Psalm 119:153-160

"See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, LORD, in accordance with your love."

{Psalm 119:159} (NIV) 

A careful reader notes that this verse is a repetition of verse 149, and therefore deserves extra attention. It isn’t an exact duplicate, but the same three thoughts are in both verses. The prayer is the same: “preserve my life”. The reason for hearing and answering this prayer is the same: “in accordance with your love”. The connection between the Law of God and the God’s love is very clear in both verses. The Law which is God’s covenant of love to His children, is the basis on which God will preserve my life. My observable love for God’s Law (which is the level at which I obey) is the basis on which I can ask God for His love to be made ‘real’ in my situation.

God’s love / my love  / His Law / my life

God’s love is made ‘real’ in my life by Him giving me a Law to live by (the Law of Love). My love for God is demonstrated by me when I obey His Law (Jn 14:23). Now and only now do I have the grounds to pray a prayer like this and boy do we ever have these grounds in Christ! When we approach God in the name of Christ, united with our Lord, we approach God as one who has obeyed Him perfectly.

Now friend, as we think on our wonderful position in Christ, does it not cause you to desire to love as Christ loved?

Psalm 119:153-160

New International Version (NIV)

ר Resh

¹⁵³ 

Look on my suffering and deliver me,

    for I have not forgotten your law.

¹⁵⁴ 

Defend my cause and redeem me;

    preserve my life according to your promise.

¹⁵⁵ 

Salvation is far from the wicked,

    for they do not seek out your decrees.

¹⁵⁶ 

Your compassion, Lord, is great;

    preserve my life according to your laws.

¹⁵⁷ 

Many are the foes who persecute me,

    but I have not turned from your statutes.

¹⁵⁸ 

I look on the faithless with loathing,

    for they do not obey your word.

¹⁵⁹ 

See how I love your precepts;

    preserve my life, Lord, in accordance with your love.

¹⁶⁰ 

All your words are true;

    all your righteous laws are eternal.

Psalm 119:145-152

"I call with all my heart; answer me, LORD, and I will obey your decrees."

{Psalm 119:145} (NIV) 

Seems like a typical approach many people make to God when they are in trouble: “God if you will save me...if you will help me, I promise I will obey You, Your Words and commands.”  Yeah. Sure you will. 

However this psalmist’s approach to God is far from typical, but is actually righteous! These promises that are being made are based on a life already lived according to God’s Law. He rises early to pray and seek help from God, placing his hope in the Word of God. He stays awake late at night for the purpose of thinking about the promises God has made in the Law. He asks for a ‘YES’ answer based on God’s character and on the covenant of love (Law) that God has made with him. 

He points out that his enemies are a long way from honouring their Creator God by keeping His Law which will last forever. This person knows the heart of God, and knows that God desires to have people on the earth who love and obey His Law, and so, this righteous person who lives according to God’s Law, honouring God’s Name, has grounds to ask for God’s help in this situation. 

Friend, what about us? Do we have grounds to ask God to save us? Will extending our lives bring honour to His name?

Psalm 119:145-152

New International Version (NIV)

ק Qoph

¹⁴⁵ 

I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,

    and I will obey your decrees.

¹⁴⁶ 

I call out to you; save me

    and I will keep your statutes.

¹⁴⁷ 

I rise before dawn and cry for help;

    I have put my hope in your word.

¹⁴⁸ 

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,

    that I may meditate on your promises.

¹⁴⁹ 

Hear my voice in accordance with your love;

    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.

¹⁵⁰ 

Those who devise wicked schemes are near,

    but they are far from your law.

¹⁵¹ 

Yet you are near, Lord,

    and all your commands are true.

¹⁵² 

Long ago I learned from your statutes

    that you established them to last forever.

Psalm 119:137-144

"Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live."

{Psalm 119:144} (NIV) 

It is wonderful truth that God never changes! He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He was good yesterday, He is good today, and He will be good forever. He was righteous in how He dealt with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abram, Moses, David and all of the people who have lived on the face of the earth. He is righteous today in how He deals with each of the billions of people living on this earth, and He will be righteous in how He deals with people forever. 

The psalmist is meditating on the wonderful conclusion of this truth; that because God is always righteous, then His commands are always righteous. They were not for a time, for another people. No, they are forever right for all of us. The letters were written for people who walked on this earth some 3,000 plus years ago. The principles and spirit behind these letters are for us as well as them. They are there to help us live, and to bring us life, and therefore we can trust them. Obeying these commands won’t bring you trouble and distress, but rather joy and life. These commands have been tested by people like us over thousands of years. God is true, and every person is a liar!

Oh heavenly Father, open our minds that we may see the wonders of your Laws.

Psalm 119:137-144

New International Version (NIV)

צ Tsadhe

¹³⁷ 

You are righteous, Lord,

    and your laws are right.

¹³⁸ 

The statutes you have laid down are righteous;

    they are fully trustworthy.

¹³⁹ 

My zeal wears me out,

    for my enemies ignore your words.

¹⁴⁰ 

Your promises have been thoroughly tested,

    and your servant loves them.

¹⁴¹ 

Though I am lowly and despised,

    I do not forget your precepts.

¹⁴² 

Your righteousness is everlasting

    and your law is true.

¹⁴³ 

Trouble and distress have come upon me,

    but your commands give me delight.

¹⁴⁴ 

Your statutes are always righteous;

    give me understanding that I may live.

Psalm 119:129-136

"Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me."

{Psalm 119:133} (NIV)

      

When it comes to sin we have it backwards! We think of sin as our tool. “This will bring me what I need” is how we think. We enter into sin thinking that we will use it for our purposes. Yet the truth is that we are a tool of sin. It uses us for its purposes, and its purposes are death. 

God told Cain, “..sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  A person who is willing to listen to God, unlike Cain, seeks to obey God and rule over sin, instead of letting sin have its way with us. At first, the Law seems to be no help to us, because the Bible teaches that “the power of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56), but as we understand the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, then we begin to pray the prayer of the psalmist. If God would direct our actions as we live (footsteps) according to His righteous commands, then we would be able to break sin’s rule over us! 

Our Lord taught us to pray this way when He told us to pray “Your will be done on earth … Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.” Oh friend, what about it? Do we want to live in the light of the glory of freedom from sin and from human oppression? Then friend, we will pray for God to cause us to obey His commands. We will seek them out, we will long for them, and we will take time out of today, to sit quietly at His feet and allow the most wonderful, gentle and gracious Teacher, to teach us how to live our lives in obedience to His decrees!

Psalm 119:129-136

New International Version (NIV)

פ Pe

¹²⁹ 

Your statutes are wonderful;

    therefore I obey them.

¹³⁰ 

The unfolding of your words gives light;

    it gives understanding to the simple.

¹³¹ 

I open my mouth and pant,

    longing for your commands.

¹³² 

Turn to me and have mercy on me,

    as you always do to those who love your name.

¹³³ 

Direct my footsteps according to your word;

    let no sin rule over me.

¹³⁴ 

Redeem me from human oppression,

    that I may obey your precepts.

¹³⁵ 

Make your face shine on your servant

    and teach me your decrees.

¹³⁶ 

Streams of tears flow from my eyes,

    for your law is not obeyed.

Psalm 119:121-128

"It is time for you to act, LORD; your law is being broken."

{Psalm 119:126} (NIV)

This prayer is a prayer of a righteous person who lacks an eternal perspective. It is the prayer of Habakkuk, Job, Nehemiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, and of David. When I look at this list of names and know that we could add to it easily, I wonder how I could say that they lack an eternal perspective - yet they do. 

Jesus did not pray this prayer. I can’t think of a single instance where He questioned the timing of God. He sought to be in step with the timing of God, and He was content to allow God to set the times for judgment and vengeance. He taught us to pray for justice without ceasing and to pray in faith believing that in God’s time, and in God’s way, justice will be done. 

Our Lord knew that His purpose was to bring in a time of delayed justice, a period of grace. A period in which a gracious God would justify wicked people on the basis of His suffering and atoning sacrifice, and forbear with a multitude of wickedness, until the full number of souls are saved. 

Yet, the Bible teaches us that this type of prayer seeking God to act NOW, plays an indispensable role in bringing about the final judgment and vengeance of God upon the wicked. As John peers into heaven itself, he records this truth in Revelation 6:10 and 8:4-6. As I read the accounts of the men I listed, as I read the gospels, and as I read these verses in Revelation, I wish that I could come up with different descriptive phrase than, “lacking an eternal perspective”. 

May I - may we - know God at the level these righteous ones knew Him. They knew Him intimately, because they experienced the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. (Phil 3:10)

Psalm 119:121-128

New International Version (NIV)

ע Ayin

¹²¹ 

I have done what is righteous and just;

    do not leave me to my oppressors.

¹²² 

Ensure your servant’s well-being;

    do not let the arrogant oppress me.

¹²³ 

My eyes fail, looking for your salvation,

    looking for your righteous promise.

¹²⁴ 

Deal with your servant according to your love

    and teach me your decrees.

¹²⁵ 

I am your servant; give me discernment

    that I may understand your statutes.

¹²⁶ 

It is time for you to act, Lord;

    your law is being broken.

¹²⁷ 

Because I love your commands

    more than gold, more than pure gold,

¹²⁸ 

and because I consider all your precepts right,

    I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 119:113-120

"Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!"

{Psalm 119:115} (NIV) 

This verse seems to be the opposite of the Lord’s approach. He went towards sinners. He ate with them, He healed them, He loved them. Because of how Christ operated on earth we say that God hates the sin but loves the sinner, and yet here in this prayer of a righteous person, we have the words “I hate double minded people”. However, did our Lord not call these sinners to repentance? Do the gospels not teach that He would tell people that they were forgiven, and also instruct them to sin no longer? Our Lord went looking for those who knew they were lost; for those who knew that His Holy Father, our Creator God would reject them when they stood in front of Him at the judgment. When He encountered Pharisees like Simon whose house He ate in, He called them to account for their prideful attitude. 

Friend, perhaps you aren’t persuaded. Perhaps you cannot bring yourself to hate double-minded people, nor tell the evildoers in your friendship circle to get away. Then friend, could you look into your own life and identify the places where you are of two minds regarding the commands of the Law? Friend, could you bring yourself to hate your own double-mindedness? This hatred of our own sinful tendencies to view God’s Law as only advice from a doting grandfather, is reflected in this righteous prayer of a righteous person.

Psalm 119:113-120

New International Version (NIV)

ס Samekh

¹¹³ 

I hate double-minded people,

    but I love your law.

¹¹⁴ 

You are my refuge and my shield;

    I have put my hope in your word.

¹¹⁵ 

Away from me, you evildoers,

    that I may keep the commands of my God!

¹¹⁶ 

Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;

    do not let my hopes be dashed.

¹¹⁷ 

Uphold me, and I will be delivered;

    I will always have regard for your decrees.

¹¹⁸ 

You reject all who stray from your decrees,

    for their delusions come to nothing.

¹¹⁹ 

All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;

    therefore I love your statutes.

¹²⁰ 

My flesh trembles in fear of you;

    I stand in awe of your laws.

Psalm 119:105-112

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."

{Psalm 119:105} (NIV) 

We need to note that this is a statement of fact; not a prayer nor a desire of a righteous person. It is a truth of a righteous person. It is a truth about our Lord Jesus Christ! God’s Word guided His every step, and provided illumination not only on His feet but also ahead on the path of life as He decided where to go and what to do. 

The psalmist teaches us in this section, that this blessed state of being started with a promise made and is sustained constantly by a prayer of trust and a hope that depends solely on the promises of God. It is a matter of simple, honest gratitude for a LORD who would love us enough to tell us how to live, that leads us to desire to know His Law.  It is a matter of wisdom to understand that the troubles I am in are all temptations to cause me to lose my faith in my LORD and His Word, and my response is to come closer to His Law. Actually, a righteous person understands that these Laws are a gift, a heritage from my God to me, and are therefore the source of great inner joy which causes me to resolve even more firmly to keep them to the end of my life! 

Oh Friend, may this verse be a statement of fact about us this day!

Psalm 119:105-112

New International Version (NIV)

נ Nun

¹⁰⁵ 

Your word is a lamp for my feet,

    a light on my path.

¹⁰⁶ 

I have taken an oath and confirmed it,

    that I will follow your righteous laws.

¹⁰⁷ 

I have suffered much;

    preserve my life, Lord, according to your word.

¹⁰⁸ 

Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,

    and teach me your laws.

¹⁰⁹ 

Though I constantly take my life in my hands,

    I will not forget your law.

¹¹⁰ 

The wicked have set a snare for me,

    but I have not strayed from your precepts.

¹¹¹ 

Your statutes are my heritage forever;

    they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹² 

My heart is set on keeping your decrees

    to the very end.