As Psalm 119 has progressed, we have seen the author take his needs concerning his enemies to God again and again. In this stanza he does this once more, although his focus is less on his enemies and more on his reliance on God. Take a look at this passage in Psalm 119:145-148:

Frankly, the author of Psalm 119 has learned to rely upon God due to one major factor: his prayer life and his ability to use God’s Word within it.

In the author’s circumstances, he had enemies who were against him, and against his faith in God. So his prayers throughout this entire psalm have been for deliverance from them, and from the dangers and threats they pose.

For us, we probably don’t face physical enemies, in the form of other people, although it is increasingly possible in our culture. But we do face opposition to our faith. It can come in the form of physical persecution and ridicule, but more often in the form of spiritual attack, at least in my experience.

So what do we do in such circumstances? In this stanza of Psalm 119, the writer turns to his prayer life and how using God’s Word within it can help.

For the past two stanzas, the author of Psalm 119 has given six different reasons for why God’s Word is so powerful and wonderful. In the final half of this stanza, we find the seventh and final reason given. Take a look at Psalm 119:141-144:

Let’s run through a quick review of the first six reasons given by the psalmist in these two stanzas of Psalm 119. The first pair were found in verses 129-132. They were, first of all, that God’s Word gives understanding; and second, it displays mercy.

The second pair were found in the second half of that stanza: God’s Word gives us direction, and it contains God himself within the very words of Scripture.

In the next stanza, in Psalm 119:137-140, we saw reasons five and six: God’s Word is righteous, and God’s Word is reliable.

Now, we will look at the seventh reason the author gives us why God’s Word is so wonderfully impacting and so critical for our day to day lives.

Over the past few verses, the psalmist has identified several ways by which God’s Word impacted his life. In this weeks passage, he gives us two more to add to the list. Take a look at this passage for yourself in Psalm 119:137-140:

A couple of weeks ago, we saw the first two reasons in Psalm 119:129-132. These were the first two of seven reasons for why God’s Word is so impactful. First, God’s Word gives understanding; and second, it displays mercy. All together, in this stanza and in the next, there are seven different reasons.

The second half of that stanza identified reasons three and four: That God’s Word gives us direction, and that it contains God himself within the very words of Scripture.

In this new stanza, we see three more reasons, two in the first half, and one final reason in the second half, which we will look at next week.

In the first half of this stanza of Psalm 119, the psalmist identified two ways that God’s Word makes an impact in his life. The second half identifies two more. See them for yourself in Psalm 119:133-136:

The first two reasons that the psalmist gave for God’s Word being so wonderful and so impacting in his life were mentioned in the first four verses of this stanza. First, God’s Word gives understanding; and second, it displays mercy. All together, in this stanza and in the next, there are seven different reasons.

The latter half of this stanza identifies two more reasons God’s Word is so incredible.

Frankly, none of the seven items on this list should be surprising. Every single one of them is found in various other places in Scripture, and each of them can be seen readily in one’s own experience with God’s Word, if you’re looking carefully at how it can impact your life.

Both of the ones listed in this passage  of Psalm 119 seem especially obvious. However, they both bear a closer look.

Verse 129 begins this stanza by using the word “wonder.” And God’s Word is indeed wonderful. Take a look at this week’s passage in Psalm 119:129-132:

My kids frequently utter the statement, “I’m bored.” When my wife and I try to excite their wonder, little comes from it most of the time. We have been inundated with a barrage of incredibly life-like scenarios and creations from Hollywood, and prominent in the news of the day is the issue of “deep fake” news. This is the ability to create news events so real that they cannot be identified as fiction.

As a result of the entertainment industry, and the media and social media, much of our culture has lost our sense of wonder. But I don’t think that we can lay the blame at the foot of media and entertainment completely. I think that we have lost this sense of wonder because we have lost our sense of awareness of who God is and what he is doing in our lives.

The writers of the psalms have not lost this sense of awareness. The words “wonder” or “wonderful” or one of their many derivative forms occurs more than thirty times throughout the psalms.

In this stanza, the writer begins by stating that God’s statutes are wonderful, and worthy of obedience. This statement summarizes the theme of this stanza and the next, that God’s Word creates wonder within us when our obedience springs form a proper understanding and appreciation of it.

Why does the psalmist make such a claim about God’s Word? There are seven reasons given in these two stanzas, which we will look at in turn. From this segment, we can immediately see two of them.

The first half of this stanza showed one reason that the psalmist was certain that God would deliver him. The rest of this passage gives two more reasons. Take a look at this passage in Psalm 119:125-128:

God is a loving God. Of course, that goes hand in hand with his holiness and the need for righteousness in our lives. As the psalmist has discovered and revealed in this stanza of Psalm 119, God will deliver his people because of his love; and, in fact, God will deliver the psalmist because of that love.

The psalmist has enemies, and his enemies are the enemies of God. This is perhaps the lowest point in the entirety of Psalm 119, and we see the writer cry out for deliverance. His first reason for requesting that deliverance is because of God’s love, in verse 124.

The second reason the psalmist gives here is because he is God’s servant. The writer is basically declaring, “I belong to you, God! Help me because of that!” And like any good earthly master, who cares for that which belongs to him, should God do any less than care for those who belong to him?

The psalmist also seems to understand that God’s deliverance can be seen in the Word. He asks for deliverance, and he asks for it in the form of discernment to understand God’s statutes completely. You can see this clearly in verse 125.

This passage begins the the third stanza in a trio that focuses upon walking in God’s Word. The writer’s main thrust in this stanza however, is keeping our focus upon God intently at all times. We will look at the first half, which you can find in Psalm 119:121-124:

Because of what God has done on our behalf, we need to keep our gaze focused completely upon him. Where sin is concerned, we must look to God’s Word for help and strength and hope. Where danger and spiritual threat is concerned, we must look to God’s Word for deliverance.

This is where the writer finds himself now. Those who threatened him, of whom he wrote in verses 110 and following, are oppressing him so much that his only hope can be God’s deliverance. The writer is looking to God for his help.

This is a low point for the author of this Psalm, and is perhaps indicated by the fact that this is one of the few verses in the entirety of Psalm 119 that does not contain a reference to God’s Word. The depths of despair are evident in the feeling of the psalmist, and it seems as if his focus might be distracted for the moment.

But that does not last for long. The writer identifies three reasons why God will save him. Two of those are in the latter half of the stanza, and we will examine them next week. But the first is found in verse 124, and is probably the strongest of them all.