Psalm 119:17-32 “GIMEL and DALETH” – Part 2

Psa 119:17  GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
Psa 119:18  Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Psa 119:19  I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
Psa 119:20  My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
Psa 119:21  Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.
Psa 119:22  Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
Psa 119:23  Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
Psa 119:24  Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.

Psa 119:25  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
Psa 119:26  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.
Psa 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
Psa 119:28  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
Psa 119:29  Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
Psa 119:30  I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.
Psa 119:31  I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.
Psa 119:32  I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

One of the main points brought out regarding Aleth and Beth which will continue to be witnessed throughout this Psalm is that Aleth is connected to “the way”, the “Alpha and the Omega” (Rev 22:13), Jesus Christ who is our strength and sacrificial ox who loves us and who abides with our heavenly Father where they make their dwelling place with us in this house, “Beth”, where we are given strength of heart to endure and overcome because of the bread of life, Christ, who is in our midst (Joh 6:35). He is our peace, and we are more than conquerors through him Who loved us first and called us as the Israel of God, the apple of His eye.

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Psa 104:15  And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1Jn 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Zec 2:10  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: [Rev 19:7] for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

In this week’s study we will be looking at the third and fourth letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Gimel and Daleth, found in Psalm 119:17-32 to learn how these verses apply to God’s elect today and to all of the world in time. Not surprisingly, because the number three is involved and “Gimel” being the third letter in the Hebrew alphabet, we can be certain that “the process of spiritual completion” will be the main subject at hand for those eight verses. The letter, “Daleth”, being the fourth letter in the alphabet, will have us looking at verses which are connected to “the whole” as that is what four represents in the bible.

Third letter in the Hebrew alphabet Gimel^H1580  Three = The process of Spiritual Completion

Study link for the number three.

Fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet Daleth         Four = The whole
Study link for the number four.

The meaning of these two Hebrew letters should also shed some insight as to what our Lord is showing us about this section of Psalms and how it applies to our own lives in Christ.

GIMEL H1580
gâmal
gaw-mal’

A primitive root; to treat a person (well or ill), that is, benefit or requite; by implication (of toil) to ripen, that is, (specifically) to wean: – bestow on, deal bountifully, do (good), recompense, requite, reward, ripen, + serve, wean,yield.

DALETH fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Biblical meaning of the number four.

As we go through this entire Psalm 119 in the next few weeks, we will look at the definition of the letters and the meaning behind their chronological order which remind us of the decent and orderly way (1Co 14:40) God’s plan of salvation is unfolding, of which plan Christ tells us, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.[Eph 4:6, 1Co 15:28]

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven^G3772 and earth^G1093 pass^G3928, one jot^G2503  or one tittle^{G2762 (G2768)} shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. [This verse is another witness to the truth that the sum of God’s word is truth (Psa 119:160 ASV)].

Christ, who is our hope of glory (Col 1:27) will fulfill this process of maturing us beyond the letter of the law [one jot G2503  or one tittle G2762 (G2768)] taking us beyond the perfection of the flesh [the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet] and causing the new man to be formed within, as through the author and finisher of our faith which He is (Php 1:6) [“iota”, the name of the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet].

G2503
iōta
ee-o’-tah
Of Hebrew origin (the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet); “iota”, the name of the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, put (figuratively) for a very small part of anything: – jot.

These verses in Revelation 21:1-10 explain how the first Adam will pass away; meaning his purpose will be fulfilled [one tittle^{G2762 (G2768)}] and the new man will be formed out of the loss of the old man (Joh 12:24). It is the new man’s hair “not an hair of your head perish” that continues on, and that hair for the elect is symbolically understood in these verses (1Co 11:6-34)  which explain how we must be “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Luk 21:18).

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Luk 21:18  But there shall not an hair of your head perish^G622.
Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

[The context of these verses in Luke above talks about patiently possessing our souls through the process of dying daily, which will happen when we are prepared and adorned properly as the bride of Christ. That adorning mentioned is symbolically understood by talking about hair in 1 Corinthians 11:6-34, which is paralleled with the real physical decorum that is also expected in the house of God].

To be dealt bountifully with by the Lord means that we are going to bring forth much fruit, and we know that when a tree is pruned, meaning we are judged in this age (1Pe 4:17), that this judgment does not destroy our spiritual head, Jesus Christ, our hope of glory, our vine, within (Col 1:27, Joh 15:5).  In fact, the very opposite is accomplished as patience is formed through the destruction of the old man, and the rebirth of the new man within us comes forth through the pruning process (Joh 15:1-8). That is what Christ is telling us when He says “not an hair of your head perish^G622“. If we are granted to continue in Christ and continue to hear His word “in an honest and good heart”, much fruit is eventually going to come forth through this process (Luk 8:15, Col 1:24).

God’s judgment begins at His house today, and this is the reason we can bring forth the much fruit which He desires of us (Joh 15:8). That process of judgment, which the number three represents (“Gimel”), is connected to God’s kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18, 1Co 15:20, Luk 13:32) who are predestined from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4, 1Pe 1:20) to ripen in this life and go on to perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32). The peaceable fruit of righteousness cannot be born without the fiery trials and the mercy and kindness of God which sustains us through those encounters He gives us (Act 14:22).

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Psa 119:17  GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

When God “deal[s] bountifully with his servant that [he] may live [by keeping] his word”, it will be through judgment that this is made possible.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

That judgment in the earth is described for Christ and His body right after Christ states what we just read in Luke 13:32 regarding going onto perfection. It is when we walk with our Lord and go outside the camp (Heb 13:13) that we witness to the world through that walk these words written for us, “It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” The only way we can accomplish this walk is through Christ as we are raised together in heavenly places, in Jerusalem above, who is the mother of us all.

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
Luk 13:34  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

We “keep thy word” in our heart in an undefiled manner only after that word has been tried by fire (1Pe 1:7), and that is the resulting effect our trials will have upon the word of God within us as we go outside the camp with Christ bearing his reproach (Heb 13:13-15).

Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

The pattern emerges for us regarding the third letter “Gimel” that has everything to do with judgment, and in this verse, we are reminded that God has opened up our eyes to be able to “behold wondrous things out of thy law“. The law is what judges us, and that judgment comes in the form of the wondrous works God does unto the children of men who are spiritual Jews indeed, being judged by the law of liberty which is in Christ alone.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Gal 6:4  But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

If we are not bearing each other’s burden and going without the camp, the Lord will remind us, as he did His disciples in these verses listed below. This kissing of the son is what we do for each other, by washing each other’s feet, and that is how we “deal bountifully, do (good), recompense, requite, reward, ripen, serve, wean, yield” and ultimately ripenon the Vine that is Christ.

Luk 7:45  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
Luk 7:46  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Luk 7:47  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Luk 7:48  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish fromthe way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed areall they that put their trust in him.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

GIMEL^H1580
gâmal
gaw-mal’
A primitive root; to treat a person (well or ill), that is, benefit or requite; by implication (of toil) to ripen, that is, (specifically) to wean: – bestow on, deal bountifully, do (good), recompense, requite, reward, ripen, + serve, wean, yield.

Psa 119:19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.

We have a guide in this earth when we know that we can’t see without Christ (Joh 9:41, Joh 15:5, Joh 5:30). Israel, the world, was meant to be blinded as blind guides to the blind, until we are called out of her and caused to see by Christ who is our Shepherd, the one who hides not his commandments from us.

God’s elect are being typified by the “stranger in the earth” who cries out by the faith granted us in Christ to say, “Hide not thy commandments from me.” These who all died in faith, died in a typical faith that prophesied of hope which was going to come to us (1Pe 1:12-13, 1Co 10:11). We must “gird up the loins of our mind” knowing that judgment is upon the house of God and that we have been called to learn obedience by the things that we suffer, thinking it not strange that our faith must go beyond typical faith of old, to become tried faith through the process of judgment to which God has called us – “Gimel”.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Psa 119:20  My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

When God’s words are sweet to us and seen as the words of eternal life which leave us saying, “To whom shall we go” when we have respect^G578 unto the recompense of the reward (Heb 11:26), when “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28), including the good and the evil in our life, then our souls will break with a longing for His judgments not just in our earth (1Pe 4:17) but for “the whole creation [that] groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” and will also need to be purified by the fiery words of God’s judgment (Rom 8:22-23). God’s judgments are always progressive and will conclude in the lake of fire for the rest of humanity (Rev 20:6, 1Co 6:3). God’s elect drink that cup now and long for the rest of the world to partake of that judgment as Christ desired to drink it with his disciples (Mat 26:29, Mat 20:23). The lake of fire is where perfection will be accomplished for the rest of God’s creation, where the trying of God’s word through fiery judgment will bring an end to the sinful nature of Adam, thereby destroying the last enemy, death, which manifests as a result of sinning (Rom 6:23, 1Pe 4:1, Rev 20:10-14).

Psa 119:103  How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psa 119:104  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Pro 16:24  Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Pro 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [respect]

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect^G578 unto the recompence of the reward.

G578 Respect
ap-ob-lep’-o
From G575and G991; to lookawayfrom everything else [Mat 19:27], that is, (figuratively) intently regard:– have respect.

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

God’s elect

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Luk 22:15  And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: [Death]
Luk 22:16  For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Luk 22:17  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:[Death]
Luk 22:18  For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; [Rom 6:11]
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

The rest of humanity

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. [Death]
Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. [Death]
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord [Joh 14:6].

Psa 119:21  Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.
Psa 119:22  Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
Psa 119:23  Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
Psa 119:24  Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.

That part of us that has not been judged yet of God will be rebuked of him and cursed in this age if He is working with us (Deu 21:23, Gal 3:13, Gal 2:20). That is how we can stop erring “from thy commandments”. Only when God judges us will we be able to have “reproach and contempt” removed from us that results from our not keeping “thy testimonies”.

When you are truly being judged in this age, as Christ was, it will be the men of renown who come up against God’s elect as they did in Moses’ day, typified by this verse: “Princes also did sit and speak against me” (Num 16:2, Num 16:41). Like Moses, who typifies the elect, we are the ones who deliver each other as Moses did the Israelites by God’s power, and yet those who were not of us forget that deliverance which was once given from Egypt and by whose hands it was accomplished (Ecc 9:14-15).

We continue to serve one another and “meditate in thy statutes” (Php 4:4-9), where God’s words are sweet in our mouth, and when we are subject to one another (Eph 5:21) as unto Christ, with the counsel He gives us to keep us safe in this life: “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.“

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Php 4:5  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Php 4:6  Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Php 4:9  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Psa 119:25  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

God has enlarged our hearts as His children to be able to overcome in this life (Rev 3:21), and that could never happen except the Lord build the house as He quickens our soulish hearts which naturally cleave to the earth (Gal 5:17, Joh 6:63). “My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word“.

Psa 119:26  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.

When God does quicken us with His word and leads us unto repentance (Rom 2:4), He is in the process of saving us through grace and faith (Eph 2:8) so we can be a true witness of His body who can say, “I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.” We declare before all the world that there is nothing good in flesh and that we don’t know Christ after the flesh any longer (2Co 5:16), but rather we recognize the power of the resurrection that Christ is in each of us (Joh 11:25) whom He has caused to be spiritually raised together in the earnest of this relationship (Eph 1:14), enduring together until the end, overcoming until the end so that we can be saved (Mat 24:13).

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Psa 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.

God has to make us “to understand the way of thy precepts“, and that miracle of seeing and hearing is given to very few (Mat 22:14) in order to show all that God’s purposes will stand and are standing as a result of the judgment God’s elect will first go through “that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Eph 1:11-12).

The fourth letter we are looking at is “Daleth”, meaning the whole, and all men will be saved but each man in his order (1Co 15:22-23, 1Jn 2:2).

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust [Eph 1:12] in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

“So shall I talk of thy wondrous works” is speaking of the struggles and burdens we share as one body; “thy wondrous works” that are wondrous because they are not in vain, just as our labour of love for one another is not in vain.

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man sufferas a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Psa 119:28  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
Psa 119:29  Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.

Being called and chosen in this age comes along with the certainty that we are going to have heaviness of heart, hearts or souls that are pierced, and will be in need of crying out “strengthen thou me according unto thy word“. It is through the struggles that we will learn of His faithfulness to see us through the night where we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities that God brings us to cry out “Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously” so that we can overcome as Christ did.

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Psa 119:30  I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.
Psa 119:31  I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.
Psa 119:32  I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

We may choose to follow the Lord in our own hearts and minds that go in a way which seems right to us (Pro 14:12), but ultimately it takes all of these things spoken of in these last two verses of this study in the lives of those in whom the Lord is working in order for us to be saved in this age, and that is the type and shadow lesson being prophesied unto us for our sakes at which we are looking. The psalmist starts off with “I have” and “I will” with no understanding of Philippians 2:13.

Psa 119:30 “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” (Mat 22:14).
Psa 119:31 “I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.” (Joh 6:44).
Psa 119:32 “I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” (Eze 36:26).

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

We may run in this life, even having done many wonderful works unto the Lord, but in the final analysis, God has put a seal on those who are His (2Ti 2:19), the weak and despised things of the world (1Co 1:26-29) whom He will cause to “run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart” through Christ (Php 4:13).

2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.