Exposition of Psalm
119
?
CHETH
God’s
Word Brings Satisfaction
Psalm
119:57-64
Thou
art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep
thy words.
I
entreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful
unto me according to thy word.
I
thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies.
I
made haste, and delayed not to keep thy
commandments.
The
bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not
forgotten thy law.
At
midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of
thy righteous judgments.
I
am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them
that keep thy precepts.
The
earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy
statutes.
Throughout this Psalm we
see the Psalmist struggling with problems and
adversity:
I am a stranger in the earth (v.
19)
Remove from me reproach and
contempt (v. 22).
Princes also did sit and speak
against me (v. 23).
My soul cleaveth unto the dust
(v. 25).
My soul melteth for heaviness (v.
28).
Turn away mine eyes from
beholding vanity (v.
37).
Turn away my reproach which I
fear (v. 39).
Let thy mercies come also unto me
. . . So shall I have wherewith to answer him that
reproacheth me (vs.
41-42).
This is my comfort in my
affliction: for thy word hath quickened me (v.
50).
The proud have had me greatly in
derision (v. 51).
Horror hath taken hold upon me
because of the wicked that forsake thy law (v.
53).
In the shadow of all
that, what does David write? Does he wallow in
despair, whine in complaint, wail in
uncertainty, or even weep in
self-pity? No. He writes about the things in which he
finds satisfaction. Let us meditate on seven realities
that bring true satisfaction.
I. Satisfaction in Our Portion of God
(v.
57)
Thou
art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep
thy words.
Here is an amazing
statement: Thou art my portion,
O LORD. Portion
translates a Hebrew word (heleq), a rich word,
indeed, from Jewish history that refers to a share or
piece of territory and is used in several ways. It is
used, for example, of a part of the spoils of war (Gen.
14:24) or a portion of food (Lev. 6:17). It’s most
common use, however, was to refer to a share in an
inheritance. God gave the Promised Land to His people as
their possession according to His covenant promise. This
made the term, in fact, a parallel of another Hebrew
word (nahalâ) translated
“inheritance” several times in Joshua, for example (1:6;
11:23; 13:6-7, 33; etc.
This idea provides
us with the clear figurative use in our text, namely,
while the world seeks happiness in wealth, property, and
other earthly spoil, having “their portion in this life”
only (Ps. 17:14), the true child of God seeks only
God Himself and desires only what is found in
Him. Profoundly struck by this
truth, David writes again in 142:5: “I cried unto thee,
O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the
land of the living.” Another Psalmist, Asaph, David’s
chief musician, probably picked it up from David and
wrote: “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the
strength of my heart, and my portion for
ever.”
Commenting on 16:5—“The
LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
thou maintainest my lot”—perhaps Spurgeon puts it
best:
He is our portion, supplying all
our necessities, and our cup yielding royal luxuries;
our cup in this life, and our inheritance in the life to
come. As children of the Father who is in heaven, we
inherit, by virtue of our joint heirship with Jesus, all
the riches . . . of grace; and the portion which falls
to us sets upon our table the bread of heaven and the
new wine of the kingdom.[i]
As noted in our last
study, LORD (all
capital letters) translates the Tetragrammaton YHWH
(Yahweh, or Jehovah), the name of God that emphasizes
His self-existence and unchangeableness, the “covenant
name” of God, and the name
that relates to His work of redemption. It is,
therefore, God alone Whom we desire; we seek nothing
that does not come from Him, and only He
satisfies.
Abraham knew this
truth. While Lot wanted the well water plain of Jordan
and pitched his tent toward the advantages of Sodom,
Abraham was satisfied with what God would provide in
the desert. This picture was
vividly painted for me recently as I drove across
western Utah and then Nevada and saw hundreds of miles
of desolation. What could anyone possibly find there
that would satisfy? But Abraham was satisfied. Paul knew
this truth as well when he wrote,
For I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to
be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in
all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Phil.
4:11-13).
Dear Christian, may
we each be able to say with Peter: “According as his
divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him
that hath called us to glory and virtue.” Oh, let us be
satisfied with the portion God chooses to give!
II. Satisfaction in Prayer (v.
58)
I
entreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful
unto me according to thy word.
The key word in this
verse is entreated.
The Hebrew (halâ) is from a root that basically
means “to be or become sick or faint.” It also means “to
appease, to entreat, to appeal to,” which makes perfect
sense when one is sick or faint. The Hebrew behind
favour
(paneh), then, literally means “face,” as when
“Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him” (Gen.
17:3). It’s usually used, however, in a figurative or
even idiomatic way. It’s used, for example, in referring
to the countenance on someone’s face, as when “Cain was
very [angry], and his countenance [paneh] fell”
(Gen. 4:5). More notably, it’s also used to refer to the
entire person, as when God said to Moses, “My presence
[paneh] shall go with thee,
and I will give thee rest” (Ex. 33:14).
Putting it all
together, because of his weakness, David appeals to God
alone, seeking His face and coming into His presence for
healing and rest. Why? Because there is nowhere else to
go. And what is the greatest thing he could ask for?
God’s mercy.
What a wondrous picture of prayer that is! In light of
so much shallow, self-centered prayer today—“Oh, God
give me this” and “Oh, Lord, increases me here”—David
just cried out for mercy, just seeking God’s presence, for nothing else
will satisfy.
III. Satisfaction in Our Pursuits (vs.
59-60)
I
thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies.
I
made haste, and delayed not to keep thy
commandments.
We see here three
progressions in David’s thought.
First, we see
David reflecting when he writes, I thought on my
ways. How few people there are today who stop
and think about who they are and what they are
doing. But David did just that—he stopped and
examined his life. Commentator
Adam Clarke explains that this expression
is a metaphor taken from
embroidering, where the figure must appear the same on
the one side as it does on the other; therefore, the
cloth must be turned on each side every time the needle
is set in, to see that the stitch be fairly set. Thus
narrowly and scrupulously did the psalmist examine his
conduct; and the result was, a deep conviction that he
had departed from the way of God and
truth.
What a challenge this is
to each of us to reflect on our living! All of us from
time to time avoid this because such knowledge makes us
responsible that we have abandoned God’s truth. How easy
it is to think like the world and forget God. As David
wrote elsewhere, “The wicked shall be turned into hell,
and all the nations that forget God” (Ps. 19:7). When we
turn to God’s Word, we cannot help but “examine [our]
selves, whether [we] be in the faith” and thereby prove
[our] selves” (II Cor. 13:5). As Spurgeon puts it,
“While studying the word he was led to study his own
life, and this caused a mighty revolution.”
Second, we
see David resolving when he writes, And turned my feet
unto thy testimonies. When we truly reflect
on where we are headed, it will inevitably lead to a
deep resolve to change direction. This is true first
concerning conversion and then also in Christian living.
When a person reflects on his sinfulness,
repents of his sin, and is regenerated by
God, he then receives Christ as Savior and Lord
and resolves to live a life
that glorifies God.
Third, we
then see David rushing when he writes, I made haste, and
delayed not to keep thy commandments. While
men’s “feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed
innocent blood” (Is. 59:7; cf. Prov. 1:16; Rom. 3:15),
David’s desire was to run as fast he could to God’s
Word. The words I made
haste are one word in the Hebrew
(hűsh), which means “to hurry or do something
quickly.” In contrast to Lot, for example, who
“lingered,” that is, hesitated, to leave Sodom (Gen. 19:16),
the Israelites did not “tarry” in Egypt but rather left
so quickly that there was no time to even leaven the
bread before baking it for the journey (Ex. 12:39). Oh,
let us rush to God’s Word without delay to keep [His]
commandments! That should
be our pursuit and our satisfaction.
IV. Satisfaction Through Persecution (v.
61)
The
bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not
forgotten thy law.
Indeed, David had
been robbed
(that is, “surrounded,” as the Hebrew ‘űd
literally means) by his enemies, both persecuted and
plundered. No doubt Saul had seized David’s possessions
when David was forced to flee from him (I Sam. 21). He’d
also been plundered by the Amalekites (30:1-6), as well
as by Absalom (II Sam. 16:20-23). Further, both Saul and
Absalom had tried to kill him. But, he
testifies, in all that I have not forgotten
thy law. That statement
is among the most important in this Psalm and in all of
Scripture. Oh, the calamity that comes when we forget
what God says! How tragic it is that even the church
today is abandoning the Word of God.
The Apostle Paul likewise
testified of what he suffered in that list of II
Corinthians 11:23-27, 30:
Of the Jews five times received I
forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods,
once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night
and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often,
in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by
mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils
in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in
the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness
and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. . . .
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which
concern mine
infirmities.
The word “glory”
there (kauchaomai) means “to
boast, glory, exult, both in a good and bad sense.” It’s
used in the negative, for example, in Ephesians 2:8-9,
where Paul says we are saved by grace, not by works in
which we can boast, vaunt ourselves, or be proud of our
accomplishments. In the positive, however, he also
writes of his infirmities, “Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when
I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:9). Is his
attitude that he made it though these difficulties by
his own will power or some psychological technique and
now takes the glory for it? No, it was “the power of
Christ” that brought “rest” and made him “strong” even
when he was “weak.”
That is true
satisfaction! How easy it is to neglect the promised
warning that Paul also gives, “Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II
Tim. 3:12). Whether the persecution be physical, social,
intellectual, or emotional, the true Believer
will suffer for Christ. There
are no exceptions. The question is, “Will we be
satisfied in Christ?”
V. Satisfaction Through Praise (v.
62)
At
midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of
thy righteous judgments.
There is no better
proof of our satisfaction in God than to praise Him, but
the psalmist goes one better. One of the blessed things
about the Psalm are its many subtleties, one of which
is, At
midnight I will rise to give thanks unto
thee. This is significant because in ancient
times, long before electric lights, people went to bed
early because of the darkness and arose with the early
morning light. To get up at
midnight, then, was to
get up in the middle of the night. It wasn’t that he
couldn’t sleep, but that he wanted to commune with God
during the most private, least disturbed time of the
day. The Psalmist again exults, “The LORD will command
his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his
song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my
life” (42:8), and still again, “Let the saints be joyful
in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds” (149:5).
Paul and Silas also demonstrate such satisfaction when
with their feet lock in stocks in prison, “at midnight .
. . prayed, and sang praises unto God” (Acts 16:24-25).
We should stop here
a moment and ask: does this mean that getting up at
midnight
is the true test of spirituality? Does this mean that
spending time with the Lord at any other time of the day
is not good enough? Of course not. There are some
sincere teachers who maintain that you simply must have
your “quiet time” in the morning, as the Psalmist
writes, “early will I seek thee” (63:1). This, however,
is no guarantee of God’s blessing, for Solomon writes
that even though rebellious, foolish people “shall seek
[Him] early . . . they shall not find [Him]” (Prov.
1:28). Further, the Psalmist writes, “Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he
shall hear my voice” (Ps. 55:17). Likewise, Daniel
“kneeled upon his knees three times a day” (Dan. 6:10).
We also read that “Peter and John went up together into
the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour,”
that is, three in the afternoon (Acts. 3:1). Cornelius
also prayed at that hour in his home (10:30). Further
still, Jesus said we are to be praying
always (Lk. 18:1; cf. Eph.
5:19; I Thess. 5:17), that is, we are to be in constant
communion with God.
No, God’s blessing does
not come by observing some legalistic time of prayer.
What matters is the passion we have for God, what drives
us to Him no matter what time is on the clock. God and
His Word permeate our life, and praise for Him fills our
day.
Specifically, what
was it that Psalmist praised at
midnight? God’s righteous
judgments. As we’ve noted, the word judgments
(mishpat) indicates a binding judicial decision that
establishes a precedent, a binding law. As David wrote
back in verse 7: “I will praise thee with uprightness of
heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous
judgments,” indicating that we can praise God only when
we follow the precedents set down in His Word. As noted
there, it is absolutely impossible to praise God fully
unless His Word is our sole authority. While many today
say they are “worshipping” and “serving,” for example,
they fall short because they ignore the precedents set
down in Scripture for both worship and
service.
How sweet are these words
from the pen of Puritan Charles Bridges:
Midnight wakefulness would be far
sweeter than slumber; yea, night itself would be turned
into day, did the judgments of God, as manifested in the
glory of the Saviour, thus occupy our hearts.ow How How sweet
are these words
VI. Satisfaction Through Partnerships
(v.
63)
I
am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them
that keep thy precepts.
Deeper than what we
sometimes consider just friendship, companionship, or
association with others, the Hebrew behind companion
(haber), it indicates being
joined together. As the old expression goes, “A man is
known by the company he keeps.” Such company does,
indeed, demonstrate our tastes, preferences, values, and
even goals. The people we “hang out with” prove our
character and attitudes, prove what we want and don’t
want.
David’s companions,
therefore, were those who feared God and kept His
precepts
(piqqud), that is, the injunctions and moral
obligations of God’s Word. Instead of the meeting his
companions at the bar of the drunkard, the Christian
wants to meet his at the bar of God’s law. Instead of
spending time with those who live in unbridled
pleasure, he wants to be with those who live in
uncompromising purity. He is satisfied only with
such company. Let us, therefore, desire the company of
those who have a home in heaven, not those who
are headed for hell, those who love the
Lord, not those who lust for life.
VII. Satisfaction Through Persistent Teaching
(v.
64)
The
earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy
statutes.
Everywhere
David looked, he saw God’s mercy.
The
earth, he exults, is full
of it. But the greatest
mercy of all in David’s thinking, was to be taught the
Word of God. As one commentator puts it, “He implores
for himself the inward teaching concerning [God’s] word
as the highest and most cherished of
mercies.”[ii] Spurgeon agrees, “It was
to him the beau-ideal [the perfect type or model] of
mercy to be taught of God, and taught in God’s own law.
He could not think of a greater mercy than this.” John
Calvin adds, “He desires that the mercy of God, which is
extended to all creatures, may be manifested towards him
in one thing, and that is, by enabling him to make
progress in the knowledge of the Divine law.”[iii]
Oh, that we would
see this today! Think of it! God’s Word is the greatest
gift that He has given, the greatest manifestation of
His mercy! Even salvation itself has come by God’s Word
made flesh in Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14). Let us,
therefore, desire the persistent, systematic, day in,
day out, moment-by-moment, teaching of that greatest of
God’s mercies, for only through it will we know
satisfaction. It alone must be our passion, our
priority, and our precedent.
[i] While “portion” is
actually a different Hebrew word
(menat), Spurgeon’s comment
is not diminished.
