Psalm 119:139 Zeal

My zeal wears me out,
 for my enemies ignore your words.

Psalm 119:139

"My zeal wears me out" is a mild way to translate that phrase. It more accurately is "my zeal destroys me, exterminates me, ends my life."

I'm not sure David is trying to say this is a good thing. To use such extreme terminology makes me wonder if he's saying he's gone too far, over the deep end, gotten too wrapped up in his emotional reaction to the faithlessness he sees in his enemies.

Zeal is most often used in a positive way in the scriptures, including in the Psalms.

Zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

Psalm 69:0

This Psalm is also quoted in the New Testament, describing Jesus' zeal in cleansing the temple. Many of the biblical instances of zeal refer to the Lord's zeal.

But some of Paul's uses of the word stand as a warning about zeal:

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Romans 10:1-3

Some people can be zealous about a wrong understanding of the scriptures.

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.

Galatians 4:17-18

Paul had good reason to know the danger of misdirected zeal, describing himself...

...as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

Philippians 3:6

Are you zealous for God's Word?

Are you sure it's God's Word your zealous for and not your own self-serving agenda?  It's easy to wrap yourself in a cloak of words from the Word while actually fighting battles of your own making.

As Paul said in Romans 10, make sure it's God's righteousness that's guiding your emotions and actions, not your own sense of rightness.

Psalm 119:138 Trustworthy

The statutes you have laid down are righteous;
 they are fully trustworthy. 

Psalm 119:138

Do you trust them all?

Which ones don't you fully trust?

I know, I know. That sounds like a heretical question.

But there are a number of kinds of Bible verses we tend to try to explain away, ignore, or outright scoff at.

The That's Just an Ideal; God Doesn't Really Expect Us to Do That verses:

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

I Peter 1:15-16

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.

I Peter 4:1

That's pretty extreme! Do you really trust that you can be holy like God is holy? Or that if you suffer like Christ, your body will be "done with sin"?

I can hear you explaining it away already.


Then there's the Wouldn't it Be Nice If Life Really Worked That Way statutes.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19:8

Surely there are exceptions to those rules! Surely!


And my favorite, the Sure, That's a Good Thought, But I'm Going to Take This Into My Own Hands kind of verses.

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Romans 13:1-2

So.. what's your least trusted statute?

Psalm 119:137 Righteousness

The Hebrew word zedek or ṣad·dîq means to be right, upright, just, righteous. A form of the word occurs 15 times in Psalm 119. Five of those instances are in this octet of Tsadhe (119:137-144).

I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:7)

Praise and worship is not righteous because it makes me feel worshipful or fits in with my personal musical or liturgical preferences. True praise comes as I learn God's true and righteous laws.

How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life. (Psalm 119:40)

God does not bless my life or preserve my life because I do what seems right in my own eyes. The righteous God preserves my life because he is righteous.

At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:62)

True righteousness (and true rightness) isn't mine because of a house-of-card collection of opinions I cherish, but because I've made it a priority to study God's righteous Word and to pray to God about his righteous laws at all hours of the day, 24-7.

I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. (Psalm 119:75)

Knowing the truth of the righteousness of God's laws comes by faithfully living according to His ways even in the midst of the worst of times. When the world seems to be going mad, I don't resort to my own opinions or react to my own fears or desires. I seek to discover the truth and live the truth in his righteous laws.

I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:106)

When I ask believers what their core political principles are, I get back all kinds of answers, almost all having to do with politics and opinions and platforms. Instead, we should be moved in every aspect of life - including politics - by a personal oath, confirmed by a plan of action, to make every decision based on the core principles of God's righteous laws.

I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. (Psalm 119:121)

Another thing I hear from many politically-minded Christians is that we have to vote a certain way in order to protect our freedom of religion and thought and practice.  The scriptures seem to teach a different approach.  Do what is righteous (live in a way that reflects the righteousness of God) and trust God to protect or deliver us from oppressors.

My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. (Psalm 119:123)

Even when it seems like righteousness isn't enough, even when you're tired of waiting for this godless culture to either turn to God or be punished by God, never stop looking to God for the righteous response.

You are righteous, Lord, and your laws are right. (Psalm 119:137)

I've said more than once in this series of blog posts that the best definition of righteousness I've found is the character of God. Righteousness is that which matches up with and flows from the inherently righteous character of the eternal God. Actions are righteous if they mirror the actions of God. Statements are righteous if they mirror the statements of God. Attitudes, emotions, priorities, missions, purposes, principles, and character are righteous in so much as they reflect the character of God.

The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. (Psalm 119:138)

The Word of God can be fully trusted because God can be fully trusted. They are "true truth" because God is the source of truth. Any "truthiness" comes not from God or his Word but from us, when we rearrange the words and ideas to fit our own agendas.

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness and your law is true. (Psalm 119:142)

Wow! Why would I ever chase after any other definition of truth? All the other truthiness changes with the whims of culture and the daily viral obsessions people grab onto.

Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live. (Psalm 119:144)

Always righteous. Not subject to change. All we have to do is look at them from God's perspective, not from our own point of view or the world's fractured opinions. Ask God to help you see the through his eyes. Dare to take a stand for God's righteousness, rather than the principles and politics of the moment.

All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. (Psalm 119:160)

We like to pick and choose which words of God we're going to fiercely champion and which ones we're going to quietly ignore. How many times have  you posted a meme on Facebook about the evils of homosexuality? How many memes have you posted about the evils of divorce? Is there a difference because your divorced Christian friends might be offended, but you don't really know any gay or lesbian people?

Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:164)

Again, it's important to make pray and praise a priority in your daily life. Schedule times to study God's Word and pray about what you're reading. While you're wrestling with some of God's less culture-friendly laws, praise God for his unfailing righteousness.

May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. (Psalm 119:172)

Psalm 119:137-144 Tsadhe

You are righteous, Lord,
 and your laws are right
The statutes you have laid down are righteous;
 they are fully trustworthy.
My zeal wears me out,
 for my enemies ignore your words.
Your promises have been thoroughly tested,
 and your servant loves them.
Though I am lowly and despised
 I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is everlasting
 and your law is true.
Trouble and distress have come upon me,
 but your commands give me delight.
Your statutes are always righteous;
 give me understanding that I may live.

Psalm 119:144

During the final decades of the 1900s and the early years of new millennium, many Christian leaders decried the increasing influence of postmodernism.

Postmodernism is a philosophy that, among other things, claims truth is relative. Your truth may not be my truth. Each of us defines our own truth based on how it fits into our individual set of presuppositions, formed by the mixture of our personal experiences and community influences.

For church leaders whose entire theology and philosophy is based on the idea of an absolute standard of truth, a standard defined by God and his Word, postmodernism is problematic. It's important to take into account the varied points of view and presuppositions among the people we interact with. But we need to guard against forgetting the bedrock truth that there is indeed a bedrock truth.

And yet, here in the second decade of the 21st century, a large percentage of Christians who consider themselves religiously conservative or who fit into the general classification of evangelicals, have, in practice, embraced wholly the truthiness of postmodernism.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the arena of politics. When George Bush and Al Gore were faced with a virtual tie in the 2000 presidential election, I heard many of my fellow Christians passing judgment on which of them should be declared the winner, long before the disputed votes were recounted and anything close to true results were determined. The winner, they said,  should be George Bush, because that's who they had voted for.

Throughout Bush's tenure in office, many Christians gave him the benefit of the doubt whenever his decisions or his statements were questioned. Not because of any careful examination of the truth, but because of the truthiness of their devotion to conservative political ideas.

But when Barack Obama became president, those same Christians were quick to question everything he said or did. Again, it was usually not due to any great study of the facts or the truth of the matter, but a gut-feeling declaration of belief that Obama was not to be trusted, mostly because of his non-conservative politics.

This unfortunate Christian truthiness has reached an historic low during the presidency of Donald Trump. Because he is leading his fellow Republicans to make policy decisions that please politically Christian conservatives, they're willing to ignore and even condone Trump's blatantly irreligious and immoral character.  They also ignore his almost daily disregard for any objective standards of truth. Trump has become the chief standard bearer for postmodern truthiness, bending the truth to meet his personal desires, and loudly working to denigrate the news media who dare to report verified truth rather than flattering his ego.

And yet Christian pastors and counselors, people who are trained and experienced in spotting the clear clues that someone is a habitual liar, seem unable or unwilling to speak the truth about the president's obvious habits of murdering the truth.

I'm sure some who are reading this are mad at me now. They probably think I'm obviously a Democrat, spreading "fake news."

Actually, I haven't expressed an opinion about politics at all in this blog post. The truth is, I don't really care who you vote for, or which political party or platform you support.

What's important is this: Christians should stand for truth.

I beg of you to not turn away from examining your own heart on the matter. Does your attitude toward truth have its foundation in the righteousness and rightness of God or are you held captive to the truthiness of your own heart?

One year from this week the next national election takes place. You and I have a whole year, 365 days, to "do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." ( II Timothy 2:15) Instead of arguing over politics, let's spend the coming year learning to cherish the truth.