Psalm 119: A Journey Through Exile, Scripture, and Faith
Psalm 119 is simultaneously familiar and mysterious. On the one hand, most Christians know that Psalm 119 is the “Long Psalm.” In fact, it’s the longest chapter in all of Scripture. Most Christians also know that Psalm 119 focuses on God’s law. Nearly every verse uses some term for the word of God. But on the other hand, Psalm 119 raises numerous puzzles for readers.
Psalm 119 is simultaneously familiar and mysterious. On the one hand, most Christians know that Psalm 119 is the “Long Psalm.” In fact, it’s the longest chapter in all of Scripture. Most Christians also know that Psalm 119 focuses on God’s law. Nearly every verse uses some term for the word of God. But on the other hand, Psalm 119 raises numerous puzzles for readers.
We wonder, for example, whether there is any real movement or progress in the Psalm. Or is it just 176 independent statements about God’s word? We also wonder whether the psalm has other important themes in addition to the importance of the law. This is especially difficult since many crucial ideas through the rest of the Old Testament are absent in Psalm 119: it never uses the word “covenant,” it never mentions Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, it says nothing about the exodus or conquest, and it never refers to David or the temple. And speaking of David, we might notice another mystery of Psalm 119: it doesn’t name the psalmist. A great many psalms identify their author, such as David, Asaph, or the sons of Korah. But who wrote Psalm 119? Even if we can’t know that, we wonder what the psalmist’s historical and spiritual context was and how that might affect our understanding of this psalm. Finally, of course, we wonder how we, as new-covenant Christians, should read this psalm now that Christ has come and fulfilled the law.
Psalm 119 will undoubtedly remain mysterious and not yield certain answers to all of these questions. But as we read carefully and examine ideas within and between stanzas, it becomes clear that the Great Psalm has many treasures to unfold. The wonder of God’s word is indeed a crucial theme, but the psalmist also opens his heart to us and provides glimpses of his spiritual struggles and joys. From his experience believers today gain great insight into Christian faith and life.
One of the most important ideas to emerge early in Psalm 119 is the psalmist’s claim to be a sojourner (119:19). A sojourner is someone on the move who lacks a permanent home. This is a familiar Old Testament theme, since Genesis frequently speaks about the sojourns of Abraham and his family. But the fact that an Israelite living under the Mosaic law was a sojourner should be unsettling. God had given the Israelites an inheritance in the Promised Land. Families were not supposed to sell their allotted land but pass it down from one generation to the next. To be uprooted from the Land was the greatest curse the Law threatened. Yet our psalmist, who introduces himself at the beginning of Psalm 119 as whole-heartedly devoted to God’s statutes, wrote as a sojourner, apparently away from the Land of inheritance. He was in some sort of exile, perhaps the Babylonian exile itself.
For a number of stanzas he recounts his many sufferings, especially from persecution, while also expressing his confidence in God’s deliverance. But we wonder how such a godly Israelite got into such a predicament in the first place. The Tet and Yodh stanzas (119:65-80) provide a crucial answer: the psalmist had once been a rebel against God and God punished him. The psalmist had repented, however, and now again enjoyed God’s favor. He was even an encouragement to fellow believers who witnessed his sin and restoration.
But the psalmist was still in exile and still suffering gravely. In the many stanzas that still follow, the psalmist takes us through his spiritual ups and downs. He shows us the depths of his affliction (Kaph), depicts the profundity and illumination of the Scriptures (Lamedh, Mem, and Num), seeks judgment upon the wicked (Samekh and Ayin), expresses godly emotions (Pe and Tsadhe), and describes his life at prayer (Qoph and Resh). All in all, we see a growing spiritual insight and maturity in our psalmist as these stanzas proceed. This peaks in the penultimate stanza (Sin/Shin): despite persecution from princes, he displays a variety of virtues that characterize a person of faith.
Coming to the final stanza (Taw), we may anticipate a grand finale, and for the most part we get it, as the psalmist repeatedly sings and praises God. Yet the final verse (119:176) concludes the psalm on a sobering note: the psalmist has gone astray like a lost sheep and calls for God to seek him. A number of Old Testament texts speak of God’s people in exile as wandering sheep in need of God himself to be their shepherd. Thus, our psalmist ends by reminding us that he’s a sojourner. Psalm 119 is confident that God the Shepherd would deliver his people, although how and when remained unknown.
We new-covenant Christians confess that God has heard the cries of the old-covenant saints and sent the Lord Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd. He laid down his life for his sheep and has welcomed them into his sheepfold. We who trust in Christ were straying like sheep, but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1 Pet 2:25). Nevertheless, we remain sojourners and exiles in this world (1 Pet 2:11), not in the sense of being banished from an earthly Promised Land but because we are heavenly citizens, yet are still away from our everlasting city (Phil 3:20; Heb 13:14). Psalm 119, therefore, continues to speak powerfully to us. In describing his suffering, persecution, godly emotions, confidence in God, expectation of divine judgment, and especially delight in God’s word, the psalmist gives voice to so much of our own Christian experience. It is a privilege and blessing to study such a psalm, knowing that the God who answered this psalmist’s pleas long ago will not fail to answer ours today.
