Embrace the Word for Friday, September 25, 2026

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Psalm 119 is a celebration of God’s Word. Psalm 119:17-24 continues the exploration of a “blessed” life. Each verse in this third stanza begins with the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet (which is gimel). The first two stanzas introduced the internal struggles that the Psalmist faced with his own heart. Starting with this third stanza, the Psalmist adds another kind of struggle that he faces: external struggles from enemies who not only oppose him, but also plot against him. The Psalmist faces pressures within and pressures without. But whether the struggles are internal or external, the Psalmist stays prayerfully focused on his need for God’s Word. Some common terms or phrases that carry over from the previous stanzas and into this third stanza include: “behold” or “fix my eyes” (119:6,15,18), “wander” (119:10,21), and “meditate” (119:15,23). In the first sub-stanza of this third stanza, the Psalmist emphasizes his own need for the LORD (119:17-20), while in the second sub-stanza the Psalmist emphasizes the situation with his enemies (119:21-24). The term “servant,” which is the first of many usages in Psalm 119, is used in each sub-stanza of this third stanza (119:17,23).

Psalm 119:17-24 opens with the Psalmist expressing his desire to live: “Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word” (119:17). The Psalmist asks the LORD to not merely keep him alive, but in keeping him alive, to also keep him faithful in his covenant relationship with the LORD. Further, the Psalmist is not merely asking to be kept alive so that he might keep God’s Word, he is implying that it is the Word of God that keeps him alive. True life is experienced by knowing and obeying the LORD through His Word. In requesting that the LORD would “deal bountifully” with him, the Psalmist demonstrates his understanding that to be rescued as well as preserved by the LORD would allow him to live a kind of life in the fullness of all that the LORD intends for him. The threats and troubles of enemies are causing the Psalmist great difficulty in experiencing the life that the LORD has purposed for him. So the Psalmist prays: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (119:18). In light of the present troubles, the Psalmist knows that he needs divine help to understand more fully what the LORD is doing in his life at this moment. The Psalmist realizes he cannot make sense of his present situation in his own abilities. The LORD must “open” or uncover his eyes that he might see things rightly. It is the LORD who must also enable him to “behold” or perceive “wonderful things” from God’s Word. The Word of God is full of incredibly profound and amazingly marvelous truths. But not everyone who merely reads God’s Word sees these “wonderful things.” Thus, while reading and comprehending are natural human operations, prayerfully reading as well as prayerfully comprehending requires the aid of the Spirit of God.

As the Psalmist asks for help in making sense of what is unfolding in his life, he is becoming increasingly aware of his true status as an alien: “I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!” (119:19). The imagery the Psalmist is expressing reflects not only how he perceives himself, but also his unfamiliarity with his surroundings. The Psalmist grasps that he is like a “sojourner” or alien, for he is living in an environment where his truest loyalties lie elsewhere. As an alien in an alien land, the Psalmist is realizing the likelihood of facing hostilities from a people and place that is unfamiliar with and even opposed to the will and ways of God revealed through His Word. In such a hostile environment, the Psalmist is even more acutely aware of his need for God’s Word: “hide not your commandments from me!” The Psalmist knows that he needs God and His Word at all times and in every situation of life, but in his present situation, he feels within him a heightened awareness: “My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times” (119:20). The Psalmist, in a strange and hostile environment, is experiencing an intensified yearning for the Word of God. The Psalmist declares that his “soul,” that is, his whole being, would be “consumed” or crushed to pieces, that is shattered, if he were to continue living in his present situation without God’s Word. He desperately needs the wisdom and the guidance as well as the hope that only God, only through His Word, can provide.

The Psalmist transitions from his awareness of his own needs before the LORD (119:17-20) to providing further details concerning those who are against him: “You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments” (119:21). The Psalmist starts with stating three things concerning his enemies. The Psalmist’s enemies are “insolent,” that is, they are full of pride, presumptuous about their lives before God, and brazenly wicked in their treatment of others. The Psalmist also acknowledges that his enemies are “accursed,” that is, they are cut off from God’s blessings and the recipients of His curse and condemnation. The Psalmist adds one more thing about his enemies: they have no regard to practice what God says in His Word. Notice from an earlier stanza, what the Psalmist’s aspiration is concerning God’s Word: “let me not wander from your commandments!” (119:10b). Such a prayer would never stir in the hearts of his enemies. The Psalmist knows that the kind of people that he has just described, are the kind of people that the LORD rebukes. So, the Psalmist is implying that the LORD needs to rebuke the specific people in his life who are arrogant and condemned, for they do not have any regard for God’s Word. The Psalmist prays that the persecution he has received from his enemies be stopped: “Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies” (119:22). The scorn and contempt that his enemies have shown against him was unfounded, for the Psalmist has purposed to obey God’s Word. In other words, the persecution that he is facing is unwarranted.

The Psalmist expands on the identity of his enemies: “Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes” (119:23). As it turns out, the Psalmist’s enemies who have taunted, threatened, and treated him ill, are “princes.” The term “princes” suggests that they were either key government leaders and/or other people of much clot and prestige. Whoever they were, the Psalmist knows they have true power to effectively plot or scheme great harm against him. But while they are wickedly conspiring to harm him, the Psalmist is thoughtfully considering what God has said in His Word. And while the Psalmist would no doubt face troubling thoughts as he reflected on what his enemies might do next, he experiences a measure of joy: “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors” (119:24). The Psalmist can experience a sense of delight even though his enemies are conspiring against him, for the LORD is counseling him through His Word. Through His Word, the LORD is not only advising the Psalmist what he should do, He is also giving approval to him as to what He is doing. Such is the glad assurances of a “servant” of the LORD.

As we reflect on Psalm 119:17-24, we can consider the heightened need for God’s Word when facing hostilities from God’s enemies. First off, the Word of God informs that all who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, will face the same sort of hostilities that Jesus Himself faced: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (See John 15:18-20a). The Apostle Peter identifies those who follow Christ as exiles living far from their true homeland: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (See 1 Peter 1:1). And as exiles, all who follow Christ are to live distinctly while dwelling in a foreign land: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (See 1 Peter 2:11-14). To know how to live distinctly as sojourners, as well as to be sustained to live distinctly requires constant and continual strength and guidance from God’s Word: ““I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!” (119:19).

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, September 25, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, September 28, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 119:25-32.