PSALM 119 

 

The feeling here is that we are to wait on God for HIS comfort and not to change things by taking the situation into our own hands.  There is a feeling that the psalmist is resigned to waiting on God for His comfort to come.  Waiting on the Lord is a lost virtue among God's people today. We still use the term but seldom practice it. Waiting on God means we have made the matter totally a matter of prayer and wait now for the Lord to answer our petitions. This is a lost art in the Christian prayer life because prayer in the secret life is practiced only by a rare few. The psalmist's eyes fail for the Word. That is, he is waiting on the Lord and his eyes will not cease from searching the Word until the Lord answers. Waiting on the Lord is a labor of patience that demands our resolve to wait on the Lord until He comes forth. Maybe we have not received because we do not wait on the Lord until He speaks.

119:83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.

This verse begins with for, a conjunction that links it with the previous verse (82). The smoke is a type of misery and discomforting circumstances that take their toll on our life as we labor here in a world smoldering in sin. Bottles are not made to lay and smolder in the smoke and fire - and men are not made to lay and smolder in the fires of human misery!  The bottle is an object that is moved and used by the master of the house as only He decides. We wait for the Lord to come again and take us off of the shelf and remove us from the smoke of these miserable circumstances. Just Lot was vexed, irritated, in the "smoke" of Sodom's sin. The psalmist has been in the smoke so long that he fears being tarnished like a bottle in the smoke. Yet do I not forget thy statutes! A bottle in the smoke I. Has been cast off by someone, II. Is usually empty and no longer being used, III. Becomes tarnished and black, IV has come to the end of usefulness, and IV awaiting its destructive end. But this pslamist is saying, "Although I have the feeling a bottle turned black in the fires of tribulation I still put my trust in God's Word and wait for Him to save me according to His statuates.

119:84 How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?

Maybe here we have a description of the "smoke." Here the psalmist refers to his enemies. He is waiting for the Lord to execute judgment on the evil men who are making his life unbearable.. Its interesting that the psalmist never thinks of or mentions taking vengeance on his enemies himself but commits them to the hands of God. Another good attitude revealed here even against his enemies! Is this not what Jesus taught us one thousand years after the time of David who penned the first fifty one of these psalms of praise? (Matthew 5:44) The psalmist is teaching us a very valuable lesson, that when men vex us and wrongly trouble us we must press into God and not charge into those who wrong us. Meditate in His Word and concentrate on living holy before God and leave the smoke to God. In His time He will blow the smoke away with one heavenly blast! When the smoke is gone we'll be glad we trusted in Him.

119:85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.

We have all seen a bottle that has been stained and tarnished in a fire. Matthew Henry points out that this affliction of evil men and the bottle in the smoke also refer to those who persecuted Jesus wrongly. We can certainly see how evil men could effect the mind and body of their victim leaving him as a bottle spoiled from the fire and smoke. But remember to read the end of that story. Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God. Its always true that men will try us and put us through the fire but in the end God will glorify the righteous erasing the marks of our fiery trials. Jesus was glorified and so shall we if we remain faithful to the truth of the gospel according to holiness.

119:86 All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.

We see here a thoroughness in the faith of the psalmist toward God's Word. All of thy commandments is his recognition of every precept of God without any exceptions. He was not a believer in only part of the moral teaching of God's Word but to all of thy commandments. He did not arbitrarily declare faith in just a selected few of the commandments rejecting some that were not appealing to his personal preferences - but, to all thy commandments. Modern Christians have many excuses why they do not have to regard and obey certain of God's commandments. Such excuses as, "We are living in another day;" or, "That was just under law." Or, "We are under grace, not bondage. Jesus has come to make us free from the law."

A good illustration of this selective kind of obedience to the moral commandments so popular today, is the disregard for the Sabbath commandment. Even professing holiness preachers wrongly teach that Paul's reference to ceremonial Jewish sabbaths in Colossians 2:16 includes the creation sabbath found in the fourth commandment.

The seventh day sabbath set into the ten commandments commemorating the instantaneous creation is a moral commandment while the sabbaths instituted during the deliverance and wanderings of Israel belonged to the ceremonial law and were not binding upon man after the life death and resurrection of Jesus. The ten commandments are eternally binding moral commandments for all men. The jewish sabbaths instituted after creation were ceremonial and not moral in essence. The creation sabbath was part of the moral law but the ceremonial sabbaths were a part of the Jewish ceremonial system. There will be no excuse for those preachers who speak for God to violate this sabbath commandment.

Any man of average intelligence not making the distinction between the sabbath of creation in the moral law and the sabbath ordinances given to Israel in the ceremonial law such as the feast of tabernacles, and the passover put themselves at serious risk to teach contrary to these facts. (Colossians 2:16) The moral sabbath listed as the fourth commandment in our Bibles is distinguished as eternal so long as man lives on this created earth. It has not been annulled nor does it have any reference to any other event (as all ceremonial sabbaths do) than the creation. The sabbath commandment was before the law of Moses and remains a part of the moral law after Moses. There are not nine commandments after Jesus, nor did He anywhere in His teaching void the creation sabbath. The sabbath contained in the moral law was like the tithe, it was required of men before Moses and practiced yet as the divine method of underwriting the evangelism of the world.

Rebellion against the sabbath commandment (a commandment and not an ordinance) referred to in the moral law is not so much a matter of ignorance as it is a willful disregard for a moral commandment which violates our fleshly preferences. All of God's moral law is perpetual and will never cease to be represent the behavior of those who truly love God.

Some excuse themselves from obedience to this moral commandment because Jesus did not include it in His teaching when He intensified the moral commandments in the sermon of the mount. (Matthew 5-7)  But there were other commandments He did not mention and how could He intensify the sabbath commandment? The Jews had become over zealous in the way they had interpreted the observance of the sabbath taking it to an extreme. On the other hand, if Jesus had intended to repeal the sabbath commandment and drop it from the moral law under Grace He had the perfect chance to do so when He was modified the commandments in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5 through 7)

It is logical to conclude that if He was altering man's moral obligation to the moral law in any way that He would have done this in His teaching. He left this commandment alone for the simple reason it was not effected as the other moral commandments by the New Covenant. All of thy commandments does not permit us to trifle with any one of the moral commandments or teach its annulment out of silence.

We must have an authority equal to the commandment itself to change the teaching as it appears in the Word of God. Men of God should be warned that to take away from or add to what is written in the Word of God could have eternal consequences and judgment. We must all stand with the psalmist and say, they persecute me wrongfully (because I stand for commandments they have despised). The Lord will help all those who keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. (Hebrews 13:21; 1 John 3:22.)

119:87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.

You get the feeling that he's "holding on" as he merges from near destruction. He has apparently survived from some great pending catastrophe or mortal threat, and as he emerges from it he immediately reminds himself and others that his faithfulness to God's moral precepts had something to do with his survival.

119:88 Quicken me after thy loving-kindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

What a nice word, "loving-kindness." It easy for Christians to obey God when they first know Him as the God of loving-kindness. God's love for His people, and the love of His people for Him merge in the Word. It is that love for God that trusts Him and with meekness (not weakness) falls in submission to His every loving command. Love says, "Anything God says is alright"!

119:89 For ever, o lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

The Word of God is settled where? In heaven! Not in Rome, not in Moscow, not in Washington, DC, but in heaven! And the time is very near when all of these world power centers will be made fully aware of this fact!  Orders for all that happens on this planet still issue from the throne of the God of heaven. When you hear of new developments of government control over the people that are we know to be laws that can make criminals of Chrsitians by the coming dictatorial world regime, just remember this supreme and irrevokable fact, Everything is decreed by God in heaven and nothing is going to happen that God does not allow to happen by decree as He brings us to the end right on time!

119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

God's decrees that established planet Earth continues through the millenniums. If God can establish planet Earth by His Word, which involves a solar system and millions of cosmic laws, then He capable of upholding His Word.

119:91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.

This verse is a continuation of the preceding verse. The earth and all God created are the servants of the Lord. Even the Birds and animals are regulated by the laws of creation God instituted in the beginning. Man was the only member of the creation that turned from God and rebelled against the laws of God that preserve him from self destruction and ultimately extinction. While planets and insects remain governed by the laws of God, man has strayed from God and threatens his very existence because he has done so. It is no wonder the wise man said, Go to the ant thou sluggard.  What a terrible reflection on man that God has to tell him to go the insects to learn something. It is a sad state of affairs for man when the bugs pay more attention to the life preserving laws conferred by God than the creature called man made in the image and likeness of God. It goes to show that depraved intelligence is a liability to man and does not become an asset until he is born again and possesses the mind of Christ. Go to the cosmic creation you kings of the earth, and learn from it the benefits of obedience to the law. To be God's servants we must learn from the rest of the orderly creation that laws are essential to our well being. Those who choose to regard the laws of God and believe His Word will ultimately escape this intelligent world made stupid by its rebellion against God's laws.

119:92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

Here again is the attitude of the righteous toward the moral law of God revealed. It is positive, beneficial and generates mental health. His delight in the Word was greater than his affliction.

119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.

Committing the Word to memory is to have a whole armory full of spiritual weapons. Remember the Holy Spirit brings things to our remembrance but He can only do that if we have it stored in the memory! John 14:26

119:94 I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.

The Psalmist does not say that he kept God's precepts, but that he "sought" the precepts. This desire of the inner man is the first thing essential to the keeping of the moral precepts of God. Without it, it is impossible to please Him. The power to fulfill this desire for moral purity is what Christ brought to the inner man through the cross. It was this power to obey man did not have under the Old Covenant. Now we have Christ within who gives us the power to walk in the Spirit. John 1:12; I John 3:22. Without a heart that seeks the precepts (not promises, precepts!) of the Word it is certain obedience is impossible. (See verse 69

119:95 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.

In verses 15, 23, 48, 78, and 147 the psalmist meditates. This word siyach means to converse with yourself. But here the psalmist is considering the testimonies of the Lord. This is biyn, that is, in this case to consult and regard God's Word, and not himself. In some instances we need to meditate, that is, to consult with our own heart when we read the Word. But there are times of deep concern that calls for a special Word from God from God's Word. There comes a time when put aside our own thoughts and regard only what the Word tells us.

To consider, means to intelligently and diligently determine the truth. In this case it is the truth of God's testimonies. A testimony is to attest to something that we have witnessed first hand. God's Word gives us many such reports by those who were present when the event took place. The psalmist says the wicked are on the attack to destroy him. Does he retaliate? Does he call his friends around him? No, not in this particular instance he does not. Why? Because when he considered God's testimonies he was guided by it in his course of decision making. He reflects on what God's Word has to say to determine the correct action to take, what to do, or what NOT do. He is confident God will do for him what He has done for others as recorded in the testimonies of God's Word. He wisely consults God to see what others did who were in this same situation. It is wisdom to consult God's Word directly and base our decisions on those precedents and examples found in the Word of God when possible.

119:96 I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

Every tree, every house, every man has an end. Everything in this mortal world has a cycle with a beginning and an end. Nations rise and fall. Men ascend to greatness and then decline into obscurity and death and finally forgotten. Even this planet will see its end. The word perfection here is tiklah, completeness. David saw everything with and end - limited but then quickly notes the unlimited bounds of God's Word. The Word is eternal having no beginning and no end. It is perfect and exceeding broad. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, He sees that God's Word is boundless.

It seems the psalmist is seeing the limited things in this life in comparison to the unlimited Word of God. The word broad (rachab) means wide and broad in every direction! A wonderful description of the feeling we have when we get into the Word and start studying it. No matter which direction we start in, there seems to be no end.

119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Here is not only an exclamation expressing the pleasures found in God's law but also the joy of obedience to God's commandments. The secret of a true salvation experience lies in these words; O how love I thy law [Word]! Until this love for the moral excellence of God's Word returns to the normal Christian, there can be no right relationship between God and man, and especially Christ and the church. When Christ came He came to place this love for God's Word in our hearts. He did not come to the cross to bring birth to a morally powerless church, but to plant within the heart of His children the desire and power to be holy. This is a gospel of power, not weakness; a gospel of victorious living and not escapism. When Christ enters the inner man with His presence He brings this love for obedience to the Word of God with Him.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21.

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. 1 John 2:29.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1 John 5:3. See also the commentary on verse 151.

More on the the law of God not being external:  The words "in my heart," "love" and "meditation" are not external terms. In fact, It is to be resented when we hear the term "external" being used when referring to any principles of moral order (the moral law of God). Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above ... not from without. (James 1:17) The statement that under law man was obligated to keep an external law is an inaccurate explanation of the Old Testament moral system. There was nothing faulty with God's government, with His law, but the fault lie within the depraved heart of man. It is absurd to think that God created a defective moral system He had to abandon because it was ineffective and had to be replaced by a better system. The only law conceived of God that ever ceased was the ceremonial law that was fulfilled at the coming of Christ whom it foreshadowed, i.e., the blood sacrifice system, circumcision and the many sabbaths (not including the Holy Sabbath). Moral requirement did not change at the coming of the New Covenant, but it was intensified! (Matthew 5:17-48) Read this Matthew text carefully and note that it was not the moral law that was removed or diminished under the New Covenant of Christ but the nature of the inner man was transformed to be made compatible with that moral law that always was and always shall be the law of the Kingdom! (Romans 7:12,14)

It is not a new law for the old creature that was given at the coming of Christ, but a new creature with a new nature for the same moral law. Grace is not to be understood as God changing the moral law to be more accommodating to rebellious men. God's moral law reflects His very own immutable and morally excellent nature that shall never change. Nor shall it ever cease to be required of man to obey. God has not changed any moral requirements because His moral law is based on working principles that cannot change! Faith in Christ does not change His moral teaching that cannot change but changes the immoral man that can be changed by God's Grace.

The law is not modified to accommodate for our weaknesses but rather, our weaknesses are transformed into moral power to accommodate the moral excellence required to please God.

The more the modern fundamental apostates talk about the new creation the more they revert to the conduct and philosophies of "the old man" in the way they structure and teach their churches. (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9)

It is the obedient attitude toward the benevolence and goodness of God's moral law that is the mark of pure Christianity. The Word of God is the granite underlying the true church and the spiritual world. By it we have a criteria to verify the genuine Christian experience.

How many "Spirit filled" Christians in this church age have this kind of affection for the Word of God? This loving attitude for the Word of God is the paragon of biblical themes. It must exist before holiness (Christian character) can exist. In these Words of the Lord we are getting a glimpse of the very source of true holiness. This is the spirit of holiness. 35, Note verses 52, 54, 77, 92, 103, 111, 113, 119, 127, 128, 129,131, 140, 165, 167, 174

119:98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

What is the greatest advantage Satan has over God's people? ignorance. Jesus of Nazareth devastated the kingdom of Lucifer when He rose triumphantly from the dead by the power of God and took the keys of death and hell with Him to the Father's throne. The reign of Satan's terror over man is ended for those who have plunged into the crimson stream of redeeming blood and been washed from the sinful past. Christ is in you! The hope of glory. You are hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3).  The only way Satan can get through the omniscient defenses we have in Christ is if we step out from that safety and allow him to deceive us and manipulate our minds through his many "devices" of influence and control. When this psalm speaks of enemies and that they are ever with me, he is certainly describing the enemy of our souls in this present time at the very end of the church age. The psalmist gives us a wonderful insight we should carefully consider. He is telling us that our greatest defense against our enemies (kingdom enemy No.1) is by the wisdom of the commandments of God!

Here is attitude again. What do we think when someone mentions God's commandments? Do we think of them as "do's and don'ts? Do we think of legalism or outdated tradition? Do we resent any teaching on the moral commandments? If you do it reveals rebellion against God. His commandments reflect what He is and what He is like, His nature. To have a wrong attitude toward His moral commandments is to have a wrong attitude toward Him. It indicates a wrong concept of God to have a wrong opinion of His commandments. God's commandments are a revelation of God's wisdom. Through His moral instruction in the commandments God is simply sharing His great wisdom with us in wise counsel. The moral law is the kindness of God in revealing those things in life we should avoid if we want to be happy and have a good relationship with people and Himself. We show a right attitude toward the moral law when we start understanding that God's commandments are moral revelations designed by divine wisdom to keep us from the pitfalls of misery and damnation in this depraved mortal state we are in. Every moral commandment given in the Old and the New Covenants are wrought in wisdom that it might be well with thee.

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do {them} in the land whither ye go to possess it: (2) That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. (3) Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Deuteronomy 6:1-3. This was what God told Israel after He gave the ten commandments to Moses. Read Romans 13:8-10 to see that these moral precepts apply under Grace also.

119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

We must be careful to misunderstand what the pslamist is saying here. To understand him we must make a distinction between intelligence, knowledge and understanding.

Intelligence:     The mind's capacity to learn and accumulate knowledge.
Knowledge:      The mind's accumulation of information.
Understanding: The mind's comprehension of information.

David did not say he knew more than his teachers, or that he had greater intelligence than his teachers. He was showing that while he did not have the intelligence and vast knowledge of his teachers, he did have understanding and insight into truth because of his very close relationship with the Word of God.

The visible church world is filled with men who have great knowledge of the Word and are given credibility because of that knowledge. But to have knowledge of the Word or a high degree of intelligence is no substitute for the attitude (understanding) and humility toward the Word of God for my own life. Paul said that there is the very real risk of preaching to others and himself being a castaway if he did not live what he preached to others and knew to be truth. (1 Corinthians 9:25-27.) Paul also warned in 1 Corinthians 13 in the opening verses that a man could be a martyr and understand all mysteries and be nothing in God's sight if he did not have love.

Our greatness in God's eyes is not in the power to deliver great sermons, but my intimacy in the Word of God and applying its truths to my own life.

His teachers had more knowledge and possibly more intelligence but they apparently did not have the closeness to the Word that the psalmist had and he could see they did not have as much understanding as he did in certain matters that pertained to God. We must be very careful not to think we superior to our superiors by quoting this verse. The minute that happens we have only proven our arrogance and pride. The pslamist was not haughty or smug toward his teachers, but reveling in the fact that God's Word was his best source of counsel. We learn from Paul that we must maintain a high respect for our teachers in the Lord. Its good that we go to godly men for their advice and counsel but in the end we must make the decision in our own hearts if we are convinced by the Word of God what we should do.

119:100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

Now he states the same regarding understanding only this time as it relates to the older men who by their age should be wise. In verse 99 he was speaking of his teachers and here he speaks of the elder brethren. But again the psalmist makes it clear that the understanding gained from regard and obedience to the Word of God is a wisdom far beyond the wisdom of the aged. We conclude from these two verse that the wisdom and counsel of God's Word is greater than the knowledge of his teachers and more truthful than the elder brethren, but we should still consult them and receive their words and then consult the authority and counsel of God's Word for further wisdom. We should always test the counsel we receive from our elders and teachers with the final authority of God's Word.

119:101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.

Another reference to the initiative of the believer. It is oversimplified theology to believe that "All one has to do is get saved and the Holy Ghost does the rest." We must remember that Jesus in taking the cup of God's wrath in Gethsemane "sweat blood" in doing so. It is ideal for us to obey out of spiritual desire, but it is often reality that we must obey by sheer choice of will without inspiration, and act upon our knowledge of right and wrong. It is pleasing to the Father to look down upon us at such times and see us have enough character within ourselves to make right moral choices. Whichever the case, He is standing there and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.

119:102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.

So God is a teacher and the textbook is the Word of God and its moral judgments. Teaching is the key to learning - or is it? If you have a good teacher and a poor student who will not listen or who disregards the instruction of the teacher then the teacher has lost nothing and the learner has lost everything. In God we have the divine teacher before us. This fact needs a lot of reflection. As Christians we have the best in textbooks (the Bible) and a teacher (the Holy Spirit). If we flunk its because we are poor students and not the teachers fault!

Teaching is the work of the Lord Jesus. They called Him Master and Rabbi which means teacher (Matthew 5:2). The Holy Spirit is a teacher. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 1 John 2:27.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;Titus 2:11-12.

119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

There was a time in Bible preaching churches that the harder we preached against sin the more the people responded with praise and rejoicing for the correction in righteousness coming from the pulpit. Now the people that attend these same churches will gnash on you with their teeth if you call them to repentance for their sins of indulgence and disobedience. We live in a day when everyone claims to be born again and is in love with Jesus. What is the sign or proof of valid Christianity? I think we have discovered it here; How sweet are thy Words unto my taste.  Why is it we have a whole generation of evangelical Christians that do not know about mortification (death to self); sanctification and separation from the world? Modern Christians in most evangelical churches have lost their appetite for the truth of God's Word. A smooth positive gospel is in vogue and doctrinal truth is openly attacked as being divisive and something that has to be cast off if we are to find unity as Christians. Wait a minute! Unity is achieved when those of like precious faith are one in their allegiance to the truth of the apostle's doctrine. It is not abandoning doctrine that makes us one but uniting around and giving allegiance to the cardinal doctrines of the Bible that makes us one. It is not agreeing to compromise doctrine but becoming one in doctrine that unites. The evidence of pure Christianity is when the Christian finds the Word of God, all of it, every word of it, sweet - no matter how corrective it may be. In fact, a true Christian finds the corrective Word to be an oil upon his head. The backslidden and deceived do not want the pure doctrine of the apostles but a gospel of freedom for the flesh that does not correct us in our deception. The psalmist here refers to Thy Words, ALL of them.

ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17)That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.  2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Look at the corrective nature of the Word as it is described here by the great apostle we all admire. None of these qualities are being used in the modern pulpit. The only thing apostate churches and preachers lash out against is holiness people. Sin they tolerate, compromise and worldliness they allow, and nudity and immodesty they defend, but holiness they hate and attack openly. It is a pity because such a religion cannot be defended by Scripture - but holiness of life can.

They have traded spiritual purity for material plenty and in the process have lost their taste for the sweet Word of God. Their gospel teaches "Get to have," while the real gospel teaches, "Get to give." They teach "You give to get," but the gospel of Jesus teaches us that "You get to give." They have lost their taste for the truth of the sweet Word of God.

119:104-105 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate very false way. (105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

A heart saturated in the Word of God is very sensitive to phonies. The Word gives us discerning power. By the knowledge of the Word we know every false way. It hates falseness! See Hebrews 1:9; Psalm 97:10; verse 53

A lamp gives off a circle of light. It is only in that circle of light our feet must trod. If you hang the lamp on a tree branch and walk away from the tree you leave the light and no longer know where your feet are treading. The light is for our feet that we may walk in the light stepping over logs, avoiding ruts, and walking into trouble hidden in the darkness. There is darkness all around us but the lamp of God's word reveals the truth in that circle of light. Once we step out of God's illuminated area we falter in darkness. Hold to the lamp of His Word and know where the feet are going.

119:106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.

The Psalmist was serious about his obedience to the righteous judgments of God. God's judgment on the affairs of life was good enough for Him. If he can't trust God's judgment as they are revealed in His Word, then who shall we trust? He made vows aligning with them. A little Brazilian girl came to me one night, after I had preached on commitment to the Word of God. She stepped forward holding the tresses of her hair and said slowly to me in broken English, "I made a vow, I made a vow." She was telling me she had vowed not to cut her hair.

More vows are in order at our altars when the Word has spoken to us.

119:107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word.

Many of the psalmists prayers are calls of desperation for help under the pressures of great affliction. Here he says in one of these moments of crying out for help, quicken me, O Lord, according to Thy Word!  So he knows what the Word has promised. His knowledge of the Word of God is serving him well as he remembers the Word and asks that the Lord quicken him according to what is promised in the Word. God's Word gives direction and substance to our prayers - it helps to know what we ought to pray for. Its good that we know the Word and that in sudden disaster or some urgent crisis we are able to instantly recall it and pray according to the Word.

119:108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, o lord, and teach me thy judgments.

Two chief things seem to make up this verse. 1) The praise of the mouth, and 2) Learning the judgments of God's Word. It is a good balance. To ignore it will bring spiritual perversion. "All praise and no judgment makes Jack a dull Christian."

119:109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.

As David and the soldiers of war in Israel encountered their enemies in battle, they went from man to man with their singing swords swinging, smashing against flesh and metal. They faced death hundreds of times in every battlefield encounter. It was a perilous life! He understood well the importance of a right relationship with the Word - death could come at any moment. Actually we all face the same peril. All men are as the fading grass. Keep your love and loyalty for the Word.

I wonder if David and his men didn't shout the Word of God in the din of the battle?

119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.

Its so true that when evil men come down on us we are tempted to retaliate and take things into our own hands. But we must be reminded again that the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Stay in the Word! Remain within the boundaries of its teaching and turn the matter over to God. He does all things well so as to bring the best out in the end for all parties involved. Sometimes God has special reasons for being patient and kind with our enemies. If we lash out at them we may end up in worse shape with God than our enemies who provoked us. When we get angry we see no good in a person. But when God sees our enemies He also sees some very bad faults in us that we will not acknowledge. Let the psalmist teach us something - stick with the precepts of God and leave your enemies to God. He'll not only take care of my enemies, He'll take care of me too.  Maybe we both need a spanking.

119:111-112 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. (112). I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.

The eternal nature of God's Word imparts that eternal goodness to those who expose themselves to it. To remain in its presence meditating on it has a wonderful unconscious effect, I will become pure as it is pure. As I expose myself thoughtfully to the Word of God I will unconsciously become pure in my own thinking. You will be just and righteous as it is just and righteous. Righteousness is the very nature of the Word. It is the principle of becoming like the thing I admire and associate with. When I come to that book with a yearning to be holy as He is holy, I will unconsciously become like Him. The righteousness of God is not something we achieve by our own resolve or by knowledge from books. It is making contact with God's presence in a spirit of submission. The psalmist's heart was inclined toward doing what the Word asked. My resolve must be basking in His Shekinah to receive the regenerating powers that flow from His Word transforming my nature.

119:113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

Here are the great factors of human destiny! Love and hate. They can both be good, or they can both be bad or one be good and the other bad. But once a person removes vanity from his life it is more sure that both his loves and his hates will be aligned with God's Word. You can love the wrong things and you can hate wrong things.

We have to know what to love and what to hate. To hate something I am supposed to love will destroy my relationship with God. Here is where the spiritual battle lies, in the affections, what you love and admire as opposed to what you hate and what disgusts you. The moral law of God tells us what to love and what to hate. This code of right and wrong is a great help to us who want to know what is right. How would we know how to please God if there was no written revelation from Him disclosing the divine good?  How would we know where God stands on thousands of issues if His Word did not reveal these matters in His commandments? That's why He hated vain thoughts ... not vain acts, but where sin begins, vain thoughts. The psalmist had learned by the Word to cut sin off at the pass in the thought streams before they became obsessions and sin.

Why is holy hatred important? Why is it mentioned so many times in the scripture? Why does God show this hatred for iniquity? Is there any good that can come from even hating evil? The surest way to know if we possess the divine nature is when we hate the same things God hates. In fact, it is a main factor in the sanctification experience. Today the stress is all on love, but you cannot love God more than you hate sin! It is impossible to be tempted by what we hate. We are only tempted by what we admire and have affinities with. Read Hebrews 1:9.

119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Many books and songs have been written about this holy hiding place, the sacred place of tryst with God. Our achieving true holiness on the highest plain comes only through knowing the hiding place.

The presence of God is the source of man's holiness. For man to become holy like God, he must dwell in God's presence and wait there before Him. As we wait in God's presence a very precious thing is happening to us unconsciously. When we speak of waiting in God's presence we are not speaking of a mechanical or dutiful thing but the seeking every opportunity to secretly commune with Him, going secretly before Him and waiting there until the pleasures at His right hand fill the heart. With hands raised to Him you begin to experience the joy unspeakable flooding the inner man with that precious consciousness of His visitation. As we wait there in tryst with Him, His holiness is emanating from His person to your person, from His heart to your heart, unconsciously changing the moral nature of my inner person and making me sensitive to right and wrong even as He is sensitive to right and wrong. This is the experience of holiness and where it takes place. This is how holiness happens. I am bathing in His presence . . . I have found the hiding place. In the closet of secret prayer His holiness mingles with my desire to holy. It is then I am renewed in my mind taking on His holiness. A transforming change of character and the very inner nature that no other power has access to, is changing me into His likeness.

Each time I return to tryst with Him in the hiding place my nature is touched by His nature and I am being changed little by little to His likeness with each visit.

Christianity without the hiding place will keep the Christian from the highest kind of salvation. He may survive and may be saved but will never be a completely transformed Christian at the base of his nature except in these deep and wonderful visitations of aloneness with God. It is in the hiding place the Christian becomes one with God in mind and in moral judgment.

There is a second class Christianity that is very popular and influential in the evangelical church world that operates on carnal philosophies far removed from the holiness mentality God imparts to those who come to the hiding place. It is a second class Christian experience that merely professes to believe in the Word of God. Its quite easy to claim holiness but quite another thing to live the holy life we receive from Him in the closet. It appears too difficult to them who do not know the power of the closet, but a joy to those who have been alone with Him in tryst.

The carnal Christian conforms to the world because of his or her weakness to resist its pleasures. That weakness is a lack of secret prayer. You cannot be worldly and be walking in the Spirit at the same time. It is again the Laodicean paradox - they will say they are in the Spirit and walking with God, but what do such claims mean when God has spoken to the contrary in His Word.

The result is, that without that tryst with God the true qualities and powers of Christian character will elude us. The Spirit of Christ received at new birth is only renewed by returning to the same place in the same broken manner as when we went into His presence the first time to receive His forgiveness. That new nature He gave us can only be renewed and nourished in the presence that gave it, and under the same conditions of contriteness and broken submission. Holiness people today are so taken up with the shout and the loudness of the meeting and getting happy, that they have lost the real meaning of Pentecost. It is all a cheap substitute for the Pentecost that awaits us in the closet alone with Him. If we would spend more time in the closet, we would have life transforming camps. All the camp meetings you can take in during one Summer will never do for you what one hour broken and weeping before God in the closet of secret prayer will do! Its not more camp meetings we need but more closets.

Today some preachers speak of "throne privileges", but know nothing of the tryst and the secret closet of prayer. I recently heard a preacher declare that "Christian happiness is through God's blessings."  We have become so doctrinally perverted and ignorant of bedrock of Biblical truth! We have had to revert to getting our sermons from books of other writers, semantics and the skills of communicating because we simply do not have that anointing that comes from the closet. It is not blessings but obedience that brings happiness to the Christian. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:17.  Get that anointing that awaits you in the closet and you you won't be quoting other men, other men will be quoting you.

 119:115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.

Young converts often have trouble keeping their Christian experience. It's usually the bad companions who keep hanging around. Want to know how to take care of that problem? Just start talking about Jesus when they come around. Don't give them a chance to take the floor! Tell them about your pastors last message - preach it from beginning to end before they get started talking about their fun and "trips." You'll soon only have good companions. There are some things that don't go together and here's one such combination - evil companions and the commandments of the Lord. When you talk about the Lord, the evil will flee from that! But don't worry about running them off. When they hit the bottom and need to find God they'll seek you out and want to hear what you have to say about Jesus.

119:116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.

Here again we see a strong tie between the Word of God and man's desire to live. Life is connected to the Word of God because it immunizes us against sin, and sin is death. According unto Thy Word, that I may livereminds us of so many Scriptures! (Acts 13:46-48; Philippians 2:16; 1 John 1:1). There is life in the Word! It is not just a book of devotion or classical masterpiece of English, it is life breathed into us from heaven!

119:117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

In this and the last verse (116-117) the psalmist begins with the need for God's support. In verse 16 the word support means to prop up or bear up, to sustain. It is a physical support he asks God for. Here in verse 117 the word is another form of the same root and means comfort, refresh, or strengthen. This is spiritual support for the spirit of the inner man. The Word of God provides both practical and spiritual support for the physical man as well as the spiritual man when he languishes. We need both kinds of strength from God under varying circumstances in this life. It shows that He is the God of my practical needs as well as well as the God of my spiritual needs. According to the psalmist throughout this chapter He is the God of the whole man, spirit, soul, and body.

119:118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.

It's very clear that God is against those who "err from" His Word. These are defectors, apostates, compromisers. There is certainly nothing worse than someone who has known the truth and then errs from it. Hebrews 2:1

119:119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.

This is a moral universe. Though many wicked tyrants have risen through the history of the world, moral societies have remained in the majority until now. With the coming of Antichrist that par will be broken and evil will be allowed to prevail for the first time since the creation of the world. But until then what is good and right has a way of surviving the persistence of evil. If you stick the Word, you'll survive with the Word!

119:120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.

It is false to believe that fear is a vice and never virtue. The fear of God is a virtue, the fear of the devil is a vice.

The fear of God is simply an awareness of His terrible majesty and Godhead. It is an awareness of the consequences of sin if we persist in them. When the Psalmist says, "I am afraid of Thy judgments," he is perceiving that there are consequences to sin, that is not a vice, but a virtue!

119:121 I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.

This is the testimony of a righteous man who now has the confidence that God will deal justly with him because he has dealt justly with others. If this is David then we can agree with Matthew Henry when he cited David's testimony in 2 Samuel 8:15, And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. He could come to the Lord in confidence with his request for help against his oppressors because he had faithfully executed judgment and justice as he reigned over Israel. Doing the right thing according to the Word of God breathes faith and confidence into our lives. If you have to come to God with lung cancer and ask for His power to deliver you from this affliction, its harder to believe God if you have been a chain smoker all of your life. But if you have kept your body clean from such habits it is easier to ask God for His healing touch. But He can heal either, the smoker or the non-smoker when there is faith. Your healing is not based on the cause of your sickness, it is based on your faith in God and in His promises.

119:122 Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.

This is one of the three verses in Psalm 119 that does not mention God's Word. And yet the Word of God is referred to here indirectly in the Word surety.  This means to make a pledge or give a security in exchange for something. It also means a mortgage. It is a legal term meaning to provide security. Under the Old Covenant as well as the New Covenant we have entered into a legal and binding covenant with God. In that covenant He has provided security for us so that we are protected from loss - the loss of our souls! The covenant, or surety, which God has provided through Christ is for our good. BUT, a covenant is between two parties who mutually agree to keep the terms of the covenant between them.

The covenant of salvation known as the New Testament is not a one way deal. It is a two way covenant between God and the repentant who comes to enter the covenant agreement. But many Christians treat the New Testament as a covenant that God has made with us and that He is obligated to keep all of His promises to us. But when we come to Christ we entered into this covenant with Him having many responsibilities such as the evangelism of the world. Every Christian must be a part of that great task - its part of the covenant we made with Him. We are also made disciples, learners; We also must continue in the apostle's doctrine and not deviate from that pure doctrine lest we be castaways. We are committed to the moral laws and precepts of the New Testament and in particular Jesus teaching in the sermon on the mount. Yes, there are many benefits and graces coming to us., but there are also a few responsibilities that go with those benefits which God provides for us.

So, God's surety in our behalf is a two way street. The psalmist said he was honoring and keeping up his part of the covenant. That makes the covenant effective.

119:123 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.

Mine eyes fail (kalah), to faint or fail. Did you ever look at something so long that your eyes started playing tricks on you? You can look so hard at something for so long that your vision is no longer sharp and trustworthy. He is so focused on salvation and the Word that his eyes were tiring, failing him. But spending long hours praying over the Word will pay great dividends when finally the Lord's salvation comes and the struggle in this mortal body ends. I see here a quality badly lacking in the end-time church; effort! Some preachers so ignorant of the initiative of the believer that they teach against any effort to serve God or live a holy life as being your own righteousness and as so many filthy rags.  Maybe this effort and strain of the psalmist is to be limited to Old Covenant believers and does not apply under Grace? Not so, Jesus said we are to strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Luke 13:24  This word strive is an interesting word in the Greek text. It is the word agonizomai, to struggle, to contend to fight, to labor fervently. Dr. Young translates this verb as, to Strain every nerve to enter in at the strait gate.

It seems clear according to many Scriptures that we are to be putting forth some effort in the task of reaching the gates of pearl, and if we don't, and we listen to these false teachers who tell us that any effort to do good is wrong, we will be deceived if the Word of God is true. Scripture clearly tells us that we are to put forth effort in our pursuit of salvation;

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12.

119:124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.

Sometimes we fail God because we were ignorant of what God's Word actually teaches on a subject. But then when we see the light on that thing and confess our wrong to the Lord, He is not going to strike us dead on the spot. No, He will show mercy and forgiveness because we were not violating the Word willfully. In such cases God provides a release from guilt and mercy is extended to us. The psalmist implies this is the case here. He asks God to deal with him according to His mercies and then asks that God teach him His statutes. There is a willingness to learn and to make changes when once the Word of God enlightens us. This is a right and healthy attitude toward the Word of God; quick to confess a violation of the Word and a willingness to learn more perfectly what the Word teaches - a very good combination to be operating in every Christian life so close to the Lord's return.

119:125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.

A preacher was asked a question about a certain doctrine of the Bible and he answered that he never preached on subjects, that he only preached by inspiration. What he was saying was, that he never studies, and just opens his Bible and starts reading a verse and preaches extemporaneously whatever comes to mind or whatever thoughts he has had on that scripture. The psalmist desired to know the testimonies of God's Word. Note the words, give me understanding that I may know. There are some Christians who believe its spiritual to be ignorant. They say, "If your living in the power of the Spirit you don't have to study the Word of God or know anything."  It is usually very apparent when you hear such men preach that they don't believe in the need to study the Word. To preach on a subject (doctrinal theme) you must study to have a knowledge of your subject. This is exactly what Paul was saying when he instructed the young preacher Timothy to Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15.  It is a shame not to be studied and ready to feed God's people with more than froth. It is this kind of foolishness that has created a doctrinally illiterate church today. As one Bible book store manager said when asked for Law's book entitled, Wholly For God, "We don't carry books like that because Christians today do not want to think, they want to be entertained."  According to the psalmist, true servants of God want the understanding and knowledge of God's Word.

119:126 It is time for thee, lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.

If there was ever a day when God's people did not understand the laws of God and pushed off the restraints of moral law and distorted it's meaning, it is this day we live in.

Those who throw of the moral laws of God in the name of grace and love have been with us since the inception of the church. In the early church they were called antinomians. They are still with us today. The spirit of Marcion is still among us. It is time for Thee, oh Lord, to work!

A sinner can avoid God's law, but he will never void it! Outlaws can void the law in their own lives but they will never void it at it's source! The moral law of God is eternal. It cannot be voided nor even the slightest bit effected even if a million vicious sinners openly and flagrantly transgressed it. In the end it will merge to destroy all evil in the judgment. The words, "It is time," have an ominous ring to them: a prophecy sound. The time will come when God will rise up and put an end to the arrogance of sinners. That time is much closer now than when this was written! In reality a man cannot break God's law, God's law in the end breaks the man.

When morality declines, divine intervention is pending.

Antinomians (against law) have existed ever since God gave man the law to be governed by. Satan was the first antinomian to openly defy God's moral government. Then Cain came along and many after him until now there are probably more antinomians in the church than ever before in it's history.

Only the wicked hate God's law and wish it void. Romans 8:7 Wickedness and a hatred for law are almost synonymous?

119:127-129 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea above fine gold. (128) Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. (129) Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.

Here is that "wonderful" attitude showing up again. Only this time it is displaying both sides of the affection for God's Word; first it esteems God's precepts and then it expresses its hatred of sin (every false way).

It's easy for a wife to obey a husband who thinks she is "wonderful" and shows it. It is also easy for a Christian to live a life of obedience to the Word of God when his or her attitude toward the commandments and the testimonies is that "they are wonderful."

119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

The Word of God contains a mighty revelation. It gives us information into areas necessary to understand everything we need to make Heaven plus a lot more. In the Word of God is contained the history of sin, the creation of the world and the plan of the ages. The simplest mind can perceive it's plain language. To hear it and learn it is like having the lights turned on in the dark room called life. The first thing Jesus does when He enters a life is to turn on the lights!

119:131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

What a great description expressing the fervency of the spiritual attitude. As a deer being hunted, running, leaping, on and on as his killers pursue. The desire for water grows greater and greater until it is unbearable. As he leaps and bounds he keeps looking for the water brook ... so do God's people pant after the commandments of the Lord! Remember, God's commandments are God speaking. When you hear God speaking, that is where God is.

119:132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

Here is another of the few verses in this chapter that does not make an allusion to the Word of God. But it does teach us some very nice things about the nature of God.

The words of the psalmist are fitting and certainly sent forth in a proper order. First he asks God to look upon him, and then he asks the Lord to be merciful unto him. Surely if we ask God to take a good look at us that we will immediately become aware of our unworthiness and the many imperfections that surely God sees when He looks upon us. But then the psalmist rightly asks for God to be merciful once He looks upon his heart. We must also take note that he reminded the Lord how He has always been merciful to those who love His name. He tells us here that the Lord is merciful toward those who love His name. That is good news for us! If we love His commandments then we are instantly blessed at the sound of the Name of the one who gave them to us. If someone has harmed you, the sound of that person's name brings bad feelings, but if someone loves you and has made unbelievable sacrifices for your well-being, your heart soars at the sound of that loving person's name. Names such as, The Lamb of God, The rose of Sharon and Jesus, always takes us back to the scenes of Calvary where God poured out His wrath on His own son in an act of love for the sinner. The song says, Blessed is the Name, Jesus is His Name.

119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Here is the cry of the pure heart. He asks God to order his steps. That is to ordain or direct him in the way he should go. Let the Word give my feet their orders! And then, let not iniquity have dominion over me.  It is certain that a right relationship to the Word of God precedes freedom from iniquity. Anyone who loves the Word and walks in it will not have trouble with sin (rebellious attitude) or iniquity (vain and wicked attitude). Their is a "walk" in the Word that keeps us from the snares and shame of sin. You can't be walking in the Word and have sin. There is no sin in the Word walk.

119:134 Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.

In whatever way I am subject to godless men, it must be broken if I am to be free to serve the Lord. We serve man best by serving God first. God teaches us how to best serve man. (Matthew 7:12)

119:135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.

God is a pleasant teacher, and not a grouch. It is much easier to learn from a pleasant voice and a pleasant face. The law and the statutes of the Lord do not come from an angry countenance, they come from a heart of benevolence. Judgment is with wrath and anger, but to impart truth a shining face makes it much easier on the learner.

119:136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

What a precious response of this righteous man toward people who are rejecting God's Word. Only the godly understand this groaning and pain for the inequities and the iniquities committed against a loving God. Brokenness and not anger is the reaction of the holy heart.

There are three reasons why the righteous are made to sorrow;

1) Because such a great thing as God's law being wasted and ignored.
2) By disregarding the law of God, man ultimately self destructs becoming the victim of his own wickedness toward others.
3) The wicked inflict sorrow and suffering on the innocent.

We have churches full of "Holy Ghost" people who never give a thought to those without God's Word. Holiness cares!

119:137 Righteous art thou, o lord, and upright are thy judgments.

The uprightness of the Word always asks that which is ultimately best and good for others. God's judgments speak of His decision making as it regards His meting our of treatment to men and societies for their goodness (Phinehas Numbers 25:10-13), or for their wickedness (Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19:13,24) A right attitude toward the law is a result of a right concept of the Lawgiver.

119:138 Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.

Here is the reason revealed that God commands anything and why everything He commands is so essential - because they are always righteous. God's government is based on righteousness. This means that there is neither mercy nor cruelty, fear nor favor, feelings or emotions that can change the commandment or divert what is absolutely right. And, He has revealed that righteousness in His Word. There will be no surprises in heaven. God's law is no secret. This gives us the hope that before the new world has its beginning God will rectify every wrong and injustice committed in this life by the wicked. Hold on saint - His testimonies are "very faithful," even unto the end (See verse 68 above)

119:139 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.

The psalmist was so fervently committed to God's Word he sometimes over reacted with strong opposition to the workers of evil. His zeal would get the best of him when he saw or heard the sinner's committing evil. I am reminded of what the psalmist said in Psalm 94:16, Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? It is good that we have this zeal that reacts to the sin around us. Our zeal should be a zeal that resents sinners stepping all over God without doing something about it.

119:140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.

His statement reveals something about him. It reveals that his nature has a great affinity with purity. He loves pure things and is attracted to them. He was therefore attracted to God's Word because it was a fountain of purity. So the pure in heart will have a great attraction for the Word of God. A man professes to be righteous but has no attraction to the Word of God is not himself pure. Anyone who is pure in nature will be attracted to the crystal purity of the Word of God.

Here again is the use of the superlative "very" pure. God's Word is pure because there is no impurity mixed with it. A thing is only pure when it does not contain any foreign matter. God's Word does not contain any foreign matter - it declares only virtue, principle and what is just and holy. He has providentially preserved His Word through the ages. If I become corrupted, let me flee to Word and be washed in His Word! (John 17:17)