Everything that the psalmist has written in Psalm 119 to this point, and especially the last couple of stanzas, culminates in this passage. He has sought God’s love, God’s protection, even God’s comfort. And here, he finds God himself. You can see this passage in Psalm 119:57-60:

The main thrust of God’s Word, the reason we need to spend time reading and studying it, is not simply for comfort or the ability to see some aspect of God more clearly, as important as those things may be. The main purpose for a careful study of God’s Word is to get to know God himself. One can know everything there is to know about God and about his Word, but if he does not know God himself, he has missed the point. Scripture was given to us so that we can know its author, the author of life itself, as intimately as we can.

That’s why the psalmist identifies God here as his “portion.” We don’t really understand this concept in the 21st century as well as we should. To our minds, a portion is a serving, our fair share, the right amount needed, such as a portion of the food served at dinner, or an equal portion of candy for my kids, or even our fair share of an estate or some other possession.

But to the Israelites, this is a word with some depth to it. When the nation of Israel left the wilderness after wandering in it for forty years, having left Egypt behind, they came to the Promised Land and began its conquest. As they entered the land, and the previous inhabitants were driven out before them, each tribe was given their own section of the land, their inheritance, their portion. That’s where they settled, and it was a part of their heritage.

All the tribes received a portion. All but the tribe of Levi. Instead of an area of land, the people of Levi were given forty-eight cities around the land, scattered among the rest of the tribes, so that their services as priests could be easily available throughout the nation. They received no piece of the land, but received something far better. Joshua 13:33 states, “But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance (portion), as he promised them.”

The main thrust of this stanza is that God provides comfort during times of suffering. In this passage, that comfort comes in the form of song. Take a look at this passage for yourself in Psalm 119:53-56:

When you are in the midst of suffering, your first response probably isn’t to sing. But Scripture makes the connection between the two more than once. God’s Word tells us that to sing when we face suffering, while not the logical choice we might turn to, is the choice we should turn to. The reason, perhaps, is that we can be more aware of God’s comfort in the midst of suffering when we sing.

The most prominent example of this perhaps is the account of Paul and Silas in prison, in Acts 16. The two were in Philippi, and had been severely beaten after driving a demon out of a slave girl. Paul and Silas were stripped and beaten, and then thrown into jail. Around midnight, they were singing and praying, drawing comfort from God for themselves, but also for the other prisoners who were listening to them. An earthquake occurred, and the prison doors were opened, leading to the salvation of the jailer before the night was over.

The fact that Paul and Silas were singing in the middle of the night, in the face of extreme suffering, mirrors Psalm 119 closely. The context of this whole stanza is focused on the persecution of the wicked upon the author, and the suffering he experiences as a result. But in verse 55, he remembers the name of the Lord “in the night,” just like Paul and Silas did.

Stanza seven, along with the stanzas immediately before and after it, carry a singular focus to them, understanding who God is by a careful study of his Word. In these verses, the particular focus is that of God’s comfort during times of suffering. You can see it in Psalm 119:49-52:

The idea of comfort is prevalent in this passage, with the word “comfort” being mentioned twice, in verses 50 and 52, and the phrase “you have given me hope,” which also conveys the idea of comfort, found in verse 51.

It’s interesting to note that while the whole stanza is focused on the psalmist’s need for comfort, his only prayer in this passage is one for hope. He seems to immediately understand that the comfort that God can bring is only to be found in the hope that God offers. The comfort he seeks is not a specific request for his suffering to be removed; it is more of a request to be reassured that God’s promises never fail.

That’s an interesting perspective that we need to keep in mind in the present day. We often ask for God to remove those things which cause pain and suffering, and to be sure, he does do that, but it is more in line with Scripture to seek God’s presence and reassurance during such times than to seek to have them removed from our lives. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not suggesting that we seek out suffering, I’m only suggesting that our views of it may be limited and flawed.

In the first half of this stanza, we saw the psalmist speak of his experiences of God’s love. In the second half, we will see what his response must be. Take a look at it for yourself in Psalm 119:45-48:

The writer of Psalm 119 describes the outpouring of God’s love and the salvation that is linked to it in the first verses of this strophe, and concludes that there must be a response on his part, and ours. Those two responses must be as genuine from our hearts as his love and saving grace are for us. What really stands out about this though is that God’s love and salvation result in practical, tangible responses. These are things we must do in response to his love and salvation. Not because that earns us any point, but because we love in return.

These two practical responses are obedience to God’s Word, and sharing his love with those around us, or evangelism.