Thou, Jehovah, art near, and all thy commandments are truth.
Two lines stand side by side in this part of Psalm 119: those chasing after harm are close, and the LORD is close. The psalmist does not measure his enemies. He names who else is on the field, and he holds to a word that danger cannot change.
The verse before speaks of pursuers closing in; this verse answers with a second nearness. One writer sets the two side by side. He points to the morning when the prophet Elisha's servant woke to find the city of Dothan ringed by an enemy army.
There were two armies around Dothan that day. The servant saw the Syrians and lost heart; the prophet saw the heavenly armies and was confident. As the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 119:150-151, "They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose… (but) You are near." Danger may be close at hand, but God is nearer to us than all our foes. We may well ask ourselves which army we see today. Is it the crowd of those who hate us, or the company of "ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation" (Heb. 1:14)?
Knowing that God is near is not automatic. One writer traces where this discovery comes from.
Because he depends on the Lord with his whole heart, he makes a discovery. Though his enemies draw near to do him harm, the Lord is near to preserve. And His commandments are truth, firmly established for ever.
The word "near" cuts both ways in this psalm. The wicked draw near too. One writer explains why their nearness counts for nothing.
Some drew near who follow after wickedness, but this is only hypocrisy, because in fact they are far from God's law and therefore far from God (v. 150). But the Lord is near, for the sake of all those who draw near to Him in truth, who recognise His commandments as truth. For concerning His testimonies, every believer can agree that God has founded them for ever, whether he has known this for a long time or not.
The two halves of the verse belong together. One writer pictures what happens when the wicked come up against them.
He is not left undisturbed. The wicked are near, and threatening mischief; enemies in heart and will to what occupies him. But the LORD too is near, the Rock on which all these waves break in vain. The truth stands, and nothing can change it. That is what His commandments are. Yes, His testimonies have long been known as fixed for ever on His own unchangeable foundations.
It might seem needless to say that what God commands is true. One writer notes that the psalm says it anyway, and that the reason lies in where the word comes from.
This is obvious, given the source, but it is still emphasised here, so I will emphasise it. God's word is true.
Nearness to God does something inside a person too. One writer describes what a sense of His presence produces when an enemy is in view.
The sense of His presence gives joy, calmness, and courage in the presence of the enemy, and in the difficulties of the way we rest in Him. The presence of God, a true and real thing for the heart, keeps the conscience awake and the heart filled with quiet confidence.
- Near, and nearer. Two parties close in on the psalmist at once. The pursuers are near, but God is nearer than every foe. The question is which army you see.
- Near because dependent. Whole-hearted dependence on the Lord is what finds Him near to preserve.
- Near in truth. The wicked can come close and still be far from God's law and from God. Real nearness belongs to those who recognise His commandments as truth.
- Near and unmoved. God is the Rock, and the waves of the wicked break on Him in vain. His commandments are truth, and nothing can alter truth.
- Near and steadying. A felt sense of His presence gives calm and courage in front of the enemy, and keeps the heart in quiet confidence.
From thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
Enemies press close in this part of the psalm. The psalmist answers them with something he learned long ago from God's testimonies: God founded them to last for ever.
Two things are near at once. Enemies threaten the psalmist, but his answer is not that the danger is small. God is nearer still, and what God has said stands on ground nobody can shift.
The wicked are near, and threatening mischief; enemies in heart and will to what occupies him. But the Lord is near too, the Rock on which all these waves break in vain. The truth abides: nothing can alter that; and this is what His commandments are. Yes, His testimonies have long been known as fixed for ever on His own unchangeable foundations.
One writer puts it in a single line:
In the depths, the confidence of faith is in the word known of old to be for ever.
To say God founded His testimonies for ever says two things at once. Nothing can change them, and nothing can stop them coming true. That second half matters, because these verses are a cry for rescue. The psalmist is not asking for any deliverance he can get; he is asking for the deliverance God's own word has already promised.
Faith knew the Lord was near and the path plain. All His commandments were the one true path of security and of God. The Lord's testimonies were founded for ever. They could not change; they will be made good. Only God must come in, and that was his cry and demand here. These verses are a cry for deliverance. But if the cry is true and of God, it must be according to His word. It must make good for ever the truth of that word, in its moral testimonies, and as the foundation of hope.
The psalmist has known this for a long time, and he learned it from the testimonies themselves. But the length of his knowing does not make it true. God founded them, so a new believer stands on the same ground as an old one.
Some drew near who follow after wickedness, but this is only hypocrisy, because in fact they are far from God's law and therefore from God (v. 150). But the Lord is near, for the sake of all those who draw near to Him in truth, who recognise His commandments as truth. For concerning His testimonies, every believer can agree that God has founded them forever, whether he has known this for a long time or not.
Such confidence shows itself in a life. The lines just before this one show a man who prays before dawn and turns God's word over at night.
His dependence is not merely a passive admission that he owes God everything in a general way. It is an active, whole-hearted dependence that calls on God. It does so with a diligence that leads the believer to rise before dawn to cry to the Lord. What is more, his dependence is the outcome of confidence, for he can say, "I hoped in Your word." So the godly man is marked by dependence, obedience, and confidence. Further, the Word he trusts becomes the meditation of his heart, in the quiet of the night watches.
The same psalm says elsewhere that God's word is settled in the heavens for ever. One writer ties that line to this verse.
The source of this word is God, and springing from its source is the truth that the word exists outside of time. "Settled in the heavens for ever." That is a great statement — it stresses that there are no doubts about God's word; we need not fear that He will change His mind. Its truths and its existence are eternal. What God says in time is eternally true… What God has promised in His word is decreed and settled. Everything we as Christians bank on, we rely on because God's word says it. And it is fine: those things are settled in the heavens for ever. There is no reason to let any doubt creep in. Verse 152 says something similar.
- Foundation. God founded His testimonies on His own unchangeable foundations. And the Lord Himself is near, the Rock on which every wave of opposition breaks in vain.
- Unchanging. Founded for ever, they cannot change. God's word is settled in the heavens, so we need not fear that He will change His mind.
- Fulfilled. God will also make them good. The psalmist's cry for rescue asks only for what God's word has already promised.
- Shared. God makes them permanent, not the years we have known them. Every believer stands on the same ground, old or new.
- Formed. Such confidence bears fruit: the believer rises before dawn to call on God and turns His word over at night. Dependence, obedience, and confidence go together.