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Psalm 119:17-24
GIMEL
“Deal bountifully
with thy servant, that I may live,
and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy
commandments from me. My soul breaketh
for the longing that it hath unto thy
judgments at all times. Thou hast
rebuked the proud that are cursed,
which do err from thy commandments. Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy
testimonies. Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are my
delight and my counsellors.”
Introduction
“that’s
verse 17 in this 119th Psalm, I would remind you again, it is an
acrostic in the sense that it is metered to the letters, 22 letters in the
Hebrew alphabet, so there are 22 sections, 8 lines per section, and each
line…in your Bible there should be an annotation there, like if you look at the
very first verse, right above it, it should say “Eleph” and those first 8
verses all begin with Eleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. From verse 9 down to verse 16 you’ll see it
begins, it says “Beth” on top, every letter there begins with Beth, the second
letter. We come this evening to Gimel,
Nancy Gimel thinks this section is about her, but it isn’t. And every one begins with the Gimel, then Daleth, He, you’ll see as we go through. So, these are the A, B, C’s of the Word of
God, they’re written in acrostic form, again, because Hebrew children would
memorize this Psalm, all 176 verses. You
guys know this, you learned when you were a little kid, ABCDEFG, and it’s still
stuck in your head, that’s an acrostic, that’s the way this is. Now you’ll find again, besides the 8 Psalms,
other Psalms that are acrostic. Interestingly, in Proverbs chapter 31, verses 10 to 31 is also an
acrostic, those 22 verses of the virtuous woman, so those verses were meant to
be memorized, by women, about a virtuous woman, they should be memorized by men
before they pick a woman. And there are
some fascinating combinations of acrostics in the Book of Lamentations, fascinating, they’re arranged differently, but
remarkable. This is one of those places
where it’s written like that because God wants this in the memory, in the minds
and hearts of his people. Again, it’s
the longest chapter in the Bible, and it’s about the Bible, very fitting. All of the authors you read say that the
theme of this 119th Psalm is the Word of God, I would agree with that, out of 176 verses, 173 specifically mention the Word
of God. But out of 176 verses, all 176
verses mention the God of the Word. So I
almost feel the real theme of this Psalm is the God of the Word. Not the God of miracles, though he is that,
not the God of power, it’s really specifically the God of the Word here, and
the Word of God that he gives to us. So, remarkable. Let’s
begin in verse 1 and we’ll read to verse 17 where we are this evening, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.” (verses 1-4) and those first four verses
kind of rule this all out, then in verse 5 the Psalmist lifts his head to
heaven, and that’s where he stays for the rest of the Psalm, he begins by
saying there’s a blessing on all those with a perfect heart, that keep your
Word, that are undefiled, that never do anything, those that are perfect, Lord,
and then in verse 5 he lifts his own heart and his own head, and he says “O that my ways were directed to keep thy
statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed,
when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned
thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy
statutes: O forsake me not utterly.” (verses 5-8)
BETH
“Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole
heart have I sought thee: O let me not
wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might
not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the
judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy
testimonies, as much as in all
riches. I will meditate in thy precepts,
and have respect unto thy ways. I will
delight myself in thy statutes: I will
not forget thy word.” And in context of that, he’s saying, ‘LORD, I want to be a man that keeps
your Word, I want to do what’s right, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his
way, this is what needs to happen, this is what I will do,’ so then he says in verse 17 to
the LORD,
it’s a continuation of thought, so
GIMEL
“Deal bountifully
with thy servant, that I may live,
and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy
commandments from me. My soul breaketh
for the longing that it hath unto thy
judgments at all times. Thou hast rebuked
the proud that are cursed, which do
err from thy commandments. Remove from
me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy
statutes. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.” (verses 17-24) So he moves into this next section, GIMEL,
and he talks about true delight, a man needs to cleanse his way, he needs to go
through these things, so [the author] says ‘Alight LORD, I’m gonna keep your Word, so
“deal bountifully,’ notice this, “with thy servant.” So
he considers himself the servant of the LORD, he doesn’t hesitate at all to
say ‘Deal
bountifully with me, or be generous with me,’ or literally ‘Deal kindly with me,’ he’s asking the LORD to be gracious, to be
bountiful, he says, “with your servant,” and here’s why, not because life is a hassle, ‘there’s too many headaches around me, deliver me from all this stuff,’ he says, no, ‘LORD, be generous to me, deal
bountifully with thy servant,’ here’s
the reason, “that I may live, and keep
thy word.” ‘That I might live, and keep thy
Word, LORD, be gracious to me, deal
bountifully with me, LORD, you have to do this, LORD, I’m dependant on you that I
might be able to live the kind of life where I keep your Word. LORD, do it, so that might happen.’
God Must Open Our Eyes To The Wondrous Things In His Law—Making Himself More Attractive Than Our Sin
“Open thou mine
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (verse 18) As he realizes, if God is going to give him
his Word, if he’s going to live in the Word, he realizes he needs to be
attracted to the Word. I hear people all
the time, ‘I don’t know why I’m gettin’
stoned, I don’t know why I’m blowing cocaine up my nose, I hate it!’ Well you don’t hate it,
that’s what I used to say before I was saved. Well if I hated it, I was rolling up a dollar bill at a time or a
hundred dollar bill at a time, I hated it. So I finally said, “Lord, I love
this more than I love you, I don’t hate this, I love it.” “And
you’re going to have to reveal something of yourself that makes you so
attractive to me, that you’re more attractive to me than this line laying on the table in front of me.” And he meets you where there’s that kind
of honesty. He meets you where there’s
that kind of honesty. “Open thou mine eyes” literally ‘Uncover
them, LORD, let me see something,’ he’s dependant on the LORD, the reason, “that
I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (verse 18) ‘That I may behold, consider, see
wondrous things out of thy law.’ They’re there, there are wondrous things in the
Word of God, wondrous things. You know,
it’s funny, we’re in Ephesians, we’re in Psalm 119, I come back to passages
I’ve studied and I’ve taught before, and I see things I never saw before. The depth of it, it’s overwhelming. It’s not like where you get through your
chemistry book and you put it down because you’re done with that. No, you never get through with this, and it’s
always alive, because it abides forever, it’s intimate in its beauty and its
depth and it’s power. So he says here, ‘Alright LORD, I want to do this right, I
want my way cleansed, I’m going to hold onto your Word, so deal bountifully
with me, LORD, that I might live in your
Word, and so that I might live in your Word, cause me LORD, make me, cause me to see
wondrous things in your Word, let it blow my mind LORD, let it light me up.’ Because they’re there, they are there, and
it’s filled with wondrous things. “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.” (verse 18) we think of the disciples when
Jesus was on the road to Emmaus with them, and they said to one another, “Did
not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he
opened unto us the Scriptures,” their hearts began to burn. They knew the Scripture, they were Jews. But they said, all of a sudden the Scripture
was opening to them, the Lord was the one who was doing it, the LORD that the Psalmist is talking
to here, same one, “Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” and here he says,
because “I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.” (verses 18-19) ‘I don’t belong here, I don’t fit
in here,’ you know, there’s great questions we can ask ourselves, ‘Are we comfortable in the environment that
we’re in?’ Remember a young man said
to Jesus, ‘look, I’m coming to follow you, let me first go bury my father.’ He said, ‘No, let the dead bury the dead, follow me
now.’ Another one said, ‘I’ll
follow you anywhere,’ and he said, ‘Look, foxes have their holes, the birds of
the air have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head,’ ‘in
other words, the foxes, this is their environment, they’re at home here, they
have their holes. The birds of the air,
this is their environment, they have their nests, me, you want to follow me,
it’s not my world, it’s not where I’m from.’ The Son of man has nowhere to lay his head,
in fact, beautifully, when we finally read the Greek word, where he laid his head,
he gave up the ghost, bowed his head, it’s the same word, he finally found a
place to lay his head when his work was done. But he says this is not my environment. And the Psalmist is realizing ‘LORD, I’m not from this world, I
don’t fit in here, I’m a stranger, a foreigner, a pilgrim in this earth.’ One of the translations I read today said, ‘I’m
a resident alien.’ This is not
our home, remember that. You know, there
should be something that happened in you when you were first saved that spoiled
you for this world. If you go back and
try to do the things you used to do before you were saved, you should
miserable. If you’re living in sin,
because I love you I pray that you get ulcers, I pray you don’t sleep, I pray
you have insomnia, I pray you’re miserable until you get your heart right with
Jesus again, because you ain’t from this world, you’re ruined for this
world. You’ve been sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise, it’s relative to another
kingdom. So the Psalmist here,
remarkably, the Holy Spirit writing through him, putting the quill to the page,
says “I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.” (verse 19) ‘LORD, I need your Word from another world, I’m not from this place.’
“I’m Longing For Your
Judgments, And For Your Coming Kingdom, LORD, To Fix It All
Then
he says, “My soul breaketh for the
longing that it hath unto thy
judgments at all times.” (verse 20) ‘My soul is despairing’ is the idea, ‘I’m
broken-hearted because of this longing within me, LORD, and it’s in regards to your
judgments at all times.’ ‘LORD, I go home and I watch the
news, and I hear about Ebola, and I think ‘Is it gonna spread?’ And Lord, my heart is longing for your
judgments, and when you come and set up your Kingdom, and there is no more
sickness, there is no more cancer, and all of that is set aside, no more
hospitals, no more doctors. Lord, I look
at the injustice in the world, people hating, man unable to govern himself and
his fellow man, all of the injustice, bigotry, the war, the bloodshed, and Lord
I watch it all, and in my heart, all day, all the time my heart is saying,
‘Lord, Jesus come, make this all right.’ I get
around people in church that I know and I love, and I see their marriages
breaking up, or I see them going back to using drugs again, where I end up
doing their funeral, and you say ‘Lord,
fix it Lord, come Lord, set up your Kingdom.’ [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm] I look at the television and see people
mocking Jesus Christ and mocking Christians, threatening the Church [greater
Body of Christ], you’re not allowed to believe
anything anymore. If you believe, if you
actually know something you’re an oddity. Well we do know something, and we do know Someone,
and in our hearts we should be longing ‘Come
Lord Jesus.’ And by the way, that
should be an impetus for evangelism, it shouldn’t be
we’re just escapist. I am an escapist, you can be a stayist if you want. I’m an escapist, I
want to get outa here. But realizing as
I look at the news that Jesus could come at any time, I want to see people
saved. I think our church should be
involved in all the outreaches that are around us, I think we need to be
praying on Sunday nights for a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit in repentance,
asking God’s forgiveness, asking for another movement of the Spirit in these
last days [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/REVIVAL.html]. And the Psalmist is so honest here, ‘LORD, deal bountifully with me,
that I might keep your Word, you know, open my mind so I can see wondrous
things out of thy law, because I’m a stranger, I don’t fit in here, LORD, you have to give me
that. Don’t hide your commandments from
me, my soul is longing, it’s breaking LORD, and all the time it’s about
your judgments, I know what’s right, I know what should happen.’
Stay Away From People Who Think They’re Smarter Than The Bible
“Thou hast
rebuked the proud that are cursed,
which do err from thy commandments.” (verse 21) I would just tell you this, if you know
anybody that’s smarter than the Bible, stay away from them. [laughter] Because that’s what the problem people do, it
says here, ‘they do err from the commandments,’ ‘Ya, I know what the Bible
says, but, oh ya, that was written a long time ago, but. You must be Puritanical, Victorian, look, we
live in a different age,’ you know, I stay away from people that are smarter
than the Bible. Because God wrote the
Bible, and if they’re smarter than God, I’m scared of them. You know people that are smarter than the
Bible? Keep your distance. It says here it’s pride, it says here that God deals with them. “Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy
commandments.” (verse 21) Verse
22, “Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy
testimonies. Princes” civil
authorities “also did sit and speak against me:” and boy do we
hear it today, don’t we? “but thy servant
did meditate in thy statutes. (verses 22-23) Notice, he’s the LORD’s servant, not the public
servant. “thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.” And I think, ‘Lord, I don’t know how good I am at that, when somebody slanders me,
somebody speaks against me, or somebody stabs me in the back, I don’t normally
think ‘Oh boy, let me go get my Bible now.’ Unless there’s something in your Bible and open it up and take it
out. It says here ‘I will meditate in thy statutes,
people are stabbing me in the back, slandering me, even at the point of civil
authorities, Lord, I’m gonna sit with your Word. It’s gonna tell me that all authority in
heaven and earth is given to you. It’s
gonna tell me that you set up one man over a kingdom, you take another one
down, and sometimes in your wisdom you set up even the basest of men in
authority. It’s gonna tell me that not a
sparrow falls to the ground without your notice. It’s gonna tell me that you are the Lord of
lords, and you are the King of kings, and all, not most, all authority is
yours. And you are sovereign over
everything that’s happening around us now.’ You think of John on the Isle of Patmos, you
think of those Caesars, here we are, Sunday morning we’re studying Ephesians, ‘This
is what a marriage should look like, this is what
parenting should look like.’ Well go back and look at the context of when those things were being
said. There was a government in place
that was steamrolling people down like fodder, going through Saxony and through
the British Isles, they were slaughtering people, they would destroy Jerusalem
within a few years and flatten it. There
was such abuse and such power in government at that point, and they just went
and slaughtered whoever they wanted, and local magistrates and local people in
authority followed suit with what Caesar was doing, there was no justice, only
brutality, and Paul said, ‘This is how to treat a wife, and this is
how a wife should treat a husband, and this what a family should be like,’ he’s not intimidated by it all going around him. He said ‘This is truth.’ You think of John on the Isle of Patmos,
banished there, and you think, while he’s there, Christians are being burned at the stake, they’re being set on
fire, Nero’s going out to…just different Caesars that would come in, just
how terrible it was. And he said ‘I
heard this voice behind me like a trumpet, and I turned around, and behold, One
whose eyes, they were a flame of fire, his countenance was like the sun shining
in its strength, out of his mouth a huge Thracian double-edged sword, he was
girt about with a breastplate of burnished bronze, with gold glowing, his feet
looked like they had just come out of the furnace, and his voice like Niagara
Falls, like the voice of many waters. And when I saw him, I fell down as a dead man.’ but also he thought ‘Caesar
ain’t in control. When I saw him,
everything got exceedingly clear.’ And the same One is our Saviour and our Lord, and rules over us. The Psalmist says ‘Princes, ya, they can sit down,
they can speak against me, but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes, and
that’s why,’ “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.” (verse 24) Want to delight in the middle of difficult
times? You’re gonna find it in his Word. “Thy
testimonies also are my delight” and look, “and my counsellors.” Man, oh man, we are healthy if that’s true, that God’s testimonies are
our counsellors. The testimonies, the
records through the Bible of David and Abraham and of Samson and of Daniel and
Joseph, and of Paul, you have the testimonies of Scripture, those things should
be our counsellors. Those things should
be our counsellors. He moves down to
DALETH, not Dallas, DALETH.
Psalm 119:25-32
DALETH
“My soul cleaveth
unto the dust: quicken thou me according
to thy word. I have declared my ways,
and thou heardest me: teach me thy
statutes. Make me to understand the way
of thy precepts: so shall I talk of
wondrous works. My soul melteth for
heaviness: strengthen thou me according
to thy word. Remove from me the way of
lying: and grant me thy law
graciously. I have chosen the way of
truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. I will run the way of thy commandments, when
thou shalt enlarge my heart.” And he talks about strength in the middle of
those trials. Look at verse 25, he says, “My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.” Look at verse
28, where he says “My soul melteth
for heaviness: strengthen thou me
according to thy word.” So he’s
admitting there’s difficulty, and he’s going through difficult things. He says “My
soul cleaveth unto the dust:” and look at his request, you know, he’s
saying ‘I am down and out,’ he’s on his face, he’s down in the dirt, “My soul cleaveth to the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.” (verse 25) now that’s the first of nine times in Psalm
119 where the Psalmist asks the LORD to quicken him. That means “revitalize, revive, give life where there isn’t any.” He says ‘My soul” not just physical frame, the
deepest part of my being, is cleaving to the dust, LORD, my life is in the dirt, in
the dust, I’m broken down. Give me life
again, quicken thou me,’ and listen then how he says to do it, “according
to thy word.” There were no
professional counsellors then, no psychologists, psychiatrists. Not that they might not have their place at
times, but there are times when the Bible strictly cuts off, we read the
record, every other human voice, every other natural source to get an
individual alone with the LORD. You know, David, God had anointed him to be
king of Israel, but it would take years for David to be the king that God
anointed him to be. He would refine him,
and refine him, and refine him, and refine him. And we see in David great victory over Goliath, we see the people
rallying, you know, Saul had slain his thousands, David has slain his tens of
thousands, and Saul getting jealous, and then sending for David, his wife knows
Saul’s guards are coming, she puts a dummy in the bed and lets David get out of
there, God separates him from his home, from his employment, from his
position. And David flees and goes to
Samuel. God removes him from Samuel, his
mentor and his counsellor. He goes to
Jonathan, Jonathan at least 30 years older than David, we don’t realize it sometimes, who was certainly a mentor, a counsellor, a
partner who loved him. And then God
separates him from Jonathan. And each
step of the way, God takes him further away from counsellors, further, because
God wants to break the man down and bring him to the Cave of Adullam. And here, this author, this human writer,
through whom the Holy Spirit has put these things before us, says, ‘My
very soul is cleaving to the dust, quicken thou me, give me life again, revive
me, bring me back according to thy Word. That’s what your Word says, what I’m gonna trust in.’
“I’ve Told You My Ways, Confessed To You—Now Teach Me Your Ways—Make Me Understand So That I
Can Teach—Open My Eyes LORD
He
says “I have declared my ways and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.” (verse 26) ‘LORD, I’ve declared my ways to
you.’ Now that is not specific, so no doubt that
includes confession, it includes a lot of these, ‘LORD, you know me.’ I do this in the morning, I have this running conversation with the Lord. By the way I try to do it in traffic, people think I have a Blue Tooth,
I don’t, I’m talking to God, keeps me safe, keeps everybody safe around me. But I just talk out loud when I’m driving. ‘Lord,
this person in front of me drives like a jerk, they’re probably an angel you
put there, to keep me from getting in an accident somewhere, ok, Lord, you have
to take care of me, I’m like a child, Lord, you leave me out here on my own…’ and I have this running conversation with him. ‘Lord, I know I shouldn’t be
thinking that [I pray that all the time], Lord, you know I deal with lust, I
deal with anger, I deal with selfishness Lord. But I love you, Lord, and I want to do what’s right, Lord. I want to hear ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant.’ Lord, I want to take care of
your Bride till you come, I still appreciate when I travel, the guys take care
of my wife, Lord I want to take care of your Bride, and when I see you face to
face I just want to see that glimmer in your eyes that I did a good job taking
care of your Bride, your blood-bought Bride. [I think he’s referring to the part of the Body of Christ he’s been
entrusted to care for and nurture with the Word of God, and not his wife]. I want that, Lord.’ And I think he wants us to be that honest
with him. The Psalmist says, ‘I
have declared my ways, you’ve heard me, you’ve listened to me. Now teach me your ways. I’ve told you and you’ve listened, LORD now you tell me, and I’ll
listen.’ “teach me thy statutes.” Look
what he says in verse 27, he says, “Make me to understand the way of thy
precepts: so shall I talk of thy
wondrous works.” ‘If
you just tell them to me, I’ll write them down on a list. I don’t want just knowledge, and I don’t want
just blind obedience,’ though sometimes God asks for that, he says
here, ‘I want to understand, LORD, help me to understand the
instruction of Scripture, and help me understand it LORD, let the light go on, ‘so ya I
see that! I understand that!’’ Because look at what he says, and he asks God
to do it in him, “Make me to understand
the way of thy precepts:” look what he says, “so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.” ‘LORD, if I get it down, as I
understand it, it sets my heart on fire, I find it so
much easier to talk to others about who you are and what you do.’ Look,
before you read the Bible, do you do these things [pray these things]? I encourage you, get up tomorrow, you’re
gonna read the Scripture in the morning, before you read, I would go to verse 18 here, this is a great prayer, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.” I’d
encourage you to go to verse 27, “Make
me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.” ‘Make me do it, make me do it so
that I will talk of your wondrous works.’
If You Don’t Have The Vertical Of The Word Of God, You Won’t Get The Meat, The Core, The Center, The
Heart Of It
“My soul melteth
for heaviness: strengthen thou me
according to thy word.” (verse 28) He comes back to that, “my soul,” where he
was in verse 25. “My soul” here he says “melteth
for heaviness:” now gloss in the column might say “dripeth”, the Hebrew has
the idea of that, “drips” your translation might say, ‘My soul is just melting,
dripping because of heaviness’, may be speaking of tears. His request, “strengthen thou me” and again, look, “according unto thy word.” Listen,
this is all in the vertical. As we get
down to verse 33, look what happens there, verse
33, “Teach me,” verse 34, “Give me,”
verse 35, “Make me”, verse 36,
“Incline” in verse 37, “Turn away
mine eyes”, look, here’s what we find as we go through this Psalm, what
makes the Word of God the Word of God is the vertical of the Word of God, not
just the horizontal. We should study,
straightly cutting, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, we should be able to
answer, we should be able to understand why we believe
what we believe. But if you just study the Bible,
if you just apply human intellect, if you just form your hermeneutic, if you just do that, and you don’t have the vertical of the Word,
you don’t got the meat, the core, the center, the heart of it. Because this Psalmist is telling us, in every
verse he mentions the LORD, and in 173 of 176 verses he
mentions the LORD’s Word, and all of this is dependant on the
vertical. I just don’t want to study it
so that my head can get blown up with pride, knowledge puffeth up. ‘LORD, I want your Word, make me see
it, incline my heart, make walk in it LORD, that it might be my life,
that it might be what I breathe, that it might flow through my being, that when
I share with my kids I’d be bringing something from another world, that it
would be real, that it would be powerful.’ And look, this Psalm is the longest chapter
in the Bible, about the Bible, and about our dependence on the LORD of the Bible. And he wants that. You know, I’m gonna study for the rest of my
life. I never want to be an academician, I want to be a scholar. I love language, I love history, I love archaeology, I love studying. I hated it in school, I don’t know what
happened to me. [I’m worse, I love all
those things, along with all science, geology, chemistry, biology, astronomy,
physics, marine biology, earth science, you name it, it’s my curse, because I’m
a remedial reader, and have to focus on one thing, one study at a time. But it’s helped me keep this website
interesting and alive, hopefully, as long as my inspiration comes from the
vertical.] Lord, turn on the light or
something, I love to study. I read, I
read, I read, I study, study, study, I love to study. But if I just do that, I dry up. I have to get alone with him, with the
Bible. I love the commentaries, all that
stuff, just getting in the Bible, and I read, just early, late, quiet, and I
don’t get to the end of two pages before there’s tears coming down my face,
because he’s there, he’s there, he speaks to me. And if you train yourself, you learn that
sensitivity, then when you’re in a conversation, you’re driving your car somewhere
else, you have all of a sudden that sense, you know, it sharpens our
sensitivities, we learn by practice and mistakes. You think of all the other things we
cultivate in this world. Again, I think
of Elisha, and he was surprised when God didn’t talk to him. I think, ‘What’s
wrong with me, I’m surprised when he does talk to me.’
Remove From Me The Way Of
Lying
He
says “My soul melteth for heaviness”, ‘Just
LORD,
I’m overwhelmed,’ “strengthen thou me according unto thy
word. Remove from me the way of
lying: and grant me thy law graciously.”
(verses 28-29) Isn’t it an interesting verse, look at it. It doesn’t say ‘Remove me from the way of lying,’ because if it says that, that
means you’re blaming somebody else. It
doesn’t say “remove me from”, it says “Remove
from me the way of lying.” You know why? Because
we’re all little liars. ‘I’m not a big liar. I just tell little white lies.’ I don’t even tell white lies, I’m just a
fibber now, because I’d rather fib than argue. And sometimes it’s easier to say ‘Ya,
ya,’ because I just don’t want to get into a contest with somebody. I don’t think Jesus ever did that, ever. I think he was so loving, and so transparent,
that I think the truth flowed from him like a river. I don’t think anybody ever thought ‘Is he fibbing to us?’ I think people dissolved in his
presence. He says “Remove from me the way of lying:” of course, the whole
Psalm is about the Truth. “Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.” (verse 29) because that’s truth. Look what he says, he says in verse 30, “I have chosen the way of
truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” That’s why he wants the way of lying removed
from him. ‘I’ve chosen the way of truth,
that’s my choice, LORD, I’m tired of bologna, I’m
tired of nonsense,’ look, you watch the TV, isn’t it disheartening? I sit and watch the TV sometimes and think ‘You’re lying through your teeth. That isn’t the way it is. That’s
not what’s happening.’ That’s untrue.’ Even my kids, I love it when my kids, we’ll
sit there, we like the Discovery Channel, we have the Discovery Channel free, I
love to watch big crockadiles eating things trying to swim across the Nile
River, I love all that stuff. And then
the guy says, ‘And 40 million years ago,’ and my kids start crackin’ up. Truth,
you know it’s a wonderful thing. He says “Remove from me the way of lying” not ‘remove me from the way of lying,’ you know, like Paul says,
you’d have to leave the planet to get away from all the liars. “Remove
from me the way of lying: and grant me
thy law graciously. I have chosen the
way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” (verses 29-30) ‘that’s what I want. LORD, I’ve taken your Word, the way
you say things should be, and I’ve laid them before me.’ “I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.” (verse 31) I like the way the King James reads there,
the Hebrew says “I cling unto thy testimonies.” I love this though, “I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.” ‘Don’t let me come into reproach and shame, LORD, I’ve been clinging to your Word.’ And look what he says, “I will
run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” (verse 32) There’s
a sense here, ‘I will run with joy,’ he’s not just saying here ‘I will walk in your ways,’ he’s saying ‘LORD, do this, lead me, teach me,
do this in me LORD, I’ve laid your judgments
before me, I am clinging to your testimony LORD, don’t let me come to shame LORD, and I will, not just
walk, I will run the way of thy commandments, when they shalt enlarge my heart,
or because you will enlarge my heart.’ Now an enlarged heart is not a
good thing physically, you don’t want it. But spiritually an enlarged heart is a great thing. It speaks of your heart being deeper, and
broader, no doubt, more gracious, more tender, more forgiving, less
selfish. Enlarge my heart, LORD, because I am motivated so
often by my brain, by my will, by my selfishness, Lord,
enlarge my heart, Lord. “I will run the way of your commandments,
when you enlarge my heart.” (verse 32) So look then about this
remarkable set of requests in regards to that. He then says “Teach me, O LORD” I’m going to
read through them.
Psalm 119:33-40
HE
“Teach me, O LORD,
the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me
understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy
commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have
longed after thy precepts: quicken me in
thy righteousness.” Listen to the dependence on the
LORD in all of this. So this remarkable now
response to him saying, ‘LORD, this is the way it is, I want
you to deal bountifully with me LORD that I might live in your
Word. You’ve gotta open your Word and
let me see wondrous things out of your law, because I’m a stranger here LORD, I’m passing through, and I
need you to work in my life. My soul is
breaking, it’s longing for your judgments, you’ve rebuked the proud, LORD you deal with sinners, and LORD, even those around me that are
slandering, gossiping LORD, when that happens, you know
what I do, I go to your Word, meditate on your statutes, LORD. I don’t take things into my own hands, I just meditate on your statutes. I haven’t taken things into my own hands, I
flee to you. Your testimonies, they’re
my delight, they’re my counsellors, your Word, LORD, it counsels me. And my soul is cleaving to the earth, to the
dust. So LORD, quicken me, make me alive, give me life again according to your Word. I’ve sat before you, I’ve poured out my
heart, I’ve been honest, I’ve confessed, I’ve shared all of this, so now LORD teach me your statutes and
make me understand, because if you make me understand, then I can share, LORD, with others your wondrous
works. I have reason, I have thought, I
have intent, I have depth, I have understanding. My soul, it is melting for heaviness, so
strengthen me according your Word. Remove from me, LORD, the things that are wrong, if
I have lying, get it out of me, and grant me your law graciously, because I’ve
chosen the way of truth, that’s what I want. Thy judgments I’ve laid before me, this is where I meditate. I have stuck unto thy testimonies, I’m
clinging LORD to the truth, and I’m gonna
run, LORD, in the way of thy
commandments, with your path before me I’m gonna run, LORD, as you enlarge my heart.’ So now, all of that said, he realizes ‘I am
100 percent dependent on you for any of this to happen.’ Listen, no flesh is going to glory in his
presence. Paul tells us again, ‘There
are good works foreordained, that we should walk in them.’ It says ‘We were chosen for Himself out from others before the foundation of the world,
that we might be holy, without blame, before him in love.’ Think of it, and again, Paul’s
talking to a congregation, not written to theologians in a seminary, but to
people, saying ‘He loved you from the foundation of the world. He chose you for himself, he wants you to walk in his ways.’
Teach Me, Give Me—You Teach Me LORD, You Give Me Understanding
So
the Psalmist here realizing that, then he says ok “Teach me, O LORD,
the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.” (verse 33) He’s gonna say “teach me, give
me, make me, and incline me” and the two threats to that is he says there are
allurements my heart may be drawn after, and there is reproach that might
discourage me. He says “Teach me, O LORD,” it’s a plea
for guidance, “the way of thy statutes;
and I shall keep it unto the end.” (verse 33) So, how
do we learn? It’s not by commentaries,
it’s not just by studying, he’s saying ‘LORD, you teach me, you teach me, LORD.’ Secondly,
hey look, he says “Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” (verse 34) This is grace. Because sometimes, again, he wants obedience
without explanation, knowledge sometimes, he says ‘My people perish for lack of
knowledge.’ But then here the
idea is “Give me understanding and I
shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” God can
easily do this. We think of Solomon, as
a young boy taking the throne, a young man. It says ‘In Gibeah the LORD appeared to Solomon in a
dream, by night. And God said ‘Ask what
I shall give thee.’ And Solomon then
said, ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart.’ The
Psalmist just said ‘Give me understanding.’ Solomon therefore said ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding
heart, to judge thy people, that I may discern between
good and evil, for who is able to judge this thy so great people.’ and his speech
pleased the LORD and so forth, and the LORD was pleased with that request
for understanding, and then the LORD said that he would grant that,
he would give it. Look, Solomon the
wisest man that ever lived, his dad was a shepherd. He wasn’t the wisest man that ever lived
because he learned from David. He
learned some incredible things from his father, don’t get me wrong. But he was the wisest man that ever lived
because God granted him wisdom and understanding, because of the way he
asked. He didn’t ask to consume it as a
young man on himself, he had a heart that pleased the LORD, remember originally his name
was Jedidiah, beloved of God. It’s a sad
history to trace because he ends up so far off course. Here, the Psalmist is saying, ‘Give
me understanding.’ It’s the very
same thing that Solomon said. Again, I’m
not saying we’re getting ready for the fall semester, that you should wait till
final exam, and the night before just say ‘LORD,
give me understanding.’ No, no, that’s irresponsibility, I’m not
saying that. But all of us face
circumstances, listen, first of all there are things
that come in our life, when all of a sudden it’s deeper than any water than
we’ve been in. God loves us, we grow, we take hold of his grace. All of a sudden we hear of someone we love has been taken out of this
world. Or you watch your child bleeding
out in front of you. [Pastor Joe saw
that, had it happen to him. His son survived, thankfully] Or the doctors call
and say ‘We think your son has leukemia.’ And then you’re sitting there, and you’re
saying ‘Lord, I’ve never been here
before. This is deeper water than I’ve
ever been in. Your grace has always been
sufficient in my life, and whatever the problems were that have come to me,
Lord, you’ve been there, you’ve been faithful. But all that I’ve learned of you right now is insufficient because
you’ve taken me somewhere that I don’t want to go, it’s deeper water than I’ve
ever been in, and Lord I need you to help me understand, and I need you to
speak to me. And I need you to make your
Word real to me. Give me understanding.’ It’s granted, it
pleased the LORD when Solomon asked. Maybe there’s a lot
of people here tonight that need to do that, they need to be praying ‘Lord, give me understanding, I’m in a mess,
I need to get something down.’ Or “Lord, let me see wondrous things out of
your Word, deal bountifully.’ Or
just say ‘I’m a stranger in this world,
I’m not at home here, you’ve gotta give,’ and he’s asking, he’s not
hesitating to ask, “Give me
understanding, and I shall keep thy law;. yea, I shall
observe it” notice “with my whole heart.” (verse 34) Not just so it can be in my
head, but so I can observe it.
MAKE ME To Go In The Path
Of Thy Commandments
“Make me to go in
the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.” (verse 35) What
wonderful words. ‘LORD, I delight in your Word.’ I do too, and I know you guys do too. “Incline
my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.” (verse 36) because
that’s my natural inclination. My heart
is inclined, you know, personally, my heart can be very covetous. He tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is
desperately wicked, it’s incurable, who can know it? It tells us in the Book of Proverbs to guard
your heart with all diligence, stand garrison over it, for out of it flow the
issues of life. The heart always makes a
convert of the mind. Your life doesn’t
flow forth from your thoughts, it flows from desire, the deeper place in your
being. And my natural inclination is in
another direction. Isn’t it wonderful
that he says with such simplicity and childlike faith, he just says LORD, “incline my heart unto your
testimonies, and not to covetousness.” That’s where it goes
naturally. ‘I think I’d be happy if I had one of these, I think I’d be happy if I
had one less of these, I think I’d be happy if I had two of these. I think I’d be happy, Lord, if I had
this. Lord, it’s not fair, why do they
get one of those. Lord, he’s a junky, he
sells heroine, and he hits the lottery. This is unfair. [laughter] Why do
bad things happen to good people? Why is
it that I work, and I work, and this jerk has got a golden thumb, everything he
touches, what is it? Asaph said, ‘I
couldn’t even talk about it, because I was afraid of stumbling God’s people.’ And then he says ‘Then I went into the house of
the LORD,
and I remembered their end. Well, that’s
right LORD, wicked people might be
prospering now, it may be unjust now, but when I went into the house of the LORD and I remembered eternity, and
I remembered their end, and I realized I was being as foolish as a beast, just
worried about chewing on grass and doesn’t have perspective on anything
else.’ He says, “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.”
(verse 36) Look, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.”
(verse 37) Do we need us all to do
that? Job, in the midst of suffering
says ‘I’ve
made a covenant with my eyes, why then should I look upon a maid?’ David in Psalm 101, verse 3 says, ‘In
the privacy of my own house I decided not to bring any wicked thing before my
eyes.’ You know, in the privacy
of our own house when no one else is watching but God, that is where the
greatest temptation is, where we think ‘This
isn’t hurting anyone else,’ and we so compartmentalize ourselves, we make
excuses for it, ‘and it’s ok because it’s
not affecting anyone else, and Lord we’ll work on this and we’ll get over
it.’ He says here, here’s the better
prayer, ‘LORD, turn away my eyes from all
this. I’m not gonna whup this on my own,
LORD,
but you’re my shepherd, you’re my LORD, you’re my Saviour, you’re my
King, my buckler, my shield, my strong tower.’ “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” (verse
37) ‘Give life to me again LORD, renew me, revive me.’
The Two Major Threats: Allurements And The Reproach Of Others
Look, “Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.” (verse 38) That’s what we want to be, the servant of the
LORD. ‘LORD, I’m one of the ones who
reverence you.’ The whole world around us,
there’s no fear of God. He says “Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.” ‘I’m one who reverences you, who fears you LORD.’ “Turn away my
reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.” (verse 39) Now
if you follow it down, he says “teach me and I’ll keep it” “give me
understanding, I’ll observe it” “make me to go in your path, that’s where I
delight,” “incline my heart to your testimonies, not to covetousness,” and
he realizes, “my eyes behold vanity, there are allurements, and there are
reproaches that can discourage me. Look. Isn’t that the truth with
any of us? We want to walk with the
Lord, spend time with him, but things of this world allure us. And then we get discouraged sometimes, want
to throw in the towel, and then Satan is right there to condemn us. The Bible says ‘if we confess our sins he’s
faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ We need to flee to him at those times. And then reproach. How many times has someone come to the
church, they get settled, and the church should be the environment where we can
let down our guard and be vulnerable, and the next thing you know, somebody
slanders you or gossips about you or backbites you, ‘and then that’s it, they ain’t no different than anybody else!’ [how about in our families as well, or
close friends, it hurts just as much, and happens here too, in our own home
environment, real family, adoptive family, been there.] ‘I
finally found a place where I could let down my guard, and now somebody’s
chewing on my back.’ Well he
realizes here that reproach, temptations and allurements can, these are the
things that can get in the way of the LORD teaching, giving, and making,
and inclining, and he says it, “LORD, turn away my reproach which I
fear: for thy judgments are good.”
Behold, Look LORD, Consider This, I Have Longed
After Thy Precepts
“Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” (verse 40) ‘Think of this, consider this, “I have longed after thy precepts, LORD, would you remember this?’ It’s not very often you say “Behold” to the LORD. “LORD, think about this, I have longed after thy precepts, quicken me, bring me to life in thy righteousness.’ Can we say that this evening? “Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” I mean, honestly, can you get home tonight or tomorrow morning and say ‘Lord, this is what I’ve longed after, your Word.’ If you can’t, it’s ok. Then you go back, verses 17-40, “Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth” ‘I need you to do this, my soul is in the dust, I’ve been honest with you, I’ve declared my ways, now teach me your ways, make me to understand, verse 27, get rid of the lying that’s within me, the dishonesty, LORD, let me walk before you, I’ve laid your Word before me so that I would just run in joy in the path you’ve set before me, because, I can say in honesty I’ve longed after your precepts, so then LORD, teach me that way of your statutes, and then I’ll keep them, you’re my teacher. Give me, LORD, I don’t deserve it, give me understanding and I shall keep thy law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments.’ It always reminds me of that movie ‘Young Frankenstein’, this verse, forgive me, but Gene Wilder wants to make friends with the monster. And he says ‘Alright, I’m going to go in there, you’re going to lock the door, and whatever I say, don’t open this door again.’ And he goes in, clunk, they locked the door behind him, and the monster goes ‘Grrrrrr!!!’ and he says ‘Open the door you idiot, let me out of here!!!’ and he starts pounding on the door. This verse reminds me of that, it says ‘Make me, drag me in the way everlasting, lead me, LORD, make me go in the way everlasting,’ it says, ‘Make me, make this happen, LORD, because I’m not inclined, make me go in the path of thy commandments,’ and all the glory will be his, ‘for therein do I delight, incline my heart, your testimonies LORD, do those things in me. Turn my eyes away from beholding vanity, quicken thou me in thy way, stablish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear, who walks in reverence with you, LORD, that’s me, turn away my reproach, for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts, quicken me in thy righteousness LORD, because of your righteousness, because it’s the right thing to do, and it won’t happen without you.’ Let’s bow our hearts, I’m going to ask the musicians to come, we’ll sing a last song, let’s stand. Read ahead, alright, you don’t have to read the whole Psalm, ok. But read the next three or four sections…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Psalm 119:17-40, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]
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