The Psalm is alphabetical. Eight stanzas commence with one letter, and then another eight with the next letter, and so the whole psalm proceeds through the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This sacred ode is a little Bible, the Scriptures condensed, rewritten in holy emotions and actions. Blessed are they who can read and understand these saintly aphorisms; they will find golden apples and come to reckon that this psalm, like the whole Scripture which it praises, is a pearl island, or, better still, a garden of sweet flowers.
119:1–8. These first eight verses are taken up with a contemplation of the blessedness which comes through keeping the statutes of the Lord. The subject is treated in a devout manner rather than in a didactic style. Heart-fellowship with God is enjoyed through a love of that word which is God’s way of communing with the soul by his Holy Spirit. Prayer and praise and all sorts of devotional acts and feelings gleam through the verses like beams of sunlight through an olive grove. You are not only instructed, but influenced to holy emotion, and helped to express the same.
Lovers of God’s holy words are blessed, because they are preserved from defilement (verse 1), because they are made practically holy (verses 2–3), and are led to follow after God sincerely and intensely (verse 2). This holy walking must be desirable because God commands it (verse 4); therefore the pious soul prays for it (verse 5), and feels that its comfort and courage must depend upon obtaining it (verse 6). In the prospect of answered prayer, indeed while prayer is being answered, the heart is full of thankfulness (verse 7), and is fixed in solemn resolve not to miss the blessing if the Lord will give enabling grace (verse 8).
The changes are rung upon the words “way,” “keep,” and “walk.” Yet there is no tautology, neither is the same thought repeated, though to the careless reader it may seem so.
The change from statements about others and about the Lord to more personal dealing with God begins in the third verse, and becomes more clear as we advance, till in the later verses the communion becomes most intense and soul moving. Oh that every reader may feel the glow.
119:1. Blessed. The psalmist is so enraptured with the Word of God that he regards it as the highest ideal of blessedness to be conformed to it. He has gazed on the beauties of the perfect law, and, as if this verse were the sum and outcome of all his emotions, he exclaims, “Blessed is the man whose life is the practical transcript of the will of God.” True religion is not cold and dry; it has its exclamations and raptures. We not only judge the keeping of God’s law to be a wise and proper thing, but we are warmly enamored of its holiness, and cry out in adoring wonder, “Blessed are the undefiled!”—meaning thereby that we eagerly desire to become such ourselves, and wish for no greater happiness than to be perfectly holy.
This first verse is not only a preface to the whole psalm, but it may also be regarded as the text upon which the rest is a discourse. It is similar to the benediction of Psalm 1, which is set in the forefront of the entire book: there is a likeness between this Psalm 119 and the psalter, and this is one point of it, that it begins with a benediction. In this, too, we see some foreshadowings of the Son of David, who began his great sermon as David began his great psalm. When we cannot bestow blessings, we can show the way of obtaining them, and even if we do not yet possess them ourselves, it may be profitable to contemplate them, that our desires may be excited, and our souls moved to seek after them.
As David thus begins his psalm, so should young men begin their lives, so should new converts commence their life of faith, so should all Christians begin every day. Holiness is happiness, and it is our wisdom first to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Mankind began with being blessed in innocence, and if our fallen race is ever to be blessed again, it must find it where it lost it at the beginning, in conformity to the command of the Lord.
The undefiled in the way. They are in the way, the right way, the way of the Lord, and they keep that way, walking with holy carefulness and washing their feet daily, lest they be found spotted by the flesh. They enjoy great blessedness in their own souls; indeed, they have a foretaste of heaven where the blessedness lies much in being absolutely undefiled; and could they continue utterly and altogether without defilement, doubtless they would have the days of heaven upon the earth. Outward evil would little hurt us if we were entirely rid of the evil of sin, an attainment which with the best of us lies still in the region of desire, and is not yet fully reached, though we have so clear a view of it that we see it to be blessedness itself; and therefore we eagerly press towards it.
David speaks of a high degree of blessedness; for some are in the way, and are true servants of God, but they are as yet faulty in many ways and bring defilement upon themselves. Others who walk in the light more fully, and maintain closer communion with God, are enabled to keep themselves unspotted from the world, and these enjoy far more peace and joy than their less watchful brethren. Doubtless, the more complete our sanctification the more intense our blessedness. Christ is our way, and we are not only alive in Christ, but we are to live in Christ; the sorrow is that we bespatter his holy way with our selfishness, self-exaltation, willfulness, and carnality, and so we miss a great measure of the blessedness which is in him as our way. A believer who errs is still saved, but the joy of his salvation is not experienced by him; he is rescued but not enriched, greatly borne with, but not greatly blessed.
How easily may defilement come upon us even in our holy things, even in the way. We may even come from public or private worship with defilement upon the conscience gathered when we were on our knees. There was no floor to the tabernacle but the desert sand, and hence the priests at the altar were under frequent necessity to wash their feet, and by the kind foresight of their God the laver stood ready for their cleansing, just as for us our Lord Jesus still stands ready to wash our feet, that we may be clean every whir.
Who walk in the law of the LORD. In them is found habitual holiness. Their walk, their common everyday life, is obedience unto the Lord. They live by rule, that rule the command of the Lord God. To them religion is nothing out of the way, it is their everyday walk: it molds their common actions as well as their special devotions. Whoever walks in God’s law walks in God’s company, and must be blessed. The holy life is a steady progress, a quiet advance, a lasting continuance. Good people are never idle, but are still walking onward to their desired end. They are not hurried, and worried, and flurried, and they are not in perplexity as to how to conduct themselves, for they have a perfect rule, which they are happy to walk by. The law of the Lord is not irksome to them; it does not appear to them to be an impossible law, theoretically admirable but practically absurd, but they walk by it and in it. They do not consult it now and then as a sort of rectifier of their wanderings, but they use it as a chart for their daily sailing, a map of the road for their life-journey. Nor do they ever regret that they have entered upon the path of obedience, else they would leave it, and that without difficulty, for a thousand temptations offer them opportunity to return; their continued walk in the law of the Lord is their best testimony to the blessedness of such a condition of life. The psalmist had tried it, and wrote it down as a fact which defied all denial. Rough may be the way, stern the rule, hard the discipline, but a heaped-up blessedness is still found in godly living, for which we bless the Lord.
We have in this verse blessed people who enjoy five blessed things: a blessed way, blessed purity, a blessed law, given by a blessed Lord, and a blessed walk therein; to which we may add the blessed testimony of the Holy Spirit given in this very passage that they are in very deed the blessed of the Lord. The blessedness which is thus set before us we must aim at, but we must not think to obtain it without earnest effort.
119:2. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies. They are doubly blessed whose outward life is supported by an inward zeal for God’s glory. Blessedness is ascribed to those who treasure up the testimonies of the Lord: in which is implied that they search the Scriptures, that they come to an understanding of them, that they love them, and then that they continue in the practice of them. We must first get a thing before we can keep it. We cannot keep in the heart that which we have not heartily embraced by the affections. God’s Word is his witness or testimony to grand and important truths which concern himself and our relation to him: this we should desire to know; knowing it, we should believe it; believing it, we should love it; and loving it, we should hold it fast against all comers. There is a doctrinal keeping of the Word when we are ready to die for its defense, and a practical keeping of it when we actually live under its power. If we keep God’s testimonies they will keep us right in opinion, comfortable in spirit, holy in conversation, and hopeful in expectation. The designed effect does not come through a temporary seizure of them, but by a persevering keeping of them.
And that seek him with the whole heart. Those who keep the Lord’s testimonies are sure to seek after himself. If his Word is precious we may be sure that he himself is still more so. Personal dealing with a personal God is the longing of all those who have allowed the Word of the Lord to have its full effect upon them. If we once really know the power of the Gospel we must seek the God of the Gospel. See the growth which these sentences indicate: first, in the way, then walking in it, then finding and keeping the treasure of faith, and to crown all, seeking after the Lord of the way himself. Note also that the further a soul advances in grace the more spiritual and divine are its longings: an outward walk does not content the gracious soul, nor even the treasured testimonies; it reaches out in due time after God himself, and when it in a measure finds him, still yearns for more of him, and seeks him still.
Seeking after God signifies a desire to commune with him more closely, to follow him more fully, to enter into more perfect union with his mind and will, to promote his glory, and to realize completely all that he is to holy hearts. The blessed man has God already, and for this reason he seeks him. This may seem a contradiction; it is only a paradox.
That which the psalmist admires in this verse he claims in the tenth, where he says, “With my whole heart have I sought thee.” It is well when admiration of a virtue leads to the attainment of it. Those who do not believe in the blessedness of seeking the Lord will not be likely to arouse their hearts to the pursuit, but he who calls another blessed because of the grace which he sees in him is on the way to gaining the same grace for himself.
119:3. They also do no iniquity. Blessed indeed would those people be of whom this could be asserted without reserve and without explanation: we shall have reached the region of pure blessedness when we altogether cease from sin. Those who follow the Word of God do no iniquity; the rule is perfect, and if it be constantly followed no fault will arise. Life, to the outward observer, at any rate, lies much in doing, and he who in his doings never swerves from equity, both towards God and man, has hit upon the way of perfection, and we may be sure that his heart is right. No one can claim to be absolutely without sin, and yet we trust there are many who do not designedly, willfully, knowingly, and continuously do anything that is wicked, ungodly, or unjust. Grace keeps the life righteous as to act even when the Christian has to bemoan the transgressions of the heart. Judged as we should be judged by our fellows, according to such just rules as people make for people, the true people of God do no iniquity: they are honest, upright, and chaste, and touching justice and morality they are blameless. Therefore are they happy.
They walk in his ways. They attend not only to the great main highway of the law, but to the smaller paths of the particular precepts. As they will perpetrate no sin of commission, so do they labor to be free from every sin of omission. It is not enough to them to be blameless; they wish also to be actively righteous. The surest way to abstain from evil is to be fully occupied in doing good. This verse describes believers as they exist among us: although they have their faults and infirmities, yet they hate evil, and will not permit themselves to do it; they love the ways of truth, right and true godliness, and habitually they walk therein. They do not claim to be absolutely perfect except in their desires, and there they are pure indeed, for they pant to be kept from all sin, and to be led into all holiness.
119:4. God’s precepts require careful obedience: there is no keeping them by accident. Some give to God a careless service, a sort of hit or miss obedience, but the Lord has not commanded such service, nor will he accept it. His law demands the love of all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are also called to zealous obedience. We are to keep the precepts abundantly: the vessels of obedience should be filled to the brim, and the command carried out to the full of its meaning. As a man diligent in business arouses himself to do as much trade as he can, so must we be eager to serve the Lord as much as possible. Nor must we spare pains to do so, for a diligent obedience will also be laborious and self-denying. Those who are diligent in business rise up early and sit up late, and deny themselves much of comfort and repose. They are not soon tired, or if they are they persevere. So should we serve the Lord.
Some are diligent in superstition and will-worship; be it ours to be diligent in keeping God’s precepts. God has not commanded us to be diligent in making precepts, but in keeping them. Some bind yokes upon their own necks, and make bonds and rules for others, but the wise course is to be satisfied with the rules of holy Scripture.
The psalmist began with the third person; he is now coming near home, and has already reached the first person plural, according to our version; we shall soon hear him crying out personally and for himself. As the heart glows with love to holiness, we long to have a personal interest in it.
119:5. Divine commands should direct us in the subject of our prayers. We cannot of ourselves keep God’s statutes as he would have them kept, and yet we long to do so: what resort have we but prayer? We must ask the Lord to work in us, or we shall never work out his commandments. This verse is a sigh of regret because the psalmist feels that he has not kept the precepts diligently; it is a cry of weakness appealing for help to one who can aid, it is a request of bewilderment from one who has lost his way and would be directed in it, and it is a petition of faith from one who loves God and trusts in him for grace.
Our ways are by nature opposed to the way of God, and must be turned by the Lord’s direction in another direction from that which they originally take or they will lead us down to destruction. God can direct the mind and will without violating our free agency, and he will do so in answer to prayer; in fact, he has begun the work already in those who are heartily praying after the fashion of this verse.
The sigh of the text is really a prayer, though it does not exactly take that form. Desires and longings are of the essence of supplication, and it little matters what shape they take. O that is as acceptable a prayer as “Our Father.”
One would hardly have expected a prayer for direction; rather should we have looked for a petition for enabling. Can we not direct ourselves? The psalmist herein confesses that even for the smallest part of his duty he felt unable without grace. He longed for the Lord to influence his will, as well as to strengthen his hands.
119:6. Then shall I not be ashamed. He had known shame, and here he rejoices in the prospect of being freed from it. Sin brings shame, and when sin is gone, the reason for being ashamed is banished. What a deliverance this is, for to some people death is preferable to shame! When m have respect unto all thy commandments. When he respects God he will respect himself and be respected. Whenever we err we prepare ourselves for confusion of face and sinking of heart.
Many suffer from excessive diffidence, and this verse suggests a cure. An abiding sense of duty will make us bold: we shall be afraid to be afraid. No shame in the presence of other people will hinder us when the fear of God has taken full possession of our minds. David promises himself no immunity from shame till he has carefully paid homage to all the precepts. Mind that word all, and leave not one command out of your respect. Partial obedience still leaves us liable to be called to account for those commands which we have neglected. To a poor sinner who is buried in despair, it may seem a very unlikely thing that he should ever be delivered from shame. Let him read these words: “Then shall I not be ashamed.” David is not dreaming, nor picturing an impossible case. Be assured that the Holy Spirit can renew in you the image of God.
119:7. I will praise thee. From prayer to praise is never a long or difficult journey. Be sure that he who prays for holiness will one day praise for happiness. Shame having vanished, silence is broken, and the formerly silent person declares, “I will praise thee.” He cannot but promise praise while he seeks sanctification. Mark how well he knows upon what head to set the crown: I will praise thee. He would himself be praiseworthy, but he counts God alone worthy of praise. By the sorrow and shame of sin he measures his obligations to the Lord who would teach him the art of living so that he should clean escape from his former misery.
With uprightness of heart. His heart would be upright if the Lord would teach him, and then it should praise its teacher. There is such a thing as false and reigned praise, and this the Lord abhors; but there is no music like that which comes from a pure soul which stands in its integrity. Heart praise is required, uprightness in that heart, and teaching to make the heart upright. An upright heart is sure to bless the Lord, for grateful adoration is a part of its uprightness.
When I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. We must learn to praise, learn that we may praise, and praise when we have learned. If we are ever to learn, the Lord must teach us, and especially upon such a subject as his judgments, for they are a great deep. While these are passing before our eyes, and we are learning from them, we ought to praise God, for the original is not “when I have learned” but “in my learning.” While yet I am a scholar I will be a chorister.
119:8. I will keep thy statutes. A calm resolve. “I will praise” should be coupled with “I will keep.” This firm resolve is by no means boastful, for it is followed by a humble prayer for divine help, O forsake me not utterly. Feeling his own incapacity, he trembles lest he should be left to himself, and this fear is increased by the horror which he has of falling into sin. The I will keep sounds rightly enough now that the humble cry is heard with it. This is a happy amalgam: resolution and dependence. We meet with those who to all appearance humbly pray, but there is no force of character, no decision in them, and consequently the pleading of the closet is not embodied in the life: on the other hand, we meet with abundance of resolve with an entire absence of dependence upon God, and this makes as poor a character as the former.
This prayer is one which is certain to be heard, for assuredly it must be highly pleasing to God to see a man set upon obeying his will, and therefore it must be most agreeable to him to be present with such a person, and to help him in his endeavors. How can he forsake one who does not forsake his law?
The special dread which tinges this prayer with a somber hue is the fear of utter forsaking. But the Lord never has utterly forsaken his servants, and he never will, blessed be his name. If we long to keep his statutes he will keep us; his grace will keep us keeping his law.
There is rather a descent from the mount of benediction with which the first verse begins to the almost wail of this eighth verse; yet this is spiritually a growth, for from admiration of goodness we have come to a burning longing after God and communion with him, and an intense horror lest it should not be enjoyed.
119:9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? How will he become and remain practically holy? He is but a young man, full of hot passions, and poor in knowledge and experience; how will he get right, and keep right? Never was there a more important question for any man; alas, his way is already unclean by actual sin which he has already committed, and he himself has within his nature a tendency towards that which defiles. Here, then, is the difficulty, first of beginning aright, next of being always able to know and choose the right, and of continuing in the fight till perfection is ultimately reached. Let him not think that he knows the road to easy victory, nor dream that he can keep himself by his own wisdom; he will do well to follow the psalmist, and become an earnest inquirer asking how he may cleanse his way. Let him become a practical disciple of the holy God, who alone can teach him how to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, that trinity of defilers by whom many a hopeful life has been spoiled. He is young and unaccustomed to the road; let him not be ashamed often to inquire his way of him who is so ready and so able to instruct him in it.
Our way is a subject which concerns us deeply, but it is not to be answered by unaided reason, nor, when answered, can the directions be carried out by unsupported human power.
By taking heed thereto according to thy word. Young man, the Bible must be your chart, and you must exercise great watchfulness that your way may be according to its directions. You must take heed to your daily life as well as study your Bible, and you must study your Bible that you may take heed to your daily life. To obey the Lord and walk uprightly will need all our heart and soul and mind.
Yet the word is absolutely necessary, for otherwise care will darken into morbid anxiety, and conscientiousness may become superstition. It is not enough to desire to be right; for ignorance may make us think that we are doing God service when we are provoking him, and the fact of our ignorance will not reverse the character of our action, however much it may mitigate its criminality. Let each person, young or old, who desires to be holy have a holy watchfulness in his heart, and keep the Holy Bible before his open eye. There he will find every turn of the road marked down, every slough and miry place pointed out, with the way to go through unsoiled; and there, too, he will find light for his darkness, comfort for his weariness, and company for his loneliness, so that by its help he will reach the benediction of the first verse of the psalm, which suggested the psalmist’s inquiry, and awakened his desires.
Note how the first section of eight verses has for its first verse, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way,” and the second section runs parallel to it, with the question, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” The blessedness which is set before us in a conditional promise should be practically sought for in the way appointed. The Lord says, “For this will I be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them.”
119:10. With my whole heart have I sought thee. His heart had gone after God himself: he had not only desired to obey his laws, but to commune with his person. The surest mode of cleansing the way of our life is to seek after God himself, and to endeavor to abide in fellowship with him. Up to the good hour in which he was speaking to his Lord, the psalmist had been an eager seeker after the Lord, and if faint, he was still pursuing. Had he not sought the Lord he would never have been so anxious to cleanse his way. He so powerfully feels the presence of his God that he speaks to him, and prays to him as to one who is near. A true heart cannot long live without fellowship with God. His petition is founded on life’s purpose: he is seeking the Lord, and he prays the Lord to prevent his going astray in or from his search. It is by obedience that we follow after God, hence the prayer, O let me not wander from thy commandments; for if we leave the ways of God’s appointment we certainly shall not find the God who appointed them. The more our whole heart is set upon holiness, the more do we dread falling into sin; we are not so much fearful of deliberate transgression as of inadvertent wandering.
Two things may be very like and yet altogether different: saints are “strangers” (verse 19), but they are not wanderers: they are passing through an enemy’s country, but their route is direct; they are seeking their Lord while they traverse this foreign land. Their way is hidden from people; but yet they have not lost their way.
The man of God exerts himself, but does not trust himself: his heart is in his walking with God; but he knows that even his whole strength is not enough to keep him right unless his King is his keeper; hence the prayer, O let me not wander.
Where verse 2 pronounces that man blessed who seeks the Lord with his whole heart, the present verse claims the blessing by pleading the character: With my whole heart have I sought thee.
119:11. When a godly person sues for a favor from God he should carefully use every means for obtaining it, and accordingly, as the psalmist had asked to be preserved from wandering, he here shows us the holy precaution which he had taken to prevent his falling into sin. Thy word have I hid in mine heart. All that he had of the Word written, and all that had been revealed to him by the voice of God—all, without exception, he had stored away in his affections. He did not wear a text on his heart as a charm, but he hid it in his heart as a rule. We must mind that what we believe is truly God’s Word; that being done, we must hide or treasure it each man for himself; and we must see that this is done, not as a mere feat of the memory, but as the joyful act of the affections.
That I might not sin against thee. Here was the object aimed at. Sinning “against God” is the believer’s view of moral evil; other people care only when they offend against people. God’s Word is the best preventive against offending God, for it tells us his mind and will, and tends to bring our spirit into conformity with the divine Spirit. No cure for sin in the life is equal to the Word in the seat of life, which is the heart. There is no hiding from sin unless we hide the truth in our souls.
A very pleasant variety of meaning is obtained by laying stress upon the words “thy” and “thee.” He speaks to God, he loves the Word because it is God’s Word, and he hates sin because it is sin against God himself. If he vexed others, he minded not so long as he did not offend his God. If we would not cause God displeasure we must treasure up his own Word.
The parallelism between the second octave and the first is still continued. Verse 3 speaks of doing no iniquity, while this verse treats of the method of not sinning. This can only be through heart-piety founded on the Scriptures.
119:12. Blessed art thou, O LORD. These are words of adoration arising out of an intense admiration of the divine character, which the writer is humbly aiming to imitate. No sooner is the Word in the heart than a desire arises to mark and learn it. When food is eaten, the next thing is to digest it; and when the Word is received into the soul the first prayer is, Lord, teach me its meaning. Teach me thy statutes; for thus only can I learn the way to be blessed. We need to be disciples or learners—teach me—but what an honor to have God himself for a teacher! The Lord put the desire in David’s heart when the sacred Word was hidden there, and so we may be sure that he was not too bold in expressing it. The King who ordained the statutes knows best their meaning, and as they are the outcome of his own nature he can best inspire us with their spirit.
119:13. The taught one of verse 12 is here a teacher himself. What we learn in secret we are to proclaim upon the housetops. What the Lord has revealed it would be shameful for us to conceal. It is a great comfort to a Christian in time of trouble when in looking back upon his past life he can claim to have done his duty by the Word of God. If we have had such regard to that which comes out of God’s mouth that we have published it far and wide, we may rest assured that God will respect the prayers which come out of our mouths.
It will be an effectual method of cleansing a young man’s way if he addicts himself continually to preaching the Gospel. He cannot go far wrong in judgment whose whole soul is occupied in setting forth the judgments of the Lord. By teaching we learn; by training the tongue to holy speech we master the whole body; by familiarity with the divine procedure we are made to delight in righteousness; and thus in a threefold manner our way is cleansed by our proclaiming the way of the Lord.
119:14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies. Delight in the Word of God is a sure proof that it has taken effect upon the heart, and so is cleansing the life. The Way was as dear to David as the Truth and the Life. If he did make a selection, he chose the most practical first. As much as in all riches. David knew the riches that come of sovereignty, and which grow out of conquest; he valued the wealth which proceeds from labor, or is gotten by inheritance: he knew all riches.
119:15. I will meditate in thy precepts. He who has an inward delight in anything will not long withdraw his mind from it. No spiritual exercise is more profitable to the soul than that of devout meditation; why are many of us so exceeding slack in it? The preceptory part of God’s Word was David’s special subject of meditation, and this was the more natural because the question was still upon his mind as to how a young man should cleanse his way. Practical godliness is vital godliness.
And have respect unto thy ways. That is to say, I will think much about them so as to know what thy ways are; and next, I will think much of them so as to have day ways in great reverence and high esteem.
Note how the verses grow more inward as they proceed: from the speech of verse 13 we advanced to the manifested joy of verse 14, and now we come to the secret meditation of the happy spirit. The richest graces are those which dwell deepest.
119:16. I will delight myself in thy statutes. In this verse delight follows meditation, of which it is the true flower and outgrowth. When we have no other solace, but are quite alone, it will be a glad thing for the heart to turn upon itself and sweetly whisper, I will delight myself. But there is no delighting ourselves with anything below that which God intended to be the soul’s eternal satisfaction. The statute-book is intended to be the joy of every loyal subject.
I will not forget thy word. Men do not readily forget that which they have treasured up, that which they have meditated upon (verse 15), and that which they have often spoken of (verse 13). Yet since we have treacherous memories it is well to bind them well with the knotted cord of I will not forget.
This verse is molded upon verse 8: the changes are rung on the same words, but the meaning is quite different. The same thought is never given over again in this psalm. Something in the position of each verse affects its meaning, so that even where its words are almost identical with those of another the sense is delightfully varied.
119:17–24. In this section the trials of the way appear to be manifest to the psalmist’s mind, and he prays accordingly for the help which will meet his case. As in the last eight verses he prayed as a youth newly come into the world, so here he pleads as a servant and a pilgrim, who growingly finds himself to be a stranger in an enemy’s country. His appeal is to God alone, and his prayer is specially direct and personal. He speaks with the Lord as a man speaks with his friend.
119:17. Deal bountifully with thy servant. He takes pleasure in owning his duty to God, and counts it the joy of his heart to be in the service of his God. Out of his condition he makes a plea: let my wage be according to thy goodness, and not according to my merit. Reward me according to the largeness of thy liberality, and not according to the scantiness of my service. The hired servants of our Father have all of them bread enough and to spare, and he will not leave one of his household to perish with hunger. If the Lord will only treat us as he treats the least of his servants we may be well content, for all his true servants are sons, princes of the blood, heirs of life eternal.
That I may live. Without abundant mercy he could not live. It takes great grace to keep a saint alive. Only the Lord can keep us in being, and it is mighty grace which preserves to us the life which we have forfeited by our sin. It is right to desire to live, it is meet to pray to live, it is just to ascribe long life to the favor of God. Spiritual life, without which this natural life is mere existence, is also to be sought of the Lord’s bounty, for it is the noblest work of divine grace, and in it the bounty of God is gloriously displayed. The Lord’s servants cannot serve him in their own strength, for they cannot even live unless his grace abounds towards them.
And keep thy word. This should be the rule, the object, and the joy of our life. We may not wish to live and sin; but we may pray to live and keep God’s Word. Being is a poor thing if it be not well-being. Life is only worth keeping while we can keep God’s Word; indeed, there is no life in the highest sense apart from holiness.
The prayer of this verse shows that it is only through divine bounty or grace that we can live as faithful servants of God, and manifest obedience to his commands. If we give God service it must be because he gives us grace. We work for him because he works in us. Thus we may make a chain out of the opening verses of the three first octaves of this psalm: verse 1 blesses the holy man, verse 9 asks how we can attain to such holiness, and verse 17 traces such holiness to its secret source, and shows us how to seek the blessing. The more we prize holiness and earnestly strive after it, the more will we be driven towards God for help therein, for we will plainly perceive that our own strength is insufficient.
119:18. Open thou mine eyes. This is a part of the bountiful dealing which he has asked for. It is far better to have the eyes opened than to be placed in the midst of the noblest prospects and remain blind to their beauty.
That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Some people can perceive no wonders in the Gospel, but David felt that God had laid up great bounties in his Word, and he begs for power to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy the same. We need not so much that God should give us more benefits, as the ability to see what he has given.
The prayer implies a conscious darkness, a dimness of spiritual vision, a powerlessness to remove that defect, and a full assurance that God can remove it. It shows also that the writer knew that there were vast treasures in the Word which he had not yet fully seen, marvels which he had not yet beheld, mysteries which he had scarcely believed. The Scriptures teem with marvels, yet what are these to closed eyes ? And who can open their own eyes, since we are born blind? Scripture needs opening, but not one half so much as our eyes do. What perfect precepts, what precious promises, what priceless privileges are neglected by us because we wander among them like blind people among the beauties of nature, and they are to us as a landscape shrouded in darkness!
The psalmist had a measure of spiritual perception, or he would never have known that there were wondrous things to be seen, nor would he have prayed, open thou mine eyes; but what he had seen made him long for a clearer and wider sight. This longing proved the genuineness of what he possessed, for it is a test mark of the true knowledge of God that it causes its possessor to thirst for deeper knowledge.
David’s prayer in this verse is a good sequel to verse 10, which corresponds to it in position in its octave: there he said, “O let me not wander,” and who is so apt to wander as a blind person? There, too, he declared, “with my whole heart have I sought thee,” and hence the desire to see the object of his search.
119:19. I am a stranger in the earth. This is meant for a plea. By divine command people are bound to be kind to strangers, and what God commands in others he will exemplify in himself. The psalmist was a stranger for God’s sake, else he had been as much at home as worldlings are: he was not a stranger to God, but a stranger to the world, a banished man so long as he was out of heaven. Therefore he pleads, Hide not thy commandments from me. If these are gone, what have I else? Since nothing around me is mine, what can I do if I lose thy Word ? Since none around me know or care to know the way to thyself, what shall I do if I fail to see thy commands, by which alone I can guide my steps to the land where thou dwellest? David implies that God’s commands were his solace in exile: they reminded him of home, and showed him the way thither, and therefore he begged that they might never be hidden from him, by his being unable either to understand them or to obey them. This prayer is a supplement to “open thou mine eyes,” and as the one prays to see, the other deprecates the negative of seeing, namely, the command being hidden. We do well to look at both sides of the blessing we are seeking, and to plead for it from every point of view.
119:20. God’s judgments are his decisions upon points which else had been in dispute. Every precept is a judgment of the highest court upon a point of action, an infallible and immutable decision upon a moral or spiritual question. True godliness lies very much in desires. A high value of the Lord’s commandment leads to a pressing desire to know and to do it, and this so weighs upon the soul that it is ready to break in pieces under the crush of its own longings. We may well pray for such longings. Longing is the soul of praying, and when the soul longs till it breaks, it cannot be long before the blessing will be granted. The most intimate communion between the soul and its God is carried on by the process described in the text. God reveals his will, and our heart longs to be conformed thereto. God judges, and our heart rejoices in the verdict. Note well that our desire after the mind of God should be constant—at all times. Desires which can be put off and on like our garments are at best but mere wishes, and possibly they are hardly true enough to be called by that name—they are temporary emotions born of excitement, and doomed to die when the heat which created them has cooled down.
Remark how this fourth of the third eight chimes with the fourth of the fourth eight. My soul breaketh; “my soul melteth.”
119:21. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed. This is one of God’s judgments: he is sure to deal out a terrible portion to people of lofty looks. Nobody blesses the proud, and they soon become a burden to themselves. In itself, pride is a plague and torment. Even if no curse came from the law of God, there seems to be a law of nature that the proud should be unhappy. This led David to abhor pride; he dreaded the rebuke of God and the curse of the law. The proud sinners of his day were his enemies, and he felt happy that God was in the quarrel as well as he.
Which do err from thy commandments. Only humble hearts are obedient, for they alone will yield to rule and government.The looks of the proud are too high to mark their own feet and keep the Lord’s way. Pride lies at the root of all sin. God rebukes pride even when the multitudes pay homage to it, for he sees in it rebellion against his own majesty, and the seeds of yet further rebellions. People talk of an honest pride; but if they were candid they would see that it is of all sins the least honest, and the least becoming in a creature, and especially in a fallen creature: yet so little of the proud know their own true condition that they censure the godly, and express contempt for them, as may be seen in the next verse. We may well be of good comfort under the rebukes of the ungodly since their power to hurt us is destroyed by the Lord himself.
In the fifth of the former octave the psalmist wrote, “I have desired all the judgments of thy mouth,” and here he continues in the same strain, giving a particular instance of the Lord’s judgments against haughty rebels. In the next two portions the fifth verses deal with lying and vanity, and pride is one of the most common forms of those evils.
119:22. Remove from me reproach and contempt. These are painful things to tender minds. David could bear them for righteousness’ sake, but they were a heavy yoke, and he longed to be free from them. To be slandered, and then to be despised in consequence of the vile accusation, is a grievous affliction. The one who says, “I care nothing for my reputation” is not wise, for in Solomon’s esteem “a good name is better than precious ointment.” The best way to deal with slander is to pray about it: God will either remove it, or remove the sting from it. Our own attempts at clearing ourselves are usually failures. Be quiet and let your Advocate plead your cause.
For I have kept thy testimonies. Innocence may justly ask to be cleared from reproach. If there be truth in the charges alleged against us what can we urge with God? If, however, we are wrongfully accused, our appeal cannot be refused. If through fear of reproach we forsake the divine testimony we shall deserve the coward’s doom; our safety lies in sticking close to the true and to the right. God will keep those who keep his testimonies. A good conscience is the best security for a good name; reproach will not abide with those who abide with Christ, neither will contempt remain upon those who remain faithful to the ways of the Lord.
This verse stands as a parallel both in sense and position to verse 6, and it has the catchword of testimonies, by which it chimes with verse 14.
119:23. Princes also did sit and speak against me. They saw in David a greatness which they envied, and therefore they abused him. On their thrones they might have found something better to consider and speak about, but they turned the seat of judgment into the seat of the scorner. To be spoken ill of by a great man is a great discouragement to most people, but the psalmist bore it with holy calmness. Many of the lordly ones were his enemies, and made it their business to speak ill of him; yet he survived all their attempts upon him.
But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. This was brave indeed. He was God’s servant, and therefore he attended to his Master’s business and felt sure his Master would defend him. The rabble of princes were not worth five minutes’ thought, if those five minutes had to be taken from holy meditation. It is very beautiful to see the two sittings: the princes sitting to reproach David, and David sitting with his God and his Bible, answering his traducers by never answering them at all. Those who feed upon the Word grow strong and peaceful, and are by God’s grace hidden from the strife of tongues.
Note that in the close of the former octave he had said, “I will meditate,” and here he shows how he had redeemed his promise, even under great provocation to forget it. It is a praiseworthy thing when the resolve of our happy hours is duly carried out in our seasons of affliction.
119:24. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. They were not only themes for meditation, but also sources of delight and means of guidance. While his enemies took counsel with each other, the holy man took counsel with the testimonies of God. The words of the Lord serve us for many purposes; in our sorrows they are our delight, and in our difficulties they are our guide; we derive joy from them and discover wisdom in them. When we follow their counsel it must not be with reluctance but with delight. This is the safest way of dealing with those who plot for our ruin; let us give more heed to the true testimonies of the Lord than to the false witness of our foes.
In verse 16 David said, “I will delight in thy statutes,” and here he says, “they are my delight”: thus resolutions formed in God’s strength come to fruit, and spiritual desires ripen into actual attainments.
119:25–32. Here, it seems to me, we have the psalmist in trouble bewailing the bondage to earthly things in which he finds his mind to be held. His soul cleaves to the dust, melts for heaviness, and cries for enlargement from its spiritual prison. In these verses we shall see the influence of the divine word upon a heart which laments its downward tendencies, and is filled with mourning because of its deadening surroundings. The Word of the Lord arouses prayer (verses 25–29), confirms choice (verse 30), and inspires renewed resolve (verse 32): it is in all tribulation of body or mind the surest source of help.
119:25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust. He means in part that he was full of sorrow; for mourners in the east cast dust on their heads, and sat in ashes, and the psalmist felt as if these signs of woe were glued to him, and his very soul was made to cleave to them because of his powerlessness to rise above his grief. Does he not also mean that he felt ready to die? Did he not feel his life absorbed and fast held by the grave’s mold, half choked by the death-dust? It may not be straining the language if we conceive that he also felt and bemoaned his earthly-mindedness and spiritual deadness. There was a tendency in his soul to cling to earth which he greatly bewailed. Whatever was the cause of his complaint, it was no surface evil, but an affair of the inmost spirit; his soul cleaved to the dust; and it was a continuous and powerful tendency. But what a mercy that the good man could feel and deplore whatever there was of evil in the cleaving! Many are of the earth, and never lament it; only the heaven-born and heaven-soaring spirit pines at the thought of being fastened to this world and bird-limed by its sorrows or its pleasures.
Quicken thou me according to thy word. More life is the cure for all our ailments. Only the Lord can give it. He can bestow it at once, and do it according to his Word, without departing from the usual course of his grace, as we see it mapped out in the Scriptures. It is well to know what to pray for; David seeks quickening: one would have thought that he would have asked for comfort of upraising, but he knew that these would come out of increased life, and therefore he sought that blessing which is the root of the rest. When a person is depressed in spirit, weak, and bent towards the ground, the main thing is to increase his stamina and put more life into him. The phrase according to thy word means “according to thy revealed way of quickening thy saints.” The Word of God shows us that he who first made us must keep us alive, and it tells us of the Spirit of God who through the ordinances pours fresh life into our souls. Perhaps David remembered the word of the Lord in Deuteronomy 32:39, where Jehovah claims both to kill and to make alive, and he beseeches the Lord to exercise that life-giving power.
Note how this first verse of the 4th octave tallies with the first of the third (verse 17)—“that I may live.”
119:26. I have declared my ways. Open confession is good for the soul. Nothing brings more ease and more life to a man than a frank acknowledgment of the evil which has caused the sorrow and the lethargy. Such a declaration proves that the man knows his own condition and is no longer blinded by pride. Our confessions are not meant to make God know our sins, but to make us know them. And thou heardest me. His confession had been accepted; it was not lost labor; God had drawn near to him in it. We ought never to go from a duty till we have been accepted in it. Pardon follows upon penitent confession, and David felt that he had obtained it.
Teach me thy statutes. Being truly sorry for his fault, and having obtained full forgiveness, he is anxious to avoid offending again, and hence he begs to be taught obedience. Justified people always long to be sanctified. When God forgives our sins, we are all the more fearful of sinning again. Mercy, which pardons transgression, sets us longing for grace which prevents transgression. We may boldly ask for more when God has given us much; he who has washed out the past stain will not refuse that which will preserve us from present and future defilement. This cry for teaching is frequent in the psalm; in verse 12 it followed a sight of God, and here it follows from a sight of self.
119:27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts. Give me a deep insight into the practical meaning of thy Word; let me get a clear idea of the tone and tenor of thy law. Blind obedience has but small beauty; God would have us follow him with our eyes open. To obey the letter of the Word is all that the ignorant can hope for; if we wish to keep God’s precepts in their spirit we must come to an understanding of them, and that can be gained nowhere but at the Lord’s hands. The psalmist is not anxious to understand the prophecies, but the precepts, and he is not concerned about the subtleties of the law, but the commonplaces and everyday rules of it.
So shall I talk of thy wondrous works. It is ill talking of what we do not understand. We must be taught of God till we understand, and then we may hope to communicate our knowledge to others with a hope of profiting them. Talk without intelligence is mere talk, and idle talk. When our heart has been opened to understand, our lips should be opened to impart knowledge; and we may hope to be taught ourselves when we feel in our hearts a willingness to teach the way of the Lord to those among whom we dwell.
Thy wondrous works. We see that the clearest understanding does not cause us to cease from wondering at the ways and works of God. Much of the wonder in the world is born of ignorance, but holy wonder is the child of understanding. When a man understands the way of the divine precepts he never talks of his own works. Some in this place read “meditate” or “muse” instead of talk; if we read the passage in this sense, we take it to mean that in proportion as David understood the Word of God he would meditate upon it and more. The thoughtless care not to know the inner meaning of the Scriptures, while those who know them best strive after a greater familiarity with them.
Observe the third verse of the last eight (verse 19), and see how the sense is akin to this. There he was a stranger in the earth, and here he prays to know his way; there, too, he prayed that the Word might not be hid from himself, and here he promises that he will not hide it from others.
119:28. My soul melteth for heaviness. He was dissolving away in tears. Heaviness of heart is a killing thing, and when it abounds it threatens to turn life into a long death. There is one good point in this downcast state, for it is better to be melted with grief than to be hardened by impenitence.
Strengthen thou me according to thy word. His hope in this state of depression lies not in himself but in his God. He asks for nothing more than to be dealt with after the recorded manner of the Lord of mercy. Grace can enable us to bear the constant fret of an abiding sorrow; it can give the believer the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Let us always resort to prayer in our despondent times, for it is the surest and shortest way out of the depths. In that prayer let us plead nothing but the Word of God; for there is no plea like a promise, no argument like a word from our covenant God.
119:29. Remove from me the way of lying. This is the way of sin, error, idolatry, folly, self-righteousness, formalism, hypocrisy. David cannot endure to have it near him. He desired to be true and in the truth, but he feared that a measure of falsehood would cling to him unless the Lord took it away, and therefore he earnestly cried for its removal. False motives may at times sway us, and we may fall into mistaken notions of our own spiritual condition before God, which erroneous conceits may be kept up by a natural prejudice in our own favor, and so we may be confirmed in a delusion, and abide in our error unless grace comes to the rescue.
And grant me thy law graciously. David wishes to have the law opened up to his understanding, engraved upon his heart, and carried out in his life. If the law be not in our hearts the lie will enter. David would seem to have remembered those times when, according to the eastern fashion, he had practiced deceit for his own preservation, and he saw that he had been weak and erring upon that point; therefore he was bowed down in spirit and begged to be quickened and delivered from transgressing in that manner any more. Holy people cannot review their sins without tears, nor weep over them without intreating to be saved from further offending. There is an evident opposition between falsehood and the gracious power of God’s law. The only way to expel the lie is to accept the truth. Grace and truth are ever linked together, and a belief of the doctrines of grace is a grand preservative from deadly error.
In the fifth of the preceding octave (verse 21) David cries out against pride, and here against lying. These are much the same thing. Is not pride the greatest of all lies?
119:30. I have chosen the way of truth. People do not drop into the right way by chance; they must choose it, and continue to choose it, or they will soon wander from it. There is a doctrinal way of truth which we ought to choose, rejecting every dogma of human devising; there is a ceremonial way of truth, detesting all the forms which apostate churches have invented; and then there is a practical way of truth, the way of holiness, to which we must adhere whatever may be our temptation to forsake it.
Thy judgments have I laid before me. What he had chosen he kept in mind, laying it out before his mind’s eye. People do not become holy by a careless wish; there must be study, consideration, deliberation, and earnest inquiry. The commands of God must be set before us as the mark to aim at, the model to work by, the road to walk in. If we put God’s judgments into the background we shall soon find ourselves departing from them.
Here again the sixth stanzas of the third and fourth octaves ring out a similar note.
119:31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies, or “I have cleaved,” for the word is the same as in verse 25. He has kept fast hold of the divine Word. This was his comfort, and his faith stuck to it, his love and his obedience held on to it, his heart and his mind abode in meditation upon it. His choice was so heartily and deliberately made that he stuck to it for life. It is pleasant to look back upon past perseverance and to expect grace to continue equally steadfast in the future. He who has enabled us to stick to him will surely stick to us.
O LORD, put me not to shame. This would happen if God’s promises were unfulfilled, and if the heart of God’s servant was allowed to fail. This we have no reason to fear, since the Lord is faithful to his Word. But it might also happen through the believer’s acting in an inconsistent manner, as David had himself once done, when he fell into the way of lying, and pretended to be a madman. If we are not true to our profession we may be left to reap the fruit of our folly, and that will be the bitter thing called shame. A believer ought never to be ashamed, but act the part of a brave person who has done nothing to be ashamed of in believing his God, and does not mean to adopt a craven tone in the presence of the Lord’s enemies. If we beseech the Lord not to put us to shame, surely we ought not ourselves to be ashamed without cause.
The prayer of this verse is found in the parallel verse of the next section (verse 39): “Turn away my reproach which I fear.” A brave heart is more wounded by shame than by any weapon which a soldier’s hand can wield.
119:32. I will run the way of thy commandments. With energy, promptness, and zeal he would perform the will of God, but he needed more life and liberty from the hand of God. When thou shalt enlarge my heart. Let the affections be aroused and eagerly set on divine things, and our actions will be full of force, swiftness, and delight. God must work in us first, and then we shall will and do according to his good pleasure. He must change the heart, and enlarge the heart, and then the course of life will be gracious, sincere, happy, and earnest; so we must attribute all to the free favor of our God. We must run, for grace is not an overwhelming force which compels unwilling minds to move contrary to their will: our running is the spontaneous leaping forward of a mind which has been set free by the hand of God, and delights to show its freedom by its bounding speed.
What a change from verse 25 to the present, from cleaving to the dust to running in the way. It is the excellence of holy sorrow that it works in us the quickening for which we seek, and then we show the sincerity of our grief and the reality of our revival by being zealous in the ways of the Lord.
For the third time an octave closes with I will. The I wills of the psalms are right worthy of being each one the subject of study and discourse.
Note how the heart has been spoken of up to this point; there are many more allusions further on, and these all go to show what heart-work David’s religion was.
119:33–40. A sense of dependence and a consciousness of extreme need pervade this section, which is all made up of prayer and plea. The former eight verses trembled with a sense of sin, quivering with a childlike sense of weakness and folly, which caused the man of God to cry out for the help by which alone his soul could be preserved from falling back into sin.
119:33. Teach me, LORD, the way of thy statutes. Alas for those who will never be taught. They dote upon their own wisdom; but their folly is apparent to all who rightly judge. The psalmist will have the Lord for his teacher, for he feels that his heart will not learn of any less effectual instructor. A sense of great slowness to learn drives us to seek a great teacher. The holy man would not only learn the statues but the way of them, the daily use of them. The very desire to learn this way is in itself an assurance that we shall be taught therein, for he who made us long to learn will be sure to gratify the desire.
And I shall keep it unto the end. Those who are taught of God never forget their lessons, but those who commence without the Lord’s teaching soon forget what they learn, and start aside from the way upon which they professed to have entered. No one may boast that he will hold on his way in his own strength, for that must depend on the continual teaching of the Lord. It is a great comfort to know that it is the way with God to keep the feet of his saints, yet we are to watch as if our keeping of the way depended wholly on ourselves; for, according to this verse, our perseverance rests not on any force or compulsion, but on the teaching of the Lord, and no one can teach someone who refuses to learn. The end of which David speaks is the end of life, or the fullness of obedience. He trusted in grace to make him faithful to the utmost. As Christ loves us to the end, so must we serve him to the end. The end of divine teaching is that we may persevere to the end.
The portions of eight show a relationship still. Verse 17 has a prayer for life, that he may keep the Word; verse 25 cries for more life, according to that Word; and now comes a prayer for teaching, that he may keep the way of God’s statutes. If a keen eye is turned upon these verses a closer affinity will be discerned.
119:34. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law. This is the same prayer enlarged, or rather it is a supplement which intensifies it. He not only needs teachings, but the power to learn: he requires not only to understand, but to obtain an understanding. How low has sin brought us, for we even lack the faculty to understand spiritual things. Will God in very deed give us understanding? This is a miracle of grace. It will, however, never be wrought upon us till we know our need of it; and we shall not even discover that need till God gives us a measure of understanding to perceive it. We are in a state of complicated ruin, from which nothing but manifold grace can deliver us. We are not to seek this blessing that we may be famous for wisdom, but that we may be abundant in our love to the law of God. The Gospel gives us grace to keep the law; there is no way of reaching to holiness but by accepting the gift of God. If God gives, we keep; but we never keep the law in order to obtain grace. The sure result of regeneration, or the bestowal of understanding, is a devout reverence for the law and a resolute keeping of it in the heart. The Spirit of God makes us to know the Lord and to understand somewhat of his love, wisdom, holiness, and majesty; and the result is that we honor the law and yield our hearts to the obedience of the faith.
Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. The understanding operates upon the affections; it convinces the heart of the beauty of the law, so that the soul loves it with all its powers; and then it reveals the majesty of the Law-giver, and the whole nature bows before his supreme will. An enlightened judgment heals the divisions of the heart, and bends the united affections to a strict and watchful observance of the one rule of life. He alone obeys God who can say, “My Lord, I would serve thee, and do it with all my heart”; and none can truly say this till they have received as a free grant the inward illumination of the Holy Spirit.
Observe the parallel of verses 2 and 10 where the whole heart is spoken of in reference to seeking, and in verse 58 in pleading for mercy; these are all second verses in their octaves. The frequent repetition of this phrase shows the importance of undivided love. The heart is never one with God till it is one within itself.
119:35. Thou hast made me to love the way; now make me to move in it. This is the cry of a child that longs to walk, but is too feeble; of a pilgrim who is exhausted. We shall not go into the narrow path till we are made to do so by the Maker’s own power. O thou who didst once make me, I pray thee make me again: thou hast made me to know; now make me to go. The psalmist does not ask the Lord to do for him what he ought to do for himself: he wishes himself to go or tread in the path of the command. Grace does not treat us as stones, to be dragged, but as creatures endowed with life, reason, will, and active powers, who are willing and able to do of themselves if once made to do so. The holiness we seek after is not a forced compliance with command, by the indulgence of a whole-hearted passion for goodness, such as shall conform our life to the will of the Lord. Where the heart already finds its joy the feet are sure to follow.
Note that the corresponding verse in the former eight (verse 35) was “Make me to understand,” and here we have “make me to go.” A clear understanding is a great assistance towards practical action.
119:36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies. It may be that David felt a wandering desire, an inordinate leaning of his soul to worldly gain; possibly it even intruded into his most devout meditations, and at once he cried out for more grace. The only way to cure a wrong leaning is to have the soul bent in the opposite direction. Holiness of heart is the cure for covetousness. What a blessing it is that we may ask the Lord even for an inclination. Our wills are free and yet, without violating their liberty, grace can incline us in the right direction. This can be done by enlightening the understanding as to the excellence of obedience, by strengthening our habits of virtue and by many other ways. If any one duty is irksome to us it behooves us to offer this prayer with special reference thereto: we are to love all the Lord’s testimonies, and if we fail in any one point we must pay double attention to it. The leaning of the heart is the way in which the life will lean; happy shall we be when we feel habitually inclined to all that is good.
And not to covetousness. This is the inclination of nature; it dethrones God; it is selfishness and sordid greed, a degrading, groveling, hardening, deadening sin, which withers everything around it that is lovely and Christlike. He who is covetous is of the race of Judas, and will in all probability turn out to be himself a son of perdition. The crime is common, but very few will confess it.
119:37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding iniquity. He had prayed about his heart; if the eyes do not see, perhaps the heart may not desire. The prayer is not so much that the eyes shall be shut as turned away, for we need to have them open, but directed to right objects. It is a proof of the sense of weakness felt by the psalmist and of his entire dependence upon God that he even asks to have his eyes turned for him; he meant not to make himself passive, but he intended to set forth his own utter helplessness apart from the grace of God. For fear he should forget himself and gaze with a lingering longing upon forbidden objects, he intreats the Lord speedily to make him turn away his eyes, hurrying him off from so dangerous a parley with iniquity.
And quicken thou me in thy way. Give me so much life that dead vanity may have no power over me. Enable me to travel so swiftly on the road to heaven that I may not stop long enough within sight of vanity to be fascinated thereby. The prayer indicates our greatest need—more life in our obedience. If we would be full of life as to the things of God we must keep ourselves apart from sin and folly, or the eyes will soon captivate the mind, and, like Samson, who could slay his thousands, we may ourselves be overcome through the lusts which enter by the eye.
119:38. Stablish thy word unto thy servant. Make me sure of thy sure Word. If we possess the spirit of service, and yet are troubled with skeptical thoughts, we cannot do better than pray to be established in the truth. Times will arise when every doctrine and promise seems to be shaken, and our mind gets no rest: then we must appeal to God for establishment in the faith. Practical holiness is a great help towards doctrinal certainty: if we are God’s servants he will confirm his Word in our experience. Atheism in the heart is a horrible plague to a God-fearing man; it brings more torment with it than can well be described; and nothing but a visitation of grace can settle the soul after it has been violently assailed thereby. Vanity or falsehood is bad for the eyes, but it is even worse when it defiles the understanding and casts a doubt upon the Word of the living God.
Who is devoted to thy fear, or simply “to thy fear.” That is, make good thy Word to godly fear wherever it exists; strengthen the whole body of reverent people. Or, again, it may mean, “Stablish thy Word to thy fear,” namely, that people may be led to fear thee, since a sure faith in the divine promise is the fountain and foundation of godly fear. People will never worship a God in whom they do not believe. We cannot look for the fulfillment of promises in our experience unless we live under the influence of holy watchfulness and prayerful energy. We shall never be rooted and grounded in our belief unless we daily practice what we profess to believe. Full assurance is the reward of obedience.
119:39. Turn away my reproach which I fear. He feared just reproach, trembling lest he should cause the enemy to blaspheme through any glaring inconsistency. We ought to fear this, and watch that we may avoid it. Persecution in the form of calumny may also be prayed against, for it is perhaps the sorest of trials to sensitive minds. We shall be kept from lies if we keep from lies.
For thy judgments are good. Therefore he is anxious that none may speak evil of the ways of God through hearing an ill report about himself. We mourn when we are slandered, because the shame is cast rather upon our religion than ourselves. If men would be content to attribute evil to us, and go no further, we might bear it, for we are evil; but our sorrow is that they cast a slur upon the Word and character of God. When people rail at God’s government of the world it is our duty and privilege to stand up for him, and openly to declare before him, thy judgments are good; and we should do the same when they assail the Bible, the Gospel, the law, or the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we must take heed that they can bring no truthful accusation against us, or our testimony will be so much wasted breath.
This prayer against reproach is parallel to verse 31, and in general to many other of the seventh verses in the octaves, which usually imply opposition from without and a sacred satisfaction within.
119:40. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts. He can at least claim sincerity. He is deeply bowed down by a sense of his weakness and need of grace; but he does desire to be in all things conformed to the divine will. Where our longings are, there are we in the sight of God. If we have not attained perfection, it is something to have hungered after it. He who has given us to desire will also grant us to obtain. The precepts are grievous to the ungodly, and therefore when we are so changed as to long for them we have clear evidence of conversion, and we may safely conclude that he who has begun the good work will carry it on. Quicken me in thy righteousness. Give me more life wherewith to follow thy righteous law; or give me more life because thou hast promised to hear prayer, and it is according to thy righteousness to keep thy word. We need quickening every hour of the day, for we are so sadly apt to become slow and languid in the ways of God. It is the Holy Spirit who can pour new life into us; let us not cease crying to him. Let the life we already possess show itself by longing for more.
The last verses of the octaves have generally exhibited an onward look of resolve, hope, and prayer. Here past fruits of grace are made the plea for further blessing.
119:41–48. In these verses holy fear is apparent and prominent. The man of God trembles lest in any way or degree the Lord should remove his favor from him. The eight verses are one continued pleading for the abiding of grace in his soul, and it is supported by such holy arguments as would only suggest themselves to a spirit burning with love to God.
119:41. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD. He desires mercy as well as teaching, for he was guilty as well as ignorant. He needed much mercy and varied mercy, hence the request is in the plural. He needed mercy from God rather than mercy from man, and so he asks for thy mercies. The way sometimes seemed blocked, and therefore he begs that the mercies may have their way cleared by God, and may come to him. It may be that under a sense of unworthiness the writer feared lest mercy should be given to others and not to himself.
Even thy salvation. This is the sum and crown of all mercies—deliverance from all evil, both now and forever. Here is the first mention of salvation in the psalm, and it is joined with mercy; salvation is styled thy salvation, thus ascribing it wholly to the Lord. What a mass of mercies are heaped together in the one salvation of our Lord Jesus! It includes the mercies which spare us before our conversion, and lead up to it. Then comes calling mercy, regenerating mercy, converting mercy, justifying mercy, pardoning mercy. Nor can we excluded from complete salvation any of those many mercies which are needed to conduct the believer safe to glory. Salvation is an aggregate of mercies incalculable in number, priceless in value, incessant in application, eternal in endurance. To the God of our mercies be glory, world without end.
According to thy word. The way of salvation is described in the Word, salvation itself is promised in the Word, and its inward manifestation is wrought by the Word. David loved the Scriptures, but he was not satisfied to read the Word: he longed to experience its inner sense.
Note that in verse 33 the psalmist prayed to be taught to keep God’s Word, and here he begs the Lord to keep his Word. In the first case he longed to come to the God of mercies, and here he would have the Lord’s mercies come to him; there he sought grace to persevere in faith, and here he seeks the end of his faith, namely the salvation of his soul.
119:42. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me. When God, by granting us salvation, gives to our prayers an answer of peace, we are ready at once to answer the objections of the unbeliever, the quibbles of the skeptical, and the sneers of the contemptuous. Revilers should be answered, and hence we may expect the Lord to save his people in order that a weapon may be put into their hands with which to rout his adversaries.
For I trust in thy word. His faith was seen by his being trustful while under trial, and he pleads it as a reason why he should be helped to beat back reproaches by a happy experience. Faith is our argument when we seek mercies and salvation, faith in the Lord who has spoken to us in his Word. Whoever can truly make this declaration has received power to become a child of God, and so to be the heir of unnumbered mercies. If any reproach us for trusting in God, we reply to them with arguments the most conclusive when we show that God has kept his promises, heard our prayers and supplied our needs. Even the most skeptical are forced to bow before the logic of facts.
In this second verse of this eight the psalmist makes a confession of faith, and a declaration of his belief and experience. He does the same in the corresponding verses of the sections which follow.
119:43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. Do not prevent my pleading for thee by leaving me without deliverance; for how could I continue to proclaim thy word if I found it fail me? Such would seem to be the meaning. The Word of truth cannot be a joy to our mouths unless we have an experience of it in our lives, and it may be wise for us to be silent if we cannot support our testimonies by the verdict of our consciousness. This prayer may also refer to other modes by which we may be disabled from speaking in the name of the Lord: as, for instance, by our falling into open sin, by our becoming depressed and despairing, by our laboring under sickness or mental aberration, by our finding no door of utterance, or meeting with no willing audience.
For I have hoped in thy judgments. He had expected God to appear and vindicate his cause, so he might speak with confidence concerning his faithfulness. What God says in the Scriptures he actually performs in his government; we may therefore look for him to show himself strong in the behalf of his own threatenings and promises, and we shall not look in vain.
God’s ministers are sometimes silenced through the sins of their people, and it becomes them to plead against such a judgment.
In the close of this verse there is a declaration of what the psalmist had done in reference to the Word of the Lord, and in this the thirds of the octaves are often alike (see verses 35, 43, 51, 67, 83, 99, etc.).
119:44. So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. Nothing more effectually binds a man to the way of the Lord than an experience of the truth of his Word, embodied in the form of mercies and deliverances. Not only does the Lord’s faithfulness open our mouths against his adversaries, but it also knits our hearts to his fear, and makes our union with him more and more intense. Great mercies lead us to an inexpressible gratitude. God’s grace alone can enable us to keep his commandments without break and without end; eternal love must grant us eternal life, and out of this will come everlasting obedience. There is no other way to ensure our perseverance in holiness but by the Word of truth abiding in us; so David prayed it might abide with him. The verse begins with So, as did verse 42. When God grants his salvation we are so favored that we silence our enemy and glorify our best friend.
David prayed that the word of truth might not be taken out of his mouth, and so would he keep God’s law: that is to say, by public testimony as well as by personal life he would fulfill the divine will, and confirm the bonds which bound him to the Lord forever. Undoubtedly the grace which enables us to bear witness with the mouth is a great help to ourselves as well as to others: we feel that the vows of the Lord are upon us, and that we cannot run back.
119:45. The Spirit of holiness is a free Spirit; he sets people at liberty and enables them to resist every effort to bring them under subjection. The more we seek after the perfection of our obedience, the more shall we enjoy complete emancipation from every form of spiritual slavery.
The verse is united to verse 44, for it begins with the word And. It mentions another of the benefits expected from the coming of mercies from God: liberty. He says I will walk, indicating his daily progress through life; at liberty, as one who is out of prison, unimpeded by adversaries, unencumbered with burdens, unshackled, allowed a wide range, and roaming without fear. Such liberty would be dangerous if a man were seeking himself or his own lusts; but when the one object sought after is the will of God, there can be no need to restrain the searcher. He said he would keep the law, but here he speaks of seeking it. Does he not mean that he will obey what he knows, and endeavor to know more? Is not this the way to the highest form of liberty—to be always laboring to know the mind of God and to be conformed to it? Those who keep the law are sure to seek it, and bestir themselves to keep it more and more.
119:46. He is free from fear of the greatest, proudest, and most tyrannical people. David was called to stand before kings when he was an exile; and afterwards, when he was himself a monarch, he knew the tendency of people to sacrifice their religion to pomp and statecraft; but it was his resolve to do nothing of the kind. He would sanctify politics, and make cabinets know that the Lord alone is governor among the nations. As a king he would speak to kings concerning the King of kings. He says, I will speak: prudence might have suggested that his life and conduct would be enough, and that it would be better not to touch upon religion in the presence of royal personages who worshiped other gods, and claimed to be right in so doing. He had already most fittingly preceded this resolve by the declaration, “I will walk,” but he does not make his personal conduct an excuse for sinful silence, for he adds, I will speak. David claimed religious liberty, and took care to use it, for he spoke out what he believed, even when he was in the highest company. In what he said he took care to keep to God’s own Word, for he says, I will speak of thy testimonies. No theme is like this, and there is no way of handling that theme like keeping close to the Book, and using its thought and language. The great hindrance to our speaking upon holy topics in all companies is shame, but the psalmist will not be ashamed; there is nothing to be ashamed of, and yet many are as quiet as the dead for fear some creature like themselves should be offended. When God gives grace, cowardice soon vanishes.
119:47. Next to liberty and courage comes delight. When we have done our duty, we find a great reward in it. If David had not spoken for his Master before kings, he would have been afraid to think of the law which he had neglected; but after speaking up for his Lord he feels a sweet serenity of heart when musing upon the word. Obey the command and you will love it. After speaking of the law the psalmist retired to meditate upon it; he discoursed and then he delighted; he preached and then repaired to his study to renew his strength by feeding yet again upon the precious truth. The verse is in the future, and hence it sets forth not only what David had done but what he would do. He knew that grace would keep him in the same condition of heart towards the precepts of the Lord, so that he would throughout his whole life take a supreme delight in holiness. Here for the first time love is expressly spoken of. It is here coupled with delight, and in verse 165 with “great peace.” See also verses 47, 97, 113, 119, 127, 140, 159, 163, 165, 167.
119:48. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved. He will stretch out towards perfection as far as he can, hoping to reach it one day; when his hands hang down he will cheer himself out of languor by the prospect of glorifying God by obedience; and he will give solemn sign of his hearty assent and consent to all that his God commands. The phrase “lift up my hands” is very full of meaning. Again he declares his love, for a true heart loves to express itself. It was natural that he should reach out towards a law which he delighted in, just as a child holds out its hands to receive a gift which it longs for. When such a lovely object as holiness is set before us, we are bound to rise towards it with our whole nature, and till that is fully accomplished we should at least lift up our hands in prayer towards it. Where holy hands and holy hearts go, the whole man will one day follow.
And I will meditate in thy statutes. He can never have enough of meditation upon the mind of God. The prayer of verse 41 is already fulfilled in the person who is struggling upward and studying deeply. The whole of this verse may be viewed not only as a determination of David’s mind, but as a result which he knew would follow from the Lord’s sending him his mercies and his salvation. When mercy comes down, our hands will be lifted up; happy is the person who stands with hands uplifted both to receive the blessing and to obey the precept; he will not wait upon the Lord in vain.
119:49–56. These verses deal with the comfort of the Word. They begin by seeking the main consolation, namely the Lord’s fulfillment of his promise, and then show how the Word sustains us under affliction and makes us so impervious to ridicule that we are moved by the harsh conduct of the wicked rather to horror of their sin than to any submission to their temptations. We are then shown how the Scripture furnishes songs for pilgrims, and memories for nightwatchers; and the psalm concludes by the general statement that the whole of this happiness and comfort arises out of keeping the statutes of the Lord.
119:49. Remember the word unto thy servant. He asks for no new promise, but to have the old Word fulfilled. He is grateful that he has received so good a Word; he embraces it with all his heart, and now intreats the Lord to deal with him according to it. He does not say, “remember my service to thee,” but “thy Word to me.” The words of masters to servants are not always such that servants wish their lords to remember them, for they usually observe the faults and failings of the work done, inasmuch as it does not tally with the word of command. But we who serve the best of masters are not anxious to have one of his words fall to the ground, since the Lord will so kindly remember his word of command as to give us grace wherewith we may obey, and he will couple with it a remembrance of his word of promise, so that our hearts will be comforted. The psalmist does not fear a failure in the Lord’s memory, but he makes use of the promise as a plea, and this is the form in which he speaks after the manner of men when they plead with one another. When the Lord remembers the sins of his servant, and brings them before his conscience, the penitent cries, Lord, remember thy word of pardon, and therefore remember my sins and iniquities no more. There is a world of meaning in that word remember, as it is addressed to God: it is used in Scripture in the tenderest sense, and suits the sorrowing and the depressed. In the present instance the prayer is as personal as the “Remember me” of the thief, for its essence lies in the words unto thy servant. It would be all in vain for us if the promise were remembered to all others if it did not come true to ourselves; but there is no fear, for the Lord has never forgotten a single promise to a single believer.
Upon which thou hast caused me to hope. God, having given grace to hope in the promise, would surely never disappoint that hope. He cannot have caused us to hope without cause. If we hope upon his Word we have a sure basis: our gracious Lord would never mock us by exciting false hope. The verse is the prayer of love fearing to be forgotten, of humility conscious of insignificance and anxious not to be overlooked, of penitence trembling lest the evil of its sin should overshadow the promise, of eager desire longing for the blessing, and of holy confidence which feels that all that is wanted is comprehended in the Word. Let but the Lord remember his promise, and the promised act is as good as done.
119:50. Thy Word is my comfort, or the fact that thy words has brought quickening to me is my comfort. Or he means that the hope which God had given him was his comfort, for God had quickened him thereby. Whatever may be the exact sense, it is clear that the psalmist had affliction peculiar to himself—my affliction—that he had comfort in it specially his own—my comfort—and that he knew what the comfort was, and where it came from—this is my comfort. The man whose hope comes from God feels the life-giving power of the Word of the Lord. Comfort in affliction is like a lamp in a dark place. Some are unable to find comfort at such times, but it is not so with believers, for their Saviour has said to them, “I will not leave you comfortless.” God’s Word frequently comforts us by increasing the force of our inner life—thy word hath quickened me. Often the near way to consolation is sanctification and invigoration. If we cannot clear away the fog, it may be better to rise to a higher level, and so to get above it. Troubles which weigh us down while we are half dead become mere trifles when we are full of life. Thus have we often been raised in spirit by quickening grace, and the same thing will happen again, for the Comforter is still with us, the Consolation of Israel ever lives, and the very God of peace is evermore our Father. On looking back upon our past life there is one ground of comfort as to our state—the Word of God has made us alive, and kept us so. We were dead, but we are dead no longer. From this we gladly infer that if the Lord had meant to destroy he would not have quickened us. If we were only hypocrites worthy of derision, he would not have revived us by his grace. An experience of quickening is a fountain of good cheer.
See how this verse is turned into a prayer in verse 107. Experience teaches us how to pray, and furnishes arguments in prayer.
119:51. The proud have had me greatly in derision. The proud never love gracious people, and as long as they fear them they veil their fear under a pretended contempt. In this case their hatred revealed itself in ridicule loud and long. They made sport of David because he was God’s servant. People who are short of wit can generally provoke a broad grin by jesting at a saint. Conceited sinners make footballs of the godly; hatred of sin sets their tongues wagging at long-faced puritanism and strait-laced hypocrisy. If David was greatly derided, we may not expect to escape the scorn of the ungodly. It is the nature of the son of the bondwoman to mock the child of the promise.
Yet have I not declined from thy law. The deriders laughed, but they did not win. The godly man, so far from turning aside from the right way, did not even slacken his pace, or in any sense fall off from his holy habits. Many would have declined, many have declined, but David did not do so. It is paying too much honor to fools to yield half a point to them. Their unhallowed mirth will not harm us if we pay no attention to it.
From verse 61 we note that David was not overcome by the spoiling of his goods any more than by these cruel mockings. See also verse 157, where the multitude of persecutors and enemies were baffled in their attempts to make him decline from God’s ways.
119:52. When we see no present display of the divine power it is wise to fall back upon the records of former ages, since they are just as available as if the transactions were of yesterday, seeing the Lord is always the same. As the histories of the olden times are full of divine interpositions it is well to be thoroughly acquainted with them. Moreover, if we are advanced in years we have the providences of our early days to review, and these should by no means be forgotten or left out of our thoughts. The argument is good and solid: he who has shown himself strong on behalf of his believing people is the immutable God, and therefore we may expect deliverance at his hands. The grinning of the proud will not trouble us when we remember how the Lord dealt with their predecessors. While in our own hearts we humbly drink of the mercy of God in quietude, we are not without comfort in seasons of turmoil and derision, for then we resort to God’s justice, and remember how he scoffs at the scoffers (Psalm 2:4).
When he was greatly derided the psalmist did not sit down in despair, but rallied his spirits. He knew that comfort is needful for strength in service, and for the endurance of persecution, and therefore he comforted himself. In doing this he resorted not so much to the sweet as to the stern side of the Lord’s dealings, and dwelt upon his judgments. Even the terrible things of God are cheering to believers. They know that nothing is more to the advantage of all God’s creatures than to be ruled by a strong hand which will deal out justice. The righteous have no fear of the ruler’s sword, which is only a terror to evil-doers. When the godly are unjustly treated, they find comfort in the fact that there is a Judge of all the earth who will avenge his own elect, and redress the ills of these disordered times.
119:53. He was horrified at their action, at the pride which led them to it, and at the punishment which would be sure to fall upon them for it. When he thought upon the ancient judgments of God he was filled with terror at the fate of the godless; as well he might be. Their laughter had not distressed him, but he was distressed by a foresight of their overthrow. He saw them utterly turning away from the law of God, and he was astonished at their wickedness.
See verses 106 and 158, and note the tenderness which combined with all this. Those who are the firmest believers in the eternal punishment of the wicked are the most grieved at their doom. It is no proof of tenderness to shut one’s eyes to the awful doom of the ungodly. Compassion is far better shown in trying to save sinners than in trying to make things pleasant all round.
119:54. David knew that he was not at home in this world, but a pilgrim through it, seeking a better country. He did not, however, sigh over this, but sang about it. Happy is the heart which finds its joy in the commands of God, and makes obedience its recreation. When religion is set to music it goes well. When we sing in the ways of the Lord it shows that our hearts are in them.
Note how in the sixth verses of their respective octaves we often find resolves to bless God, or records of testimony. In verse 46 it is “I will speak,” and in verse 62 “I will give thanks,” while here he speaks of songs.
119:55. I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night. When others slept I woke to think of thee, thy person, thy actions, thy covenant, thy name, under which last term he comprehends the divine character as far as it is revealed. He was so earnest after the living God that he woke up at dead of night to think upon him. It is well when our memory furnishes us with consolation, so that we can say with the psalmist: Having early been taught to know thee, I had only to remember the lessons of thy grace, and my heart was comforted. This verse shows not only that the man of God had remembered, but that he still remembered the Lord his God. We are to hallow the name of God, and we cannot do so if it slips from our memory.
And have kept thy law. He found sanctification through meditation; by the thoughts of the night he ruled the actions of the day. Are your thoughts in the dark full of light, because full of God? Is his name the natural subject of your evening reflections? Then it will give a tone to your morning and noonday hours. Or do you give your whole mind to the fleeting cares and pleasures of this world? If so, it is little wonder that you do not live as you ought to do. No one is holy by chance. If we do not think of Jehovah secretly we shall not obey him openly.
119:56. He had this comfort, this remembrance of God, this power to sing, this courage to face the enemy, this hope in the promise, because he had earnestly observed the commands of God, and striven to walk in them. We are not rewarded for our works, but there is a reward in them. Many a comfort is obtainable only by careful living: we can surely say of such consolations, “This I had because I kept thy precepts.” How can we defy ridicule if we are living inconsistently? It may be that David means that he had been enabled to keep the law because he had attended to the separate precept: he had taken the commands in detail, and so had reached to holiness of life. Or, by keeping certain of the precepts he had gained spiritual strength to keep others: for God gives more grace to those who have some measure of it, and those who improve their talents will find themselves improving.
Here we have an apt conclusion to this section of the psalm, for this verse is a strong argument for the prayer with which the section commenced. The sweet singer had evidence of having kept God’s precepts, and therefore he could the more properly beg the Lord to keep his promises.
119:57–64. In this section the psalmist seems to take firm hold upon God himself; appropriating him (verse 57), crying out for him (verse 58), returning to him (verse 59), solacing himself in him (verses 61–62), associating with his people (verse 63), and sighing for personal experience of his goodness (verse 64). Note how the first verse of this octave is linked to the last of the former one, of which indeed it is an expanded repetition.
119:57. Thou art my portion, O LORD. A broken sentence. The translators have mended it by insertions, but perhaps it had been better to have left it alone, and then it would have appeared as an exclamation: “My portion, O Lord!” The poet is lost in wonder while he sees that the great and glorious God is all his own! Well might he be so, for there is no possession like Jehovah himself. The form of the sentence expresses joyous recognition and appropriation. David here rejoices as one who seizes his share of the spoil; he chooses the Lord to be his part of the treasure. Like the Levites, he took the Lord to be his portion, and left other matters to those who coveted them. This is a large and lasting heritage, for it includes all, and more than all, and it outlasts all; and yet no one chooses it for himself until God has chosen and renewed him. Our author here addresses his joyful utterance directly to God whom he boldly calls his own. With much else to choose from, for he was a king, and a man of great resources, he deliberately turns from all the treasures of the world, and declares that the Lord is his portion.
I have said that I would keep thy words. We cannot always look back with comfort upon what we have said, but in this instance David had spoken wisely and well. He had declared his choice: he preferred the Word of God to the wealth of worldlings. It was his firm resolve to keep—that is, treasure up and observe—the words of his God, and as he had aforetime solemnly expressed it in the presence of the Lord himself, so here he confesses the obligation of his former vow. He was confident as to his interest in God, and therefore he was resolute in his obedience to him. Full assurance is a powerful source of holiness. The very words of God are to be stored up, for whether they relate to doctrine, promise, or precept, they are most precious. When the heart is determined to keep these words, and has registered its purpose in the court of heaven, it is prepared for all the temptations and trials that may befall it; for, with God as its heritage, it is always in good care.
119:58. I intreated thy favor with my whole heart. A fully assured possession of God does not set aside prayer, but rather urges us to it. Seeking God’s presence is the idea conveyed by the marginal reading, “thy face,” and this is true to the Hebrew. The presence of God is the highest form of his favor, and therefore it is the most urgent desire of gracious souls: the light of his countenance gives us a preview of heaven. Oh that we always enjoyed it! The good man intreated God’s smile as one who begged for his life, and the entire strength of his desire went with the intreaty. Such eager pleadings are sure of success; that which comes form our heart will certainly go to God’s heart.
Be merciful unto me according to thy word. He has intreated favor, and the form in which he most needs it is that of mercy, for he is more a sinner than anything else. He asks nothing beyond the promise; he only begs for such mercy as the word reveals. And what more could he want or wish for? God has revealed such an infinity of mercy in his Word that it would be impossible to conceive of more. See how the psalmist dwells upon his favor and mercy; he feels his own unworthiness. He remains a suppliant, though he knows that he has all things in his God. The confidence of faith makes us bold in prayer, but it never teaches us to live without prayer, or justifies us in being other than humble beggars at mercy’s gate.
119:59. While studying the Word he was led to study his own life, and this caused a mighty revolution. Consideration is the commencement of conversion: first we think and then we turn. There will be no repenting until there is deep, earnest thought. Many people are averse to thought of any kind, and as to thought upon their ways, they cannot endure it, for their ways will not bear thinking of. David’s ways had not been all that he could have wished them to be, but he did not end with idle lamentations, he set about a practical amendment; he turned and returned; he sought the testimonies of the Lord, and hastened to enjoy once more the conscious favor of his heavenly Friend. Action without thought is folly, and thought without action is sloth. He had intreated for renewed fellowship, and now he proved the genuineness of his desire by renewed obedience. If we are in the dark, and mourn an absent God, our wisest method will be not so much to think upon our sorrows as upon our ways: though we cannot turn the course of providence, we can turn the way of our walking, and this will soon mend matters. If we can get our feet right as to holy walking, we shall soon get our hearts right as to happy living. God will turn to his saints when they turn to him; he has already favored them with the light of his face when they begin to think and turn.
119:60. Delay in sin is increase of sin. A holy alacrity in service is much to be cultivated. It is wrought in us by the Spirit of God, and the preceding verses describe the method of it: we are made to perceive and mourn our errors, we are led to return to the right path, and then we are eager to make up for lost time by dashing forward to fulfill the precept. Many are zealous to obey custom and society, and yet they are slack in serving God.
119:61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me. Aforetime they derided him, and now they have defrauded him. Much of this opposition came from their being banded together: people will dare to do in company what they durst not have thought of alone.
But I have not forgotten thy law. This was well. Neither his sense of injustice, nor his sorrow at his losses, nor his attempts at defense diverted him from the ways of God. He would not do wrong to prevent the suffering of wrong, nor do ill to avenge ill. He was ready to forgive and forget the injuries done him, for his heart was taken up with the Word of God. Some read this passage, “The bands of the wicked environ me.” They shut up every avenue of escape, but the man of God had his protector with him; a clear conscience relied upon the promise, and a brave resolve stuck to the precept. Some people are barely gracious among the circle of their friends, but this man was holy amid a ring of foes.
119:62. He was not afraid of the robbers; he rose, not to watch his house, but to praise his God. Midnight is the hour for burglars, and there were bands of them around David, but they did not occupy his thoughts; these were all up and away with the Lord his God. He thought not of thieves, but of thanks; not of what they would steal, but of what he would give to his God. A thankful heart is such a blessing that it drives out fear and makes room for praise. Thanksgiving turns night into day, and consecrates all hours to the worship of God. The psalmist did not lie in bed and praise; it would have been no sin to give thanks without rising, but to rise and give thanks is a happy combination. At midnight he would be unobserved and undisturbed; it was his own time which he saved from his sleep, and so he would be free from the charge of sacrificing public duties to private devotions. The righteous doings of the great Judge gladdened the heart of this godly man. His judgments are the terrible side of God, but they have no terror to the righteous; they admire them, and adore the Lord for them: they rise at night to bless God that he will avenge his own elect. Some hate the very notion of divine justice, and in this they are wide as poles asunder from this man of God. Doubtless in the expression thy righteous judgments David refers also to the written judgments of God upon various points of moral conduct; indeed, all the divine precepts may be viewed in that light; they are all of them the legal decisions of the supreme Arbiter of right and wrong. He could not find time enough by day to study the words of divine wisdom, or to bless God for them, and so he gave up his sleep that he might tell out his gratitude for such a law and such a Lawgiver.
This verse is an advance upon the sense of verse 52, and contains in addition the essence of verse 55.
119:63. I am a companion of all them that fear thee. The last verse said, “I will,” and this says I am. We can hardly hope to be right in the future unless we are right now. David was a king, and yet he consorted with all who feared the Lord, whether they were obscure or famous, poor or rich. He did not select a few specially eminent saints and leave ordinary believers alone. He looked for inward godly fear, but he also expected to see outward piety in those whom he admitted to his society; hence he adds, and of them that keep thy precepts. David was known to be on the godly side; the men of Belial hated him for this, and no doubt despised him for keeping such unfashionable company as that of humble men and women who were strait-laced and religious; but the man of God is by no means ashamed of his associates. Those who love the saints on earth will be numbered with them in heaven.
There is a measure of parallelism between this seventh of its octave and the seventh verses 71 and 79; but the similarities which were so manifest in earlier verses are now becoming dim. As the sense deepens, the artificial form of expression is less regarded.
119:64. The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy. David had been exiled, but he had never been driven beyond the range of mercy, for he found the world to be everywhere filled with it. It is little wonder that, since he knew the Lord to be his portion, he hoped to obtain a measure of this mercy for himself, and so was encouraged to pray, teach me thy statutes. Surely he who fills the universe with his grace will grant such a request as this to his own child.
The first verse of this eight is fragrant with full assurance and strong resolve, and this last verse overflows with a sense of the divine fullness, and of the psalmist’s personal dependence. This is an illustration of the fact that full assurance neither damps prayer nor hinders humility. It creates lowliness and suggests supplication.Those who have resolved to obey are the most eager to be taught. Whoever does not care to be instructed of the Lord has never honestly resolved to be holy.
119:65–72. In this ninth section the verses are the witness of experience, testifying to the goodness of God, the graciousness of his dealings, and the preciousness of his Word. Especially the psalmist proclaims the excellent use of adversity, and the goodness of God in afflicting him.
119:65. This is the summary of his life, and assuredly it is the sum of ours. The psalmist must speak his gratitude in the presence of Jehovah, his God. From the universal goodness of God in nature, in verse 64, it is an easy and pleasant step to a confession of the Lord’s uniform goodness to ourselves personally. It is something that God has dealt at all with such undeserving beings as we are, and it is far more that he has dealt well with us, and so wondrously well. He promised to do so, and he has done it according to his Word. It is very precious to see the Word of the Lord fulfilled in our happy experience; it endears the Scripture to us, and makes us love the Lord of the Scripture. Our unbelief is repented of now that we see the mercy of the Lord to us, and his faithfulness to his Word; henceforth we are bound to display a firmer faith both in God and in his promise. It is to a very unworthy and incapable servant that he has acted thus blessedly; does not this cause us to delight in his service more and more? We lose ourselves in adoring thanksgiving, and find ourselves again in careful thanks-living.
119:66. Teach me good judgment and knowledge. Again he begs for teaching, as in verse 64, and again he uses God’s mercy as an argument. Since God had dealt well with him, he is encouraged to pray for judgment to appreciate the Lord’s goodness. Good judgment is the form of goodness which the godly man most needs and most desires, and it is one which the Lord is most ready to bestow. From want of knowledge David had misjudged the chastening hand of the Heavenly Father, and therefore he now asks to be better instructed, since he perceives the injustice which he had done to the Lord by his hasty conclusions. We are not able to judge, for our knowledge is so sadly inaccurate and imperfect; if the Lord teaches us knowledge we shall attain to good judgment, but not otherwise. The Holy Spirit alone can fill us with light.
For I have believed thy commandments. His heart was right, and therefore he hoped his head would be made right. He had faith, and therefore he hoped to receive wisdom. If in looking back upon our mistakes and ignorances we can yet see that we heartily loved the precepts of the divine will, we have good reason to hope that we are Christ’s disciples, and that he will teach us and develop in us good judgment and sound knowledge. One who has learned discernment by experience, and has thus become someone of sound judgment, is a valuable member of a church, and the means of much edification to others. Let all who would be greatly useful offer the prayer of this verse.
119:67. Before I was afflicted I went astray. Partly, perhaps, through the absence of trial. If any of us remember a time in which we had no trouble, we also probably recollect that then grace was low, and temptation was strong. It may be that some believer cries, “Oh that it were with me as in those summer days before I was afflicted.” Such a sigh is most unwise, and arises from a carnal love of ease: the spiritual man who prizes growth in grace will bless God that those dangerous days are over, and that if the weather be more stormy it is also more healthy.
But now have I kept thy word. Grace is that in the heart which profits by its chastening. It is of no use to plow barren soil. When there is no spiritual life affliction works no spiritual benefit; but where the heart is sound trouble awakens conscience, wandering is confessed, the soul becomes again obedient to the command, and continues to be so. In the psalmist’s case the medicine of affliction worked a change—but; an immediate change—now; a lasting change—have I; an inward change—have I kept; a change Godward—thy word.
119:68. Thou art good, and doest good. Even in affliction God is good, and does good. This is the confession of experience. God is essential goodness in himself, and in every attribute of his nature he is good in the fullest sense of the term. His acts are according to his nature. God is not latent and inactive goodness; he is actively beneficent. It is well to worship the Lord as the psalmist here does by describing him. Facts about God are the best praise of God. All the glory we can give to God is to reflect his own glory upon himself. We believe in his goodness, and so honor him by our faith; we admire that goodness, and so glorify him by our love; we declare that goodness, and so magnify him by our testimony.
Teach me thy statutes. The man of God delighted to learn; he ascribed this to the goodness of the Lord, and hoped that for the same reason he would be allowed to remain in the school and learn on till he could perfectly practice every lesson. He knew the sad result of breaking those statutes, and by a painful experience he had been led back to the way of righteousness; and therefore he begged that he might be taught a perfect knowledge of the law, and a complete conformity to it.
In verse 12, which is the fourth verse of the second section, we have much the same sense as in this fourth verse.
119:69. The proud have forged a lie against me. They first derided him (verse 51), then defrauded him (verse 61), and now they have defamed him. To injure his character they resorted to falsehood, for they could find nothing against him if they spoke the truth. Proud people are usually the bitterest opponents of the righteous: they are envious of their good fame and are eager to ruin it. Slander is a cheap and handy weapon if the object is the destruction of a gracious reputation. It is painful to the last degree to hear unscrupulous people hammering away at the devil’s anvil forging a new calumny; the only help against it is the sweet promise, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that riseth against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.”
But I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. My one anxiety will be to mind my own business and stick to the commandments of the Lord. If we keep the precepts, the precepts will keep us in the day of contumely and slander. David renews his resolve—I will keep; he takes a new look at the commands, and sees them to be really the Lord’s—thy precepts; and he arouses his entire nature to the work—with my whole heart. When slanders rouse us to more resolute and careful obedience they work our lasting good. If we try to answer lies by our words we may be beaten in the battle; but a holy life is an unanswerable refutation of all calumnies.
119:70. Their heart is as fat as grease. Their hearts, through sensual indulgence, have grown coarse and groveling; but thou hast saved me from such a fate through thy chastening hand. The proud grow fat through carnal luxuries, and this makes them prouder still. The fat in such people is killing the life in them. Living on the fat of the land, their nature is subdued to that which they have fed upon; the muscle of their nature has gone to softness and grease.
But I delight in thy law. How much better is it to joy in the law of the Lord than to joy in sensual indulgences! This makes the heart healthy, and keeps the mind lowly. No one who loves holiness has the slightest cause to envy the prosperity of the worldling. Delight in the law elevates and ennobles, while carnal pleasure clogs the intellect and degrades the affections. David had his relishes and dainties, his festivals and delights, and all these he found in doing the will of the Lord his God. When law becomes delight, obedience is bliss. Holiness in the heart causes the soul to eat the fat of the land. To have the law for our delight will breed in our hearts the very opposite of the effects of pride; deadness, sensuality, and obstinacy will be cured, and we shall become teachable, sensitive, and spiritual.
119:71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. Even though the affliction came from bad men, it was overruled for good ends. It was not good to the proud to be prosperous, for their hearts grew sensual and insensible; but affliction was good for the psalmist. A thousand benefits have come to us through our pains and griefs, and among the rest is this—that we have thus been schooled in the law. That I might learn thy statutes. These we have come to know and to keep by feeling the smart of the rod. We prayed the Lord to teach us (verse 66), and now we see how he has already been doing it. We have been kept from the ignorance of the greasy-hearted by our trials, and this, if there were nothing else, is just cause for constant gratitude. To be larded by prosperity is not good for the proud; but for the truth to be learned by adversity is good for the humble. Very little is to be learned without affliction. There is no royal road to learning the royal statutes; God’s commands are best read by eyes wet with tears.
119:72. The law of thy mouth. It comes from God’s own mouth with freshness and power to our souls. Things written are as dried herbs; but speech has a liveliness and dew about it. We do well to look upon the Word of the Lord as though it were newly spoken into our ear. The same lips which spoke us into existence have spoken the law by which we are to govern that existence. Well may we prize beyond all price that which comes from such a source.
Is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. This is the verdict of a man who owned his thousands, and could judge by actual experience the value of money and the value of truth. He speaks of great riches, and then he sets the Word of God before it all, as better to him, even if others did not think it better to them. Gold and silver may be stolen from us, but not the Word; these are useless in the hour of death, but the Word of the promise is most dear.
See how this portion of the psalm is flavored with goodness. God’s dealings are good (verse 65), holy judgment is good (verse 66), affliction is good (verse 67), God is good (verse 68), and here the law is not only good, but better than the best of treasures. Lord, make us good, through thy good Word.
119:73–80. We have now come to the tenth portion; its subject would seem to be personal experience and its attractive influence upon others. The prophet is in deep sorrow, but looks to be delivered and made a blessing. Endeavoring to teach, the psalmist first seeks to be taught (verse 73), persuades himself that he will be well received (verse 74), and rehearses the testimony which he intends to bear (verse 75). He prays for more experience (verses 76–77), for the baffling of the proud (verse 78), for the gathering together of the godly to him (verse 79), and for himself again that he may be fully equiped for his witness-bearing and may be sustained in it (verse 80). This is the anxious yet hopeful cry of one who is heavily afflicted by cruel adversaries, and therefore makes his appeal to God as his only friend.
119:73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me. It is profitable to remember our creation; it is pleasant to see that the divine hand has had much to do with us, for it never moves apart from the divine thought. It excites reverence, gratitude, and affection towards God when we view him as our Maker, putting forth the careful skill and power of his hands in our forming and fashioning. He took a personal interest in us, making us with his own hands; he was doubly thoughtful, for he is represented as making and molding us. In both giving existence and arranging existence he manifested love and wisdom; and therefore we find reasons for praise, confidence, and expectation in our being and well-being. Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. As thou hast made me, teach me. Here is the vessel which thou hast fashioned; Lord, fill it. The plea is an enlargement of the cry, “Forsake not the work of thy hands.” Without understanding the divine law and rendering obedience to it we are imperfect and useless; but we may reasonably hope that the great Potter will complete his work and give the finishing touch to it by imparting to it sacred knowledge and holy practice. We pray that we may not be left without a spiritual judgment. Only those who are taught of God can be holy. We often speak of gifted people; but they have the best gifts to whom God has given a sanctified understanding wherewith to know and prize the ways of the Lord. David’s prayer is not for the sake of speculative knowledge and curiosity: he desires an enlightened judgment that he may learn God’s command-menu, and so become obedient and holy. No one has by nature an understanding capable of compassing so wide a field, and hence the prayer, as if to say, I can learn other things with the mind I have, but thy law is so pure, perfect, spiritual, and sublime that I need to have my mind enlarged before I can become proficient in it. We need a new creation, and who can grant us that but the Creator himself?
119:74. When someone obtains grace for himself he becomes a blessing to others, especially if that grace has made him of sound understanding and holy knowledge. God-fearing people are encouraged when they meet with experienced believers. When the hopes of one believer are fulfilled his companions are cheered and established, and led to hope also. It is good to see someone whose witness is that the Lord is true. We do not only meet to share each other’s burdens, but to partake in each other’s joys, and some people contribute largely to the stock of mutual gladness. Despondent spirits spread the infection of depression, and hence few are glad to see them, while those whose hopes are grounded upon God’s Word carry sunshine in their faces, and are welcomed by their fellows.
119:75. I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right. He who would learn most must be thankful for what he already knows, and be willing to confess it to the glory of God. The psalmist had been sorely tried, but he had continued to hope in God under his trial, and now he avows his conviction that he had been justly and wisely chastened. Saints are sure about the rightness of their troubles, even when they cannot see the intent of them. It made the godly glad to hear David say, And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Because love required severity, therefore the Lord exercised it. It was not because God was unfaithful that the believer found himself in a sore strait, but for just the opposite reason. Our Heavenly Father will not let his children sin without rebuke; his love is too intense for that.
119:76. Having confessed the righteousness of the Lord, he now appeals to his mercy, and while he does not ask that the rod may be removed, he earnestly begs for comfort under it. Righteousness and faithfulness afford us no consolation if we cannot also taste of mercy, and, blessed be God, this is promised us in the Word, and therefore we may expect it. The words merciful kindness express exactly what we need in affliction: mercy to forgive the sin, and kindness to sustain under the sorrow. Notwithstanding our faults we are still his servants, and we serve a compassionate Master. Some read the last clause, “according to thy saying unto thy servant”: some special saying of the Lord was remembered and pleaded: can we not remember some such “faithful saying,” and make it the groundwork of our petitioning? That phrase, according to thy word, shows the motive for mercy and the manner of mercy. Our prayers are according to the mind of God when they are according to the Word of God.
119:77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live. He was so hard pressed that he was at death’s door if God did not succor him. He needed not only mercy, but mercies, and these must be of a very gracious and considerate kind, even tender mercies, for he was sore with his wounds. These gentle favors must be of the Lord’s giving, for nothing less would suffice; and they must come all the way to the sufferer’s heart, for he was not able to journey after them. When tender mercy comes to us we do not merely exist but live; we know not what life is till we know God.
For thy law is my delight. He is no mean believer who rejoices in the law even when its broken precepts cause him to suffer. To delight in the Word when it rebukes us is proof that we are profiting under it. If we still delight in the law of God he cannot let us die; he must and will cast a tender look upon us and comfort our hearts.
119:78. Let the proud be ashamed. He begged that the judgments of God might no longer fall upon himself, but upon his cruel adversaries. God will not let those who hope in his word to be put to shame, for he reserves that reward for haughty spirits.
For they dealt perversely with me without a cause. Their malice was wanton; he had not provoked them. They had to bend his actions out of their true shape before they could assail his character. The psalmist felt a burning sense of injustice, and appealed to the righteous Lord to take his part and clothe his false accusers with shame. Sometimes he mentions the proud, and sometimes the wicked, but he always means the same people; the words are interchangeable.
But I will meditate in thy precepts. He would leave the proud in God’s hands, and give himself up to holy studies and contemplations. To obey the divine precepts we need to know them, and think much of them. The proud are not worth a thought; the worst injury they can do us is to take us away from our devotions; let us baffle them by keeping all the closer to our God when they are most malicious in their onslaughts.
In a similar position to this we have met with the proud in other octaves, and shall meet them yet again. They are evidently a great plague to the psalmist, but he rises above them.
119:79. Perhaps the tongue of slander had alienated some of the godly, and probably the actual faults of David had grieved many more. He begs God to turn to him, and then to turn his people towards him. Those who are right with God are also anxious to be right with his children. David craved the love and sympathy of the gracious of all grades—those who were beginners in grace, and those who were mature in piety—those that fear thee, and those that have known thy testimonies. David was the leader of the godly party in the nation, and it wounded him to the heart when he perceived that those who feared God were not as glad to see him as they had been. He did not bluster and say that if they could do without him he could very well do without them; but he so deeply felt the value of their sympathy that he made it a matter of prayer that the Lord would turn their hearts to him again. Those who are dear to God, and are instructed in his word, should be very precious in our eyes, and we should do our utmost to be on good terms with them.
David has two descriptions for the saints: they are Godfearing and God-knowing. They possess both devotion and instruction; they have both the spirit and the science of true religion. We know some believers who are gracious, but not intelligent; we also know certain who have all head and no heart. When fearing and knowing walk hand in hand they cause people to be thoroughly furnished unto every good work.
119:80. If the heart be sound in obedience to God, all is well, or will be well. If we be not sound before God, our name for piety is an empty sound. Only sincerity and truth will endure in the evil day. Whoever is right at heart has no reason for shame, and never will have any; hypocrites ought to be ashamed now, and they will one day be put to shame without end; their hearts are rotten, and their names will rot. This verse is a variation of the prayer of verse 73; there he sought sound understanding, here he goes deeper and begs for a sound heart. Those who have learned their own frailty by sad experience are led to dive beneath the surface and cry to the Lord for truth in the inward parts.
119:81–88. The psalmist’s enemies have brought him to the lowest condition of anguish and depression; yet he is faithful to the law and trustful in his God. This octave is the midnight of the psalm, and very dark and black it is. Stars, however, shine out, and the last verse gives promise of the dawn. The strain will after this become more cheerful; but meanwhile it should minister comfort to us to see so eminent a servant of God so hard used by the ungodly: evidently in our own persecutions no strange thing has happened unto us.
119:81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation. He wished for no deliverance but that which came from God: his one desire was for thy salvation. But for that divine deliverance he was eager to the last degree—up to the full measure of his strength, yea, and beyond it till he fainted. So strong was his desire that it produced prostration of spirit. He grew weary with waiting, faint with watching, sick with urgent need. Thus the sincerity and the eagerness of his desires were proved. Nothing else could satisfy him but deliverance wrought out by the hand of God.
But I hope in thy word. Therefore he felt that salvation would come, for God cannot break his promise, nor disappoint the hope which his own Word has excited: the fulfillment of his Word is near when our hope is firm and our desire fervent. Hope alone can keep the soul from fainting by using the smelling-bottle of the promise. Ye hope does not quench desire for a speedy answer to prayer; it increases our importunity, for it both stimulates ardor and sustains the heart under delays. To faint for salvation, and to be kept from utterly failing by the hope of it, is the frequent experience of the Christian. Hope sustains when desire exhausts. While the grace of desire throws us down, the grace of hope lifts us up again.
119:82. His eyes gave out with eager gazing for the kind appearance of the Lord, while his heart in weariness cried out for speedy comfort. To read the Word till eyes can no longer see is but a small thing compared with watching for the fulfillment of the promise till the inner eyes of expectancy begin to grow dim with hope deferred. We may not set times to God, yet we may urge our suit with importunity, and make fervent inquiry as to why the promise tarries. David’s question is, When wilt thou comfort me? This experience of waiting and fainting is well known by full-grown saints, and it teaches them many precious lessons which they would never learn by any other means. The body rises into sympathy with the soul, both heart and flesh cry out for the living God, and even the eyes find a tongue. Eyes can speak eloquently, and can sometimes say more than tongues. A humble eye lifted up to heaven in silent prayer may flash such flame as shall melt the bolts which bar the entrance of vocal prayer, and so heaven shall be taken by storm with the artillery of tears. Blessed are the eyes that are strained in looking after God. The eyes of the Lord will see to it that such eyes do not actually fail. How much better to watch for the Lord with aching eyes than to have them sparkling at the glitter of vanity.
119:83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke. The skins used for containing wine, when emptied, were hung up in the tent, and when the place reeked with smoke the skins grew black and sooty, and in the heat they became wrinkled and worn. The psalmist’s face through sorrow had become dark and dismal, furrowed and lined; indeed, his whole body had so sympathized with his sorrowing mind as to have lost its natural moisture, and to have become like a skin dried and tanned. His character had been smoked with slander, and his mind parched with persecution; he was half afraid that he would become useless and incapable through so much mental suffering, and that people would look on him as an old worn-out skin bottle, which could hold nothing and answer no purpose.
Yet do I not forget thy statutes. Here is the patience of the saints and the victory of faith. Blackened the man of God might be by falsehood, but the truth was in him, and he never gave it up. He was faithful to his King when he seemed deserted and left to the vilest uses. The promises came to his mind, and, what was a still better evidence of his loyalty, the statutes were there too: he stuck to his duties as well as to his comforts. The worst circumstances cannot destroy the true believer’s hold upon his God. Grace is a living power which survives that which would suffocate all other forms of existence. A man may be reduced to skin and bone, and all his comfort may be dried out of him, and yet he may hold fast his integrity and glorify his God. It is, however, no marvel that in such a case the eyes which are tormented with the smoke cry out for the Lord’s delivering hand, and the heart heated and faint longs for the divine salvation.
119:84. How many are the days of thy servant? I cannot hope to live long in such a condition. Perhaps the psalmist means that his days seemed too many when they were spent in such distress. He half wished that they were ended. It cannot be the Lord’s mind that his own servant should always be treated so unjustly; there must be an end to it; when would it be?
When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? He had placed his case in the Lord’s hands, and he prayed that sentence might be given and put into execution. He desired nothing but justice, that his character might be cleared and his persecutors silenced. He knew that God would certainly avenge his own elect, but the day of rescue tarried, the hours dragged heavily along, and the persecuted one cried day and night for deliverance.
119:85. David’s foes went laboriously and cunningly to work to ruin him: they digged pits; not one, but many. Whereas they ought to have been ashamed of such meanness, they were conscious of no shame, but on the contrary were proud of their cleverness, proud of setting a trap for a godly man.
Which are not after thy law. Neither the men nor their pits were according to the divine law: they were cruel and crafty deceivers, and their pits were contrary to the command which bids us love our neighbor. If people would keep to the statutes of the Lord, they would lift the fallen out of the pit, or fill up the pit so that none might stumble into it; but they would never spend a moment in working injury to others. When, however, they become proud, they are sure to despise others; and for this reason they seek to circumvent them, that they may afterwards hold them up to ridicule. It was well for David that his enemies were God’s enemies, and that their attacks upon him had no sanction from the Lord. While he kept to the law of the Lord he was safe.
119:86. All thy commandments are faithful. He had no fault to find with God’s law, even though he had fallen into sad trouble through obedience to it. Whatever the command might cost him it was worth it; he felt that God’s way might be rough, but it was right; it might make him enemies, but still it was his best friend. He believed that in the end God’s command would turn out to his own profit, and that he would be no loser by obeying it.
They persecute me wrongfully. The fault lay with his persecutors, and neither with his God nor with himself. He had done no injury to anyone, nor acted otherwise than according to truth and justice; therefore he confidently appeals to his God, and cries, Help thou me. Help was needed that the persecuted one might avoid the snare, might bear up under reproach, and might act so prudently as to baffle his foes. God’s help is our hope. Whoever may hurt us, it matters not so long as the Lord helps us; for if indeed the Lord help us, none can really hurt us. Many a time have these words been groaned out by troubled saints, for they are such as suit a thousand conditions of need, pain, distress, weakness, and sin. “Help, Lord,” will be a fining prayer for youth and age, for labor and suffering, for life and death. No other help is sufficient, but God’s help is all-sufficient, and we cast ourselves upon it without fear.
119:87. They had almost consumed me upon earth. Evidently he had fallen under their power to a large extent, and they had so used that power that he was well-nigh consumed. He was almost gone from off the earth; but almost is not altogether. The lions are chained: they can rage no further than our God permits. The psalmist perceives the limit of their power: they could only touch his earthly life and earthly goods. He had an eternal portion which they could not even nibble at.
But I forsook not thy precepts. Nothing could drive him from obeying the Lord. If we stick to the precepts we shall be rescued by the promises. If ill-usage could have driven the oppressed saint from the way of right the purpose of the wicked would have been answered, and we should have heard no more of David. If we are resolved to die sooner than forsake the Lord, we may depend upon it that we shall not die, but shall live to see the overthrow of them that hate us.
119:88. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness. Most wise, most blessed prayer! If we are revived in our own personal piety we shall be out of reach of our assailants. Our best protection from tempters and persecutors is more life. Lovingkindness itself cannot do us greater service than by making us to have life more abundantly. When we are quickened we are able to bear affliction, to baffle cunning, and to conquer sin. We look to the lovingkindness of God as the source of spiritual revival, and we intreat the Lord to quicken us, not according to our deserts, but after the boundless energy of his grace.
So shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. If quickened by the Holy Spirit we shall be sure to exhibit a holy character. We shall be faithful to sound doctrine when the Spirit visits us and makes us faithful. We ought greatly to admire the spiritual prudence of the psalmist, who does not so much pray for freedom from trial as for renewed life that he may be supported under it. David prayed for a sound heart in the closing verse of the last octave, and here he seeks a revived heart; this is going to the root of the matter, by seeking that which is the most needful of all things.
119:89. After tossing about on a sea of trouble the psalmist here leaps to shore and stands upon a rock. Jehovah’s word is not fickle or uncertain. In the former section David’s soul fainted, but here the good man looks out of self and perceives that the Lord fainteth not, neither is weary, neither is there any failure in his Word. When we are tired with gazing upon the shifting scene of this life, the thought of the immutable promise fills our mouth with singing. God’s purposes, promises, and precepts are all settled. 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.
119:90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. This is an additional glory: God is not affected by the lapse of ages; he is not only faithful to one man throughout his lifetime, but to his children’s children after him, and to all generations so long as they keep his covenant and remember his commandments to do them. He who succored his servants thousands of years ago still shows himself strong on the behalf of all them that trust him.
Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. Nature is governed by fixed laws; the globe keeps its course by divine command; all things are marshaled in their appointed order. There is an analogy between the Word of God and the works of God, and specially in this, that they are both of them constant, fixed, and unchangeable. God’s Word which established the world is the same as that which he has embodied in the Scriptures; when we see the world keeping its place and all its laws abiding the same, we have herein assurance that the Lord will be faithful to his covenant, and will not allow the faith of his people to be put to shame.
119:91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances. Because the Lord has bid the universe abide, therefore it stands, and all its laws continue to operate with precision and power. The Word which spoke all things into existence has supported them until now, and still supports them both in being and in well-being.
For all are thy servants. Created by the Word they obey that Word, thus answering the purpose of their existence. Shall we wish to be free of the Lord’s sway and become lords unto ourselves? If we were so, we should be dreadful exceptions to a law which secures the well-being of the universe. Rather let us serve more perfectly as our lives are continued.
119:92. That Word which has preserved the heavens and the earth also preserves the people of God in their time of trial. We should have felt ready to lie down and die of our griefs if the spiritual comforts of God’s Word had not uplifted us; but by their sustaining influence we have been borne above all the depressions and despairs which naturally grow out of severe affliction. Some of us can set our seal to this statement. In our darkest seasons nothing has kept us from desperation but the promise of the Lord; at times nothing has stood between us and self-destruction save faith in the eternal Word of God. When worn with pain until the brain has become dazed and the reason well-nigh extinguished, a sweet text has whispered to us its heat-cheering assurance, and our poor struggling mind has reposed upon the bosom of God. That which was our delight in prosperity has been our light in adversity; that which in the day kept us from presuming has in the night kept us from perishing.
119:93. When we have felt the quickening power of a precept we can never forget it. It seems singular that the man of God should ascribe quickening to the precepts, and yet it lies in them and in all the words of the Lord alike. When the Lord raised the dead he addressed to them the word of command. He said, “Lazarus, come forth,” or, “Maid, arise.” We need not fear to address Gospel precepts to dead sinners, since by them the Spirit gives them life. The psalmist does not say that the precepts quickened him, but that the Lord quickened him by their means. Yet he prized the instruments of the blessing, and resolved never to forget them. He had already remembered them when he likened himself to a bottle in the smoke, and now he feels that whether in the smoke or in the fire the memory of the Lord’s precepts will never depart from him.
119:94. I am thine, save me. A comprehensive prayer with a prevailing argument. Consecration is a good plea for preservation. If we are conscious that we are the Lord’s we may be confident that he will save us. We are the Lord’s by creation, election, redemption, surrender, and acceptance; and hence our firm hope and assured belief that he will save us. A man will surely save his own child: Lord, save me. The need of salvation is better seen by the Lord’s people than by any others; they know that only God can save them, and that no merit can be found in themselves.
For I have sought thy precepts. He might not have attained to all the holiness which he desired, but he had studiously aimed at being obedient to the Lord, and hence he begged to be saved even to the end. Someone may be seeking the doctrines and the promises, and yet be unrenewed in heart; but to seek the precepts is a sure sign of grace; no one ever heard of a rebel or a hypocrite seeking the precepts. When the Lord sets us seeking he will not refuse us the saving. He who seeks holiness is already saved: if we have sought the Lord we may be sure that the Lord has sought us, and will certainly save us.
119:95. They were like wild beasts crouching by the way, or highwaymen waylaying a defenseless traveler; but the psalmist went on his way without considering them, for he was considering something better, namely, the witness or testimony which God has borne. If the wicked cannot destroy us today they will wait for further opportunities; they will have to wait much longer yet, for if we are so unmoved that we do not even give them a thought their hope of destroying us must be a very poor one. Note the double waiting—the patience of the wicked who watch long and carefully for an opportunity to destroy the godly, and then the patience of the saint who will not quit his meditations, even to quiet his foes. See how the serpent’s seed lie in wait, but the chosen of the Lord take no more notice of them than if they had no existence.
119:96. I have seen an end of all perfection. He 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. Perfect people, in the absolute sense of the word, live only in a perfect world. Some see no end to their own perfection, but this is because they are perfectly blind. The experienced believer has seen an end of all perfection in himself, in his brethren, in the best people’s best works. It would be well if some who profess to be perfect could even see the beginning of perfection, for we fear they cannot have begun aright, or they would not talk so exceedingly proudly.
But thy commandment is exceeding broad. When the breadth of the law is known the notion of perfection in the flesh vanishes: that law touches every act, word, and thought, and is of such a spiritual nature that it judges the motives, desires, and emotions of the soul. It reveals a perfection which convicts us for shortcomings as well as for transgressions, and does not allow us to make up for deficiencies in one direction by special carefulness in others. The divine ideal of holiness is far too broad for us to hope to cover all its wide arena, and yet it is no broader than it ought to be. Who would wish to have an imperfect law? Its perfection is its glory; but it is the death of all glorying in our own perfection. Only in Jesus do we see it fully embodied. The law is in all respects a perfect code; each separate precept of it is far-reaching in its hallowed meaning, and the whole ten cover all, and leave no space wherein to please our passions. We may well adore the infinity of divine holiness, and then measure ourselves by its standard, and bow before the Lord in all lowliness, acknowledging how far we fall short of it.
119:97. O how I love thy law! He loves so much that he must express his love, and in making the attempt he perceives that it is inexpressible. We obey the law out of love, and even when it chides us for disobedience we love it none the less.
It is my meditation all the day. He meditated on God’s Word because he loved it, and then loved it the more because he meditated in it. In his worldly business he still kept his mind saturated with the law of the Lord. Familiarity with the Word of God breeds affection, and affection seeks yet greater familiarity. When thy law and my meditation are together all the day, the day grows holy, devout, and happy, and the heart lives with God.
119:98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies. The commands were his book, but God was his teacher. The letter can make us knowing, but only the divine Spirit can make us wise. Wisdom is knowledge put to practical use. Wisdom comes to us through obedience (John 7:17). We learn not only from promise, and doctrine, and sacred history; from the commandments we gather the most practical wisdom, and that which enables us best to cope with our adversaries. A holy life is the highest wisdom and the surest defense. By uprightness we shall baffle fraud, by simple truth vanquish deep-laid scheming, and by open candor defeat slander.
For they are ever with me. He was always studying or obeying the commandments; they were his choice and constant companions. If we wish to become proficient we must be indefatigable. If we keep the wise law ever near us we shall become wise, and when our adversaries assail us we shall be prepared for them with that ready wit which lies in having the Word of God at our fingers’ ends. As a soldier in battle must never lay aside his shield, so must we never have the Word of God out of our minds.
119:99. I have more understanding than all my teachers. Our teachers are not always to be trusted. If our teachers should be in all things sound and safe, they will be glad for us to excel them, and they will be ever ready to own that the teaching of the Lord is better than any teaching which they can give us. Disciples of Christ who sit at his feet are often better skilled in divine things than doctors of divinity.
For thy testimonies are my meditation. This is the best mode of acquiring understanding. We may hear the wisest teachers and remain fools, but if we meditate upon the sacred Word we must become wise. David does not hesitate to speak the truth in this place concerning himself, for he is quite innocent of self-consciousness. In speaking of his understanding he means to extol the law and the Lord, and not himself. There is not a grain of boasting in these bold expressions, but only a sincere childlike desire to set forth the excellence of the Lord’s Word.
119:100. He had been taught to observe in heart and life the precepts of the Lord, and this was more than the most venerable sinner had ever learned, more than the philosopher of antiquity had so much as aspired to know. The oldest of all is the best of all, and what is that but the word of the Ancient of Days.
119:101. There is no treasuring up the holy Word unless there is a casting out of all unholiness. David had zealously watched his steps and put a check upon his conduct. No one evil way could entice him, for he knew that if he went astray in one road he had practically left the way of righteousness. Sin avoided that obedience may be perfected is the essence of this verse; or it may be that the psalmist would teach us that there is no real reverence for the book where there is not carefulness to avoid every transgression of its precepts.
119:102. What we learn from the Lord we never forget. We follow his way when he teaches us; we do not depart from holiness. If we begin to depart a little we can never tell where we shall end. The Lord brings us to persevere in holiness by abstinence from the beginning of sin; but whatever be the method he is the worker of our perseverance, and to him be all the glory.
119:103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! He had not only heard the words of God, but fed upon them: they affected his palate as well as his ear. God’s words are many and varied, and the whole of them make up what we call “the word”; David loved them each one, individually, and the whole of them as a whole. Oh for a deep love to all that the Lord has revealed, whatever form it may take.
Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. When he did not only eat but also speak the Word, by instructing others, he felt an increased delight in it. When the psalmist fed on it he found it sweet; but when he bore witness of it, it became sweeter still. It must be sweet to our taste when we think of it, or it will not be sweet to our mouth when we talk of it.
119:104. Through thy precepts I get understanding. God’s direction is our instruction. Obedience to the divine will begets wisdom of mind and action. As God’s way it is always best; those who follow it are sure to be justified by the result. If the Lawgiver were foolish his law would be the same, and obedience to such a law would involve us in a thousand mistakes; but as the reverse is the case, we may count ourselves happy to have such a wise, prudent, and beneficial law to be the rule of our lives. 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, he detested sin and falsehood. Every sin is a falsehood; we commit sin because we believe a lie, and in the end the flattering evil turns a liar to us and we find ourselves betrayed. True hearts are not indifferent about falsehood; they grow warm in indignation. The way of self-will, of self-righteousness, of worldliness, of pride, of unbelief, of hypocrisy—these are all false ways, and therefore not only to be shunned, but to be abhorred.
This final verse of the section marks a great advance in character, and shows that the man of God is growing stronger, bolder, and happier than aforetime. He has been taught of the Lord, so that he discerns between the precious and the vile, and while he loves the truth fervently he hates falsehood intensely. May all of us reach this state of discrimination and determination, so that we may greatly glorify God.
119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. We are often called to go out into the darkness; let us never venture without the light-giving Word. Each of us should use the Word of God personally, practically, and habitually, to see the way and what lies in it. Having no fixed lamps in eastern towns, in old time each passenger carried a lantern with him that he might not fall into the open sewer, or stumble over the heaps of excrement which defiled the road. This is a true picture of our path through this dark world. One of the most practical benefits of Holy Writ is guidance in the acts of daily life: it is not sent to astound us with its brilliance, but to guide us by its instruction. It is true the head needs illumination, but even more the feet need direction, else head and feet may both fall into a ditch. And a light unto my path. Whoever walks in darkness is sure, sooner or later, to stumble, while the one who walks by the light of day, or by the lamp of night, does not stumble but keeps upright. Ignorance is painful upon practical subjects; it breeds indecision and suspense, 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 with it great restfulness of heart. This verse converses with God in adoring and yet familiar tones. Have we not something of like tenor to address to our Heavenly Father?
Note how like verse 1 this is, and the first verse of other octaves.
119:106. Under the influence of the clear light of knowledge he had firmly made up his mind, and solemnly declared his resolve in the sight of God. Perhaps mistrusting his own fickle mind, he had pledged himself in sacred form to abide faithful to the determination and decisions of his God. Whatever path might open before him, he was sworn to follow that only upon which the lamp of the Word was shining. The Scriptures are God’s judgments, or verdicts, upon great moral questions; these are all righteous, and hence righteous people should be resolved to keep them at all hazards. Will not every believer own that he is under bonds to the redeeming Lord to follow his example, and keep his words ? Yes, the vows of the Lord are upon us, especially upon such as have made profession of discipleship, have been baptized into the thrice-holy name, have eaten of the consecrated memorials, and have spoken in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are enlisted, and sworn in, and are bound to be loyal soldiers all through the war. Thus having taken the Word into our hearts by a firm resolve to obey it, we have a lamp within our souls as well as in the Book, and our course will be light unto the end.
119:107. I am afflicted very much. Our service of the Lord does not screen us from trial, but rather secures it for us. The psalmist was a consecrated man, and yet a chastened man; nor were his chastisements light, for it seemed as if the more he was obedient the more he was afflicted. He evidently felt the rod to be cutting deep, and this he pleads before the Lord. He speaks not by way of grumbling but by way of pleading; from the very much affliction he argues for very much quickening.
Quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word. This is the best remedy for tribulation; the soul is raised above the thought of present distress, and is filled with that holy joy which attends all vigorous spiritual life, and so the affliction grows light. Jehovah alone can quicken: he has life in himself, and therefore can communicate it readily; he can give us life at any moment, even at this present instant; for it is of the nature of quickening to be quick in its 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 needful. Frequently the affliction is made the means of the quickening, just as the stirring of a fire promotes the heat of the flame. In their affliction some desire death; let us pray for life. Our forebodings under trial are often very gloomy; let us intreat the Lord to deal with us, not according to our fears, but according to his own Word. David had but few promises to quote, and probably these were in his own psalms, yet he pleads the Word of the Lord; how much more should we do so, since to us so many holy men have spoken by the Spirit of the Lord in that wonderful library which is now our Bible. Seeing we have more promises, let us offer more prayers.
119:108. Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD. The living praise the living God, and therefore the quickened one presents his sacrifice. He offers prayer, praise, confession, and testimony; these, presented with his voice in the presence of an audience, were the tribute of his mouth unto Jehovah. He trembles lest these should be so ill uttered as to displease the Lord, and therefore he implores acceptance. He pleads that the homage of his mouth was cheerfully and spontaneously rendered; all his utterances were freewill offerings. There can be no value in extorted confessions: God’s revenues are not derived from forced taxation, but from freewill donation. There can be no acceptance where there is no willingness; there is no work of free grace where there is no fruit of free will. Acceptance is a favor to be sought from the Lord with all earnestness, for without it our offerings are worse than useless. What a wonder of grace that the Lord will accept anything from such unworthy ones as we are!
And teach me thy judgments. When we render unto the Lord our best, we become all the more concerned to do better. After quickening we need teaching: life without light, or zeal without knowledge, would be but half a blessing. These repeated cries for teaching show the humility of the man of God, and also discover to us our own need of similar instruction. Our judgment needs educating till it knows, agrees with, and acts upon the judgments of the Lord. Those judgments are not always so clear as to be seen at once; we need to be taught in them till we admire their wisdom and adore their goodness as soon as ever we perceive them.
119:109. My soul is continually in my hand. He lived in the midst of danger. He had to be always fighting for existence—hiding in caves, or contending in battles. This is a very uncomfortable and trying state of affairs, and men are apt to think any expedient justifiable by which they can end such a condition, but David did not turn aside to find safety in sin, for he says, Yet do I not forget thy law. No danger of body should make us endanger our souls by forgetting that which is right. Trouble makes many a man forget his duty, and it would have had the same effect upon the psalmist if he had not obtained quickening (verse 107) and teaching (verse 108). In his memory of the Lord’s law lay his safety; he was certain not to be forgotten of God, for God was not forgotten of him. It is a special proof of grace when nothing can drive truth our of our thoughts, or holiness out of our lives. If we remember the law even when death stares us in the face, we may be well assured that the Lord is remembering us.
119:110. The wicked have laid a snare for me. Spiritual life is the scene of constant danger: the believer lives with his life in his hand, and all seem plotting to take it from him, by cunning if they cannot by violence. We shall not find it an easy thing to live the life of the faithful. Wicked spirits and wicked people will leave no stone unturned for our destruction. When we know that we are thus assailed, we are too apt to become timorous, and rush upon some hasty device for deliverance, not without sin in the endeavor; but David calmly kept his way: Yet I erred not from thy precepts. He was not snared, for he kept his eyes open, and kept near his God. He was not entrapped and robbed, for he followed the King’s 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, and obtained it. If we err from the precepts, we part with the promises; if we get away from God’s presence, we wander into the wilds where the fowlers freely spread their nets.
119:111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever. He chose them, and what is more he laid hold upon them, taking them into possession and enjoyment. If we might have our desire, we would desire to keep the commands of God perfectly. Sometimes, like Israel, we have to take our heritage by hard fighting, but always it has to be taken by a decided choice of the heart and grip of the will. What God gives we must take.
For they are the rejoicing of my heart. The gladness which had come to him through the Word of the Lord had caused him to make an unalterable choice of it. That which rejoices the heart is sure to be chosen and treasured. It is not the head-knowledge but the heart-experience which brings the joy.
In this verse, which is the seventh of its octave, we have reached the same sweetness as in the last seventh (verse 103). How good a thing it is when experience ripens into joy, passing up through sorrow, prayer, conflict, hope, desire, and holy content into rejoicing! Joy fixes the spirit.
119:112. He was not half inclined to virtue, but heartily inclined to it. His whole heart was bent on practical, persevering godliness. He was resolved to keep the statutes of the Lord with all his heart, throughout all his time, without erring or ending. He made it his end to keep the law unto the end, and that without end. He had by prayer, and meditation, and resolution made his whole being lean towards God’s commands; or as we should say in other words, the grace of God had inclined him to incline his heart in a sanctified direction. Many are inclined to preach, but the psalmist was inclined to practice; many are inclined to perform ceremonies, but he was inclined to perform statutes; many are inclined to obey occasionally, but David would obey always; and, alas, many are inclined for temporary religion, but this godly man was bound for eternity, and would perform the statutes of his Lord and King to the end. Lord, send us such a heavenly inclination of heart as this: then shall we show that thou hast quickened us and taught us. To this end create in us a clean heart, and daily renew a right spirit within us, for only so shall we incline in the right direction.
119:113. In this paragraph the psalmist deals with thoughts and things and persons which are the opposite of God’s holy thoughts and ways. He is evidently in great fear of the powers of darkness, and of their allies, and his whole soul is stirred up to stand against them with a determined opposition. Just as he began the octave in verse 97 with “Oh, how I love thy law,” so here he begins with a declaration of hatred against that which breaks the law. He did not glory in his thoughts; and that which was called “thought” in his day was a thing which he detested. Some of our thoughts are especially vain in the sense of vainglory, pride, conceit, and self-trust; others in the sense of bringing disappointment, such as fond ambition, sinful dreaming, and confidence in man; others in the sense of emptiness and frivolity; and too many of our thoughts are vain in the sense of being sinful, evil, and foolish. The psalmist looks upon them with a hate as true as was the love with which he clung to the pure thoughts of God.
The last octave was practical, this is thoughtful; there the man of God attended to his feet, and here to his heart: the emotions of the soul are as important as the acts of the life, for they are the fountain and spring from which the actions proceed. When we love the law it becomes a law of love, and we cling to it with out whole heart.
119:114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield. To his God he ran for shelter from vain thoughts; there he hid himself away from their tormenting intrusions, and in solemn silence of the soul he found God to be his hiding-place. When called into the world, if he could not be alone with God as his hiding-place, he could have the Lord with him as his shield, and by this means he could ward off the attacks of wicked suggestions. This verse testifies to what the writer knew of his own personal knowledge: he could not fight with his own thoughts, or escape from them, till he flew to his God, and then he found deliverance. He does not speak of God’s Word as his double defense, but he ascribes that to God himself. When we are beset by very spiritual assaults, such as those which arise out of vain thoughts, we shall do well to fly to our Lord and cast ourselves upon his real presence.
I hope in thy word. He had tried and proved it: he looked for protection from all danger, and preservation from all temptation to him who had hitherto been the tower of his defense on former occasions. It is easy to exercise hope where we have experienced help. Sometimes when gloomy thoughts afflict us, the only thing we can do is to hope, and happily the Word of God always sets before us objects of hope and reasons for hope, so that it becomes the very sphere and support of hope, and thus tiresome thoughts are overcome. Amid fret and worry a hope of heaven is an effectual balm.
119:115. Depart from me, ye evildoers. Those who make a conscience of their thoughts are not likely to tolerate evil company. If we fly to God from vain thoughts, much more shall we avoid vain people. Kings are all too apt to be surrounded by a class of people who flatter them, and at the same time take liberty to break the laws of God: David purged his palace of such parasites. Herein he anticipated the sentence of the last great day, when the Son of David will say, “Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.” We cannot thus send all malefactors out of our houses, but it will often become a duty to do so where there is right and reason for it. We are bound at all hazards to keep ourselves clear of such companions as come to us by our own choice if we have any reason to believe that their character is vicious. Those who say unto God, “Depart from us” ought to hear the immediate echo of their words from the mouths of God’s children.
For I will keep the commandments of my God. Since he found it hard to keep the commandments in the company of the ungodly, he gave them their marching orders. The word God only occurs in this one place in all this lengthened psalm, and then it is attended by the personal word my. Because Jehovah is our God we resolve to obey him, and to chase out of our sight those who would hinder us in his service. It is a grand thing for the mind to be steadfastly fixed in the holy determination, “I will keep thy commandments.”
119:116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live. It was so necessary that the Lord should hold up his servant, that he could not even live without it. Our soul would die if the Lord did not continually sustain it, and every grace which makes spiritual life to be truly life would decay if he withdrew his upholding hand. It is a sweet comfort that this great necessity of upholding is provided for in the Word, and we have not to ask for it as for an uncovenanted mercy, but simply to plead for the fulfillment of a promise. He who has given us eternal life has in the gift secured to us all that is essential thereto, and as gracious upholding is one of the necessary things we may be sure that we shall have it.
And let me not be ashamed of my hope. In verse 114 he had spoken of his hope as founded on the Word, and now he begs for the fulfillment of that Word that his hope might be justified in the sight of all. We may be ashamed of our thoughts, and our words, and our deeds, for they spring from ourselves; but we never shall be ashamed of our hope, for that springs from the Lord our God. Such is the frailty of our nature that unless we are continually upheld by grace, we shall fall so foully as to be ashamed of ourselves, and ashamed of all those glorious hopes which are now the crown and glory of our life. The man of God had uttered the most positive resolves, but he felt that he could not trust in his own solemn determination. It was not wrong to make resolutions, but it will be useless to do so unless we salt them well with believing cries to God. David meant to keep the law of the Lord, but he first needed the Lord of the law to keep him.
119:117. Hold thou me up. As a nurse holds up a little child.
And I shall be safe. Unless thou hold me up I shill be filling about like an infant that is weak upon its knees. We are saved by past grace, but we are not safe unless we receive present grace. The psalmist had vowed to keep the Lord’s commands, but here he pleads with the Lord to keep him. Our version reads the word uphold (verse 116), and then hold up; and truly we need this blessing in every shape in which it can come, for in all manner of ways our adversaries seek to cast us down. To be safe is a happy condition; there is only one door to it, and that is to be held up by God himself; thank God, that door is open to the least among us.
And I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. In obedience is safety; in being held up is obedience. No man will outwardly keep to the Lord’s statutes for long together unless he has an inward respect for them, and this will never be unless the hand of the Lord perpetually upholds the heart in holy love. Perseverance to the end, obedience continually, comes only through the divine power; we start aside as a deceitful bow unless we are kept right by him that first gave us grace. Happy is the man who realizes this verse in his life: upheld through his whole life in a course of unswerving integrity, he becomes a safe and trusted man, and maintains a sacred delicacy of conscience which is unknown to others. He feels a tender respect for the statutes of the Lord, which keeps him clear of inconsistencies and conformities to the world that are so common among others, and hence he is a pillar in the house of the Lord.
119:118. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes. They are thrown down and then trodden down, for they choose to go down into the wandering ways of sin. Sooner of later God will set his foot on those who turn their foot from his commands: it has always been so, and it always will be so. If the salt has lost its savor, what is it fit for but to be trodden under foot?
For their deceit is falsehood. They call it far-seeing policy, but it is absolute falsehood, and it will be treated as such. Ordinary people call it clever diplomacy, but the man of God calls a spade a spade, and declares it to be falsehood, for he knows that it is so in the sight of God. People who err from the right road invent pretty excuses with which to deceive themselves and others, and so quiet their consciences and maintain their credits; but their mask of falsehood is too transparent. God treads down falsehoods. How horrified must those be who have spent all their lives in contriving a confectionery religion, and then see it all trodden upon by God as a sham which he cannot endure!
119:119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross. He does not trifle with them, or handle them with kid gloves. No, he judges them to be the scum of the earth, and he puts them away from his church, and at last away from himself. They looked like precious metal, they were intimately mixed up with it, they were laid up in the same heap, but the Lord is a refiner, and every day he removes some of the wicked from among his people, either by making a shameful discovery of their hypocrisy or by consuming them from off the earth. As the metal is the better for losing its alloy, so is the church better for having the wicked removed. These wicked ones are of the earth, and they have no right to be with those who are not of the world; the Lord perceives them to be out of place and injurious, and therefore he puts them away, all of them. The process will one day be perfect; no dross will be spared, no gold will be left impure. Where shall we be when that great work is finished?
Therefore I love thy testimonies. Even the severities of the Lord excite the love of his people. If he allowed people to sin with impunity, he would not be so fully the object of our loving admiration.
119:120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee. Such was his awe in the presence of the Judge of all the earth that he did quake. Even the grosser part of his being, his flesh, felt a solemn dread at the thought of offending one so good and great, who would so effectually sever the wicked from among the just.
And I am afraid of thy judgments. We may well cry for cleansed thoughts, and hearts, and ways, lest his judgments should light on us. When we see the great Refiner separating the precious from the vile, we may well feel a godly fear, lest we should be put away by him, and left to be trodden under his feet.
Love in the previous verse is quite consistent with fear in this verse: the fear which has torments is cast out, but not the filial fear which leads to reverence and obedience.
119:121. I have done judgment and justice. This was a great thing for an eastern ruler to say at any time, for these despots mostly cared more for gain than justice. Some of them would not even do judgment at all, preferring their pleasures to their duties; and many more of them sold their judgments to the highest bidders by taking bribes, or regarding the persons of men. Some rulers gave neither judgment nor justice, others gave judgment with justice, but David gave judgment and justice, and saw that his sentences were carried out. He could claim before the Lord that he had dealt out even-handed justice, and was doing so still. On this fact he founded a plea with which he backed the prayer: Leave me not to mine oppressors. He who, as far as his power goes, has been doing right, may hope to be delivered from his superiors when attempts are made by them to do him wrong. Nor is this kind of pleading to be censured as self-righteous: when we are dealing with God as to our shortcomings, we use a very different tone from that with which we face the censures of our fellow-men; when they are in the question, and we are guiltless towards them, we are justified in pleading our innocence.
119:122. Be surety for thy servant for good. Answer for me. Do not leave thy poor servant to die by the hand of his enemy and thine. Take up my interests and weave them with thine own, and stand for me. As my Master, undertake thy servant’s cause, and represent me before the faces of haughty people till they see what an august ally I have in the Lord my God.
Let not the proud oppress me. When the proud see that thou art my advocate they will hide their heads. We should have been crushed beneath our proud adversary the devil if our Lord Jesus had not stood between us and the accuser, and become a surety for us. It is by his suretyship that we escape like a bird from the snare of the fowler. What a blessing to be able to leave our matters in our Surety’s hands, knowing that all will be well, since he has an answer for every accuser, a rebuke for every reviler.
Good people dread oppression, and they send up their cries to heaven for deliverance; nor shall they cry in vain, for the Lord will undertake the cause of his servants, and fight their battles against the proud.
119:123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation. He wept, waited, and watched for God’s saving hand, and these exercises tried the eyes of his faith till they were almost ready to give out. He looked to God alone, he looked eagerly, he looked long. The mercy is that if our eyes fail, God does not fail, nor do his eyes fail. Eyes are tender things, and so are our faith, hope and expectancy: the Lord will not try them above what they are able to bear.
And for the word of thy righteousness: a word that would silence the unrighteous words of his oppressors. His eyes as well as his ears waited for the Lord’s word: he looked to see the divine word come forth as a fiat for his deliverance. He was waiting for the verdict of righteousness itself. How happy are we if we have righteousness on our side; for then that which is the sinners’ terror is our hope, that which the proud dread is our expectation and desire. David left his reputation entirely in the Lord’s hand.
119:124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy. Here he recollects himself: although before men he was clear, before the Lord he felt that he must appeal to mercy. We feel safest here. Our heart has more rest in the cry, “God be merciful to me,” than in appealing to justice. A master should clear the character of his servant if he be falsely accused, and rescue him from those who would oppress him; and, moreover, the master should show mercy to a servant, even if he deal severely with a stranger. The Lord does not spurn his servants, but communes with them in a tender and merciful way. And teach me thy statutes. This will be one way of dealing with us in mercy. We may expect a master to teach his own servant the meaning of his own orders. Yet since our ignorance arises from our own sinful stupidity, it is great mercy on God’s part that he condescends to instruct us in his commands.
119:125. I am thy servant. We who rejoice that we are sons of God are by no means the less delighted to be his servants. Did not the firstborn Son assume the servant’s form and fulfill the servant’s labor to the full? What higher honor can the younger brethren desire than to be made like the Heir of all things?
Give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies. In the previous verse he sought teaching; but here he goes much further, and craves for understanding. We are to confess ourselves fools, and then our Lord will make us wise, as well as give us knowledge. The best understanding is that which enables us to render perfect obedience and to exhibit intelligent faith, and it is this which David desires. Some would rather not know these things; they prefer to be at ease in the dark than possess the light which leads to repentance and diligence.
The psalmist does not pray for understanding through acquiring knowledge, but begs of the Lord first that he may have the gracious gift of understanding, and then may obtain the desired instruction. All that we know before we have understanding is apt to spoil us and breed vanity in us; but if there be first an understanding heart, then the stores of knowledge enrich the soul, and bring neither sin nor sorrow therewith. Moreover, this gift of understanding acts also in the form of discernment, and thus the good man is preserved from hoarding up that which is false and dangerous: he knows what are and what are not the testimonies of the Lord.
119:126. David was a servant, and therefore it was always his time to work: but being oppressed by the sight of man’s ungodly behavior, he feels that his Master’s hand is wanted, and therefore he appeals to him to work against the working of evil. People make void the law of God by denying it to be his law, by promulgating commands and doctrines in opposition to it, by setting up tradition in its place, or by utterly disregarding and scorning the authority of the Lawgiver. Then sin becomes fashionable, and a holy walk is regarded as a contemptible puritanism; vice is styled pleasure. Then the saints sigh for the presence and power of their God: Oh for another Pentecost with all its wonders, to reveal the energy of God to gainsayers, and make them see that there is a God in Israel! Man’s extremity, whether of need or sin, is God’s opportunity. When the earth was without form and void, the Spirit came and moved upon the face of the waters; should he not come when society is returning to a like chaos? When Israel in Egypt was reduced to the lowest point, and it seemed that the covenant would be void, then Moses appeared and wrought mighty miracles; so, too, when the church of God is trampled down, and her message is derided, we may expect to see the hand of the Lord stretched out for the revival of religion, the defense of the truth, and the glorifying of the divine name. The Lord can work either by judgments which hurl down the ramparts of the foe, or by revivals which build up the walls of his own Jerusalem. How heartily may we pray the Lord to raise up new evangelists, to quicken those we already have, to set his whole church on fire, and to bring the world to his feet. God’s work is ever honorable and glorious; as for our work, it is as nothing apart from him.
119:127. As it was God’s time to work, so it was David’s time to love. So far from being swayed by the example of evil people, so as to join them in slighting the Scriptures, he was the rather led into a more vehement love of them. As he saw the commandments slighted by the ungodly, his heart was in sympathy with God, and he felt a burning affection for his holy precepts. It is the mark of a true believer that he does not depend upon others for his religion, but drinks water out of his own well, which springs up even when the cisterns of the earth are all dried. Wealth brings with it so many conveniences that people naturally esteem it, and God’s laws are more enriching, and bring with them more comfort than all the choicest treasures. The psalmist could not boast that he always kept the commands, but he could declare that he loved them.
119:128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right. Because the ungodly found fault with the precepts of God, therefore David was all the more sure of their being right. The censure of the wicked is a certificate of merit; that which they sanction we may justly suspect, but that which they abominate we may ardently admire. The good person’s delight in God’s law is unreserved.
And I hate every false way. Love of truth begat hatred of falsehood. This godly man was a good lover or a good hater, but he was never a waverer. The fact that such large multitudes follow the broad road had no influence upon this holy man, except to make him more determined to avoid every form of error and sin. May the Holy Spirit so rule in our hearts that our affections may be in the same decided condition towards the precepts of the word.
119:129. Thy testimonies are wonderful. Full of wonderful revelations, commands, and promises. Wonderful in their nature, as being free from all error, and bearing within themselves overwhelming self-evidence of their truth; wonderful in their effects as instructing, elevating, strengthening, and comforting the soul. Jesus the eternal Word is called Wonderful, and all the uttered words of God are wonderful in their degree. Those who know them best wonder at them most. It is wonderful that God should have borne testimony at all to sinful men, and more wonderful still that his testimony should be of such a character, so clear, so full, so gracious, so mighty. Therefore doth my soul keep them. Their wonderful character so impressed itself upon his mind that he kept them in his memory; their wonderful excellence so charmed his heart that he kept them in his life. Some people wonder at the words of God, and use them for their speculation; but David was always practical, and the more he wondered the more he obeyed. Note that his religion was soul work; not with head and hand alone did he keep the testimonies, but his soul, his truest and most real self, held fast to them.
119:130. The entrance of thy words giveth light. No sooner do they gain admission into the soul than they enlighten it: what light may be expected from their prolonged indwelling! Their very entrance floods the mind with instruction, for they are so full, so clear; but, on the other hand, there must be such an entrance, or there will be no illumination. The mere hearing of the Word with the external ear is of small value by itself, but when the words of God enter into the chambers of the heart, then light is scattered on all sides. The Word finds no entrance into some minds because they are blocked up with self-conceit, or prejudice, or indifference; but where due attention is given, divine illumination must surely follow upon a knowledge of the mind of God. Oh that thy words, like the beams of the sun, may enter through the window of my understanding, and dispel the darkness of my mind!
It giveth understanding unto the simple. The sincere and candid are the true disciples of the Word. To such it gives not only knowledge, but understanding. These simple-hearted ones are frequently despised, and their simplicity has another meaning infused into it, so as to be made the theme of ridicule; but what matters it? Those whom the world dubs as fools are among the truly wise if they are taught of God. What a divine power rests in the Word of God, since it not only bestows light, but gives that very mental eye by which the light is received—It giveth understanding. Hence the value of the words of God to the simple, who cannot receive mysterious truth unless their minds are aided to see it and prepared to grasp it.
119:131. I opened my mouth, and panted. So animated was his desire that he looked into the animal world to find a picture of it. He was filled with an intense longing, and was not ashamed to describe it by a most expressive, natural, and yet singular symbol. Like a stag that has been hunted in the chase, and is hard pressed, and therefore pants for breath, so did the psalmist pant for the entrance of God’s Word into his soul. Nothing else could content him. All that the world could yield him left him still panting.
For I longed for thy commandments. Longed to know them, longed to obey them, longed to be conformed to their spirit, longed to teach them to others. He was a servant of God, and his industrious mind longed to receive orders; he was a learner in the school of grace, and his eager spirit longed to be taught of the Lord.
119:132. Look thou upon me. A godly person cannot long be without prayer. During the previous verses he had been expressing his love to God’s Word, but here he is upon his knees again. He besought the Lord to let his condition and his unexpressed longings plead for him. He desires to be known of God, and daily observed by him. He wishes also to be favored with the divine smile which is included in the Word—look. And be merciful unto me. Christ’s look at Peter was a look of mercy, and all the looks of the Heavenly Father are of the same kind. If he looked in stern justice his eyes would not endure us, but looking in mercy he spares and blesses us. If God looks and sees us panting, he will not fail to be merciful to us.
As thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. Look on me as thou lookest on those who love thee; be merciful to me as thou art accustomed to be towards those who truly serve thee. David would not have the Lord deal either better or worse with him than he was accustomed to deal with his saints—worse would not save him, better could not be.
119:133. Order my steps in thy word. This is one of the Lord’s customary mercies to his chosen—“He keepeth the feet of his saints.” By his grace he enables us to put our feet step by step in the very place which his Word ordains. This does not stop short of perfect holiness, neither will the believer’s desires be satisfied with anything beneath that blessed consummation.
And let not any iniquity have dominion over me. This is the negative side of the blessing. We ask to do all that is right, and to fall under the power of nothing that is wrong. Believers pant for perfect liberty from the power of evil, and being conscious that they cannot obtain it of themselves, they cry unto God for it.
119:134. Deliver me from the oppression of man. David had tasted all the bitterness of this great evil. It had made him an exile from his country, and banished him from the sanctuary of the Lord: therefore he pleads to be saved from it. It is said that oppression makes a wise man mad, and no doubt it has made many a righteous man sinful. Oppression is in itself wicked, and it drives people to wickedness. We little know how much of our virtue is due to our liberty; if we had been in bonds under haughty tyrants we might have yielded to them, and instead of being confessors we might now have been apostates. He who taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” will sanction this prayer, which is of much the same tenor, since to be oppressed is to be tempted.
So will I keep thy statutes. When the stress of oppression was taken off he would go his own way, and that way would be the way of the Lord. Although we ought not to yield to the threatenings of men, yet many do so; the wife is sometimes compelled by the oppression of her husband to act against her conscience; children and servants, and even whole nations have been brought into the same difficulty. Their sins will be largely laid at the oppressor’s door, and it usually pleases God ere long to overthrow those powers and dominions which compel people to do evil. The worst of it is that some people, when the pressure is taken off from them, follow after unrighteousness of their own accord. These give evidence of being sinners in nature. As for the righteous, it happens to them as it did to the apostles of old—“Being let go, they went to their own company.” When saints are freed from the tyrant they joyfully pay homage to their King.
119:135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. Oppressors frown, but do thou smile. Shine upon me, and all will be bright. The psalmist again declares that he is God’s servant, and he seeks for no favor from others, but only from his own Lord and Master.
And teach me thy statutes. This is the favor which he considers to be the shining of the face of God upon him. If the Lord will be exceeding gracious, and make him his favorite, he will ask no higher blessing than still to be taught the royal statutes. The most favored believer needs teaching; even when he walks in the light of God’s countenance he has still to be taught the divine statutes or he will transgress.
119:136. He wept in sympathy with God to see the holy law despised and broken. He wept in pity for the people who were thus drawing down upon themselves the fiery wrath of God. In his torrents of woe he became like the Lord Jesus, who beheld the city, and wept over it; and like Jehovah himself, who has no pleasure in the death of someone who dies, but that they should turn unto him and live. The experience of this verse indicates a great advance upon anything we have had before: the psalm and the psalmist are both growing. That man is a ripe believer who sorrows because of the sins of others. In verse 120 his flesh trembled at the presence of God, and here it seems to melt and flow away in floods of tears. None are so affected by heavenly things as those who are much in the study of the Word, and are thereby taught the truth and essence of things. Carnal people are afraid of brute force, and weep over losses and crosses; but spiritual people feel a holy fear of the Lord himself, and most of all lament when they see dishonor cast upon his holy name.
119:137–144. This passage deals with the perfect righteousness of Jehovah and his Word, and expresses the struggles of a holy soul in reference to that righteousness. The initial letter with which every verse commences sounds like the Hebrew word for righteousness.
119:137. Righteous art thou, O LORD. The psalmist has not often used the name of Jehovah in this vast composition. The whole psalm shows him to have been a deeply religious man, thoroughly familiar with the things of God; and such people never use the holy name of God carelessly, nor do they even use it at all frequently in comparison with the thoughtless and ungodly. Familiarity begets reverence in this case. Here he uses the sacred name in worship. He praises God by ascribing to him perfect righteousness. God is always right, and he is always actively right, that is, righteous.
And upright are thy judgments. Here he extols God’s Word, or recorded judgments, as being right, just as their Author is righteous. When we are most sorely afflicted, and cannot see the reason for the dispensation, we may fall back upon this most sure and certain fact, that God is righteous, and his dealings with us are righteous too. It should be our glory to sing this brave confession when all things around us appear to suggest the contrary.
119:138. All that which God has testified in his Word is right and truthful. It is righteous, and may be relied upon for the present; it is faithful, and may be trusted in for the future. Not only the precepts but the promises also are commanded of the Lord, and so are all the teachings of Scripture. It is not left to our choice whether we will accept them or not; they are issued by royal command, and are not to be questioned. They are the essence of justice and the soul of truth.
Very faithful. What a mercy that we have a God to deal with who is scrupulously faithful, true to all the items and details of his promises, punctual, steadfast. Well may we risk all upon a Word which is “ever faithful, ever sure.”
119:139. In the last two verses David spoke concerning his God and his law; here he speaks of himself. His zeal was like a fire burning within his soul. The sight of man’s forgetfulness of God acted as a fierce blast to excite the fire to a more vehement flame, and it blazed until it was ready to consume him. David could not bear that people should forget God’s words. The ungodly were David’s enemies because they hated him for his godliness and because he abhorred them for their ungodliness. These people had gone so far in iniquity that they not only violated and neglected the commands of God, but they appeared actually to have forgotten them. David burned with indignation. How dare they trample on sacred things!
119:140. Thy word is very pure. It is truth distilled, holiness in its quintessence. In the Word of God there is no admixture of error or sin. It is pure in its sense, pure in its language, pure in its spirit, pure in its influence, and all this to the very highest degree—very pure.
Therefore thy servant loveth it, which is a proof that he himself was pure in heart. His heart was knit to the Word because of its glorious holiness and truth. He admired it, delighted in it, sought to practice it, and longed to come under its purifying power.
119:141. That fault of forgetfulness which he condemned in others (verse 139) could not be charged upon himself. His enemies regarded him as a man without power or ability, and therefore looked down upon him. He appears to accept the situation and humbly take the lowest room, but he carries God’s Word with him. How many a man has been driven to do some ill action in order to reply to the contempt of his enemies: to make himself conspicuous he has either spoken or acted in a manner which he could not justify. The beauty of the psalmist’s piety was that it was calm and well-balanced, and as he was not carried away by flattery, so was he not overcome by shame. If small, he the more jealously attended to the smaller duties; and if despised, he was the more in earnest to keep the despised commandments of God.
119:142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Having in a previous verse ascribed righteousness to God, he now goes on to declare that that righteousness is unchanging and endures from age to age. This is the joy and glory of the saints, that what God is he always will be, and his mode of procedure towards the sons of men is immutable: having kept his promise, and dealt out justice among his people, he will do so world without end. Both the righteousness and the unrighteousness of men come to an end, but the righteousness of God is without end.
And thy law is the truth. As God is love, so his law is the truth, the very essence of truth, truth applied to ethics, truth in action, truth upon the judgment-seat. We hear great disputes about, “What is truth?” The holy Scriptures are the only answer to that question. They are not only true, but the truth itself. We may not say of them that they contain the truth, but that they are the truth: thy law is the truth. There is nothing false about the law or preceptive part of Scripture. Those who are obedient thereto will find that they are walking in a way consistent with fact, while those who act contrary thereto are walking in a vain show.
119:143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me. This affliction may have arisen from his circumstances, or from the cruelty of his enemies, or from his own internal conflicts, but certain it is that he was the subject of much distress, a distress which apprehended him, and carried him away a captive to its power. His griefs, like fierce dogs, had taken hold upon him; he felt their teeth. He had double trouble: trouble without and anguish within.
Yet thy commandments are my delights. Thus he became a riddle; troubled, and yet delighted. The child of God can understand this enigma, for well he knows that while he is cast down on account of what he sees within himself he is all the more lifted up by what he sees in the Word. He is delighted with the commandments, although he is troubled because he cannot perfectly obey them. He finds abundant light in the commandments, and by the influence of that light he discovers and mourns over his own darkness.
119:144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting. First he had said that God’s testimonies were righteous, then that they were everlasting, and now that their righteousness is everlasting. Thus he gives us a larger and more detailed account of the Word of God the longer he is engaged in writing upon it. Long as the earth stands, long as there is a single intelligent creature in the universe, it will be confessed that God’s plans of mercy are in all respects marvelous proofs of his love of justice: even though he may be gracious Jehovah will not be unjust.
Give me understanding, and I shall live. To live without understanding is not to live human life, but to be dead while we live. Only as we know and apprehend the things of God can we be said to enter into life. The more the Lord teaches us to admire the eternal righteousness of his Word, and the more he quickens us to the love of such rightness, the happier and the better we shall be. As we love life, and seek many days that we may see good, it behoves us to seek immortality in the everlasting Word, and to seek good in that renewal of our entire nature which begins with the enlightenment of the understanding and passes on to the regeneration of the entire person. Here is our need of the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, and the guide of all the quickened ones, who will lead us into all truth.
119:145–152. This section is given up to memories of prayer. The psalmist describes the time and the manner of his devotions, and pleads with God for deliverance from his troubles. He who has been with God in the closet will find God with him in the furnace. If we have cried we shall be answered. Delayed answers may drive us to importunity; but we need not fear the ultimate result, since God’s promises are not uncertain, but are “founded for ever.” The whole passage shows us how he prayed (verse 145); what he prayed for (verse 146); when he prayed (verse 147); how long he prayed (verse 148); what he pleaded (verse 149); what happened (verse 150); how he was rescued (verse 151); what was his witness as to the whole matter (verse 152).
119:145. I cried with my whole heart. His prayer was a sincere, plaintive, painful, natural utterance, as of a creature in pain. We cannot tell whether at all times he used his voice when he thus cried; but we are informed of something which is of much greater consequence, he cried with his heart. Heart-cries are the essence of prayer. He mentions the unity of his heart: his whole soul pleaded with God, his entire affections, his united desires all went out towards the living God. It is well when we can say as much as this of our prayers: it is to be feared that many never cried to God with their whole heart in all their lives. There may be no beauty of elocution about such prayers, no length of expression, no depth of doctrine, nor accuracy of diction; but if the whole heart be in them they will find their way to the heart of G
od. Hear me, O LORD. He desires of Jehovah that his cries may not die upon the air, but that God may have respect to them. True supplicants are not satisfied with the exercise itself; they have an end and object in praying, and they look out for it. If God does not hear prayer we pray in vain. The term “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; but David meant much more; he desired a kindly, sympathetic hearing, such as a physician gives to his patient when he tells him his pitiful story. He asked that the Lord would draw near, and listen with friendly ear to the voice of his complaint, with the view of pitying him and helping him. Observe that his whole-hearted prayer goes to the Lord alone; he has no second hope or help.
I will keep thy statutes. He could not expect the Lord to hear him if he did not hear the Lord; neither would it be true that he prayed with his whole heart unless it was manifest that he labored with all his might to be obedient to the divine will. His object in seeking deliverance was that he might be free to fulfill his religion and carry out every ordinance of the Lord. He would be a free man that he might be at liberty to serve the Lord. Note well that a holy resolution goes well with an importunate supplication: David is determined to be holy. He will not willfully neglect or violate any one of the divine laws.
119:146. I cried unto thee. Again he mentions that his prayer was to God alone. He prayed vehemently, and very often; it had become one of the greatest facts of his life that he cried unto God.
Save me. This was his prayer: very short, but very full. He needed saving, none but the Lord could save him, to him he cried, “Save me” from the dangers which surround me, from the enemies that pursue me, from the temptations which beset me, from the sins which accuse me. He did not multiply words, and people never do when they are in downright earnest. He did not multiply objects, and people seldom do when they are intent upon the one thing needful: “save me” was his one and only prayer.
And I shall keep thy testimonies. This was his great object in desiring salvation, that he might be able to continue in a blameless life of obedience to God, that he might be able to believe the witness of God, and also to become himself 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 that he might sin with impunity; his cry was to be delivered from sin itself. He had vowed to keep the statutes or laws; here he resolves to keep the testimonies or doctrines, and so to be sound of head as well as clean of hand. Salvation brings all these good things in its train. David had no idea of a salvation which would allow him to live in sin, or abide in error: he knew right well that there is no saving a man while he abides in disobedience and ignorance.
119:147. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried. He was up before the sun, and began his pleadings. This is the third time that he mentions that he cried. His supplications had become so frequent, fervent, and intense that he might hardly be said to be doing anything else from morning to night but crying unto his God. So strong was his desire after salvation that he could not rest in his bed; so eagerly did he seek it that at the first possible moment he was on his knees.
I hoped in thy word. Hope is a very powerful means of strengthening us in prayer. Who would pray if he had no hope that God would hear him? Who would not pray when he has a good hope of a blessed issue to his entreatles? His hoped was fixed upon God’s Word, and this is a sure anchorage, because God is true, and in no case has he ever run back from his promise, or altered the thing that has gone forth from his mouth. He who is diligent in prayer will never be destitute of hope. Observe that as the early bird gets the worm, so the early prayer is soon refreshed with hope.
119:148. Mine eyes prevent the night watches. Or rather, “the watches.” Before the watchman cried the hour, he was crying to God. He did not need to be informed as to how the hours were flying, for every hour his heart was flying towards heaven. He began the day with prayer, and he continued in prayer through the watches of the day, and the watches of the night. Specially, however, at night did he keep his eyes open, and drive away sleep, that he might maintain communion with his God. He worshiped on from watch to watch as travelers journey from stage to stage.
That I might meditate in thy word. This had become meat and drink to him. Meditation was the food of his hope, and the solace of his sorrow: the one theme upon which his thoughts ran was that blessed word which he continually mentions, and in which his heart rejoices. He preferred study to slumber; and he learned to forego his necessary sleep for much more necessary devotion. It is instructive to find meditation so constantly connected with fervent prayer: it is the fuel which sustains the flame. How rare an article is it in these days.
119:149. Hear my voice according to thy lovingkindness. People find it very helpful to use their voices in prayer; it is difficult long to maintain the intensity of devotion unless we hear ourselves speak; hence David at length broke through his silence, arose from his quiet meditations, and began crying with voice as well as heart unto the Lord his God. Note that he does not plead his own deservings; he takes the free-grace way, according to thy lovingkindness. When God hears prayer according to his lovingkindness he overlooks all the imperfections of the prayer, he forgets the sinfulness of the offerer, and in pitying love he grants the desire though the suppliant be unworthy. It is according to God’s lovingkindness to answer speedily, to answer frequently, to answer exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think. Kindness has much in it that is most precious, but lovingkindness is doubly dear.
O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment. He first cried, “Save me”; then, “Hear me”; and now, Quicken me. This is often the very best way of delivering us from trouble—to give us more life that we may escape from death; and to add more strength to that life that we may not be overloaded with its burdens. He asks to receive quickening according to God’s judgment, that is, in such a way as should be consistent with infinite wisdom and prudence. God’s methods of communicating greater vigor to our spiritual life are exceedingly wise; it would probably be in vain for us to attempt to understand them; and it will be our wisdom to wish to receive grace, not according to our notion of how it should come to us, but according to God’s heavenly method of bestowing it. It is his prerogative to make alive as well as to kill, and that sovereign act is best left to his infallible judgment. Has he not already given us to have life more and more abundantly?
They draw nigh that follow after mischief. He could hear their footfalls close behind him. He points them out to God, and intreats the Lord to fix his eyes upon them, and deal with them to their confusion. They were already upon him, and he was almost in their grip, and therefore he cries the more earnestly.
They are far from thy law. Before these men could become persecutors of David they were obliged to get away from the restraints of God’s law. Those who keep God’s law neither do harm to themselves nor to others. Sin is the greatest mischief in the world. When we know that our enemies are God’s enemies, and ours because they are his, we may well take comfort.
119:151. Thou art near, O LORD. Near as the enemy might be, God was nearer: this is one of the choicest comforts of the persecuted child of God. The Lord is near to hear our cries, and to speedily afford us succor. He is near to chase away our enemies, and to give us rest and peace.
And all thy commandments are truth. God neither 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 glad to keep near to them, and therein will find the true God near. This sentence will be the persecuted man’s protection from the false hearts that seek to do him mischief: God is near and God is true, therefore his people are safe. If at any time we fall into danger through keeping the commands of God we need not suppose that we have acted unwisely: we may, on the contrary, be quite sure that we are in the right way; for God’s precepts are right and true. It is for this very reason that wicked men assail us: they hate the truth, and therefore hate those who do the truth. Their opposition may be our consolation, while God’s presence upon our side is our glory and delight.
119:152. It is a very blessed thing to be so early taught of God that we know substantial doctrines even from our youth. Those who think that David was a young man when he wrote this psalm will find it rather difficult to reconcile this verse with the theory; it is much more probable that he was now grown gray, and was looking back upon what he had known long before. He knew at the very first that the doctrines of God’s Word were settled before the world began, that they had never altered, and never could by any possibility be altered. He had begun by building on a rock, by seeing that God’s testimonies were founded, that is, grounded, laid as foundations, settled and established, and that with a view to all the ages that should come, during all the changes that should intervene. It was because David knew this that he had such confidence in prayer, and was so importunate in it. It was because of this that David learned to hope: a man cannot have much expectation from a changing friend, but he may well have confidence in a God who cannot change. It was because of this that he delighted in being near the Lord, for it is a most blessed thing to keep up close intercourse with a Friend who never varies. Let those who choose follow at the heels of the modern school and look for fresh light to break forth which will put the old light out of countenance; we are satisfied with the truth which is old as the hills and as fixed as the great mountains. Let “cultured intellects” invent another 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 grown adults prize those things which are solid and substantial, which will bear the test of the ages.
119:153–160. In this section the psalmist seems to draw still nearer to God in prayer, and to state his case and to invoke the divine help with more boldness and expectation. It is a pleading passage, and the key-word of it is Consider. With much boldness he pleads his intimate union with the Lord’s cause as a reason why he should be aided. The special aid that he seeks is personal quickening, for which he cries to the Lord again and again.
119:153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me. The writer has a good case, though it be a grievous one, and he is ready, indeed anxious, to submit it to the divine arbitration. 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 whether I do not need to be delivered. From my sorrowful condition judge as to the proper method and time for my rescue.” The psalmist desires two things blended: first, a full consideration of his sorrow; secondly, deliverance; and, then, that this deliverance should come with a consideration of his affliction. The words mine affliction seem to portion off a special spot of woe as the writer’s own inheritance: he possesses it as no one else had ever done, and he begs the Lord to have that special spot under his eye, just as a farmer looking over all his fields may yet take double care of a certain selected plot. His prayer is eminently practical, for he seeks to be delivered; that is, brought out of the trouble and preserved from sustaining any serious damage by it. Men consider and do nothing, but such is never the case with our God.
For I do not forget thy law. His affliction was not sufficient, with all its bitterness, to drive out of his mind the memory of God’s law; nor could it lead him to act contrary to the divine command. He forgot prosperity, but he did not forget obedience. If we are kept 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 long leave that person in trouble whose only fear in trouble is lest he should leave the way of right.
119:154. Plead my cause, and deliver me. In the last verse he had prayed, “Deliver me,” and here he specifies one method in which that deliverance might be vouchsafed, namely, by the advocacy of his cause. In providence the Lord has many ways of clearing the slandered of the accusations brought against them. He can make it manifest to all that they have been belied, and in this way he can practically plead their cause. He can, moreover, raise up friends for the godly who will leave no stone unturned till their characters are cleared; or he can smite their falsehood, and thus the righteous will be delivered without the striking of a blow. Alexander reads it, “Strive my strife, and redeem me”—that is, stand in my stead, bear my burden, fight my fight, pay my price, and bring me out to liberty. When we feel ourselves dumb before the foe, here is a prayer made to our hand. What a comfort that if we sin we have an advocate, and if we do not sin the same pleader is engaged on our side.
Quicken me. As the soul is the center of everything, so to be quickened is the central blessing. It means more love, more grace, more faith, more courage, more strength, and if we get these we can hold up our heads before our adversaries. God alone can give this quickening; but to the Lord and giver of life the work is easy enough, and he delights to perform it.
According to thy word. David had found such a blessing among the promised things, or at least he perceived that it was according to the general tenor of God’s Word that tried believers should be quickened and brought up again from the dust of the earth; therefore he pleads the Word, and desires the Lord to act to him according to the usual run of that Word. What a mighty plea is this.
119:155. Salvation is far from the wicked. By their perseverance in evil they have almost put themselves out of the pale of hope. They talk about being saved, but they cannot have known anything of it or they would not remain wicked. Every step they have taken in the path of evil has removed them further from the kingdom of grace: they go from one degree of hardness to another till their hearts become as stone. When they fall into trouble it will be irremediable. Yet they talk big, as if they either needed no salvation or could save themselves whenever their fancy turned that way.
For they seek not thy statutes. They do not endeavor to be obedient, but quite the reverse; they seek themselves, they seek evil, and therefore they never find the way of peace and righteousness. When men have broken the statutes of the Lord their wisest course is by repentance to seek forgiveness, and by faith to seek salvation: then salvation is near them, so near them that they will not miss it; but when the wicked continue to seek after mischief, salvation is set further and further from them. Salvation and God’s statutes go together: those who are saved by the King of grace love the statutes of the King of glory.
119:156. This verse is exceedingly like verse 149, and yet it is no vain repetition. In the first case he mentions prayer, but leaves the method of its accomplishment with the wisdom or judgment of God, while here he pleads to be quickened by judgments rather than to be left to spiritual lethargy. We may take it for granted that an inspired author is never so short of thought as to be obliged to repeat himself: where we think we have the same idea in this psalm we are misled by our neglect of careful study.
Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD. Here the psalmist pleads the largeness of God’s mercy, the immensity of his tender love; he speaks of mercies—many, tender, great; and with the glorious Jehovah he makes this a plea for his one leading prayer, the prayer for quickening. Quickening is a great and tender mercy; and it is many mercies in one. Shall one so greatly good permit his servant to die?
Quicken me according to thy judgments. A measure of awakening comes with the judgments of God; they are startling and arousing; and hence the believer’s quickening thereby. David would have every severe stroke sanctified to his benefit, as well as every tender mercy. The first clause of this verse may mean “Many,” or “manifold are thy compassions, O Jehovah.” This he remembers in connection with the “many persecutors” of whom he will speak in the next verse. By all these many mercies he pleads for enlivening grace.
119:157. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies. Those who actually assail me, or who secretly abhor me, are many. He sets this over against the many tender mercies of God. It seems a strange thing that a truly godly man, as David was, should have many enemies; but it is inevitable. The disciple cannot be loved where his Master is hated.
Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. He did not deviate from the truth of God, but proceeded in the straight way, however many adversaries might endeavor to block up his path. Some people have been led astray by one enemy, but here is a saint who held on his way in the teeth of many persecutors. There is enough in the testimonies of God to recompense 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 us no great harm, and they have accomplished nothing by their malice. Faithfulness to the truth is victory over our enemies.
119:158. I beheld the transgressors. I saw the traitors; I understood their character, their object, their way, and their end. I could not help seeing them, for they pushed themselves into my way. As I was obliged to see them I fixed my eyes on them, to learn what I could from them.
And was grieved. I was sick of them, disgusted with them, I could not endure them. I found no pleasure in them; they were a sad sight to me, however fine their clothing or witty their chattering.
Because they kept not thy word. My grief was occasioned more by their sin against God than by their enmity against myself. Thy Word is so precious to me that those who will not keep it move me to indignation; I cannot keep the company of those who keep not God’s Word.
119:159. Consider, or see, how I love thy precepts. He loved the precepts of God unspeakably, so as to be grieved with those who did not love them. This is a sure test: many there are who have a warm side towards the promises, but as for the precepts, they cannot endure them. The psalmist so loved everything that was good and excellent that he loved all God had commanded. The precepts are all of them wise and holy; therefore the man of God loved them extremely, loved to know them, to think of them, to proclaim them, and principally to practice them. He asked the Lord to remember and consider this, not upon the ground of merit, but that it should serve as an answer to the slanderous accusations which at this time were the great sting of his sorrow.
Quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. He prays again the third time, using the same words. We may understand that David felt ready to faint under their incessant malice. What he wanted was revival, restoration, renewal; therefore he pleaded for more life. O thou who didst quicken me when I was dead, quicken me again that I may not return to the dead! Quicken me that I may outlive the blows of my enemies, the faintness of my faith, and the swooning of my sorrow. This time he says, according to thy lovingkindness. This is his ultimate argument. When he had fallen into great sin this was his plea, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness,” and now that he is in great trouble he flies to the same effectual reasoning. Because God is love he will give us life; because he is kind he will again kindle the heavenly flame within us.
119:160. The sweet singer finishes up this section in the same way as the last by dwelling upon the sureness of the truth of God: note the likeness between verses 144, 152, and 160.
Thy word is true. 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 our solace is that God’s true Word will clear us.
From the beginning. God’s Word has been true from the first moment in which it was spoken, true throughout the whole of history, true to us from the instant in which we believed it, true to us before we were true to it. Some read it, “Thy word is true from the head”; true as a whole, from top to bottom. Experience had taught David this lesson, and experience is teaching us the same.
And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. That which thou hast decided remains irreversible in every case. There is not one single mistake either in the Word of God or in the providential dealings of God. God’s justice endures forever. This is a cheering thought, but there is a much sweeter one, which of old was the song of the priests in the temple; let it be ours: “His mercy endureth for ever.”
119:161. Princes have persecuted me without a cause. Such people ought to have known better; they should have had sympathy with one of their own rank. Moreover, if honor be banished from all other breasts it should remain in the bosom of kings, and honor forbids the persecution of the innocent. Princes are appointed to protect the innocent and avenge the oppressed, and it is a shame when they themselves become the assailants of the righteous. It was a sad case when the man of God found himself attacked by the judges of the earth, for eminent position added weight and venom to their enmity. It was well that the sufferer could truthfully assert that this persecution was without cause. He had not broken their laws, he had not injured them, he had not even desired to see them injured, he had not been an advocate of rebellion or anarchy, he had neither openly nor secretly opposed their power, and therefore, while this made their oppression the more inexcusable, it took away a part of its sting.
But my heart standeth in awe of thy word. He might have been overcome by awe of the princes had it not been that a greater fear drove out the less, and he was swayed by awe of God’s Word. 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.
119:162. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. His awe did not prevent his joy; his fear of God was not the kind which perfect love casts out, but the sort which it nourishes. He compares his joy to that of one who has been long in battle, and has at last won the victory and is dividing the spoil. This usually falls to the lot of princes, and though David was not one with them in their persecutions, yet he had his victories, and his spoil was equal to their greatest gains. The profits made in searching the Scriptures were greater than the trophies of war. We too have to fight for divine truth; every doctrine costs us a battle, but when we gain a full understanding of it by personal struggles it becomes doubly precious to us. In these days godly people have a full share of battling for the Word of God; may we have for our spoil a firmer hold upon the priceless Word. Perhaps, however, the psalmist may have rejoiced as one who comes upon hidden treasure for which he had not fought, in which case we find the analogy in the man of God who, while reading the Bible, makes grand and blessed discoveries of the grace of God laid up for him—discoveries which surprise him, for he looked not to find such a prize. Whether we come by the truth as finders or as warriors fighting for it, the heavenly treasure should be equally dear to us.
119:163. I hate and abhor lying. A double expression for an inexpressible loathing. Falsehood in doctrine, in life, or in speech, falsehood in any form or shape, had become utterly detestable to the psalmist. He does not, however, alone refer to falsehood in conversation; he evidently intends perversity in faith and teaching. He set down all opposition to the God of truth as lying, and then he turned his whole soul against it in the intensest form of indignation. Godly men should detest false doctrine even as they abhor a he.
But thy law do I love, because it is all truth. His love was as ardent as his hate. Both love and hate are contagious, and when they are sanctified the wider their influence the better.
119:164. He labored perfectly to praise his perfect God, and therefore fulfilled the perfect number of songs. Seven may also intend frequency. Frequently he lifted up his heart in thanksgiving to God for his divine teaching in the Word, and for his divine actions in providence. With his voice he extolled the righteousness of the Judge of all the earth. As often as ever he thought of God’s ways, a song leaped to his lips. At the sight of the oppressive princes, and at the hearing of the abounding falsehood around him, he felt all the more bound to adore and magnify God, who in all things is truth and righteousness. When others rob us of our praise it should be a caution to us not to fall into the same conduct towards our God, who is so much more worthy of honor. If we praise God when we are persecuted, our music will be all the sweeter to him because of our constancy in suffering. If we keep clear of all lying, our song will be the more acceptable because it comes out of pure lips. If we never flatter other people we shall be in the better condition for honoring the Lord. Do we praise God seven times a day? Do we praise him once in seven days?
119:165. Great peace have they which love thy law. This verse deals not with those who perfectly keep the law (for where should such people be found?), but with those who love it, whose hearts and hands are made to square with its precepts and demands. They are ever striving with all their hearts to walk in obedience to the law, and though they are often persecuted they have great peace; for they have learned the secret of the reconciling blood, they have felt the power of the comforting Spirit, and they stand before the Father accepted. They have many troubles, and are likely to be persecuted by the proud, but their usual condition is that of deep calm—a peace too great for this little world to break.
And nothing shall offend them, or, “shall really injure them.” Offenses must come, but these lovers of the law are peacemakers, and so they neither give nor take offense. That peace which is founded upon conformity to God’s will is a living and lasting one, worth writing of with enthusiasm, as the psalmist does here.
119:166. Here we have salvation by grace, and the fruits thereof. All David’s hope was fixed upon God; he looked to him alone for salvation; and then he endeavored most earnestly to fulfill the commands of the law. Those who place least reliance upon good works are very frequently those who have the most of them; that same divine teaching which delivers us from confidence in our own doings leads us to abound in every good work to the glory of God. In times of trouble there are two things to be done; the first is to hope in God, and the second is to do that which is right. The first without the second would be mere presumption: the second without the first mere formalism. It is well if in looking back we can claim to have acted in the way which is commanded of the Lord. If we have acted rightly toward God we are sure that he will act kindly with us.
119:167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies. My outward life has kept thy precepts, and my inward life—my soul—has kept thy testimonies. God has borne testimony to many sacred truths, and these we hold fast as for life itself. The gracious man stores up the truth of God within his heart as a treasure exceedingly dear and precious—he keeps it. His secret soul, his inmost self, becomes the guardian of these divine teachings which are his sole authority in soul matters.
And I love them exceedingly. This was why he kept them, and having kept them this was the result of the keeping. He did not merely store up revealed truth by way of duty, but because of a deep, unutterable affection for it. He felt that he could sooner die than give up any part of the revelation of God. The more we store our minds with heavenly truth, the more deeply shall we be in love with it: the more we see the exceeding riches of the Bible, the more will our love exceed measure, and exceed expression.
119:168. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies. Both the practical and the doctrinal parts of God’s Word he had stored up, and preserved, and followed. It is a blessed thing to see the two forms of the divine Word, equally known, equally valued, equally confessed: there should be no picking and choosing as to the mind of God. We know those who endeavor to be careful as to the precepts, but who seem to think that the doctrines of the Gospel are mere matters of opinion, which they may shape for themselves. This is not a perfect condition of things. We have known others again who are very rigid as to the doctrines, and painfully lax with reference to the precepts. This also is far from right. When the two are kept with equal earnestness, then we have perfection.
For all my ways are before thee. Probably he means to say that this was the motive of his endeavoring to be right both in head and heart, because he knew that God saw him, and under the sense of the divine presence he was afraid to err. Or else he is thus appealing to God to bear witness to the truth of what he has 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 worldlings fill their mouths with cruel lies, yet 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 have kept thy precepts,” and that a confession of sin, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.” Both were sincere, both accurate. Experience makes many a paradox plain, and this is one. Before God we may be clear of open fault and yet at the same time mourn over a thousand heart-wanderings which need his restoring hand.
119:169–176. The psalmist is approaching the end of the psalm, and his petitions gather force and fervency; he seems to break into the inner circle of divine fellowship, and to come even to 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 upon his face in deepest self-humiliation, begging to be sought out like a lost sheep.
119:169. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD. He is tremblingly afraid lest he should 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 beast. He dreads lest it should be shut out from the ear of the Most High, but he very boldly prays that it may come before God, that it may be looked upon with his acceptance. He wants the Lord’s attention to his prayer to be very close and considerate. He uses a figure of speech and personifies his prayer. It is to Jehovah that this prayer is expressed with trembling earnestness; our translators, filled with holy reverence, translate the word O LORD. We crave audience of none else, for we have confidence in none beside.
Give me understanding according to thy word. This is the prayer about which the psalmist is so exceedingly anxious. With all his gettings he would get understanding, and whatever he misses he is resolved not to miss this priceless boon. He desires spiritual light and understanding as it is promised in God’s Word, as it proceeds from God’s Word, and as it produces obedience to God’s Word. He pleads as though he had no understanding whatever of his own, and asks to have it given to him. In truth, he had an understanding according to human judgment, but what he sought was an understanding according to God’s Word, which is quite another thing. To understand spiritual things is the gift of God. To have a judgment enlightened by heavenly light and conformed to divine truth is a privilege which only grace can give. Many a man who is accounted wise after the manner of this world is a fool according to the Word of the Lord. May we be among those happy children who will all be taught of the Lord.
119:170. Let my supplication come before thee. It is the same entreaty with a slight change of words. He humbly calls his cry a supplication, a sort of beggar’s petition; and again he asks for audience—let it come. Other believers are heard—let my prayer come before thee.
Deliver me according to thy word. Rid me of mine adversaries, clear me of my slanderers, preserve me from my tempters, and bring me up out of all my afflictions, even as thy Word has led me to expect thou wilt do. 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 from them. The Lord in answer to prayer frequently delivers his children by making them wise as serpents as well as harmless as doves.
119:171. He will not always be pleading for himself; he will rise above all selfishness, and render thanks for the benefit received. He promises to praise God when he has obtained practical instruction in the life of godliness: this is something to praise for; no blessing is more precious. The best possible praise is that which proceeds from people who honor God, not only with their lips, but in their lives. We learn the music of heaven in the school of holy living. David would not only be grateful in silence, but he would express that gratitude in appropriate terms.
119:172. My tongue shall speak of thy word. When he had done singing he began preaching. When the tongue speaks of God’s Word it has a most fruitful subject. People will gather to listen to such talk, and they will treasure it up in their hearts. The worst of it is that for the most part we are full of our own words, and speak but little of God’s Word. Oh, that we could come to the same resolve as this godly man; then should we break through our sinful silence; we should no more be cowardly and half-hearted, but should be true witnesses for Jesus. It is not only of God’s works that we are to speak, but of his Word. We may extol its truth, its wisdom, its preciousness, its grace, its power; and then we may tell of all it has revealed, all it has promised, all it has commanded, all it has effected.
For all thy commandments are righteousness. David seems to have been mainly enamored of the preceptive part of the Word of God, and concerning the precepts his chief delight lay in its purity and excellence. When a man can speak this from his heart, his heart is indeed a temple of the Holy Spirit. He had said (verse 138), “Thy testimonies are righteous,” but here he declares that they are righteousness itself. The law of God is not only the standard of right, but it is the essence of righteousness. This the psalmist affirms of each and every one of the precepts.
119:173. Let thine hand help me. Give me practical succor. Do not entrust me to my friends or thy friends, but put thine own hand to the work. Thy hand has both skill and power, readiness and force: display all these qualities on my behalf. I am willing to do the utmost that I am able to do; but what I need is thine help, and this is so urgently required that if I have it not I shall sink. Do not refuse thy succor. Great as thy hand is, let it light on me, even me. The prayer reminds us of Peter walking on the sea and beginning to sink; he, too, cried, “Lord, help me,” and the hand of his Master was stretched out for his rescue.
For I have chosen thy precepts. We may fitly ask help from God’s hand when we have dedicated our own hand to the obedience of the faith. His mind was made up. In preference to all earthly rules and ways, in preference even to his own will, he had chosen to be obedient to the divine commands. Will not God help such a man in holy work and sacred service? Assuredly he will. If grace has given us a heart with which to will, it will also give us the hand with which to perform. Whenever, under the constraints of a divine call, we are engaged in any high and lofty enterprise, and feel it to be too much for our strength, we may always invoke the right hand of God in words like these.
119:174. I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD. He knew God’s salvation, and yet he longed for it; that is to say, he had experienced a share of it, and he was therefore led to expect something yet higher and more complete. There is a salvation yet to come, when we shall be clean delivered from the body of this death, set free from all the turmoil and trouble of this mortal life, raised above the temptations and assaults of Satan, and brought near unto our God, to be like him and with him forever and ever.
And thy law is my delight. The first clause tells us what the saint longs for, and this informs us what is his present satisfaction. God’s law, contained in the Ten Commandments, gives joy to believers. God’s law, that is, the entire Bible, is a well-spring of consolation and enjoyment to all who receive it. Though we have not yet reached the fullness of our salvation, yet we find in God’s Word so much concerning a present salvation that we are even now delighted.
119:175. Let my soul live. Fill it full of life, preserve it from wandering into the ways of death, give it to enjoy the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, let it live to the fullness of life.
And it shall praise thee. The more it lives, the more it will praise, and when it lives in perfection it will praise thee in perfection. Spiritual life is prayer and praise.
And let thy judgments help me. While I read the record of what thou hast done, in terror or in love, let me be quickened and developed. While I see thy hand actually at work upon me, and upon others, chastening sin, and smiling upon righteousness, let me be helped both to live aright and to praise thee.
119:176. This is the finale: I have gone astray like a lost sheep—often, willfully, wantonly, and even hopelessly, but for thine interposing grace. Before I was afflicted, and before thou hadst fully taught me thy statutes, I went astray from the practical precepts, from the instructive doctrines, and from the heavenly experiences which thou hadst set before me. I lost my road, and I lost myself. Even now I am apt to wander, and, in fact, have roamed already; therefore, Lord, restore me.
Seek thy servant. He was not like a dog, that somehow or other can find its way back; but he was like a lost sheep, which goes further and further away from home; yet still he was a sheep, and the Lord’s sheep, his property, and precious in his sight, and therefore he hoped to be sought in order to be restored. However far he might have wandered he was still not only a sheep, but God’s “servant,” and therefore he desired to be in his Master’s house again, and once more honored with commissions for his Lord. Had he been only a lost sheep he would not have prayed to be sought; but being also a “servant” he had the power to pray. He cries, Seek thy servant, and he hoped to be not only sought, but forgiven, accepted, and taken into work again by his gracious Master.
Notice this confession; many times in the psalm David has defended his own innocence against foul-mouthed accusers, but when he comes into the presence of the Lord his God he is ready enough to confess his transgressions. Here he sums up, not only his past, but even his present life, under the image of a sheep which has broken from its pasture, forsaken the flock, left the shepherd, and brought itself into the wild wilderness, where it has become as a lost thing. The sheep bleats, and David prays, Seek thy servant. His argument is a forcible one—for I do not forget thy commandments. I know the right, I approve and admire the right; 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 home-sickness after my God, I pine after the ways of peace; I do not and I cannot forget thy commandments, nor cease to know that I am always happiest and safest when I scrupulously obey them and find all my joy in doing so. Now, if the grace of God enables us to maintain in our hearts the loving memory of God’s commandments it will surely yet restore us to practical holiness. We cannot be utterly lost if our heart is still with God. If we be gone astray in many respects, yet still, if we be true in our soul’s inmost desires, we shall be found again, and fully restored. Yet, let us remember the first verse of the psalm while reading the last: the major blessedness lies not in being restored from wandering, but in being upheld in a blameless way even to the end. Be it ours to keep the crown of the causeway, never leaving the King’s Highway for By-path Meadow, or any other flowery path of sin. May the Lord uphold us even to the end. Yet even then we shall not be able to boast with the Pharisee, but shall still pray with the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and with the psalmist, Seek thy servant.
The Treasury of David by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
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