Psa 119:31 | KingComments | STEP | The letter or the word daleth has two meanings: ‘door’ and ‘humble’, ‘poor’, ‘oppressed’. These two thoughts come together in the Sermon on the Mount of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5-7, where He says: “Enter through the narrow gate; … For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” ( ). The way to life can only be walked by one who has first entered through the narrow gate. Only one who is humble and poor can enter through that narrow gate. Thus he, the psalmist, comes through the gate onto the way of life. We find five verses in this daleth stanza with the expression “the way”. A door is also the boundary between two areas, for example, between outside and inside. Thus, the Word as a door, through which we can enter only in humility, brings us to the way of life, which is the Lord Jesus, in a field of living in fellowship with the Father ( ). The psalmist is downcast ( ). His “soul cleaves to the dust”, for he is near death (cf. ). He experiences how void and mortal he is. We find here “dust” ( ) and “weep” ( ), which speaks of grief and sorrow. The gate or door takes us from the road of death to the road to and of life. That road ends in salvation, but along the way the righteous encounter trouble and sorrow (cf. ). On that way the LORD is with him. Thus the LORD does not keep Daniel from the lions’ den, but He keeps him in the lions’ den; the LORD does not keep Daniel’s three friends from the furnace of blazing fire, but He keeps them in that same the furnace of blazing fire. If on our path of life there is a stone that hinders us, the Lord does not take away the stone, but will send His angels to carry us, lest we not strike our foot against a stone ( ; cf. ). That is, the Lord does not take away the difficulties, but helps us to overcome them. The psalmist sees only one way to revive and that is for the LORD to revive him “according to Your word”. He knows that God’s Word has life in it and is powerful to deliver him from the power of death and give him life. This is about deliverance from physical death. The blessing of the new covenant indicates that the remnant will live and thus inherit the kingdom. This characterizes the faithful. He does not seek an easier path of faith, but turns to the LORD to live life as He desires. Many times in the past the psalmist has experienced the faithfulness of the LORD. This gives him confidence to continue to trust Him in the future. He has told his ways to the LORD, which may include a confession of going his own ways, “my ways” ( ). If we have to confess sins, it is important to tell the Lord everything about our life’s journey and not to hide anything. To confess means to see and name everything, as the Lord sees and names it. In Hebrew, to confess means to ‘enumerate’, that is, to tell all things one by one. In Greek, confess means ‘to say the same thing’ that is, to say the same thing about this subject as God. Based on what the psalmist said to God, God answered his prayer of the previous verse and revived him. The believer learns here the important truth that he must be taught God’s statutes if he is to be glorified with Christ. This will enable him to keep to the ways of God and he will not fall into the error of going his own ways again. He immediately follows this up by asking God to make him “understand the way of Your precepts” ( ). In , the psalmist has acknowledged that he is ignorant and therefore in need of teaching. But teaching is not enough. Therefore, the psalmist now asks if the LORD will give him understanding, enabling him to apply the teaching he has received to his life and also to pass it on to others (cf. ). He wants to go the way of God’s precepts because in that way he experiences fellowship with God. That is a way of wonders. Those who live in fellowship with God see more and more the wonders of His guidance and preservation. These wonders are worth meditating on because they show Who God is and of what He is capable. It can be small wonders as well as great ones. There are also circumstances in which the soul “weeps because of grief” ( ). This happens, for example, when he looks at himself a lot. That always depresses a believer (cf. ; ). ‘To weep because of grief’ is literally ‘to melt away’. By the weight of his sorrow, the psalmist melts away, he becomes liquid, as it were, he turns to tears. Then it is dark in life and the wonders seem so far away. The cause of the tears of sorrow can be very diverse. It can be illness or disappointment or deceit or slander or injustice, but also sins. Then, with a single word from His Word, God is able to strengthen again the life that has been depressed by sorrow. It can be a word of comfort or a word of exhortation, depending on the occasion of the sorrow. The psalmist realizes that he can only be helped by a Person. We know that God comforts by pointing to Christ (cf. ; ). What the psalmist does not want is to go “the false way”, that is, the way of sinners ( ; ). When we see this verse in the context of the previous verse and the verse after it, it concerns the lie about one’s own spiritual situation. How easy it is for a believer to appear outwardly as ‘spiritually minded’ while inside, in his heart, things are not right. To the outside, a person can have the appearance of a spiritually minded brother or sister, but inside, things are morally not right, there may even be corruption. The false way, the way of lies, is the way of unfaithfulness to the LORD and His covenant. He cannot avoid that way in his own strength. Therefore, he asks the LORD: “Remove the false way from me.” Instead, he asks: “Graciously grant me Your law.” The law, given in grace as a guide for life, places before the false way the sign: dead end. The way of the lie ends in death. Under the new covenant the law will be given or written in the hearts of the believing Israelites ( ). What grace! In our hearts are not written the stone tablets of the law, but Christ is written on the flesh tablets of our hearts ( ). What infinite grace! Opposed to the false way ( ) is “the faithful way” or “the way of faithfulness” ( ). It is the way of faithfulness to the LORD and His covenant. The psalmist has “chosen” that way. God wants us to go that way, but does not force us to go that way. He presents us as responsible people with a choice. It has been so since paradise. We choose the right way when we place God’s ordinances before us. This is about sincerity, about uprightness, about truth in our innermost being ( ). Because Eve had not set God’s ordinances before her eyes, she chose the false way, the way of unfaithfulness to God. And David walked the false way for quite some time when, despite his sin with Uriah and Bathsheba, he carried on with his life as if nothing had happened. The psalmist has said in the first verse of this stanza that his soul cleaves to the dust ( ). By the exercises of his soul in the following verses, he has now come to the point where he can say to the LORD: “I cling to Your testimonies” ( ). By this he clings to the LORD Himself, so that he cannot be torn away from it. It is a renewed commitment, see , to remain close to the Lord with resolute heart ( ). In he cleaves to the dust; now he clings – the same verb – to the LORD. The word “clinging” is first used in the Bible for the firm connection between Adam and Eve, where it is translated “joined” ( ). Similarly, the psalmist has a firm connection to the testimonies of the LORD. The psalmist also senses how fragile this clinging or joining still is. Therefore, he appeals to the LORD not to put him to shame in this (cf. ). The word “for” in is better translated “because”. The meaning is that the LORD has enlarged the heart of the psalmist. He shall run in the way of the commandments of the LORD with a relieved heart and renewed confidence and renewed intentions ( ). There are no more inner hindrances. He has put away the false way ( ) and chosen the faithful way ( ). Now the Lord can work in his heart. His heart is enlarged to the commandments, so he knows which way to walk. “To run” in Hebrew is “to hasten”. While at first he clings to the dust and cannot be moved forward ( ) and is in the process of melting away ( ), he now is able to walk with renewed strength ( ) in the narrow way of the LORD with steady step.

‏ Psalms 119:31

/daleth/ The Door and Way of Life

The letter or the word daleth has two meanings: ‘door’ and ‘humble’, ‘poor’, ‘oppressed’. These two thoughts come together in the Sermon on the Mount of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5-7, where He says: “Enter through the narrow gate; … For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Mt 7:13-14).

The way to life can only be walked by one who has first entered through the narrow gate. Only one who is humble and poor can enter through that narrow gate. Thus he, the psalmist, comes through the gate onto the way of life. We find five verses in this daleth stanza with the expression “the way”.

A door is also the boundary between two areas, for example, between outside and inside. Thus, the Word as a door, through which we can enter only in humility, brings us to the way of life, which is the Lord Jesus, in a field of living in fellowship with the Father (Jn 10:9 ; Jn 14:6).

The psalmist is downcast (Psa 119:25). His “soul cleaves to the dust”, for he is near death (cf. Psa 104:29). He experiences how void and mortal he is. We find here “dust” (Psa 119:25) and “weep” (Psa 119:28), which speaks of grief and sorrow. The gate or door takes us from the road of death to the road to and of life. That road ends in salvation, but along the way the righteous encounter trouble and sorrow (cf. Mk 10:30). On that way the LORD is with him. Thus the LORD does not keep Daniel from the lions’ den, but He keeps him in the lions’ den; the LORD does not keep Daniel’s three friends from the furnace of blazing fire, but He keeps them in that same the furnace of blazing fire.

If on our path of life there is a stone that hinders us, the Lord does not take away the stone, but will send His angels to carry us, lest we not strike our foot against a stone (Psa 91:11-12; cf. Mt 4:6). That is, the Lord does not take away the difficulties, but helps us to overcome them.

The psalmist sees only one way to revive and that is for the LORD to revive him “according to Your word”. He knows that God’s Word has life in it and is powerful to deliver him from the power of death and give him life. This is about deliverance from physical death. The blessing of the new covenant indicates that the remnant will live and thus inherit the kingdom. This characterizes the faithful. He does not seek an easier path of faith, but turns to the LORD to live life as He desires.

Many times in the past the psalmist has experienced the faithfulness of the LORD. This gives him confidence to continue to trust Him in the future. He has told his ways to the LORD, which may include a confession of going his own ways, “my ways” (Psa 119:26).

If we have to confess sins, it is important to tell the Lord everything about our life’s journey and not to hide anything. To confess means to see and name everything, as the Lord sees and names it. In Hebrew, to confess means to ‘enumerate’, that is, to tell all things one by one. In Greek, confess means ‘to say the same thing’ that is, to say the same thing about this subject as God.

Based on what the psalmist said to God, God answered his prayer of the previous verse and revived him. The believer learns here the important truth that he must be taught God’s statutes if he is to be glorified with Christ. This will enable him to keep to the ways of God and he will not fall into the error of going his own ways again.

He immediately follows this up by asking God to make him “understand the way of Your precepts” (Psa 119:27). In Psa 119:26, the psalmist has acknowledged that he is ignorant and therefore in need of teaching. But teaching is not enough. Therefore, the psalmist now asks if the LORD will give him understanding, enabling him to apply the teaching he has received to his life and also to pass it on to others (cf. 2Tim 3:14).

He wants to go the way of God’s precepts because in that way he experiences fellowship with God. That is a way of wonders. Those who live in fellowship with God see more and more the wonders of His guidance and preservation. These wonders are worth meditating on because they show Who God is and of what He is capable. It can be small wonders as well as great ones.

There are also circumstances in which the soul “weeps because of grief” (Psa 119:28). This happens, for example, when he looks at himself a lot. That always depresses a believer (cf. 1Kgs 19:13-14; Psa 73:13-16). ‘To weep because of grief’ is literally ‘to melt away’. By the weight of his sorrow, the psalmist melts away, he becomes liquid, as it were, he turns to tears.

Then it is dark in life and the wonders seem so far away. The cause of the tears of sorrow can be very diverse. It can be illness or disappointment or deceit or slander or injustice, but also sins. Then, with a single word from His Word, God is able to strengthen again the life that has been depressed by sorrow. It can be a word of comfort or a word of exhortation, depending on the occasion of the sorrow. The psalmist realizes that he can only be helped by a Person. We know that God comforts by pointing to Christ (cf. Rom 7:24; Heb 12:2-3).

What the psalmist does not want is to go “the false way”, that is, the way of sinners (Psa 119:29; Psa 1:1). When we see this verse in the context of the previous verse and the verse after it, it concerns the lie about one’s own spiritual situation. How easy it is for a believer to appear outwardly as ‘spiritually minded’ while inside, in his heart, things are not right. To the outside, a person can have the appearance of a spiritually minded brother or sister, but inside, things are morally not right, there may even be corruption.

The false way, the way of lies, is the way of unfaithfulness to the LORD and His covenant. He cannot avoid that way in his own strength. Therefore, he asks the LORD: “Remove the false way from me.” Instead, he asks: “Graciously grant me Your law.” The law, given in grace as a guide for life, places before the false way the sign: dead end. The way of the lie ends in death.

Under the new covenant the law will be given or written in the hearts of the believing Israelites (Jer 31:33). What grace! In our hearts are not written the stone tablets of the law, but Christ is written on the flesh tablets of our hearts (2Cor 3:3). What infinite grace!

Opposed to the false way (Psa 119:29) is “the faithful way” or “the way of faithfulness” (Psa 119:30). It is the way of faithfulness to the LORD and His covenant. The psalmist has “chosen” that way. God wants us to go that way, but does not force us to go that way. He presents us as responsible people with a choice. It has been so since paradise.

We choose the right way when we place God’s ordinances before us. This is about sincerity, about uprightness, about truth in our innermost being (Psa 51:6). Because Eve had not set God’s ordinances before her eyes, she chose the false way, the way of unfaithfulness to God. And David walked the false way for quite some time when, despite his sin with Uriah and Bathsheba, he carried on with his life as if nothing had happened.

The psalmist has said in the first verse of this stanza that his soul cleaves to the dust (Psa 119:25). By the exercises of his soul in the following verses, he has now come to the point where he can say to the LORD: “I cling to Your testimonies” (Psa 119:31). By this he clings to the LORD Himself, so that he cannot be torn away from it. It is a renewed commitment, see Psa 119:32, to remain close to the Lord with resolute heart (Acts 11:23). In Psa 119:25 he cleaves to the dust; now he clings – the same verb – to the LORD.

The word “clinging” is first used in the Bible for the firm connection between Adam and Eve, where it is translated “joined” (Gen 2:24). Similarly, the psalmist has a firm connection to the testimonies of the LORD. The psalmist also senses how fragile this clinging or joining still is. Therefore, he appeals to the LORD not to put him to shame in this (cf. Rom 9:33b).

The word “for” in Psa 119:32b is better translated “because”. The meaning is that the LORD has enlarged the heart of the psalmist. He shall run in the way of the commandments of the LORD with a relieved heart and renewed confidence and renewed intentions (Psa 119:32a).

There are no more inner hindrances. He has put away the false way (Psa 119:29) and chosen the faithful way (Psa 119:30). Now the Lord can work in his heart. His heart is enlarged to the commandments, so he knows which way to walk. “To run” in Hebrew is “to hasten”. While at first he clings to the dust and cannot be moved forward (Psa 119:25) and is in the process of melting away (Psa 119:28), he now is able to walk with renewed strength (Isa 40:31) in the narrow way of the LORD with steady step.