Psalm 119:122

Today we take up the second verse of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Ain.  This verse continues the theme of the preceding verse in that it too is a prayer to be delivered from oppression.

Psalms 119:122  Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.

Let it first be noted that this is one of the four verses of Psalm 119 that does not use one of the ten words used in the Psalm to refer to God’s written word.  The other verses are verses 89, 90, and 132.  But as we shall show, the instruction of this verse extends out to the overall theme of the written revelation of God to man, the Holy Scriptures.

In today’s verse the psalmist prays to God:  be surety for thy servant for good.  Now just what is a surety?

Surety – A person who undertakes some specific responsibility on behalf of another who remains primarily liable; one who makes himself liable for the default or miscarriage of another, or for the performance of some act on his part.

The psalmist adds to this request:  let not the proud oppress me.  To oppress another is to press him down, overwhelm him, trample upon him, or tyrannize him.  Now it stands to reason that the proud are just the kind of people who will oppress others.  The proud take delight in asserting their superiority, real or supposed, over others, whether it be superiority in rank, wealth, strength, or intelligence.  By putting down others the proud reinforce their feeling of superiority. 

In making his petition, the psalmist presented himself to the Lord as His servant.  A servant of God is one who seeks to do God’s will rather than his own.  And, of course, the will of God for His servants is expressed in the Holy Scriptures.  Therefore, the overall theme of Psalm 119 is found in this verse also.  And being a servant of God, he stood in stark contrast to the proud who are stuck on themselves and their will.  The proud strive to assert their will above all even when it means oppressing others, as is often the case.

Now the psalmist realized that if he was to be delivered from being oppressed by the proud, he would need someone to undertake for him that was greater than both himself and the proud.  Thus, he prayed to the Almighty God to be his surety.  The psalmist would have the Lord take up his cause as the Lord’s own cause and stand up for him.  Furthermore, he prayed that the Lord would be his surety for good, to do for him the good he could not do or had failed to do.  If the Lord does not undertake for us, then our enemies will capitalize on our faults, failures, and weaknesses in order to run us down.  This is a major ploy of our archenemy, the devil.  He is called “the accuser of our brethren” in Revelation 12:10.  But as our Surety, the Lord stands good for our debts to His justice; He imparts to us His righteousness; and He comes to our defence against our adversaries.  Even in those areas where we have failed so miserably in our battle with sin, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was “made a surety of a better testament” (Hebrews 7:22), secures our pardon.  Thus we can rise up from our defeat and continue to be the servants of the Most High God, Who undertakes to maintain us in that honourable employment.  So it is written of our brethren that the devil accuses:  “And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11).  The following words of Paul declare the Lord as our Surety for good:

Romans 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

I adjoin the prayer of today’s verse with this acknowledgement of the Lord Jehovah (LORD) as our Surety for good:

Psalms 94:16  Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

17  Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

18  When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.