Psalm 119:62

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble going back to sleep?  If so, here is a recommendation of something you can try at such a time:

Psalms 119:62  At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

The psalmist being awake at midnight would not only give thanks to God, but he would rise to give thanks.  He would stir himself up to get out of his bed to worship God.  This gives us an insight into how zealous the psalmist was to render to God the thanks that is His due.

But observe why the psalmist would rise to thank God at midnight.  It was because of thy righteous judgments.  In our meditation on verse 20 of this psalm, I wrote the following about God’s righteous judgments:

“God judgments are those decrees that our righteous Judge has laid down in His word for our obedience.  They are also the accounts given in His word of His dealings with the sons of men as the Rewarder of good and the Avenger of evil.  The whole course of His government is wrapped up in those words thy judgments.” 

God’s righteous judgments consist of the commandments He has given to mankind in His law and of His dealings with men based on their obedience or disobedience to that law. 

Like the psalmist, we should continually thank God, even at midnight, for the Holy Scriptures, which contain God’s commandments, and which also contain the record of God’s judgment of men in the past and the prophecy of how He will judge men in the future.  Without God’s judgments expressed in his commandments we would have no sure guide for our conduct.  Without God’s judgments in the affairs of men there would be no restraint of wickedness and no sure reward in doing righteousness.  In giving God thanks because of His righteous judgments we are giving Him thanks that this world is governed by Him, that He is in control.  And well ought believers to give thanks also for God’s righteous judgment meted out on His Son Jesus Christ our Lord as He bore their judgment for sin that they might be judged “holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight” at the last day (Colossians 1:21-22).

Now observe that the psalmist thanked God at midnight for His righteous judgments.  Anything the Lord commands of us is right.  Any judgment He passes upon any man is right.  Unlike ourselves, the Lord never errs in judgment.  It is as David wrote in Psalm 9:4:  “thou satest in the throne judging right.”

This week is the week of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.A.  May I suggest that as you consider the things for which you should be thankful, you make God’s judgments a priority item for giving thanks to the good Lord.  But do no take from this that today’s verse requires you to hold your Thanksgiving celebration with the turkey and dressing at midnight. 

Psalm 119:61

Today’s verse taken from Psalm 119 sets forth what should be our set of values.

Psalms 119:61  The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law.

The bands of the wicked had robbed the psalmist.  Let’s understand precisely what it is to be robbed.

Rob – To deprive (a person) of something by unlawful force or the exercise of superior power; to despoil by violence.

Notice that it is the wicked who rob others.  To rob another is to break the holy commandment “thou shalt not steal” and thus to commit wickedness.  Now it was the bands of wicked people that robbed the psalmist.  But what does he mean by bands?

Band – An organized company; a troop.  Said of armed men, also of robbers, assassins, etc.

A band of robbers is a group of thieves organized to carry out a robbery.  They could be a group of punks in the neighbourhood who get together and plan a theft, or they could be a highly organized crime syndicate like the Mafia.  Or they could be a band of political leaders who pass laws that amount to no more than legalized theft, depriving the rightful owners of their property to give it to those who otherwise have no right to it.  In this case the superior power of the state is exercised to deprive a person of something.  This particular form of robbery is called extortion. 

Extort – To obtain from a reluctant person by violence, torture, intimidation, or abuse of legal or official authority, or (in weaker sense) by importunity, overwhelming arguments, or any powerful influence.

Scripture speaks of princes (rulers), who commit robbery.

Isaiah 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Ezekiel 22:27  Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

But notice that although the psalmist had been robbed, he still retained his most valued possession, the knowledge of the law of God:  but I have not forgotten thy law.  Later in Psalm 119 the psalmist expresses that he esteemed the law of God above the most valuable material possessions that one might have and that thieves might steal.

Psalms 119:72  The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Psalms 119:127  Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. 

How one responds to being robbed tells something about his set of values.  The psalmist did not let any grief he felt over being robbed drive the knowledge of God’s law out of his memory.  He held onto what he knew from his Bible.  Commenting on this verse Matthew Henry wrote:  “No care nor grief should drive God’s word out of our minds, or hinder our comfortable relish of it and converse with it.”

Have you ever been robbed?  Has your house ever been broken into and your possessions stolen? Mine once was.  Do you feel robbed when you have to pay heavy taxes to support a bureaucratic, socialistic, welfare state?  While any of us would lament being robbed by bands of wicked men, we ought not to settle into bitterness and despair.  If we know and remember God’s law and value that above all earthly possessions, we may still count ourselves rich.  Today’s verse fits well with the instructions of our Lord Jesus:

Matthew 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

God’s law is an ever-enduring heavenly treasure that no thief can steal.

Psalms 119:89  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

For the apostle Paul, anything else he might have possessed was counted but dung in comparison with his knowledge of the Lord, which knowledge is gained from His law (Philippians 3:8).  How much do you value knowing God’s law?  

Psalm 119:60

We continue to make our way through this rich psalm that extols the word of the living God.   We are currently dealing with the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Cheth.

Psalms 119:60  I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.

Keeping God’s commandments is the most important thing you will ever do in your life.  It is your whole duty, the purpose for which God has made you and redeemed you.

Ecclesiastes 12:13  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Titus 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Christ gave Himself to make you “zealous of good works.”  Good works may be simply defined as doing whatever God has commanded you to do. 

Since keeping God’s commandments is the single most important thing any of us can do and answers to God’s purpose for our lives, then it follows that this should receive our utmost and immediate attention.  The psalmist sets forward his zeal both positively and negatively.  Positively, he made haste to keep God’s commandments.  Negatively, he delayed not to keep God’s commandments.  The time to keep God’s commandments is now, not later!  We are not being “zealous of good works” if we procrastinate obedience to our Lord.  English author and historian Northcote Parkinson, author of Parkinson’s Law and Other Studies in Administration cited this as his fourth law:  “Delay is the deadliest form of denial.”  Nowhere is that more true than in the realm of religion.  People do not procrastinate things that they care passionately about.  Delay is a sure sign of indecisiveness, or indifference, or worse, rebellion.  And indecisiveness, indifference, and rebellion are all deadly to our Christian profession.

Now link today’s verse with the following verses all of which underscore the importance of not putting off obedience to the Lord.

Genesis 19:15  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Proverbs 3:27  Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

28  Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

Acts 22:16  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Hebrews 3:7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Hebrews 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

2 Corinthians 6:1  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Zacchaeus is a good example of one who made haste to keep the Lord’s commandment.

Luke 19:5  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

6  And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.  

What might Zacchaeus have missed had he delayed keeping the commandment of Christ?   

So if today you are convicted by some commandment of God you need to obey, the time to yield that obedience is today, right now!  Is there something you need to make right with the Lord?  Is there something you need to make right with a neighbour, a co-worker, a family member, or a fellow church member?  If so, then now is the time to make it right.  If you delay, you may not have another opportunity.  Hear the words of our Lord:

John 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Psalm 119:59

As I take up the next verse of Psalm 119, I direct your thoughts to what you think.  Think about what you think about. 

Psalms 119:59  I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

The psalmist turned his thoughts onto his ways and well ought we to do the same.  Stop and take account of your ways, the way you think, the way you feel, the way you act, the way you worship, the way you pray, the way your spend your time, the way you spend your money, the way you relate to others, to name some of your ways.  Only by thinking on our ways will we discover if we need to redirect any of them.  Of course, the adversary would like nothing more than for us to be so caught up in the rush of living and doing that we take no time to reflect on how we are living or on what we are doing. 

Now when the psalmist turned his thoughts onto his ways, it prompted him to turn his feet unto God’s testimonies.  What began with thought ended in action.  Charles Spurgeon wrote:  “Consideration is the commencement of conversion:   first we think and then we turn.”  That this is so may be seen from the following passages:

1 Kings 8:46  If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

47  Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

48  And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

49  Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

50  And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

Lamentations 3:40  Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.

Ezekiel 18:27  Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

28  Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

God has forgiveness and healing for those who think on their ways and so turn away from their sins and unto His testimonies.  And when we turn our feet to God’s testimonies we are turning to the Lord since the Lord reveals Himself to us in those testimonies and relates to us through them.    

But it bears emphasizing that the psalmist turned his feet unto God’s testimonies.  It is not enough just to hear about God’s testimonies or to think about them or to talk of them, one must put them into practice.  As is sometimes said, we must walk the walk. 

Psalms 119:1  Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

1 John 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

The prodigal son is a perfect example of one who thought on his ways and then turned his feet in the right direction.

Luke 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

When the prodigal son “came to himself,” he was thinking on his ways.  He considered the direction his life had taken and what it was costing him.  It was then he resolved to return to his father.  As the story goes, in returning to his father he was met with ready forgiveness and restoration.  Of course, this is an example for the sons of God to think on their ways, to come to themselves, and return to their Father when they have gone astray.  It is interesting that in order to come to the Lord, we need to first come to ourselves. Think of when you first turned to the Lord.  Didn't that happen as a result of taking stock of something in yourself and your life?  You thought on your ways and turned to the Lord.

So let me urge all of you to step aside from the rush of life and think on your ways.  Come to yourself, reflect on your life and its direction, and then turn unto the Lord and His testimonies, which are there to guide you in the right way. 

Haggai 1:5  Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

Psalm 119:58

We come to the next verse in the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Cheth.

Psalms 119:58  I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.

Here we find the psalmist intreating the Lord.  To intreat is to ask, such as we do when we pray for something.  In analyzing this verse, I am going to adopt the method used by Matthew Henry as he commented on it.  Mr. Henry broke this verse down into three parts:  what the psalmist prayed for, how he prayed, and what he pleaded as he prayed. 

First, consider what the psalmist prayed for.  He asked for God’s favour and mercy:  I intreated thy favour…be merciful unto me.  Now the primary meaning of the word grace is favour.  Therefore, the psalmist is asking for God’s grace and mercy.  When God deals with us in grace, He gives us what we do not deserve.  He is doing us a favour.  Grace has been rightly defined as unmerited favour.  When God deals with us in mercy, He does not give us what we do deserve.  In asking for grace and mercy we ask God to grant us kindness, compassion, and blessing instead of the severity and wrath that we deserve.  Mercy takes away what we deserve and grace gives us what we don’t deserve.  And, thank God, there is grace and mercy available to us for the asking at the throne of grace.

Hebrews 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

God’s mercy removes our many and varied transgressions, and with them He removes His anger. 

Psalms 51:1  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

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.

God’s grace, His favour, provides us with help and strength for whatever we must deal with in life. 

 2 Timothy 2:1  Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

 Now this fleeting life down here is never going to be a paradise. 

Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

In this life you will have your share of personal failures, grief, and pain.  But with mercy to take care of your failures and with grace to strengthen and help you to cope with whatever life throws your way, your greatest needs are provided.  What better could you ask for?

Second, mark how the psalmist asks for favour and mercy.  He does so with his whole heart.  This is no rote, halfhearted prayer.  The psalmist prays for this from the depth of his being, meaning what he says.  It is as if he is asking for his life, which in reality he is when you consider this verse:

Psalms 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life….

What would the life of any of us be without the grace of God?  Life without God’s grace is living death!

Lastly, consider the psalmist’s plea as he presents his request:  be merciful unto me according to thy word.  The psalmist does not plead his own merit or goodness as a reason for God to be merciful to him.  Rather he pleads God’s word of promise:  according to thy word.  And God has promised His mercy to His people in His word.

Isaiah 55:6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Acts 13:34  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

Hebrews 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

May this meditation prompt all of us to come often to the throne of grace to draw down the mercy and grace that is promised to us, who believe on our Lord Jesus Christ unto life everlasting.