153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
156 Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord: quicken me according to thy judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lovingkindness.
160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
We face persecution and ridicule, but we must rely on God to justify us and to defend us in the final day.
How do we feel in the recitation of this Psalm?
This life is full of grief, affliction, persecution, and attack from the enemy. Yet, we serve a big heavenly Father, and His tender mercies are greater by far than the persecution of the enemy. We feel secure when we listen to His words and trust in His lovingkindness.
Verses 153-155.
This section of the Psalm contrasts “us” or the Psalmist who speaks in the first person with the wicked. The first contrast shows up in these three verses. There are only two possible arrangements when it comes to a man’s relationship with God: either he is in relationship or out of relationship with God.
The Psalmist speaks to God as he would speak to a powerful advocate. Apparently, he is in a weakened position, a bad state of affairs. Often, leaders face criticism, ridicule, vicious attacks, and efforts to undermine their work. Their reputations are constantly at risk, and there is no way they can control all forces in the universe to prevent the worst possible scenario from playing out. Nobody makes all the right judgment calls, and the potential for error is high. That is why this man prays to God to deliver him and plead his cause. He would much rather submit himself to the judgment (and mercy) of God than to the cruel and arbitrary judgments of the wicked.
The difference between the wicked and the righteous is set out again here. On the one hand, the godly man keeps God’s law ever before him. He evaluates the books he reads, the films he watches, and the news reports he hears by the laws of God. This is the only basis by which he can distinguish between good and bad literature and films. On the other hand, the wicked could not care less about God’s standards of righteousness. When Christians are attacked for taking positions against certain politically-correct sins of the day, their opponents will never appeal to biblical law to make their case. They will half-heartedly grab three words about love out of 1 John, but they will never refer to 1 John 3:4 (the biblical definition of sin). Two things, then, can be said about the wicked: they have no use for the laws of God, and when they hear the law of God, they will not for a moment allow these words to convict them of their sins in order that they might cry out to God for salvation. Therefore, salvation is very far from the wicked. They see no need for salvation. They don’t want to be saved from their sins because they love their sins!
Verses 156-158.
Here, again, is a second contrast laid out between the Psalmist and “the transgressors.” The godly man sees himself as corrupted by sin, afflicted by the death curse placed on him by the fall. He needs God to give him life. Verse 156 is almost a word-for-word repeat of verse 149. It is appropriate that we repeat these cries for mercy throughout our lives. In fact, the Christian life is really one long prayer for God’s quickening, which must end in our resurrection (or we will be doomed forever).
This man is hated by many, and generally, those who hate good and godly leaders are more plentiful and more passionate than those who love them. That is just the way it will be in a fallen world. Everybody wants to be appreciated, and nobody really enjoys being hated. Yet, what matters most is that we are accepted by God. This carries eternal consequences. Thus, the Psalmist will stay true to the Word of God. When Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty spoke against homosexuality, quoting 1 Corinthians 6, in December of 2013, he lost a $3,000,000 per year contract with the A&E Television Network and the nation was in an uproar. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what kind of standards powerful interests and persecuting governments have laid out for us. What matters most is that we are true to the commandments of God. This is the standard by which we must continually measure ourselves, the standard by which we must repent of falling short. It is the standard according to which we must seek God’s forgiveness when we do fall short.
Meanwhile, the transgressors have no interest whatsoever in the standards of God’s Word. This is very grievous to the Psalmist (verse 158). It breaks his heart that his neighbors kill their babies in the womb, commit fornication, produce children out of wedlock, take God’s name in vain, violate the Sabbath day, and worship idols. These things motivate the man to preach the Gospel and call all men everywhere to repentance.
Verses 159-160.
Repeatedly, the Psalmist prays for God’s quickening, in accord with His judgments and with His mercy or lovingkindness. In these petitions, he oscillates between judgment to mercy, knowing that God must be true to His justice in His mercy. Since the corruption and death of man come by way of God’s judgment and curse upon us, what can possibly break this curse? The Psalmist does not have the answer for this, but such is the thrust of his petition. By the lovingkindness of God, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law!” (Gal. 3:13).
There is something about God’s laws that endures forever (verse 160). While there are certain laws that are limited by application or situation, the principle of God’s ethics remains in stone. For example, circumcision, the animal sacrifices and elements of the Sabbath laws were repealed in the New Testament. However, there is still a principle that stands behind the sacrifices: “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). This is the righteous judgment that has stood from the beginning and will endure forever. The Old Testament animal sacrifices (as an application to this principle), were inefficient and short-lived.
With Christ’s sacrifice, however, this eternal judgment is maintained and God’s people are redeemed. In the Old Testament times, God required the children of Israel to provide a parapet around the roof tops, so as to prevent accidental loss of life when people congregated there (for fellowship and the like). This specific application is of little use in a society with sloped roofs, where people do not congregate on rooftops. However, the principle behind it, the “respect for human life,” endures. Every one of God’s righteous judgments endures for ever.
Are we willing to be corrected by the laws of God? It is better to come under the criticism of God’s law than the criticism of wicked men, who base their expectations on arbitrary standards. For one thing, we know that God is more merciful than wicked men when we fail to meet their standards. Let us continually come back to the laws of God and play by His rules. When we fall short, let us confess our sins, seek forgiveness, and then walk according to His ways.
Occasionally, the church may call a day of prayer and fasting over the sins of a community. If a pagan city like Nineveh would repent in order to avoid God’s judgment upon them, certainly Christians ought to grieve over the sins of the wicked that proliferate in their communities. This should happen because we live in the same community and we are sensitive to God’s perspective concerning these things.
1. What are the two possible relationships a man may have with God?
2. Why is salvation so very far away from the wicked?
3. What is the final act of God’s quickening in our lives?
4. What is the Psalmist’s emotional reaction to the wicked?
5. What is the difference between a righteous judgment and an application to God’s laws? Provide several examples.
6. Why does it appear that this Psalmist may be a leader of some kind?
1. How do you handle criticism and persecution? What do you draw from this passage that can help you through these difficult times?
2. What other Old Testament laws might be considered permanent principles, and what might be considered temporary applications