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Today we close out 2025 with a return to our ongoing series entitled “Psalms Greatest Hits” as we continue with Psalm 119, with a look at the ninth letter in the Hebrew alphabet corresponding to the ninth section of this chapter, entitled Teth.

The symbol of the Teth will remind you a bit of the Zayin with a “crowned man” on the left and what some people refer to as a serpent or a pregnant belly. Teth means good (tov) and may also mean hidden, and the effect of it being the ninth letter may in some cases carry a numerical significance, as in the nine months of gestation, which ties into its symbol.

The meaning that comes through is that God is good (teth) and even if it doesn’t seem like it is good right now, the goodness of God is working through all things, gestating that goodness, and the good will come forth. This is echoed in the eight verses of this section of chapter 119. Observe the beautiful truth that good is often hidden at first.

⁶⁵ You have dealt well with your servant,
    O Lord, according to your word.
⁶⁶ Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
    for I believe in your commandments.
⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray,
    but now I keep your word.
⁶⁸ You are good and do good;
    teach me your statutes.

When we grow spiritually…that is we become aware, awakened, or conscious of the depth dimension of life, it is common to go deeper in the practice of reflection, contemplation and wordless prayer. A person climbing a mountain who is constantly looking upward toward their destination, will not fully appreciate the altitude gained until they pause, turn around and look down upon the height that has been gained. The spiritual life is lived in the harmony of climbing and reflecting and we see this in the Psalmist’s words: “You have dealt well with your servant.” But we must not assume that the journey was easy, nor that it will continue to be so. The good is hidden within the context of the climb and within the context of affliction and struggle.

⁶⁹ The insolent smear me with lies,
    but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
⁷⁰ their heart is unfeeling like fat,
    but I delight in your law.

The pursuit in life, for the Psalmist, and hopefully for us as well, Is the height of knowing and experiencing God’s word, precepts, law, commandments, and statutes. To have little or no love of God and His word, is to live at the base of the mountain with no spiritual depth. Those who have yet to experience this graced awareness, do not understand those who are following after God’s voice. It is common to criticize and judge that which we do not understand and so the Psalmist reflects on his experience of pursuing God in a world where people have no respect for what is going on. What the Psalmist feel deeply in his heart (inner being) regarding the law and direction of God, others cannot feel or perceive, their inner selves are “unfeeling like fat”. The good is hidden within the context of scoffers and those who don’t understand.

⁷¹ It is good for me that I was afflicted,
    that I might learn your statutes.
⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me
    than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

What a gift it is to find the good which is hidden everywhere, gestating, growing and eventually to show up in and as our life. To the spiritually attuned, like the Psalmist, good is found in our affliction. It’s God’s word, direction, counsel, insight, and communication that transforms affliction, suffering, and pain into hidden good. Once we begin to live life on God’s terms, rather than ours, we grow capable of receiving each moment of our lives without judging it, without claiming it is a good thing or a bad thing, for all things are ultimately good things. This life is worth more than the riches and wealth of the world’s currencies, because it is true riches. A person that cannot encounter anything but good, or good in its hiding place, has a wealth that is out of this world, and the most enviable life.

There isn’t winning and losing, there is only winning and learning…learning to see the hidden good (teth).