lost in the maze of human thoughts and speculations.

It may seem unnecessary to ask the Lord to remember. But we know that He makes allowances for the weakness of our faith. The Word of God had caused the psalmist to hope, and the Lord certainly could never forget that.

It is the psalmist who asks the Lord to remember His Word! The Lord has given precious promises. Someone has tried to count all the promises given in the Bible and has found more than 30,000 of them! … We have this interesting word in Isaiah 62:6, "you who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest." The best basis for prayer is the solid promises of God. Remind God of what He has said!

God has caused His servant to trust in His Word. So he can look to God with complete confidence to fulfil that Word. He knows that God must be true to His Word. This confidence in the stability of God's Word had been his comfort in the middle of affliction. His confidence in the Word grew out of the life the Word had given him.

But the soul has counted on God's word; God has taught and led the soul to do it, and now it looks for God to put His Amen to it (the man, by grace, has already put his own). This confidence of faith in God's word had been its comfort in affliction. Here was something firm and steady for hope. It brought in God's faithfulness and testimony — God Himself as the hope of the soul — when everything around was against him and there was nothing to lean on.

This humble, patient obedience, quietly accepting insults, had been mocked and scorned by the proud. But faith in His word kept the soul from turning aside. It held firm in the sorrow… What made it obedient made it confident: God was the one it looked to, and this kept the sight and memory of faith clear.

But the psalmist was a wise man, made wise by the Word that he loved… He turned to God and His word… He knew the source of hope and comfort and peace. It was the word that had caused him to hope (v. 49), and that same word was his comfort in his affliction (v. 50). This reminds us of a beautiful New Testament word: "that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).

Unlike the imperfect, even unworkable, philosophies of mankind, God's word shows the sorrows and trials of this life in their true and proper character. It sheds the light of heaven on the gloom of earth.

But the Psalmist was a wise man, made wise by the Word that he loved. Though he felt the hard words spoken against him, and felt them keenly, he did not retaliate. He turned to God and His word. He knew the source of hope and comfort and peace. It was the word that had caused him to hope (v. 49), and that same word was his comfort in his affliction (v. 50).

In Romans 15:4 we read of the "comfort of the Scriptures." Here again the word has the force of encouragement. Psalm 119 has some 174 verses that refer to the word of God, and in verse 50 the Psalmist uses the usual word for comfort. Verses 76 and 82 again tie comfort to the word of the Lord.

We make these great and precious promises our own by faith: we thank the Lord for every promise the Holy Spirit brings before us in our daily reading. It is in making them our own that we experience the "comfort in my affliction." It is when we thank the Lord for His promises that we experience what the Psalmist affirms: "your promise gives me life." Notice, there is no prayer for deliverance from the affliction! Although the affliction remains, the comfort is there so that we may be able to bear it, and be victorious in it.

The Psalmist says that God's Word has quickened him in verse 50, yet again and again he longs to be quickened. He evidently uses the word more in the sense of being revived, of being restored to more vigorous life.

Outward ceremonies have nothing whatever to do with giving or sustaining life. To think so is to mistake what they are for. Life comes only by the word of God, in the power of the Spirit — "your word has quickened me." The process is not external and mechanical. It is a moral one, dealing with the heart and conscience.

God has caused His servant to trust in His Word; therefore, with the utmost confidence, he can look to God to fulfil His Word. He knows that God must be true to His Word. This confidence in the stability of God's Word had been his comfort in the middle of affliction. The Word had quickened him, and his confidence in it grew out of that.

There was something firm and steadfast for hope. It brought in God's faithfulness and testimony — God Himself as the hope of the soul — when everything around him was against him, and there was nothing to lean on. And this is comfort, true comfort, in affliction. That very word had quickened the soul itself. The proud scorned and mocked this humble, patient obedience that quietly accepted insult. But faith in His word kept the soul from turning aside. It held fast in the sorrow.

By the proud are meant the unbelievers! They cannot understand the quiet confidence of the believer and ridicule him. Ridicule is often a powerful weapon Satan uses to make believers doubt God's promises. But this ridicule should not surprise us. The apostle Paul tells us: "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12). The natural person does not accept, cannot understand, the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him (1 Cor. 2:14).

Confidence in the Word of God made the Lord's servant a target of mockery for the proud men of the world. These were men who had thrown off all allegiance to God and His Word. Despite their mockery, the soul held firm in its confidence.

Wherever the word goes, its demand for righteousness and goodness stirs up the heart's inborn resistance to good and to God. So here the psalmist tells of the derision he had met from men. These were the proud, who would not put up with the word's rebuke. Their character showed what their opposition was really like; and he had not turned away from the law because of it.

This lowly, patient obedience, which quietly accepted reproach, had been the scorn and derision of the proud. But faith in His word had kept the soul from swerving. It held fast in the sorrow. It looked back to God's ways of old, when He had stretched out His hand. What made the soul obedient also made it confident: it looked to God, and this kept the sight and memory of faith clear.

So let us arm ourselves! If the enemy seeks to make us doubt the promises of God, let us not give him one inch! The enemy's aim is to make us turn away from Your law — the Word of God. But with the Lord's help his efforts will only strengthen us. They will make us more determined to trust the Lord and see His promises come true.

The proud mocked him bitterly, yet he was at rest. He firmly resisted every temptation to turn aside from the law of God. For he remembered God's judgments of the past, and in those he found genuine comfort (vv. 51-52).

He had met with reproach and contempt, and princes had been talking against him (22, 23, 42). So he asks the LORD not to let him be put to shame (31). The proud had derided him, yet he had not swerved from God's law (51). They made up a lie against him (69), and they overthrew him without cause (78). He also says they had dug pits for him and had almost destroyed him (85-87).

MISH-PAHT = Judgment... It means the sentence of a judge, and it is used above all of a sentence that imposes a penalty. So it is a judicial sentence — a decision the Lord makes.

(vv. 52-53) Men mocked the godly man, yet remembering God's judgments on the wicked long ago comforted him and made him stand firm. God's past judgments make the soul shrink in horror from those who had abandoned God's law.

Though the proud mocked him bitterly, he was at rest, standing firm against every temptation to turn aside from the law of God. For he remembered God's judgments of the past, and in them he found real comfort (vv. 51-52).

So here the psalmist tells of the mockery he had met from men. These were the proud, who would not accept the rebuke of God's word... He had read history to good purpose, and he remembered God's judgments of old. It was the same God now, and so he comforted himself. At the same time, as he thought about how man had fallen away from God, indignation ("burning heat") filled him.

We forget so quickly! It is like saying: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." (Col. 3:16). There is no victory possible without that Word abiding in us. We must keep using the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17).

We should learn practical lessons from Jehovah's "...judgments of old...", from the way He dealt with His people Israel. In Romans 15:4 we read: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." This then is the comfort we read of in our verse!

Verses 49-56. Jehovah's word is the support and the song of His suffering servant. It gives divine comfort when the proud mock him. The righteous are angry at those who abandon the law of their God. But as they travel on, they find joy in remembering the judgments and the Name of the Lord.

No true believer can stay unmoved when he sees the crowds in the streets and cities of this world, people "having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Can we be so comfortable in our own safety and in the blessings we have received that we stay indifferent to the end of those who deliberately "forsake your law"? The word for "horror" is better translated "hot zeal." Should we as Christians not burn with that same "hot zeal" of compassion for these lost souls?

He had read history well, and he remembered God's judgments long ago. It was the same God now, and so he comforted himself. But as he thought about this falling away of man from God, indignation ("burning heat") filled him. And no wonder: look at what man's history has been! You can read it in the vast populations today that do not know God, and in the state of the leading so-called Christian nations.

When people mocked him, the godly man found comfort and fresh strength to stand firm, because he remembered how God judged the wicked long ago. Those past judgments lead the soul to shrink with horror from people who have forsaken God's law.

Because God's Word comforted him, it is understandable that indignation took hold of him over the wicked who turn completely away from the law of God. This indignation is like the anger of the Lord Jesus when the Pharisees showed their hard hearts and would not even answer His question. Their contempt for the Word of God and their cruelty toward a crippled man drew out His anger, and rightly so.

This is a comfort. An upright mind would often rise up in indignation against public evil, but the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. An active, energetic mind often finds it hard to take the lowly place. When people insult Christ and attack His truth, it wants to call down fire from heaven, or to strike with the sword. But when we look upward, we have songs in the night.

"Horror takes hold of him," he is grieved, he weeps because others don't keep God's word.

The men who mourned in this way were not self-righteous, and they did not think of themselves as above their people. They confessed their people's sin and included themselves in their guilt. They understood that they themselves were no better and that they formed part of this people.

Happy the heart that finds its joy in the "statutes" of God. Remember that "statute" means a divine direction given for our obedience. What joy there is in obeying Him!

It is all a question of the heart. The principle appears in Psalm 27:8: "You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, LORD, do I seek.'" To the fleshly heart the law is an unbearable burden. "A new heart" (Ezek. 36:26) finds it a delight. No less than 184 times, under different names, the writer pours out his deep joy and delight.

While waiting for God to fulfill His word — while still in the house of pilgrimage and surrounded by the darkness of night — the godly man found his joy in the Word and the Name of the Lord. This confidence was the outcome of obedience to the Word.

When evil presses in around us, how the heart finds its relief and enlargement in the word and testimony of God Himself! His statutes are our songs in the house of our pilgrimage. In a world of evil the heart is left alone, for a faithful heart will and must stand alone, however sweet its communion along the way. The name of the Lord will meet that loneliness — for them the name Jehovah, for us Christ and the Father in Him... And this is the fruit of obedience, for holiness and communion — the sense of God's presence — are the fruit of obedience.

There is something specially attractive in this, something uniquely beautiful. In the book that shows me my heart's trial more than any other part of Scripture, God has put that book in the form of poetry. He says to us, Have you sorrows? Sing them out to Me. Are you pilgrims going through a weary desert? Learn that God's statutes are your songs in the house of your pilgrimage.

All this tells of a state of soul — a state of soul that often comes only through much exercise and many experiences. Sometimes it is the case, even after conversion, that we only read the Scriptures from a sense of duty... Others will read their Bibles even eagerly, but mainly to learn its contents, to acquire knowledge. In neither case is the meditation of our psalm possible. But the Lord Himself may become the one object that absorbs our hearts. Then we hear His well-known voice speaking to us through His Word... and we are often lost in meditation on His wonderful words.

We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to sing! This verse speaks of our pilgrimage. He has put a new song into our mouths, even praise to our God (Ps. 40:3). We have indeed many reasons to be joyful and to sing on the way to the Father's House.

Then it will carry the most serious thought. "In the night," when earth lies in shadow, "visions of God" have at all times been most realized. Then he says, "I remember Your name... and keep Your law."

The Name stands for the Person! How many wonderful Names our Father has, and our blessed Lord and Master Jesus Christ! Books have been written about the meaning of these Names, and every Name brings comfort and encouragement. "And those who know your name put their trust in you" (Ps. 9:10). "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:10).

"I remember Your name in the night, O LORD" (v. 55). So the name of the Lord was food and refreshment to him — not only when conditions were light and clear, but with darkness pressing around. It meant he would keep God's law whether people were watching or not. This had become his constant possession, which is in fact the case for all who keep God's precepts.

It may seem a small thing that we should think upon His Name. Yes, but it is the secret of all devotedness. No mighty works can make up for the lack of it. As the deep, hidden springs of love are kept at work, as His sacred and precious Name is cherished within, so our outward witness will be fitting. The lovely sap will quietly and surely produce its own proper fruit. The Christ grown in the heart will be the Christ spoken by the lips and shown in the life.

(vv. 54–56) Still, the godly man was waiting for God to fulfil His word. He was still a traveller far from home, surrounded by the darkness of night. Yet he found his joy in the Word and the Name of the Lord. This confidence was the outcome of obedience to the Word.

We have probably all known times in our spiritual experience that are like "nights". Things are dark, we are restless, and we long for the "morning" to dawn. Whether they are literal nights and we suffer from real insomnia, or other kinds of "nights", let us remember the Lord's Name.

So the Holy Spirit enables the pilgrim to sing on his path day by day. Even in the night he can sing, when he remembers what the Lord is to him.

The seventh section stands for "completion," and completion must mean "rest," because the thing is finished… The last verse here clearly unites the thoughts of accomplishment and satisfaction: "This has been mine, that I have kept Your precepts."

"I have finished my course; I have kept the faith." There is only one prayer in the section. It is about a promise God has yet to fulfil — one he is looking for, and has looked for. All the rest is a review of the past, and that in peace of heart.

The literal translation is: "This was done to me because." What he had was no doubt the comfort he had spoken of in the earlier verses. Is he looking back now and saying, "I had this once, but now…"? Is he speaking of a past experience? "This I had, because I kept Your precepts!" But here is a warning for us. Let us not lose what we have. We can have this sense of His presence daily. We can have this comfort of His companionship on our pilgrim path, and this joy in Him and in obeying Him. Let us not grieve the Lord or the Holy Spirit, but seek His fellowship. Then we will discover our immense spiritual possessions.

While waiting for God to fulfil His word — while still in the house of pilgrimage and surrounded by the darkness of night — the godly man found his joy in the Word and the Name of the Lord. This confidence was the outcome of obedience to the Word.

When evil presses in, how the heart finds its relief and freedom in the word and testimony of God Himself! His statutes are our songs in the house of our pilgrimage. In a world of evil the heart feels lonely, but the name of the Lord will meet that loneliness… And this is the fruit of obedience, for holiness and communion — the sense of God's presence — are the fruit of obedience. So Romans 6:22: "the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." The obedience here has the sense of diligent observation of God's precepts, a thing not to be forgotten.

So he finds what those who have it prove more and more to be a substantial possession: "this has been mine, that I have kept Your precepts." One day "the righteous deeds of the saints" will adorn them even at the marriage of the Lamb. Yet those pure white robes shine only because they are "washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev. 7:14; 19:8)

We had precious promises in the precious section. Here we have a precious portion. The Hebrew reads: "My portion is Jahweh…" We are not talking about blessings, or promises, but about a Person! Many Christians are so taken up with the blessings that they forget the Blesser. In the same way, many are so thrilled with their spiritual gifts that they ignore the Giver!

The Lord gave the tribe of Levi no inheritance in the land. The sacrifices made by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as He said to them. The Lord God of Israel Himself was their inheritance… Wherever the other tribes lived, there was Levi. Wherever devoted people in Israel worshipped the Lord, there Levi had his inheritance. The Lord — not a position — was Levi's lot… And so the happiest and richest Christians are those who find their portion in the Lord Himself.

It is a fine portion, no doubt, though unbelief thinks it nothing. Unbelief longs instead for someone to show it good in a form it can touch — the grain and wine and oil of this creation. But to have Him who has all things, and who is Himself infinitely more than all He has, is a better portion beyond compare. Anyone who believes this by grace must admit it.

The Psalmist, in his own generation, could find his portion in Jehovah. We have the light of all that the Lord has done for us, and of what He is in His greatness and glory. Should we not find our portion in Himself in this day? The words of our opening verse, "You are my portion," are a confession, not a prayer. Has there not been the danger of our looking for a portion on earth, looking around for something to satisfy? How good it is for us to find, as Solomon did, that all things here are "empty."

In this part (vv. 57-64) we have more the affections connected with the word written in the heart: "You are my portion, O Jehovah." The heart has Himself as its source of joy and blessing. This must connect with a set purpose of heart towards God: "I have said." No one can look to the Lord as his portion without in that very act purposing to do His will. To do otherwise would not be owning Him.

His soul had entered the sphere where a man learns God's mind and will, where His words direct the thoughts of the heart. With his whole heart the godly man gives himself to the words that unfold to him the greatness, the glory and the beauty of the Lord. As he keeps company with Him, his soul weighs its own ways, asking whether they match the desire of His heart.

This is a fine principle when we apply it to our own hearts in relation to Christ. If we are filled with Him we have no room for anything else. It is only when Satan succeeds in creating a want in our hearts that he introduces something of his own. When we are able in truth to say, "The Lord is my portion," we are safe from the influence of Satan's attractive baits.

In this part (vv. 57-64) we have more of the affections that go with the word written in the heart: "You are my portion, O Jehovah." The heart has Himself as its source of joy and blessing. This must go together with purpose of heart towards God: "I have said." You cannot look to the Lord as your portion without purposing to do His will, for that would be not owning Him... I see the same desire here. It is not mere obedience, though obedience flows from it, but the meditation of the heart: "I thought on my ways" — the inward searchings of the heart, a needed and important thing for us — "and turned my feet to Your testimonies."

We may obey by instinct, almost carelessly, and with right intention, but in a way that shows the heart is not with God — not stirred, not anxious to please Him... But the saint who is right with God will review the purpose of his ways and their direction. He asks how far they match the purpose that the light God has given us points to. And if the purpose is right, he asks how far he is working it out in practice, truly and with earnest effort. For we may be outwardly blameless, in appearance even amiable, and unfaithful to the calling of God. Here, of course, we have to turn to God's testimonies, which are able to make the man of God complete, equipped for every good work.

The desire to obey the Word and to enjoy the favour of the Lord must lead to a searching of heart about his ways. Are they suited to one who has the Lord for his portion? So he says, "I thought on my ways;" and the practical result was that he turned his feet to the testimonies of the Lord — not reluctantly, but with eager haste.

If we heeded this call, it would spare us many an evil, many a breakdown, many a startling display of wickedness among God's people. It should be our constant and habitual work to consider our ways in the presence of God. There all delusions disappear; there, in the pure light of His holy presence, the deepest secrets of the heart come to light. Only there do we see our true condition and failures. And only there do we receive grace to judge ourselves by the perfect standard of God's glory.

"And turned my feet to Your testimonies": this is conversion — the sinner makes a complete turn and judges his past... We must not stop at self-examination, though that is necessary in its time, but turn to Him, the object of our faith and the giver of grace and mercy.

I know all that, but Satan will try to magnify these difficulties. Is not God for us greater than all these difficulties? I feel for you; I pray for you; God will be with you in His own path. (See Psalm 119:59-60.)

The desire to obey the Word and to enjoy the favour of the Lord must lead a man to search his own heart about his ways. Are they suited to someone who has the Lord for his portion? So he says, "I thought on my ways." The practical result was that he turned his feet to the testimonies of the Lord. He did not do it unwillingly, but with eager haste.

We may obey by instinct, almost carelessly, and with a right intention. But such obedience shows that the heart is not with God, not stirred, not concerned about pleasing Him. The path may not be evil, and yet the heart may be in a very poor state. The believer who is right with God does something else. He reviews the purpose of his ways and their direction. He asks how far they match the purpose that the light given to us leads to.

The Hebrew has: "I hurried and did not delay to keep Your commandments." Of course, keeping His commandments cannot save a sinner. But this sentence holds an important principle that belongs to a true conversion — total submission to His Word. A person must obey the Word that calls for "repentance." What is true at the start of our spiritual lives is also true for the rest of them. Never put off until tomorrow what you must do today. Prompt obedience is the secret of true spiritual growth.

When the heart is right, this gives diligence. It does not stop to consult flesh and blood. It has only God's favour in view, with purpose of heart: "I made haste, and delayed not, to keep Your commandments." I need not say how typical and all-important this is. It is the essential firstfruits and spring of a life true to God, as we see in the blessed apostle Paul.

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning." There is ready obedience. "I made haste and delayed not to keep Your commandments." Faith never stops to look at circumstances or to weigh results. It only looks at God… Acting on God's own word will always give our actions strength and steadiness. If we act only from impulse, the action will stop when the impulse dies down.

There will be no hesitation either, but a firm purpose to keep God's commandments at once (v. 60). If we give ourselves time to delay such obedience, this is not faith, but a dangerous risk.

Nothing can be more dangerous than to hesitate, when divine light shines upon the path. If you do not act on the light when you get it, thick darkness will certainly close in around you. So, as someone else has said, "Never go before your faith, nor lag behind your conscience."

Some believers today may stay in associations that Scripture condemns, simply because no one has set the Word of God before them about these things. Evil is no less evil when people miss its true character because they pay no attention to the teaching of Scripture. But once the Word is applied, God expects prompt action from His people.

There is real activity. There is no delay in setting the feet in the path of obedience to the Lord. This is because the heart is set on the Person of Jesus, and the motives are pure.

(vv. 61-62) Whoever sets out to obey the Lord will at once find the wicked against him. But he has the Lord for his portion, so he stands steady and unmoved. However much evil presses upon him he does not forget the Word. At midnight — the darkest moment — he can rise to praise the Lord.

Here God hadn't protected him from the bands of the wicked (v. 61). God hasn't stopped the proud lying about him (v. 69)… Sometimes God allows a situation, a path for us that we don't like, one we would not choose. The Lord allows it. Perhaps He allows it to test our faith, perhaps to discipline, perhaps to draw us closer to Him. Whatever the reason, God allows it. The psalmist responded by remembering God's words. He focuses on what God has written. He meditates on it, keeps it with his whole heart, and delights in it.

As soon as the heart turns after Christ, the enemy comes in. He tries to rob the soul of its portion, of its enjoyment of Christ. Is this not what the words of the Psalm point to? "The bands of the wicked have robbed me, but I have not forgotten your law." Let us not be discouraged when the enemy tries to rob us of the enjoyment of our portion in Christ. If the enemy is busy, let us take courage. He would not attack us if we did not have something of real value that he wanted to take from us.

The apostle Paul says that we should not be ignorant of Satan's devices. The Lord Jesus says: "…hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown." Satan cannot make us lose our salvation or eternal life. But he can rob us of much that makes up that "crown." To counter this strategy of the enemy, the believer should busy himself with the Word of God: "…I have not forgotten your law."

This path may bring suffering. Those who hate the Lord oppose us, and they are the instruments of Satan. But the inward life stays steady and true. It does not swerve in how it judges its own path: "I have not forgotten your law." We may be so taken up with opposition and evil that it forms the state of our mind, even though we stand against the wicked. That is only meeting flesh with flesh. The one who looks to the Lord lets the unforgotten word shape his path in this scene of wickedness. That leads him to see God as the One who deals with these things.

Isaac began to dig the wells his father had drunk from, but the Philistines fought him for them. He could have said with the Psalmist, "The bands of the wicked have robbed me." Isaac did not give up his digging, even when the enemy fought him for the second well. He kept going, and the enemy gave up the struggle. At Rehoboth he found a place where the Lord made room for him. Then he moved on to Beersheba. There the Lord appeared to him, and there he had communion with God.

Anyone set on obeying the Lord will at once find that the wicked are against him. But he has the Lord for his portion, so he stands steady and unmoved. However much evil presses upon him he does not forget the Word. At midnight — the darkest moment — he can rise to praise the Lord.

This is a comfort. An upright mind would often rise up in anger against public evil, but the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God... when we look above, we have songs in the night. The heart that has one aim, led by God in His ways, has springs of joy that wake it up in the time of evil, and when it is alone with God. Sorrow may be all around, but there is joy with Him. The heart rises. There is a chord in it ready to praise. It is not only comforted in the sorrow, but set free from the bond of evil, and active in praising Him whom it knows, and who is its portion.

In the night his heart would overflow with praise, and he had to get up to express it. The cause was the righteousness of God's judgments — the perfect moral way in which they settle every question.

At midnight (a most unlikely time) the psalmist speaks of rising to give thanks to God (v. 62). Even his sleep matters less than the practice of thanksgiving — thanksgiving here because of God's righteous judgments.

When... we come to Christ as the One in whom we have life for our souls, we can say with the Psalmist, "At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You." Thank God for the midnight experiences of life! If everything went well for us, it would be easy to be a Christian. But we would miss much of the joy we find in Christ in times of trouble. We rejoice in the touches of divine grace and love as the Lord walks with us in the valley.

When all is quiet at last, God can speak. Job knew about this when he said: "For God speaks once, yes twice, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while they slumber in bed. Then He opens the ears of men…" (Job 33:14-16). Paul and Silas: "…at midnight… prayed, and sang praises to God: and the prisoners heard them" (Acts 16:25)... So sleeplessness can sometimes be a hidden blessing. In any case it is always a good habit when we suffer from sleeplessness to praise and pray.

The man with the renewed heart rises at midnight to give thanks to the Lord because of His righteous judgments. Before the dawn he is hoping in God's word. Through the hours of the night he thinks deeply on the law of the Lord. His mind and soul and affections ever turn to the Lord, as the flower turns to the sun.

Anyone who can truly say, "The Lord is my portion," will not be alone. He will find others with the same thoughts, feelings and desires. He will be able to say, "I am a companion of all who fear You, of those who keep Your precepts." We can go on together in fellowship, finding our joys in the Lord Himself and in His things. Our walk will be on the path of obedience to His will.

Freed from the cords of the wicked, he finds that having the Lord as his portion brings him into fellowship with others who fear the Lord and keep His Word.

Whose company does he enjoy? Not those who grieve him by their disobedience to God. There can be no real shared feeling with them. No, he finds those who have the same attitude to God's word. Those are the people he is with. These are his companions — those who keep God's precepts. Notice too that the encouragement runs both ways. He makes such people glad (verse 74) because he has hoped in God's word.

He took his place with those who feared the Lord. Being of one mind drew them together, as it always must, and a man becomes known by the company he keeps. Our associations are one of the ways we show ourselves approved to God, or not; and the very first psalm presses this on us. (Ps. 1:1.) In close walking with those who fear the Lord, the experiences and joys of each become a blessing shared by all. Sharing them together multiplies them.

When we speak of companionship we mean the friendships we choose. We cannot help mixing with people who are not Christians; otherwise we would have to leave the world. We may work for an employer who is not a Christian, or sit beside clerks and workmen who are not. We buy from shopkeepers who are not Christians, and in business we have to seek trade with them.

But the believer faces a second danger, more subtle because it sounds more reasonable. It is to cut himself off more and more as he sees indifference and worldliness spreading among God's children. This tendency is the exact opposite of God's thought for His own... The falling away does not isolate those who fear the Lord; it drives them together. As the psalmist says, "I am a companion of all who fear You."

Sadly it is all too true that the despised few who hold the truth in any age lie wide open to attack. Like Israel's family, they are marked by great sins and inconsistencies, and their critics are quick to spot them and exaggerate them. Still, they are the people of God, and His servant identifies himself with them. He says not only, "I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed," but also, "I am a companion of all who fear You, of those who keep Your precepts."

He recognises that the earth is full of the Lord's mercy, though in general people do not consider this (v. 64). But because he values such clear mercy, the psalmist wants God to teach him His statutes.

He is freed from the cords of the wicked. Having the Lord as his portion brings him into fellowship with others who fear the Lord and keep His Word. So in the middle of evil he sees the mercy of the Lord. He finds it greater than man's evil: "The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy."

Here the heart is able to turn round and still see mercy, even after all the evil that had pressed upon it. And so it is. Evil may rise up like a flood, but the Lord is always above it. The heart realises this by faith, and bows its will to it all. If it is then comforted by the thought of God's judgments, it finds the constant display of His mercy now, and seeks in peace to be led in His ways.

This section began with the emphasis on mercy and favour (verse 58), and now it rightly finishes with the same thought. How we need His continuing mercy day by day. Grace is seen in that He gives us what we do not deserve. Mercy is seen in that He does not give us what we deserve. He therefore fills our vision from the beginning to the end of this section of eight verses. It is a transforming vision! He is my portion; He is so gracious; He is my Friend — indeed the earth is full of Your mercy.

And "the earth is full of Jehovah's loving-kindness." He makes all things work together for good to His own… The joy of this loving-kindness, known in the soul, becomes a strong desire to be taught His statutes.

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher. Through the instruments that grace uses, He can teach us the will of God (John 14:26). So let us echo the psalmist's prayer to the Lord: "…teach me Your statutes." And let us remember what a statute means: "a divine direction to obtain our obedience, and to keep us from disobedience."

We also depend on the Lord for any practical result that follows His teaching. So the prayer follows: "Make me to go." Every believer does well to pray these three prayers, in this God-given order: "Teach me, O Lord," "Give me understanding," and "Make me to go."

The servant of the Lord justifies God in His dealings, however painful. "You have dealt well with Your servant." Once the servant treated God badly, for he says, "I went astray." Then God, in mercy, disciplined him — "I was afflicted." Affliction broke his will, and now he submits to God's will.

"Good You have done with Your servant …," is the literal rendering in Hebrew. When you feel depressed, count your blessings! We often sing that hymn: "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." This is excellent therapy for discouragement.

In verse 17 he prayed, "Deal bountifully with Your servant …" This verse in Psalm 119, "You have dealt well with Your servant," is the answer to that prayer. Can you look back and thank the Lord for everything?

In verse 67 he speaks of having been afflicted. He has learned that even when the Lord disciplines us, we can give thanks and say afterwards, "You have dealt well with Your servant." Jacob saw this in his own experience. In Genesis 42:36 he says, "All these things are against me." In 45:27, "the spirit of their father Jacob revived." And in Genesis 48:15 he calls Him "the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day." So Jacob came to know what Hebrews 12:11 promises: "later it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

The psalmist, looking back, fully approves Jehovah's faithfulness in his case. God has truly been the covenant-God. He has dealt well, and only well, with His servant, just as His word freely promised him. His faith responds fully to this, admitting that he needs God to teach him. That teaching means far more than a lesson-book, because these pupils are slow to learn for moral reasons. The rod has been among the "all things" that work good to all the people of God, and the one speaking here has found it so.

Whatever our circumstances, all believers can say with the whole heart that God has dealt well with us (v. 65), just as His Word has assured us. With that assurance, it is only natural to want to be taught good judgment and knowledge. God's commandments are so true that we can fully believe them (v. 66).

Judgment here does not mean condemnation, but discernment and guidance. We speak in everyday speech of a man of sound judgment, that is, of one able to give wise counsel. Psalm 119:66 says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments."

He prays for discernment (judgment). Sometimes this word can mean a spiritual sense of smell, or taste. Here it has the sense of taste for judgment, discernment, reason. Paul prays for the Philippians in chapter one, verse 10: "so that you may approve what is excellent." For the believer the question is not refusing sin or sinful things. It is discerning what is profitable and constructive, and what is not. Good judgment and knowledge are essential for spiritual growth… This kind of spiritual discernment does not come to us automatically, as Hebrews 5:14 shows. It comes with practice. That is why the writer begins this verse 66 with: "Teach me…" Are we willing to be taught?

In Eden man's perfection was to remain in good where evil was not, and to be a stranger to it altogether. Now, on the contrary, it lies in having the "powers of discernment trained… to distinguish good from evil"; both are before him (Hebrews 5:14). So the presence of evil around us is permitted with this end in view. And in ourselves we come into closer contact with it, and learn to hate it with matching energy. In all this we find One over all who is good and does good, whose acts truly match His nature. What a joy, then, to be taught His statutes, which enlighten the conscience and preserve moral vision. In the darkness of the cave the organ of sight is well known to waste away from simple disuse.

Whatever our circumstances, all believers can say with a whole heart that God has dealt well with us (v. 65), just as His Word assured us. With that assurance, it is only normal to want to be taught good judgment and knowledge. God's commandments are so true that we may fully believe them (v. 66).

Faith comes before knowledge: the link to knowledge is lost if faith does not precede it. If I am depending on God, all true knowledge must increase that dependence. If I learn rightly, I find there is no one so worthy of dependence as HE. If I love God, I know Him, but my love supplies my knowledge; otherwise, "knowledge puffs up."

(vv. 65–67) The servant of the Lord justifies God in His dealings, however painful. "You have dealt well with your servant." There was a time when the servant dealt badly with God, for he says, "I went astray." Then God, in mercy, dealt with him in chastening — "I was afflicted." Affliction broke his will, and now he submits to God's will.

God's thought is that we should have understanding to appreciate His instruction, His teaching and counsel. These reach us first and foremost in His Word. Of course we must study His Word carefully. But we also need the right state of heart and mind to profit by our study. That state is not described in this psalm, but in Psalm 25: "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way."

The servant of the Lord justifies God in His dealings, however painful. "You have dealt well with your servant." There was a time when the servant dealt badly with God, for he says, "I went astray." Then God, in mercy, dealt with him in chastening — "I was afflicted." Affliction broke his will, and now he submits to God's will.

Let us clearly understand that days of ease are not the best for us, and we shall be greatly helped. David's up-and-down life gives striking proof of this. When his prosperity was at its peak, he forgot the God whose goodness had followed him all his life... But in the darkest hour of that strange story, when his own son hunted him for his blood and his only bed was the cold ground on a hillside, he could still sing to God. Prosperity and the palace, with forgetfulness of God, gave birth to sin. Adversity, with the Lord at hand, produced the Psalm that sings its music to our souls even in these testing times.

Affliction, beloved friends, does not do you any good apart from the tender ministry of Christ in His word. Affliction is to bring your ear to the Word. Christ always wants to drop a word into your ear. He knows how to help the weary with a word.

Afflictions on the godly make them better, but afflictions on the wicked make them worse. The godly pray more (Ps. 130:1). The wicked blaspheme more... Affliction on the godly is like crushing spices: the smell is sweet and fragrant. Affliction on the wicked is like pounding weeds with a pestle: it only makes them smell worse.

One has wandered from God and apparently been left for a time to his own devices. He may have done well in worldly matters, and everything looks fine. Yet he has clearly compromised his character as a pilgrim and his integrity as a man of faith. God has kept silence. Then perhaps when the shame of such a course is most obvious, the blow falls. Property has been swept away, loved ones perhaps have been taken... Pride, self-sufficiency and hypocrisy once marked him. Now we find a humbled and chastened spirit instead. He turns to God, and the proud soul has found in its affliction the only meeting point between a wandering saint and a holy God.

Jonah could certainly have said after his strange experience, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I have kept Your Word." (Ps. 119:67).

He recognises the goodness of God behind all God's dealings in discipline. So he can say, "You are good and do good." Because God is good, he wants God to teach him.

How full of grace God is as He follows us — though His government is righteous, and in general it must be! Sometimes He breaks the heart in kindness, as He knows how, when we have wandered away from Him. So the subdued heart comes to know God in His goodness: "You are good and do good." The desire of the heart is after God's ways. Now, "teach me your statutes" — that is the goodness the heart seeks.

The affliction was very necessary. It certainly works together for good to those who love God, leading them to keep His Word. With full confidence about God, we may gladly say, "You are good" (v. 68). This stands in contrast to all others, as the Lord Jesus told a ruler in Israel, "No one is good except God alone" (Luke 18:19). If the ruler had only realised that Jesus is God, he would not have addressed Him as he did. But since God is absolutely good, it follows that He does good. And since this is true, are our hearts not moved with deep desire that He would teach us His statutes?

In all this we find One over all who is good and does good, whose acts truly agree with His nature. What a joy, then, to be taught His statutes, which enlighten the conscience and keep moral sight clear. In the darkness of a cave the eye is well known to waste away from simple disuse.

In God's wisdom and knowledge there is a depth of riches. No creature can ever measure it, however high that creature stands. His judgments must be unsearchable, His ways past finding out to us (see Rom. 11:33-36). So there we have to stop. We rest on the assurance that because He is good, all His arrangements and choices must be good too. "You are good and do good," said the believer of Old Testament days (Ps. 119:68).

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and through the instruments grace uses He can teach us the will of God (John 14:26). So let us echo the psalmist's prayer to the Lord: "…teach me your statutes." And remember what a statute means: "a divine direction to get our obedience, and to keep us from disobedience."

God is good and does good. No one could come to Him without receiving good, for He is good. But to hide away from Him can only bring evil and sorrow, now and for ever. The servants of the Lord have this business: to proclaim the goodness of God, and to proclaim it again. He is much slandered in these days, and it is a sad mark of the state of men that they would rather believe the lie about God than the truth, because the god of this world (the devil) has blinded their minds (2 Cor. 4:4).

The psalmist is suffering from the slander of men. Their character is plain to see: they are the proud. They have a spirit of rebellion against restraint — literally, they boil up, like water. Simply bringing the heart under God stirs up their opposition. They slander what they have no wish to copy. In answer, he declares that he keeps the LORD's precepts with his whole heart.

While the godly man was going astray, the wicked took no notice of him. Now that he has returned to the path of obedience, they tell lies about him. But the lies of the enemy only energize the psalmist to keep the truth with his whole heart. In their prosperity the wicked care nothing for God's law. The restored soul delights in it.

Here we have the first mention of the adversary. Verses 69 and 70 show how much we need the Word of God to strengthen us in trouble, as the title over this section points out. Satan is called "the accuser of our brothers," and also "a liar and the father of lies." His children of course share the same character. This verse says they "have forged a lie" against the godly man.

Let us never be surprised when this happens to us. However, if they are busy forging lies, let us who love the truth be busy with the Word of God. The verse here helps us as it goes on: "with my whole heart I keep your precepts."

"The proud," that is, those who think they are good, have forged a lie against others they think are not as good as themselves. But in the end, will a lie ever hurt us? No! God makes all things work together for good to those who love Him. So our hearts can be free to keep God's precepts. This very attitude gains a complete victory over all the falsity of the enemy.

You should earnestly seek to be whole-hearted in your Christian life and testimony. Observe how many times the phrase, "whole heart," occurs in Psalm 119. It carries the thought that thoroughness must mark everyone who has to do with God.

"Give me understanding," he says again in his earnestness, "that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart." Two things belong together here: the "whole heart" and keeping the law "to the end." In the next verse he says again, "I delight in your law." So there is no slavery in this. A man held by his affections is the freest man there is, and that is the case here.

Verse 70: TAH-PHASH … "without feeling (fat as grease)"

The use of this symbol, fat, is familiar enough in the word. "Their heart is fat as grease." "Jeshurun grew fat and kicked." "They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly." It is the energy and force of the inward will, the inward parts of a man's heart.

When he was going astray the wicked were indifferent to the godly man. Now that he has returned to the path of obedience, they speak lies about him. But the lies of the enemy only energize the psalmist to keep the truth with his whole heart. The wicked in their prosperity are completely indifferent to God's law. The restored soul delights in it.

The psalmist is suffering from the slander of men. Their character is plain: they are the proud. They have a spirit of rebellion against restraint — literally, men who boil up, like water. The mere subjection of the heart to God rouses the opposition of such men, who slander what they have no mind to imitate. In answer he says that he keeps Jehovah's precepts with his whole heart. But their heart is as fat as grease. Their coarse nature hinders every right affection: "for me," he says, "I delight in Your law."

"Their heart is as fat as grease" (v. 70). That is, those who were proud of themselves had in effect insulated their hearts against the truth of God. That leaves people grossly dull. How great is the contrast in the believer, who delights in God's law!

He had been under discipline. Before this he had gone astray. Now he had come into the spirit and path of obedience. He sees the proud lying against him, and their heart fat as grease — no link in state or obedience with Jehovah. And he sees how good it was to have been afflicted, so that he might learn Jehovah's statutes.

The kidneys, the seat of the feelings, and the fat, the expression of human will in the energy of life (Job 15:27; Ps. 17:10; Ps. 119:70), are here offered to God — surely expressing Him who came not to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him (John 6:38).

(vv. 65–67) The servant of the Lord justifies God in His dealings, however painful. "You have dealt well with your servant." There was a time when the servant dealt badly with God, for he says, "I went astray." Then God, in mercy, dealt with him by chastening — "I was afflicted." Affliction broke his will. Now he submits to God's will.

He had been under discipline. Before this he had gone astray. Now he had come into the spirit and path of obedience... Nothing marks the setting right of the soul more than the turning to Jehovah's will — "Lord, what will you have me to do?" Such a soul counts everything good that leads to this, and that gives God's will its authority and its proper place in the heart.

The school of affliction is where the best lessons of faith are learned. That school is necessary, because even God's saints do not learn in any other way — at least, few learn deeply outside it. Human nature is so deeply evil that few lessons are learned without tears. The Father has to chasten every son He receives.

A sick bed often teaches more than a sermon; we see the ugly face of sin most clearly in the mirror of affliction.

The affliction was very necessary, and it certainly works together for good to those who love God, leading them to keep His Word. With complete confidence in God, we may gladly say, "You are good" (v. 68)... And since this is true, are our hearts not moved with a deep desire that He would teach us His statutes?

When affliction or death comes to a wicked man, it takes away his soul; when it comes to a godly man it only takes away his sin... "when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world" (1 Cor. 11:32). He works sin out and works grace in.

Afflictions make the godly better, but afflictions make the wicked worse. The godly pray more (Ps. 130:1). The wicked blaspheme more... Every plague on Egypt increased the plague of hardness in Pharaoh's heart. Affliction on the godly is like crushing spices: they become sweeter and more fragrant. Affliction on the wicked is like pounding weeds with a pestle, which only makes them fouler.

And the very affliction he has passed through has served him. It made him learn more deeply the character of those statutes he suffered for breaking. We all must be aware how surely we learn this way. As a result, the law of Jehovah's mouth now has a value for him beyond earthly riches. It is his real possession.

In the middle of such service, my Father and God saw it right and necessary to afflict me. I can truly say, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes."

In affliction he has learned to value the Word above the thousands of gold and silver that the proud boast in. So he can say, "It is good for me that I was afflicted."

The very affliction he has passed through has served him. It made him learn more deeply the character of those statutes — the very statutes he broke, and suffered for breaking. Everyone must know how surely we learn this way. As a result, the law of Jehovah's mouth has taken on a value beyond earthly riches: it is his real possession.

The law of God's mouth is precious above all. It is the expression of His own perfect mind and will, and of His will about us. We live by it, but we live on it too, and with delight, as coming from Him and perfect for us.

Verse 72 contrasts thousands of gold and silver with the law of Your mouth. The Psalmist chooses the law, that is, the Word of God. What do we choose? The meaning of the word "Law" is: a divine instruction about our conduct and our character. Its root meaning is "to guide." The writer would give up anything, gold or silver, for God's guidance in his life. He longs to know the Lord's will for every step of the way.

"Better than silver or gold." Tell this to a man of the world and he will think you are mad. Of course it is better than thousands of gold and silver. Of course it is above fine gold. It deals with eternal issues. The new Christians in Ephesus had the right idea in Acts 19. They destroyed unholy books — books of sorcery that directly opposed God's word. The cost in money was enormous. But that did not matter to them. They had something better than silver or gold. Luke tells us they destroyed 50,000 drachmas' worth. A drachma was a day's wage for an ordinary working man, so that is about 150 years of wages — a huge sum.

It is a small thing to say to Him, "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." If saying it with the psalmist costs our soul an effort, we know very little of the sweetness of that true honeycomb. But we should also learn to say: may Your testimonies, Lord, be my counsellor as well as my delight! By them may Your servant be warned, and in keeping them find great reward!

If we are not living in His presence day by day, we will find no precious treasure in His words (Ps. 119:72).

This eightfold new-covenant Psalm shows us how God will write the law in the heart and mind of the godly Jewish remnant. In the end they will own Jesus as the Christ, with all sins forgiven and forgotten. Then the soul sings from experience, "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces."

The psalmist here recognizes and considers the actions and ways of God with him. What he considers first is that God's hands have made him (v. 73). God fashioned him in a distinct way, for every individual is distinct, not cast in the same mould at all. Amazing fact! For the works of men are so limited that they would be helpless to imitate the great variety of God's works. But the psalmist also recognizes how limited his understanding is. So he pleads with God for at least enough understanding to learn His commandments.

Job adds to this: "Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether" (Job 10:8). Let God be true, and every man a liar. Let me study the circulatory system, plasma, the nervous system, the brain, the eye or any other part of the body … "give me understanding …," and I will know that God created me, and that I am a responsible, intelligent human being answerable to Him.

The basic fact here is a Creator-God. He must therefore be for the work of His hands. His hands have made us, and not roughly, but fashioned us so as to be witnesses of His handiwork. He must intend, then, that His creature fill the place He made him for. He will not deny the understanding needed for this. Psalm 139 dwells on this argument at length. The New Testament puts it in the strongest possible way for the Christian. Here we can speak of new creation, and of the word of God as that by which He has given us birth to Himself. There is no fear that He may deny it to us. To us it is like milk to a newborn baby — the one thing its nature must have.

The soul now looks to God, depending on Him for man's very being. So He should direct and guide it. Peter wrote the same thing: we entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Only the heart that knows Him in grace can do this. Otherwise we seek our own will in resistance to Him. But once we know Him, we know Him in all that He is, according to the truth of His nature in grace… I only exist by Your work. So make me walk with a heart set by You and a path guided by You.

The Lord's servant owns that he is the creature of God's hands. So he pleads for understanding, that he may learn the will of God and walk in a way that suits his Creator.

To learn the divine commandments, the creature needs understanding from his Creator. The knowledge gained in this way brings joy to those who fear the Lord.

The Lord's servant admits that God's hands made him. So he asks for understanding, to learn the will of God and to walk in a way that fits his Creator. All who fear the Lord will gladly recognise the man who acknowledges God in this way and trusts His Word.

The psalmist looks to the Lord as a faithful Creator, and counts on those who fear Him. He afflicted for good, and so He would also show loving-kindness.

They also recognise one another as belonging to a company known even then as a family of faith. So the psalmist says here: "Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice" — a joyful glance of recognition. And here is the mark by which they recognise each other: "because I have hoped in your word."

"I know, Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me." So three things are recognised here: God, His people, and the relationship between them. His word has authority over them all. It is their joyful confidence, and His acts always match it.

Those who fear God will be glad to recognise one another and enjoy their fellowship, because their mutual hope is in the Word of God (v. 74), and they have full confidence that His judgments are right. This involves the recognition that it is God's faithfulness that sees fit to send affliction to His servants. Yet along with the affliction he desires God's merciful kindness to be his comfort (v. 76). These are not contrary to one another, both being fully in accord with the Word God has spoken.

The apostle Paul speaks of this in Philippians 1:14: "And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." They had seen how Paul could rejoice in the middle of persecution and trial, and how he had hoped in the Word of the Lord. How do others see you and me? Whether we are aware of it or not, we are an influence for good or for bad. So we are strongly reminded of our own responsibility to be a help and a blessing, and not a hindrance.

His dependence is not just a passive admission that he owes God in a general way. It is an active, whole-hearted dependence that calls on God. It is so earnest that it makes the believer rise before dawn to cry to the Lord. And his dependence comes out of confidence, for he can say, "I hoped in your word." So the godly man is marked by dependence, obedience, and confidence.

When the soul truly knows God, it rises up to justify Him in His ways, however painful. So the heart knows in a double way that His judgments are right. They are His, and we know what He is. He cannot but do rightly, and more than that, rightly towards us. He is faithful to us in goodness. But then, second, we see that it is morally right. God ought not to allow evil — above all, not in His people. For their good He could not.

But there is a third thing now. It assures us of a Living Presence — not only at the beginning or in the past, but continuing right through human history. He stays faithful to His own nature, which is holy, and faithful to His people in His dealings with them. So in these three things, God, His people, and the relationship between them are all recognised.

When the awakened soul, like the dying criminal, justifies God and condemns himself, he is on the eve of forgiveness and blessing. And when the believer under chastisement justifies God, the end is reached, for he has "heard" the rod and who appointed it.

Even in afflicting him, God had acted in faithfulness. While submitting to God's faithful dealings, he can, in the middle of affliction, count on God's merciful kindness to comfort him, and on His tender mercy to spare him.

Let the sufferer simply say, "It is Your hand," "I know that in faithfulness You have afflicted me." The Scriptures are full of this precious truth for the child of God. It leads us past every apparent cause, past all human instruments, and even past Satan himself. Then we see that Hand which "will never cause His child a needless tear." So our blessed Lord took that great affliction at the hands of God: "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"

God's judgments are meant to break down the pride and unbelief of the heart. They do this wherever there is the least trace of submission to Him, the least desire to turn from wickedness to Himself. This is what all chastening does in those who are truly trained by it: "For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" God's people have known the rod from the beginning. How many have had reason to bless Him beyond measure for the overthrow of idols they had set up, the loss of property, of health, yes, even of life itself!

"He humbled himself greatly," as well he might, for his guilt was indeed very great. "When he was in affliction" — no doubt he owned that his punishment was just. "I know, O LORD," he could say, "that Your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."

He not only owns that God has fashioned him, but he justifies God in all His dealings with him. Even in afflicting him God had acted in faithfulness. He submits to God's faithful dealings. Yet in the middle of affliction he can still count on God's merciful kindness to comfort him, and on His tender mercy to spare him.

The psalmist looks to the Lord as a faithful Creator, and counts on those who fear Him. As He afflicted for good, so would He show loving-kindness.

This means recognizing that God's faithfulness sees fit to send affliction to His servants. Yet along with the affliction he desires God's merciful kindness to be his comfort (v. 76). These are not contrary to one another, both being fully in accord with the Word God has spoken.

Merely looking for relief is self-will. If we got that relief, it might bring us more sorrow. But a will that is subdued and broken under chastening is right to desire mercy. It knows this side of God's character, and it wants Him to show it, if possible.

The sense that the chastening comes from God gives submission. And when that submission is complete, it also gives the desire for His favour. One still wants relief. But a subdued heart, while it naturally wants relief, seeks God's favour in it, and comfort from God, not in self-will: "Let your steadfast love comfort me." The apostle speaks of "God, who comforts the downcast."

He prays that His loving-kindness may be his comfort, according to His promise to him. For God has pledged Himself to His people. It was not enough for Him to say, "You know Me, and that I cannot err or do wrong. Let this be enough for you." We are too frail, too dim-sighted, too little able to see His ways in advance. That could not satisfy us, or satisfy Him about us. So divine love has pledged itself to us and made its covenant with man. And if His word is not enough, He swears as well: "by two unchangeable things" — "His word and His oath" — "we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us." (Heb. 6:17-18.)

So we may come with "confidence" to what Scripture calls a "throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16), to find help for the whole way that is His way for us. For any other way we could neither expect nor rightly desire it. This is the force of "according to Your word to Your servant" here. For prayer is crippled, and we lose confidence in it, if our wills fight against God's will.

Like the psalmist we can pray this prayer: "Please let Your mercy be for my comfort…" (literal rendering). We are so vulnerable, so frail, so weak, so insignificant, but He knows our frailty! That is why we need Him to enfold us in His arms. What comfort a little child finds in his mother's arms when he has fallen!

The mercies of God are "tender mercies." They are the mercies of a father to his children — as tender as a mother's compassion for the son she bore. They "come to" us when we are not able to go to them. By them alone we live the life of faith, of love, of joy and gladness. And God will grant these mercies, and this life, to those who delight in His law. He will give them pardon, and in doing so He will give them "life from the dead."

Here we invite a Visitor, and we expect Him to bring what we so badly need at this moment. There has been failure. I have failed in my responsibility. I am conscious of defeat and am discouraged. I hesitate to come to Him, but He is already "on the way" to me to lift me up and comfort me.

The same argument runs into this verse: "For Your law is my delight." So He can freely show His tender mercies. They are so necessary for life itself in a world of conflict — so necessary for strengthening spiritual life.

He not only owns that God has fashioned him, but he justifies God in all His dealings with him. Even in afflicting him God had acted in faithfulness. He submits to God's faithful dealings. Even in the middle of affliction, he can count on God's merciful kindness to comfort him, and on His tender mercy to spare him. He can plead this with a clear conscience, for God's law is his delight. There was a time when he went astray and sought his own will; now he delights in God's will.

Merely looking for relief is self-will. If we got it, it might bring us more sorrow. But a will subdued and broken under chastening is right to desire mercy. It knows this side of God's character, and it longs for Him to show it, if possible. In this case it can plead its integrity. The desire is right when submission is complete, so that the heart feels the goodness to be in God. So here, "For Your law is my delight."

But does not David say, "Your law is my delight" (Ps. 119:77)? A Hebrew concordance shows that the Hebrew has six different words for "law." … Another word, tohr-ah, appears 25 times in Psalm 119, and the margin of Psalm 19:7 translates it "doctrine." … "Law" here no doubt covers the whole teaching of the Lord to His people, whether in the Ten Commandments or elsewhere. For the Christian, he is in Christ, and he is "to walk as he walked." That is the standard.

Whatever name the law goes by, it no longer threatens condemnation and death. It is perfect delight and liberty.

God had dealt with him faithfully, for his good. But the proud had dealt perversely with him, and without a cause. He looks for them to be ashamed.

He had met with reproach and contempt. Princes too had been talking against him (22, 23, 42), so he asks the LORD not to let him be put to shame (31). The proud had mocked him, yet he had not turned aside from God's law (51). They forged a lie against him (69), and overthrew him wrongfully (78).

This brings him to the conflict. He prays that the proud may be ashamed — those who assert their own independent will. In his case that will proved to be nothing but perversity and falsehood. For him, God's precepts were his meditation.

If anyone is to be ashamed, let it be the proud who do not hesitate to act in falsehood, treating the godly wrongfully. But instead of meeting such treatment with resentment, the psalmist has set himself to use his time more wisely: he meditates on God's precepts. This is an example we should follow with care.

He sees that God has rebuked them and that they are under a curse. There is no need to answer those whom God rebukes. So the psalmist stays silent when they speak harshly, and finds his delight and counsel in God's testimonies.

He senses that the proud will is what God judges. In the time of grace the Christian wants that will to be changed. Yet he knows that not everyone has faith. Here the wish that they be ashamed matches the righteous character of God. The faithful one keeps himself apart, and meditates on God's revealed will.

The Lord Jesus Christ could say: "They hated Me without a cause" (Ps. 35:19; Ps. 69:4; John 15:25). How then could those "proud" who deal perversely, be made "ashamed"? Surely when they find no real reason to criticise or condemn us — nothing inconsistent, nothing offensive in our lives? When they see our good works they must give glory to God! "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

What kind of people are we? What impression do we give to others? What influence do we spread around us? Is it positive? Are we like the Lord Jesus? Or do we come across as superior, arrogant, unpleasant? Do we give others cause to oppose us in any way?

The tenth part has two main thoughts. Jehovah is his Creator — He has formed him. He looks to Him to guide His own poor creature as a faithful Creator... Second, he knows that God has afflicted him in that very faithfulness. So now he looks for mercies to come to him, for the proud to be ashamed, and for those who fear Jehovah to turn to him. All this is linked with soundness in Jehovah's statutes.

(vv. 79–80) He has sought the comfort of the Lord in his affliction. Now he desires the sympathy of the saints — "Let those who fear You turn to me." Encouraged in this way, he desires that his heart may be found perfect in God's Word, so that he may not, like the proud, be ashamed.

If anyone is to be ashamed, let it be the proud who do not hesitate to act in falsehood, treating the godly wrongfully. But the psalmist does not answer such treatment with resentment. He has set his heart on spending his time more wisely, meditating on God's precepts. This is surely an example for us to follow closely, as verse 79 implies... Others should recognize that the godly are wrongfully used, and they will do so if they know God's testimonies.

But for the believer there is a second and more subtle danger than this, because it looks more reasonable. It is to isolate himself more and more as he sees the growth of indifference and worldliness among the children of God. This tendency is completely opposed to God's thought for His own. And it is exactly in view of these times of ruin that the prophet says to us, "Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another." (Mal. 3:16.) The apostasy does not isolate those who fear the Lord; it drives them to come together. As the psalmist says, "I am a companion of all who fear You." (Ps. 119:63.)

Still, all the way through, the address is direct, immediate, insistent. It is "God and I" dealing face to face. No go-between and no third party; no helper alongside. The exchange is personal, private, precious and prevailing.

To apply this psalm directly is to lower the divine standard of thought for the saint now. But the kind of moral exercise in it can teach us a great deal. Being subject to God and trusting Him in trial is always right, even though its form in the Jew falls far below the Christian's.

The tenth part has two main thoughts. Jehovah is his Creator — He has formed him. He looks to Him to guide His own poor creature as a faithful Creator. Those who fear Jehovah will be glad when they see him, because they hope in His word. Second, he knows that God afflicted him in real faithfulness. Now he looks for mercies to come to him, for the proud to be ashamed, and for those who fear Jehovah to turn to him. All this is linked with soundness in Jehovah's statutes.

This seems to be the key verse of this section. What a prayer this is! The literal sense is: "Let my heart be blameless in Your statutes so that I may not be ashamed." Verse 78 speaks of the "perverse." Yet might there not be a measure of hypocrisy in any one of us? Pretending to be so pious and spiritual on the outside, yet not totally yielded to the Lord Jesus? It is only when the Holy Spirit fills and directs and guides us that we shall be kept blameless. Then we shall not be ashamed before our own consciences, before the world's scrutiny, or ashamed in a coming day before the judgment seat of Christ.

Conscience and spiritual discernment go together. Shame does not come from people disapproving of us. It comes from a conscience that is not good according to God's revealed will… If my mind and soul have seen how excellent God's way is, then my conscience makes me ashamed when I am out of that way in every respect.

Nor can this be haughtiness on his own side when he claims it. No, he has need of the mercy of God to be shown to himself also, so that his heart may be made perfect in His statutes, and that he himself may not be ashamed.

He has sought the comfort of the Lord in his affliction; now he desires the sympathy of the saints — "Let those who fear you turn to me." Encouraged in this way, he desires that his heart may be found perfect in God's Word, so that he may not be ashamed as the proud are.

Sad to say, there are some who will be ashamed before Him at His coming (1 John 2:28). This will be at the judgment seat of Christ, when we will see all our pathway down here as through His eyes. And what is the secret for us now, so that then we shall not be ashamed? Only this: "And now, little children, abide in Him!"

We cannot help ourselves; nor can anyone else help us. That is why we have this heartfelt cry: "My soul is being consumed for Your salvation…" (literal rendering). It is good to realise day by day what we sometimes sing in a hymn: "Now none but Christ can satisfy." Have we found this secret yet?

Verses 81-88 go further. The pressure of the power of evil is greater, and the cry more earnest, but the word is fully trusted. This blessed revelation of God Himself, of His will and favour, that in which He cannot lie, maintains the heart through all. How precious to have a revelation of Himself as sure as Himself!

The godly man in trouble had looked to the Lord for comfort (v. 76), but the answer is slow and the pressure grows. He faints for deliverance. His eyes fail as he looks for the word to be fulfilled… Still, the deepening trial only brings out his confidence in God. His soul may faint, but hope in the Word of God remains: his eyes may fail, but faith still looks to God for comfort.

In the extreme of necessity, his soul fainting for the deliverance that can come from God alone, His word is what he waits on in hope. There is plenty of comfort there, which still needs a living God to make it good. Faith fearlessly stakes everything on Him for this. But He sometimes seems slow to make His pledge good. This leaves room for exercise. That exercise is not against faith after all. It assumes faith, and faith finds in it its only means of existence. Faith has to do with what is not seen.

Do we detect a note of impatience? "When will You comfort me?" Had he not been hoping in His word? (v. 81). Why does the Lord not act quickly? Do not let appearances discourage you… We sometimes want to limit the Lord to our timing. But we should leave everything in His hands. He is never too late. We must learn to persevere in faith and hope and the study of His Word, and take our eyes off our circumstances.

Here the prayer is urgent, as wickedness grows fast and he feels his weakness in the severest trial. This is not the hope of the Christian, who like Christ is to go on high. It is deliverance, as Israel expects and shall have, when God's judgments fall openly on the enemy.

In deep distress and exercise of soul the afflicted one looks for the Lord's salvation and the comfort of His word… In these hard conditions the righteous look to the Lord for help in their extremity. They count on His life-giving power, which gives the strength to keep His testimony.

The godly man in trouble had looked to the Lord for comfort (v. 76), but the answer is delayed and the pressure expands. He faints for deliverance; the eyes fail in looking for the fulfilment of the word... Nevertheless, the deepening trial only serves to bring out his confidence in God. His soul may faint, but hope in the Word of God remains: his eyes may fail, but faith still looks to God for comfort.

Conscious of being under attack, the writer seeks refuge with the Lord and His Word. His only hope is in the Lord, and so it is for you and me.

His need is at its worst, and his soul faints for a deliverance that God alone can give. God's word is what he waits on in hope. There is plenty of comfort in that word, but it still takes a living God to make it good. The word boldly pledges God to do it; yet the pledge sometimes seems long in being redeemed. So there is room for testing, and testing is not against faith after all. It assumes faith, and only in faith can it exist: faith has to do with what is not seen.

Do we detect a note of impatience? "When will You comfort me?" Had he not been hoping in His word? (v. 81). Why doesn't the Lord act quickly? "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). Do not let yourself be discouraged by appearances... We sometimes want to limit the Lord to our time. Sometimes we cannot see the reason for such and such a thing. But we should leave everything in His hands. He is never too late. We must learn to persevere in faith and hope and the study of His Word, and take our eyes off our circumstances.

This blessed revelation of God Himself, of His will and favour, is the one thing in which He cannot lie, and it holds the heart up through everything. How precious it is to have a revelation of Himself that is as sure as He is!... But he was a poor, short-lived creature, and if he was to taste mercy it was time for God to act... So sorrow itself and great pressure, where there is integrity, become a plea with God.

It is necessary for us to get to the end of ourselves, to despair of our self-sufficiency. When we get to the end of our own resources, then we realise that our Father's full giving has only just begun. We feel empty like a wineskin left in the smoke. Our spiritual energy seems shrivelled up. When we realise our own nothingness, then we are ready for His fullness to be shown on our behalf.

Aware of all this, the believer turns to God — not only for outward deliverance, but for new life within. Revived in soul, he will be able to walk in obedience to the Word.

He had become like a wineskin in smoke. The wineskin was meant to hold the wine that makes the heart of man glad. But the smoke had darkened it and defeated that purpose, so he felt dried up and unable to work as he should. "Yet," he says, "I have not forgotten Your statutes."

He is really exhausted. The strain and stress have been unbearable. Of course Satan's strategy is to wear us out! It was by the constant nagging of Delilah that Samson's soul was "vexed to death" (Judges 16:16). She wore him out.

The godly man in trouble had looked to the Lord for comfort (v. 76), but the answer is slow to come and the pressure grows. He faints as he waits for rescue. His eyes fail as he looks for the word to be fulfilled. In soul he becomes dried and withered like a bottle in the smoke. Still, the deepening trial only brings out his confidence in God. His soul may faint, but his hope in the Word of God remains. His soul may be withered, but it does not forget God's statutes.

He is in the deepest need. His soul faints for a rescue that can come from God alone. God's word is what he waits on in hope. There is plenty of comfort in it, yet it still needs a living God to make it good. The word pledges Him for this without fear; but the pledge sometimes seems slow to be paid. So there is room for the soul to be exercised, and this after all is not against faith. It assumes faith, and faith finds in it its only way of living: for faith has to do with what is not seen.

Verses 81-88 go further. The pressure of the power of evil is greater, and the cry more earnest, but he trusts the word completely. God has revealed Himself, His will and His favour, and in this He cannot lie. This blessed revelation holds the heart up through everything. How precious it is to have a revelation of Himself as sure as Himself! He appeals on two grounds: the extreme of his distress — he is dried up like a bottle in the smoke — and the fact that he dare not forget God's statutes... So sorrow itself and great pressure, where there is integrity, become a plea with God.

It is necessary for us to get to the end of ourselves, to despair of our self-sufficiency. When we get to the end of our own resources, then we realise that our Father's full giving has only just begun. We may feel empty like a bottle in the smoke. Our spiritual energy may seem shrivelled up like a wineskin. When we realise our own nothingness in this way, then we are ready for Him to show His fullness on our behalf.

They count on His life-giving power, which gives them the strength to keep His testimony.

The exercises of a saint whose prayer remains for a while unanswered.

The godly man in trouble had looked to the Lord for comfort (v. 76), but the answer is delayed and the pressure grows. He faints for deliverance. His eyes fail as he looks for the word to be fulfilled. He becomes dried and withered in soul, like a wineskin in the smoke. Yet the deepening trial only brings out his confidence in God. His soul may faint, but hope in the Word of God remains; his eyes may fail, but faith still looks to God for comfort. His soul may be withered, but it does not forget God's statutes. Life is brief, the days are slipping away; when will God end the trial?

In verse 84 he raises the fact that his days are so short. Yet God does not step in to defend him against those who keep persecuting him. But if we look at things from the viewpoint of our limited days, we fall short of a proper viewpoint. For one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Yet we all find it very hard to accept God's viewpoint.

But he feels how brief his days are. So he pleads for the judgment Israel needs before their earthly promises can be fulfilled. When will that time come? … Meanwhile the pits dug by the proud open in front of them, unchecked by Jewish law. The psalmist thinks of those commandments. By upholding righteousness, they must imply a God who will be faithful to the righteous. So he can plead them as if they were promises — "faithful commandments." And he too has tried to be faithful to them. That is why he seeks his shelter from those who persecute him wrongfully.

In the eleventh section the cry becomes more urgent. He is under the pressure of trial, and his soul faints for deliverance. He looks to Jehovah to carry out judgment, because he is walking in Jehovah's precepts. And the proud persecute him wrongfully — they pay no attention to Jehovah or to His law.

Though the time seems endless, it is God's wisdom that delays the answer. Part of the reason is that He is patient toward the ungodly. But He also knows how much His servants need a long trial of heart, so that faith may be both tested and strengthened.

What would not be suitable on our lips is quite suitable on theirs, for when God is about to take up His "strange work" of judgment, it is right to ask Him to do it quickly. He is going to make it a short work in the earth — only what is short to Him may seem long to the creature.

The saint turns to God. He asks not only for outward deliverance, but for inward quickening, so that, revived in soul, he may walk in obedience to the Word.

In deep distress and searching of soul, the afflicted one looks for the Lord's salvation and the comfort of His word. He is weak, like a leather bottle in the smoke, and it seems as if his days are few. This is because of the proud persecutors. They set themselves against the will of the Lord and seek the downfall of the righteous. In these hard conditions the righteous look to Jehovah for help when they are pressed to the limit. They count on His life-giving power, which gives the strength to keep His testimony.

But this delight in the word gives a true estimate of man in the world: the "proud" man acts from his own will and sets himself up. He may seem to succeed and scoff at God. He is under a curse, he strays from the one true way of man — God's way. Lifting up our own will must bring a curse. In doing that we are away from God and in rebellion against Him, as all acting of human will is. Godliness does more than make a man a stranger here, which is a settled thing for the heart. It also brings cruel mocking, because proud man will not be subject to God.

He is surrounded by transgressors that grieve his spirit (v. 158), and enemies that oppress him (v. 134). Princes speak against him (v. 23), and persecute him without a cause (v. 161). The proud hold him in derision (v. 51), forge lies against him (v. 69), and dig pits for his overthrow (v. 85). The wicked lay snares for his feet (v. 110), and lie in wait for his destruction (v. 95). He is held in reproach and contempt (v. 22); in the eyes of the world he is little and despised (v. 141).

(vv. 85-87) In confidence of heart, the afflicted soul spreads out the trial before God. The proud had dug pits to trap him; they persecuted him wrongfully; they almost destroyed him from the land. Moreover, not only do the wicked oppose the people of God but they oppose God Himself. Their actions are not according to God's law; they are wrongful in God's sight; they forsake God's precepts. God is not unmindful of the sorrows of the saints, and He cannot ignore the evil ways of the wicked.

The sorrow he was suffering was man's pride at work, and it was not according to the word which God made good and owned. Yet that word was, all of it, faithful, and the persecution wrongful. It had gone very far. He was almost destroyed in the land, the very place of promise and God's power. Yet he did not forsake God's precepts… So sorrow itself and great pressure, where there is integrity, become a plea with God.

Meanwhile the pits of the proud gape open before them, and Israel's law does not hold the proud back. The psalmist thinks of those commandments. Because they uphold righteousness, they imply a God who will be faithful to the righteous. So he can plead them as if they were promises — "faithful commandments." He too has tried to be faithful to them. He therefore seeks his shelter in the sanctuary from those who persecute him unjustly.