Teth
65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, according to your word.
66 Teach me good judgement and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The insolent smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
70 their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Yodh
73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 Let your steadfast love comfort me
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the insolent be put to shame,
because they have wronged me with falsehood;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
that they may know your testimonies.
80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
that I may not be put to shame!
Kaph
81 My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
82 My eyes long for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
86 All your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
Lamedh
89 For ever, O Lord, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand this day,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
We shall attempt to cover the next four sections of the Psalm as a unit, since they seem to have a common factor threaded through them - the note of affliction (67, 71; 75; 81-87; and 92). In 65-72 affliction is the prominent note throughout. But it is not an ordinary run-of-the-mill account and record of misfortune, no hard-luck story. There is no preoccupation with pain and suffering, still less any bitterness or 'chip-on-the-shoulder attitude - as there can so often be! - but on the contrary something very different, and well exemplified by the contrast between Jacob's attitude to his adverse circum- stances and that of his son Joseph. Jacob complained, 'All these things are against me' (Genesis 42:36); Joseph said, 'God meant it unto good' (Genesis 50:20). This latter is undoubtedly the emphasis the Psalmist makes here: indeed, the word 'good' occurs five times (65, 66, 68, 71, 72). This reflects his view of life, and constitutes a statement - and a standpoint - of faith. It is this that his faith rises to and lays hold of, hence the prayer in 66 for discernment. It is as if he were saying, 'This is the deepest and truest thing; help me, O Lord, to see that it is so. This is a necessary prayer for us also, for we need to see things as they really are. It is the faith that Paul gives expression to in Romans 8:28, 'We know that all things work together for good...'. This naturally leads on to what follows in 67, 68. Affliction itself has proved to be good, since it serves to have brought him back to God's ways and, having come through the affliction, the Psalmist asserts, not now by faith, but by experience , that God is good (68) in all His dealings. Maclaren observes that there is a deepening emphasis in the later verses of the section: 'There (67) the beneficent influence of sorrow was simply declared as a fact; here it is thankfully accepted, with full submission and consent of the will. 'Good for me' means not only good in fact, but in my estimate.'