Psalm 119 - Samekh: Singular Focus

"Samekh. I hate those who are double-minded,

But I love Your law.

[114] You are my hiding place and my shield;

I wait for Your word.

[115] Depart from me, evildoers,

That I may observe the commandments of my God.

[116] Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live;

And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.

[117] Uphold me that I may be safe,

That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.

[118] You have rejected all those who wander from Your statutes,

For their deceitfulness is useless.

[119] You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross;

Therefore I love Your testimonies.

[120] My flesh trembles for fear of You,

And I am afraid of Your judgments." 

(Psalms 119:113-120)

 

So much distracts within and without:  the double-minded (v. 113), evildoers (v. 115), inner shame (v. 116), inner fear (v. 117), the deceitfulness of those who wander (v. 118).  Yet this recognition leads to both restraint (see Psalm 119:101) and a focus that grows ever stronger.  The Psalmist loves Your law even more (v. 113), takes refuge in You in Your word (v. 114), develops a greater sense of dependency on Your word for very life and living (vv. 116-117).  Finally, he recognized the destiny of the wicked (v. 119) which crystalized his focus by fearing You (v. 120), which is the foundation of all knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10).

 

‘This octave, whose initial letter is Samech, or S, has been compared to Samson at his death, when he took hold of the pillars of the house and pulled it down on the Philistines. Note how the psalmist grips the pillars of divine power with Uphold me and Hold me up, and see how the house falls down in judgment on the unholy. Thou dost cause all the wicked of the earth to come undone like dross. This section carries the war into the enemy’s country and reveals the believer as militant against falsehood and iniquity.’[1]


[1]  Spurgeon, Charles Haddon . The Golden Alphabet (Updated, Annotated): An Exposition of Psalm 119 (pp. 187-188). Aneko Press.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 119:75

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’.   The introduction can be found here , successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)   "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."   In this section, Yodh, the Psalmist seeks comfort (v. 76) and compassion (v. 77) because of Your affliction (v.75) and the subversion of the arrogant (v. 78).   We had just seen in v. 67 and v.71 the good that comes from affliction, and now we see here that this affliction is from You and an expression of Your faithfulness.   Of course this is true, since all good comes from You.   This is part of the ‘exceeding faithfulness’ of Your word (v. 138).   Through affliction we truly seek You (Psalm 78:34, Hosea 5:15).   Through affliction comes praise and satisfac...
Read more

God and His Wisdom: An Introduction to Proverbs

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To  know  wisdom and discipline, To  understand  the sayings of understanding, To  receive  discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity, To  give  prudence to the simple, To the youth knowledge and discretion; Let the wise man  hear  and  increase  in learning, And a man of understanding will  acquire  guidance, To  understand  a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)   “My son, if you will  receive  my words And  treasure  my commandments within you, To  make your ear pay attention  to wisdom, Incline your heart  to discernment; For if you  call out  for understanding, Give your voice  for discernment; If you  ...
Read more

Psalm 119:76

(This is an entry from a devotional commentary I am working on from Psalm 119 entitled ‘God and His Word’.   The introduction can be found here , successive entries have covered the 22 sections of the Psalm, and following entries verse by verse.)   "O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant."   ‘O may Your lovingkindness comfort me’, yet how often I have refused to be comforted (Psalm 77:2).    Why is that?   ‘According to Your word’ is, in my pride, the last thing I want.   I want to be comforted on my terms, not on Yours Lord!   That is not true comfort, yet my flesh deceives me.   As I learned in my early counseling sessions, I had to come to grips with the reality that I just wanted relief, I didn’t want You.   I wanted temporary relief then to go on running my own life.   Your lovingkindness is such that You won’t allow that.   You know that onl...
Read more