Psalms: 119

INTRO:

• Merrill Tenney – on reading the Word of God
  • “Reading the Word is not so much a technique as a spirit, it is the spirit of eagerness which seeks the mind of God; it is the spirit of humility which listens to the voice of God; it is the spirit of adventure which pursues earnestly the will of God, it is the spirit of adoration which rests in the presence of God.”
  • The word of God – THE SCRIPTURES – THE BIBLE
  • What comes to mind when you hear those words?
    • Most likely a multitude of things for many of you
      • Maybe ill start with this question, “Do you know God?”
        • If you answered YES in your heart, why do you think you know Him?
          • Is there evidence in your life that you know Him?
  • Let me tell you the QUICK version of William Tyndale’s story
    • What is about this Word (HOLD UP BIBLE) that has caused men like Tyndale to be willing to give their life so others can read it for themselves, and also cause men like the bishop and King to stop with deadly force those who would propose that it be possessed and read by everyday people?
  • The Psalms: I Didn’t Know That
    • Quickly review the last 2 weeks
      • Psalm 23 – Shepherd
      • Psalm 51 – Repentance

• The most frequently cited verses from Psalm 119
  • Psalms 119:105
    • Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
  • Psalms 119:11
    • I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
  • Psalms 119:9
    • How can those who are young keep their way pure? By living according to your word.
  • Psalms 119:89
    • Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
  • Psalms 119:97
    • Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
  • Psalm 119:103
    • How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
      • Is the Word of God like that to you?
• What you may not know:
  • Psalm 119, the longest single chapter in the Bible
    • 176 verses
    • It has more verses and words the letter/book of Philippians has in its 4 chapters total
  • It is an acrostic poem
    • 22 sections, each of 8 verses, corresponding to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
      • This made it easier to memorize. YES MEMORIZE!
      • It was expected to be memorized and used as a kind of “Worship tool” for God’s people, and it remains such today.

• Terms for the word of the Lord in Psalm 119
  • Ps 119 uses 8-10 different Hebrew terms for the word of the Lord. Each of these synonyms refers to God’s word in its own way, emphasizing different aspects of that word.
    • Law(s)
    • Precepts
    • Statutes
    • Commands
    • Judgements
    • Word
    • Ordinances
    • Ways
    • Decrees
    • Promises

MESSAGE: (Stand for the reading of the word)

• (SLIDE) Psalm 119:1-8

1 Blessed (Heb ‘ešer – “How happy!” – see also beatitudes in Matthew and Psalm 1) are those whose ways are blameless,
    who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
    and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
    but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
    that are to be fully (Heb mᵊ’ōḏ – greatly, diligently, exceedingly) obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
    in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
    when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
    do not utterly forsake me.

• Charles Spurgeon
  • “To enjoy this beatitude a holy walking must become habitual. This sacred exercise is very different from sluggish piety. ‘Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord.’ A man may sit down in the road without soiling his skin or fouling his apparel, but that is not enough. There must be progress – practical action – in the Christian life; and in order to experience blessedness we must be doing something for the Master.”
  • TO LIVE IN OBEDIENCE ACCORDING TO HIS WORD/HIS WAY WE MUST GO BEYOND READING
  • JESUS VIEW OF SCRIPTURE WAS INCREDIBLY HIGH…
    • Matthew 5 Jesus frames what we call the Sermon on the Mount with a few powerful statements on scripture and the law
    • In John 14, Jesus says this:
• (SLIDE) John 14:21,23-24
  • 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
  • 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
    • To have His commands and keep them demonstrates that we love Him, that you love Him, that I love Him
• You cannot live out & practice the way of Jesus, you simply cannot know Him in any personal way if you are not regularly consuming His word and being consumed by His Word.
  • Scripture is not designed for scrolling & skimmingThat is the approach we take to try and pick up some information quickly but Scripture is to be engaged for our formation
• If you’re too busy to read the Bible, you’re too busy.
  • Get a new job
  • Sacrifice: sleep – hobbies – meals (fasting) – TV – Social Media

CONCLUSION:

• It is just so difficult to read and really understand
  • Søren Kierkegaard , great philosopher, offers two suggestions for the reader who tackles difficult portions of the Bible.
  • First, read it like a love letter, he says.
    • As you struggle with language, culture, and other barriers, look on them as the necessary work to get to the main, crucial message from someone who loves you. 
  • Second, act on what you do understand = OBEY
    • Kierkegaard dismisses the objection “There are so many obscure passages in the Holy Scriptures, whole books which are almost riddles” with the reply that he would only consider that objection from someone who had fully complied with all the passages that are easy to understand!
    •  
• PSALM 119 SHOWS WHAT A HEART FEELS AND WHAT A LIFE DOES WHEN DELIGHTING IN GOD’S WORD.

• Have you let God, by His Spirit radically transform you and reorient your life?
  • YES or NO?
    • You can DO the Christian Life really well — especially if you have been around it for a while now — you can be about it really well and even know a lot of what the Bible says without letting Jesus actually radically transform you.

RESPONSE:

• There’s a story that used to be well known about the German theologian Paul Tillich. Tillich’s theology was considered dangerous by many Christians in the U.S. Supposedly one time after delivering a lecture on the authority of Scripture, he was approached by a passionate seminary student. The student held tightly in his hand a large, black, leather-bound Bible and challenged Tillich, asking,
  • “Do you believe this is the Word of God?”
    • Tillich glanced at the student’s clenched grip around the Bible and responded,
      • “Not if you think you can grasp it. Only when the Bible grasps you.”
        • With those few words, Tillich captured a profound truth: The Word of God is not something we own or control—it is something that claims us.
• You see we have never had more books and articles available to try and help us solve our world problems and family problems, but we are more broken, torn, and hurting then ever.
  • Why?
    • We haven’t taken the word of God into account
      • IT HAS NOT BECOME OUR DELIGHT THAT WE BUILD UPON
        • God has given us HIS commandments and instructions for our lives, our families, our church and too often we’ve broken them or disregarded them in some fashion.
• This is a call for us to come back to the Bible, to the things God values, and build our lives and families obediently on the Word of God.
  • His help and His hope for you and your family and mine, as the Psalmist so adamantly reminds us in 119Do you treasure His word in your life? ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR LIFE UPON IT IN EVERY SEASON?

• Day-to-day Practice
  • Read Regularly
  • Memorize
  • Meditate
  • Obey
  • Share the Word

• In Psalm 119:33-40 the psalmist uses these phrases:
  • TEACH ME
  • KEEP ME
  • DIRECT ME
  • TURN MY HEART
  • TURN MY EYES
  • PRESERVE MY LIFE
  • FULFILL
  • TAKE AWAY

https://www.bible.com/events/49456697

Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus

The Psalms Part 4- Psalm 119

The essential nature of God’s word.

Today we are concluding our teaching series in the book of Psalms.

We are doing an intentional deep dive into 4 different Psalms. Our goal is to study each Psalm to understand how these words from thousands of years ago still offer wisdom and hope for our lives today.

The book of psalms is a large collection of poems written by various different authors across the span of 1000 years.

Many of these poems were lyrical in nature and intended to be set with music. The content of these psalms covers a large range of our human experience and relationship with God.

Their diversity makes them a valuable tool for our faith walk today.

our series concludes today in Psalm 119

Psalms 119:1-8

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Psalm 119 is the single longest chapter in the entire bible.

It has 176 verses, containing 2,445 words in the NIV.

It’s also interesting that Psalm 119 is organized into an acrostic so that it would be easy to memorize.

There are 22 sections, each section containing 8 verses, and each verse begins with the same letter of the alphabet.

One more thing before we begin, there are 8 to 10 different terms that refer to the word of the Lord. You will see things like Law, statutes, ways, precepts, decrees, word, promise, and command.

While all of these different terms have nuance in their meaning, and emphasize different aspects of God’s word, we should understand for our study today that they are all pointing back to the expressed and written word of the Lord himself.

Psalms 119:1-3

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways.

The life of blessing is marked out by a few specific things

Blessed are those who ways are blameless or pure

Blessed are those who walk according to the law of the Lord,

Blessed are those who keep his statutes.

This picture is of someone who lives their every day, ordinary life from a place of relationship and devotion to the Lord and his word. This person Is not just someone who knows the word, it’s a picture of someone who LIVES the word.

The way they talk, the way they act, the way they relate to others, is all lived according to the word of God.

Psalms 119:4

You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.

The relationship that Psalm 119 shows us with God’s word does not allow for us to make our own judgements, to be selective about what we think is important- it doesn’t allow us to skip the uncomfortable parts.

Friends, this is a good point to stop and look into the mirror of this passage and ask the hard question: Do I believe this? Do I view the instructions and words of the Lord as essential to be fully obeyed in my life?

Psalms 119:5-8

Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

I think if we spend some honest time reflecting on our relationship with Gods word, and how we are doing in living it out.

I think if we are humble and honest, we might arrive at a place of feeling a little low. Desperate maybe. Realizing that we need help in this area.

Friends, I think that’s what the Psalmist realizes too.

Psalm 119 continues for 21 more sections like this, each one looking to the Lord, holding God’s word and his instruction as the essential for life and relationship with the Lord.

Within this massive work, there is one subtle invitation i dont want us to miss.

The invitation to live into an essential relationship with God’s word.

Not just to see the facts about God’s word, but to experience it for yourself.

Will you commit to pursing the Lord in and through his word as an essential part of your life?

 THE PSALMS

• WELCOME- GLAD YOU ARE HERE
• WELCOME ONLINE CAMPUS
• THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT- US TALKING TO GOD

PSALMS 5 PARTS

1. PSALMS 3-41
2. PSALMS 42-72
3. PSALMS 73-89
4. PSALMS 90-106
5. PSALMS 107-145

PSALMS 146-150    HALLELUJAH

• BEFORE WE GET TO THE PSALM TODAY THE STORY THAT LEADS TO THIS PSALM IS LOCATED IN

PICTURE OF COUPLE

• 11-12 YEARS OLD
• WAS A THURSDAY- CHURCH-50 MINUTES AWAY
• SPOKE ON PSALMS THAT NIGHT

HOW IS YOUR HEART?

• BEFORE WE GET TO THE PSALM TODAY THE STORY THAT LEADS TO THIS PSALM IS LOCATED IN

2 SAMUEL 11

• 1. In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” ⁶ So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 1⁰ David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
• ¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

DAVID BATHSHEBA

THEN THE PROPHET NATHAN CONFRONTS DAVID

DAVID IS ABOUT 50 YEARS OLD- MID LIFE CRISIS

• DAVID SITS ON THIS ABOUT A YEAR
• WHEN YOU DON’T  ENGAGE IN THE BATTLE
• END UP ON ROOFS LOOKING AT THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T BE LOOKING

PRESENTS A PARABLE- YOU ARE THAT MAN DAVID

• DAVID DESIRES
• DAVID HOLDS ALL THE POWER
• DAVID IMPREGATES HER
• LURES HER HUSBAND HOME
• GETS HIM TO TRY AND SLEEP WITH HER
• COVER UP- DRUNKENESS
• HAS URIAH KILLED IN BATTLE

PSALM 51:1-2

1. “HAVE MERCY (RAHAM-MOTHER WITH HER CHILD) ON ME OH GOD, ACCORDING TO YOUR UNFAILING LOVE; ACCORDING TO YOUR GREAT COMPASSION, BLOT OUR MY TRANSGRESSIONS. WASH AWAY ALL MY INIQUITY AND CLEANSE ME FROM MY SIN.

SIX WORDS DEALING WITH SIN

   TRANSGRESSIONS- BLOT OUT (MOSES LANGUAGE)

     INIQUITY- WASH AWAY

      SIN- CLEANSE

DEFINITIONS OF SIN

   SIN: HAMARTIA

A MILITARY SHOOTING TERM MEANING TO “MISS THE MARK” MISS THE BULLS EYE.

“WILLFULL TRANSGRESION OF THE KNOWN LAW OF GOD.”  JOHN WESLEY

“REMEMEBR IT IS SIN TO KNOW WHAT YOU OUGHT TO DO AND THEN NOT DO IT,”  JAMES 4:17

DISOBEDIENCE TO WHAT GOD DESIRES”

SIN IS THE EXPRESSION OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

 PSALMS 51:3-4

• FOR I KNOW MY TRANSGRESSIONS, AND MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME. AGAINST YOU, AND YOU ONLY, HAVE I SINNED AND DONE WHAT IS EVIL IN YOUR SIGHT; SO YOU ARE RIGHT IN YOUR VERDICT AND JUSTIFIED WHEN YOU JUDGE.

PSALM 51:5-6

• SURELY I WAS SINFUL AT BIRTH, SINFUL FROM THE TIME MY MOTHER CONCEIEVED ME. (ORIGINIAL SIN) “YET YOU DESIRED FAITHFULNESS EVEN IN THE WOMB; YOU TAUGHT ME WISDOM IN THAT SECRET PLACE.

PSALM 51:7

• CLEANSE ME WITH HYSSOP, AND I WILL BE CLEAN; WASH ME, AND I WILL BE WHITER THAN SNOW.”

HYSSOP- PLANT USED CLEANSING FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

JESUS ON THE CROSS – SOMEONE GRABS A HYSSOP PLANT AND EXTENDS IT TO JESUS- DYING FOR THE FORGIVENSS OF SINS

HYSSOP PLANT GROWS WAILING WALL IN JERUSALEM

HYSSOP PLANT APPLY THE BLOOD OVER DOOR POSTS

PSALMS 51:9-10

• “HIDE YOUR FACE FROM MY SINS AND BLOT OUT ALL OF MY INIQUITY. CREATE IN ME PURE HEART, O GOD, AND RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME.

6-7 TIMES IT ADDRESSES SIN OR SINNER

 PSALM 51: 11-12

  11. DO NOT CAST ME FROM YOUR PRESENCE OR TAKE YOUR HOLY SPIRIT FROM ME. RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION AND GRANT ME A WILLING SPIRIT, TO SUSTAIN ME.

PSALM 51: 13-14

  13. THEN I WILL TEACH TRANSGRESSORS YOUR WAYS, SO THAT SINNERS WILL TURN BACK TO YOU. DELIVER ME FROM THE GUILT OF BLOODSHED,”

• THE HEART IS THE CENTER OF THE PERSON-
• NOT JUST THE PHYSICAL

 IDIOMS ABOUT THE HEART

• CHANGE OF HEART
• HEART OF GOLD
• EAT YOUR HEART OUT
• HEART TO HEART
• LOSE HEART
• HEART OF STONE

EZEKIEL 36:26

   I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; I WILL TAKE THE HEART OF STONE OUT OF YOUR FLESH AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH

• WHEN DAVID WAS CHOSEN- REMEMBER HAPPENED
• It speaks to the deep pain we feel inside us when we sin, and then it shows us the mercy of God. His is the love of a Father who sees his child’s stricken face — washes the tears away — and then reaches inside to create in us “a clean heart;” to breathe “a new and right spirit” within us. Sarah Christmyer

I SAMUEL 16:6

   6. “WHEN THEY ARRIVED, SAMUEL SAW ELIAB AND THOUGHT, “SURELY THE LORD’S ANNOINTED STANDS HERE BEFORE THE LORD.

I SAMUEL 16:7

   7. BUT THE LORD SAID TO SAMUEL, “DO NOT CONSIDER HIS APPEARANCE OR HIS HEIGHT, FOR I HAVE REJECTED HIM. THE LORD DOES NOT LOOK AT THINGS PEOPLE LOOK AT. PEOPLE LOOK AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART.

DAVID IS CHOSEN- GOD SAYS IM INTERESTED IN HEART

 PROVERBS 4:23

  23. “GUARD YOUR HEART ABOVE ALL ELSE, FOR IT DETERMINES THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE.”

BIBLE TALKS 830 ABOUT YOUR HEART-METAPHOR FOR WHO YOU ARE

STATISTICS ON GLOBAL HEART DISEASE

 STATISTICS ON US HEART DISEASE

• THE THING THAT IS KILLING ALL THESE PEOPLE
• IT IS PREVENTABLE

MANY OF US GRIEVE OVER THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN BUT NOT THE SIN ITSELF

_________________________________________________________

• MAN WITH A HEART SURGERY GETS TO MEET DR
• MAN GETS TO SEE HIS OLD HEART

• YOU HAVE A NEW HEART
• YOU CANNOT LIVE LIKE YOU DID BEFORE

HOPE IS FOUND IN FORGIVENESS-

HOW IS YOUR HEART? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

HOPE IS FOUND IN ALLOWING THE LORD TO USE YOU

PSALM 51:13 SAYS IT WELL

  13. THEN I WILL TEACH TRANSGRESSORS YOUR WAYS, SO THAT SINNERS WILL TURN BACK TO YOU. DELIVER ME FROM THE GUILT OF BLOODSHED,”

• LORD YOU CAN REDEEM ALL THIS
• AND I WILL POINT PEOPLE TO YOU

MATTHEW 26:26-29

  WHILE THEY WERE EATING, JESUS TOOK BREAD, AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS, HE BROKE IT AND GAVE IT TO HIS DISCIPLES, SAYING, “TAKE AND EAT; THIS IS MY BODY.”

27. THEN HE TOOK THE CUP AND WHEN HE HAD THANKS, HE GAVE IT TO THEM, SAYING “DRINK FROM IT ALL OF YOU. 28. THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE COVENENANT, WHICH IS POURED OUR FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. 29. I TELL YOU, I WILL NOT DRINK FROM THIS FRUIT OF THE VINE FROM NOW UNTIL THAT DAY WHEN I DRINK IT NEW WITH YOU IN MY FATHERS KINGDOM.”

WHEN RHEY HAD SUNG A HYMN- THEY WENT OUT TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES