Psalm 119:130

We come to the second verse of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Pë.

Psalms 119:130  The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

In the Scriptures, the word light is sometimes used as a figure for knowledge and understanding.

Ephesians 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints…

According to this passage, those who are given knowledge have the eyes of their understanding enlightened, that is, they are given light.  And then we have this passage:

2 Corinthians 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Today’s verse uses the word light to signify understanding in that the entrance of God’s words giveth understanding.

But observe that it is the entrance of God’s words that give light and understanding.  If you are to derive understanding from the Scriptures, then they need to get into you. 

Proverbs 2:10  When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11  Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

God’s words will impart no light if they are not received.  And they will not be received if the heart of the hearer is not open to receiving them.  And the heart will not be opened unless the Lord opens it.

Acts 16:14  And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

So if we really want the light of the words of God shining in unto us to give us understanding, we should be praying for the Lord to open our hearts to receive them. 

But note that the words of God give understanding to the simple. 

Simple – Of persons, or their origin:  Poor or humble in condition; of low rank or position; undistinguished, mean, common.  Deficient in knowledge or learning; characterized by a certain lack of acuteness or quick apprehension.

In Scripture sometimes the word simple is used in a negative way to refer to those who are gullible and lack discernment.

Proverbs 14:15  The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

Proverbs 14:18  The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

But elsewhere the word is used to describe those who are sincere and humble and so it is used here.

Psalms 19:7  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Psalms 116:6  The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.

2 Corinthians 1:12  For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

It is one thing to be simple in that you lack understanding because you either do not want to learn or you are too proud to admit your ignorance; and it is another thing to be simple in that you humbly acknowledge your lack of understanding and are willing to be taught.  It is the latter that will receive understanding from the words of God.  In fact, before one can ever truly be wise and understanding, he must first recognize his ignorance, even if he is highly educated.

1 Corinthians 3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

The light of God’s words will not shine into the hearts of the wise and prudent of this world who trust in their own wits rather than in God.  The Bible is written in such a way as to conceal its message from the proud and lofty who think themselves too good and too wise to need a Saviour to save them and a God to guide them.  So it is that the simple, or the babes as our Lord calls them, understand things the great intellectuals of this world do not understand.

Matthew 11:25  At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

26  Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

An excellent example of the Lord giving understanding to the simple is Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived.  Solomon did not become so wise until he first confessed himself to be but a child. 

1 Kings 3:7  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

8  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

9  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

But when Solomon came before the Lord as a simple child, confessing his ignorance and begging His Maker to give him understanding, God answered thus:

1 Kings 3:12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

But, get this!  The believer today who humbles himself before the Lord as a little child (Matthew 18:3-4) and receives in his heart the gospel of Christ is given light and understanding that excels that of Solomon.  Hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples:

Matthew 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Solomon would have rejoiced to understand what a simple believer in the gospel message understands.

But there is another way of looking at this verse.  Think of the very first verses of the Bible as the entrance into the Bible, the entrance of God’s words.  This is where the story begins.  Commenting on this Matthew Henry wrote:

“If we begin at the beginning, and take it before us, we shall find that the very first verses of the Bible give us surprising and yet satisfying discoveries of the origin of the universe, about which, without that, the world is utterly in the dark.”

If we can’t make it through the entrance of God’s words and if those beginning words make no entrance into us, then we will be enshrouded in darkness.  And does not this explain the widespread intellectual darkness of our age despite our advances in science?

Psalm 119:129

I now take up the next octave of Psalm 119 bearing the title of the Hebrew letter PË.  According to the pronunciation guide in my Bible the letter ë in pë is pronounced like the letter a in our words same, tame, or pay.  Now we shall not pë a whole lot of attention to the letter pë.  We shall rather pë attention to the verses that this letter introduces.  Yes, I know.  My humour is lëm.  Oh, well, let’s turn to serious things.

Psalms 119:129  ¶PE. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.

The Lord’s testimonies are wonderful, that is, they are full of wonder.

Wonder – Something that causes astonishment.  A marvellous object; a marvel, prodigy.  A deed performed or an event brought about by miraculous or supernatural power; a miracle.

We dealt with the wonder of God’s written word when we considered verse 18 of this psalm in which the psalmist prayed for the Lord to open his eyes to “behold wondrous things out of thy law.”  I do not wish to repeat here what I wrote then.  You may refer back to that meditation to refresh your memory.  Suffice it to say that the Bible is a miraculous book.  It is not only a miracle considered in its entirety, but each testimony, each verse in it is a miracle.  Every word in it is given by the same power that created and preserves the worlds.  If read and studied with faith, it will never cease to amaze its reader.

We often describe things in this world as wonderful.  We might ask a person returned from a trip, “How was your vacation?”  In response we often hear:  “It was wonderful.”  “How was the weather?”  “It was wonderful!”  “How was the wedding?”  “It was wonderful.”  “What do you think of your new grandbaby?”  “Oh, she’s wonderful!”  “How was the concert?”  “It was wonderful.”  “How would you rate this product?”  “It’s simply wonderful.”  “What did you think of that speech?”  “Oh, I thought it was wonderful.”  And on and on we go chanting the wonders of our experiences.  And, yet, all these “wonders” are nothing compared to that Book that is sadly too often neglected and ignored by even God’s own children, who of all people should appreciate its wonder.  Perhaps one reason we lose sight of the wonder of the Book is that we are taken up with the wonders of this world.  But do we judge things to be wonderful mainly because we find them pleasurable or fun for us?  And if we don’t get pleasure from something, well, then it isn’t so wonderful is it?  At least it is not so wonderful in our estimation. Commenting on this verse George Horne wrote: 

“While we have these holy writings, let us not waste our time, mis-employ our thoughts, and prostitute our admiration, by doating on human follies, and wondering at human trifles.”

Wow!  That is a powerfully convicting statement, especially in our day of digital devices that offer endless follies and trifles at the touch of a screen. 

And why are God’s testimonies wonderful?  Because they testify of Him Whose name is Wonderful, even the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Now it was precisely because God’s testimonies are wonderful that the psalmist kept them:  therefore doth my soul keep them.  How often do we try to record the things we deem to be wonderful.  We want to keep those things.  It seems that wonder is something we want to hang on to.  Hence it is that photography is a booming business.  And with everyone carrying cameras around with them all the time on their mobile devices, everyone is becoming a photographer.  We are ever trying to preserve the wonder.  Yet a photograph or video cannot capture the wonder of the moment!  Looking at the picture or film of something is not the same as experiencing it first hand.  But the wonder of God’s testimonies will not be lost if we keep them in our lives by referring to them often, remembering them, and obeying them.  In fact, the more significantly they figure into our lives, the more wonderful we will find them to be.       

But observe that the psalmist said his soul kept the Lord’s testimonies.  He did not merely keep them outwardly and on display for other men to see.  Rather, his innermost self kept them.  Look within yourself and consider what most dazzles your soul and what it most holds on to.  Ask yourself, does today’s verse describe your soul?