KingcommentsPsalms 119

/shin/ Tribulation

The letter shin has the pictogram and meaning of ‘teeth’ and is associated with the concept of ‘eating’, ‘fire’, ‘tribulation’. The negative meaning is tribulation and judgment, the positive is eating and finding a spoil (Psa 119:162). Psa 119:161 and Psa 119:163 speak of the great tribulation, in which the remnant will be persecuted by “princes”, which are the false leaders (Psa 119:161) and the false shepherds (Zec 11:15-17) of Israel. In the midst of these severe tribulations, in this stanza the psalmist and the remnant remain faithful to the LORD and rejoice in the salvation and the Word of the LORD.The psalmist has not been afraid of princes, the followers of the antichrist, who have spread lies about the LORD and His Word. He has, however, been fearful of God’s Word in the sense that he has been “in awe” of it (Psa 119:161). This has kept him from denying God’s Name before government officials who have persecuted him for no reason, but rather testifying of Him faithfully before them. Examples are Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar, Paul before King Agrippa and above all the Lord Jesus before Pilate.The joy at God’s word or promise, His pledge, can be compared to finding great spoil (Psa 119:162). That it is spoil means that it is what has been conquered in a victory over an enemy (cf. Isa 9:2b). It is not a lucky find, but the result of struggle. To find such great spoil requires effort.Likewise, the knowledge of God through His Word is the result of prayerfully studying and meditating on the Word. That takes effort and time. At the same time, the Word is a weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is necessary in a time of spiritual struggle, in a time of tribulation and distress.Falsehood is reprehensible and abominable and worth hating (Psa 119:163). The law, God’s Word, is absolutely true and worth loving. These feelings of hatred and abhorrence for falsehood and love for God’s Word are worked through the reading of God’s Word. Through the Word of God we gain the proper awareness of falsehood and truth.Falsehood here is denying that the LORD is the true God. Elijah asked who is the true God: the LORD or Baal. The confession of the remnant is what the name Elijah means: the LORD is my God. In the end time, the question is who is the true God: the LORD or man. Man wants to be like God (Gen 3:4-6) and erects the image of a man to be worshiped (Dan 3:1-5). Man takes the place of God (Acts 12:21-23; Rev 13:11-12). We see this taking full shape in the antichrist. He will tempt men with miracles of falsehood according to the working of satan himself to worship him (2Thes 2:3-4; 9). For us, falsehood is also living a hypocritical life. It appears spiritually healthy and rich on the outside, but on the inside it is dirty and hardened. We see an example and warning in the life of David in his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah.The psalmist praises God seven times a day, that is continuously, all day long, because of God’s righteous ordinances (Psa 119:164). The Word of God also works feelings of gratitude. It is good to consider how far that goes. It is not just giving thanks “in everything” (1Thes 5:18), but it goes further: “Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Eph 5:20). Everything in God’s Word is also meant to bring us to give thanks to God. How much reason we get for giving thanks when we discover in God’s Word Who the Lord Jesus is to God and to us and what He has done and still does.Loving the Word of God results in “great peace” (Psa 119:165) and that in a world that is full of discontent and temptation. That peace is the peace of God. Whoever knows this peace will find that the Lord keeps his heart and his thoughts (Phil 4:7; cf. Isa 26:3). He recognizes every stumbling block and is carried by the Lord through His grace and His angels, so that he does not strike his foot against a stone (Mt 4:6). With that great peace, the Lord Jesus went His way on earth without stumbling.When the righteous are in trouble, in accordance with the covenant, they may hope for the salvation of the LORD, while doing His commandments (Psa 119:166). This hope for salvation is not an uncertainty, but means that they are certain that what has been promised is coming (Heb 11:1). In addition and above, our hope is in Him Who will come to fulfill what is promised (Heb 10:37). This certainty does not make one frivolous, but obedient to the commandments of God. The love of God and His Word are expressed in the keeping of God’s testimonies and loving them exceedingly (Psa 119:167; cf. Jn 14:21; 23). Psa 119:166-167 are both about keeping God’s testimonies and form the conclusion of this stanza. We too have been given the task of keeping or guarding what has been entrusted to us by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us (2Tim 1:14).Just as faith without works is dead (Jam 2:17), loving the Lord Jesus without keeping His commandments is a lie. The psalmist speaks of “my soul”. By this he is saying that his whole being, his whole inner being is involved. Love for God’s testimonies is not shown by mere verbal declaration. That love is evidenced by the full absorption of it in the heart, from which it is manifested in practice.When the “precepts and testimonies” of God are kept, attached to that is the awareness that all the ways of the God-fearing are open to God (Psa 119:168; cf. Heb 4:12-13). Because the psalmist knows that God oversees all his ways, he wants to be guided by His precepts and testimonies. To God the ways that His own go have no secrets. That is why it is so necessary to consult His Word, for in it He shows the way in which each of His own must go. He also makes clear to us what is in our heart, all the hidden corners of which are then revealed (Psa 139:23-24).

/tav/ The Sign of the Cross

The letter tav is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The original pictogram of this letter is a ‘cross’ and has the meaning of ‘sign’, ‘covenant’. We find these aspects in the blood of Christ. In Exodus 12 we read about this in the picture of the blood on the houses of the Israelites: “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you” (Exo 12:13a). The blood that is put on the doorposts and lintels of these houses is in the form of the cross. Compare the sign or cross on the foreheads of the remnant in Ezekiel 9 (Eze 9:4).The Lord Jesus calls Himself “the Alpha and the Omega”, the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet (Rev 1:8; 11; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13). In Hebrew, that would be ‘the Aleph and the Tav’. The aleph speaks of an ox or bull, the animal of choice for the burnt offering. The tav speaks of the cross, or the altar on which the burnt offering is brought. Thus, the Lord Jesus is simultaneously the sacrificial animal, the altar, and the Priest Who brings the sacrifice.The psalmist understands that his problem is not only caused by outside enemies, but that he has a problem inside of himself. He himself has sinned, he has gone astray like a lost sheep (Psa 119:176). What he needs is the Shepherd Who laid down His life on the cross for the sake of His sheep. The Shepherd had to descend and seek him in his lost condition (Lk 15:4-7). A lost sheep cannot save himself. Man who is aware of this realizes that his help must come from outside (cf. Rom 7:24). He also realizes that his salvation comes not from something, but from Someone.This is the last stanza singing of the value of the Word in all its aspects relevant to our life. The loudness of addressing God seems to be at its highest here. The psalmist calls out to God (Psa 119:169). He has done so more often in this psalm, but here he presents his calling as a person for whom he asks God if that person may “come before” Him. He is a calling for understanding according to His Word. He would like to gain understanding in all things, not from human thought, but from God’s revealed will in His Word.He who longs for understanding in God’s Word is also a special object of the enemy’s attacks (Psa 119:170). Therefore, in addition to being someone who cries, he comes as a supplicant. He asks God that his supplication may come to “before” Him. The God-fearing begs for deliverance from dangers in accordance with God’s word or promise. After all, God has promised that He will neither abandon nor forsake His own. The enemy will do everything to render our prayer life powerless (cf. 1Pet 3:7).Psa 119:169 and Psa 119:170 form the two themes of Psalm 119. We see in Psa 119:169 a prayer requesting understanding and in Psa 119:170 a prayer for deliverance based on the promises of God’s covenant. These prayers form the basis of his praise (Psa 119:171), his teaching through the songs (Psa 119:172; cf. Col 3:16), his struggle (Psa 119:173), and his desires (Psa 119:174).After presenting himself to God as someone who cries and as a supplicant, he comes to God as someone who praises God (Psa 119:171). In God’s presence, not only cries for help come from his lips, but also songs of praise (cf. Phil 4:6). His lips even overflow with it. This is the result of teaching by God in His statutes.His song of praise consists of singing the words of God (Psa 119:172). What the heart is full of, the mouth overflows with. The ‘instrument’ for this is his tongue. In many contemporary ‘songs of praise’ there are statements that are not based on the Word of God, but are contrary to it. Our songs of praise, too, must be in accordance with the Word of God (Eph 5:19). Then He will gladly listen to them. The theme of the song here is the righteousness of God’s commandments. Psa 119:171 and Psa 119:172 run parallel. As a result, we see a doubling of praise. The praise is doubly emphasized. The praise indicates that the psalmist is utterly convinced that the LORD, by virtue of His covenant, will hear his prayer. In Psa 119:171 he utters praise to the LORD as a holy priest; in Psa 119:172 he speaks to fellow believers as a royal priest (1Pet 2:5; 9; cf. Psa 66:16).There is also an awareness in the righteous that he is dependent on the LORD (Psa 119:173). Therefore, he asks Him that His hand come to his aid. He has chosen God’s precepts to keep them and be engaged in them. This choice every faithful one must make. The LORD’s help is connected to His Word. He cannot help anyone who does not bow before His Word. We have been given the privilege of always approaching the throne of grace with boldness, that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help (Heb 4:16).The God-fearing longs for the salvation of the LORD (Psa 119:174). By this he means the period of the blessings of the new covenant under the government of the Lord Jesus. About this he has read in God’s Word, that for him is his “delight”. In relation to us, we are saved once for all by faith (Eph 2:8). However, in the present time we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). In the near future we will receive salvation of our bodies (Rom 8:23-25; Rom 13:11; Phil 3:20-21).The psalmist asks the LORD to let his soul live (Psa 119:175). This is not to enjoy life, but to praise the LORD (Psa 6:5). He realizes that he cannot do that without the LORD’s help. This help, he knows, lies in God’s ordinances. The Word of God gives abundant reason to praise the LORD.The last verse is a confession of sin with a desire for restoration of the relationship broken by sin (Psa 119:176). The psalmist acknowledges that he has “gone astray like a lost sheep”. He also acknowledges that he is being sought out by the good Shepherd, Who has laid down His life for His sheep, for he cannot find his way back himself. Yet he knows Who he is addressing. He also knows that he is God’s “servant”. He may have gone astray, but he has not forgotten God’s commandments. Just as the New Testament ends with the invitation to sinners to repent, so the psalmist ends here with the need for the people of Israel to be restored by the Good Shepherd.