Again and again throughout Psalm 119 we are told of the psalmist’s enemies. They are relentless in their cruel threats, and it seems he is not able to get them out of his mind. So in the nineteenth stanza, these persecutors become the focus of his prayers. Earnestly he calls upon God to “save” him so that he might continue a life of devotion to the Word. With his “whole heart” he cries out, desperate for God’s “help” in this time of trouble (v 145-147). The man of God is awake before the sunrise in order to seek the LORD. And through “the watches of the night” he is still praying. Using the Scriptures as his guide, he pours out his heart to God, meditating on divine promises. To “meditate” on the Bible is to take its words and mull them over in one’s mind, pondering each phrase until its truth is internalized. In this way, the Bible begins to guide the way we think and behave. As God’s perspective becomes our own, we see things differently and act in ways that honor Him (v 147-148). We do our best praying when the prayers are drawn from Scripture, for then we are assured that we are praying according to the will of God. In a sense, it means repeating God’s very words back to Him, confident that He will hear and answer according to His “steadfast love” and “justice” (v 149). Though his persecutors “draw near with evil purpose,” the psalmist finds courage in the realization that God is also near. That makes all the difference! As Derek Kidner writes, “The threat is not glossed over; it is put in perspective by a bigger fact.” Like a child who feels safe in the presence of mom or dad, our fears subside knowing our Heavenly Father is always close at hand. As we study the Bible, we get to know Him, and our faith is made strong (v 150-152). In stanza twenty, the enemies of the psalmist are still present, and he is still praying for deliverance. In fact, there seems to be a mounting urgency in the repeated pleas for God to save him. But as he casts his cares upon the LORD, he does not forget God’s righteous laws and life-giving promises. With a mind steadied by Scripture, he is able to delight in God’s great mercy. “Salvation is far from the wicked” who do not care about God’s Word, but the psalmist resolves to obey the God who has mercifully saved him (v 153-159). Because “the sum of (God’s) word is truth” which “endures forever,” everything the Bible says is true, and it will never go out of date. It must be followed, regardless of personal preferences, cultural customs, or popular opinion. It does not need to be updated, revised, or corrected. It is as true now as it was in generations past and will be for generations to come (v 160). For further meditation: