Psalm 119:121-128

Ayin
121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Give your servant a pledge of good;
let not the insolent oppress me.
123 My eyes long for your salvation
and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know your testimonies!
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken.
127 Therefore I love your commandments
above gold, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
I hate every false way.

Because the psalmist has obeyed the Lord by doing what is just and right, he asks the Lord to not leave him to his oppressors (v 121). In verse 122 the psalmist calls himself the Lord’s servant (also vv 124-125) and petitions Him to give him a pledge of good. “A needy person will beseech someone with resources to pledge some of these to get a creditor off the debtor’s back. “Oppression” often denotes extortion, so here the financial image is not far away. The suppliant is indeed like someone in financial straits at the hands of the willful and needs Yhwh to spend resources on this needy person’s behalf” (J. Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 90-150, 2016, p. 427).

Verse 123 is similar to verses 81 and 82 where the psalmist longs for the Lord’s salvation based on His promises. The psalmist has “looked so long for God’s promised deliverance that his eyes are failing. He expects the Lord to deliver him, but that time has not yet arrived. He has not stopped looking and trusting, but the protracted effort is wearing him down” (D. Estes, Psalms 73-150 NAC, 2019, p. 429).

The psalmist again referring to himself as servant and petitions the Lord to deal with him according to His covenant faithfulness (hesed/steadfast love), teaching him His statutes (v 124). The Lord’s “commitment is expressed not in an act of deliverance but in the educative task of opening the servant’s mind” (Goldingay, p. 427). The Lord will NEVER act in a manner that is contrary to His Name, Character and Covenant. God’s people will never go wrong with asking the Lord to help them learn His statutes so that they may love and obey Him more.

To this point the psalmist commands the Lord to give him understanding so that he may know the Lord’s testimonies (v 125). “Learning God’s word is a central focus for God’s servants, as they love him with their whole lives, including their minds. The psalmist, therefore, asks the Lord to give him understanding as he did to Joseph (Gen 41:1–40) and Solomon (1 Kgs 3:9), implying that apart from the Lord he himself could not attain discernment” (Estes, p. 429).

To the psalmist it is time for the Lord to act because His torah has been violated (v 126). The Lord’s covenant has been violated and it is “the suitable time for the Lord to act in justice against the wicked who have both oppressed him and defied the Lord. Their violation of God’s word has gone on long enough, and the psalmist insists that it is now the right and necessary time for them to be judged” (Estes, p. 429).

“Violating Yhwh’s teaching is scandalous; so the psalmist is dedicated to the commands expressed in the teaching, more than to things of greatest earthly value” (Goldingay, p. 428). The psalmist ends this stanza in verses 127-128 “bring[ing] together the language of love and hate, and true (implied) and false, as the psalmist expresses how he values God’s truthful word. His attitude toward the Lord’s commands is antithetical to the attitude of his oppressors, who violated his instruction (v. 126). He loves God’s word, valuing it even above the purest gold. The psalmist does not pick and choose what he prefers of God’s word, but he carefully follows all of it, and his commitment to God’s right ways causes him to hate every false way proposed by those who disregard the Lord and his word” (Estes, p. 429).

Lord God, help us to do what is just and right. Help us to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit and not manifest oppression, evil, discord and hatred. Lord God, You have promised to be with Your people to the end of the age. Help us to endure and persevere in the midst of oppression and opposition. Lord God, teach us in the West what persecution and oppression mean. Lord God, the word persecution is being used in various ways and circumstances, so for those of us who are in Christ may we be very sensitive and mindful to when and how we use these terms.

Lord God, now more than ever is creation groaning to see Your salvation. Lord, my eyes long with the psalmist’s for Your salvation and to see Your righteous promises fulfilled. Lord God, the Bible is coming to life before my eyes, thank You and praise You for the opportunity to live in this time. Lord God, thank You that You never deal with Your servants in a way that violates Your Name, Character and Covenant. Thank You and praise You Lord that You are our Covenant keeping God. Thank You and praise You Lord that when we truly want to be taught by You, Your Spirit will open our hearts and minds to Your Word.

Lord, cause us to have understanding, wisdom and discernment. Cause us to have understanding and discernment when it comes to applying Your Word. Help us to hold everything that we read, see and hear up to the Light of Scripture. Lord God, You Laws are being violated all day every day. Society is truly on the fast track to hell. Lord, I thank You that when You are ready, when it is time You will Judge the living and the dead. Lord God, thank You that for those of use who are in Christ we are no longer called sinners, but children of God. Lord, for the reader who does not know Christ, I pray that You will convict them of their sin. Lord for those who do not know Christ, convict them of their need for a Savior and turn their hearts to Christ. Lord God, may we love Your Word above all else. May Your Word be the treasure that we store up so in times of real persecution, oppression and hardship we will know how to live and obey You accordingly. Lord God, now more than ever may we hate every false way and the things that trip us up so that we may live more focused and dependent on You. Thank You and praise You Lord for this reader! May You fill this reader with the Peace of Your Presence. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.