Psalm 119 ends in an unusual way. It does not end on a note of triumph and answers and solutions. Perhaps God intended it this way to show that sometimes trials and troubles continue on, and we do not always see God’s working immediately. We have to continue to cry out and to trust and to search our own hearts. We must continue to hope in His word and wait for Him to help us and deliver us. Even when life seems to hang uncertainly, God and His word can still be trusted and waited upon.
This last section of Psalm 119 begins “Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:169,170) Here the Psalmist cries out, almost as if he is saying, “Lord, don’t You hear my cry. Please give me understanding. Please deliver me. I am waiting.” And thus he pours out his supplication.
Mixed in with his desperate cries for help is his declaration that he will praise the Lord and speak about His word. “171) My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. 172) My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.” (verses 171 and 172)
Even though the Psalmist did not immediately see God’s answer to prayer and his situation remained difficult, he chose to cling to God’s word. God’s word was still his delight. He determined to praise God if God should let him continue to live. God’s word would be his help. “173) Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. 174) I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight. 175) Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.” (verses 173-175)
In the last verse, it seems as if the Psalmist feels he is in danger of taking his eyes off the Lord. He says desperately, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.” (verse 176) Even so, he chooses to remember God’s word and to lay his problem before the Lord, knowing that the Lord will not let him go but will seek him when he goes astray.
Do things seem hard for us? Do our trials go on and on? Are we tempted to doubt the Lord? We have the same God as did the Psalmist, and we also have God’s word. The answer for these times is the same as the answer for the easier times of life – God and His word. That is the place from where our deliverance and help comes. God is the one who will seek us out and bring us back if we go astray and revive us and deliver us and show us His salvation. Therefore, we should choose God’s word and make it our delight because it is the source of our help. Thank You, God. Help me to trust in You even when I cannot see the end and cannot see the answer. Help me to remember that You still hear and You still care.