A Sheep’s Cry to His Shepherd

A Sheep’s Cry to His Shepherd

Psalm 119:169-176

Main Idea: When in need, go to God with prayer and praise.

The theme of God as the shepherd of his people is one of the richest in the Bible. In Psalm 23 God is the Lord our shepherd. In Ezekiel 34 God promises his people, “I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them” (v. 23). Micah 5:2-4 continues this theme and informs us this future shepherd will come out of Bethlehem. John 10 reveals to us that Jesus, the Son of God, is the good shepherd who fulfills all these prophetic promises (see also Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 2:25; 5:4; Rev 7:17).

In the twenty-second and final stanza of Psalm 119, stanza Taw (?), the shepherd imagery is subtly but clearly present as the psalmist pours out his heart in prayer to the Lord. He feels like a wandering sheep who has lost his way. His only hope is that the Lord will come after him and rescue him like a loving shepherd (v. 176). This stanza contrasts strikingly to the previous one, stanza Sin/Shin (vv. 161-168). In that stanza the psalmist confesses his faithfulness and dedication to God. Here he pleads in prayer for understanding, deliverance, help, and rescue. The psalmist is confident God will hear him. In harmony with the theme of Psalm 119, his cry for deliverance is “according to your word” (v. 169), “according to your promise” (v. 170).

Lord, Please Hear My Prayer

Psalm 119:169-170

The psalmist comes before the Lord (Yahweh) with a “cry” and “plea.” As Alec Motyer notes, “There is no cocky bursting into his presence” (Psalms, 362). What is the nature of his cry and plea? It is twofold. First, the psalmist says, “Give me understanding according to your word” (v. 169). Second, he says, “Rescue me according to your promise” (v. 170). The two ideas are intertwined. As Michael Wilcock helpfully explains,

I need to know the right things, in the right spirit, at the right time and for the right purposes. . . . I ask that in the way you know is best, you will order my outward circumstance just as you can order my inward thoughts. (Psalms, 218)

The psalmist has an intimate and personal relationship with his Lord. He can come near him and pour out his petition. There is boldness (“cry”) but also humility (“plea”). Further, he recognizes the need for grace inwardly and outwardly. He needs the Lord to help his understanding, but he also needs the Lord to “rescue” him. We need the Lord to work on our hearts by means of his Word and to help us with the circumstances and situations in which we find ourselves. We need to understand and see things as he does. We also need his intervention. We need him to act on our behalf. Understanding will enable the psalmist, and us, not to take matters into our own hands. We can trust God to help us understand. We can also trust God to make things right. If we act like fools, our enemies will win the day, but if we respond with biblical wisdom they will go down in defeat. Spurgeon wisely wrote, “The Lord in answer to prayer frequently delivers his children by making them wise as serpents as well as harmless as doves” (Treasury, 433–34).

Lord, Please Receive My Praise

Psalm 119:171-172

The psalmist’s plea now turns to praise. He is confident that his Lord, the shepherd of his soul, will hear and answer his prayer. Verse 171 reads like the praise of the heart, and verse 172 reads like the praise of the mind. The two, in practice, should never be separated.

In verse 171 the psalmist speaks of his abundant praise of God. “‘My lips pour out praise’ pictures his worship like a gushing spring of water” (Ross, Psalms, 592). There is excitement and enthusiasm in his praise as he contemplates that the Lord will “teach me your statutes.” He pairs this excitement with his knowledge about God by paralleling verse 171 with verse 172. “Lips” parallels the “tongue”; “praise” parallels “sings”; and “statutes” parallels “promise.” With these parallels the psalmist emphasizes the truth that God’s commands are righteous. This truth, at least in part, moved him to praise and to sing to the Lord. The God whom he can come before with his pleas and praise is righteous and just in his ways, his will, and his Word. This is a God we can trust to do what is right because he is himself righteous in who he is. Spurgeon once more says it so well: “When a man has so high an opinion of God’s commandments it is little wonder that his lips should be ready to extol the ever-glorious One” (Treasury, 434).

Lord, Please Help Me

Psalm 119:173-175

Verse 173 renews the psalmist’s plea for deliverance. His plea is intensified by his longing for salvation (v. 174) and his use of the phrase “my soul” (ESV, NASB) in verse 175. The psalmist pleas for God’s help by asking that his hand “be ready to help me”; he needs the Lord’s mighty hand, his powerful hand, to be ready to help him and to do for him what the songwriter cannot do for himself (Ross, Psalms, 593). He grounds his plea in his devotion to the Word of God. He asks with confidence because he has chosen to honor and obey God’s precepts. The Message reads, “Put your hand out and steady me since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel.”

The psalmist does not ask for God’s help with a quick, perfunctory prayer; he has a deep desire, as verse 174 describes: “I long for your salvation, Lord.” We need the Lord to deliver us from our enemies and from ourselves (v. 176). We need, as James Boice writes,

[God’s] deliverance from sin—from its penalty, power, and presence—from the evil influences and outlook of the world, and perhaps even from the power of the devil. . . . We can do nothing to deliver ourselves. So we need to ask God for salvation, which is what the psalmist does. (Living, 166)

He can ask in confidence because “your instruction is my delight.”

In verse 175 the palmist couples a request with a commitment: “Let me live” (“Let my soul live” ESV), and my life will be filled with praise (cf. v. 171). And as he lives for the Lord and praises the Lord with all that he is, he says, “May your judgments help me.” He needs and depends on the Lord’s help (v. 173) and in the Lord’s judgments (v. 175). Who God is and what he teaches will save us and sanctify us. John Goldingay puts it like this:

Our relationship with Yhwh is founded on Yhwh’s grace, commitment, and compassion, and in appealing to Yhwh we appeal to who Yhwh is. Yet our relationship also depends on our obedience. . . . I am myself responsible for walking in Yhwh’s way, yet I depend on Yhwh’s help in doing so. (Psalms, 445)

The psalmist gladly admits that he needs his Lord’s help to live. We need his presence, and we need his guidance. The Lord is who we need. His Word is what we need.

Lord, Please Come and Rescue Me

Psalm 119:176

In Psalm 23:2-3 David says of the good shepherd, “He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” The anonymous psalmist of Psalm 119 resonates with this image of our God. “I wander like a lost sheep,” he says. He needs his Lord, like a shepherd, to come get him and to lead him along the right paths. He is wandering like a lost sheep, but he is still the Lord’s “servant.” He does not forget the Lord’s commands. But he cannot find his way home. His Lord must seek him out; the Lord must find him and safely return him home. John Piper notes that “‘lost’ in Hebrew also means perishing. Sheep will die if not found” (“The Anatomy of Backsliding”). It is significant and wonderful to point out that even though the sheep has lost sight of his shepherd, the shepherd has not lost sight of his sheep. Not only will the great Shepherd go in search of his wayward sheep; the great Shepherd, as the Suffering Servant, will willingly bear the sins of the sheep as their perfect sacrifice (Isa 53:6). What a wonderful Shepherd we have indeed!

Conclusion

The great Reformer Martin Luther has words that provide a fitting commentary on Psalm 119:176. They are also an appropriate conclusion to the whole psalm. What beautiful words of comfort and encouragement they are:

Therefore at the end of the psalm he [the psalmist] especially calls to mind the divine pity out of the greatness of his wretchedness. For if he strayed like a lion or a wolf, he would not need to be grieved, but because it is a little lamb that goes astray, it is a wretchedness that needs a shepherd, pasture, watchmen, a sheepfold, and many other household cares, and the straying one lacks all of them. Indeed, what is most wretched of all is that it does not know how to come back on the way but needs to seek it. Thus this verse is extremely emotional and full of tears, for truly we are all thus going astray, so that we must pray to be visited, sought and carried over by the most godly Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God blessed forever. Amen. (Psalm 76–126, 534)

Reflect and Discuss

1. What does it look like to pray with both boldness and humility?
2. What type of “understanding” is the psalmist asking for?
3. Why should you pray for “understanding according to [God’s] word” in addition to praying for rescue from your situation?
4. Why does the psalmist’s troublesome situation not prevent him from praising or singing to God? Who have you seen exemplify praise during difficulty? How does this encourage you?
5. What songs of praise do you know that are helpful when you need help from the Lord?
6. Is it possible to ask for God’s help in a superficial manner? If so, how?
7. Is this psalmist trying to bargain with God in verse 175 by committing to praise him for hearing his prayers? What in this psalm can help you answer this question?
8. How does the psalmist’s view of himself as a lost sheep and as a servant affect how he approaches God?
9. How does Psalm 23 help us understand this psalm better?
10. Reflect on all you have read about in Psalm 119. What are some of the main themes that have helped you?