113 I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.
Psalm 119:113-120
The Psalmist, David has apparently come upon some double-minded people and he is realigning himself with God and His word rather than people. Double-minded people are people who will say all the right things about God and His Word and His church but they are living an entirely different way. We see them and we know them every day. Now I am not talking about people who just make mistakes and get it wrong from time to time. That’s all of us! What I’m talking about are people who are saying they are living for Jesus and yet they really have a worldly mindset. They are living a lifestyle that in no way aligns with God’s word and His commands. David is rebuking those people in his life and he is reconfirming his commitment to God and where his hope lies.
In verse 115 he tells the evildoers to depart from him. David has realized that he can’t keep company with those who are double-minded and evildoers. There is an old saying, “Show me your friends, I will show you your future,” there is a ton of truth in that. Yes we are supposed to be in the world so that the world can see us, but we are to be in the world so as to be light to the world. If the world starts to bring you down, it is time to retreat and to realign and to know where your hope is. There are times we have to remove ourselves from some friendships and to go to God and to His word and to His people. David saw that and he was asking God to uphold him. I love how David says do not let me be put to shame IN MY HOPE! David knew that his hope was in God and he also knew that God would answer him and uphold him because that’s who God is. It’s what he does! And He does it because of who He is, not because of who we are.
David also knew that it was up to God to handle his enemies and he recognizes that in verse 119. When he says all the wicked of the earth you discard like dross. Dross is the impurities that is refined from precious metal. When the refiner is refining the precious metals a dross appears on the surface and the refiner throws it away. David is recognizing that the wicked of the earth will be discarded like dross. We don’t have to fight our battles, God will fight for us and the wicked will eventually be discarded.
In verse 120 David says he trembles and fears the Lord. Let’s address fear. There are two kinds. There is a godly fear, a reverent, positive fear which is what David is talking about here and there is a negative fear. A positive, Godly fear is having a respect and reverence for God that you hold Him in highest regard. A negative fear is debilitating. There is no hope in this kind of fear. I like to think of it this way too. The right kind of fear of God is really fearing ourselves and our own human frailties and it makes us run TO God because that is the only place that our hope can be found to get things right in this life. A debilitating fear, the negative fear will make us run FROM God. And it causes anxiety and depression and hopelessness. I think when David says I am afraid of your judgments it was really him being afraid of not getting it right but knowing the only way we can come close to getting it right is to stay close to the one who is Right!
Restore 