Psalm 119:57-64

Psalm 119:57-64  

Heth

Discovery of God’s favor on the way to his forever home

In the preceding psalm the poet describes himself as a pilgrim, stating that earth is not his permanent dwelling. He begins this section with a description of God as his “portion.”  When the Promised Land was divided among the tribes, each family was given a portion as their homeland forever.  So much so that at the year of Jubilee, if the land was sold, it was returned to the one who received that portion.  For the disciple the Lord is the homeland.  There is a direct connection between the disciple going to the homeland and his keeping the Word of God.  

There is in verse 58 a word that is hard to translate into our English Bibles.  The NASB translates it “entreated,” while the NIV translates it “sought.”  The Hebrew word is much more intense than any English translation.  The root word is “sick” or “weak.”  This word carries the idea of groveling and at times carries the implication of flattery.  We don’t translate it that way because the poet is clearly sincere, whereas a flatterer is not.  But that is the intensity of the word.  The disciple is willing to completely humiliate himself in the most extreme forms of begging for the Lord’s graciousness.  This is not coming to God as if we would negotiate the best deal possible.  This is a profound awareness that we have nothing to offer and are fully aware of our absolute dependence on His favor.  

The poet has, to this point, lived a life of immediate obedient response.  When he knows the commands of God, he keeps them immediately.  He does all that he knows to do; he is now asking to know more, to understand at a greater level what God wills.  He has done this even when the wicked have had him in bonds.  Their cords, either literally or figuratively, have not caused him to forget the Lord’s Law, and to know the Lord’s Law is to keep it immediately. This keeping of the Law even in the presence of opposition causes thanks to grow and results in praise.  When awakened from sleep in the middle of the night, it is not fear that comes to mind but thanks, not dread but a profound awareness of gratitude for God’s law.  It is so powerful, in fact, that the poet is compelled to respond with worship, to get up from bed and bow down to God.

Sometimes the life of a disciple can seem lonely; it feels that no one else is on God’s side.  But the poet discovers that he has companions; here he returns to the theme or motif of the traveller.  He is not making this journey alone.  It is noteworthy that in the context of this discovery of travelling companions, the poet looks at the world around him and sees that it is full of God’s mercy.  He begins this section by pleading for God’s favor, ends it by praising God for His loving kindness, and that praise is in the context of discovering fellow pilgrims heading to the same home. 

“Lord, keep me faithful in the journey. AMEN”