In the second half of the first strophe of Psalm 119, the writer describes his longing for God’s Word, and ends with a commitment of obedience. Take a look at this passage for yourself in Psalm 119:5-8.
Most of the time, when you read something, you expect the author to build his case and then, at the end, present his conclusion. But Psalm does just the opposite. In this first strophe, we see the introduction to the entire passage in the first three verses, but we also see the crux of the entire thing in verse 8, where the writer, likely David (although Hezekiah, Ezra and Daniel are also possibilities), states his commitment to obedience to God’s commands.
Since the first three verses are the introduction, the rest of this stanza is directly connected to it. God has set the standard for obedience to his decrees, and the psalmist expresses his desire to comply. In order to do so, he realizes that there must be a strong will to obey. In verse 5, he wished his ways to be “steadfast” or “established,” which means to be prepared, to make firm, to be resolved to stand firm upon God’s commands.
Because of his integrity in this matter, the writer knows that no shame will result. And this is true: standing firm upon God’s Word, and holding tightly to his values will never result in shame, but praise and joy will be the result, just as we see in verse 7.
Because of this, the writer gladly submits, and commits himself to fully obey God’s decrees as fully and completely as possible.
We see two promises made by the author here that we too can make. First of all, he promises to praise God “with an upright heart.” His commitment to praise is made fully without reservation, without hesitation. The second promise the writer makes is in verse 8, where he commits to be obedient to God’s laws. This is a strong plea and promise all wrapped up into one. We have already seen in verse 5 that he desires God’s help to remain steadfast, and now he requests that God not abandon him.
The writer is not thinking that God would somehow turn his back on him; he knows that God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6). What he is asking is for God to stand by him in his determination to live according to God’s desires and laws. He realizes that he brings nothing to the table in this matter. The only way that he can succeed in being fully obedient to God is by being fully reliant upon God.
The same is true for you and me. There is nothing that we bring to the table when it comes to our relationship with God. There is nothing that we can to do bring about our own salvation. The only thing that God asks is that we have faith, and even that is described as a gift (1 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 2:8-9). We can do nothing, even in this act of obedience, without God’s help.
This is the amazing thing about the covenant relationship we have with God. It brings to mind the events described in Genesis when God makes his covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15). God instructs Abraham to make a sacrifice, and to divide the animal parts in two, with a path between them. The usual way this covenant would be enacted would be for Abraham to walk between the parts, saying in effect, if I fail on my end, you can do the same to me as this sacrifice. But what Abraham experienced was unheard of. He didn’t have to walk through these animals… God walked through them for Abraham.
God promised to do his part, and then he promised to do our part as well. If we didn’t obey, then God would suffer the consequences for that action. And he did, through Christ on the cross. He suffered on our behalf, so that we wouldn’t have to.
That’s what the psalmist is saying here. The only way that he can fully obey God’s Word, is through God’s help. And God will gladly give it. He will not utterly forsake us.
That’s the message of the gospel.
Question: How is your obedience to God Word? What can you do to increase you level of commitment to God and his decrees? You can leave a comment by clicking here.