Worthiness
May those who [af]fear You turn to me, and those who know Your testimonies. Psalm 119:79 NASB
Turn to me – šûb. 1050 times this verb is used in the Tanakh. We most often think of it in terms of repentance, that is, returning to God’s ways. “The Bible is rich in idioms describing man’s responsibility in the process of repentance. Such phrases would include the following: ‘incline your heart unto the Lord your God’ (Josh 24:23): ‘circumcise yourselves to the Lord’ (Jer 4:4); ‘wash your heart from wickedness’ (Jer 4:14); ‘break up your fallow ground’ (Hos 10:12) and so forth. All these expressions of man’s penitential activity, however, are subsumed and summarized by this one verb šûb. For better than any other verb it combines in itself the two requisites of repentance: to turn from evil and to turn to the good.”[1]
Now consider this verb in terms of worthiness. The psalmist asks those who “fear” God to look at him, to return to him if they want to see what it means to follow God’s “testimonies.” That’s quite a claim! How many of us would be willing to put our lives on public display in order to show what it means to walk in God’s ways? Of course, buried in the verb is the idea that the psalmist has already returned. He has already come back to God. He has already experienced repentance and restitution. Therefore, his life is a worthy witness. The same can be said of us, if we’ve confronted our own detours, if we’ve returned to God’s ways and embraced the life He desires us to live. Then we too can say, “Turn to me if you want to see God’s testimonies in action.” We should not forget that “testimonies” is really the word for God’s history with His people. Its root meaning is assembly, congregation, or people. What the poet suggests is that if you want to see what God has done and is doing among His people, then look at him. He’s a part of that assembly. He represents God’s handiwork in the world.
And that raises the real question. Do you? Do you represent God’s handiwork in the world? Do those who seek God look at you and see His character, His concern, His objectives? That was the claim of the Messiah. “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Not an ontological assertion as trinitarians would later claim, but rather a reiteration of the psalmist’s declaration. If you want to see God in action, look at my life. In fact, we might go so far as to say that the only undeniable evangelical tool is your life lived for God before men. Theological doctrines can be rejected. Historical claims can be challenged. Textual integrity can be questioned. But it simply isn’t possible to wipe away a transformed life. It can be ignored, of course, but it can’t be undone. The personal experience of God’s handiwork is exactly that—a personal experience immune from criticism until it is transmuted into religious parlance. “Turn to me” is not a request to believe as I believe. It is a request to take a look at what happened to me—and consider the consequences.
Topical Index: evangelism, experience, worthiness, šûb, return, turn, Psalm 119:79
[1] Hamilton, V. P. (1999). 2340 שׁוּב. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 909). Moody Press.
