Psalm 122

Posted on September 19, 2023 by Roger

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,

4 Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5 For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.

7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”

8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.

David presents a paradigm of petition for the peace of Jerusalem and the Jewish people. His emphasis on this central notion of “peace”—one that is permanent, complete, and inclusive—is indicated by his repetition of this key term three times throughout the Psalm (a three-fold repetition signifying the “utmost” of something). … This petition will only be fully (and permanently) fulfilled on that day when the divine King establishes His throne on the site of the Temple in Jerusalem (see Ezekiel 43:7), whereafter not only the tribes of Israel, but those “who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts” (Zechariah 14:16). — Wechsler, pages 294-295.

compact (v.3) = united, joined

testimony (v.4) — her, the law as the testimony of God

The judgment here in view (v.5), consistent with David’s emphasis on superlative “peace,” is ultimately that perfectly righteous judgment attending the eternal rule of the messianic King, the Lord of Righteousness Himself . (David’s use of the plural form of “thrones” may also allude to the twelve thrones on which the apostles will sit to participate with Christ in judging the 12 tribes [see Matthew 19:28]). — Wechsler, page 295.

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The exhortation to pray the peace of Jerusalem (v.6) includes not simply the location, but the Jewish people. … The link between Jerusalem/Zion is so close that the former is often employed as a personified substitute for her Jewish residents or the Jewish people in general. The statement “May they prosper who love you” (v.6) hearkens to God’s contingent promise to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you” (Genesis 12:3). More than for the sake of his brothers and his friends (i.e., his fellow Israelites), David’s prayer is ultimately motivated for the sake of the house of the LORD—i.e., for the sake of the LORD Himself—since the final, future advent of true peace to Jerusalem and the Jewish people, as of blessing to those who bless them, is ultimately a confirmation (and vindication) of God’s faithfulness to do what He has said He will do (cf. 2 Samuel 7:10-13; Jeremiah 23:3-8; Ezekiel 37:11-14, 24-28; Zechariah 14:9-11, etc.). — Wechsler, page 296.

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The Psalm looks forward to the time when all the tribes of Israel go once more to Jerusalem. When this prophecy shall be fulfilled, wars will have ceases, Satan will be bound and locked in the abyss, and the King of kings rules from David’s throne. The pilgrims will come from the ends of the earth to worship in Jerusalem, but all the sons of Abraham will make their homes in the land that God gave them for ever. … Jerusalem will be the world center; the restored tribes will all be united with one heart to worship the King (Isaiah 2:2-4). — Phillips, page 297.

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The Psalm predicts and pictures the opening of the millennial reign of Christ. Jerusalem appears as the capital of the world. The throne of Jehovah is seen in the Temple of Jehovah. Israel’s Twelve Tribes, redeemed and with new hearts, are presented as worshipers (v.4). The nations, blessed with Israel, unite in prayer for Zion (vs.6-7). … The vision belongs to the future, but faith makes present what grace promises. So Messiah exclaims that His feet and Israel’s feet are already standing within the gates of Zion. — Williams, page 400.

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Psalm 121

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Roger

A Song of Ascents.

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

The Source of Israel’s Security (vs.1-2) — The mountains to which the psalmist here refers are the mountains surrounding Jerusalem (as in Psalm 125:2)—from the perspective of a returning exile or pilgrim to that city—and in particular Mount Moriah, the site of the Temple (cf. 2 Chronicles 3:1) and the focal point of God’s abiding and manifest presence (i.e., the cloud of glory) on earth. Hence, the psalmist directs his gaze—whether literally or internally—towards Jerusalem, though at the same time recognizing that God is not restricted to one place, for He is the maker of heaven and earth, and as such necessarily transcends it. — Wechsler, pages 292-293.

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The Duration of Israel’s Security (vs.3-4) — Just as God will not allow the foot of the individual who trusts in Him to slip, so too will He not allow Israel to ever (see v.8) slip beyond the purview of His intimately attentive and ever-vigilant solicitude. The wording of v.8 evokes the imagery of familial relationship—i.e., God, in the role of Father, standing watch over His sleeping Son Israel—which latter can slumber in peace because His Father never does. — Wechsler, page 293.

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The Extent of Israel’s Security (vs.5-8) — The extent of God’s “keeping” of Israel is two-fold. On the one hand, it is physical-material, as indicated by the poetic imagery of God being the individual Israelite’s shad on his right hand so that the sun will not smite him by day nor the moon by night—which latter statement, rather than reflecting the superstition that the moon is somehow a factor in causing illness (esp. mental illness—which superstition is evident in the English word “lunacy”), should be understood as one among a multitude of biblical examples of metonymy—in this case with “moon” substituting for “night,” and more precisely, the cold of the night. The subsequent affirmation that the LORD will protect the believer from all evil (v.7) serves as a transition from God’s material-physical “keeping” to that of a primarily spiritual nature—which latter is explicitly indicated by the statement, “He will keep your soul.” Both aspects of God’s “keeping” (i.e., overall solicitude) are summed up in the concluding verse, insofar as “going out and … coming in” is a euphemism for the living of daily life and the living of it “this time for and forever” (in God’s “keeping”) is only possible for the one whom God has spiritually redeemed and brought with Him into eternal glory. — Wechsler, pages 293-294.

William’s take:

The first two verses are spoken by the Messiah. In them He expresses His determination to look for deliverance from the trouble described in the prior Psalm, not to the mountains, but to Him Who not only created them but also created the heavens. The remaining six verses are spoken by the Holy Spirit. He addresses the Messiah, and assures Him that because He trusted for help from Jehovah, therefore would Jehovah be to Him a Keeper delivering Him from every calamity (v.7), and sheltering Him day and night (vs.6 and 8). — Williams, page 400.

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Psalm 120

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Roger

A Song of Ascents.

1 In my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.

2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.

3 What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?

4 Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!

5 Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!

6 My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.

7 I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.

This psalm begins the distinct subcollection of 15 “Songs of Ascent,” of which four (122, 124, 131, 133) are explicitly attributed to David and one (127) to Solomon. The “Ascents” to which these “songs” appertain has been a subject of no little debate among scholars, the various suggestions including (1) the 15 steps ascending from the Court of the Women in the Temple to the (inner) Court of the Israelites, which steps are explicitly equated in early Jewish tradition with these 15 psalms, and which latter were (apparently) sung by Levites stationed on these steps during the Water-Drawing ceremony of the Feast of Tabernacles; (2) the return of Israel from the Babylonian-Persian exile, which is described in Scripture as an “ascent” or “going up” and support for which is adduced from Psalm 126:1 (“When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion …”); (3) the three yearly festal pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem (viz., on Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles), “ascending/going up” to the Temple being the typical expression employed to describe “movement” towards the Temple, regardless of one’s starting point and support for which is adduced from Psalm 122:1 (“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’…”); and (4) the technical structure of the psalms themselves, in which the thoughts ascend “in a step-like progressive rhythm” and in which various key words are repeated in “step-like fashion in successive clauses. Excepting this last suggestion, which may be said of the structure of many (if not most) other psalms than these 15, the term “Ascents” in these psalms is in all likelihood tied to and mutually supported by all of these traditional explanations—especially seeing that each of them relates directly, or indirectly, to the overall theme of this Fifth Book of Psalms (viz.: the restoration of God’s people to the Promised Land and their living therein under the perfect and intimate rule of their divine King. — Wechsler, pages 289-290.

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Verses 1-2 — Rather than internalizing and holding in (i.e., stewing over) his experience of persecution—in this case resulting fro lying lips and a deceitful tongue (i.e., slander and false accusation)—the psalmist appropriates, or “reclaims,” it as an opportunity for exercising his privilege of worship—viz. affirming God’s character and role as His Father. It is this which constitutes the essence of worship—the exercise of our relationship with God in any of its manifold aspects, whether crying out to the LORD in our trouble or responding in praise and thanksgiving when He answers us. — Wechsler, page 290.

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Verses 3-4 — The psalmist also takes this opportunity to express his worship by affirming God’s inevitable justice, for though the one who employs a deceitful tongue may discount divine justice … that justice will nonetheless be done to him (such is the point of the rhetorical question in v.3). This just requital is portrayed (in v.4, answering the rhetorical question of v.3) in figurative imagery as sharp arrows of the warrior which … underscores the notion of the punishment being precisely fit to the crime…). The further portrayal of God’s just requital as burning coals, while clearly paralleling “sharp arrows” in suggesting … pain, also hints at the redemptive aspects of  God’s penultimate (i.e., this-worldly) requital of sin—as in other passages where the imagery of “burning coals” heaped on the sinner’s head, symbolizes a response to sin characterized more by mercy and grace than by severity, and which thus serves the sinner as a source of shame, conviction, and ideally, repentance (see Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27; Romans 12:20). — Wechsler, page 291.

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Verses 5-7 — In this final section the psalmist laments the fact that he must sojourn in Meshech (referring to the people descended from the sixth son of Japhet [Genesis 10:2] and situated between the Caspian and Black Seas and in Asia Minor) and among the tents of Kedar (referring to the descendants of the second son of Ishmael [Genesis 25:13] and most powerful of the Ishmaelite tribes, who lived as nomads in the regions east and south of Israel), with those who hate peace, all of which reflects the perspective of an Israelite living outside of the Promised Land (further affirming the pilgrimage/exile venue of these “Psalms of Ascent”). These statements also imply the contrasting yearning to live in the land promised by God to Israel. — Wechsler, page 292.

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The Songs of Ascent, fifteen in number, form five groups of three each. Each triplet has as its theme trouble, trust, and triumph. That is, the first Psalm of each triplet is a cry of distress; the second, a declaration of trust; and the third, a song of triumph. Thus in each group there is an ascent from trouble through trust to triumph. — Williams, page 399.

Meshech and Kedar were sons of Ishmael … who were indeed of the seed of Abraham but born after the flesh. — Williams, page 400.

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Psalm 119:169-176

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Roger

TAU

169 Let my cry come before You, O Lord;
Give me understanding according to Your word.

170 Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.

171 My lips shall utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.

172 My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.

173 Let Your hand become my help,
For I have chosen Your precepts.

174 I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.

175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.

176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.

This stanza contains a lot about the psalmist’s prayer life.

Unlike the last division this one is a series of petitions. They all breathe the same spirit of earnest desire to know and do the will of God. … Side by side with the sense of need, there is evident throughout a profound conviction of the sufficiency of the will of God. — Morgan, page 248.

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“I have wandered about as a lost sheep” … “but I have not forgotten They commandments” [v.176]. These statements are not contradictory but complementary. To wander as a lost sheep here expresses defenselessness and loneliness, not moral defection. This is plain from Messiah’s declaration that even under such circumstances He had not, and did not, forget God’s commandments. — Williams, page 398.

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Psalm 119:161-168

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Roger

SHIN

161 Princes persecute me without a cause,
But my heart stands in awe of Your word.

162 I rejoice at Your word
As one who finds great treasure.

163 I hate and abhor lying,
But I love Your law.

164 Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.

165 Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.

166 Lord, I hope for Your salvation,
And I do Your commandments.

167 My soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I love them exceedingly.

168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my ways are before You.

This division is remarkable in that it is one of the only two which contain no petition (the other was 97-104). This is a pure psalm of thanksgiving. — Morgan, pages 246-247.

lying (v.163) — often refers to false gods

seven (v.164) — perfection, here indicating unceasing praise.

Only a perfect Believer could make the statements of the last three verses. Such a Believer was Jesus of Nazareth. But the verses set up the standard which His followers should aim at. — Williams, page 398.

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Psalm 119:153-160

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Roger

RESH

153 Consider my affliction and deliver me,
For I do not forget Your law.

154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
Revive me according to Your word.

155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
For they do not seek Your statutes.

156 Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord;
Revive me according to Your judgments.

157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.

158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted,
Because they do not keep Your word.

159 Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.

160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

The combined merit and benefit of God’s Word as the exclusive nexus, or means, for attaining all that is necessary for life, both presently and in the hereafter, is underscored by the three-fold repetition in the “Resh” stanza of the phrase “revive me” (lit., “give me life”; 154b “according to Thy Word”; 156b “according to Thy ordinances”; 159b “according to Thy lovingkindness” [i.e., His paternal-covenantal faithfulness, as described and exemplified in His Word]), signifying the superlative—i.e., the most of something—the point being that God’s Word, consistent with its record and affirmation of God’s lovingkindness, is able to supply each of us with the utmost degree of life. — Wechsler, page 288.

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Neither suffering (v.153) nor fear (v.157) could weaken Messiah’s affection for the Bible, nor cause Him to swerve from its teaching. On the contrary He prayed that it might continually be the source of refreshment and strength to Him …

Only a sinless heart could say “I do not forget” (v.153), “I do not swerve” (v.157), and “Consider how I love Thy precepts” (v.159). In David’s lips such words would have been untrue, self-righteous, proud, and pharisaic; but no so in Messiah’s lips. — Williams, page 398.

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Psalm 119:145-152

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Roger

QOPH

145 I cry out with my whole heart;
Hear me, O Lord!
I will keep Your statutes.

146 I cry out to You;
Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.

147 I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.

148 My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.

149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness;
O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.

150 They draw near who follow after wickedness;
They are far from Your law.

151 You are near, O Lord,
And all Your commandments are truth.

152 Concerning Your testimonies,
I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

Much of this stanza is about the intensity of the psalmist’s desire for God and His Word.

founded (v.152) = established, fixed

The theme of [this] stanza is the relationship which the Messiah establishes between prayer and the Bible in circumstances of danger and opposition. … Messiah here (vs.147-148) states that ere darkness fell He read the Bible each evening and meditated therein, and that before morning dawned He was found upon His knees; and He states that His reason for so acting was because He believed and confided in and counted upon its Divine promises (v.147). …

“According to” occurs twice in verse 149). It first measures the boundlessness of God’s love, and then the boundaries of His judgment. … Those who pursued Messiah in order to injure Him were murderously near to Him and far from the Bible (v.150); but Jehovah was near also. His commandments were truth; the enemies’ falsehood (v.151). — Williams, pages 397-398.

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Psalm 119:137-144

Posted on September 11, 2023 by Roger

TSADDE

137 Righteous are You, O Lord,
And upright are Your judgments.

138 Your testimonies, which You have commanded,
Are righteous and very faithful.

139 My zeal has consumed me,
Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.

140 Your word is very pure;
Therefore Your servant loves it.

141 I am small and despised,
Yet I do not forget Your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And Your law is truth.

143 Trouble and anguish have overtaken me,
Yet Your commandments are my delights.

144 The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting;
Give me understanding, and I shall live.

In this stanza, the psalmist had a lot to say about God’s attributes as reflected in His Word.

zeal (v.139) = ardor, jealousy, anger

consumed (v.139) = lit. exterminated, put an end to (hyperbolic)

small (v.141) = insignificant

When the vicissitudes of life dull the shine of other sources of pleasure and delight, the value and appeal of God’s Word become greater, overtaking and sublimating the totality of our yearnings in this life. Hence, in the course of his trouble and anguish (v.143), it is for God’s word, above all else, that the psalmist has longed. — Wechsler, page 287.

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The Messiah in these verses sets out in order the excellencies of God’s Word as righteous (v.137), pure (v.140), true (v.142), and everlasting (v.144). …

The righteousness of the Divine Essence and the righteousness of His testimonies, commandments, precepts, and statues is one and the self-same righteousness (vs. 137 and 144); as a consequence the statements and doctrines of the Bible are dependable and free from error (v.138). — Williams, page 397

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Psalm 119:129-136

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Roger

PE

129 Your testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul keeps them.

130 The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.

131 I opened my mouth and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.

132 Look upon me and be merciful to me,
As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.

133 Direct my steps by Your word,
And let no iniquity have dominion over me.

134 Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.

135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And teach me Your statutes.

136 Rivers of water run down from my eyes,
Because men do not keep Your law.

In previous divisions we have seen [the psalmist’s] anger with the wickedness of those who make void the law of God, here we see his pity for them in the rivers of his tears. These two things are not contradictory. Both are the common experience of obedient souls, and both were supremely manifest in Jesus when He wept over the city whose doom He uttered. — Morgan, page 243.

entrance (v.130) = unfolding, opening

panted (v.131) = longed for, was eager for

For the believer facing the inevitable oppression of  men (v.134)—i.e., of living as one among an inherently depraved humanity, this section focuses on the unique value of God’s Word, both intrinsically (e.g., v.129 “Thy testimonies are wonderful”) and expressively/applicationally (e.g., v.130 “The unfolding of Thy words gives light”—which is parallel to the notion of God’s “presence giving light” in v.135, the implication therefore being that one encounters God’s presence in the unfolding of His Word). — Wechsler, page 287.

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Psalm 119:121-128

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Roger

AYIN

121 I have done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.

122 Be surety for Your servant for good;
Do not let the proud oppress me.

123 My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation
And Your righteous word.

124 Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy,
And teach me Your statutes.

125 I am Your servant;
Give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.

126 It is time for You to act, O Lord,
For they have regarded Your law as void.

127 Therefore I love Your commandments
More than gold, yes, than fine gold!

128 Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things
I consider to be right;
I hate every false way.

My take is that the psalmist here is “reminding” God to keep His promises, especially in regards to protecting him from his enemies.

surety (v.122) = taken on pledge, a promise to make secure against loss

my eyes fail (v.123) — his eyes were exhausted from searching the Scriptures

He who was Himself the incarnate Word of God here reveals His affection for the written Word of God (v.127). He prays for deliverance from its detractors (v.122), and bases His claim to be delivered from them on His integrity (v.121), His relationship to God (v.122), and His loyalty to the Scriptures (vs.123, 127-128). He being perfect, affirms in this stanza the moral perfection of the Bible; and declares it to be His rule of life. Only the Sinless Son of David could say that He practiced judgment and righteousness (v.121). — Williams, page 396.

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