"Thy Word is Truth," Conclusion

A child of God cannot but greatly desire a more enlarged and experimental acquaintance with his holy word; and this attainment is greatly promoted by our trials.

The Long Psalm
In my own time of trouble, I have found much help in the Psalms and in Charles Spurgeon's commentary on the Psalms--A Treasure of David. Psalm 119 was particularly helpful. Sadly, I neglected Psalms 119 for most of my life. I thought it was (1) too repetitive, (2) too long, and (3) too repetitive. (Sorry. Bad joke.) Charles Spurgeon wrote this about people like me: “Many superficial readers have imagined that it harps upon one string, and abounds in pious repetitions and redundancies; but this arises from the shallowness of the reader's own mind.”

But in this time of affliction, I’ve read, prayed, and re-read this psalm. Its words have been a great comfort to me, sometimes quickly reviving my spirits like medicine and other times just providing nourishment like a hearty meal.

The message of Psalm 119 is that the word of God contains essential truth for all of life. Its message is simple: for all of life, we need the truth that comes from God. Each verse has two parts. The first describes some aspect of life and the second speaks to the importance of God’s truth in that setting. The descriptions of different aspects of life range far and wide. They’re like the melody for this Psalm.

In almost every verse you hear the steady percussion: we need the truth that comes from God. A number of different terms are used in this Psalm to designate God’s truth: “word,” “law,” “precepts,” etc. I think these terms are used like the base drum, snare, tom tom, and cymbals, to beat out a single rhythm. Together, the melody and percussion sound like this:

Do we hope to have a happy life? We need the truth that comes from God.

Are we in trouble? We need the truth that comes from God.

Are we oppressed by the wicked? We need the truth that comes from God.

This is a teaching psalm, written for a younger audience. Despite it’s great length, I think it was meant to be memorized. It is arranged in a way that makes it easier to memorize. Yes, all 176 verses were meant to be memorized. I have not done so, but William Wilberforce did and, in a time of political conflict, he wrote in his journal that he “…walked from Hyde Park Corner repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort.”

It is organized into 22 stanzas that correspond to the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza has eight verses that begin with the Hebrew letter that corresponds to that stanza—aleph, beth, gimel, etc. An English equivalent would be if the first word in each line of the first stanza started with “a,” and the first word of each line in the second stanza started with “b,” and so on.

Here is my sense of the melody line that runs through this long Psalm. I learned from Psalm 119 last fall.

Aleph: The truth that comes from God makes us happy when we walk in it. “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” Walking in God’s pathway keeps us from getting covered in the muck of life. “I would not be ashamed when I look into all your commandments.” God’s commandments forbid the things that fill us with shame.

Beth: So learn it right away. “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” Don’t wait until you’re older to begin walking in God’s way of truth. “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against you.” Apply yourself to the way of truth; it will keep you out of lots of trouble.

Gimel: Trials will come. “Remove from me reproach and contempt…Princes also sit and speak against me.”

Daleth: These trials are complicated by our own weakness. “Revive me…teach me…make me understand…my soul melts from heaviness…do not put me to shame…”

He: We are really, really weak. “Teach me…give me understanding…make me walk in the path of your commandments…incline my heart to your testimonies…turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things…revive me.” I’m a total disaster.

Waw: So call on God when you’re in trouble. “ Let your mercies come…your salvation” Think more about God than the trials and to cry out to him: SAVE!

Zayin: God’s promises give us comfort and hope in times of affliction. “You have caused me to hope…this is my comfort…your statutes have been my songs.” Even God’s statutes—those commandments whose earthly benefits are not obvious, like the dietary restrictions—are the proper subject of singing. Why? Among other things, because they show us the intimate detail of God’s thoughts towards us.

Heth: God’s promises are comforting because of the nature of the one who makes those promises. “You are my portion, O Lord…The earth, O Lord, is full of your mercy.” I find myself asking for many things in my prayers, but God is what I need.

Teth: In trial, I still see good, good, and good. In the original Hebrew, five of the eight verses in this stanza begin with the word “good.” This emphasis is lost in the English translation. Even the affliction is good: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word.” In affliction, sin loses a bit of its appeal. God’s word and prayer are not duties, but necessities and privileges.

Yod: God is a mighty savior. He designed us and made us. He is faithful to bring good things to us, even in affliction. “I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” I am not troubled by the idea that God himself sends my afflictions because of what I know of God’s character and attitudes about me.

Kaph: David’s troubles—he is at rock bottom. “My soul faints…my eyes fail…how many are the days of thy servant?” I’ve felt like that, looking forward to my death, just wanting it to be over. Sometimes, it hurts too much and too long.

Lamed: But God is eternal… Compare my focus on endings with God’s permanence: “Forever you word stands firm in heaven…you established the earth and it stands…your faithfulness endures to all generations.” These are the things we need to know. “Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”

Mem: …and his word is good… An important focus of this stanza is the effect that God’s truth has on us, especially in times of affliction. It makes us wise—wiser than our enemies, our teachers, and the ancients. It changes our heart, making us hate false ways and love the way of truth. “How I love your law…how sweet are your words…sweeter than honey.”

Nun: …but I am still afflicted. I can see because “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Not only do I see, but I have also “…sworn and confirmed that I will keep your righteous judgments.” Even so, “I am afflicted very much.”

Samek: There are other ways to live… Without the truth that comes from God, men are double-minded and evil, straying from God’s path.

Ayin: …but God’s way is the right way. “I see that all your ways—all of them!—are straight, pleasing, and good. All other ways are false. I hate them.” After walking in God’s good way, paths that lead through the briars and mud aren’t very appealing.

Pe: God’s way is good. God’s testimonies are wonderful. When I hear his word, it’s like the light comes on and I can suddenly see everything clearly—even the simple-minded can understand when God speaks. That’s why it’s such a shame that men don’t listen to God—“rivers of water run down from my eyes” when I think about it.

Tsadde: God’s way is morally right and true. God is righteous and his word is righteous. His word is very faithful and very pure. His word is absolute truth. Even though trouble and anguish have found me, your word is still a source of delight.

Qoph: So I pray. This is why I have the confidence to “cry out with my whole heart—hear me, O Lord!...Save me!” Your word gives me a hope that wakes me up in the morning ready to pray—even before the sun rises—I cry out to you because your word gives me hope. I lie awake at night, not in worries, but talking to myself about your word. Your word is like an ancient city, standing in splendor, build to last forever. This is why I dare to hope.

Resh: I pray expectantly. “Look at me, see my misery, and deliver me. Fight for me. Consider my troubles. Consider how I love your truth. Give me life again.”

Shin: Earthly rulers fail us, but God’s truth does not. Even the princes disappoint, but God’s truth inspires praise, love, and obedience.

Tau: So again, I pray. Listen to me. I cry for help, I praise you, I talk continuously about your truth. And it’s not just lip-service. I rely on your commandments to keep me out of trouble, I prefer your ways to the ways of this world, and my deepest joy is in your truth. Having said that, I’m lost. Please find me.

The melody line of this psalm twists and turns around hope and despair, cries of anguish and cries of praise, an earthly focus on the details of life's afflictions and a heavenly focus on the good ending that God has promised to his children. It is the stuff of real faith--not the absence of doubt, anguish, and hardship, but a way of thinking and acting in the face of those things.

The truth that is found in God's word gives us a perspective that interjects hope into hopeless circumstances and moments of joy into seasons of great sadness. This truth is found in many forms in Psalm 119:

• law, way: teachings about the paths that God wants us to walk in (torah, derek). [Note that “law,” or “torah,” more literally means instruction that point out the way forward and does not usually encompass the sanctions against lawbreakers]

• testimonies: reminders of God’s power, love, faithfulness, and mercy (edut)

• commandments, judgments, statutes: the rules and sanctions God (mitzvah, mishaptim, and ch’okim)

• precepts: teachings about the things that God places under our direct care (pikudim)

• word: the words, sayings, speeches, and hymns of God (davar, ‘imrah), and

• righteousness: God’s own righteous ways (tzedek)

The steady percussion throughout the twisting and turning melody of this psalm is this: we need the truth that comes from God for all of life.

The various terms used to speak of God's truth in this psalm makes it clear that his truth is more than just a collection of facts. It’s a way of living. Having a firm foundation for life isn't simply a matter of being able to trace out the ways of God on a map. The man with a firm foundation is the one found walking in this way. “…whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock,” Matthew 7:24-25

Conclusion
At every moment, everything we see, hear, and feel is pulling us into alignment with the bent perspective of this fallen world. Without the truth of scripture, we will see everything all wrong. In time of affliction, we will fall victim to the lies, threats, and accusations of our enemy, the devil, and be swallowed up in despair, bitterness, anger, or fear. We need the truth that comes from God, the truth that is found in the Bible. The rest of this book will show what I've learned from the Bible in my time of affliction. It will show the truths that kept me from despair.

We need something else, too. The truth that comes from God is spiritual and only those with spiritual life can benefit from it. To the Christian, God has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. Without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, it impossible to understand the truth that comes from God, to align ourselves with its heavenly perspective, and to walk in its way. The present-day work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer --to reveal, refine, and empower-- is the subject of the next chapter.