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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Psa_119:129. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
Every true believer admires God’s Word; and, more than that, it amazes him: “Thy testimonies are wonderful.” View them from any point you may select, they are wonderful, wonderful in themselves, wonderful in their operation, wonderful in the way in which they endure all kinds of testing, and yet remain the same: “Thy testimonies are wonderful.” This wonder, however, in the true believer leads to godly practice, to holy living: “Therefore doth my soul keep them.” Our soul must be like a golden gasket in which we store the priceless jewels of the Word of the Lord. You cannot rightly keep God’s Word anywhere but in your soul; to keep it merely in the memory, or in the intellect, is of no avail.
Psa_119:130. The entrance of thy words giveth light;
The very first principles, the elements of God’s Word, are full of light and no sooner does it come into the heart than there is light directly. How much more light does it give when it penetrates into the secret chambers of our being, and we begin to understand its deeper mysteries!
Psa_119:130. It giveth understanding unto the simple.
God’s Word gives understanding to those who feel that they have very little mental ability: “the simple.” They are only plain people, who must have the truth put very simply before them, or else they cannot comprehend it; but as soon as ever God’s Word enters their heart, even such people get understanding. It is not the Word outside the heart that gives the blessing; it is the entrance of the Word that gives true life to the soul.
Psa_119:131. I opened my mouth, and panted:
That was an admirable way of praying; no words were used by the psalmist, but his soul expressed itself by panting: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
Psa_119:131. For I longed for thy commandments.
The very best kind of prayer is that inarticulate panting, in which there is a longing, a sighing, that cannot be expressed in words.
Psa_119:132-133. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. Order my step, in thy word:
“Lord, I have found the way into thy Word, that is the road I intend to travel; now I pray thee to guide my every step.” They say that “Order is heaven’s first law,” and certainly a Christian should lead an orderly life. He should be a Methodist, he should have a method in all that he does; and he should pray for God to order his steps according to his Word.”
Psa_119:133. And let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
A hypocrite says to himself, “I do not swear, I do not steal, and I do not lie, yet I allow other sins to have dominion over me;” but a true man of God will not have any master but the Lord Jesus Christ. He will not put his neck under the foot of even the most attractive sin: “Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” That is the psalmist’s prayer; here is the apostle’s answer to it: “Sin shall not have dominion over you”
Psa_119:134. Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
He does not mean that he will not keep God’s precepts if he is not delivered from man’s oppression; but there are persons in such circumstances, — Christian wives with wicked husbands, godly servants with ungodly masters, believers who are greatly oppressed by evil men, —and they desire to be delivered from the oppression of man that they may be the better able to keep God’s commandments.
Psa_119:135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;
What a blessed prayer that is! Let each one here pray it tonight: “Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.” The Lord is our sun; he is the very sun of heaven; they need no sun there because they see his face.
Psa_119:135. And teach me thy statutes.
The Lord’s servant ought to know the law of his Lord’s house. How can he be an obedient servant if he does not know his Master’s will? So the psalmist prays, “Lord, I will take it as a favor if thou wilt teach me thy statutes, that I may not only know, but also do them!”
Psa_119:136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
Some think that the psalmist meant that his eyes wept because they, that is, his eyes did not keep God’s law. You know how easily sin comes in through the eyes, and goes out through the eyes, too. Well may those eyes weep in sorrow that have lusted towards sin. But I think the psalmist alludes here to the ungodly. The sins of sinners are the sorrows of saints. “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.” Perhaps David referred to his own children, or he may have meant his soldiers, those rough, rugged warriors who were led by Joab. He met with many in his own country who turned aside from God, and he wept over them. It is a blessed sign of grace when you can weep over other men’s sins. Do not say, “So-and-so has gone wrong,” and treat the matter with indifference. If you can do so, you may question whether you have grace in your own heart, for a true Christian ought to be tender and compassionate at the thought of the sinful things around him. There are some who can look upon the error and false doctrine which abound everywhere, and say, “Oh! let it alone, do not trouble yourself about that; but he who walks with God is not of their mind, it is a constant grief and agony of spirit to him that men keep not God’s law.
Psa_119:137. Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
It is always well to set God in contrast with wicked men. If others are unjust, he is not. If they forsake the truth, he does not.
Psa_119:138. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.
True to the letter, true always, true to the core.
Psa_119:139. Thy zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
Yes, God’s faithful servants become the more zealous when others grow cold. When they see that God’s words are forgotten by others, they remember them all the more, and they grow exceedingly zealous for the law of the Lord.
Psa_119:140. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
It is pure in the sense of being unadulterated, and it is pure in the sense of being holy. There is nothing in the Scripture that would lead us to sin, nor excuse it. It is a wonderful condemner of sin: “Thy word is very pure.” Notice the psalmist’s use of the word “very.” In the one hundred and thirty-eighth verse, he says, “Thy testimonies are very faithful;” and now, in the one hundred and fortieth, “Thy word is very pure.” “Therefore thy servant loveth it.” When purity draws out our love, it proves that our heart itself loves that which is pure; and the heart that loveth purity is a pure heart.
Psa_119:141. I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
He was poor but pious, little but loving, despised but devoted. It was the man who had but one talent who went and digged in the earth, and hid his Lord’s money. David was not of that kind; he was small, but he knew he was not too small to sin; he was despised, but he did not on that account think that he might turn aside from the right path.
Psa_119:142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
God’s Word does not change, it is everlasting; and the righteousness which it reveals and which it proclaims to us is everlasting.
Psa_119:142. And thy law is the truth.
God’s Word is not only true, but it is “the truth.” The truth is God’s law, and God’s law is the truth.
Psa_119:143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me:
Just now he said that he was despised, and now he says he is unhappy. Trouble without, and anguish within, seemed to grip him as in a vice.
Psa_119:143. Yet thy commandments are my delights.
A man of the world cannot understand how a Christian can be in trouble and yet be full of delight; but it is true. We can be cast down, but not destroyed; we can be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; we can be poor, yet make many rich. Here you have another holy paradox: “Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights,” not only his delight, but his delights; as if he had a whole host of them, a great company of joys, and a chorus of holy mirth.
Psa_119:144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding,
That is a great prayer, not only, “give me to understand,” but “give me understanding.” It is one thing to tell a man the truth, but quite another thing to make him understand it; and if you make him understand that particular truth, he may not understand another, but David asks for understanding with which he might be able to comprehend all the truth of God: “Give me understanding,” —
Psa_119:144. And I shall live.
God grant that this prayer may be offered by each one of us, and heard by the Lord, for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.
Psa_119:129. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
It is very wonderful that God should speak to us at all, and still more marvellous that he should write to us such a book as this Bible is. The Book itself is full of wonders, and one of those wonders is that it reveals him whose name is “Wonderful.” Observe that the psalmist, having said to the Lord, “Thy testimonies are wonderful,” does not add, “Therefore do I sit down and wonder at them.” No, his appreciation was practical, let ours be the same: “Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.”
Psa_119:130. The entrance of thy words giveth light;
Those who are most ignorant, and have least confidence in their own abilities, will nevertheless become very wise if they study God’s Word.
Psa_119:130-131. It giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
What a wonderful verse that is! The psalmist cannot describe his longing for God’s commandments except by going to the brute creation for a suitable metaphor. He had probably seen the hunted stag stand still, and pant to get its breath, all the while longing for the waterbrooks. So he says, “I opened my mouth, and panted.” “I could not put my prayer into words, so I panted. My heart, my breath, my lungs, my very soul panted, for I longed for thy commandments.”
Psa_119:132. Look thou upon me, —
That is all the psalmist wants, and all that we want, too. If a look from us to God will save us, what must a look from God to us do for us? “Look thou upon me,” —
Psa_119:132-134. And be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
Some of you, perhaps, may hardly be able to do as you would if you were perfectly free to act, for you are to a certain extent under the government and power of ungodly persons. Well, here is a prayer for you to present to the Lord: “Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.”
Psa_119:135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;
That is the best sunshine for us; let us but have the light of God’s countenance, and nothing can put us out of countenance. If the Lord will smile, men may frown as much as they please. So we pray with the psalmist, “Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.”
Psa_119:135-136. And teach me thy statues. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
The psalmist felt for others as well as for himself. It was not enough for him to be holy; he would have others to be the same. Sin in other men brought sorrow to his heart: “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.”
Psa_119:137. Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
After having wept over the sin of men, the psalmist turns with sweet calmness of spirit to the goodness of God.
Psa_119:138. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.
“Very faithful.” You who have tried and proved God’s promises must have found them so; not only faithful, but very faithful, faithful to the letter, faithful to the moment. God seems rather to exceed his promise than ever to fall short of it.
Psa_119:139-140. My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. Thy word is very pure: —
Just now the psalmist said, “Thy testimonies are very faithful. Now he says, “Thy word is very pure.” There is no adulteration in this blessed Book; it is pure truth. You cannot add to it or take from it without making it imperfect: “Thy word is very pure:” —
Psa_119:140. Therefore thy servant loveth it.
It is only a pure heart that loves the pure Word of the Lord; so, if you love the Word of God because of its purity, it is an argument that your heart has been renewed by grace.
Psa_119:141. I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
In verse 139, the psalmist complained that his enemies had forgotten God’s words, and he does not complain of the fault in others, and then fall into it himself; but he says, “Yet do not I forget thy percepts.” There are some people who seem to think that it does not much matter what they do. If they were persons of influence, they think that they would be very careful of their example. “But,” says one, “I am only a feeble woman, — a poor mother with a few children.” “Oh!” exclaims another, “I am only a child as yet, I cannot influence others.” “Oh!” cries a third, “I am simply an ordinary working man, nobody notices me.” Listen to what the psalmist says, “I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.” “I do not make all excuse out of my littleness, that I may be careless in my living.” Take that message home, dear friends, and learn its lesson, for it applies to many of you.
Psa_119:142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, —
What a wonderful sentence! Just now, the psalmist said, “Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteousness.” (See the marginal reading of verse 138.) Now he advances another step, and says, “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.”
Psa_119:142. And thy law is the truth.
That is what I believe this Book of God is, — “the truth.” I know of nothing infallible but the Bible. Every man must have a fixed point somewhere; some believe in an infallible pope, and some in an infallible church, but I believe in an infallible Book, expounded by the infallible Spirit who is ready to guide us into all truth: “Thy law is the truth.”
Psa_119:143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delight.
What a curious mixture this verse describes! Here is a man full of trouble and anguish, and yet full of delight at the same time. Little do they understand human nature, and especially gracious human nature, who cannot comprehend this paradox. There are many seeming contradictions in the Christian life, and this is one of them: “Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me:” — as dogs lay hold of their prey, — “yet thy commandments are my delights.” The apostle Paul pictured another such a case as this when he wrote, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed,” and he also described the Christian paradox, “As unknown, and yet well known, as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” May we all understand these paradoxes is our own experiences!
Psa_119:144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.
Now let us read what the Lord Jesus said to those who professed to reverence the Scripture, but who really made it void by their traditions.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psa_119:129-144; and Mat_15:1-13.