The Wondrous Word of God

The Wondrous Word of God

Psalm 119:17-24

Main Idea: Resolve to obey the wonderful Word of God because it leads to life.

The Scriptures teem with marvels; the Bible is a wonder-land. . . . It is itself a world of wonders” (Spurgeon, Treasury, 172). These are the words of Charles Spurgeon as he reflected on the third stanza—stanza Gimel (?) (vv. 17-24)—in the “Word of God Psalm,” Psalm 119.

These verses seem to be “particularly autobiographical” (Boice, Psalms 107–150, 983). Our author is experiencing opposition and persecution for his faith. These words find an echo in the Beatitudes portion of the Sermon on the Mount where our Lord pronounces a blessing on those who are persecuted because of righteousness (Matt 5:10-12). With the psalm’s theme of the “servant” (vv. 17,23; cf. Isa 53), it is easy to imagine the Lord Jesus praying this psalm in the garden of Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed and arrested. The Word of God sustained our Savior in his darkest hour. The Word of God will do the same for us. In difficulty and distress, the Lord and his wondrous Word are both our comforter and our counselor.

Ask God to Help You Keep His Word

Psalm 119:17-18

The stanza easily divides into three movements: verses 17-18, verses 19-20, and verses 21-24. The first movement reminds us of the necessity of obeying God’s Word. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” Obedience to the commands of our Lord tangibly and visibly expresses our love for him in our hearts. We gladly and joyfully obey him because we want to obey, not because we have to obey. Blessings supernaturally flood our lives because we are keeping and obeying God’s Word. We see two of them in verses 17-18.

His Word Is Life for God’s Servant (119:17)

The psalmist prays and asks that the Lord would “deal generously with your servant.” It is a strong and urgent request. In Psalms the phrase “deal generously” carries the idea of deliverance (13:6; 116:7; 142:7) (Ross, Psalms, 483). The idea is, “Help me and rescue me.”

Who is the one making this request? The Lord’s “servant.” Not every follower of God is called the Lord’s servant. Abraham is called the Lord’s servant (Gen 26:24), Moses is called God’s servant (Exod 14:31; Deut 34:5; Josh 1:2), and David (2 Sam 7:5,8) and Isaiah (Isa 20:3) are called God’s servant. Jesus is the quintessential servant of the Lord (Isa 53). The servant of God is a status in God’s eyes to which we should all aspire. It speaks of a tender, close, and affectionate relationship with our Lord.

Why does the servant call on his God for aid? According to verse 17, it is “so that I might live; then I will keep your word.” Jesus teaches us this same truth in Matthew 4:4 when he says to Satan, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Obedience to God’s Word is essential to the life of the Lord’s servant. It is his food and drink. It is the air he breathes. As Spurgeon eloquently says, “Without abundant mercy he [the servant] could not live. It takes great grace to keep a saint alive” (Treasury, 171). That great grace of God that sustains our lives is ours through the Word of God.

His Word Is Wondrous to God’s Servant (119:18)

Three important truths appear in this amazing verse. First, there are wonderful or “wondrous things” in God’s Torah, his Word. There are amazing, beautiful, captivating, delightful, excellent, and fantastic things in God’s Word. Second, we need God to open our eyes to contemplate these wondrous things (cf. Luke 24:13-35). We need God to remove the blinders, to take away any hindrance to our seeing the wonders of the Bible. Third, we must pray, asking God for spiritual and supernatural illumination to help us see what is there. John Piper captures well the thrust of this verse:

If God does not open our eyes, we will not see the wonder of the Word. We are not naturally able to see spiritual beauty. When we read the Bible without the help of God, the glory of God in the teachings and events of the Bible is like the sun shining in the face of a blind man. Not that you can’t construe its surface meaning, but you can’t see the wonder, the beauty, the glory of it such that it wins your heart. . . . We must pray to God for supernatural illumination when we read the Bible. (“Open My Eyes That I May See”)

Ask God to Help You Stay Faithful in a World That Is Not Your Home

Psalm 119:19-20

This world, “this present evil age” (Gal 1:4), is not our home. We are foreigners, sojourners, and aliens in a strange and hostile land. First Peter 1:1 calls us “exiles,” and 1 Peter 2:11 says we are “strangers and exiles.” Colossians 1:13 puts things in proper perspective: “[God] has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Hebrews 13:14 says, “We do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.” The city the author of Hebrews has in mind is the new Jerusalem, described in Revelation 21–22.

This world is not our home. We are citizens of a different kingdom. We have a different spiritual address and destiny! Still, we are in this world now. We live in this evil age now. We want to be faithful to our true King and his kingdom now. And we need his help. We need his perspective. How do we get there and stay there?

Know Who You Are: A Person Headed to a Different Kingdom (119:19)

The psalmist says, “I am a resident alien [“sojourner” ESV] on the earth.” He accurately recognizes his proper residence and status in this life. He is not surprised that he feels out of place. There is a “spiritual dislocation” he should feel. As The Message helpfully paraphrases, “I’m a stranger in these parts.”

As a sojourner or resident alien in this world, he needs guidance, “clear directions” (The Message). He needs an accurate road map to navigate this world on the way to the heavenly kingdom, which is his real home. Therefore, he prays, “Do not hide your commands from me.” This is a negative way of expressing the truth of verse 18. If the Lord does not open his eyes to see the wondrous things in his Word, they will be hidden from him. The psalmist will not know how to get home without the Lord’s Word. Philippians 3:20 reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven.” That is where we are headed. That is our home. His Word, illuminated by his Spirit, will safely get us there.

Know What You Need: A Passion for the Word (119:20)

The plea of verse 19 intensifies in verse 20. When it comes to the psalmist’s need for the Lord’s Word—his rules, his decrees, and his decisions—“I am continually overcome with longing.” The idea is that he is broken and crushed to pieces. He is shattered by the internal intensity of his longing. He is close to the breaking point and will not make it without the Lord’s Word. This longing is like the passion in Psalm 42:1-2: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so I long for you, God. I thirst for God, the living God.” Spurgeon says,

The desires of gracious men after holiness are intense,—they cause a wear of heart, a straining of the mind, till it feels ready to snap with the heavenly pull. . . . What a blessing it is when all our desires are after the things of God. (Treasury, 173)

Do not miss that the longing and consuming of our souls persists at all times. Our passion for the Word is not periodic or episodic! We long continually to know, live, and keep this Word.

Ask God to Help You When Others Oppose You

Psalm 119:21-24

Opposition should never surprise the disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus promised this would be our experience. In his Upper Room Discourse on the night before his passion, our Lord said in John 15:18-20,

If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Paul adds in 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” So prepare yourself. This fallen world will not like you or love you. They will not applaud you as you live for Christ and keep his Word (v. 17). They will not celebrate the words and works of the real Jesus revealed in the Bible. Opposition is coming. We should expect it. What then is our proper, Christ-honoring response when it does? The psalmist provides two clear principles to guide us.

Trust that God Will Deal with the Arrogant and Disobedient (119:21)

The psalmist has great confidence in the character and ways of God. He is confident that God will deal effectively with those he describes as “arrogant” (“insolent” ESV), “the ones under a curse” (“accursed ones” ESV), and “who wander from your commands.” These are people who do not care about God and what he thinks. What does God do with such persons? He rebukes them. Allen Ross points out that the word “rebuke” refers to “a verbal activity that causes an effective end to the activities” (Psalms, 485). We would say that God stops them in their tracks. He puts them in their place. By his powerful and effective word, he ends their arrogant activities. We do not have to lift a finger. Our God simply says the word, and it is done.

Trust that God Will Hear Your Prayers for Relief from Persecution (119:22-24)

Verses 22-24 hang together because the psalmist makes a promise about his relationship to God’s Word at the end of each one. In other words, he realizes he is not a passive agent in this drama between good and evil. He has a twofold assignment. First, he prays: “Take insult and contempt away from me.” He asks the Lord to remove, like a covering that smothers him, the insults and contemptible words that are on the verge of shutting him down, causing him to consider giving up and dropping out of the race. Second, he must rightly relate to God’s Word in faith and obedience.

While you trust him, keep his testimonies (v. 22). The psalmist asks the Lord personally to take away “insult” (“scorn” ESV) and “contempt.” He asks the Lord to remove ridicule, reproach, and the taunts of the prideful and arrogant from his life. There is a basis for his request: “I have kept your decrees.” When they opposed him, he obeyed the Lord. When they put him down, he kept looking up to God. They told him to walk away from his God, but he chose to keep walking with him. He chose to obey God rather than listen to men.

While you trust him, meditate on his statutes (v. 23). Powerful people of authority and influence were plotting against the Lord’s servant. They were in their seats of power plotting against God’s man. Echoes of our Lord’s betrayal reverberate in the distance. In response, the servant of the Lord will meditate on the Word (“your statutes”). He will not fight back or retaliate. He trusts the Word and the God of the Word. He will remain loyal to the Lord, soak in his Word, and trust the Lord to take care of things. Never forget: we do not fight spiritual battles the world’s way!

While you trust him, delight in his counsel (v. 24). The Word saves, it sustains, and it will lead us home (v. 19). The psalmist concludes stanza Gimel with a twofold affirmation: “Your decrees are my delight and my counselors.” He finds joy in the Lord’s Word, and he finds wisdom in his Word. It inspires his soul, and it informs his mind. The Word is like a band of brothers who counsel and guide him. With God’s decrees as literally the “men of my counsel,” he will pay no attention to those who want to see him fail and who want to take him down. He knows the trials will come. But the psalmist knows the Lord’s decrees will guide him in his ways as he makes his way home.

Conclusion

As a faithful follower of Jesus, it is inevitable that you will face opposition, ridicule, criticism, and conspiracies of censure like our Lord did. When that happens, let these verses be your guide. As God’s servant, value what he thinks more than what others think. As his servant, delight in his counsel, meditate on his statutes, let your soul be consumed with his Word, and trust him to take care of your enemies. There are wondrous things in his Word. He will show you. He will help you. He will deliver you. He did it for his Son. He will do it for you too!

Reflect and Discuss

1. If those who do not follow God’s Word still thrive in this life, then what does it mean to have life by obeying God’s Word?
2. In what ways is our need for God to open our eyes to the beauty of his Word like our need for God to give us faith in Jesus?
3. What are some implications for daily Bible reading if you need God to open your eyes to see his Word as wondrous?
4. How does being a stranger and alien, as the Bible says, affect the way you think about the current place you live? What does it look like to live as a “resident alien” on earth?
5. How does being a stranger and alien affect the way you value material possessions?
6. Think about the objects or events you have desired. Why did you desire those and how does this help you understand why you may or may not be longing for the Word?
7. Why would obedience to God’s Word result in persecution?
8. If you are not being persecuted, would you still need to pray for God to deal with the arrogant and to bring relief?
9. A common objection to belief in God is the presence of evil in the world. How does this psalm help you respond to that objection?
10. How does Jesus’s resurrection encourage you to keep, meditate on, and delight in God’s Word while you wait for him to bring relief from persecution?