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Psalm 119
Samech
113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield:
I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will
keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according unto thy word,
that I may live: and let me not be ashamed
of my hope.
117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe:
and I will have respect unto thy statutes
continually.
118 Thou hast trodden down all them that
err from thy statutes: for their deceit is
falsehood.
119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the
earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and
I am afraid of thy judgments.
This is the fifteenth section of Psalm 119. Having
covered a more detailed overview of the Psalm,
it is my intention to go more thoroughly through
each section. Briefly, each section is according
to the letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter
contains 8 verses that begin with that specific letter. Samech is the fifteenth letter, so each verse, in
the Hebrew, begins with a word starting with the
letter Samech.
In Hebrew, unlike English, each letter was originally also a word. We do not know the meaning of
every letter today, but we do know most. Samech
means, 'Lean upon or take hold of; bear up, establish; stand fast'. Since the Psalmist built the
Psalm based on the letters, it is likely the meaning
of each letter played in his thoughts as he composed
each section. In this section, we see the position of
'standing fast'. This is another section holding in
view the position of the mature faithful. It presents
to us how those on the meat of God's Word maintain
a victorious walk.
This Psalm is also based upon the usage of a host
of words that are 'legal' terms in the Hebrew. I
have gone into a more thorough definition of each
word, as it has been encountered, in the previous
sections. I would recommend going there to find
those expansions. I will cover additional words as
we come across them.
Whole-Hearted Devotion
113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I
love.
This verse has one other extremely close match
in the Psalms:
163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I
love.
Psalm 119:163
Both verses start with hate and end with the
matching love. You will notice the only difference
being the object of hatred. In 113 it is 'thoughts',
and in 163, it uses a doubling, for emphasis, that being on 'lying'. The first is limited to the inner man.
The second is the manifestion of those thoughts in
active speech, or behavior. Both are held in opposition to loving God's law (torath).
The question would naturally arise as to what
are 'vain thoughts'. We could come up with a lot
of theorizing, but a look at the Hebrew gives us the
answer. The word translated as 'vain thoughts' is a
word meaning 'half-hearted, divided'. In conjunction with verse 163, we see that 'lying' is clearly
'hypocrisy'. It is saying one thing, when the heart
is really elsewhere.
This Psalmist goes to the core of the matter, holding before us that which the godly should hate. That
being, 'Anything less than whole-hearted devotion
to God'. Top that, with loving all God's directions
to us, and we see that to not be whole-heartedly
devoted to God will necessarily mean the person
doesn't really love God's 'Torath'.
Becoming one of God's own, means completely
dieing to self and following God. To follow half-heartedly, is to take the place of a living object of
hatred. Do you see why Jesus spoke so belligerently towards the hypocritical Sadducees and
Pharisees? The heart of their problem truly lay in
half-heartedness.
For the beginning of the section on 'standing
fast, bearing up', the issue of half-heartedness, and
truly loving God's law, is a good starting place.
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield:
I hope in thy word.
We see the Psalmist referring to familiar imagery
in reference to God Himself. He doesn't say God
provides such (which He does), but the Psalmist
specifically approaches a critical fact. This man, of
whole-hearted devotion, understands God Himself
to be his covering and defence. That is the only
place we can take by which we are saved. Christ
doesn't just provide our salvation and defence. He
personally became our covering and defence. It
was His blood, in type, that was applied to the door
frames and lintels of the Hebrew homes in Egypt.
God's angel of death saw that blood, and passed
over those sheltered by it.
The second half of this verse joins with this same
fact. Just as the ancient Hebrews trust in the blood
covering on the home, so this Psalmist is taking the
position of faith in God's Word.
We have seen whole-hearted, and we have seen
loving God's instructions, but too many could
misunderstand such to be possible in the strength
of the natural man. That is a fatal error. In reality,
such an error will only result in hypocrisy. Man is
not capable of whole-heartedness and true love of
God's instructions apart from His doing the work
in us. That is why we find the needed position of
standing in God's provision of verse 114.
There is one other verse in the Psalms that
makes the same statement 'Thou art my hiding
place', it is:
7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve
me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about
with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalm 32:7
This parallel verse also dwells on the fact God is
the place of covering and preservation. It expands
to praise as well. 'Songs of deliverance' include
the Psalms, which are included in God's Word,
upon which we hope. It ties this back to the ending of verse 114.
115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will
keep the commandments of my God.
There are a couple interesting points to be
noticed in this verse. The first is the party being
addressed. The Psalmist turns from addressing
God, to address the wicked. The second is, the
term for 'God' is used. This section never uses the
name of Yahweh. The only addressing name/title
we see is His title of 'God'.
As far as the name, I believe the Psalmist uses
only the title, because the wicked truly know
nothing of Yahweh. They are familiar with facts
of a 'superior' being only. Therefore, he faces the
wicked on the title of deity, with which they are
familiar.
In this verse, we perceive the fiery eyes of the
committed man. Spiritually, we see a definite
position taken. He does not lose his ground. He
does not turn and run. He does not move out to
take from the wicked. He simply issues the command for the wicked to turn and leave. Such a
position tells us something else. The wicked are
actively pursuing him. Something inside them
cannot tolerate to behold a man who is committed to keeping God's commandments (mitzvoth).
We also see the motive behind the assaults of the
wicked. It is for the purpose of causing the godly
to break God's commandments. Take note of this
verse from the Apostle Paul:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they
which commit such things are worthy of death,
not only do the same, but have pleasure in them
that do them.
Romans 1:32
Likewise, these wicked cannot tolerate those
who do follow the commandments of God.
For the faithful servant of God, we see his position of 'standing fast'.
Standing Victorious In Grace
116 Uphold me according unto thy word,
that I may live: and let me not be ashamed
of my hope.
This verse begins with the word of the letter,
'Samech'. This is continuing to carry the theme
of how we 'stand fast'. A literal translation of this
verse being, 'Uphold me as Your spoken words and
I will live, and not I be ashamed from my hope.'
Interestingly, the previous verse showed us an
outward verbal confession before the world. He
very clearly declared the path he would follow.
Such is necessary in standing fast. We cannot
remain silent of our determination to obey God.
This is the first step in facing our opposition.
This verse turns back to God. The Psalmist
presents his dependence upon God, for standing
his ground. His faith is resting upon that which
he has heard from the mouth of God. Maybe he
has heard the word often by ear, but there came
a time when he heard in his heart and spirit. The
words became more than printing on a page. They
turned to words spoken from God straight to
him. Knowing such living words, he shows clear
dependence upon those words for life.
He has presented two points of hope which he
is standing upon. The first for life. The meeting
of the immediate need of the most basic necessities. Based upon that need being met, the second
would be in the face of the matter of testimony.
Remember the wicked are just waiting, with their
own evil hopes. They eagerly want him to fall. He
is not simply asking for 'survival' in some solitary
location. He is asking for life to continue faithful
to God, so the wicked will not find ground upon
which to blaspheme God. The wicked would love
to be able to say, 'Hah, you counted on your God,
look where it got you! You can't even 'kick the old
habit'. At least the Mormon's god can deliver them
from smoking.' Such are serious words we need
to consider in their testimony of the God we are
committed to.
117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe:
and I will have respect unto thy statutes
continually.
Unusually enough, the beginning word for this
verse is not 'Samech'. It is another word with
similar meaning. The word translated 'Hold thou
me up' means, 'sustain, comfort, strengthen, support and establish'.
The word translated 'I shall be safe' is the root
word for Jesus (Saviour).
The word translated 'I will have respect' is
fascinating to find here. The word means, 'to look
at or to, regard, gaze at or about'. At face value,
it looks logical enough in developing thought. In
Hebrew spelling, the word is almost identical in
spelling to that preceding it for 'I shall be safe'.
In Hebrew, that is significant. The basic use of
matching consonants helps in group classing of
definitions. For instance, words of a similar theme
will tend to use the same basic three, or even
two consonants. (We are talking about ancient
Hebrew. Modern has assimilated many foreign
words.) What I see of significance here, is the clear
picture of man's part flowing from God's part. It
is more than an almost 'doubling' for emphasis,
it is like the one multiplies into the other.
In an effort to expound on what I see, I shall try
and give an expanded paraphrase, including our
New Testament understanding. Essentially the
thought the Psalmist is giving is:
'God, hold me up. I shall stand in Your provision of Jesus. As a result of having Jesus as my
salvation, I am saved to look at Your decrees
without stop.'
Jesus saves us, and His saving us is the transformation, and power, to walk saved from the paths of
darkness! We will obey, continually, because 'we
are saved', not so we 'will be saved'. The standing,
the upholding, the sustaining is all of God.
Living In View of the Judgment
118 Thou hast trodden down all them that
err from thy statutes: for their deceit is
falsehood.
The word translated as 'Thou hast trodden
down' means, 'to make light of, or toss aside'.
The word translated 'deceit' also means
'treachery, fraud'. That translated 'falsehood'
also means 'lie, deception'. A literal reading being,
'for deception (lie) their fraud (treachery)'.
In accomplishing the provision of the previous
two verses, God has actively done something in
relation to the wicked. In providing the living
salvation for us, He had to pronounce judgment
on the wicked. He did that in Christ Jesus, and
will conclude it at the Judgment.
The second part of this verse, tells us an important why. This brings us back to verse 113 and 163.
Their religion was fraudulent in claiming to be
true to God. It was a lie of the greatest magnitude.
They passed off a lie of virtue, while their hearts
wanted nothing to do with God's statutes. They
pretended to be followers, but such was a lie in
deceiving appearances. Due to such vile religion,
God has cast them aside. They have been rejected
of Him. Such 'religiosity' is not 'standing' strong
for God. They have come under God's sentence of
condemnation. Both the hypocrites and the open
'sinners' fall under God's wrath of 'erring from
God's statutes'. Both stand in His condemnation.
119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of
the earth like dross: therefore I love thy
testimonies.
The word translated 'puttest away' means 'to
cease, desist'. It is the root for 'Sabbath'. The
meaning of this first part being, God has stopped
the wicked in their wickedness. Like a metal is
heated to melting, the impurities separate. The
impurities (dross) are removed and the pure,
good metal shaped and used. In a similar way,
God heats up the people of the world. The wicked
separates from the godly. In that separation, God
will accomplish the cessation of wickedness. That
is a process that will continue until the end of the
age. There are always more, new wicked to replace
the old. All mankind is proved as to where they
decide to stand. Oh yes, all mankind will indeed
stand, but 'Which side?' is the question. To fall
from standing with God, will mean to join the
ranks of the wicked in standing with that dross.
For those who love God in truth, the 'therefore'
is a true heart manifest. Those who really do know
God know 'the game', as it were. They know what
is going on and where it will end. That knowledge
provides a rejoicing comfort. Remember that
'testimonies' are those laws which tell us of God's
character. Jesus is the living 'testimony' of the
Father. The godly look at Jesus and love what they
see. They know His standard of righteous living
and His death, show us God and His provision. We
can trust in these 'testimonies', and love them.
We have the promise all the wickedness will be
brought to an end. The melting pot for the metals
will be shortly finished in separating dross from
valued metal. The fire (the age before the Kingdom
is completely established), will be shut down and
the dross made to cease in its wickedness.
120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and
I am afraid of thy judgments.
The final verse brings in a last 'standing up'. This
time it is the flesh. The word translated 'trembleth'
is the first word in the verse and means 'to bristle
up, shiver, stand up'. The Psalmist wanted to return, one last time, to that theme of 'standing fast'.
For the servant of God, the position of standing the
flesh takes, is one of shivering. Much like a bowl
of gelatin. It has no self confidence upon which to
stand. It is made to abide in the constant view of
God's law applied. Those are the judgments (mish-pat). The man of God will devotedly hold his flesh
in the light of God's judgments. It is that light which
keeps the flesh in its proper place of trembling in
the fear of the Lord. It knows its weakness, so will
remain in the position of standing in shivering.
Only in such a place, the servant of God will walk
as the precious, purified metal. God will be able to
pour His life in us to obey His leading.
BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!
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