Having knowledge can be helpful. Wisdom—the right application of knowledge—is far better! Still better is love for the One who has given all wisdom paired with testimony of a better life once having applied God’s wisdom.
We often refer to the important principle and command from Romans 12:1, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As we put off our “old self” and put on our “new self,” (Eph 4 and Col 3), being transformed by renewing our minds is the crucial cleansing needed to do so rightly.
Well what if our minds had already been transformed, and every thought of our mind and word we spoke was washed of selfish thoughts and motives? What if everything we fully desired was to know God better—whatever the cost—and talk with Him on the other side of that kind of transformation?
This is what we see in Psalm 119—a prayer to the Lord on the other side of the Psalmist’s personal spiritual growth as he has applied God’s Word. It is the end-product of a life of faith. It’s not merely teaching about Scripture. It is the personal testimony of one who is testifying to the good of God through every situation God has arranged for him.
Psalm 119 is very personal, plainspoken wisdom. The pattern is something like, “I, Your servant, talk to You, LORD, who speak and act, whom I need and love.” In essence, we see a child in awe of his Father’s great love; a child who has listened, applied what he’s learned, and shows great appreciation for fatherly wisdom, protection, and guidance, all flowing from fatherly love.
David Powlison describes Psalm 119 as having four strands:
Strand #1: “You are …, You say …, You do …”
The Psalmist confesses numerous truths about His Father to His Father. He listened to what God said about Himself, he believed God in faith by internalizing God’s self-declarations as His world view, and applied them as truth. He based his life on them as He preached to himself by praying to the Lord. Powlison calls it “speech therapy for the inarticulate.”
Strand #2: “I am facing a struggle with …”
The Psalmist has faced challenge after challenge, year after year. Attacks from within himself and from others outside himself. “Evil” in this Psalm refers to both sins and troubles, both of which are at times caused by himself, and both of which come to him from others. Similarly, Ecclesiastes 9:3 says, “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead” (ESV).
This is one who has fought various spiritual battles well, has sharpened his sword, and does not fear to ask hard questions as he faces more battles: “Will God utterly forsake me? Will I wander away? Will God rebuke me and curse me? Will I be put to shame? Will vanities seduce me and capture my attention? Will I sin? Will I forget? Will iniquity rule me? Will I be thrown away as dross? Will I end up consumed by dread, not filled with joy?”
He knows God so intimately that He is not fearful to ask these hard questions, which are rhetorical because he knows the answer is found in the character and power of his Heavenly Father. So he voices them freely without fear of repercussion because God’s lovingkindness is indescribable.
Strand #3: “I need you to …”
What usually happens when we face many sufferings? We turn in on ourselves, avoid or attack others, and ruminate about a world we’ve concocted in our own minds. The problem with this world is that we place ourselves at the center.
The Psalmist remembers that God is at the center, above and below. Therefore he asks boldly of the Lord. Some eighty to ninety requests he knows he needs and he knows only One who can give them perfectly—the Lord.
- “He gets preoccupied with the wrong things and bent the wrong way. “Incline my heart to Your testimonies.”
- His Bible gets routine. He can read the words, but miss the Lord. “Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.”
- He gets hooked on emptiness. “Turn my eyes away from looking at vanity.”
- Sin can seize the controls. “Don’t let iniquity reign over me.”
- He’s vulnerable to making bad choices. “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments.”
- He knows he needs mercy. “Be gracious to me according to Your word.””
Strand #4: “I am committed to …”
Less concerned is the Psalmist with whether he’ll keep every commitment he makes at every attempt (he knows he won’t because he knows himself), he doesn’t hesitate to declare his intent:
- I treasure Your word in my heart.
- Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
- I shall keep Your statutes.
- I cling to Your testimonies.
- I have done justice and righteousness.
- I have chosen the faithful way.
- I do not turn aside from Your law.
- I have restrained my feet from every evil way.
- I hope for Your salvation, O LORD.
- I believe in Your commandments.
- I shall not forget Your word.
- I will never forget Your precepts.
The Psalmist consciously reattaches himself to God’s universe. He reminds himself that he is not the center, that the God who calls him to love gives him the knowledge of how to love, the grace and strength to love beyond himself, and the purpose to love for all the right reasons.
“This is God’s world,” the Psalmist says, “… created, enlivened, upheld and empowered by the power and wisdom of God’s Word. I am a mere, but precious, creature in it and owe my all to my Creator whom I love and joyfully serve with my whole heart!”
Outline based on David Powlison’s,
The Journal of Biblical Counseling: Volume 22, Number 4, Fall 2004 Suffering and Psalm 119 (David Powlison)
Suffering and Psalm 119
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