What’s the Rush?

I hurried and did not delay to keep Your commandments.  Psalm 119:60  NASB

Hurried/ delay – If you were offered personal advice from someone you absolutely trusted, someone you knew loved you completely, would you take your time getting to the meeting?  The psalmist wouldn’t.  He employs two verbs in order to emphasize the urgency of his action.  The first is ḥûš, “to move quickly.”  It’s a common word in the Psalms.  “ . . . the psalms so often plead urgently, ‘Hasten to help me’ or ‘Hasten to me’ (Ps 22:19 [H 20]; 38:22 [H 23]; 40:13 [H 14]; 70:1, 5 [H 2, 6]; 71:12; 141:1),”^[1] but here the rush isn’t for God to act but for the psalmist to race.

The second word follows the Hebrew strong negative lōʾ.  This is the unconditional negative particle, that is to say, nothing can stand in the way.  There are no circumstances that would alter his rush.  That haste is described by the word māhah.

This word, in the Hithpalpel stem, occurs nine times. But only in two passages does it carry theological significance. In Ps 119:60 the Psalmist affirms that he has not delayed, but rather hastened to observe God’s commandments. Habakkuk 2:3 encourages the prophet to wait for the vision, since it has an appointed time. It may seem to delay, nevertheless it will not tarry, it will come.^[2]

The Hithpalpel stem usually expresses reflexive action, that is, something the subject does to himself.  In this case, he makes himself not delay, in other words, he chooses not to delay.  The first verb is a straightforward Qal perfect, an action accomplished.  The second verb tells us that the action is a deliberate decision.  I didn’t just hurry.  I intentionally rushed.

And what does the psalmist rush to do?  To keep, guard, observe, and heed God’s miṣwâ, God’s “father to son” instruction.  The psalmist’s rush is to exercise special care over this critical advice and to faithfully perform what he learns.

That’s the grammar and the exegesis.  Now the confrontation.  The psalmist’s description challenges us to examine how deliberately and how rapidly we jump to execute God’s instructions.  Fortunately, we know what they are.  It’s not a matter of groping around trying to determine what God desires.  Our problem is not information.  It’s application.  And not application eventually.  It’s application now!  “Oh, I know I should do something about that, but, you know, I’m really busy right now.  There’s time for me to take care of it later.  Besides, God is patient, right?  He knows how many things I have to do.  I’m sure He understands.  It’s not like I’m ignoring Him.  I just need a little time to take care of these other things first.”

Topical Index: hasten, delay, ḥûš, māhah, Hithpalpel, Psalm 119:60

^[1] Yamauchi, E. (1999). 631 חוּשׁ. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 274). Moody Press.

^[2] Kaiser, W. C. (1999). 1150 מָהַה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 491). Moody Press.