Daleth
25 My soul clings to the dust;
give me life according to your word!
26 When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes!
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
29 Put false ways far from me
and graciously teach me your law!
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your rules before me.
31 I cling to your testimonies, O LORD;
let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of your commandments
when you enlarge my heart!
He
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
that you may be feared.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread,
for your rules are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life!
Waw
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,
your salvation according to your promise;
42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your rules.
44 I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
45 and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
and shall not be put to shame,
47 for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes. – Psalm 119:25-48 ESV
The psalmist's life was anything but easy. Following Yahweh's law had not guaranteed him a trouble-free life or provided him with immunity from sin and sorrow. He flatly states, “My soul clings to the dust” (Psalm 119:25 ESV), describing his current state of mourning. He provides no specifics as to his predicament, but adds, “My soul melts away for sorrow” (Psalm 119:28 ESV). He is struggling with deep depression and reaches out to Yahweh for help and healing.
“Revive me by your word,” he pleads (Psalm 119:25 NLT) because he is filled with doubts and doing battle with his own inner demons. False ideas fill his mind, and wrong conclusions about his problems wreak havoc with his self-confidence. He can't seem to decide whether his pain is self-induced or the result of disobedience to God's commands. Is he being punished for his sins or simply reaping the consequences for his unfaithfulness?
It almost seems he is grasping at straws as he searches for an explanation to his dilemma. He even brings up the love of money and materialism.
Give me an eagerness for your laws
rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word. – Psalm 119:36-37 NLT
This is a man in turmoil, who longs to be restored to a right relationship with Yahweh. But he knows the key to his restoration is found in God’s commands.
…revive me by your word – vs 25 (NLT)
…encourage me by your word – vs 28 (NLT)
…give me the privilege of knowing your instructions – vs 29 (NLT)
Teach me your decrees – vs 33 (NLT)
Give me understanding – vs 34 (NLT)
Make me walk along the path of your commands – vs 35 (NLT)
Give me an eagerness for your laws – vs 36 (NLT)
…give me life through your word – vs 37 (NLT)
The psalmist knows that something is missing. He understands the value of God's decrees but seeks more than mental assent to a set of regulations. Knowing God's laws and keeping them are not the same thing. Knowing what God commands is useless if the heart doesn't grasp the why behind it. That’s why he pleads, “Help me understand the meaning of your commandments” (Psalm 119:27 NLT) and “expand my understanding” (Psalm 119:32 NLT).
Laws can do little to regulate the lives of those who fail to comprehend their underlying purpose. Without understanding why God gave His statutes, men will always view them as restrictive and repressive. They will become a burden rather than a delight. But the psalmist inherently knew God's laws were not just a list of prohibitions to be obeyed; they could bring joy, pleasure, peace, comfort, security, and an overwhelming sense of God's presence and delight.
That is why the psalmist says, “I have determined to live by your regulations” (Psalm 119:30 NLT). He claims to cling to them like a drowning man grasps a life preserver. He pursues them with a vengeance because he comprehends their value. He knows true happiness is found only when one obeys God's commands. Disobedience doesn't bring delight. Freedom from the law doesn't emancipate or make one the master of one's fate; it enslaves and entraps. The apostle Paul understood this reality and warned the believers in Rome not to allow their desire for freedom to end up enslaving them to sin.
Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. – Romans 6:16-18 NLT
The psalmist also understood the danger of pursuing freedom at all costs.
Help me abandon my shameful ways;
for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness. – Psalm 119:39-40 NLT
He knew that God's laws were good, holy, and had a divine purpose behind them. They were not a set of arbitrary rules designed to restrict and repress, or the sadistic musings of some cosmic kill-joy intent on keeping humanity from having a good time. They were the gracious gift of a good God who longed for His children to experience His blessings by living according to His holy standards. Once again, the apostle Paul provides insight into man's love-hate relationship with God's law.
…it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. – Romans 7:7-12 NLT
The psalmist was content to give Yahweh the benefit of the doubt. He didn't fully understand all that was going on in his life, but he knew that the answer was to be found in the law, not apart from it. He longed to experience God’s love as salvation from his doubt, despair, and difficulties.
LORD, give me your unfailing love,
the salvation that you promised me. – Psalm 119:41 NLT
His salvation would be found in keeping the law. But to keep the law, he would need help. He described God's laws as his only hope (vs 43) and understood Yahweh was his only source of help to live obediently. This entire psalm is a tribute to the efficacy and integrity of God's law and a declaration of the psalmist's commitment to remaining obedient in the face of opposition and uncertainty.
I will keep on obeying your instructions
forever and ever.
I will walk in freedom,
for I have devoted myself to your commandments. – Psalm 119:44-45 NLT
This anonymous psalmist represents all God’s children who have ever wrestled with doubts concerning God's commands. Even New Testament believers, who embrace the doctrine that they have been set free from the law of sin and death, wrestle with the concept of obedience. When they hear Jesus say, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT), they question the validity of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus’ words sound a lot like works, and it doesn't help when He later states, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me” (John 14:21 NLT).
The disciples wrestled with Jesus’ words because they did not yet have the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. In fact, Jesus told them their ability to obey would be made possible through the Spirit's power.
“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.…when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” – John 14:23-24, 26 NLT
But even with the power of the Spirit of God present within him, the apostle Paul described the ongoing state of confusion and conflict that would plague the life of every believer, including himself.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. – Romans 7:21-25 NLT
But Paul knew that Jesus was the solution to his ongoing sin problem. Jesus was not just the source of salvation, but also of being restored to a right relationship with God the Father. He was the key to our ongoing sanctification, the transformation of our lives into His own likeness as we live in obedience to His commands in the power of the Holy Spirit. For the psalmist and Paul, obedience was the key to God's blessing, and God was the key to obedience, so none of us might be tempted to boast (Ephesians 2:9).
Father, You demand obedience but You also supply the power. Your law is not onerous or impossible; it is holy, righteous, and good. And while we are incapable of keeping it in our own strength, You sent Your Son to live according to Your law – without sin. He kept every aspect of Your law. He was fully obedient at all times, even to the point of suffering death on the cross in keeping with Your will for Him. And because He obeyed and we believed, we have received His righteousness. We are made new and fully acceptable to You. Not only that, we have received the presence and power of Your Spirit, empowering us to live obediently to Your commands – not perfectly but persistantly and willingly. With the psalmist I pray, “Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!” (Psalm 119:39-40 NLT). Amen
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
