In His Grip

(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.)   "Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your law.”   Something inferior must be removed and replaced with something superior.   Father, You are about our maximum joy, and so You direct us away from that which will destroy and discourage to the invaluable riches of Your word (Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 8:11).   We see this expulsive power in Psalm 119:104, Psalm 119:128.   Thomas Chalmers wrote of it in ‘ The Expulsive Power of a New Affection’ , .   Having experienced the Lord (Psalm 34:8), nothing less will do.   Yet, knowing this and even experiencing this, the sin in our hearts is often drawn elsewhere.   So the Psalmist prays in desperation for God to take that away!   He knows t

(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.)   “My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word."   Grief over what?   I believe the false way of Psalm 119:29 and its consequences.   It is a ‘deep weeping’ of the soul, and follows the cleaving of the soul to dust in Psalm 119:25.   I need strength to overcome the guilt and weakness, the natural consequence of sin, and that strength can only come from the food of Your word.   ‘Strengthen’ is the Hebrew קוּם , qûm: A verb meaning to arise, to stand, to stand up; to establish or strengthen (Psa 119:28).   ‘There is one good point in this downcast state, for it is better to be melted with grief than to be hardened by impenitence.   [See Proverbs 28:14]… In that prayer let us plead nothing b

(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.)   "Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.”   I am intrigued by this verse.   First, because it is intensely practical, asking You to show me ‘how do I do this?’   Second, because it anticipates wondrous works accomplished by Your word in me that I can look forward to meditating on.   ‘Way’ is the Hebrew דֶּרֶךּ , Derek: A masculine noun meaning path, journey, way.   I think immediately of Job 23:10: "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’   May I understand my way, even while knowing that I can’t fully understand it, Proverbs 20:24.   These are the 3 verses in the Scripture with both ‘understand’ and ‘way’ (Psal

(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 have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes."     I see John 15:7 in this verse.   Why? While the Psalmist cries out for help, that help comes in the form of Your word.   I believe that, while it is a wondrous, unspeakable thing that we can come to You in prayer (Psalm 65:2, Psalm 62:8, Hebrews 4:16), it is infinitely more important that we hear from You than that You hear from us.   For You to reprove and direct me away from my own heart to Yours (Proverbs 28:26) is necessary, for only You can show me the path of life (Psalm 16:11), for my ways apart from You can only end in darkness and death (Proverbs 4:19-20, Proverbs 14:12).   Reflecting on the word ‘way’,

(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.)   "Daleth. My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word."   While he ‘cleaves’ to the dust now, he would soon ‘cling’ to Your testimonies (v. 31).   Both of these words are the Hebrew ‘ דָּבַק , dāḇaq: A verb meaning to cling to, join with, stay with. It is used of something sticking to or clinging to something else (Eze 29:4); it describes Ezekiel's tongue clinging to the roof of his mouth (Eze 3:26). It is used figuratively or symbolically of a man cleaving or clinging to his wife (Gen 2:24) or of evil deeds clinging to a person (Psa 101:3). It depicts leprosy clinging to a person, not going away and persisting (2Ki 5:27), as well as famine (Deu 28:21; Jer 13:11; Jer

(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.)   "Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors."   Because the Psalmist was a stranger in the earth (v.19), crushed with longing after Your word (v.20), surrounded by arrogant men who reproached him (v.22), reviled by powerful men (v.23), he sought delight elsewhere.   He sought it in Your word.    Note the contrast in the Psalms with self-counsel (Psalm 13:2) leading to despair within (Psalm 42:5-6, Psalm 42:11, Psalm 43:5), which must be rejected along with the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1:1).   How wonderful it is to know that You are near in Your word (Psalm 119:151) and that You counsel me intimately and personally (Psalm 32:8), so of course Your word would be my const

(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.)   "Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes."   It is good not to care what people think.   When one knows You, one tends not to be intimidated.   The fear of man truly is a snare (Proverbs 29:25), man apart from You should not be regarded (Isaiah 2:22) and are like the animals that perish (Psalm 49:20).   All the powers of the earth are counted as less than nothing to You (Isaiah 40:17).   It is good to realize this as I come into Your presence!   Loving the approval of men over Your approval is deadly, eternally so (John 12:42-43, Romans 1:32).   It is surely right to obey You rather than men (Acts 4:19-20), and if I were to be a man pleaser, I co

(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.)   "Take away reproach and contempt from me, For I observe Your testimonies."     The Psalmist asks for reproach (i.e. scorn) and contempt (i.e. disrespect) to be removed. Why?   Because he observes (obeys continually) Your testimonies.   As such, he invites neither man’s disrespect nor Your disapproval.   If he has the former, the latter will sustain him, and if he has the approval of men, he knows it is but fleeting and Your approval will be his foundation.   Still, the Psalmist dreads reproach and turns to Your word (Psalm 119:39).   He knows that the contempt of men comes only from those who are contemptible to You (Psalm 123:3-4).    He knows the security of his position and the doom that a

(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.)   "You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, Who wander from Your commandments."   Wandering is far from innocuous, it is dangerous.   It ignores the realities of this life and the next.   It assumes that the default is good and man’s heart is naturally good.   Yet, so many seem so inoculated to the danger.   In what way do You rebuke them?    To wander is to be arrogant and cursed.   Proverbs 1:32-33, Psalm 73:18 open our eyes to the reality.   ‘Prone to wander, Lord I feel it’ (from the hymn ‘Come Thou Fount’).   The Psalmist ends Psalm 119 with this concern: ‘"I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments."   (Psalms 119:176).   You mercifully answer this

(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.)   “My soul is crushed with longing After Your ordinances at all times."   ‘Is ‘crushed with longing’ a sustainable state?   Certainly the goal is unsurpassed.   ‘Crushed’ is the Hebrew גָּרַס , gāras: A verb meaning to be broken, crushed, to waste away.   ‘Longing’ is the Hebrew תַּאֲבָה , ta’aḇāh: A feminine noun indicating a longing, a desire.   These words normally indicate a severe lack of health, yet is it not healthy to have no greater desire than this?     ‘Longing [see also Psalm 119:174] states the bias of mind in or at which the soul feels itself thus overpowered even to being crushed: it is crushing from longing after God's judgment, viz., after a more and more thorough kno