Psalm 119:159

In today’s verse we come across the second time in this octave entitled Resh that the psalmist called upon the Lord to consider him.

Psalms 119:159  Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.

The psalmist had an intense love for God’s precepts.  And this says a lot about the psalmist when you remember that precepts are authoritative commands to do certain things; they are rules of conduct.  So this tells us that the psalmist loved being under God’s authority and delighted in being told by Him what to do and what not to do.  Oh, that all had such love and respect for God and His precepts! 

The psalmist asks his God to consider or take notice of how he loved His precepts.  Mind that he not only wanted the Lord to consider that he loved His precepts.  He wanted Him to take notice of how he loved the precepts, that is, the way and manner in which he loved them.  As we glance over this psalm we see that he loved the precepts above all other delights; God’s precepts were his joy; he frequently begged to understand the precepts; he resolved never to forget them; and he grieved when they were not kept.  He held to them in his afflictions and before his enemies, no matter how many or mighty those enemies were.  He would let nothing come between him and the Lord’s precepts.  In fact, he loved God’s precepts so much that he welcomed affliction if by that he could better learn them.  Now when you love God’s precepts like that, you may well ask the Lord to give that fact consideration.  As we beg God to overlook our transgressions in His lovingkindness and tender mercy, well might we equally beg Him not to overlook our righteousnesses in that same lovingkindness and tender mercy. Thanks be to God when we have something good about ourselves to confess to God instead of just something evil.

But as he asks the Lord for His consideration, he tacks on this request:  quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. This is the third time in this octave and the ninth time in the entire psalm that the psalmist prayed to the Lord to quicken him (see verses 25, 37, 40, 88, 107, 149, 154, 156, 159).  This will be the last time we meet with this petition in this particular psalm.  As I stated before when commenting on this request, the fact that it is made repeatedly indicates that the psalmist “repeatedly needed to be revived and stirred up.”  And he asked for this quickening to be according to God’s lovingkindness.  Observe that even though the psalmist could confess a love for God’s precepts that was to such an extent that he would have the Lord consider it, he does not advance that as the reason for the Lord to quicken him.  He rather pleads the lovingkindness of God.  “And,” wrote Charles Bridges, “what must be the loving-kindness of a God of infinite love!” Although the psalmist had such an ardent love for God’s precepts, he still felt something dragging him down, something that would dampen his zeal for the word of God.  His love for God’s word, no matter how great, still fell short of what it ought to be.  Therefore, he threw himself on the love of God for him rather than on his love for God and His precepts.  He would have His loving God grant him the particular kindness of quickening him.  And being thus quickened he could continue to zealously love God’s precepts.