Charles Spurgeon Collection: Spurgeon - C.H. - The Golden Alphabet: 16 Exposition of Psalm 119:121-128
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Charles Spurgeon Collection: Spurgeon - C.H. - The Golden Alphabet: 16 Exposition of Psalm 119:121-128
TOPIC: Spurgeon - C.H. - The Golden Alphabet (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 16 Exposition of Psalm 119:121-128
Other Subjects in this Topic:
Exposition of Psa_119:121-128
by Charles Spurgeon
121. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine
oppressors.
122. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud
oppress me.
123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy
righteousness.
124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach
me thy statutes,
125. I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know
thy testimonies.
126. It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void
thy law.
127. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above
fine gold.
128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to
be: right; and I hate every false way.
121. “I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine
oppressors.”
“I have done judgment and justice.” This was a great thing for an Eastern
ruler to say at any time; for these despots mostly cared more for gain than
justice. Some of them altogether neglected their duty, and would not even
do judgment at all, preferring their pleasures to their duties; and many
more of them sold their judgments to the highest bidders by taking bribes,
or regarding the persons of men. Some rulers gave neither judgment nor
justice; others gave judgment without justice; but David gave judgment and
justice, and saw that his sentences were carried out. He could claim before
the Lord that he had dealt out even-handed justice, and was doing so still.
On this fact he founded a plea with which he backed the prayer — “ Leave
me not to mine oppressors.” He who, as far as his power goes, has been
doing right, may hope to be delivered from his oppressors when attempts
are made by them to do him wrong. If I will not oppress others, I may
hopefully pray that others may not be permitted to oppress me. A course of
upright conduct is one which gives us boldness in appealing to the Great
Judge for deliverance from the injustice of wicked men. Nor is this kind of
pleading to be censured as self-righteous; it is most fit and acceptable.
When we are dealing with God as to our shortcomings, we use a very
different tone from that with which we face the censures of our fellow-men.
When untruthful accusers are in the question, and we are guiltless
towards them, we are justified in pleading our innocence. Moral integrity is
a great helper of spiritual comfort. If we are right in our conduct, we may
be sure that the Lord will not leave us at all, and certainly will not leave us
to our enemies.
122. “Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.”
“Be surety for thy servant for good.” This was the cry of Job and of
Hezekiah, and it is the cry of every soul which believes in the great
Intercessor and Daysman. Answer for me. Do not leave thy poor servant to
die by the hand of his enemy and thine. Take up my interests and weave
them with thine own, and stand for me. As my Master, undertake thy
servant’s cause, and represent me before the faces of haughty men till they
see what an august ally I have in the Lord my God. Our greatest salvation
comes from the divine suretyship. The Son of God as our Surety has
smarted for us, and thereby he has brought good to us, and saved us from
our proud oppressor, the arch-enemy of souls. In this verse we have not
the law mentioned under any of its many names, and this is the only
instance in the whole Psalm in which a verse omits mention of the Word of
the Lord. Yet this is no exception to the spirit of the rule; for here we find
mention of our Surety, who is the fulfillment of the law. Where the law
fails we have Christ, the surety of a better covenant. This suretyship is
always for good, but how much of good no tongue can tell.
“Let not the proud oppress me.” Thine interposition will answer the
purpose of my rescue: when the proud see that thou art my advocate, they
will hide their heads. We should have been crushed beneath our proud
adversary the devil if our Lord Jesus had not stood between us and the
accuser, and become a surety for us. It is by his suretyship that we escape
like a bird from the snare of the fowler. What a blessing to be able to leave
our matters in our Surety’s hands, knowing that all will be well, since he
has an answer for every accuser, a rebuke for every reviler!
Good men dread oppression, for it makes even a wise man mad, and they
send up their cries to heaven for deliverance; nor shall they cry in vain, for
the Lord will undertake the cause of his servants, and fight their battles
against the proud. The word “servant” is wisely used as a plea for favor
for himself, and the word “proud” as an argument against his enemies. It
seems to be inevitable that proud men should become oppressors, and that
they should take most delight in oppressing the true servants of God. Their
oppressions will soon be put down, because they are oppressions, because
the workers of them are proud, and because the objects of them are the
Lord’s servants.
123. “Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy
righteousness.”
“Mine eyes fail for thy salvation.” He wept, waited, and watched for
God’s saving hand, and these exercises tried the eyes of his faith till they
were almost ready to give out. He looked to God alone, he looked eagerly,
he looked long, he looked till his eyes ached. The mercy is, that if our eyes
fail, God does not fail, nor do his eyes fail. Eyes are tender things, and so
are our faith, hope and expectancy: the Lord will not try them above what
they are able to bear. “And for the word of thy righteousness”: a word
that would silence the unrighteous words of his oppressors. His eyes as
well as his ears waited for the Lord’s word: he looked to see the divine
word come forth as a fiat for his deliverance. He was “waiting for the
verdict” — the verdict of righteousness itself. How happy are we if we
have righteousness on our side! for then that which is the sinners’ terror is
our hope, that which the proud dread is our expectation and desire. David
left his reputation entirely in the Lord’s hand, and was eager to be cleared
by the word of the Judge, rather than by any defense of his own. He knew
that he had done right, and, therefore, instead of avoiding the supreme
court, he begged for the sentence which he knew would work out his
deliverance. He even watched with eager eyes for the judgment and the
deliverance, the word of righteousness from God which meant salvation
to himself.
124. “Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy
statutes.”
“Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy.” Here he recollects
himself: although before men he was so clear that he could challenge the
word of righteousness, yet before the Lord, as his servant, he felt that he
must appeal to mercy. We feel safest here. Our heart has more rest in the
cry, “God be merciful to me,” than in appealing to justice. It is well to be
able to say, “I have done judgment and justice,” and then to add, in all
lowliness, yet “deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy.” The title
of servant covers a plea; a master should clear the character of his servant
if he be falsely accused, and rescue him from those who would oppress
him; and, moreover, the master should show mercy to a servant, even if he
deal severely with a stranger the Lord condescendingly deals, or has
communications with, his servants, not spurning them, but communing
with them; and this he does in a tender and merciful way, for in any other
form of dealing we should be crushed into the dust. “And teach me thy
statutes.” This will be one way of dealing with us in mercy. We may
expect a master to teach his own servant the meaning of his own orders.
Yet since our ignorance frequently arises from our sinful stupidity, it is
great mercy on God’s part that he condescends to instruct us in his
commands. For our ruler to become our teacher is an act of great grace,