Ayin
121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Give your servant a pledge of good;
let not the insolent oppress me.
123 My eyes long for your salvation
and for the fulfilment of your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know your testimonies!
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken.
127 Therefore I love your commandments
above gold, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
I hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your way with those who love your name.
133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from man's oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears,
because people do not keep your law.
Tsadhe
137 Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous for ever,
and your law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous for ever;
give me understanding that I may live.
These three stanzas seem to have one underlying theme which could be summed up in the phrase 'burden and longing' (cf 123, 126; 136; 139). This is not surprising as an emphasis, for, given the other ideas expressed in the Psalm thus far, we realise that the closer we draw near to God in fellowship and love, the nearer to His heart we come and therefore the more we will identify with his cause and concern in the world. There is a twofold thrust in 121-128: first of all we have - yet once again - the pressures on the Psalmist, and the desire and longing for divine protection and vindication. His testimony is that he has done rightly (121) and it seems as if this has brought upon him the ire and opposition of the enemy. Righteous living in this sense makes one very vulnerable and this is something the godly feel very keenly, hence the cry to God for protection and not to be left alone - a very human cry and met with a very divine succour (as the word 'surety' in 122 implies). The second point is the Psalmist's identification with the larger issue, as he becomes conscious that his troubles are simply an expression of something very much bigger, the ultimate conflict between God and Satan, good and evil, and that he is caught up in it. This is the same thought as is expressed in the great battle passage in Ephesians 6:10ff, where Paul by implication, in the words 'for all saints' urges us, 'relate your personal battle to the battle, strike a blow for the larger cause in your prayers. Look at the main strategy of God, not merely the one infinitesimal part that is your problem'. This is the kind of understanding (125) that we need - to understand our little battle in relation to the larger reality. Hence the stirring prayer in 126 - here is the identification with the divine will and purpose which is so tremendous in the Psalm, and the sense of burden the Psalmist has to see the Lord’s vindication in the land. And this is how we as Christians today need to think.