Psalm 119 is a celebration of God’s Word and a literary masterpiece. But there is also a story arc in this psalm that we can relate to. The psalmist, quite possibly Ezra, is facing temptation and opposition from the world—in an attempt to keep him from serving Yahweh and obeying His Word. He’s blown in in some way and the Lord has disciplined him. The people who don’t like him are using this as a way to further their cause. But Ezra sees deeper than his own weaknesses—to how God uses our faults to transform us more fully into His image as we cling to Him and His Word.
There is something that a person who relies on God has that is available to no one else. There is a shedding of the values of this age as we see that the thing of most value in the universe is a relationship, an eternal relationship, with the Creator, Yahweh.
57 – 64
The psalmist realizes that it doesn’t really matter in the end what other people think about him. The people of this age can reject God and reject him but his feeling of self worth and security isn’t tied to them or this age. When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, the Levites (the tribe of Levi) did not receive any property. But instead the Lord would be their portion. That is true for us who have become a kingdom of priests to our God (Revelation 5:10). We don’t have a stake in this age any more. Our portion is our God. The psalmist in this section realizes he’s messed up in this area, but when God’s Word came to his mind he ran, and did not walk, back to following God’s character instead of the character of this age.
He uses very picturesque language to describe the temptations of the world like “ropes” that wrapped around his character, pulling him down and away from a godly character. Verse 63 suggests that it may have been that he wasn’t careful in choosing his friends or those who could speak into his life.
1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
James 4:4 “Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy.”
Proverbs 12:26 (NKJV) 26 “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
The idea is not to shun those who don’t know God (see 1 Cor 5:9-11), but don’t be “unequally yoked” with them (2 Corinthians 6:14). Make sure the values that speak into your life come from God’s Word! Though it seems those that hate God speak loudly in this age, realize that God’s love and grace actually fills this world, even if it is in the background.
65 – 72
As if the psalmist is now really getting it – he asks God for “discernment and good judgment.” He realizes how he followed the wrong values, and listening to the wrong voices. Those voices may have told him that because he was suffering, God wasn’t looking out for his best interests. But now he knows that God is good and treats everyone well. So he asks for discernment—how to live wisely in this age.
Discernment and judgment are interesting words. Judgment means “a taste” and discernment: “cunning.” So, in a sense, the psalmist is asking for God to allow him to know when something is off from God’s character in a situation and to know what to do about it.
He realizes God is the only one who does good and he wants to learn God’s good character and mirror it!
Those that were proud of rejecting God saw his weaknesses and “smeared” him with “lies.” Instead of engaging them, he turns back to God and His Word.
He even appreciates the difficulties the situation brought him so it could cause him to delve deeper into the Word.
So let’s talk about discipline. I think too often we think of discipline as synonymous with punishment—like getting a spanking from God when we blow it. First we must realize that all of our sins, past, present, and future, have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus. We are now disciples (related to the word discipline) or apprentices. God is teaching us to think, speak, and act like Him. Sometimes, perhaps often, this comes when we suffer through hard times.
Hebrews 12:7 “Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness. 11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Discipline is the word “instruction.” God is teaching us to react to this age like God does. Just because God is disciplining us does not mean we’ve done anything wrong—but He is whittling away the values of this age and replacing them with His values. Sometimes this happens through “affliction” from external sources—and sometimes, yes, it is the result of our own choices. But God is always good to us, always loves us, and always uses these situations as learning tools. There is fruit as the result of this discipline—and it comes by “training” which literally means to exercise.
73 – 80
He’s coming out of this period of discipline and realizes that God created him, so it is God who can give the best understanding of life and purpose.
He now wants to be an example as a believer who can go through times of difficulty and actually be stronger for it. Those that also fear God will “rejoice” he says. He isn’t focused now so much on the affliction, but on God’s covenant of love, His compassion, and His Word. In our times of difficulty we need to keep those things on the front burner: God loves His children all the time, He is compassionate of our situation, and His character, which is wonderful, is the ultimate goal of any difficulty we find ourselves in.
Others need to realize this and turn back to God. He wants those who have rejected God to see God’s goodness, fairness, and love—and realize how wrong they’ve been. So he prays once again that God would purify him.
81 – 88
Verses 81-88 are wonderful. We’ve seen such expressions of faith going through trials and we think: “I’m just not as strong.” The good news is, neither was he! He spoke out his trust in God but there were times when he just wasn’t feeling it, or God’s comfort. If that’s true for you (and I suspect it is sometimes) take heart. You are in good company. This section is a lament. The psalmist faced death at the hands of his persecutors, and wondered how long it would be before God rescued him. Yet in it all he had his hope and his life firmly planted in God’s Word. He seems impatient, but yet he is still faithful. This kind of pleading with God is just all right with Him. The point is that you still trust Him and are still talking to Him!
89 – 96
The thought of this section is so true. As Jesus said (Matt. 24:35) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
This is a fundamental truth we must all face: God created everything by His Words and He is the source of all life. And though it doesn’t seem like it, God is in control of every situation. John summed it up well in the beginning of his gospel:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created.
4 Life was in Him,
and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness,
yet the darkness did not overcome it.
In verse 92 he basically calls God’s promises his lifeline. He would have given up long ago had it not been for God’s Word. God’s Word is like a searchlight from a Coast Guard helicopter. We feel like we are drowning sometimes and His Word shows us that rescue is coming.
Verse 96 is interesting—and could be a summation of the book of Ecclesiastes. There is a limit to man’s abilities, but there are no limits to God. “With God, nothing is impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
97 – 104
How many of us say we “love” God’s instruction in His Word? One way you can judge the quality of your walk with God is your attitude about His Word. Now I’m not talking about how many hours you study or anything like that. What I’m talking about is when you hear God speak; do you lean towards Him, or cover your ears?
Aren’t verses 98 – 100 so true? People think they are so wise.
Is. 55:9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
(1 Corinthians 1:25) “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”
Verses 101 through 104 really convey the thought that God’s character, as revealed in His Word really is sweet, and the more we get to know it, the more separate our values become from the values of this age. Our love for God’s character is so great it is like we hate every other way of living and being!
