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119:26 I have declared thy ways, and thou heardest me: teach me
thy
statutes.
This is why we learn the moral goodness God teaches in His Word - to
declare them to others by our example and by our knowledge of the truth
it alone possesses. But note what he said, and thou heardest me.
God's
Word is not only to be lived out in deed, But
proclaimed
as creed!
Christians must come out of the closet. We must tell
people why we live the way we do. Holiness of life is something the
world
and modern Christians need desperately to hear about and learn about.
Holiness
is not a private matter all shut up inside the saint. Holiness is not
silence
to let others "figure out for themselves." The holy life is
something
that is visible AND has a voice ready to teach those who hunger and
thirst
after righteousness. Go tell it on the mountains! Teach me Thy statutes is the way the psalmist ends this prayer.
Those who declare God's ways to others must learn God's ways from God.
It may start with a human agent but ultimately I must go to the source
of absolute truth - to God the Father. A good teacher is a good
learner.
If I am telling others about God it must be more than theology or book
learning'. The most effective teachers of the Word are those who have
been
in the presence of God and learned what they teach directly from Him.
119:27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall
I talk of thy wondrous works.
Here is holiness with a voice again. Have you met those Christians
who say, "You don't have to talk about the Lord to people to win
them
to the Lord. If you just live your life before the unsaved they'll know
what you stand for." But according to the Scripture the gospel life
is something that must be proclaimed, spoken, taught, and declared.
Paul
didn't walk back and forth through Athens when he saw the city given
completely to idolatry, so the Athenians could get a good look at
him
and be converted by just "seeing his Christianity" and turn to the
living
God. Yet there are Christians out in the work place and living their
Christian
lives before their neighbors with Jesus all shut up inside of them.
If I was hungry for more of God in my life I would want to find a
victorious
Christian with a voice, someone who could tell me the way. It says Paul
began disputing (Acts 17:17), that is, he
challenged
them vocally! The word used here is not the word, to discuss (suzetesis)
something we differ on, but the stronger word (dialegomai)
to
dispute, to preach, or to argue. So, Paul preached to these worshippers
of many gods and denounced their pantheon as a symbol of their delusion
lifting up Christ with persuasive speech! (Acts
17:18-31)
When you make a promise to someone and your not able to deliver, Talk
is cheap, but when God makes a promise He can deliver and Talk
is
golden.
Don't keep the wondrous works of God shut up inside, give sound
to Calvary and tell the world around you of His goodness in your life
experience!
Don't let that miracle die! Tell it to others. Keep your conversion
fresh, witness to others how the Lord came to your life and what He has
done for you since He entered your life.
Don't let men go on misunderstanding the holy life, tell others of
the peace and joy there is in the life separated from the vanities and
anxieties of the world.
119:28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me
according
unto thy word. (29) Remove from me the way of lying: and grant
me
thy law graciously.
Here it is revealed that there still lingers within this heart that
loves God and righteousness a tendency toward lying or exaggeration. He
is asking God to replace his moral imperfections with the power of
God's
moral law.
Bible characters were always confessing their sins in brokenness, not
denying them in self-righteousness and arrogance. Deep and broken self
examination alone in the presence of God is missing from modern
Christians
of today for two reasons;
(1) When the desire to be perfected is not the chief obsession of the
heart and,
(2) When we do not have the habit of secret prayer. Many of these
Psalms
were experienced in the secret times of heart searching prayer.
The modern church is a victim of this lack. We are in a moral
crisis but fail to link our problems to moral imperfections and confess
them as such.
119:30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have
I laid before me.
"I have chosen," the initiative of the believer revealed again. He,
by his own decision and resolve, has chosen the way of truth, and he
himself
set God's judgments before him as his goal. (Ephesians 2:10; James
2:20,24.)
There are two essentials that makes holiness valid before God; 1. The
provisions of God's grace made available to man through Jesus Christ.
2.
The appropriation of grace by man's volition.
There is no valid state of righteousness apart from God's provisions
of grace; Nor is anything God offers us through grace going to be
effective
(bring results) until man by choice of his own will accepts it and acts
upon it.
When we speak of obedience to God's Word, we are not implying obedience
apart from His grace. Never! We are speaking of the response of the
will
desiring to cooperate with the Word (Logos) and the Spirit Who
have
touched us and stand on either side of us. Read Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus
2:11. See Initiative of Believer; Romans 3:20.
119:31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O lord, put me not
to shame.
He is "stuck" on the Word! What a wonderful and normal attraction for
God's holiness people. This word "stuck" is the Hebrew word dabaqmeaning
to follow closely, to keep close to, to be joined to. It speaks of a
very
special relationship between himself and the Word. He is attached to
the
Word. For this reason he has the right to ask for special favors from
the
Lord.
119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt
enlarge my heart.
Swiftly, eagerly, without hesitation, without reservation he pursues
the commandments as God enables him by enlarging his heart.
Unquestionable
instantaneous obedience. Walter Beuttler, a godly teacher of the Word
often
repeated to us in the classroom, "When God speaks we must respond
with
instantaneous unquestionable obedience."
What an excellent example of the way the decision power of the believer
compliments the grace of God! The two of them together win the crown.
Man's problem has never been knowing what is right, man's problem has
been that he is powerless to do what he already knows to be right.
Here lies the precise purpose (the efficacy) of the cross! He tore
heaven and earth asunder and emptied Himself into a frail human frame
in
a stinking manger with the seal of death on every breathe He drew and
then
ignored His almighty powerful angel bands bent forward waiting to
charge
in and release him from the darkness and chaos of Golgotha, and went on
to suffer a horrible death that He might purchase for us according to
the
laws of the Kingdom the power to conquer sin, death and hell in His
name.
Christ came to give us that desire to be holy which in turn gives us
the power to become the sons of God! (John 1:12). He, through
the
cross, provides us with the power of obedience, faith and abounding
love
for the Word essential to a victorious holy life.
A great fact is revealed in this Psalm; that when the heart condition
is right, moral purity is eagerly pursued. The heart enlarges under
prolonged
running. He so pursues the Word of God. It is a fervent pursuit, a
strenuous
effort...all for the refreshing that lies ahead. As the hart
panteth
after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. Psalm
42:1
119:33 Teach me, O lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall
keep it unto the end.
He doesn't ask to be taught special revelations, prophecy, mysteries,
but the moral principles of the statutes of the Word. He then promises
to keep the truth he receives and abide in it to his last breath! What
an attitude!
119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea,
I shall observe it with my whole heart.
It has always been true in God's Word that purity issues from the
heart.
It is not a Nw Testament teaching. God wants me to surrender my heart
to
Him. He knows that when He has my heart, He has all of me. Until then
He
only has parts of me some of the time but never all of me all of the
time.
(See Psalm 119:11)
When God gives man divine understanding, the result is insight into
the moral law. The baptism of the Holy Ghost guarantees higher
spiritual
performance in not only the supernatural gifts of the Spirit but also
supernatural
character! The baptism of the Holy Spirit has been lost to "tongues."
That's
all pentecostals think of when you mention the Holy Spirit - "tongues."
Tongues are an evidence, but holy character is the PROOF of His
presence
in my heart.
"Yea,"...He has resolved to keep the Word! A bulldog gets a
hold of a rat and sets about to destroy it with "resolution." In dogs
that
is a trait of their nature, but in man it is a quality of character.
Resolution
is a quality of character when a Spirit filled Christian encounters the
rats of sin and sets about with resolution to destroy them. It is the
nature
of holy character to hate sin.
119:35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein
do I delight.
The servant of God pleads with the Lord to help constrain him and give
special persuasions in spite of some distractions in life; for he
realizes
that when he is walking in the commandments he is at his happiest level
of life.
119:36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Ever present with man are the sudden and unexpected temptations to
covet something that reaches out to him from the world that surrounds
him.
But here he asks the Lord to help him. How does he seek that help? Does
he ask God to remove the temptation? No. The psalmist knows that the
problem
is in his heart and asks God to touch him there - the center of his
affections
- that he be attracted testimonies of the Lord instead.
There is antithesis here. The opposites are (1) the Word (testimonies)
and (2) the world (covetousness). The Word and world oppose, they are
opposites.
They represent two diametrical value systems. 1 John 2:15
How the power of lust is broken. We see the horizontal and vertical
attractions of human experience in these words. The horizontal is what
he sees on either side of him (covetousness), the voices and
enticements
beckoning to his senses to absorb his thoughts and create new
interests.
He knows he is not able to cope with these powerful influences in his
own
strength. Then he enters the closet of prayer and makes the vertical
contact
with God. He knows that the only way to overcome the temptations in the
horizontal experience of the human nature is to make vertical contact
with
God. Through this vertical (upward) attention of the heart, the cheap
and
fleshy distractions of the world lose their luster and enticing power!
There is no power greater than a heart touched of God through that
vertical
communion with heaven!
119:37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken
thou me in thy way.
The eye is the instrument of the body life. (1 John 2:16) To control
what the eyes look upon is to eliminate a great percentage of
temptation.
To control the eye is to control illicit desire invoked by the
impurities
we see. It is a foolish Christian who lays his or her eyes upon unclean
things thinking that to look is harmless. To "see" something, we cannot
help; but to "look" at vain and unclean things violates the "Holy"
Spirit
and reveals the rot and lust hidden in the inner man waiting to erupt
into
a vulgar act of sin.
Allowing the eyes freedom to feast upon the unclean thing allows
unclean
images to register on the mind (permutation), deposited and lying there
for the imagination to play with (fantasizing) to taunt and tease the
soul
that professes Christ. The corrupted man begins with corrupted imagery.
All of those images come through the eyes. What did Jesus teach us
about
the eye? The light of the body is the eye: IF THEREFORE THINE EYE
BE
SINGLE, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be
evil,
thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that
is
in thee be darkness , how great is that darkness ! Matthew 6:22-23
Only spiritual idiots say they can look and not lust. Next to
television
and pornography, public beaches are one of the most morally provocative
environments legally available to people. Public bathing once
considered
a crime by society provides the worst and most unwholesome environment
(stimuli) for the eyes to feed upon. In many places now, throughout the
world, beaches are considered very dangerous after dark. It is
impossible
to be led of the Spirit of God to a public bathing beach! to walk in
the
Spirit on a beach with sprawling naked bathers.
The psalmist knows the power of the "evil eye" and asks for spiritual
power to overcome it. Note in so many of these prayers how the Psalmist
asks God to do the work. He has the desire, the knowledge of right and
wrong but the power to execute holiness is of the Lord... to them
GAVE
HE power! (John 1:12)
119:38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to
thy fear.
What? "Devoted" to the fear of God?!? It would shake the timbers of
a modern Charismatic if the Biblical truth about the fear of God should
ever be discovered. See fear in Naves Topical Bible. (God, Fear of) We
are aware that the word devoted is not in the Hebrew text but it is
found
in the grammar of this sentence. The word fear used here (yir-aw)
speaks
of a deep regard or reverence for, to be in awe of God's greatness and
majestic power. Faith in God is based on the fear of God and not a
winsome
happy-go-lucky slapstick, vaudeville showmanship kind of faith we see
and
hear about so much today.
119:39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments
are good. How refreshing! He is suffering setbacks, serious problems, but
he's not blaming God for it. He is not resenting the Word but rather
acclaiming
it as good in spite of his grief.
He is praying for purity, not having a pity party.
119:40-41 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me
in thy righteousness. (41) Let thy mercies come also unto me, O
lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
Revival is in the Word of God. If you need a new lease on life - get
alone with the Word of God! Those who long for the Word of God, who
have
a strong desire for it, receive life from it. This word quicken means
more
than just life, it means to be revived! The Hebrew word, chayah,
means
to recover, restore, to revive.
119:42-43 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth
me: for I trust in thy word. (43)And take not the word
of
truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
He asks to never lose the power to speak the truth. There are too many
"teachers" today who have no concern for truth. The gospel is not a
pragmatic
program to make clever handsome men rich. A true servant of God doesn't
give a hang for anything but the truth! Our objective in preaching is
not
to effect physical results or improve our material state, but in the
words
of Jesus describing Himself, "A man that hath told you the truth." John
8:40
119:44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
Isn't it becoming obvious to the student of these verses that there
is this loving attitude toward the Word in those who are committed to a
deep respect for moral purity.
"For ever and ever"...the words of a vow...the words of a love
song to the Lord. John said, This is the love of God, that we keep
His
commandments. The word keep here is shamar in the Hebrew, meaning
to
put a hedge about the commandments and protect them from harm, from
being
violated.
119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
A very interesting paradox explained. How can liberty (freedom) and
God's precepts (inhibition placed on behavior) possibly share the same
address? It's very simple. When you walk in God's precepts, you are at
spiritual liberty. When you walk in the lusts of the flesh, your
spiritual
life is in bondage, but your flesh is at liberty. The Psalmist is here
speaking of spiritual liberty. See 119:14
Many Christians seek freedom from the moral teachings of the Scripture
and then say that Jesus delivered them from bondage and that they have
"found their freedom" when they backslide into liberalism. They do not
(want to) understand that there is also a bondage living in the Spirit.
They do not make this distinction, nor do they know the difference
between the bondage of the flesh and the bondage of the Spirit. I heard
Pastor Gene Canter say "In seeking to find freedom they fall into
bondage.
"If you do not know the difference between the two freedoms, it
would
become very easy to mistake the feeling of flesh freedom for freedom of
the Spirit. Is such a thing possible? Jesus says it is! Notice Jesus'
words
"knowest not" found in Jesus message to the church at Laodicea;
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; [freedom] AND KNOWEST NOT that thou art
wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: [bondage]
Revelation
3:17.
In fact, Jesus explains to us this very phenomena, that Christians
who think they have freedom are actually in bondage. If you conform to
this world contrary to what you have been told by the apostles and the
Word of God then you are not obeying Jesus but the Prince of this
world.
You are a servant to the one you obey. (Romans 6:16.) They are in
bondage
and call it freedom. It is liberation theology, the theology of the
liberal.
Liberalism is freedom of the flesh to be loose in the area of
worldliness
and taking on the ways and life style of the world, to conform to its
styles
and obsessions. Liberalism, libertines, freedom; it all means one thing
- bondage to the wrong master. The modern Christian spends large
amounts
of money to enhance his or her natural appearance. They take their
freedom
to glorify the flesh with cosmetics and jewelry, to have luxury, but at
the same time they are under bondage to pride, extravagance, and
materialism.
In finding freedom in the flesh they have come under the bondage of
things
that control them but will not admit this is their true condition, and
that it is wrong and worldly. They will not concede that their
obsession
with the pleasures of flesh and the world is just that.
This can indeed happen as Jesus warns in His message to the Laodiceans.
The Laodiceans claim they are thriving and have need of nothing.
The perfect picture of success, freedom and independence. But
that
freedom and independence was their release from obligation to obey the
principles of the godly life laid out in the Word of God. But Jesus
contradicts their self evaluation freedom and security, which they
surely
attributed to Him, and declares that this entire church movement is
corrupted
and under terrible conditions of bondage to such things as misery,
nakedness
and wretchedness. Why could they not see they were wretched and
miserable
and poor and blind and naked? How could they be in such condition and
not
know it? They said one thing, but Jesus said another thing quite the
opposite.
Laodicea said, We are rich and increase with goods
(materialism),
and have need of nothing.
But Jesus said, You are . . .
Wretched: (Talaiporos) Being under trial. Miserable: (Eleeinos) In pitiful condition. Poor: (Ptochos) Absolute and utter poverty. Blind: (tuphlos) Mental blindness. Naked: (gumnos) Nude, unclothed.
The Laodiceans said of themselves . . .
We are rich,
And increased with goods,
And in need of nothing.
We know they were blind because they could not see their actual
condition
as God saw them.
God's precepts bring God's liberty. Liberty in the Christian's life
comes only from being released from the bondage of the sinful flesh
nature
through the death of self - not the exultation of the flesh!
119:46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and
will not be ashamed.
Proud of God and ashamed of His Word? A love for God is equivalent
to not being ashamed of His Word. Many modern Christians are not
ashamed
of God but they are ashamed of what He says in His Word. They want a
silent
God, a God who dares not speak. And if someone should challenge
something
God has said that they don't like, such as God's laws on divorce, the
apologetic
believer proceeds to water it down with his own humanistic and
appeasing
interpretation. The psalmist did not say that he would "speak of Godbefore
kings," but that he would "speak of they testimonies...before kings."
To be proud of the Word is to be proud of all God has done in the holy
record. Neither was Paul ashamed of the gospel. Romans 1:16.
119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I
have loved.
Here is the shocking news again! He delights in the commandments? All
the truths of the Old Testament are linked with the moral revelation of
the New Testament. (Romans 13:8-19) Because the carnal mind is
enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can
be. Romans 8:7. It is the same now as then... Those who love
God, love His moral law. The only difference is that under the old
covenant
they did not have the power of Christ dwelling within.
119:48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which
I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
Praise God! Why don't we start doing this in every church that believes
in the holiness of God's Word? Let's start raising our hands to the
Word
of God. I hugged my Bible once in a crusade in Brazil. I asked all of
the
Christians to do the same. There was a roar of praise. Its sort
of
a hug for God by proxy.
One Christian expressed the fear of idolatry by showing such affection
for the Bible. Would to God we had such a "cult"! I would join it
immediately!
119:49 Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast
caused me to hope.
God gave His Word to man as a point of contact, or better yet, as a
point of connection, as a place where we connect with God. We have
heard
of the "french connection," this is the "Kingdom connection"
between
God and man. God's Word is the meeting place where I can always meet
with
God and commune with Him. It is our place of holding tryst whether I be
in a room filled with the voices of my slavic brethren or skimming the
edge of space in a jet - open the Word of God and there we meet and
talk
to each other. In the Word of God we have a meeting place with Him.
"Remember." Not that God has forgotten, but that the Father
wants us to ask. He likes to see us coming to Him in faith.
119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath
quickened me.
When a person is seriously afflicted, it often causes us to go into
deep thinking. The soul flees to God, the mind flees to the Word for
answers
and consolations and is satisfied with His quickening. The solace and
care
of a loving wife is so precious when a man is afflicted. Children
and friends at the bedside praying is such a blessing. But the Word
of God is by far the greatest of all comforts to those who have it in
their
hearts.
119:51 The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I
not declined from thy law.
He admits to the bad effects of evil pressures from without but they
cannot destroy the Word within. They only drive him closer to the law
of
the Lord. To depart from the Word of God under persecution will only
complicate
our problems.
To afflict a disciple from without only drives him closer to God
within.
119:52 I remembered thy judgments of old, o lord; and have
comforted
myself.
There is much comfort to be realized from looking back and reflecting
on God's dealings with mankind. It gives us stability when we see the
consistent
and almost predictable way He deals with man ... always according to
righteousness
and within the frame of His moral law.
This moral consistency in God is comforting to the righteous. God never
does anything, deals with us in any way accept by love.
119:53 Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that
forsake thy law.
Literally, "the most horrible thing has taken hold of me." He
is so saturated with the truth of God's Word that when suddenly exposed
to the wickedness of the world he is gripped with shock and horror.
Those
who love the Lord are sensitive to sin and react to it with grief and
horror!
To love God is to hate evil. Psalm 97:10
The modern Christian has become so conditioned to the evils of the
modern world environment that a high tolerance for sin has perverted
our
moral concepts. What shocked the Christian conscience a few years ago
is
being defended and practiced by the contemporary Laodicean
fundamentalist.
What has happened when our major networks show horror movies in late
afternoons with gushing blood, violent murders vividly committed in
color
before the eyes of children.
What has happened to our country when we show demonic films during
children's hour with witches wearing necklaces strung with dead babies
fingers? We have lost the horror of sin! We have lost our moral
sensitivity.
Paul referred to this moral state as having "the conscience seared
with
a hot iron."
They say we're living in a better day and that we shouldn't talk about
the "good ole' days." But there was something very different years ago
... there was a much higher sensitivity to sin even in unregenerate
society.
Today Christians are practicing the same moral standards that only gun
molls, prostitutes and gangsters practiced a few years ago.
The church once called it sin - now we call it freedom.
Then the world called the church holiness people, now many modern
Christians
call holiness Christians "legalists." The Holiness people have not
changed
their doctrine but kept their faith. Those who attempt to make holiness
Christians look evil have their spiritual roots in the holiness
movement
and backslid from their first estate. Because these backsliders cannot
disprove Holiness doctrine Biblically they mock them with bad sounding
names such as "legalist." But these modern Christians who have forsaken
the Biblical doctrines of separation and mortification and attempt to
make
Holiness appear to be legalistic are identifying themselves with the
great
apostasy of the church in the last when they do this.
Some of us have lived many years in two different three different eras
of the church and were in close contact with godly men who were
familiar
with the two or three eras of the church before we lived. We have lived
in the yesteryear as well as in the present. Give me the "good ole'
days"
when men were horror stricken with the fear of God and we had pulpits
without
puppets, and preacher prophets who possessed a perfect hatred for sin!
119:54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my
pilgrimage.
"Thy statutes (decrees) are my song as I wander through the
world." Some would have us think that the theme of Psalm 119, which
speaks only of the commandments, the law, the judgments, the
testimonies,
the statutes, the precepts of the Lord, has nothing to do with the
happiness
of man. This is perhaps the greatest delusion Satan has pandered off
onto
the modern fundamental church.
Preachers who have sent people to hell by their slanderous attacks
against the moral laws of God not only rob those who hear them from the
highest kind of happiness but will share the beds of fire with those
they
lied to.
The Word of God is the chief agent of sanctification. (See verse
11 and john 17:17)) The Holy Spirit is the illuminator and teacher of
holy
life but the source of the knowledge is the Word of God. The whole
redemptive
scheme is to transform man morally by means of God's teaching Grace.
(Titus
2:11-12.)
Salvation consists of justification at the cross and sanctification
after the cross.
Everyone who has had a cross experience is living on the sanctification
side of salvation. Sanctification sets the spiritual life to music with
the joy of the Lord! Here is that proper attitude of the hearts toward God's Word
surfacing
again! Those who walk in the Spirit, love the order it produces. The
righteous
have a song in their heart that the vain, the worldly, the libertine,
and
the apostate will never know.
The wicked couldn't carry God's tune in a bucket. Those who love the
holy life have the sweet sound in their songs to God. Holiness of life
breathes reality into a song. The modern gospel singers who do
everything
for a price may appeal to the aesthetic tastes in man and entertain him
emotionally ... but holiness of life and singing with holy motives will
be bouncing from the crystal walls of God's city long after the world,
the apostates and filthy lucre have been cremated in judgment.
Only the holy have the real right to sing of Him!(Suggested reading: this verse in THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR.)
119:55 I have remembered thy name, o lord, in the night, and
have kept thy law.
When day was past and the din of voices all around him had finally
faded away in the evening dusk... and the strain of the day's labor had
left his body weary upon the bed... his final thoughts were of the
Lord.
As he reflected and his eyes closed in sleep, a smile fell across his
face.
His last words in the darkness as angels listened nearby... "today I
have kept thy law."
119:56 This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
This is like a blank check. What was it he had? You fill it in! When
our desire is to keep the precepts of God, there is no one way to
describe
the goodness, the benefits that come from it. Fill it in for yourself.
Here are just a few; Health I had because I kept thy precepts...
Joy I had, because I kept they precepts... Safety I had, because
I kept thy precepts... A miracle I have, because I kept thy
precepts...
Peace I have, because I kept thy precepts... and a thousand other good
things.
The second observation; He is speaking in the past tense. Note
the words "had" and "kept." It does not say, "This
I have,"
but"this I had." Could it be he had it but he doesn't have
it now but fully realizes life was better when he "kept thy
precepts."
119:57 Thou art my portion, o lord: I have said that I would
keep thy words.
When we dedicate ourselves to truth and honesty as the Word teaches,
we may cut ourselves off from the world's portions. We may limit
ourselves
only to the bread and water of spiritual dedication while others are
reveling
around the tables of the world laden with the dainties of a king... but
we will keep His Word. Like Daniel, we will come forth in the end with
the brighter countenance.
119:58 I entreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful
unto me according to thy word.
He could put his whole heart into his petition because of his
confidence
in the Word. When you live by the Word of God, every angel, every
attribute
of God, every promise, all of the kingdom is behind you from the
cherubs
to the archangels!
119:59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
Honest reflection can be redemptive. It implies his feet were not in
the ways of the Lord, but after reflection and thought, he got back on
track with God. Jesus said of the prodigal, and when he came to
himself,
that is, when he came to his senses. What made the prodigal see the
cause
of the mess he was in was the fact he started thinking and reflecting
on
the things that lead up to his living with pigs. When a person can
think
honestly he has a good chance of recovering from any mess he's in. It
all
starts with thinking right. What is it I say again and again to my
listeners;
To live right you have to think right. Nothing helps us think
right
more than the Word of God.
119:60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
This is a good description of unquestionable, instantaneous obedience
- the perfect attitude toward God's Word!
119:61 The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have
not forgotten thy law.
Misfortune has befallen him, but it will not affect his commitment
to the moral laws of God. He will not believe that "It doesn't pay to
serve
the Lord." The wickedness of the wicked will not effect my commitment
to
God's moral laws!
119:62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because
of thy righteous judgments.
When other people are eating, sleeping, and merrymaking, the servant
of the Lord is stealing away into His presence to give tearful thanks
and
praise. Why, because he has been blessed? been prospered? has made a
big
business deal that day? No! He gives thanks unto God because "of
thy
righteous judgments." He praised Him for the goodness and truth of
His Word. We praise him for our physical healing, why not praise Him
for
the moral virtue He instills in us by His Word?
119:63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them
that keep thy precepts.
Perhaps the greatest influence upon the righteous is the fellowship
of the godly we surround ourselves with. When new converts come to
Christ,
they must first off seek new social companions that "keep thy
precepts.
"This is such a great principle! The power and influence of the
company
we keep. It will damn us or it can assure a place in Kingdom. Hell is
full
of foolish souls who choose wrong companions.
Is this why Jesus said of Himself that he was a friend that "sticketh
closer than a brother"? We need His friendship badly in these
apostate
last days!
119:64 The earth, o lord, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy
statutes.
He looks around upon all the glory and beauty, the order, and realizes
the benevolent nature of the God who created it all. The result: to
have
this Creator as his teacher, to absorb the riches of His wisdom, the
excellencies
of His great love revealed in His Word.
119:65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according
unto thy word.
This word, well, in Hebrew is towb which means good.
He isn't saying he enjoyed the way God dealt with him but, that it was
according to the Word, and therefore good. It was good because it was
right.
Again the right attitude shows through in this Psalm. If God
says
it, then its all right! Permit me to quote something here from
our study on the crowning of the creation and what part goodness has in
everything God is the author of.
The Goodness of God's
Government "Everything created and inanimate must possess the quality of
absolute goodness governing it if orderly and peaceful arrangement is
to
be achieved. Everything God created was created to serve others, is
altruistic
in nature whether it be distant stars fixed as absolute objects to
guide
man in the storms or insects who move from blossom to blossom
pollinating
man's vegetation and making honey as a by-product to provide energy for
man. For these creations and creatures to carry on without failure as
they
do certain laws govern them. God is not the author of anything that
does
not have laws to govern it. These governing laws instilled into every
created
thing is at the very core of goodness.! Without the laws that govern
the
moon it would no longer be a chronicler of time for the inhabitants of
earth. And neither is a man any good for anything until he is governed
by the moral laws of God in his behavior. Anything in God's economy
that
becomes without a moral (goodness) law to govern it will ultimately
self
destruct. Everything in God's universe is under the
rule of myriad's of laws that insure its preservation. All you have to
do is ask a medical doctor or a pathologist how many laws he would
estimate
are known in the function of the human body. You would soon learn that
there are hundreds of thousands and thousands of thousands of
metabolic,
chemical and atomic laws governing just body cells alone!
"Ask any high school science teacher or
a doctor of physics the difference between a stable and an unstable
atom
and you will see the goodness and love of God in the laws He has
created
to eliminate the harm that can come from something out of control. Once
you get the answer to the atom question you will see the goodness of
God
and the goodness of any regulatory law whether it is cosmic or moral
law.
"Adam and Eve demonstrate what happens when man rejects the moral
laws God has put in place to keep life stable. When they thought to
exist
apart from, and with disregard for the commandment of God, they
devastated
themselves, lost paradise and threw the world out of control. They
sacrificed
the beauty and order of good laws for ambitious goals without God's
governing
presence and without God's consent. The result of this contempt for
divine
government was that they became the founders of an unstable system of
human
government that remains with us and out of control to this day.
"To regain moral and spiritual stability we have to be born back
into the Kingdom of God by the new birth which Christ provided for us
in
the atonement. When I receive Him as my Lord He then performs an
operation
in the Spirit and gives to my human spirit access to and a joining of
the
Holy Spirit to my human spirit. Through Christ God gives back to me
what
the first Adam robbed me of - my union to God and rights to approach
God
as His son. Through the cross every man is given the opportunity to
throw
off the rebellion of depravity and receive the new nature of the Last
Adam,
Jesus, and be restored to the original relationship man had with God in
the beginning.
"When that happens to a person, that person forsakes his or her
autonomous attitude that thinks to live apart from God's laws,
forsaking
the rebellious nature that was against divine government, and returns
to
be once again governed by the moral laws of God. He does not return
because
it his old nature requires it, but because his new nature desires it.
This
is only possible through Christ because it is through His redemptive
work
we receive the new nature that is compatible with the laws of the
righteous
kingdom. When the soul repents of sin and rebellion against God, the
Spirit
Christ enters my inner man, and I become one with all the moral
principles
and laws of the kingdom once again. It is this new desire to be holy
and
obedient to divine government that is the proof of being born again.
(Read
John 3:3 with 2 Corinthians 5:17-18; Romans 8:9; Galatians 2:20.)
"Although there are many different kinds of Christianity today
the original and pure gospel is preserved for us in the Word of God so
we have the original church pattern with us as our God given authority.
This is extremely important today in a spiritually unstable church
world
with so many diverse forms of Christianity all claiming authority based
on some peculiar doctrine.
"The world system becomes more and more unstable as it departs
further and further from God's moral system. By moral system we mean a
system of government that is primarily based on the moral character of
the individual being governed by the self imposed laws of a sensitive
conscience
within and not by externally imposed laws required of him from without.
The ideal government is when nature of the people being governed is in
harmony with the nature of the law over them. The world system is being
increasingly made up of evolutionists, adulterers, fornicators and
freethinkers
who regard no moral law neither within themselves, or the law imposed
by
society from without. That system is completely out of control and
frantically
trying to find stability apart from God's moral law. Man's most recent
attempts to bring peace (order) to the world is through the dream of a
new world order and global government. Volumes of laws are being
written
to govern the people in the third millennium which at least indicates
that
man knows that he can only survive if he preserves order out of
government.
But instead of returning to the moral government of God that governs
from
within, he labors feverishly and foolishly to devise his own amoral
government
to impose a law on man from without - but it is all in vain. (1
Thessalonians 5:3)
"God's goodness is revealed in His moral law for man just as
His millions of cosmic laws regulate an orderly arrangement throughout
the creation from the infinitesimal shells of the atom to the courses
of
the galaxies. So will God's moral law restore order to the nations if
man
would return to be governed by his creator." (From
an article appearing in The Hagios Letter by Bill Burkett)
The psalmist is not saying the Lord has dealt with him in a way
pleasing to him, but rather, that He has "dealt well" with him.
There
is a big difference between God dealing "well" with us and dealing with
us in a way that pleases us. Experiences that mold character are not
always pleasant but they are always "well." 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have
believed thy commandments. What a spiritual word, this word "teach." It is the word of
potential
to the spiritually minded. To learn you must be teachable. You may be
very
gifted; You may have intelligence, you may have a photographic mind,
but
if you're not teachable you will be a spiritual zero. This servant is
teachable
and desires to be taught. Notice what he desired, 1) Good judgment, and
2) Knowledge. 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept
thy word. This verse does not say that God had afflicted him. It does say
that before the affliction he was straying from the Word. When Satan
attacks
us physically, in the end he is often does us a favor by causing us to
turn to the Word. When we are healed, we should not only come to the
Lord
with a praise offering but come to the Word with new dedication. 119:68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
There is a chain of goodness here. First he declared the goodness of
God. Secondly he saw the goodness of His works, Thirdly he deducted
that
the Word of God was good.
1. The goodness of God
2. The goodness of His works.
3. The goodness of His Word.
Charles Finney said, "God's commandments are not good because they
are God's commandments, but they are God's commandments because they
are
good." 119:69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy
precepts with my whole heart.
Don't let the proud bother you. Take some good advice from this man
and occupy your whole heart with the precepts of God. It's a most
wonderful
way to get your mind off of the hurts that come from the wicked.
Please note that he did not read the precepts; he did not merely commit
them to memory (though it's a very good idea); he did not just preach
them
to others; he did not say that he carried them around with him... he
"kept"
them, he obeyed them.
119:70 Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
There is a "fat" gospel philosophy that is indulgent and obsessed with
prosperity in THIS life, and then there is a "lean" life gospel that
still
believes in sacrifice and self denial. The greasy wicked; they delight
in food and luxury and many times it shows the righteous "delight in
thy
law"... and it shows too. A fat man cannot hide his obesity and neither
can a godly saint hide his goodness. They are both conspicuous.
119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might
learn thy statutes.
See verses 51,53,67. Here the Psalmist reveals even a greater thing
to us regarding afflictions - something he didn't say before. Here he
says,
"it is good for me." Sometimes afflictions in the flesh bring health to
the spirit by restoring a new teachable attitude toward the Word. Even
Job was bettered after his bout with Satan. Job 42:12
119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands
of gold and silver.
If Psalm 119 reveals man's saintly attitude toward the Word of God,
then this is the epitome of all such expressions. Every human heart
lusts
for the bartering powers of silver and gold. The Psalmist declares here
that his spiritual desire for the moral law of God is a greater desire
and of more value to him than gold or silver in abundance! According to
this, it seems the prosperity teaching has gotten things backwards.
They
preach silver and gold and leave holiness out. The modern Christian's
preoccupation
with prosperity is a result of the low value he actually places on the
law of God's mouth. See Law and Commandments.
Beware
of the false profit$!
119:73 Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me
understanding,
that I may learn thy commandments.
The purpose of his being created is directly linked to moral perfection
as revealed in the Word.
119:74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because
I have hoped in thy word.
Good morals and good conduct produce a good reputation. Good reputation
cannot be bought, it can only be earned by being consistently good.
"They
. . . will be glad when they see me;" implies too that his goodness
inspires
others and that he has become a good model image to others.
Note: Fear, hope and God's Word all joined together.
119:75 I know, o lord, that thy judgments are right, and that
thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
God did permit Job to be afflicted ... but, He was standing over Job
every minute "in faithfulness." The Psalmist trusts God's judgment in
the
time of his affliction or chastisement. It's good to know that as God's
children, there is always a purpose in affliction. The unsaved have no
such consolation. We, the redeemed can't lose! "to live is Christ, and
to die is gain." Philippians 1:21
119:76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort,
according to thy word unto thy servant.
This word comfort is nacham, to sigh with pity or sorrow, to repent).
He asking the Lord to comfort him in his sorrow as he reflects on his
faults.
The word comfort is actually a reference to godly sorrow he is
experiencing
as he sighs with regret in the presence of the Lord. For godly sorrow
worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the
world
worketh death. 2 Corinthians 7:10. We are being
bombarded
by the false prophets today telling us we should be happy all of the
time
and prospering in this world as proof of our faith. There are
Charismatic
teachers who have dedicated their whole ministry to laughing and
teaching
that Jesus was an incontinent winsome man implying Jesus was giddy and
uninhibited just like themselves. What foolishness this effort to make
Jesus like us when the truth is that He wants us to be like Him.
Instead
of proclaiming the serious and noble, the dignity and propriety of
Jesus
they make him into "the life of the party" according to their own
incontinent
behavior. Here is another mark of the false gospel, they labor to make
Jesus like themselves rather than make themselves like
Jesus. The happy
gospel is a human gospel and the invention unregenerate imagination.
Scripture teaches joy that comes out of obedience and a rejoicing with
joy unspeakable that is full of glory. But these experiences of joy
Scripture
speaks of are rooted in holiness, sobriety and a godly life having
nothing
to do with laughter and joking and a casual loose demeanor. Too many
Christians
can laugh on top of all of their looseness and worldliness as if it
were
nothing. If the bride is to be ready for the Bridegrooms sudden
appearing
it had better throw off the laughing jag and start humbling ourselves
with
a broken and contrite spirit in His presence, and beg God to restore
brokenness
and weeping at the altars of secret prayer. The Lord is nigh unto them
that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalms 34:18.
119:77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live:
for thy law is my delight.
The man who makes the law of the Lord his delight has a special kind
of faith and confidence that can ask anything of God. Delight speaks of
a strong desire. There are many of them in life. But his desire was the
law of God. The modern TV mentality is a slave to entertainment and
worldly
pleasures. This truly is the day when men are "lovers of pleasure more
than lovers of God." But the Spirit filled prefer perfection over
pleasure!
Here is another one of those strange combinations of words that are
incomprehensible to those who do not have the holy attitude toward
God's
Word. The words mercies, law and delight all joined in the same
glorious
and positive category.
119:78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with
me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
Sometimes our own brethren will exclude us and bar us from their favor
for reasons unknown to us. Leave it to God and continue meditation in
His
precepts and keep wrong and hateful attitudes from developing in your
own
heart. Instead of turning on his cretins he turned to the Word.
119:79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that
have known thy testimonies.
Because there are many different kinds of human personalities there
are many different kinds of affinities (common interests). There are
social
affinities (common interests); there are professional affinities; and
there
are situational affinities. But there is one affinity that binds the
rich
and the poor; the simple with the intellectual and the even strangers.
It is that wonderful thing all of God's children have in common, the
Word
of God. This is the beauty and advantage they have who hold to the
infallibility
and final authority of God's Word.
There is a special bond between all those who love the commandments.
Malachi 3:16
119:80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be
not ashamed.
A sound body (health) is one of man's greatest assets in life. But
a strong (healthy) heart in the Word is by far the greatest of all God
given assets. Paul spoke of this as being "established." Romans 1:11
Good nutritious food for a sound body and good sound doctrine for a
sound heart!
The Psalmist knows not only that the state of his heart is related
to the statutes of the Lord, but that circumstances in life are
determined
out of that relationship. Ashamed (Hebrew BUWSH,) also means to be
disappointed.
119:81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy
word.
The key word in this prayer of the psalmist is fainteth (kalah),to
perish, to be consumed or destroyed. Here the deep expression of a man
consumed by a desire to know the salvation of the Lord. A hunger for
God's
salvation that obsessed him, consumed him! We must remember that these
words were uttered before the Messiah and there were many mysteries yet
unknown to the believers who were yet awaiting the promised Messiah.
There
were many things they did not know or understand because they were
looking
forward into the unknown future - but they trusted in God's Word and
lived
righteously knowing that their salvation was in obedience to the Word
God
had given them and then the promises of God for the future they
ultimately
know them.
The patriarchs, the prophets, and even the disciples as they listened
to the teaching of Jesus were in the dark regarding many of the
particulars
as to how and just when God would fulfill His promise of the Messiah
and
other events promised by the sure Word of prophecy, but they lived by
what
they DID know and committed what they DID NOT know into the loving and
faithful hands of God. Paul spoke of the unknown in God's promises in
his
letter to the Corinthians Christians that explains the expression of
the
psalmist here.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1
Corinthians 13:12.
But there is something here especially for Christians living in these
last days to consider. We are privileged to live in this end time when
we have the advantage of looking back and witnessing the fact that all
of the prophecies which the Psalmist did not see fulfilled, we have
seen
fulfilled! We are witnesses to the faithfulness of God and the hundreds
of prophecies foretelling the coming of Christ. The crucifixion of
Jesus,
His resurrection, the disbursement and regathering of Israel, have
indeed
happened just as the Word of God promised. But there is still this one
thing the psalmist's prayer mentions that we must also possess if we
are
to see inside the kingdom of God. We must also place salvation in the
highest
places in our thoughts as he did! Note that he could have been worrying
about food, about his pleasures and comforts, about his own well being
in this life but he was only concerned with the spiritual reality of
salvation.
He had right values placing his salvation above his material life. Oh,
for that kind of Christian experience to become the norm again that
fainteth
for His salvation!
PSALM 119