God’s Word for You
Psalm 119:106-108 suffering so much
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, October 26, 2024
106 I have sworn an oath and affirmed it,
that I will keep your righteous judgments.
When is swearing an oath not a sin? The Second Commandment forbids misusing God’s name, and swearing is essentially forbidden by the Gospel, when the Lord says, “Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God’s throne, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, or by your head. Just let your yes be yes and your no be no” (Matthew 5:33-37). Yet Jesus was led to swear an oath “by the living God” and did so before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:63-64), and Paul also swore oaths in his letters (Galatians 1:20; 2 Corinthians 1:23). Martin Luther helps the church by cutting right to the point: “We are not to swear in support of evil (that is, to a falsehood) or unnecessarily; but in support of good and for the advantage of our neighbor we are to swear” (Large Catechism).
The Christian may therefore swear an oath if he is required to, such as in a marriage, or before military or government service, when a pastor is ordained and installed, and when a teacher or professor in the church is installed. At confirmation, or if asked questions before baptism. We may be required to swear an oath in a courtroom, and if we are, the presence or absence of a Bible does not make the oath, but our words and consciences bind us—yet we should never take an oath on a so-called holy book of some other religion, such as a Book of Mormon or a Koran. Refuse the book and swear by the name of Jesus Christ if you must, according to the Apostles’ rule: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
In this verse of the Great Psalm, the oath may have been taken at a special moment (such as the coronation of David or another king), or the installation of a temple musician such as Asaph or Heman (1 Chronicles 15:17). But this could simply be taken as “the pledge of a good conscience toward God” (1 Peter 3:21), that is, the bringing of anyone to faith through baptism, which saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of the Old Testament believers put their faith in the coming of the Savior, just as Abraham did (Genesis 12:3, 15:6). It is affirmed every time we worship the Lord, pray to him, sing about him, and tell our children about him.
107 I am suffering so much!
Preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word!
The first line could also be translated, “I have suffered so much!” But so often suffering in the past continues in many other forms in the present. Grief, abuse, physical pain—the memories one man I know of, of car accidents, of broken bones, of being shot (in a work accident), of once being tortured and left alone far from help, of falling from a great height, of not knowing whether you would make it across the bridge so that you could jump to safety because of an unwise decision when a train was coming; the terror of not knowing whether a tornado would veer to the side or not, the strange, quick fear of not knowing whether an earthquake would bring down the building you were in. The panic of losing track of one’s child in a public place. Of being lost and on foot in a strange city. The shock of homelessness. The intimate abuse of being robbed. The helplessness of a loved one’s illness. And there are so very many more. Turbulence in an airplane, fire in a building, a lightning storm with no shelter, the loss of control or strength while swimming a long distance, facing the huge towering swells of the oceans or the Great Lakes. Finding oneself between the bear and her cubs; facing wild dogs or wolves in the dark of a bitter cold winter midnight in the freezing rain and a car with a flat tire.
The believer reaches out in prayer, because there is no one else to reach out to. There are times when we cannot do anything about our circumstances, and we have to pray, “Preserve my life.” When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, in the seventh and final petition we say, “Deliver us from evil.” The devil is a liar, but he is also a murderer (John 8:44). “He incessantly seeks our life and vents his anger by causing accidents and injury to our bodies. He breaks many a man’s neck and drives others to insanity; some he drowns,” Luther writes with sad experience, “and many he hounds to suicide or other dreadful catastrophes.” Therefore there is nothing for us to do but pray and to trust our Lord to bring us through, perhaps to peace in this lifetime but surely and certainly to peace forever in the life of the world to come.
108 Accept the praise I speak, O LORD,
and teach me your judgments.
The two verses before this one depict the simplest outline of the Christian’s life: Coming to faith, looking to God for help in times of trouble. Now we arrive at the third part, which intertwines with the other two: praise and learning.
Our praise of God consists in everything we do to his glory. Praise can be done in public worship, of course, and the benefits of public worship are most especially (1) gathering with and being strengthened by other believers (Hebrews 10:25), (2) hearing the Scriptures read and explained so that we can take them to heart (Revelation 1:3), (3) receiving forgiveness in the absolution and in the sacrament (Matthew 26:28), (4) praying for each other (James 5:16) and (5) actively singing God’s praises to help us remember his blessings in times of trouble (Acts 16:25; Zephaniah 3:17). But praise is also done when we go about our everyday lives and trust in God’s help. Therefore the mother praises God when she tucks in a baby for a nap. A worker praises God by working to the best of their ability. A dad praises God when he listens to his children, jokes with them often, disciplines them when necessary, and loves them.
When you experience distress in this Christian life, or lose your footing along the steep path and the slippery footing that the devil churns up with all his filth and slime, then grab the biggest branch and the strongest tree, which is the cross of Jesus Christ. Throw yourself back into the classroom and learn from him “answers for deliverance.” If you are willing, you will be taught. The Gospels, the Epistles, and the Psalms are the best subject matter in an emergency, and of course the whole Bible is well worth our constant study and attention. Write passages down either on paper or the tablet of your heart for pondering and meditation. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as Paul said to the Colossians (3:16), and whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.