Read Psalm 119:113–120
Questions from the Scripture text: Whom does the psalmist hate (Psalm 119:113)? What does he love? What two things is God unto him (Psalm 119:114a)? Therefore, in what does he hope (verse 114b)? Whom does he tell to do what (Psalm 119:115a)? So that he may do what (verse 115b)? Whom does he ask to do what (Psalm 119:116a, Psalm 119:117a)? So that he may do/be what (Psalm 119:116a, Psalm 119:117)? And not end up how (Psalm 119:116b)? Whom does God reject (Psalm 119:118a)? What is their distinguishing mark (verse 118b)? What does the wicked do to whom (Psalm 119:119a)? How does the psalmist respond to this (verse 119b)? How else does he respond to God (Psalm 119:120)?
What’s at stake in our choice of the companions in our life? Psalm 119:113–120 looks forward to opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must choose between the Lord Himself and those whose companionship would hinder us from loving and obeying Him.
Blessed is the man who walks not… This familiar theme from Psalm 1 and Proverbs 1 is a main theme of this stanza of Psalm 119. The ones whom the psalmist can’t abide in Psalm 119:113 are not so much “double” as they are half-and-half. These are perhaps more dangerous than the evildoers of Psalm 119:115, the strayers of Psalm 119:118, and the wicked of the earth from Psalm 119:119. The latter are more obvious and more easily odious. But if we are to keep not just good company, but the sort of company that God uses to make us good, then we must be just as turned off by the half-hearted. There is no room in the believer’s life for companionship with those who are carnal and worldly.
Either-or. The poetry of the Psalm gives us a binary option, where one choice is obviously correct. If we do not reject a life shared in fellowship with the ungodly, then we may not have God Himself as our hiding place and shield (Psalm 119:114a). If we do not reject a life shared in fellowship with the ungodly, then we may not have God Himself as the One Who holds us up (Psalm 119:117a). We can have Him or them, but not both. How dreadful for us, dear reader, if we slouch into choosing (or even overtly choose) the half-hearted “Christian” or unbeliever’s companionship over the Lord’s companionship.
What choosing the Lord looks like. Choosing the Lord looks like love, hope, obedience, and reverence/awe. “I love your law” (Psalm 119:113b). “I hope in Your Word” (Psalm 119:114b). “I will keep the commandments of my God” (Psalm 119:115b). Note that in this love, hope, and faithfulness, the Word of God is at center stage. God is other than we are. As creatures, we cannot reach to the Creator ourselves. And we must not think that He is merely that idea that we have of Him in our heads; an idea that we have can quite easily be an idol, but it is not the living God. However, the true and living God has communicated Himself to us, particularly by way of His Word. Real love for Him, therefore, will always be joined to loving His Word. Real hope in Him will always include hoping in His Word. Real faithfulness to Him will always mean keeping His commandments.
The last part of the portrait of the God-chooser in this stanza is the reverence in Psalm 119:120. The first line literally means that we get goose bumps (or gooseflesh/goose-pimples, if that’s the idiom where you’re from) in reverence for the Lord. We know how dreadful indeed are His judgments (verse 120b), but the knowledge of Him Himself puts us in such awe of Him that we can physically feel that awe!
The Lord’s own choice. We all have deserved to be rejected (Psalm 119:118a) and eliminated (Psalm 119:119a). So, it is a glorious grace of God that there are those unto Whom He is instead hiding place, shield, hope, upholder. There is no other way that this could come to be. When we see His justice in judgment, it ought to evoke in us love for His testimonies (Psalm 119:119-120). And when we see His goodness and power and faithfulness to give us life according to mercy, it ought to evoke in us a dedication to observing His statutes (Psalm 119:116-117).
However He chooses, He is just and glorious and worthy of our love and obedience. So, let us put away evildoers from our lives (Psalm 119:115a), without which we would not keep His commandments (Psalm 119:115b).
Who are the half-Christian/half-worldly in your life that endanger your loving, hoping in, and obeying God? How do you choose God over them? What place does His Word have in your knowing/loving Him?
Sample prayer: O Lord, You Yourself are our hiding place and our shield. You Yourself uphold us, and give us life, and keep us safe. Don’t let our hope in You be put to shame. We thank You for Your Word, in which You have declared Yourself to us and given Yourself to us. We love Your Word and hope in Your Word and are determined to keep Your Word. Come, by Your own grace, in Your Son, by Your Spirit, and fill us with awe at You, we ask through Christ, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP119P “People of Double Mind I Hate” or TPH119O “The Double-Minded I Abhor”
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