This portion of the Psalm falls under the Hebrew letter “צ” (Tsadhe), which conveys both a literal and a colloquial meaning. Formally, this letter represents righteousness — more deeply, the righteousness of God. Informally, it carries the sense of a hook or fishhook. Though these two meanings appear to contradict one another, a shared trait binds them together as inseparable aspects of the same truth. The author expresses how his zeal for knowing God consumed him — an idea already brought out in Psalm 69:9. As we work through this portion of the Psalm, we ought to examine ourselves: what is it that consumes our desires — knowing God, or chasing the fleeting pleasures of this world?
You are righteous, LORD, and your laws are right.
The statutes you have laid down are righteous;
they are fully trustworthy. My zeal wears me out,
for my enemies ignore your words.
Your promises have been thoroughly tested,
and your servant loves them.
Psalm 119:137-140 (NIV)
When we buy a household appliance, we might find a sticker saying “Tested” or “OK,” meaning the product has been tested by the manufacturer as to how well it can serve its purpose with durability. When God created the world, He saw everything, and it was good (Genesis 1:31). Not only His creation, but even His laws are thoroughly tested before He gives them to us to observe. When a government formulates a policy, it explores every possibility surrounding the nature of that policy and does its level best not to leave any loophole, so that the policy might become beneficial to the public. The government explores the possibilities of the policy being misused, and only then does it arrive at a foolproof policy. For God, however, He does not need to explore any possibilities of His laws being misused, because He knows everything about mankind — their weakness, their wickedness, and their ignorance. The psalmist declared this work of God after he had experienced the goodness of His law.
When the psalmist said to God, “You are righteous, and Your laws are right,” he was not valuing the worthiness of God, but rather knowing God from that perspective and surrendering his thoughts to Him. We are not in a position to approve God’s righteousness or the perfection of His creation, but we have been given the opportunity, in the short span of our lifetime, to know Him and understand Him better day by day through His provisions. Only when we understand the worthiness of His law can we admire it, and only by knowing Him more and more can we love Him. Otherwise, we will find ourselves loving things we are not meant to love at all. God desires that we experience His incredible love in a personal way, and for this reason He gives us everything only after testing it Himself — for there is no one greater than Him to have the knowledge to test and approve His creations and laws.
Give Me Understanding That I May Live
Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.
Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.
Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live.
Psalm 119:141-144 (NIV)
The devil tries to lure the believer with his lies and attempts to end their lives in this world. Knowing this tactic of the devil, Jesus prayed to our Father that He should protect us from the evil of this world by keeping us in this fallen world, and not by taking us out of it (John 17:15). To live on this earth, we need something that propels our lives forward. Most people’s lives are propelled by the evil of this world, and in chasing its fleeting pleasures, they live thinking that this is the very purpose of their lives. At the same time, some people are tossed about by that same desire and unable to achieve anything in this world because of their double-mindedness. Whether they focus on righteousness or on wickedness, they are threatened by the devil into believing they have no credentials to live a life on this earth, and that they should die.
But as the psalmist expressed in the previous portion — how he learned to appreciate the perfection of God’s law, and how he began to love it by knowing Him more and more each day — so now this righteousness of God functions like a fishhook that catches His people so that they may live. The love of God moves us to live according to His standards, giving us strength and peace while we still live on this earth.
Notwithstanding this, a genuinely righteous person does not want to showcase his righteousness; rather, he keeps it hidden. The Pharisees and Sadducees projected themselves as righteous servants of God before people, because when we lack something, we like to pose as though we possess it. The key trait of righteousness is not wanting to show that trait to the world. The righteous person appears as an ordinary individual, despite his great spiritual stature. This trait enables a person to live among the unreached, and in turn, his righteousness works like a fishhook, drawing people into the fold of God. But if righteousness is exposed, it becomes a threat to people — creating in them the sense that they cannot live up to such a standard — and they scatter. Righteousness, when exposed, no longer functions like a fishhook but like a piercing arrow in the hands of a soldier. Jesus Himself said:
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
— Luke 11:23 (NIV)
The genuinely righteous person has no need to showcase his righteousness; it remains between himself and his God — and so he is used by God as a fishhook, drawing people into His Kingdom.
Righteous God, as You have poured out Your love in our hearts by giving us Your Spirit, let us labour with You in gathering souls unto You. Help us to discern and rid ourselves of any attitude that hinders people from coming to You.
The Jordan Valley 
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