Taw
169 Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
give me understanding according to your word!
170 Let my plea come before you;
deliver me according to your word.
171 My lips will pour forth praise,
for you teach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your word,
for all your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live and praise you,
and let your rules help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
We come now to the final stanza of the long Psalm, which serves to sum up its whole message. It readily falls into four pairs of verses, and we shall look at these in turn. In 169, 170, we have a twofold petition, for understanding and for deliverances. How often these two cries have rung out throughout the Psalm. As Maclaren puts it, 'The one covers the whole ground of inward illumination, and the other comprises all good for outward life'. And is not the one needed for the other? For without understanding of all that is ours in Christ, how could we ever know the full glory of the deliverance that He gives? It is when we are deeply taught in the Word that we have access to the riches of divine grace (cf Ephesians 5:17, 18 and Colossians 3:16, with their parallel emphasis on the infilling of the Spirit and the rich indwelling of the Word). It is when we are gripped by the Word, in a true understanding of it bestowed by the Spirit, that we have victory and deliverance. In 171, 172 the prayer of the previous verses passes to praise. One readily recalls the Apostle's words in Philippians 4:6, 'In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving...'. The Psalmist offers a wonderful example to us here, for even in the midst of crying and urgent needs, there is surely so much to give thanks for, His many mercies that daily and without charge bless our way, and enrich our lives - and, withal, we always have His faithful Word, whatever else may beset us. It never changes! Thanks be to God for His unchanging Truth!