Psalm 119

Well, good morning again, brethren. Certainly a delight to get up here and to see all of you, and be able to enjoy the Sabbath day with the people of God. I usually leave fairly early to come up here, and by the time I get back to Kansas City and through church, I'm usually about six o'clock, I'm starting to run down. But in the morning, I'm a little bit better. And so, it's exciting to see all of you. I want to speak about a particular chapter in the Bible today. It's one that I'm pretty sure you know quite a bit about. It's one that we sing about, actually about five or six of our songs. Even one of them that we sang just a little while ago is from this particular chapter. All of you are turning to it, yet it only has 176 verses in it. So I think that would give you a little bit of a clue. I know it certainly is one of the longest chapters in the Bible, Psalm 119. Now, I didn't want to wait for Dr. Housalton's series number 119 to get to this, because it's really... I have been reading through Psalms, and I've just recently read through Psalm 119. And it was just amazing to me, because this particular Psalm is one that I think we should read, maybe more often than we do. We should read it not only whenever we think about loving the law of God. That's the song that we sang earlier today, Oh How Love I Thy Law. And that's in verse 97 of Psalm 119. And the author of the psalm, I know there is some... maybe there's not complete clarity. David could clearly have contributed. Maybe Asaph, maybe Jeremiah, maybe others. It doesn't really matter who happened to write this psalm. This psalm is incredible. It's incredible because of the way, the form that it takes. It has, like I said, 176 verses. And we're not going to read through all of them, but we're going to read through some of them. Because the way it is divided, there are 22 sections of eight verses each. And so you come up with 176 verses at the end. And then each one of those sections, each one of the 22 sections, has a little subheading, at least in a lot of translations, of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. And each of the eight verses in each one of those categories or sections actually begins with that particular letter. And yet you see a considerable similarity, and yet there's a lot of different things that are covered in this verse. I think most of us would think of this chapter if we think about loving God's law. And clearly one of the things that stands out is the law, God's testimonies, His precepts, His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, His word, His decrees. It's in almost every one of the verses.

At least it alludes to it in almost all of them. And yet, a primary thing that we often focus on is loving the law and how that the law should be sweeter. The law meaning the whole teachings of God. All of the teachings of God, not just the Ten Commandments, although clearly that is defining the law in a little more narrow term, but all of the teachings of God are what is extolled and uplifting whenever you read this particular chapter. And again, this is a long chapter. But it mentions the law being sweeter than honey to my taste.

Now I've got a sweet tooth. I like sweet stuff. I love chocolate. And I often, over the years, have just loved to eat sweet stuff. Some of you do like it, some of you don't like it as much. I just love it. But see, I want to love the Word of God. As much as I love, you know, my wife thinks it's weird that I put honey or sugar or something else on all kinds of things. You know, some, my mother, I guess, used to make some pretty syrupy stuff. And I'm used to eating that, and so I guess I continue to do that. My brother and his wife used to complain that when we would come to see them and their kids, they would be trying to keep quite a bit of sugar away from them. But they knew, if they went out to Uncle Joe's car, that there was a good chance that there would be some kind of candy or something to eat. And they would try to move me away from that. But see, the statement, and this is in, I shouldn't spend all this time on this, verse 103, how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. See, is that really what we think whenever we study the Word of God? I hope it is. And I think in some ways it certainly is. And yet I think we ought to think about that more. That how incredibly beneficial and wonderful it is not only to be able to pray to the Father and to know that He hears and that He's concerned about us and He's interested in our growth and development, but that when we read the Word of God, that that should just be, you know, incredibly enjoyable. It should taste so good.

And the same thing in verse 105, your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path. You know, those two kind of highlight, those two verses highlight what we normally think of, of this particular psalm, Psalm 119. And yet this psalm has a lot more in it than just that. Like I mentioned, it mentions, you know, the different descriptions of what you would say that be the teaching of God.

And yet it is a psalm that involves worship, it involves praise, it involves prayer, it involves admonition. It is, in essence, a practical use of the Word of God in the life of a believer. So each one of us are a believer in the Word of God, and yet it gives a practical application to many of the things that we do. And so I'd like for you to think, I don't know if you've read Psalm 119 recently, but I would encourage you to go back and do so.

And I also would encourage you to think about turning there whenever you need encouragement, whenever you need to be lifted up. Because there are many, many verses there that show us how to be lifted up and how to delight in God's way. You even find verses there, and I often think of this because throughout the night I usually wake up a half dozen times.

I easily go back to sleep and never think about it. And yet, I know many of us, some of us at least, have some sleeping difficulties. And yet this Psalm talks about when you're unable to sleep at night, what might you focus on? What might you read? What might you think about? And I think that's encouraging. Another thing that I think you'll find in this Psalm is that it bolsters our faith in time of trial or time of distress.

Whenever we're having difficulty or whenever we feel burdened with things that are going on in our lives, and all of us face that at times, you know, there are verses in this Psalm that helps us bolster our faith during that time. It even has verses that show us the right way to view being corrected, being humble. And that, of course, appears to be a part of the description that is written into this Psalm that often we need to be corrected. We need to be guided in the way that God would want us to go.

And yet there are verses that deal with that. There are verses that deal with how it is that when we're grieving in loss, as people do whenever they die or someone that they love dies, for grieving in loss or even grieving in pain from suffering whatever type of Mr. Jackson's tooth is better now. But here a few weeks ago, he didn't feel too good. He didn't feel near as good.

And I know I've had plenty of toothaches. Toothaches are, you know, that's about a sharp pain, as you commonly get. You might have more difficult pain in other situations, but it's one that's pretty common to most of us. And yet there are verses here that talk about, you know, whenever you're grieving from loss or pain, what can you focus on? What helps you whenever, you know, and again, I'm going to offer that reading Psalm 119 and reading even certain verses in this Psalm can be exciting and they can be very uplifting.

And even you'll see these verses that talk about how that in the chaos that may be surrounding you as far as life in general or just watching this world kind of implode and even sometimes our own situation is not like we would like.

How is it that we can have stability? See, all of these things are expressed here in Psalm 119. So I'm going to go through some of these to begin with. You know, it's amazing to see how it is that the author of this Psalm wrote down so many different times how that thinking about God's Word, thinking about His law, thinking about His commands, thinking about the authority that He has to tell us exactly what to do brings a certain emotion.

It brings a certain excitement, a certain joy, and He calls it a delight. That's the way the description is. Let's look at verse 14. I'll read some of these to you. Verse 14 says, I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches.

It doesn't take all the wealth in the world to be joyous or to be happy. This verse says, you know, I delight in the way of your decrees. I delight in what you offer. In verse 16, it says, I delight in your statutes. I will not forget your Word. See, what is it that should excite us or encourage us? Verse 35. Verse 35 says, lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in those commands. See, what's that conveying? Well, that's conveying that there's an incredible benefit from reading the Word of God. Many times we read and we should work into a habit of reading the Bible on a regular basis, a daily basis, which I'm sure most of us do. Sometimes we get away from that and we need to get back to that. And even, see, sometimes we read the Bible just for information. We need read it just to know what it says. And that's good. Let's see, there's more power in the words, in the commands, in the directives of God than we can ever imagine. And it says in these verses that we've just read that it creates an emotion of delight, an emotion of contentment or even happiness, if we focus on those words. Verse 47, I find my delight in your commandments because I love them. Verse 58, I implore your favor with all my heart, be gracious to me according to your promises. See, that one's not quite as direct, but it's a matter of feeling benefited. Verse 77, let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant.

See, the love of God, the kindness, the loving kindness of God creates a contentment, it creates a soothing condition and one that we could say is a delight. Verse 111, got a lot of verses that you can go to here. Verse 111 says, your decrees are my heritage forever.

They are the joy of my heart. So we have to ask ourselves, is that the way we see it? Is that the way we feel? Or is that something we need to seek? And ask that God will give us His joy, His delight. Verse 112 says, I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever to the end. See, I want my heart to be following God to the very end. Other verses that talk about seeking God with your whole heart. Verse 1, even happier those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord, happier those who keep His decrees, who seek Him with their whole heart.

See, is that what causes us to be happy? Is that what causes us to have delight and contentment and joy? Well, it should. Verse 7, verse 7, he says, I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous ordinances. And in verse 10, with my whole heart I seek you. Do not let me stray from your commandments. I treasure, verse 11, I treasure your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. See, that's what those who devise seven deadly sins, you know, they need to take a look at the fact that the Word of God inspires what it is that should cause us to be filled with delight and joy. Let's drop down to verse, let's see, verse 36. Verse 36, turn my heart to your decrees and not to selfish gain. So again, you know, whatever we might be able to gain in this life, you know, it's not wrong to have those things, it's wrong to covet those things. But he says, I want my heart focused on your decrees. Verse 145, toward the end of this chapter, verse 145 says, with my whole heart I cry, answer me, Lord, I will keep your statutes. See, with my whole heart I want to cry out to you. That's a benefit of being able to learn about the words of God and how it is in a sense that this chapter has been written. And like I said, there are clear sections and sections that seem to talk about different aspects of God's law. And yet, to try to memorize those, I know that's something that certainly some people clearly would have done. I would find that very hard because these are so similar, it's hard for me to keep them in mind. But to be able to know that I can read this chapter, it's two or three pages in my Bible, and yet to read that chapter I should have an incredible appreciation for God's Word lifting me up and giving me joy, giving me delight.

And that's what's in a sense written over and over again. Verse 161, "...princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words." That seems to be under some type of distress, some type of calamity coming in from the outside.

But He says, your words, your law, your book is what gives me the joy and the delight. And even in the very end here, in verse 174, I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law, your law is my delight. So there are more than just the one verse that says, I love your law. It says it can produce incredible results. It can produce incredible joy in our lives. Let's focus a little on sleepless nights. I mentioned that you might wake up during the night and you might want to go back to sleep, but you don't maybe immediately go back to sleep. Why not read some of what God says? Here in chapter, we're in the same chapter here, verse 54.

Verse 54, "...your statutes have been my song, wherever I make my home." Again, thinking about people who would travel about and be in different places, maybe having different locations where they might live at different times, and certainly all of us, you know, we might travel, we can easily travel around today.

Robinson's and Hauslopton's were over in Colorado a couple of weeks ago. You know, that was where they were at the time. And of course, they lived back here, and yet wherever we happen to be, is it like it says here in verse 54, your statutes are my song? Is it what we sing about? Is it what we think about? In verse 55, I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and I want to keep your law. See, that seems to indicate that when he woke up, when that happened, that he would begin to think about the law of God, the focus that we should have on God's prominence in our lives. Verse 62, at midnight, I rise to praise you because of your righteous ordinances. See, that almost seems like an intentional getting up, but I think it probably would be more likely for me, you know, to, you know, I often lay in bed and I enjoy looking at the clock and seeing that it's not time to get up. That's what I enjoy doing. I, oh, it's only 12 o'clock. It's only two o'clock. That's great! But I wanted, I want to think about something, and if I start rehearsing what I know is in the Word of God, then that's contentment. That provides contentment and joy. Here in verse 148, in connection with this, it says, My eyes are awake before each watch of the night that I may meditate on your promise. See, again, I don't know that most of us would want to be up that often, and yet if we happen to be awake, if we happen to need to go back to sleep, well, why not focusing on what the Word of God says? You know, those verses at least directly focus on sleeplessness or awaking and then needing a security that comes from the Word of God. I mentioned, and of course all of us know of different ones of us and then others, if we get prayer requests for where people are grieving, where people are suffering, even like I said from loss or from pain. Verse 28 says, My soul melts away for sorrow, strengthen me according to your Word. See, when your soul is melting away, that seems like, you know, maybe a sorrow of the heart, something where we're grieving because of that. In verse 82, verse 82 it says, My eyes fail with watching for your promise. I ask, when will you comfort me? Well, that's clearly, you know, I know several individuals who are in pretty much dire straits or pain or suffering. And at that time, you know, if God doesn't answer our prayer immediately to change that or if it endures for weeks or months, you know, we can think like that. We can think, well, when is God going to comfort me? But he talks about how that, you know, whenever he focuses on God's promises, whenever he focuses on the stability that comes from the law of God, well, then he can bear, he can wait for God.

Drop down to verse 84. It says, How long must your servant endure when will you judge those who persecute me? In that case, it sounds like the man was being persecuted from the outside, from some other individuals creating some problem for them. Now that happens. And yet, you know, they were able to bring that to God. Verse 107. Verse 107 says, I am severely afflicted. Give me life, O God, according to your word. See, the word of God is what's going to lift us up. It's going to help us even whenever we are frustrated or discouraged or in pain or in stress.

Verse 143 says, Trouble and anguish have come upon me, but your commandments are my delight. See, even when we struggle and we may be thinking, well, you know, I wish God would answer. I wish He would change this. You know, in a sense, I've thought about this with different things that Pat and I have suffered from over the years at different times. And some of that, we had completely no control over. We simply had to wait and hope that God is going to provide healing or provide an answer.

And yet, often I've prayed, you know, well, take it away, remove it, get rid of it.

And yet, I think I've learned more so to pray not only to ask for help and to ask to be relieved, but more so to ask for the strength to endure, whatever it is that we continue to endure. So it's not just a prayer for relief, but a prayer for strength to endure. And I know, you know, that this could apply to all of us in one way or another, because, you know, we're all going to face difficulties of that type. Verse 153 says, look on my misery and rescue me, for I do not forget your law. See, again, that statement is implying, you know, something was going wrong, some type of misery, some type of suffering, some type of distress, some type of grief. But in this case, in verse 153, asking God to look on my misery and give me help, give me a rescue, for I do not forget your law. Again, that focus is, well, I want to remember what God has taught me. I want to remember what the Word of God shows me. I want to remember what my purpose in life is. What about being corrected? Is there a value in being corrected? I don't think any of us like that. I don't think as a young child we like to be corrected by our parents. That wasn't usually a fun deal.

And yet, is there a value to being corrected? Is there a benefit from being humbled from the way of arrogance that we can fall into? Well, in verse 25, verse 25 says, My soul clings to the dust, Revive me according to your words.

When I'm told of your ways you answer me, teach me your statutes. You know, if they're clinging to the dust, then they're feeling a let down. They're feeling a difficulty that they're having to face. In verse 67, Before I was humbled, I went astray.

But now I keep your word. That's a pretty specific statement. And you could think, well, if David wrote that, you know, there were clearly times when David was wrong and he needed the correction that God would send. And yet, you also see him writing psalms of benefit as far as repentance, of seeing that being yielded to God really is the only way to produce the right results. But in verse 67, you can see how that could apply not only to him but to others. Before I was humbled, I went astray. But now I keep your word. So that gets us back on the straight and narrow. Verse 71, It is good for me that I was humbled so that I might learn your statutes. We usually don't like to be cast down or we don't like to be corrected. And yet, actually, this describes the benefit of that. It describes the value of being corrected. In verse 75, I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right and that in faithfulness you have humbled me. See, again, these verses reflect an awareness that, well, God is working with me. Is God working with me because I am sinless? Not at all. You know, I need to be corrected. I need to be guided by God's Word. I need to be focused more on God's purpose for my life. I need to be guided by the statutes and judgments. That's what this whole chapter talks about. In verse 176, at the very end, it says, I've gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek out your servant because I don't want to forget. I do not forget your commands. See, even at the end of this chapter, which is, like I said, a lengthy chapter, you know, it's written in such a way that you can see that, well, seeing the value of correction and realizing at times we are humbled when we, and maybe it's not even an outward correction by someone else, maybe it's something we just realize about ourselves that we've got to change. We've got to be more focused on what God wants us to do. You know, that could be applicable here. In verse 176, it says, I've gone astray like a lost sheep. You know, it's almost like, you know, they see I'm needing to be rescued. I'm needing to be helped. And I think that can be a very beneficial thing. What about at times when we have fear? And I'm thinking of one particular time, not too long ago, when I don't want to be afraid, but there are times when I am, or I have a certain level of fear. And you read that in verse, I won't go to other chapters, we've got way too much in this chapter. You read that in many other Psalms. You read that, well, whenever you're afraid, then trust in God and God will take that fear away. But that's not a comfortable feeling. You don't feel good whenever you're afraid. And yet too many times we are. We have apprehensions, or we have fears. And amazingly, most of the things that we might fear never happen. They just don't. Many things that we might worry about, or strain over, or be stressed about never happen. And so, you know, what verses one might we look at if we need stability and security? Well, here in verse 92, in verse 92, it says, if your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my misery.

See, the focus on the law of God, on the way of God, the teachings of God, the purpose of God, gives us stability. It says your law is my delight helps me to have stability. Instead of being miserable, instead of suffering, instead of being downcast, you know, we can be encouraged and stable. Verse 114, verse 114, you are my hiding place and my shield because I hope in your Word.

And in verse 151, yet you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true. You are near. See, the writing in this Psalm is one of extolling God, it's praising God, it's honoring God, it's reminding of God's way and purpose. And yet here, you know, because God was near, they could feel secure, they could feel stable. And in verse 165, one that I'm sure many of us have memorized, great peace have those who love thy law and nothing shall offend them or nothing shall cause them to stumble. See, how incredible is that? What kind of peace and stability and security is that when it's coming not from us, but from the Word of God, coming from studying and reading the Word of God. And certainly, you can see in this account throughout this Psalm, you see the projection of the fact that they are confident because I love your law, I love your Word, I want your Word in my heart that I know that you are with me. I have confidence that you are with me and that you will help me. We've already read verses about rescue me like a lost sheep, and yet other verses say a similar thing here in verse 38. Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you. See, the promises of God, the promises that God would help, that He would not forsake us, that He would not leave us, that He would, and of course, in our case, He has blessed us incredibly with His Holy Spirit. And we can pray that God would stir that up. You don't see that directly stated in this Psalm, but it certainly implied that we know that God is with us, and that we have confidence because of that, and that, He says in verse 38, confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you. You know, as we fear God and have a proper awe and respect of God, as we desire to follow His law and make that a part of our heart, a part of our attitude, a part of the divine nature that God is creating in us. Verse 41 says, Let your loving kindness come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise. Again, God says He will help us.

I think sometimes we miss out on that help if we don't reach out and ask for it, if we don't seek it and desire that. In verse 50, verse 50 says, This is my comfort in my distress that your promise gives me life. See, that's again a pretty confident statement. That's a statement that is an extraordinary way of giving us an assurance that God is helping us. In verse 116, it says, Uphold me according to your promise that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope. See again stating that while we have hope, and of course, as members of the Church of God today, as individuals who know God's purpose and plan, we know what's coming on this earth. We know what's coming and what the Bible reveals. The book of Revelation details of calamitous times and then the world to come, the world tomorrow. And so, should that be an apprehension to us? Should that be a fear? Well, no, that should be something that we know God will help us through. In verse 122, it says, Guarantee your servant's well-being.

Do not let the godless oppress me. See, he's asking that God will help him know and be assured that God's help is available. In verse 123, he goes on to say, My eyes fall from watching for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise. And in verse 140, verse 140 says, Your promise is well-tried and your servant loves it. Again, these verses seem to me as you read through these, you can categorize them in many different ways. You could categorize them by going through each of the sections of eight and think about what it is that they are talking about, what they seem to imply, because I think they are designed to tell a story or even maybe to make it easier to memorize, although I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to memorize 176 verses. And yet, you can go through like we have already to just focus on different aspects of how God helps us and how He does so through His Word. And He gives us this guide to be able to do that so we can have confidence. Confidence that God is going to help us, that He's going to encourage us. So, let's look at just a few more verses here as we conclude.

You know, I think you see in this chapter the fact that God wants us to live with faith, faith in Him, faith that we have trust in Him, even during difficulties and trials. In verse 50, verse 50 says, this is my comfort and my distress that your promise gives me life. I think we read that one earlier. Also in verse 135, verse 135, He says, make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes. See, when we're focused on God's Word, we read through His Word and we allow it to pick us up, you know, then we can have full assurance that what He says will come to pass. He will secure us. He will strengthen us. And even at the very end of this chapter, you see it kind of coming to a conclusion. It says in verse 173, my tongue will sing of your promise for all your commandments are right. Let your hand be ready to help me for I have chosen your precepts.

Again, the author is asking that God would provide Him a blessing and provide Him a pickup. And in verse 174, I long for your salvation, O Lord, because your law is my delight.

See, that seems to be an appeal. That seems to be an excitement that is excited about reading the Word of God. Not just reading it, but knowing that, well, there's emotion in the words. Verse 175, let me live that I may praise you and let your ordinances help me. See, is my life based on praising God? See, that's what it says. Let me live that I may praise you and let your ordinances help me. That's what we actually want to project. We want to be grateful that God has given us life and that He has given us an understanding of His Word and that He has given us a desire to praise Him and to honor Him. You know, there's many other psalms that you can easily go to that in a sense project the same idea. But in this one lengthy psalm, you have an incredible amount of benefit if we just realize that that's what it's saying. And of course, it concludes in verse 176, I have gone astray like a lost sheep, so seek out your servant because I don't want to forget your commands. See, now obviously, you know, the writer of this psalm sees himself in a way he knows he's in a predicament that he can't get out of. You know, what's a lost sheep? Well, a lost sheep doesn't know where to go. He's asking to be rescued. He's asking to be pulled out of whatever distress you might be in. And certainly, you can see the desperation there in asking for the intervention of the Good Shepherd to rescue them. And so, I think that could be also a way for us to look at it. So, you know, clearly, as you read this, you don't see that the projection is that someone is sinless, that they have nothing to overcome, but they want to keep their mind on God. Clearly, the author of this psalm, he counted himself as righteous. He thinks of himself as being near God, and I think that's something that we should think of as well. See, if we're a part of the Church of God, if we've been a recipient of the Holy Spirit, if we are pursuing that with our heart, well, then God is with us. He is near us. He is for us. And so, you know, we want to keep that in mind as we read this. I believe that this psalm has more benefit than we might ever imagine, but it's something that we have to study into and have to remind ourselves of, and I would encourage all of us to go back and to read through this psalm. Again, I know it's somewhat long, but it's beneficial whenever we find that we're in need. And the assurance that you see in this psalm is one that no matter what we go through, no matter what strain or stress or grief or loss or pain or suffering that God may allow us to go through, we can be lifted up. We can be encouraged, and I think one of the ways that we could do that would be to go back and to read through this particular psalm, which has, you know, so very, very much to say.