Sunday, October 11, 2015 pm
STUDIES IN PSALMS
THE Word of God
Psalm 119 – 3
As
we continue our study of the psalms, this evening I want to complete our
study of Psalm 119. It is a
lengthy psalm that addresses the word of God as we have seen.
We have examined the various words used to describe God’s message
to mankind in this psalm. In
our last lesson we selected a handful of psalms from the first half of
the book and discussed them.
Tonight we want to notice a few more.
Multiple lessons could be devoted to this exercise, but we will
finish this study tonight.
a.
63 - “I am a
companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.”
In our last lesson we stopped with an examination of vs. 53,
“Indignation
has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.”
In this psalm we noted how the ways of the ungodly ought to be
repulsive to us, whether we are addressing friendship with the world or
compromise within the body of churches.
But just as we ought to
be indignant toward ungodliness and those who reject His will, and avoid
their company, we need to prefer the company of the godly.
Romans 12:10, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly
love, in honor giving preference to one another;” This text speaks
first of caring about our brethren which would include cherishing their
presence. It also speaks of
taking the lead in this (you do what is right first – don’t wait for
them). Consider the golden
rule – Matthew 7:12 – it applies to Christians as well!
This is one reason why we should cherish the assembly – Heb. 10:24-25 –
we are exhorting one another in so doing.
Psalm 119:74- “Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.”
b.
64- “The earth, O
Lord, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes.”
In spite of the ungodliness that is prevalent in our society, God can
still be seen in many ways.
1) He is a viable explanation for that which evolution cannot explain.
Romans 1:20 – His invisible
attributes are clearly seen…
2) The world pretty much takes care of itself.
Man does some damage, but nothing that God cannot address.
It is His world! We
see the mercy of God in many ways in this world.
In describing our need to love our enemies, Jesus tells us “that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on
the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
(Matthew 5:45) Such ought to turn us to Him and provoke us to consider
His instructions to us.
NOTE: Consider the power of prophecy – how God has given us information
about science and nature that preceded their discoveries by men. This
proves His hand in His word.
Therefore, let us consider His statutes (every single command).
c.
72, “The law of Your
mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.”
Over what do we value the law of God?
Prov. 8:10-11, “Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge
rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the
things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”
Psalm 19:10, more to be desired are they than gold, yea than much fine
gold.
“Buy the truth and sell it not,
also wisdom and instruction and understanding” Pro. 23:23
The pearl of great price and hidden treasure – Matthew 13:44-46
Luke 9:25, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole
world, and is himself destroyed or lost?”
d.
89, “Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven.”
The word of the Lord endures forever.
1 Peter 1:25, Matthew 24:35, even the Old Law was set until its
time of fulfillment (Matt. 5:18).
Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
In Malachi 3:6 the LORD said, “I
am the LORD, I do not change…”
This is the reason we need to respect His word in our studies.
Far too many today dismiss the commands of God – they take from
it what they don’t want to do, they add to it what they want to do, they
manipulate what they don’t agree (redefining terms, twisting scriptures,
etc.) with and they even declare it as an outdated standard.
BUT all of this does not change that God’s word says what it says!
e.
97 - “Oh, how I love
Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
In this familiar verse, I am reminded of three things
1) We ought to LOVE His word – it ought to be something we cherish and
take delight in reading and studying.
It ought not be a burdensome task to regularly “feed on His
word.”
2) We ought to mediate on it – Phil. 4:8.
The idea here is more than merely knowing the words (like a
novel). We need to think
about it. We need to study
it – 2 Timothy 2:15.
3) It ought to continually be on our minds – that it how it governs our
affairs throughout the day.
Psalm 1:2 speaks of this noting our delight is in the law of the Lord
and we meditate upon it day and night.
Psalm 119:147-148 - “I rise before the dawning of the morning, And
cry for help; I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night
watches, That I may meditate on Your word.”
f.
105 - “Your word is a
lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Perhaps the most often quoted verse in this psalm (at least here) we are
reminded that God’s word is a guide for us.
It needs to give us direction.
Without it we are lost – literally.
As we noted in our gospel meeting this past week, God’s word gives us
direction on how to live everyday life.
It contains, “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2
Peter 1:3)
Peter said, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you
do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day
dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;” (2 Peter 1:19)
g.
112 - “I have
inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end.”
God’s word is not just something to consult when things are not going
well. It is to be a regular
part of our lives. AND, we
have to continually follow it.
We cannot retire, while on earth, from serving Him.
Be faithful until death – Revelation 2:10, 14:13
2 Peter 2:20-22 is one of many passages that warn of apostasy and the
consequences being worse than before.
Don’t let it happen to you.
h.
160 - “The entirety
of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures
forever.”
Simply stated, consider 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as we noted this morning.
We are not at liberty to pick and choose what we want to accept.
Jesus condemned the religious leaders for doing violence to the word of
God – Matt. 15:3-9. They
transgressed the commandments of God for the sake of their traditions.
James 2:10 warns us that whoever shall keep the whole law and yet
stumble in one point, he is guilty of breaking it.
Revelation 22:18-19 warns against adding to or taking away from God’s
word.
Even the Old Testament, though Its purpose has been completed, is the
word of God (Romans 15:4).
a.
As we conclude this
text, and simply as a matter of observation, there are a handful of
verses in Psalm 119 that do not mention God’s word.
But they are bookended by verses that do and you can see His word
at work even in these texts.
The verses are
b.
Psalm 119:90 “Your
faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and
it abides.” BUT, consider this with vs. 91
“They continue this day according to Your ordinances, For all are
Your servants.”
c.
Psalm 119:121–122, “I
have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors.
Be surety for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me.”
Where did the psalmist learn
justice and righteousness?
d.
Psalm 119:132, “Look
upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love
Your name.” He who loves the
name of the LORD will love His word and seek to follow Him.
Actually, this verse does not belong in this list as the word “custom”
is the word ”judgment” that
appears more than 20 times in this psalm and we have noted it.
e.
Psalm 119:149, “Hear
my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according
to Your justice.” Again,
where do we learn of God’s justice?
Where do learn of hope in His justice?
This too is the word for “judgment” found throughout this psalm.
And
thus we see Psalm 119. It
truly is a treasury of wisdom about His word that is found IN His word.
Of what other book can these things be said and verified?
May we continually seek His word with a desire to obey.
Think about it!