Psalm 119:154

We take up the next verse of this octave entitled Resh and we find the psalmist repeating the request of the previous verse:  deliver me. 

Psalms 119:154  Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

The psalmist brings three requests before the Lord.  The first request is plead my cause. 

Plead – To maintain (a plea or cause) by argument in a court of law.  Also transf.

The psalmist obviously had one or more opponents striving against him, as one might have an opponent suing him in a court of law.  In asking the Lord to plead his cause he is asking the Lord to stand up for him and argue his case, to be his defense against his adversary.  We see David making this request in the following passage:

Psalms 35:1  <> Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

2  Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.

3  Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

God is the Supreme Judge of the universe.  There is no appeal beyond Him.  If He takes up your cause and pleads it, you are sure to win the case.  After all, with the Judge for your Attorney, how can you lose?  He will throw your adversary out of court and make him suffer the judgment that he sought against you.

Isaiah 51:22  Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:

23  But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

Jeremiah 50:33  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.

34  Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

Note that the Lord even defines Himself as God that pleadeth the cause of his people.  So it follows that we can count on Him to do according to what He is.  And when He pleads the cause of His people He does so throughly or thoroughly so that there remains no objection whatsoever that can be raised against them. 

And even if our adversary has a just claim against us because of our sin, God the Judge has taken care of that in sending His Son to be the propitiation by His blood for our sins.

1 John 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Revelation 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

If you are bearing the wrath of the Lord because you have sinned and you have confessed your sin, do not despair.  The Lord will plead your cause even though your cause arises from having offended Him.

Micah 7:9  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

Then we have the second request made in today’s verse:  deliver me.  Of course, if you have a cause to plead, it follows that you need deliverance.  But notice from Jeremiah 50:34 that we referenced above, the One Who “throughly” pleads the cause of His people is also called “their Redeemer.”  So it turns out that the Supreme Judge and our Advocate is also our Redeemer to deliver us.  The court is definitely tipped in our favour! 

And then we have the third request in today’s verse:  quicken me according to thy word.  This is the first of three times in this octave that the psalmist will ask the Lord to quicken him.  So as we beg the Lord to plead our cause and deliver us, let us also ask Him to quicken us so that we do not lose heart, which we are so prone to do under the weight of affliction.  May God, according to His word of promise, quicken all you who look to Him for help so that you may maintain an active faith, an abounding love, and a stedfast hope whilst you await the hour of His deliverance.

Thomas Manton nicely summed up these three requests made to God this way: 

“Or, in short, with respect to the injustice of his adversaries, ‘Plead my cause;’ with respect to the misery of his own condition, ‘Deliver me;’ with respect to the weakness and imbecility of his own heart, ‘Quicken me.’”

Psalm 119:153

The next octave we take up from Psalm 119 bears the title of the Hebrew letter Resh.  From what I can gather about the pronunciation of this letter, the e is pronounced like our letter a in the words tame, ace, or race.  With that in mind, as I undertake this octave I feel like I am in a resh to finish these blogs.  Now that is really scraping the bottom of the barrel for something funny to the point that it isn’t even funny. 

Looking out over this octave we can see some threads stitching it together.  Twice, in the first two verses the psalmist prays for deliverance.  In verse 153 and verse 159, he asks the Lord to consider him.  Then we find him beseeching the Lord three times to quicken him (verses 154, 156, 159). From these requests and from the statements he makes in this psalm he is obviously in affliction, some of which is arising from the presence of the wicked who are his persecutors and enemies.  And this brings us to consider today’s verse:   

Psalms 119:153  ¶RESH. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.

What is it for one to consider something?

Consider – To view or contemplate attentively, to survey, examine, inspect, scrutinize.  To look attentively.  trans. To contemplate mentally, fix the mind upon; to think over, meditate or reflect on, bestow attentive thought upon, give heed to, take note of.

The psalmist was praying to God to fix His holy mind on his affliction, to take notice of it.  This is something our God has done for His afflicted people throughout history.  The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt arose from the Lord considering the affliction of His people in Egypt.

Exodus 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians….

Perhaps it was the memory of this that provoked the psalmist to beg God to consider his affliction and deliver him.  The psalmist David had this testimony that accords with today’s verse:

Psalms 31:7  I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;

8  And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.

While God was upon this earth in the flesh of Jesus Christ, many times He looked attentively upon the affliction of men; and moved with compassion by what He saw, He delivered them.  Here are but a couple of several instances we might cite:

Luke 7:11  And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

12  Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

13  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her  (He considered her affliction), and said unto her, Weep not.

14  And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

15  And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

16  And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

John 5:5  And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

6  When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case (He considered his affliction), he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

7  The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

8  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

9  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

We who have the completed canon of Holy Scripture in the 66 books of the Bible have numerous examples of the Lord considering the affliction of His people and delivering them.  We do indeed serve a considerate God.  Therefore, we have abundant reason to offer to Him the prayer of today’s verse.

But notice that in begging the Lord to consider him, the psalmist could advance that he had not forgotten the Lord:  for I do not forget thy law.  He did not let his affliction crowd out the memory of God’s law.  In fact, his affliction had accomplished the purpose for which God had permitted it and that was to direct him to God’s law.

Psalms 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Afflictions should make us mindful of our Bible. 

The psalmist had resolved back in verse 16 of Psalm 119:  “I will not forget thy word.”  And according to today’s verse, he had made good on that promise:  for I do not forget thy law.  We are far more apt to remember something if we determine that we will remember it.  Forgetfulness often occurs because we lack the willpower to remember. 

When you are pleading with God to pay attention to your affliction and deliver you, it is always to your advantage to be able to tell the Lord that you have paid attention to His word and have not forgotten it.  God gives special consideration to those who give special consideration to His law.

Deuteronomy 7:9  Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations….

    

Psalm 119:152

We now come to the last verse of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Koph.

Psalms 119:152  Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

God’s testimonies, which make up the Bible, are indestructible.  This is because the Lord has founded them for ever.

Founded – Based, having a (specified) base or ground (with qualifying adverb).  Also without adv. = ‘well founded’, well grounded, etc.

When something is well founded, it is able to withstand the forces that would destroy it.  Our Lord demonstrated this in the parable of the wise and foolish builders.

Matthew 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Every word the Lord has spoken is like the words He spoke by the prophet Samuel of which we read:  “the LORD…let none of his words fall to the ground” (1Samuel 3:19).  Being founded, God’s testimonies are like the house built on the rock that “fell not.”  Many have been the efforts to destroy the written word of God.  Yet God’s testimonies continue to stand because they are founded forever.  And they are founded for ever because God declares they will stand forever and He cannot lie.  Furthermore, God has infinite power and can insure that they are preserved.

Psalms 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7  Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Isaiah 30:8  Now go (God speaking to Isaiah), write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever….

Isaiah 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Matthew 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Even though the words are written on destructible paper, the words themselves continue.  The paper on which they are written changes, but the words written on the paper remain and shall never pass away. Today’s verse states the reason they remain:  thou hast founded them forever.  It is God’s work to see to it that once His testimonies are spoken, they remain.  He sees to it that His words are carried over from one piece of paper to another and, yes, from one language to another.  Yet they remain as much His testimonies as when He first uttered them.

Now the psalmist was convinced of old that God has founded His testimonies forever.  He knew this when he penned these words and he knew it a long time before that.    

Of old:  of old time, in the olden time, long, since, formerly; also, From old days, for a long time (preceding the present).

That God has founded His testimonies forever was an established fact long before the psalmist ever appeared on the scene.  His fathers knew it and their fathers knew it and so on back to the beginning of time.  Once God had given His words, those words remained for them to learn, to observe, and to see fulfilled.  They could compare the events of time with those words and see how God’s testimonies were vindicated over and over in the prophecies they declared, the blessings they promised, and the judgments they pronounced. 

Deuteronomy 32:7  Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

Job 20:4  Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

5  That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

Psalms 44:1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou

didst in their days, in the times of old.

Psalms 78:1  Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

3  Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

4  We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

5  For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

6  That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

7  That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments….

Our holy religion rests on a firm foundation tried and proven of old, even from the beginning of earth’s history.  God’s testimonies provide us with a sure support when every thing else around us gives way.  It is as we sing:  “How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!”  It was because of this firm foundation that the psalmist had such confidence in prayer as he attests four times in this octave.  It was because of this firm foundation that the psalmist could take solace in the fact that God was near him when his enemies drew nigh.  Commenting on this verse Charles Spurgeon wrote:  “Bubbles please boys, but men prize those things which are solid and substantial, with a foundation and a bottom to them which will bear the test of the ages.”  And so we conclude our meditations on this octave of Psalm 119.  Amen!