Psalm 119:23
Princes also did sit and speak against me:
but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
~ Psalm 119:23
The second phrase reveals his response to their evil plots. He could be gripped by fear for what they could possibly do to him. He could spend his time trying to defend himself. He could counter-plot revenge against them. He could do many things in response to this persecution.
He chose rather to meditate in God’s statutes. He chose rather to immerse himself in the truths of God’s Word than the lies of men. When slandered and spoken against, we are sorely tempted to distraction from God’s Word. We need the discerning spirit of Nehemiah when responding distractions.
And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
– Nehemiah 6:3
Psalm 119:22
Remove from me reproach and contempt;
for I have kept thy testimonies.
~ Psalm 119:22
To ask for the removal of reproach and contempt signaled that he was suffering for righteousness’ sake (1 Peter 4:12-16). Otherwise, his prayer would have been confession and repentance.
The second phrase of the verse confirms his suffering from false accusations. He could plead that he had kept the testimonies of God and had not offended as he was accused. Keeping God’s testimonies was what brought the worldly reproach on him.
Of course, our comfort in such suffering is not a reward in this life.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
– Matthew 5:11-12
Psalm 119:21
Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed,
which do err from thy commandments.
~ Psalm 119:21
Peter wrote of the proud:
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
– 1 Peter 5:5-7
Pride is an abomination to God (Proverbs 6:17). He does not reward it with favor. It is a root of sin and a source of many evils in life. Pride leads to strife, discontentment, envy, bitterness, and hatred.
Pride leads to erring from God’s Word. Pride is the opposite of humility and isn’t teachable. Pride leads us to conclude our own thoughts and ways are right (Proverbs 12:15; 16:2; 21:2). Pride leads to self-righteousness and ultimately to Hell if not repented of (Luke 18:9-14). Heed the rebuke.
Psalm 119:20
My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
~ Psalm 119:20
The truly hungry long after food. The truly thirsty long after drink. Jesus promised that those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness . . . shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Food and drink do not satisfy very long. They perish with the using. Only God can bring lasting satisfaction to a longing soul.
The Psalmist’s longings are “at all times.” His desire is not a fit of passion. Rather, it is a sustained, persistent reaching-out of his soul. He is not a lukewarm poser. The church at Laodicea was full of self-confident, self-reliant, self-satisfied souls. They said within themselves that they were rich and needed nothing. These are not longing, seeking souls. These are not souls breaking from the enduring strain of stretching out to be filled with God’s Word.
The reality is that we have a hunger and thirst that cannot be satisfied with anything silver and gold can buy. The Psalmist knew this and thus longed after “the judgments of the LORD,” which “are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold” (Psalm 19:9-10).
Psalm 119:18
Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
~ Psalm 119:18
Open thou mine eyes
God formed the eye (Psalm 94:9) and He opens the blind eyes (Psalm 146:8). The Psalmist seeks eye-opening from God. If the light of truth and wisdom is sought, it is best sought from the source of truth and wisdom, God. He begins at the right starting point in acknowledging God as the One who opens eyes.
The words of this verse come from the mouth of a humble learner. Humility is required in learning anything. You have to acknowledge that you don’t know something and seek out someone who does know that you may be instructed (Proverbs 1:7). If you’ve ever taught a class, coached a team, or tried to train someone on a job, you know that if they are proud and stubborn, they are unteachable. Many such come to hard knocks that wisdom could have prevented. The fool thinks he knows everything, or at least all he needs to know, and so sets wise instruction aside (Proverbs 12:15). The sluggard, who is a special brand of fool, knows better in his own mind than seven men who actually know what they are talking about (Proverbs 26:16). The fool’s folly is his own undoing.
That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law
The Psalmist manifests wisdom in this request. He knows God’s law is filled with wondrous things. The word signifies depth, beauty, hidden, high, and wonderful. You could also infer valuable from the description, like a prize treasure (Psalm 19:10). He will go on to speak of God’s Word as something he savored (Psalm 119:103).
His desire is to the Word of God and not something else. He is not bored and clamoring after something new and different. He assumes the posture of a humble disciple at the feet of the Master. Too often we approach the Word of God like we do a dictionary. We want to turn to the precise page to find only the definition of the word we are interested in. Thumb tabs help and so does alphabetical arrangement. God’s Word is not alphabetized nor indexed. It is meant to be read, savored, and treasured.
This is the proper posture of the humble learner. “God, open my eyes. Teach me what You would have me learn.”
Psalm 119:17
Deal bountifully with thy servant,
that I may live, and keep thy word.
~ Psalm 119:17
Deal bountifully with thy servant
The written Word of God is the grand theme of Psalm 119, but prayer is also prominent. Much of this Psalm is a prayer. The meditations are requests to God for light and life. The three statements in verse 17 are prayers.
The first petition asks for God to deal bountifully with His servant. In respect to people, to deal bountifully (gamal) means to benefit, requite, or reward. It can mean to treat a person well or ill. It is variously translated: bestow on, deal bountifully, do good, recompense, requite, reward, etc.
The prayer here concerns what God bestows on the petitioner. The obvious meaning is that he asks for mercy and grace from God. The very gifts David sang praises to God for (Psalm 13:5-6). He does not request reward for his merit. He seeks God’s gracious and merciful bestowal.
That I may live, and keep thy word
The second petition seeks grace to live. James taught us to say, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:15). Jeremiah knew that “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Every day of life is an incalculable gift of God’s grace.
The life he seeks is a part of the bountiful dealing he seeks. He is not after bare existence. He does not seek the minimum. He appeals for a bountiful life. His request, though, does not terminate on himself. He is not seeking to fill up his own personal reservoir of benefit. He wants bountiful life that he may keep God’s Word. This is the third petition or culmination of the first two. He sees God as the author of life and faith. Life and faith that are worked out in obedience. Apart from God’s mercy and grace, he will neither live nor keep His Word.
Psalm 119:16
I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
~ Psalm 119:16
I will delight myself in thy statutes
The seeds of meditation in verse 15 have yielded the fruit of delight in verse 16. Delight refers to satisfaction, contentment, and a deep, abiding joy. The statutes of God are His commandments, His law. The blessed man of God delights in God’s law and meditates in it continually (Psalm 1:2). The wicked do not delight in God’s law. They are described variously as forsaking it (Psalm 119:53), breaking it (Ezra 9:14), refusing to keep it (Exodus 16:8), not hearing it (Nehemiah 9:16. 29, 34), and despising it (Amos 2:4)[ref]Craft, Bert 2013. Learning to Delight in the Law of God. Oaxaca, Oaxaca Mexico: Ministerio Gracia Abundante.[/ref].
I will not forget thy word
Treasuring up the Word, meditating in the Word, and delighting in the Word lead us to remember God’s Word. Sooner could a mother forget her nursing child than could we forget God’s Word (Isaiah 49:15) when we have counted it greater riches than earthly wealth (Psalm 119:72) and made it our daily counselor. Forgetting the Word comes through neglecting it. We cannot drift into remembering it but we do drift into forgetting it. We must take heed to hold fast God’s Word that we not let it slip (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Timothy 1:13).
The second stanza of this Psalm, verses 9-16, follow a progression: treasuring the Word in verse 11, declaring the Word in verse 13, rejoicing in the Word in verse 14, meditating in the Word in verse 15, and delighting in the Word in verse 16. The delight is produced through the previous efforts. They are testing, trying, and proving the Word of God in real life. The further the Psalmist walks with the Word, the more precious God’s Word becomes to him.
The stanza opened with a question and answer: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9). Verses 10-16 expand and explain what it means to take heed according to the Word.
Psalm 119:15
I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
~ Psalm 119:15
I will meditate in thy precepts
To meditate is turn over in your mind. It is to think on something, turn it over, look at it mentally from different angles, and to search a matter out thoroughly. Among various eastern idolatries, meditation is the pursuit of an alternative consciousness or even sought as an end in itself where the mind is emptied. This is done to relieve stress or to bring yourself into one with all things. Regardless of any benefit, real or imagined, that is not the meditation taught in the Bible.
God instructs us to meditate on His Word, that is to think on His Word (Psalm 1:2). Those who do not meditate on Scripture are called forgetful hearers (James 1:23-25). It is through thinking deeply on the Word that we hide it in our hearts.
Biblical meditation always has a good object. Here it is God’s “precepts.” The Psalmist is resolved to think carefully on the commands of God. He is going to savor the sweetness to bring out every drop of goodness from God’s law.
And have respect unto thy ways
Respect is similar to meditation. It means to look at intently and connotes to regard with pleasure, favor, or care. The “ways” refers to a well-trodden path. The whole statement is that he will meditate on the words of God and behold the works of God with joy.
We don’t want to overstate the case, but this verse reveals an important principle. We cannot understand, much less behold with pleasure, the works of God apart from the words of God. To some, the rigorous study of Scripture, including the mental discipline of meditation, is too scholastic. They prefer experience or a relationship. However, apart from the words of God we cannot understand His works and then we don’t really know Him.
Psalm 119:24
Posted by Jeff Short on May 14, 2014 · 1 Comment
Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
In the midst of adversity, the Psalmist delighted in God’s Word. The previous verses reveal he is in the midst of persecution. When someone speaks against us, we are sorely tempted to respond and retaliate if necessary. He wasn’t distracted. He found delight and sure counsel in the Word.~ Psalm 119:24
It seems this Psalm was written over a long time, or at least was written later in life with reflection on life. We have a young man in the previous stanza (Psalm 119:9-16). He is starting on his way. As we come to the present stanza (Psalm 119:17-24), he is living life, interacting with the world, and engaging in God’s service.
He’s not writing about hypothetical speculations. We often speculate about new situations. If we are starting a new job, moving to a new town, etc., we have ideas about how things are going to be. Often, those ideas are far from the reality we experience.
The Psalmist had made some resolutions in prospect that he was realizing. He had resolved to meditate and delight in God’s Word and that he would not forget it (Psalm 119:15-17). As we close the present stanza, he is living out those resolves. He was meditating in God’s Word despite temptations to distraction (Psalm 119:23). He was delighting and remembering despite the confusion of false speech around him (Psalm 119:24).
In our quiet times alone with Word, let us make holy resolves. Let us cling to those resolves in the stormy, tumultuous sea of life.
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