The final stanza in Psalm 119 differs from all those that come before it in the fact that it is a final petition of the writer to God. Take a look at the first half of this passage in Psalm 119:169-172:

The psalmist wraps this passage up with a plea for God’s help in several areas. These are areas that he recognizes clearly that he needs some assistance from God. How does he know this? Because a close look at the Word of God reveals those areas where we fall short, and can only grow with the help of God himself.

The psalmist compares himself to a lost sheep in the final lines of this psalm, bringing to mind the passage written in Psalm 23, of God being our Shepherd. In that passage, the author clams that he lacks nothing, and then describes those areas that God has provided for him.

In this stanza of Psalm 119, by contrast, the writer lists those things he does lack, and seeks God’s help in gaining them. We need God’s help in these areas as well.

We Need Understanding – Verse 169

When we think of the biblical writers, we don’t immediately think of their lack of understanding. We are more likely to think of their wisdom, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that directed them as they wrote the Words of God to his people. At the very least, we would think that a writer of Scripture would be aware of how much he was learning as he wrote.

But here, the psalmist is aware of just how little he knows, and how he needs God’s help if he is to understand anything at all. We are the same. We need to humbly seek God’s guidance as we study the pages of Scripture, allowing him to give us the understanding we need to know God, to know his ways, and to follow them fully.

That is the cry of the writer as he begins this final strophe, in verse 169. His description reminds us that the wisest people are those who know how little they actually know, and that a complete understanding can only come from God.

We Need Deliverance – Verse 170

This is our need for salvation, plain and simple. The psalmist may have been seeking deliverance form his enemies, much as he has been asking over and over in Psalm 119. But I suspect his plea goes a little deeper than just mere physical salvation. Looking ahead to the second half of this stanza, in verse 174, the psalmist “longs for” God’s salvation.

This is the deepest longing of every soul, whether we realize it or not. In the very depths of who we are, we realize that we need a Savior, something – Someone – greater than ourselves to make things right. We need deliverance from sin, and we know that we cannot provide that on our own. We need Someone greater.

Of course, we have a perspective that the psalmist didn’t have. We are looking at this passage from the other side of the cross. We can see that Jesus has come to provide the deliverance that we need. And that is a message that we need to share with all those who need to hear it.

We Need To Worship Rightly – Verses 171-172

With such a deliverance being given to us, we need to give God the praise for that salvation. But in order to worship rightly, we need a couple of things. We need to know what kind of worship pleases God, what kinds of things God is looking for in our worship. And we need a heart filled with love for God so that our worship is sincere and genuine.

God has prescribed specific ways for worship to occur, especially in the Old Testament. Worshipers were worship in a certain place, with a certain sacrifice, at specific times. To do something different was to incur God’s judgment.

The same thing is true in the New Testament. Jesus tells us that our worship must be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). We still have specific manners by which God desires worship. To worship in “truth” means to worship in accordance to what God has revealed in the Bible, because “your Word is truth” (John 17:17).

Just what does that look like? Fortunately, Scripture gives us plenty of freedom to offer our worship in a variety of ways. But all of those ways must include what the psalmist recognizes here. Our worship must be filled with love and praise to God for what he has done. It must be sincere and from the heart. And for that, we need his help.

There are two more items to look at in the next half of this final stanza of Psalm 119. We will turn to those next.

Question: What are some of the things you recognize that you need that can only come from God? Do these things from Psalm 119 make your list? You can leave a comment by clicking here.