Psalm 119:161

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, an acrostic poem of twenty-two stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza has eight verses, and every verse in a stanza begins with that stanza’s letter. The KJV prints the name of the letter over each stanza, which is why “SCHIN” stands at the head of verse 161. Shin is the twenty-first letter, so this is the second-to-last stanza of the psalm.

All through the psalm the writer speaks of God’s word by many names, and he uses them side by side for the whole of what God has revealed. This one stanza calls it his word, his law, his judgments, his commandments, his testimonies and his precepts. Each name brings out a different side of the same gift, and the psalmist loves all of it.

The psalm names no writer. Some believers hold that David wrote it, and others place it after the return from Babylon, when the people gave themselves again to the study and keeping of God’s law. On either view the psalmist speaks as one man who has known affliction and opposition and has held to God’s word through them. The princes who persecute him in this stanza already sat and spoke against him earlier in the psalm (Psalm 119:23).

Verse 161 opens with the trouble. “Princes” translates sarim, men of rank such as officials, nobles or leaders, who had the power to do real harm. They “persecuted” him: the verb râdaph means to run after, pursue or chase, usually with hostile intent, and so to persecute. They did it “without a cause”, chinnâm, freely and for nothing he had done. The psalms often make this complaint, as when another psalm speaks of enemies who “without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit” (Psalm 35:7). The righteous in Israel knew this danger well, and prophets such as Jeremiah and men such as Daniel suffered at the hands of those in power.

Then comes the turn: “but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.” The heart, lêb, is the inner man. “Standeth in awe” is pâchad, a word for being startled or afraid, for dread. The psalmist does fear, and what he fears is what God has said. When God speaks, that fear becomes a holy reverence that leads to trust and obedience, the fear of the LORD that is “the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Proverbs also says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25). The more the psalmist reveres God’s word, the less hold the threats of princes have on him. God’s authority stands above every human power.

The Hebrew for “word” here is dâbâr, from the verb dâbar, to speak. It means a word or speech and, as a separate sense, a matter or thing. In this psalm it stands for all that God has revealed. That word is quick and powerful (Hebrews 4:12), and the psalmist’s reverence for it gives him stability and courage when he is under attack.

The “princes” of our own day may be governments, employers, influential voices in a culture or a hostile crowd, and this verse speaks to anyone opposed for following the Lord. Jesus called those persecuted for righteousness’ sake blessed (Matthew 5:10). Peter tells the one who suffers as a Christian to glorify God on that behalf (1 Peter 4:16). Paul names persecution among the things that are powerless to separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:35–39).

“I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” The verb “rejoice”, sûws, means to be glad, and Strong’s gives its root idea as being bright and cheerful. The word for “word” is ʼimrâh, something said, a word, speech or commandment. It is used of human speech as well as God’s, and here it is God’s. Verse 161 uses dâbâr and this verse uses ʼimrâh, and in both the psalmist means what God has spoken.

Spoil, shâlâl, is the goods taken in war: the plunder, livestock and possessions left by a beaten enemy. In Israel’s wars the taking of spoil was the plain sign that a battle was won, and it was received as a blessing from God. Numbers 31 tells of the spoil taken from Midian and how it was divided among the people. The psalmist calls it “great” spoil, using rab, an adjective meaning much, many or great. Verse 165 uses the same adjective for “great peace”. The phrase “as one that findeth” is k’mâtsâʼ, built on the verb mâtsâʼ, to find or attain. The picture is of a man coming upon a great haul of riches.

“I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.” Two strong verbs stand together. Sânêʼ means to hate, and taʻâb is stronger still: to loathe, detest or abhor, a word used of things that are an abomination to God, such as idolatry. Side by side they express a complete moral revulsion. What the psalmist abhors is sheqer, a broad word for lying, falsehood, deception and fraud, for false witness, for the emptiness of idols, and for anything vain and groundless. His hatred reaches every kind of untruth, including the lies a person tells himself.

The second half sets love against that hatred. “Law” is tôwrâh, from a root meaning to teach or instruct. It is God’s instruction and teaching, the whole of his revealed will, and in particular the five books of Moses. For the psalmist it is a guide that gives life and shows who God is and the way of righteousness, and he loves it.

“Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.” The verb “praise”, hâlal, is the root of “Hallelujah”, “Praise the LORD”. It means to celebrate, commend or boast in, and it is joyful and outspoken. The reason for the praise is God’s “judgments”, mishpâṭim: his decrees and ordinances, his just decisions and the principles by which he governs the world and deals with people. Every one of them is righteous, which means right, true and fair.

“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” This verse is the heart of the stanza. The verb “love”, ʼâhab, means to love or to have affection for, and it is used of love for a person, an object or a practice. To love God’s law is to cherish it, delight in it, study it and gladly obey it. Those who love it in this way have “great peace”. Peace, shâlôwm, names a state of completeness, soundness, welfare, peace and safety, and with rab, “great”, it is abundant. The same psalmist who opened the stanza hunted by princes now speaks of great peace, so this peace holds in the middle of trouble.

Isaiah says of the LORD, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3), and Paul speaks of “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” keeping the hearts and minds of believers (Philippians 4:7). God gave Israel his law as the way of life and blessing, and Moses called the people to choose life by loving the LORD and obeying his voice (Deuteronomy 30:19–20). Earlier in this psalm God’s testimonies are the psalmist’s heritage for ever and the rejoicing of his heart (Psalm 119:111). Peace is God’s gift to those who love what he has said.

“Offend” translates mikshôwl, a stumbling-block, an obstacle, something that makes a person trip and fall or brings him to ruin. “Nothing shall offend them” means that nothing will trip up those who love God’s law and bring them down.

“LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.” The psalmist turns and speaks to God directly. The verb for “hoped”, sâbar, means to inspect or examine closely, and by implication to look for something and so to wait in hope. His hope is a patient, confident watching for God to act.

What he waits for is yᵉshûwʻâh, salvation: deliverance, rescue, help, victory and welfare. In the Psalms it often means rescue from enemies, oppression, sickness and distress, and it reaches to rescue from sin and its consequences. The word can be used of rescue that comes through people, as when Israel said that Jonathan “hath wrought this great salvation in Israel”, yet Scripture traces all salvation to the LORD in the end: “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD” (Psalm 3:8). The psalmist calls it “thy salvation”. The name Jesus comes from the same Hebrew root and means “the LORD saves”.

While he waits, he has “done thy commandments”. “Commandments” is mitsvâh, God’s commands and injunctions, and the plural takes in all of them. His hope and his obedience go together. Hope in God’s rescue makes him want to live as God wills, and his obedience shows that he trusts God’s ways and believes his promises. James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Paul tells believers to work out their salvation, because God is at work in them (Philippians 2:12–13). He says the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and live soberly and righteously (Titus 2:11–12), and he answers the question “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” with “God forbid” (Romans 6:1–2). John says that we know we know him if we keep his commandments (1 John 2:3–6).

“My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.” The soul, nephesh, comes from a root meaning to breathe, and it means a breathing creature, life, soul, self or person. When the psalmist says that his soul has kept God’s testimonies, he means that his whole self has kept them, mind, will and desires together. This echoes the command to love the LORD with all the heart, soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5), and Proverbs tells us to keep the heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23).

“Kept” is shâmar, which Strong’s explains as to hedge about, as with thorns, and so to guard, protect and attend to. The psalmist watches over God’s testimonies the way a man guards something precious, careful that nothing draws him away from them. And he loves them “exceedingly”, mᵉʼôd, which means very, greatly or exceedingly. His love for God’s word is deep and fervent.

Keeping and loving belong together in this verse, and each feeds the other. Love moves him to keep God’s testimonies, and keeping them deepens his love. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), and Paul says that “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Legalism keeps rules for show, out of fear or to earn God’s favour, and this verse shows the opposite: obedience that comes from the soul and is driven by love for a law that is holy, just and good. The new covenant promises exactly this, for God says, “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10).

“I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.” The stanza closes with the same verb, shâmar, that verse 167 used. “Precepts” are piqqûwd, God’s appointed instructions and charges, given with his authority for how his people should live. “Ways” is derek, a road or path, and so the whole course of a life, its conduct, decisions and aims.

The word “for” gives the reason behind the psalmist’s keeping. Every path he takes lies open before God. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3), and “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). Psalm 139 is given over to this truth, and it begins, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me” (Psalm 139:1–4). The LORD says, “I the LORD search the heart” (Jeremiah 17:10).

The psalmist lives as a man seen by God, and so his obedience is sincere, with his private thoughts and hidden actions matching what he says in public. This knowledge is a comfort as well as a call to integrity. The God who sees all his ways is the God who knows and understands him, so he is free from living for the approval of others.

Jesus Christ is the righteous one who was persecuted without a cause by the princes of his day. The religious leaders persecuted him from early in his ministry (John 5:16), and Pilate said, “I find no fault in this man” (Luke 23:4), yet he was condemned. Through it all his heart stood in awe of his Father’s word. He answered the tempter from Scripture, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), and in his suffering he fulfilled the word of Isaiah, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Paul longed to know “the fellowship of his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10), and those who suffer for him walk where he walked.

He is also the Word in whom the psalmist’s treasure is found. The Word who was with God and was God made all things (John 1:1–3), and in Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2–3). By his victory over sin and death he has won the great spoil of salvation for his people, and Paul preaches “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

The psalmist hated lying, and Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He rebuked the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23), and he sent the Spirit of truth to guide his people into all truth (John 16:13). He came to fulfil the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17), saying, “Lo, I come... to do thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7). His food was to do the will of the one who sent him (John 4:34). At the cross God’s righteous judgment against sin and his mercy met, and God showed himself just and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus (Romans 3:25–26). Christ is made unto us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and so we praise God for his righteous judgments through him.

The great peace of verse 165 is found in him, for “he is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14), and he left his own peace with his disciples, a peace the world cannot give (John 14:27). As the good shepherd he laid down his life for the sheep (John 10:11), and he promised that no one shall pluck them out of his hand (John 10:28), which is the deepest reason why nothing shall make his people fall.

The salvation the psalmist hoped for has a name. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He alone could say without qualification that he had kept God’s precepts and testimonies with all his ways before the Father, and the Father said of him at his baptism and again on the mountain, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5). By his obedience many are made righteous (Romans 5:19), he is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2), and through his Spirit the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit (Romans 8:3–4).

This stanza begins with princes and ends with peace, and nothing in between removes the princes. What changes is where the psalmist’s heart rests. God’s word is weighty enough to be feared more than any human power, rich enough to be rejoiced over like the spoil of a great victory, and true enough to make every lie hateful. The God who speaks it rules with judgments that are always righteous, so he is worthy of praise all through the day. He gives great peace to those who love his law and keeps them from stumbling. His salvation is worth waiting for, and his commandments are worth keeping with the whole soul. He sees every path we take, and his eyes rest on us in knowledge and in care. The psalmist found all this in the word of God, and in Christ we have the Word himself.