On one occasion, a man told Mark Twain, “I wish I had never read Huckleberry Finn.” Twain, the author of the famous novel, frowned and asked the reason for such a remark. “So that I could have the pleasure again of reading it for the first time,” came the reply.
This compliment to Twain’s American classic reminds us why the Bible is better and greater than any other book. Every time you read scripture, it is like reading it for the first time. The word of God is pregnant with truth to be discovered. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Bible is the living word of God.
- It is inspired.
- It is inerrant.
- It is necessary.
- It is clear.
- It is infallible.
- It is sufficient.
In this 17th stanza of Psalm 119, the psalmist declares another truth about scripture. The word of God is wonderful. William MacDonald wrote, “God’s word is wonderful in its timelessness, its accuracy, its harmony, its universal relevance, its power and its sufficiency. Such a book deserves to be read and heeded.”
Psalm 119 celebrates the wonder of the word. The structure highlights the message. The twenty-two sections of the psalm are acrostic, consisting of each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Verses 129-136 is the Pesection. Each of these eight verses begins with a different word that starts with the Hebrew letter Pe. In these verses, the psalmist continues to suffer oppression. But the wonder of the word took his mind off the troubles of life. This can be your testimony. You can move beyond the worries of life by the wonder of the word. Why should you embrace God’s wonderful word?
God’s Word Will Renew Your Mind.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Every Christian falls into one of these two categories.
- You are conformed to this world.
- Or you are transformed by God’s word.
What is the difference between the two? A renewed mind is filled with reverence, openness, and longing for the word of God.
Reverence. Psalm 119:18 prays, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Verse 27 prays, “Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.” Verse 129 praises, “Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.” My father would say to me, “Son, there is enough you do not know to start a whole new world.” This is true of all people at all times in all circumstances. This is not the prevailing notion of our day and time. We foolishly think we know it all. But to learn the word of God is to be confronted by how much we do not know. Deep doctrine invokes high praise. The nature, content, and effects of the word of God should fill us with awe and amazement.
Verse 129 moves from wonder to work. After declaring the word to be wonderful, the psalmist concludes: “Therefore my soul keeps them.” Reverence for God’s word is obedience. To embrace God’s word is to do more than affirm, respect, or celebrate it. It is to submit to its authority and obey its commands. Luke 6:46 says, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” Our souls should keep God’s word. Obedience is practical. The practical can become mechanical. We can know God with our heads and serve God with our hands, without worshiping God with our hearts. God’s wonderful word deserves our whole souls.
Openness. The world is dark. Our way is blackened, our vision is blurred, our hearts are blinded by sin. John 3:19 says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” Only the word of God can turn on the lights. Verse 130 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” The Hebrew word translated as “unfolding” is only used here in the Old Testament. It is closely connected to the Hebrew word for door or opening. For this reason, the KJV and NKJV translate it “entrance.” In the ancient Near East, homes typically did not have windows. The only light was that which shone through the doorway. Many houses were built facing east, so the rising sun would shine its light through the door.
The unfolding of God’s word gives light to individuals, families, churches, cities, and nations. It imparts understanding to the simple. The “simple” are those who lack guidance. But the word of God can make the simple wise. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their cases the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Satan blinds the sophisticated. But if you are teachable, God’s word will show you the light of Christ.
Longing. Verse 131 says, “I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments.” Imagine an animal on the run from a hunter or predator. The animal has become exhausted by the relentless chase. Hungry, thirsty, and weary, the animal opens its mouth and pants with longing for nourishment and refreshment. This was the attitude of the psalmist toward the word of God. His pursuit of the truth had left him out of breath. He panted in exhaustion. Yet he opened his mouth in expectation. Spiritual indifference reveals spiritual ignorance. If you do not long for God’s word, it is because you have not tasted how wonderful it is.
Warren Wiersbe wrote: “As a suffocating person pants for air or a thirsty person for water, so the child of God pants for the word of God, and nothing else will satisfy.” How is your appetite for God’s word? Psalm 81:10 says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
- Closed mouths do not get fed.
- Come with a good attitude and appetite.
- God will fill those who open their mouths wide.
Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
God’s Word will Change Your Ways.
In verses 129-131, the psalmist testifies to the sufficiency of God’s word to produce true and lasting change. In verses 132-135, he prays that God would so work to change his life through the word.
Pray for Gracious Intervention. Verse 132 says, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.”There are two prayer requests in this verse. First, the psalmist prays, “Turn to me.” Older translations read, “Look to me.” The original is more emphatic: “Turn to me.” The psalmist wrestled with a sense of divine abandonment. He felt God had turned his back on him. In his desperation, he needed more than a glance from God. He needed God’s full attention.
The psalmist prayed, “Turn to me and be gracious to me.” This is one of many times the psalmist prays for grace in this psalm. The reader may grow weary of this redundant request. But the heavenly Father never tires of his children’s plea for grace. The petition for grace is a confession of unworthiness. The psalmist prayed for divine intervention. As he prayed, he acknowledged that he did not deserve what he requested. God had not turned his back on him. But God had every right and reason to do so. Yet he prayed, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.” The psalmist prayed for intervention by appealing to God’s character. It’s God’s way to intervene for those who love God’s name. To love God’s name is to love God. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Pray for Sanctifying Power. Verse 133 says, “Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.” The double-request in this verse represents the positive and negative sides of holiness. Positively, the psalmist prays, “Keep steady my steps according to your promise.” The KJV says, “Order my steps.”But this is more than a prayer for direction. The psalmist prayed that the Lord would guide and guard him. He asks the Lord to show him the way and watch over him as he walks in the truth. Galatians 5:16-17 says, “But I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Negatively, the psalmist prays, “Let no iniquity have dominion over me.” “Iniquity” is a synonym for sin, which means to be bent or twisted. It is the moral perversion that makes us prone to sin. The psalmist confesses that if the Lord does not keep his steps steady, iniquity will take dominion over him. This is warfare terminology. It is to subdue and rule over. Do not play with sin. Sin is not playing with you. It is at war against us. The world and the devil are enemies of the soul. But neither attacks us more severely than unchecked and unrepentant sin. Without God’s help, sin gets dominion over us.
Pray for Mighty Deliverance. Verse 134 says, “Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.” In verses 121-122 of the previous stanza, the psalmist discusses the oppression he faced. We now see that things have not changed. Men continue to oppress him. But it did not change his devotion to God’s word. The psalmist responded to man’s oppression with believing prayer: “Redeem me from my oppressors.” “Redeem” means to set free by the payment of a ramson price. In the New Testament, it is a synonym for salvation. God has set us free through the finished work of Christ. Jesus died on the cross to redeem us from the bondage of sin.
In verse 24, the psalmist is not asking for redemption from sinful guilt. He is asking for deliverance from spiritual oppression. He is asking God to pay the price to set him free from those who oppress him. Why?“That I may keep your precepts.” The common petition has an uncommon purpose. He was not motivated to plead for redemption to have his enemies off his back. Whatever his circumstances, they prevented him from keeping his precepts. He is not merely concerned about what people were saying or doing. He asks God to rescue him from anything that hinders him from keeping God’s word.
Pray for Divine Favor. Verse 135 says, “Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.” Numbers 6:24-26 says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” In our text, the psalmist personalizes Aaron’s Blessing, praying, “Making your face shine upon your servant.” It is a prayer for divine favor. When God’s favor smiles on you, God’s face shines on you. Calling himself “your servant,” he acknowledges that the Lord does not owe him anything. He is the Master. We are his servants. Oppressors may bind or burden you. It does not matter if God’s face shines on you.
In verse 135, the psalmist always prays, “Teach me your statutes.” It is the ninth time he makes this request in Psalm 119. The word of God teaches us. But the psalmist prayed for God to teach him the word. This prayer request reveals the nature of scripture. The Bible is not man’s word about God. It is God’s word to man. Scripture is divine revelation. As you hear, read, and study it, God himself teaches you. The psalmist prayed that God would make his face shine on him and teach him his statutes. He wanted divine favor for divine revelation.
- Do you ask God to teach you to bless you?
- Or do you ask God to bless you to teach you?
God’s Word Will Break Your Heart.
Verse 136 says, “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.” In verse 29, his soul keeps God’s testimonies. In verse 133, he asks God to keep his steps steady according to the word. Now the psalmist laments that people do not keep God’s law.
As one devoted to the word of God, the psalmist was troubled by those who did not keep God’s word. His concern is often conveyed with righteous indignation. Verse 53 says, “Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.” He even had a holy hatred for those who did not keep God’s word. Verse 113 says, “I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.” But in the closing verse of this stanza, the psalmist expresses godly sorrow over spiritual rebellion. Disregard and disobedience cause his “eyes to shed streams of tears.” The psalmist was so grieved by those who did not keep the law that the banks of his soul overflowed. His eyes became a flowing river of tears.
Sorrow is the godly response to the spiritual rebellion. Jeremiah is called “The Weeping Prophet” because his heart was broken over the stubborn sin of God’s people. Matthew 23:37 says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophet, and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” This should be our attitude. Matthew Henry wrote, “The sins of the sinners are the sorrows of the saints.” There is a blessing for the broken-hearted. Psalm 126:5-6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”