"Revive me..."

Psalm 119:25, 40, 50, 88, 93, 107, 149, 149, 154, 156, 159.

The term "revive" appears ten times in this psalm, in various forms. In all of them, it is associated with the word of God or with his commandments, although in seven of them this association is direct, and in the remaining three it is indirect. In verse 40, it is related to God's justice, while in verses 88 and 159, to God's mercy. Be that as it may, even these three cases have, in their context, an allusion to the Word or commandments of God.

The word of God vivifies. It is remarkable that this psalm, located in the heart of the Old Covenant, with many allusions to the law, highlights this aspect of the life and life-giving of the Word. However, this vivifying is not associated with the law, because we know from Galatians 3:21 that the law cannot give life. Here, life and quickening are not linked to the law, but to the commandments of God (40, 93, 159), to the Word (25, 107, 154), to the judgments of God (149, 156), to his sayings (50) and to his testimonies (88).

The Lord Jesus said that his words are spirit and are life (John 6:63). Therefore, the psalmist was enlivened by the Word, and for that reason, he asked to be enlivened by it. Anticipatingly, he received the effect of the living Word that was to come into the world, just as the Jews in the wilderness drank in anticipation of Christ (1 Cor. 10:4).

Indeed, in verse 50 of this psalm, as in verse 93, the psalmist testifies to having been quickened by the living word of God.

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