Psalm 119: Introduction, Part 3

We continue this meditation by taking up the other five words that are used in Psalm 119 to describe the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures are also referred to in this psalm as truth and righteousness.

Truth – Something that is true. True statement or account; that which is in accordance with the fact. That which is true, real, or actual (in a general or abstract sense); reality; spec. in religious use, spiritual reality as the subject of revelation or object of faith.

Righteousness – Justice, uprightness, rectitude; conformity of life to the requirements of the divine or moral law, virtue, integrity.

God’s words are truth and righteousness. They are factual in their content and they are always right. There is nothing false or unjust about them. If you believe them you will believe the truth. If you follow them you may be assured that you are doing the right thing. They will never mislead you or betray you.

God’s words are also called His testimonies.

Testimony – 1. Personal or documentary evidence or attestation in support of a fact or statement; hence, any form of evidence or proof. 4. In Scriptural language (chiefly in O.T.). a. sing. The Mosaic law or decalogue as inscribed on the two tables of stone. b. pl. The precepts (of God), the divine law.

God’s words provide documentary evidence to support God’s claims about Himself and His works. We often quote the Bible to prove the Bible. This is not circular reasoning when you consider that the Bible is made up of sixty-six books written by some forty different authors over a period of some 1500 or more years. Therefore, the Bible is a collection of documents that all attest to the same facts. The Scriptures are God's testimonies. He Himself attests to His commandments and He cannot lie. The very integrity of God is at stake as to their truth and righteousness.

Then the Scriptures are called the way.

Way – Course of life or action, means, manner. A prescribed course of life or conduct; the law or commandments (of God); also in pl.

The commandments of God set forth the course of life and conduct that God wills for us to pursue. Simply put, to keep the commandments of God is to do the will of God. It is to be “in the way.” To break God’s commandments is to be “out of the way.”

Deuteronomy 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

Romans 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said that He is the Way (John 14:6). He perfectly obeyed all the commandments of God given in the Old Testament. He fulfilled the law of Moses and took it out of the way establishing the New Testament in its stead. The commandments of the law of Christ in the New Testament are the way for us today. By following the teachings and example of Christ and His apostles you will be in the way.

And lastly God’s words are referred to in this psalm as His judgments.

Judgment – Divine sentence or decision; spec. a misfortune or calamity regarded as a divine visitation or punishment, or as a token of divine displeasure. In various Biblical uses, chiefly as rendering of Heb. mishpit, in its different uses. A (divine) decree, ordinance, law, statute.

These commandments or laws of God’s word are the judicial decrees of the sovereign Judge of the world. By these laws we are to judge ourselves and others, and by them we shall be judged. This brings to mind the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

There is no escaping the words of God. You may ignore the Bible today, but you will not be able to ignore it then. If you are concerned about how you will fare in the coming Day of Judgment, I would suggest that you deal with the Scriptures now after the pattern that will unfold before us as we consider Psalm 119.

Psalm 119: Introduction, Part 2

In today’s meditation, we continue with our introduction to Psalm 119. Recall that the theme of this Psalm is the written revelation of God, the scriptures. With the exception of four verses, the entire psalm consists of prayers revolving around the word of God. Hence, the psalm is dealing with the subject of verbal communication. We communicate with God by means of prayer and God communicates with us by means of His written words.

In order to give a general overview of the message of this Psalm, I shall define all of the ten words used in this psalm for the scriptures. We begin with the word word, which is used in the singular and in the plural in this psalm.

Word - Speech, utterance, verbal expression. Religious and theological uses. a. A divine communication, command, or proclamation, as one made to or through a prophet or inspired person; esp. the message of the gospel. The Bible, Scripture, or some part or passage of it, as embodying a divine communication.

The Scriptures are the written speech or communication of Almighty God. If you want to know what God has to say, read the scriptures. Have you ever been in a situation and said, “What is the Lord trying to tell me?” The Lord is not trying to tell you anything. God has already told you what He wants you to know and that communication is found in His written word. By reading God’s word we hear what God has to say to us.

The Scriptures are also called God’s law, commandment(s), precepts, and statutes. Observe how these words are used to define each other.

Law – A rule of conduct imposed by authority. Divine law. The body of commandments which express the will of God with regard to the conduct of His intelligent creatures.

Commandment – An authoritative order or injunction; a precept given by authority. esp. A divine command.

Precept – An authoritative command to do some particular act; an order, mandate. A general command or injunction; an instruction, direction, or rule for action or conduct; esp. an injunction as to moral conduct.

Statute – A law or decree made by a sovereign or a legislative authority.

Note the words authority and authoritative used to define the above words. The scriptures set forth a body of laws or commandments that carry the authority of Almighty God. These rules of conduct are not matters indifferent. They are established by authority and will be enforced. Since God is supreme, the authority of His law is supreme. Therefore, the law of Scripture takes precedence over all other laws issued by any other authority. If the commandments of Scripture come into conflict with the commandments of men, the commandments of Scripture are to be obeyed. It is as the apostle Peter said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

As noted already, we verbally communicate with God by prayer. Consider the definition of the word prayer.

Prayer – A solemn and humble request to God, or to an object of worship; a supplication, petition, or thanksgiving, usually expressed in words.

When we pray to God we either thank Him or we supplicate Him. Now consider the definition of supplicate.

Supplicate - To beg, pray, or entreat humbly; to present a humble petition.

When we communicate with God, we are to do so as humble beggars, who are beholden to God for His favours. Since God is the source of all the good that we enjoy, we also thank Him when we pray. We do not command God’s favours; we rather humbly ask for them. But from the above definitions we see that when God communicates with us, He does so with authority, with the right to command. So in our communication with God, we do the begging and He does the commanding. We cannot maintain a true communion with God unless we respect and submit to His authority. Take the place of a humble suppliant and yield to God’s authority by submitting to His decisions and doing what He commands, and you and God will get along just fine. Psalm 119 will demonstrate this. We will consider the other five words in our next meditation, God willing.

Psalm 119: Introduction, Part 1

I am setting out on what looms before me as a gargantuan task. I would like to devote these meditations to a verse by verse consideration of Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is one of my favourite things in the Bible to read and think about. It is the longest psalm in the Bible. It is generally believed that David is the author of this psalm, although his name does not appear in connection with it as it does others of the psalms. The theme of this psalm is the written revelation of God to man, which is elsewhere called the scriptures and which we call the Bible. This written revelation is called by ten different names in this psalm. It is called God’s law, His commandment(s), His word(s), His way(s), His judgment(s), His precepts, His statutes, His testimony or testimonies, His righteousness, and the truth.

I am aware that some of the members of the congregation I serve have the excellent exposition of Psalm 119 written by Charles Bridges. If you do not have this book, I heartily recommend it. While I will doubtless quote Mr. Bridges in these meditations, I do not intend to merely rehash what he has already written. These will be my insights into these marvelous verses garnished with insights of other writers in just the same way as I do in all of my preaching and writing.

Psalm 119 consists of 176 verses divided into 22 sections of eight verses each. Each of the 22 sections is marked off with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with the first letter aleph and going through the alphabet in order thus concluding with the last letter tau. Not knowing Hebrew, I cannot personally vouch for what I am about to say, but I have read that each verse of each section begins with the Hebrew letter that marks that respective section. This would doubtless have facilitated memorization and recall of the verses by the Hebrews.

The author of this psalm records a variety of experiences, emotions, and frames of mind in which he found himself. There is something in this psalm to speak to you wherever you are in whatever condition you may be. In this psalm we find the author experiencing the full range of human emotions. He felt joy (v. 162), peace (v. 165), longing (v. 20), fear (v. 120), horror (v. 53), sorrow (v. 136), grief (v. 158), anguish (143), and aversion (v. 163). At times he felt jubilant, enriched, and comforted (vs. 14, 162, 50, 52) while at other times he felt faint and withered, and wondered when he would be comforted (vs. 81-83). His varied emotions and frames of mind mirror our own. And yet the psalmist processes all of these experiences through the word of God. It is obvious from the psalm that the author’s relationship with God was grounded in and experienced through the word of God. Our relationship with God is also experienced through the written word of God, if that relationship is as it ought to be. If you think you are maintaining a healthy fellowship with God and yet you are neglecting your Bible, you are sadly deceived.

When one considers what the word of God provides, one can understand why the psalmist would process his varied experiences and emotions through it. According to this psalm, the written word of God provides us with blessedness (v. 2), honour (v. 6), cleansing (v. 9), delight, (v. 24), counsel (v. 24), answers (v. 42), freedom (v. 45), hope (v. 49), comfort, (v. 50), quickening (v. 50), songs (v. 54), riches (72), wisdom (v. 98), sweetness (v. 103), understanding (v. 104), guidance (v. 105), heritage (v. 111), truth (v. 142), peace (v. 165), and help (v. 175). What more could we want?

With the exception of verses 1-3 and verse 115, every verse in Psalm 119 is a prayer. Here is a collection of 172 short prayers that we can adopt. The psalmist’s life was so centered in the words of God that his prayers were for the word of God that he might learn it, obey it, and be helped by it. How much richer our spiritual lives would be if we prayed as much for our relationship to the word of God as we do for other things! Writing what others have said of this psalm, Matthew Henry said: “He that shall read it consistently, it will either warm him or shame him.” Doubtless we will find that true as we consider it together.

From what we have observed thus far, it may be said that the major theme of this psalm is verbal communication with God.

Communicate – To give to another as a partaker; to give a share of; to impart, confer, transmit. spec. To impart (information, knowledge, or the like); to impart or convey the knowledge of, inform a person of, tell.

By means of prayer we communicate with God. We tell God about ourselves, our problems, our wants, and what we are doing. We share ourselves with Him, both the good and the bad. By means of the Holy Scriptures God communicates with us. He tells us about Himself, what He is like, what He does, and what He requires of us. Such communication is indispensable to healthy relationships on a human level between spouses, families, brethren, and friends. And such communication is equally indispensable to a healthy relationship with God. This Psalm will teach us how to maintain communication with God.

Writing of this Psalm Charles Spurgeon said:

“It is loaded with holy sense, and is as weighty as it is bulky. Again and again have we cried while studying it, ‘Oh, the depths!’ Yet these depths are hidden beneath an apparent simplicity, as Augustine has well and wisely said, and this makes the exposition all the more difficult. Its obscurity is hidden beneath a veil of light, and hence only those discover it who are in thorough earnest, not only to look on the word, but, like the angels, to look into it.”

As I dive into these verses I fully expect to also cry, “Oh, the depths!” And as I pore over them, I shall keep an eye out to behold the Lord Jesus Christ as He is certain to show Himself here as in all the other Scriptures. For He said:

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Next time, God willing, we shall continue to take an overview of this psalm by considering the definitions of the various words it uses for the scriptures. In the meantime, I hope this introduction will whet your appetite for a more in-depth consideration of this psalm. Do earnestly pray God’s blessing upon me as I attempt to walk you through this sacred ground. I trust through God that these meditations may prove a blessing to you.

According to Thine Anger

For my daily Bible reading I have been going through the book of Ezekiel. Today as I was reading chapter 35 I was struck by the following verse:

Ezekiel 35:11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.

In this passage God is pronouncing judgment against the nation of Edom because of their hatred and mistreatment of the nation of Israel. Although Israel had sinned against God and was being judged by Him, Edom had no right to take advantage of this against Israel. Israel may have sinned, but they were still God’s people and their enemies would have done well to remember that instead of adding to Israel’s calamities. Edom was angry against Israel and envious of them. We are here told that this anger and envy proceeded out of their hatred against them. There was obviously something about Israel that made Edom feel threatened so that they were glad to have an advantage against them. Now this verse in Ezekiel is a tremendous commentary on the psychology of fallen man.

Anger and envy are the effects of hatred. Charity or love stands in sharp antithesis to hatred. We are told in 1 Corinthians 13 that “charity envieth not…is not puffed up…is not easily provoked.” When anger and envy are the controlling emotions, charity is definitely not being exercised. Rather, hatred is at work bringing forth its evil fruit of anger and envy.

Consider the definition of envy.

Envy - Malignant or hostile feeling; ill-will, malice, enmity; The feeling of mortification and ill-will occasioned by the contemplation of superior advantages possessed by another.

If you hate someone, you will feel ill-will at any advantage you perceive that person has over you, whether that advantage be strength, beauty, knowledge, wealth, position, goodness, or authority. Conversely, if you envy someone this will lead to hatred of them, which will in turn only cause more envy against them. And, of course, envy and hatred will breed anger.

Now the thing in our passage that arrested my attention is that God told Edom: “I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them.” In other words, God would deal with Edom as they dealt with Israel. Whenever you hate someone and are angry against them, ask yourself these questions: “How would I like it if God felt toward me like I am feeling toward that person?” “What if God treated me like I am treating that person?” Sound frightening? It should!

So if you are indulging anger, envy, and hatred against someone, you had better repent of these sins, fleeing to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy and forgiveness, and seeking grace to overcome them. Whatever personal insecurities and fears you may have, they can be resolved in a submissive, obedient relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They cannot be resolved by anger, envy, and hatred. In her book Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives¸ Dr. Laura Schlessinger had the following interesting thing to say about anger:

“When you draw on your anger strength instead of your vulnerability strength you create your own minefield to dance through. First of all, anger isn’t really strength; its defensiveness, fear, uncertainty, immaturity, and hurt posing as something seemingly strong – and additionally, it’s only temporary. Criticism, yelling, and violence are ultimately poor, ugly, immoral, and illegal substitutes for inner strength. Vulnerability strength is the willingness to face personal shortcomings and fears (real or otherwise), and in so doing to gain the ability to get and be better.”

From a Christian perspective, we can overcome anger, envy, and hatred when we face our own personal sins and weaknesses through repentance and find forgiveness, healing, and strength in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let these verses admonish you regarding the danger of the sins of anger, envy, and hatred:

James 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Job 5:2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

Proverbs 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

1 John 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Observe in these verses that anger, envy, and hatred are sinful, physically and psychologically destructive, spiritually blinding, and eternally damning. They are not to be trifled with. God forbid that He should deal with us according to our anger and according to our envy which we use out of our hatred against others. Repent and turn to the Lord for pardon so that it may be rather said of you:

Psalms 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Without Carefulness and Without Distraction

Yesterday I brought an extremely important message to our congregation about the dangers of our modern age of technological advancement. We live in an age characterized by “the information explosion.” I pointed out that we have become a nation that is addicted to noise, constant contact, and instant information. All of this tends to crowd and overcharge the mind with the result that our love for the Lord Jesus Christ weakens or waxes cold, to borrow the language of our Lord in Matthew 24:12. I taught the church yesterday that Paul prophesied in 1Timothy 3:1-7 of perilous times in the last days. The men of these times “shall be lovers of their own selves” and “lovers of pleasures more than of God.” The love of God will definitely not be the most dominant influence in men’s lives. What I find alarming is that these times when the love of God will be suppressed, information will be exploding. During these days men shall be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” There will be so much information available to learn, and yet with such a plethora of information there will be little arrival at truth. This led me to warn the church to keep the strictest guards on all the modern gadgets and entertainments that vie for the attention of our minds so that our love for God does not become choked by “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14).

There is a very relevant passage that I did not include in yesterday’s sermon that contains the two prepositional phrases in the title of this meditation. It is 1 Corinthians 7:29-35.

1 Corinthians 7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

Let’s define the two nouns that I have italicized in this passage.

Carefulness – The quality of state of being careful. Solicitude, anxiety, concern. Heedfulness, vigilance, attentiveness, exactness, caution.

Distraction – A drawing or being drawn asunder. The drawing away (of the mind or thoughts) from one point or course to another; diversion of the mind or attention.

In the context of Paul’s admonition, carefulness refers to having things to care for.

To care for – to take thought for, provide for, look after, take care of.

If one is careful or full of care, he has a lot of things to care for. Therefore, to be without carefulness is to have fewer things to care for or to look after. The fewer things one has to look after, the fewer things there are to cause distraction, fewer things that draw the mind and thoughts away from what they should be focused upon. That is why I stressed in my message the necessity for stepping back from the rush and racket of our fast-paced life and considering our ways. How many activities do we do and how many things do we possess that needlessly clutter our lives and cause distraction? And make no mistake about it! Nothing pleases our adversary the devil more than to have our minds and thoughts so drawn away to other things, that we have difficulty focusing when it comes to attending upon the Lord.

In the passage we are considering Paul lists several things such as having a spouse, weeping, rejoicing, buying, possessing, and generally using the world. All these things he listed are certainly lawful and may be used. But he warns against their being abused. When these things so occupy our minds that they come ahead of the Lord and those things which He commands of us, then we have abused them. It is a great blessing to have a spouse. “Marriage is honourable in all” (Hebrews 13:4). But when the spouse is cared for ahead of the Lord, then the spouse has become a distraction. If you have time and money for cable television, movies, computer games, sports, internet surfing, vacations, or whatever; but you set aside little or nothing to give to God, you never crack a Bible, or you scarcely pray, you are not attending upon the Lord without distraction. No relationship, no grief, no pleasure, and no possession should ever be allowed to so claim our attention, that God’s interests get shoved into the background.

We would all do well to seek out ways to simplify our lives and eliminate cares so that we may attend upon the Lord without distraction. If something you are using is claiming too much attention, then cut it back or cut it out. I know whereof I speak. God willing, I will be hosting a day of prayer in my home in two days. Today I had a chance to go and do something that I very much enjoy, and when I say “very much” I mean very much. But I feared that engaging in this fun today might take too much out of me. I believe I need to rest up and orient my thoughts toward attending upon the Lord that day without distraction. Therefore, I declined the opportunity. Although this is displeasing to the flesh, I know I have made the right decision. This is just a tiny example of the kinds of decisions we sometimes ought to make so that, as Paul says, we “may attend upon the Lord without distraction.”

If it pains you to part with things to simplify your life or to eliminate distraction, then remember something I said yesterday in my sermon: We profess to be followers of One Who never owned a home and, when He needed an ass, He borrowed one. May God bless this meditation to your soul and to His glory. Amen.