Psalm 119:52 I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself. In Hebrew verbs are the most important part of the sentence. Even God calls Himself, “I AM.” ”Am” is a verb – “to be” in the present tense, ongoing. Anyway, one of the things that Adam was made to do was to remember. His job was to remember what God had said. He failed to do this when his ezer failed to guard him by not believing that God had made her exactly right for her job and thinking that she could do her job better if she just listened to her heart (the one that God had given her). Adam, standing there, could have remembered and stopped her. But, that’s another story. I learned the other day that Hebrew verbs don’t have tenses and that there wasn’t a word for “time” either. Everything was finished or not yet finished. Here’s something that might blow your mind: the word for “of old” is ‘owlam. Here’s what it means (blueletterbible.com): 1) long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world a) ancient time, long time (of past) b) (of future) 1) for ever, always 2) continuous existence, perpetual 3) everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity Do you see it? This word means both antiquity and futurity, both the past and the future! Interesting how it’s so intertwined… Anyway, David finds comfort in looking back at (remembering) the judgments of God because they remind Him that God is faithful. The covenants that God has made last from the ancient past to the indefinite future. As God has faithfully judged in the past, so He will faithfully judge in the future. God is constantly reminding His people of the things He’s done for them – bringing them out of Egypt, routing their enemies, feeding them with manna from heaven, etc. I can’t always understand the Hebrew way of thinking about things because I am so steeped in the Greek mindset (we almost all are); however, I can look back and remember the faithfulness and judgments of God, and this is comforting. One last note: apparently in Hebrew a thing can’t be separated from its characteristics. For example, in our language we say that the kettle is silver, assuming there’s a kettle and there’s silver and the kettle just happens to be silver. It’s like a coloring book where everything is lines, and we just happened to put some silver crayon in the kettle lines. In Hebrew it’s a silver kettle (there is no word for “is” in Hebrew). If you take away the silver, there is no kettle. There are no lines to be filled up with a little bit of this or that. You can’t separate something from its characteristics or it ceases to be. So, in Hebrew, God and faithfulness are the same thing. Take away faithfulness and there is no more God. Take away God, and there is no more faithfulness… Kind of cool, right? Now think about what that means for Christians and what our characteristics are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do (like obey the commands of God)… That’s kind of scary, huh?
Psalm 119:41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD– Your salvation according to Your word. I almost hesitate to even try to dig into this verse. Salvation is a confusing and misused word in a lot of ways, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind about it. But, oh well. My ten cents (or two cents, or whatever the saying is). Mercies First, I think I must be missing something because the Hebrew words given for this verse (via Blue Letter Bible) don’t seem to match with what’s written. The word for mercies is checed which means “kindness, faithfulness, and goodness.” No mercy anywhere. Oddly, or perhaps interestingly, checed also means “shame and reproach.” I’m not even going there. So anyway, the very first part of this is about goodness, kindness and faithfulness, not mercy. Come also to me The word for “come also to me” is bow and it means (among many things) “to come to pass, to come upon, and to enter.” So, it seems more like David is asking for YHWH’s faithfulness/kindness/goodness to come to pass or perhaps to even enter into him or his circumstances. Salvation Salvation, my favorite, is teshew’ah and it means: 1) salvation, deliverance a) deliverance (usually by God through human agency) b) salvation (spiritual in sense) Gesenius defines it as “help, welfare, or victory” (Gesenius’ lexicon via Blue Letter Bible). This is pretty different from our particular view of salvation. When this was written Yeshua hadn’t come, and the idea of forgiveness of sins was wrapped up in sacrifices and the Temple altar. So, I doubt David is talking about sin in the same way we do today. I thought that definition 1a was especially interesting because of the parenthesis: usually by God through human agency. In other words, God uses people to deliver others. Deliver them from what? Well, trying to put myself in the context of when this was written, I’d imagine it could be deliverance from many things: the idolatry of the nations that seemed to constantly be trying to steal into the Hebrew culture, the threat of warfare or death by these same nations whose idols were so slippery, even the plots and plans of men to overthrow, kill, or harm the monarchy. David could be asking for help or victory over these things. And if Gesenius is correct in his definition as “welfare” then perhaps David is asking even for God’s provision in time of need. Now you see why this word is complicated? Want to add one more layer to “salvation”? The word implies rescue at the very last, most dire moment, when defeat seems certain unless help arrives. It’s at the darkest moment before dawn. And then the light breaks through, help arrives, and the tide is turned. It’s not necessarily the moment of victory, but rather the turning point from defeat to triumph. But it’s only because someone else (in our case, God) arrived at the crucial moment (and not a moment too soon) to reverse the course of the battle. Your word And finally we reach the end – according to Your word. The Hebrew for “Your word” is imrah and it means the “Word of God, the Torah.” Remember, when the Psalms were written, the only part of the “Bible” that these people had were the writings of Moses (the first few books of the Bible). There were no books of Kings or Prophets or Proverbs or probably even 1 & 2 Samuel. There certainly was no New Testament and letters from Shaul or the others. So, David’s salvation, his rescue, would come from or through or “according to” the Torah – the laws that YHWH had laid out through Moses. If this rescue was from the corruption of the surrounding nations, then the remedy was to live according to God’s laws. By living according to God’s law, then Israel would continue to be in line with the covenant and would receive God’s blessings. If not, then the covenant would be broken and, well, we know what happened when Israel failed to keep YHWH first and only. The Point So, what’s the point? The application? I’m not sure. In some ways digging just confuses me. However, it all seems to be tied up in the last phrase “according to Your words.” The first is related to the last – the rescue is related to God’s faithfulness and goodness and it is all according to His law. And it’s recorded there in the Torah, too, so it can be remembered. Not only the law, but also His past faithfulness. Perhaps we need to look there more often to be reminded of His faithfulness, goodness, and kindness, as well as for deliverance from falling into the pattern of the corruption of this age.
Psalm 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, [And] revive me in Your way Take my eyes from considering emptiness; return me to life in Your manners/moral character. Sometimes I’m very selfish. Probably more often than I’d like to admit. It’s especially bad when I’m tired. I also tend towards being non-confrontational and hesitate to voice my frustrations, because I know the reception to them won’t be pleasant. And then the mousehole/molehill becomes a mountain, and a minor annoyance gets blown out of proportion. Maybe when I find myself in this kind of situation, I should remember this verse. Emptiness or emptiness of speech (vanity, worthlessness) is my selfishness. The true thing to look at is my ability to bless others, to love them even when they don’t deserve it. Yeshua did that for me. God does that for me. All that being said, I’m not always sure how to respond when I get frustrated by a situation, especially if I’m stuck doing something that someone else should have done. But then again, Yeshua got stuck paying for my failures that I should have paid for… So, once again it comes down to becoming more like Him in my actions and putting aside my agenda or desires in order to love those around me in the manner in which He first loved me. This is so much easier said than done!
Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid [before me]. Truth. That’s what I seek. What is the truth in this jumbled mess of religion? What is the truth in the light that is breaking through the darkness? I have been taught “truth” only to find out that it’s not the whole truth (or rather that it has been manipulated by politics and social pressures of ages past). Truth. The Hebrew word for truth (‘emuwnah) means faithfulness, fidelity, steadfastness. I have chosen fidelity; I have chosen the way of God’s steadfastness. His judgements are His justice, His decisions in law, His manner, custom, and plan. I’m still learning because my eyes are newly open. Yet this is a path I want to walk. Interestingly, David doesn’t say why he has chosen the way of truth or laid out God’s judgments. In fact, the next several (many) verses are all declarations of what he has done or chosen to believe. There is few statements that include “yet” or “for” and they almost all continue with “I hope in” or “I trust in”. He doesn’t believe or choose because of what God will do for him. Rather, He focuses on the nature of God’s words and judgments (which is a reflection on His character – who He is). Perhaps this is an example of what it means to love God for who He is rather than what He does. Can I say those things? Can I make the declarations that David makes about obedience, love, trust, truth, and seeking? If not, what keeps me from them? Oh YHWH, I seek Your truth in the confusion. I want to walk in the Truth You give and not that which the world creates. Teach me Your ways that I may walk in them; show me Your truth that I may truly see. Side Note: I was scrolling through the comments on a post today, and it’s really interesting (sadducees vs. pharisees, messiah ben Joseph and messiah ben David, and more). Check it out >>>
Psalm 119:27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. I really wish I could read Hebrew. Even using the tools at BlueLetterBible.com I always wonder if I’ve missed understanding it because I don’t understand how the words are formed grammatically. Grammar and the addition of prefixes and suffixes can totally change the meaning of a word (just think of the difference between the word cognate and precognition – same root, different prefixes and suffixes). Anyway, the end of this verse caught my attention as I was looking at the Hebrew translation at BLB. The word is pala and it means : 1) to be marvellous, be wonderful, be surpassing, be extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action a) (Niphal) 1) to be beyond one’s power, be difficult to do 2) to be difficult to understand 3) to be wonderful, be extraordinary a) marvellous (participle) b) (Piel) to separate (an offering) c) (Hiphil) 1) to do extraordinary or hard or difficult thing 2) to make wonderful, do wondrously d) (Hithpael) to show oneself wonderful or marvellous I like that definition because it goes so far beyond merely wonderful works. Although, did you notice it doesn’t really say anything about works there? So, was works added to help “clarify” the verse? Or is it implied in the grammatical formation of the word and we miss it. See what I mean: The red is the actual word, but what is the yellow stuff that surrounds it? How does that change the meaning? Without knowing that, I would say that this verse actually says: So shall I meditate on Your extraordinariness/wonderfulness/marvelousness. That puts the emphasis on God, not on His works. It actually makes sense. God is extraordinary and wonderful and marvelous, but it’s easy to get stuck being focused on what He does instead of who He is. I know I get stuck there sometimes, for sure. But that would be like me loving the things John (my husband) does instead of loving him as a person. That means if he does something I don’t like, then I stop loving him. That just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But we (I) do that all the time. So maybe “my” version is better because instead of just thinking about the nice things God’s done for me, I should be focused more on WHO He is. After all, He IS.
Psalm 119:23 Princes also sit [and] speak against me, [But] Your servant meditates on Your statutes. This verse reminds me of the situation I face at my job. My first evaluations under a new administration were based on misconstrued conversation taken out of context and hearsay, and since first impressions, no matter how flawed, tend to color our perception of people, I’ve had to struggle to undo the damage that was done. I feel a lot of the time that those in positions of power speak against me (I feel it’s done unfairly, but I’m sure they feel there is basis for what they say). Interesting to me is David’s response to this kind of situation. Instead of getting frustrated about what others are saying or worrying about it or fighting back, He meditates on God’s statutes. The word for statutes is choq and it means several things including: 1) statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed, due a) prescribed task b) prescribed portion c) action prescribed (for oneself), resolve d) prescribed due e) prescribed limit, boundary f) enactment, decree, ordinance 1) specific decree 2) law in general g) enactments, statutes 1) conditions 2) enactments 3) decrees 4) civil enactments prescribed by God I like that it means a prescribed task or portion. That hits home. When I feel that I am judged unfairly or spoken against, my focus should be on doing the portion or task that God has given me to do. It should also be on the laws and boundaries that He makes. And, on the due that those in authority deserve. So, I should do my job to the best of my ability. I should focus on doing the things and acting in the ways that God asks me to. And I should remember that these people are in authority and because of that, they deserve my respect. I keep praying that God will help me to find a job closer to where I live, so that we can save money and time, but if He doesn’t allow that, then I wonder if it’s because I need to learn this lesson better.
Psalm 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As [much as] in all riches. I was reading this section of Psalm 119 and it lists a couple or four things that its writer does with God’s words. This is one of the first, rejoicing in the way/moral living/way of living of God’s testimony. To me a testimony is something a person gives in court – evidence for or against someone. I’m not sure what the way of His testimony is, but I’m glad that it doesn’t condemn me outright. It was the latter part of this verse that I thought was interesting. The part in brackets ([much as]) isn’t actually in the original text. It was added by translators to clarify what they think the meaning is. However if you look at what the word for as is, it’s got a much, much broader meaning than “as much as.” As is a word al, which is a preposition (describing location relative to something) or a conjunction (joining two or more sentences). It can mean any of the following things: 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards b) above, beyond, over (of excess) c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) e) over (of suspension or extension) f) by, adjoining, next, at, over, around (of contiguity or proximity) g) down upon, upon, on, from, up upon, up to,, towards, over towards, to, against (with verbs of motion) h) to (as a dative) The one that I thought was interesting is the one that says “because of”. What if the verse read “because of all its riches”? The author rejoices because of the richness of God’s testimony or the way of His testimony. Of course, in Hebrew there may be some demarcation about the word its and whether or not there’s something making riches possessed by “it”. (Side note: I’ve got to learn Hebrew… after Spanish so I can understand my kids.) And then I had to go and wonder what riches meant. I know that the first thing that popped into my mind was money, then my kids, then chocolate. I guess that says something about me. God’s testimony could be as great and useful as money, but this verse might be saying that it’s better than the things that make my life so full of substance and of high value. It’s of high value and makes my life fuller. Get more and rejoice! I have no idea what the application of this is. Maybe it’s just a reminder to rejoice in what God does by not wiping me off the planet. Or maybe it’s a reminder of how rich and complex God’s words are. I’m not sure. But it’s interesting how one word means so many things and how one choice of definition can change the meaning of a verse. Sources: “Blue Letter Bible.” 2010. Lexicon. 03 July 2010 <http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5921&t=NKJV>.