God’s Word for You

Psalm 119:145-146 the life of sanctification

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, December 28, 2024

Here we come to the Qoph stanza. Once again the poet emphasizes sanctified living, which is putting the word of God into practice by knowing it, believing it, obeying its statutes and laws and loving its gospel promise. In this stanza we will also encounter some of the passages that were given special emphasis in the monasteries and what came to be called the canonical hours.

145 I call with all my heart. Answer me, O LORD.
I will keep watch over your statutes.
146 I call out to you.
Save me and I will keep your testimonies.

These opening verses of this stanza almost appear to be conditional. That is, they could almost be read as an “If A, then B” sentence: “If you save me, I will obey you.” But we need to remember what it means to be saved. To be saved in the Bible is a picture of being rescued from a hopeless situation. It is to be snatched unconscious from a burning building, or to be drowning and then be lifted out of the water by someone else. To be saved is to be incapable of escape, but then to be brought to safety.

Now, bring that picture into verse 146: “Rescue me (because I will die if you don’t), and (then) I will keep your law.” The idea isn’t really that we will only give something to God, like obedience, on the condition that he saves us. Instead, the Psalm writer is telling God, “I can’t keep your law at all, God. Only you can save me—and the result will be that I will keep your law.” We don’t obey God’s commands in order to be saved. We can’t. We can’t because no matter how hard we try, we will fail to keep God’s requirements. But now that our sins have been forgiven, day after day we put down our sinful human nature and set to the work of doing what God commands, simply out of thanks. When we begin to think our good deeds have any merit toward our eternal lives, it is time to evaluate what is most important: Jesus Christ, crucified for us.

The words that begin with the letter qoph which begin each verse are the same word here: qara’, “I call out.” The writer’s words are very similar to those of Jonah as he prayed from the belly of the whale: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me” (Jonah 2:2). But of course, Jonah is quoting Psalm 18:6 (2 Samuel 22:7). Was our poet also using the same Psalm? If our poet was David himself, then he is rather more likely to be using his own frequent language in prayer. This is how David addressed the Lord, by calling out and fully expecting to be answered. In David’s case, answers sometimes came in the form of actual words from God or his prophet. When God answers our prayers, he most often does so by providing the good things that we ask for, by blessing our lives, and by giving us insight and understanding through his word to bring answers to those questions that nag at us.

There are also those times when God uses ministers and teachers as well as parents and good neighbors to answer questions. In our church, we use cards in the pews for attendance and also for prayer requests or other communication with the pastors, and there are many children who ask questions through those cards. It isn’t the same as prayer itself, but it always leads to prayers, and we try to answer as many of those questions as we can. The Lord himself called me through his people to be the pastor of this church, and surely it is inevitable that I will give some of his answers to his flock, much like the lesser men, family heads and fathers, who helped Moses with some of the cases that were brought before him (Exodus 18:21-26). Therefore we must study the word of God all the time, day upon day—not so that we will always know all of the answers by heart, but so that we will remember where to look in the word of God to ease the consciences and to inform the fine questions of God’s good people. This is the beginning of the life of sanctification: Knowing our Savior, reading his word, and trusting him above all things.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

Browse Devotion Archive