The last verse of this section stands alone as a summary statement that links the truth that God's law is eternal (vv. 89-91) with the salvation that is ours through believing and acting on God's commands (vv. 92-95): "To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless (v. 96)."
Starting with the truth of the eternal or enduring character of God's Word, the psalmist then reflects on what this eternal or indestructible Word has done for him. As we noted in yesterday's study, it has done three things for the psalmist: it has rescued him in his affliction; it has renewed his nearly extinguished life; and it has saved and, he is sure, will continue to save him from the wicked persons who were trying to destroy him.
I have noted several times in these studies how practical the writer of Psalm 119 is, and this is a quality we see again here. His theme is the eternal or enduring character of God's Word. But starting with that truth, he then reflects on what this eternal or indestructible Word has done for him. It has done three things, he says. First, it has rescued him in his affliction. Second, it has renewed his nearly extinguished life. Third, it has saved and, he is sure, will continue to save him from the wicked persons who were trying to destroy him.
If "faithfulness” in verse 90 refers to God's Word, then these verses are saying that because God's Word is eternal in heaven, it can also clearly be depended upon on earth. If “faithfulness” is being distinguished from God's Word, as a separate attribute of God, then they are saying that three things are eternal: 1) God's Word in heaven; 2) God's faithfulness on earth; and 3) the laws of God that, like the heavens and the earth, endure "to this day.” The laws of God will endure even longer, of course, since, as the last and summarizing verse of this section states: “To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are “boundless” (v. 96).
Psalm 119 is not offered to us as the personal life experiences of the psalmist. It is a collection of inspired reflections on the nature of God's Word and of the righteous person's proper response to it. Nevertheless, it is hard to escape feeling that in some places at least the writer is speaking personally. He seems to be doing that in the stanzas we looked at in the last study and in the stanza to which we come now.
