This verse from the longest book in the Bible is most remarkable. Psalm 119 itself is a remarkable psalm, in that each and every verse in the entire Psalm mentions in some form the Word of God.
Psalm 119 can be looked upon as the spiritual life history of a certain man. It begins with pre-salvation in the first stanza, as the writer observes and receives the witness of believers. It moves through young growth and the beginnings of wisdom in stanzas two and three; then jumps right into the trials of the Way in stanza four, Daleth, where the Psalmist remains until the end.
He experiences persecutions from the hands of the proudly wicked in Zayin and Lamedh, unnamed afflictions from the hand of God in Teth and Yodh, and extreme spiritual low points in Daleth, Kaph (verse 83), and Nun.
Yet there is a backdrop of constant joy in the Lord and His Word throughout the psalm, but specifically in verses 14 and 111.
What then is different and special about Verse 176? Just this--this is the only verse in the entire psalm where the psalmist ever recognizes a condition of "lostness" in himself-- "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant,".
In every other verse, he is hard after the Word, clinging to the Lord, following closely the Way, through every difficulty and trial. Consider the following--
:51 ...I do not turn aside from Your law.
:59 I ... turned my feet to Your testimonies.
:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.
:87 They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts.
:102 I have not departed from Your judgments...
:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.
:167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.
So what happened in the psalmist's heart in verse 176, the closing verse of this magnificent psalm, that caused the psalmist's feet to stray like a lost sheep?
I propose that the psalmist did not wake up one morning and say, "Today I am going to quit following the Lord and His Word. I am going to leave the path of life; I choose to go my own way."
No, unbelief and apostasy were not in his heart. The second half of the verse says, "Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments." He is still the Lord's servant; he is still a sheep, one of the flock; he still has God's commandments in his heart. But he has cooled, he has ceased to hear the shepherd's horn; he has wandered away from the flock; he is lost.
How does this happen in an ardent believer's life?
I think that the saved human heart does not follow the Lord as closely in times of peace as in times of war. When under severe trials, pressures, afflictions, persecutions, pain, and suffering, the saved heart cries out to the Lord with all the passion of a drowning child. In times of spiritual peace and prosperity, let's face it, a certain kind of restless boredom often sets in, and the "cares, riches and pleasures of life" tend to drown out the craving for God and His Word.
Pursuit of other projects creeps in and consumes time and energy that used to be devoted wholly to the Lord. Perhaps for one or two mornings in a row, these other "loves" crowd out quiet time with the Lord.
Then, too, pursuit of self glory will lead a sheep astray as surely as the devil exists. This is a temptation peculiar to the spiritually mature. It follows that after great battles won, a mature Christian enters into a season of peaceful prosperity and joy which is eventually noticed by others. These others then dangle opportunities for "promotion" in the church or secular arenas which can be very appealing to the fallen nature still residing in the heart of all believers.
Perhaps like Saul and so many of the Old Testament kings, the believer finds the Lord too slow, or the demands of the day too immediate, and he or she rushes in without waiting for the Lord. Not everyone has been chosen for "greatness". The Lord prefers to keep many in His garden of flowers small and quiet. Not knowing this, the spiritually prosperous believer might rush off into projects and plans never intended by the Lord.
What then is the resolution of having gone astray? First, the psalmist recognized his condition early enough to cry out for help, before the enemy attacked and destroyed him. He came to his senses and recognized that he no longer heard the shepherd's voice close by his ear. His stomach probably began to ache with hunger pains, and he realized that he had not been in to the Lord's chamber to fellowship with Him in close intimacy for some time.
A second and even stronger point of comfort is that the Lord is still the shepherd. It is the shepherd's job to guard the sheep, and He will do so.
John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand..."
The shepherd knows when even one of His sheep has strayed, and He sounds the alarm in the believer's heart to call the believer back.
Revelation 2:4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place -- unless you repent..."
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Father, may Your Holy Spirit, who resides in the heart of every believer, always keep our hearts soft and pliable unto Jesus. Help us to remember at what great cost to Yourself You purchased us from the claws of death. Help us to remember the love songs You sang to us in the dark night, when You first washed and cleansed us from the foul stains and wounds of sin in our hearts. Help us to recognize, like the psalmist in this verse, when we have strayed and are no longer hearing Your voice on a daily basis. Help us to repent and wait on You. Keep us, dear Lord, for just like sheep, we cannot keep ourselves. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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