NOTES for Psa 119:119-149

Hope in God’s mercy in no way excludes the recognition that the triumph of His justice may prove severe and impartial. The psalmist fears the Lord’s judgments, but he also accepts them and acknowledges that they are just. The time to oppose evil actively comes when those whom the psalm calls enemies forget the words of God.

To us, the word “forgot” sounds mild, almost excusable: anyone may forget something, and no one is completely protected from failing memory... But on the pages of the Bible the word “forgot” very often means “consciously rejected,” and God is not mocked; therefore such “forgetfulness” must be answered for.

A person who declares that he loves the law and follows it understands that without God it is impossible to remain on the right path, and so he asks Him not to let any lawlessness gain mastery over him. Rejecting the wicked, he weeps because they do not keep the law, and we may suppose that in this weeping there mingle not only grief over the law being dishonored but also compassion for sinners who are destroying themselves and refuse to leave the path of destruction. Yet they continue in lawlessness, and therefore they must be stopped by severe means.