Psalm 119 (178 of 190 notes)

165. Great peace have they which love thy law. This verse deals not with those who perfectly keep the law (for where should such people be found?), but with those who love it, whose hearts and hands are made to square with its precepts and demands. They are ever striving with all their hearts to walk in obedience to the law, and though they are often persecuted they have great peace; for they have learned the secret of the reconciling blood, they have felt the power of the comforting Spirit, and they stand before the Father accepted. They have many troubles, and are likely to be persecuted by the proud, but their usual condition is that of deep calm—a peace too great for this little world to break. And nothing shall offend them, or, “shall really injure them.” Offenses must come, but these lovers of the law are peacemakers, and so they neither give nor take offense. That peace which is founded upon conformity to God’s will is a living and lasting one, worth writing of with enthusiasm, as the psalmist does here.