In the opening verse of this section, the psalmist feels the rain and sees the sunshine. Verse 161 says, “Princes persecute me without cause.” The psalmist had enemies in high places. Verse 23 says, “Princes sit plotting against me.” Princes have now gone from plotting to persecuting. This statement suggests the psalmist was royalty. But he could have been any believer whose devotion to God’s word threatened the powers that be. And they persecuted him without cause. 

John 15:25 says, “But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” Jesus suffered persecution without a cause. Many other faithful men have experienced unjust persecution through the centuries, including the author of this psalm. This section asserts the fact that it may happen to you. It also teaches how you should respond. 

Verse 161 is the first time the psalmist mentions persecution. It is the last. And there are no prayer requests in this stanza. His trials and troubles had not ended. But the psalmist shifts his focus away from them. 

• There comes a time in life when you must let things go. 
• You must stop allowing your situation to define, direct, and dictate your life. 
• You must move on with your life, trusting your change will come in God’s perfect timing. 

What should you do in the meantime? Verse 161 answers: “Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.” Some warn against Bibliolatry – the worship of the Bible. Who do you know whose regard for scripture is too high? The word of God is the word of God. Reverence for the word of God expresses reverence for the God of the word. Reverence for scripture produces stability in life. Because the psalmist stood in awe of God’s word, he did not worry about the princes who persecuted him without cause. 

What does it mean to stand in awe of God’s word?

Godly Convictions

What is conviction? It is not so much a thought that you possess as it is a thought that possesses you. This is what happens to one whose heart stands in awe of the word. God’s word causes you to enjoy the treasure of God’s word and embrace the truth of God’s word. 

Enjoy the Treasure of God’s word. The psalmist’s awe for God’s word was not slavish or paralyzing fear. It was awe mingled with joy. Verse 162 says, “I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.” Picture a soldier in battle. He has defeated the enemy. In surveying the conquered land, he discovers a treasure. And he rejoices over the spoils he has found. This is what happens when the word of God shapes your convictions. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 

You win the battle for the mind through the power of God’s word. It will change your value system. And you will rejoice like one who has found a great treasure. Matthew 13:44 says: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” If you do not rejoice over the word of God as one who finds a great spoil, it may be evidence you are not a citizen of the kingdom of God. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The promises of God in the Bible are better than money in the bank, because they will never lose their value, and nobody can take them from us.”

• Do you rejoice in the word? 
• Is the word of God a treasure to you? 
• Do you find joy in the word of God?  

Embrace the Truth of God’s Word. Matthew Henry wrote: “Love and hatred are the leading affections of the soul; if those be fixed aright, the rest move accordingly.” This was the experience of the psalmist. Verse 163 says: “I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.” The psalmist was the victim of malicious and slanderous lies. But it was not those falsehoods that concerned the psalmist. His righteous indignation was aroused by falsehood – errors in faith, doctrine, and practice. The psalmist refused to compromise biblical truth for the deceitful lies of human wisdom. He did not just hate falsehood. He hated and abhorred falsehoods. He had an intense aversion to any that did not line up with the word of God. 

• Verse 97 says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
• Verse 113 says, “I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.”
• Verse 163 says, “I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.”

This is how reverence for the word of God shapes your convictions. You love what God loves and hate what God hates. We need strong convictions that produce holy boldness to stand for truth. May the Lord give us a high view of the word so that we may declare and defend the courage of our convictions in this sin-loving, God-hating, truth-denying, family-destroying, perversion-exalting culture. 

Godly Character

 If you stand in awe of God’s word, it changes the kind of person you are. It will nurture within you a godly character that is marked by sincere worship and a steadfast walk. 

A Sincere Worship. Verse 164 says, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.” The psalmist praised at the right time and for the right reason. When did the psalmist praise God? Answer: “seven times a day.” Some find it hard to find time to offer praise. The psalmist praised God seven times a day. The Jews subscribed to prayer times in the morning, afternoon, and evening. If this statement refers to that custom, the psalmist praised God beyond what was expected. Seven denotes completion or perfection. If the statement is understood in this light, the psalmist’s whole day was characterized by praise.

Throughout the day, he took every opportunity to praise God. Herbert Lockyer comments, “Whenever a scripture gripped his soul, a song leaped from his lips.” Why did the psalmist praise God seven times a day? He answers, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.” Note the natural and unbreakable connection of the word and worship. 

• Verse 7 says, “I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.”
• Verse 171 says, “My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.”
• Verse 164 says, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.”

 He praised God because of the word. It was not just when the word promised or fulfilled blessings in his life. He offers praise for the fact that the word of God is always right. 

A Steadfast Walk. In verse 163, the psalmist states that he loves truth and hates falsehood. Verse 165 states the result of this love that hates: “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” Those who love God’s word will walk in peace. This is the only place in Psalm 119 where this Hebrew word for peace is used. It is spiritual wealth, wholeness, and well-being. A.T. Pierson wrote: “The peace of God is that eternal calm which lies far too deep in the praying, trusting soul to be reached by external disturbances.” This is what God does for those who love his word. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Verse 165 says, “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” This is not a reference to sinless perfection. It refers to a steady walk of consistent obedience. We live in a slippery world. Our enemy seeks to trip us up. We are prone to slip and fall along the way. The Hebrew word for stumble speaks of more than a momentary slip or a temporary fall. It is to fall into a situation where you cannot get yourself up and out. But love for the word of God will steady your walk so that temptation will not trip you up. Jude 24 says, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

Godly Conduct 

Billy Graham said: “Faith that saves has one distinguishing quality: saving faith is a faith that produces obedience. It is faith that brings about a way of life.” Verses 166-168 give us three ways reverence for God’s word shapes your conduct. 

Confident Hope. Verse 166 says, “I hope for your salvation.” The psalmist needed to be saved from his great affliction, chronic suffering, and unjust persecution. Yet he does not ask God to save him. He testifies, “I hope for your salvation.”

• Hope is not wishful thinking. 
• Hope is confident assurance.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”The psalmist had hope that God would save him. How much more should we hope in the salvation of God? Titus 2:13 exhorts us to be “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” 

Do you have this hope in God? There is a practical test you can take to find out. Verse 166 says, “I hope for your salvation; O Lord; and I do your commandments.” Hope in God is not evidenced by what you say as much as by what you do. Those who hope in God obey his commands. 1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 

Exceeding Love. Verse 167 says, “My soul keeps your testimonies.” What does the psalmist mean when he says that his soul keeps God’s testimonies? This is a statement about the nature and manner of obedience. His obedience was not some hypocritical legalism in which external conduct did not line up with internal devotion. He was a sincere man whose obedience was the expression of his soul’s devotion to God’s word. Verse 167 says, “My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.” The psalmist was able to practice soul-deep obedience to the word of God rather than superficial compliance to it because he loved the word of God. He loved God’s word exceedingly. 

• The word was his supreme priority. 
• The word was his surpassing passion. 
• The word was his superlative delight. 

W. Graham Scroggie comments: “He who keeps God’s law will love it, and then he will love to keep it.” It is the Lord’s will for this to be the testimony of every true believer. John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Divine Accountability. This stanza ends in verse 168 with one more statement of obedience to the word of God: “I keep your precepts and testimonies.” The psalmist was determined to obey the word of God comprehensively without neglecting any part of it. He was so motivated to obey God’s word so comprehensively because he recognized that he lived under the scrutiny of divine accountability. Verse 168 says, “I keep your precepts and testimonies, for all my ways are before you.” The psalmist recognized that he lived on a stage before the all-seeing, all-knowing God. There was no area of his life that he could hide from the Lord. 

• God heard everything he said. 
• God saw everything he did. 
• God was with him every place he went. 
• God knew everything thought he entertained.
• God monitored every emotion he felt.

 All his ways were before the Lord. And so are yours. When the captains of Alexander the Great met in counsel without him, his empty chair was set before them to remind them to act as if he was present. We do not need to set up any props to help us pretend that God is there when he is not. 

• God is always present. 
• God is never not there. 
• God is fully present everywhere.

There is absolutely no way we can escape his consuming presence. Psalm 139:7-10 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” This is not just a word that convicts. It is also a word that comforts. Whatever your situation, the Lord is there. 

• When your burden is heavy, he’s there.
• When your faith is tested, he’s there.  
• When your heart is broken, he’s there.
• When your night is dark, he’s there. 
• When your way is hard, he’s there.