Psalms 119:94–96

He does not say, "Save me and I shall be Yours," but he asserts that he belongs to the Lord and needs saving still! The Hebrew is emphatic here: "I AM Yours!"

The word has power to sustain the heart in sorrow. It has power to give new life and restore the new man inside. This gives the heart purpose, because it knows how precious the word is as something divine. And this leads the heart up to God, aware that we are His. I do not say it creates that thought, but it leads the heart to be conscious of it. So the heart looks to Him who is faithful to save and deliver.

Given new life and revived, the godly man can say, "I am yours." He had prayed for comfort (v. 76) and waited for comfort (v. 82). Now he receives that comfort, as he learns the settled purpose of God.

This introduces the second part. The psalmist turns to the God made known in this way, and he declares both his devotion and his need. His prayer is not just a cry forced out of him by outward distress. "I have sought," he says, "Your precepts." And he says it even though the wicked had wanted and plotted his destruction — plainly because he held to those precepts.

"I have sought your precepts"; and this must be so. Lacking it weakens all confidence, though God may show mercy.

Of course the Old Testament believer knew nothing of what God has since revealed to New Testament believers about the redemption of our bodies. They knew about the salvation of the soul and spirit, but not about glorified bodies! Paul describes this "final" salvation in Romans chapter 8: we "groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Peter calls it the "salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." So "salvation" is a word with a large meaning. There is also salvation out of our circumstances. That is what Paul means in Philippians 2:12: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." And Peter contrasts rescue in our circumstances with the salvation of the soul when he says, "obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

May we ever take to heart the truth, "I am Yours." If this is so, then God has exclusive rights over every aspect of our lives. He will also save us from every attack of the enemy and every temptation that tests us. He does it as far as we take in this wonderful fact, that we belong to Him.

You see again and again that the soul is in the presence of enemies who oppress it... "The wicked lie in wait to destroy me." But the soul waits in peace, occupied with God's testimonies. And this does give peace. It lets the soul leave everything to God.

Satan has a well-developed strategy which he has acquired over thousands of years. He is an active adversary and tempter of the saints. He and his servants the demons often have to withdraw from their victim for a time. But they will renew the attack at a more strategic moment: "lie in wait to destroy me." Let us not be deceived! If we get some relief from his attack for the moment, this is only a temporary lull in the battle, meant to make us relax.

This is not just a cry forced out of him by outward trouble. "I have sought," he says, "your precepts." And he did so even though the wicked had wanted and plotted his destruction — clearly because he held to those precepts: "I consider your testimonies."

Again and again the soul is seen facing enemies who oppress it... In one sense we always are, but it often applies in evil days. "The wicked lie in wait to destroy me." But the soul waits in peace, occupied with God's testimonies. And this does give peace, and enables the soul to leave all to God.

Made alive and revived, the godly man can say, "I am yours." He had prayed for comfort (v. 76), and waited for comfort (v. 82). Now he receives that comfort as he learns the settled purpose of God. However, he still looks for final deliverance from his enemies, who have waited to destroy him. He is still waiting for God's salvation. Meanwhile he finds his present strength in considering God's testimonies (v. 95).

May we ever take to heart the truth, "I am Yours." If this is so, then God has exclusive rights over every aspect of our lives. He will also save us from all the enemy's opposition and from all the temptations that test us. But He does this only in the measure that we realize this wonderful fact: we belong to Him. The wicked are a constant threat to the safety and welfare of God's people, and they really do want to destroy them. But faith can rise high above any fear of such evil, by simply considering God's testimonies (v. 95).

How do we overcome the powers of darkness? "I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one... I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one" (1 John 2:13-14). These verses give us the secret. We can only overcome the enemy through the Word of God — when that Word is living in us and we live by it every day.

To everything here on earth there is a limit, an end! Even the best of men are still sinners. Even the most perfect in this world still fall far short of God's perfection. That is why the Psalmist has to say, "I have seen a limit to all perfection…"

As far as man is concerned, the ruin was complete. The Reformation was a wonderful thing, but Luther's flesh was very strong. It was a mixed thing, though the working of the Spirit of God was astonishing — it was God's work… What a world we live in! "I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad."

The word "broad" here means, the experts say, "in any and every direction." I would take that to show that God's word covers everything. It is relevant to every detail of our lives; its scope is broad. It is not, of course, limited to our first day of the week — we hear of Sunday Christians sometimes. God's Word applies to everything. That is one reason why study of the word is so important.

He has looked out upon all human perfection and seen in every particular how limited it is. It is easy enough to find an end everywhere in this way. But in the word of God, which controls him as his commandment, he has found none: "it is exceedingly broad." Like space itself, it has no boundary wall. Yet it holds an infinite fullness, not an emptiness — an infinite speech, and not a silence. It is the speech of God.

He still looks for final deliverance from his enemies, who have waited to destroy him. While waiting for God's salvation, he finds his present strength in thinking about God's testimonies (v. 95). Around him he sees nothing but failure everywhere. Among men nothing reaches perfection. Still, he finds that God's Word is exceedingly broad. It is broad enough to reach every detail of life, and so guide in every circumstance that can arise.

The perfection that man seeks always has an end, a limit. The commandment of God stands in contrast to it: it is "exceedingly broad." Just as eternity has no limit, so it is with the Word of God. We may think God's Word is limited to 66 books. But the 66 books bear witness that the truth of God's Word is infinitely great. Many have said that, though they have searched Scripture for years, they still find gems of truth that had never occurred to them before. God's Word is like a living tree that continues bearing abundant fruit endlessly.

The holy Scriptures are infinite in their quality too, because they are perfect, coming from God. Take up another book, and you may soon master most of its contents. But who can grasp the written word?… Because it is God's word, it is infinite in its height, depth, length and breadth. We do well to remember this. We are finite creatures, so we can know only in part, and give out to others only in part.