NOTES for Psa 119:150-175
150 They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. |
151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. |
152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. |
153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. |
154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word. |
155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes. |
156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments. |
157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. |
158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. |
159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. |
160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. |
161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. |
162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. |
163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love. |
164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. |
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. |
166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. |
167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. |
168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee. |
169 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. |
170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word. |
171 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. |
172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. |
173 Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. |
174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight. |
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. |
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Several times the plea is repeated to the Lord to give life: according to His word, His judgment, and His mercy. We may see here the psalmist's insight into the coming resurrection. Yet it is no less important to understand that there is no contradiction among God's different actions—word, judgment, and mercy—just as there is none among the Persons of the Trinity, and that all of them give life to those who strive toward Him.
Against the evil will of princes persecuting an innocent person, he sets his heart, which fears the Lord's word. Here we encounter the paradox once again: those who would uproot the fear of God from people's hearts intend to fill them with fear of themselves. Conversely, fear of violating God's will and commandments makes it possible to overcome any fear instilled by people. Moreover, the fear of God does not crush the soul as human fear does, and it is entirely natural that the one who fears His word also rejoices in it.
Against the falsehood he hates, the psalmist sets not truth, as one might expect, but the law. This means that the law is inseparable from truth, and falsehood from lawlessness. Formal observance of the law's rules does not yet contain the fullness of truth, but entering that fullness begins with the first steps: observing those rules.
…And at the close of the longest psalm, we hear a cry for help torn from the heart of someone who has gone astray and compares himself to a lost sheep. It is the cry of any one of us who has become aware of being abandoned without God in the midst of the universe. But this cry has already been heard by the Good Shepherd, ready to seek out any of the lost sheep and having given His life for them.
Readings for 19 April 2024
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