Psalm 119: 65-72

Psalm 119 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

65.  Do good to Your servant according to Your Word, O Lord.

66.  Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in

       Your commands.

67.  Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your Word.

68.  You are good, and what You do is good;teach me Your decrees.

69.  Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your

       precepts with all my heart.

70.  Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in Your law.

71.  It was good for me to be afflicted that I might learn Your        

          decrees.

 

72.  The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than              

         thousands of pieces of silver or gold.

 

65-72.  This section is the witness of experience, testifying to the goodness of God, to the graciousness of His dealings, to the preciousness of His Word.  The psalmist proclaims the excellent uses of adversity and God's goodness in afflicting him.

65.  You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord.  This is the summary of David's life, and assuredly, it is the summary of ours.  God has done all things well, and this rule has no exception.  In providence and in grace, in giving prosperity and in sending adversity, in everything, Jehovah has dealt well with us.  It is precious to see the Word of the Lord fulfilled in our happy experience; it endears the Scripture to us and makes us love the Lord of the Scriptures.  The book of providence tallies with the book of promise.  What we read in the page of inspiration, we meet in the leaves of our life story.  We may not have thought that it would be so, but we have repented of our unbelief, now that we see the Lord's mercy and His faithfulness to the Word, and henceforth, we are bound to display a firmer faith to God and to His promise.

66.  Teach me good judgment and knowledge.  Since God has dealt with him, he is encouraged to pray for judgment to appreciate the Lord's goodness.  Good judgment was the form of goodness that David needed and desired, and it is the one that the Lord is most ready to give.  David felt that he had frequently failed in judging the Lord's dealing with him; from lack of knowledge, he had misjudged the heavenly Father's chastening hand.  Now he asks to be better instructed, for he perceives the injustice of his hasty conclusions.  He means to say, "Lord You did well with me even when I thought You were hard and stern. Please give me more wisdom that I may not think ill of You, my Lord, for a second time."  Seeing our errors and sensing our ignorance should make us teachable.  If the Lord teaches us knowledge, we will attain good judgment.  The Holy Spirit alone can fill us with light and set the understanding on a proper balance.  Let us ardently long for His teachings, because it is most desirable that we should no longer be children in knowledge and understanding.

For I believe Your commandments.  David's heart was right, and he hoped that his head would be made right.  He had faith, and now he hoped to receive wisdom.  His mind became settled in the conviction that the precepts of the Word were from the Lord and that they were just, wise, kind, and profitable.  David believed in holiness, and, as that is no small work of grace, he looked for further operations of divine grace.  Those who believe the commands are the ones to know and to understand the doctrines and the promises.

67.  Before I was afflicted I went astray.  Often, our trials act as a thorn hedge to keep us in good pasture, and our prosperity is a gap through which we go astray.  The spiritual, who prize growth in grace, will bless God that those dangerous days are over, for they know that if the weather is stormy, it is also healthier.  It is well when the mind is open and candid.  Perhaps David would never have known and confessed his straying if he had not smarted under the rod.  Let us join in his humble acknowledgments, for doubtless we have imitated him in straying.  We must remember we can never rise to one world without the other world descending.

But now I keep Your Word.  When there is no spiritual life, affliction works no spiritual benefit.  But where the heart is sound, trouble awakens conscience, wandering is confessed, and the soul becomes obedient to the command. Before his trouble David wandered.  But afterward, he kept within the hedge of the Word and found good pasture for his soul.  The trial tethered him to the proper place; it kept him, and then he kept God's Word.  Sweet are the uses of adversity, which puts a bridle on transgression and furnishes a spur for holiness.

Before I was afflicted.  Prosperity is a more refined and severe test of character than adversity.  One hour of summer sunshine produces greater decay than the longest winter day. (Eliza Cook, 1817)

Using affliction.  God separates the sin that He hates from the soul that He loves.  (John Mason, 1694)

68.  You are good, and do good.  Even in affliction, God is good, and does good.  This is the confession of experience.  God is essential goodness in every aspect of His nature.  "No one is good but One, that is, God" (Mark 10:18). 

Teach me Your statutes.  David prays, " Lord be good and do good to me, that I may both be good and do good through Your teaching.  The man of God was a learner.  He wished to remain in school and learn until he had perfected every lesson. His chosen textbook was the royal statute; he wanted no other.  He knew the sad result from breaking those statutes, and from painful experience, he had been led back to the way of righteousness. Thus, he begged to be taught a perfect knowledge of the Law and a complete conformity to it.  They long to be taught who mourn that they have not kept the Word.  And those who rejoice that, by grace, they have been taught to keep the Word are anxious for the instruction to be continued.

69.  The proud have forged a lie against me.  They derided and defrauded him, and now they defame him.  To injure his character, they resorted to falsehoods, for they could find nothing against him if they were to speak the truth.  They forged a lie like a blacksmith forms an iron weapon.  They counterfeited the truth like a thief forges false coins.  They trim lies with shadows of truth and neat language.  Slander is a cheap and handy weapon if the object of destruction is of a gracious reputation.  It is exceedingly painful to hear unscrupulous people forging slander on the devil's anvil.  The only help is the sweet promise, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn" (Isaiah 54:17).

But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.  If the mud that is thrown does not blind our eyes, or bruise our integrity, it will do little harm.  If we keep the precepts, the precepts will keep us in the day of liable and slander.

When slander drives us to more resolute and careful obedience, it works for our lasting good.  Falsehoods hurled against us may promote our increased loyalty to the truth.  Malice may increase our love for God.  If we answer lies with words, we may be beaten in the battle, but a holy life is an unanswerable refutation of all slander.  Spite is balked if we persevere in holiness despite all opposition.

70.  Their heart is fat as grease.  They delight in fatness, but I delight in You.  their hearts, through sensual indulgence, have grown insensible, coarse, and groveling.  But You have saved me from such a fate by Your chastening hand.  The proud grow fat through carnal luxuries, which make them even prouder.  They riot in prosperity, filling their hearts with it until they become insensible, effeminate, and self-indulgent.  A greasy heart is a horrible fatness that makes a person stupid; it degenerates the heart and leads to feebleness and death.  The fat in such people is killing the life in them.  In this condition, people have no heart except for luxury.

But I delight in Your law.  It is much better to joy in the law of the Lord than to joy in sensual indulgences!  This makes the heart healthy and keeps the mind humble.  Delight in the law elevates and dignifies; carnal pleasure clogs the intellect and degrades the affections.  There is, and always ought to be, a vivid contrast between the believer and the sensualist, and that contrast is as much seen in the affections of the heart as in the actions of life.  Our delights are a better test of character than anything else.  As the heart is, so is the person.  When the law becomes delight, obedience is bliss.  Having the law as our delight will breed the opposite of pride in our hearts, thus we will be teachable, sensitive, and spiritual.

71.  It is good for me that I have been afflicted.  Even though the affliction came from evil people, it was overruled for good; although it was bad when it came, it benefited David in many ways, and he knew it. Whatever he may have thought while under trial, he knew he was going to be the better for it when it was over.  We have come to know and to learn Your statutes  by feeling the sting of the rod.  We have prayed for the Lord to teach us.  And now we see that He has been doing it.  Truly, He has dealt well and wisely with us.  Our trials have kept us from the ignorance of the greasy hearted, and this, if nothing else, is cause for constant gratitude.  To be greased with prosperity is not good for the proud, but for the truth to be learned by adversity is always good for the humble.  Little is to be learned without affliction.  If we would be scholars, we must be sufferers.

In Miss E.J. Whately's fine book, The Life of My Father, a story is told of the introduction of the Larch tree into England.  "When the plants were first brought, the gardener, knowing they came from southern Europe, assumed they would require warmth. He forgot that they grow near the snow line.  Putting them in a hothouse, they withered day by day until the gardener, in disgust, threw them out on a compost pile.  There they began to revive, bud, and at last grew into trees.  They needed the cold."

 

The great husbandman often saves His plants by throwing them out into the cold.  The nipping frost of trials and afflictions are often needed if God's Larch trees are to grow.  It is under such discipline that new thoughts and feelings appear.  The heart becomes dead to the world (sin) and to self, and from the night of sorrow rises the morning of joy.  Winter is the harbinger of spring, and from the crucifixion of the old man comes the resurrection of the new.  As in nature, life is the child of death.

The night is the mother of the day,

And winter of the spring;

And ever upon old decay,

The greenest mosses spring.  (John Wareing Bardsley, 1876)

72.  The law of Your mouth, is a sweet expressive name for God's Word.  It comes from God's mouth with freshness and power for our souls.  The same lips that spoke us into existence has spoken the law that governs existence.

Is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.  David speaks of great riches for he had heaped it up by thousands, and he mentions its forms, gold and silver.  Then he sets the Word of God as better.  Wealth is good in some respects, but obedience is better in all respects.  The Law is better than gold and silver, for these may be stolen. Gold and silver take wings, but the Word of God remains.  Gold and silver are useless in the hour of death, but at that time, God's promises are most precious. 

Commentary is taken from Treasury of David (Charles Spurgeon).
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Annie's thoughts on verse 68.

68. You are good, and what You do is good; teach me Your decrees.

68. You are good, and do good. Even in affliction, God is good, and does good. This is the confession of experience. God is essential goodness in every aspect of His nature. "No one is good but One, that is, God" (Mark 10:18).

Everyone will have tests and trials, at least at some point in their life. These tests and trials can be short term, very long term, or a mixture of both.  I believe God has them special ordered for each of us according to our needs, and/or the needs of others we are connected to in some way.  We do not see these needs as we don't really know the depths of our own heart as well as we might think.  God searches our heart and knows exactly what we need to build into us the character and love of His Son, Christ Jesus.
When our focus is on the things of the world and what it offers, it is taken off Christ.  We depend on worldly things to entertain us, make us happy and to fill our time.  We desire to have more money so we can buy more things.  But is this what God wants for us?  Is this part of His plan?
Didn't Paul tell the Corinthians in the first six verses of  2 Corinthians 1  that the sufferings they endured were so that they would not rely on themselves, but on God.  He also told them that through Christ, our comfort would overflow to others experiencing the same things.  In this way, God uses our sufferings for His good, our good, and the good of others. You might ask, how does God use our sufferings for our own good? 



If God's purpose is to form the character and love of Christ Jesus in us, we should take another look at the character and love of Christ in action.  What did Jesus teach us about relationship with the Father? 



Jesus arose before daybreak every morning to go to a solitary place to commune with His Father.  Before He started His day He wanted to be prepared and pre-prayed.  He always listened to His Father, and did what the Father wanted Him to do.  He watched to see where the Father was working and He joined Him.    He was also setting an example for us to follow.  He did nothing on His own initiative. He gave all glory to the Father.  How often are we listening to the Father?  How often do we do things on our own initiative?  How often are we watching to see where God is working around us?  How are we doing about starting our day with prayer regarding the day before us?  



The tests and trials are the tools God uses to build the character and love and all else needed, such as a forgiving spirit,  the fruits of the Spirit, see also 2 Peter 1: 3-11.  This is the part that benefits us, and thereby benefits others and pleases God.  This is what God uses to bring good changes in us and draws others closer to desiring after Him. 



All good things come from above.  Tests and trials may be painful, but our Sovereign God knows how to bring good out from any trial.  We often don't see it until later, but it is always there in the works.  It works much better if we rely on Him rather than ourselves.  Like a good parent He knows what is best for our eternal good.


~Annie~

Annie's Weekly Bible Passages: Psalm 119: 57-64

Annie's Weekly Bible Passages: Psalm 119: 57-64: Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of all Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of...

Psalm 119: 57-64

Psalm 119 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 Psalms 119

is

The Word of God

57.  You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your Words.

58.  I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to

       Your Word.

59.  I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies.

60.  I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.

61.  The cords of the wicked have bound me, but I have not forgotten Your law.

62.  At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous

       judgments.

63.  I am a companion of all who fear You, and all who keep Your precepts.

64.  The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes.

57-64  In this section, the psalmist take a firm hold on God:

• He appropriates Him, v.57
• He cries out for Him, v.58
• He returns to Him, v59
• He finds solace in Him, vv. 61,62
• He associates with His people, v. 63
• He sighs for the personal experience of His goodness, v. 64

57.  You are my portion, O Lord.  David had often seen the spoils of war divided and heard the victors shouting over it. Here, he rejoices as one who receives his share of the spoil.  He chooses the Lord to be his part of the treasure.  Like the Levites, he took God to be his portion and left other things to those who coveted them. 

I have said that I would keep Your Words.  David had spoken wisely and well.  He declared his choice.  He preferred the Word of God to the wealth of the world.  It was his firm resolve to keep (to treasure, to observe) the Word of God.  He was confident of his interest in God and was resolute in his obedience.  Full assurance is a powerful source of holiness.  God's Words are to be stored in our heart, whether they relate to doctrine, promise, or precept, they are most precious.  When the heart is determined to keep these Words and has registered its purpose in the court of heaven, it is prepared for all the temptations and trials that may come.


58.  I entreated Your favor with my whole heart.  A full assurance of God does not set aside prayer; it urges prayer.  Those who know God will seek His face, for they long for His presence.  Seeking God's presence is the idea of seeking His face.  David never demanded in prayer but confidently and humbly pleaded with God...even for that which God has promised.  The entire strength of his desire went into the plea.  What comes from our heart will certainly go to God's heart.  God wants us to seek Him with all our heart...not half hearted, or demanding.

Be merciful to me according to Your Word.  David has pleaded for favor, and the form in which he most needs it is mercy, for he knows he is a sinner.  He asks nothing beyond the promise.  He only pleads for the mercy that is revealed in the Word.


59. I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies.    
While studying the Word, he was led to study his own life, and this caused a mighty revolution in him.  He came to the Word, and then he came to himself, and this made him go to his Father.  Consideration is the commencement of conversion;  first we think, and then we turn.  When the mind repents of evil ways, the feet are soon led into good ways.  And yet, there will be no repenting until there is deep earnest thought.  Every born again believer needs to set about making amendments in their lives.

Actions:  Actions without thought is folly; thought without action is sloth.  To think carefully and act promptly is a happy combination.  He had pleaded for renewed fellowship, and now he proved the genuineness of his desire with renewed obedience.  If we are in the dark, mourning an absent of God, the wisest strategy will be to not so much think about our sorrow as about our ways.  Although we cannot turn the course of providence, we can turn the way of our walking, and this will soon mend matters.  We must remember that God will turn to His saints when they turn to Him. And He has already favored them with the light of His face when they begin to think and turn.

Turning our feet to God's testimonies.  A scoffer asked, "How do you get to heaven?"  The lad answered him, "First turn to the right, and keep straight on."
(J. Neale and Littledale, 1872)


60.  I made haste and did not delay to keep Your commandments.  Speed in repentance and obedience are excellent.  We are too often in haste to sin.  May we be in a greater hurry to obey.  Holy willingness is to be cultivated.  It is worked in us by the Spirit of God by this method.  We are made to perceive and to mourn our errors; we are led to return to the right path; and then, by dashing forward to fill the precept.  We are eager to make up lost time.

Whatever the slips and wanderings of an honest heart, there remains enough true life to produce eager holiness when it is revived by God's visitations.  The psalmists pleaded for mercy, and when he received it, he became eager and impassioned in the Lord's ways.  He refused to yield to procrastination,  but rather made haste, and did not delay.  The commands that he was so eager to obey were not the ordinances of man but the precepts of the Most High.


61.  The cords of the wicked have bound me.  They had ridiculed him and now they defraud him.  The ungodly grow worse, become more daring, and go from ridicule to robbery.  They banded together in groups as that is what cowards do.  The ungodly have plundered the saints in all ages.

But I have not forgotten Your law.  This was good.  His sense of injustice, his sorrow at his losses, and his attempts at defense did not divert him from the ways of God. He would not do wrong in order to prevent the suffering that came from wrong, nor would he do ill to avenge ill.  David carried the law in his heart, and no disturbance could keep him from following it.  He was ready to forgive and forget, for his heart was taken up by the Word of God.  The cordon of the ungodly could not keep God from him or him from God.  God was his portion and no one could deprive him of that, either by force or fraud.  It is true grace that can endure the test.


62.  At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You.  The midnight hour was the hour for burglars and they were all around,  but that was not the reason for David waking up at that hour to praise and worship God.  This was the sweet hour where he had precious solitude without interruption to devote to God.  It was his own time he saved from his sleep.  It was his hour of worship and thanksgiving.  David could say like Paul, "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man" (Romans 7:22).   He could not find enough time in the day to study the Words of divine wisdom or to bless God for them, and so he gave up sleep, that he might tell his gratitude for such a Law and for such a Lawgiver.


63.  I am a companion of all who fear You.  We can hardly hope to be right in the future unless we are right with God now.  David spent his nights with God and his days with God's people.  Those who fear God love those who fear Him.  Although David was a king, he associated with all God's people, rich or poor, famous or obscure, educated or uneducated. He was a companion of all God's people.  He looked for inner godly fear, but he also expected to see outward holiness in those he admitted into his society.  Thus, he adds, of those who keep Your precepts.  If they would keep the Lord's commands, the Lord's servant would keep their company.  Those who have no fear of God seldom want the company of saints.


64.  The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy. David had been exiled, but he had never been driven beyond the range of mercy, for he found the world filled with it.  He wandered in the desert and hid in caves, and he had seen and felt the Lord's loving kindness in those places.  He had learned that Jehovah's love extended far beyond the bounds of the promised land.  How sweet to know not only that there is mercy the world over, but also that there is such an abundance that the earth is full of it.  Little wonder that the psalmist, knowing that the Lord was his portion, hoped to obtain a measure of this mercy.
Teach me Your statutes.  To him, it was the faultless ideal of mercy to be taught by God and taught in God's own Law.  He could think of no greater mercy.  Surely He who fills the universe with His grace will grant this request to His child.  Let us breathe our request to the All-Merciful Jehovah and be assured of its fulfillment.

Teach me.  The heir of a great estate should be thoroughly educated, so that his behavior is compatible with his fortune.  What manner of disciples ought we to be whose inheritance is the Lord of Hosts?  Those who have God as their portion long to have Him for their Teacher.  Moreover, those who have resolved to obey are the most eager to be taught.

Commentary taken from Treasury of David (Charles Spurgeon).

My thoughts on this passage...

57b.  I have said that I would keep Your Words. David had spoken wisely and well. He declared his choice. He preferred the Word of God to the wealth of the world. It was his firm resolve to keep (to treasure, to observe) the Word of God. He was confident of his interest in God and was resolute in his obedience. Full assurance is a powerful source of holiness. God's Words are to be stored in our heart, whether they relate to doctrine, promise, or precept, they are most precious. When the heart is determined to keep these Words and has registered its purpose in the court of heaven, it is prepared for all the temptations and trials that may come

                  

Where your heart is your treasure will be also...  I see the Word of God as a chest full of hidden treasures waiting to be found and dug out.  However you are feeling, you can always find a place of comfort, encouragement, wisdom for dealing with a situation, etc., but it is so much more than that.  It also reminds us that others have experienced the very type of emotions, tests and trials we have. It tells us others had weaknesses, and stumbled, some had committed very serious sins, and were forgiven when they repented of them.  It tells us what we should expect, and how we should respond to different situations.  The Word of God reminds us we are not alone, and are to rely on God's help and strength, as well as His wisdom.  Tests and trials are part of every ones life, both to bring us to Christ, and to strengthen our faith. When we continually look to Him as we walk through them, He will  develop in us  Christ-like character, love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness of others.  He will also develop a stronger passion for Him and His Word.


God's Word, most importantly, is about Christ Jesus and the redemption of sinners from the kingdom of Satan... to the kingdom of God's own Son, Christ Jesus. We, as God's children, have the Holy Spirit as our Helper, Counselor, and Enabler to live a victorious life in His strength, and His way.  We can pray God's Word to Him and know that He hears us. He will give us His perfect, steadfast peace as we need it.

~Annie~







                  

Psalm 119: 49-56

Psalm 119 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

49.  Remember the Word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to

       hope.

50.  This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life.

51.  The proud have met me in great derision, yet I do not turn aside from Your

       law.

52.  I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself.

53.  Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake 

       Your law.

54.  Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

55.  I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and I keep Your law.

56.  This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts.

49-56.  These verses deal with the comfort of the Word. They begin by seeking the main consolation, the Lord's fulfillment of His promise.  Then it shows us how the Word sustains us in affliction and makes us so impervious to ridicule that we are moved by the horror of the sin of the wicked rather than by the possibility of submitting to their temptations.  We are then shown how the Scripture furnishes songs for pilgrims and memories for night watchers.  This section concludes with the general statement that this happiness and comfort come from keeping the Lord's statutes.

49.  Remember the Word to Your servant. Those who make God's promises their portion, may with humble boldness make them their plea.  God gave both the promise in which the Psalmist hoped and the hope by which he embraced the promise. (Matthew Henry, 1662-1714).   When David pleads God's Word he doesn't say, "Remember my service to You," but "Your Word to me." 

Upon which You have caused me to hope.  The argument is that God, having given grace to hope in the promise, would never disappoint that hope.  He cannot have caused us to hope without cause.  If we hope on His Word we have a sure basis.  Our gracious Lord would never mock us with false hope.

Remember:  Our great Master will not forget His servants or disappoint the expectation that He raised.  Because we are the Lord's, and because we endeavor to remember His Word by obeying it, we may be sure that He will think on His servants and remember His promise by making it good.

50.  This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life.

Sinners clutch their moneybags, and say, "This is my comfort."  Spendthrifts point to their pleasures and shout, "This is my comfort."  Drunkards lift their glasses and sing, "This is my comfort."  But the one whose hope comes from God feels the life-giving power of the Word and testifies, This is my comfort.  Paul said, "I know whom I have believed" (2 Timothy 1:12).  Comfort is desirable at all times, but comfort in affliction is a lamp in a dark place. Our Saviour has said to us, "I will not leave you as orphans.  I will come to you" (John 14:18). 

This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life.  God's Word frequently comforts us by increasing the force of our inner life.  Often the nearest way to consolation is sanctification and invigoration.  If we can not clear away the fog it may be better to raise to a higher level and get above it.   Troubles that weigh us down when we are near half-dead become mere trifles when we are full of life.  Looking back, there is one ground of comfort; it is the Word of God, which has made us alive and kept us.  We were dead (spiritually), but we are dead (spiritually) no longer.

This was David's comfort in affliction.  "This is my comfort, Your Word has revived me."  David had the joyful experience within.  He felt the Word's reviving, restoring, and life-giving power.  As he dwelt and meditated he gave himself to the way of the Word (God's will).Revive me, Lord, according to Your Word.

51.  The proud have me in great derision.  If David was ridiculed, we may not expect to escape the derision of the ungodly. It is the nature of the son of the bondwoman to mock the child of the promise (Genesis 21:9).

Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.  The jesters missed their aim; they laughed, but they did not win.  The godly man did not slow down or in any sense fall from his holy habits.  Many would have declined, and many have declined, but not David.  It is paying too much honor to fools to yield even a half a point to them.  Their unhallowed mirth will not harm us if we pay no attention to it.  

It is a great thing in a soldier to behave well under fire. But it is a greater thing for a soldier of the Cross to be unflinching in the day of trial. It does not hurt Christians to have dogs bark at them. (David Dickson 1583-1662)

52.  I remember Your judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself.  We need to fall back on God's records as if the transactions had been conducted yesterday. For God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  Our true comfort must be in what God works on behalf of truth and right. Ancient history is full of divine interventions, and it is well to be thoroughly acquainted with them.  He who has shown Himself strong on behalf of His people is the immutable God, and we may expect deliverance. 

53.  Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.  He was horrified at their action, at the pride that led them to it, and at the punishment that would fall on them because of it.  When he thought of God's ancient judgments, he was filled with terror at the fate of the godless.  Their laughter did not trouble him; he was distressed by a foresight of their overthrow.  He saw them turning from God's law and leaving it as a path forsaken and overgrown from lack of traffic.  Forsaking the law left him with painful emotions.  He became astonished at their wickedness, stunned by their presumption, alarmed by the expectation of their sudden overthrow, and by the terror of their certain doom.

The firmest believers in the eternal punishment of the wicked are the most grieved at their doom.  It is not tenderness to shut your eyes to the awful doom of the ungodly.  Compassion is far better shown in trying to save sinners than in trying to make things pleasant for them.  Oh, that we were more distressed as we think of the ungodly in the lake of fire (Rev 20:15! 

54.  Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Like others of God's servants, David knew this world was not his home.  He was a pilgrim, seeking a better country.  He did not sigh.  He sang.  This godly sojourner sang the songs of Zion.  They were pleasant to his taste and music to his ears. Happy is the heart that finds its joy in God's commands and makes obedience its recreation.  Saints find horror in sin, harmony in holiness.  The wicked shun the law, and righteous sing about it.

55.  I remember Your name in the night, O Lord.  David was so devoted that he awoke in the night to think about the living God.

And I keep Your law.  He found sanctification through meditation on God's Word.  The thoughts of the night ruled the actions of the day.  As the actions of the day often create the dreams of the night.  The quiet thoughts of the gracious are proof positive that the Lord's name is precious to them.  Is His name the natural subject of your evening reflections?  If we do not think of Him secretly, we will not obey Him openly.

56.  This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts.  David had this comfort, this remembrance of God, this power to sing, this courage to face the enemy, and this hope in the promise all because he had enthusiastically observed the commands of God and had striven to walk in them.  comfort is obtained only in careful living.  How can we defy ridicule if we are living inconsistently?  How can we remember the Lord's name if we are living carelessly? 

I have kept Your precepts.  By keeping certain precepts he had gained spiritual strength to keep other precepts.  God gives more grace to those who already have some measure of it.  Those who practice and improve their talents will find themselves improving.   All our possessions are the gift of grace. Yet some of them come in the shape of rewards, and the reward is not of debt but of grace.  God works good works in us first, and then He rewards us.

We are to ask for the old paths,  that we might walk there and find rest for our souls. "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it" (Jeremiah 6:16).   (Charles Bridges 1794-1869)

      

Commentary taken from The Treasury of David (Charles Spurgeon)

 
These are my thoughts on this passage...

50. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life.

Sinners clutch their moneybags, and say, "This is my comfort." Spendthrifts point to their pleasures and shout, "This is my comfort." Drunkards lift their glasses and sing, "This is my comfort." But the one whose hope comes from God feels the life-giving power of the Word and testifies, This is my comfort. Paul said, "I know whom I have believed" (2 Timothy 1:12). Comfort is desirable at all times, but comfort in affliction is a lamp in a dark place. Our Saviour has said to us, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you" (John 14:18).

When going through deep grief, words of condolence or other expressions meant to comfort or encourage are not heard or even remembered.  There are a couple of exceptions though, and that is usually a comment blurted out by someone without thought of how it would be taken.  One example of this might be, "You are better off now. Now you can have a life of your own." Another may be a Bible quote sincerely meant, but very bad timing. On a card is good, but in person it feels insensitive... even though it wasn't intended that way. The person in deep grief doesn't want to hear we are better off, or they are better off. We just want to hold them again and have them with us. I know, I (I'm sure other widows also) just wanted to have my loved one back.  I think the best thing anyone can do at that time, is give a hug and say "I'm sorry.  I will be praying for you." That will be remembered, and it will be felt in a comforting way.


My son and daughter and I comforted each other, my daughter mostly over the phone, as she lives in another country and has many children to care for. My son stayed with me a lot in the weeks following their father's death.  We talked a lot and tried to encourage and comfort each other. I believe they were more of a comfort to me, than I was to them. My son was a major comfort because he was there physically and emotionally for me. He helped me hold things together.  But even with his presence and his comfort, I needed more to make it through.


I felt a major part of me was missing and I didn't know who I was anymore or what purpose I had in life.  I was caregiver to Paul for the past 18 years and now all of a sudden I am no longer, and I will see him no more.  I cried out to God in my my pain and emptyiness and He heard me.  I began going through His promises and reminding myself of them every day.  As I continued in His Word and continued talking to Him and crying to Him, He began comforting me more and more, and I began to start seeing light coming into my world again, and hope began springing forth.  I eventually found purpose again in my life.  Now today, my life is full of purpose and I am a "good" busy, yet have time to enjoy Him and reflect on His mercy and love.  I truly believe prayer and God's precious Word, along with His Spirit, is the glue that not only keeps us together in the tough times, but it is our spiritual vitality and life, and a light shining through the darkness.


~Annie~

Psalm 119: 41-48

Psalm 119 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



41.  Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord---Your salvation according to  

       Your Word.

42.  So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Your

       Word.

43.  And take not the Word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I have hoped

       in Your ordinances.

44.  So shall I keep Your law continually;  forever and ever.

45.  And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts.

46.  I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings. And will not be ashamed.

47.  And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.

48.  My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love. And I will 

       meditate on Your statutes.

These eight verses are one continuous plea for grace to abide in his soul

41.  Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord.  David wants mercy as well as teaching.  He who said "Let there be light" (Gen.1:3), can also say, "Let there be mercy."  

Lord, Your enemies reproach me, so let Your mercies come to defend me.  Trials and troubles abound, much labor and suffering approaches me.  Lord, let Your mercies in great number enter the gate at the same hour.  For are You not the God of mercy?

Your salvation.  This is the sum and crown of all mercies; deliverance from all evil, both now and forever more.  This is the first mention of salvation in this Psalm, and it is joined with mercy.  "For by grace you have been saved (Eph 2:8).  What a mass of mercies is heaped together in the one salvation of our Lord Jesus!  It includes the mercies that spared us before our conversion.  Then there is calling mercy, the regenerating mercy, and the pardoning mercy.  Nor can we exclude from complete salvation the many mercies that are needed to conduct the believer safe to glory.

According to Your Word.  The way of salvation is described in the Word.  Salvation is promised in the Word.  Its inner manifestation is worked by the Word.  And the salvation that is in Christ Jesus is in accordance with the Word.  David loved the Scriptures but he personally longed to know the salvation contained in them.  He was not satisfied to just read the Word; he longed to experience its inner sense.  He valued the field of Scripture for the treasure he found in it.  He wanted mercies and salvation.

42.  So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me.  When God, by granting salvation, gives our prayers an answer of peace, we are ready to answer the objections of the unbeliever, the quibbles of the skeptical, and the sneers of the contemptuous.  Revilers should be answered,  and hence we may expect the Lord to save His people in order that a weapon may be put into their hands (The Sword of the Spirit/and the Word of God) with which to rout His adversaries.  When those who are reproaching us are reproaching God, we may ask Him to help us silence them with the proof of His mercy and His faithfulness.

For I trust in Your Word.  His faith was seen by trusting under trial.  I trust in Your Word is a declaration worth making. The Lord has chosen faith to be the hand where He places His mercies and salvation. For Your Word has given me life.

43.  And take not the Word of truth utterly out of my mouth.  How can I continually proclaim Your Word if it fails me?  The Word of truth cannot be a joy to our mouths unless we have an experience of it in our lives.  We must not quench the Holy Spirit by sin of any kind if we are to proclaim the Gospel message to others.  We must confess sin, and turn from it to have a clear conscience to speak freely.

For I have hoped in Your ordinances.  He had expected God to appear and vindicate his cause, that he might speak with confidence concerning God's faithfulness.  God is the author of our hopes, and we may ask Him to fulfill them.  The Judgments of His providence are the outcome of His Word.  What He says in the Scriptures, He actually performs in His government.  We may look for Him to be strong on behalf of His threats and promises, and we will not look in vain.

44.  So shall I keep Your law continually, forever and ever.  Nothing more effectively binds a believer to the way of the Lord than an experience of the truth of His Word in the form of mercies and deliverances.  The Lord's faithfulness not only opens our mouths against His adversaries, but also knits our hearts to His fear and makes our union with Him more intense.  Great mercies lead to inexpressible gratitude, which promises to immerse eternity with praises. 

God's grace alone can enable us to keep His commandments.  There is no other way to ensure our perseverance in holiness but by the Word of truth dwelling in us.  And so David prayed that it might dwell in Him.

Mercy answers all things.  If God gives us salvation, we can conquer hell, commune with heaven, answer reproach, and keep the law to the end, world without end.

By public testimony and personal life, he would fulfill the divine will and confirm the bonds that bound him to the Lord forever.

45.  And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts.  Saints find no bondage in sanctity.  The Spirit of holiness is a free spirit;  He sets people at liberty and enables them to resist every effort of subjection.  The way of holiness is not a track for slaves; it is the Kings highway for free saints, who joyfully journey from the bondage of Egypt to the land of Canaan.  God's mercy and salvation teach us to love the precepts of the Word, and they give us joyful rest.  The More we seek the perfection of our obedience, the more we will enjoy complete emancipation from spiritual slavery.

I will walk, showing his daily progress through life, at liberty, as one free from prison.  I seek Your precepts.  The object he seeks is God's will.

46.  I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. This is part of his liberty.  He is free from fear, even of the greatest, proudest, and most tyrannical.  David spoke what he believed and he acknowledged God's Word.  When God gives grace cowardice vanishes.  Those who speak for God in God's power will not be ashamed when beginning to speak, or while speaking, or after speaking.

47.  And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.  After liberty and courage comes delight.  Obey the command and you will love it. carry the easy yoke, and rest will come.  David renewed his strength by feeding on precious truth.  Where our love is there is our delight.  In the Scriptures, David found a home. His heart was in them and they yielded pure pleasure.  Jesus said,  "if anyone loves Me, he will keep my Word (John 14:23).

David spoke of walking in liberty and of speaking boldly, for true love is free and fearless.  Love fulfills the Law.

Let Your mercies come that we may love Your Word and way and find all our delight in them.  Amen.  This verse establishes not only what He has done but also what He will do.  He will delight in the Lord's commands.  David knew they would never fail to give joy.  He also knew that grace would keep his heart feeling the same way toward the Lord's precepts.  Throughout his life, he would take supreme delight in holiness.  His heart was so fixed in love to God's will that he knew grace would always hold him in its delightful influence.

48.  My hands also, I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love. And I will glory in Your faithfulness.  My hands also, I will lift up is full of meaning.  He expresses his love.  A true heart loves to express itself;  it is a fire that must send out flames.  It was natural that he would reach toward a command that he delighted in, just as a child holds out its hands to receive a gift.  When such a lovely object as holiness is set before us, we rise toward it with all our nature.  Until this is accomplished we should lift our hands in prayer toward it.

I will meditate on Your statutes.  He can never meditate enough on the mind of God.  Loving subjects want to be familiar with their sovereign's statutes, for they are anxious not to offend through ignorance. Prayer with lifted hands and meditation with upward eyes work best for inner results.  The prayer is already fulfilled in the person who is struggling upward and studying deeply.

When mercy comes down, our hands will be lifted up.  When God in favor thinks on us, we are sure to think of Him.

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

My personal thoughts on this particular passage...

41. Your salvation. This is the sum and crown of all mercies; deliverance from all evil, both now and forever more. This is the first mention of salvation in this Psalm, and it is joined with mercy. "For by grace you have been saved (Eph 2:8). What a mass of mercies is heaped together in the one salvation of our Lord Jesus! It includes the mercies that spared us before our conversion. Then there is calling mercy, the regenerating mercy, and the pardoning mercy. Nor can we exclude from complete salvation the many mercies that are needed to conduct the believer safe to glory.

When I look back on my life, in retrospect, I see many of God's mercies toward me, even before I knew Him.  There was more than one instance in my life where I should have died, but by God's intervention and mercy, I didn't.  Even in many other circumstances I have experienced God's mercies, although I may not always have recognized them, at that time, as coming from Him.  As we know, God often uses other people to carry some of these mercies to us.  Whatever sources or tools God chooses to use, we need to remember who put it into the hearts of the people, at that specific time of need, to be there for another.  The original source of kindness and mercy is always from God. 

The greatest mercy is that God has been watching over us, preserving us, as well as preparing us by bringing particular people, and circumstances into our lives.  Why?  He loves us as a Father and always had a plan to adopt us as His children.  First, though, because He is holy and cannot tolerate sin in His presence, our Triune God planned a way of freeing us of our sin debt and providing us with His Son's perfect righteousness so that we could be reconciled and have a personal intimate relationship with the Father through Christ Jesus, enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

God is patient with us and will reveal Himself bit by bit to us, over many years, and often through many tears. He knows exactly what circumstances we need, and how long it will take for us to recognize we are sinners in need of a Savior.  We cannot save ourselves through any number of good works.  We must recognize and believe His Word is true and there is only one Savior under heaven who can save, and that is Jesus Christ, (Acts 4:12)  God's only Son.  Romans 10:17 says "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ." 

After we have come to a saving faith in Christ Jesus we shall see mercy after mercy, for they are new every morning (Lam.3:22,23).  We have a new living hope and that is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col.1:27).  God's Word becomes a delight as we feed on it daily and drink of His Holy Spirit.  We will still have tests and trials to go through before we go home, but we never need to go through them alone, or in our own strength.  He walks us through them.  He has become our Anchor, and our faith will be unmovable as we keep our eyes and heart fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.


~Annie~

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