Psalm 119:80

We now come to consider the last verse of this octave of Psalm 119 entitled Jod.  This completes the chain of prayers in this octave that begin with the word let.

Psalms 119:80  Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.

A sound heart is a healthy heart, a heart that is free from defect.  It is the “honest and good heart” our Lord spoke of in Luke 8:15. 

It is with out hearts that we think thoughts. 

Proverbs 23:7  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Isaiah 10:7  Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

Luke 9:47  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him…

So the prayer for a sound heart is a prayer for a heart that thinks honest and good thoughts, thoughts that are without defect, that are free from error.  It is a prayer for mental and emotional health.

The psalmist’s prayer is that his heart may be sound in thy statutes.  Of course, God’s statutes are found in His written word, the Holy Scriptures.  It is only in the Scriptures that one can ever attain full mental and emotional health.  Consider the character of God’s statutes as set forth in this passage:

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

8  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 

The Bible is a Book that is perfect, sure, right, pure, true, and righteous altogether.  There is nothing defective in it.  Its teachings will convert, make wise, rejoice, enlighten, and cleanse the person that receives them.  When a Book like that is informing and governing the thoughts of your heart, you will have a sound heart.  How could it be otherwise? 

As one called of God to teach His statutes this prayer has particular relevance to me.  It is a chief blessing to have access to God’s statutes, to be able to read them, hear them, study them, and teach them.  But if we are to receive profit from the statutes of the Lord we must be sound in them, that is, we need to think of them rightly so as not to misunderstand them or misuse them, as so many do.

2 Corinthians 4:1  Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

2  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

2 Peter 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 

Those who handle the word of God deceitfully do not have sound hearts.  Their hearts are not honest.  The motives of their hearts are impure.  Those who are “unlearned and unstable” and wrest the Scriptures do not have sound hearts.  Their hearts lack the understanding and stability needed to make right use of the Scriptures.  If they so understand something, they have trouble retaining it because they are unstable.  So it is urgent that we beg God to let our hearts be sound in thy statutes.  We must pray to God to purge of our hearts of anything impure that might affect how we handle His word.  We must pray to God to help us understand His words so that we do not misinterpret them and thus mishandle them. 

If our hearts are not sound in God’s statutes, we are going to make a lot of mistakes that are going to cause us shame and embarrassment before men and before God.  Hence, the psalmist prays that his heart may be sound in God’s statutes that I be not ashamed.  I for one know something of the shame that comes from missing the right explanation and application of a passage.  When that happens, there is nothing to do but admit the error, correct it, and learn from it.  If I am praying that my heart be sound in God’s statutes and the Lord shows me an error I am making with a passage of Scripture, then God is answering that prayer.  He is not leaving me in my error.  He is letting my heart be sound in His statutes.

Lastly, God is sovereign over our understanding and handling of His word.  If He does not let our heart be sound in His statutes, we will make a mess of handling them.  We are so prone to err that we need the constant help of the Lord to handle His word rightly.  We are ever at the mercy of our God, even when we read, study, and teach His word. 

And so we come to the conclusion of another octave of Psalm 119.  It is my prayer that the lessons we have drawn from this octave have been a blessing to you.

Psalm 119:79

In today’s meditation on Psalm 119:79 we meet a group of people who are the opposite of “the proud” that we met in the previous verse.

Psalms 119:79  Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.

The reason those who fear the Lord are the opposite of “the proud” can be seen in the Biblical definition of the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 8:13  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

People who fear God hate pride and, therefore, strive against being proud.  And they are just the people whose company the psalmist desired.  In fact, he stated in a previous verse:   “I am a companion of all them that fear thee” (Psalm 119:63).  He further expressed a desire for the company of those that have known thy testimonies.  Those who fear the Lord also “hate evil…and the evil way.”  Therefore, they have an interest in knowing the Lord’s testimonies that teach good way.  They know the Lord’s testimonies both as possessing the information of them and also the experience of them.  They do what is commanded in the testimonies.

Deuteronomy 6:2  That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

In short, the psalmist desired the company of humble people who believe in God, study God’s Bible, and serve God according to what His Bible teaches.  Such people should always be our preferred company as opposed to the people of the world.  Charles Bridges said it well:  “And does not the believer’s anxiety for the company and assistance of the Lord’s people rebuke Christian professors, who are far too closely linked to the society of the world?”  The Lord would have His people turn to each other for help, comfort, correction, and edification.

But note how the psalmist prays to God to let those that fear the Lord turn unto him.  He recognized that God is sovereign over all things, all people, and all events.  Those who feared the Lord would never have turned to the psalmist if the Lord had not let them.  There are all manner of things that threaten to keep the Lord’s people away from each other, not the least of which is their archenemy, Satan himself.  Satan is ever seeking to turn us to something other than the Lord and His people.  Paul acknowledged this when writing the church of the Thessalonians:

1 Thessalonians 2:17  But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.

18  Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

Therefore, if our need for the companionship of other believers is met, God must show His power in removing the hindrances and letting those that fear Him turn to us.  Of course, it works both ways.  It will do us little good for those who fear the Lord turn to us if we do not turn to them.  So the Lord must order the affairs of us and them if we are to turn to each other and come together.  I hear the echo of this prayer is the following passages drawn from the New Testament:

Romans 1:9  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

10  Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

11  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

12  That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Romans 15:30  Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

31  That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;

32  That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

Philemon 1:22  But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.

I would like to close with a word of personal experience as it pertains to this verse.  Last May we celebrated my 35^th anniversary as the pastor of the church of Detroit, Michigan.  In view of the possibility of this church calling for my services as pastor, I prayed this prayer of Psalm 119:79 and the Lord answered.  Now for over 35 years Sunday after Sunday these God-fearing people have turned to me to hear me expound the testimonies of the Lord.  It is both gratifying and humbling to know that much of what they know about the Lord’s testimonies, they have learned from me.  The Lord has indeed been good to me!

 

Psalm 119:78

We continue considering the prayers of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Jod.  We are in a stretch of prayers that all begin with the word let. 

Psalms 119:78  Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.

In this psalm the author mentions the proud five times.  According to verse 21, the proud err from God’s commandments.  They think they know better than God what is best for their lives.  Setting themselves at odds with Almighty God, the proud also oppose the servants of God such as the psalmist.  Therefore, they had had the psalmist “greatly in derision” (verse 51) and they had forged a lie against him (verse 69).  In the next octave we find that they had digged pits for him (verse 85).  In today’s verse he states they dealt perversely with me without a cause.

Perversely – In a way obstinately contrary to what is proper, true, or good; untowardly, vexatiously, crossly.

The proud did not treat the psalmist right.  He had given these people no reason to cross him.  Yet they dealt with him crossly.  Of course, at the root of their mistreatment was the fact that there was something about his life and testimony that rebuked them, that exposed their wrong.

Psalms 38:20  They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

Proverbs 29:27  …he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.

If you have no just cause to deal adversely with someone, you have no cause at all!  Therefore, if someone ever deals wrongly with you, if they shun you, if they smite you, if they make fun of you, if they slander you, if they drag you into court on false charges, ask yourself why they are doing this.  If the answer is because you are telling the truth or doing the right thing, then you know you are dealing with a proud person, with someone who is too stuck on himself to admit his error.  And should this be the case, then you are in good company.  This is just how the proud dealt with our Lord because His teaching and works exposed them.

John 15:22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

23  He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

24  If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

25  But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

Being dealt with perversely by the proud is part of the price we pay for being the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the psalmist prays this prayer for the proud who dealt perversely with him:  Let the proud  be ashamed.  There are two ways this prayer might be answered.  It will be answered in the destruction of the proud when God arises to avenge His servants.

Psalms 94:1  O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.

2  Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.

23  And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.

Psalms 83:17  Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish….

Or it may be answered in the proud seeing their error, being ashamed, and turning to the Lord as did Saul of Tarsus, for example.

Psalms 83:16  Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

Acknowledging the ill treatment he had received from the proud and committing the problem to the Lord in prayer, the psalmist returns to the recurring theme of this 119^th psalm, which is the written word of God.  Instead of using all his mental and emotional energy fretting over how the proud had treated him, the psalmist rather turned his focus upon his Bible:  but I will meditate in thy precepts.  In God’s precepts we find our strength to cope with whatever is thrown at us by the proud.  Moreover, in meditating in God’s precepts we shift our focus to what the Lord commands us to do.  Instead of thinking so much about what proud men do to us, we rather put our mind to what we need to do to serve and honour the Lord.  What the proud do to you is not nearly so important as what you do.  The Lord will take care of the proud.  Just you mind that you do your duty to your God regardless of what men do to you.    

Psalm 119:77

We continue considering the prayers of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Jod.  We are in a stretch of prayers that all begin with the word let. 

Psalms 119:77  Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.

In this verse the psalmist makes the same request he did in verse 41, in which he requested the Lord to “let thy mercies come also unto me.”  Again, the psalmist prays God to let His mercies come to him.  God’s mercies are something that must come to us, rather than we coming to them.  And they can only come to us, if the Lord’s lets them.  He is sovereign over His mercies.  God’s mercies are shut up from us unless He is willing to bestow them.  We are in a sinful and low estate with absolutely no claim to God’s compassion or kindness.  For us there will be no relief unless the good Lord be pleased to let His mercies come to us.

In the verse we consider today the psalmist adds the word tender to describe the mercies of God.  Consider the meaning of the word tender when used to describe God’s mercies.

Tender – Of persons, their feelings, or the expression of these:  Characterized by, exhibiting, or expressing delicacy of feeling or susceptibility to the gentle emotions; kind, loving, gentle, mild, affectionate.

The Lord does not bestow His mercies upon us begrudgingly.  His mercies flow out of a gentle, kind, and loving disposition.  God bestows mercy because He loves to and wants to.  The Lord delights to let His mercies come to us.

Micah 7:18  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

Now we need never worry that we have exhausted these tender mercies of God for they have been available and abundantly bestowed from ancient time; there are a multitude of them; and they are great.

Psalms 25:6  Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Psalms 69:16  Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

Psalms 119:156  Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD….

The psalmist, like every believer, was beset with many transgressions and sins all and any of which were exceedingly displeasing to a holy God and deserving of His wrath.  Therefore, the psalmist needed tender mercies (plural).  Many sins need many tender mercies.  And it is God’s tender mercies that provide the remedy for sins and transgressions.

Psalms 51:1  A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.>> Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Psalms 79:8  O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

And, like the rest of us, the psalmist had his share of troubles in this world.  As it was with Job, so it is with us.  The ultimate relief for our troubles is the tender mercy of God.

James 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

So when you are enduring a tribulation, just hang in there.  Endure!  Tender mercy is on the way. 

Because of his sins, the psalmist deserved to die.  And his troubles were such that they threatened to destroy him.  Most any tribulation causes us to despair of life, if it presses down on us hard enough.  This is why he prays that the Lord’s tender mercies will come to him, that I may live.  Without God’s tender mercies our sins and troubles would be the destruction of us all.  But instead, our God redeems our life from destruction and crowns us with His tender mercies.

Psalms 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies….

Now the psalmist advances this reason for wanting to live:  for thy law is my delight.  Why do you want God’s tender mercies to come to you to spare your life?  Is it that you may have your way?  Or is it that you may do the will of God as expressed in His law?  Is the law of God your greatest delight?  Does it give you your reason for living?  Because the psalmist so delighted in the law of God, he craved the tender mercies of God to pardon his transgressions against that law and to strengthen him to keep it.  The following quote from the pen of William Cowper sums it up quite well:  “It is a great mercy of God, which not only pardons evil that is done, but strengthens us also to further good that we have not done; and this is the mercy which David here seeks.” 

As we think of the tender mercies of God by which we live, let us not forget the greatest display of God’s tender mercy in sending His only begotten Son to die for us “that we might live through him” (1John 4:9).  Tender mercies came to us in Jesus and because of this we live.

Luke 1:77  To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78  Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us….

Psalm 119:76

In the preceding verse the psalmist acknowledged the justice and faithfulness of God in afflicting him.  Now the psalmist looks for comfort from the same Hand that smote him with affliction, for it is the same Lord that “bringeth low, and lifteth up” (1Samuel 2:7).

Psalms 119:76  Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.

When we are afflicted, comfort is one thing we most need.  Let’s remind ourselves again of what comfort is.

Comfort - Strengthening; encouragement, incitement; aid, succour, support, countenance (appearance of favour).

Unmingled affliction will drain us and bring us down.  But we can bear up under most any affliction when we are strengthened, helped, and supported.  While there are many sources of support for affliction, the support the psalmist seeks is that which only God can give, even His merciful kindness.

When we speak of God’s kindness we are speaking of His gentle and generous nature, His readiness to assist us.  But God’s kindness is a merciful kindness in that we deserve His severity.  But rather than show His wrath, God shows us His kindness.  And it is in this merciful kindness that we find comfort, that we find strength, help, and support in our afflictions.  Commenting on this verse Charles Spurgeon said:  “The words ‘merciful kindness,’ are a happy combination, and express exactly what we need in affliction:  mercy to forgive the sin, and kindness to sustain under the sorrow.”

Now the psalmist’s prayer to the Lord is to let His merciful kindness be for his comfort according to thy word unto thy servant.  Note that the psalmist seeks the comfort that is in keeping with God’s word.  He draws his comfort from his Bible.  Now consider your own experience.  How many times in your afflictions have you gone for comfort to such passages as the following?

Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

2 Corinthians 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

These verses provide encouragement to an afflicted soul as they assure him that the Lord is with him in his affliction, that the Lord will strengthen and help him through his affliction, and that He provide all his needs.  Has this not indeed been the case in past afflictions you have endured?  And, of course, there is the well-known 23^rd Psalm that assures the Lord’s people of His care, His provision, His restoring mercy, His direction, His presence, and a place in His house.  I was recently at a Catholic funeral for a woman who had died a tragic death.  In his homily the priest pointed the grieving family to the 23^rd Psalm for comfort.  Better comfort he could not have offered.  How all of these passages provide support for souls in affliction, if they will but read them, meditate upon them, and believe them!  If we ask the Lord to let His merciful kindness be for our comfort, we must not neglect the source of comfort from which the Lord lets His merciful kindness flow into our hearts.

It bears noting that the psalmist referred to himself as thy servant, singular.  Although the promises of God are addressed to His people in general, the psalmist read them as being spoken to him in particular.  What a blessing it is to take our Bible in hand as a Book given to us personally by our God, as a personal communication from Him to each of us.

But also note that this merciful kindness is for the comfort of one who is a servant of God, one who has owned the Lord as his master and the Lord's commandments as the rule of his life.  If you are not serving God, you have some changes you need to make if you are going to use a prayer like this.

Now, believer, think of afflictions you have gone through.  Consider how the Lord got you through them and in the end you were the better for having endured them.  If in affliction you learn patience, if you learn to love this world less and to look forward to heaven more, if you learn to trust God more and the creature less, all of this is a tremendous gain.  This makes you more like the Lord Jesus and gives you certain evidence of your eternal salvation.  I cite again a passage used in our previous meditation on Psalm 119:75.

1 Peter 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

In conclusion, I find it interesting that all the rest of the verses in this octave are like this verse in that they are prayers to God beginning with the word let.

I have been sick today.  Thanks be to God for His merciful kindness to me to give me strength sufficient to provide this meditation for your comfort and mine.