“Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight. Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed” (Psalm 119:73-80).
Introduction
The psalmist continues with his thoughts and prayers concerning the affliction and persecution he was receiving from “the proud” and recognises the fact that God is allowing this trial of faith for a reason. Through it all the mercy of the Lord is kept in view and thus sustains him.
The Creator
We cannot have true faith unless we believe that God literally made, fashioned and designed everything exactly as the book of Genesis states. We cannot have a Saviour if we refuse to acknowledge Him as the Creator. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17) … “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). This fact is not negotiable! The psalmist goes further though, for he has no evolutionary theories about where he came from. He knows that God literally “made” and “fashioned” him rather than being a product of countless millions of years of transformation. The words he uses express the idea of being moulded like clay and has the same meaning as Jeremiah 1:5, “I formed thee in the belly”, and taken with Genesis 2:7 we are left with no feasible alternative to appearance of man on the earth, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”.
No doubt the psalmist had all this in mind, but in addition he believed that God was making and fashioning his life after His will. For if God created us, then is it not reasonable to believe that He wants to teach us His word? This is why he prays, “Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.” While it is true that the Creator made mankind in His “image” and “likeness” (Genesis 1:27), since sin entered through Adam, we need to be “born again” (John 3:3) in our spirits so that we can have the likeness of Christ in us, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:49). Day by day, through His word, the Lord is fashioning us so that we can reflect His nature in this world. Those who trust in and obey God’s word will be shining lights to those lost in the darkness of sin. “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble” (Proverbs 4:18-19). Do we see why Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16)? Those who “fear” the Lord will receive the inheritance of salvation if they live a godly life in accordance with His word.
The Comforter
The Holy Spirit is “the Comforter” (John 15:26) who comforts us through trials and afflictions. God often permits afflictions, under certain circumstances, to jolt us into renewing our commitment to Him when we let it slip. The true believer will see the faithfulness of the Lord in this too. Here the psalmist believes that God is faithful, can be trusted and relied upon and do what is just, therefore instead of affliction driving him away from the Lord, his relationship grew stronger. We can hear the joy and rejoicing in his words despite the trials he had encountered. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3). He found that just to meditate on God’s word lifted his spirit. He knows that the God he served was never unmerciful but showered him with lovingkindness and tender mercy. “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:9) … “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23).
The “merciful kindness” along with God’s “faithfulness” is descriptive of the covenant He has made with us through Christ. The writer to the Hebrews expressed this with the words, “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). It is this “hope” that gives us the strength to “live” and continue to follow the Lord. We will maintain this trust in the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3) as we continue to “delight” ourselves in His word. If we feel that we cannot endure the troubles we are facing, then we have recourse to the Throne of God’s mercy. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
The Cause
There was no “cause” (reason) that the psalmist could think of for the persecution he was receiving from the wicked. He simply wanted to live a godly life, so he had to assume they were being spiteful and hated God’s way. He prays that they would be “ashamed” of themselves for what they were putting him through, but there is the suggestion that the “proud” would be brought to shame for their perverseness. The phrase “they dealt perversely with me without a cause” indicates that those who hated him went about telling lies and spreading rumours about him. Maybe they were gossiping about what he was like when he did not follow God and thus calling him a hypocrite. Where they right in their description of him? He was assured that they were not, but prays that the Lord would keep him faultless so that he would not be brought to shame along with them. He is determined to apply the truth to his life so that his heart would always be “sound” (perfectly assured in faith). He also reveals that he wants to surround himself with likeminded believers who no doubt would be used by God to encourage him.
Conclusion
Can we have the same assurance in the Lord despite the problems we might face in life? That all depends upon if we are willing to take God at His word or not. Do we believe that God has imputed His righteousness to us? “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24). It is only from this position can we know that we are truly the children of God. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). If these words do not bring us comfort, none will.
Living Word Bible Church 