Psalm 119: 169- 176

Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

 

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

169.  Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to

         Your Word.

170.  Let my supplication come before You; deliver me according to Your Word.

171.  My lips shall utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes.

172.  My tongue shall speak of Your Word, for all Your commands are righteous.

173.  Let Your hand become my help, for I have chosen Your precepts.

174.  I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight.

175.  Let my soul live and it shall praise You; and let Your judgments help me.

176.  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget

         Your commandments.

169- 176.  The psalmist is approaching the end of the Psalm, and his petitions gather force and fervency.  He breaks into the inner circle of divine fellowship and falls at the feet of the great God whose help he is imploring.  This nearness creates the most lowly view of himself and leads him to close the Psalm on his face in deep humiliation, begging to be found like a lost sheep.

169.  Let my cry come before You, O Lord.  David is afraid that he will not be heard.  He is conscious that his prayer is nothing better than the cry of a poor child or the groan of a wounded animal.  The psalmist fears that his cry will be shut out from the ear of the Most High.  He boldly prays that it will come before God, in His sight, under His notice, and looked on with His acceptance.  David goes further and pleads, Let my cry come before You, O Lord.  He wants the Lord's close consideration to his prayer. He uses a figure of speech to animate this prayer.  Picture his prayer like Esther venturing into the royal presence, pleading for an audience (Esth.5:2) and finding favor in sight of the blessed and only Potentate.  It is sweet when our prayer has obtained an audience, when it has trodden the sea of glass before the throne and comes to the footstool of the glorious seat around which heaven and earth adores God.  It is to Jehovah that this prayer is expressed with trembling earnestness.  Our translator, filled with holy reverence, translated the Word, O Lord.  We crave an audience from no one else, for we have confidence in no one else.


Give me understanding according to Your Word.  This is the prayer that the psalmist is exceedingly anxious about.  With all his getting he would get understanding; whatever else he misses, he is resolved not to miss this priceless blessing.  He wants spiritual light and understanding as it is promised in God's Word, as it goes from God's Word, and as it produces obedience to God's Word.  David pleads as if he had no understanding of his own and needs it to be given to him. Give me understanding.  David had understanding acccording to human judgment, but what he sought was an understanding according to God's Word.  This is quite different. To understand spiritual things is the gift of God.  to have judgment enlightened by heavenly light and conformed to divine truth is a privilege that only grace can give.  Many who are wise in the ways of this world are fools according to the Word of the Lord.  May we be among those happy children who will be taught by the Lord.

170.  Let my supplication come before You.  It is the same earnest petition but with a slight change of words.  David humbly calls his cry a supplication, a beggar's petition.  Again, he asks for an audience and an answer.  There might be hindrances in the way to getting an audience, and so he begs for their removal, saying, let it come before You.  Other believers are heard, so let my supplication come before You. 

Deliver me according to Your Word.  Rid me of adversaries, clear me of slanderers, preserve me from temptations, and bring me out of affliction, as Your Word has led me to expect.  It is for this that he seeks understanding.  His enemies would succeed through his folly, if they succeeded at all.  but if he exercised a sound discretion, they would be baffled, and he would escape.  The Lord, in answer to prayer, frequently delivers His children by making them wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16).


171.  My lips shall utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes.  David will not always be pleading for himself; he will rise above selfishness and give thanks for the benefits received.  The psalmist promises to praise God when he has obtained practical instruction in the godly life.  This is something to praise God for; no blessing is more precious.  The best possible praise proceeds from people who honor God not only with their lips but also with their lives.  We learn the music of heaven in the school of holy living.  Believers whose lives honor the Lord are sure to be people of praise.  David would not only be grateful in silence but also would express gratitude in appropriate terms.  His lips would speak what his life had practiced.  Eminent disciples speak well of the master who instructed them. And this holy man, when taught the statues of the Lord, promises to give all the glory to whom is is due


172.  My tongue shall speak of Your Word.  When he finished singing, he began preaching.  God's tender mercies may be either spoken or sung.  When the tongue speaks of God's Word, it has a fruitful subject.  Ths speaking is the leaves of a tree of life for the healing of the nations (Rev.22:2).  People will gather to listen to such talk, and they will treasure it in their hearts.  Our problem is that, for the most part, we are full of our own words and speak but little of God's Word.  If only we could come to the same result as this godly man, and say, My tongue shall speak of Your Word.  Then, we would break our sinful silence.  we would no longer be cowards and half-hearted, but true witnesses for Jesus.  It is not only of God's works but also of His Word that we are to speak.  We are to extol its truth, wisdom, preciousness, grace, and power, and then tell all that it has revealed, all it has promised, all it has commanded, and all it has affected.  This subject gives us plenty of sea room; we may speak forever.  The tale is forever telling, yet untold.



For all Your commandments are righteousness.  David appears to have been delighted with the perceptive part of the Word of God.  His chief delight lay in its purity and excellence.  When a man can speak this from the heart, his heart is indeed a temple of the Holy Spirit.   David had said, "Your testimonies, which You have commanded, are righteous and very faithful" (v.138).  Here he declares that they are righteousness itself.  God's law is not only the standard of right but the essence of righteousness. This the psalmist affirms on each and every precept, without exception.  He felt like Paul, "The law is holy, and the commandement holy and just and good" (Rom.7:12).  When believers have so high an opinion of God's commandments, it is little wonder that their lips are ready to extol the ever-glorious One.

173.  Let Your hand become my help.  Give me practical comfort.  Do not leave me to my friends or Your friends.  Put Your hand to the work. Your hand has both skill and power, readiness and force; display all these qualities for me. I am willing to do my utmost, but what I need is Your help.  This is so urgently required that if I do not have it, I will sink.  Do not refuse me Your comfort.  Great as Your hand is, let it light on me, even me.  This prayer reminds us of Peter walking on the sea and beginning to sink.  Peter, too, cried, "Lord, save me" (Matt.14:3i). 

For I have chosen Your precepts.  This is a good argument.  You may ask help from God's hand when you have dedicated your hand entirely to the obedience of the faith.  I have chosen Your precepts.  His election was made; his mind was made up.  In reference to all earthly rules and ways, in preference over his own will, he had chosen to be obedient to the divine commands.  Will not God help such a person in holy work and sacred service?  Assuredly, He will.  If grace has given us the heart to will, it will also give us the hand to perform.  Whenever we are under the constraints of a divine call, we are engaged in any high and lofty enterprise, and if we feel that it is too much for our strength, we may always invoke God's right hand in words like these.

174.  I long for Your salvation, O Lord.  David speaks like old Jacob on his deathbed (Gen.49:33).  all the saints, both in prayer and in death, appear as one, in word, deed, and mind.  He knew God's salvation, and yet he longed for it.  He had experienced a share of it and was led to expect something still higher and more complete. There is a salvation to come.   We will be clean delivered from the body of this death and set free from all the turmoil and trouble of this mortal life.  We will be raised above the temptations and assaults of Satan and brought near God, to be like Him and with Him forever and ever.

I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight.  The first clause tells us what the saints long for, the second clause informs us about their present satisfaction.  God's law, as contained in the ten commandments, gives joy to believers.  God's law, that is the entire Bible, is a continuous source of consolation and enjoyment to all who receive it.  Though we have not yet reached the fullness of our salvation, in God's Word we find so much concerning a present salvation that we are even now delighted. 

175.  Let my soul live. Fill it full of life.  Preserve it from wandering into the ways of death, and allow it to enjoy the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Let my soul live to the fullness of life, to the utmost possibilities of its newly created being, and it shall praise You.  My soul will praise You for life,  new life,  for You are the Lord and Giver of Life.  The more my soul lives, the more it praises, and when it will live in perfection,  it shall praise You in perfection.  Spiritual life is prayer and praise.

And let Your judgments help me. While I read the record of what You have done, in terror or in love, let me be revived and developed.   While I see Your hand at work on me and on others, chastening sin and smiling on righteousness, let me be helped both to live aright and to praise You.  Let all Your deeds in providence instruct and aid me in the struggle to overcome sin and to practice holiness.  This is the second time in this section that David has asked for help.  He was always in need of help, and so are we.

176.  This is the finale, the conclusion of the whole matter, I have gone astray like a lost sheep---often willfully, wantonly, and even hopelessly except for Your intervening grace.  In times past, before I was afflicted, before You had fully taught me Your statutes, I went astray from the practical precepts, from the instructive doctrines, and from the heavenly experiences that You set before me.  I lost my road!  I lost myself!  Even now, I am prone to wander and have already roamed.

Lord, restore me. Seek Your servant. David was not like a dog that somehow or other always found its way back.  He was a lost sheep that goes further and further from home.  Yet, he was the Lord's sheep.  He was God's property, precious in His sight, and so he hoped to be sought in order to be restored.  However far he might have wandered, he was still not only a sheep but also God's servant, he had the power to pray.  David cries, Seek Your servant, and hopes to not only be sought but also forgiven, accepted, and taken into work again by his gracious Master.  Notice this confession.  Frequently, David defended his innocence against foul-mouthed accusers, but when he comes into the Lord's prescence, he is ready to confess his transgressions.  Here, he sums up not only his past but also his present life under the image of a sheep that has broken from its pasture, forsaken the flock, left the shepherd, wandered into the wilderness, and became lost.  The sheep bleats, but David prays. Seek Your servant.

His argument is forcible, For I do not forget Your commandments.  I know the right, I approve and admire the right.  And what is more, I love the right, and long for it.  I cannot be satisfied to continue in sin. I must be restored to the ways of righteousness.  I have a homesickness for God!  I long after the ways of peace.  I do not and cannot forget Your commandments or cease to know that I am always happiest and safest when I scrupulously obey them and  find all my joy in doing so.  If God's grace enables us to maintain the loving memory of God's commandments in our hearts, it will surely restore us to practical holiness.  That man cannot be utterly lost whose heart is still with God.  If he is gone astray but is still true to his soul's inner desires for God, he will be found and fully restored.  Remember the first verse of this Psalm while you read the last verse.  The major blessing does not lie in being restored from wandering but in being blamelessly upheld to the end.  It is ours to keep the crown of the causeway, never leaving he King's highway for Bypath Meadow or for any other flowery path of sin.  Lord, uphold us to the end.  Yet, even then, we will not be able to boast with the Pharisee, but we will pray with the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13) and with the psalmist, Seek Your servant.

175-176.  Though like a sheep estranged I stray,

                  Yet have I not renounced Your way.

                  Your hand extend, Your own reclaim;

                  Grant me to live, and praise Your name.

                  (Richard Mant, 1776-188)

Commentary by Charles Spurgeon and taken from The Treasury of David

169. Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Your Word.

My thoughts on verse 169...

There are times in all our lives when we will be so angered, or confused, or hurting, and we know we need to deal with this matter, but don't know how, or do not want to, but know we must.

It could be a matter of having to forgive someone, but not wanting to because their heartless, planned actions caused our dying loved one to die sooner than he had to, because someone else wanted to play god.  And we are feeling a lot of anger and even hatred toward them because of it.  We feel robbed of precious time with our loved one and even worse, we were unknowingly helping the nurse by following her instructions.  Not until after the death of the loved one, did we find out she used our trust in her to hasten the death of our loved one.

When something that brings such strong emotions against another arises in us we cannot just let it simmer and boil. As a child of God, we know we must forgive.  This isn't always possible without God's help.  In Psalm 62, He tells us to pour out our heart to Him. When we do this, when we tell Him exactly what we are feeling, and even that we don't feel we can even want to forgive this person, but know we must.  He will speak to our heart.  He will remind us of all that His Son forgave even though none of us deserved it.

God is gentle when we cry out to Him and pour out our pain and are totally honest about what we are feeling.  He reminded me, that "she doesn't know Me."  I felt I needed to pray for her salvation, and her family's.   I have poured out my heart on other occasions and remember God has spoken to me in the same way.  He is always gentle, always speaks into my heart not in verbal words but like thoughts He puts into my heart.  I have learned something by this and that is that one cannot keep hating the one whose salvation they are praying for on a regular basis.  I still hate with a passion euthanasia and abortion but the people doing these things do not know Jesus as their Savior, or they wouldn't be doing these things.  I think we should all pray for the salvation of all those involved in the taking of lives for any reason.

~Annie~

Psalm 119: 161- 168

Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Love, the Paradise of Divine Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

161.  Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your

         Word.

162.  I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure.

163.  I hate and abhor lying, but I love Your law.

164.  Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.

165.  Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to

         stumble.

166.  Lord, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commands.

167.  My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly.

168.  I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before

         You.

161.   Princes persecute me without a cause.   Such people should have known better; they should have had sympathy with one of their rank. You expect a fair trial from your peers. It is terrible to be the target of predjudice. However, if honor is banished from all other breasts, it should remain in the bosom of kings.  Honor forbids the persecution of the innocent. Princes are appointed to protect the innocent and avenge the oppressed.  It is a shame when the princes become the assailants of the righteous.  It was sad when the man of God found himself attacked by the judges of the earth, for their eminent position added weight and venom to the enmity.  The sufferer could truthfully assert that this persecution was without cause.  David had not broken their laws, and he had not injured them. He had not wanted to see them injured, and he had not been an advocate of rebellion or anarchy. Neither had he openly nor secretly opposed their power.  While this made their oppression all the more inexcusable, it took away part of its sting and helped the brave-hearted servant of God to bear up.

But my heart stands in awe of Your Word. He might have been overcome by the awe of the princes had it not been that a greater fear drove out the lesser; he was swayed by his awe of God's Word.  How unimportant crowns and scepters become in the judgment of the person who perceives a more majestic royalty in the commands of God.  We are not likely to be disheartened by persecution or driven by it into sin if the Word of God continually has supreme power over our minds.  

162.  I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure.  His awe did not prevent his joy.  His fear of God was not the kind that perfect love casts out, but the kind that perfect love nourishes.  David trembled at the Word of the Lord and yet rejoiced in it.  He compares the joy to someone long in battle who had won the victory and is now dividing.  This usually falls to the lot of princes, and, though David was not with them in their persecutions, he had victories, and his spoil was equal to their greatest gains.  The profits made in searching the Scriptures were for Him greater than the trophies of war.  We too have to fight for divine truth.  Every doctrine is a battle, but when we gain a full understanding from personal struggle, it becomes doubly precious.  In these days, godly people have a full share of battling for the Word of God.  May we have for our treasure a firmer hold on the priceless Word

Perhaps, however, the psalmist rejoiced as one who finds hidden treasure for which for which he had not fought.  This is the analogy in the child of God who, while reading the Bible, makes grand and blessed discoveries of the grace of God which is laid up for him; surprise discoveries, for he did not expect to find such surprise.  Whether we come by the truth as finders or as warriors fighting for it, the heavenly treasure should be equally precious.  With great joy, the plowman steals home with his golden find!  Victors shout as they share the plunder!  Happy is the one who has discovered his portion in the promises of Scripture and is able to enjoy it, knowing by the witness of the Holy Spirit that it is all his own.

163.  I hate and abhor lying.  This is a double expression for inexpressible loathing.  A falsehood in doctrine, life, or speech, a falsehoood in any form or shape, had become utterly detestable to the psalmist.  This was a remarkable state for an Oriental.  Lying is generally their delight, and the only wrong they see in it is a lack of skill if the liar is found out.  David had made great progress by the time he had come to this.  He does not, however, only refer to a falsehood in  conversation; he also refers to perversity in faith and teaching.  David sets down all opposition to the God of truth as lying, and then he turns his soul against it in the most intense form of indignation.  Godly people should detest false doctrine as much as they abhor a lie.

But I love Your law  because it is all truth.  His love was as ardent as his hate.  True people love truth and hate lying.  It is good for us to know which way our hate and love runs, and we may do essential service to others by declaring what the objects of our hate and love are.  Both love and hate are contagious, and when they are sanctified, the wider their influence the better.

164.  Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.  David labored perfectly to praise his perfect God and to fulfill the perfect number of psalms.  Seven could also mean frequency or without limit. Frequently, he lifted his heart in thanksgiving to God for the divine teaching of the Word and for divine actions in providence.  With his voice, he extolled the righteous Judge of all the earth.  Whenever he thought of God's ways, a song leaped from his lips.  At the sight of the oppressive princes, and hearing the abounding falsehoods all around him, he felt all the more bound to adore and magnify God, who is truth and righteouness in all things.  When others rob us of our praise, it should be a caution not to fall into the same conduct toward God, who is so much more worthy of honor.  If we praise God when we are persecuted, our music will be sweeter to Him because of our constancy of praise in suffering.  If we keep clear of all lying, our song will be more acceptable because it comes from pure lips.   If we never flatter, we will be in a better condition to honor the Lord.  Do we praise God seven times a day?  do we praise him once in seven days?

165.  Great peace have those who love Your law.  What a charming verse!  It does not deal with those who perfectly keep the law, for where could they be found?  It deals with those who love the law, whose hearts and hands square with its precepts and demands.   These people are always striving to walk in obedience to the law, and though they are often persecuted, they have great peace.  They have learned the secret of the reconciling blood.  They have felt the power  of the comforting Spirit.  They stand accepted before the Father. The Lord has given them His peace, "which surpasses all understanding" (Phiippians 4:7).  They have many troubles, and they are likely to be persecuted, but their usual condition is deep calm, a great peace, too little for this world to break.

And nothing causes them to stumble, or will really injure them.  "We know that all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who have been called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28).  Offenses will come, but these lovers of the law are peacemakers, and so they neither give nor take offense.  Peace that is founded on conformity to God's will is living, lasting, and worth writing about with enthusiasm, as the psalmist does here.


166.  Lord, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments.  This is salvation by grace and its fruits.  David's hope was fixed on God.  He looked to Him alone for salvation.  Then, he earnestly tried to fulfill the commands of His law.  Those who place the least reliance on good works are frequently those who do the most.  The same divine teaching that delivers us from confidence in our works leads us to abound in every good work to the glory of God.  In times of trouble, there are two things to be done;  first, hope in God, and second, do what is right.  the first without the second is presumption;  the second without the first is mere formalism.  It is well if, in looking back, we can claim to have acted the way the Lord commanded.  If we have acted correctly toward God, we are sure that He will act kindly with us.


167.  My soul keeps Your testimonies.  My outward life keeps Your precepts, and my inner life, my soul, keeps Your testimonies.  God has given testimony to many sacred truths, and these we hold as precious as life.  Gracious people store God's truths in their hearts like a treasure that is exceedingly precious and valuable.  Their secret souls, their inner selves, become the guardian of these divine teachings, which are the sole authority in our soul matters.

And I love them exceedingly.  This is why David kept them, and having kept them, this was the result of the keeping.  He did not store revealed truth merely as a duty; he had a deep affection for it.  David would sooner die than give up any part of God's revelation.  The more we store our minds with heavenly truth the more deeply we will love it.  The more we see the exceeding riches of the Bible the more our love exceeds measure and expression.

168.  I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies.  Both the practical and the doctrinal parts of God's Word were stored, preserved, and followed.  It is a blessing to see the two forms of the divine Word---precepts, testimonies, equally valued, and equally confessed.  there should be no picking and choosing as to the mind of God.  We know those who try to be careful with the precepts, but seem to think that the doctrines of the gospel are matters of mere opinion, which they may shape.  This is not a perfect condition of things.  And we have known others who are rigid about the doctrines but painfully lax with the precepts.  This is also far from right.  When the two are kept with equal earnestness, we have perfection.

For all my days are before You.  This was his motive for trying to be right in both head and heart.  And God knew and saw him.  Under the sense of divine presence, David was afraid to wander, or else he appealed to God to bear witness to the truth of what had been said.  In either case, it is no small consolation to feel that our heavenly Father knows all about us and that if princes speak against us and sinners fill their mouths with cruel lies, He can vindicate us, for there is nothing secret or hidden from Him.

We are struck with the contrast between this verse which is the last of its octave, and verse 176, which is similarly placed in the next octave.  this is a protest of innocence, I keep Your precepts, and a confession of sin, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep" (verse 176).  Both were sincere, both accurate.  Experience makes many a paradox plain.  Before God, we may be clear of open fault and at the same time mourn over a thousand wanderings of heart that need His restoring hand.

Commentary by Charles Spurgeon - taken from The Treasury of David

162. I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure.

My thoughts on the above passage v.62 ...

God's Word is full of undiscovered treasure waiting to be mined out for our delight.  It is our delight because it holds forth so many promises and so much wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One and His Son, Jesus Christ.  We find out that Jesus Christ is the Only Savior for the world and that when He returned to heaven He did not leave us alone, but sent the Holy Spirit to help us in the way He would if He were living still on earth.   The Bible gives us God's commands and His wisdom for daily living so that we can live our lives for Christ Jesus knowing that He has given us everything we need to do and live out His will (Php.2:13).  We find out that God's children are watched over by God and that God is ready to come to their aid as they call out to Him in their time of need.

The Bible never gets old.  It is always new and fresh as you can read it over many times and still find treasure in places you missed before.  It is the most exciting Book that ever was written, ever will be written, and it will last for eternity.

I love it!

~Annie~

Psalm 119: 153- 160

Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of Divine Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

 

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

153.  Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law.

154.  Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your Word.

155.  Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not see Your statutes.

156.  Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your

         judgments.

157.  Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from Your

         testimonies.

158.  I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your

         Word.

159.  Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your

         loving kindness.

160.  The entirety of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous

         judgments endures forever.

153-160.  In this section the psalmist draws near to God in prayer.  He states his case and invokes divine help with great boldness and expectation. It is a pleading passage, and the key word is consider.  He pleads with much boldness that his intimate union with the Lord's cause is a reason why he should be helped.  The special aid that he seeks is personal reviving, for which he cries to the Lord again and again, Revive me.

 

153.   Consider my affliction and deliver me.  The writer has a good case, though it is a grievous one.  David is ready, even anxious, to submit it to divine arbitration. His matters are right, and he is ready to lay them before the supreme court.  His manner is that of one who feels safe at the throne. Yet, there is no impatience.  he does not ask for hasty action but for consideration.  In effect, he cries, "Look into my grief, and see if I need to be delivered.  From my sorrowful condition, judge as to the proper method and time for my rescue."


The psalmist wants two things blended; first, a full consideration of his sorrow, and, second, deliverance, and then that his deliverance should consider his affliction.  It should be the desire of every gracious person in adversity to have the Lord look on their needs and relieve them for His divine glory and their benefit.  The words my affliction are picturesque.  They seem to portion of a special spot of woe as the writer's inheritance.  David possesses it as no one else had ever done, so he begs the Lord to have that special spot under his eye, just as a farmer looking over all his fields may take double care of a selected plot.  His prayer is highly practical; he seeks to be delivered, brought out of the trouble, and preserved from sustaining any serious damage. For God to consider is to act in due time.  People consider and do nothing, but this is never the case with God.


For I do not forget Your law.  His bitter affliction was not sufficient to drive God's law from his mind, nor could it lead him to act contrary to the divine command. David forgot prosperity, but he did not forget obedience.  This is a good plea when it is honestly urged. If we are faithful to God's law, we may be sure that God will remain faithful to His promise.  If we do not forget His law,
the Lord will not forget us.  He will not leave that person in trouble whose only fear in trouble is that he would leave the way of right.



154.  Plead my cause and redeem me.  In the previous verse, David prayed, "Deliver me."  Here, he specifies a method by which to grant deliverance; this is the advocacy of his cause.  In providence, the Lord has many ways of clearing the slandered of the accusations brought against them.  God can make it clear to everyone that the slandered had been falsely represented, an in this way, He can plead their cause practically.  God can raise up friends for the godly who will leave no stone unturned until the characters of the slandered are cleared.  Or, He can strike their enemies with such fear that they will be forced to confess their falsehoods.  Thus the righteous will be delivered without striking a blow.  Alexander reads it, "Strive my strife and redeem me."  Stand in my stead, bear my burden, fight my fight, pay my price, and give me liberty. When we feel silent before the foe, this prayer is made for us.  What comfort, that if we sin we have an advocate!  And if we do not sin, the same pleader is on our side.


Revive me.  We had this prayer in the last section, and we will have it again and again.  It is a desire that cannot be too often felt and expressed.  The soul is the center of everything, so to be revived is the central blessing.  It means more love, more grace, more faith, more courage, more strength.  If we get these, we can hold our heads up before the adversaries.  God alone can give this reviving.  But to the Lord and giver of life, this work is easy, an He delights to perform it.  According to Your Word.  David found this blessing among the promised things, or at least he perceived that it was according to the general tenor of God's Word.  Tried believers want to be revived and raised from the dust. Thus, he pleads the Word and asks the Lord to act according to the Word.


155.  Salvation is far from the wicked.  They have persevered in evil and have almost put themselves out of the pale of hope.  The wicked talk about being saved, but they do not know anything about it, or they would not remain wicked.  Every step they take in the path of evil  moves them further from the kingdom of grace.  They go from one degree of hardness to another, until their hearts become as stone. When they fall into trouble it will be without remedy. Yet they talk as if they do not need salvation or as if they can save themselves.


For they do not seek Your statutes.  They do not try to be obedient, just the opposite, they seek themselves, they seek evil, and they never find the way of peace and righteousness.  When people break the Lord's statutes, the wisest course is to repent, seek forgiveness, and by faith seek salvation.  Then salvation is near, so near that they will not miss it.  But when the wicked continue to seek mischief, salvation is further and further away.  Salvation and God's statutes go together.  Those who are saved by the King of grace love the statutes of the King of glory.


156.  This is similar to verse 149, but it is not a useless repetition. There is a difference in the main idea.  In the former, he mentions his prayer but leaves the method of its accomplishment with the wisdom of God.  In the latter, he pleads no prayer of his own but simply the Lord's mercies, and he begs to be revived by judgments rather than to be left to spiritual lethargy.  An inspired author is never so short of thought that he has to repeat himself.  When we think we have the same idea in this Psalm, we are misled by our neglect of study.  Each verse is a distinct pearl.  Each blade of grass in this field has its own drop of heavenly dew.


Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord.  The psalmist pleads the magnitude of God's mercy and the immensity of His tender love.  He speaks of mercies, mercies many, mercies tender, and mercies great.  With the glorious Jehovah, he makes this a plea for his leading prayer, the prayer for reviving.  Reviving is a great and tender mercy; it is many mercies in one.  Can One so great and good permit His servant to die?  Will not One so tender breathe new life into him?


Revive me according to Your judgments.  A measure of awakening comes with God's judgments. They are startling and arousing, and thus the believer is revived. David would have every severe blow and every tender mercy sanctified for his benefit.  The first clause of this verse may run, "Many are Your compassions, O Jehovah."  This he remembers in connection with the "many persecutors" of whom he will speak in the next verse.  With all these mercies, he pleads for reviving grace and so adds many strings to his bow.  We will never be short of arguments if we draw them from God and urge both His mercies and His judgments as reasons for Him to revive us.


157.  Many are my persecutors and my enemies.  Those who actually assail me, or who secretly abhor me, are man.  He sets this against the many tender mercies of God.  It seems strange that David, a truly godly man, should have many enemies.  But that is inevitable.  The disciple cannot be loved where his Master is hated.  The seed of the serpent must oppose the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).


Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.  He did not deviate from God's truth but proceeded in the straight way, despite the many adversaries that attempted to block his path.  some have been led astray by one enemy, but here is a saint that held on in the teeth of many persecutors.  There is enough in the testimonies of God to reward us for pushing forward against all the hosts that may combine against us.  So long as they cannot drive or draw us into a spiritual decline, our foes have done no great harm; they have accomplished nothing by their malice.  If we do not decline, they are defeated.  If they cannot make us sin, they have missed their mark.  Faithfulness to the truth is victory over our enemies.


158.  I see the treacherous.  I see the traitors, and I understood their character, their object, their way, and their end.  I could not help seeing them, for they pushed themselves into my way.  Since I was forced to see them, I fixed my eyes on them to learn what I could and am disgusted.  I was sorry to see such sinners.  I was sick, disgusted, and could not stand them.  I found no pleasure in them. They were a sad sight, however fine their clothing or witty their speech.  Even when they were happy, the sight of them made my heart heavy.  I could not tolerate either them or their doings.


Because they do not keep Your Word.  My grief was caused more by their sin against God than my their enmity against me.  I could stand their evil treatment of my words but not their neglect of Your Word, which is so precious that those who will not keep it move me to indignation.  I cannot keep the company of those who will not keep God's Word.  That they do not love is a trifle, but to despise the Lord's teaching is abominable.


159.  Consider, or see, how I love Your precepts.   A second time he asks for a consideration. He had said, "Consider my affliction" (v.153), but now he says, consider how I love Your precepts.  David loved the precepts of God. He loved them unspeakably.  He loved them so much that he was grieved by those who did not love them. This is a sure test.  Many have a warm side toward the promises, but as for the precepts, they cannot endure them.  The psalmist so loved everything good and excellent that he loved all that God had commanded.  All of the precepts are wise and holy. Thus, the man after God's heart (1 Samuel 13:14) loved them extremely.  He loved to know them, loved to proclaim them, and loved principally to practice them.  He asked the Lord to remember and consider this, not on merit, but that it should serve as an answer to the slanderous accusations which were the great sting of his sorrow.


Revive me, O Lord, according to Your loving Kindness.  David returns to his previous prayer, "Revive Me" (vv. 154,156).  Here he prays the third time using the same words. David felt like one who was half-stunned from the assaults of the foe; he was ready to faint under their incessant malice.  What he wanted was revival, restoration, and renewal.  Thus, he pleaded for more life. 
"You who revived me when I was dead, revive me again, that I may not return to the dead!  Revive me that I may outlive the blows of my enemies, the faintness of my faith, and the collapse of my sorrow."  This time, he does not say, "Revive me according to Your judgments" (v.156), but, Revive me, O Lord, according to Your loving kindness.  This is the final great gun that he brings to the conflict.  This is his ultimate argument; If it does not succeed, he will fail.  David has long been knocking at the gate of mercy, and with this plea, he strikes the heaviest blow.  When he had fallen into great sin, this was his plea, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness" (Ps.51:1).  And now that he is in great trouble, he uses the same effective reasoning.  Because God is love (1 John 4:8), He will give us life.  Because He is kind, He will again kindle the heavenly flame in us.


160.  The sweet singer finishes this section like he did the last; he dwells on the sureness of the truth of God.  Note the likeness between vv.144,152, 160. The entirety of Your Word is truth.  Whatever the transgressors may say, God is true, and His Word is true.  The ungodly are false, but God's Word is true. They charge us with being false, but God's Word is true.  They charge us with being false, but our solace is that God's true Word has been true from the first moment it was spoken, true throughout history, true from the moment we believed, and true before we were true to it. Some read it, "Your Word is true from the head," true as a whole, true from top to bottom.  Experience has taught David this lesson, and experience is teaching us the same thing.  The Scriptures are as true in Genesis as in Revelation, and the five Books of Moses are as inspired as the four Gospels.


And everyone of Your righteous judgments endures forever.  What You have decided remains irreversible.  Against the Lord's decisions, no writ of error can be demanded.  There will never be a repealing of any acts of His sovereignty.  There is not one single mistake either in Scripture or in the providential dealings of God.  Neither in the Book of Revelation nor in providence will there be any need to put a single note of errata.  The Lord has nothing to regret or retract, nothing to amend or reverse.  All God's judgments, decrees, commands, and purposes are righteous. And, as righteous things are lasting things, everyone of them will outlive the stars.  "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matt. 5:18).  God's justice endures forever.  This is a cheering thought. Yet, there is a much sweeter one.  Let the song of the priests in the temple be ours, "His mercy endures forever"  (Ps.118:1).

Commentary by Charles Spurgeon and taken from The Treasury of David


My thoughts on this passage...

160. The entirety of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous

judgments endures forever.

God's Word is the foundation upon which His children stand. His Word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It is our Bread for spiritual nourishment and it is our wisdom for daily living.  Through it, we come to know Jesus and trust His love and faithfulness to us.  Through it we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and through it His Word heals and restores, as the Holy Spirit takes it and encourages and comforts us with it.  The Holy Spirit is our Comforter but He uses the Word of God to do it. The Spirit and the Word always work together, and one will never contradict the other.  Jesus gives us examples how to relate to our Father and how to rely on His will and way. Jesus went before us in all things so that we would know that He understands all, and that He is with us in all things.  His Word gives us hope and teaches us to have an eternal perspective on everything of life.  It teaches us that God is sovereign and knows all things, is in control of all things, and is always waiting for our heart cry to Him. Without His Word, I would be lost.  It is a treasure and it makes me feel alive, hopeful, and encouraged.

~Annie~

Psalm 119: 145- 152

Psalm 119 is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, and the School of Truth.

The Theme of Psalm 119

is

The Word of God

145.  I cry out with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord!  I will keep Your statutes.

146.  I cry out to You; save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.

147.  I rise before the dawning of the morning, and I cry for help; I hope in

         Your Word. 

148.  My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on

         Your Word.

149.  Hear my voice according to Your loving kindness; O Lord, revive me

         according to Your justice.

150.  They draw near who follow after wickedness; they are far from Your law.

151.  You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth.

152.  Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old, that You have founded

         them forever.


145-152.  This section is given to the memories of prayer.  The psalmists describes the time and the manner of his devotions and pleads with God for deliverance from trouble.  You who have been with God in the closet will find God with you in the furnace  If we have cried we will be answered.  Delayed answers may drive us to beg, but we need not fear the ultimate result.  God's promises are certain.  He has founded them forever.  This passage shows us:  how David prayed (v.145), what he prayed for (v.146), when he prayed (v.147, how long he prayed (v148), what he pleaded (v.149), what happened (v.150), how he was rescued (v. 151), and David's testimony (v.152).


145.  I cry out with my whole heart.  David's prayer was the sincere, plaintive, painful, natural utterance of a creature in pain. He cried with his whole heart. Heart cries are the essence of prayer.  David mentions the unity of his heart in his holy engagement.  His whole soul pleaded with God; his entire affections and united desires all went toward the living God.  It is well when people can say this of their prayers, but it is feared that many have not cried to God with their whole heart.  There may be no beauty of elocution about such prayers, no length of expression, no depth of doctrine, or accuracy of diction, but if the whole heart is in them, they will find their way to the heart of God. 

Hear me, O Lord.  He asks Jehovah that his cries not die in the air but that God will respect them.  True supplicants are not satisfied with just the exercise; they have an end and object in praying, and they look out for it.  If God does not hear prayer, we pray in vain.  Hear is often used in Scripture to express attention and consideration.  In one sense, God hears every sound that is made on earth and every desire of every heart. Yet, David means much more than that. He wants a kind and sympathetic hearing.  He asks the Lord to draw near and listen to his complaint with a friendly ear, to pity and help him.  This whole-hearted prayer goes to the Lord alone. There is no second hope or help. Hear me, O Lord is the full range of his petition and expectation.

I will keep Your statutes.  David could not expect the Lord to hear him, if he did not hear the Lord.  It would not be true that he prayed with his whole heart unless it was obvious that he worked with all his energy to be obedient to the divine will.  His object, in seeking deliverance, was to be free to fulfill his religion and to carry out the Lord's every ordinance.  He wants to be free to freely serve the Lord.  A holy resolution goes well with a pressing supplication.  David is determined to be holy, so his whole heart goes with that resolve as well as with his prayers.  He will keep Gods statues in his memory, in his affections, and in his actions.  He will not wilfully neglect or violate any of the divine laws.

146.  I cry out to You.  Again he mentions that his prayer was to God alone. The sentence implies that he prayed fervently and often. One of the great facts of his life was that he cried out to God.

Save me.  This was his prayer, short but full. He needed saving, and only the Lord could save him. David cried to the Lord, Save me from the dangers that surround me, from the enemies that pursue me, from the trials that beset me, and from the sins that accuse me.  David did not multiply words. People never do when they are in earnest.  He did not multiply objects.  People seldom do so when they are intent on the one necessary thing.  Save me was his one and only prayer.  and I will keep Your testimonies.  His great object in wanting salvation was to be able to continue to lead a blameless life of obedience to God, and to become a witness for God.  It is a great thing when people seek salvation for so high an end.  He did not ask to be delivered so that he might sin with impunity.  His cry was to be delivered from sin itself.  David had vowed to keep the statutes or laws.  Here, he resolves to keep the testimonies, or doctrines, and to be sound of head and clean of hand.  Salvation brings all these good things in its train. David had no idea of a salvation that would allow him to live in sin or to remain in error. He knew right well that there is no saving a person who lives in disobedience and ignorance.


147.  I will rise before the dawning of morning, and cry for help.  He was up before the sun and began pleading before the dew left the grass.  Whatever is worth doing is worth doing immediately.  This is the third time he mentions crying for help. David cried, and cried, and cried again. His supplications had become so frequent, fervent, and intense that he hardly did anything else from morning to night except cry to God. So strong was his desire for salvation that he could not rest in bed. So eagerly did he seek salvation that at the first possible moment he was on his knees.

I hope in Your Word.  Hope is a powerful method of strengthening us in prayer. Who would pray if there were no hope that God would hear?  Who would not pray when there is a blessed hope of a good answer?  David's hope was fixed on the sure anchorage of God's Word because God is true.  God has never run back on His promise or altered what He has spoken.  Those who are diligent in prayer will never be destitute of hope.  As, "the early bird gets the worm," so the early prayer is soon refreshed with hope.

Morning is the gate of the day and should be well guarded with prayer.  Those who rush from bed to business and do not worship are as unwise as though they dashed into battle without arms or armor. (Ephesians 6:10-18).  The sanctifying influence of devotion operates on each succeeding hour.  Morning devotions anchor the soul so that it will not drift from God during the day.


148.  My eyes are awake through the night watches.  Before the watchman cried the hour, he was crying to God. David did not need to be informed as to how the hours were flying, for every hour his heart was flying toward heaven. He began the day with prayer and continued in prayer throughout the day and into the night watches.  The guards changed, but David did not change his holy occupation.  At night, he kept his eyes open to drive away sleep and to maintain communion with God. He worshiped from watch to watch, as travelers journey from place to place. 

That I may meditate on Your Word.  This had become his food and drink.  Meditation was the food of hope and the solace of sorrow.  The one theme of his thoughts was the blessed Word, which he continually mentions and in which his heart rejoices.  He preferred study to slumber; he learned to forgo necessary sleep for necessary devotion. It is instructive to find meditation so constantly connected with fervent prayer; this is the fuel that sustains the flame. And how rare it is thee days!

The theological student, the minister of the Word, and teachers should begin the day with prayer, chiefly to seek from God to properly understand the Word of God and to be able to teach others. (Soloman Gesner, 1539-1605) Brethren, note this! Charles Haddon Spurgeon.


149.  Hear my voice according to Your loving kindness.  It is helpful to use our voices in prayer. It is difficult to maintain the intensity of devotion unless we hear ourselves speak.  David broke through his silence, rose from his quiet meditations, and began crying with voice as well as heart to the Lord.  Note that he does not plead for what he deserves, nor even for a moment does he appeal to be paid for his merit.  He takes the way of free grace, according to Your loving kindness.  When God hears prayer according to His loving kindness, He overlooks all the imperfections of the prayer.  He forgets the sinfulness of the offerer, and in pitying love, He grants the desire even though the suppliant  is unworthy.  It is according to God's loving kindness to readily answer, to frequently answer, to abundantly answer, and "to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph 3:20).  Loving kindness is one of the sweetest words in our language .  Kindness has much in it that is precious, but loving kindness is doubly cherished.  It is the cream of kindness. 


O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.  This is another of David's wise and ardent prayers. He first cried, "Save me," then, "hear me," and now, Revive me.  Often the best way of delivering us from trouble is for God to give us more life, that we may escape death, and for Him to add more strength to life, that we may not be overloaded with its burdens.  David asks to be revived according to God's judgment, to be revived in a way that is consistent with infinite wisdom and prudence.  God's methods of communicating greater vigor to our spiritual life are exceedingly wise.  It would probably be useless to attempt to understand them.  Our wisdom is to receive grace, not according to our notion of how it should come, but according to God's heavenly method of granting it. God's prerogative is to kill and make alive (Deuteronomy 32:39), and that sovereign act is best left to His infallible judgment.  Has He not already come that we might have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10)?  "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence"(Eph. 1:7-8).


150.  They draw near who follow after wickedness.  He could hear footsteps close behind. They were not following him for his benefit but for his hurt; the sound of heir approach is dreaded. The enemy was not prosecuting a good object but persecuting a good man. As if there were not enough mischief in their hearts already, they hunt for more. He sees them running in a steeplechase over hedge and ditch in order to bring mischief to him. David points them out to God and pleads with the Lord to fix His eyes on them and deal with them  to their confusion.

The enemy was on him, he was almost in their grip, and so he cries more earnestly, They are far from Your law.  A mischievous life cannot be an obedient life. Before these people could become David's persecutors, they were obliged to get away from the restraints of God's law. they could not hate a saint and love the law.  Those who keep God's law do not harm themselves or others. Sin is the greatest mischief in the world.  David mentions this to the Lord in prayer, finding some comfort because those who hated him hated God. His enemies found it necessary to get away from God before they could hurt him. When we know that our enemies are both God's enemies and our enemies, and because they are His enemies, we take comfort.

 
151.  You are near, O Lord.  Near as the enemy might be, God was nearer.  This is one of the choicest comforts of God's persecuted child. The Lord is near to hear our cries and offer comfort.  God is near enough to chase our enemies and give us rest and peace.

And all Your commandments are truth.  God never commands a lie nor lies in His commands. Virtue is truth in action, and this is what God commands. Sin is falsehood in action, and this is what God forbids.  If all God's commands are truth, then the true person will be pleased to keep near to them, and therein he will find the true God near to him.  This sentence is the protection of the persecuted from the false hearts that seek mischief.  God is near, and God is true; thus, His people are safe.  If any time we fall into danger from keeping God's commands, we do not have to fear that we have acted unwisely. On the contrary, we can be quite sure that we are in the right way, for God's precepts are right and true.  It is for this reason that the wicked assail us.  They hate the truth and hate those who do the truth.  There opposition may be our consolation, while God's presence on our side is our glory and our delight.


152.  Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.  David knew that they would stand firm through the ages.  It is blessed to be taught by God early and to know substantial doctrines from youth.  Those who think David was young when he wrote this Psalm will find it difficult to reconcile this verse with that theory.  It is much more probable that he was now grey, looking back on what he had known long before.  David knew that the doctrines of God's Word were settled before the world began, that they had never been altered and never could be altered.  He had begun by building on a rock, by seeing that God's testimonies were founded, grounded, laid as foundations, and settled and established with a view to all the ages that would come, during all the changes that would intervene.  Because David knew this, he had great confidence in prayer.  It is sweet to sweet to plead permanent promises with an everlasting God.  From this, David learned to hope.  A person cannot have expectations from a changing friend, but one may well have confidence in a God who cannot change.  It was because of this that David delighted to be near the Lord.  It is most blessed to keep fellowship with the friend who never varies. Let others choose to follow at the heels of the modern school, looking for fresh light that will put out the old light.  We are satisfied with the truth that is as old as the hills and as fixed as the great mountains.  Let "cultured intellects" invent a god more gentle and effeminate than the God of Abraham.  We are well content to worship Jehovah, who is eternally the same.  Things everlastingly established are the joy of established saints. Bubbles please children, but adults prize things that are solid and substantial, things with a foundation and a bottom, which will bear the test of the ages.

Commentary: The Treasury of David -Charles Spurgeon

My thoughts on verse 47...

147. I rise before the dawning of the morning, and I cry for help; I hope in

Your Word.

Morning is the gate of the day and should be well guarded with prayer. Those who rush from bed to business and do not worship are as unwise as though they dashed into battle without arms or armor. (Ephesians 6:10-18). The sanctifying influence of devotion operates on each succeeding hour. Morning devotions anchor the soul so that it will not drift from God during the day.

When we wake up first thing in the morning we do not know what could interrupt our schedule or plans, with either good or bad news.  Only our Sovereign God knows everything our day will hold.  Our part is to begin our day by preparing our hearts, our minds, and our wills for the day ahead of us.  We can surrender our day to God to walk in His will and His way, to not be a stumbling block to anyone who comes across our path, but to be used as a stepping stone to Christ, instead.  We can ask to be filled with His joy and His perfect steadfast peace, to be prepared for any situation that may arise, even unexpectedly. Pray that He will meet all our spiritual needs and bring to our minds what we need to say if anyone should ask us the reason for our hope. Asking Him to grace us to be gentle and respectful, and to always do our best in all things, without grumbling or complaining, as doing them to and for Christ. We should pray for wisdom and humility and to be filled with the love of Christ and with Holy Spirit enablement to do all things to the glory of God and for His purpose. Ask Him to let us see everyone with the heart of Jesus.  And in our hearts, pray for people during the day to come to a saving faith in Christ.

If we set a solid foundation and set apart Christ as Lord of the day, we will be prepared for anything, and everything.

~Annie~