Psalm 119 - Yodh: Godly Comfort and Companionship

"Yodh. Your hands made me and fashioned me;

Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

[74] May those who fear You see me and be glad,

Because I wait for Your word.

[75] I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,

And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

[76] O may Your lovingkindness comfort me,

According to Your word to Your servant.

[77] May Your compassion come to me that I may live,

For Your law is my delight.

[78] May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie;

But I shall meditate on Your precepts.

[79] May those who fear You turn to me,

Even those who know Your testimonies.

[80] May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,

So that I will not be ashamed." 

(Psalm 119:73-80)

 

What precious words of comfort and companionship!  We see Your nearness in fashioning me (v. 73) and my circumstances (v. 75).  You comfort me with Your word (vv. 76-77) and protect me from the influence of the arrogant (v. 78).  You provide priceless companions through the work of Your word (vv. 74, 79).  In all of this, may I continue to be blameless in Your statutes that I might receive its benefits (v. 80).

 

‘We have now come to the tenth portion, which in each stanza begins with Jod, but it certainly does not treat of jots and titles and other trifles. Its subject would seem to be personal experience and its attractive influence upon others. The prophet is in deep sorrow, but looks to be delivered and made a blessing.  Endeavouring to teach, the Psalmist first seeks to be taught (Psa 119:73), persuades himself that he will be well received (Psa 119:74), and rehearses the testimony which he intends to bear (Psa 119:75). He prays for more experience (Psa 119:76, Psa 119:77), for the baffling of the proud (Psa 119:78), for the gathering together of the godly to him (Psa 119:79), and for himself again that he may be fully equipped for his witness-bearing and may be sustained in it (Psa 119:80). This is the anxious yet hopeful cry of one who is heavily afflicted by cruel adversaries, and therefore makes his appeal to God as his only friend.’[1]


[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119 - Yodh, e-Sword edition

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