TET
December 21, 2011
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wednesday Bible Study Series
Psalm 119:65-72 (ESV) – 9 of 22
Tet – 9th letter of the Hebrew alphabet…
As we saw last week, we will see an underlying attitude and mindset within tonight’s eight verses where the psalmist reflects his understanding of God and his need for God and God’s law. Once again, this underlying theme does not simply appear in these 8 verses, but is constant throughout the chapter…
65Do good to Your servant according to Your word, LORD.
When reading this in the ESV, it almost sounds like the psalmist has some doubt and needs reassurance but actually the better reading of Hebrew is a more assured attitude reflected by the psalmist. The NASB reads, “…You have dealt well with Your servant…” which reflects a pattern that God has delivered on His promise and that promise is in accordance with the word of God.
The Holman Christian Standard translates this verse: “Lord, You have treated Your servant well…” revealing a reflection from the psalmist in his knowledge of God’s goodness to deal with humanity and do so in a loving and grace-filled manner.
The psalmist exhibits no fear in his statement but a full and complete confidence and understanding about the Law of God which is his template for life and is meant for his prospering and NOT for his demise.
66Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust Your commands.
Here the psalmist expresses a firm desire to learn from God’s law and that he desires God to guide and direct his path…
The Hebrew word for good judgment here is tah-ahm which means judgment or discernment. It carries with is a sense of personality as well… in other words it’s a PERSONAL judgment… sort of like our own personal tastes… The psalmist is asking God to teach him how to digest God’s law and it become part of WHO he is…
Why does he do this? Because he fully trusts God and the law God has set forth. The word used here by the psalmist is ah-mahn which means trust or faith, but it carries with it a construction meaning as well… representing the support beams for the doors of your house… something you must have FULL trust in to live in the house! This gives us a more full picture of what the psalmist is saying… he FULLY trusts the law of God and is willing to dwell IN that law as well!
67Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word.
When trouble comes our way, far too often act the wrong way. Here the psalmist reflects that this is how he USED to react to trouble and affliction… he would go astray, but now he has learned to trust in God’s word to guide him and his reactions to affliction within his life!
Like the psalmist we also face afflictions in life and far too often we react to those afflictions as the sinners we are… we go astray in our actions! But what the psalmist is charging his readers to do is to focus on obedience to God’s Law… that obedience to the Law of God will lead and guide us when we face our afflictions and it is going to teach us HOW to live accordingly DURING those afflictions… all according TO God’s Word.
68You are good, and what You do is good; teach me Your decrees.
God is the only ‘good’ in this world… learning God’s law opens up that goodness to us…
How often do we use the word ‘good’ in connection to this world? Many times we look to the ‘good’ of the world as our standard, and this is where we suffer. However, when our focus is in the right place it must be on God and HIS goodness… our standard should always be God’s goodness…and NEVER the ‘goodness’ of this world.
The Hebrew word here for ‘good’ is towb which simply means good, but in this context it refers to the goodness of God which resides at a higher plane than that of the goodness of humanity. God’s goodness is something we must ascribe to and seek after, and NOT what we may see as ‘good’ in this world!
69Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart.
Keeping his focus where it NEEDS to be the psalmist prevents himself from self pity or grumbling over his situation. In our lives we are going to face the smears and taunts of the world… they will attack us with lies and perversions of what they deem as truth… this is something that is going to happen, we cannot avoid it HOWEVER the psalmist gives us a template on how to handle just such a thing… WE FOCUS ON GOD’S LAW… HIS WORD!
When we are focused on the word of God and the precepts that He has set forth for us in this life, the slander and slights of our enemies or those who seek to destroy and disparage us cannot touch us! The fiery darts of the enemy fall harmlessly away when we are protected by the armor of God through His Word… thru His law…
It is our habit that when we come under attack that we RUN and HIDE… that we flee from all things we hold dear. But if we turn to the God we serve and the Word He has provided, we find shelter and protection from the smears and slanders… we find comfort and peace from Him who has promised it…
70Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in Your law.
“Their” is a reference to those mentioned in v.69, “…the arrogant…” and once again the psalmist’s focus is revealed… it is in God’s law NOT on these people.
The use of the word ‘heart’ here is somewhat of an oddity for middle eastern culture. Here it represents the inner most part of the man… their soul! Usually this is represented by the bowels in middle eastern cultures but here the heart is used… it is the Hebrew word leb
Here the psalmist says that their inner most parts are calloused… some translations use a phrase even more graphic. The NASB says that their heart is covered with FAT… this is a picture of a very UNHEALTHY heart… a heart covered in FAT is a heart that needs help!
Their heart is unhealthy and they cannot feel NOR do they realize their plight… they are helpless… they are on the outside looking in… striking out at those whom God has chosen and saved. Not realizing that God will choose them if they will accept Him. But with their heart condition, they cannot see that…
But the psalmist reveals that he is ok because he has the Word of God… and likewise today we find those unfeeling and calloused individuals in our lives or in our society who strike out at believers and say we believe we are better or holier than them… but what they cannot see is the love of God that is reaching out to them as well… they cannot see it because their heart/ their soul is covered in fat… is overwhelmed in doubt and self absorbed pity. All they know to do is strike out… that is where we can reveal our love in showing them the WORD… in showing them Christ!
We show them Christ in what we say, but more so in what we DO and how we act. Do we trust God enough to live for Him in the midst of attacks and slander? The psalmist did and he rejoiced in knowing the Law of God!
71It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Here we find the psalmist come to the conclusion that it was “…good to be afflicted…” and this sounds absolutely crazy to us today as we seek to avoid ALL affliction. But even in James we find Scripture encouraging us to rejoice in hard times, rejoice in affliction, rejoice in trials and tribulations because it helps us to mature and grow in our faith… IF we cling to God’s Word!
Let me give you an illustration… you know how today you can buy just about anything anti-bacterial… in our society today we are trying to prevent ANY germs from reaching our bodies… but is that really the best approach from a long term viewpoint!
I understand there are those of us who NEED protections, but speaking for the average person, our bodies were designed to fight off bacteria, but it only does this when it encounters the bacteria… it develops an anti body for that bacteria so that it can ward it off in the future! So when we look at the big picture, our body NEEDS to be exposed to bacteria to allow it to build up the needed anti-bodies to keep us healthy.
The same is true in the spiritual world as well. Affliction is the bacterial of the spiritual world and when we experience affliction in life it allows us to build character and become the person of God that God wants us to become…
Another way of looking at this is the fires of the refining process for precious metals! We are very precious to Christ and for us to be as pure as He desire, we must endure the fires of purification to burn away the impurities in our lives! And as long as we hold true to the word, we come THRU those fires, more pure than we entered into them…
72The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
The reason behind the determined focus of the psalmist is revealed here as he reflects how valuable God’s word is to him… more valuable to him than any treasure!
The law here represents the word of God… and how this word of God is precious to the psalmist. When we look at this verse today we can see the law or the WORD of God as Christ Jesus in our lives! Jesus is the incarnate WORD of God… and for the believer His presence in our lives is more precious than any amount of treasure!
This world can offer us treasure and pleasure in vast sums… but all of that lasts for only a season… but what Christ brings into our hearts and into our lives is more valuable than any treasure because what He brings is eternal life with God the Father… a gift of immeasurable value! God’s word is so valuable and we must never allow ourselves to think of it as anything less… TREASURE THE WORD OF GOD!
