Tsade - Psalm 119:137-144 Series

TSADE

March 21, 2012

Oak Park Baptist Church – Wed Bible Study Series

Psalm 119:137-144 (HCSB) – 18 of 22

Tsade – 18th letter of the Hebrew Alphabet

Read/show ALL verses b4 verse by verse teaching…

[HCSB]

137You are righteous, LORD, and Your judgments are just.138The decrees You issue are righteous and altogether trustworthy.

[NLT]

137O LORD, you are righteous, and your regulations are fair. 138Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy.

God is the righteous standard by which we must measure ourselves. We have a tendency to use other people…usually much worse than ourselves to measure ourselves by (in this way we rationalize our own position as NOT TOO BAD…)

So often we find ourselves thinking that God is harsh and His law is hard on us… but when we look at it for what it is… a guideline and direction for our eternal soul! It has to be a firm standard… it has to be unflinching to the whims of the human heart!

God’s Word is RIGHTEOUS and a solid foundation for ALL life! It only sounds harsh to those who seek to please SELF and serve themselves! For those who seek to serve God we find God’s judgments to be fair and wise and MUCH NEEDED in our hearts and minds!

Here the psalmist is letting us know that he sees the law of God as the right path and the implication is that he is sold out to this path… dedicated to this standard!

The psalmist is doing this because he knows who God is… the righteous Creator and that God will govern and lead as per His holy and righteous nature. God is not a capricious God who is at the whims of circumstance, but is righteous and consistent in His judgments!

Matthew Henry Commentary:

God’s will is the eternal rule of equity, and He is righteous, for He does all things in accordance with it.

How often do we acknowledge God’s sovereignty over our will? How often do we submit to the rule of God within our lives instead of demanding our own way? We know God is good and greatly to be praised…why is it then that we struggle so much in turning loose of our insecurities and giving full control over to God!

[HCSB]

139My anger overwhelms me because my foes forget Your words

[NLT]

139I am overwhelmed with indignation, for my enemies have disregarded your words.

As a believer, how angry to do we get when we see people openly defy God! What streams through our minds and dwells in our hearts when we see openly gay and lesbian marches that shake their fists at God and God’s standard for marriage?

How do we feel when we hear the atheists and agnostics use the very Constitution our forefathers created lifting UP our Creator… and they use it to defile Him and ban Him from all things public.

How MAD do we get when we see open rebellion within the church body, when those who profess Christ simply refuse to accept God’s calling OR they openly live in defiance of God’s perfect plan and purpose!

Does it hurt your heart? Does it make you sick on your stomach? Is your soul disturbed by sin? Do the unrighteous cause you a troubled spirit?

Here the psalmist was ANGRY with those who openly defied God and God’s law…

Matthew Henry Commentary:

Calls it a great contempt which wicked men put upon religion… or things holy!

We should not feel this way with sinners because they are going to sin… we hurt for them and pray for them to be saved…

Where this brings a crushing blow to the body of Chrsit is when we see those professing Christ, thinking that they can live as they CHOOSE to live and that there are no consequences to their choices or actions!

These people KNOW God’s plan, and they have often heard the Word preached. The issue here is NOT that they do NOT know (like sinners) but it is that they DID know, but did so little to heed those commandments from God. They ignore them for so long until they get to the point that they soon forget what they are!

They willingly forgot them, not only thru carelessness in letting them slip from their minds, but they have also contrived on how to cast them behind their backs.

Henry tells us that, “This [type behavior] is at the bottom of all wickedness as they have forgotten the words of God, else they would see their sinful course and change direction through God’s H.S.

[HCSB]

140Your word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it.

[NLT]

140Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.

Truth is often something that is difficult to face and hard to accept. I can remember when my youngest child, our daughter came to us at the tender age of 19 and she told us that she was pregnant…