Reminders of Deliverance

We are reaching the end of our forty-day journey through Psalm 119. And if there has been any chance at all for you to follow along with our daily readings, you didn’t have to get too far in to realize that a deep love for the Word of God is the overarching theme all the way though this poem. And if you have been managing to stick with it though this entire reading of Psalm 119, then maybe it’s time to start wondering just how the psalmist is going to wrap this all up. I mean, sometimes through this psalm it can feel like just verse after verse of the same thing over and over. Is there anything new or significant that can bring summary or closure to such a long piece of writing? Of course, I wouldn’t be asking the question if the answer was no.

Week after week I have been picking various sections from Psalm 119 for this series of messages through Lent. And what I hope you’ve picked up if you have been with us through this series is that each one of these 22 sections in Psalm 119 has something that is unique or special apart from all the other sections. I have tried to highlight that as we have just been able to pick on a few of these 22 sections. So, of course, today is no exception. And today I wrap up our look at Psalm 119. So, today we are going to look at the closing verses of this psalm and try to think through some kind of conclusion to this massive poem in the middle of the Bible.

Psalm 119:169–176 NIV

169 May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. 170 May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. 171 May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. 172 May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. 173 May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174 I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight. 175 Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. 176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

Who remembers the children’s game Mother May I? It is a game that kids sometimes play together in a group where one person stands on one end of the room, or yard, or field. And all the other kids are on the other end trying to see which one can get up to the ‘mother’ first. And they do this by asking what kind of steps forward they may take and how many of them. Mother may I take five bunny hops? Mother may I take three scissors steps? Mother may I take two frog leaps? Asking the question ‘may I…’ is one of our ways of expressing a wish or desire. May I have a cookie for a snack? May I stay out a little later tonight to meet friends at the mall? These ‘may I…’ questions express something that we wish for or desire or want. These last eight verses of Psalm 119 are full of them. More than any other section of this psalm, verses 169-176 are a continual barrage of wishes and desires and longings.

Let’s take a minute and consider the significance of how this is put together. It makes a difference for how we come to any conclusion for this psalm. In order to do that, we might have to reach back into our memories and spend a few minutes in middle school grammar. I need to talk about verbs for a minute. If it has been too long since you studied grammar and this doesn’t make much sense, just find a middle school student, they can probably explain verbs to you.

Grammar Lesson

Jussive verb = expression of a wish, desire, or longing

Whenever we give a command to do something, we call that kind of verb an imperative. When I tell my kids, ‘clean your room!’ or ‘put your dishes in the dishwasher!’ those are commands using verbs we call imperatives. Sometimes I want to soften that command a bit and make it sound more like a hint or a suggestion. Then I might say something like ‘it would be nice if you could pick up your room’ or ‘I would appreciate it if you would put your dirty dishes into the dishwasher.’ In other languages—like Hebrew—this kind of expression is called a jussive verb. It is sort of a command, but not as forceful as an imperative. Rather, a jussive verb is a much softer command which is actually taken to be more as the expression of a wish or desire or longing.

Let’s pause here and make a distinction. Because sometimes in the English language we can construct and use these kinds of phrases to express a sort of passive-aggressive nature. So, instead of an aggressive forceful command like ‘you need to take care of that mess’ we might say something a little more passive like ‘you’re going to take care of that mess, right?’ Our English language phrases have no automatic way of distinguishing between expression of passive-aggressive behavior and expressions wishes or desires or longings. But the Hebrew language uses the jussive verb form to make that distinction. These verses that close Psalm 119 are not a passive-aggressive rant. This is an honest and genuine expression of the wishes and desires and longings of the psalmist.

Imperfect verb = expression of continual ongoing action

Alright, we are not quite finished with middle school grammar yet. One more thing about verbs. Because not only are these eight verses filled with jussive verb forms, they are also all imperfect verb forms. Who knows or remembers what an imperfect verb is? An imperfect verb is a verb form that expresses ongoing action. Most often in the English language we express imperfect verbs with an ‘ing’ ending. Right now I am standing. ‘Standing’ is an imperfect verb because it expresses an action that is yet ongoing, it has not yet been completed, it is an action that is continuing to happen. It is not future tense; it is action that has already started. It is not past tense; it is action that is still going on. We call that an imperfect verb. You didn’t know you were going to school here today, did you? That’s it though; it’ll be on the quiz later.

Expression of Longing

eight verses with eight imperfect jussive verbs

voicing a longing/desire to God - keep doing what he does

Now then, bring it back to Psalm 119:169-176. In these eight verses there are eight instances of imperfect jussive verbs. Eight times there is are ‘Mother may I…’ statements. Eight times there are expressions of a wish or desire or longing. Eight times this wish or desire is expressing an action that is yet ongoing; that has already begun, is now happening, and is yet continuing. More than any other section of Psalm 119, these verses are overflowing with desire for God to keep on doing all that he does. Keep helping, keep sustaining, keep enabling me to sing and to praise and to live according to your Word. The desire of my heart is that God would continue to make it so. For all of the many action of God through all of the many verses of this psalm, may it be so and may it continue to be so is the longing of the psalmist.

The Shepherd and the Sheep

Then, the last verse. Verse 176 (you will not find any other verse 176 in the entire Bible). The final expression of this massive poem is this. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands. I like how Eugene Peterson outs it in the Message paraphrase of the Bible. And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me! I’ll recognize the sound of your voice.

The comparison and metaphor of shepherd and sheep language is not new in the Psalms or to the people of Israel. Tending a flock of sheep was common enough that it is a relatable image for the people of Israel to understand. Maybe not so much for us. At least, I have never owned any sheep or spent any time trying to tend to a flock of those animals. It might be good to remind ourselves about some of the characteristics of sheep tending which makes this final verse more relatable to us.

an unattended sheep is vulnerable and defenseless

You see, I think it would be a mistake to interpret this verse as a tendency or inclination on the part of the psalmist to turn away from God; to wander off—as it were—as a sheep may wander off. That doesn’t fit with anything else in this psalm since the writer so adamantly states over and over again how much he turns to God and abides with God. The significance of the lost sheep metaphor is something different, something that I think the people of Israel would have picked up on because they knew the business of sheep tending. A sheep who is unattended is a sheep who is vulnerable. A sheep who becomes separated is a sheep who is—all by itself—defenseless.

It is not that the psalmist is ending this poem with a statement of wandering away from God—which would completely contradict all the hundreds of prior statements he makes about staying close and abiding by the Word of God. Rather, it is an admission that without God, he is vulnerable and helpless. It is yet another affirmation of his desire for God to continue providing his faithful love.

Here’s the other part of the lost sheep picture that makes it powerful. It is not up to the sheep to the one who keeps up with the shepherd all on its own. Instead, it is the shepherd who seeks out and enfolds the sheep to be under his protection. Do you catch the power in this closing line of Psalm 119? He is saying to God, without you I am vulnerable and helpless; but you never stop seeking me out and holding me close.

Palm Sunday Expressions of Longing

Here we stand on this Palm Sunday entering ourselves into the story. We sing our songs of hosanna to the king along with the people of Israel who line the streets coming into Jerusalem. We declare, just as they did, that Jesus is welcomed as our king, the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We find ourselves standing today in that same moment of desire and longing—just as the Israelites did—for God to do everything for us that we want him to.

But how quickly our desires and our longings change, just as the Israelites’ did. How soon do our desires and longings for hosanna turn into a longing to crucify him, just like they did? How long does it take for us to find ourselves in a place of wandering off into vulnerable and helpless territory? How often do we need to be honest that, unless God comes and seeks us out and somehow miraculously is still able to love me, I will never make it on my own; that if God does not keep faithfully continually covering me in his grace on an ongoing basis, I do not stand a chance by myself.

because of Jesus the continual ongoing grace and love of God seeks me out, holds me close

Today as we remember Jesus riding the colt into Jerusalem, we remember he did this so that his grace could always and continually seek us out and hold us close on an ongoing basis every moment of every day. On the days when I cry hosanna, he continually holds me in his abiding love. And on the days when I cry crucify him, even then he continually holds me in his abiding love. Thank you, Jesus, for never letting us go. Thank you for never letting us wander so far off that your love and your grace cannot reach us. Thank you for never leaving us unattended and on our own. Thank you that your grace and forgiveness are not only applied in the moments when I desire it, when I long for it; but thank you that your grace and your forgiveness are ongoing and continual; that even in times when I join the crowd and cry ‘crucify him,’ even then you never stop seeking me out.