The AMEN of Psalm 119

The last letter in the Hebrew alphabet is taw. The theme of the last prayer section is a summary of all of the prayers in this great chapter. You could call it the AMEN of Psalm 119. The first request of this prayer teaches the first request of all prayer, “Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.” Like the disciple in Luke 11:1 who asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray…” this request asks for understanding from God’s word so that his prayer will be received by God. This is the prayer request of all prayer requests.

The third line, 119:171, once again links praise with learning, “My lips will pour forth praise for you teach me your statutes.” The word “praise” in Hebrew is tehilah, and is the beautiful Hebrew title of the book of Psalms, Tehilim, Praises! It describes being fully satisfied and thankful to declare the supreme value and worth of God. It declares His fame and renown, His greatness and goodness, the rightness of His righteousness, the purity of His holiness. It is a big word. The Father loves this word, especially when it is declared as the result of the revelation of Himself to you from His word.

The word “understanding” is the Hebrew word bayin, which has been discussed in previous sections. The root of this word means to cut and separate, as in seeing clearly the stark difference between good and evil. Choosing the good over the evil is what it means to have bayin, understanding. This comes from God’s word, not from a tree (Genesis 2:17), or from any other source.

When the good is seen and chosen for what it is, a gift from God, and the evil is seen for what it is, a lie from the devil, God is glorified for His gracious revelation of truth, wisdom is imparted, and God is praised! As more and more of God’s word reveals more of more of God, more and more of your choices become His for you, and more and more of your life is transformed into His. As this happens, more and more, your life becomes more and more of an offering of praise to God. AMEN and Hallelujah!!!

The last line in this prayer is telling as a confession of weakness, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant for I do not forget your commandments.” It may seem strange at first that this great prayer, Psalm 119, ends with such a confession and request. But it is one of the most powerful confessions and most enlightened requests. One of the ways of God is that in your weakness, His strength is made perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9). When you are weak, He is strong. This defines prayer, for when you pray, you are turning to God out of your weakness to find Him, your strength. You confess in prayer of your weakness and need of Him with a request that is at the heart of His character and nature, which is to seek after you!

This is what Jesus told the woman of Sychar at Jacob’s well that day when He said, in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Prayer is asking God for what He is doing and desires to do. The last line of this great prayer summarizes this all-important truth. It is the AMEN of the prayer!