Psalm 119:55
I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.
~ Psalm 119:55
Those who forsake the good way are variously described as forgetting God (Psalm 9:17; 10:4; 50:22; 78:11; 106:21; Isaiah 51:13; Jeremiah 2:32; Hosea 4:6). The Psalmist resolved to remember God and particularly in those vulnerable times of night.
His secret remembrance resulted in keeping God’s law. His habit was to meditate on the Word at night (Psalm 119:148) and to give thanks to God at night (Psalm 119:62). All these are out of the public eye and ear. His secret devotion led to open obedience.
Psalm 119:54
Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
~ Psalm 119:54
Note the use of house and pilgrimage. These seem conflicting ideas. If you are a pilgrim, you’re wandering and not in a house. If you have a house, you are not a pilgrim. The paradox resolves for the child of God because we have no continuing city here on earth. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11:13-14). Whether you stop in a shack or a palace, it is merely an inn on the way home.
Psalm 119:53
Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
~ Psalm 119:53
He experiences horror on two fronts. First, he is horrified at the forsaking of God’s law. It is extreme hubris to forsake the law of the all-wise, sovereign Creator of the universe. To forsake His law is to presume to know better, to sit in judgment on the law and the lawgiver. It is to make oneself higher than God.
Second, he is horrified at the prospect of the end of all those who forsake God’s law. Their end is only destruction no matter how oft they’ve been reproved. The judgment merited by transgressing God’s law is a fearsome prospect. His horror is all the more intense because he has tasted the good of things of the Lord and knows His service to be true and right.
Psalm 119:52
I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD;
and have comforted myself.
~ Psalm 119:52
I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD;
When our Lord was reviled, He did not revile in return (1 Peter 2:23). He suffered patiently and committed himself to the righteous judge. So the Psalmist has been held in derision, but he has not responded in kind. He has not left off from the Word. His memory and meditation have been the righteous judgments of God. This is an expression of his trust in the Lord to judge righteously and execute vengeance in His holiness.and have comforted myself.
He did not come to despair but rather had comfort. When David was in great distress and could easily have despaired, he rather “encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). The Psalmist had no human comforters but found necessary consolation in the righteous judgments of the Lord his God.
Psalm 119:51
The proud have had me greatly in derision:
yet have I not declined from thy law.
~ Psalm 119:51
The proud have had me greatly in derision:
Derision refers to scorn or ridicule. The proud have scorned the Psalmist because of his dedication to God’s Word and way. They have used his afflictions as an opportunity to heap scorn upon him. They do this because they hate God and His people. They do this because they also misunderstand affliction. God sovereignly works all these things together for good (Romans 8:28), but they have such a limited perspective that they cannot see it. Therefore, they mock.yet have I not declined from thy law.
The Psalmist had suffered double trouble. He endured his afflictions and the scorn heaped on him for them. However, despite these difficulties, his resolve for God’s Word is only strengthened. Job’s wife tried to provoke him to give up God’s way and the Psalmist’s scorners tried to do the same. Rather than forsaking it the Psalmist found comfort in it and so we must do in the face of affliction and the teeth of our adversaries.
Psalm 119:50
This is my comfort in my affliction:
for thy word hath quickened me.
~ Psalm 119:50
This is my comfort in my affliction:
He refers to God’s Word as his comfort. Note that he isn’t speaking hypothetically or in the realm of possibilities. He writes of his experience: “my comfort” and “my affliction.” He has known heights of joy and depths of sorrow and found comfort in the Word of God.for thy word hath quickened me.
Comfort from the Word has come from its quickening power. He has been given life or infused with fresh power and strengthening. These are not mere words in a book, nor a set of instructions, nor even a collection of comforting thoughts. God’s Word is the word of life (John 6:63, 68). This is why the Psalmist prayed for the quickening power of the Spirit through the Word (Psalm 119:107).
Psalm 119:49
Remember the word unto thy servant,
upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
~ Psalm 119:49
Remember the word unto thy servant,
This is a prayer of faith that isn’t a reminder to God but rather an appeal to God’s faithfulness to His Word. God has spoken it and will also do it (Isaiah 46:11). He isn’t seeking some new thing but praying in line with our Lord when He taught the disciples to pray, “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10).
Remember is a term associated with God’s covenant faithfulness. He remembers His covenant and therefore will keep the promise (Genesis 9:15-16; Leviticus 26:42-45). This was the way Moses prayed (Exodus 32:13).
upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
Comfort for the Psalmist did not rest in signs and wonders but his hope was upon the Word of God. The patriarchs of faith in Hebrews 11 died without receiving the promises (Hebrews 11:39), but they died in faith and faith is the “substance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 1:1). Their hope was in the sure Word of God and had no other ground. So the Psalmist turns to God and His Word at all times for hope and comfort.
Psalm 119:48
My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved;
and I will meditate in thy statutes.
~ Psalm 119:48
My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved;
The word love first appears in this Psalm in verse forty-seven. It is soon repeated in verse forty-eight. In both places, the Psalmist declares his love for God’s commandments, a word which is often used collectively to speak of God’s law. So he is professing strong affection for God’s law.Using these words seems odd to our contemporary minds. First of all, the mention of law does not usually provoke good thoughts. Law sounds more like duty than delight. It sounds more like obligation and restraint than refreshment and enjoyment. Secondly, law makes us think of courts, lawyers, and legal code like the tax law or OSHA regulations. Those things are some of the driest and boring material in existence. Who delights or reaches out to the building codes or tax codes?
The expression of love is striking but is it proper? The language almost sounds worshipful. Should it be expressed about God’s law or only about God? Love is actually the key and I will try to illustrate it. Let’s say I’m apart from my wife on a long trip. The situation is such that I cannot see her or talk with her. After a while I receive a letter from her. I will read and savor that letter. In her absence it will bring me joy and I can honestly say I love that letter. So in that context, the question of whether I love her or her letter makes no sense. I love her and therefore I love the letter from her. It expresses her mind and heart to me.
I see the Psalmist’s expression here in similar fashion. God’s law is written by Him. It reveals Him in a way that the glorious stars in sky do not. Because he loves God, he loves His law.
and I will meditate in thy statutes.
Jesus taught that the thoughts of our heart will be of what we truly treasure (Matthew 6:21). We will readily meditate on what we delight in. For the Psalmist it is God’s law. The blessed man of God meditates in God’s law day and night (Psalm 1:2).
Psalm 119:56
Posted by Jeff Short on March 10, 2016 · Leave a Comment
This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
The Psalmist refers to having the blessings in this stanza. He had hope (Psalm 119:49), comfort (Psalm 119:50, 52), and songs to cheer and encourage him (Psalm 119:54). He has remembered the Lord in all his troubles (Psalm 119:52, 55) and been quickened by His Word (Psalm 119:50).~ Psalm 119:56
In a few short verses he has enumerated great blessings. These have not been forfeited because he kept the precepts of God. How many times can our struggles, doubts, and fears be traced back to an actual neglecting of God’s Word? Here his hiding of the Word in his heart and his meditating on the Word is bearing fruit in his life.
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