Psalm 119: 105-112

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

 

105.  Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

106.  I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.

107.  I am afflicted very much; revive me, O Lord, according to Your Word.

108.  Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me 

         Your judgments.

109.  Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I do not forget Your law.

110.  The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not strayed from Your

         precepts.

111.  Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the

         rejoicing of my heart.

112.  I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the very

         end.

 

 

105.  Your Word is a lamp to my feet.  We are walkers of the cities of this world and we are often called to go into the darkness.  Never venture there without the life-giving Word, less you slip.  Use God's Word personally, practically, and habitually to see the way and what lies in it.  When darkness settles around me, the Lord's Word, like a flaming torch, reveals my way.  Having no fixed lamps in certain ancient towns, each person carried a lantern to avoid falling into the open sewer or stumbling over the heaps of manure that defiled the road.  This is a true picture of our path through this dark world.  We would not know the way or how to walk in it if the Scripture, like a blazing torch, did not reveal it.  One of the most practical benefits of the Bible is guidance in the acts of daily life.  Scripture is not sent to astound us with its brilliance, but to guide us by its instruction.  It is true that the head needs illumination, but the feet need direction even more, lest both feet and head fall into a ditch.

And a light to my path.  It is a lamp by night, a light by day, and a delight at all times.  David guided his steps by it.  He saw the difficulties of the road from its beams.  Whoever walks in darkness will stumble sooner or later.  The person who walks by the light of day or by the lamp of night does not stumble, but keeps upright.  Ignorance about practical subjects is painful; it breeds indecision and anxiety, and these are uncomfortable.  The Word of God, by imparting heavenly knowledge, leads to decision, and when that is followed by determined resolution, as in this case, it brings great restfulness of heart.

106.  I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.  Under the influence of the clear light of knowledge, David had firmly made up his mind and solemnly declared his resolve in the sight of God.  Whatever path was open to him, David had sworn to follow only where the lamp of the Word was shining.  The Scriptures are God's judgments or verdicts on great moral questions.  These are righteous, and righteous people should resolve to keep them at all costs.  The bonds of God's love are no less sacred than the chains of His law.  Will not every believer acknowledge that they are under bonds to the redeeming Lord to follow His example and keep His Words? This is especially so for those who have made a profession of discipleship, have been baptised in to the thrice-holy name, have eaten the consecrated memorials, and have spoken in the name of he Lord Jesus.  We are enlisted, sworn in, and bound to be loyal soldiers throughout the war.  Having taken the Word into our hearts by a firm resolve to obey it, we have a lamp in our souls as well as in the Book.  And our course will be light to the end.

 

107.  I am afflicted very much.  According to the previous verse he had been sworn in as a soldier of the Lord.  In this verse he is called to suffer affliction in that capacity.  Our service to the Lord does not screen us from trials; rather, it secures them.  The psalmist was consecrated, yet chastened.  The chastisements were not light, and it seemed the more he was obedient, the more he was afflicted.  He evidently felt the rod cutting deep, and this he pleads before the Lord.  He does not complain.  He pleads from great affliction for great reviving.

Revive me, O Lord, according to Your Word.  This is the best remedy for trials.  Affliction grows light when the soul is raised above the thought of present distress, for then it is filled with the holy joy that attends all vigorous spiritual life.  Jehovah alone can revive.  He has life in Himself and can readily communicate it.  He can give life at any moment, yes, at this present instant.  the nature of reviving is to be quick in the operation.  The Lord has promised, prepared and provided this blessing of renewed life for all His waiting servants.  It is a covenant blessing and it is as obtainable as it is necessary.  Frequently, affliction becomes the means of reviving, just as stirring a fire increases heat.  In affliction, some desire death, but let us pray for life.  Our forecasts under trials are often gloomy, so let us entreat the Lord to deal with us not according to our fears but according to His Word. 

108.  Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord.  The living praise the living God, and thus the revived one presents his sacrifice.  David offers prayer, praise, confession, and testimony.  These, presented with his voice in the presence of an audience, were his tribute to Jehovah.  He trembles lest these be displeasing to the Lord, and so he implores to be accepted. The psalmist pleads that the praise of his mouth will have been rendered cheerfully and spontaneously.  All his statements were free-will offerings, for there is no value in extorted confessions.  God's revenues are not derived from forced taxation but from free-will offerings.  There can be no acceptance where there is no willingness.  There is no work of free grace when there is no fruit of freewill.  Acceptance is a favor sought from the Lord with all earnestness, and without it, our offerings are worse than useless.

And teach me Your judgments.  When we give the Lord our best, we become all the more concerned to do better.  If the Lord will accept us, we want to be further instructed to be more acceptable.  After reviving, we need teaching. Life without light, or zeal without knowledge, would be half a blessing.  These repeated cries for teaching show the humility of the man of God and point out our need for similar instruction.  Our judgment needs educating until it knows, agrees with, and acts on the judgments of the Lord.  These judgments are not always clear enough to be seen at once.  We need to be taught until we admire their wisdom and adore their goodness.

 

109.  My life is continually in my hand.  David lived in the midst of danger. He was always fighting for existence, hiding in caves or contending in battles.  this is an uncomfortable and trying state of affairs, and people who are in them are apt to think any expedient is justifiable to end such a condition.  David, however, did not turn aside to find safety in sin, for he says, yet I do not forget Your law.  While David carried his life in his hand, he also carried the Law in his heart.  No danger should make us endanger our souls by forgetting what is right.  In his memory of the Lord's Law lay his safety.  He was certain that he was not forgotten by God, for God was not forgotten by him.  It is a special proof of grace when nothing can drive truth from our thoughts or holiness from our lives.  If we remember the law when death is starring us in the face, we may be well assured that the Lord is remembering us.

110.  The wicked have laid a snare for me.  Spiritual life is the scene of constant danger.  The believe lives with his life in his hand.  All seem to be plotting to take it, by cunning, if they cannot by violence.  We will not find it easy to live the life of the faithful.  Wicked people and wicked spirits will leave no stone unturned for our destruction.  If all other devices fail, and if even hidden pits do not succeed, the wicked will still persevere in their treacherous endeavors.  They set snares for the victim of their hate.  Smaller species of game are usually taken by trap, net, or noose.  Wicked people are quite indifferent to the way they destroy the good man, for they think no more of him than if he were a rabbit or a rat.  Cunning and treachery are always the allies of malice.  Anything like a generous or chivalrous feeling is unknown among the graceless.  They treat the godly as if they were vermin to be exterminated.

When a man is assailed, he is too apt to become fearful and rush to some hasty, sinful device for deliverance. But David calmly kept his way.  Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.  He was not snared. He kept his eyes open, and he kept near God.  The psalmist was not trapped and robbed, for he followed the Kings highway of holiness, where God secures safety to every traveler.  He did not err from the right, and he was not deterred from following it because he referred to the Lord for guidance.  If we err from the precepts, we part with the promises.  If we get a way from God's presence, we wander into the wilds, where Fowler's freely spread their nets.  Let us learn from this verse to be on guard, for we have crafty and wicked enemies.  Hunters set traps in the animals usual runs, and our worse snares are laid by our own ways.  Let us keep to the Lord's ways, and then we will escape the snares of the adversary, for God's ways are safe and free from treachery.

 

111.  Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever.  He chose them as his lot, his portion, and his estate.  David took them into his possession and enjoyment. And his choice is our choice.  If we could have our desire we would want to keep God's commands perfectly.  To know the doctrine and to enjoy the promise to practice the command---this is a kingdom large enough for me.  Here, we have an inheritance that cannot fade and from which we cannot be alienated; it is forever, and it is ours forever.  Sometimes, like Israel coming into Canaan, we have to take our heritage by hard fighting (Joshua 8:1), and it is worthy of all our labor and suffering.  But it always has to be taken by a decided choice of the heart and a strong grip of the will.  What God gives we must take.

For they are the rejoicing of my heart.  The gladness that had come through the Word of the Lord had caused David to make an unalterable choice.  All the parts of Scripture had been pleasing, and so he stuck to them and meant to stick to them forever.  That which rejoices the heart is sure to be chosen and treasured.  It is not head knowledge, but heart experience that brings joy.

 

 

It is a good thing when experience ripens into joy, when it passes through  sorrow, prayer, conflict, hope, decision, and holy contentment into rejoicing!  Joy fixes the spirit.  When hearts rejoice in the divine Word, they greatly value it and are forever united to it.

 

As the Old Testament gave testimony to God, the New Testament gives testimony to Christ.  "To Him all the prophets witness"  (Acts 10:43), not only the Old Testament but also the New Testament prophets.  "These are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).  Everywhere there is testimony of Christ, of His humility in taking our nature, of His power in working miracles,  of His wisdom in the parables He spoke, in His patience and love in the torments that He suffered for us.  Both Law and Gospel, the whole Book of Scripture, is properly called Your Testimonies.

 

112.  I have inclined my heart to  perform Your statutes forever, to the very end.   His heart was not half inclined but heartily inclined to virtue.  His heart was bent on practical, persevering godliness.  David resolved to keep the statues of the Lord with all his heart, throughout all his time, without error or end.  He made it his end to keep the law to the end without end.  The psalmist had by prayer, meditation, and resolution, made his entire being lean toward God's commands.  In other words, God's grace had inclined him to incline his heart in a sanctified direction.

 

The sinful heart will run on anything---earthly things, evil things, impertinent and unseasonable things, but it will not come to, or keep that which it should mind.  It must be taken as by a strong hand and set on spiritual things, to muse and meditate on heavenly things.  A carnal heart is like a magnet; it holds to nothing but steel or iron.  But the heart must be of a different material and act in a higher way.  A good heart, though it thinks too much earthward and often runs wrong, will set itself on the right objects.  David tells us how he did it. I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes, both to keep and to meditate on them. He took and inclined his heart, as a thing that had been bending too much to other things.  He pondered, set his mind, and found that his heart was too far away from the law of God.  He then brought them together and made them one.  If he had not brought his heart to the Word, he would never had meditated.  The object cannot apply itself to the mind; the mind must bring itself to the object. No holy duties will come to us.  We must go to them. (Nathaniel Ranew, 1670)

Commentary taken from Treasury of David...Charles Spurgeon

105. Your Word is a lamp to my feet. We are walkers of the cities of this world and we are often called to go into the darkness. Never venture there without the life-giving Word, less you slip. Use God's Word personally, practically, and habitually to see the way and what lies in it. When darkness settles around me, the Lord's Word, like a flaming torch, reveals my way. Having no fixed lamps in certain ancient towns, each person carried a lantern to avoid falling into the open sewer or stumbling over the heaps of manure that defiled the road. This is a true picture of our path through this dark world. We would not know the way or how to walk in it if the Scripture, like a blazing torch, did not reveal it. One of the most practical benefits of the Bible is guidance in the acts of daily life. Scripture is not sent to astound us with its brilliance, but to guide us by its instruction. It is true that the head needs illumination, but the feet need direction even more, lest both feet and head fall into a ditch.

My thoughts on verse 105...                                                                            
Without the light of God's Word to illuminate our understanding and give us wisdom, we would be in big trouble.  Without the light to shine on our path in this dark world, we may be unaware of the danger up ahead, or we may take the wrong direction and get lost.   We are pilgrims here in this land and are on our journey back home where we belong.  There are many obstacles, traps, and snares on the pathway. There are also temptations and other allurements to distract us and carry us off the path that leads home.   We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Light of the world to show us the way, and to be our Guide all the way home.

~Annie~

Psalm 119: 97-104

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 for Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

 97.  Oh, how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all day.  

 98.  You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for

        they are ever with me.

 99.  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are

        my meditation.

100.  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.

101.  I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep Your 

         Word.

102.  I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught 

         me.

103.  How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104.  Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false 

         way.

97.  Oh, how I love Your law!  David must express his love, and in making the attempt, he perceives that it is inexpressible.  He cries, Oh, how I love Your law!  We not only reverence but also love the law.  We obey it out of love, and even when it chides us for disobedience, we love it none the less.  The Law is God's Law, and therefore it is our love.  We love it for its holiness, and we want to be holy.  We love it for its wisdom, and we study to be wise.  We love it for its perfection, and we long to be perfect.  Those who know the power of the gospel perceive an infinite loveliness in the Law as it is fulfilled and embodied in Christ.

It is my meditation all the day.  This was both the effect and the cause of his love.  David meditated in God's Word because he loved it, and then he loved it more because he meditated in it.  He could not have enough of it, so ardently did he love it.  All day was not long enough for thinking on it.  His morning prayer, his noonday thought, and his evening songs were from the Holy Scripture.  The more you are into God's Word the more familiar you become with it.  Familiarity breeds affection, and affection seeks greater familiarity.  When You law and my meditation are together all day, the day grows holy, devout and happy, and the heart lives with and to God.


98.  You through Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies.  The commands  were his books, but God was his teacher.  The letter can give knowledge, but only the divine Spirit can make one wise.  Wisdom is knowledge put to practical use.  Wisdom comes from obedience, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine" (John 7:17). We learn not only from promise, doctrine, and sacred history but also from precept  and command.  From the commandments we gather practical wisdom that best enables us to cope with our adversaries.  Our enemies are renowned for subtlety.  It is useless to try to match them in craft and cunning, "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light" (Luke 16:8).  We must go to another school and learn from a different instructor.  Then by uprightness, we will baffle fraud.  By simple truth, we will vanquish deep laid scheming, and by open candor, we will defeat slander.  A thoroughly straightforward person, devoid of all policy, is a terrible puzzle to a diplomatist, who will suspect the straightforward person of a subtle duplicity through which he, the diplomatist, cannot see, while the straightforward person, indifferent to the other's suspicions and holding to the even tenor of his way, baffles the diplomatist.  Those who are taught of God have a practical wisdom that malice cannot give to the crafty; while harmless as a dove, they exhibit more than serpent's wisdom.

For they are ever with me.  David was always studying and obeying the commandments; they were his choice and constant companions.  If we wish to be proficient, we must be indefatigable.  If we keep the wise law ever near, we become wise, and when our adversaries assail us, we will be prepared with the ready wit that lies in having God's Word at our fingertips.  As a soldier in battle must never lay down his shield, we must always have the Word of God in our minds.  It must always be with us.


99.  I have more understanding than all my teachers.  With meditation, we preach to ourselves, and therefore come to have more understanding.  Disciples of Christ, who sit at His feet, are often better skilled in divine things than doctors of divinity.  For Your testimonies are my meditation.  This is the best method of acquiring understanding.  We may hear the wisest teachers and still remain fools, but if we meditate on the sacred Word we will become wise.  There is more wisdom in the Lord's testimonies than in all man's teachings, even if they were gathered into one vast library.  This one Book outweighs all the rest.

David does not hesitate to speak the truth concerning himself for he is innocent of self consciousness.  In speaking of his understanding, he extols the law and the Lord, not himself.


100.  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.  The men of old age and the men of old time were outdone by the holier and more youthful learner.  David had been taught to observe the Lord's precepts in heart and life.  He had the Word with him and so he outstripped his foes.  He meditated on it, and so he outran his friends.  He practiced it, and so he outshone his elders.  The instruction derived from Holy Scripture is useful in many directions, superior from many points of view, and unrivaled everywhere and in every way.  As our soul boasts in the Lord, we boast in His Word.  The ancients are held in high repute, but what did they know compared to what we perceive in the divine precepts?  "Old is better,"  says one. But the oldest of all is the best of all, and what is that except the Word of the Ancient of days.


101.  I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your Word.  There is no treasuring the Holy Word unless there is a casting out of all unholiness.  David zealously watched his steps and put a check on his conduct;  He had restrained his feet.  No evil way could entice him. He knew that if he went astray in the one road, he had left the way of practical righteousness; therefore, he avoided every false way.  The by-paths were smooth and flowery, but he knew they were evil, and so he turned his feet away and held to the straight and thorny pathway that leads to God.

Where there is real holiness,  there is holy hatred, detest and indignation against all ungodliness and wickedness.  I have restrained my feet from every evil way. Why? That I may keep Your Word.  "Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way.  The good that David got by divine precepts stirred his hatred against every false way."  A holy person knows that all sin strikes at the holiness of God, the glory of God, the nature of God, the being of God, and the Law of God. 


102.  I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me.  Lest it should seem that David ascribed the praise of godliness to himself, or that it came from any goodness in him, he gives all the glory to God.  He states that because God taught him he could not refuse being taught.  Here, we learn that whenever we stand, or whenever we have fallen and then rise and repent, it is God that teaches us.  God never leaves us to ourselves. Now David was taught by ordinary teachers, and he reverenced them, but the reason he profited from them, he says, is because of God.  Paul may plant and Apollos water, but God must give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). William Cowper, 1566-1619

God's instruction has a practical effect; we follow His way when He teaches.  It also has an abiding effect; we do not depart from holiness.  If we begin to depart a little, we can never tell where we will end.  The Lord brings us to persevere in holiness by abstinence of sin.  But whatever the method, He is the worker of our perseverance.  To Him be all the glory.


103.  How sweet are Your Words to my taste.  David not only heard God's Word, but he also fed on them; they affected his palate as well as his ear.  God's Words were divinely sweet to God's servant.  God who put the sweetness in them, had prepared His servant's taste to discern and enjoy them.  David makes no distinction between promises and precepts, or doctrines.  They are all included in God's Words; all are precious in his esteem. 

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!  He not only fed on God's Words but also spoke the Word and instructed others.  This gave him an increased delight.  When the psalmist fed on it, he found it sweet, and when he witnessed, it became sweeter.  How wise to keep the Word on our palate by meditation and on our tongue by confession.  If it is not sweet to our taste when we think about it, it will not be sweet to our mouth when we talk about it.

At this moment, there is nothing in the whole world so much to be desired as certain words, such as words of love, words expressive of infinite love.  Treasures, pleasures, and honors of earth, what are they?  My unsatisfied soul cries, "Give me Words."  Give me Words to know the love God has toward me;  Words declaring the unchangeable attachment of the Savior to me; Words purifying my heart, making me bolder in prayer, and showing me the blissful future; Words that will give life to my dead powers and change me from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. (George Bowen, 1873)


104.  Through Your precept I get understanding.  God's direction is our instruction.  Obedience to the divine yields wisdom of mind and action.  We are wise if we obey, and we grow wise by obeying.  Therefore, I hate every false way.  Because he had understanding and because of the divine precepts, David detested sin and falsehood. Until sin is hated, it cannot be subdued. True hearts are not indifferent to sin falsehoods. They love the truth and so hate the lie. They set their faces against all error of doctrine and wickedness of life.  Those who love one sin are in league with the whole army of sins.  We must have neither truce or parley with even one of these Amalakites, for the Lord has made war on them from generation to generation. And so must we.  It is good to be a hater of no living being, but of every false way.  Self-will, self-righteousness, worldliness, pride, unbelief, and hypocrisy are all false ways and must not only be shunned but also abhorred.

The final verse in this section marks a great advance in character.  It shows that the man of God is growing stronger, bolder, and happier. He has been taught by the Lord so that he discerns between the precious and the vile. And while he fervently loves the truth, he intensely hates falsehood.  May all of us reach this state of discrimination and determination, that we may greatly glorify God.

Taken from the Treasury of David - comments by Charles Spurgeon



97. Oh, how I love Your law! David must express his love, and in making the attempt, he perceives that it is inexpressible. He cries, Oh, how I love Your law! We not only reverence but also love the law. We obey it out of love, and even when it chides us for disobedience, we love it none the less. The Law is God's Law, and therefore it is our love. We love it for its holiness, and we want to be holy. We love it for its wisdom, and we study to be wise. We love it for its perfection, and we long to be perfect. Those who know the power of the gospel perceive an infinite loveliness in the Law as it is fulfilled and embodied in Christ.

It is my meditation all the day. This was both the effect and the cause of his love. David meditated in God's Word because he loved it, and then he loved it more because he meditated in it. He could not have enough of it, so ardently did he love it. All day was not long enough for thinking on it. His morning prayer, his noonday thought, and his evening songs were from the Holy Scripture. The more you are into God's Word the more familiar you become with it. Familiarity breeds affection, and affection seeks greater familiarity. When You law and my meditation are together all day, the day grows holy, devout and happy, and the heart lives with and to God.


My thoughts on verse 97...

It is so true that the more you study and meditate on God's Word, the more familiar you become with it, familiarity breeds affection, and affection seeks greater familiarity. 

John 1:1 tells us Jesus is the Word of God. In John 6: Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread of Life, the true Manna from heaven.  He has told us that in order to have life we must feed on Him daily just as the Israelites had to feed on one day's portion at a time. Jesus explained in (John 6:62-63) that after He ascended back to heaven He would send the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would give life; the flesh counts for nothing.  Then He said, the words I have spoken to you, they are spirit and they are life. Romans 8 tells us how to become dead to the flesh and alive to the Spirit.

The Lord's Prayer reminds us we need our daily Bread.  God's Word is our food, our daily supplement, our nourishment to give us a vital spiritual life. The Holy Spirit is also vital for our spiritual growth because He takes God's Word and makes it become alive for us, causing it to strengthen us, encourage us, and to give us hope. He works from within us to empower and enable us... and to do so much more.  Feeding on God's Word daily increases our appetite and increasingly makes us hungry for more. It never gets old no matter how many times you read it, because we always find something we seemed to have missed or overlooked before.  It is the most exciting Book there ever was, or ever will be.  When the Author is God, Himself, how can it be otherwise?


I find that while reading a passage of God's Word (6-9 vv or more), and asking the How, Who, Why, When, What, and Where questions, and what the therefore is there for, what was the author's intention and who was he speaking to, and what was the culture at the time, and other questions, we will get a more accurate interpretation of the passage in context.  Then we can ask ourselves how this would apply to our life today. What can we learn from this?

~Annie~





This just keeps getting better and better...


Please share your insights into any portion or part that really stands out for you in some way. 

   

 

Psalm 119: 89-96

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

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

89.  Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven.

90.  Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth,    
       and it abides.
91.  They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your     
       servants.
92.  Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my
       affliction.

93.  I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.

94.  I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts.

95.  The wicked wait for me to destroy me, but I will consider Your testimonies.

96.  I have seen the consummation of all perfection, but Your commandment is 

       exceedingly broad.

89-96  We have arrived at the Psalm's center, and the thread of the connection is purposely broken off.  The substance of the first eleven sections has evidently been, "The Lord has brought me this far, will I now perish?"  To this, the eleven succeeding sections answer, "The Lord's Word does not change, and in spite of all the evil, the Lord will perfect in me the work that He has already begun."    (Joseph Francis Thrupp, 1860)

89.  Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven.  The strain is more joyful; experience has given David a comfortable knowledge of the Word of the Lord.  After tossing on a sea of trouble, the psalmist leaps to shore and stands on a rock.  Unlike man's word, Jehovah's Word is not fickle or uncertain. It is settled, determined, fixed, sure, immovable.  It is settled in heaven where nothing can reach it.  In the last section, David's soul fainted, but here, the good man looks out of self and perceives, "The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:28). Nor is their any failure in His Word.

This verse takes the form of an ascription of praise.  The faithfulness and the immutability of God are proper themes for a holy song.  When we are tired of gazing on life's shifting scene, the thought of immutable promise fills our mouth with singing.  God's purposes, promises, and precepts are settled in David's mind, and none of them will be disturbed.  Covenant settlements will not be removed, however unsettled people's thoughts may become.  Let us therefore, settle it in our minds that we abide in the faith of our Jehovah, as long as we have any being.

90.  Your faithfulness endures to all generations.  God is faithful to all generations, so long as they keep His covenant and remember His commandments.  Divine faithfulness endures forever.  He who comforted His servants thousands of years ago still shows Himself strong on behalf of all that trust Him today.

You established the earth and it abides.  Nature is governed by fixed laws. The globe keeps its course by divine command.  It displays no erratic movements, the seasons observe their predestined order, and the oceans obey the rule of ebb and flow.  All things are marshaled in their appointed order.   There is an analogy between the Word of God and the works of God, both are constant, fixed, and unchangeable.  The Word of God that established the world is the same as He has embodied in the Scriptures.  "By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made" (Ps 33:6), and especially by Him who is emphatically the Word (John1:1).  When we see the world keeping its place, all its laws remaining the same, we have assurance that the Lord will be faithful to His covenant and will not allow the faith of His people to be put to shame.  If God's Word established the world surely it is enough to establish the individual believer.

91.  They continue this day according to Your ordinances.  Because the Lord has commanded the universe to remain, it stands, and all of its laws continue to operate with precision and power.  Because God's might is ever present to maintain them, all things continue.  The Word that spoke all things into existence has supported them until now, and it is still supporting them, both in being and in well being. God's ordinance is the reason for continued existence of creation.

For all are Your servants.  Created by Your Word, they obey that Word, answering the purpose of their existence and working out the design of their Creator.  Great and small things pay homage to the Lord.  No atom escapes His rule; no world avoids His government.  Should we, then, wish to be free of the Lord's sway and become lords unto ourselves?  It is God's law that secures the well-being of the universe.  Let us continue to serve, and serve more perfectly as our lives are continued.  by that Word which is settled, may we be settled.  By that voice which established the earth, may we be established. By that command by which all created things obey, may we be made the servants of the Lord God almighty.  We depend on Him and give Him glory as our Creator, Conserver, and Redeemer.

92.  Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.  That Word, which has preserved the heavens and the earth, also preserves God's people in time of trial.  We are charmed with that Word which is a mine of delight.  We would lie down and die of our griefs if the spiritual comfort of God's Word had not uplifted us.  But by their sustaining influence, we have been carried above all the depression and despair that naturally grows out of severe affliction.  Some of us can set our seal to this statement:  If it had not been for divine grace, our affliction would have crushed us out of existence, and we would have perished.  In our darkest seasons, nothing has  kept us from desperation but the Lord's promise.  At times, nothing stood between us and self-destruction save faith in God's eternal Word. When worn with pain until the brain has become dazed and reason nearly extinguished, our poor struggling mind has still rested on the bosom of God as a sweet text has whispered it's heart-cheering assurance to us. That which was our delight in prosperity has become our light in adversity.  That which kept us from presuming in the day has kept us from perishing in the night.

93.  I will never forget Your precept, for by them You have given me life.  When we have felt the power of a life-giving precept, we can never forget it. We may read it, learn it, repeat it, and think we have it, and yet it may still slip out of our minds.  If, it has once given life or renewed that life, there is no fear of its failing from our recollection, for experience teaches and teaches effectively.  How blessed to have the precepts written on the heart with the golden pen of experience!  How blessed to have them engraved on the memory with divine grace!  That life-giving energy of the Word in the soul which revives the heart is sure to revive the memory.  Life lies in God's precepts and in all of the Lord's Words. 

When the Lord raised the dead, He addressed the Word of command, "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43), or "Little girl, arise" (Luke 8:54). Do not fear to address gospel precepts to dead sinners, since by them, the Spirit gives life.  The psalmist does not say that the precept gave him life, but that the Lord gave him life through the precepts.  He traced the life from the channel to the Source and places the glory where it is due. Yet at the same time, he prized the instruments of he blessing and resolved never to forget them.

94.  I am Yours, save me.  This is a comprehensive prayer with a prevailing argument.  Consecration is a good plea for preservation.  We are the Lord's by creation, election, redemption, surrender, and acceptance.  Our firm hope and assured belief is that He will save us.

For I have sought Your precepts.  His children know that no merit can be found in them. Thus they urge a reason fetched from the grace of God.  In this way, the psalmist proved that he was the Lord's.  He might not have attained all the holiness he wanted, but he studiously aimed at being obedient to the Lord, and he begged to be saved even to the end.  A person may seek the doctrines and the promises and still be unrenewed in heart.  But to seek the precepts is a sure sign of grace.  The Lord had evidently worked a great work in the psalmist, who sought Him to complete it.  Saving is linked with seeking.  When the Lord sets us seeking, He will not refuse us the saving.  Those who seek holiness are already saved.

95.  The wicked wait for me to destroy me, but I will consider Your testimonies.  David did not allow the malice of the wicked keep him from his holy study of the divine Word.  He was so calm that he could consider, so holy that he loved to consider the Lord's testimonies, so victorious over all their plots that he did not allow them to drive him from holy contemplation.  If the enemy cannot force us to withdraw our thoughts from holy study, or our feet from holy walking, or our hearts from holy aspirations, they have met with poor success in their assaults.  And if they cannot do this today, they will wait for further opportunities.  If we are unmoved so that we don't give them a thought, their hope of destroying us will be a poor one.

96.  I have seen the consummation of all perfection.  David had seen its limit, for it went but a little way.  He had seen its evaporation under the trials of life, its detection under the searching glance of truth, its exposure by the confession of the penitent.    Experience believers have seen an end of all perfection in themselves, in their brethren, and even in the best person's best works.  There is no such thing as perfection in anything that is the work of man.

But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.  When the breadth of the law is known, the notion of fleshly perfection vanishes, for the law touches every act, word, and thought, and it is of such a spiritual nature that it even judges the motives, desires, and emotions of the soul.  It reveals a perfection that convicts of shortcomings as well as transgressions.  The divine ideal of holiness is far too broad to cover all its wide arena, yet it is no broader than it ought to be.  Who would want an imperfect law?  Its perfection is its glory, and it is the death of all glorying in our own perfection.  There is a breadth about the commandment that has never been fully met by a corresponding breadth of holiness in any mere human here below; only in Jesus is perfection fully embodied.

Taken from the Treasury of David - commentary by Charles Spurgeon

92. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. That Word, which has preserved the heavens and the earth, also preserves God's people in time of trial. We are charmed with that Word which is a mine of delight. We would lie down and die of our griefs if the spiritual comfort of God's Word had not uplifted us. But by their sustaining influence, we have been carried above all the depression and despair that naturally grows out of severe affliction. Some of us can set our seal to this statement: If it had not been for divine grace, our affliction would have crushed us out of existence, and we would have perished. In our darkest seasons, nothing has kept us from desperation but the Lord's promise. At times, nothing stood between us and self-destruction save faith in God's eternal Word.

My thoughts of this passage...

In my pre-Christian days as a young adult I began to have extremely bad flashbacks to an earlier part or my life which, along with most other memories, had been totally blocked out.  This was back in 1970 when they began occurring regularly at unexpected times, I feared that I must be losing my mind and I didn't understand why I was having them.  I thought if I told anyone, I would be locked up for good.  I could only think of one thing, and that was to keep my children safe. I thought the only way to do that was for me to die.  I overdosed on Seconal sleeping pills after sending my two little ones to a neighbours. I thought I would have a cigarette while I waited for the drugs to work, but apparently was out before I had finished the cigarette. lt had fallen to the carpet and left a burned spot. I woke up in the intensive care the following day and was forced to see a psychiatrist.  I never did tell him about the flashbacks because I was afraid to.  Instead, after leaving the hospital I started using alcohol and valium to keep the flashbacks at bay.  Twenty years later I would be forced to deal with my past.


January 28, 1994 I became a new creation in Christ Jesus and my life has been totally different since this time.  I came to know Him deeper through intensive searching through the Bible for Scriptural truths to clear up twisted scripture and to undo wrong conceptions. I had a head knowledge of who Jesus was, except hadn't recognized Him as God before the above date.  Since this time, I have a hunger and a thirst for His Word and His Spirit in my life.  I no longer relied on chemicals or alcohol for dealing (or not dealing) with life's pains and trials...and I have had plenty of tough tests and trials since.  My supports now are pouring my heart out to my Father, soaking myself in His Word, with the Holy Spirit giving me the strength and enablement I need in all things.  I now have a Living Hope and on Him alone... I rely on for all things.

God has taken my past, including the flashbacks of memories, and has brought good out from the evil. I feel the bigger part of my life was a mess but God cleans up messes, too.  I thank Him for His Word and His Spirit to cover every area of life and every test or trial we will encounter. Most of all, I thank Jesus for shedding His blood for me to rescue me from the kingdom pit of darkness and bringing me into the kingdom of light. I will forever treasure His Word because it is His message to us.  I will forever treasure Him because He is worthy to be treasured and praised forever. Thank You, Father for giving me new life in Your Spirit. Thank you Holy Spirit for empowering and enabling me to live for Christ. Our triune God is to be forever praised.

~Annie~

Psalm 119: 81-88

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

81.  My soul faints for Your salvation, but I hope in Your Word.

82.  My eyes fail from searching Your Word, saying, "When will You comfort

       me?"

83.  For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, yet I do not forget Your

       statutes.

84.  How many are the days of Your servant?  When will You execute judgment

       on those who persecute me?

85.  The proud have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law.

86.  All of Your commands are faithful; they persecute me wrongly;  Help me!

87.  They almost made an end of me on earth, but I did not forsake Your

       precepts.

88.  Revive me according to Your loving kindness, so that I may keep the

       testimony of Your mouth.

The eleventh Hebrew letter (of the eleventh section) signifies the hollowed hand.  The hand is hollowed either to retain something that actually lies in it or to receive something about to be placed in it.  Thus, the hand may be God's, as the giver of bounty, or man's, as the receiver of it.  The scope of this section is that man holds out his hand as a beggar, asking for the mercy of God. (James Neale and R.F. Littledale, 1879)

81-88.  Davids enemies have brought him to the lowest condition of anguish and depression, but he is faithful to the Law, and he is trusting God.  This octave is the midnight of the Psalm, dark and black.  Stars shine, however, and the last verse promises the dawn, and the strain will become more cheerful.  Meanwhile, it should minister comfort to see an eminent servant of God so used by the ungodly.  Evidently, in our persecutions, no strange thing has happened to us.  see- (1 Peter 4: 12-14)

81.  My soul faints for Your salvation.  David wished for no deliverance but God's.  And he was eager for that divine deliverance, which he desired up to the full measure of his strength, yes, and beyond it, until he fainted.  So strong was his desire that it produced depression.  The sincerity and eagerness of his desires were proved.  Nothing else could satisfy but deliverance worked by God's hand.  His nature yearned for salvation from the God of all grace, and he must have it or utterly fail.

He felt salvation would come because God can neither break His promise nor disappoint the hope His Word has given.  The fulfillment of His Word is near when our hope is firm and our desire is fervent.  With God's promise, hope alone can keep the soul from fainting.  Yet hope does not quench the desire for a speedy answer to prayer.  It increases our importunity; it stimulates ardor, and sustains the heart under delays.  The frequent experience of the Christian is, we are faint, yet we are pursuing.  Hope sustains when desire exhausts.  While the grace of desire throws us down, the grace of hope lifts us up.

82.  My eyes fail from searching Your Word, saying, "When will You comfort me?"  His eyes failed from eagerly gazing for the Lord's promised appearance, and in weariness his heart cried for comfort.  We may not set times for God, for this is to limit the Holy One of Israel, but we may urge our suite with importunity and make fervent inquiry as to why the promise tarries.

This experience of waiting and fainting is well know by experienced saints.  It teaches many precious lessons that would never be learned by any other means.  Among the choice results is this:  The body rises in sympathy with the soul, for both heart and flesh cry for the living God.  When will You comfort me?  A humble eye lifted to heaven in silent prayer may flash flames that will melt the bolts which bar the entrance of the vocal prayer.  Heaven will be taken by storm by the artillery of tears.  Blessed are the eyes that are strained in looking for God.  The eyes of the Lord will see that such eyes do not actually fail.

83.  For I have become like a wineskin in smoke.  Empty wineskin's were hung in the tent, and when the place reeked with smoke, the skins turned black from soot, and in the heat, they became wrinkled and worn.  The psalmist's character had been smoked with slander and his mind parched with persecution.  David was half afraid that he would become useless and incapable through so much mental suffering.  He feared that people would look on him as an old wineskin that could hold nothing and answer no purpose.  What a metaphor for a man to use who was a poet, a divine, a master in Israel, a king, and a man after God's heart!  It is no wonder if we are made to think little of ourselves and are filled with depression.  Some of us know the inner meaning of this simile, for we have felt dingy, mean, and worthless, fit only to be thrown away.

Yet I do not forget Your statutes.  This is the patience of the saints and the victory of faith.  The man of God might be blackened by falsehood, but the truth was in him; he never gave it up.  He was faithful to his King, even when he seemed deserted and left to the vilest uses.  The promises came to his mind, and the statutes were there too.  The worst circumstances cannot destroy the believer's hold on God.  Grace is a living power that survives when all other forms of existence would suffocate.  Fire cannot consume it, and smoke cannot smother it.  You may be reduced to skin and bone, and all your comforts may be dried out of you, yet you can hold fast to your integrity and glorify God.

84.  How many are the days of Your servant?  Like a hired servant, David had a  certain term to serve, and he would not complain.  Still, the time seemed so long, because his grief was heavy.  No one knows the appointed number of our days except the Lord, and so the appeal is made to Him not to prolong them beyond His servant's strength.

When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?  He had pleaded his case in the Lord's hands. He prayed that the sentence might be given and executed.  David wanted nothing but justice.  He wanted his character cleared and his persecutors silenced.  David knew that God would certainly avenge His elect.  But the day of rescue tarried. The hours dragged heavily, and the persecuted one cried day and night for deliverance.

85.  The proud have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law.  References to pits:  Ps 7:15; 9:15: !0:2;141:10; Prov. 26:27; Eccl.10:18; and Ex.21:33.  Pits would be dug out and were supposed to be covered so that an ox or donkey would not fall into them. Prisoners were sometimes shut up in pits and left without water to die of thirst.  David's foes tried to trap him as a hunter would an animal.  They worked hard to ruin him; they dug pits, not one, but many.  If one would not capture him, perhaps another one would.

Neither the men nor the pits were according to the divine law.  These men were cruel and crafty deceivers and their pits were contrary to the Levitical law (Ex.21:33) and to the command that tells us to love our neighbour as ourselves(Matt.19:19.  It was well for David that his enemies were God's enemies and that their attacks on him had no sanction from the Lord.  It was his gain that he was aware of their devices.  He was put on guard and watched his ways, lest he should fall into their pits. While he kept to the law of the Lord he was safe, although it was still uncomfortable to have his path made dangerous by the craft of wanton malice.

86.  All Your commandments are faithful.  He had no fault to find with God's law, even though he had fallen into sad trouble by being obedient to it.  Whatever the command might cost, it was worth it.  God's way might be rough, but it was right; it might make enemies, but still it was his best friend.  He believed that, in the end, God's command would turn to his profit and that he would not lose by obeying.

They persecuted me wrongfully.  The fault lay with the persecutors and not with God or himself.  He had done no injury and had acted according to truth and justice.  Thus, he confidently appeals to God and cries, Help me!    This is a golden prayer, as precious as it is short.  The words are few, but the meaning is full.  Help was needed to avoid the snare, to bear up under reproach, and to act prudently to baffle his foes.  God's help is our hope.  Whoever may hurt us, it matters not, so long as the Lord helps us.  Many times troubles saints have groaned these words.  They suit a thousand conditions of need, pain, distress, weakness, and sin.  No other help is sufficient.  But God's help is all sufficient, and we cast ourselves on it without fear.

87.  They almost made an end of me on earth.  His foes almost destroyed him.  Evidently, he had fallen under their power, and they used that power in an attempt to consume him.  He escaped by the skin of his teeth.  The lions are chained.  They can rage no further than God permits.  The psalmist perceives the limit of their power; they could only touch his earthly life and earthly goods.  On earth, they almost ate him, but he had an eternal portion that they could not even nibble at.

But I did not forsake Your precepts.  Nothing could drive him from obeying the Lord.  If we stick to the precepts, we will be rescued by the promises.  If we are resolved to die sooner than to forsake the Lord, we will not die, but will live to see the overthrow of those who hate us.

88.  Revive me according to Your loving kindness.  This is a most wise, most blessed prayer!  If we are revived in our personal holiness, we will be out of reach of assailants.  Our best protection from tempters and persecutors is more (spiritual) life.  Loving kindness can do no greater service than to give life more abundantly.  When we are revived we are able to bear affliction, to baffle craftiness, and to conquer sin.

So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.  If revived by the Holy Spirit, we will exhibit holy character.  We will be faithful to sound doctrine when the Spirit visits us and makes us faithful.  None keep the Lord's Word unless the Word of the Lord's mouth revives them.  We should admire the spiritual prudence of the psalmist.  He does not pray for freedom from trial but for renewed life, that he may be supported under it.  When the inner life is vigorous, all is well.  In verse 80 of the previous octave, David prays for a sound heart.  Here, he seeks a revived heart. This is the root of the matter, seeking what is most needful.  Lord, let it be heart work, and let our hearts be right with You.

The commentary is from the Treasury of David - Charles Spurgeon

My thoughts of verse 88...

If we should find we have fallen into the pit of depression and are feeling worthless, hopeless, empty and dead inside, it is really difficult to get out.  At this point we are not feeling the joy of the Spirit or delight in God's Word and we are too limp to fight.  There is one thing we can do though, and that is  pour out our heart to the Lord and tell Him exactly how we are feeling, and why, if we know the reason, and ask Him to get us out of this. 

What I generally do at times like this, after praying, is to put on some praise and worship music, and get busy doing something physical. After that, I will go to His Word, whether through using a devotional first and then following the Scripture references from it, or to passages of Scripture that I know will help lift me up and give me hope again. 

The enemy would have us believe all his lies that we are worthless, and good for nothing, stupid, and a mess up.  We have to remind ourselves we are in a spiritual battle and we can win it, because God has provided us with everything we need, to do so.  We need to put  aside what the enemy is telling us and remember who we are in Christ Jesus. Continue to pray, praise, and meditate on His Word daily and He will enable us to win the battle against the enemy.
(2 Peter 1: 3-10; Ephesians 6:10-18; Psalm 62:8)

I'd love to hear what others really delighted in, what caused you to pause for thought, or maybe what you would like to be able to apply more consistently to your own life... or any other thought regarding this portion of the Psalm.

Until next week,  ~Annie~