This last passage marks the end of Psalm 119, and it continues the thoughts found in the first half. Let’s take a look at it in Psalm 119:173-176:

This stanza wraps up the entirety of Psalm 119 with the psalmist’s cry out to God for help. He seems to know intuitively that the help that God offers can be found in the pages of his Word. So he turns there and shares several areas where he is lacking; areas that can only be fulfilled by the Word of God.

As we looked at the first half of this passage, we saw three areas: our need for understanding, our need for deliverance, and our need for a proper attitude of worship.

In the last few verses here, we can see two more areas where we need God help, and we can find that help in Scripture.

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.

Over the last couple of stanzas, the psalmist has revealed some things he knows to be true about God. In this last portion of this stanza, he shares two final thoughts. Take a look at this passage in Psalm 119:165-168:

At this point, the psalmist has revealed three different characteristics of God’s nature that he relies upon, that he has found within the pages of God’s Word. First of all, in verses 153-156, Scripture displays God’s mercy. Next, in verses 157-160, God’s Word is proven to be true. The third thing the psalmist reveals about God’s Word, in verses 160-164, is that God’s Word brings joy.

In these next four verses of Psalm 119, we find two additional characteristics of God that can be seen clearly through his Word.

Obedience To God’s Word Brings Peace

I find this verse to be very intriguing. Peace is one of those qualities that followers of God can find when they obey God’s Law. But the idea of obedience is a tough one, because who can obey the Law fully and completely? No one can. And so the psalmist stresses first that peace come to those who love God’s Law, in verse 165. It’s a couple verses later that he equates this love with obedience, in verse 167.

God brings joy. As the author moves toward the end of this psalm, he leans more and more into the nature of God and his Word. In this passage, he refreshes his own memory about the joy God’s Word brings him. You can see it for yourself in Psalm 119:161-164:

So far, the psalmist has shared that God’s word displays God’s mercy for us to see, and that God’s truth is found to be clear as well. As he meditates on those two characteristics, he seems to almost pause here to share the joy that those qualities of God bring to him.

And yet, at the same time, this is the third characteristic that we can see in this stretch of stanzas as we near the end of this psalm. God is the source of our delight, and that is a constant, whether we face easy times of difficult ones. The psalmist is facing persecution from those who do not love God, from those who hate the truth. But he still finds a reason to rejoice.

God’s Word Brings Joy

These few verses here bring a sense of refreshing to our hearts. The psalmist has covered some weighty and difficult things through the verses of this psalm so far. This brief section reminds us of the joy that God brings to us. And it seems as if he finds a new way to express this joy in every verse of this passage.

In verse 161, he states that his heart trembles at God’s Word. In my own experience, my heart trembles in two different ways: in the face of great fear, and in the face of great anticipation. Either could be the case here, and more likely both. He is standing against unjust persecution, and yet he trembles before God’s Word.

God is merciful. That is the truth that psalmist shared in the first half of this stanza. In the second half, we find the next truth that he has learned about God. You can see this passage for yourself in Psalm 119:157-160:

In the first half of this stanza, the psalmist discussed the characteristic of mercy that he has found in God. God is merciful, and that is all the more evident to us as we become more and more obedient to him.

But this isn’t the only characteristic that the psalmist has learned about God; in fact, there are at least three more truths that he has learned that he reveals in this stanza and in the next.

The second thing that he has learned about God is found in this passage. He states it quite clearly in verse 160, but it has been seen already in Psalm 119, and more than once.

God’s Word is True

This is a reality that the psalmist has already shared. We have seen it in verse 142, and again in verse 151. It seems as if the further this psalm progresses, the more this concept appears. The reason for this is simple: the truth of God’s Word is a vital lesson that we must learn. The psalmist has come to understand it, and so must we.

With only three stanzas left in Psalm 119, the psalmist seems to be increasing his pleas for God’s salvation and provision against his enemies. His conclusions should help us understand God’s desires for our own lives better. Take a look at Psalm 119:153-156:

The author of Psalm 119 has described more than once his enemies and the persecution that they bring to him as he strives to follow God’s Word. As the psalm progresses, there seems to be an increasing urgency in his cries for help.

And yet, at the same time, the psalmist’s pleas are focusing less and less upon himself and have become more of a prayer as the stanzas have gone by. As Psalm 119 progresses, the author has grown to the point where he is now calmly waiting in obedience.

As this section of the psalm begins, he calls out once again for protection and deliverance. The psalmist reminds God that he has kept his laws, and that he hasn’t forgotten them. He knows that obedience to God’s Word isn’t an option for him, and it’s not an option for us either.

Our culture dislikes the notion of obedience. We want to do whatever we want, whenever we want, and to do it on our own. We have become overly independent, refusing to submit to any authority whatsoever.

This isn’t a new problem, and has been around for centuries. Jesus spoke very forthrightly about obedience, and about the need to submit to his Lordship. Paul writes in several places of the need to submit to Christ, to submit to others, to submit to authorities, and more.

The first half of this stanza contained a couple of instructions on prayer that the psalmist has learned while facing opposition in his life. This passage gives two more. You can see them in Psalm 119:149-152:

As mentioned when we looked at the first half of this strophe, the author of Psalm 119 has learned to rely upon God mainly due to a single factor: his prayer life. He has come to rely upon God for protection and provision, and knows that it is only through his ongoing conversations with God that this relationship can stay vibrant and healthy.

In the first half of the passage, the psalmist gave two ways that using God’s Word in his prayer life gave him the strength he needed to continue following God fully. First, he stated that we must pray earnestly. And second, that we must pray continually.

In the final verses of this stanza, we can see two more characteristics of our prayer life, and the need to use God’s Word within it.