Psalm 119:52-59 says, “When I think of Your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord. Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies.”
The Psalmist is not just watching a child of God from the balcony. He is the child of God. He is the traveler. He is affected. He is comforted. He is not a casual observer.
In his sojourning, the Psalmist is troubled by evil. Life is a “disappointing and unpleasant business” (says J.I. Packer) without the comfort of hope in the Lord. When all seems dark, God’s Word is our refuge and sustainer. God’s Word becomes the song that uplifts the heart and reminds us of Who He is and who we are in Him. We are His children, His saints, His followers. We are different because we know Him personally, not just about Him. We are not “balconeers” looking on, but we are travelers changed by our growing knowledge in Him and before Him.
Indeed, this blessing has fallen to me! What I know about God isn’t paralyzed, it has changed me. I came down from the balcony. I know God. Knowledge of Him has become a matter for my meditation before God. I’m a participant. I’m in the middle of it. I know Him. The Lord is truly my portion. I am transformed and increasingly I want to keep His words. I pray for His favor and grace. I turn toward Him and away from my sinful ways again and again. God is not someone else’s song. He is my song. I turn my feet to His testimonies.
I take comfort! I am a traveler, not a balconeer.
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