Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

This desire for pleasing God that results from the new birth causes us to constantly tilt our heart to- wards obeying his word… ”there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. (Eph. 4:23, 24) You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness– righteous, holy and true.” (40)

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“Lord, give to me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me.” (41)

This verse is significant as it reveals and explains God’s plan of salvation: • “Lord, give to me..” Salvation is an unearned gift from God. • “…your unfailing love,” This is his unconditional love and favor shown to us because of Christ’s life fulfilling all the demands of the law and his death that paid for all our transgressions. • “…the salvation that you promised me.” The Hebrew ‘imrah’ or ‘promise’ is used to describe his word.

Even in the law God’s salvation was given by a promise and not by works.

“ Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word.” (41)

Jeremiah was thrown into a pit for faithfully delivering God’s word. God’s unfailing love caused his deliverance and the favor of the ungodly monarch: “So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon…The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city.” (Jer. 37:21) God’s favor speaks louder than human words.

“Do not snatch your word of truth from me, for my only hope is in your laws.” (43)

This verse foreshadows the great teaching of Jesus concerning the seed of the word of God: “The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts.”(Mt. 13:19) The lesson is to be open to the Lord’s word and value it highly or it will be removed from our hearts.

“I will keep on obeying your law forever and ever.”(44)

The eternal word creates eternal desires in the psalmist’s heart. “But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” (1 Pet. 1:23)

“I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.” (45)

The straight and narrow path becomes broader as we journey through life while the wide pathway of transgression becomes narrower. “Freedom” is taken from the Hebrew word ‘Rekhabah’ that de- scribes ‘the open square of a city…a wide open free space’. 7 “But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law–the law that sets you free–and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for it.” (James 1:25)

“I will speak to kings about your decrees, and I will not be ashamed.” (46)

If David were the author of Psalm 119, he would be speaking to his peers, the kings of surround- ing nations. If Ezra were the author, he would be addressing King Artexerxes of Persia, the one who com- manded that Jerusalem be rebuilt. If Jeremiah authored it, this verse is described in chapter 25 of his Book where he was sent to all the kings of the earth with a message of judgment: “I went to Egypt and spoke to Pharaoh, his officials and his princes…They, too, drank from that terrible cup… And I went to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other—all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon himself drank from the cup of the LORD’s anger.” (Jer. 25:21, 25)

“How I delight in your commands! How I love them!” (47)

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