Psalm 119 Zayin
Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 2:28 PM by David Zavadil
49 ¶ <ZAYIN> Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.
50 ¶ This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.
51 ¶ The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law.
52 ¶ When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.
53 ¶ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.
54 ¶ Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.
55 ¶ I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law. 56 This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.
Zayin begins with the Psalmist reminding God of His hope giving promise. Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. As we study Scripture and seek to apply it to our lives, the Word of God should always be pointing us to the source of true hope, God. God is to be the focus of our lives, our object of hope. This verse serves to remind us that in the Word we find the teachings of hope. When we are downcast or persecuted, we can find in God's Word hope. God has promised us life, forgiveness, provision, care, healing, peace and an abundant life. We are challenged to remember these promises as we look for God at work in our lives. Charles Bridges, in his commentary on this psalm writes, "Faith trusts - now what the eyes sees, but what the word promises." For us to truly know the truths of our faith we must know the truths of the Word of God. Like the Psalmist, we should seek God's teaching and direction to help us understand God's Word.
All of us at some time will suffer affliction. We will know first hand of sickness or watch a loved one struggle. It is all around us and yet what do we do when affliction hits? The writer states, 50 ¶ This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. The promises of God, as found in His Word are to be our source of comfort. In a world where doctors and scientists are considered among the intellectual elite we are called back to this ancient book to find comfort. Building upon verse 49, the Psalmist reminds us, the readers, that the promises of God, we are asking Him to bring to memory and that give us hope, will be the same promises that bring us comfort.
There is a thought that is essential for us to understand. We will find no hope nor comfort in the Scriptures if we do not know the God of the Scriptures. You note through out the Psalm that the writer speaks to a God he has a relationship with, not some far off God he can not access. To know the hope and comfort you read about, you have to know the God you read about. "But first the word becomes life - then comfort. And those only, who have felt the quickening power of the word, can realize its consolations. Be thankful, then, Reader, if , when dead in sins, it "quickened you"(James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23); and when sunk in trouble, once and again it has revived you." (ibid)
In verse 51 the author touches upon the most common form of affliction we, as Christians, face. 51 ¶ The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. Persecution, whether verbal or physical hurts. More, in my estimation, are caused great pain by the power of words than any other form of affliction. The truth, however, is that as a Christian you are opened up to derision. The most humbling phrase we can hear is, "I thought you were supposed to be a Christian." Bridges writes, " Faith in the doctrine of Christ, and conformity to the strict commandments of the gospel, must expose us to the taunts of the unbeliever and the worldling." If you are walking the Christian life, living in the power of the Holy Spirit, your life will be different for the world. People do not like different and react by deriding and taunting those who live that way. If our heart is set upon the God and His Word, the scorn of neighbors, the harsh words of coworkers the derision of the lost will drive us to the Word of God not away from the Word. The harsh treatment of others causes us to recall the merciful and gracious treatment of our Father in Heaven.
The Psalmist brings us back to the Word of comfort during times of affliction with these words.
52 ¶ When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.
53 ¶ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.
54 ¶ Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.
When the words and actions of others are pressing upon us we can find comfort in the Scriptures. At the same time, there should burn an anger within us against all that steals away from God and His Word. When put upon we will get angry, we will suffer hurt, we may even want to fight back. Though indignation comes, we are to remember the grace of the Father. Though convicted of crimes he didn't commit, tortured and nailed to a cross, Jesus did not lash back, he hated the sin, but sought their forgiveness and redemption. Despite my sinfulness and the pain I cause God, He forgives me and calls me to His Word. We may get angry with the wicked, but that is never to be an excuse to forsake the teachings of Scripture. I wonder what would happen if, instead of lashing out when hurt, we began to literally sing the songs of Scripture. God's Word is to be such a part of our life that daily instead of the song we hear on the radio, the words of Scripture are to be singing in our brain. What would happen if the next time someone made you angry you started singing a psalm to them?
I confess that when I get home at night, I usually just want to chill out, to sit and do nothing. To often that is just what I do. This passage teaches us that we are to think otherwise. 55 ¶ I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law. 56 This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.
There are two final points I want to touch on from these verses. First, there is no time of day or night that is truly "ours" they are all the Lord's. During those times when we just want to rest and relax, to forget about everything, in those very times we are called to remember our Lord. Secondly, those times of keeping God's Word just serve to remind us of what a blessing the Scriptures are for us. Think about it for a moment. The Bible you hold in your hand is an intimate love letter written to you from the Creator of Heaven and Earth. The Almighty God loved you so much that He wanted to make sure that you had in your possession His instructions, that you might live to His glory all the days of your life. What greater blessing has fallen to us than the Word of God that leads to hope?
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Psalm 119 (RSS)
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