Exposition of Psalm
119
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SCHIN
God’s
Word Produces Integrity
Psalm
119:161-169
Princes
have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart
standeth in awe of thy word.
I
rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great
spoil.
I
hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I
love.
Seven
times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous
judgments.
Great
peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall
offend them.
LORD,
I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy
commandments.
My
soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them
exceedingly.
I
have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my
ways are before thee.
Webster defines integrity
as:
1: firm adherence to a code of
especially moral or artistic values:
Incorruptibility
2: an unimpaired condition:
Soundness
3: the quality or state of being
complete or undivided:
Completeness
Interestingly, the
word “integrity” comes from the word “integer,” which
means “whole” or “complete.” Integrity, then, speaks of
being true to one’s ethical standards, in our case,
God’s standards, being
completely consistent with his or her stated
convictions, and being completely without hypocrisy or
duplicity. Here is an important word that should truly
resound in Christian character. There are not many words
that sum up good character as does this
one.
If there is one
thing that can be said of the world, however, it is that
it has little integrity. Many politicians say or do
anything to get elected, many
businessmen and salesman will get money regardless of
what it takes, many attorneys and judges will compromise
ethics and basic morality to achieve their own ends, and
the examples go on.
Much sadder is the fact
that this has infiltrated the church. Most church
ministry is based on doing anything to fill the church
building, giving people what they want instead of giving
them truth. Truth, in fact, is unashamedly abandoned for
the sake of unity, and tolerance and is replaced with
relativism. Such attitudes do not demonstrate
integrity.
Well, that was
certainly not David’s view in the stanza before us. He
gives us, in fact, no less than seven characteristics of integrity, with the Word of
God again at the center.
I. Awe of
the Word (v. 161)
Princes
have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart
standeth in awe of thy word.
David has repeatedly
mentioned that he is suffering for his commitment to
God’s Word (vs. 28, 50, 67, 71, 75, 83, 92, 107, 109,
143, 153), but here he adds that it is without a
cause. We see the same perplexity in David
during Saul’s pursuit of him, when he said, “Wherefore
doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what
have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?” (1 Sam.
26:18). This could also refer to princes of the Philistines, who mistrusted David (I Sam.
29).
The same thing will
occur if we stand for the truth of God’s Word. Yes,
it would certainly be justified if we were breaking
laws, were guilty of slander, or committed some other
violation of morality. But it will be without a
cause, that is, a justifiable
offense. The only reason it will
come is because men do not like the truth. As Paul asked
the Galatians in a verse that often keeps me going in
the ministry, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because
I tell you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16), to which the answer
is, “Yes!” Sadly, many “preachers” today are not making
any enemies whatsoever because they do not stand for
truth. Yes, they are drawing people in by the tens of
thousands, but they are not drawing those crowds by
telling them the truth.
Why was David
willing to do this? Because he [stood] in awe of
[God’s] word. The Hebrew for awe
(pahad) is the same word
translated “fear” back in verse 120: “My flesh trembleth
for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.” It
speaks of fear and dread and, therefore, pictures the
dread David had of compromising the Word.
Where is that dread today?
We are being told that we should not preach about sin
because it offends people, or that we should not take a
stand on anything because it might alienate people or
invite criticism of our ministry, or that we might
appear intolerant or unloving. But again, that is not
integrity. Peter also writes in his first Epistle: “For
it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer
for well doing, than for evil doing” (3:17) and again,
“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of
God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well
doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (4:19). That, in
fact, will occur when we stand for Christ, as Paul
declares, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution” (II Tim. 3:12). How many
megachurch pastors today are suffering anything for
their positions and teachings? Yes, standing for truth
will art times offend, alienate, invite criticism, or
even cost us our lives, but our willingness to do just
that proves our integrity.
II. Rejoice
in the Word (v. 162)
I
rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great
spoil.
One of the greatest
benefits of battle and conquest in the ancient world was
the spoil it brought. The same is true in more modern
times. Why did Adolph Hitler want Russia? Yes, he hated
the Bolsheviks, but what he really wanted were the
oilfields of the Caucasus Mountains in the south. They
would also open a gateway further south to the oilfields
of the Middle East. What was the whole war about for the
Japanese? Again, raw materials, such as the coveted
oilfields of the Dutch East Indies. The reason for their
attack on Pearl Harbor, of course, was retaliation for
the American embargo against sending them such raw
materials.
Being a military
man, David knew about the value of the spoils of war,
having found great spoil, in
fact, at Ziglag (I Sam. 30:19; 26-31) and from the
children of Ammon (II Sam. 12:30). He, therefore, draws
a comparison. He said, I rejoice at thy word
as one that findeth
great spoil. Spoil
increases one’s wealth, power, satisfaction, influence,
and happiness, and rejoice
(sûs) pictures jubilant
celebration. This pictures soldiers cheering after the
battle as they raise the spoils above their head for all
to see. Unlike physical spoil, however, which never
totally satisfies, God’s Word does. Hitler, for example,
was not satisfied with Russia—which he didn’t actually
take anyway—but he wanted all of Europe and even planned
to invade America; he wanted to capture the world. Only
“spiritual spoil” satisfies.
We should also note that
as the spoils of war do not come easily—they must be
fought for—so the spoils of the Word of God do not come
without conflict. We must labor in it and at times fight
our own rebellion against it. We then even fight for it
and defend it with our lives.
That was
David’s joy in the Word of God. Do we take such joy in
the Word of God? Do we have such integrity? Do we want
it and rejoice in it like the conqueror does the spoils
of war?
III. Love of
the Word (v. 163)
I
hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I
love.
We will look at the
Psalmist’s love of
the Word one more time in verse 167, but the pivotal
principle to note here is that love of
truth automatically demands that we hate
untruth.
I admit to a love of
good western movies, such as John Wayne movies, of
course. One of the things I have noticed about many such
stories is that one of the greatest insults that can be
leveled at someone is calling him a liar. A gunfight
often results. Well it seems like we often avoid calling
a false religion or false teaching a lie because we
don’t want to be insulting, intolerant, judgmental, or
unloving. What we need to realize, however, is that
whatever is not totally true is a lie, plain and simple.
A half-truth told as a whole truth is an untruth. A
half-truth or partial truth is a lie. There is no middle
ground—truth or lie
are the only choices.
So important was
this to the Psalmist, that he emphasizes it twice:
I hate and
abhor lying. We live in day of syrupy
sentimentality where people say, “Oh God is all love,”
but that, too, quite frankly, is a lie. God is also
holy, just, and even wrathful. What do people do with
such verses that declare that God hates not just
wickedness itself (Ps. 45:17), but hates and
condemns the wicked, that is, those who do it
(Ps. 5:5; 11:5). The Hebrew for hate
(sane’) denotes a strong emotion of loathing,
detesting, and despising. Added to that is the word
abhor
(ta‘ab), which speaks of a
severe sense of loathing of something considered an
abomination. Ahab, for example, “did very abominably in
following idols” (I Kings 21:26). In light of what we
mentioned in our last study, most Christians today are
not abhorred by idols by rather bring them right into
their homes and even call them “Christian.” Further, of
the so-called “atheist,” we also read, “The fool hath
said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt,
they have done abominable works, there is none that
doeth good.” Man himself is considered “abominable and
filthy” because he “drinketh iniquity like water” (Job.
15:16).
How much, then, do
we love
truth? Do we love it enough that we hate and
abhor
anything that is not true? Are lies of any kind ever a
part of our speech? Only when we love truth and loathe untruth do we have integrity.
As Puritan Charles Bridges challenges us, “We can
neither stand in awe of God’s Word, nor rejoice at it,
unless we abhor all contrary ways.”[i]
IV. Praise
of God (v. 164)
Seven
times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous
judgments.
So immersed in God
was David that he praised God seven times a
day. One ancient rabbi
says “this is to be understood literally, for they
praised God twice in the morning before reading the
decalogue, and once after; twice in the evening before
the same reading, and twice after; making in the whole
seven times.”[ii] The language,
however, can also be taken figuratively. Since David
says elsewhere that he prayed the normal, prescribed
three times a day (“evening, and morning, and at noon,”
Ps. 55:17), as did Daniel (Dan. 6:10), and since the
number seven is
the number of perfection and is sometimes used to
indicate an indefinite number (Pr. 24:16; Lev. 26:28),
it seems more likely that David simply means that his
praise was throughout the day. That was, in fact, the
very point he makes in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the
LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my
mouth.”
That is also
certainly the spirit of the New Testament. Praise is not
prescribed, rather it is permeating. It is
not a matter of legalism, but one of
liberty. When Paul writes,
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thes. 5:17), the
clear implication is that this praise permeates our day.
Likewise, he wrote to the Ephesians, “Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20) and also to
the Colossians, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to
God and the Father by him” (Col 3:17). Even clearer is
Hebrews 13:15: “By him therefore let us offer the
sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the
fruit of our lips giving thanks to his
name.”
What demonstrates
integrity? Giving God praise and glory for everything,
and that is a full time job.
V. Peace in
the Word (v. 165)
Great
peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall
offend them.
A by-product of
integrity is peace. A man of integrity can sleep well at night
because he knows he has done nothing amiss. A man of
integrity has no fear of blackmail because no one can
find any offense that he is ashamed of and would pay
money to keep hidden.
Most important is
the word offend
(mikshôl), which is often
used figuratively for something that would cause people
to stumble morally and therefore sin, such as wealth
(Ezek. 7:19) and idols (Ezek. 14:3). A person with
integrity simply does not stumble into sin, does not
allow things to draw him into moral failure. Puritan
Matthew Henry perfectly captures the meaning
here:
Nothing shall be a scandal,
snare, or stumbling-block, to them, to entangle them
either in guilt or grief. No event of providence shall
be either an invincible temptation or an intolerable
affliction to them, but their love to the word of God
shall enable them both to hold fast their integrity and
to preserve their
tranquility.
What is it that
protects him? As always, it is the love of
God’s law. When our hearts and minds are set on that,
nothing will trip us up in our walk with
Him.
VI. Hope in
the Word (v. 166)
LORD,
I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy
commandments.
This is the seventh
and final occurrence of hope (or hoped) in
this Psalm (cf. vs. 43, 49, 74, 114, 116, 147). As has
been noted, the Hebrew yahal means “confident
expectation, trust, and patient waiting.” In the
Septuagint, yahal is often translated by the
Greek elpizo, “to expect with
desire.”[iii] Unlike its use
today, biblically, hope always means certainty;
it expresses an attitude of absolute assurance
and rest in that assurance. David had no
uncertainty in salvation, rather assurance and confidence.
What was the proof
of salvation in his life? The fact that he had done [God’s]
commandments. As noted
back in verse 155, proof positive of true conversion is
doing what God has commanded. Echoing the words of his
Lord (Jn. 14:15), the Apostle John wrote: “But whoso
keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (I Jn.
2:5). As Matthew Henry again comments, “We cannot, upon
good grounds, hope for God’s salvation, unless we set
ourselves to do his commandments.”
That is, indeed,
integrity. Many today talk about God, make sweet
speeches about Jesus, and give lip service to the Bible.
But talk is cheap, and what proves our integrity is our
adherence to commandments of God.
VII.
Obedience to the Word (v. 167-168)
My
soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them
exceedingly.
I
have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my
ways are before thee.
The stanza ends with two
principles that speak of obedience.
A
Controlling Adoration of the Word (v. 167)
My
soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them
exceedingly.
This is the final
time David speaks of his love for
the Word of God in this Psalm. He has, in fact,
mentioned this no fewer than eleven
times. Let’s briefly review them
for emphasis by noting four of the eight synonyms for
God’s Word that David uses.
First, he loved
God’s commandments, the clear, definite, and
authoritative commands of God (vs. 47, 48, 127). Second,
he loved God’s law, God’s instruction and
direction (vs. 97, 113, 163, 165). Third, he loved God’s
testimonies, sober and serious expressions of
God’s standards for human behavior (vs. 119, 167).
Fourth, he loved God’s precepts, statements of
how God wants things ordered (v. 159). In addition,
David added that he loved God’s name (v. 132),
because to love God’s Word is to love
God.
Such adoration
controls us. Whatever we adore in our lives is what will
control us. When we truly love the Word of God, it alone
will control our thinking, our attitudes, our actions,
our speech, our desires, our goals—in short,
everything. As Puritan Thomas Watson challenges
us, “Christians should be
walking Bibles.”[iv] Are we?
A
Comprehensive Saturation with the Word (v.
168)
I
have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my
ways are before thee.
So comprehensive, so
all encompassing was David’s involvement with the Word
of God, so sure was he of his saturation with it, that
he could say, all my ways are
before thee. “I am an
open book,” he says in effect.
That is a man
of integrity. Is that you? Are you so controlled and
saturated with the Word of God that you are an open
book? Oh, that we would be men and women of
integrity!
[iv]James Nichols, Ed.,
Puritan Sermons, 1659-1689: Being the Morning
Exercises at Cripplegate, St. Giles in the Fields, and
in Southwark (Wheaton: R. 0.
Roberts, 1981, heading “Direct. XXI.”
.
