VAU. And let thy loving-kindness come unto me, O Jehovah, -- thy salvation according to thy word.
The sixth section of Psalm 119 opens with a request, not a resolve. The psalmist asks for God's mercies and His salvation, and he measures both by one phrase: "according to your promise." What should a believer under pressure ask for, and on what ground?
He asks for a taste of God's kindness, and he asks for it with a purpose in view.
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.
The verse names two things, and they are not the same. One is many; the other is single and complete.
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).
Read the whole psalm and one thing is missing: any hint of a second option. The writer never glances sideways for help.
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 phrase is not decoration. It sets both the limit and the confidence of the prayer. He asks only for what God has already said. Older translations render the phrase "according to your word."
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 reproach in view is a specific taunt: that God has abandoned him. Deliverance would be the reply.
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 psalmist could only wait for the salvation he names here. Christians look back on a work already done, and the ground of the prayer has not changed.
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."
Settled salvation does not end the asking. This verse asks in the present tense, and it fits the whole Christian life.
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.
- Ask. The section opens by asking for God's mercies and salvation. Grace comes first; courage and faithfulness follow.
- Ask on the promise. "According to your promise" is the ground of the prayer; he leans on what God has said, and asks for nothing beyond it.
- Ask God alone. Through the whole psalm he never looks to a second source of help. One writer calls that single-mindedness true integrity of heart.
- Ask for the answer. The deliverance he asks for is the reply to those who taunt him that God has left him.
- Ask daily. He waited for a salvation still to come. We can say, "He has saved us." Yet we need His mercies every day, and His faithfulness never fails.
So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me; for I confide in thy word.
Enemies mock the psalmist. His reply is not a clever comeback but a settled trust in what God has said. Two questions follow: what silences scorn, and where does the courage to speak come from?
The taunt here is not random abuse. It is aimed at the psalmist's faith itself — the claim that God has abandoned him. He asks God to act so that the accusation collapses.
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.
Older translations render this taunt as "reproach," and the word is strong. One writer looks past the people who speak the scorn to the source behind it.
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.
Notice the order in the verse: he does not say he has won, or that the pressure has lifted. He says he trusts — and the answer grows out of that.
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.
So the rescue he asks for and the reply he gives are two sides of one thing.
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.
The verse before this one asks for God's mercy and salvation. That plea is not separate from the answer here. It is what makes the answer possible.
Next he longs for the taste of the grace of the Lord, of His salvation as expressed here, to give him courage and faithfulness.
God's word is not one help among many. It is his only help, and so he dreads losing it.
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.
The same confidence that answers a mocker does not stop with him.
Sure of the Lord's salvation, he now becomes a witness both to the one who reproaches him and before kings.
One writer links this readiness to reply with Peter's instruction to believers, and with the manner it must take.
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).
- Mercy first. The verse before asks for God's steadfast love and salvation. That taste of grace supplies the courage to speak.
- Trust next. He leans on the promise while the rescue is still ahead. His confidence comes from the Word, not from relief already given.
- Answer then. The taunt is that God has forsaken him. God's kindness to His people is itself the reply to everyone who sneers.
- One weapon only. The Word is his only source of help. So he pleads to keep it in his mouth — lose it and the answer is gone.
- Then kings. The same assurance that answers a mocker carries him before kings. Peter names the manner: gentleness and respect.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; because I have hoped in thy judgments.
Enemies scorn the psalmist and say God has left him, and his only answer is the word he begs God not to take from his mouth. What loss does he fear, and why does he tie that prayer to hope in God's judgments?
He asks God to rescue him in line with what God has promised. That rescue would itself answer the men who call him forsaken.
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 fear is not that Scripture would turn out to be false. It is that he would no longer be in a position to stand behind it — and the fear itself is a measure of how much he prizes it.
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 salvation he waits for is still ahead of him, and he knows he may be weak in standing for the word.
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.
Believers today rest on the same word, but one thing has changed.
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."
His hope rests on God acting in line with what He has already said. Where the ESV says "rules," older translations say "judgments."
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.
Another writer reads the same line as a man with nothing else to fall back on.
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.
Being ready with an answer takes preparation, and sin in the life takes the answer away.
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".
- Reproach — The setting is scorn from enemies who say God has abandoned him; the word in his mouth is his only answer to them.
- Word — What he asks to keep is "the word of truth," the same ground believers rest on now, though we can say of our salvation, "He has saved us."
- Removal — Losing the word from his mouth is not losing confidence that it is true, but losing the standing to back it by faith; he dreads it because he treasures it.
- Judgments — His hope is that God will act on what God has spoken, and that expectation is what keeps him holding the word for ever.
- Witness — Since the word is his only help, keeping it ready to speak takes daily fellowship and study, and sin in the life silences the testimony even when the mouth keeps moving.