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Psalm 119 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 10 viewsThis message will introduce Psalm 119 in its structure and challenge us to think about our understanding of the importance of God’s word for our worship and gratitude.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Psalm 119 has a unique structure:
It is an acrostic psalm, an alphabet of prayers and reflections on the word of God, giving each Hebrew letter its turn to introduce eight successive verses on the subject. (Kidner, p. 452).
It expands upon themes introduced in the earlier important Psalms 1 & Ps. 19.
It uses 8 different words, all intended to be synonyms, for the Word of God.
It places unexpected emphasis upon individuals.
We do not know the identity of the author, but whoever that person might be, we can definitively say a number of things about his work.
What we know about the author:
Psalm 119 is the result of deep thought about the irreplaceable importance of written scripture for knowing God and fallen, intellectual weakness.
He has given deep thought to human intellectual and spiritual weakness regarding all things moral and theological.
He has learned very much about God through His Word, but he longs to learn more so that he may obey more, think uprightly in a greater way, obey more, and have more gratitude.
Neither his knowledge nor his obedience is fully complete.
This study will challenge us to:
Understand possessing life as a responsibility, not a right.
Subject our personal feelings and emotions to the teaching of the Word of God.
Modern Christianity has gone off the rails with the elevation of the feelings of the human heart above the authority of the Word of God. The Bible only matters so long as it confirms what I feel. This is more than erroneous. It is blasphemy. We do not read the Bible to see what God might reveal to our hearts. We study the Bible so its express teachings can correct our minds. It is not a means to a revelation, it is the revelation.
Commit to true worship and gratitude.
True worship is more than the purely doctrinal sense of that idea. I tis having our understanding of worship directly connected to living a life defined by God’s word.
Consider why God gave his word.
God’s Word and living with Moral Confidence
God’s Word and living with Moral Confidence
The first two “a’s” are the same word in Hebrew, and the first three verses of the Psalm take us through the first 3 a’s.
They express two interrelated ideas.
“Blessed”: this recalls Psalm one, but it also serves as an observation on the blessed or happy state of the kinds of individuals to be described.
Those with purity of way are those whose lifestyle is defined by moral integrity. These are those who walk in the law of the Lord. The point here is that the Word of God informs those who know it and whose lives are lived based upon it of moral integrity. The people whose lives are lived in the Law of the Lord can live confidently that they are walking in moral integrity.
“to keep” means more than to guard. It involves two sides: examination (hence the LXX translation) then fidelity to it.
This constitutes genuine seeking of God with the entire being. (Dt. 6:4).
The third “a”, found in Ps. 19:3 expands upon or continues the first two as a descriptor of especially the second A.
Those who seek him with their whole heart do not commit acts of injustice, as God defines injustice. Yet, the issue here is that they walk in His ways.
The Word of God provides safeguards to inform and enable those who accept God’s authority and word from committing error.
God’s Goal In Giving His Word
God’s Goal In Giving His Word
Ps. 119:4 serves as a transition point in the Psalm and makes God its point of emphasis.
“You yourself intently instructed to keep your commandments exceedingly.”
The kernel thought here is on God’s agency in instruction.
Yet, the basic idea is a basic one: God commanded to keep his precepts.
He did not issue laws for the sake of “getting his message out.” There is a moral obligation to live by his word because that was his purpose in giving in (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The Psalmist’s Personal Response
The Psalmist’s Personal Response
“if only my ways were put right to keep your precepts.”
He longs for his lifestyle to be corrected/refined further so that he might observe/live out his life within the boundaries established by the Word of God (think about Gen. 1 & Gen. 3).
If that time were to come (in the point above), then, he would not be ashamed since his eyes would look unto all the commandments.”
In short: A stable lifestyle of obedience to the commands of God’s word comes directly from respect for those commands and an insatiable desire to know them. The result is behavior that does not bring public shame. God’s word provides protection from shame. It guard our behavior.
Consequence #2 from Ps. 119:5 is a properly oriented gratitude.
Consequence #3 = further obedience.
He wants God to remain with him and he longs to obey God even more despite the difficulties he faces.
