Psalm 119:153-160 – Praying to a God who is near

The psalmist prays for deliverance from his affliction. He addresses God boldly and asks him to look on his troubles. A person is more sympathetic when he sees what is wrong with a person. The psalmist is not suggesting that God has ignored him. Maybe he likens God to a physician able to deal with what he sees. He knows that God will be faithful to those who are faithful to him (v. 153).

In verse 154, he asks to be redeemed. This could be a request for God to use his power and release his servant from the kind of confinement he was enduring from his opponents. The greatest act of redemption that he would have known about was the Exodus. When referring to redemption and deliverance, he uses the greatest example as an argument for receiving a lesser rescue. His request for life was a plea for him to be given freedom to continue in God’s service.

Sometimes we learn about truth from its opposite. In verse 155, the psalmist says that salvation is far from the wicked, which means that it is near to the righteous. A wicked person does not follow God’s requirements, but a righteous person does. Since God is near to him, he can expect mercy from the Lord (v. 156). God will always follow his own revealed will, which means that the psalmist can expect divine deliverance from him.

His opponents are many, but their number does not affect him in the slightest as far as adherence to God’s ways is concerned (v. 157). He keeps on in a straight line. His avoidance is not merely external. The psalmist hates the way of the wicked, those with no faith, and their godless living disgusts him. He regards their disobedience and rejection of God’s commands as something that is rotten to the core (v. 158).

In verse 159, he asks the Lord to look at his obedient heart which is marked by love to God’s commandments. This is slightly different from what he asked in verse 153 when he asked the Lord to look at his affliction. When the Lord considered the psalmist’s good heart, he would give more life to him as a loving gift. Love responds to love.

The Lord loves truth, which is what his word is about, and which remains the case for ever (v. 160). As Spurgeon observed, ‘There is not one single mistake either in the word of God or in the providential dealings of God.’ We should note that all his commandments continue in force, which was what Jesus said when he stated that not a jot or a tittle would pass away until all had been fulfilled. We should love the least as well as the greatest of his commandments and promises.

Psalm 119:145-52 - Praying to the God who is near

The Lord had taught the psalmist how to pray. Real prayer requires whole heart involvement. Sometimes it includes loud crying accompanied by intense longing for God’s answer. Why did he pray so strongly? Because he wanted to keep God’s requirements. Doing so was his passion (vv. 145-46).

His passion for divine answers was also seen in the times when he chose to pray. Before he rose from his bed in the morning, he called for divine aid (v. 147); before he slept, he thought on God’s promises (v. 148). His prayer was helped by his knowledge of God’s Word, its promises encouraged him to pray, and its accounts and exhortations showed him how to pray.

As he prayed, he also considered who the Lord is. He is the covenant God who loves his people, he is the God who can act justly in grace towards them because they have been reconciled to him. He has given them spiritual life; therefore, he can be asked to give ongoing life in their souls (v. 149).

In his prayer, he contrasted his opponents with his God. The opponents drew near with evil intent to harm him. Even as they did, the psalmist knew that his God was already near to him, and continually near to him. The opponents drew near with sinful intentions, but God was near with gracious designs to bless his servant with ongoing understanding of his commandments (vv. 150-51).

What had he learned from God’s testimonies? No doubt, many things. Together, they revealed to him that the Lord had provided ongoing insight, guidance and blessing through them, and would continue to do so and not depart from them (v. 152).

Psalm 119:137-46 - Continuing

It is good to think about the attributes of God, even to take one of them and consider ways in which it is revealed In God’s Word. Here the psalmist thinks of the attribute of righteousness and observes that all God’s rules are also righteous (v. 137). Because that is the case, he knows that whatever the Lord requires in his Word will be righteous, and they will never express or suggest that he will be unfaithful to his Word (v. 138).

The outcome of his realisation is that the psalmist became very zealous in his obedience to God, and his determination to serve God was not diminished by the number who were against him (v. 139). He had known many experiences when God’s promises had been tested, but they had proved true, and he had discovered repeatedly that God is faithful. Therefore, he loved God’s promises (v. 140).

Neither was his commitment to God’s Word diminished by his own place in society or by the dismissive attitude of others (v. 141). Because he had meditated on God’s Word, those truths were in his mind, with the result that he did not forget what God required. He was like the man in Psalm 1 who avoided wrong paths because of his awareness of what God said in his Word.

The psalmist knew that God’s divine requirements would never be replaced by a superior system. They were not merely the best that had appeared, but which could be surpassed eventually. If that could happen, his Word would not be truth (v. 142). The psalmist’s testimony was that God’s requirements brought delight to his soul even when he was in difficult circumstances (v. 143).

The ongoing relevance of God’s Word caused the psalmist to pray that he would be given continual instruction in its requirements. He knew that he could still grow in grace, that he should still grow in grace, and that he would still grow in grace. But prayer for divine instruction is part of the process (v. 144).

Psalm 119:129-36 – Prayer for deliverance

The psalmist regards the word of God as amazing (v. 129). The commandments are so attractive that he delights to obey what the Lord requires. As he examines them and opens them up to scrutiny by meditation and use, he discovers that they deal with all kinds of situations, no matter how dark and difficult they might seem to be initially.

At the same time, they provide guidance for the unlearned and untrained (v. 130). They can be given to anyone, and anyone will be helped by them as they are practised. Indeed, the psalmist is like a person hungry for a delicious meal (v. 131). God’s word is the only food that truly satisfies his soul.

As indicated in previous sections, the psalmist was experiencing problems from other people. He therefore comes to God with the Aaronic blessing in mind when he asks for divine favour (v. 132). Such favour is the common experience of God’s people, and the psalmist is stating here that God is faithful in providing grace to those who are in a covenant relationship with him. Their love for God is evidence of that relationship, and the love is described as an appreciation of his character (revealed in his name).

The psalmist confesses that he needs the Lord’s enablement to walk correctly. He also knows that the Lord has promised to provide him with guidance regarding the path he should choose, and he realised that it was important to pray about his daily walk because it would have been easy to make a wrong decision and find himself overcome by sin and its consequences (v. 133).

The attacks of his opponents were preventing him from serving God as best as he could. Therefore, he asked the Lord to rescue him from their attempts to limit his influence (v. 134). He wanted to obey God all the time, and he desired that his obedience be uncurtailed by opposition.

This would happen if the Lord was gracious to him and continued to teach him (v. 135). He was distressed that people did not keep God’s law. His face was marked by tears, but it was a face that was pleasing to God (v. 136). It was a face from whom the Lord would not turn away his face. Therefore, the psalmist had hope.

Psalm 119:121-28 - Commitment in Difficult Times

The psalmist brings his circumstances to the attention of God. He has disciplined himself to live for God, but he knows that his behaviour will lead to strong opposition (v. 121). Therefore, he asks the Lord to give him a sign of divine favour, and the sign that he requests is that his opponents will not oppress him (v. 122). His request reveals that he recognised the sovereignty of God in the lives of his opponents, that the Lord could prevent them harming his servant.

The salvation that the psalmist desired was a visible one. He longed to see God act on his behalf. His hope was in a promise that God had given, that the Lord would come to his aid (v. 123). The promise was righteous in its content, but also righteous in its source, the living God; it would also result in righteousness, whether in the actions God took or in the blessings that the psalmist would receive,

The psalmist knew that he was God’s servant. He also knew that he had a loving, faithful Master (vv. 124-25). A good servant wants to know how to please his master. Here the psalmist comes to his Master requesting divine instruction. He knows that he can expect to be taught because he knows that the Lord is faithful to his people. This verse points to the instruction of Jesus when he told his heavy-laden disciples to take his yoke and learn from him because he is gentle and humble in heart, and he promised them that they would find rest for their souls.

The society around the psalmist was in a mess, the result of ignoring and disobeying God’s law (v. 126). Although the rejection was foolish, it was not a sign that God had been defeated. The psalmist knew that God had the power to turn it round and restore his rule. But he also knew that if God did not work, things would continue to get worse, so he prayed for the Lord to act powerfully.

Times of rejection of God’s law are not times for God’s people to reduce their commitment. Despite what others thought, the psalmist’s estimation was that God’s commandments were a great treasure to have (v. 127), more valuable than the best that earth can give. His assessment was that all of God’s commandments are right, and since that was the case, it meant that one like the psalmist who loves God’s law must hate all that is false (v. 128). It is impossible for such a believer to be indifferent about what is wrong.

Psalm 119:113-120 - Desire to serve God

What kind of things does a person say to God? No doubt, we could suggest some things. Would we include an expression of hatred? The psalmist does here when he tells the Lord that he hates the double-minded. A double-minded person is a hypocrite who tries to face both ways at the same time. Like serving God and the world simultaneously. Yet that is impossible. The psalmist was not like that because he loved God’s law. And he had the comfort of knowing that he had God as his protector whatever dangers were threatening him. He knew that God would be true to his word (vv. 113-14).

The psalmist’s position in society caused him at times to be with evildoers (v. 115). Their presence was a barrier to him as he served God. Perhaps he is referring to advisors or counsellors whose words reduced the effect of what he advocated. He preferred that they would be absent since they and he had nothing in common. He wanted to promote God’s commandments.

Such a determination carried dangers for him (vv. 116-17). Therefore, he called on the Lord for his protection, to keep him from being overwhelmed or disgraced by his opponents. If the Lord upheld him, he would be safe and could continue obeying consistently the statutes God had given his people. His prayer for preservation was connected to his desire for God’s glory.

Some of his contacts resorted to cunning. Their methods were departures from God’s statutes, although those men may have imagined that the end justified the means. God rejected that method and turned those people away. They would experience the same divine rejection that is shown to all who are wicked. God’s consistency in this regard was a stimulus to the psalmist to love the testimonies he had received (vv. 118-19).

Nevertheless, he realised that fear and dread are appropriate responses to the holy God. When he acts in judgement, it is a terrifying experience (v. 120). He knows everything about us. And he has the power to punish. Even divine chastisement of his children is unpleasant for them. When we see his judgements, we should be afraid.

Psalm 119:105-12 - Commitment

The psalmist confesses that God’s word enables him to walk according to God’s ways. He was determined to walk in such a path and had even sworn an oath to do so, perhaps confirming it by offering a sacrifice at the temple (vv. 105-06).

It was the case in ancient times that people would carry a light when they moved around in the darkness. The source of light was close to them. In our spiritual journeys, the word of God should be shining in our hearts. Obviously, we should be dedicated to him, and one help in that regard is to recall our baptism when God's name was put on us.

The psalmist had walked in this manner even although he had experienced problems. But his difficulties had not reduced his commitment to his God. Instead, he asked the Lord to give him the spiritual energy to continue (v. 107). He made this request because he knew that he would be heard and answered.

His commitment was one of personal choice and he gladly praised God for the opportunity of living such a life as the Lord had taught (v. 108). He did this even although he knew that things were precarious and that his life was uncertain (v. 109). But there was nothing, not even deadly snares laid by his enemies, that could make him move away from obedience to God (v. 110).

The psalmist desired to obey God permanently because his rules had brought him great joy already (v. 111). He dedicated himself again to a life of obedience (v. 112). This inclination was evidence that the grace of God was working in his heart and life.

This section of the psalm raises for us the reality of our commitment to God.