The Golden Alphabet Part Five

Extract

The Golden Alphabet — Part Five — Psalm 119:113-144
C. H. Spurgeon

Exposition of verses 113 to 120, Samech 113. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.
119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.

This octave, whose initial letter is Samech, or S, has been likened to Samson at his death, when he laid hold of the pillars of the house and pulled it down on the Philistines. Mark how he grips the pillars of divine power, with “Uphold me,” and “Hold thou me up;” and see how the house falls down in judgment on the unholy! “Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross.” This section carries the war into the enemy’s country, and exhibits the believer as militant against falsehood and iniquity.
113. “I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.”

In this paragraph the Psalmist deals with thoughts and things and persons which are the opposite of God’s holy thoughts and ways. He is evidently moved with great indignation against the powers of darkness and their allies; and his whole soul is stirred up to stand against them with a determined opposition. Just as he began the octave, verse 97, with “O how love I thy law” so he begins here with a declaration of intense love; but he prefaces it with an equally fervent declaration of hatred, against that which breaks the law. The opposite of the fixed and infallible testimony of God is the …