Psa 119:84 | KingComments | STEP | The eleventh letter, kaph , depicts a covering. The meaning of the letter’s name is ‘an opened hand(palm)’, a hand in connection with action, for instance, laying on of hands, protection. When the LORD says to Moses “and cover you with My hand until I have passed by” ( ), that is His ‘opened hand’. The first time we find the word kaph in the Bible, defines the meaning of the word: “Stretch out your hand [ jad ] and grasp [it] [that is the serpent] by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand [ kaph ]” ( ). The danger of the serpent was averted by the opened hand covering the danger. The kaph stanza shows us the psalmist in sorrow and affliction. He is in distress and in great danger. In accordance with the covenant and promise of the LORD, he seeks refuge behind the protective hand of the LORD. There he is safe, as Moses was in the cleft of the rock, and as Zion is with the LORD: “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms [of My hands]; your walls are continually before Me” ( ). The whole stanza speaks of the danger that surrounds the psalmist and how he deals with it. The righteous looks forward with intense longing to the salvation of the LORD, to His rescue from distress and that he may be led into peace ( ). He languishes for it so intensely that his soul – that is, his person, soul and body – has succumbed to it. But he has waited for what the LORD has said. He held on to that and it held on to him. He has not sought his salvation, his rescue, from himself or from anyone else. The psalmist is in danger of succumbing to the distress, prophetic the persecution under the antichrist. He deeply longs for deliverance from this danger. In danger, he clings to His Word in confidence of God’s promise (cf. ). His soul has succumbed, yes, especially his eyes have failed, because of the longing for the promises of the LORD ( ). He has asked Him: “When will You comfort me?” He needs comfort, that is what he longs for. The God-fearing has no doubt that the LORD will comfort him. He also desires to know when He will do it. By doing so, he indicates that he desires the fulfillment to take place as soon as possible. He is completely at the end of his strength, he is exhausted ( ). He compares himself to a wineskin hanging in the smoke. The smoke takes away the flexibility of the wineskin and turns it black. It symbolizes prolonged oppression that scorches and suffocates, preventing him from breathing. It can be compared to the patience that disappears when a child just keeps whining. Thus we see with Samson: “It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death” [that is because of Delilah’s nagging] ( ; cf. ) The word “comfort” in the previous verse, in Hebrew has the meaning of breathing deeply, in this case of relief because redemption has come. The cause of his great distress is that he feeds on the statutes of the LORD. Those statutes he has not forgotten. That is why he is persecuted by the wicked. How long will he be able to live on, whereby he counts in days ( )? When it comes to the suffering of the believing remnant the Bible usually speaks in days ( ). When it comes to the domination of the enemy the Bible usually counts in times or years, for example, a time, which is one year, times, which is two years, and half a time, which is half a year, together three and a half years. Life is short, but the days can be long for one who is oppressed when he is pursued from day to day by persecutors (cf. ). He again calls himself “Your servant”, indicating that he is in need because of serving the LORD. He asks Him when He will bring judgment on his persecutors so that he will be delivered from the threat of death. He does not take the law into his own hands, but leaves the vengeance to God (cf. ; ; ; ). He knows that his persecutors, whom he calls “arrogant”, “have dug pits” to catch him in them and then kill him ( ). The imagery makes it clear that the psalmist feels like a prey animal amidst of hunters who are trying to capture this animal through traps. They have made several traps, that much they are out for his death. Traps are an unrecognized danger. If you recognize the danger, you are vigilant, but if you do not recognize the danger, it is extra dangerous. They dug pits, even though God has forbidden it. Nowhere is there an explicit commandment ‘you shall not dig pits’, but it does say that a person should love his neighbor as himself. Digging pits to catch someone in them and then kill them is clearly against that. But these people have no ears for God’s teaching through the law. The persecuted faithful confesses that all the commandments of the LORD, that is, without even one exception, are trustworthy ( ). His enemies assail him with lies and slander, traps, which almost destroy him. He calls on the LORD’s help to deliver him. Through the covenant faithfulness of the LORD, he is brought to safety by the protective, opened hand, kaph , of the LORD. The Lord Jesus was persecuted with falsehood because He testified to the trustworthiness of God’s commandments. This will be experienced by every believer who testifies to that. The persecution is fierce. It goes to the edge of a ravine ( ). Almost the persecutors have destroyed the righteous on earth. If the days of persecution ( ) were not shortened – to 1,260 days – all the remnant would have been killed ( ; cf. ). However, this threat of death did not cause them to forsake the LORD’s precepts. They stuck to it, which means they stuck to life. They held fast to the covenant and remained alive in accordance with it. The persecuted remnant asks God to revive them, appealing to God’s lovingkindness ( ). If God does, they will heed the testimony of God’s mouth. The remnant sees their life in connection with life on earth. It may be that God hears their prayer and He allows them to live on earth. Even if they are killed, their prayer will be answered. For they will be made alive in the resurrection. Then they will perfectly keep the testimony of God’s mouth, for it will be written in their hearts. Thus, to put it in a New Testament way, they are more than victors through Him Who loved them ( ).

‏ Psalms 119:84

/kaph/ Covered by God’s Hand

The eleventh letter, kaph, depicts a covering. The meaning of the letter’s name is ‘an opened hand(palm)’, a hand in connection with action, for instance, laying on of hands, protection. When the LORD says to Moses “and cover you with My hand until I have passed by” (Exo 33:21-22), that is His ‘opened hand’.

The first time we find the word kaph in the Bible, defines the meaning of the word: “Stretch out your hand [jad] and grasp [it] [that is the serpent] by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand [kaph]” (Exo 4:4). The danger of the serpent was averted by the opened hand covering the danger.

The kaph stanza shows us the psalmist in sorrow and affliction. He is in distress and in great danger. In accordance with the covenant and promise of the LORD, he seeks refuge behind the protective hand of the LORD. There he is safe, as Moses was in the cleft of the rock, and as Zion is with the LORD: “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms [of My hands]; your walls are continually before Me” (Isa 49:16). The whole stanza speaks of the danger that surrounds the psalmist and how he deals with it.

The righteous looks forward with intense longing to the salvation of the LORD, to His rescue from distress and that he may be led into peace (Psa 119:81). He languishes for it so intensely that his soul – that is, his person, soul and body – has succumbed to it.

But he has waited for what the LORD has said. He held on to that and it held on to him. He has not sought his salvation, his rescue, from himself or from anyone else. The psalmist is in danger of succumbing to the distress, prophetic the persecution under the antichrist. He deeply longs for deliverance from this danger. In danger, he clings to His Word in confidence of God’s promise (cf. Phil 4:6-7).

His soul has succumbed, yes, especially his eyes have failed, because of the longing for the promises of the LORD (Psa 119:82). He has asked Him: “When will You comfort me?” He needs comfort, that is what he longs for. The God-fearing has no doubt that the LORD will comfort him. He also desires to know when He will do it. By doing so, he indicates that he desires the fulfillment to take place as soon as possible.

He is completely at the end of his strength, he is exhausted (Psa 119:83). He compares himself to a wineskin hanging in the smoke. The smoke takes away the flexibility of the wineskin and turns it black. It symbolizes prolonged oppression that scorches and suffocates, preventing him from breathing. It can be compared to the patience that disappears when a child just keeps whining. Thus we see with Samson: “It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death” [that is because of Delilah’s nagging] (Jdg 16:16; cf. Lk 18:4-5)

The word “comfort” in the previous verse, in Hebrew has the meaning of breathing deeply, in this case of relief because redemption has come. The cause of his great distress is that he feeds on the statutes of the LORD. Those statutes he has not forgotten. That is why he is persecuted by the wicked.

How long will he be able to live on, whereby he counts in days (Psa 119:84)? When it comes to the suffering of the believing remnant the Bible usually speaks in days (Mt 24:22). When it comes to the domination of the enemy the Bible usually counts in times or years, for example, a time, which is one year, times, which is two years, and half a time, which is half a year, together three and a half years.

Life is short, but the days can be long for one who is oppressed when he is pursued from day to day by persecutors (cf. Rev 11:7 ; Rev 13:7). He again calls himself “Your servant”, indicating that he is in need because of serving the LORD. He asks Him when He will bring judgment on his persecutors so that he will be delivered from the threat of death. He does not take the law into his own hands, but leaves the vengeance to God (cf. Rom 12:19; 2Thes 1:6; Rev 6:10; Psa 94:1-2).

He knows that his persecutors, whom he calls “arrogant”, “have dug pits” to catch him in them and then kill him (Psa 119:85). The imagery makes it clear that the psalmist feels like a prey animal amidst of hunters who are trying to capture this animal through traps. They have made several traps, that much they are out for his death. Traps are an unrecognized danger. If you recognize the danger, you are vigilant, but if you do not recognize the danger, it is extra dangerous.

They dug pits, even though God has forbidden it. Nowhere is there an explicit commandment ‘you shall not dig pits’, but it does say that a person should love his neighbor as himself. Digging pits to catch someone in them and then kill them is clearly against that. But these people have no ears for God’s teaching through the law.

The persecuted faithful confesses that all the commandments of the LORD, that is, without even one exception, are trustworthy (Psa 119:86). His enemies assail him with lies and slander, traps, which almost destroy him. He calls on the LORD’s help to deliver him. Through the covenant faithfulness of the LORD, he is brought to safety by the protective, opened hand, kaph, of the LORD. The Lord Jesus was persecuted with falsehood because He testified to the trustworthiness of God’s commandments. This will be experienced by every believer who testifies to that.

The persecution is fierce. It goes to the edge of a ravine (Psa 119:87). Almost the persecutors have destroyed the righteous on earth. If the days of persecution (Psa 119:84) were not shortened – to 1,260 days – all the remnant would have been killed (Mt 24:22; cf. Lk 18:8).

However, this threat of death did not cause them to forsake the LORD’s precepts. They stuck to it, which means they stuck to life. They held fast to the covenant and remained alive in accordance with it.

The persecuted remnant asks God to revive them, appealing to God’s lovingkindness (Psa 119:88). If God does, they will heed the testimony of God’s mouth. The remnant sees their life in connection with life on earth. It may be that God hears their prayer and He allows them to live on earth.

Even if they are killed, their prayer will be answered. For they will be made alive in the resurrection. Then they will perfectly keep the testimony of God’s mouth, for it will be written in their hearts. Thus, to put it in a New Testament way, they are more than victors through Him Who loved them (Rom 8:37).