God’s promises is a recurrent theme in Psalm 119, but in the “Nun” section (Ps 119:105-112), we see the Psalmist making a solemn promise to God:

¹⁰⁶ I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
   that I will follow your righteous laws.

A few verses later he expresses his determination to obey God not just in the present, but for the rest of his life:

¹¹² My heart is set on keeping your decrees
   to the very end.

This theme of making promises and commitments is also prominent in the Heth section (Ps 119:57-64). For example:

⁵⁷You are my portion, LORD;
   I have promised to obey your words.

In our commitment-averse society, making vows or promises is something we are less and less inclined to do. Some even want to insert get-out clauses into their marriage vows.

I know there are some churches that make a big deal of promises. They have baptismal vows where they pledge loyalty to God, and “commitment Sundays” where they pledge loyalty to their local church. Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life begins by asking you to commit to reading it daily, and his church training program involves signing up to a series of “covenants”. The “Promise Keepers” movement has seven promises or commitments they want men to sign up to. Some preachers include making promises as part of their altar call – people need to come down to the front as a sign that they have definitively committed to some kind of response.

On the other hand, some churches have backed off this kind of language. It can be viewed suspiciously as a kind of guilt-inducing entrapment, manipulating people into making promises they can’t or don’t want to keep. To compound it all, didn’t Jesus tell us not to make promises at all in Matt 5:34?

It is easy to find plenty of examples of “pledges”, “vows” and “oaths” made by the people of God in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament they are few and far between. Apart from Paul vowing to cut all his hair off in Acts 18:18, examples of believers making promises or being asked to do so are hard to find. Some cite 1 Peter 3:21 as evidence of the practise of “baptismal pledges”, which do seem to have been a feature of the early church.

So should we be making vows? For the psalmist, it was very clear in his mind that he had devoted his entire life to knowing and obeying God. As we do with marriage vows he wanted to express his irrevocable decision to live for God – “I’m in this for life, no backing out”. Rather than necessarily making fresh “vows” in some kind of special ceremony, I think he made a habit of regularly reaffirming and articulating this commitment to God. Whilst I agree that our primary focus should be on God’s faithfulness, and his promises to us, I do believe it is appropriate for us to respond to his grace with songs and prayers affirming our own commitment to him.

I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law!
   I meditate on it all day long.

A key theme of the “Mem” section of Psalm 119 (Ps 119:97-104) is the wisdom the Psalmist gets from his continual meditation on the word of God:

⁹⁸ Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.

This might comes across as a bit arrogant. Reading the Bible has turned him him a know-it-all. He thinks himself wiser than his enemies, his teachers and the elders. Shouldn’t reading the word result in humility not pride?

But, we shouldn’t misread the Psalmist’s motives here. He is not claiming to be inherently wiser or better than others. He simply wants to say that the wisdom he gets from the word of God is the best kind of wisdom there is. It’s the wisdom that really matters. The nature of true wisdom is intensely practical. It is not abstract knowledge or philosophical ideas. It is not even about having smart business sense or clever people management skills. True wisdom has a moral dimension. The wise love righteousness and hate evil:

¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.

The truly wise therefore move beyond simply knowing what is true and what is false to knowing what is right and what is wrong. They go further; they move from knowing what is right to loving what is right. It’s not just our opinions that need changing, it is our desires.

I’ll save the concept of “hating” every wrong path for a future post, as that is another phrase in this section that could easily be taken the wrong way.

The verse I want to pick out from this portion of Ps 119 is one that came to my attention after watching the movie “Luther”. In Ps 119:94, the Psalmist says “I am yours, save me”. There is a powerful moment in the film where Johan von Stauptiz urges Martin Luther, who was despairing of finding a gracious God at the time, to use it as a prayer, lifting his eyes from himself and looking to Christ:

“Martin, what is it you seek?”
“A merciful God! A God that I can love! A God who loves me…”
“Then look to Christ…bind yourself to Christ, and you will know God’s love. Say to him, “I am Yours – save me!”

Saved from what?

But has this half-verse been snatched away from its context and made to mean something alien to the original text? What was the Psalmist praying to be saved from? Verse 95 might suggest that it is not God’s judgement he wants to be saved from, but the harm that wicked people want to do to him:

⁹⁵ The wicked are waiting to destroy me,
   but I will ponder your statutes.

However, verses 92-93 paint a slightly different picture, one in which the Psalmist links his own personal safety with his loyalty to God’s word. In other words, he recognises that there is a graver danger than falling into the hands of the wicked, and that is falling in line with the wicked and sharing their fate:

⁹² If your law had not been my delight,
   I would have perished in my affliction.
⁹³ I will never forget your precepts,
   for by them you have preserved my life.

So we could say the Psalmist has “holistic salvation” in mind – salvation from harm in this life and salvation from damnation in the next; salvation from the schemes of the wicked and salvation from the judgment of God.

Saved on what basis?

But what is the basis of that salvation? The ESV rendering of verse 94 could be interpreted as presenting a legalistic understanding – he expects to be saved because of his obedience to God’s precepts:

⁹⁴ I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.

The NIV however phrases the verse quite differently, suggesting that the Psalmist’s hope of salvation rests on the simple fact that he belongs to God:

⁹⁴ Save me, for I am yours;
   I have sought out your precepts.

Theologically, I prefer the NIV here. My confidence that I will be saved is not based on my obedience to God’s precepts, but on the knowledge that I belong to him, that I have been bought by the blood of Christ.

In any case, a careful reading of the ESV reveals that it is not “obedience” that is put forward as the basis for salvation. He says he has “sought” God’s precepts, which, for the Psalmist, is pretty much the same thing as saying he has sought God. Probably if the ESV is right, the sense is that seeking after God is the hallmark of belonging to him. Those who belong to God desire to please him with a life of obedience and therefore “seek his precepts.” In that sense it is no different from the Jesus’ teaching that those who abide in him will bear fruit.

Saviour and Lord

But perhaps the most attractive thing about the phrase “I am yours, save me” is the indissoluble link between having Jesus as your Saviour, and belonging to him. We cannot say to Jesus, “I want salvation, but I don’t want you”. You cannot have him as your saviour without also coming into a new relationship with God as your Father, and Jesus as your Lord. When we are saved we don’t just receive benefits from Christ, we find ourselves, to use Paul’s language, “in Christ”. We enter into a new life in which Jesus is right at the centre.

So I think Staupitz was right to point Luther to a God of grace using this verse. He’s not a God who will save us only if we impress him enough with our commandment-keeping. He’s a God who delights to save all who call upon him, all who lift their eyes off themselves and look to Christ alone for salvation.

This section of Psalm 119 is all about waiting. The Psalmist is longing for God to break in and bring him comfort and justice. The rather obscure phrase “I am like a wineskin in the smoke” seems to imply that he feels dried up and burned out.

⁸¹ My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
   but I have put my hope in your word.
⁸² My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
   I say, “When will you comfort me?”
⁸³ Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
   I do not forget your decrees.
⁸⁴ How long must your servant wait?
   When will you punish my persecutors?

Yet even in this rather bleak portion of the Psalm, the writer’s unshakeable confidence in God’s word shines through. God’s word is what gives him “hope” (Ps 119:81). Though his eyes fail waiting for God’s “promise” (Ps 119:82) to come to fulfilment, he doesn’t become cynical and doubt that it will ever come to pass. Instead, he is confident that God’s word is completely “trustworthy” (Ps 119:86).

But I think the key to how he keeps going despite God’s seeming inactivity on his behalf is in the final verse. His confidence in God’s word has convinced him of the Lord’s unfailing love for him.

⁸⁸ In your unfailing love preserve my life,
   that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

It’s the same idea that Paul runs with in Rom 8:31-39. If we have become convinced that God’s love for us is unfailing, then we can face suffering with hope. In fact, this is the most important type of “understanding” that the Spirit gives us as we read the Bible – the understanding that God is our Father, and he truly loves us.

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This section of Ps 119 (subtitled ‘Teth’ – Ps 119:65-72) contains one of the most theologically controversial verses in this Psalm. We get a hint of what is coming in verse 67:

⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray,
   but now I obey your word.

The psalmist seems to be describing a period in his life when he was far from God, but some kind of suffering brought him to a place of obedience to God’s word. We don’t get the details we would like – was the ‘affliction’ a direct consequence of his sin that brought him to his senses, or was it some other type of trouble? Now comes the bit that can provoke quite a debate amongst some Christians:

⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted
   so that I might learn your decrees.

The psalmist now views the suffering he went through (an possibly is still facing) as “good”. It is good not because suffering is good, but because God used it for good. But if God can use our suffering to fulfil his good purposes, does that mean he sometimes causes our suffering? It’s a question this Psalm doesn’t answer. Instead, he affirms that despite it all, he is convinced of the goodness of God, and that God’s purposes for him are intended for good:

⁶⁸ You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.

Like many Psalms, the exact nature of the ‘affliction’ is kept hidden from us. This is part of the appeal of the Psalms – they contain an abundance of comfort for people going through all kinds of difficult situations. We also don’t get to find out if this particular ‘affliction’ has come to an end. We’ve already seen that the Psalmist faces considerable mocking and slander (see Ps 119:69 for yet another example), so that may be the nature of it. I wonder whether it also contains a financial dimension:

⁷² The law from your mouth is more precious to me
   than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

My tentative reconstruction then is this. The psalmist was far from God, popular and wealthy. But something happened, that poisoned people against him, and resulted in him losing friends, position, and money. With no where left to go, he returned to God and found himself more content than ever. This gave him new perspective on his (ongoing) affliction – it was a good thing, because through it he had been rescued from the emptiness of life without God.

The verses I want to pick out from the “Heth” section of Ps 119 (verses 57-64), highlight the nature of true repentance, which is another theme that crops up in a few places throughout this Psalm.

“I have considered my ways” (v59)

The psalmist has a very God-centred approach to Scripture. He primarily reads to learn about God’s ways and character. But this does not mean that he doesn’t evaluate his own life in the light of Scripture. As he reads the word of God he is not just seeking information, but transformation – he expects the light of God’s word to reveal areas in his life that still need to be conformed to the will of God.

James 1:22-25 compares God’s word to a mirror. It not only shows us what God is like, it shows us what we are like. And the reason we need to know is because we need to change.

In Ps 119:26, the psalmist says “I recounted my ways and you answered me”. I think he is saying that he makes a practice of talking openly and honestly with God about his life, his hopes and fears, his ambitions. He knows nothing is hidden from God, so he prays without any pretence, admitting to what he is really like and asking for God’s help.

“I have turned my steps towards your statutes” (v59)

However, he doesn’t stop at simply confessing his faults and failings. As he reads God’s word he makes a deliberate choice to turn. This is the essence of repentance – a change of mind that results in a change of behaviour. Being ‘convicted’ by God’s word is pointless if it doesn’t result in change. In fact, if we don’t, we end up becoming hard-hearted and less capable of hearing the voice of the Spirit in the future.

“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands” (v60)

Often the moment at which we respond to God’s word is not the same as the moment that we need to put it into action. We may be reading our Bible alone and realise we need to put things right with another person. Or we hear God’s word preached in church, and realise we need to change our behaviour in the workplace. It means that it is all too easy for us to be convicted as we hear the word of God and make a ‘commitment’ to respond in some concrete way, but never get round to putting it into practice.

The psalmist’s practice is to put obedience to God’s word as his highest priority, with no excuses and no procrastination. If it is the right thing to do, then now is the right time to do it. We need to be proactive about doing what God has told us to. Jesus emphasised this regularly in his teaching (e.g. Matt 5:23-25). God’s word is not simply good advice that you might want to consider following when you have a bit of spare time, or when you feel like it. The only appropriate response is immediate obedience. If God tells you to do something, get on with it!

In the “Zayin” section of Psalm 119 the Psalmist explains how it is possible that he keeps going in the face of suffering and opposition. He is determined to stay loyal to God’s law despite the constant mocking he is subjected to:

⁵¹ The arrogant mock me unmercifully,
   but I do not turn from your law.

Comfort

He mentions two things in particular that bring him comfort in his suffering. The first is that he finds comfort in the promises of God:

⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.

In other words, it is his confidence in the absolute trustworthiness of God’s word that enables him to keep going and refuse to cave in to the pressure he is facing. His second source of comfort is a little more surprising: he finds comfort in the laws of God:

⁵² I remember, LORD, your ancient laws,
   and I find comfort in them.

Finding comfort in God’s promises is something we can identify with, but finding comfort in his laws? That doesn’t seem logical. But the psalmist finds comfort in God’s laws because as he meditates on them, he knows that the path he has chosen to follow in life is the right one. Despite the opposition and mocking he faces, he takes comfort in knowing that he is pleasing God and will ultimately be vindicated:

⁵⁶ This has been my practice:
   I obey your precepts.

Remembering

The reason the psalmist is able to derive so much comfort in suffering from God’s promises and laws is that he is deliberate about “remembering” them. He regularly recalls them to his mind. As well as remembering the promises and laws found in God’s word, he remembers God’s “name”. God’s name stands for his character and in particular his utter reliability.

⁵⁵ In the night, LORD, I remember your name,
   that I may keep your law.

He has another interesting means of remembering the Lord, and that is through singing. Singing is not something to be reserved for church meetings, but should be a regular feature of our private devotion to the Lord. Singing lifts our minds off our own circumstances and onto the goodness and greatness of God. Singing is also a very effective means of memorising God’s word.

⁵⁴ Your decrees are the theme of my song
   wherever I lodge.

It is as we remember the Lord, through singing and meditating on his word, that we find comfort and hope in the midst of suffering, because we know that the Lord will not forget to keep his promises:

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,
   for you have given me hope.

One of the themes that keeps cropping up throughout Psalm 119 is that the author seems to be the subject of mocking and slander, particularly from people in positions of authority and influence. For example, Ps 119:22-23 speaks of the scorn, contempt and opposition he faces:

²²Take away from me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
²³Even though princes sit plotting against me,
   your servant will meditate on your statutes.

Here in the “Waw” section (Ps 119:41-48), he returns to this theme. He is being taunted (presumably by people who don’t consider him a fool for trusting God’s word):

⁴²then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
   for I trust in your word.

He also seems to find himself being hauled up in front of kings to give account of himself in some way. Maybe his determination to obey God’s law is causing offence. But he is determined not to be intimidated into keeping silent about God’s word. He will speak out the truth without feeling ashamed, and is confident that ultimately he will be vindicated by God.

⁴⁶I will also speak of your testimonies before kings
   and shall not be put to shame,

I think this has growing relevance for Christians in a society where there are increasingly vocal critics of the Bible. To say you believe in God’s word is likely to result either in laughter or condemnation. The temptation is to keep quiet as a result, staying under the radar. The reason we do this is that we have a tendency to crave the approval of people rather than God. But the Psalmist knows where his loyalty lies. He would rather have God’s approval and man’s rejection than the other way round.

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark 8:38