Salmos 119

Salmos 119

Trapp - "My sins and troubles; those Thou hast remitted, and these Thou hast remedied." C H Spurgeon elaborates on told of my ways writing "First, he is making his case known. I understand this to be, first, the language of a sinner confessing his sin: “I have declared my ways.” He is a sensible sinner, and therefore he is not in a confessional box with the human ear of a fellow-sinner to listen to him; he is a rational being, who has not degraded himself so low as that. But he is confessing his sin to the great High Priest who can be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities;” to him who cannot be defiled by listening to our tale of sin; to him to whom alone will it avail to confess our sins, for “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,” if we confess them to him. Can each one of us now say, in this sense, “I have declared my ways” to the Lord? For this should be done, not only at our first coming to him, but continually throughout the whole of our life. We should look over each day, and sum up the errors of the day, and say, “ ‘I have declared my ways,’—my naughty ways, my wicked ways, my wandering ways, my backsliding ways, my cold, indifferent ways, my proud ways;—the way of my words, the way of my thoughts, the way of my imagination, the way of my memory, for it has a treacherous way of remembering evil and forgetting good;—the way of my actions towards thee, my God, and there is much to regret there; the way of my actions in my family, in the world, and in the church.” What a sorrowful stock-taking each day would be to many professors if they were honest to themselves and to their God! Even those who “walk in the light, as God is in the light,” and have the closest fellowship with him, yet know that it is a very sweet and blessed thing even for them that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin;” for even they still sin, and it is necessary for each one of them to say continually, “I have declared my ways.” Do you try to hide your sin, dear friend? It is useless for you to attempt to do so, for God ever sees it. Why do you seek to conceal what is always before his eye? Better far to confess it to him, that he may then cast it behind his back (Isa 38:17), and remember it against you no more forever (Isa 43:25). I believe that, often, as sinners confessing to God, we miss much true comfort for want of making a clean breast of our transgressions. Yet the Lord knows what is in our heart even though we do not own it. It has been well observed that, when Moses tried to excuse himself to God for not wanting to go to deliver Israel, he said that he was slow of speech, and God met that objection by giving him Aaron his brother to speak for him; but the Lord, in his reply to Moses, also said, “All the men are dead who sought thy life.” (Ex 4:19) Moses had not said anything about that matter; but God knew that there was that fear in his heart, so he put his finger on the sore place at once. It is well when we can do that for ourselves; when, in our spirit, there is no guile; when we come, as David did, in the 51st Psalm, and confess the very sin which we have committed: “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,” (Ps 51:14) calling it by its right name, then is it that the soul begins to get peace with God. “But,” someone asks, “are we, then, to confess to God every sin in detail?” No, that would be impossible, and probably it would not even be useful; but there must be no wish to conceal any sin from God. Such a desire would be a vain one, for “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Heb 4:13, cf Pr 15:3) There must be an acknowledgment of the sins which we have not yet seen in their full heinousness. Each of us will do well to offer David’s prayer, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults.” (Ps 19:12) If we have committed faults which are hidden even from ourselves, we desire to be delivered from them so that they should not remain to our condemnation. I do not suppose that any unregenerate sinner will act thus towards his God until the Holy Spirit has begun to work graciously within him. While the prodigal was wasting his substance with riotous living, he thought himself a fine gentleman; and even when he was feeding the swine, he only said, “I have had very bad luck.” But it was “when he came to himself” that he said, “I will arise and go to my father;” and it was when he felt his father’s warm kiss upon his cheek that he made the confession, “Father, I have sinned.” There is no contrition so deep as that of the man who can say concerning his sins,— “I know they are forgiven; But, still, their pain to me Is all the grief and anguish They laid, my Lord, on thee.” So, then, our text is, first, the language of a sinner confessing his guilt to his God; but it is more than that. It is, next, the private talk of a patient with his doctor: “I have declared my ways.” See, there is the little room upstairs, and there lies the patient whom the physician has come to try to cure. The doctor’s first work is to find out all he can about the patient’s disease, so he begins by asking concerning the various symptoms that have been noticed. He is sure to look at the sick man’s tongue, and you may learn a great deal, spiritually, of the condition of a man’s heart from the state of his tongue. The doctor will also sound the patient’s lungs, and test his heart, and take his temperature, and ask him a great many questions, not merely about what appears on the surface, but about his inmost self; and when, at last, the patient can say, “There, doctor, I have told you all, now will you prescribe for me?” he is in the condition of the psalmist when he said to the Lord, “I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.” The text very accurately describes such a state of things as that which exists when a patient relates his symptoms to the physician, and then the physician prescribes for him; for, in addition to sin being a great evil in the sight of God, it is also a disease to which we are all prone, and from which only the great Physician can cure us. We cry out against it, and our better self fights against it, yet the old man within us, “the body of this death,” as Paul calls it, fights against the new nature, and we should be overcome were it not for divine grace. So it is well for us to declare our ways. Suppose I put it for myself or for you thus, “Lord, I find that, even when I am engaged in prayer, my thoughts wander. When I am in trouble, I get fretful and rebellious. When a little difficulty meets me in my business, I do not trust thee as I ought. I sometimes find that, when I try to be humble, I become desponding; and when I am joyful, I become presumptuous. I seem to be like a pendulum swinging too far this way, and then too far that way. I know not how to steer the ship of my life between the Scylla of this sin and the Charybdis of that. O my Master, I am but dust and ashes, I am less than nothing, and vanity! If thou dost ask me what I ail, I seem to have all manner of diseases upon me at once. Sometimes, I am hot with fever, and full of wrath; and, at other times, I shiver with ague as though I did not know what I believed, and could not lay hold of thy truth with a firm grip. Sometimes I fear that I have a fatal disease upon me; and, certainly, were it not for thine unfailing medicine—the great catholicon—my soul would pine away, and die. Yet, amid all these evil symptoms, there is one sign that, I trust, is for good. I do know where my help lies; and I look alone to thee for healing. I know that thy precious blood has cleansed me, and on that blood alone I do rely.” Thus the patient tells the good Physician, as far as he can, what he feels, and what is the disease from which he is suffering. I think, too, that we might use another figure to illustrate the meaning of our text; it is like a client telling his advocate all about his affairs. It is a difficult case in law. There is an accuser who has come forward with very serious charges, and he brings witnesses to substantiate what he affirms, and the case is a very complicated one. The client says that he does not know how to plead for himself; he says that he is at his wits’ end, and he asks the advocate whether he has any argument that can avail for him. The advocate replies, “I must first know all about your case before I can advise you, so tell me everything.” Now, the Lord Jesus, your great Advocate, already knows all about you, yet he likes you to tell it all to him. It is always a good thing to— “Tell it all to Jesus, Comfort or complaint.” Mind that you do tell it all to him; do not keep anything back. Tell him the complex part of your life, and tell him the black part of it; be sure to bring that out. Tell him that the accuser has good ground for his charges against you, and that he can bring abundant witnesses against you,—ay, that your own conscience will witness against you,—and that you do not know of any plea, on earth or in heaven, that can avail for you unless he will be your Advocate. Then, how dear that Advocate will be to you when he tells you that he can plead his righteousness, his life, his blood, and his death, for “if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” I do not think, however, that we have reached the very marrow of our text until we regard it as describing the intimate communion of friend with friend: “I have declared, my ways.” When two men become linked together in close friendship, they are in the habit of telling to one another all that happens in their lives; and if one of them is in a difficulty, he goes off to his friend, and tells him about it. They agree with Solomon that “two are better than one; for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow;” and, by mutual counsel, wisdom will be found. The one who is in trouble tells his friend about it, and his friend, perhaps, puts to him a number of questions, not out of prying curiosity, but in order that he may become acquainted with the whole case, and so be qualified to advise or to help. And we, beloved, if we really know the Lord in spirit and in truth, are exalted to the position of friends of Jesus. “Henceforth,” said he to his disciples, “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.” “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” when he was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah; and we must hide nothing from our God. It ought to be the daily habit of the believer to commune with his God; we ought to make him our Confidant in all things. You will go amiss, depend upon it, if you do not wait upon the Lord for guidance. “Bring hither the ephod,” was David’s command to the priests when he was in perplexity, and knew not what he ought to do. Israel made a great mistake with regard to the Gibeonites because the case seemed so simple to them that they did not need to consult the Lord concerning it. Here were men with dry and mouldy bread, and with old shoes and clouted upon their feet; they said they had come from a far country, and the matter appeared so plain that the Israelites asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord, but took of their victuals, and made a treaty with them, as they would not have done if they had consulted the Lord. I do not think that God’s people often go astray in the most difficult cases, for they do take them to the Lord in prayer. It is in simple matters that we make our greatest blunders, because we think we know what to do, and therefore we do not wait upon the Lord for guidance. Yet he who leans to his own understanding is trusting to a broken reed which will be sure to fail him just when he most needs it. So let us, each one, say to the Lord, in the language of the text, “I have declared my ways.” (See Spurgeon's sermon on Ps 119:26 A Man of God Alone with God) Teach me Your statutes - If our Teacher the Spirit (Jn 14:26, 1Jn 2:20, 27+) does not open our minds to spiritual truth, our attempts will be nothing more than an intellectual exercise. Is this your prayer when you open the Book, that He would open your heart and mind to the supernatural truths Told (05608) (saphar) means to number, to recount, to relate and then to declare. The first OT use refers to numbering objects (Ge 15:5, cf Ps 48:12). In Ps 19:1 "their expanse is declaring...", proclaiming, enumerating, telling, making known ("if you were told" - Hab 1:5). As a participle = writer, scribe, secretary. To number = take account of = carefully observe & consider. Saphar/sapar basically speaks of mathematical activity as in Ge 15:5+ (Gen 32:12 - "too great to be numbered", cf Jer 33:22 = "cannot be counted", Hos 1:10 "numbered") "count the stars, if you are able to count them." (cf Lev 15:13). To "count up" or "take a census" ("numbered the people" = 2 Sa 24:10). Assigning people to particular jobs ("So Solomon assigned..." = 2 Chr 2:2) Count out according to a list ("he counted them out to Sheshbazzar," = Ezra 1:8). With the sense "taken account of" (Ps 56:8) Meaning to measure ("until he stopped measuring" = Ge 41:49). Fathers => teach children to recount God's miracles and mighty deeds (Ps 78:3) Every believer is to declare or tell of the miracles and mighty deeds of the delivering God (1Chr 16:24; cf. Ps 9:1, 14 Ps 26:7 Ps 73:28 Ps 75:1 Ps 107:22 Jer 51:10) and to declare his name (Ps 102:21 Ps 22:22 etc.). Saphar is used far more in psalms that anywhere else in the OT -Ps. 2:7; Ps. 9:1; Ps. 9:14; Ps. 19:1; Ps. 22:17; Ps. 22:22; Ps. 22:30; Ps. 26:7; Ps. 40:5; Ps. 44:1; Ps. 48:12; Ps. 48:13; Ps. 50:16; Ps. 56:8; Ps. 59:12; Ps. 64:5; Ps. 66:16; Ps. 69:26; Ps. 71:15; Ps. 73:15; Ps. 73:28; Ps. 75:1; Ps. 78:3; Ps. 78:4; Ps. 78:6; Ps. 79:13; Ps. 87:6; Ps. 88:11; Ps. 96:3; Ps. 102:21; Ps. 107:22; Ps. 118:17; Ps. 119:13; Ps. 119:26; Ps. 139:18; Ps. 145:6; John Phillips (See Exploring Psalms: An Expository Commentary) - Gleams Amid the Gloom What the Psalmist Realized (Ps 119:25-29) God's Word: In Conviction (Ps 119:25) In Confession (Ps 119:26) In Consecration (Ps 119:27) In Contrition (Ps 119:28) In Contrast (Ps 119:29) What the Psalmist Resolved (Ps 119:30-32) A. His Decision to Live for God (Ps 119:30) B. His Determination to Live for God (Ps 119:31) C. His Desire to Live for God (Ps 119:32) Some great sorrow has overtaken the singer. He is overwhelmed with grief. In his extremity he prays. This is the first of nine prayers in this psalm for God's "quickening" in his life. The psalmist finds a gleam amid the gloom in the fact that God is still on the throne, still mighty to save, still sovereign over all the situations and circumstances of life. The psalm divides into two main parts. We have, first: I. What the Psalmist Realized (Ps 119:25-29) The psalmist realized that God's Word has the answer to every need. We see him applying God's Word to his life in five fundamental ways. A. God's Word in Conviction (Ps 119:25) "My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken Thou me according to Thy word." We don't know what it was that so prostrated the psalmist before God. It may have been an overwhelming sense of his own guilt (guilt will do that). And that, after all, is the first function of God's Word-to expose guilt. The Holy Spirit's first work in the soul is to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. There can be little doubt that the psalmist was in the grip of deep depression. He was flat on his face in the dust. He had come to the end of himself and his own resources. At this point our society would advise us to see a psychiatrist, seek professional help. There may be times when a Christian psychologist can help, but that was not the solution the psalmist discovered. Sometimes when people go to a psychiatrist, they are put into group therapy and encouraged to let it all "hang out." They are to talk openly about their problems to others, who have problems too. Everybody comments on the problems, criticizing hangups, attitudes, personality traits, weaknesses, and shortcomings. All that is supposed to help. The psalmist makes a different suggestion. He says to the Lord, "Quicken Thou me." He was going to air his problems all right, but he was going to take them to the Lord. He was going to seek a counselor-the counsel of the Word of God. There are very few problems in this life that cannot be solved by a thorough-going, honest exposure of one's life to the Scriptures. To do that is the greatest therapy in the world. The psalmist asked God to "quicken him," that is, to put new life into him. What he needed was a stiff dose of Scripture, taken with a mixture of faith, every day. Try it. Read your Bible consistently. Say with Samuel, "Speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth." The Bible is a book of people and principles. Sooner or later, God will confront us in the pages of His Book with the basic cause of our problem and with His inspired, infallible solution to that problem. The psalmist had discovered the best way of all to handle depression. But we must be prepared. The Bible will not hedge or redefine sin. It will put its finger unerringly on the sin question, frequently at the root of other problems of life. Next we have: B. God's Word in Confession (Ps 119:26) Confession is also marvelous therapy. "I have declared my ways, and Thou heardest me." The psalmist confessed his wrongdoing to the Lord. Usually when we confess to somebody else, we succeed only in transferring the load from us to them. A young man came up to me once and said, "I have a confession to make to you." I said, "Oh, what is it?" He said, "I have never liked you." That came as rather a shock to me since I hardly knew him. To the best of my knowledge I had never done him any harm. I suppose telling me that did him some good, but it didn't do me any good at all. I found I had the greatest difficulty liking him after that! Fortunately, the acquaintance was only a very casual one and I soon forgot all about it as the events of life came crowding in and our paths diverged forever. Now I cannot even remember his name, and when I do occasionally think about him it is with an inward smile at how foolish we can be. The psalmist took his problems to the Lord. He lay down, so to speak, on the Great Physician's couch and poured out his soul to Him. He took his confession to the Lord and, first and foremost, that is the place to take it. Right from the beginning, the Bible teaches us that. When God came into the garden of Eden to confront Adam with his sin His first question was, "What hast thou done?" He said: "Now tell Me all about it. What has happened?" No permanent solution could be found to the shame and guilt of Adam's soul until he had confessed to God. No permanent solution can be found to a personality problem that leaves out confession to God. That is one reason why so much modern counseling falls short of the mark. Jesus is far more interested in us than any psychiatrist could ever be. And He is far more knowledgeable too. C. God's Word in Consecration (Ps 119:27) "Make me to understand the way of Thy precepts: so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works." God does not let us off lightly. When God has finished listening to our confession and has exposed us to His Word, His counsel will be that henceforth we are to adjust our ways to His Word. It is not blind obedience that God commands. He wants to show us how His precepts work. The psalmist made an intelligent request. He said, "Make me to understand the way of Thy precepts." We find an example in Leviticus 11 where God spelled out for Israel His dietary laws-what animals they could and could not eat. We understand, of course, that we are not under law any more in such matters. What we are interested in here is the way those precepts worked for godly Israelites who regulated their lives by God's commands. If they were observed in the right spirit, those dietary laws would lead the Israelite: 1. In the Way of a Healthy Life God forbade, for instance, the eating of pork, rabbits, scavenger fish, crabs, lobsters, carrion fowl, and beasts of prey. We now know that, unless the greatest care is taken, pork can lead to intestinal parasitic invasion. Crab meat can cause serious allergies. God simply forbade the Israelites to eat such foods. Obeying God's law led to a healthy life. The same is true of most of God's laws. Breaking God's moral laws leads to guilt and worry which in turn, lead to ulcers and to all kinds of other physical ailments. So the way of God's law is the way of a healthy life. Observing God's dietary laws would also lead the Israelite: 2. In the Way of a Holy Life The body of the believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Leviticus 11, with its long list of dietary restrictions, contains the explanatory command, "Be ye holy for I am holy." The underlying principle of that chapter, as it bears on Christian life today, is that we are not to put into our body things that would grieve the indwelling Holy Spirit and hinder Him from having undisputed sway over us. Such enslaving things as alcohol, drugs, and tobacco should be avoided on principle by believers. The Holy Spirit says, "To make a difference between the clean and the unclean [holiness and unholiness] and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten [between health and ill health]." In addition, those dietary laws would lead the Israelites: 3. In the Way of a Happy Life A holy life-a life free from guilt, from the gnawings of conscience, from psychologically-based illnesses-is far more likely to be happy than a guilt-ridden, pain-wracked life. No psychologist can adequately deal with guilt apart from the Word of God. Guilt can be washed away only in the blood of Christ. The psalmist, then, asks God to make him understand the way of His precepts, how they work. He promises that he will then talk of God's wondrous works. He will spread the word. Next we have God's Word: D. In Contrition (Ps 119:28) "My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen Thou me according unto Thy word." The word melteth is a poetic way of expressing weeping. Thus it was that Jesus wept, not for His own sins, but for ours. One lesson of the prophet Hosea is that sin breaks not only God's laws, it breaks His heart. Jesus wept at Bethany over what sin had done to an individual. His friend Lazarus was dead and in his grave. Sin had slain him as it slays everybody who enters this world. Our progress is steadily from the womb to the tomb. Jesus wept over that. He wept over Jerusalem, over what sin had done to a nation. It had caused the nation of Israel to reject Him, and eventually to crucify Him. That sin would be visited in horror on that nation. Within a generation those hills would be black with crosses. Jesus wept over that. He wept in Gethsemane over what sin had done to the world. Sin had turned this fair paradise into a graveyard. The penalty of sin, which soon He must bear, was so terrible, so full of horror, so appalling in its issues that He wept. So we well might weep over our sin. "My soul melteth for heaviness" cried the psalmist as the Word of God bit into his innermost being. Finally we have God's Word: E. In Contrast (Ps 119:29) The psalmist now prays, "Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me Thy law graciously." He doesn't simply pray, "Remove me from the way of lying," as though his feet were ensnared in a net. He prays, "Remove from me the way of lying." He was conscious of the deep things of Satan in his own soul, that it was bent, warped, and twisted by indwelling sin. His heart was deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. He needed to have the way of lying taken from his soul. We are all prone to tell lies; nobody has to teach a child to lie. Some people lie occasionally, when they find themselves in a tight corner. Others will look you in the face and, with every outward evidence of sincerity, string together a whole pack of lies and swear on the Bible that they are telling the truth. They will do it so convincingly that, although you know better, you still believe them. They lie seemingly without a qualm of conscience, as though lying were their natural language-which it probably is. Today lying is a way of life, accepted almost without question. Nothing so betrays our fallen human nature. School textbooks lie to us, politicians lie to us, businessmen lie to us, advertisers lie to us, newspapers lie to us, our children lie to us. Worst of all, when we get sick of it all and look for a way out, we find we are hedged around with religious lies. Buddhism is a lie. Islam is a lie. Much that passes for Christianity is a lie. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, He told the truth because He is the truth. Pilate, who had been lied to under oath many times, who had so often witnessed in court the perfidy and falsehood of the majority of men, who now scarcely expected the truth out of anybody, cynically demanded of Jesus,"What is truth?" And then, just as cynically, he walked away without waiting to be told. The Word of God stands in contrast to the way of lying. The Bible tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. "Thy word is truth." The psalmist wanted God to straighten him out inside. He saw, in God's Word, the answer to his need. He did not see God's law as something imposed on him governmentally, but as something imparted to him graciously. God's law to him was a blessing, not a burden. Now the emphasis changes. We are told: II. What the Psalmist Resolved (Ps 119:30-32) The psalmist made three resolutions. A. His Decision to Live for God (Ps 119:30) "I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me." He has just asked God to remove from him the way of lying; now he deliberately chooses the way of truth. He records his decision to live for God. A classic example of such an attitude is Daniel, who purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's meat. We can picture him alone in his room, that first night there in Babylon. He is overwhelmed with impressions. The grandeur and splendor of that capital city, paganism on every hand. He and his friends had been chosen by the king. Their obvious intelligence, high rank, and attractive persons had secured for them impressive prospects. They were to be groomed for high office. The world lay at their feet. Daniel was to go to school in Babylon, to be trained for an important position in the administration. He was to mix with the intelligentsia, the nobility, the social elite of Babylon-at a price. The price was the compromise of his convictions. Tomorrow he would be assigned his place at the table of his peers, along with scores of others. He would be offered the best food in Babylon, with rare dainties from the royal kitchens and viands from the king's own table. The king no doubt wanted these selected courtiers of his to be the picture of good health. Daniel took out his Bible and began to read. Passages in the Mosaic Law spoke of what kind of meat could or could not be eaten and how that meat must be killed. It must contain no blood. Well he knew that the meat which would be placed before him the next day would not meet these rigid standards of the law. He saw before him two paths. He could dare the king's wrath or he could set aside the law of God. The one path led topromotion, the other to peril; one was the path of delight, the other the path of danger; one path entailed compromise, the other conviction; the one path demanded saying "yes" to the world; the other path demanded saying "yes" to the Word. He read the Scriptures, he prayed. He said, "I have chosen." He chose to live for God. Sooner or later that choice faces every child of God, the choice between compromising some biblical principle and complete obedience to the Word of God-even if it means offending friends, family, or employer. Further, the psalmist records: B. His Determination to Live for God (Ps 119:31) A decision to live for God is the crisis; a determination to live for God is the process. The psalmist uses an interesting expression to describe his determination. He says, "I have stuck unto Thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame." That word stuck means exactly what it says. It means "attached" or "adhered." It conjures up a picture of a man who has adhered himself to the Word of God. He is not stuck with it (as though it were some kind of a burden), he is stuck to it. He cannot be separated from it. Note also that he has stuck himself to it. Every now and then we see an advertisement on television for super glue. We see someone put a spot of this glue on a two-thousand pound car, and a little dab on the end of a piece of wood suspended from a crane. Then the tip of the wood is brought in contact with the glue on the car and a fast bond is made. Then, wonder of wonders, the car is hauled thirty feet into the air, dangling from a piece of wood, stuck with super glue. That is how the psalmist was stuck to God's Word. Nothing could pry him loose. "O Lord, don't let me down," he says. As though God ever could. Once adhere yourself to God's Word and He will see you through, no matter what happens. The bonding is perfect. That is the kind of bonding we need nowadays. We send a young person off to college and the first thing one of his professors says to him is, "Now you can forget all your parents told you..." This psalmist says: "Not me! I've been glued to the Book!" That is the kind of young person to send to college. In fact, if that kind of bonding has not taken place it is probably best he or she stay out of a secular college. It is better for a person to spend life pumping gas or waiting tables than to lose one's soul in a college classroom. That is what Jesus meant when He said that it is possible to lose one's life for His sake and yet to find it. Last, the psalmist records: C. His Desire to Live for God (Ps 119:32) "I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart." Sin narrows us. By nature we are chronically addicted to our own ways. God's wants and wishes do not appeal to us at all. Sin has narrowed our hearts so that our circle of desire is circumscribed by self. As for God's vast and eternal interests, we scarcely have a thought for them at all. The psalmist realizes that if ever he is to have an enlarged horizon, he must first have an enlarged heart. God must enlarge his heart. Such things as the prayer meeting, the communion service, the demands of the mission field, the daily quiet time, the meeting place of the people of God, must all be interests God implants in the soul. The psalmist's desire is to live for God. He asks God to enlarge and increase that desire so that he will end up running eagerly in God's ways. Charles Bridges - 26. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me; teach me thy statutes SUMMARY - The passage portrays the believer’s walk with God as marked by simplicity, sincerity, and childlike openness, in which the whole life—sin, difficulty, and conduct—is honestly laid before the Father in prayer (Ps 51:3; Ps 5:8; Ps 143:8). True rest comes not from silence or concealment but from unreserved confession, for God hears and responds with immediate, parental mercy and full forgiveness (Ps 32:3–5; Dan 9:20), made possible because our great High Priest has opened the way for bold access to grace (Heb 4:13–16). Having tasted this mercy, the believer is then obliged to walk worthily, continually seeking God’s teaching and guidance for every step (Ps 85:8; Ps 86:11). Unlike the hypocrite, the sincere believer watches for God’s answers, trusting His wisdom when He gives spiritual blessing instead of temporal relief or sustaining grace instead of deliverance (Matt 9:2; 2 Cor 12:8–9). Neither weakness, dullness, wandering, distraction, nor struggling faith can shut out prayer when the heart is sincere, for Christ Himself assures that prayers offered to the Father in His name will be heard and answered, resulting in fullness of joy (John 16:23–24). A beautiful description of the “simplicity and godly sincerity” of the believer’s “walk with God!” He spreads his whole case before his God, “declaring his ways” of sinfulness (Psalm 51:3 — “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.”), of difficulty (Psalm 5:8 — “Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face”; Psalm 27:11 — “Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.”), and of conduct (Psalm 143:8 — “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk”; Psalm 143:10 — “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God”; Psalm 69:5 — “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”). And indeed it is our privilege to acquaint our Father with all our care and need; that we may be pitied by his love, and guided by his counsel, and confirmed by his strength. Who would not find relief by unbosoming himself to his Father? This showing of ourselves to God—declaring our ways of sin before him without guile—is the short and sure way of rest. “Thou heardest me.” “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long” (Psalm 32:3). While the voice of ingenuous confession was suppressed, cries and lamentations were disregarded. It was not the voice of the penitent child! and therefore “where was the sounding of his father’s bowels, and of his mercies towards him?” (Isaiah 63:15). But now, on the first utterance of confession from his lips, or rather on the first purpose of contrition formed in his heart; “while he is yet speaking” (Daniel 9:20 — “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin…”), the full and free pardon, which had been signed in heaven, comes down with royal parental love to his soul—“I said, I will confess my transgression unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5; cf. 2 Samuel 12:13; Jeremiah 3:12–13). Oh! what cannot he testify of the more than parental tenderness, with which “his transgression is forgiven, and his sin covered!” (Psalm 32:1; cf. Luke 15:18–22; Proverbs 28:13). And yet how necessary to the free declaration of our ways is an acquaintance with the way of forgiveness! Had not our great “High Priest passed into the heavens,” how awful would have been the thought, that “all things were naked and opened unto the eyes of him, with whom we have to do!” We could only then have “covered our transgressions as Adam, by hiding our iniquity in our bosom” (Job 31:33). But now, even though “our ways” are so defiled, so crooked, that we cannot but “abhor ourselves,” on account of them, we are yet encouraged “boldly” to “declare” them all before God, with the assurance of finding present acceptance, and seasonable grace (Hebrews 4:13–16). And now, having found the happy fruit of this sincere and childlike spirit, then follows the obligation of walking worthy of this mercy (Psalm 85:8 — “I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people.”). Hence our need of the prayer for continual teaching. The same heavenly guidance, that brought us into the way of return, we need for every successive step to the end—“Teach me thy way, O LORD: I will walk in thy truth” (Psalm 86:11). “I have declared my ignorance, my sinfulness, and my whole experience before thee, looking for thy pardoning mercy, thy teaching Spirit, and assisting grace—And thou hast heard me.” O continue to me what thou hast been, and teach me more of thyself! The hypocrite may pray after his manner. But he never thus opens his heart, and declares his ways before his God. And are we sincere in our dealings with him? How often do we treat our Almighty friend as if we were weary of dealing with him! And even when we do “declare our ways” before him, are we not often content to leave the result as a matter of uncertainty? We do not watch for the answer to our prayer. It will come in the diligent exercise of faith, but not perhaps in our way. We may have asked for temporal blessings, and we receive spiritual (Matthew 9:2 — “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”). We may have “besought” deliverance from trial, and we receive “grace sufficient” to bear it (2 Corinthians 12:8–9). But this is the Lord’s wise and gracious answer—Thou heardest me. And how sweet are those mercies, which come to us manifestly marked with this inscription—“Received by prayer!” They are such encouragement to pray again (Psalm 116:1–2). It is not our inevitable weakness (Romans 7:21), nor our lamented dulness (Mark 14:38, 40), nor our abhorred wanderings (Psalm 119:113), nor our opposed distractions (Psalm 86:11, last clause), nor our mistaken unbelief (Mark 9:22, 24); it is not any—no—nor all these—that can shut out our prayer. If “iniquity” is not “regarded in our heart,” we may always hear our Saviour’s voice—“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you… Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23–24). Every way worthy of that great man, and a most instructive illustration of Christian sincerity, was the resolution of President Edwards: “Resolved to exercise myself in this all my life long, viz., with the greatest openness to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him—all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and everything, and every circumstance, according to Dr. Manton’s twenty-seventh sermon on the 119. Psalm.” Resol. 65. Extracted from his Diary. Works, vol. i. 16. Psalm 119:27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders. So I will meditate on Your wonders: Ps 71:17 78:4 105:2 111:4 145:5,6 Ex 13:14,15 Jos 4:6,7 Ac 2:11 Rev 15:3 Related Passages: Revelation 15:3+ And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ​“Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Make me understand (bin/biy = a command) the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate (siyah) on Your wonders (pala) - The simple meaning of this passage is that unless the Spirit sheds light on the precepts, our eye is blind to their hidden, but glorious truths. But as the psalmist says later " The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. ." (Ps 119:130) Make me understand in the Septuagint is sunetizo which means cause to understand or give insight and is in the aorist imperative, not as if we can bark a command at God, but expressing the urgency of the request = Unless You give understanding, it will not happen! Understand (discern) (0995) bin/biyn means to understand or perceive. Bin/biyn conveys the same idea as our word discrimination. It entails the idea of making a distinction as in 1Ki 3:9 where Solomon ask God for the ability "to discern (bin/biyn) between good and evil". Many of the OT uses of bin/biyn are translated "understanding," an understanding which is the result of comparative "study" or "mental separation". Uses of bin/biyn in Psalms Ps. 5:1; Ps. 19:12; Ps. 28:5; Ps. 32:9; Ps. 33:15; Ps. 37:10; Ps. 49:20; Ps. 50:22; Ps. 58:9; Ps. 73:17; Ps. 82:5; Ps. 92:6; Ps. 94:7; Ps. 94:8; Ps. 107:43; Ps. 119:27; Ps. 119:34; Ps. 119:73; Ps. 119:95; Ps. 119:100; Ps. 119:104; Ps. 119:125; Ps. 119:130; Ps. 119:144; Ps. 119:169; Ps. 139:2; Meditate (07878 - verb) (07879 - noun)(siyah) has the basic meaning of to rehearse, go over matter in one's mind usually rendered "meditate " or "talk." Speak, talk, converse aloud, or even with oneself. Ponder. Muse. In Ps 119:27 siyah is rendered with the rare verb adolescheo which can mean to talk idly, to talk in general (Ps 69:12) and then to meditate (Ge 24:63). Wonders (miracles) (06381)(pala) is a verb which means to be difficult, to be hard, to be extraordinary or amazing, be surpassing or to cause a wonderful thing to happen. To be beyond one’s power to do. To do something wonderful, extraordinary or difficult = Wonders, Marvels, Marvelous works. In Ps 119:27 the Septuagint has thaumasios which means wonderful, marvelous, excellent and describes that which is a cause of wonder or worthy of amazement. (Mt 21:5, Ex 3:20) Charles Bridges - 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works Mark the reiterated cries of the man of God for heavenly light—Teach me thy statutes—make me to understand the way of thy precepts. The need and the encouragement for these cries is equally manifest. Who has ever been known to understand the way of himself? And to whom—walking in a well-ordered conversation—has the Lord ever failed to show it?1 A man, untaught by the Spirit of God, may be able to criticise and even clearly to expound much of the word of God. But such a prayer as this has never ascended from his heart; the necessity of it has never been felt. And doubtless from this neglect of prayer have arisen those floating fancies and false and unscriptural doctrines, which crude, unexercised minds have too hastily embraced. Instead of humbly and simply asking—“Make me to understand”—men too often “lean to their understanding,” and are “vainly puffed up” by their fleshly mind, “not holding the Head.”2 Such men may obtain loose fragments of spiritual knowledge. But they will not be in the faith “grounded and settled.”3 They never know when they are upon safe ground; and being “unlearned and unstable, they wrest the Scriptures”—except the sovereign grace of God interpose—“unto their own destruction.”4 Never must we forget, that teaching from above is indispensable to a right knowledge of the most simple truths. Ignorance and prejudice pervert the understanding. “Spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned.”5 Divine doctrines can only be apprehended by Divine light.6 But under heavenly teaching, the deeper and more mysterious truths (so far as they are needful to be understood) are manifested with the same clearness, as the more elementary doctrines—“Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit. Now we have received—not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”7 Wondrous indeed is the spiritual revelation in the knowledge of himself; including “the hope of his calling—the riches of the glory of his inheritance in his saints—the exceeding greatness of his power” manifested to, and wrought in, his people—no other or less than that “which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.”8 In the understanding of the way, we would be progressing, until the new man “grows up unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”9 The smallest attainment in this knowledge is (as the great day will fully declare) of infinitely greater value than the highest intelligence in the field of earthly science. But how important is it to grow in this knowledge!10 Theoretical attainment is at a stand. Spiritual and practical knowledge is always advancing. Little, indeed, comparatively, is necessary for salvation. But much for comfort and steadfastness—much also for the clear discernment of that narrow way of the precepts so difficult to trace, and when traced so difficult to maintain. Not less important is it to keep the object in constant view. Why do I desire to understand that way? That I may commend it to others—that I may talk of thy wondrous works. Abhorred be the thought of indulging in a self-complacent view of my attainments! But oh! let my God be more admired by me, and glorified in me.1 And may I advance both myself and others in his obedience and praise! Often do we complain of restraint in religious conversation. But the prayer—Make me to understand while I talk—will bring “a live coal to our lips” from the altar of God—“Our mouths will then speak out of the abundance of the heart,”2 and “minister grace to the hearers.”3 Humility, teachableness, simplicity, will bring light into the understanding, influence the heart, “open the lips,” and unite our every member that we have in the service and praise of God. 1 See Psalm 50:23. 2 Col. 2:18, 19. 3 Ib. 1:24. 4 2 Peter 3:16. 5 1 Cor. 2:14. 6 Psalm 36:9. 7 1 Cor. 2:9, 10, 12. 8 Eph. 1:17–20. 9 Ib. 4:13. 10 2 Peter 3:18. 1 Gal. 1:24. Matt. 5:16. 2 Matt. 12:34. 3 Eph. 4:29. Psalm 119:28 My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word. soul: Ps 22:14 107:26 Jos 2:11,24 strengthen: Ps 27:14 29:11 De 33:25 Isa 40:29,31 Zec 10:12 Eph 3:16 Php 4:13 My soul weeps because of grief - His soul is personified as being able to weep! Strengthen (command) me according to Your word - Strengthen is of course figurative referring to making my heart and mind and soul and spirit firm and sure, the Septuagint rendering it with bebaioo which means to establish, make sure, to strengthen inwardly, make unwavering and again is in the aorist imperative, not as if we are commanding God, but more of crying out in desperate, urgent need for His intervention. Note God's part is to strengthen internally (cf Eph 3:16+), but our part is not passive but is to be an active intake of the pure milk of the Word that by it we might grow in respect to salvation (including being spiritually strengthened). Charles Bridges - 28. My soul melteth for heaviness; strengthen thou me according unto thy word Is this David “whose heart is as the heart of a lion, utterly melting?”4 But the sorrows, as the joys of the spiritual hope—dealing immediately with the Infinite and Eternal God—are beyond conception.5 Ordinary courage may support under the trials of this life; but when “the arrows of the Almighty are within us, the poison thereof drinketh up our spirit.”6 How then can the Christian’s lot be so enviable—when their souls thus melt for heaviness? But this—be it remembered—is only “for a season.” There is a “needs be” for it, while it remains: and in the end it will “be found unto praise, and honor, and glory.”7 Never perhaps are their graces more lively, or the ground of their assurance more clear, than in these seasons of sorrow. They complain, indeed, of the diversified power of indwelling sin. But their very complaints are the evidence of the mighty working of indwelling grace. For what is it but the principle of faith, that makes unbelief their burden? What but hope, that struggles with their tears? What but love, that makes their coldness a grief? What but humility, that causes them to loathe their pride? What but the secret spring of thankfulness, that shows them their unthankfulness, and shames them for it? And therefore the very depth of “that heaviness which melts their souls” away, is the exhibition of the strength of God’s work within, upholding them in perseverance of conflict to the end. Would not the believer then, when eyeing in his heaviest moments the most prosperous condition of the ungodly, say—“Let me not eat of their dainties?”8 Far better, and, we may add, far happier, is godly sorrow than worldly joy. In the midst of his misery, the Christian would not exchange his hope in the Gospel—though often obscured by unbelief, and clouded by fear—for “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.” “If the heart knoweth his own bitterness, a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.”1 Yet the bitterness is keenly felt. Sin displeases a tender and gracious Father.2 It has “pierced” the heart that loves him,3 and shed the blood that saves him. It “grieves”4 the indwelling Comforter of his soul. God expects to see him a mourner; and he feels he has reason enough to mourn—“My soul melteth for heaviness.” But this cry of distress is sometimes the child under his Father’s needful chastisement. The world is dethroned, but not extirpated in the heart. Much dross is yet to be removed. The sources of the too attractive earthly joy must be embittered: and now it is that the discipline of the cross forces the cry—“my soul melteth for heaviness.” Yet in the midst of heaviness, the child of God cannot forget that he is loved—that he is saved; and the recollection of this sovereign mercy makes his tears of godly sorrow, tears of joy. But this melting heaviness has not wrought its work, until it has bowed us before the throne of grace with the pleading cry of faith—strengthen thou me. For do we stand by the strength of our own resolutions or habits of grace? Unless the Lord renew his supply from moment to moment, all is frail and withering. But what burden or difficulty is too great for Almighty strength? “Fear not, thou worm Jacob; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small.”5 And especially in our success, when the plea is drawn, as it is repeatedly in this Psalm6—according to thy word.” For what does that word assure us?—“As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”7 “Will he plead against me”—said Job—“with his great power? No; but he will put strength in me.”8 Thus David found it in his own case: “In the day when I cried, thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.”9 Thus also to the apostle was the promise given and fulfilled: “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”10 And is not “the God of Israel” still “he that giveth strength and power unto his people;”11 still the same “faithful God, who will not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that they may be able to bear it?”12 When we are most sensible of our utter helplessness, and most simple in our reliance upon Divine strength, then it is, that the “soul, melting for heaviness,” is most especially upheld and established. “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop; but a good word maketh it glad.”1 And how reviving is that “good word” of the Gospel, which proclaims the Saviour, anointed to “give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,”2 and gifted with “the tongue of the learned, that he might know how to speak a word in season unto him that is weary!”3 And no less encouraging is it to view Him “melting for heaviness”4—“sore amazed and very heavy”—under the accumulated weight of imputed guilt; learning by this bitter discipline, “in that he himself suffered being tempted, to succor them that are tempted.”5 Yet was he, like his faithful servant, strengthened according to his Father’s word, in the moment of his bitterest agony, by the agency of his own creation.6 And this faithful support, vouchsafed to the Head, is the seal and pledge of what every member in every trouble will most assuredly enjoy. “As the sufferings of Christ abound in his people, so their consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”7 The blessed word will supply all their need—life for their quickening, light for their direction, comfort for their enjoyment, strength for their support—“Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.” Lord, may I ever be kept from despondency—regarding it as sinful in itself, dishonorable to thy name, and weakening to my soul; and though I must “needs be sometime in heaviness through manifold temptations,” yet let the power of faith be in constant exercise, that I may be able to expostulate with my soul—“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”8 4 2 Sam. 17:10. Comp. Josh. 7:5. Ps. 107:26. 5 See Job 34:29. 6 Job 6:4. Comp. Prov. 18:14. 7 1 Peter 1:6, 7. Comp. Ps. 30:5. 8 Psalm 141:4. 1 Prov. 14:10. “A good man lying on his bed of sickness, and being asked—which were the most comfortable days that he ever knew? cried out—O give me my mourning days; give me my mourning days again, for they were the joyfullest days that ever I had.”—Brooke’s Works. 2 Psalm 51:4. 3 Zech. 12:10. 4 Eph. 4:20. 5 Isa. 41:14, 15. 6 Verses 25, 41, 58, &c. 7 Deut. 33:25. 8 Job 23:6. 9 Ps. 138:3. 10 2 Cor. 12:9. 11 Ps. 68:35. 12 1 Cor. 10:13. 1 Prov. 12:25. 2 Isaiah 61:3. 3 Ib. 50:4. 4 Psalm 22:14. 5 Mark 14:33, with Heb. 2:18. 6 Luke 22:43, with 2 Cor. 12:8, 9. 7 2 Cor. 1:5. 8 Psalm 42:11. Psalm 119:29 Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your law. Remove : Ps 119:37,104,128,163 141:3,4 Pr 30:8 Isa 44:20 Jer 16:19 Jon 2:8 Eph 4:22-25 1Jn 1:8 2:4 Rev 22:15 grant me: Ps 119:5 Jer 31:33,34 Heb 8:10,11 Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Your law - It is impossible to truly receive and assimilate the truth (law) when we are encumbered by the false way. False is the Hebrew word sheqer which is a way of life walking completely contrary to God’s Law (Septuagint = adikia = wrongdoing, unrighteousness, wickedness). In Ps 119:26 he confessed his ways. Now he pleads for the way which is false to be removed, to be withdrawn, the Septuagint verb aphistemi (aorist imperative) conveying the cry to God to keep it away, in essence to cause (by the Spirit giving the desire and power - Php 2:13NLT+) one to abstain (as in 2Ti 2:19+). Charles Bridges - 29. Remove from me the way of lying; and grant me thy law graciously Every deviation in principle and conduct from the strait and narrow path, is a way of lying. Every traveller in the way, “feedeth on the ashes” of his own delusion. Does it seem a marvel that the man of God should deprecate so earnestly the influence of gross sin?9 “The brand plucked out of the fire” retains a susceptibility of the fire. The oldest Christian in the family of God might at Any moment of unwatchfulness be captivated by the chain of his former sins. Might not the recollection of past compliances with this shameful sin10 naturally have suggested the prayer—Remove from me the way of lying. But even in the profession of the Gospel, should we “be removed from him that called us into the grace of Christ unto another gospel;”11 should erroneous doctrines find a place in our system; and—as the natural consequence of doctrinal errors—should any inconsistency be marked in our practice; should there be any allowed principles of sinful indulgence, self-righteousness, conformity to the world, or shrinking from the daily cross,—then, indeed, will the prayer naturally flow from our hearts—Remove from me the way of lying. Most justly are ways such as these called “ways of lying.” They promise what it is impossible, in the nature of things, that they can ever perform: and prove to their deluded followers that “they that observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercy.”1 We can be at no loss to trace these “ways” to their proper source;—to him, who, “when he speaketh a lie, speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.”2 A lie was his first, alas! too successful instrument of temptation, by which he “beguiled Eve through his subtlety,”3 and still does he lament, moreover, that he should still pursue the same deadly work throughout the world lying under his sway, beguiling the blinded “children of disobedience”4 into the awful deception of mistaking their God, and into the blind choice of preferring “broken cisterns” to “the fountain of living water.”5 The gracious knowledge of the law is the only means of the removal of this evil way. David—as a king—had it written by him.6 He wished it written on him. Not the book always before him—but on the heart. The external knowledge is the common benefit of all. The gracious knowledge is the covenant blessing of the Lord’s people7—the only effective principle of holiness. The law is still what it was—an enemy to the ungodly—forcing a hateful light upon their conscience—a delight to the servant of God—framing his will, and directing his conduct. Thus truth extirpates lying. Christ reigns instead of Belial. Thus also we are enabled to “keep our hearts”—those leading wanderers, that mislead the rest.8 For wherever we see wandering eyes, wandering feet, and a wandering tongue, all flow from a heart, that has taken its own liberty in wandering from God. But with the law as our rule, and the Spirit as our guide, we shall be directed and kept in a safe and happy path. Grant me thy law graciously. Grant me a clearer perception of its holy character—a more sensitive sprinkling from transgressing it—a more cordial approval of its spirit—a more entire conformity to its directions. 9 Isaiah 44:20. 10 1 Sam. 21:13; 27:10. 11 Gal. 1:6. 1 Jonah 2:8. 2 John 8:44. 3 Gen. 3:1–6, with 2 Cor. 11:3. 4 Rev. 12:9, with 2 Cor. 4:4. Eph. 2:2. 5 Jer. 2:13. 6 Deut. 17:18, 19. 7 Heb. 8:10. 8 Prov. 4:23. Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me - The "faithful way" is the way of the Word, the path lit by the truth of God's Word, even as he says later writing "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." (Ps 119:105) Charles Bridges - 30. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me Only two ways lie before us for our choice—“the way of lying” and “the way of truth.” God by the light of his word guides us into one—Satan by his temptations allures us into the other. The way of lying is the natural choice of man. The choice of the way of truth is the Lord’s work in the hearts of his people—the seal of his special, eternal love. His teaching shows us the way;9 and his grace enables us to “choose” it.10 And who in his subsequent course has ever found reason to alter his first determination? Does Mary regret her choice of the “good part?”11 One, whose solid and reflecting judgment was not likely to make a rash or hasty choice tells us, of the outset of his course—“What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.” The experience of twenty years—instead of bringing matter for repentance—only confirmed him in his choice; and he repeats his determination with increasing energy of expression; “Yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.”1 In the same spirit one of the ancient fathers expresses himself: ‘If I have any possessions, health, credit, learning—this is all the contentment I have of them—that I may have something to despise for Christ, who comprises in his own person all and everything that is most desirable.’2 The connection of this verse with the preceding, well illustrates the bias of the believer’s heart. His experience of the deceitfulness of sin, Satan, and his own heart, stirs up the prayer—“Remove from me the way of lying.” But his choice is expressed in this verse—“I have chosen the way of truth.” The sincere desire to have “the way of lying removed from us,” is a clear evidence, that we have already “chosen the way of truth;” that “the spirit of truth hath guided us to him,”3 who is indeed “the way of truth”—the true and only way to God!4 And of all ways that could be set before the Christian, this is the way he would “choose”—as bringing most glory to his God, exalting the Saviour, honoring the spirit of God, and securing the salvation of his own soul. Whatever becomes of me—the Christian would feel—‘I would have no other way than this. Yea, though I should perish I would abide in it. So transcendent is the discovery of the glory of God—scarcely less clear than the glory of heaven itself! The practical pathway, however, is often rugged—always narrow. We may have to encounter not only the reviling of an ungodly world, but even the suspicions of our brethren, who may not always understand our motives. Yet if our heart is upright with God, “none of these things will move us.” Our choice is made, and we are prepared to abide the cost.5 But that our choice may be daily established, let us not forget the treasury of our life, light, and grace. Let us lay the “judgments of God before us.” For we have always some new lesson to learn—some new duty to perform—some new snare to avoid. We must therefore walk by rule6—as under the eye of a jealous God, who enlightens and cheers our path—under the eye of the ungodly, who “watch for our halting”—under the eye of weak Christians, who might be stumbled by our unsteady walk—under the eye of established Christians, who will be yet further established by the testimony of our consistent profession. The Gospel affords all the material for this strict and accurate walk. All is given that is needed. The obedience that is enjoined is secured. “God working in us,”1 enables us to work for him; and while we are humbly looking for further supplies, and diligently improving what has been already bestowed, he is pledged by promise to assist,2 as we are bound by duty to obey. What then—let me inquire—is the choice which I have made? I would remember that it is for eternity. And if, through the grace that has first chosen me, “I have chosen the way of truth,”—is the effect of this choice daily visible in a life and conversation well-ordered according to the word of God? If it is good to “hide that word in my heart,”3 as a safe-guard against sin; it is good also “to lay it before” my eyes, as the chart to guide my course—the model to direct my work—the support to uphold my weakness.4 9 Ps. 25:4; 32:8. Is. 48:17. 10 Ps. 110:3. Is. 44:3–5. 11 Luke 10:42. 1 Phil. 3:7, 8. 2 ‘Totus desirabilis et totum desirabile.’—Greg. Naz. Orat. i 3 John 16:13, 14. 4 Jn. 14:6. 5 Luke 14:28. Acts 20:24. 6 See Gal. 6:16. Phil. 3:16. 1 Phil. 2:12, 13. Isaiah 26:12. 2 Isaiah 41:10. Zech. 10:12. 3 Ps 119:11. 4 Joshua 1:8. Psalm 119:31 I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I cling to Your testimonies): Ps 119:48,115 De 4:4 10:20 Pr 23:23 Joh 8:31 Ac 11:23 do not put me to shame: Ps 119:6,80 25:2,20 Isa 45:17 49:23 Jer 17:18 Ro 5:5 1Jn 2:28 I cling to Your testimonies - Cling (dabaq in perfect tense - speaks of his "state") means I am "stuck like glue" to God's truth, God's testimonies. He follows close and hard after God's testimonies which speaks of close contact with God's Word. This is our daily need. O LORD, do not put me to shame! (bosh) - Sin brings shame, so this is another prayer out of a desperate, broken heart. The psalmist senses his deep need for the cleansing waters of God's forgiveness because of his sins. The root meaning of shame (bosh) is “to become pale” or “to blush.” When sin occurs, there is a disconcerting feeling, a flushing of the face (unless we have so numbed our conscience that we no longer even know how to blush! Jer 6:15, 8:12). The word often occurs in contexts of humiliation and shattered human emotions. It is the feeling of public disgrace. Bosh is the confusion, embarrassment, or dismay when things do not turn out as expected. The Septuagint translates bosh with the verb Kataischuno in the present tense - continually to be disgraced, dishonored, humiliated, put to shame. Shame (put to shame) (0954)(bosh) according to Strong means "properly to pale and by implication to be ashamed, disappointed or delayed." The TWOT says the primary meaning is "to fall into disgrace, normally through failure, either of self or of an object of trust." The word has overtones of being or feeling worthless. It is a "key word" in the psalms (but also common in the major prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah where Israel is confronted with her sins against the LORD) - Gen. 2:25; Exod. 32:1; Jdg. 3:25; 2 Sam. 19:5; 2 Ki. 2:17; 2 Ki. 8:11; 2 Ki. 19:26; Ezr. 8:22; Ezr. 9:6; Job 6:20; Job 19:3; Ps. 6:10; Ps. 14:6; Ps. 22:5; Ps. 25:2; Ps. 25:3; Ps. 25:20; Ps. 31:1; Ps. 31:17; Ps. 35:4; Ps. 35:26; Ps. 37:19; Ps. 40:14; Ps. 44:7; Ps. 53:5; Ps. 69:6; Ps. 70:2; Ps. 71:1; Ps. 71:13; Ps. 71:24; Ps. 83:17; Ps. 86:17; Ps. 97:7; Ps. 109:28; Ps. 119:6; Ps. 119:31; Ps. 119:46; Ps. 119:78; Ps. 119:80; Ps. 119:116; Ps. 127:5; Ps. 129:5; Prov. 10:5; Prov. 12:4; Prov. 14:35; Prov. 17:2; Prov. 19:26; Prov. 29:15; Isa. 1:29; Isa. 19:9; Isa. 20:5; Isa. 23:4; Isa. 24:23; Isa. 26:11; Isa. 29:22; Isa. 30:5; Isa. 37:27; Isa. 41:11; Isa. 42:17; Isa. 44:9; Isa. 44:11; Isa. 45:16; Isa. 45:17; Isa. 45:24; Isa. 49:23; Isa. 50:7; Isa. 54:4; Isa. 65:13; Isa. 66:5; Jer. 2:26; Jer. 2:36; Jer. 6:15; Jer. 8:9; Jer. 8:12; Jer. 9:19; Jer. 10:14; Jer. 12:13; Jer. 14:3; Jer. 14:4; Jer. 15:9; Jer. 17:13; Jer. 17:18; Jer. 20:11; Jer. 22:22; Jer. 31:19; Jer. 46:24; Jer. 48:1; Jer. 48:13; Jer. 48:20; Jer. 48:39; Jer. 49:23; Jer. 50:2; Jer. 50:12; Jer. 51:17; Jer. 51:47; Jer. 51:51; Ezek. 16:52; Ezek. 16:63; Ezek. 32:30; Ezek. 36:32; Hos. 2:5; Hos. 4:19; Hos. 10:6; Hos. 13:15; Joel 1:11; Joel 2:26; Joel 2:27; Mic. 3:7; Mic. 7:16; Zeph. 3:11; Zech. 9:5; Zech. 10:5; Zech. 13:4 Gilbrant adds - The Qal stem conveys the sense of "to feel shame" or "to be ashamed" (of something); to feel shame in general (Isa 19:9; 23:4; 45:6; etc.); to be ashamed of something, where the object of shame is governed by the preposition min (HED #4263). Such objects include nations (Isa. 20:5; Jer 2:36); harvest (Jer. 12:13); idolatry (Isa. 1:29; Jer. 48:13); one's own ways (Ezek. 36:32). The word may also mean to be ashamed of some behavior, where the behavior is expressed by an infinitive. One may be ashamed to ask for protection (Ezra 8:22); be frustrated (Jer 14:3); humiliated (Jer 22:22); disgraced (Isa 41:11; 45:16, 17; Ezek. 16:52) or confused (Ps. 35:4). The Polal stem conveys the sense of "to delay" (because of shame). Moses delayed to descend from Mt. Sinai because of his anticipated shame over the idolatry of Israel (Exo. 32:1). Sisera's mother thought he (literally, his chariot) delayed to come home because of the shame of defeat (Judg. 5:28). The Hiphil stem conveys the sense of to put (someone) to shame, to cause (someone) shame, or to act shamefully: to put someone to shame (2 Sam. 19:6; Prov. 10:5; 14:35; 19:26; 29:15; Jer. 2:26); to cause someone shame (Prov. 12:4; 17:2), or to act shamefully (Hos. 2:7). At times, the Hiphil stem conveys nearly the same sense as the Qal. The Hithpolel stem conveys the sense of being ashamed of oneself before others. Adam and Eve both were "naked and were not ashamed" (Gen. 2:25). (Complete Biblical Library) Charles Bridges - 31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame We have just seen the choice of the man of God, and the rule by which he acted upon it. Now we see his perseverance—first choosing the way—then sticking to it. While he complained of his soul cleaving to the dust,5 he would yet say—I have stuck unto thy testimonies—illustrating the Apostle’s delineation of the Christian’s two hearts (as a converted African expressed it) “I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”6 In the midst, however, of the most painful conflicts, the child of God holds fast his confidence. He feels that he hates the sin that he commits, and loves the Saviour, whom, in spite of himself, he dishonors; so that, with all his sins and unworthiness, he fears not to put in his claim among the family of God. But, reader, seriously ask yourself—How did you become a Christian? Was it by birth and education, or by choice? If indeed by grace you have been enabled to “choose the way of truth,” then be sure you firmly stick to it, or better, far better, that you had not made it at all. “No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. It had been better for you not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after you have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto you.”1 Yet praised be God for the security of perseverance! He that enabled you to “put your hand to the plough” will keep it there in the habit of faith, firm and steadfast. “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth you.”2 Yet this cleaving to the Lord3 can only be maintained by unceasing conflict. The length and weariness of the way,4 and the slowness of your progress, are sources of constant and harassing trial. Revert then to the ground of your original choice. Was it made under the Lord’s light and direction? This reason may well bind you to “stick to” it: are not the ways of God as pleasant—Is not Christ as lovely—heaven as desirable—as at the beginning? Nay—have you not even more reason to adhere to your choice than you had to make it? It was formed before at least you could fully know for yourself. Now “you have tasted”5—you have the seal of experience. Is not the crown more joyous in the nearer prospect? Backslider! “Has God been unto you a wilderness, and a land of darkness,”6 that you virtually give your testimony after trial,—‘Satan is the better master, and I return to him?’—The world is the happiest path: and I will walk in it. This is indeed choosing a murderer in the stead of a Father—“forsaking the fountain” for the “broken cistern.”7 Oh! must there not be repentance in this path? May it be before it be too late! Ponder who it was that befriended you in the moment of awful extremity, and snatched you as a brand from the burning. Ponder the endearing proofs of his love—condescending to become a man—“a man of sorrows,”8 and to die in the agony of the cross, bearing for you the eternal curse of God.9 And does not gratitude remind you, what returns of faithful service are due from a creature so infinitely indebted to him? Surely the steadfast perseverance with which his heart clave to his costly work,10 may serve to put to shame your unsteadiness in “sticking to his testimonies.” Believer! you are determined to abide by your choice—but not in your own strength. Remember him, who one hour declared, that he would sooner die with Christ than deny him; and the next hour denied him with oaths and curses.11 Learn then to follow up your resolution with instant prayer—“O Lord, put me not to shame.” Leave me not to myself, lest I become a shame to myself and an offence to thy church. “I will keep thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly.”12 Dependence upon the Lord, in a deep sense of our weakness, is the principle of perseverance. Never will he shut out the prayer of his faithful servant. He hath promised—“My people shall never be ashamed;”13 and therefore, taking firm hold of his promise, you may “go on your way rejoicing.” 5 Ps 119: 25. 6 Rom. 7:22, 23, 25. Thus does Augustine graphically describe this conflict in his own mind—“The new will which began to be in me, whereby I would love thee, O my God! the only certain sweetness, was not yet able to overcome my former will, confirmed by long continuance. So my two wills, the one old, the other new; the one carnal, the other spiritual, conflicted between themselves, and rent my soul by their disagreement. Then did I understand by my own experience what I had read, how the ‘flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit lusteth against the flesh.’ I was myself on both sides, but more in that which I approved, than in that which I condemned, in myself, because for the most part I suffered reluctantly what I did willingly.”—Confess. Book viii. ch. 5. Compare Rom. 7:15–20. 1 Luke 9:62. John 8:31. 2 Peter 2:21. 2 Ps. 128:5. 3 Acts 11:23. 4 Numb. 21:4. 5 1 Peter 2:3. 6 Jer. 2:31. 7 Jer. 2:13. 8 Isaiah 53:3. 9 Gal. 3:13. 10 Compare Matt. 16:23. Luke 12:50. Heb. 12:2, 3. 11 Matt. 26:55, 74. 12 Ps 119:8. 13 Joel 2:27. Psalm 119:32 I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart. run: Song 1:4 Isa 40:31 1Co 9:24-26 Heb 12:1 enlarge: Ps 119:45 18:36 1Ki 4:29 Job 36:15,16 Isa 60:5 61:1 Lu 1:74,75 Joh 8:32,36 2Co 3:17 6:11 1Pe 2:16 Related Passages: Isaiah 40:31+ Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength (MORE LITERALLY EXCHANGE THEIR "STRENGTH" FOR HIS STRENGTH!); They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. RUNNING TOWARD THE GOAL OF CHRIST-LIKENESS I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart - This is speaking figuratively of "running" the race of life as in Hebrews 12:1+ "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," And how do we run? We run by fixing our eyes on the only One Who every ran the race perfectly, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ (Heb 12:2+). To encourage you to run to win the prize play this great little song based on Hebrews 12 - Run Like Heaven. God supplies the inward capacity that produces outward zeal. The psalmist links obedience run the way of Your commandments with divine enablement You will enlarge my heart. The verb run pictures eager, joyful obedience”not drudgery of duty. Yet that eagerness does not arise from human resolve; it flows from God's gracious action of enlarging the heart, freeing it from fear, dullness, and constraint so that love for God's word and will expands. In other words, God supplies the inward capacity that produces outward zeal. Obedience accelerates not when the law is lowered, but when the heart is widened by grace. When obedience feels slow or forced, the prayer is not simply “Help me try harder,†but “Lord, enlarge my heart.†As He does, duty becomes delight, and walking turns into running. This verse also reminds me of Paul's sobering declaration upon which every servant of Christ would do well to meditate (frequently)... Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (adokimos). (1Co 9:24-27+) Charles Bridges - 32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart SUMMARY - The passage celebrates the Christian life as a joyful, ever-advancing pursuit of God, where those who have chosen His way desire not merely to walk but to run in it with growing zeal and perseverance, following the apostolic pattern of pressing on toward the heavenly prize (Phil 3:13–14). True progress comes not from self-effort but from faith that looks continually to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith (Heb 12:2), trusting God to enlarge the heart when sin, unbelief, or spiritual sluggishness hinder growth. Though believers may feel constrained or weakened, they are urged to seek renewing grace through prayer, confident that liberty and strength flow from the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor 3:17). Thus, Christian energy and endurance arise from a heart enlarged by divine love, so that holy joy becomes strength (Neh 8:10), enabling the believer to run without weariness and walk in deepening communion, confidence, and delight in God. A glowing picture of the Christian’s delight in the ways of God! If we “have chosen the way of God’s commandments,” and have been able to “stick unto” this way, surely we shall wish to “run in it” with constancy and cheerfulness. We shall want to mend our pace. If we walk, we shall long to “run.” There is always the same reason for progress, that there was for setting out. Necessity, advantage, enjoyment, spur us on to the end. Whatever progress we have made, we shall desire to make more; we shall go on praying and walking, and praying that we may walk with a swifter motion: we shall be dissatisfied, yet not discouraged—“faint, yet pursuing” (Judges 8:4 — “And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.”). Now this is as it should be. This is after the pattern of the holy apostle—“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14). But the secret as well as the pattern of Christian progress is—looking beyond the Apostle, and the “so great cloud of witnesses with which we are encompassed”—and “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1–2 — “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”). Faith is the principle of life, and supplies the daily motion of life; directing our eye to him as “the Author,” until he “becomes the Finisher,” of our faith. This is at once our duty, our privilege, our happiness, and our strength. This is the point at which we begin to run. Hitherto, the shackles of sin, self-righteousness, and unbelief, had hindered us; now we “so run, that we may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24 — “So run, that ye may obtain.”). But in “the way of God’s commandments” how are we “sore let and hindered” by a straitened heart! And how often do we feel the heart, as it were, “shut up, and it cannot get forth:” (Psalm 88:8 — “I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.”) faith so low—desires so faint—hopes so narrow, that it seems impossible to make progress! Perhaps we “did run well,” and have been “hindered” (Galatians 5:7 — “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?”). Perhaps the soul has been asleep in carelessness or self-indulgence; or unbelief in some of its varied forms has prevailed; and thus, while we “are not straitened” in God, we “are straitened in our own bowels” (2 Corinthians 6:12). If then the rich fool thought of enlarging his barns, when his stores had increased upon him (Luke 12:16–19), much more should we be sending up the petition—“O that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast!” (1 Chronicles 4:10). Whatever cause we have to cry out—“My leanness, my leanness” (Isaiah 24:16),—still, let us in the exercise of faith and prayer, be waiting for a more cheerful ability to love, serve, and praise. Let us be restless, till the prison-doors are again opened, and the command is issued to the prisoners—“Go forth; and to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places” (Isaiah 49:9). Who knoweth but the Lord will once more shine upon us, once more unloose our fetters, and renew our strength? Yet must every motion begin with God (Proverbs 16:1 — “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.”). I will run,—but how? not in mine own strength, but by “the good hand of my God upon me” (Ezra 7:9 — “According to the good hand of his God upon him.”), delivering and enlarging my heart. He does not say—I will make no efforts, unless thou work for me; but if thou wilt enlarge—I will run. Weakness is not the plea for indolence, but for quickening grace. “Draw me,” saith the Church, “we will run after thee” (Song of Solomon 1:4). “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The secret of Christian energy and success is a heart enlarged in the love of God. Let me then begin betimes—make haste—keep straight on—fix my eye on the mark—“endure unto the end.” I may yet expect in the joy of blessed surprise to exclaim—“Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib” (Song of Solomon 6:12). Godly sorrow had made me serious. Now let holy joy make me active. “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10); and I am ready, under the power of constraining love (2 Corinthians 5:14), to work and to toil—to run without weariness, to “march onward” without fainting (Isaiah 40:31), not measuring my pace by my own strength, but looking to him who “strengtheneth with all might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). Happy fruit of wrestling prayer and diligent waiting on God! Joy in God, and strength to walk with him, with increasing knowledge of him, increasing communion with him, and increasing confidence in him. John