A Brief Study On Psalm 119

Feature 1 – January 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

A Brief Study On Psalm 119

Psalm 1191 has just one theme: the excellency and value of the Word of God. For Christian believers, the Word of God not only provides us with a knowledge of the living God, but it also speaks of the Christ who has revealed Him. In John 1:1-14 Jesus Christ is called “the Word” ( NKJV ). He is also “the Alpha and Omega” (Rev.1:8,11, 21:6, 22:13) – the “A to Z” of God.

The 119th Psalm is full of verses explaining the benefit of God’s Word, expressing in these few examples the psalmist’s:

Delight in it – “I delight in Your law” (v.70). Desire to keep it – “I will keep Your statutes” (v.8).Request for help to live according to it – “I … cry for help [because] I hope in Your word” (v.147). 

I am forever thankful to the Lord that as a teenager I was introduced to the value of God’s Word by my Bible class teacher. He started me on a scheme of daily Bible reading and study, and he pointed out how necessary this activity is for young believers to become disciples of the Lord Jesus. He quoted verse 9: “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

A few years later I embarked on a career in science, confident in the absolute truth of creation from Scripture because verse 160 states, “Thy word is true from the beginning” (KJV). That is, the Genesis 1 account of the six days of creation, which resulted in the seventh day of rest, the Sabbath, is fact, not fiction!

After the first three verses of Psalm 119, the rest of the psalm is addressed directly to God. Overall, it is a lengthy collection of meditations on the word of God. As we read its directions, encouragements and warnings, we should pray to God along similar lines in our day: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law” (v.18 ESV).

The psalmist regarded the whole of God’s Word as the “law of the Lord,” which was to be obeyed. However, different words are used to describe God’s Word: “law,” “testimonies,” “precepts,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “judgments,” “ordinances” and “way.” Like all the godly in Israel, the psalmist had respect and reverence for all aspects of the Word of God: “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them [Israel] from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments” (Neh. 9:13).

Directions
The psalmist’s first request in prayer in Psalm 119 is: “You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!” (vv.4-5 NKJV). He understood that God has made it clear that He expects His people of every dispensation to follow His commands and His precepts, or injunctions. They were to govern the people’s thoughts, words and actions: “Direct [Order] my steps by Your word” (v.133). We need to:

• Be taught2 by God’s Word.
• Read God’s Word, study and search out its meaning.
• Delight3 in God’s Word.
• Love God’s Word4 and treasure5 it.
• Meditate6 on God’s Word in order to be able keep7 it.
• Live according to8 God’s Word.

The psalmist’s repeated prayer was that he be instructed in these standards and have them in his heart (v.11, see v.80), so he could practically live by them (v.112).

The meaning of “statutes” is “things inscribed,” and the term refers to the eternal character of God’s Word. It remains absolute. God’s moral requirements are unchanged from generation to generation, which is a great comfort to us in these last days in which mankind only recognizes relative values. That may cause us conflict, but such affliction will help us to learn the reality of these statutes (vv.71,83).

Likewise, the psalmist earnestly desired (v.20) to learn God’s judgments (v.7), be taught by them (v.102), keep and be committed to them (v.106). Judgments carry the meaning of judicial decisions and show how God’s Word applies to all circumstances in the lives of the saints, for they induce godly fear (v.120). Because He is the righteous One, His judgments are always right (v.137) and good (v.39). Therefore the psalmist wants to declare them (v.13), and to give thanks for them at night (v.62) as well as throughout the day (v.164). These judgments are unchanging; they stand forever (v.160, consider Mt. 24:35). Sometimes God’s judgments are called “ordinances,” such as in Psalm 119:91, where they apply to His wise ordering of His creation (vv.89-91).

Encouragement
Psalm 119 opens with words of the greatest encouragement: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways” (vv.1-3). These words echo the very first words of the book of Psalms (1:1-3). Therefore we can say that this is the main message of Psalms.

Like all the psalms, these introductory verses (119:1-3) form a heading for the whole psalm. They pronounce the blessedness, or total well-being, of those who live according to God’s Word and guard His truth. Their secret, no doubt, is to seek Him with their whole heart (v.2).

Today, in the day of grace, the same principles apply. Consider John 14:23, where Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Let us be encouraged that the godly are promised blessings for delighting in and following God’s Word, with all its different characteristics and abilities, described throughout Psalm 119.

Overall, the first stanza (vv.1-8) describes the great blessing of living in the way God says is best. What a good response to want to live in that manner! I have already referred to my Bible Class teacher’s testimony to the cleansing power of God’s Word (v.9), which is followed by a picture of what our lives will look like if we live according to His Word (vv.10-14). Furthermore, verse 11 encourages us to deliberately hide God’s Word in our hearts, so that we might not sin against Him. It has been said that this verse describes the best thing (God’s Word) in the best place (hidden in our hearts) for the best reason (that we might not sin against God). No wonder the psalmist prayed, “Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes” (v.12).

The psalms are Hebrew poetry. Unlike English poetry, in which rhyme and meter are used as a way of being memorable and conveying its thoughts, Hebrew poetry uses the repetition of thought. So throughout Psalm 119 these initial encouraging themes are repeated in one way or another, while other qualities of God’s Word – such as life-giving, soul-revival, heart-enlargement, preserving, strengthening, comforting, enlightening, hope-inducing, inexhaustible – are added.

Perhaps the greatest encouragement in Psalm 119 is that it tells of the LORD’s steadfast love,9 upon which the godly rely to be blessed. Although His love is extended in a general way to all mankind (see 36:7), the godly personally experience and benefit from it. This is a love that will never turn away from you nor let you down! “Steadfast love” is also translated “mercy” and “mercies,” indicating that the LORD’s love also provides for our shortcomings. In Psalm 119:41 the psalmist addressed God, “O LORD,” who is the living God revealed to Israel as the great “I AM” (Ex. 3:14). God’s steadfast love was the theme of the praises of Israel (such as 2 Chr. 5:13). In our dispensation believers know God as “the Father,” whose great love has been fully revealed to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Warnings
In Psalm 19 that we are explicitly told that God’s Word provides warnings: “The law of the LORD is perfect … the testimony of the LORD is sure ... the statutes of the LORD are right … the commandment of the LORD is pure ... the fear of the LORD is clean … the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether … Moreover by them is Your servant warned, and in keeping them there is great reward” (vv.7-9,11).

Throughout Psalm 119 the warnings are mainly presented in terms of the many dangers which the godly encounter:

• The fear of not practically living up to his professed faith in God, especially during times of illness.10
• The concern of slipping into evil ways due to the ongoing problem of sin in his heart despite his repulsion of it (vv.9-11,36,104,163).
• The attractiveness of things of the world, which are really of no lasting value (v.37).
• The loneliness of being a pilgrim (vv.19-20,126-128,136,139); and the ever-present fear of straying from the pathway of faith (v.176).
• The reproach, scorn, contempt, false accusations, oppression and persecution from ungodly people, including worldly authorities.11

These dangers serve as warnings to believers. But the fact that from verse 4, Psalm 119 is a continuous prayer shows that the psalmist knew God would answer his request for salvation, or deliverance, from these dangers. The predominant danger that the psalmist faced was that of being reproached for simply trusting in God. Perhaps the psalmist intuitively knew that it was not himself but the LORD who was being targeted. Yet, he felt that he was in danger of being completely overwhelmed: “My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten Your words” (v.139). His experiences become warnings for us. How comforting and reassuring it is to know that God’s Word always has the answer for every situation.

ENDNOTES
1. This whole article is derived from a book on Psalm 119, which I edited: The Importance of God’s Word, Meditations on Psalm 119, Scripture Truth Publications, Crewe, Cheshire, UK, 2021. The book is a compilation of 22 radio broadcasts by various speakers of Truth For Today: The Bible Explained, www.truthfortoday.org.
2. See verses 12,26,33,64,68,124,135,171.
3. See verses 24,47,70,77,92,143,174.
4. See verses 48,113,119,127,159,163,165.
5. See verses 72,103,127.
6. See verses 15,23,48,78,97,99,148.
7. See verses 8,57,60,101,106,115,134,145-146,167-168.
8. See verses 9,25,28,58,65,76,107,116,133,154,170.
9. See verses 41,64,76,88,124,149,159 and “Oh, Give Thanks To The LORD,” p.9,Grace & Truth Magazine, November 2021.
10. See verses 6-8,29-31,67,83,92,101,133, 143,153-154,176
11. See verses 21-23,39,61,69-70,77-78, 86-87,95,98,107,110,115,118-119,121, 134,141,150,157,161.

By David Anderson