“The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words. I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!”- Psalm 119:57-64
Each of the 8 verse stanzas of Psalm 119 is full of encouragement, hope and doctrine. Look at David’s resolve in this first verse of this stanza; “The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.” God (Yahweh) is all he needs, he knows that very well. In fact, this “portion” can NOT be substituted…for, “The LORD is my portion!” David has said similar things before, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Ps. 73:26). On this day he puts all his trust and love in his LORD, his portion for life, for Yahweh is life… alone. So, with this being the case he promises to keep God’s Word. God has given so much and He is giving so much to David… spiritually, emotionally and physically… that he must make this VOW…to publically profess his loyalty and love to His God to glorify God and to be an example for all God’s people.
And now because of that vow “to keep God’s Word” and at the same time knowing that he will need God’s grace to keep his vow he next says, “I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.” The Hebrew is even clearer if you will, “I entreat you before your face…” As if to say, “I come to you, face to face, with all my heart seeking you to be gracious according to your promise….seeking you to provide your grace because you have promised to do so for your people.” David knows that God is with him in all his troubles and that he will have compassion on him. So he is absolutely certain that coming to God this way is safe… and he is absolutely certain that coming to God this way reveals not just his own loyalty and love for God but more importantly, God’s steadfast love for him and His people. This word “according to” always points to the standard God uses…His covenant. So David is asking God for what He has promised in His covenant to be fulfilled for Him and His people. How many of us pray to God this way, expecting that He will really answer this prayer?…When we don’t pray like this we are not doing as God prescribes, so is it any wonder that we find ourselves all too often feeling weak and being weak in the ways of the Lord.
David understands his limitations so much that he turns to God, so personally. David, the warrior king, the one who slayed the giant, the one who routed the Philistines, the one who God had chosen and spoken through…this David understands his own limitations. So he says to God at this juncture; “When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.” He knows that even his best is laced with sin so he turns to God’s Word…God’s “testimonies”. So in repentance he turns from his sin and hastens to keep God’s commandments. He turns from his sin…he lays aside every sin and weight which clings so closely so that he can run with endurance the race that is set before him without delay. For us to do this requires us to admit our limitations and our sinfulness…requires us to truly trust in the LORD with all our heart…requires us to live as God prescribes.
David reminds his hearers and his readers that there is much in this life to fear, whether it is from actual enemies …which all leaders have…or from the sin within us that seeks to weaken and ensnare us so that we are ineffective for the LORD. “Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law.” But… even in the midst of these “fearful” times, he knows where his strength, hope and comfort come from…God’s Word, that he has stored up in his heart and the Word of God in which he consults and prays over daily. No matter the circumstances he can’t wait to praise the Lord, “At midnight I rise (I jump out of bed with one thing in mind) to praise you, because of your righteous rules.” This is not as uncommon as it may seem. Remember Paul and Silas, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners (with them) were listening to them…”(Acts. 16:25).
Finally David says, “I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!” He speaks, to let God and all who hear and read these words, know of his unity with ALL who fear God and seek to keep His commandments. What was it Paul said in the beginning of I Corinthians? “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Paul stands with all who are God’s and so does David here. He is in fellowship/unity “true koinonia” with ALL who believe. He is committed first and foremost to those who fear God and keep His Word…believers…God’s elect…the Body of Christ…His true Church. His commitment to the congregation is made once again in a vow…one that he doesn’t plan to break because they have been blessed so by God in His steadfast love to His people.
Now stop a minute …re-read this passage…and where you read the “I’s” and the “my’s” think of yourself praying this prayer… and then pray it as if it was yours… because it is. Consider each line and look to see what God expects from you and what God has done for you and what God is doing for you right now. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus throughout the day is so crucial as to how we will live our lives before God and men. God has David remind us of this so that we too can vow… “The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.”
God Bless y’all today.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
