Mem
97 Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Nun
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your righteous rules.
107 I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
108 Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your rules.
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are my heritage for ever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
for ever, to the end.
Samekh
113 I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
therefore I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgements.
The next three stanzas of the Psalm have as their themes, Communion (97-104), Guidance (105-112) and Refuge (113-120). Here is the Psalmist rejoicing in the communion he enjoys with the Lord through the Word, and the effects of that communion in his life, imparting rich heavenly wisdom to him. In this respect the thought is akin to that in 41-48 (which see), where we spoke of the dignity that the Word imparts to life. Here is part of that dignity, in terms of the wisdom that the Word imparts. Two qualifications, however, require to be added here. The first is that it is not technical knowledge of the law of God, but heart-love for it that is in view in these verses. It is a deep, personal relationship that the Psalmist speaks of, and the intimacy of communion which is so central to true spiritual life, as the phrase in 98, 'Thou through thy commandments...' makes plain. The second qualification relates to the Psalmist's claim to a wisdom superior to his enemies (98), his teachers (99), and the ancients (100). This could be open to serious misunderstanding, but it is to miss the point to accuse the Psalmist of self-righteous, pharisaic arrogance here. Rather, the kind of contrast being made is similar to, and paralleled by, that made in the New Testament by our Lord and His apostles alike - cf Luke 10:21, '...hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes', and 1 Corinthians 2:7 f '...the hidden wisdom...which none of the princes of this world knew...'. There is a spiritual wisdom, spiritually revealed and spiritually discerned; and it is quite possible for a teacher, or one of the ancients, not to know that wisdom, which the simple and the babe may grasp fully. Look at Nicodemus! He was a ruler of the Jews, and in a teaching office, yet he did not know what many a Sunday School child could witness to. These are the kind of teachers the Psalmist is referring to.