Psalm 119:74

(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.)

 

"May those who fear You see me and be glad,

Because I wait for Your word."

 

Because I am so wonderful?  Surely not.  I have no good besides You (Psalm 16:2).  Those who fear You want more of You, and recognize that comes primarily from Your word, and secondarily the work of the word in others for our mutual benefit (e.g. see Colossians 3:16).  We see a parallel with Psalm 119:79, where those who fear You turn to me.  Why gladness?  ‘Glad’ is the Hebrew ‘שָׂמַח, śāmaḥ: A verb meaning to rejoice; to be joyful, to be glad; to gloat. It describes a state and agitation of rejoicing, of being happy.  This is the only occurrence of the word in Psalm 119.  See also the example of David in 2 Chronicles 15:9.  Those who fear You are glad because I wait for Your word.  May I always have an apt word from Your word for others that they look forward to and even depend upon.  What a joy to be used in this way, to draw deeper for Your word both for my benefit and overflowing to the benefit of others.  See Ezra 7:10, Proverbs 10:21, Proverbs 12:26, Isaiah 50:4.  The beauty is that I lead by example; an excellent teacher must be a devoted learner.  Praise You, Father!  I have beloved friends that I can depend on, and, by Your grace, can depend on me.

 

‘When a man of God obtains grace for himself he becomes a blessing to others, especially if that grace has made him a man of sound understanding and holy knowledge. God-fearing men are encouraged when they meet with experienced believers… It is good for the eyes to see a man whose witness is that the Lord is true; it is one of the joys of saints to hold converse with their more advanced brethren… We do not only meet to share each others' burdens, but to partake in each others' joys, and some men contribute largely to the stock of mutual gladness. Hopeful men bring gladness with them. Despondent spirits spread the infection of depression, and hence few are glad to see them, while those whose hopes are grounded upon God's word carry sunshine in their faces, and are welcomed by their fellows.’[1]


[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon, Treasury of David, on Psalm 119:74, e-Sword edition


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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  seek  her as silver And  search  for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of Yahweh And find the knowledge of God
Read more

Friendship with the World

"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ( - Jesus, Luke 7:34 NASB) 'You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.' (James 4:4 NASB) 'It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.' ( - the Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 1:15 NASB) Was Jesus, in fact, a friend of sinners? What is to be the nature of our relationships as believers with unbelievers? As believers, should we refer to ourselves as ‘sinners’? As I've reflected on much of the teaching I've heard in recent times, as well as many conversations I've had, it seems to me much confusion abounds regarding these questions.  I hear the term 'contextualization'
Read more

The Cost of Christlikeness

Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75 NASB) In my previous blog entry I spoke from Romans 8:28-30 on how God works all things for His children to become like Jesus in their character. As I thought about this, it seems to me that two questions or issues immediately arise from this assertion: What about those who do not ‘love God’ and are not ‘called according to His purpose’? (from Romans 8:28) What will it cost me to fully participate in God’s purpose for my life? In short, I believe the common answer for both is joyfully submitting to God’s Lordship in their lives, that is, His absolute control over all things. Let me explain: For the unbeliever, we see God’s goodness to all people in creation (Acts 14:17), and that He has orchestrated all things so that people would
Read more