The Wondrous Word of God

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