Ayin
Psalm 119 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsIn Part One, we will emphasize the need for clarity about God’s nature for our hope. In part two, we will be reminded of the writer’s longing to know the Word of God.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
In this Psalm, the writer models for us the right attitude toward God.
He is not embittered.
He is not angry.
He is not demanding toward God.
He trusts God.
He acknowledges His righteous character.
He expects God to fulfill His word.
How have you learned God’s person?
How has what you have learned about Him changed your thinking and your life?
How has it enhanced your relationship with His Word?
Hopefully, we will be reminded of the universal, biblical principles being emphasized in this passage.
A Longing for Vindication:
A Longing for Vindication:
The fallen human thinking about God is quid pro quo
We expected that if we act or behave in a certain way that we obligate God to act in certain ways.
We also think of God as offering a carrot and stick.
If we behave in ways that God wishes, he will give us a carrot.
If we do not behave in the right ways, God will bring the stick.
These misconceptions often leave people confused when they face the harsh realities of imperfection in an imperfect world.
Clear theology is the only antidote to bad human thinking.
Request #1: Do Not Deposit Me to My Oppressors
Request #1: Do Not Deposit Me to My Oppressors
We see straightaway that the writer recounts his own acts.
He has acted in accordance with God’s judgments and righteousness.
Through an imperative, he requests that God not “deposit” him to those who oppress him.
Because he already suffers at their hands, and has established thus, we should conclude that this is not preventative but salvific in nature.
Oppress refers to abusing power over someone who is weaker.
Hence, the writer positions himself as a weak, lowly person who has become the subject of the abusive acts of others.
This is not right, and he anticipates that God’s trustworthy and righteous character cannot ignore the abusive treatment of someone who has acted rightly.
How patient are we willing to be with God?
Do we trust His righteous judgment that we could wait until after death for Him to set things right?
Request #2: Pledge Your Slave for Good
Request #2: Pledge Your Slave for Good
This request sounds similar to Hezekiah’s request in Is. 38:14.
God, himself, is the security with goal of something positive or beneficial to the writer.
He wants God personally to provide his security or protection by ensuring those who are “insolent”/arrogant no longer oppress him.
Declaration #1: I Long for Your Promise:
Declaration #1: I Long for Your Promise:
The writer uses a common expression of longing:
“My eyes cease”
He has not become bitter. He is expectant, and he has never given up on the Lord’s promise.
He anticipates two things (they go together):
Your salvation.
The “word of your righteousness.”
Part 2: Introduction:
Part 2: Introduction:
In the first section of the Psalm, the writer makes five petitions (two of which we will examine in Ps. 119:124.).
“Do not leave me to my oppressors.”
“Be security for good.”
“Do not let the insolent oppress me.”
He also gives two descriptions about himself:
“I act according to your commandments and righteousness.”
“My eyes fail for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.”
Hopefully, we saw this morning that what stands behind these statements is a view of God’s person, His nature.
He is righteous.
He will vindicate his people.
He will prove true to His word.
That mixture of deep understanding of God’s nature establishes the perspective or viewpoint from which the writer sees himself and builds his expectations of any of God’s future actions.
Petitions 4-5: Act and Teach
Petitions 4-5: Act and Teach
In the final petitions the writer directs toward God, the Psalmist continues his focus on God’s actions, but he also sets up the transition of the Psalm back to the more personal focus typical for the latter halves of the octads.
“Act toward your slave according to your steadfast love.”
The setup for the personal statement in Ps. 119:125 can already be seen.
The writer positions himself as God’s slave, the proper orientation of anyone who puts God in the place He deserves.
But, he has not completely moved on because he wants to acknowledge God’s character. He wants to demonstrate that he understands God’s nature.
He petitions God to act toward him based on the standard of God’s faithful love.
In the end, this resolves back to the desire for God to teach him.
The cycle: demonstrate an understanding of God’s nature, express a desire for God to teach, with the end result of greater understanding of God’s nature with the expectation that God will act in accordance with that nature.
Knowing God’s and One’s Proper Place
Knowing God’s and One’s Proper Place
In the final stanzas of this part of the Psalm, the writer returns to his relationship with God to express his love for God’s word.
“Your slave (am) I”
From this admission, however, he renews his petition for God to “cause him to have understanding.”
Knowing the “testimonies” will result from that understanding.
God’s testimonies are those witnesses, which the Law itself is, of His identity and character.
What the Psalmist understands, then, is that greater understanding of God’s word leads to knowing the witnesses God has given of His nature.
He declares that the time has arrived from God to act.
As he views his generation, it is filled with those who spurn God’s law.
How he has been treated is a symptom of a much larger problem, and the writer anticipates that God must act in response for punishment on the one hand and deliverance on the other.
Respect for God’s law and recognition of His righteousness punishment motivates him in two ways:
He values God’s word more than material wealth.
Like he declared in Ps. 119:104, he hates every false way.
