What is the meaning of Psalm 119:87? They almost wiped me • The psalmist speaks of a near-total annihilation. The language is not hyperbole; it reflects genuine peril, like David fleeing Saul (1 Samuel 26:20) or Jeremiah hunted by his own people (Jeremiah 26:8–9). • Psalm 119:86 just before says, “All Your commandments are faithful; the wicked persecute me with lies—help me!”. The danger is real, not imagined. • Comparable cries surface in Psalm 69:4 and Psalm 143:3, underscoring that God’s servants often face ruthless opposition. • Yet, as 2 Corinthians 4:8–9 notes, believers can be “persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed”. from the earth • The threat is extermination, removal “from the earth,” echoing Psalm 83:4: “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation”. • Evil aims to silence God’s people entirely, just as Haman sought to remove the Jews in Esther 3:6. • The psalmist recognizes that without divine intervention, he would vanish physically and, in the enemy’s mind, spiritually—no legacy, no testimony left behind. but • This small word signals a God-centered reversal. The adversary’s power stops where God’s sovereignty begins, reminiscent of Joseph’s “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20). • The psalmist refuses to let danger dictate his devotion. I have not forsaken • Despite lethal pressure, he clings to obedience. Job models the same resolve: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15). • Daniel’s friends embody it when they declare they will not bow, “even if He does not rescue us” (Daniel 3:18). • Faithfulness in crisis authenticates faith far more than comfort ever could. Your precepts • “Precepts” points to God’s detailed instructions—every statute, promise, and warning. • Psalm 119 repeatedly ties life to these precepts (see vv. 27, 93, 159). Holding them is not legalism; it is love, as Jesus states: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). • Obedience anchors the soul when circumstances rage. 1 John 5:3 reminds us, “His commandments are not burdensome”, even when enemies are. summary Enemies may almost erase us, yet they cannot erase our commitment to God’s Word. When threatened “from the earth,” we answer with loyalty to His precepts, trusting the Lord who preserves both life and testimony. |
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