Psalm 119:121-128

AYIN

 

In this stanza, David conveys his commitment to God's law and his expectation of God's deliverance.  Verses 121 - 128 are a just man's prayer against injustice.

 

 

Be surety for Your servant for good

~ Ps. 119:122

Other Bible translations say:

• Ensure Your servant's well-being
• Give Your servant a pledge of good
• Take Your servant's interests into Your keeping

 Barnes notes: 

The prayer here is that God would, so to speak, mix or mingle His cause and that of the psalmist together, and that He would then protect the common cause as His own; or, that He would become a "pledge" or "surety" for the safety of the psalmist. This now, through the Mediator, we have a right to ask at the hand of God; and when God makes our cause His own, we must be safe.

Spurgeon notes: 

This is David's prayer in asking God to be his Surety:   Answer for me. Take up mine interests and weave them with Thine own, and stand for me. 

Christ is our Surety with God; and if He be so, Providence shall be our surety against the world.  ~ Matthew Henry

I am Your servant;

Give me understanding,

That I may know Your testimonies.

~ Ps. 119:125

May we all pray for this gift of understanding and discernment regarding God's testimonies!

Regarding verse 126, George Phillips makes this note:

It is not for us to prescribe the time and occasion for God to exercise His power, and to vindicate the authority of His own law; He does everything at the proper time, and He will at the proper season punish those who have made void His law, and who have become notorious for their impiety and wickedness.

 WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God is my Surety and my salvation
• God's word is righteous
• God grants to me understanding to know Him
• God acts in His time according to His plan & purposes

 HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord that He IS my Surety . . . and that He will deal with me according to His mercy
• I praise God for the discernment and understanding He grants to me concerning His word

 PRAYER:
     My Heavenly Father, like David, I pray that You would be surety to me for good.  I pray that You would deal with me according to Your mercy, and teach me Your statutes.  Would you grant to me a lion's share of discernment and understanding, that I may know Your testimonies and learn of You.  May I desire Your commandments more than riches, and love Your precepts with my whole heart, resulting in obedient living to Your word.  In Jesus' name I pray ~ Amen

Psalm 119:113-120

SAMEK

O write upon my memory, Lord,

The text and doctrines of thy Word,

That I may break Thy laws no more,

But love Thee better than before!  

With thoughts of Christ and things divine,
Fill up this foolish heart of mine. 

~ Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts' hymn sounds much like a modern-day psalm that King David could've penned, doesn't it?  He opens this stanza of Psalm 119 again with a declaration of his love of God's law. 

"Double-minded" in verse 113 has also been translated as "crooked" or "vain" thoughts.  Regarding this, John Calvin notes:

That the crooked inventions of the human heart and whatever the wicked devise, according to their own perverse understandings, are set in opposition to the law of God, which alone is right.

 

You are my hiding place and my shield; 

                I hope in Your word. 

                                                   ~ Ps. 119:114



Of all the ingredients that sweeten the cup of human life, there is none more rich or powerful than HOPE. Its absence embitters the sweetest lot; its presence alleviates the deepest woe. 

~ William Grant

 Where do you place your hope?  

Hold me up and I shall be safe,

And I shall observe Your statutes continually.

~ Ps. 119:117

Matthew Henry makes a beautiful statement regarding this verse: 
We stand no longer than God holds us, and go no further than He carries us. 

You reject all those who stray from Your statutes

                                             ~ Ps. 119:118

In today's culture that is embedded with a "tolerance" mindset, verse 118 is a startling reminder that God takes sin VERY seriously!  Calvin notes, God overthrows all the despisers of His law, and casts them down from that loftiness which they assume to themselves.



We would do well to seek after and embrace God's thoughts rather than succumb to political sway or popular thought!

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God is my hiding place and my shield
• God's word is my hope
• God holds me up
• God rejects those who stray from His statutes

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• When I feel battered by the world, I praise the Lord that He is my hiding place and my shield !
• I praise God that His word is truth, it is sure, and it is my hope

PRAYER:

     I love You, Lord, and bless You that You are my hiding place and my shield.  How I bless You that my hope is secure in Your word, not in any false or temporary thing of this world.  Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live, and do not let me be ashamed of my hope.  Hold me up, and I shall be safe - may my anxieties melt away as I meditate on this marvelous truth, and thank You, O Lord, for the safety I have in You.   In Jesus' name I pray ~ Amen

Psalm 119:105 - 112

NUN

Your word is a lamp to my feet,

And a light to my path.

~ Ps. 119:105

Have you ever tried to find your way in the dark?  Just last night I was walking through the den with all the lights out – I couldn’t see a thing and could only take tiny baby steps so as not to bump into anything.  The verses in this stanza remind us again of the useful application of God’s word in our lives.  David opens the psalm with the lamp metaphor – isn’t it such a comfort to know that God doesn’t leave us “in the dark” – His word is a lamp to our feet and a light along our “path” of life.  How lovingly kind of our God – He  doesn’t leave us to figure things out on our own – He provides us with an excellent manual on life!  May we, like David, use God’s word to seek His mind on our decisions and choices each day.   

Phosphorescent algae

Did you ever see the movie Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks playing astronaut Jim Lovell?  In one scene, he talks about a time when he was flying over the sea of Japan and all his instrumentation went out:

I'm lookin' down at a big, black ocean, so I flip on my map light, and then suddenly: zap. Everything shorts out right there in my cockpit. All my instruments are gone. My lights are gone. And I can't even tell now what my altitude is. I know I'm running out of fuel, so I'm thinking about ditching in the ocean. And I, I look down there, and then in the darkness there's this uh, there's this green trail. It's like a long carpet that's just laid out right beneath me. And it was the algae, right? It was that phosphorescent  stuff that gets churned up in the wake of a big ship. And it was - it was - it was leading me home.

Like King David and astronaut Jim Lovell, we all need a light on our path . . . may we SEEK THE LORD and HIS WORD as a lamp unto our feet so we don't crash & burn!

I have sworn and confirmed

That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

~ Ps. 119:106

Did you ever make a "pinky swear" with a childhood friend?  You hooked your pinkies together as an "eternally binding" act that would seal the deal of a promise that had just been made!  Even as kids, we recognized that some promises required a more dramatic, "official" confirmation. Marrriage vows are like that - they are sworn publicly and solemnized by a public official with testimonial documents and often rings worn as symbols of the vow & promise made.  We get the same feeling in David's words above - regarding verse 106, Spurgeon notes:  

Perhaps mistrusting his own fickle mind, he had pledged himself in sacred form to abide faithful to the determinations and decisions of his God.  

Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth.

~ Ps. 119:108

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

~ Heb. 13:15



Prayers of praise are the freewill offerings in mind here in verse 108- do you offer these gifts to the Lord?  May we learn from David and bring them to Him daily! 

They must be free-will offerings, for we must offer them abundantly and cheerfully, and it is this willing mind that is accepted.  ~ Matthew Henry

David shows in verses 111 & 112 that he is making a deliberate choice and a lifelong commitment to the Lord and obedience to His word.  May we incline our hearts this very day to do the same!

The end of life would be the beginning of glory.  ~ Adam Clarke

It is good we have begun to do well; let us also strive to persevere to the end.  ~ William Cowper

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God's word lights my way
• God's judgments are righteous
• God revives me according to His word
• God holds my life in His hands
• God's testimonies are my heritage forever

 HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord that He has given me His word as a light to my path - He has not left me to stumble in the dark through this life
• I praise the Lord that His testimonies are my heritage, for they are sure and true
• I bless God that my life is in His hand - held firm and sure, and that He will never let me go!

O, Love that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee ~

~ George Matheson

PRAYER: by Ruth Myers:

     Thank You that I can praise and adore You and offer my requests in detail, with thanksgiving . . . that I can pour out my heart before You, being honest with You about my feelings and  my mistakes and my sins.  Thank You that when I turn to You as my Lord and confess my sins rather than hiding them or clinging to them, Your forgiveness is immediate and total . . . that I never need to fear that You will judge or condemn me.

     Thank You that I can “be still” (cease striving, let go, relax) and know that You are God . . . that You are in control . . . and that I can restfully depend upon You and absorb Your strength and joy and peace.  To think that You not only permit me to come before You, but You actually desire my fellowship, my worship, my prayers, and my eternal presence!  Your desire is for me.    

    That You should allow Your creature to have fellowship with You is wonderful enough; but that You can desire it, that it gives You satisfaction and joy and pleasure, is almost too much for my understanding.  Thank You, O Lord ~ Amen and amen.

  

Psalm 119:97-104

MEM



How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
~ Ps. 119:103

In this stanza, David is teaching us that Scripture gives true wisdom.  In verse 100, he refers to the "ancients," implying that wisdom is not simply the product of experience, but is also the result of obedience.

I have restrained my feet
from every evil way
that I may keep Your word.
~ Ps. 119:101

The letter can make us knowing, but only the divine Spirit can make us wise.  Wisdom is knowledge put to practical use.  A holy life is the highest wisdom and surest defense. 

~ C. Spurgeon

A good man, wherever he goes, carries his Bible along with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart.           ~ Matthew Henry

We see King David in those 2 quotes above, don't we?  A wise man, desiring to live a life of holy obedience, and a man who carried God's word in his head & his heart.  May we all aspire to live like that, loving God's law and meditating on it all the day!

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God's word makes me wise
• God's word gives me understanding
• God's word gives me discernment, helping me to determine every false & evil way

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise God for the gift of His word to us
• I praise God that I live in America, where I am free to own a Bible and study God's word without fear of persecution

PRAYER:  by Ruth Myers
Dear Lord,
May I look intently into Your word day by day with a longing to know You better and do Your will at all times.  May the Spirit unfold its truth to me, may He motivate me to meditate on it and apply to my life. Make me diligent to hear and read it often, to make notes on it, to memorize it.  Empower me to trust You and obey all Your commands.  May Your word be the joy and rejoicing of my heart.  Amen and amen

 

Psalm 119:89-96

LAMED

Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in Heaven.
~ Ps. 119:89

A "word" is a revealed thought.  The Scriptures are the thoughts & purposes of God made intelligible to man.  My Bible makes this note:

God's word is one of the greatest certainties of life. 

His care for the world is evidence of His faithfulness.

Following the previous stanza that we read yesterday, which was a dark lament during a very low period of David's life, Charles Spurgeon makes this description:

After tossing about on a sea of trouble (previous stanza) the Psalmist here leaps to shore and stands upon a rock. Jehovah's word is not fickle nor uncertain; it is settled, determined, fixed, sure, immovable. Man's teachings change so often that there is never time for them to be settled; but the Lord's word is from of old the same, and will remain unchanged eternally.

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.

The Psalmist here tells us the prescription which soothed his pains and sustained his spirits. David found strong consolation in certain facts which he remembered to be TRUE:

The eternal existence of God

The immutability of His word.

The faithfulness of the fulfilment of that word.

The perpetuity of the word in nature.

      The perpetuity of the word in experience.

May we follow David's example when we are going through a difficult time - go back to what we KNOW to be TRUE!

You established the earth, and it abides;
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all are Your servants.
~Ps. 119:90-91

Isn't that a wonderful verse upon which to meditate!!  God's ordinance is the reason for the continued existence of creation.  He holds the planets in their orbits, He keeps this earth spinning on its axis - He can certainly manage the events of my life !!!  If the very planets obey His voice, shouldn't I??

 Don't you love this verse:

I am Yours, save me;
for I have sought Your precepts.
~ Ps. 119:94

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.  ~ C. Spurgeon

Regarding verse 94, Matthew Henry also notes that "seeking God's precepts" will be the best evidence that we belong to God.   Have you ever heard the saying, "If you were charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"  A good point to ponder in our own lives.

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God's word is forever settled in Heaven
• God's faithfulness endures to all generations
• God established the earth - and all creation - and it abides according to His ordinances
• God's precepts give me life

 HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord for the knowledge that His word is settled in Heaven - and that His faithfulness does endure to all generations.  This is a sure and firm foundation for my spiritual feet!
• I praise the Lord that I am His . . . and that He will save me!

For I am His, and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ ~

~ Stuart Townend

PRAYER:

     Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in Heaven.  Your faithfulness endures to all generations. . . from the days of King David all the way to me today.  How I praise You for the beauty of this truth, and that You have revealed Yourself to me.  May I never forget Your precepts, for through them You have given me life.  I am Yours, O Lord - thank You that You have saved me through the blood of Your Son, spilled for me, that I might have eternal life with You.  How I love You, O Lord !  In Jesus' name I pray ~ Amen 







Psalm 119:81-88

KAPH

Help me!
~ Ps. 119:86

Don't you wish we could just "push a button" and help would arrive - our unpleasant, unwanted problem or circumstances would vanish!  

Charles Spurgeon notes:

that this portion of the gigantic psalm sees the Psalmist in grave, extreme circumstances.  His 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.

In these verses, the psalmist is lamenting - how long will God wait to vindicate His servant??  Have you experienced a time in your life when you've had to wait on God - longer than you wanted to?  Maybe you are in that spiritual "holding pattern" right now  . . . you feel like you are just circling, circling . . . waiting to finally land.  May we cry out with David - "Revive me according to your lovingkindness!"  ~ Ps. 119:88

Recall the Old Testament account of how the Israelites roused God's anger towards them when they complained or "murmured" about having just manna to eat, which was in itself an incredible blessing & provision of the Lord.  Their attitudes were sinful - that is not what is heard in David's lament here in these verses.  Thomas Manton notes:

Let us complain not of God, but to God. Complaints of God give a vent to murmuring; but complaints to God, to faith, hope, and patience.

Even though David is weary, we hear the faith and hope in his words!  Spurgeon offers these observations below to the question in verse 82:  When will You comfort me?  When you are struggling to find God's comfort, perhaps your search can be found in one of these answers:

• When your grief has answered its purpose
• When you believe
• When you leave sin
• When you obey
• When you submit to My will
• When you seek My glory

I love the suggestion of the first one - that our grief has a purpose!  It is not wasted, and every one of those possibilities above has spiritual purpose for our souls, for our sanctification and growth!

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God is my salvation
• God is my hope
• God is my comfort
• God will execute righteous judgment
• All God's commandments are faithful
• God regards me with lovingkindness

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise the Lord that He IS my hope - that even when I am in a hard place, I know that God has a purpose for it and that my pain & sorrow will not be wasted. 
• I praise the Lord that He is faithful, and that He will revive me according to His lovingkindness.

PRAYER:  by Ruth Harms Calkin

Lord, as I read Your Word today

I underlined these words:

"Don't be impatient for the Lord to act.

Keep traveling steadily along His pathway

And in due season He will honor you

With every blessing."

I know I need more patience, Lord

But I simply cannot create it.

I plead with You to do it for me.

And Lord, could You hurry a little?

    

Psalm 119:73-80

YOD

Your hands have made me and fashioned me.

~ Ps. 119:73

Your hands have made me and fashioned me,

An intricate unity.  ~ Job 10:8

I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

~ Ps. 139:14

 Are you happy with your body?  The way you look, the way you're shaped, the color of your eyes?  Verse 73 is convicting to me because I confess that I have a list of things that I would change about myself physically - things that I don't really like.  The verses above are a good reminder that each of us is made by God, fashioned exactly as He wanted us to be - down to the smallest detail! 

In faithfulness You have afflicted me.  ~ Ps. 119:75

Once again we are reminded that our afflictions should drive us TOWARD God.  In verse 75, David owns that his sin has been justly corrected by God and acknowledges that God’s judgments are right. 

In verses 76-77, David makes an earnest petition to God for His favor.  How I desire this as well - for me, and for my family!  David's petition is timely, following the confession of his sin and his acknowledgement that God was just in allowing David’s consequences. 

Let those who fear You turn to me,
Those who know Your testimonies.
~ Ps. 119:79

Regarding verse 79, some Biblical scholars believe David is referring to the time of his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah the Hittite.  Those who feared God turned from David at this time because they were ashamed of his behavior.  This troubled him and – following his repentance – he prays for them to turn to him again. 

What a blessing godly friends are in our lives, and a true gift from God!

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God’s hands have fashioned me and made me
• God’s judgments are right
• God’s merciful kindness is my comfort
• God’s law is my delight

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise God for how He has made me – may I not complain, but trust that He carefully planned each detail in creating me
• I praise God for His merciful kindness
• I praise God for His word

PRAYER:

 Most gracious God,

I thank You for the gift

 of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter -

pure as dew,

cleansing as fire,

tender and refreshing

as the breath of spring.

O blessed Trinity,

ever engaged in giving Your choice things

to us - Your unworthy children . . .

accept my gratitude.

~ F.B. Meyer