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~