Psalm 119, Part Three

We continue our series on Psalm 119, this month studying verses 49 through 72.
Zayin marks the next set of verses, 49 – 56. It reads:
“Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life. The proud have me in great derision, yet I do not turn aside from Your law; I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, and have comforted myself. Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, and I keep Your law. This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts.”

A word given to us by the Lord can be for us a specific assurance of hope! Beloved, this is powerful and life-changing. In verse 49 the writer is reminding the Lord of His word. This is something we can do, and what we are finding is a God-pattern:

• The Lord desires to speak to us and so we ask Him to;
• What the Lord says gives us reason to hope;
• We remind the Lord of what He spoke to us, to help us sustain our hope.

Just as the author declares, the word of the Lord gets us through affliction, adversity, and it gives us life! Let’s explore this a little more. Turn to Romans 15:4 –“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” From the psalmist to the apostle Paul, both reference the comfort of the word bringing us hope. Let’s also look at 1 Corinthians 2:13, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” God can speak directly to us through His word, through dreams and visions. God can also speak to us through experiences we have. He can also use people to speak to us. In 1 Corinthians 2:13, Paul is stating that the words they are speaking come not from human wisdom, but from a divine source, the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord to speak to you – and He will!

We proceed to verses 57 through 64: “You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words. I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to Your word. I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste and did not delay to keep Your commandments. The cords of the wicked have bound me, but I have not forgotten Your law. At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments. I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes.”

The Psalmist writes of his desire to obediently turn to the Lord and follow His ways. It is noteworthy that the writer thought about his ways, and turned his feet to the Lord’s testimonies. This implies there was a need to turn. He then continues by pointing out that the wicked have bound him, yet he recalls God’s law. It is verse 62 that we want to focus on: “At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments.” Let’s examine this more closely by turning to Acts 16:25 – 26: “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and signing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”

It happened at midnight that Paul and Silas, who were in prison, were singing to the Lord. Others heard their praises. The next thing we read there is an earthquake and the prison doors fling open and prisoners’ chains fall off! That is some powerful praise! Both Paul and the Psalmist understood the power of praising the Lord at one’s darkest moment – at our midnight. Let’s read Exodus 11:4 – 5 -- “The Moses said, ‘Thus says the LORD: about midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.” Now look at verse 7: “But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” This action against Egypt was going to happen at midnight. Disaster would come while Egypt slept.

Consider the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, found in Matthew 25:1-6 – “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. At midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet Him!”

The cry that went out was at midnight – a time when the virgins were sleeping. Midnight can often refer to an unknown time. We find in these verses another principle: praising God at our darkest times can bring the greatest victories. We can experience a spiritual earthquake and after the shaking, we find doors opened and chains off. Allow me to share an experience I had with praise at midnight. It was in 2006 and my mom had suffered some strokes that deteriorated her condition. For seven months she fought against the decline in her health. After one of my visits to her in a nursing home, I asked the Lord for a word to get me through this ordeal. On that car ride home I heard, “some men trust in chariots and some in horses, but I will {trust} in the Lord.” When I arrived home, I found that verse in Psalm 20:7 and marked it. It became my prayer, my meditation, my praise, my affirmation. Not only did I get through the experience of watching my mother decline, but the Lord gave me the blessing of wonderful times with my mom, tender moments that I hold very dear. He allowed me to be with her as she passed from this earth and to then know she was finally and fully healed. Psalm 20:9 states, “Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.” I saw that happen in my life.

The final section is Teth, verses 65 through 72.
“You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. You are good, and do good; teach me Your statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in Your law. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.”
It is interesting that the author writes that he went astray before he was afflicted. Later he writes that it was good for him to be afflicted, so he would learn God’s statutes. Some lessons are harder to learn than others. Turn to Proverbs 3:11-12 – “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” If we look at Hebrews 12:5, we find this proverb repeated.

The Psalmist then declares in verse 68 that the Lord is good and does good. This sentence is more powerful becomes it comes right after the affliction. May we be in such a place where we too can declare that God is good and does good, even when we are in the midst of affliction. May our praises of Him and to Him not cease, even when it feels like midnight to us. Those praises are like oil in our vessels. And may the word of the Lord give us hope!