Nun
Psalm 119 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewIn Part One of this message, we will be reminded of God’s graciousness to give us understanding through His word, and we will appreciate our need for personal commitment to Him.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
In our services last week, we saw the writer of this Psalm making some very profound admissions:
He gains understanding through the Lord’s precepts, therefore, he hates every false way.
He wilfully or voluntary hindered his feet from every evil way so that he may keep the Lord’s word (he valued the word of the Lord over his other options or desires).
He loves God’s law, hence, it is the source of thought, wisdom, understanding, and contemplation.
In this message, we will focus most of our time on a verse of scripture many of us have known so long, we may not be able to remember when we didn’t know it.
What does it mean?
What thoughts does it challenge us to consider?
How did it connect to the other thoughts presented in the Psalm especially in the nearby statements?
The writer of this Psalm understood the limits of being a depraved human being.
Perhaps Mem and Nun logically relate to one another. At the conclusion of the previous section, the Psalmist declared his hatred for every false way because through the Word of God he gains understanding. This would lend itself to the opening of Nun.
God’s Word as Lamp and Light
God’s Word as Lamp and Light
“a lamp for my feet (is) your word and a light for my footpath.”
Two interesting points could be raised based on this well-known statement.
What it implies about human understanding about how to live without the word of God.
The essential contribution the Word of God provides for how we should live.
The setting, implied by the terminology, is a common one. A person would use a small bowl shaped lamp filled with olive oil for moving about in the night.
Naturally, the thought emerges that one would use such a light to see/know where they are walking in the dark.
What is good apart from God?
Our object is not to be “good people” or even ethical. Our purpose is to live in the truth so that our lives approximate God’s purpose for human beings in creation.
We treat the doctrine of depravity with less seriousness than we should.
The Word of God functions in two ways.
First, it provides knowledge or instruction.
Second, it gives guidance, sets boundaries, and establishes holiness with clarity.
Our culture is cruel to our young. We tell them to find their purpose in life, but we do not define what that is, and we tell them we can’t help them in the discovery.
We live in a confused society where young people struggle to build meaningful relationships with God or one another.
Introduction (Part 2):
Introduction (Part 2):
Proverbs and Psalm 119 track very closely together.
Prov. 4:18-19 present similar ideas, especially Prov. 4:19, to Ps. 119:105.
Knowing God calls for the highest personal commitment.
Placing him above personal desire and above personal circumstances.
Seeking the truth, loving God, being committed to Him:
All these must come willingly, not begrudgingly or as a matter of ritual/rote.
Consistency is the goal of a mature spiritual life.
Raise the issue of spirituality?
The Personal Commitment to the Word of God:
The Personal Commitment to the Word of God:
“To swear” is, literally, to “seven oneself.”
“To swear in the Old Testament was to give one’s sacred unbreakable word in testimony that the one searing would faithfully perform some promised deed, or that he would faithfully refrain from some evil act” (TWOT 2:900).
To swear and to confirm work together in this usage to convey a commitment, the establishment of a covenant the writer intends to carry out.
In this case “to keep your righteous rules” is the oath that he swore.
We have learned many times prior, and we are reminded once again by Ps. 119:107 that he has this commitment irrespective of how others have treated him.
Outside mistreatment does not suddenly make the Lord’s word untrue.
Voluntary Submission: A Desire for God’s Instruction:
Voluntary Submission: A Desire for God’s Instruction:
Psalm 119:108 begins with a request, a please statement.
“The voluntary offering of my mouth, please approve.”
We have two ideas related to sacrificial worship:
An offering
Wanting God to approve of that offering
Ex. 35:29: an illustration of the terminology.
The voluntary offering comes from the mouth and thus is not a literal, physical offering.
He wants God to be please with what he has said about him of his own free will.
He expresses a desire for God to teach him his judgments.
What might be involved in looking at the world the way God looks at the righteousness?
The commitment to the Lord is so deep that being in personal danger does not dissuade or discourage him from remembering the Law of God.
This includes the “trap” on the part of the wicked.
Here, this probably tracks closely to the meaning of Prov. 4:16.
Saul did his best, especially by marrying Michal to David, to insnare David.
He does not fall for the enticement. He does not stray from God’s precepts.
He sees the testimonies of the Lord as his true inheritance, forever, because they are the joy of his heart.
He bends his heart to do the Lord’s statutes.
Jos. 24:23.
Esp. 1 Kings 8:58.
