Psalm 119:19
I am a stranger in the earth:
hide not thy commandments from me.
~ Psalm 119:19
The Psalmist, as a true child of God, confesses he has not a square inch of earth to call home. He is seeking a better home. Like the weary traveling pilgrim, he needs and depends on others. Here he claims dependence upon God. The food and shelter he needs is the food and shelter of God’s Word.
A stranger does not know how richly he will be treated or what his host may hide from him. He is at the mercy of another. The Psalmist seeks a mercy that the commandments not be hidden. He pleads to feast with the table spread. He does not beg crumbs of God’s Word. He seeks the feast of fine things.
He knows God’s character with the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:17-18). Therefore, his petition is made with reason to hope. This teaches us to humbly wait and call upon God. We are to desire His kingdom above food and drink (Matthew 6:31-33) and rely upon His mercy and goodness to show us His Word (Psalm 25:8-10).
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 119:15
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 119:14
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
~ Psalm 119:14
Here the rejoicing is “in the way of thy testimonies.” This rejoicing runs deeper than only joy at hearing the Word. The stony ground hearers heard the Word with joy, but they had no root in them to persevere in the way of the Word (Matthew 13:20-21). Psalm 119:13 speaks not only of joy at hearing the Word, but joy in doing and keeping the Word of God. “The way” is a way of life. It is a living of the Word.
The rejoicing in the Word is compared to rejoicing “in all riches.” God’s testimonies are greater treasure than all the riches of the world. The sum of wealth on the earth at any given time is not equal to the treasure of God and His Word. It seems the Psalmist had experience with riches and he rejoiced in the Word more.
Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
~ Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart
The Psalmist had prayed to be kept from wandering from God’s commandments. In verse 11, his prayer of faith is put into action, for he had hidden God’s Word in his heart to keep from wandering from the commandments. Psalm 119 is full of this dual perspective. On the one hand, the Psalmist cries out to God to be kept in His Word, kept in His way, and kept from sin. On the other hand, the Psalmist strives with holy violence and grace-driven effort[ref]Carson, D. A. 1999. For the love of God: volume 2 : a daily companion for discovering the treasures of God’s Word. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books.[/ref] to cling to God’s Word. This balance is often misunderstood, but it is crucial in the fight for holiness and the sanctification of God’s children.
To hide here has the thought of treasuring up. The Psalmist had hidden the Word of God as a miser hides his gold. This language reveals how highly he esteemed God’s Word. It is a treasure worthy of laying up and guarding.
“Word” is the sayings or speech of God. This word occurs 19 times in this Psalm. It puts us in thought of counting every word of God as true, precious, and abiding. Every word is life-giving and leading.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
– Matthew 4:4Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
– Proverbs 30:5
That I might not sin against thee
He values the Word and hides it in his heart, not to elevate his esteem among men, but to keep from offending God. The Word is the sword of truth we have been given. It is a mighty weapon in the warfare against sin. The heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) and the host of evil imaginations (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21). We must fill up that room with the Word of God that no quarter is given for evil thoughts and a ready store of truth is available to fight against lies.
Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
~ Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart have I sought thee
The Psalmist makes personal application of the truth stated in the previous verse. He had previously stated that such seekers are blessed (Psalm 119:2), but now he applies himself to the task. An undivided heart is essential in seeking God. Anything less is idolatry. Jesus said it is the “first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38) to “love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).
O let me not wander from thy commandments
The second part of the verse is a plea in prayer to God. There are many such pleas in this Psalm. This cry reveals to us the ground of the Psalmist confidence. He is not trusting in himself nor his own heart for he knows it is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). This prayer comes from one who knows he is “kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Peter 1:5).
There is profitable instruction here for the wise man who will heed it. Our hearts are prone to wander. The appropriate response is not to try harder. It is to cry out to God to bind our wandering hearts to Him.
Psalm 119:9
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
~ Psalm 119:9
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?”
The second stanza begins with the question of how the way shall be purified. This is a question concerning practical holiness. How can a man be clean and walk in a way that is clean? Every child of God is marked by the desire for practical holiness.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
~ Romans 6:22Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
~ 2 Corinthians 7:1For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:7
In this case, the young man is specially considered. The Proverbs are full of direct words to the young man and he is peculiarly vulnerable to the folly of youth and the pride of life because of his strength. If a young man be in the way of Christ, it is urgently pressed that he be committed to being clean in the way.
“By taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
The question asked is then answered in the text. He is instructed to take heed, which means to hedge about, to guard, to attend to. The young man must take this business seriously. He is called to diligent and passionate action. He must be zealous and persevering in this most important task.
The young man’s heed is to be of the Word of God. This term occurs 24 times in this Psalm and refers to the words that are spoken. It is qualified in this text as the words spoken by God. Jesus highlighted this importance in His answer to Satan:
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
~ Matthew 4:4
A young man is to heed diligently the Word of God and make his way in it. In so doing, he will cleanse his way. Jesus also told us that God’s Word is powerful to cleansing.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
~ John 17:17
Psalm 119:8
I will Keep thy statutes:
O forsake me not utterly.
Psalm 119:8
The first statement is the firm resolve of the Psalmist. He knows that joy and happiness are bound up with the Word of God. His purpose is to keep it.
The last statement is a plea that tempers the first with humility. He is not claiming a perfection and therefore cries to God that he not be forsaken. There is assurance and rest in God’s faithfulness. It is not the Psalmist’s ability to “keep” the statutes that comfort him. It is God’s faithfulness that encourages his heart.
The whole first stanza teaches us that the Word is our life. We are to walk, keep, respect, and learn. It is not all head work, but also for our hearts and hands. We have here an idyllic picture and also the strong desire to so walk. Complete dependence on God is emphasized throughout the whole stanza.
Psalm 119:20
Posted by Jeff Short on April 2, 2014 · Leave a Comment
My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
Being a pilgrim, a stranger in a strange land, makes one a seeker. A pilgrim is looking for something. He is not settled. The Psalmist stated in verse 19 that he was a stranger in the earth. He was not at home in the world and did not find lasting satisfaction in the things of the world. In verse 20, he revealed his soul-breaking desire for God’s judgments.~ 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).
Listen to Psalm 119 Sermon Series
Share this:
Filed under 119, Psalms, Short Comments · Tagged with Commentary, Psalm 119