As we approach the third stanza, this author is already amazed by just how many different angles the Psalmist can think of from which to glorify God and elevate his word. How exciting it is, knowing that there is so much more where that came from.
Gimel, the next Hebrew character and thus the next stanza, can be divided into two sections: a ‘vertical’ section (v17-20) in which the Psalmist addresses his dealings with God and God’s provision for him, then (v21-24) a ‘horizontal’ section in which the Psalmist addresses God’s dealings with the characters of the world, and the Psalmist’s place therein. Let’s have a look, and find wondrous things.
Deal bountifully with your servant,
Psalm 119:17
That I may live and keep your word.
The Psalmist begins with a petition, asking that God would deal ‘bountifully’ with him. Upon a first reading, this was a surprise to this author, since it felt out of step with the culture of humility that comes from Godliness. However, this author hears the word ‘bountifully’ in a cultural context in which the ‘prosperity gospel’ peddles a fake knock-off bountiful life, where the element of bounty and grandeur is a physical and worldly one. It would be a mistake to read that back into the text. The second half of the verse shows the purpose of his request, which indicates to us the nature of what he is asking for.
The Psalmist considers that God ‘dealing bountifully’ with him would look like God merely providing sufficient circumstances in his life that he would be able to (a) live and (b) keep God’s word. We do not say ‘merely’ lightly, as if God ought to give us those two simple provisions. Neither do we act as if those graces are things to be downplayed, or trifled with. However, consider that by the Psalmist’s standards, (which we all ought to learn from), God dealt bountifully with Job. In God’s providence, he made sure that Job was (a) alive and (b) able to faithfully uphold God’s law.
Another thing you might see from verse 17, if God’s bountiful provision were thought of in the more general sense of earthly wealth, is the Psalmist’s motivation. Whatever he is asking for, the purpose he intends for it is that it would empower and enable him to live and serve God. Before we go any further, let us turn this verse back to God in prayer:
“Father God, if you provide another sunrise for me tomorrow, I will praise you for your bountiful provision. Lord God, should you still have a use for me here on Earth, I ask that you would enable me to keep your word.”
As the text goes on, his petition for God’s provision continues:
Open my eyes that I may behold
v18
Wondrous things out of your law.
This text alone shows us as Christians sufficient grounds that we should always ask God for help when reading his word. The Psalmist’s utter reliance on God here is seen in full display. He doesn’t even assume that he would be able to understand and appreciate God’s word fully without his help, which we know to be the ministry of the 3rd person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. In the soul of the Christian, the Spirit illuminates the words he originally spoke in Holy Scripture, and brings them powerfully to life. This is something that you, dear reader, will already know full well if you have read our previous treatments of Aleph and Beth. Next time that you read the Bible, either by yourself or with others in a Bible study, or even in the public reading of God’s word at church (and please ensure that this doesn’t intrude on the liturgy of your church), perhaps begin with a brief prayer, asking for God’s help and illumination as his word is read.
Oh, the reverence with which he speaks! How eager is the Psalmist to see this beautiful light shine forth! How well does he know what this author is only beginning to learn: that in all things, and especially in God’s word, we need his help, and are up the Nile without a paddle otherwise. He confesses that he needs God to open his eyes. He is aware that it is God who acts upon his creatures to give them the capacity to see his glorious grace and choose obedience. The ‘eyes to see’ and ‘ears to hear’ that are so often spoken of by Christ are in vision here: the Psalmist is asking that God would enable him to see, to truly see.
I am a sojourner on the earth;
v19-20
Hide not your commandments from me!
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
The Psalmist keenly feels how out of touch he is with the world around him. He knows that this is not where he truly belongs, it is not his final home. Though we want to reject any ‘escapist’ attitude that treats the world as a low and unimportant thing, something common that we need to be free from so that we can be truly spiritual (for this way of thinking comes from Greek thought and Gnosticism), we ought to realise that we don’t usually feel as out of place in this world as the Psalmist did. The great temptation that faces this author, and faces so many Western Christians, is the temptation to relax, fit in, and enjoy Vanity Fair with all her comforts.
The Psalmist sounds like one who has put all their eggs in one basket, and is now pleading with God to keep his face turned toward him, and not forsake him. It seems to this author like he is saying, ‘God, the life around me isn’t the one I want. I want to follow you, and I’m all in. Please, please don’t let me go. Shine your light in front of me, so that I can follow you.’
It is little surprise, then, that he concludes the ‘vertical’ section of the poem by declaring ‘my soul is consumed with longing / for your rules at all times’. It’s so beautiful. We encourage you to repeat that phrase (v20) to yourself a few times. Savour it. Ask God to make those words your words. Let your soul, day by day, grow in its longing for God’s rules.
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
v21-22
Who wander from your commandments.
Take away from me scorn and contempt,
For I have kept your testimonies.
Verse 21 kicks off with a comparison. The Psalmist describes a group of people who are ‘insolent’ towards God, and therefore ‘accursed’. These people ‘wander’ from his commandments. It is one thing for the nations to walk in wickedness, it is another altogether for those who have been in the community of God’s people, and who have been exposed to his word, and have perhaps even experienced his blessings and seen miracles, to wander from his commandments. These people will face an even greater judgement, and it is these same people that the writer to the Hebrews had in sight in Hebrews 6, the famous apostasy passage.
He then compares that group to himself. He proclaims that God shows his judgement towards those who are unfaithful, but laments that scorn and contempt are falling on him, though it should not be so. He asks that God take away his scorn and contempt, and cites his faithfulness to God as the grounds for that request. If you read those words, and are worried that the Psalmist is beginning to sound a bit proud, or like he thinks he can earn good standing with God, please don’t worry. We have already seen that this man is truly a man of God, and we must remember that the Holy Spirit himself inspired these words. Though this author does not recommend that you start cataloguing your good works so that you can present them to God as grounds for the things you ask, perhaps there is some place in the praying life for asking God to vindicate and reward our faithfulness. In an attempt to not stray into error, and with the recognition that this author has by no means figured it all out, we will leave that point there.
Even though princes sit plotting against me,
v23-24
Your servant will meditate on your statutes.
Your testimonies are my delight;
They are my counsellors.
This author is so greatly encouraged by how little the Psalmist is worried by the machinations of evil men. Imagine you were speaking to a Christian living in China or North Korea or somewhere just as bad, like Melbourne, and they said, ‘Oh, I heard that speaking to another person without a permit is now illegal. So what! I have what I need for faithfulness, I can meditate on God’s word. There’s nothing they can take from me that matters, and that God won’t increase tenfold in his Kingdom.’
The poem ends with one final comparison. Princes and world leaders sit together, high and mighty, hearing each other’s counsel and determining devious schemes. The Godly man or woman sits with the counsel of God’s word, determined to walk in righteousness, and is guided by a faithful God into a life of righteousness, and one day, a death that will see them pass on to be with their brilliant God, face to face.
Distilled Orthopraxy 