Psalm 119:44

(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.)

 

"So I will keep Your law continually,

Forever and ever."

 

Who can make such an insane statement?  A wish maybe, but a promise?  Lord, how could I fulfill it?  Knowing the truth of Psalm 119:1-2, I want to walk in Your ways always, to seek You with all my heart.  How?  The key may be in the word ‘continually’, which is the Hebrew תָּמִיד, tāmiyḏ: A masculine noun meaning continuity…In another light, the psalmist referred to God as One he could continually turn to in times of need (Psa 71:3).  I see this as something of consistency, a pattern.  My mind goes right to Proverbs 4:18-19 - that our pattern is in the upward and forward direction.  Other references in the Psalms include Psalm 34:1, and in Psalm 119 we see it in Psalm 119:109 and Psalm 119:117. 

 

‘Not only does the Lord's faithfulness open our mouths against his adversaries, but it also knits our hearts to his fear, and makes our union with him more and more intense. Great mercies lead us to feel an inexpressible gratitude which, failing to utter itself in time, promises to engross eternity with praises…God's grace alone can enable us to keep his commandments without break and without end; eternal love must grant us eternal life, and out of this will come everlasting obedience… Undoubtedly the grace which enables us to bear witness with the mouth is a great help to ourselves as well as to others: we feel that the vows of the Lord are upon us, and that we cannot run back.’[1]

 


[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:44, e-Sword edition


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