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~