Eight Lessons for Daily Life (Psalm 119:49-56)

This section of the psalm describes how the psalmist coped with an affliction (v. 50), probably connected to derision received from those he describes as the indolent (v. 51). 

 

How to pray (v. 49)

 

‘Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.’

 

It is good to know how to pray. The Bible shows how to do so in many ways, and we have one such method in verse 49. We can see from the section the value of memory – indeed he asks God to remember a word he gave to the psalmist in the past. This does not mean that God has forgotten what had taken place at that time.

 

As he brings the matter to God, the psalmist shows us how to approach the Lord. Obviously, we have to do so humbly. Whoever the psalmist was, he is content to see himself as a lowly servant. But he also knows that he is God’s servant who has known divine blessing in the past. Since God does not change, and since his word does not change, the psalmist realises that he can remind God of what he had said. Basically, he is saying to God, ‘Please repeat your previous expression of kindness.’

 

It has often been said that the best arguments to use in prayer are the words of God, especially his promises. In the past, a sentence or a paragraph of the Bible had given hope to the psalmist. Richard Sibbes reminds us that God ‘loves that we should wrestle with him by his promises’. After all, he does keep his promises, although he may not keep them in the manner that we would prefer.

 

What can a word from God do for us? (v. 50)

 

‘This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.’

 

The author mentions two benefits that can be ours from listening to and appropriating for ourselves what God says to us in the Bible. The first is that his Word helps us in times of difficulty, so if we are going through a hard time we should look and see what God will provide. The second benefit is that God’s Words give reviving grace to the afflicted man. They come into our hearts when things are difficult, perhaps in providence when familiar things cease. Why do bad things happen to God’s people? One answer is so that we will turn to God and experience his lifegiving power. When we do that, we experience revival, and we know that we always need this expression of divine grace.

 

Comfort is word that is often used in connection with the application of God’s Word. When has it comforted us in the manner of reviving? It did so when we were converted, it did so when we were backsliding in heart, it did so when temptations were assaulting us, it did so when providence brought disappointments and sorrows, it did so when we were feeling down, it did so when we made a mistake. We can say in truth, the Holy Spirit is the comforter in truth.  

 

What to do when opponents deride (v. 51)

 

‘The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law.’

 

In this verse, the psalmist describes his twofold response to what his opponents said about him. First, he mentions to God what his opponents have been saying to him. Dr Kennedy records an incident in the life of a Christian called John Macdonald. John’s landlord wanted to evict him and laid hands on him. In response, John said to the landlord, ‘I will not fight you standing, but come and I will try you on my knees.’  The landlord imagined that John was insulting him and mentioned the proposal to another tenant. That tenant informed the landlord that if John did that, the landlord would have the worst of it. The landlord wanted further explanation and was told that ‘John Macdonald has much to say with heaven, and he usually gets whatever he asks from the Almighty. It was in this way he proposed to encounter you on his knees; and if he does, you will be sure to lose the day.’ The landlord immediately went to find John and ask forgiveness for his actions and was kind to him ever after. Is that not the best response to a wrong that is done to us? Tell God about it.

 

Second, he tells the Lord what his response had been – he remained faithful to what God’s Word required of him. It is a poor soldier who runs away from opponents who cannot hurt him. Rather, the mocking of opponents should stiffen our resolve to please God. After all, Jesus went through the mocking of the cross for us, so surely we can put up with lesser amounts of derision. 

 

What happens when we think of right things (v. 52)?

 

‘When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.’

 

The Bible often speaks about the importance of thinking about suitable subjects. Here the psalmist focuses on God’s ancient rules, which is another way of saying that God does not change in his demands. One divine refers to this practice as having a ‘storehouse of a sanctified memory’. The amazing feature of this storehouse is that we can use the same rule numerous times and receive divine comfort each time we do. God’s Word has this effect whenever we turn to it and meditate and reflect on its contents. Is it not the case that we lose our spiritual energy by thinking about wrong things?

 

Should I tell God what I feel (v. 53)?

 

‘Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.’

 

One answer to that question is that we should tell God everything. Another answer is that we can mention our feelings because of the desire we have for his glory. The behaviour of the wicked had appalled him. He was disturbed by what they said and did, and also by the punishment they would yet receive. Spurgeon commented that ‘compassion is far better shown in trying to save sinners than in trying to make things pleasant all round.’ What does it say about us if the behaviour of the wicked does not distress us?

 

We should observe that the feeling he undergoes is not a mild upset. I once heard an address in which the speaker referred to a man called Sam Hadley who ran a mission in New York probably a century ago. Hadley had a very pronounced limp. On evening he and a friend were walking home after a meeting and they came to the place where they parted. Because of Hadley’s limp, his friend could hear him walking along the road. Suddenly, the sound stopped, so the friend retraced his steps to see if Hadley had fallen. Eventually he saw Hadley sitting on some steps. As he came closer to Hadley, he heard great sobs. Going closer still, he heard what Hadley was saying: ‘O Lord, the sin of this city is breaking my heart!’ Hadley understood the sentiments of this verse.

 

The psalmist describes this feeling very graphically. It is if someone very powerful had taken hold of him and would not let him go. Or even if an animal had seized its prey and would not let it go. The sight of sin should shock us to the depth of our being.

 

This experience is not limited to older people. On one occasion, when William Burns was seventeen, he went with his mother while she shopped in Glasgow. They lived in a small village. During the shopping, they got separated and his mother had to walk back and find him. She found him in an alley ‘with tears streaming down his face’. She asked him if he was ill. He replied, ‘Oh, mother, mother – the thud of these Christless feet on the way to hell breaks my heart.’

 

Some people say that we should ignore our feelings. While it is possible to have distorted feelings, we should have right feelings. They can say a great deal about where we are spiritually.

 

Where should I sing and what should I sing (v. 54)?

 

‘Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.’

 

The psalmist mentions where he stays when he describes himself as being ‘in the house of my sojourning’. He does not tell us what kind of house he has, but he does say that he is not going to have it forever. His permanent home is somewhere else, in heaven with God. Yet although he is away from his permanent home he finds time to sing. 

 

The lyrics of his songs are God’s statutes. This may be a reference to a practice in which God’s laws were turned into rhyme so that they could easily be recalled. This method was adopted in this area when Robert Bruce was banished to Inverness for his faithful preaching. His preaching in Inverness drew large crowds and many were converted. One problem that the people had was a lack of Bibles and also most would not have been able to read them. The remedy that was used was to turn Bible passages into verse so that people could remember what the passages said and also to use them as they praised God together.

 

Are there benefits to singing God’s Word when we are by ourselves? After all, the psalmist does not seem to be referring to public worship here? Rather, he says that wherever he happens to have been in his sojourning he used the words of God’s statutes as his lyrics. Obviously we can sing psalms and other scripture songs. But I don’t think that is what the psalmist had done. Instead, instead of only reading or reciting the words he sang them. For example, have we ever sang Isaiah 12 to God? It is a song, but I suspect we only read it or recite it. But singing it as part of our own devotions could make us joyful and peaceful as the words comfort us. Or if we sang Genesis 1. Or Exodus 20 – the ten commandments.  Just make up a tune as you go along and see what happens.

 

7. What should I do when I cannot sleep (v. 55)?

 

‘I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law.’

 

Are we meant to keep God’s law when we cannot get to sleep? The psalmist in this verse indicates that we should. How did he keep God’s law when he could not sleep? If it was David who wrote the psalm, he did not count sheep even although he was a shepherd. The psalmist did so by remembering the Lord’s name. He made a definite choice to think over the name Yahweh, the covenant name of the everlasting God. Maybe he thought about what Yahweh had said or maybe he thought about what Yahweh had done. Once he started doing so, he would discover that there was a lot to think about.

 

We can think about Yahweh as well, but we can also think about his other names, including how he has revealed himself in the New Testament. For example, who is awake at the same time as I am? The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are, so I can speak to them in my heart. As with the name Yahweh, there is a lot to focus on with regard to each person of the Trinity. 

 

‘Upon my bed I lie awake

And in my thoughts remember you; 

I meditate throughout the night

And keep your constant love in view’ (Psalm 63:6). 

 

8. How should I regard progress in sanctification (v. 56)? 

 

‘This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.’ 

 

In what way or ways has the psalmist kept God’s precepts because it was impossible for him to keep them perfectly? He has kept them graciously in the sense that the Holy Spirit has enabled him both to want to keep them and to aim at keeping them. He has also kept them lovingly because his heart is involved in his obedience. He has also kept them joyfully because he has experienced through doing so that keeping them is the way of happiness.

 

The psalmist realises that his obedience is the evidence of his sanctification. His obedience is also an aspect of assurance, as the apostle John was later to write: ‘And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments’ (1 John 2:3). And he realised that his heartfelt obedience was pleasing to God. The psalmist was experiencing what Paul was later to say to the Thessalonians: ‘Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more’ (1 Thess. 4:1).

 

It is a great blessing to grow in conformity to Jesus, to be Christlike in our lives. The psalmist in this section of his psalm gives us instructions that will bring that blessing to us.