Verse 161. "Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word."

"Princes have persecuted me without a cause." It was well that the sufferer could truthfully assert that this persecution was "without a cause." He had not broken their laws, he had not injured them, he had not even desired to see them injured: he had not been an advocate of rebellion or anarchy, he had neither openly nor secretly opposed their power, and therefore, while this made their oppression the more inexcusable, it took away a part of its sting, and helped the brave-hearted servant of God to bear up under their oppression. "But my heart standeth in awe of thy word." He might have been overcome by awe of the princes, had it not been that a greater fear drove out the less, and he was swayed by awe of God's word. How little are crowns and sceptres in the judgment of that man who perceives a more majestic royalty in the commands of his God! We are not likely to be disheartened by persecution, nor driven by it into sin, if the word of God exerts supreme power over our minds.

Verse 162. "I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil."

He trembled at the word of the Lord, and yet rejoiced at it. He compares his joy to that of one who has been long in battle, and has at last won the victory and is dividing the spoil. This usually falls to the lot of princes; and though David was divided from other monarchs by their persecution of him, yet he had victories of his own, which they understood not, and treasures in which they could not share. "David's spoil" was more than equal to the greatest gains of all the mighty men. His holy booty taken by his earnest contention for the truth of God was greater than all the trophies that can be gained in war. Grace divides greater spoil than falls to the lot of sword or bow. Perhaps the passage may meant that the Psalmist rejoiced as one who comes upon hidden treasure for which he has not fought, in which case we find the analogy in the man of God who, while reading the Bible, makes grand and blessed discoveries of the grace of God laid up for him - discoveries which surprise him, for he looked not to find such a prize. Whether we come by the truth as finders or as warriors fighting for it, the heavenly treasure should be equally dear to us. With what quiet joy does the ploughman steal home with his golden find! How victors shout as they share the plunder! How glad should that man be who has discovered his portion in the promises of Holy Writ, and is able to enjoy that portion for himself, knowing by the witness of the Holy Spirit that it is all his own!

Verse 163. "I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love."

David himself had made much progress when he had come to this; for he, too, had practised guile in his day. He does not, however, alone refer to falsehood in conversation; he evidently intends perversity in faith and teaching. He wrote down all opposition to the God of truth as lying, and then he turned his whole soul against it with the intensest form of indignation. Godly men should detest false doctrine even as they abhor any other lie.

Verse 164. "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments."

He laboured perfectly to praise his perfect God, and therefore fulfilled the perfect number of songs - that number being seven. He reached a Sabbath in his praise, and before he rested on his bed he found sweet rest in the joyful adoration of Jehovah. If we praise God when we are persecuted, our music will be all the sweeter to him because of our constancy in suffering. If we keep clear of all lying, our song will be the more acceptable because it comes out of honest lips. If we never flatter men, we shall be in the better condition for honouring the Lord. Do we praise God seven times a day? Alas! The question needs altering - Do we praise him once in seven days? O shameful fraud, which deprives the Ever Blessed of the music of this lower sphere!

Verse 165. "Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them."

"Great peace have thy which love thy law." What a charming verse is this! It deals not with those who perfectly keep the law - for where should such men be found? - but with those who love it, whose hearts and hands are made to square with its precepts and demands. These men are ever striving, with all their hearts, to walk in obedience to the law, and though they are often persecuted they have peace, yea, great peace; for they have learned the secret of the reconciling blood, they have felt the power of the comforting Spirit, and they stand before the Father as men accepted.

Verse 166. "LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments."

Here we have salvation by grace, and the fruits thereof. All David's hope was fixed upon God, he looked to him alone for salvation; and then he endeavoured most earnestly to fulfil the commands of his law. Those who place least reliance upon good works are very frequently those who have the most of them: that same divine teaching which delivers us from confidence in our own doings leads us to abound in every good work to the glory of God. In times of trouble there are two things to be done, the first is to hope in God, and the second is to do that which is right. The first without the second would be mere presumption; the second without the first mere formalism. It is well if in looking back we can claim to have acted in the way which is commanded of the Lord. If we have acted rightly towards God we are sure that he will act kindly towards us.

Verse 167. "My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly."

"My soul hath kept thy testimonies." My outward life has kept thy "precepts", and my inward life, my soul, has kept thy "testimonies". God has borne testimony to many sacred truths, and these we hold fast with all our heart and soul, for we value them as life itself. The gracious man stores up the truth of God within his heart as a treasure exceedingly dear and precious - he keeps it. His secret soul, his inmost self, becomes the guardian of these divine teachings which are his sole authority in soul matters. To him it becomes a great joy in his old age to be able to say, "My soul hath kept thy testimonies." "And I love them exceedingly." The more we store our minds with heavenly truth, the more deeply shall we be in love with it: the more we see the exceeding riches of the Bible, the more will our love exceed measure, and exceed expression.

Verse 168. "I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee."

"I have kept thy testimonies." Both the practical and the doctrinal parts of God's word he had stored up, and preserved, and followed. It is a blessed thing to see the two forms of the divine word equally known, equally valued, equally confessed: there should be no picking and choosing as to the mind of God. We know those who endeavour to be careful as to the precepts, but who seem to think that the doctrines of the gospel are mere matters of opinion, which they may shape for themselves. This is not a perfect condition of things. We have known others again who are very rigid as to the doctrines, and painfully lax with reference to the precepts. This also is far from right. When the two are "kept" with equal earnestness, then have we the perfect man.