Strong Conditions

I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly abandon me!  Psalm 119:8  NASB

Utterly abandon – The Hebrew text isn’t exactly like this English translation.  The syntax in Hebrew is “not forsake me even with power.”  “Utterly abandon” might capture the emotion but what’s interesting is the implication that God would deliberately, and with strength, leave the supplicant.  Especially under these conditions!  What are those conditions?  A declaration to guard, keep, and uphold God’s “statutes.”  But the word in Hebrew (ḥōq) includes more than specific commands.  “ḥōq occurs in sequences with other words for law: dĕbārîm (words), tôrâ (law), mišpāṭ (judgment), ʿēdût(testimony), and miṣwâ (commandment).”^[1]  Since these words are often synonyms, we should think of ḥōq as the full range of God’s desires.  This makes the poet’s plea even more dramatic.  How is it possible that he could imagine God would deliberately leave him if he does everything God wants?  This question seems to overturn Moses’ declaration in Deuteronomy 28:1.  You remember that, right?  CLICK HERE .  Moses claims that if you follow all of God’s commands faithfully, then God will set you high above all others.  That is the promise to Israel.  But here, hundreds of years later, the poet questions that promise.  “If I do everything You wish, Lord, then don’t leave me.”  Why is the poet even concerned?  Does Moses not matter anymore?  What is happening here?

Can I suggest that the emotion expressed by this poet is exactly how we often feel despite God’s promises?  There’s a disconnect between the head and the heart.  We know what God says.  We believe it is true.  But often our feelings don’t align with our cognition.  We feel that no matter how hard we try to do everything God asks, we’re still afraid that He will leave us.  That somehow it won’t be good enough.  That we’ll miss some crucial action—and as a result, God will reject us.  We can tell ourselves over and over that the theology says this isn’t true.  We can remind ourselves that God never leftIsrael because He promised not to.  But deep inside there’s still that nagging uncomfortable premonition that we’ll be left behind on the fateful day.  It’s not thinking that derails us.  It’s feelings.  And that’s what the poet captures for us.

Is there any relief?  Well, perhaps.  Consider the Hebrew grammar.  The word translated “not” is ʾal, not lo, another word that means “not.”  Why is this important?  Because lo is the strongest negative.  It means “never the case,”  implying that nothing can alter the situation.  We find this negative in the Ten Commandments.  They are absolutes.  There are no qualifications on “Do not murder” or “Do not bear false witness.”  But here the negative is ‘al.  It’s the conditionalnegative.  In other words, it depends on the circumstances.  You might feel like this but that doesn’t make it true.  Things could change.  When the poet responds to emotional distress, he notes that his fear of abandonment isn’t permanent.  It’s circumstantial.  He feels as if God might leave him, but that doesn’t mean God will.  His feelings might be misdirected.  In this case, he needs head over heart.  Following your heart isn’t always good advice.

Topical Index: ‘al, not, abandon, feeling, ḥōq, command, Psalm 119:8

^[1] Lewis, J. P. (1999). 728 חָקַק. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 317). Moody Press.