Salmos 119
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
Salmos 119
Morris - With less self-confidence than before his cleansing through the Word the young man realizes his deep dependence on the Lord, on prayer, and on the Word, calling out for strength not to "wander" away from God's written will. F B
Salmos 119
Morris - This powerful verse stressing the eternal origin and eternal duration of God's Word begins the second half of Psalm 119. Matthew Henry's Concise - Ps 119:89-96. The settling of God's word in heaven, is opposed to the changes and revolutions of the earth. And the engagements of God's covenant are established more firmly than the earth itself. All the creatures answer the ends of their creation: shall man, who alone is endued with reason, be the only unprofitable burden of the earth? We may make the Bible a pleasant companion at any time. But the word, without the grace of God, would not quicken us. See the best help for bad memories, namely, good affections; and though the exact words be lost, if the meaning remain, that is well. I am thine, not my own, not the world's; save me from sin, save me from ruin. The Lord will keep the man in peace, whose mind is stayed on him. It is poor perfection which one sees and end of. Such are all things in this world, which pass for perfections. The glory of man is but as the flower of the grass. The psalmist had seen the fulness of the word of God, and its sufficiency. The word of the Lord reaches to all cases, to all times. It will take us from all confidence in man, or in our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness. Thus shall we seek comfort and happiness from Christ alone. Warren
Salmos 119
Morris - God created the earth after He had settled His Word and then undertook the work of sustaining it forever. Paul echoes the stability of the earth describing Jesus... He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17+) Charles Bridges - see comment on Ps 119:89 Psalm 119:91 They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants. They continue this (KJV): Ps 148:5,6 Ge 8:22 Isa 48:13 Jer 33:25 all are (KJV): De 4:19 Jos 10:12,13 Jud 5:20 Mt 5:45 8:9 They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants. Charles Bridges - - see comment on Ps 119:89 Psalm 119:92 If Your law had not been my delight, Then I would have perished in my affliction. thy law (KJV): Ps 119:24,77,143 Ro 15:4 I should (KJV): Ps 27:13 94:18,19 Pr 6:22,23 PRESERVED IN AFFLICTION BY GOD'S WORD If Your law had not been my delight, Then I would have perished in my affliction. It is interesting that the Lxx translators chose to translate Hebrew sha'shua' = "delight" by using the word "melete" in (Ps 119:77, 92, 143,174). The point is that this repeated use of melete for sha'shua' conveys the thought that meditation on God's Word is one's delight! What a beautiful picture. The related verb in the NT is meletao meaning to take pains, meditate, devise. Liddell-Scott on melete - care, attention, care for many things, Id.; m. attention to action, care paid by one, 2. practice, exercise, Lat. meditatio, Pind.; painful exercises, of the Spartan discipline, Id. b. in a military sense, exercise, practice, drill, Id. c. of an orator, rehearsal, Dem. 3. a pursuit, Pind. II. care, anxiety Melete 14v in Septuagint - Job 33:15; Job 37:2; Ps. 19:14; Ps. 39:3; Ps. 49:3; Ps. 119:24; Ps. 119:77; Ps. 119:92; Ps. 119:97; Ps. 119:99; Ps. 119:143; Ps. 119:174; Eccl. 12:12; Lam. 3:62 THEN I WOULD HAVE PERISHED IN MY AFFLICTION: so he could echo Ps1 19:50, 67, 71, 75 --The law of God comforts us in lowliness. Let us not forget His wellspring of comfort & run to broken cisterns that can hold no water. Charles Bridges - The support of the word is as sure as its basis—and that in the time when other supports sink—in affliction. David—like his great prototype—was a man of affliction9—sometimes ready to perish—always kept up by the law of his God. How many a false professor has been tried and cast by this hour of “affliction!” But he who has been sifted by temptation—who has “endured the hardness” of persecution, as a “good soldier of Jesus Christ”10—and who is ready rather to be “consumed upon earth,”11 than to shrink from his profession—this is he whom his Master “will lift up, and not make his foes to rejoice over him.”12 It is the established rule of the kingdom—“Them that honor me I will honor.’13 “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”14 The law of God opens to us a clear interest in every perfection of his Godhead—every engagement of his covenant. What wonder then, that it brings delights which the world can never conceive when bowed down with accumulated affliction? However the believer’s real character may be hidden from the world, the hour of trial abundantly proves, both what the law can do for him, and what a lost creature he would have been without it. In affliction, friends mean well; but of themselves they can do nothing. They can only look on, feel, and pray. They cannot “speak to the heart.” This is God’s prerogative:1 and his law is his voice. But for this support, Jonah probably would have “perished in his affliction.” In the belly of the fish, as “in the belly of hell,” he appears to have recollected the experience of David under deep and awful desertion; and in taking his language out of his mouth, as descriptive of his own dark and terrific condition, a ray of light and hope darted upon his dungeon walls.2 Indeed it is a mystery, how a sinner, destitute of the support and comfort of the word of God, can ever uphold himself in his trials. We marvel not, that often, “his soul should choose strangling, and death, rather than his life.”3 But in order to derive support from the law, it must be “our delights”4—yea—that it may be our delights it must be the matter of our faith. For what solid delight can we have in what we do not believe?5 Must it not also be our joy in prosperity, if we would realize its support in affliction? For this how ineffectual is the mere formal service! Who ever tasted its tried consolations in the bare performance of the outward duty? It must be read as a reality; it will then be taken as a cordial. Let it be simply received, diligently searched, and earnestly prayed over; and it will guide the heavy-laden to Him, who is their present and eternal rest.6 The tempest-tossed soul will cast anchor upon it—“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.”7 One promise applied by the Spirit of God is worth ten thousand worlds. And each promise is a staff—if we have but faith to lean upon it—able to bear our whole weight of sin, care, and trial. Is then affliction our appointed lot? If “man is born”—and the child of God twice born—“to trouble, as the sparks fly upward”8—how important is it to lay in a store of supply from this inexhaustible treasury against the time when all human support will fail! Supplied hence with heavenly strength, we shall be borne up above the weakness and weariness of the flesh. And as the riches of this store-house are “the riches of Christ,”1 let those parts be most familiar to us,2 which mark his person,3 his character,4 offices,5 life,6 sufferings,7 and death,8 resurrection and glory,9 together with the promises, encouragements, and prospects directly flowing from this blessed subject—and oh! what a treasure-house shall we find richly furnished with every source of delight, and every ground of support! 9 Psalm 132:1. 10 2 Tim. 2:3. 11 Verse 87. 12 Psalm 30:1. 13 1 Sam. 2:30. 14 Rev. 3:10. 1 Isaiah 40:2. Hosea 2:14. Margin. 2 Jonah 2:3, with Psalm 42:7. The phraseology in the LXX. is identical, as if it were a clear and distinct recollection of the Psalmist’s expressions, when describing his own state of desertion. 3 Job 7:15. Compare 2 Cor. 7:10. 4 “Delights”—instar omnium—instead of all manner of delights. 5 Psalm 27:13. 6 Matt. 11:28. It was the speech of a holy man—after God had made this precious text the messenger to open his dungeon of spiritual distress, and bring him into the light of inward joy—that he had better be without meat, drink, light, air, earth, life, and all, than without this one comfortable Scripture. “If one single promise”—as Gurnal sweetly remarks in giving this story—“like an ear of corn rubbed in the hand of faith, and applied by the Spirit of Christ—can afford such a full satisfying meal of joy to the hunger-bitten, pining soul; oh what price can we set upon the whole field of Scripture, which stands so thick with promises every way as cordial as this!”—Gurnal on Ephesians 6:17. Well might Luther say—“I have covenanted with my Lord, that he should not send me visions, or dreams, or even angels. I am content with this one gift of the Scriptures, which abundantly teaches and supplies all that is necessary both for this life and that which is to come.” 7 Ps 119:49. 8 Job 5:7. 1 Eph. 3:8. John 5:39. 2 Such as Isaiah 53 which, in the compass of a single chapter sketches out his whole history. See below. 3 Isaiah 53:1, 2. 4 Isaiah 53: 9. 5 Isaiah 53:4, 5, 12. 6 Isaiah 53:3. 7 Isaiah 53:7, 8. 8 Isaiah 53:9. 9 Isaiah 53:10–12. Psalm 119:93 I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me. will never (KJV): Ps 119:16,50 Joh 6:63 1Pe 1:23 I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me - What a great passage to motivate us to memorize God's Word! Charles Bridges - An admirable resolution! the blessed fruit of the quickening power of the word in his deep affliction. He had before acknowledged this supernatural efficacy—“Thy word hath quickened me.”10 Now he more distinctly mentions it, as the instrumental only—not the efficient cause—“With them thou hast quickened me.” Had the power been in the word, the same effect would have immediately and invariably followed. Nor should we have been constrained to lament the limited extent of its influence. How many, Christian, shared with you in the outward privileges; but perhaps unto none was the life-giving blessing vouchsafed, save unto yourself—the most unlikely—the most unworthy of all!11 Thus does “God work in us both to will and do”—not according to any prescribed law, but “of his own good pleasure.”12 The grace therefore is not from, but through, the means. Almighty God is the source of the life. The word is the instrument—yet so “quick,”13 so melting,14 so attractive,15 that we might ask, out of what rock was that heart hewn, that is proof against its power? Yet while the precepts work nothing without the agent,16 they are the ordinary course, by which the Lord quickeneth whom he will.17 And do not we find them still lively channels of refreshment? Surely, then, we will hold to our purpose of not forgetting the precepts. The leaves of the word of God are the leaves of the tree of life, as well as of the tree of knowledge. They not only enlighten the path, but they supply life for daily walk and progress. “The words that I speak unto you”—said Jesus—“they are spirit, and they are life;”18 so that the times when we have been most diligent in our meditation and obedience to the precepts, have been uniformly the seasons of our most holy consolation. Men of the world, however, with accurate recollections of all matters connected with their temporal advantage, are remarkably slow in retaining the truths of God. They plead their short memories, although conscious that this infirmity does not extend to their important secular engagements. But what wonder that they for get the precepts, when they have never been quickened with them—never received any benefit from them? The word of God is not precious to them: they acknowledge no obligation to it: they have no acquaintance with it. It has no place in their affections, and therefore but little abode in their remembrance. But this resolution is the language of sincerity, not of perfection. The child of God is humbled in the conscious “forgetfulness of the Lord’s precepts.” And this consciousness keeps his eye fixed upon Jesus for pardon and acceptance: while every fresh sense of acceptance strengthens his more habitual remembrance. Then as for his natural inability to preserve an accurate recollection of Divine things—let him not estimate the benefit of the word by the results in the memory, so much as by the impressions upon the heart. The word may have darted through the mind, as a flash of lightning, that strikes and is gone; and yet the heart may have been melted, and the passing flash may have shed a heavenly ray upon a dubious path. If the heart retains the quickening power—“The precepts are not forgotten,” even though the memory should have failed to preserve them. But whatever word of conviction, direction, or encouragement, may have come to us, affix this seal to it—‘I will never forget thy precepts.’ It may be of signal use in some hour of temptation. The same Spirit that breathed before upon it, may breathe again; if not with the same present sensible power, yet with a seasonable and refreshing recollection of past support. 10 Ps 119:50. 11 Comp. Luke 4:25, 26. 12 Phil. 2:13. 13 Heb. 4:12. 14 Jer. 23:29. 15 Matt. 11:28. 16 1 Cor. 3:7. 17 John 5:21. Rom. 10:17. 18 John 6:63. Psalm 119:94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your precepts. I am thine (KJV): Ps 86:2 Jos 10:4-6 Isa 41:8-10 44:2,5 64:8-10 Zep 3:17 Ac 27:23,24 for I have (KJV): Ps 119:27,40,1 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought (Lxx - ekzeteo, Heb 11:6) Your precepts. Save (deliver, help) (03467) yasha' (See also yeshua from which we get our word "Jesus") is an important Hebrew verb which means to help, to save, to deliver. The root in Arabic is "make wide" which underscores the main thought of yasha' as to bring to a place of safety or broad pasture in contrast to a narrow strait which symbolizes distress or danger. Septuagint = sozo, - save, deliver. Charles Bridges - What a high and honorable character is stamped upon the meanest believer! He is the Saviour’s unalienable property,1 his portion,2 the “wormanship”3 of his hand, the purchase of his blood,4 the triumph of his conquering love.5 He is given to him by his Father6—“preserved in him, and called.”7 The evidence of his character is found in “seeking the Lord’s precepts.” “Whom we serve” will prove “whose we are.”8 “His servants ye are, to whom ye obey.”9 “Know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself.”10 “The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh” cannot seek the Lord’s precepts.11 A new and spiritual bias, therefore, is the visible stamp and seal of the Lord’s interest in us. True it is, that our Divine Saviour can never be robbed of his property—that his people are saved in him, beyond the reach of earth and hell to touch them. Yet are they dependent still—always sinners—every day’s provocation making them more sinners than before; needing, therefore, from day to day, fresh power, fresh keeping, and above all, fresh cleansing and acceptance. But what a powerful plea for mercy may we draw from the Lord’s interest in us! Will not a man be careful of his children, his treasure, his jewels? Such am I.1 Thy sovereign love hath bought me—made me thine2—I am thine; save me. Thou hast saved me; “thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt thou not deliver my feet from falling?”3 Save me from the love of sin, from the daily guilt and power of sin; from the treachery of my own foolish heart; from all this, and all besides, which thou seest ensnaring to my soul. If I am not thine, whence this desire, this endeavor to “seek thy precepts?” What mean my privileged moments of communion with thee? What mean the yet unsatisfied desires after a conformity to thine image? Lord, I would humbly plead thine own act, thy free and sovereign act, that made me thine. Save me, because thou hast brought thy salvation near to me, and sealed me thine. I need mercy to begin with me; mercy to accompany me; mercy to abide with me for ever. “I am think, save me.” And what irresistible energy does it give to our pleading, that this was the sole purpose, that brought down the Son of God from heaven! “I came down”—said he—“from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing.”4 Of this purpose he was enabled to testify at the conclusion of his work—“Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition.”5 But some cry for salvation, who neglect duty, and thus make void their plea. Can we make our interest good, by seeking his precepts? Is it the way in which we love to walk? Then let us not desist from our plea before God, until our heart listens to the voice of love, centering every blessing of creation, redemption, and heavenly calling, in the privilege of adoption—“Thus saith the Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee: I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. Thou art my servant; O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions; and as a cloud, thy sins.”6 I have regarded this thy plea. I have heard this thy prayer—“I am thine, save me.”7 1 1 Cor. 3:23. 2 Deut. 32:9. 3 Eph. 2:10. 4 Psalm 74:2. Acts 20:28. 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. 5 Isaiah 53:10–12. Luke 11:21, 22. 6 John 6:37; 10:29; 17:6, 11. 7 Jude 1. 8 Acts 27:23. 9 Rom. 6:16. 10 Psalm 4:3. 11 Rom. 8:7, 8. 1 Heb. 2:13. Exodus 19:5. Mal. 3:17. 2 Isaiah 43:3, 4. 3 Psalm 56:13. 4 John 6:38, 39. 5 Jn. 17:12; 18:9. 6 Isaiah 43:1; 44:21, 22. 7 The same plea is urged in prayer, Psalm 143:12 86:2. Margin. Compare also verse 125. Psalm 119:95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I shall diligently consider Your testimonies. wicked (KJV): Ps 119:61,69,85-87 10:8-10 27:2 37:32 38:12 1Sa 23:20-23 2Sa 17:1-4 Mt 26:3-5 Ac 12:11 23:21 25:3 but I (KJV): Ps 119:24,31,111,125,129,167 The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I shall diligently consider Your testimonies. Charles Bridges - Am I, as a believer, safe as the Lord’s property, and in the Lord’s keeping? Yet must I expect that the wicked, the ungodly, as the instruments of Satan, will not cease to distress me. The Psalmist had before alluded to this trial, as driving him to his refuge.1 And, indeed, this is the constant character of the believer’s walk—enduring the enmity of the ungodly, and seeking his refuge in the word of God—in that hiding-place of safety to which the word directs him. How striking is the proof of the irreconcilable variance between God and the world—the world encouraging all that is contrary to God, and persecuting his image in his people! Yet the word opens to us a sure defence. If our “soul is among lions,”2 cannot we testify to the astonishment of the world—“My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me?”3 We hear indeed the roaring of the winds and waves; but we hear also the voice hushing the storm to rest—“Peace, be still.”4 The experience of this trial and support beautifully illustrates the promise—“He that believeth shall not make haste.”5 He whose hope is firmly fixed on that “tried corner-stone,” which God himself hath “laid in Zion as a sure foundation”—“shall not be greatly moved;” nay, he “shall not moved”6 at all, by “the wicked waiting for him to destroy him.” In the hour of difficulty, instead of perplexing himself with successive expedients for his safety (sought more from human contrivance, than from asking counsel at the mouth of God,) he “possesses his soul in patience,” and calmly commits all events to the Lord. Such a man “shall not be afraid of evil tidings! his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”7 ‘This trust is grounded on the word of God, revealing his power and all-sufficiency, and withal his goodness, his offer of himself to be the stay of the soul, commanding us to rest upon him. People wait on I know not what persuasions and assurances; but I know no other to build faith on, but the word of promise. The truth and faithfulness of God opened up his wisdom and power and goodness, as the stay of all those that, renouncing all other props, will venture on it, and lay all upon him. “He that believes, sets to his seal that God is true:” and so he is sealed for God; his portion and interest secured. “If you will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” ’8 But it is the “considering of the Lord’s testimonies,” that draws out their staying support. The soul must be fixed upon them, as “tried words, purified seven times in the fire.”9 And in this frame “I will,” under all distresses, all circumstances of trial, or even of dismay, “consider thy testimonies.” “I will consider” the faithfulness of those blessed declarations—“There shall not an hair of your head perish. Touch not mine anointed.”10 “He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye.”1 With this armor of defence, I shall not be afraid, even should I hear the “evil tidings,” that “the wicked have waited for me to destroy me.” Or even should I be destroyed, I know that thy testimonies cannot fail—that my rock is perfect—“that there is no unrighteousness in him;”2 and therefore, “though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”3 Whether, then, I am delivered from the wicked, and “live—I live unto the Lord;” or whether I fall into their snare, and “die—I die unto the Lord;”4 for “I will consider thy testimonies,” assured that all thy purposes shall be accomplished concerning me, as thou hast said—“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”5 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.”6 1 Ps 119:78, 87. Comp. Ps 119:114, 115. 2 Psalm 57:4. 3 Daniel 6:22. 4 Mark 4:39. 5 Isaiah 28:16. 6 Psalm 62:2, 6. His confidence increased in the recollection of his support—“I shall not be greatly moved—I shall not be moved.” 7 Psalm 112:7. 8 Leighton’s Works, 3:256, 257. 9 Psalm 12:7, P. B. Trans. 10 Luke 21:18. Psalm 105:15. 1 Zech. 2:8. 2 Psalm 92:15. 3 Ps 27:3. 4 Rom. 14:8. 5 Heb. 13:5. 6 Isaiah 26:3. Psalm 119:96 I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad. I have seen (KJV): That is, I have seen that all human wisdom or knowledge, however extensive, noble, and excellent, has it bounds, and limits, and end; but Thy law, a transcript of Thine own mind, is infinite, and extends to eternity. Ps 39:5,6 1Sa 9:2 17:8,49-51 31:4,5 2Sa 14:25 16:23 17:23 2Sa 18:14,17 Ec 1:2,3 2:11 7:20 12:8 Mt 5:18 24:35 but thy (KJV): Ps 19:7,8 Mt 5:28 22:37-40 Mk 12:29-34 Ro 7:7-12,14 Heb 4:12,13 I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad. Charles Bridges - A deeper insight in the Lord’s “testimonies” is the sure result of “considering” them. Weigh them in the balances against this world’s excellency; the world and the word—each with all its fulness. Of the one perfection we see an end—of the other—none. This world is a matter of experience and observation. We have seen it—an end—not of some—but of all its perfection. It wants sufficiency. It stands us in no stead in the great emergencies of affliction—death—judgment—eternity. It wants solidity in its best substance. “In its wisdom is grief!”7 All its delicacies and indulgences—after having, like the King of Jerusalem, “not withheld the heart from any joy”—all ends in the verdict of disappointment—“Behold! all was vanity and vexation of spirit!”8 Its continuance is but for a moment. The soul is born for eternity. Therefore it must have a portion to last as long as itself. But the world, with its lusts and fashion, passeth away.9 All that it can offer is a bubble—a shadow. In its best riches, honors, and pleasures—in the utmost that its perfection can yield—in its height and prime of enjoyment—what is it in itself—what is it able to do for us? “All is vanity.”10 And yet such is the alienation of the heart from God, that it is first tried to the very uttermost, before any desire to return homeward is felt or expressed. And even then, nothing but the Almighty power of God can bring the sinner back. He would rather perish in his misery, than “return to his rest.” Now contrast with the emptiness of the world the fulness of “the commandment of God.” Our whole duty to our God, our neighbor, and ourselves, is here laid open before us—commanding without abatement, and forbidding without allowance—making no excuse for ignorance—frailty—or forgetfulness—reaching not only to every species of crime, but to everything tending to it. This is “perfection,” of which we never “see an end.” Every fresh view opens—not the extent—but the immensity of the field; and compels us at length to shut up our inquiries with the adoring acknowledgment—Thy commandment is exceeding broad. Its various parts form one seamless piece; so that no particle can be separated without injury to the whole. As all the curtains of the tabernacle, connected by taches and loops, made but one covering for the ark, and the loosening or disjunction of the smallest point disannulled the fitness of the whole; so it belongs to the perfection of the commandment, that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”1 The spirituality of its requirements equally illustrates its Divine “perfection.” An angry look is murder;2 an unchaste desire is adultery;3 the “stumbling-block of iniquity”4—“covetousness”5 in the heart is idolatry; the thought6 as well as the act—the first conception of sin, as well as the after commission—brings in the verdict—Guilty—Death. Can we then endure the sight of its “exceeding breadth?” Yes—for the commandment of the Gospel7 is equally broad, and covers all.8 We know who hath stood in our place—who hath satisfied Sinai’s unalterable requirements, and borne its awful curse.9 Broad as it may be, the love which hath fulfilled it is immeasurable. As a covenant, therefore, it has now lost its terrors. As a rule, we love it for its extent, and for its purity; for the comprehensiveness of its obligations, and for the narrowness of its liberty for indulgence; nor would we wish to be subject to a less severe scrutiny, or a more lenient administration. Reader! If you have learnt “the exceeding breadth” and spirituality of the law (the first lesson that is taught and learnt in the school of Christ,) your views of yourself and your state before God will be totally changed. Before, you were “thanking God” in your heart, “that you were not as other men are.” Now you will be “smiting upon your breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner!”10 Before, perhaps you might have thought yourself, “touching the righteousness which is of the law, blameless.” Now you will glory in your new and more enlightened choice—“What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”11 Once you considered yourself “alive,” when you were really dead. Now that “the commandment is come” in its heart-searching spirituality and conviction to your soul, you “die”12 that you may live. Blessed change from the law to the Gospel—“from death to life!” “I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.”13 Such is the effect of the transition from a legal to an evangelical ground. Before, we were reckless of sin, and therefore reckless of the Gospel. As the one fell lightly upon our conscience, the other held a light estimation in our judgment. While we had no disturbance from the law, we had no delight in the Gospel. But now that we see through the true mirror, we are at once alarmed and enlightened, Praised be God!—we now take the true estimate—we degrade to the uttermost righteousness by works—we exalt to the uttermost righteousness by faith. In the one we see pollution—in the other perfection. 7 Eccl. 1:18. 8 Eccl 2:10, 11. 9 Eccl 1:2. 10 1 John 2:17. 1 Cor. 7:31. 1 James 2:10, 11. 2 Matt. 5:21, 22. Comp. 1 John 3:15. 3 Matt. 5:27. 4 Ezek. 14:7. 5 Ephes. 5:5. 6 Prov. 24:9. Compare 23:7. 7 John 6:28, 29. 1 John 3:23. 8 Rom. 3:22. 9 Gal. 4:4, 5; 3:13. 10 Luke 18:9–13. 11 Phil. 3:6, 7. 12 Romans 7:9. 13 Gal. 2:19. Psalm 119:97 Mem. O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. O how: Ps 119:48,113,127,159,165,167 1:2 De 6:6-9 17:19 Jos 1:8 Pr 2:10 Pr 18:1 O how I love Your law! - What we love, we love to think of. A good man carries his Bible with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart. (Ps 119:47, 48, 97,113, 119,127, 159, 163, 167) The way you treat your Bible is the way you treat Christ. To love Him is to love His Word. The Word is a delight (Ps 119:16, 24, 16, 35, 47, 70) and not a disappointment; we rejoice to read it (Ps 119:14, 162). It is my meditation all the day - The Hebrew word "kol" for "all" in combination with the Septuagint (Lxx) use of "holos" which speaks of the totality of something and thus pictures a man who is constantly immersed in God's Word which naturally results in his mind being continually set on the things above (cp Col 3:1,2+). Where is your focus today? Lay aside every encumbrance (Heb 12:1,2+). Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within your mind (Col 3:16+). It is also interesting that "holos" in Lxx often modifies "heart" and so pictures a "whole heart" or one totally devoted to His Master! (See Integrity - A Whole Heart and Give Me An Undivided Heart) We must read Scripture every day And meditate on what God said To fight temptation from the world And live a life that's Spirit led. --Sper Psalm 119:15, 23, 48, 78, 97, 99, 148: Meditation is to the soul what digestion is to the body. To meditate means to “turn over” God’s Word in the mind and heart, to examine it, to compare Scripture with Scripture, to “feed on” its wonderful truths. In this day of noise and confusion, such meditation is rare but so needful. Meditation is impossible without memorization.Reading the Bible without meditating on it is like eating without chewing. Meditation (07881)(sichah; see related siyah) means musing, complaint, pondering, reflection, concern of one's thoughts. "The word is primarily used to indicate meditation. The psalmist indicated the proper procedure for an individual's response to God's Law. Because of his love for God's Law, the psalmist was prompted to meditate on it all day long. Due to his practice of meditation, the psalmist received more understanding than his elders (Ps. 119:97, 99). As Job expressed his feelings and frustrations, Eliphaz responded condemningly, stating that what Job was feeling and saying was hindering devotion to God (Job 15:4)." Eliphaz's response was that of an ignorant man who did not realize the true nature of devotion to God." (Complete Word Study Dictionary) Three OT uses - Job 15:4, Ps 119:97, Ps 119:99. Septuagint - melete (not found in NT but see related word meletao) means care, attention, meditation. Used 14x in the Septuagint - Job 33:15; Job 37:2; Ps. 19:14; Ps. 39:3; Ps. 49:3; Ps. 119:24; Ps. 119:77; Ps. 119:92; Ps. 119:97; Ps. 119:99; Ps. 119:143; Ps. 119:174; Eccl. 12:12; Lam. 3:62 It is also interesting that the Lxx translators chose to translate this Hebrew word sha'shua' = "delight" by using the word "melete" in the following passages (Ps 119:77, 92, 143,174). The point is that this repeated use of melete for sha'shua' conveys the thought that meditation on God's Word is one's delight! What a beautiful picture. Henry Morris - This testimony of the psalmist should convict us today. He had only small portions of the Scriptures to study, much of which were portions that many modern Christians don't bother to read at all, whereas we have God's complete revelation. He loved the Scriptures so much that he continually meditated on them! Warren
Salmos 119
Morris - Such meditation on the true history and meaning of life as found in the Bible, will indeed yield more true wisdom than can be obtained in modern education as it is influenced by the false philosophy of evolutionary humanism. Charles Bridges - See comment above Psalm 119:100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. understand (KJV): 1Ki 12:6-15 Job 12:12 15:9,10 32:4,10 because (KJV): Ps 111:10 Job 28:28 Jer 8:8,9 Mt 7:24 Jas 3:13 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. Lxx provides clue as to what observed means here...diligently searching out God's Truth (Lxx = ekzeteo - of diligent investigation scrutinize, search out 1Pe1.10; of careful search for someone or someth. seek out, search for Heb 11:6 ) Charles Bridges - See comment above Psalm 119:101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. refrained (KJV): Ps 119:59,60,104,126 18:23 Pr 1:15 Isa 53:6 55:7 Jer 2:36 Tit 2:11,12 1Pe 2:1,2 3:10,11 I have restrained my feet from every evil way - The only way one can accomplish this is by continually relying on the Holy Spirit. Paul writes "if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are (continually) putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Ro 8:13+) See the discussion of the Paradoxical Principle of 100% Dependent and 100% Responsible (100/100) That I may keep Your word - This makes sense, because of we run to evil, we will not run to the Word (1Pe 2:1+ = evil which blunts the desire in 1Pe 2:2+). THOUGHT - This is a key principle of spiritual growth: you must set aside sin if you expect to benefit from God’s Word. Peter expressed the same thought when he said, “Putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:1–2). Likewise, James admonished us to put off sin and receive the Word (James 1:21+). Psalm 1:1+ shows the same pattern of need for restraint if one is to desire the word in Ps 1:2. Charles Bridges - David’s wisdom was of a practical—not of a mere intellectual or speculative character. It taught him to “keep the Lord’s precepts;” and in order to do this, to “refrain his feet from every evil way.” And will not advancing wisdom show itself by increasing tenderness of conscience and carefulness of conduct? The professor is afraid of hell—the child of God, of sin. The one refrains from the outward act—the other seeks to be crucified to the love of sin. Observe not only the practice but the motive—that he might keep the word. Shall we not “abhor that which is evil,” that we might “cleave to that which is good”9—abstaining from “all appearance of evil,”1 lest unconsciously we should be drawn into the atmosphere of sin—“hating even the garment spotted by the flesh”2—fearing the infection of sin worse than death? But how fearful the danger of self-deception! What need to entreat the Lord to “see if there be any wicked way in us!”3 Oh! for the large supply of grace and unction, to maintain an upright walk before a heart-searching God; to “keep ourselves from our iniquity;”4 and in dependence upon the promises, and in the strength of the Gospel, to “perfect holiness in the fear of God!”5 But how awful to hear men talk of keeping the word in a loose and careless profession! For how can it be kept, if the heart has not felt its holiness? For this is its beautiful peculiarity; that, in order to keep it, there must be a separation from sin. The two things are incompatible with each other. The two services are at variance at every point; so that the love of sin must he cast out where the love of God is ingrafted in the heart. Yet so strongly are we disposed to every evil way, that only the Almighty power of grace can enable us to “refrain from” one or another crooked path. Often is the pilgrim (yea, has it not too often happened to ourselves?) held back by a temporary ascendency of the flesh—by a little license given to sin—or by a relaxed circumspection of walk. At such seasons the blessed privilege of “keeping the word” is lost. We are sensible of a declining delight in those spiritual duties, which before were “our chiefest joy.” And “is there not a cause?” Have we not provoked our gracious God by harboring his enemy in our bosom—nay, more—by pleading for its indulgence? Has not “the Holy Spirit been grieved” by neglect, or by some worldly compliance: so that his light has been obscured, and his comforting influence quenched? No consolations, consistent with the love and power of sin, can ever come from the Lord. For the holiness of the word of God cannot be either spiritually understood, or experimentally enjoyed, but in a consistent Christian walk. And yet such is the true blessedness of the word, that the very expectation of keeping it may operate as a principle of restraint “from every evil way.” Is there any bondage in this restraint from sin? Oh, no! Sin is slavery; and therefore deliverance from it is “perfect freedom.” There is indeed a legal restraint much to be deprecated, when the conscience is goaded by sins of omission or of wilfulness; and the man, ignorant of, or imperfectly acquainted with, the only way of deliverance, hopes to get rid of his burden by a more circumspect walk. But not till he casts it at the foot of the cross, and learns to look wholly to Jesus his deliverer, can he form his resolution upon safe and effectual grounds. Oh, may I therefore seek to abide within a constant view of Calvary! Sin will live everywhere, but under the cross of Jesus. Here it withers and dies. Here rises the spring of that holiness, contrition and love, which refreshes and quickens the soul. Here then let me live; here let me die.1 Blessed Lord! Thou knowest that I desire to “keep thy word.” Prepare my heart to receive and to retain it. May I so “abide in Christ,” that I may receive the sanctifying help of his Spirit for every moment’s need! And while I rejoice in him as my Saviour, may I become daily more sensible of every deviation from the straight path! May my eye guide my feet! “Looking to Jesus,” may I have light and grace! And may daily grace be given to “refrain my feet from every evil way, that I may keep thy word!” 9 Rom. 12:9. 1 1 Thess. 5:22. 2 Jude 23. 4 Ps 18:23. 5 2 Cor. 7:1. 1 “When I am assaulted by some wicked thought, I then betake me to the wounds of Christ. When my flesh casteth me down, by the remembrance of my Saviour’s wounds, I rise up again. Am I inflamed with lust? I quench that fire with the meditation of Christ’s passion. Christ died for us. There is nothing so deadly, that is not cured by the death of Christ.”—Augustine. Psalm 119:102 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. departed (KJV): Ps 18:21 Pr 5:7 Jer 32:40 for thou (KJV): Eph 4:20-24 1Th 2:13 1Jn 2:19,27 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself (God) have taught me - Not only had God's Spirit taught him but had empowered him to be able to keep God's ordinances. Charles Bridges - If “I have refrained my feet from” sin—if “I have not departed from God’s judgments”—to him be all the glory. O my soul! art thou not a wonder to thyself? So prone to depart—to be carried away by uncertain notions—by the opposition of Satan—by the example or influence of the world—how is it, that thou art able to hold on thy way? Because the covenant of the Lord engages thy perseverance,—“I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.”2 While conscious of my own corrupt bias to depart, let me humbly and thankfully own the work of Divine teaching. Man’s teaching is powerless in advancing the soul one step in Christian progress. The teaching from above is “the light of life.”3 It gives not only the light, but the principle to improve it. It not only points the lesson, and makes it plain; but imparts the disposition to learn, and the grace to obey. So that now I see the beauty, the pleasantness, the peace, and the holiness of “the Lord’s judgments,” and am naturally constrained to walk in them. Oh how much more frequent would be our acknowledgment of the work of God, did we keep nearer to the Fountainhead of life and light!4 How may we trace every declension in doctrine and practice—all our continual estrangement from the Lord’s judgments—to following our own wisdom, or depending upon human teaching! “Trusting in man” is the departing of the heart from the Lord.5 I never shall depart from sin by the influence of human persuasion. I never shall depart from the Lord, so long as I have the witness in my heart—Thou teachest me. Reader! what has been your habit and progress “in the judgments of God?” Have you been careful to avoid by-paths? Has your walk been consistent, steady, advancing “in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost?”6 If there has been no allowed departure from the ways of God, it has been the blessed fruit of “ceasing from your own wisdom,”1 and simple dependence upon the promise “written in the prophets—And they shall be all taught of God.” And how delightfully does this heavenly teaching draw your heart with a deeper sense of need and comfort to the Saviour! For, as he himself speaks, “every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”2 Remember—it was no superior virtue or discernment, that has restrained your departure from God, but—“Thou hast taught me” the way to come to God; the way to abide in him—Christ the way—Christ the end. And his teaching will abide with you.3 It will win you by light and by love, and by a conquering power allure your heart with that delight in his judgments, and fear of offending against them, that shall prove an effectual safeguard in the hour of temptation. Watch the first step of departure—the neglect of secret prayer—the want of appetite for the sincere word—the laxing of diligence—the loss of the savor of godliness. Be careful therefore that the teaching of the Lord be not lost upon you. Inquire into your proficiency in his instructive lessons. And do not forget to prize his teaching rod—that loving correction, of which David had felt the blessing,4 and which he so often uses, to keep his children from “departing from his judgments.” Lord! do thou lead me by the hand, that I may make daily progress in “thy judgments.” Restrain my feet from “perpetual backsliding.” All human instruction will be ineffectual to keep me from “departing from thy judgments,” except “thou teachest me.” Neither grace received, nor experience attained, nor engagements regarded, will secure me for one moment without continual teaching from thyself. 2 Jer. 32:40. Compare 31:33. 1 John 2:27. 3 1 John 5:12. Comp. Eph. 5:14. 4 Psalm 36:9. 5 Jer. 17:5. 6 Acts 9:31. 1 Prov. 23:4. 2 Isaiah 54:13, with John 6:45. 3 1 John 2:24, 27. 4 Ps 119:67. Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! sweet: Ps 19:10 Ps 63:5 Job 23:12 Pr 3:17 8:11 24:13,14 Song 1:2-4 5:1 THE SWEETNESS OF GOD'S WORD How sweet are Your words to my taste! - Hebrew literally reads "How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth." The sweetness of the Word is like honey to the taste. It is sad when the Christian must have the “honey” of this world to be satisfied. See Ps. 34:8 and Job 23:12. NASB note says taste literally = palate. NET - Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Related Passages: Ps 1:1,2;19:7-11;Ps 119:16,24,35,47, Ps 119:48,72,92,97,103, Ps 119:111,113,127,159,167,174;Jer. 15:16 Charles Bridges - None but a child of God could take up this expression; because none besides has a spiritual taste. The exercises of David in this sacred word were delightfully varied. Its majesty commanded his reverence.5 Its riches calleth forth his love.6 Its sweetness excited his joy. Its holy light, keeping his heart close with God,7 naturally endeared it to his soul.8 How barren is a mere external knowledge of the Gospel! The natural man may talk or even dispute about its precious truths. But he has never tasted them—at least not so as to relish and feed on them. The highest commendation cannot explain the sweetness of honey9 to one who has never tasted it. Thus nothing but experience can give a spiritual intelligence. But what we have really tasted, we can warmly commend—“Oh! taste and see that the Lord is good.”1 Having once tasted of his Divine goodness, the sweetest joys of earth will be insipid, distasteful, and even bitter. Do we ask—what is it that gives this unutterable sweetness to the word?2 Is it not that name, which “is as ointment poured forth?”3 Is it not “the savor of the knowledge in Christ,”4 that revives the soul in every page with the breath of heaven? For can the awakened sinner hear, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”5—and not be ready to say, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth?” Can the weary soul listen to the invitation to “all that labor and are heavy laden;”6 and not feel the “sweetness” of those breathings of love? Who can tell the sweetness of those precious words to the conflicting, tempted soul—displaying the Divine sovereignty in choosing him—and the unchanging faithfulness in keeping him, and the almighty power of the Divine will, in the gift of eternal life?7 And how can the believer hear his Saviour “knock at the door” of his heart, calling him to fresh communion with himself;8 and not to turn to him with the ardent excitement of his love,—“All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad?”9 But are there not times when we gather no sweetness from the word? It is with the spiritual as with the natural food—a want of appetite gives disgust, instead of sweetness and refreshment. An indolent reading of the word without faith—without desire—without application—or with a taste vitiated by contact with the things of sense—deadens the palate—“The full soul loatheth the honey-comb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”10 But how melancholy is the thought of the multitudes, that hear, read, understand the word, and yet have never tasted its sweetness! Like Barzillai, they have no sense to “discern between good and evil.”11 Full of the word, or of their own conceits—feeding on the delusive enjoyments of creature-comforts—nourishing some baneful corruption in their bosoms12—or cankered with the spirit of formality—they have no palate for the things of God; they are “dead in trespasses and sins.” But how sweet is the word to the hungering and thirsting taste! We eat, and are not satisfied. We drink, and long to drink again. “If so be we have tasted that the Lord is gracious, as new-born babes” we shall “desire the sincere milk of the word, that we may grow thereby.”13 We shall take heed of any indulgence of the flesh, which may hinder the spiritual enjoyment, and cause us to “loathe” even “angels’ food” as “light bread.”14 Instead of resting in our present experience of its sweetness, we shall be daily aspiring after higher relish for the heavenly blessing.1 And will not this experience be a “witness in ourselves” of the heavenly origin of the word? For what arguments could ever persuade us that honey is bitter, at the moment when we are tasting its sweetness? Or who could convince us, that this is the word of man, or the imposture of deceit, when its blessed influence has imparted peace, holiness, joy, support, and rest, infinitely beyond the power of man to bestow? But let this enjoyment—as the spiritual barometer—the pulse of the soul—accurately mark our progress or decline in the Divine life. With our advancement in spiritual health, the word will be increasingly “sweet to our taste:” while our declension will be marked by a corresponding abatement in our desires, love, and perception of its delights. 5 Ps 119:129, 161. 6 Ps 119:72, 127. Ps. 19:10. 7 Ps 119:102. 8 P119:140. Thrice in one short Psalm does he stir up his habit of praise of the word, and of the God that gave it. See Psalm 56:4, 10. 9 Prov. 24:13, 14. 1 Ps. 34:8. 2 Ps 19:10. Job 23:12. 3 Song 1:3. 4 2 Cor. 2:14. 5 John 3:16. 6 Matt. 11:28. Comp. Prov. 16:24. 7 John 10:28. 8 Rev. 3:20. 9 Psalm 45:8. 10 Prov. 27:7. 11 2 Samuel 19:35. 12 See 1 Peter 2:1, 2. 13 1Pe 2, 3. 14 Psalm 78:25. Numb. 21:5. 1 Castæ delicæ meæ sunt Scripturæ tuæ.—Augustine. Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me, As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea. Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord; My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word. -Lathbury A well-read Bible is a sign of a well-fed soul. I don't know whether I'm going through a second childhood or what, but lately I've been craving a box of Cracker Jack. Do you know what I'm talking about--the candy-covered popcorn and peanuts in a box with young Sailor Jack on the label? I remember the slogan: "The more you eat, the more you want!" Cracker Jack is great, but there is something far better. David said it is "sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 19:10). And like the candied popcorn, "the more you eat, the more you want." The more you read the Bible, the more you will desire to read it. It is an appetite that grows as it feeds, and feeds as it grows. Then let me love my Bible more And take a fresh delight By day to read these wonders o'er And meditate by night. --Watts Those who only sample the Bible never acquire a taste for it. I don't know whether I'm going through a second childhood or what, but lately I've been craving a box of Cracker Jack. Do you know what I'm talking about--the candy-covered popcorn and peanuts in a box with young Sailor Jack on the label? I remember the slogan: "The more you eat, the more you want!" Cracker Jack is great, but there is something far better. David said it is "sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 19:10). And like the candied popcorn, "the more you eat, the more you want." The more you read the Bible, the more you will desire to read it. It is an appetite that grows as it feeds, and feeds as it grows. Then let me love my Bible more And take a fresh delight By day to read these wonders o'er And meditate by night. --Watts Those who only sample the Bible never acquire a taste for it. Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me, As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea. Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord; My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word. --Lathbury A well-read Bible is a sign of a well-fed soul. SAVOUR EVERY BITE How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! —Psalm 119:103 My wife Martie often tells me, “Joe, you eat too fast! Slow down and enjoy your meal.” I’m usually done long before she is, because she takes the time to savour every bite. I wonder how many of us rush through reading God’s Word without really savouring it. The psalmist said the following about it: “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103). That sounds good to me! What are the benefits of taking our time over Scripture? A daily meal of God’s Word helps to keep anxiety, pride, fear and temptation from taking over, and strengthens us for a victorious journey. The Word gives us wisdom and understanding (vv.98-100). And it helps restrain our feet from evil (v.101). Just as our digestive system sends nutrients to our bodies, God’s Word, when read, strengthens our minds, our emotions and our will. Rather than grabbing the Word on the run just before dashing out the door, it’s important to read it at a time and in a place where we can really have fellowship with God. SAVOUR THE RICHNESS OF GOD’S WORD. Psalm 119:104 From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Through (KJV): Ps 119:98,100 therefore (KJV): Ps 119:128 36:4 97:10 101:3 Pr 8:13 Am 5:15 Ro 12:9 false way (KJV): Ps 119:29,30 Pr 14:12 Mt 7:13 From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Charles Bridges - The Psalmist having spoken of the pleasure, now speaks of the profit—of the word—the teaching connected with its sweetness.2 Before, he had mentioned the avoiding of sin in order to profit3—now, as the fruit of profit. So closely are they linked together. Man’s teaching conveys no, understanding—God’s teaching not only opens the Scriptures, but “opens the understanding to understand them,” and the heart to feel their heavenly warmth of life.4 Thus having learned “the principles of the doctrine of Christ,” we shall “go on to perfection”—“growing in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ.”5 Many inconsistencies belong to the young and half-instructed Christian. But when through the precepts he gets understanding, he learns to walk more uniformly and steadily, abiding in the light. In this spirit and atmosphere springs up a constant and irreconcilable “hatred of every false way”—as contrary to the God he loves. These ways will include a thousand devious paths—all meeting in one fearful end—often discovered too late.6 In doctrine can we too much turn away from the thought of putting anything—the Church, ordinances, repentance, prayers, in the place of Jesus—another foundation in the stead of that which God himself laid in Zion? Oh for spiritual understanding to hate this false way with a deadly hatred! What think we of the ways of the sinful world—so long trusted to for happiness—yet so delusive? The sinner thinks that he has found a treasure, but it proves to be glittering trash—burdensome instead of enriching—only leaving him to the pain of disappointed hope. Rightly are such ways called false ways; and of those that tread in them, it is well said, “This their way is their folly.”7 Strewed they may be with the flowery “pleasures of sin.” But they are “hard”8 in their walk, and ruinous in their end.1 Inquire of those, whose past wanderings justly give weight to their verdict, ‘What is your retrospective view of these ways?’ Unprofitableness. ‘What is your present view of them?’ Shame. ‘What prospect for eternity would the continuance in them assure to you?’ “Death.”2 Let them then be not only avoided and forsaken, but abhorred; and let every deviation into them from the straight path, however pleasing, be “resisted” even “unto blood.”3 But let me ask myself, have I detected the “false ways” of my own heart? Little is done in spiritual religion, until my besetting sins are searched out. And let me not be satisfied with forbearance from the outward act. Sin may be restrained, yet not mortified; nor is it enough, that I leave it for the present, but I must renounce it for ever. Let me not part with it as with a beloved friend, with the hope and purpose of renewing my familiarity with it at a “more convenient season:”4 but let me shake it from me, as Paul shook off the viper into the fire,5 with determination and abhorrence? What! can I wish to hold it? If “through the precepts of God I have got understanding,” must not I listen to that solemn, pleading voice, “Oh! do not this abominable thing that I hate”?6 No, Lord: let me “pluck it out” of my heart, “and cast it from me.”7 Oh, for the high blessing of a tender conscience! such as shrinks from the approach, and “abstains from all appearance of evil;”8 not venturing to tamper with any self-pleasing way; but “hating” it as “false,” defiling, destructive! I have marked the apple of my eye—that tenderest particle of my frame—that it is not only offended by a blow or a wound; but that, if so much as an atom of dust find an entrance, it would smart, until it had wept it out. Now such may my conscience be—sensitive of the slightest touch of sin—not only fearful of resisting, rebelling, or “quenching the Spirit,” but grieving for every thought of sin, that grieves that blessed Comforter—that tender Friend! To “hate every false way,” so as to flee from it, is the highest proof of Christian courage. For never am I better prepared to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,”9 than when my conscience is thus set against sin. Would not I then submit to the greatest suffering, rather than be convicted of unfaithfulness to my God? Lord! turn my eyes, my heart, my feet, my ways, more and more to thy blessed self. Shed abroad thy love in my heart, that sin may be the daily matter of my watchfulness, grief, resistance, and crucifixion. 2 Prov. 2:10, 11; 16:21. 3 Ps 119:101. 4 Comp. Luke 24:45, 32. 5 Heb. 6:1. 2 Peter 3:18. 6 Prov. 5:11. Matt. 25:11, 12. 7 Psalm 49:13. 8 Prov. 13:15. 1 Matt. 8:12. Phil. 3:19. 2 Rom. 6:21. 3 Heb. 12:4. 4 Acts 24:25. 5 Acts 28:5. 6 Jer. 44:4. 7 Matt. 5:29. 8 1 These. 5:22. 9 2 Tim. 2:3. Psalm 119:105 Nun. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. word : Ps 19:8 43:3 Pr 6:23 Eph 5:13 2Pe 1:19 lamp Ps 18:28 Job 29:3 THE WORD OF GOD LIGHTS OUR LIFE Your word is a lamp to my feet (2Pe1:19): Why would you need a portable lamp? [Col1:13 Ac26:18 Ps 19:8] {LUCHNOS: portable lamp fed with oil, not a candle as commonly translated (Mt 5:15; Mk 4:21; Lu 8:16; 11:33, 36; 12:35, i.e., be ready, watch). represents the eye (Mt 6:22; Lu 11:34; Ex 25:37; Zec 4:2). Metaphorically, of John the Baptist as a distinguished teacher (Jn 5:35); of the Messiah, the lamb (Rev 21:23 [Pr 6:23]). Syn.: lampás = torch, but frequently fed like a lamp with oil from a little vessel used for the purpose} On a hazardous journey, the torch was most necessary. God’s Word is the true light to guide the believer through life (cf. Pr 6:23; Jn 8:12). God's Word illuminates the path that leads to everlasting life. God's Word lights our journey thru this spiritually dark world. Indeed there is not a single terrain of life, upon which the Holy Scriptures do not enlighten us by pointing us to the correct principles, according to which we should handle ourselves to live to the honour of God. Of course, we receive no light if we in our confusion make the Bible to fall open by chance in the hope of finding a text that will show us the way. This is playing with God’s Word. However, if this Word is our spiritual possession, if we breathe and live it, yes, then it becomes to us what the shining pillar of fire was to Israel,—a light upon our path and lamp before our feet, that we have to follow, follow continually, to arrive in the land of blessed rest. And a light to my path Lamps burning olive oil were highly valued for use in people's homes (Pr 13:9). Light is closely related to life and happiness, which may account for the frequent comparisons between God and light. {phos: Mt 4:16:} Path {lxx: TRIBOS: worn or beaten path or rut; the high road; rubbing; Mt 3:3 quoting Isa 40:3} We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus that we should walk in them. Ep 2:10. In Bible times there were no powerful flashlights. On a hazardous journey, the torch was most necessary. God's Word is the true light to guide the believer through life (cf. Prov. 6:23; John 8:12). The traveler carried a small oil lamp, whose flax wick gave off only a little light. There was enough to see by. Not enough to see what lay ahead down the path, but enough to take the next step without stumbling or falling. What a reminder for us. The Word of God is a lamp to our path. It doesn’t illuminate our future, but it does shine in our present. God’s Word gives us the light we need to take our next step in life. The way a Christian treats his Bible shows how he regards Jesus Christ. He is the living Word (Jn 1:1, 14), and the Bible is the written Word; but in essence they are the same. Both are bread (Mt 4:4; Jn 6:48), light (Ps 119:105; Jn 8:12), and truth (John 14:6; 17:17). The Holy Spirit gave birth to Jesus Christ through a holy woman (Luke 1:35), and He gave birth to the Bible through holy men of God (2 Peter 1:20–21). Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God forever (Rom. 1:25), and the Word of God will live forever (Ps. 119:89; 1 Peter 1:23, 25). It may be a personal prejudice, but I dislike seeing a Bible on the floor or at the bottom of a stack of books. If I am carrying several books with my Bible, I try to remember to put the Bible on the top. If we appreciate the Bible as the inspired Word of God, then we will reveal this appreciation in our treatment of the Bible. Would you rather have your Bible than food? Job said, “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). God’s Word is bread (Matt. 4:4), milk and meat (Heb. 5:11–14), and even honey (Ps. 119:103). Mary chose the Word, but her sister Martha got involved in making a meal (Luke 10:38–42). Mary got the blessing while Martha lost the victory. Would you rather have God’s Word than money? The believer who wrote Psalm 119 made it clear that God’s Word meant more to him than “all riches” (Ps. 119:14), “thousands of gold and silver” (Ps. 119:72), “fine gold” (Ps. 119:127), and even “great spoil” (Ps. 119:162). THE WORD IS (Ps 19:8 43:3 Pr 6:23 Ep 5:13 2Pe 1:19): DABAR: The psalmist vows to followed the light wherever it may lead and whatever dangers may be involved.This is a dark world and the only dependable light is the Word of God (2Pe1:19-21). It leads us a step at a time, as we walk in obedience. 1Jn1:5-10 tells us we walk in the light as we obey His Word. Henry Ward Beecher -- “The Bible is God’s chart for you to steer by, to keep you from the bottom of the sea, and to show you where the harbour is, and how to reach it without running on rocks or bars.” D. L. Moody - “There’s no better book with which to defend the Bible than the Bible itself.” Oliver Wendell Holmes - “What you bring away from the Bible depends to some extent on what you carry to it.” D.L. Moody - “The study of God’s Word brings peace to the heart. In it, we find a light for every darkness, life in death, the promise of our Lord’s return, and the assurance of everlasting glory.” Phillips Brooks - “The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope, then he sees worlds beyond: but if he looks at his telescope, then he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through, to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it; and so they see only the dead letter.” A LAMP (2Pe1:19): Why would you need a portable lamp? [Col1:13 Ac26:18 Ps19:8] {LUCHNOS: portable lamp fed with oil, not a candle as commonly translated (Mt5:15; Mk4:21; Lu 8:16; 11:33, 36; 12:35, i.e., be ready, watch). represents the eye (Mt6:22; Lu 11:34; Ex25:37; Zec4:2). Metaphorically, of John the Baptist as a distinguished teacher (Jn 5:35); of the Messiah, the lamb (Rev21:23 [Pr6:23]). Syn.: lampás = torch, but frequently fed like a lamp with oil from a little vessel used for the purpose} TO MY FEET: {pous} On a hazardous journey, the torch was most necessary. God’s Word is the true light to guide the believer through life (cf. Pr 6:23; Jn 8:12). God's Word illuminates the path that leads to everlasting life. God's Word lights our journey thru this spiritually dark world. Indeed there is not a single terrain of life, upon which the Holy Scriptures do not enlighten us by pointing us to the correct principles, according to which we should handle ourselves to live to the honour of God. Of course, we receive no light if we in our confusion make the Bible to fall open by chance in the hope of finding a text that will show us the way. This is playing with God’s Word. However, if this Word is our spiritual possession, if we breathe and live it, yes, then it becomes to us what the shining pillar of fire was to Israel,—a light upon our path and lamp before our feet, that we have to follow, follow continually, to arrive in the land of blessed rest. AND A LIGHT: Lamps burning olive oil were highly valued for use in people's homes (Pr 13:9). Light is closely related to life and happiness, which may account for the frequent comparisons between God and light. {phos: Mt 4:16:} TO MY PATH: {lxx: TRIBOS: worn or beaten path or rut; the high road; rubbing; Mt 3:3 quoting Isa 40:3} We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus that we shouls walk in them. Ep 2:10. In Bible times there were no powerful flashlights. The traveler carried a small oil lamp, whose flax wick gave off only a little light. There was enough to see by. Not enough to see what lay ahead down the path, but enough to take the next step without stumbling or falling. What a reminder for us. The Word of God is a lamp to our path. It doesn’t illuminate our future, but it does shine in our present. God’s Word gives us the light we need to take our next step in life. From Pilgrim's Progress, the First Stage: "The man therefore read it, and looking upon Evangelist very carefully, said, "Whither must I fly?" Then said Evangelist, (pointing with his finger over a very wide field,) "Do you see yonder wicket-gate?" Mt 7:13,14. The man said, "No." Then said the other, "Do you see yonder shining light?" Ps 119:105; 2 Pe 1:19. He said, "I think I do." Then said Evangelist, "Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate; at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do." So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, Life! life! eternal life! Lu 14:26. So he looked not behind him, Ge 19:17, but fled towards the middle of the plain." Related Resources: Inductive Bible Study: Application Meditation - An Application of Inductive Bible Study Primer on Biblical Meditation Memorizing His Word Power of God's Word A.W.Pink "Profiting From the Word" Expository Notes on 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:17 Expository Notes on 1 Peter 2:1; 1 Peter 2:2 Authority of God's Word - study on 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Ezra 7:10 - Exposition of the "Ezra 7:10 Principle" Job's "Secret" of perseverance? A Primer on the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation Watch the incredible youtube video The Indestructible Book - How We Got our English Bible - 3 hours, 37 minutes - It will make you weep! 1 Peter 2:1-3 Hungering for God's Word - John MacArthur 1 Peter 2:1-3 Desiring the Word - John MacArthur 1 Peter 2:1-3 Longing for the Word - John MacArthur 1 Peter 2:1-3 Cultivating a Hunger for God's Word - John MacArthur The Sufficiency of Scripture - John MacArthur The Sufficiency of Scripture - Part 1 - John MacArthur The Sufficiency of Scripture - Part 2 - John MacArthur Life Hid and Not Hid by Alexander Maclaren The Necessity of Scripture - William D. Barrick The Bible “A Lamp Unto My Feet by Greg Herrick Rationality, Meaningfulness & Precision of Scripture - Robert L. Thomas The Authority of Scripture - excellent article by Richard L. Mayhue The Word-Filled Life - Developing the Mind of Christ by Hampton Keathley III Psalm 1 Delighting in the Law of God - John Piper Psalm 1 Meditate on the Word of the Lord Day and Night - John Piper Psalm 1 Delighting In The Word - Scott Grant Psalm 1:2 - Notes on this Passage - C H Spurgeon Psalm 1:1,2 Separated and Saturated - Warren Wiersbe The Authority & Power of the Word upon the Heart - J C Philpot Benefits Arising From the Word of God - Charles Simeon's Sermon on Micah 2:7 Warren
Salmos 119
Morris - Every Scripture is true and right without exception and we should hate every teaching which suggests otherwise! I hate every false way - And the best way to detest or hate the false way is to know the true way so that we can readily perceive a false way or false teaching! I love Your truth, O Lord, The Word which You have given; Its precepts shall my soul delight On earth as well as heaven. | -Bosch Charles Bridges - The general contempt of religion acts upon the Christian’s judgment no less than upon his affections. Is wickedness breaking loose, to make void the law? Therefore he esteems it to be right. His judgment—instead of being shaken—is more determined. How beautiful is it to see the leaven of grace pervading the whole man! In the fervor of his heart he “loves the commandments even above fine gold;” but yet his “love will abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.”8 His is an intelligent and universal regard to them—“esteeming all the precepts concerning all things to be right.” This constitutes his separate and exclusive character. He is readily known from the thoughtless worldling. But his difference from the professor, though really as marked in the sight of God, is far less perceptible to general observation. Consisting more in the state of heart, than in any external mark of distinction, it is often only within the ken of that eye, whose sovereign prerogative it is to “search the heart,”1 and to “weigh the spirits.”2 Many profess to “esteem the precepts to be right,” so far as they inculcate the practice of those moral virtues, of which they may present some faint exhibition, and demand the abandonment of those sins, from the external influence of which they may have been delivered. But when they begin to observe the “exceeding breadth of the commandment”3—how it takes cognizance of the heart, and enforces the renunciation of the world, the crucifixion of sin, and the entire surrender of the heart unto God; this searching touchstone separates them from the Church, and exposes to open day the brand of hypocrisy upon their foreheads. “Herod did many things.”4 And so the enemy still will allow a partial subjection to the precepts. But—as he well knows—one sin holds us his captive as well as a thousand. The wilful contempt of one precept is the virtual rejection of all. All, therefore—not many—is the Christian’s word. He fails in some—yea, in all—but all are the objects of his supreme regard—every duty, and every circumstance and obligation of duty5—the evangelical as well as the moral precepts—teaching him to renounce himself in every part (his sins as a source of pleasure, and his duties as a ground of dependence): and to believe in the Son of God as the only ground of hope.6 He never complains of the strictness of the precepts; but he is continually humbled in the recollection of his nonconformity to them. “Every way,” however pleasing to the flesh, that is opposed to the revealed will of God, is “hated,” as “false” in itself, and “false” to his God This “godly sincerity” will apply to every part of the Christian Directory. So that any plea for the indulgence of sin (as if it admitted of palliation, or was compensated by some surplus duty, or allowed only for some temporary purpose) or any wilful shrinking from the universality of obedience—blots out all pretensions to uprightness of heart. If holiness be really loved, it will be loved for its own sake; and equally loved and followed in every part.7 By this entire “approval of things that are excellent,” we shall “be sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ.”8 O my soul, canst thou abide this close test? Hast thou as much regard to the precepts, as to the privileges of the Gospel? Is no precept evaded, from repugnance to the cross that is entailed to it? Is no secret lust retained? Art thou content to let all go? If my hatred of sin is sincere, I shall hate it more in my own house than abroad; I shall hate it most of all in my own heart. Here lies the grand seat of hypocrisy. And therefore may the great Searcher of hearts enable me to search into its depths! May I take the lamp of the Lord to penetrate into its dark interior hiding-places of evil! May I often put the question to my conscience, ‘What does the Omniscient “Observer of men” know of my heart?’ Perhaps at the time that the Church hold my name in esteem, the voice of conscience, as the voice of God, may whisper to me, “That which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”1 Some false way, yet undetected within, may keep me lifeless and unfruitful in the midst of the quickening means of grace. Let me look into my house—my calling—my family—my soul; and in the course of this search how much matter will be found for prayer, contrition, renewed determination of heart, and dependence upon my God! “O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! I will keep thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly.”2 And oh! let my spirit be wounded by every fresh discovery of sin. Let my soul bleed under it. But specially and instantly let me apply to the “fountain opened for sin and uncleanness.” Here let me wash my soul from the guilt of sin, and regain my peace with God. And to him, who opened this fountain, let me also repair for a large supply of spiritual strength. May his power and grace sharpen my weapons for the spiritual conflict, until every secret iniquity is overcome, and forever dispossessed from my heart! And just as sin—besides its guilt—brings its own misery; so does this whole-hearted purity carry with it its own happiness. Can I forget the time when, under Divine grace and teaching, I made a full presentment of myself3—when I began to estimate myself as a hallowed, devoted thing—sacred—set apart for God? Was not this the first sunshine of my happiness? Nor was this offering made with momentary excitement, notional intelligence, forced acquiescence, or heartless assent. My judgment accorded with the choice of my heart. All was right in his precepts. All that was contrary to them was abominable. And will not this form the essence of the happiness of heaven, where every aspiration—every motion—every pulse of the glorified soul—in the eternity of life—will bear testimony to the holiness of the service of God?4 8 Phil. 1:9. 1 Jer. 17:10. 2 Prov. 16:2. 3 Verse 96. 4 Mark 6:20. 5 Luke 1:6. 6 1 John 3:23. John 6:29. 7 2 Cor. 7:1. 8 Phil. 1:10. 1 Luke 16:15. 2 Verses 5, 8. 3 See Rom. 12:1. 4 Rev. 15:3. Psalm 119:129 Pe. Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul observes them. testimonies (KJV): Ps 119:18 139:6 Isa 9:6 25:1 Rev 19:10 doth (KJV): Ps 119:2,31,146 25:10 Your testimonies are wonderful - The Hebrew word pele' is used every time (out of 13 total) in the context of God's acts or words (exception is Lam 1:9). J Todd - Some look upon the Bible as a garden of spices, in which you may walk, and at your leisure pluck the flowers and gather the fruits of the Eden of God. But this does not accord with my experience. I have found it more like a mine, in which you must dig and labor, the wealth of which is not to be obtained without labor,—a mine rich in gold and precious things, but it must be wrought day and night in order to produce them. Therefore (term of conclusion) my soul observes them - Since they are wonderful his soul, the seat and center of his inner life (similar to meaning of "heart") keeps them. Wonderful testimonies kept lead to a wonderful life! Warren
Salmos 119
Morris - At the end of his long testimony, the psalmist expresses his deep longing for the completion of his "salvation." Hebrew yeshua, could be rendered "Jesus." By inspiration he was praying for the coming of the Savior, who would fulfill all the Scriptures that had been his lifelong delight. How awesome is the eternal Word of God! And Your law is my delight - Jer 15:16+ "Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. " It is interesting that the Lxx translators chose to translate sha'shua' = "delight" by using the word "melete" in the following passages (Ps 119:77, 92, 143,174). The point is that this repeated use of melete (see notes on the cognate verb meletao) for sha'shua' conveys the thought that meditation on God's Word is one's delight! What a beautiful picture. Charles Bridges - 174. I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight Before we close this Psalm, let us dwell once more upon this word—salvation. Common as is its use, to the believer it has a constant freshness and an infinite meaning. Do we wonder at his longing for it? Look at its fulness—including all the mercy of the everlasting covenant. Look at its ground—that work of Calvary’s cross once “finished,”7 and leaving nothing to be filled up or improved; standing out in all its glorious completeness; constraining the admiration, and encouraging the confidence, of the chief of sinners; but wholly disclaiming all assistance from the most eminent saint. Look at its simplicity—not keeping the sinner aloof from the Saviour—not hedging up or bewildering the open freeness of his path, but bringing him immediate peace and joy in resting upon the great atonement of the Gospel.8 Mark its unchangeableness—independent of and above all frames and feelings, so that, while “walking in darkness” we can “stay upon our God,”9 expecting salvation even from the hand that seems ready for our destruction10—leaving it to our heavenly Father to frown or to smile—to change as he pleaseth from the one to the other—and looking at every aspect of his countenance, as only a different arrangement of the same features of ineffable paternity; and the different, suitable, and seasonable expression of unchangeable covenant love. Is not this an object for the longing of the soul, that feels its own pressing wants, and sees in this salvation an instant and full supply? This longing marks the character of evangelical religion—not merely duty, but delight. The mind wearies in the continued exertion for duty; but it readily falls in with delight. Duties become privileges, when Christ is their source and life. Thus every step of progress is progress in happiness. The world’s all to the believer is really nothing. It presents nothing to feed the appetite, or quench the thirst of an immortal soul. Indeed the creatures were commissioned to withhold consolation, until every desire was concentrated in the single object, “Thou, O God, art the thing that I long for”1—until the sinner has found rest in the answer to his prayer—“Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.”2 And now he enjoys his earthly comforts, “as not abusing them,”3 because he loves them as God would have them loved, and longs for his salvation above them all. This is true religion—when the Lord of all occupies that place in the heart, which he fills in the universe—There he is “All in all.” Here the believer cries—“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee?”4 O what a privilege is it to have him in heart, in thought, and in view; to be rejoicing in his presence; and to be longing for a more full conformity to his image, and for a more lively enjoyment of his love! If this be but earth, what must heaven be! This longing is a satisfactory evidence of the work of God.5 It exercises the soul in habitual contemplation of the Saviour, in nearer communion with him, and supreme “delight in his law.” Such desires will be unutterably increased, and infinitely satisfied ‘in the fruition of his glorious Godhead.’6 But the Lord often brings this charge against his professing people—“Thou hast left thy first love.”7 The principle is not dead, but the energy is decayed. Human nature is prone to apostasy. Slumber unconsciously steals upon the soul. Faith is not in habitual exercise. The attraction of the Saviour is not set forth. His love is not meditated upon. The soul is satisfied with former affections to him. There is little heart to labor for him. The means of communion with him are slighted; the heart, naturally becomes cold in spiritual desires, and warm in worldly pursuits; and too often without any smitings of conscience for divided love. Some professors, indeed, consider this declension of affections to be a matter of course. The young convert is supposed to abound most in love, and, as he advances, his fervor gradually subsides into matured judgment. Those indeed, who “have no root in themselves,” lose their lively affections, and their religion with them.8 But surely the real principle of love cannot decay; that is, our esteem of God cannot be lowered: our “longing for his salvation” cannot languish; our delight in its enjoyment cannot diminish, without guilt and loss to our souls. He claims our love,1 and it is most unreasonable to deny him his own. He is the same, as when we first loved him. Then we thought him worthy of our highest love. Do we now repent of having loved him so much? Have we found him less than our expectations? Can we bestow our heart elsewhere with stricter justice, or to better advantage? Do not all the grounds of our love to him continue in full force? Have they not rather increased every day and hour? What would an indulgent husband think of incessant and increasing attentions repaid with diminished affection? Oh! let us be ashamed of our indolence, and “remember” the times, when our longings for his salvation were more intense; when our communion with him was more heavenly: when we were ready to labor and suffer for him, and even to die to go home to his presence. Let us “repent” with deeper contrition, and “do our first works;”2 never resting till we can take up afresh the language of delight—“I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord.” Some, however, of the Lord’s dear children are distressed in the conscious coldness of their spiritual affections. But if it be a mark of the decay of grace to “lose our first love,” it is at least a mark of the truth of grace to mourn over this loss. There is always a blessing for those “that hunger and thirst after righteousness.”3 These restless desires are the beating pulse of the hidden life; and if there be not always a sensible growth of desire and enjoyment, there may be (as with the trees in winter) growth at the root, in a more fixed habit of grace and love, in a deeper spirit of humility, and in a more established self-knowledge and simplicity. Yet the shortest way of peace will be to look off from our “longing for this salvation,” to the “salvation” itself.4 For nothing is more desecrating to this great work—nothing is more paralyzing to its saving power, than the incorporating with it the admixture of our own experience as the ground of hope. The most Christian feelings must find no place at the foundation. Indeed their continual variation renders them, especially in the hour of temptation, very uncertain. Yet amid all this fluctuation, Christ may always be safely trusted. While, therefore, our coldness humbles us before him, let not brooding despondency cover his precious cross from view. Let not our eyes be so filled with tears of contrition, as to obscure the sight of his free and full salvation. “Looking” singly “unto Jesus” as our peace and our life, is at once our duty, our safety, and the secret principle of our daily progress heavenward. We shall but realize the perception of our own emptiness in the contemplation of his unbounded fulness. But the connection between “longing for salvation,” and “delight in the law,” is at least an incidental evidence, that right apprehensions of “salvation,” must be grounded upon the word or “law of God;” and that a religion of feeling is a religion of delusion. Our delight is not only in his love, but in his law. And so practical is Christian privilege, that longing for salvation will always expand itself in habitual delight in the law: which in its turn will enlarge the desire for the full enjoyment of salvation. All spiritual desire therefore, that is not practical in its exercise, is impulse—excitement—not—as in this man of God—the religion of the heart—holiness, “delight.” Would that this beautiful Psalm might quicken us to be followers of him, who evidently knew so much of the heavenly joys of religion! Why should we not, why do we not, determine to know as much of God as we can? Why are our “longings for his salvation” so transient and so few? The religion of thousands who bear the name is of a very different stamp—empty instead of solid—withering instead of profitable—insipid instead of delightful. If there be any exercise, it is only “the door turning upon hinges”1—movement without progress—their heads stored with knowledge, but no unction in the heart—“ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”2 But the soul that really longs shall “not be ashamed of its hope.” Even to taste the present fruits—though it be but a taste—in a sense of reconciliation, liberty of access, a beam of the love of Jesus in the heart, is unutterable enjoyment. It strengthens the soul for endurance, of trials, and for a devoted, self-denying, obedient service. But there are heights and depths of Divine love yet unexplored.3 He who has vouchsafed large apprehensions of them to others, “is rich in mercy to all that call upon him.”4 The fountain of everlasting love is ever flowing, ever full; and he who commands us to “open our mouths wide,” has promised, “I will fill them.”5 After all, however, the grand consummation is the object to which these longings for salvation stretch with full expansion. The fulness6 and likeness of God7—the complete and everlasting deliverance from sin8—the glorious “manifestation of the sons of God”9—the coming of the Lord.10 Then—not till then—will they be fully and eternally satisfied. Praised be God! “Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”11 Lord of all power and might! create in our souls a more intense “longing for thy salvation,” and a more fervent “delight in thy law.” And as our “longings for thy salvation” increase, oh! nail us to the doorposts of thy house, that we may be thy happy servants forever! 7 John 19:30. 8 See Acts 2:37–47; 8:5–8, 39; 16:31–34. 1 Thess. 1:6. 9 Isaiah 50:10. 10 Job 13:15. 1 Psalm 71:4. P. T. 2 Ps. 35:3. 3 1 Cor. 7:31. 4 Psalm 73:25. 5 See Neh. 1:11. 6 Collect for Epiphany. 7 Revelations 2:4. 8 See Matt. 22:20, 21. 1 See Prov. 23:26. 2 See Rev. 2:5. 3 Matt. 5:6. 4 See Hebrews 12:2. 1 Prov. 26:14. 2 Tim. 3:7. 3 Eph. 3:18, 19. 4 Rom. 10:12. 5 Psalm 81:10. 6 Eph. 3:19. 7 Psa. 17:15. Phil. 3:20, 21. 8 Rom. 8:23. 2 Cor. 5:1–8. 9 Rom. 8:19–21. 10 Rev. 22:20. 11 Rom. 13:11. ‘This salvation has been the objects of the hopes, the desires, and longing expectation of the faithful, from Adam to this hour; and will continue so to be, until he, who hath already visited us in great humility, shall come again in glorious majesty, to complete our redemption, and take us to himself.’—Bishop Horne. Compare also Scott in loco. Psalm 119:175 Let my soul live that it may praise You, And let Your ordinances help me. Let my (KJV): Ps 9:13,14 30:9 51:14,15 118:18,19 Isa 38:19 and let thy (KJV): Ps 119:75 Isa 26:8,9 Ro 8:28 1Co 11:31,32 2Co 4:17 Let my soul live that it may praise You, And let Your ordinances help me. Charles Bridges - 175. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee: and let thy judgments help me There must be life in order to praise; for how can the dead speak? Yet is it as natural for the living soul to praise, as for the living man to speak. And is not the life that the Psalmist is now praying for, the salvation for which he was longing? The taste that he has received makes him hunger for a higher and continued enjoyment; not for any selfish gratification, but that he might employ himself in the praise of his God. Indeed, the close of this Psalm exhibits that pervading character of praise, which has been generally remarked in the concluding Psalms of this sacred book.”1 Yet he alone is fitted for this heavenly exercise, of whom it has been said—“This my son was dead, and is alive again.”2 And how will he, who has “looked to the hole of the pit whence he was digged,”3 who has been awakened to a sight of that tremendous gulf, from which he is but “scarcely saved,”4 long to give utterance to the effusions of a praising heart! How will he cry for the quickening influence of “the Lord and Giver of life,” to stir him up to this delightful privilege! Praise springs from prayer—“Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee.” When the breathing of “life into our souls” enlivens our services, we become, in the noblest sense, “living souls.”5 Too often, however, the consciousness of inconsistency, carelessness, and unspirituality, damps our song. But let every recollection of our sin be accompanied with an humble yet assured confidence in the Lord’s pardoning grace. The abominations of a desperately wicked and unsearchably deceitful heart may well lead us to “abhor ourselves in dust and ashes.”6 Yet in the lowest depths of abasement, the Saviour’s blood, applied to the conscience, “cleanseth from all sin.”7 He who once “passed by us, and saw us polluted in our blood, and said unto us, when we were in our blood, Live;”8 still “holdeth our souls in life”9—covering our daily infirmities, and maintaining our everlasting acceptance before God. But while the song of praise dwells on our lips for life thus freely given, let us guard against all hinderance to its growth and influence. For if the life within waxes low, praise will be dull and heartless; but when the assured believer cries with acceptance—“Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee”—see how his spirit kindles with holy fire—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!”10 The work of praise is now his nature, his element, his delight. No wonder, then, that he continues his cry for the daily renewal of his spiritual life, that he may return to this sweet antepast of heaven—“Let my soul live.” And, indeed, this life—the more it is known, the more will it form the constant matter for prayer. For what besides makes existence tolerable to a child of God? The mere actings of a sickly pulsation can never satisfy him. Considering how much nearer he might live to God than he has yet known, he longs for more vigorous influence of the Divine principle. In his most active enjoyments, his insufficiency for this sacred work presses upon him, and stirs up petition for help—“Let thy judgments help me.” Give me such an enlightened apprehension of thy word—of thy character—of thy perfections as the God of my salvation, as may furnish abundant matter for unceasing praise; so that my daily exercise may be, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”1 1 Ps 119:164, 171, 172. The last six Psalms are for the most part throughout the breathings of praise. They were probably written at the close of life, and may be considered as striking indications of a soul ripening for glory. As the perfumes of Arabia Felix are said to exhale their odors in the neighboring provinces; so it is no marvel if, as “the sweet Psalmist of Israel” drew near to the happy country, he should have inhaled its atmosphere of praise. 2 Luke 15:24. 3 Isaiah 51:1. 4 1 Peter 4:18. 5 Gen. 2:7. 6 Job 42:6. 7 1 John 1:7. 8 Ezek. 16:6. 9 Psalm 66:9. 10 1 Peter 1:3. ‘It is sufficient for me’—said Luther—triumphing in the very heat of conflict—‘that I have a precious Redeemer—a powerful High Priest—my Lord Jesus Christ. I will praise him as long as I have breath. If another will not join me in praising with me, what is that to me?—D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation, Book iv. ch. 1. 1 Ephesians 5:20. Psalm 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. gone astray (KJV): Isa 53:6 Eze 34:6,16 Mt 10:6 15:24 18:12,13 Lu 15:4-7 Joh 10:16 1Pe 2:25 seek (KJV): Song 1:4 Jer 31:18 Lu 19:10 Ga 4:9 Php 2:13 Jas 1:17 for I do (KJV): Ps 119:61,93 Ho 4:6 Isa 53:6; 1Pe2:25 cp. Lu15:4 I have gone astray like a lost sheep;. Gotthold one day saw a farmer carefully counting his sheep as they came from the field. Happening at the time to be in an anxious and sorrowful mood, he gave vent to his feelings and said: Why art thou cast down, my soul? and why disquieted with vexing thoughts? Surely thou must be dear to the Most High as his lambs are to this farmer. Art thou not better than many sheep? Is not Jesus Christ thy shepherd? Has not he risked his blood and life for thee? Hast thou no interest in his words: "I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand"? Jn10:28. This man is numbering his flock; and thinkest thou that God does not also count and care for his believing children and elect, especially as his beloved Son has averred, that the very hairs of our head are all numbered? Mt10:30. During the day, I may perhaps have gone out of the way, and heedlessly followed my own devices; still, at the approach of evening, when the faithful Shepherd counts his lambs, he will mark my absence, and graciously seek and bring me back. Lord Jesus, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments." seek Your servant, F he recognizes the need of the Chief Shepherd to watch over his going out & his coming in. The psalmist devoted the longest of the Psalms to the praise of God's Word. Then he concluded by acknowledging that one as devoted as he was only a sinful lost sheep whom God needed to seek. Knowing God's Word is a strong weapon against temptation (v10), but we must also obey God's Word. None of us does this perfectly. We all sin. or I do not forget Your commandments Charles Bridges - 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments The native disposition to wander from the fold is constant ground for prayer for the help of the Lord’s judgments—to give us clearer light and preserving principles. Yet our need of this safeguard opens to us a most humbling truth. Who can gainsay the testimony from the mouth of God—that “all we like sheep have gone astray?”2 But how afflicting is the thought, that this should not only be the description of a world living without God, but the confession even of God’s own people! And yet where is the child of God, that does not set his own seal with shame to the confession—I have gone astray like a lost sheep? “Who can understand his errors?” If he be not found—like Peter—in the open path of wandering—yet has he not need to cry, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults?”3 Is he never led away by sense, fancy, or appetite? If the will be sincere, how far is it from being perfect! And only a little yielding—bending to the flesh—giving way to evil—who knoweth what may be the end of this crooked path? Who knoweth what pride—waywardness—earthliness may be working within, even while the gracious Lord is strengthening, guiding, comforting his poor straying sheep? That they should ever wander from privileges so great—from a God so good—from a Shepherd so kind! What can induce them to turn their backs upon their best Friend, and sin against the most precious love that was ever known, but something, that must, upon reflection, fill them with shame! The blame is readily cast upon the temptation of Satan, the seductive witcheries of the world, or some untoward circumstances. But whoever deals honestly with himself must trace the backsliding to his own heart—“This is my infirmity.”1 And have we replaced what we have wilfully yielded up, with anything of equal or superior value? May it not be asked of us—“What fruit have ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed; for the end of those things is death?”2 But there is no enjoyment, while distant from the beloved fold. It is as impossible for the child of God to be happy, when separated from his God, as if he were in the regions of eternal despair. He has not lost—he cannot wholly lose—his recollection of the forsaken blessing. In struggling weeping faith, he cries—“Seek thy servant.” ‘I cannot find my way back;3 the good Shepherd must seek me. Once I knew the path; but now that I have wandered into bye-paths, I am no more able to return, than I was to come at first. I have no guide but the Shepherd whom I have left.’ How cheering then in his office character!—“Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out: as a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy day.”4 Cannot I set my seal to his faithful discharge of his office—“He restoreth my soul?”5 If I want further encouragement to guide my steps homeward, let me think of his own description of his tender faithfulness, and compassionate yearnings over his lost sheep; not showing it the way back to the fold, and leaving it to come after him; but “laying it upon his own shoulders, and bringing it home:” all upbraidings forgotten; all recollections of his own pains swallowed up in the joy, that he hath “found the sheep which was lost.”6 Let me remember the express commission, that brought the Shepherd from heaven to earth—from the throne of God to the manger, and thence to the garden and cross, “to seek and to save that which was lost.”7 Let me see upon him the special mark of “the good shepherd giving his life for the sheep.”8 Let me observe this sacrifice as covering the guilt of my wanderings, and opening my way to return—yea drawing me in the way9—surely I may add to my contrite confession the prayer of confidence—seek thy servant. I cannot for bear to plead, that though a rebellious prodigal, I am still “thy servant,” thy child: I still bear the child’s mark of an interest in thy covenant. Though a wanderer from the fold, “I do not forget thy commandments.” Nothing can erase thy law, which was “written in my mind and inward parts”10 by the finger and Spirit of God, as an earnest of my adoption—as the pledge of my restoration. What man writes is easily blotted out: what God writes is indelible. Let me then lie humbled and self-abased. But let me not forget my claim—what has been done for me. Thus again I hope to be received as a “dear” and “pleasant child;”1 again to be clothed with “the best robe,” to be welcomed with fresh tokens of my Father’s everlasting love,2 and to be assured with the precious promise—“My sheep shall never perish, and none shall pluck them out of my hand.”3 Such, Christian reader, would be the application we should make of this verse to ourselves; and such a penitent confession of our backslidings, united with a believing dependence on the long-tried grace and faithfulness of our God, would form a suitable conclusion to our meditations on this most interesting Psalm. We would unite the publican’s prayer with the great Apostle’s confidence; and while in holy brokenness of heart we would wish to live and die, smiting upon our breast, and saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner:”4 the remembrance of our adoption warrants the expression of assurance, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day.”5 Yet, as it regards the experience of David, is there not something striking, and we had almost said, unexpected, in the conclusion of this Psalm? To hear one—who has throughout been expressing such holy and joyful aspirations for the salvation of his God, such fervent praises of his love, that we seem to shrink back from the comparison with him, as if considering him almost on the verge of heaven—to hear this “man after God’s own heart,” sinking himself to the lowest dust, under the sense of the evil of his heart, and his perpetual tendency to wander from his God, is indeed a most instructive lesson. It marks the believer’s conflict sustained to the end—the humility, and yet the strength of his confidence—the highest notes of praise combining with the deepest expressions of abasement—forming that harmony of acceptable service, which ascends “like pillars of smoke”6 before God. And thus will our Christian progress be checkered, until we reach the regions of unmixed praise, where we shall no more mourn over our wanderings, no longer feel any inclination to err from our Shepherd’s presence, no more experience the wretchedness of distance from him, or the difficulty of returning to him—where we shall be eternally safe in the heavenly fold, to “go no more out.”7 For “he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them; they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”8 2 Isa. 53:6. 3 Psa. 19:12. 1 Psa. 77:10. 2 Rom. 6:21. 3 ‘Domini, errare potui; redire non potui’—was Augustine’s true and humbling confession. 4 Ezek. 34:11, 12. 5 Psalm 23:3 6 Luke 15:4–6. 7 Lk. 19:10. 8 John 10:11. 9 Isaiah 53:5, 6. 10 Jer. 31:33. 1 Jer. 5:20. 2 1 Peter 2:4, 2:5. Luke 15:22, 23. 3 John 10:28. 4 Luke 18:13. 5 2 Tim. 1:12. 6 Song. 3:6. 7 Rev. 3:12. 8 Rev. 7:15–17.