This next poem, Pe, is simply incredible, and does something this author has not detected from any other stanza so far. This poem seems to borrow its central themes and even some of its form from one of the most famous Old Testament passages: God’s benediction from Moses to Aaron and his sons in Numbers 6:22-27. Here is that text.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
The middle three lines (which are verses 24-26) are the core of this benediction, but we have given it some immediate context. As we dive into Pe, we’ll frequently make references back to this, and see just what beautiful and excellent things our ancient brother in the faith has to show us.
Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
119:129-130
First things first, we will kick this off with a comparison to Numbers 6. Verse 24 of that passage reads “The Lord bless you and keep you”. The adaptation that we believe the Psalmist makes in verse 129 here. The Lord’s testimonies are wonderful, they are a blessing. The Psalmist’s soul keeps them. In both cases there is something of a blessing and a keeping.
Now let us make an aside. If you consider your own soul, reader, whose words and whose ideologies are found there? Is your innermost being a place for Moses, or for Marx? Is your soul bouncing around with the words of Paul, or of Billie Eilish? You will know what you find wonderful when you discover whose words come most easily from your memory.
The Psalmist goes on to show one of the civilisation-building excellencies of the Law: it gives understanding and knowledge to the simple. Biblically, ‘simple’ isn’t an insult. It is a recognition that a person’s faculty of discernment has not developed much yet, so their moral compass isn’t fully formed, and they could still go either way. The simple need guidance, formation and teaching, but they are distinct from the wicked.
Truly, when you hear your pastor open God’s word to you on the Lord’s Day, a beacon of light is being unveiled before you. It is the deeply digested knowledge of God’s word that will fill your eyes with light and understanding.
Finally, the recognition that the Psalmist’s soul keeps God’s law shows that Old Testament worship was not behavioural (meaning that it concerned the actions of one’s hands), but in fact also concerned the inclinations of their hearts. This is a misconception put forth by some modern Orthodox Jews.
I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your way with those who love your name.
v131-132
Verse 131 shows us what is the disposition and posture of one who has been powerfully changed by the grace of God: they are like an exhausted runner on a hot day, panting with longing for God’s commandments. Whether or not he knows and keeps God’s law isn’t a minor point for sometime in the future for him. He has seen the blessing of righteousness, and he’s putting in a mighty effort to learn it.
In the following verse we have the next reference to Numbers 6. Here is where it starts to get a little out of order, so screw on your thinking cap and follow along. Numbers 6:25 says “the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you”. The second phrase there “and be gracious to you” is there almost word for word in Ps 119:132, rendering it in the first person as “and be gracious to me”. The interesting thing is that the phrase before this is “Turn to me”, which has similarities to both phrases from Numbers 6:25 and 6:26, which are “the Lord make his face to shine upon you” and “the Lord lift up his countenance upon you” respectively.
Whichever verse he was alluding to, the first part of 119:132 is clearly drawing upon Numbers 6:25-26. However, please don’t hear this as merely an intellectual or analytical observation. Praise the Lord, because you can apply this to your daily life! How? Well, what we’re seeing is that a worshipper of God has become really familiar with God’s word, and when he’s writing his own songs and poetry he borrows language and ideas from Scripture.
We can apply this today by letting the language of our prayers, and even the language of the songs we choose to sing to God, be moulded and shaped and imbued with Scripture. To give an example, this author will include a short prayer based on Numbers 6:24-26.
“Father God, please let me see your face today as I work and drive and eat and talk. Please let me feel your love like the warm sunlight, and bring me peace in the troubles I’m facing. I ask you this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
We’re not done. There’s still one more reference in this passage! Following the benediction in verses 24-26, Numbers 6:27 says “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them”. This is showing us that God chooses a people, puts his name on them and blesses them. Ps 119:132 also links those two themes (turning to them and being gracious to them) with what we’re now looking at (those who love God’s name). One really remarkable thing to contemplate here is the link between God putting his name on a particular people, and those people loving his name. The beautiful truth is that when God puts his name on you, it isn’t a mere formality. His love changes you. His love elicits love from you. You love his name because he put his name on you.
The careful reader might object here, saying, ‘But my friend, do you not see that God puts his name upon the people of Israel, yet here you are making application from this passage to the church today? This is a category error!’. Seeking not to draw attention away from our selected passages, this author will simply say that worshippers of Yahweh today are brothers in Christ with worshippers of Yahweh since the beginning. That is a more complicated subject, and one for a different book.
Last thing, we promise! There is a profound truth about God’s nature to cling to here. Verse 132 says “as is your way with those who love your name” (emphasis added). For those who love his name, it is God’s way, his modus operandi, his habit, to turn to them and be gracious to them. Do you feel that God deals only in harsh measures with you? Do you worry that he is watching only your neighbours and family, but letting your catastrophes bank up, one after another? This author, the wretch that he is, freely confesses to feeling that way all too frequently in recent months. If this is you too, you are not alone in this mistake. Neither are you alone when you confess it and throw it down, and when you come pleading to Jesus that he would remind you of the grace you know you have been given.
Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
Redeem me from man’s oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.
v133-134
If you are going through something tough right now, these two verses might just be the lifeline you needed. We almost can’t believe that we have such a firm handhold in the Scriptures to hold to, when the breakers and waves of life come crashing down on us. These verses let us plead to God and ask on the basis of His promise, that he would keep our steps steady and let no iniquity get dominion over us. To be totally honest, this author doesn’t know the ins and outs of where the line is between iniquity hitting us from every side vs getting dominion over us, so we probably shouldn’t expect this verse to shield us from all iniquity, but do not let the words of this mere man dilute the promises of God!
Secondly, it is a sad but sobering reality that God’s people have experienced and will experience the oppression of man for ages to come. Since Egypt, God’s people have been slaves, but since the Exodus we have also been free men. God gives his people the liberation from the ultimate slavery and bondage which is Sin, so that we can endure any oppression and slavery we experience in this life, all the while pleading with God to set us free, let us not be put to shame, and bring justice down on our oppressors. Just think about it. Today there will be many men and women living in countries where being Christian is dangerous, and those brothers and sisters would feel the pang of this verse stronger than we would.
If you can live freely as a Christian, praise God! If you are experiencing man’s oppression, grasp this verse with all you’ve got, and ask that your God would redeem you and help you walk in his way.
But wait, is there no Numbers reference here? Well, this author didn’t see any at first. However, when comparing which Numbers 6 sections had already been cited and which hadn’t, he noticed that the second half of verse 26 (“and give you peace”) had no corollary yet. As you may now realise, those two verses that we just read are exactly that: the Psalmist’s cry for peace. It is the peace that comes in walking faithfully, it is the peace that comes from conquering schemes of iniquity. It is the peace that comes from shaking off the shackles of oppression, and it is the peace that comes from living a quiet and holy life before God. Considered positively and negatively, v133-134 are cries for peace.
Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
My eyes shed streams of tears,
because people do not keep your law.
v135-136
Last but not least, we have one of the most clear citations from Numbers 6. Our passage here says “Make your face shine upon your servant”, whereas Numbers 6:25 says “the Lord make his face to shine upon you”. If this reference is obvious to a 21st century Christian who hasn’t memorised any of the first five books of the Bible, how much more obvious would it be to the Jews of the day who had? This entire Psalm would just be one obvious adaptation.
It is incredible to see what you get when you mix this single-minded devotion to God and his statutes from Psalm 119 with the grand blessing language of Numbers 6, and we see it encapsulated there for us in verse 135, which says one and then the other.Finally, this poem ends with a verse that complements and yet contrasts to the first verse (v129). Our poem opened with the blessing of God’s testimonies and how his soul keeps them, and it closes with how his eyes shed streams of tears at the reality that so many live their lives without a single care for God’s law. May we Christians today also feel sorrow for the many on this Earth who have never even heard the name of Jesus or met a Christian. It is incredibly sad, but also wildly exciting. God has lost sheep in all those nations just waiting for someone to come and preach life to them. May we bring his light to shine upon them.
Distilled Orthopraxy 