Psa 119:19 | KingComments | STEP | The acronym for gimel is derived from ‘foot in motion’. It is an indication of the believer’s walk in life, living as a stranger in the earth ( ), in the midst of hostile persons ( ). The word gimel is also related to the word gamal , which means camel, the animal that is the preferred means of transportation for the pilgrim’s journey through the wilderness. It also means to transport goods or good things. ‘To do good’ is also a meaning ( ). The Word of God is the counselor ( ) for the believer in his walk in the wilderness of this world. The believer’s walk in the world is illustrated in the life of Abraham ( ). The psalmist is not asking the LORD to help him to deal bountifully, but whether the LORD will deal bountifully with him ( ). He does not expect abundance from himself, but from the LORD. Thus, one who lacks wisdom on his way through the world can ask it of the LORD. In His abundance He will give, generously and without reproach ( ). It is not a question of someone who wants to benefit from the abundance of God and then continue his own way. The psalmist asks as a “servant” of the LORD, acknowledging Him as his Lord and Master. The psalmist calls himself a servant of the LORD. This title is also used in the book of Isaiah for the faithful remnant, following the perfect Servant of the LORD, the Lord Jesus. The Hebrew word ebed is translated here and in Isaiah as “servant”. The psalmist appeals to the abundance of the LORD because it is the only way he will be able to live. This is about living in fellowship with God in a hostile world. The phrase “Enoch walked with God” ( ), is translated in Hebrews 11 as “Enoch was pleasing to God” ( ). The verb “walk” has a form that means “to walk for pleasure” and is a synonym for having fellowship with God. This is the life the psalmist desires, in the midst of a world corrupt and full of violence: living in fellowship with God, as Enoch did just before the flood. That is the subject of this gimel stanza. To walk in this way may also be our desire (cf. ). It does not mean that the psalmist only wants to get pleasant things from God. He motivates his demand for life: it is, that he may then “keep Your word”. This is true life. Man will not live by bread alone, but by all the word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. In order to keep God’s Word, the eyes must be opened to it ( ; cf. ). It is something that must come from God (cf. ; ). The psalmist longs to “behold wonderful things from Your law”. The Word of God is full of wonderful things that are not noticeable to us at first glance. All who love the Bible long to see more and more of those wonderful things. In this respect, believers resemble the blind man in the Gospel according to Mark, whose eyes the Lord has opened, but who at first still sees people walking around like trees, that is, as impressive figures ( ). The Lord must continue to work with him so that he can see sharply. So it is also here with the psalmist. To know the wonderful things and depths of the Word of God, God must open our eyes ( ). “The wonderful things from Your law” begin with the wonderful things of creation in all its variety. When sin has entered into creation, the wonderful thing of the sacrifice for sin is shown. This is followed by countless wonderful things, first only for individual people, then also for a whole people, God’s people. The creation alone is an unparalleled wonderful thing. And so it continues throughout the history of God’s people. It is all recorded in the Old Testament. The believer’s way in the earth is that of “a stranger” ( ; cf. ; ). To know what this means, the believer must first come to understand who he is and what he is doing on earth. We were first as sinners strangers to the covenants of promise ( ). Now that we belong to the Lord Jesus, we no longer belong to the world and are strangers there. “Our citizenship is in heaven” ( ). In order to know his way on earth to his homeland, heaven, the believer needs signposts. He finds these in the commandments of Word of God. To discover those commandments, those signposts, he is dependent on God. He does not ask God to show them to him, but to not hide them from him. Sometimes it looks like that to him. He then has no sense of direction, he does not know which way to go. The pilgrim turns to the LORD and says to Him: “My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times” ( ). He has an intense desire for what the LORD has determined, what He has recorded in His Word for the life of His own. This desire he has not just occasionally, but “at all times”. He constantly longs to know the will of God for his life and for the way he must go. The mind of longing for the Word gives a right view of the worldly person. Opposite that mind are “the arrogant, the cursed” ( ), the people who act from themselves and are focused on themselves. They often seem to be successful and able to exalt themselves in pride against God with impunity. The righteous knows that the LORD rebukes them. He says that to the LORD. The curse comes upon the arrogant because, he says to the LORD, they “wander from Your commandments”. They know God’s commandments, but they wander from them. They deliberately choose their own way. This acting against their better judgment, that is, against the express will of God, is arrogance. It is the sin of satan ( ; cf. ). This is also the greatest enemy of a believer who wants to walk the way with the Lord. Arrogance is the most serious aberration from the way with the Lord. This is why the Lord tells us to learn from Him, for He is “gentle and humble in heart” ( ). Great knowledge of the Bible is not without danger, for it can lead to pride ( ). Only fellowship with the Lord Jesus and sitting and learning at His feet can keep us from this. The curse comes upon the arrogant in accordance with the covenant of the LORD with Israel. An Israelite who violates the covenant comes under the curse (cf. ). The end of the cursed is “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” ( ). The righteous is showered with “reproach and contempt” because he does observe God’s testimonies ( ; cf. ). Unlike the antichrist and his followers, the psalmist – and the remnant – do want to observe God’s testimonies. After all, the testimonies, for example the two tablets of the law, are a source of joy to him ( ). He has observed God’s “testimonies” and on that basis asks that God turns away the reproach and contempt loaded on him. Those who heed God’s Word must count on the world’s scorn. But he may go to God with that and ask for the defamation to be turned away. God’s assessment of his life is the only thing that matters to him. He even encounters the contradiction of “princes” ( ). He has been indicted by the accursed arrogant, and instead of acquitting the righteous, the high-ranking lords vindicate the accusers. He is not troubled by it, however, for, he tells the LORD, when they speak thus, “Your servant meditates on Your statutes”. As in the first verse of this stanza ( ), here, opposite the “princes” he calls himself “Your servant”, a servant of the LORD. Servant of the LORD is an honorary title of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, it is also a privilege for the psalmist, and for us, to be called servant of the Lord. Princes may be of nobility, but to be a servant of the Lord is far preferable to the nobility of a prince. The psalmist’s life is a life of service to the LORD. That is what has brought him this opposition. His protection from their false charges and condemnation lies in meditating God’s statutes. That keeps him standing in the midst of all the enmity. We see the fulfillment of this verse in the life of the Lord Jesus, Who during His whole life and especially in the ‘trial’ against Him “has endured so great contradiction from sinners against Himself” ( , Darby Translation). For the psalmist, and for the believing remnant, and especially for the Lord Jesus, God’s testimonies are their personal, “my”, “delight” ( ). “[They are] my counselors”, the psalmist says to the LORD. This is a wonderful personification of God’s Word. Everything God says in His Word is good counsel for anyone who wants to listen to it. This applies to the believer as a servant and as a stranger, and to situations where defamation, contempt and opposition are experienced. Then the believer knows what to do, what way to take, and how to respond to anything that comes his way or is done to him. This stanza begins and ends with the psalmist as a servant of the LORD. Serving is the hallmark of the walk, gimel , of this righteous in the midst of a world that is corrupt (the antichrist) and full of violence (the king of the North) (cf. ).

‏ Psalms 119:19

/gimel/ Walking as a Stranger

The acronym for gimel is derived from ‘foot in motion’. It is an indication of the believer’s walk in life, living as a stranger in the earth (Psa 119:19), in the midst of hostile persons (Psa 119:21-23).

The word gimel is also related to the word gamal, which means camel, the animal that is the preferred means of transportation for the pilgrim’s journey through the wilderness. It also means to transport goods or good things. ‘To do good’ is also a meaning (Psa 119:17). The Word of God is the counselor (Psa 119:24) for the believer in his walk in the wilderness of this world. The believer’s walk in the world is illustrated in the life of Abraham (Heb 11:8).

The psalmist is not asking the LORD to help him to deal bountifully, but whether the LORD will deal bountifully with him (Psa 119:17). He does not expect abundance from himself, but from the LORD. Thus, one who lacks wisdom on his way through the world can ask it of the LORD. In His abundance He will give, generously and without reproach (Jam 1:5). It is not a question of someone who wants to benefit from the abundance of God and then continue his own way. The psalmist asks as a “servant” of the LORD, acknowledging Him as his Lord and Master.

The psalmist calls himself a servant of the LORD. This title is also used in the book of Isaiah for the faithful remnant, following the perfect Servant of the LORD, the Lord Jesus. The Hebrew word ebed is translated here and in Isaiah as “servant”.

The psalmist appeals to the abundance of the LORD because it is the only way he will be able to live. This is about living in fellowship with God in a hostile world. The phrase “Enoch walked with God” (Gen 5:24), is translated in Hebrews 11 as “Enoch was pleasing to God” (Heb 11:5). The verb “walk” has a form that means “to walk for pleasure” and is a synonym for having fellowship with God.

This is the life the psalmist desires, in the midst of a world corrupt and full of violence: living in fellowship with God, as Enoch did just before the flood. That is the subject of this gimel stanza. To walk in this way may also be our desire (cf. Phil 2:15-16).

It does not mean that the psalmist only wants to get pleasant things from God. He motivates his demand for life: it is, that he may then “keep Your word”. This is true life. Man will not live by bread alone, but by all the word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

In order to keep God’s Word, the eyes must be opened to it (Psa 119:18; cf. 2Cor 3:14). It is something that must come from God (cf. Lk 24:45; Eph 1:18). The psalmist longs to “behold wonderful things from Your law”. The Word of God is full of wonderful things that are not noticeable to us at first glance. All who love the Bible long to see more and more of those wonderful things.

In this respect, believers resemble the blind man in the Gospel according to Mark, whose eyes the Lord has opened, but who at first still sees people walking around like trees, that is, as impressive figures (Mk 8:24). The Lord must continue to work with him so that he can see sharply. So it is also here with the psalmist. To know the wonderful things and depths of the Word of God, God must open our eyes (Eph 1:18).

“The wonderful things from Your law” begin with the wonderful things of creation in all its variety. When sin has entered into creation, the wonderful thing of the sacrifice for sin is shown. This is followed by countless wonderful things, first only for individual people, then also for a whole people, God’s people. The creation alone is an unparalleled wonderful thing. And so it continues throughout the history of God’s people. It is all recorded in the Old Testament.

The believer’s way in the earth is that of “a stranger” (Psa 119:19; cf. 1Pet 2:11; Heb 11:13). To know what this means, the believer must first come to understand who he is and what he is doing on earth. We were first as sinners strangers to the covenants of promise (Eph 2:12). Now that we belong to the Lord Jesus, we no longer belong to the world and are strangers there. “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20).

In order to know his way on earth to his homeland, heaven, the believer needs signposts. He finds these in the commandments of Word of God. To discover those commandments, those signposts, he is dependent on God. He does not ask God to show them to him, but to not hide them from him. Sometimes it looks like that to him. He then has no sense of direction, he does not know which way to go.

The pilgrim turns to the LORD and says to Him: “My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times” (Psa 119:20). He has an intense desire for what the LORD has determined, what He has recorded in His Word for the life of His own. This desire he has not just occasionally, but “at all times”. He constantly longs to know the will of God for his life and for the way he must go.

The mind of longing for the Word gives a right view of the worldly person. Opposite that mind are “the arrogant, the cursed” (Psa 119:21), the people who act from themselves and are focused on themselves. They often seem to be successful and able to exalt themselves in pride against God with impunity.

The righteous knows that the LORD rebukes them. He says that to the LORD. The curse comes upon the arrogant because, he says to the LORD, they “wander from Your commandments”. They know God’s commandments, but they wander from them. They deliberately choose their own way. This acting against their better judgment, that is, against the express will of God, is arrogance. It is the sin of satan (Eze 28:17; cf. Isa 14:13-14).

This is also the greatest enemy of a believer who wants to walk the way with the Lord. Arrogance is the most serious aberration from the way with the Lord. This is why the Lord tells us to learn from Him, for He is “gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:28-29). Great knowledge of the Bible is not without danger, for it can lead to pride (1Cor 8:1). Only fellowship with the Lord Jesus and sitting and learning at His feet can keep us from this.

The curse comes upon the arrogant in accordance with the covenant of the LORD with Israel. An Israelite who violates the covenant comes under the curse (cf. Deu 28:15 ; 45). The end of the cursed is “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:41).

The righteous is showered with “reproach and contempt” because he does observe God’s testimonies (Psa 119:22; cf. 2Tim 3:12). Unlike the antichrist and his followers, the psalmist – and the remnant – do want to observe God’s testimonies. After all, the testimonies, for example the two tablets of the law, are a source of joy to him (Psa 119:24).

He has observed God’s “testimonies” and on that basis asks that God turns away the reproach and contempt loaded on him. Those who heed God’s Word must count on the world’s scorn. But he may go to God with that and ask for the defamation to be turned away. God’s assessment of his life is the only thing that matters to him.

He even encounters the contradiction of “princes” (Psa 119:23). He has been indicted by the accursed arrogant, and instead of acquitting the righteous, the high-ranking lords vindicate the accusers. He is not troubled by it, however, for, he tells the LORD, when they speak thus, “Your servant meditates on Your statutes”.

As in the first verse of this stanza (Psa 119:17), here, opposite the “princes” he calls himself “Your servant”, a servant of the LORD. Servant of the LORD is an honorary title of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, it is also a privilege for the psalmist, and for us, to be called servant of the Lord. Princes may be of nobility, but to be a servant of the Lord is far preferable to the nobility of a prince.

The psalmist’s life is a life of service to the LORD. That is what has brought him this opposition. His protection from their false charges and condemnation lies in meditating God’s statutes. That keeps him standing in the midst of all the enmity. We see the fulfillment of this verse in the life of the Lord Jesus, Who during His whole life and especially in the ‘trial’ against Him “has endured so great contradiction from sinners against Himself” (Heb 12:3, Darby Translation).

For the psalmist, and for the believing remnant, and especially for the Lord Jesus, God’s testimonies are their personal, “my”, “delight” (Psa 119:24). “[They are] my counselors”, the psalmist says to the LORD. This is a wonderful personification of God’s Word. Everything God says in His Word is good counsel for anyone who wants to listen to it.

This applies to the believer as a servant and as a stranger, and to situations where defamation, contempt and opposition are experienced. Then the believer knows what to do, what way to take, and how to respond to anything that comes his way or is done to him.

This stanza begins and ends with the psalmist as a servant of the LORD. Serving is the hallmark of the walk, gimel, of this righteous in the midst of a world that is corrupt (the antichrist) and full of violence (the king of the North) (cf. Gen 6:11).