Psalm 119:113-120 ס

ס Samekh

I hate double-minded people,
    but I love your law.
You are my refuge and my shield;
    I have put my hope in your word.
Away from me, you evildoers,
    that I may keep the commands of my God!
Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;
    do not let my hopes be dashed.
Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
    I will always have regard for your decrees.
You reject all who stray from your decrees,
    for their delusions come to nothing.
All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
    therefore I love your statutes.
My flesh trembles in fear of you;
    I stand in awe of your laws.

Psalm 119:113-120

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach. In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This is a psalm by itself, like none of the rest; it excels them all, and shines brightest in this constellation. It is much longer than any of them more than twice as long as any of them. It is not making long prayers that Christ censurers, but making them for a pretence, which intimates that they are in themselves good and commendable. It seems to me to be a collection of David’s pious and devout ejaculations, the short and sudden breathings and elevations of his soul to God, which he wrote down as they occurred, and, towards the latter end of his time, gathered out of his day-book where they lay scattered, added to them many like words, and digested them into this psalm, in which there is seldom any coherence between the verses, but, like Solomon’s proverbs, it is a chest of gold rings, not a chain of gold links. And we may not only learn, by the psalmist’s example, to accustom ourselves to such pious ejaculations, which are an excellent means of maintaining constant communion with God, and keeping the heart in frame for the more solemn exercises of religion, but we must make use of the psalmist’s words, both for the exciting and for the expressing of our devout affections; what some have said of this psalm is true, “He that shall read it considerately, it will either warm him or shame him.” The composition of it is singular and very exact. It is divided into twenty-two parts, according to the number of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and each part consists of eight verses, all the verses of the first part beginning with Aleph, all the verses of the second with Beth, and so on, without any flaw throughout the whole psalm. Archbishop Tillotson says, It seems to have more of poetical skill and number in it than we at this distance can easily understand. Some have called it the saints’ alphabet; and it were to be wished we had it as ready in our memories as the very letters of our alphabet, as ready as our A B C. Perhaps the penman found it of use to himself to observe this method, as it obliged him to seek for thoughts, and search for them, that he might fill up the quota of every part; and the letter he was to begin with might lead him to a word which might suggest a good sentence; and all little enough to raise any thing that is good in the barren soil of our hearts. However, it would be of use to the learners, a help to them both in committing it to memory and in calling it to mind upon occasion; by the letter the first word would be got, and that would bring in the whole verse; thus young people would the more easily learn it by heart and retain it the better even in old age. If any censure it as childish and trifling, because acrostics are now quite out of fashion, let them know that the royal psalmist despises their censure; he is a teacher of babes, and, if this method may be beneficial to them, he can easily stoop to it; if this to be vile, he will be yet more vile.

II. The general scope and design of it is to magnify the law, and make it honourable; to set forth the excellency and usefulness of divine revelation, and to recommend it to us, not only for the entertainment, but for the government, of ourselves, by the psalmist’s own example, who speaks by experience of the benefit of it, and of the good impressions made upon him by it, for which he praises God, and earnestly prays, from first to last, for the continuance of God’s grace with him, to direct and quicken him in the way of his duty. There are ten different words by which divine revelation is called in this psalm, and they are synonymous, each of them expressive of the whole compass of it (both that which tells us what God expects from us and that which tells us that we may expect from him) and of the system of religion which is founded upon it and guided by it. The things contained in the scripture, and drawn from it, are here called, 1. God’s law, because they are enacted by him as our Sovereign. 2. His way, because they are the rule both of his providence and of our obedience. 3. His testimonies, because they are solemnly declared to the world and attested beyond contradiction. 4. His commandments, because given with authority, and (as the word signifies) lodged with us as a trust. 5. His precepts, because prescribed to us and not left indifferent. 6. His word, or saying, because it is the declaration of his mind, and Christ, the essential eternal Word, is all in all in it. 7. His judgments, because framed in infinite wisdom, and because by them we must both judge and be judged. 8. His righteousness, because it is all holy, just, and good, and the rule and standard of righteousness. 9. His statutes, because they are fixed and determined, and of perpetual obligation. His truth, or faithfulness, because the principles upon which the divine law is built are eternal truths. And I think there is but one verse (it is ver. 122) in all this long psalm in which there is not one or other of these ten words; only in three or four they are used concerning God’s providence or David’s practice (as ver. 75, 84, 122), and ver. 132 they are called God’s name. The great esteem and affection David had for the word of God is the more admirable considering how little he had of it, in comparison with what we have, no more perhaps in writing than the first books of Moses, which were but the dawning of this day, which may shame us who enjoy the full discoveries of divine revelation and yet are so cold towards it. In singing this psalm there is work for all the devout affections of a sanctified soul, so copious, so various, is the matter of it. We here find that in which we must give glory to God both as our ruler and great benefactor, that in which we are to teach and admonish ourselves and one another (so many are the instructions which we here find about a religious life), and that in which we are to comfort and encourage ourselves and one another, so many are the sweet experiences of one that lived such a life. Here is something or other to suit the case of every Christian. Isa. any afflicted? Isa. any merry? Each will find that here which is proper for him. And it is so far from being a tedious repetition of the same thing, as may seem to those who look over it cursorily, that, if we duly meditate upon it, we shall find almost every verse has a new thought and something in it very lively. And this, as many other of David’s psalms, teaches us to be sententious in our devotions, both alone and when others join with us; for, ordinarily, the affections, especially of weaker Christians, are more likely to be raised and kept by short expressions, the sense of which lies in a little compass, than by long and laboured periods.”

Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 119:116 “Shame is a deep inner response to the potential for, or the actual experience of, being exposed as deficient or unworthy in another’s eyes. The word shame is closely related to mortified, which is derived from the French word meaning ‘death.’ Shame is the experience of profound embarrassment, a feeling of wanting ‘to curl up and die’ on the inside.”

Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Constance N. Wieler, Poetry contributor)

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

These verses start with ס Samekh.

In verse 113, it speaks of double-mindedness versus loving God’s law. Let’s not look at a black and white case of should I cross that line or shouldn’t I. I have known so many people who did immoral things because these things were not technically against the law.

Thus, we can look at this reference of double-mindedness as thinking the world is mostly a large gray area and the double-minded will nudge ever so close to that line where, if crossed would be something illegal. This is not loving God’s law; this is loving naughty.

But naughty is sin. It is not “Evil Lite.” And as for God’s view of naughty behavior, anything that is not white is sin. Maybe no one got hurt, but we were hurt by thinking we got away with something.

In the end, all those that stray from God’s laws will be discarded like dross.

I worked in the steel and metals industry for twenty years. Slag was the name for impurities in a bath of molten steel that floats to the surface. It was usually decanted off the surface. But in most other metals, the impurities are called dross. Depending on the metal, they are usually skimmed off the surface and discarded. Dross is good for filling a gulley, but you should not expect anything to grow on it. It is void of the slightest nutrients.

Thus the psalmist is saying that the wicked are worthless in all respects.

Psalm 119:121-128 ע

ע Ayin

I have done what is righteous and just;
    do not leave me to my oppressors.
Ensure your servant’s well-being;
    do not let the arrogant oppress me.
My eyes fail, looking for your salvation,
    looking for your righteous promise.
Deal with your servant according to your love
    and teach me your decrees.
I am your servant; give me discernment
    that I may understand your statutes.
It is time for you to act, Lord;
    your law is being broken.
Because I love your commands
    more than gold, more than pure gold,
and because I consider all your precepts right,
    I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 119:121-128

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach. In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

See 119: 113-120 ס above.

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 119:127 ” Indeed, nothing is of greater worth than the word.”

Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

These verses start with ע Ayin.

The psalmist now turns from speaking of how God deals with the evil in this world and the psalmist turns to how God deals with us.

Are we perfect? No, the psalmist admits that he loves God’s law, but in the same breath, he asks God to teach him the law. Thus, we are not perfect, but if we desire to be more like Jesus, more like God in general, then we will not like the sin and we would want God to lead us away from what is harming us.

But part of how God deals with us is to protect us. God teaches and God protects. But at some point, God has to crush the evil around us.

Psalm 119:129-136 ף

ף Pe

Your statutes are wonderful;
    therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
    it gives understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
    longing for your commands.
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
    as you always do to those who love your name.
Direct my footsteps according to your word;
    let no sin rule over me.
Redeem me from human oppression,
    that I may obey your precepts.
Make your face shine on your servant
    and teach me your decrees.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
    for your law is not obeyed.

Psalm 119:129-136

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach. In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

See 113-120 ס above.

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 119:136 “This man loves the instruction of the Lord so much that he sobbed when others disobeyed it, a fact that should prompt us to ask how we respond to the world’s rejection of God’s Word.

Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

These verses start with ף Pe.

The psalmist does not just say that he loves God’s law, he pants wanting God to teach him. He weeps tears when he disobeys.

But there are a couple of forms of oppression that the psalmist mentions that are important.

First, we can be oppressed by a sin that has a grip on us. While these days alcoholism is considered a disease more than a sin, the conduct is sinful, but the disease can have a grip on us. Any addiction is like this: drugs, porn, gambling. They can all have a grip on us, but we can resist the temptation, and God gives us the strength. And it is not easy.

Second, and equally not easy is the oppression of others upon us. This could be a boss, a government, a parent, or even a church that has strayed from God’s love.

The C.S. Lewis quote from God in the Dock is one that sticks with me. “Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

We can be oppressed, and sometimes most severely, by people who guide us in the wrong direction, “for our own good.”

But instead of focusing on those that oppress us, we focus on God. We ask God to let our face shine and teach us the Law.

Some Serendipitous Reflections