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The Hebrew letter Heth (pronounced “khett“) is the eighth letter in the Hebrew alphabet which is significant in that if follows seven, the number of completeness, thus Heth is a symbol of a new start. The Hebrew letter also symbolizes a fence or enclosure and some liken it to the lintel resting over two doorposts, which has Passover significance. So many interpret this passage as safety amidst a threatening world, protection by an enclosure which in Psalm 119 would comport as protection by the commands, rules, word, testimonies, voice of the Lord.

A side note, Heth is also the name for the son of Canaan, which has some say is derived from a darker etymology meaning terror, horror, or paralyzing fear. While possible, he is certainly not the subject of this Psalm and that meaning doesn’t align well with the textual context.

⁵⁷ The Lord is my portion;
    I promise to keep your words.

“Portion of me Yahweh, I said to keep the words of you.” The term “chelek” means inheritance, allotment, or portion. The Psalmist is saying that the Lord is all he really needs. To have God so proximate to one’s life transcends all earthly acquisitions. The Lord is so integral to life and the Psalmist knows that this allotment, this vital portion is derived from God’s guidance and grace which comes from staying in fidelity to the (debrik-words of you). We cannot say “no Lord.” There is safety and joy in knowing and obeying God’s voice, we cannot “inherit” or be allotted the gift of God if we ignore or reject his words.

⁵⁸ I entreat your favor with all my heart;
    be gracious to me according to your promise.

Now we begin to see the dynamic (not static) flow of this relationship. The Psalmist is not unique in his entreating favor from God. People all over the world ask for the Lord to help them, bless them, heal them, protect them, or provide favor, but they are only paying lip service. “Lord let me win the Lotto, Let me get a big break, just do this one thing…”

By contrast the Psalmist “beseeches the faces of you” with the entirety of his inner being. To desire the face of God more than the hand of God really sums this up. The Psalmist interacts Subject seeking Subject (face to face) not subject seeking object. This is how he knows that God will be merciful (chesed) according to God’s promise to act in that way. This really accesses the “inside track” of Reality and it’s not the superficial motions of religion, it’s a deeply personal…ontological faith.

⁵⁹ When I think on my ways,
    I turn my feet to your testimonies;

⁶⁰ I hasten and do not delay
    to keep your commandments.

Spiritual progress grows out of self-awareness, and self-awareness comes by way of the reflective power of God’s commands. Like a mirror, the commands of the Lord are used to show us just how far we drift from center, these are not burdens to bear, but gracious gifts which keep us (Heth-“kett“) fenced in, protected, guided along the path of life. Once we, like the Psalmist, discover the “keeping power” of Gods voice, we will “turn back our feet” toward this guidance, “we will hurry and not dally” to keep these instructions.

I discovered this when I was twelve years old. I was told by my pastor to read my bible every day. So I did, not realizing that God’s Word would read me. With the exception of about a year in my life, I have read it every single day of my life. It’s like food. I cannot count how many times it has fenced me in to my blessing. Had it not been there, I’d have incurred far more struggle and pain.

People often experience dissonance regarding the Bible because it may have been used against them or it made them feel bad about themselves. This is the surface level experience or the experience of abuse. If faith accompanies the reading, then God’s instruction requires a course correction and that is where people get stuck. Those who trust the necessary change…are changed and their faith is enlarged and the trajectory of life is altered. Those who resist this change, are also changed and their faith is diminished and their trajectory is altered. This is the knife edge of this Psalm.

⁶¹ Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
    I do not forget your law.
⁶² At midnight I rise to praise you,
    because of your righteous rules.

The imagery of this passage is not lost on any of us. Whether we have become “roped in by the cables of the wicked” or have escaped them and witnessed others who have been ensnared, we fully comprehend this reality of life. The nuance bubbling through the text here is that everyone who is ensnared failed to see the snare. We all know they are there. In our own will, we go about life assuming we know where to look and how to avoid them, but alas, as we “forget” or “neglect” the instruction of the Lord, we inevitably become roped in. If life has left you with few opportunities, you are ensnared.

Contrast that to the soul who “forgets not” the voice of God who says: “This way, not that way.” In the dark night when the snares and surprises of life are abounding, we can be full of praise, not terror, because we are within the “enclosure” (Heth) of God’s righteous rules. Such imagery is life changing.

⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear you,
    of those who keep your precepts.
⁶⁴ The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
    teach me your statutes!

Now the Psalmist opens up big reality for us. This “inner self” who praises God for his rules and guidance, recognizes that this work is also being done in others who share the same “awe, reverence, and fear” of God, and acknowledges that he is “tied” to them. The chords of the wicked ensnare them, but the precepts and instruction of God tie us one to another. And from there we begin to see how the entirety of the world is full of the “Chesed” (steadfast love, mercy) of God.

The whole thing is love. Even the ensnared ones are in the arena of love. The fact that their disregard left them snared, proves that the love of God, by way of his word, is unfailing and far reaching. This helps us to forgive reality for being what it is, and instead of seeing God as distant and uninvolved, we gain such proximity that everywhere we turn we are faced with the steadfast love of God, endlessly reaching out to a people to follow. So it is fitting that we should conclude this part of Psalm 119 with:

“The statutes of You…teach you me.”