Then will I keep thy law continually, for ever and ever;
In verse 44 the psalmist stops asking and starts promising. He has been praying for rescue; now he vows what he will do with the rest of his life. How can anyone promise unbroken obedience "forever and ever"? And does such a promise sound like a chain, or like freedom?
The verse does not stand alone. It opens with a small Hebrew connecting word, and that word ties the vow to the prayer just before it.
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.
A vow of endless obedience is impossible for a heart that hates the command. That is how the law was met when it first came at Sinai. Commentators read Psalm 119 as the voice of a very different person — someone God has already changed inside.
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).
Another writer makes the same point a test of who can say such words.
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 doubled words are not fine print in a contract. They are enthusiasm. And what the psalmist says next shows how such obedience feels from the inside.
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".
The phrase "I will walk at liberty" comes from the next verse in older translations. Commentators differ here. Some say the believer keeps God's word today in the form of Christ's commandments. Others say the Christian's rule is the new creation, not the law.
Read as a life sentence, the verse sounds heavy. But nothing less would satisfy the psalmist, and the other road is the real prison.
"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 vow to keep is the first link in a chain that ends in open speech. The order matters.
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.
- So — the vow is an answer, not a bargain. It follows the prayer, and it is the experience of God's mercies and deliverances that binds a heart to His way.
- Kept — only a heart where God has written His law can promise this. That is the mark of the people whose sins He remembers no more.
- Continually — the doubled "forever and ever" is enthusiasm, not gritted teeth. It is the joy of obedience that never breaks off.
- Free — this obedience is liberty, because it walks in ways the heart itself has chosen. Self-will is the real bondage.
- Spoken — God's order runs keep, then walk, then speak. The word held in the soul shapes the life, and the life gives the lips something to say before the greatest on earth.
And I will walk at liberty, for I have sought thy precepts;
Just before this, the psalmist asks for God's mercy and promises unbroken obedience. Now he calls that obedience a wide place — "liberty," in older translations — which sounds like the opposite of what commands usually feel like.
The word translated "wide place" is first a builder's word. One writer traces it from building measurements into its picture use:
"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.
The verse ties that open space to seeking God's precepts — the opposite of how most people picture freedom. One commentator puts it plainly:
So he will walk at liberty, seeking God's precepts. For self-will and self-seeking are bondage, not liberty.
Another writer goes further. Our own will forges the chain:
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.
Obedience can be a restraint or a release. It depends on the will behind it. One writer shows this with his own child:
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.
The same law met a very different welcome at Mount Sinai:
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.
The verse gives a reason for the wide place: he has sought God's precepts. One comment sets the liberty beside the misery it replaces:
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.
The same writer defines the liberty itself:
"I will walk at liberty," he says. It is freedom to walk in ways the heart approves — ways the heart itself chooses.
The verses around this one move outward, and one commentator reads them as a sequence:
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.
- Breadth. The word behind "wide place" is a measuring word: spacious, roomy. It measures temple rooms — and an enlarged heart.
- Bondage. The verse flips the usual picture. Self-will is the cage, and sin ruling a person is the real misery.
- Agreement. A command becomes freedom when the will and the command run together — like a child told to do what he already wanted.
- Source. The wide place is not self-made. It comes to the one who seeks God's precepts, and the heart approves the ways it walks.
- Overflow. The order runs keep, then walk, then speak. The wide place ends in speaking of God without shame before the greatest on earth.
And I will speak of thy testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed;
Psalm 119 is the long song of a man under pressure. The proud mock him and those in power watch him, and his one resource is the word of God. Here he makes a promise about his mouth. What he has kept inside he will say out loud, in the highest company on earth, without shame.
The verse comes at the end of a short movement. The psalmist first keeps God's law, then walks freely in it, and only then opens his mouth. One writer sees that order as God's normal way with His servants.
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.
Shame silences most people. Here it has nothing to work on. The man speaks about what he already loves, and his words are an open declaration of loyalty, not empty talk.
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.
Kings are the hardest audience. One writer notes that the psalmist feels the world's opposition without alarm, and ties that courage to the delight in God's commandments that follows.
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.
The verse presses a question on the reader: who owns your mouth? One writer points to Paul, who stood before rulers and gave a clear testimony there.
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.).
The psalmist's courage shows itself in a second, less flattering way. He also stands with God's people, faults and all, while the world sneers at them. Not everyone with a bold public voice will do that.
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).
- Kept — the word goes into the soul first; he says nothing in public that he has not first held in private.
- Walked — the word then shapes the life, so his words have a life behind them and are not lip service.
- Spoken — the lips express what the life already shows, and what the heart already loves.
- Before kings — the highest company on earth is no reason for silence. He feels the opposition, but without alarm, and bold confession keeps the joy of the truth alive.
- Beside the lowly — the servant who speaks unashamed to kings also counts himself a companion of God's despised and imperfect people.
And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved;
This verse comes near the end of a section where a man under reproach asks God to rescue him. He then describes what a rescued life looks like. Notice the order: he loves the commands first, and delight follows.
The same commands can feel like two different things. What makes the difference is the place God's word holds in the mind.
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 psalmist says he loves these commands. That inner desire is what decides whether a command crushes or frees.
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.
Put the other way round, whatever competes with that desire is the real chain.
He will walk at liberty, seeking God's precepts. For self-will and self-seeking are actually bondage, not liberty.
This verse does not stand alone. It is the last link in a chain running through the verses around it. One writer traces a set order in that chain.
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.
These verses set two things side by side: speaking of God's word before kings, and delighting in that word. The link runs both ways.
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.
This delight is not a one-off feeling. One writer treats such love for God's Word as normal for every believer, not exceptional.
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.
The same trait is what set David apart from Saul, the king the people had chosen for themselves.
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!
- Loved. Love comes first and delight follows. He enjoys these commands because he already loves them.
- Freed. A command to do what you have no desire to do is bondage, even when you obey. A command to do what you already want is liberty. Self-will is the real chain.
- Kept. God's order runs from keeping the Word in the soul, to a walk shaped by it, to speaking it to others.
- Confessed. Speaking of God's testimonies before the great proves this delight. It also keeps the delight alive.
- Owned. He does not love these commands in secret. He says openly that they are true and carry authority.
And I will lift up my hands unto thy commandments, which I have loved, and I will meditate in thy statutes.
Verse 48 closes a section of Psalm 119 that begins at verse 41. It brings hands, heart and mind together in one act. The psalmist reaches toward commands he already loves. But what does the raised hand mean, and why does love come first?
One reading takes the gesture as a public act, done in front of others.
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.
Another writer calls the same gesture a solemn pledge. He also notes what has changed in the heart that makes it.
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.
Commentators differ on the picture. Another takes the open palms as the posture of prayer.
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.
The verse before it has the psalmist testifying in front of kings without shame. Boldness outside and gladness inside are not two separate things.
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.
Three things follow here in a set order.
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.
The verse puts love first and thinking second, and that order cannot be reversed by effort. A certain condition of heart makes this kind of reflection possible at all.
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.
The last line of the verse is not vague daydreaming. The Hebrew word has a plain sense, and it carries a condition.
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.
- Loved — Delight in God's word comes first. Where reading is only duty or only fact-gathering, this psalm's meditation is out of reach.
- Kept — God's order runs keep, then walk, then speak: the word held in the soul, worked out in the life, and only then on the lips.
- Raised — Some read the lifted hands as an open declaration of allegiance, not mere lip service. Others read them as palms open in prayer, longing for the depths of that word.
- Spoken — Speaking of God's testimonies before kings goes with delight in His commands. Bold confession keeps the joy alive.
- Pondered — Meditation means talking a thing over with yourself, in God's presence and depending on His Spirit. Without that, it turns into human speculation.