Psalm 119: 17-24

This Psalm is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of all Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

The Theme of Psalm 119
 is
 the Word of God

17. Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word.

18.  Open my eyes that I might see wondrous things from Your law.

19.  I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.

20.  My soul breaks with longing for Your judgments at all times.

21.  You rebuke the proud---the cursed, who stray from Your commandments.

22.  Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.

23.  Princes also sit and speak against me, but your servant meditates on Your  
       statutes.

24.  Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.

17.   Deal bountifully with Your servant.  David's great needs required a bountiful provision.  Thus he throws himself on God's grace and looks to the Lord and His great goodness for the great things he needs.  He begs for heavy grace.

That I may live.  Without abundant mercy he could not live.  Only the Lord can keep us alive, and it is His mighty grace that preserves the life we have forfeited by sin. Spiritual life, without which natural life is but mere existence, is also to be sought from the Lord's bounty. It is the highest work of divine grace, as the Lord's servants cannot serve Him in their own strength.

And keep Your Word.  It is only through divine grace that we can live as faithful servants of God and obey His commands.  If we give God service it is because He gives grace.  We work for Him because He works in us.

18.  Open my eyes.  This is part of the bountiful dealing that he asked for.
No bounty is greater than what benefits our person, our soul, our mind, and our eye.  It is far better to have our eyes opened than to be placed at a scenic outlook and remain blind to its beauty.

That I may see wondrous things from your law.  David felt that God had laid up great bounties in His Word and he begs for power to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy them.  We do not need God to give us more benefits but the ability to see what He has given.  God must reveal revelation to each heart.  Scripture needs opening, but not half so much as our eyes do.  The veil is not on the Book but on our hearts.  What David had seen made him long for a clearer and wider sight.  This longing proved the genuineness of what he possessed.  The mark of the true knowledge of God is that it causes a thirst for deeper knowledge.

19.  I am a stranger in the earth.  The Divine command orders us to be kind to strangers, and what God commands in others, He exemplifies in Himself.  The Psalmist was a stranger for God's sake, or else he would have been as much at home in the earth as worldly people are.  David was not a stranger to God, but to the world.

Do not hide Your commandments from me.   David cries, what will I do if I fail to see Your commands that guide my steps to the land where You dwell?  If the heavenly things that make our peace are hidden from our eyes, we will be at sea without a compass, in a desert without a guide, in enemy country without a friend.

This prayer is a supplement to "Open my eyes" (v.18).  The one prayer is to see, the other deplores the negative of seeing, namely, that the command is hidden and out of sight.  It is well to look at both sides of the blessing we are seeking and to plead for it from every point of view.  The prayers are appropriate to the characters mentioned.  He is a servant, and so he asks for opened eyes to see his Lord, as the eyes of a servant should.  He is a stranger, but he begs not to be a stranger to the way he is to walk home.  In each case, his dependence is on God alone.

20.  My soul breaks with longing for Your judgments at all times.  True godliness lies in desires.  As we are not what we will be, we are also not what we could be.  A high value of the Lord's commands leads to a pressing desire to know and to do His will.

David had such reverence for the Word, such desire to know and be conformed to it, that his longings broke his heart, and this he brings to God.  The most intimate communion between the soul and God is described in the text.  God reveals His will, and our hearts long to be conformed to it.

21.  You rebuke the proud...the cursed.  The proud is a name commonly given to the wicked. It is our oldest evil, and so is it the strongest and first that strives in our corrupt nature to make us transgress the bounds appointed by the Lord.  From the time that pride entered Adam's heart, he would be higher than God had made him. And what else is the cause of all transgression, other than our ignorant pride will have its will over God's will? (William Cowper, 1566-1619).

Who stray from Your commandments.  Only humble hearts are obedient, for they yield to rule and governments.  Proud looks are too high to mark their feet and keep to the Lord's way.  Pride lies at the root of all sin. If people were not arrogant, they would not be disobedient.

God rebukes pride even when the multitudes pay it homage.  He sees pride as rebellion against His Majesty and the seeds of further rebellion.  Pride is the sum of sin.  Yet the proud know so little of their true condition under the curse of God that they censure the godly and express their contempt by slandering the godly.

22.  Remove from me reproach and contempt. These are painful to tender minds.  To be slandered and then despised is grievous affliction.  Those who say,  "I care nothing about my reputation,"  are not wise. Solomon said, "A good name is better than precious ointment" (Eccl.7:1).  The best way to deal with slander is to pray.  God will either remove it, or its sting.  Our attempts to clear our name are usually failures. Like a little boy who tried to remove the inkblot from his paper and by bungling made it tens times worse.  We are to take these matters to the highest Judge of all the earth and He will rebuke the proud accuser. The Lord will fight for you and you should hold your peace. (Ex.14:14).  Be still, and let Your Advocate plead your case.

For I have kept Your testimonies.  Our safety lies in sticking close to the truth and the right.  God will keep those who keep His testimonies.  A good conscience is the best security for a good name.  Reproach will not abide with Christ; contempt will not remain on any who remain faithful to the Lord's ways.

23.  Princes also sit and speak against me.  David was high game, and the great ones of the earth hunted him.  Most people covet a prince's good word. 
To  be spoken ill of by a great man is a great discouragement, but the Psalmist bore his trial with holy calmness.

But your servant meditates on Your statutes.  He was God's servant and he attended to his Master's business.  He was God's servant and he was sure that the Lord would defend him.  He gave no heed to royal slanderers.  He did not allow his thoughts to be disturbed by a knowledge of their plotting conclave.  Who were these malignants that they should rob God of the attention of His servant or deprive the Lord's chosen of a moment's devout fellowship?  Those who feed on God's Word grow strong and peaceful and are by God's grace hidden from the strife of tongues.

24.  Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.  They were not only themes for meditation but also sources of delight and means of guidance.  While his enemies took counsel against him, David took counsel with the testimonies of God.  The words of the Lord serve many purposes; in sorrow, they are our delight, and in difficulty they are our guide.  We derive joy from them and discover wisdom in them.  Let us give more heed to the true testimonies of the Lord than to the false witness of our foes.

My counselors.  Here is a sentence worth meditating on.  David calls God's commandments his counselors, First, he can scorn all the wisdom of the world's experts, since he was governed and guided by the Word of God.  Second, when he is governed by the Word of God, he will not only be truly wise but also have all the wisdom in the world, and a great deal more. (John Calvin, 1509-1564).

Commentary is taken from Treasury of David (Charles Spurgeon).

For so long I had been intending to really focus and reflect on the whole of Psalm 119.  Finally, I am doing it.  Upon finding such insights and blessing, I now realize I was depriving myself of a feast.  Psalm 119 is a table full of delectable appetizers waiting to be tasted, chewed on, and digested. And by doing so, we would benefit from the spiritual nutrients it so richly supplies...  bringing a richer vitality to our spiritual lives. The theme of this Psalm is the Word of God.  What better to feast on than the Bread of Life? (Annie)

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