Psalms

The Book of  Psalms (Hebrew: תְּהִלִּים or תהילים, Tehillim, “praises”), commonly referred to simply as  Psalms or “the  Psalms”, is the first book of the Ketuvim(“Writings”), the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί psalmoi, meaning “instrumental music” and, by extension, “the words accompanying the music. “The book is an anthology of individual  Psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the  Psalms are linked to the name of David, but his authorship is not universally accepted by modern Bible scholars.

The Book of  Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction)—these divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the Torah:

• Book 1 ( Psalms 1–41)
• Book 2 ( Psalms 42–72)
• Book 3 ( Psalms 73–89)
• Book 4 ( Psalms 90–106)
• Book 5 ( Psalms 107–150)

It is uncertain why  Psalms is divided into five books. Some sources, including Jewish Midrash traditions, suggest the five-fold division is based on the five books of the Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy). The division of the  Psalms is not based on authorship or chronology, as several authors composed  Psalms, and their individual songs are mixed throughout the various collections.

The word selah is found in two books of the Bible, but is most prevalent in the Psalms, where it appears 71 times. It also appears three times in the third chapter of the minor prophet Habakkuk.  There is no immediate translation of this word.  Many experts and bible scholars alike have offered their ideas of what the word means; taking root words and Hebrew words that sound ‘similar’.  We know that this word was preserved by God and placed accordingly.

With all scholarly and expert ‘opinions’ on the word, when we see the word selah, pause and reflect on what you just read.

Book 1

Psalms 1: 

 ^{1 – 3} The first in the order of Psalms and is fitting to introduce this beautiful book by blessing the righteous who can withstand the path of the wicked.  Today, it is very difficult to stay on the righteous path.  God predicted this in His Word.  Evil will seek to destroy all that is good.  God is recognizing those who can withstand the evils of the world and  bring glory to His name.

^{4 – 6} This psalms ends by condemning the unrighteous for not walking in the Light.  The Lord is true to His promise and will reward the faithful and the evil will perish. 

Psalms 37:          The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked

                                                                                        A Psalm of David

This psalms of David reads like a proverb.  David is providing for us his wealth of wisdom he obtained through God in his lifetime. 

^{1 – 2} Those who follow Christ closely often feel robbed when those who are so far away seem to have everything; riches, fame, etc.  The ultimate prize and/or riches to be obtained are those we receive in Christ through the salvation He offers us for eternity.  The Psalmist, David, compares the unsaved to plants and those things that grow from the earth.  All things grown will ultimately wither away; those of us that are nourished by our salvation through Christ are held strong through eternity.

^{3 – 4} These two verses become more and more pertinent each day.  God tells us to simply delight in Him and do good by Him always, yet the distractions of the worldly things around us seem to try and steer us away; we are so easily distracted by ‘things’ of the world.  David tells us to delight yourself ALSO in the Lord.  By these words, is David also talking to the none believers?  Those who choose to live outside of the Lord do experience pleasures and joy, but those of us who choose to put God first, can not only experience all of the delights they have but the full delights and experiences that God has to offer us.

Our heart’s desires and joys become so rich and blessed the closer we are to God.  Our heart’s desires and our direction become that of God’s hopes, desires, and direction for us.  When we trust God beyond all things, our hearts line up directly with His.

^{5 – 6} These two verses piggyback off of the last two verses.  “And He shall give you the desires of your heart”, is quoted quite often, especially with the prosperity folks.  The content of these powerful words from our loving God is His promise to fulfill our lives with our hopes and desires when we commit our lives to Him.  By committing our lives, living our lives for only Jesus Christ, our hopes and desires line up perfectly with God’s.  We need to continually seek God for those things in our lives that take us to the next level.  Meditating on His Word and staying in constant communion with God, our Lord Jesus Christ, elevates the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, which resides in us, through us.

^{7 – 8} David shares the experiences he went through during his long life, from a shepherd boy to the most prominent king of Israel.  His experience tells us that patience is a key to godly prosperity keeping in mind that our timing is not necessarily God’s timing.  When those things in our lives pop up and we are in perfect alignment with God, we witness things and events just pass us by while others seem to benefit from them.  God tells us here not to fret, don’t worry about what others have or their particular situation.  We can see how the worldly people live all around us and rise to certain levels or obtain things that we can’t have; our human flesh wants those things and it’s tough seeing the world around us prospering from these things while we sit idle.  All in God’s timing keeping in mind Jeremiah 29:11:12, “¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” 

Our lives are all about competition. From our country to our neighbors, we are in constant competition with each other.  As those around us pass us by, our tendency is to believe that life is just not fair and then envy can seek to destroy us.  The enemy will seek to destroy us unbeknownst to us.  John 10:10 (the Parallel Greek), “The thief not comes if not that he might steal, and might kill, and might destroy.”  The Greek word for thief here is kleptēs, Strong’s 2812, a thief who steals by stealth (in secret), rather than in the open with violence.  Who else?

^{9 – 11} Isaiah 40:31, “31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”  Two very powerful and promising verses that God promises us found more than once in His Word.  These are prophetic words from David describing our inheritance from God.  When Jesus comes back, we are told that Jesus will reign on earth with His children for a thousand years.  At this point, all non-believers had been given plenty of opportunity to come as little children before God.

^{12 – 15} The phrase “(there shall be) weeping and gnashing of teeth” (in the original Greek ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων) appears seven times in the New Testament as a description on the fate of the unrighteous ones at the conclusion of the age. … ‘Gnashing of teeth’ is when one grinds one’s teeth together.  The phrase “gnash the teeth” is found in Acts 7:54, in the story of the stoning of Stephen.  We find here the phrase “And gnashes at him with his teeth.” In the end times, those unsaved souls will find their place with Satan in the abyss gnashing their teeth at us.  These verses here continue with the prophecy of the favor our God will have for His chosen children.  In the final days when the evil ones are gnashing their teeth against us and God, God will turn and laugh knowing the abundant opportunities that were offered and denied.  Ultimately, the wicked will turn against themselves; [1] “Like Haman they shall be hanged upon the gallows built by themselves for Mordecai. Hundreds of times has this been the case. Saul, who sought to slay David, fell on his own sword.”

^{16 –20} God does not look down on His children who prosper from having money.  All of God’s righteous children should understand that the most abundance of wealth, which can include money or the like, come from God.  All of the wealth and riches of the world that we need is the hope of knowing that we will spend eternity with God and everything our hearts could possibly desire.

The day we enter into this world as babies we inherit our sin nature and ultimately is one day closer to our earthly death.  John 3:16 is not just a ‘famous’ piece of scripture that is probably read and repeated more than any other scripture; it is God’s invitation to leave our sin nature body and get reborn into a sinless nature spirit, one with God.  Our sinless spirit within us will never die.  Our arms are held up high with the presence and strength of God.  Those who choose to stay In their human bodies and flesh will never have the spiritual strength to reach their arms open wide to God.  The righteous child inherits eternal life where the unrighteous will perish.

^{21 – 24} Verse 21 is interesting.  We all know people who live unrighteous lives, living in their flesh and following the road to destruction.  Some of these people are called philanthropists, freely giving some of their riches away, so why does this verse say, “the wicked borrows and does not repay.” I Chronicles 29:11-12, “¹¹ Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power and the glory, and the victory and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all.  ¹² Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou reignest over all.  And in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.”  When we realize that everything we have is given to us from God, we, in turn, give back by our faithfulness and praises only to Him.  The unrighteous person does not give back to God, or repay Him.  Our reward for our faithfulness is the hope of God’s blessings upon here on earth.  When we put our total trust in God and allow Him to lead and guide us, God delights in us.  God always has His blessings on us in our highs and lows for He knows what is best.

^{25 – 26} “²⁵ I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. ²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.” These verses can very easily be misinterpreted.  There are many righteous believers throughout the world that have no food.  Christians in this country go without eating on a regular basis.  We have to look at the time when David wrote this.  David is saying, “²⁵ I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread”.  During David’s lifetime, it is very possible that he did not see any God fearing people starve nor any of his descendants.  It is true to say that all of his and our Christian brothers and sisters descendants will be blessed.  The blessings will be passed down but it will be their responsibilities to honor those blessings and return the favor to God.  These blessings will be passed on but we must accept that gift that God is offering us.  This doesn’t mean that those descendants whose ancestors that were unrighteous cannot receive those blessings.  Those blessings will not be passed down.   Those who choose to received God’s blessings must reach out directly to Him.  When you are raised in a Godly home, understanding of God’s blessings come easier than to those who are not raised directly under these conditions.  In either instance, that special tugging of the heart must come from God.

^{27 – 33} The theme of this Psalms is wisdom, the distinct difference between right and wrong.  David by power of the Holy Spirit is providing us with the wisdom that he received during his lifetime.  Keep a far distance from any evil or from any of the unrighteous.  God will honor and love the righteous who keep His commandments.  In the ultimate gift promised to His children, we will be preserved forever while the wicked and unrighteous will be cut off.  God gives to His children the gift of wisdom, James 1:5, “ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not; and it shall be given him.” 

As we continue through this life on earth, we see the morality changing swiftly.  As God is banished the world becomes more depraved and wicked, seeking destruction for those who stay steadfast in our faith to God.  It is the Christians who now are called racists and haters.  We are considered discriminators when we reject homosexuality, perversion, abortion, and other ungodly acts.  Thought we must love all people but hate the actions that they defy against God.  Proverbs 6:16-19, “¹⁶ These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to (His soul) Him: ¹⁷ A (haughty eyes) proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, ¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.”

^{34 – 36} David is passing his wisdom based on his experiences.  David went through many trials in his lifetime with abandonment, wars, and betrayals to see that God always provided and prevailed over the wicked.  He knows first hand how God treats His chosen ones.  The righteous will prosper under God.  God provides a perfect path for us for continued blessings through eternity with Him when we allow Him to be our guiding light and not distracted from the ways of the world.

^{37 – 40} Who gets all of the attention these days?  You can look anywhere today and see where the focus lies.  Watch TV, read the paper, any commercials in any media stream, in movies, the focus of this world is with the ungodly.  But David tells us to take notice of the righteous and the blameless for the future lies with them.  The future is our salvation and our preservation through God’s strength.  When we put all of our trust in God and God alone, God will save us from this world and reserve a special place for us with Him. [Return]

Book 2

Psalms 71:                                             God the Rock of Salvation

Most commentators that I have read put this Psalms in the anonymous author category where I agree with Matthew Henry’s belief that David penned this in his old age.

^{1 – 3} In a world of so much confusion, God’s Word is clear.  What a man is to be and what a woman is to be, and what a marriage is to be is in God’s word. I Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” Again, the NKJV has “In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame”, but the KJV has “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion”.

When we cling to God, our Rock and our Salvation, He promises us a life of eternal peace.

^{4 – 8} From the moment we enter into this world, we are subject to the things of this world.  Our only hope is for Christ to rescue us from the pangs of the world by committing our lives to Him.  We must find favor with God to rescue these little children. The world will try to suck them in.  As David grew older, his enemies saw a difference in him.  The world today sees a difference in Christians and tries to persecute us but that’s okay, we have God as our refuge and our strength.  We will prevail.

^{9 – 16} As David got older and weaker, just as we do, he felt defenseless and, at the same time, weaker in faith and felt that God had possibly abandon him.  God’s promise to David and to us is to never forsake us.  When David and our foes come against us in our time of weakness and bring our spirits down, we need to stay strong and know that God will always be there.

Continually praise God as we get older in our time of weakness.  This will strengthen us and encourage us.  David realized that continually praising God even when he was weak, lifted his spirits and encouraged him.

^{17 – 18} I believe God is telling David through these verses that his mission on earth is about to come to an end.  God had commissioned David from a very young age to do His work.  From the time David was a young shepherd boy, he gave God all the glory for protecting him and his sheep from the attacks of larger animals and then later on from Goliath.  Later when David was ordained king, God protected him from his enemies and David proclaimed God’s glory to all of Israel.  David wanted to be sure that before God took him from this earth that his great commission was complete.

^{19 – 21} God had indeed rewarded David for his tremendous loyalty and devotion and David wanted everyone to know and understand his love.  It appears that David understood that his human body was going to be ‘revived’ from the depths of the earth and increase in greatness in everlasting and be comforted on every side with God.

^{22 – 24} Once we are with God in eternity, we will joyfully sing praises to Him with instruments of praise.  David is expressing himself with those instruments he used on earth to praise God with.  He knows that his soul will be with God and his lips and tongue will sing joyful praises all day long.  Amen.  [Return]

Psalms 72:   Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign

 A Psalms of Solomon

Scripture verses (1 – 2)   

¹ Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.  ² He will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice.

^{1 – 2} Many scholars believe that David possibly wrote this about his son.  Book 2 of the book of Psalms is a collection of Psalms written by David.  Verse 20, of this Psalms, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” Gives an indication of the end of book two’s collection.  Whether penned by David or Solomon, this psalms does close the book of this section of psalms. 

The Psalmist is desiring not only the wisdom but the righteousness and profound judgements that God gave David bestowed upon Solomon.   Matthew 1:1 (KJV), “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  So then, how could Jesus be the son of David when he was born some where around 1,000 years after David.  The answer is in the prophetic book of II Samuel:

2 Samuel 7:12-16 (KJV), “¹² And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.  ¹³ He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever.  ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: ¹⁵ But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. ¹⁶ And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.”

^{3 – 4} The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness.  ⁴ He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.

Scripture verses (3 – 4)   

^{3 – 4} Given the blessings requested by Solomon from God, Solomon’s emphasis is on righteousness and then compassion.  First and foremost, Solomon is stating that the righteousness of God is the most important factor of his being king and is praying that God would continue, as He did with David, to fill him with the full righteousness of God to fulfill God’s plan for him as king.

[2] “The New Testament nowhere quotes it as Messianic, but this picture of the king and his realm is so close to the prophecies of Isaiah 11:1-5 and Isaiah 60-62 that if those passages are Messianic, so is this.” (Derek Kidner). 

The original Targum has Psalms 72:1, “Composed by Solomon, uttered in prophecy. O God, give your just rulings to the King Messiah, and your righteousness to the son of King David.”

If we continue with this understanding, the Psalms would be a Messianic Psalms as well.

Isaiah 11:1-5 (KJV), “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: ² And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; ³ And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: ⁴ But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.  ⁵ And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Scripture verses (5 – 7)   

⁵ They shall fear You As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations.  ⁶ He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.  ⁷ In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more.

^{5 – 7} Solomon is stating that as long as he is reigning as king, he will reign with the righteousness fearing of God as the Most Holy, and he would ensure that this is taught and emphasized through all of the generations.  His comparison is that of a pouring rain and how it fills the earth and grass and drenches.  The actual word used is mowing which comes from the Hebrew word  gêz / gez, a shearing, mowing.  The Psalmists’ beautiful comparison to the sun and moon’s existence to God’s forever righteousness and abundance of grace would never cease.

Scripture verses (8 – 11)   

⁸ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.  ⁹ Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust.  ¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts.  ¹¹ Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.

^{8 – 11} The Messiah will have dominion over all of the earth; Isaiah 9:6 (KJV), “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  As Moses lead the Jews through the wilderness, our walk also is a kind of wilderness that God has set before us.  When we ask God for His will on us, He promises to provide wisdom and direction. 

As we wonder through this wilderness with the guidance of God, the enemy will have no chance and will be, figuratively, ‘licking the dust’ that we leave behind; Isaiah 49:23 (KJV), “And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” 

A Messianic prophecy of a King much greater than Solomon will reign as spoken by Samuel, 2 Samuel 7:12-14 (KJV), “¹² And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.  ¹³ He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever.  ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:”  These verses also fulfilling the promise God had made, 1 Kings 10:23 (KJV), “So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.” 

Scripture verses (12 – 14)   

¹² For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.  ¹³ He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy.  ¹⁴ He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight.

^{12 – 14} It is only Jesus Christ, our Messiah, who can deliver us from the sinful body we were born into by equipping us with the Holy Spirit, the Helper.  No matter what are financial health is, before Jesus, we are poor, we are on welfare of hope;  Psalm 23:4 (KJV), “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” 

Scripture verses (15)   

¹⁵ And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised.

¹⁵ The gold of Sheba will be given to Him.  The original Hebrew word of Him used here, lō- / is used as an adverb, or third person; meaning, not Solomon but God.  This Hebrew word is only used twice in the scriptures, Job 41:12 (KJV), “I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.”  Proverbs 19:7 (KJV), “All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.” 

Scripture verses (16)   

¹⁶ There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

¹⁶ Lebanon flourished with cedars and an abundance of fruits and grains.  Allowing Jesus to be Lord over your life, your life will be abundantly filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit and an abundancy, never ending love, mercy, and grace.

Scripture verses (17 – 19)   

¹⁷ His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun.  And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.  ¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who only does wondrous things!  ¹⁹ And blessed be His glorious name forever!  And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.  Amen and Amen.

^{17 – 19} Solomon knew that the impending Son of David would endure forever.  Again, Solomon uses the sun and/or moon as an emphasis for forever, indefinite.   The Psalmist knew of God’s promise made to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV), “¹ Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: ² And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: ³ And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”  

[3] “We pray that the atheist, the blasphemer, the hardened rebel, the prodigal, may each be filled with God’s glory; and then we ask for mercy for the whole earth; we leave not out so much as one, but so hope and expect the day when all mankind shall bow at the Savior’s feet.” (Spurgeon)

Scripture verses (20)   

²⁰ The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

²⁰ A beautiful ending by the Psalmist for this particular section of Psalms, Book 2, which was primarily written by David through the Holy Spirit.  The Psalmist also humbles David as not the king but God as the King while instead of referencing king David, he prefers to say, humbly, the son of Jesse.  [Return]

Book 3

Psalms 94:                                      God the Refuge of the Righteous

^{1 – 3} Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’” Romans 12:17-19, “¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”  The Psalmist is stating that vengeance belongs to God and not to man.  We saw how God brought judgement on the earth when Noah built the ark and wiped out all inhabitants, but since then, the world has become more and more corrupt.  The psalmist asks again, “how long will the wicked triumph?”  We read something similar in Revelation 6:9-10, “⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood.”

^{4 – 7} After the psalmists’ request for vengeance, he states a few reasons for his ‘bitterness’ of their hatred for God.  Their rude and arrogant speech, and their constant boasting of themselves.  Their constant attack against Christians.  The way they attack the weak, homeless and defenseless and even resort to murder.  Their denial of the existence of God.  Removing God from schools and government.

^{8 – 11} These verses are very clear and simple.  God created everything, every human.  The psalmist carefully worded these verses by shall He not see, shall He not hear, and shall He not correct.  The psalmist is making God a human by saying God has eyes and ears.  God sees all, hears all, and knows all.  Nothing can be hidden from him.  All the foolishness, corruptness and rejecting  of God will not go unpunished.   Lastly, the psalmist states that all thoughts of man are futile.  Man is incapable of any intelligent thoughts.  Wisdom only comes from God.

^{12 – 15} God passed His law down to mankind because mankind had allowed sin to permeate within themselves.  God’s designed plan was perfection.  The scriptures do tell us that God does protect those chosen ones from evil, Jesus tells us to seek this consistently, Matthew 6:13, “ ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  We also know from scripture that, in many cases, Satan approaches God and asks Him to remove His protection from us in order to tempt us.  Satan wanted to attack Job but knew God was protecting him.  Satan approached God in Job 1:10-11, “¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”” Again in Luke 22:31-32, “³¹ And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: ³² But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

God’s promise to us is to protect us from our enemies and the evil of this world.  This doesn’t come with an invisible barrier around us but with a promise when we stay in constant communion with Him, that’s the difficult part. Putting God first before everything.  God’s wants us to live our lives using the example Jesus left us.  We can’t maintain a sinless life but we can stay redeemed until the day of everlasting union with God.

^{16 – 19} The Psalmist is telling us something that we already know by now, absolutely nobody is going to battle for you in given situation you put yourself in other than God.  When you trust in God with all your heart and all your soul (Proverbs 3:5-6), God will always be there.

^{20 -23} Right off the bat this scripture tells us that there is no association between God and evil; nothing could be further from the east as to the west.  Today’s society tries to blend God’s Word into how they want it to be.  The divisions of doctrine, I Corinthians 1:10, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” try endlessly to infiltrate us.  Verse 20 states, “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frames mischief by a law?”  The fellowship of God and the evil of the world cannot ever join or be close!  You cannot blend!

Always allow God to be your defense, put on the full armor of God daily.  God wouldn’t tell us to put this on if He wasn’t always going to be there for us.  God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, our Rock and our Salvation.  The only division that will come will be when Jesus comes again and separates the righteous from the unrighteous. 

Book 5

Psalms 119:                   Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God

The author is unnamed; older commentators almost universally say it is a Psalm of David, composed throughout his entire life.  This very long Psalms is another Psalms written and arranged in an acrostic pattern.  An acrostic is a poem (or other form of writing) in which the first letter (or syllable, or word) of each line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. 

Each section of this beautiful Psalms represents the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

In this Psalm there are 8 basic words used to describe the Scriptures, God’s written revelation to us:

Law (torah, used 25 times in Psalm 119): “Its parent verb means ‘teach’ or ‘direct’; therefore coming from God it means both ‘law’ and ‘revelation.’ It can be used of a single command or of a whole body of law.” (Kidner)

Word (dabar, used 24 times): The idea is of the spoken word, God’s revealed word to man. “Proceeding from his mouth and revealed by him to us.” (Poole)

Judgments (mispatim, used 23 times): “From shaphat, to judge, determine, regulate, order, and discern, because they judge concerning our words and works; show the rules by which they should be regulated; and cause us to discern what is right and wrong, and decide accordingly.” (Clarke)

Testimonies (edut/edot, used 23 times): This word is related to the word for witness. To obey His testimonies “signifies loyalty to the terms of the covenant made between the Lord and Israel.” (VanGemeren)

Commandments (miswah/miswot, used 22 times): “This word emphasizes the straight authority of what is said… the right to give orders.” (Kidner)

Statutes (huqqim, used 21 times): The noun is derived from the root verb “engrave” or “inscribe”; the idea is of the written word of God and the authority of His written word. “Declaring his authority and power of giving us laws.” (Poole)

Precepts (piqqudim, used 21 times): “This is a word drawn from the sphere of an officer or overseer, and man who is responsible to look closely into a situation and take action… So the word points to the particular instructions of the Lord, as of one who cares about detail.” (Kidner)

Word (imrah, used 19 times): Similar in meaning to dabar, yet a different term. “The ‘word’ may denote anything God has spoken, commanded, or promised.” (VanGemeren)

Bottom

There are various ways to study this Psalms.  Each section of this blessed Psalms has eight verses.  With eight verses and twenty-two sections (twenty-two letters of the Hebrew bible), there are one hundred and seventy-six total verses.  If you were to meditate on just one verse a day for a year, you would have gone through this Psalms twice.  Matthew Henry was introduced to the bible this way by his father Philip Henry at the tender age of eight.

א Aleph (A) 1 – 8

Each line of this first section of Psalms 119 begins with the Hebrew letter aleph, which is a boy’s name of Hebrew origin meaning “chief, number one”.

^{1 – 8} _{1 – 2} “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord!” The King James Version uses the word ‘undefiled’ seven times in scriptures.   We see the first instance here.

Song of Solomon 5:2, “I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.”

Song of Solomon 6:9, “ My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.”

Hebrews 7:26, “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.”

Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

1 Peter 1:4, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”

Strong’s (undefiled): 283 ἀμίαντος, (μιαίνω), “not defiled, unsoiled; free from that by which the nature of a thing is deformed and debased, or its force and vigor impaired”: καίτη pure, free from adultery, Hebrews 13:4; κληρονομία (without defect), 1 Peter 1:4; θρησκεία, James 1:27; pure from sin, Hebrews 7:26. (Also in the Greek writings; in an ethical sense, Plato, legg. 6, p. 777 e.; Plutarch, Periel. e. 39 βίος καθαρός καί ἀμίαντος.)

John 10:10, “¹⁰ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” God encourages us to stay close to Him always, in prayer and supplication.  When the enemy seeks to get to us and we maintain that protection from God, see Ephesians 6:10-18, God blesses us richly by remaining clean and unscathed.  Stay in the Word and seek God.  By staying in the Word, praying constantly, and fellowshipping with like-minded Christians, the enemy can’t penetrate the covering the Holy Spirit puts on us and we are rewarded with rich blessings from God.

^{3 – 8} “³ They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.” This doesn’t mean we don’t sin.  The Psalmist is telling us that when we are in communion with God and walking with Him, in the present surrounding, iniquity can’t enter us.  Sin cannot penetrate the Holy Spirit.  God handed down His laws because of the corruption of man, knowing that man would be unable to sustain time without breaking the laws.  God then sent His Son, who took on the law and became the law for us.  God commands us to keep His laws, Jesus becomes the only way.  The world is primarily empowered by the enemy and will do whatever it can to provoke and come against God’s children.  With this, we should not be ashamed to profess our faith in Jesus Christ.  We should remain loving to all people but condemn the sin, not the person.  We can look through history and see how God’s judgements have been carried out and we know by God’s Word that God’s righteous judgement will prevail.

ב Beth (B) 9 – 16

Each line of this second section of Psalms 119 begins with the Hebrew letter beth, which also means “a house.” Some have suggested that this section tells us how to make our heart a home for the Word of God.

In Hebrew letter beth (meaning “house”) is associated with the following Biblical locations. Bethel, “house of God” – (see Genesis 28:19) Bethlehem, “house of bread.” Ironically, in the book of Ruth, there was a famine in Bethlehem, the “house of bread”, which led Naomi’s family to Moab, where she met Ruth.

• Bethlehem, “house of bread.” Ironically, in the book of Ruth, there was a famine in Bethlehem, the “house of bread”, which led Naomi’s family to Moab, where she met Ruth. Bethlehem is best known as the birthplace of Jesus but was also known as the “city of David”.
• Bethany, “house of dates” or “house of misery”
• Bethphage, “house of unripe figs”
• Bethesda, “house of grace” – the name of a pool in Jerusalem (see John 5:2)
• Bethsaida, “house of fish”
• Beth-Shemesh, “house of the sun”

^{9 – 16} “How can a man cleanse his way?”  God wants us to stay in His Word and to keep our house in order.  Does that mean to dust and vacuum every day?  No.  God is talking about our bodies, our living tents.  From early childhood God wants His chosen to walk rightly with Him; there’s no ‘sowing of the oats’ as the world would have it.

Staying in God’s Word and living a life of Christ, will embed God’s commandments in our hearts.  God sent Jesus to us to redeem us of the law ‘knowing’ that being present with God, His law remains with us in our hearts.  The Word of God is our manual for childhood development through adulthood.  God’s Word was prepared for us to teach us and direct us as we mature, and then the constant commitment to align ourselves in a Christ like manner.

God provides us examples of His righteous judgements throughout His Word, teaching us right from wrong, good from evil.  By meditating on God’s Word, we not only inherit the riches that God grants but God rejoices in seeing His children mature.

ג Gimel (C) 7 – 24

^{17 – 18} We should read this section not only through the eyes of the Psalmist but with the worthiness and the expectations of God’s bountiful blessings being bestowed upon us yielding us desire and the wisdom to be fulfilled by His Word.  That God would open our eyes wide and fill our hearts with His expectations.

^{19 – 20} A big question remains is to why did God create mankind.  God always was.  Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”.   Genesis 1:27, “So God create man in His own image , in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”  The psalmist realized when he walked upon the earth that he was a sojourner.  We were all put on this earth created by God.  When we go anywhere, city, country, someone’s home, etc., the expectations are that we follow the laws there or stay within the established guidelines.  The same is true with us here on earth.  God created the earth and everything associated with it to sustain it.  He then provided plants and animals for us to eat.  When we sinned against God it took away our freedom, God established His laws for His earth.  God does not hide His laws from us.  God has preserved His commandments and keeps His judgements.

^{22 – 24}  Proverbs 9:10, “¹⁰ The [4]fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”  Due to our reverence and awe of or our Almighty, we, as children of God, want to be free of reproach, God’s disapproval or His disappointment in with us we want to be worthy of God’s love. [Return to Psalms 119 Shin] [Return Proverbs 1:28]

As the world moves closer and closer to the end times, the children of God will continually be looked down upon and cursed.  The world will look to their own laws.  Our fear and reverence to our most Holy God will bind us to His laws and commandments.  Romans 1:29-32, “²⁹ Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰ Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: ³² Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

ד Daleth (D) 25 – 32

^{25 – 32} As Christians journey through life’s ups and downs, so does the Psalmist.  He is now journaling his moments  of the lowest of lows.  We also find ourselves crawling on our bellies through the dust begging for God to bring us through whatever it is that has us where we are at this moment in our lives.

^{25 – 26} When we find ourselves depressed or so down and low, sometimes it is difficult to get into the Word of God and this is when we really need it.  The enemy is pulling us away, trying everything to keep us away from getting fed.  When we are at our lowest, we are very vulnerable, all of our weaknesses are exposed as we cry out to God.  At this time, we need to reach deep into our souls and ask the Holy Spirit within us, He will never abandon us, to revive us and get us back into His Word.  We need God’s Word to speak to us in our moment of need and revive us from our pit.

²⁷ James 1:5-6 (KJV), “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” This verse is quoted very frequently when it comes to God’s wisdom being granted to us.  The problem is, verse six seems to be forgotten. “⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” The previous verse in Psalm 119 says to teach me your statutes. In other words, reveal your Word to me.  By asking God to give you His wisdom, in complete faith, knowing that God will give you the faith required to understand His Word.  Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  His Word is alive for each and every moment it is read pertaining to each and every moment and individual who reads it.

^{28 – 30} The Psalmist, probably David, is still grieving and asking God’s forgiveness.  When David went up against the Geshurites and the Amalekites as written in I Samuel 27:8-12, and raided and killed almost everything and everyone in sight, when asked where he made a raid, he would lie and say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.”  David’s lying was eating at him.  God gives everyone a conscience.  Those who are closest to God feel their consciences tug and pull at them constantly when they do wrong.  I catch my conscience nagging at me the more I stay away from the Word.  We get our strength from God’s Word.  Mere words just cannot do that!  God’s Word can and will keep us from a misguided tongue, lying and backbiting, keeps us in the path of righteousness.

^{31 – 32} 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV) “Pray without ceasing.” When you choose God’s way of truth, God’s judgements, and the desire to cling to God’s testimonies, you must pray and seek God constantly.  When you stay in the Word of God and keep the commandments set forth by Jesus, God will enlarge your heart. 

Matthew 22:35-39 (KJV) “³⁵ Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.  ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” [Return]  [Return to Psalms 119 Lamed]

ה He (E) 33 – 40

The word ‘He’ is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is used at the beginning of verbs to make them causative.  In linguistics, a causative is a valency-increasing operation that indicates that a subject either causes someone or something else to do or be something or causes a change in state of a non-volitional event.

³³ The Psalmist is giving the example to us for the Lord to teach us His ways which will cause us follow the path He directs is to.

^{34 – 35}  As we read above in verse 27, James 1:5-6, God promises to give us an abundance of wisdom when we ask for it with faith knowing that God will provide it to us.  By only the power of God’s wisdom empowered to us would it cause us to walk in the path of His commandments and abide by His laws.

^{36 – 37} In David’s particular case, covetousness lead him to murder Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba.   Deep rooted covetousness can turn hearts cold and bitter.  Why does everyone have to have the newest car?  We need to ask God to help us to turn away from worthless things and focus on what’s important.

^{38 – 40} Continually ask God to help you understand His living Word as you meditate on it.  At the same time, ask God for forgiveness for our shamefulness or cowardness of spreading our Christian beliefs.   We know that God is a righteous God and we need God to revive us and keep us upright.

ו Waw (F) 41 – 48

[5]  This commences a new portion of the Psalm, in which each verse begins with the letter Vau, or v. There are almost no words in Hebrew that begin with this letter, which is properly a conjunction, and hence in each of the verses in this section the beginning of the verse is in the original a conjunction, — vau.  In the original text, the beginning of each verse starts with the word ‘and’.

^{41 – 44} By opening up our hearts to God when we read His Word, God’s mercies (plural) and lovingkindness will abundantly fill you with His salvation and the wisdom needed to be bold in your faith.  God’s law, which was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, will be etched in your heart and remain there as you remain close with your relationship with Christ.

^{45 – 48} “And I will walk at liberty”.  By opening your hearts to God and receiving His mercies and accepting His Son and abiding in Him, only then can you walk in liberty of the sin nature you were born into.  Keep your energy high on God by staying in His Word.  God’s Word is not just a book, it is living and breathing.  Don’t try to understand, just believe.  When God says, Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”, God is not talking about the ink nor the pages nor the actual book but the actual words.  II Timothy 2:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” When God breathed the words into scripture, He placed them there for us to live on and to abide to.  When we place ourselves with Him by opening our hearts to Him when we read His Word, His words come alive to us.

ז Zayin (G)  49 – 56

^{49 – 50} As if we have to remind God to remember His Word to us.  But think about the possible time the Psalmist penned this portion of the Psalm.  When we are down, very low and things all around us seem to be creeping in on us, we can find ourselves sometimes crying out to God saying, “Hey, remember me?”  When things around us are spiraling down, in what seems like a none stop situation, we can find ourselves hiding from the Word of God.  Then we get to the point of either getting on our knees or crying out to the Lord.  God just smiles, and says, “yes, remember Me.”  Because God’s Word is promising and gives us hope, we can rest assured in the comfort and warmth of God’s provisions for us.

^{51 -52} “The proud have me in great derision”.  Whichever translation is used, derision is in the base text.  It comes from the Hebrew hĕ·lî·ṣu·nî which the Strong’s (3887) has, ambassador, have in derision, interpreter, make a mock, mocker.  Keeping with the theme of the previous section, the Psalmist remains faithful to God’s scriptures.  Not only to provide hope for his future and the reminder of God’s past judgements of his fathers, but for the comfort that God’s promises will continue to provide not only for him but for ALL of His chosen.

^{53 – 54} “Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.” Some of the various translations may not use the word indignation but may use a variation of the word.  The word indignation, used in the original text, comes from the Hebrew word zalaphah, which means, raging heat.   The original 1828 Noah Webster’s dictionary defines this as anger or extreme anger, mingled with contempt, disgust or abhorrence.  Any way you want to look at this, when the Holy Spirit spoke to the Psalmist when penning this, the Psalmist’s extreme anger and contempt were established.  What seems to make it more apparent that the Psalmist was David is in these particular verses, he mentions,  “ ⁵³ Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.”  We know by scriptures that David wrote numerous songs that were inspired by God.  These songs brought calmness to David’s heart.

^{55 – 56} When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, we become a ‘shelter’ for the Holy Spirit to reside in us.  When we pray without ceasing, God’s precepts, His commandments become yours etched in your heart forever. 

ח Heth (H) 57 – 64

⁵⁷ You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words.

⁵⁷ Our God is the God of the whole universe.  We are not deserving of any portion of God’s love, precious mercies, or His abundance of riches that He promises us.  Those riches that we receive knowing that we under the protection of the Hands of God and know, without question, that our riches lie with Him in eternity.

The world is filled with covetous people whom God is not sufficient enough and looks to the worldly things to fill to what they think is sufficient enough.  The world needs to put into perspective that God created the universe and everything within it.  God has an infinite amount of riches to provide for an infinite number of worlds; and yet, the world turns to the limited ‘eye pleasing’ and ‘thought pleasing’ things that it has to offer.

God’s portion to us is our personal connection to God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  God’s request to us in return is to profess your faith only to God by committing ourselves to His Word, which He so richly blessed us with.

⁵⁸ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word.

⁵⁸ The original Webster’s dictionary defines entreat as ‘to make an earnest petition or request.’  The Psalmist gives us a great example of how we should seek our Lord daily through His Word. God’s Word we know is true and it is that mercy and His grace that we should seek out moment by moment and day by day.

⁵⁹ I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies.  ⁶⁰ I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.

^{59 – 60} We are not born into God’s grace.  By the sin of man, we are born into this world with that sin and we can choose only one Master.  In our carnal ways, we will seek out our best and, hopefully for the most of us, we will come to that moment that we realize that, by ourselves, continuing in the same direction will lead us nowhere.  The Psalmist said “ ⁶⁰ I made haste, and did not delay”; Sudden excitement of passion; quickness; precipitance; vehemence; exuberance.   When God calls upon you, do not delay.  Seek vehemently through His Word for His direction…God will always direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6).

 ⁶¹ The cords of the wicked have bound me, but I have not forgotten Your law.  ⁶² At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments.

^{61 – 62} God is telling us through the Psalmist that even though we are under God’s protection, grace, and mercies, the world will not stop from trying to pull you back.  God’s warning began thousands of years ago.  He knew that the world, without God, will do anything, including sending false teachers.  II Peter 2, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” We must stay in communion with Jesus Christ to not allow the enemy to sneak in.

The Psalmist, in his earnest of praising our Lord without ceasing, would wake up at all hours of the night to seek out God.  The enemy doesn’t only work during the day, he will attack your mind through your dreams.  Cover yourselves with the Holy Spirit and guard yourselves day and night.

⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts.  ⁶⁴ The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes.

^{63 – 64} God tells us throughout His Word to keep in companionship with fellow believers, and the Psalmist was no exception.  Here are just a couple of scriptural references, Psalms 55:14, “We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng.”, Colossians 3:16 and “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Though the world itself is corrupt, it is full of the rich blessings God has provided for us.  The world is full of, what God purposed in Paul’s life as a ‘collection of saints’, Romans 16:2, “For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”.  Scripturally speaking, the “saints” are the body of Christ, Christians, the church.  Though the world is what it is, it is also filled with the rich mercies of all of God’s saints. 

ט Teth (I) 65 – 72

I am amazed when I read through this majestic Psalms how God worked through the Psalmist through its entirety.   Almost all scholars agree that not only David penned this psalms but that it was written as a type of journal spanning his entire life.  One has to realize that God orchestrated this psalms simply based on the structure that the Psalmist was able to maintain through all of the trials and tribulations throughout his life.  I Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”.  The word used here for confusion comes from the Greek root word akatastasia; meaning ‘instability’.  For God is the author of order.  No man alone from God could have written such life long journal in this acrostic structure.

⁶⁵ You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word.  ⁶⁶ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments.  ⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

^{65 – 67} The Psalmist acknowledges God’s faithfulness to His Word in all facets of his life.  When we are faithful to God, God returns rewards us with His faithfulness.  God left us His Word to teach us His ways.  To guide us through difficult journeys, to be a light unto our darkened paths.  Our journey ahead can zig or zag but by keeping God’s commandments and staying close to His Word, those roads can be straightened.

⁶⁸ You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

The words are carefully chosen in this verse.  The word ‘good’ is used twice.  The Hebrew root word for good is towb, which means beautiful. This word is used several times in the Old Testament; Genesis 1:4,  Genesis 1:12, Genesis 1:18, Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:25, “And God saw the light, that it was good.”  A Greek derivative of the Hebrew word is agathos, which is used in Mathew 7:11, “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

⁶⁹ The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. ⁷⁰ Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.  ⁷¹ It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.  ⁷² The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

I believe we understand that the Psalmist, throughout his entire life, maintained his dignity and faithfulness for the most part by adhering to God’s laws, God’s precepts.  Man will do whatever it takes to pull you away.  John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Who is the thief? Who is the enemy?  He will cheat you.  He will lie to you.  “Their heart is fat as grease”.  There is no substance to it.  Nothing to hold on to.  All of the money in the world cannot buy the salvation that will come from the faithfulness that God can provide.  The Words that God breathed to us, we need to cling to.  |

י Yod (J) 73 – 80

The yodh stanza represents the small Hebrew letter Jesus referred to as a “jot” in Matthew 5:18,  “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

⁷³ Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

God’s Word has hundreds of verse references of God being the Potter and us being the clay; one of the main verses is found in Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father;  we are the clay, and you are our potter;  we are all the work of your hand.” (KJV).

To put this particular verse into perspective with this letter of the Hebrew alphabet, let’s look at Matthew 5:17-19 (KJV), “¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  ¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  ¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

God preserved His Word for us.   Within God’s Word, He delivered His law to His people because of the despicable and widespread sin.  John 3:16 (KJV), “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Matthew then states that Jesus did not destroy the law but fulfilled the law.

⁷³ When we get in communion with God in our daily walk, in prayer, and in His Word, God molds in His image and places the commandments the Jesus reminds us that are the source of our existence. Matthew 22:35-39 (KJV) “³⁵ Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.  ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

⁷⁴ Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word. ⁷⁵ I know, O Lord,  that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. ⁷⁶ Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your  servant.  ⁷⁷ Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight. 

^{74 – 77} The Psalmist saw, as we will see, fellow believers form a bond, a church.  The work that God performs in us gives us a hope for a future filled with promises in faith.  Jeremiah 11-12 (KJV), “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  ¹² Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 

God is all consumed in love and created us in love and, in love, is a righteous judge.  Who are we to turn so wrongfully against a loving God?  Yet, in spite of all our God does and gives to us, we turn time and time again against Him.  In turn, God gives us endless amounts of His mercies, and we cry out when He provides His righteous judgements against us. For, without His judgements, what would we learn?  How would we learn?  He still forgives us.   When we fall, not if we fall, pray for God’s merciful kindness and comfort.  Pray that everyone would abide by His laws and promises.

⁷⁸ Let the proud be ashamed, For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; But I will meditate on Your precepts.

⁷⁸ Proverbs 6:16:17a (KJV), “¹⁶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ¹⁷ A proud look.”  The very first thing the Lord said he hates is a proud look.  The lord hates pride.  There is nothing that anyone can do that they can take the credit for, nothing!  Psalm 83:17 (KJV), “Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.”  Nothing good can come from pride or lying, we can see that the Psalmist was shamefully treated and asking to be set blameless.

⁷⁹ Let those who fear You turn to me, Those who know Your testimonies.

⁷⁹ This verse has very similar meaning to that of verse 74, “⁷⁴ Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word.”  Let all likeminded people gather together and rejoice.  David was a leader and needed the people of Israel to help him as much as they needed him.  The same is true today.  We need to seek out likeminded Christians, iron sharpen iron.  We need to stay accountable for our actions as much as we need to keep others accountable for theirs, which leads into the next verse.

⁸⁰ Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, That I may not be ashamed.

⁸⁰ You must be strong in your walk with the Lord as the Psalmist was.  The Psalmist was asking God for a clean slate, to wash away the guilt.  The world wants to hold you at fault to hold God’s statutes, they call them ‘old’ world, not up to today’s standards.  When God created the earth, He established the standards.  He also said that man would try to change those standards later on and would be justly tried.  II Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV), “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  ² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴ Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; ⁵ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Stay bold in your faith and walk in confidence knowing that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the light.

ך Kaph (K) 81 – 88

[6] “Some writers… pointed out that for the ancients there was often significance in the shape of the Hebrew letters. Such is the case here. This is the kaph (כ) stanza. Kaph is a curved letter, similar to a half circle, and it was often thought of as a hand held out to receive some gift or blessing… He holds out his hand toward him as a suppliant.”

⁸² My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying, “When will You comfort me?”

How appropriate was the Psalmist to place this particular scripture in this section of this Psalms with this letter if in fact the reasoning was the curved letter of the alphabet.  The Psalmist is apparently reaching his hand out to God in desperation much as we do when we are down and out and all looks lost.

⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, Yet I do not forget Your statutes.

As the Psalmist was berated on and stretched to the limit, he held on to the only hope he knew that was in his God.  For he knew he would have been done with long ago.  We must also reflect back at the many times God has been with us, never forsaking us.

⁸⁴ How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?

The Psalmist is being beaten so badly he wants it to end.  It’s not that he wants to persecute his enemy’s but he wants it done swiftly by God, Romans 12:19 (KJV), “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

⁸⁵ The proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your law.  ⁸⁶ All Your commandments are faithful; They persecute me wrongfully; Help me!  ⁸⁷ They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts.  ⁸⁸ Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

^{85 – 88} The common theme in these verses and within this entire Psalms all relates back to God’s law.  The Psalmist makes it a point to relate each of his points to his commitments back to his loyalties to God’s precepts, the testimonies of His mouth.  Staying faithful to God no matter what circumstances he was going through or currently facing.  His enemies were trying to kill him as he was journaling this, which he was pointing out was against God’s law, ‘thou shall not kill’, they were persecuting him wrongfully, and crying out to God, “Help me!”  Sound familiar?

When was the last time you sat down or fell on your knees and cried out to God and said, “Help me”?  Everything feels like it’s crashing in.  Stay faithful to Christ.  Stay in God’s Word.  The Psalmist is asking God to revive him as should we.  God will pour upon you His lovingkindness freely and revive you, just ask.  Your hope will only come in Jesus Christ. 

ל Lamed (L) 89 – 96

⁸⁹ Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.  ⁹⁰ Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.

^{89 – 91}  God established His Word on the earth when He created the heavens and the earth.  The scriptures plainly tell us that the God-head, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost created the earth during the six days and rested on the seventh.   Our loving God then sent His only begotten Son to us to fulfill such a law that NOONE could possibly fulfill but a perfect and sinless lamb of God to redeem us.  All we have to do is believe.  The verses below identify the progression of scripture verses from earth and as Jesus settled the Word in heaven.

Genesis 1, (KJV) “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”.  John 1 (KJV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”.  Exodus 3:13-14 (KJV), “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? ¹⁴ And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” John 8:57-58 (KJV), “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? ⁵⁸ Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

By staying in the Word of God, it keeps the dust from collecting on the etching being made on your heart by the Word.  Always keep in your heart the two greatest commandments that Jesus made it a point to remember.

⁹² Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction.  ⁹³ I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have given me life. ⁹⁴ I am Yours, save me;

For I have sought Your precepts.

^{92 – 94} The Psalmist is forever grateful for God’s mercy knowing that if it wasn’t for God and His law, he would most likely be dead by now.  He loved reading God’s Word and pursued the scriptures for understanding of God’s laws for his people .  As we are assuming, of the Psalmist was indeed David, the pleasures of God’s Word went to the limits of Psalms, Songs, and music.  His rejoicing was a remedy for his afflictions.

⁹⁵ The wicked wait for me to destroy me, But I will consider Your testimonies. ⁹⁶ I have seen the consummation of all perfection, But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

^{95 – 96}  These words are so calming and seem to have no stress associated to them.  The verse ends this section perfectly.  The Psalmist has absolutely no worries about his enemies knowing that God is with him.  He knows his enemies are there.  He knows they are out to destroy him and he has no cares.  Wouldn’t that be nice to have that kind of relationship with God? 

During the day, look around at the beauty of God.  At night, look up, look at the beauty of God.  See what all of the ‘others’ are missing.   For all of the beauty that surrounds us, for anyone who doesn’t believe in a Creator, something has to be made from something…right?  God’s Word that He left for us is an even greater gift than the great things of this earth.  All of the things will eventually go away.  His Word will never perish. 

ם Mem (M) 97 – 104

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day.

⁹⁷ I Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV), “Pray without ceasing.” This is what Jesus is talking about.  The Psalmist is so in love with God’s Word that in any part of the day when he looks to the heavens or bows his head, takes a knee or even just closes his eyes, he is praising God for the voice God left specifically for him.  These loving words, when meditated upon, Hebrews 4:12 (KJV), “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Will change the moment you are in.

⁹⁸ You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. ⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.

^{98 – 101} It is crucial to fight the fight with faith by praying over God’s promises until this fear is conquered, and we can peacefully seek and wait on God for the wisdom He will give.  Meditating throughout the day gave the Psalmist the comfort and the hesitation to refrain from continuing on a path that may of lead him to evil.  God’s promises of wisdom is spoken numerous times throughout scripture from Psalms through James. Psalm 23:1-3 (KJV), “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  James 1:5-6  (KJV), “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  ⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”  The enemy is ruthless and will use any means to infiltrate.  What is so amazing is how Jesus Christ predicted over two thousand years ago that the means by which the world would have to penetrate into the inner man to deceive would become so easy and available.  II Timothy 3:1-7 (KJV), “¹ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  ² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴ Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; ⁵ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.  ⁶ For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ⁷ Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

¹ God’s prophecy of when we are getting closer to end times, perilous, dangerous, or extreme days will be afflicted towards Christians.  Paul was warning Timothy.  Steadily over the years, as we have seen it, the world has removed God from almost everything.

² By removing God, by denying the creation of the earth, man’s achievements become their own, self-gratification. Wide-spread commercialism, the world-wide-web.  Earthly things becoming more and more important than ever.  A sense of competition to have the better car, the better house, the smarter and more athletic kids.  While at the same time, as parents yield to give their children more and more, the children give their parents less and less respect.

³ Just look at corporate America, Government.  The fighting that goes on at the top.  There’s no sense of trying to get along.  The meaning behind the word opinion has really changed.  It has almost become an evil word.  Folks are told nowadays to keep their opinions to themselves.

⁴ I need only say two words here, Las Vegas.  ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’.  Try preaching the word there.

⁵ II Peter 2:1 (KJV), “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”  The world today is full of false teachers.  The mega churches are popping up every where.  Watered down gospels are preached.  Televangelist, when interviewed, will deny as Jesus being the only way.

^{6 – 7}  Similarly to the previous verse, Televangelists are creeping into households stealing the money of people for false purposes, false promises.

¹⁰² I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me.  ¹⁰³ How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!  ¹⁰⁴ Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

^{102 – 104} When you are adopted into God’s kingdom and become one of God’s chosen, your heart, soul, and mind are instantly filled with God’s Holy Spirit.  As the Psalmist has made it clear, he continually kept and meditated on God’s Word, his heart became so cleansed by the Holy Spirit that seeing evil, hearing evil, and/or watching his people perform things that were not edifying God, would greatly disturb him almost to a point of hatred.  When we walk with Jesus on a daily basis and read the Word of God on a daily basis and we see what is going on in the world it is easy for us to wave our arms in hatred as well.  It sickens us.  But just remember, God said this would happen.

ן Nun (N) 105 – 112

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

¹⁰⁵ This one verse, if not the most important verse in the bible, the one verse that tells us to walk the way that God wants us to walk. [7] This stanza emphasizes the clarity of Scripture, the attribute of the Bible that meant so much to the Protestant Reformers, who also called it [8]  perspicuity. What they meant by clarity of perspicuity is that the Bible is basically comprehensible to any open-minded person who reads it.

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

¹⁰⁶ The Psalmist took a vow to God to obey His Word.  But the Psalmist did not stop there, he confirmed it in his heart.  How far away removed is the church today from this?

1828 Webster’s (church) – The collective body of Christians, who have made a public profession of the Christian religion, and who are untied under the same pastor; in distinction from those who belong to the same parish, or ecclesiastical society, but have made no profession of their faith.

Many churches don’t encourage members to bring their bibles with them.  Why then would they read it?

¹⁰⁷ I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.  ¹⁰⁸ Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, And teach me Your judgments.

^{107 – 108} This psalm, like the entire Word of God, needs to be taken and digested in its entirety.  You cannot take verses bit by bit and build a foundation or a religion.  You cannot only believe part of the Word.  Jesus Christ/God are real or they are not.  You either believe or you don’t.

By the sin nature born into us, you are going to be afflicted.  You are going to be tested.  You are going to struggle.  There is only one way to help you through all of this and that is Jesus Christ.  For those who think they themselves survive on their own and persevere to success on their own are full of pride.  Yes, maybe they worked real hard to achieve and were driven to success but it was only God who can open those doors, only God who can make available those opportunities.  I don’t know how many times I have used these verses, but they are so appropriate here right now as the Psalmist is praying freely to God, Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV), “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”     

¹⁰⁹ My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.  ¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.   

^{109 – 110} The Psalmist saw that his life was always in peril but stayed steadfast to the Word of God.  Most likely in a position of high authority, maybe king if David, he may have been placed in a awkward position to tempt him or bribery.   His life was constantly being threatened.   This psalm was put together in the later days of the writer as he contemplated all that God had and continued to provide for him.  Let us also rest assured that when we put all of our faith in Jesus Christ, ask for the promised wisdom God has for us and listen for that still small voice of God, that God will provide that comfort and that promised victory for us as well.

¹¹¹  Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart. ¹¹² I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end.

^{111 – 112} 1828 Webster’s (Heritage) – In Scripture, the saints or people of God are called his heritage as being claimed by him, and the objects of his special care.  The Psalmist felt the calming of being God’s chosen and was really something to rejoice in.  His heart was fully devoted to God, established in the Word of God.  God will honor those who commit their lives to Him.  Committing your life to Jesus Christ is not just a word or a single day or once a week visit.  It is a life long dedication.   When you truly receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and are reborn, your body is transformed.  The outer shell stays the same but the inner soul is taken over by the Holy Spirit and it will stay with you.  The ways you keep the outer shell, the outer man energized with the inner soul is by staying in the Word, praying, being in communion with God, and being with like-minded Christians, feeding the soul.  This doesn’t make you a wacko Christian, this makes you someone God loves. 

ס Samek (O) 113 – 120

¹¹³ I hate the double-minded, But I love Your law.

¹¹³ The Psalmist uses a very strong word to describe the double-minded, hate.  The root word in Hebrew used here is sane (śā·nê·ṯî).  There are a number of different meanings for this root word used throughout the scriptures, such as detest (1), enemy (3), enmity (1), foes (1), hate (78), hated (28), hated her intensely (1), hates (19), hating (2), hatred (1), turned against (1), turns against (2), unloved (7).

The KJV uses the words vain thoughts instead of double-minded.  Regardless, the root word comes from the Hebrew word seeph (sê·‘ă·p̄îm); meaning divided or halfhearted.  God’s Word is very specific about division or being look warm.  Revelation 3:15-16 (KJV), “¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” Jesus will spew (expel large quantities of (something) rapidly and forcibly) you out of His mouth from entering the kingdom of heaven.  The Psalmist was in love with God’s Word.  It protected him.  It comforted him.  He believed unconditionally in God’s Word and had no tolerance for anyone who rejected it.

¹¹⁴ You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.

¹¹⁴ The Psalmist basked in the loving arms of God’s Word.  He found his home, his comfort, and his armor with God in God’s Word.  Imagine the rich rewards you can achieve with God if you were to bask in the richness of God’s Word and allow God to provide His will upon you; to guide you.  Don’t ever give up on God.  God’s timing is not ours.  We read through the scriptures and we see God’s wondrous works but, in many cases, there is no timeline, no apparent time shown from when the need is requested and when God’s response is granted.  God always knows what is best for us.

¹¹⁵ Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God!  ¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.  ¹¹⁷ Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually. 

^{115 – 117} The Psalmist emphasizes here what he stated earlier in verse 113 when he says, ¹¹⁵ Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God! , ¹¹³ I hate the double-minded, But I love Your law.  The Psalmist wanted to put a great distance between he and anyone or anything not of God.  He not only could not tolerate the disobedience but did not want or need any temptations that could possibly creep in.  Jeremiah 29:11-12 (KJV), “¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  The NKJV and in the original Hebrew text it is written,  “¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  The original Hebrew text has the word as tiqvah (wə·ṯiq·wāh), which is the feminine word for hope or absolute.   God’s promise to us is hope. Romans 15:13 (KJV), “¹³ Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Psalm 39:7 (KJV), “⁷ And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.” 

As Christians, that is what we have in Jesus Christ is hope, our promise of hope.  The Psalmist will stand not ashamed of his hope as should we.  We will be laughed at, mocked at, and ridiculed, called racists, and who knows what else.  Jesus told us that our life commitment to Him would not be easy.

Exodus 17:12-14 (KJV), “¹² But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”  As Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses, God lifted up the Psalmist and will lift you up out of the darkest hour.  Give praise to our Lord without ceasing.  Meditate on God’s Word and while meditating, realize what God has done, what God is doing, and be excited as to What God is going to do.

¹¹⁸ You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood.  ¹¹⁹ You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies. 

^{118 – 119} A very common theme to this section of the Psalms; rejection for those who dismiss the Word of God and praises from the Psalmist for his love of the Word of God.  Looking at the original Hebrew word used for stray is shagah (šō·w·ḡîm).   This word in content means to go astray, err, or to sin through ignorance.  This word has no meaning to losing one’s salvation.  In this case, the Israelites withdrew from God’s law from the start. 

Whenever a miner finds a raw precious metal, it is usually melted or heated to burn away what is called dross.  The Psalmist is stating that God would extinguish the evil from the earth as if they were dross being extrapolated from a raw material.

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

¹²⁰ Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  Proverbs 9:10, (KJV) “¹⁰ The ^[9]fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”  Due to our reverence and awe of or our Almighty, we, as children of God, want to be free of reproach, God’s disapproval or His disappointment in with us we want to be worthy of God’s love.  ]

ע Ayin (P) 121 – 128

¹²¹ I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors.  ¹²² Be surety for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me.

^{121 -122} I believe that the Psalmist wrote this section of the Psalms in his later years, maybe just prior to his death.  He says, “I have done justice and righteousness”, past tense.  Towards the end of his life, he Is still feeling the oppression of his enemies, either by physical force or emotionally within him.  God has been working with the Psalmist, and if David, most of his life, it may lean more towards the mental aspect of asking God to rid him of the pain he may be suffering within.  Committing our lives to Jesus, makes Him our [10] surety, our protector forever, which we could not ask for more.  This is not just a old saying, Proverbs 16:18 (KJV), “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

¹²³ My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation And Your righteous word.  ¹²⁴ Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes.  ¹²⁵ I am Your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know Your testimonies.

^{123 – 125} The Psalmists’ continued love for God’s Word. He is continually seeking to enrich his personal salvation and relationship with God.  From the time of his youth up until this time in his life, his eyes begin to fail him as an indication of his non-stop reading of the Word. 

[11] God being merciful basically means that, when we deserve punishment, He doesn’t punish us, and in fact blesses us instead. Mercy is the withholding of a just condemnation. Throughout the Bible, God gives many illustrations of His mercy. God fully demonstrates His mercy in Jesus Christ.

[12] Because of His love for us, God wants us to be with Him. His mercy is required for that to take place; there is an inseparable connection between God’s love and mercy. Jesus laid down His life and became the sacrificial lamb (Isaiah 53:7[13]; John[14] 1:29) so that God’s mercy could be extended to us. Instead of punishing us for our sin, God allowed His Son to take the condemnation in our place. That is the ultimate act of God’s mercy (see Ephesians[15] 2:4–5). To our eternal benefit, “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13b[16]).

The Psalmist never lost the love of the knowledge of what God had for him.  He was aware that God’s Word was alive and lived within him.  Consider how small the scriptures were then.  The Psalmist committed his life to reading the scriptures.  He constantly petitioned God to feed him and to teach him His ways knowing that new revelations of God’s Word would continually feed him.

¹²⁶ It is time for You to act, O Lord, For they have regarded Your law as void.

We know that God’s time or timing is not our timing.  I could probably state, with relative surety, that most of us have living proof of that.  There are numerous scripture references of God’s timing, I will list here a few that I love.  Habakkuk 2:3 (KJV), “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV), “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Psalm 27:14 (KJV), “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”  Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV), “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

The Psalmist lived a life of loving God, a man in a prominent position and had many enemies.  From the time Moses lead the Jews out of Egypt to the lands promised by God, those lands were full of evil and the enemies that future Jewish leaders would face.  God had provided for the Psalmist time and time again when he faced his adversaries.  At this time in his life, he had had enough of the evil and vile nature of some of the cities surrounding him that rejected God and was pleading for God to ‘step in’.  I believe he wanted to see some sort of finality before his death.

¹²⁷ Therefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold!  ¹²⁸ Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way.

This is yet another repeated theme within this Psalms; the love and commitment to God’s Word.  The Psalmist makes it a point to end almost every section of this Psalms in the same manner.  The highest of praise for God’s Word and a commitment to uphold it and to do everything within his own power to see that it is preached and followed. 

פ Pe (Q) 129 – 136

¹²⁹ Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps them.  ¹³⁰ The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.  ¹³¹ I opened my mouth and panted, For I longed for Your commandments.

Steps Directed by God’s Wonderful Word

This section of this Psalms is such a beautifully, heartfelt, and loving writing.  The Psalmist is in love with God’s Word and is pouring his heart out.

^{129 – 131} The Psalmist uses the word pant.  The original Hebrew text has this word as sha’aph, to gasp, pant, pant after, long for.   He cannot wait to get into God’s Word and eat, devour what God has for him.  In whatever circumstance the Psalmist finds himself in, he knows that as soon as he dives into the Word of God, his world is immediately enlightened, any darkness or troublesome worries he is or was facing is immediately diminished.  We should look to this as an example for our lives.  Psalm 119:105 (KJV), “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

¹³² Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.  ¹³³ Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.  ¹³⁴ Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts.

^{132 – 134 132} Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.   This says it all.  Amen and Alleluia.  John 3:16 (KJV), “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Sure, this was written hundreds and hundreds of years after the Psalmist but if God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Hebrews 13:8 (KJV), “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever”, God’s mercy always was.  Micah asks God the following, Micah 7:18 (KJV), “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy.”  This passage shows that God enjoys being merciful, and is still showing mercy today.

Surrender yourself to God, that is what God wants.  That is why He sent His Son.  That is why, when surrendering your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, God places His Holy Spirit within you.  Allow the Spirit of God to direct your paths.   The Psalmist was continually asking God to direct him and by allowing God to do this for him, it helped him to be free from the oppression of evil surrounding him and prevail not allowing sin to take him over.

¹³⁵ Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes.

Exodus 13:20-22 (KJV), “²⁰ And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.  ²¹ And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: ²² He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” The Psalmist wanted to bask in the shekinah[17] glory of Glory.  [18] The word shekinah does not appear in the Bible, but the concept clearly does. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical expression, a form of a Hebrew word that literally means “he caused to dwell,” signifying that it was a divine visitation of the presence or dwelling of the Lord God on this earth.  By basking in the glory of God when regurgitating the Word of God.  To meditate on God’s Word is to be like a cow chewing it’s cud. As it lays in the field and as it stands or walks about it chews its cud. The cow savors the grass in its mouth before filling its stomach. Then it sits down in the meadow and quietly regurgitates it, re-working it in its mouth before swallowing it. It sounds gross, but the process transforms grass into rich, creamy milk!  1 Peter 2:2 (KJV), “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

¹³⁶ Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law.

¹³⁶ The Psalmist is literally saying that because God’s law is not being kept [men], his eyes run down from of water Rivers.  These are not just weeping eyes but he cannot contain himself from seeing the people around him blatantly disrespecting  and rejecting God. 

ץ Tsadde (R) 137 – 144       The Purity of God’s Word

“The initial letter with which every verse commences sounds like the Hebrew word for righteousness: our keynote is righteousness.” (Spurgeon)

¹³⁷ Righteous are You, O Lord, And upright are Your judgments.  ¹³⁸ Your testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful.

^{137 – 138} We must remind ourselves when reading through each section of this very large Psalms, the order in which the Psalmist was inspired to use when writing this.  During the life of the Psalmist and as he chronicled his love of God’s Word, he was so inspired that the repetition of the love of God and his commitment to be faithful to God’s Word becomes the main theme of the entire Psalms.  The Psalmist is praising God for His righteousness regardless of what he may have gone through at the time.  He was so aware of God’s faithfulness to him that he praised God through all circumstances.  Through the course of the life of the Psalmist, he was a first-hand witness to God’s righteous judgements as God continued to fill him with the promises that had been set forth.

¹³⁹ My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.  ¹⁴⁰ Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.  ¹⁴¹ I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts.

^{139 – 141} Not only did the Psalmist remain faithful to God but he lived it.  He had no problem defending his faith.   When you become transformed into God’s Word through His Son,  and maintain that vigor by meditating on God’s Word, you cannot help but be zealous for God.  When you see how the world and all of the things surrounding you grow further and further away from the Word of God, your passion and love for God will burst out to those around you leaving you ‘small and despised’, hated, called names.  Romans 1:29-32, “²⁹ Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰ Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: ³² Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”  Remember God’s Word concerning your zeal for Jesus Christ as the Psalmist too when we proclaim God’s Word against what we see in the world today; John 15:18-27 (KJV), “¹⁸ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  ¹⁹  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”  Look and see what Jesus said leading up to these verses; “¹² This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  ¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  ¹⁵ Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.  ¹⁶ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.  ¹⁷ These things I command you, that ye love one another.”  With this zeal for God also comes love; the love for everyone.  We are all sinners and God commands us to love one another.

After Jesus told his disciples that the world would hate them in the name of Jesus, He then said, “²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.  ²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.  ²² If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.  ²³ He that hateth me hateth my Father also.”  Very powerful words to the lovers of themselves.

¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.  ¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, Yet Your commandments are my delights.

^{142 – 143} The Psalmist states what he has preached to his people while lifting up praises to our Most Holy God.  God’s righteousness is everlasting.  By committing ourselves to God’s Word and the commandments given to us by Jesus Christ, we will inherit God’s everlasting righteousness with Him in heaven.  We need to understand that this long lived commitment that we make will only lead us to God’s ultimate will and desires for us, and who can ask for more than that?  God tells us that the road to the ultimate reward would not be any easy road to travel on; John 16:33 (KJV), “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  God does promise not to give us more than we can spiritually handle at the time, Philippians 4:13 (KJV), “ I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.”

¹⁴⁴ The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; Give me understanding, and I shall live.

¹⁴⁴ The Psalmist ends this passage by restating the righteousness of God’s Word with the thirst and desire for God’s wisdom to fill him with the knowledge of everything God has to tell him.  The Psalmist keeps in mind that God’s Word is full of life, promise and guidance to which he leads his life by to bring him everlasting life. 

ק Qoph (S) 145 – 152

¹⁴⁵ I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O Lord!  I will keep Your statutes.  ¹⁴⁶ I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.  ¹⁴⁷ I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word.  ¹⁴⁸ My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.

^{145 – 148} Almost in a desperate plea, the Psalmist is either prostrated or down on his knees crying out to God to be heard.  This particular passage must have been written when the Psalmist was at a very troublesome spot in his life, completely down and out.  Crying out to God to save him from pull or force of the enemies that are surrounding him.  The Hebrew word used for save me here is yasha (hō·wō·šî·‘ê·nî / yaw-shah’); which means to deliver.  This same word is used two hundred and six times throughout scripture.  A desperate plea for deliverance from the forces of evil to the serenity of God’s loving hands.  He is not telling God that he rises early to meet Him but rather an indication of his loyalty and persistence throughout the day of petitioning for God’s mercy.

¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.

¹⁴⁹ The Psalmist could have been in a position where he may be trembling or somewhere hiding out from his enemies.  The first part of this verse could indicate, (see verse 150) that he may have been in a position of unclear thoughts or captured pleading with God to hear the words through the heart of the Psalmist with the tender mercies and lovingkindness that only God could interpret.   He is asking God for strength to pull him through whatever circumstances he may find himself in.

¹⁵⁰ They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law.  ¹⁵¹ You are near, O Lord, And all Your commandments are truth.

^{150 – 151} The enemy is constantly surrounding us, as with the Psalmist, waiting an seeking any opportunity of vulnerability to sneak in.  There is nothing that keeps the enemy from trying every trick to manipulate you into sin.  Satan, and his minions, know the Word of God very well and know how to use it into trickery.  God’s arms are always around us to protect us; Deuteronomy 33:27 (KJV), “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”  Rely totally on God’s Word for comfort and strength.

¹⁵² Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

¹⁵² God’s Word gets embedded in our hearts when we submerge ourselves into it.  The Psalmist from early on in his life, not only through his own experiences but through the scriptures and the beauty of the world around him, had a firm foundation of God’s Word.  The Psalmist knew that the foundation of all things were established by God and that God’s firm hand would the Rock of our eternal salvation.   Building a solid and sound foundation with God through His Son Jesus Christ, will uphold all things forever. 

ר Resh (R) 153 – 160

¹⁵³ Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law.  ¹⁵⁴ Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. 

^{153 – 154} The Psalmist’s life was full of tribulation.  If our lives were to be easy, God would not have sent His Son to us.  John 16:33 (KJV), “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  When we face turmoil in our lives, this is when the true test of God’s faith comes in.  The Psalmist is reaching out to God in prayer and supplication during this time for comfort.  He wants to be free from this temporary affliction that has come upon him.  Instead of laying your head down low,  put your head into God’s Word, not forgetting His promises. 

Normally, life’s little setbacks do not come at the most opportunistic times, it is these times when God is calling us to seek Him.  When we get down because of a current situation, as the Psalmist probably did often, this is the time we need to look to God to revive us, to rejuvenate our spirit within us.  He is asking God to plea for him.  The RHW used here is riyb (reeb); which, in this case, mean to conduct a case or suit (legal), sue, Psalm 35:1-3 (KJV), “¹Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. ² Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.  ³ Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.”  Psalm 43 (KJV), “⁴³ Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.”  Remember what Jesus said to the apostles after He asked them whom do they [outsiders/Jews] say that He is.  Peter then replies and said, “The Christ of God”.  Luke 9:23 (KJV), “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” This is what God wants from us, leave your burdens behind and follow Him.

¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.  ¹⁵⁶ Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your judgments.

^{155 – 156} The Psalmist can plainly see in His days and so can we that the world does not seek out God’s Word.  It may appear to many of us that the world is getting further and further away from God’s Word.  Not to say it is not, but the Psalmist saw it in his days as well did Jesus see it when He walked with us.  There is and never will be a lack of persecution against the righteous.  It is becoming much more evident today as the population grows exponentially at the same time technology does.  It is not hidden any more for us, it is right in our faces.  Regardless of all things facing the Psalmist, he knows what God has promised him.   2 Samuel 24:14 (KJV), “ And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.”  Great are God’s tender mercies.  Psalm 86:5 (KJV), “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”  It is awesome to know that all you have to do is call upon His Name.

¹⁵⁷ Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.  ¹⁵⁸ I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word.

^{157 – 158} Charles Bridges said, “Persecution, to the false professor, is an occasion of apostasy,  [Matthew 12:20-21 (KJV)] [19]to the faithful servant of Christ, it is the trial of his faith [1 Peter 4:12-16 (KJV)[20]], the source of his richest consolations [Matthew 5:10, (KJV)][21], the guard of his profession [Philippians 2:14-16 (KJV)][22], and the strength of his perseverance. [Acts 20:22-24 (KJV)].[23]

The Psalmist saw the world the way in which it was.  In a similar fashion, we do as well.  We see instantly when God is ridiculed and turned away.   A day does not go by when hear or see of something that someone or an organization has done to unhide ‘their rights’.  It was the same for the Psalmist, he lived and saw it.  Knowing that it is coming, for God told us it would, it still disgusting to see and hear.  2 Timothy 31-7 (KJV), “¹This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴ Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; ⁵ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.  ⁶ For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ⁷ Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The more you are in love with God, the more it will disgust you. 

¹⁵⁹ Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.  ¹⁶⁰ The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

^{159 – 160} The Psalmist asks God to revive him.  We ask God to search through us and see how we love His Word.  It is not that we are deserving of anything in return but a request of God’s lovingkindness.   The Psalmist declares God’s infallible nature through the Word that God has left for us.  We cannot pick and choose which verses or scriptures fit our particular needs.  Many faiths and movements are originated by such ludicrousy.  2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV), “ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”.   All, not parts.

Our faith is not based on an opinion.  It is not based on anyone’s ‘way of thinking’.  God made it quite clear, Matthew 12:30 (KJV), “ He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” The NKJV puts it this way, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” 

The Psalmist was in the world but not of the world.  He chose whom he was going to serve.  Joshua was talking to the Israelites after their long journeys in the wilderness approaching the land promised to them by God.  Joshua 24:15 (KJV), “ And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  We will all go through spots of the wilderness through our journey and there will be many things in the world that appear to be that ‘light at the end’; but, we must choose whom we will serve.  There was and only will be one Person that can give the strength you need when you need it and the grace you need when you don’t deserve it.  Only One that can promise to be with you always and never leave your side.  The God that made you and all things, Genesis 1:27 (KJV), “ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”    

שׁ Shin (S) 161 – 168

¹⁶¹ Princes persecute me without a cause, But my heart stands in awe of Your word.  ¹⁶² I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.

^{161 – 162} (KJV) Princes [8269][24] have persecuted [7291[25] z8804] me without a cause: [2600] but my heart [3820] standeth in awe [6342 z8804] of thy word. [1697 x4480].  If the Psalmist was David, scripture does tell us that he was pursued and persecuted without any real cause.  Just the fact that he was pursuing God’s kingdom in the way in which God had appointed him.  This is the theme of this entire Psalms is that of being pursued by the unrighteous for staying strong in faith with our Lord.  Constant persecution is always going to be in an imperfect world infested with sin. 

[26] “He might have been overcome by awe of the princes had it not been that a greater fear drove out the less, and he was swayed by awe of God’s word. How little do crowns and scepters become in the judgment of that man who perceives a more majestic royalty in the commands of his God.” (Spurgeon)

Here we face the ‘awe of our enemy’ versus our ‘awe of God’.  Though the Psalmist faced a lot of persecution, he would not waiver from the awe of God’s Word.  The Psalmist was protected by God’s strength to overcome such adversities.  He had unconditional appreciation for God’s Word.

If the Psalmist was indeed David, he and his army ravaged and pilferaged city after city capturing not only the able citizens there but their rich spoil of gold, silver and precious metals. The original Hebrew word for the use of treasure is  šā·lāl ( shalal) to mean a prey, spoil, plunder booty.   In all that the Psalmist went through, he still rejoiced in the Word of God.  When we emerge ourselves in God’s Word, it not only comes alive within us but yields itself so much comfort.  A comfort that only one that is shielded within the full armor of God would benefit from.

¹⁶³ I hate and abhor lying, But I love Your law.  ¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.

^{163 – 164} Proverbs 6:16-17 (KJV), “¹⁶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” There is no other way to put the Words of God for what He abhors.  Both words; hate [śā·nê/sane (8130)] and abomination [tō·w·‘ă·ḇaṯ/toebah (8441)] in the original Hebrew text meaning exactly what they say.  To be in love with God’s Word is to hate the lying and backbiting done with such blasphemous bitterness towards God.   It is the act of lying, the tongue.  The tongue is a wicked thing in the possession of an unrighteous man.

James 3:1-6 (KJV), “¹ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.  ² For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.  ³ Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.  ⁴ Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.  ⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!  ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Right at the start of the Bible, the number seven is identified with something being “finished” or “complete.” From then on, that association continues, as seven is often found in contexts involving completeness or divine perfection.  So, the Psalmist could have meant he put aside specifically seven times a day to be alone with God.  Or the Psalmist, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, could have meant that whatever amount of time he spent each day, it fit in perfectly with his relationship with God.

¹⁶⁵ Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.  ¹⁶⁶ Lord, I hope for Your salvation, And I do Your commandments.

^{165 – 166} I love this comment from Charles Spurgeon on verse 165, “In every age there have been Luthers and Latimers, who have not only held fast their confidence, but whose peace has deepened with the roaring of the waves. The more they have been forsaken of men, the closer has been their communion with God.”  What an incredible place to be for anyone!  For the Psalmist to be so in love with God and His Word, that no matter who abandoned him, or who despised him for relationship with God, he had an incredible amount of peace within. 

This hope is very much like faith. “Faith is the exercise of the soul in a sense of need, in desire, and in trust. Faith goes to God on the ground of the promise; hope in the expectation of the thing promised. Thus hope implies the operation of faith.” (Bridges)  The Psalmist could have borrowed this verse from Jacob, Genesis 49:18 (KJV), “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.”  With the hope that Jesus Christ provides in us gives us the desires to obey His commandments in love.

¹⁶⁷ My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.  ¹⁶⁸ I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, For all my ways are before You.

^{167 – 168} As the Psalmist grew in his relationship with God, his new nature driven by the Holy Spirit that indwelled within him, gave him a deeper love and appreciation for God’s Word than any other drive or conviction he had within his old nature.  “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to beg for permission.”  How many times have you said these words or been amongst anyone who has?  The Psalmist was well aware, as that are we, that God constantly forgives us, that is what His grace is all about.  It does seem a little (a lot) hypocritical to believe this if we are truly born into the new nature of God.  The Jews covered Christ’s face, and then buffeted him: Mark 14:65[27]. So does the hypocrite; he first says in his heart, God sees not, or at least forgets that he sees, and then he makes bold to sin against him.”   (Gurnall, cited in Spurgeon) 

ת Tau (T) 169 – 176

¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Your word.  ¹⁷⁰ Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word.

[28] “The Psalmist is approaching the end of the Psalm, and his petitions gather force and fervency; he seems to break into the inner circle of divine fellowship, and to come even to the feet of the great God whose help he is imploring. This nearness creates the most lowly view of himself, and leads him to close the Psalm upon his face in deepest self-humiliation, begging to be sought out like a lost sheep.” (Spurgeon)

^{169 – 170} The Psalmist is weeping profusely.  The original Hebrews text for my cry is rin·nā·ṯî/rinnah: a ringing cry.  This was the Psalmists’ desperate plea for God’s mercy. He is begging God to grant him the wisdom that he needs to seek understanding of the Word, to being him hope.  This entire Psalms is devoted to many prayers to God.  The Psalmist is now ending with his personal prayers for God to reveal His Glory to him.  The Psalmist wanted to be delivered from the world he was in.  He did not just want to be relocated or simply removed from the pain and suffering in which he endured but wanted God’s pure deliverance according to God’s Word. He wanted the will of God.   We must seek godly wisdom in order to find God’s will for us.  This will only come with communion (koinonia)  with God.   Koinonia is a Greek word that occurs 20 times in the Bible. Koinonia’s primary meaning is “fellowship, sharing in common, communion.”   It is interesting that a Levite by the name of Conaniah was in charge of collecting tithes and offerings to be presented to God. The Biblical baby name conaniah is Hebrew in origin and its meaning is made by God or Jehovah has sustained.   There is no reference, that I could locate, that would indicate that these two words are related.

¹⁷¹ My lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes.  ¹⁷² My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.

^{171 – 172 [29]} “And yet who of us are fit to praise, except those whom God has taught? The ‘new song’ ill accords with the old heart.” (Bridges)

My lips shall utter praise, from the RHW tə·hil·lāh/ tehillah; which means praise, song of praise.  The actual praising of the Lord can only be learned and obtained by God’s teaching.  When we worship our Lord in song, we are not just singing to God but lifting our hearts to Him in the utmost respect and honor.  The Psalmist wanted surety that all words worthy of praise were from the Word of God, not tainted or hypocritical.  This could signify, though this is not in the scriptures, that God enabled the Psalmist the gift of tongues to deepen his communion with God. 

¹⁷³ Let Your hand become my help,  For I have chosen Your precepts.  ¹⁷⁴ I long for Your salvation, O Lord, And Your law is my delight.

^{173 – 174} The Psalmist was probably handed several opportunities for shelter or assistance but the only real help he wanted was the Hand of God which he obtained through the Scriptures.

Psalm 23 (KJV), “¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The hopes of our eternal salvation has long been the center of our hopes and desires of which our God can give to us.  The Psalmist was most likely at the end of his life and desired assurance of God’s eternal salvation.  He was continuously seeking the will of God through the scriptures and wanted so much the will that God has for him. 

¹⁷⁵ Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;  And let Your judgments help me.  ¹⁷⁶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.

^{175 – 176} The Psalmist had read and had seen what his fathers and fathers’ fathers’ had gone through.  He wanted his soul to lie in eternal rest with God.  The Psalmist’s petition was to continue his praises to God for eternity.  We are all under the bondage of sin, John 8:34 (KJV), “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”  The Psalmist, as we, are dependent on God.  God’s Word has made him spiritually dependent upon God.  The Psalmist is asking God to seek him while meditating on God’s Word.  The RHW for seek is baq·qêš/ baqash; seeking, continually seeking, a verb, past, present and future.  The Psalmist was constantly seeking out God’s Word.[30] “I do not think that there could possibly be a more appropriate conclusion of such a Psalm as this, so full of the varied experience and the ever-changing frames and feelings even of a child of God, in the sunshine and the cloud, in the calm and in the storm, than this ever-clinging sense of his propensity to wander, and the expression of his utter inability to find his way back without the Lord’s guiding hand to restore him.”  (Quoted in Spurgeon. Gilles-François de Beauvais).

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[1] Charles Spurgeon

[2] Derek Kidner

[3] Charles Spurgeon

[4] Got Questions: For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.

[5] Albert Barnes

[6] James Montgomery Boice 

[7] James Montgomery Boice

[8] Perspicuity refers to something that can be seen through, i.e., to lucidity, clearness of style or exposition, freedom from obscurity: the perspicuity of her argument.

[9] Got Questions: For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.

[10] a person who takes responsibility for another’s performance of an undertaking.

[11] GotQuestions.com

[12] GotQuestions.com

[13] ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

[14] ²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

[15] ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

[16] ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

[17] [Return to Psalms 119 Tau]

[18] Got Questions.com

[19] ²⁰ A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.  ²¹ And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

[20] ⁶ Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”

[21] ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[22] ¹⁴ Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

[23] ²² And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

²³ Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

²⁴ But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

[24] A head person of any rank or class

[25] Root word Prim; to pursue, chase, persecute

[26] Charles Spurgeon

[27] (KJV) And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

[28] Charles Spurgeon

[29] Charles Bridges

[30] [Bouchier (Or Boucher) Gilles, a French Jesuit, was born at Arras in 1576, and died in 1665, leaving Belgium Romanum Ecclesiasticum et Civile (Liege, 1655, fol.); it extends from the end of the period embraced by Casesar’s commentaries to the death of Clovis I. See Biog. Universelle, 5, 271.