Psalms 119:109 - Meaning and Application

Here David is in danger of losing his life. He stands only a step from death, because the wicked have set a trap for him. Saul, the king of Israel, did this many times, because he hated David for his godliness. Wherever David went, someone seemed to be plotting to kill him, because that was their goal. When open force did not work, they hoped to use treachery instead, and that is why he said, “My life is always in my hand.”

This was true of David as a man, and it is true of all of us. Wherever we are, we are exposed to death. What we hold in our hands can be snatched away by violence, and life itself is like sand, slipping away from our fingers. It was also true of him as a soldier, one who often risked his life in battle. And it was especially true of him as a man after God’s own heart, hated and persecuted, and always delivered to death, as in (2 Corinthians 4:11), “killed all day long.”

Yet David was in no danger of losing his religion, even though he was in danger every hour. He stayed faithful to God and to his duty. None of these troubles moved him. He did not forget the law, and that helped him keep going. In all his worry about his own safety, he still made room in his mind and heart for God’s word. It stayed fresh with him, and when God’s word lives richly in a person, it becomes like a well of living water.

He had also not yet turned away from God’s commands, and that gave reason to hope he would not. He had already stood through many hard tests and kept his ground. Surely the grace that had helped him so far would not fail him now, but would keep him from wandering.