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Psalm 119 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsPart One will emphasize the intellectual benefits of meditating on God’s Word. Part Two will focus on the behavioral consequences of that meditation.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
The outset of God’s relationship with Israel, after the Exodus, hinged upon their submission to His Law.
This came in two forms:
Oral communication from Moses.
Textual or written communication from God through Moses (Exodus 24:1-8).
Our Creator differs from other gods, so-called, because He has revealed himself through the written word.
It is His Word.
To love Him is also to respect and love His word.
This is not bibliolatry.
It is an indication of a healthy understanding of God’s innate authority and wisdom.
Obedience without love leads to hollow ritual
God’s word offers benefits in two areas:
Intellectual clarity/purpose.
Behavioral clarity.
The structure of this part of the Psalm is clear: Ps. 119:97-100 form a distinct unit. After the Psalmist opens with an exclamation that reflects upon the degree of his love for God’s word, and he introduces the central thought (namely that he meditates on God’s law all day), he follows with three successive comparatives. He is wiser than:
His enemies.
His teachers.
His elders.
Opening: A Declaration of Love
Opening: A Declaration of Love
This section begins with an exclamation of the degree of the writer’s love for God’s law.
He indicates this through the “How/How much I love your Law” statement.
One possibility is that this is a reflection upon the quantity (or lack of ability to quantify) his love for God’s law.
A caution: we must get the order right.
Loving God’s word cannot/should not be a substitute for loving God.
We cannot love God personally without also loving and respecting His Word.
Love of God results in loving His word.
Beyond this declaration of love, the Psalmist writes the sentence that is most essential to this part of the Psalm.
Central thought: “All the day I contemplate it.”
According to TWOT 2:876, the noun translated as “meditation” in Ps. 119:97 only occurs three times in the OT.
It is based on the verb for “to meditate” which has already appeared in this Psalm in Ps. 119:15,23,27,48,78.
We should think of it with the phrase “to go over a matter in one’s mind” where the Word of God is the object of silent, inward reflection.
This is more than reading. It involves active consideration/contemplation of the text’s teaching, meaning, and application (guidance).
Benefits in Understanding/Intellect
Benefits in Understanding/Intellect
Benefit 1: He is wiser than his enemies.
Wise (HaCHam).
Sakal (understanding) Ps. 119:99.
B’in (discernment) Ps. 119:100.
These verbs all overlap in meaning but have subtle nuances.
God’s commandment provides knowledge on how to live one’s life in a way consistent with God’s character.
The implication is that his enemies, who have already been established to be morally bankrupt, have no regard for God or His word.
As evidenced through their treatment of Him, they are unethical and immoral individuals.
The continual presence of God’s commandment, through contemplation, gives him a clarity his enemies lack.
This does not mean he will have success over them.
The true success is in moral clarity even in the face of immoral treatment by one’s enemies.
“Do unto others” (Lk. 6): Jesus teaches this principle.
Benefit 2: More understanding than his teachers.
In Ps. 119:99, he could be saying that God’s word provides greater understanding than if he had access to all of his teachers. The word of God provides greater understanding than his teachers have the capacity/ability to provide.
“Understanding” = SaKal = According to TWOT, this term “relates to an intelligent knowledge of the reason. There is the process of thinking through a complex arrangement of thoughts resulting a wise dealing and use of good practical common sense. Applied in contexts such as this it refers to having “insight into wise behavior” (TWOT 2:877).
These are not vain statements of braggadocio or arrogance. Instead, they are designed to demonstrate the superior instruction inherent in making the Word of God the object of meditation or thought. This is especially the case assuming that his enemies, teachers, and the elderly may all not be so dedicated to the Lord and His Word.
Notice how the reasoning behind the declaration ties back to Ps. 119:97.
Benefit 3: More understanding than the elderly
Psalm 119 was written in a word where the collective assumption, nearly universal, was that age brought wisdom and knowledge.
Elders were experts due to their age.
Again, we might read between the lines and think that the generation of this Psalmist was not one predisposed/inclined toward God and His word.
Hence, the aged lacked moral clarity.
He, however, did not “because I keep your precepts.”
Introduction (Part 2):
Introduction (Part 2):
Love for God produces love for His Word.
We need instruction in right vs. wrong as much as we need formal education in mathematics, agriculture, etc.
Understanding is demonstrated in obedience.
It comes from spending time dwelling upon (for understanding) the Word of God.
Intellectual capacity does not equal wisdom.
Wisdom is acting in obedience to God.
Be careful about either/or: either “smart” or “wise.” Hopefully, a person could be both. It isn’t a matter of a false choice.
Knowledge and understanding should become obvious through obedience.
Tonight we will see a commitment to voluntary restraint in order to remain obedient to God.
2 Tim. 1:7.
Titus 2:12.
The reminder of the moral bankruptcy of Judges 21:25.
Behavior #1: Personal Restraint
Behavior #1: Personal Restraint
Understanding the Word of God appears in the real world in obedient behavior.
The writer of the Psalm speaks of restraining or holding back his feet from evil ways of living.
They are certainly a possibility.
They are an option.
He could be attracted to those ways.
He withholds those ways from himself.
He values something else more.
“From every evil path I restrain my foot so that (with the intent that) I might keep your Word.”
Evil paths are placed in opposition to the Word of God.
He desires to keep God’s word, so this demands self-restraint.
We should be wary of versions of modern Christianity that claim God wants us to find self-fulfillment as we define that through our personal desires.
This is evil.
Behavior #2: Commitment to Obedience
Behavior #2: Commitment to Obedience
The converse of the previous thought also turns out the be true in Ps. 119:102.
“From your judgments I do not turn aside because you yourself taught me.”
We should appreciate the high view of God’s authority and role as personal teacher inherent in this statement.
God has taught through His rules.
A high view of God demands a high view of His word.
Behavior #3: Hating Every False Way
Behavior #3: Hating Every False Way
We can detect how the initial idea of this section of the octad returns.
Evil way in Ps. 119:101 becomes “every false way” in Ps. 119:104.
To resolve back to that point, the writer again asserts how much he values the Word of God.
God’s words are sweeter than honey.
He does not find them distasteful or embittering to his mind or lifestyle.
This parallels Ps. 19:10.
Through the Lord’s precepts he gets what false ways cannot provide, namely, the capacity to discern between good and evil.
He gains instruction in how he ought to behave.
He is provided gracious boundaries by God that provides direction, guidance for living.
