Thy testimonies are wonderful:
Therefore doth my soul keep them (Psa 119.129).

Straightforward exposition of these words should lead us into deep and practical contemplation. That is my aim in this study.

Our text is addressed to God in prayer. “Thy” is a possessive pronoun with the “LORD” (v. 126) as referent. “Testimonies” (Heb. ’edot, “what God solemnly testifies to be his will”¹) is clearly Holy Scripture, as it means this repeatedly throughout the Psalm (vv. 14, 31, 36, 88, 99, 111, 144, 157) along with six other terms so used (law, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word). This is David’s sincere reflection upon Holy Scripture, the message from God that preceded and provoked David’s speech back to God. God solemnly testified of his will to David, and he responded by faith as a believer. Scripture and prayer compose the dialogue between heaven and earth. This is the salvation won by the only Mediator between God and man. In Jesus we have the incarnate Word of God from heaven, who takes away every offense of God from his own, and removes the enmity against God in each sinner’s heart, and those in Jesus return to our heavenly Father with praises upon our lips.

In English, the word “wonderful” is an adjective that means “exciting wonder: marvelous, astonishing.”² The Hebrew word here is not an adjective but a noun that means a “miracle” (e.g., in Exod 15.11; Psa 77.11, etc.), that is, something extraordinary that would be against “the laws of nature” and impossible except for God’s special working. Yet, since miracles awaken a subjective sense of wonder, awe, and marveling in us, the psalmist’s use of the noun here is descriptive. That is, he encompasses what is objectively true of Scripture (it is an extraordinary phenomenon of God’s special working), as well as the psalmist’s feelings about it (it stirred his sense of wonder and awe with what is truly divine). The translation, “Thy testimonies are wonderful” is perfectly good, although Calvin preferred “marvelous” since he took David to be implying that God’s Word “contains high and hidden mysteries . . . which far transcend all the conceptions of the human mind” and,

accordingly [David] declares, that the sublime and admirable wisdom which he found comprehended in the divine law led him to regard it with reverence. This is to be carefully marked, for the law of God is proudly despised by the great majority of mankind, when they do not duly taste its doctrine, nor acknowledge that God speaks from his throne in heaven, that, the pride of the flesh being abased, he may raise us upward by the apprehension of faith (in loc).

Calvin continued by saying that this sense of awe at God’s Word is critically important for each one of us because “reverence is the beginning of pure and right subjection,” and, “many despise God’s Word, because they think it inferior to the acuteness of their own understandings” (in loc.). They worship themselves instead of God, and esteem their own thoughts more than that ineffable wisdom from the throne of the Most High. What horrid sacrilege and profane idolatry is latent in us all! Of course those with no deep-seated reverence for Scripture have no faith and are unbelievers.

The second line has a logical connection to the first; the original is well translated “therefore” or “thus.” Because God’s testimonies are a wonder in themselves and have totally enchanted³ me, “my soul doth keep them.” “My soul” is a Hebrew idiom that simply refers to oneself (e.g., “I keep them”), though in this context a particular designation of the invisible, immaterial part of man may be intended, as well as a high degree of intensity (i.e., these things are true of David in the deepest recesses of his innermost being).

The most important word for interpretation in the second line is here rendered “keep.” While understood by many translators and commentators as a reference to obedience, that may not be the primary sense. The original verb means to watch, guard, and protect.⁴ I think he especially intends his mental, emotional, and spiritual captivation with the Word itself, so that it had become his obsessive meditation from the beginning to the end of each day, inasmuch as that was consistent with the fulfillment of all other moral duties (cf. Psa 1.2-3). This is the idea brought out in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), “Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore my soul has sought them out.” As a prophet himself and leader of the holy nation Israel, David no doubt keenly felt the stewardship of a great treasure.

Sure, there are many examples in the Bible of this Hebrew verb having the sense of obedience to God’s Word and covenant with his people (Psa 25.10; 78.7; 105.45; 119.2, etc.). Naturally, practical obedience grows well in the soil of the spiritually noble heart we have described, and so obeying God’s Word may very well be included here, even if it is not the main idea.
So with all this, we may paraphrase thus, “Sovereign, miracle-working LORD GOD, your word is an astounding wonder that awakens my sense of awe and reverence, and that is why it has captured my heart and secured my constant attention.”

We may infer many things from this verse. First, it matters spiritually how you think and feel about Scripture. Historically, those who have tended toward a radical mysticism (e.g., Quakers) have denigrated the Bible as unimportant to having a deep and meaningful relationship with God. And their successors are everywhere today in the visible church, because so many professing Christians do not think it matters much what your doctrine of Scripture is as long as you walk with Jesus and pray, denigrating Scripture practically if not formally. This is the attitude of the old liberalism with its anti-supernaturalism, except that they tended to emphasize social activism over personal religious experience. Many professing Christians today could fairly be labeled liberal pietists, except that would be to insult godly men and women in the pietist tradition.

We are right to insist on the verbal,⁵ plenary⁶ inspiration of Scripture. Not only is it true, but it is foundational to our salvation from sin and entrance upon a living relationship with God.

Second, to the degree that we discover we have not treasured the content of our Bible, or walked consistently with the way of wisdom it reveals, at least one part of the cause must be that we have not appreciated its nature as a living Word that keeps testifying of his truth and will to men on earth. This surely accounts for dry devotions and lifeless public worship; so few actually pay the rapt attention they would if they heard a literal voice from heaven, like those trembling souls at the base of Mount Sinai. And yet the Scriptures are no less divine, even though they address us without thundering in our ears and scaring us witless. We must keep calling that to mind every time the Word is opened, whether in public or in private.

Third, that impoverished soul who lives from day to day with very little thought of the specifics of the biblical message is surely in a bad state spiritually, whatever his claim to be a Christian. Reading, rereading, reflecting, and researching specific Bible passages that we may penetrate to their true meaning and application—this is not to be the exclusive realm of pastors! It is every Christian’s daily calling as he has the means and opportunity. If there were more concerted effort in your life toward mastering the content of Scripture, would you not have made much more progress by now? Oh Lord, revive our souls by your Word, and toward your Word! Cause us all to be enchanted by it for your glory and our blessedness. Amen.

Notes:

1. ESV-SB on Psalm 119.
2. MWCD.
3. “To attract and move deeply: rouse to ecstatic admiration,” MWCD, in loc.
4. BDB, CHALOT.
5. Inspiration pertains to the very words, and to each and every one.
6. All of Scripture is God’s Word, from Genesis to Revelation, from the loftiest poetry in the Bible to the most mundane geographical lines and genealogical lists.