Do Right By Your Servant

Psalm 119 verses 121 to 128.

Psalms 119:121–128

And teach me your statutes.

I am your servant.

Give me understanding that I may know your testimony.

It is time for the Lord to act.

For your law has been broken.

Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.

Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right.

I hate every false way.

That's the word of the Lord.

When someone, when there's a powerless person that's being oppressed by people,

they often appeal to those in authority and power, right?

To rulers to give them justice.

And that's kind of a similar situation here

where the psalmist feels that he's being oppressed

and is now going to God seeking justice.

And so twice, in verse 121 and 122,

he mentions the word oppressed.

He says, I've done what is just and right.

Do not lead me to my oppressors.

Give your servant a pledge of good.

Let not the insolent oppress me.

And the word oppressed, it usually means to exploit.

It's often used in context throughout the Old Testament

to refer to exploiting someone that, for example, the poor,

who is unable to repay a debt, for example, and exploiting them.

So it's used in that context, in that kind of light,

in Leviticus 19.13, Deuteronomy 24.14, 1 Samuel 12.3.

And so that seems to be, so he's using that as a metaphor

to talk about how he's being wronged, treated unjustly.

He's being exploited wrongly by evildoers.

And now he continues that kind of imagery when he says,

he prays to God in verse 122,

give your servant a pledge of good.

So the expression to give a pledge of good

literally means to stand surety for someone.

So to basically, in modern terms,

be a cosigner of a debt,

to take responsibility for payment

for someone that can't repay a debt, right?

So he's continuing that same imagery.

He's saying, the evildoers are oppressing me,

they're exploiting me.

And so give your servant a pledge of good.

Be, stand surety for me.

Take responsibility for me, for my debt,

and pay for me.

And basically, he's asking for justice.

And the reason why the psalmist can cry out to God

this boldly is because he says in verse 121,

I have done what is just and right.

He believes that he has lived with integrity.

He has lived to please God.

He has done what is just and right.

And because it is just and right,

he says in verse 123,

my eyes long for your salvation

and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

So the word right in verse 121

and the word righteous in verse 123

are different forms of the exact same Hebrew word.

And so there's a connection there.

Because the psalmist has done what is right,

it's right of God to fulfill his promise

and to deliver him

because the psalmist has done according to God's commands.

And so he says,

and not just,

and he has done what is right

as God's servant.

That word is repeated three times in this passage.

Verse 122,

give your servant the pleasure of good.

Verse 124,

deal with your servant

according to your steadfast love

and teach me your statutes.

And then 125,

I am your servant.

Give me understanding

that I may know your testimony.

So he's saying,

I belong to you, Lord.

I am yours.

You owe me.

You are responsible for me.

So I'm being exploited in this situation.

Please,

as I am your servant,

I belong to you.

So be my surety.

Stand surety for me

and deliver me.

And as he's doing that,

as he's praying that,

he's not just consumed

with just being delivered from his own,

the oppression that he's facing.

Even though he says

he has done what is just and right,

he's lived according to God's commands,

he's not complacent.

He doesn't stop there.

He says,

and he asks,

praise God to give him

further understanding

to teach him more and more of his words

so that he can live even more

in accordance with God's will.

So that's what he prays

in 124 and 125.

Teach me your statues.

I am your servant.

Give me understanding

that I may know your testimonies.

I think this kind of highlights

the fact that the more we learn

and learn God's word,

the more we dive deeply into God's word,

the more we learn

that it really is unfathomable.

No one can plumb its death, right?

And likewise,

the more we obey God,

the more we become like God,

the more we realize

how lacking we are,

how unholy we are,

how selfish we are,

how sinful we are, right?

So it's kind of a paradox.

There's a Puritan prayer

that we've used in the past

as a confession of sin

in our church.

It's entitled Paradox.

And it goes this way.

It says,

O changeless God,

under the conviction of your spirit,

we learn that the more we do,

the worse we are.

The more we know you,

the less we know.

The more holiness we have,

the more sinful we are.

The more we love,

the more there is to love.

And the psalmist,

as someone who does

what is just and right,

knows that there's more

to be learned.

Teach me your statutes.

Give me understanding

that I may know

your testimonies.

And when God comes

to his deliverance,

it won't just be

giving him

what is due to him,

giving him his right,

but it will also be

in the punishing

of evildoers, right?

So that's why

verse 126 says,

It is time for the Lord

to act,

for your law

has been broken.

And God's going

to punish evildoers

and reward the righteous.

And therefore,

he concludes

in verses 127 and 128

with two therefore sentences.

Therefore,

I love your commandments

and above gold,

above fine gold.

That's an often used

imagery, right?

I mean,

I think even just

in the psalms

that we've been going through

on Wednesday,

we've seen that

multiple times, right?

That God's word

is more precious

than gold,

even fine gold, right?

And often it's described

as sweeter than honey,

than honey from the honeycomb,

right?

And if you think about it,

that's a really profound

thing to say

because how many people

in our world,

in our society,

I mean,

sacrifice their integrity,

sacrifice their friends,

sacrifice their family,

sacrifice their own health

to get wealthy, right?

they value wealth.

So many people live

for monies,

live for fine gold.

But the psalmist is saying,

no,

I love your commandments

above gold,

above fine gold.

That's a really high praise.

It's saying,

I value this.

I cherish God's word.

I want to live

in accordance with it.

And not only that,

he says,

therefore,

verse 120,

I consider all your precepts

to be right.

I hate every false way.

He considers all of God's precepts

to be right.

He doesn't presume

to put himself above God's word,

to judge it,

to determine right for himself,

to say,

whatever I deem right,

whatever seems right to me

is right.

He says,

no,

I consider all your precepts

to be right.

He seeks to live

in accordance with God's word.

He says,

I hate every false way.

Notice the contrast

between 27 and 128.

He says,

I love your commandments.

And then he says,

I hate every false way.

That love-hate dichotomy,

you really can't have one

without the other.

You can't say,

I love God's commandments

and then say,

well,

I condone

false evil ways.

To condone

false evil ways

is to spurn righteousness,

is to spurn

God's commandments.

You can't have one

without the other.

To love God's commandments,

you need to hate

evil doing.

You have to hate sin.

And the only way

to hate sin

is to love God's commandments

and to do it.

So that's what,

that's the dichotomy

that you see there.

And,

and,

having gone through

the entire stanza,

we're left with the,

with the realization

that,

though relatively speaking,

maybe in some ways

we have lived justly

and righteously

as the psalmist claims

to have in truth

according to,

in light of God's

ultimate perfect standards,

all of us

have broken God's law,

right?

And it says in verse 126,

it is time

for the Lord to act

for your law

has been broken.

That should leave us

trembling in fear

because we have

broken God's law.

And it is time

for the Lord God

to act,

to bring justice,

to punish evil doers.

That's our plight.

And,

and,

and that's where

this psalm really points

to its fulfillment

in Jesus.

It says over and over again,

describes a servant

who does right,

servant who is just,

servant of God

who,

who has done

what is right.

And,

and that really points

to the servant

of the Lord

that Isaiah prophesies

about over and over again.

The servant of the Lord

will come to do right,

to bring justice,

as it says in Isaiah 42,

2,

1,

Behold my servant

whom I uphold,

my chosen in whom

my soul delights.

I put my spirit upon him.

He will bring forth

justice to the nations.

Then Jesus is described

over and over again

throughout the New Testament

as a fulfillment

of this servant of the Lord

that Isaiah prophesies about.

And,

of course,

the classic passage

that we're all familiar with,

Isaiah 53,

Isaiah 53:4–11

verses 4 to 11,

it says this about

the servant of the Lord.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows,

yet we esteemed him

stricken,

smitten by God,

and afflicted.

But he was pierced

for our transgressions.

He was crushed

for our iniquities.

Upon him was the chastisement

that brought us peace,

and with his wounds

we are healed.

All we like sheep

have gone astray.

We have turned everyone

to his own way,

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed,

just like the psalmist

is saying here.

He was oppressed,

he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth.

Like a lamb that is led

to the slaughter,

and like a sheep

that before it shears

is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment

he was taken away.

Out of the anguish

of his soul

he shall see

and be satisfied.

By his knowledge

shall the righteous one,

my servant,

make many to be

accounted righteous,

and he shall bear

their iniquities.

So Jesus really fulfills

this servant,

this servant that's here

in our stanza,

Psalm 119, 121-128.

He was oppressed,

like the psalmist,

but he was oppressed

and he did not get justice

because he should have been,

he should have triumphed,

he should have been,

he should have experienced victory

and triumph and glory

while during his time on earth,

but instead he was oppressed,

instead he was killed

on the cross

because he was standing in

for us

who deserved,

who had broken God's laws,

but he was standing in for us.

He died in our place,

crucified for our sins

so that his righteousness

can be imputed to us

and the privileges

that he alone deserves

can be enjoyed by us.

And so it's because

of what Jesus has done

in fulfilling this psalm

that we now can really apply

this psalm

to our own lives.

And cry out to God

and pray to God

in the same way

as the psalmist does here.

Thank you.

Thank you.