Psalms 119:113

STROPHE 15

REVERENCING GOD'S LAW; THE PSALMIST PRAYS FOR SUPPORT AGAINST HATEFUL BACKSLIDERS

Samech

"I hate them that are of a double mind;

But thy law do I love.

Thou art my hiding-place and my shield:

I hope in thy word.

Depart from me ye evil-doers,

That I may keep the commandments of my God.

Uphold me according to thy word, that I may live;

And let me not be ashamed of my hope.

Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe,

And shall have respect unto thy statutes continually.

Thou hast set at naught all them that err from thy statutes;

For their deceit is falsehood.

Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth, like dross:

Therefore I love thy testimonies.

My flesh trembleth for fear of thee;

And I am afraid of thy judgments."

"Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth, like dross" (Psalms 119:119). This can be nothing less than a glimpse of the Eternal Judgment, an interpretation which is confirmed by the trembling fear of the psalmist in the last two verses. We may, at first, be surprised at his fear and trembling, for has he not stated twenty or more times already in this psalm that he "loves God's statutes," "trusts in them," "keeps them," etc.? Maclaren has a satisfactory explanation of this: "Resolutions melt in the fires of temptation, and the psalmist knows life and himself too well to trust himself. So he betakes himself to prayer for God's upholding, without which he cannot live (Psalms 119:116)."[38]