And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth;
For I have hoped in thy judgments (Psa 119.43).
Discerning with certainty the exact sense in which these words were originally intended is difficult, if not impossible, yet we may glean some doctrine from it which is certain, being plainly stated and implied here, and confirmed and enlarged in other places of Scripture.
Spurgeon offers a judicious interpretation in his great Psalms commentary, The Treasury of David:
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. Do not prevent my pleading for Thee by leaving me without deliverance; for how could I continue to proclaim Thy word if I found it fail me? Such would seem to be the run of the meaning. The word of truth cannot be a joy to our mouths unless we have an experience of it in our lives, and it may be wise for us to be silent if we cannot support our testimonies by the verdict of our consciousness. . . .
For I have hoped in thy judgments. He had expected God to appear and vindicate His cause, that so he might speak with confidence concerning His faithfulness. God is the author of our hopes, and we may most fittingly entreat Him to fulfill them. The judgments of His providence are the outcome of His word; what He says in the Scriptures He actually performs in His government; we may therefore look for Him to show Himself strong on the behalf of His own threatenings and promises, and we shall not look in vain.
This may very well be the general sense which Spirit-filled David had in mind when he wrote these words. Now let us draw from them a few points of solid doctrine with relevant application for us.
GOD’S WORD IS TRUTH ITSELF
The “word of truth” here, in the context of Psalm 119, almost certainly refers to Scripture, designated one way or another in virtually every one of its 176 verses. God’s Word, or Scripture, is true because God is true. He cannot lie (Tit 1.2), and the biblical doctrine of divine inspiration (2 Tim 3.16) which equates the words of Scripture with the words of God Himself absolutely requires us regard Scripture as infallible and inerrant, completely true in all it affirms.
But is it not going a step further to say that God’s Word is truth itself, that it is the truth? If we testify that what someone said is true, we mean that his words may be tested against some external standard (e.g., observable reality) and be found to be consistent with that standard, but there is no external standard by which we might judge Scripture except God Himself. He reveals Himself by Scripture, so it is THE standard of truth. The Bible is not only true; it is truth itself (John 17.17).
IT IS BLESSED TO KEEP CONFESSING THIS WORD
This verse breathes an urgent sense of importunity or heartfelt and persistent pleading. The psalmist is very concerned about the conceivable outcome that one day, the word of truth might not be found “in his mouth” at all. This is a Hebrew idiom which here has the sense of a confession of verbal divine revelation, and ordinarily but not always, a sincere confession of the speaker’s faith in God and His truth (Num 22.38; Deut 18.18; cf. Rom 10.8-10). To have God’s word of truth depart utterly from one’s mouth is to apostatize, to fall away from God, and to become an open unbeliever again (cf. Josh 1.8).
This explains why David was so acutely concerned about the eventuality against which he here prays so passionately. If the word of truth ever did utterly depart from his mouth, he would lose all assurance of salvation, and have reasonable grounds for high anxiety about his identity as a wicked man with a miserable end.
It follows from this that as long as he was sincerely confessing this Word, he had a spiritual and reasonable basis for knowing himself to be a true man of God with a blessed end. Confessing the gospel of Jesus Christ in a momentary decision is no reason for assurance of salvation. The true Christian perseveres in a good confession all the way to the end of his life (Heb 3.6, 14; 4.14; 6.11; 10.23). There is such a thing as having “believed the gospel in vain” and perishing after all (1 Cor 15.1-2).
IT IS GOD’S TO PRESERVE HIS PEOPLE IN FAITH
When David prays to the Lord, “take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,” it plainly implies that if that should happen, it would be an outworking of Providence, ultimately an action of the sovereign Lord. It also implies that it is God’s prerogative to do or not do.
Therefore, as true believers continue confessing the one true faith, the gospel of Jesus Christ, they have no one else but God to thank for it. We must persevere, but this is only the evidence of God’s gracious preserving work in us, a work He continues in every single one of those He begins to save (Psa 37.28). The Lord promises this to His beloved people:
As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever (Isa 59.21).
The 1689 LBCF in chapter XVII wonderfully describes the biblical doctrine of the preservation of the saints.
IT IS OURS TO PLEAD BY FAITH FOR PRESERVATION
This doctrine of God’s preservation is no warrant for spiritual presumption on our part. The psalmist’s petition should be our petition, something like this:
Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, O Lord. Holy Father, You could do that if You pleased, and it would be no worse punishment than I deserve in myself on account of my sins. You show mercy to whomever You will, and whomever You will, You harden. Therefore I plead that You would not forsake me, but rather keep me safe forever through Christ the Lord, to the praise of Your glorious grace.
Prayer like this is not a renunciation of divine preservation, but is founded upon it. Because God is faithful to believers crying out to Him for His grace, we are all the more encouraged to plead for it.
The second line of our text verse expresses why the psalmist has a confident expectation that this prayer will be answered, “for I have hoped in thy judgments.” The same essential idea appears clearly in similar texts.
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust (Psa 16.1; cf. 17.5; 25.20).
APPLICATIONS
Many genuine Christians suffer long with little assurance of salvation. Could it be that we have not sufficiently appreciated that our spiritual preservation depends ultimately on God’s free grace, not our free will? Also, would it not strengthen our assurance if we were more faithful to pray as we should for preserving grace? Then we would have a greater warrant to expect it, for God delights in hearing and answering such prayers. Finally, as believers we are never devoid of great matter for giving thanks to God, because our spiritual perseverance is directly traceable to His faithfulness and generosity toward us through Christ.
Let us then make it our habit to follow this pattern of prayer, pleading for spiritual preservation, confessing our confident hope of it, and offering up sacrifices of praise to the mighty God who saves and keeps His people. Amen.
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