Psalm 119:77

We continue considering the prayers of the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Jod.  We are in a stretch of prayers that all begin with the word let. 

Psalms 119:77  Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.

In this verse the psalmist makes the same request he did in verse 41, in which he requested the Lord to “let thy mercies come also unto me.”  Again, the psalmist prays God to let His mercies come to him.  God’s mercies are something that must come to us, rather than we coming to them.  And they can only come to us, if the Lord’s lets them.  He is sovereign over His mercies.  God’s mercies are shut up from us unless He is willing to bestow them.  We are in a sinful and low estate with absolutely no claim to God’s compassion or kindness.  For us there will be no relief unless the good Lord be pleased to let His mercies come to us.

In the verse we consider today the psalmist adds the word tender to describe the mercies of God.  Consider the meaning of the word tender when used to describe God’s mercies.

Tender – Of persons, their feelings, or the expression of these:  Characterized by, exhibiting, or expressing delicacy of feeling or susceptibility to the gentle emotions; kind, loving, gentle, mild, affectionate.

The Lord does not bestow His mercies upon us begrudgingly.  His mercies flow out of a gentle, kind, and loving disposition.  God bestows mercy because He loves to and wants to.  The Lord delights to let His mercies come to us.

Micah 7:18  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

Now we need never worry that we have exhausted these tender mercies of God for they have been available and abundantly bestowed from ancient time; there are a multitude of them; and they are great.

Psalms 25:6  Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Psalms 69:16  Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

Psalms 119:156  Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD….

The psalmist, like every believer, was beset with many transgressions and sins all and any of which were exceedingly displeasing to a holy God and deserving of His wrath.  Therefore, the psalmist needed tender mercies (plural).  Many sins need many tender mercies.  And it is God’s tender mercies that provide the remedy for sins and transgressions.

Psalms 51:1  A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.>> Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Psalms 79:8  O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

And, like the rest of us, the psalmist had his share of troubles in this world.  As it was with Job, so it is with us.  The ultimate relief for our troubles is the tender mercy of God.

James 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

So when you are enduring a tribulation, just hang in there.  Endure!  Tender mercy is on the way. 

Because of his sins, the psalmist deserved to die.  And his troubles were such that they threatened to destroy him.  Most any tribulation causes us to despair of life, if it presses down on us hard enough.  This is why he prays that the Lord’s tender mercies will come to him, that I may live.  Without God’s tender mercies our sins and troubles would be the destruction of us all.  But instead, our God redeems our life from destruction and crowns us with His tender mercies.

Psalms 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies….

Now the psalmist advances this reason for wanting to live:  for thy law is my delight.  Why do you want God’s tender mercies to come to you to spare your life?  Is it that you may have your way?  Or is it that you may do the will of God as expressed in His law?  Is the law of God your greatest delight?  Does it give you your reason for living?  Because the psalmist so delighted in the law of God, he craved the tender mercies of God to pardon his transgressions against that law and to strengthen him to keep it.  The following quote from the pen of William Cowper sums it up quite well:  “It is a great mercy of God, which not only pardons evil that is done, but strengthens us also to further good that we have not done; and this is the mercy which David here seeks.” 

As we think of the tender mercies of God by which we live, let us not forget the greatest display of God’s tender mercy in sending His only begotten Son to die for us “that we might live through him” (1John 4:9).  Tender mercies came to us in Jesus and because of this we live.

Luke 1:77  To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78  Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us….

Psalm 119:76

In the preceding verse the psalmist acknowledged the justice and faithfulness of God in afflicting him.  Now the psalmist looks for comfort from the same Hand that smote him with affliction, for it is the same Lord that “bringeth low, and lifteth up” (1Samuel 2:7).

Psalms 119:76  Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.

When we are afflicted, comfort is one thing we most need.  Let’s remind ourselves again of what comfort is.

Comfort - Strengthening; encouragement, incitement; aid, succour, support, countenance (appearance of favour).

Unmingled affliction will drain us and bring us down.  But we can bear up under most any affliction when we are strengthened, helped, and supported.  While there are many sources of support for affliction, the support the psalmist seeks is that which only God can give, even His merciful kindness.

When we speak of God’s kindness we are speaking of His gentle and generous nature, His readiness to assist us.  But God’s kindness is a merciful kindness in that we deserve His severity.  But rather than show His wrath, God shows us His kindness.  And it is in this merciful kindness that we find comfort, that we find strength, help, and support in our afflictions.  Commenting on this verse Charles Spurgeon said:  “The words ‘merciful kindness,’ are a happy combination, and express exactly what we need in affliction:  mercy to forgive the sin, and kindness to sustain under the sorrow.”

Now the psalmist’s prayer to the Lord is to let His merciful kindness be for his comfort according to thy word unto thy servant.  Note that the psalmist seeks the comfort that is in keeping with God’s word.  He draws his comfort from his Bible.  Now consider your own experience.  How many times in your afflictions have you gone for comfort to such passages as the following?

Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

2 Corinthians 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

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

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

These verses provide encouragement to an afflicted soul as they assure him that the Lord is with him in his affliction, that the Lord will strengthen and help him through his affliction, and that He provide all his needs.  Has this not indeed been the case in past afflictions you have endured?  And, of course, there is the well-known 23^rd Psalm that assures the Lord’s people of His care, His provision, His restoring mercy, His direction, His presence, and a place in His house.  I was recently at a Catholic funeral for a woman who had died a tragic death.  In his homily the priest pointed the grieving family to the 23^rd Psalm for comfort.  Better comfort he could not have offered.  How all of these passages provide support for souls in affliction, if they will but read them, meditate upon them, and believe them!  If we ask the Lord to let His merciful kindness be for our comfort, we must not neglect the source of comfort from which the Lord lets His merciful kindness flow into our hearts.

It bears noting that the psalmist referred to himself as thy servant, singular.  Although the promises of God are addressed to His people in general, the psalmist read them as being spoken to him in particular.  What a blessing it is to take our Bible in hand as a Book given to us personally by our God, as a personal communication from Him to each of us.

But also note that this merciful kindness is for the comfort of one who is a servant of God, one who has owned the Lord as his master and the Lord's commandments as the rule of his life.  If you are not serving God, you have some changes you need to make if you are going to use a prayer like this.

Now, believer, think of afflictions you have gone through.  Consider how the Lord got you through them and in the end you were the better for having endured them.  If in affliction you learn patience, if you learn to love this world less and to look forward to heaven more, if you learn to trust God more and the creature less, all of this is a tremendous gain.  This makes you more like the Lord Jesus and gives you certain evidence of your eternal salvation.  I cite again a passage used in our previous meditation on Psalm 119:75.

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

13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

In conclusion, I find it interesting that all the rest of the verses in this octave are like this verse in that they are prayers to God beginning with the word let.

I have been sick today.  Thanks be to God for His merciful kindness to me to give me strength sufficient to provide this meditation for your comfort and mine.

 

Psalm 119:75

Today’s meditation centers around the third verse in the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Jod.  This verse is very rich.  It addresses much of what we experience in life and it teaches us how we ought to deal with it.  This will be a longer than usual meditation.  Take your time with it.  Break it into parts, if you will.  Above all, learn from it.  I will give some extra space for you to digest it before I send you another meditation.

Psalms 119:75  I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

As with all but four of the verses of this psalm, this verse is a prayer.  It is interesting that in this particular prayer, the psalmist made no request.  He rather stated to God something that he knew.  Recall that prayer is form of communication.  A vital part of communication between persons is the sharing of knowledge.  In His written word, God tells us things He knows.  In prayer we in turn tell the Lord things we know.  Any teacher is gratified to hear his pupils tell him what they have learned from him.  Such is also the case with the Great Teacher, the only wise God.

The psalmist states to the Lord that he knew two things:  God’s judgments are right and God had afflicted him in faithfulness.  The psalmist knew this; he entertained no doubt in his mind about it.

Now let’s recall what is meant by the word 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.

Everything the Lord decides to do or to permit is a judgment.  In this case, the Lord decided to afflict the psalmist.  But God’s judgments also refer to the Scriptures, which record His decrees and laws.  The Scriptures inform us of the nature of God such as in this passage:

Deuteronomy 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Now a God Whose work is perfect, Who is without iniquity, and Who is just and right never makes a bad decision.  Anything He decides to do is right.  And the Scriptures also inform us that when the Lord afflicts us, it is for our good.

Deuteronomy 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Psalms 66:10  For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

11  Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.

12  Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

Psalms 94:12  Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law….

Romans 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Hebrews 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

When you read passages like these and you are persuaded they are right, then you know anytime God decides to afflict you, His judgment, His decision to do so is right. 

If you are in affliction, it is because God sees that you need that affliction.  That is why He decides to let it come upon you.

1 Peter 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations….

The Lord knows what you need better than you do.  If you are murmuring under your affliction, although you may not admit it, you really think the Lord has made a mistake and is dealing unfairly with you.  This was Job’s problem.  When the Lord permitted Satan to afflict Job, Job thought the Lord had made a mistake.  He wanted his day in court to argue his case.  Said he:

Job 23:3  Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

4  I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

Well, Job finally got his day in court (Job 38-41).  But instead of Job questioning God, God questioned him.  The Lord asked Job questions the answers to which demonstrated God’s absolute, sovereign power and wisdom.  Who was Job to question a God so great and wise?  One question the Lord asked Job was this:

Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

You see, Job thought he was right and the Lord was wrong.  He had been very unlike the psalmist.  He did not think God’s judgment in his case was right.  But when the Lord was through interrogating Job, Job changed his tune and said:

Job 42:3  Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

4  Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

5  I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

6  Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Had Job looked upon his affliction from God’s perspective, He would not have complained so much.  But after the Lord confronted him, Job joined ranks with the psalmist and acknowledged that the Lord’s judgment was right.

One reason we complain about our afflictions is that deep down we think we deserve better.  What fool’s we are!  Charles Bridges made the following insightful comments about this:

“The child of God under the severest chastisement must acknowledge justice.  Our gracious reward is always more – our ‘punishment always less, than our iniquities deserve.’ (Ezra 9:13. Comp. Job 11:6.)  ‘Wherefore should a living man complain?’ (Lamentations 3:39.)  In trouble he is indeed - but not in hell.  If he complain, let it be of none but himself, and his own wayward choice.”

We ought to be glad we are being let off as easy as we are.  We deserve to be in hell.  We would all be better Christians if we complained more of our own foolishness than of our afflictions.

Now when we are suffering under the weight of affliction, we might be tempted to think God has abandoned us.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is in faithfulness that the Lord afflicts us.  The following passage drives this fact home.

Psalms 89:30  If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

31  If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

32  Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

33  Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

When the Lord afflicts you, it is for your good.  It is to purge you of pride, of sin and error, and of the love of this world.  By means of affliction the Lord is making you more like the Lord Jesus Christ.  Hence, Paul referred to his afflictions as “the fellowship of his sufferings,” that is, the sufferings of Jesus (Philippians 3:10).  And if we have a part in the sufferings of Christ, we will also have a part in His glory.

Romans 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

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

13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If when the Lord afflicts you He is fitting you for glory, then certainly it is in faithfulness that He afflicts you.  Oh, what great rewards in heaven are laid up for those who are afflicted with Christ here.  This realization should transform your complaining into praising that you are being “counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer” (2Thessalonians 1:5).  The following passage reveals that the apostles obviously knew that God’s judgments were right and that it was in faithfulness that He had afflicted them.

Acts 5:40  And…when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Oh, that we had more of this holy, apostolic faith and joy to suffer with and for Jesus!

Psalm 119:74

Today we take up the second verse in the octave of Psalm 119 entitled Jod.

 Psalms 119:74  They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

 Let’s admit it.  We like it when people are glad to see us.  It comforts us to know that our company brings pleasure to another.  The apostle Paul felt this way, too, as we see from this passage:

1 Thessalonians 3:6  But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:

7  Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith….

These people of faith in Thessalonica greatly desired to see Paul, the preacher of the faith. 

Those who would be glad to see the psalmist were those that feared God.  People who fear God are such as trust God and obey His word.  They are people of faith like the believers to whom Paul wrote in 1Thessalonians.  The following verse describes those who fear God as those who trust in Him. 

Psalms 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Now those who feared God would be glad to see the psalmist because, as he wrote, I have hoped in thy word.  They who fear the Lord, who trust in Him, also hope in Him. 

Psalms 33:18  Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy….

Jeremiah 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

The psalmist trusted God’s word of truth and based his hope upon it.  He expected the Lord to fulfill every promise.  You can hope for the fulfillment of the promise of an almighty God Who cannot lie.

Titus 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began....

Let’s recall something I wrote previously in our meditation on Psalm 119:49:  “Faith and hope work in tandem.  You certainly would not find much hope in something you did not believe.”  Now this hope that springs from faith in God’s word had such an influence on the psalmist’s character and outlook that it brought gladness to other believers who saw him.  People who fear God, who are people of faith and hope, draw comfort and encouragement from one another and are, therefore, glad when they see each other.

Romans 1:11  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

12  That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Acts 28:15  And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

Charles Spurgeon made the following excellent comment on this verse:

“Hopeful men bring gladness with them.  Despondent spirits spread the infection of depression, and hence few are glad to see them, while those whose hopes are grounded upon God’s word carry sunshine in their faces, and are welcomed by their fellows.”

In the light of today’s verse, every one of us should aspire to be a source of gladness to others.  We should want to lift others up rather than bring them down.  And we can be that source of gladness to others if we will answer this call:

Psalms 130:7  Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

Oh, Lord, let me be a man that radiates hope, that cheers others on their way.  Now I close by saying to those whom I serve in the Lord as their overseer, I will be glad to see you Sunday.  I hope you will be glad when you see me as well.  May this Sunday be for us a personal experience of Psalm 119:74:  They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

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Psalm 119:73

Now that I have my three trips out of town behind me, I am ready to resume these meditations from Psalm 119.  We now begin the octave entitled Jod.  Recall that each octave is entitled by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  This letter Jod is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet (י) and was referenced by our Lord when He said: 

Matthew 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.

Our Lord pronounced the letter jod as jot.  The tittle of which our Lord spoke is the smallest mark used in the Hebrew alphabet to distinguish one letter from another.  Now let’s consider the first verse of this octave.

Psalms 119:73  ¶JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.

Thy hands have made me and fashioned me.  This verse is a prayer to God.  It is God Who “hath made us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 100:3).  We do well to acknowledge this from time to time as we address our heavenly Father in prayer.  But God has not only made us, He has also fashioned us.   

Fashion – To give fashion or shape to; to form, mould, shape (either a material or immaterial object).

God not only makes us so as to give us an existence, but He also forms and shapes us so as to give us the kind of existence we have, an existence that distinguishes us from every other creature He has made.  Man stands apart and above every other creature in that he was formed in the image of God.  And each man is uniquely fashioned so as to be distinguished from every other man  What would our world be if we could not tell one person from another?  If someone introduced himself to you, how would you be sure it was he as opposed to some other man if we all looked and sounded alike?  It boggles the mind to think of the teeming billions of mankind all looking different one from another. Indeed, our God is a designer of inexhaustible skill.

The Lord made and fashioned the first man Adam out of the dust of the ground.  But it is equally true that the Lord makes and fashions every other man.  Since we are made out of the flesh of our parents and since all men are dust (Psalm 103:14), it follows that God continues to make and fashion men out of the dust of the ground.  When you were conceived in your mother’s womb and began to develop, God was making and fashioning you.

Psalms 139:14  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

15  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Note that the mother’s womb is called “the lowest parts of the earth.”  You like Adam were made out of the earth.

Now the psalmist moves from the thought that God has made and fashioned him to this request:  give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.  But!  Although God has made and fashioned all men, their nature is corrupted through the fall.  Therefore, men do not by nature desire to understand and learn God’s commandments.  The following passages demonstrate this.

Romans 3:11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Romans 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

But thanks be to God for His amazing grace, God makes and fashions His elect anew so that there is in them that desire to understand and learn His commandments.

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Colossians 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

The newly created man delights to understand and learn God’s commandments.

Romans 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man….

Therefore, the prayer we are considering in today’s meditation is the prayer of one who has been recreated and refashioned after God’s image, a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Notice throughout this psalm how the psalmist fetches various reasons to bring before the Almighty as reasons why He should teach him His word.  Here he cites the fact that God created him as a reason for God to teach him.  It reminds me of a child that can find so many reasons why he should be allowed to have what he wants.  The psalmist really wants to know and understand his Bible and so he reasons with his God from several different angles.  How important is it to you to know that Book?

Observe that in order to learn God’s commandments, you need understanding.  You cannot very well learn something you don’t understand.  So what is understanding?

Understanding - Power or ability to understand (to comprehend; to apprehend the meaning or import of; to grasp the idea of). 

The psalmist is praying for God to give him the ability to comprehend the meaning of what he reads, to make sense of it.  Some people think the Bible makes no sense.  If they read it, they don’t get it.  And, to be sure, the Bible was written in such a way that if you don’t approach it on God’s terms you won’t get it.  But if you truly want to understand, if you humbly ask God to help you understand, and if you seek to understand by searching the Scriptures, you will understand and you will learn God’s commandments. 

Proverbs 2:3  Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4  If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

It all hinges on just how much you really want to understand the Bible and what you are willing to do about it. 

Of course, when you learn a commandment of God, it is important that you keep that commandment if you are to learn more.  God is not going to give more understanding to someone who has no intention of doing what he learns.