QOPH
March 28, 2012
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wed Bible Study Series
Psalm 119:145-152 (HCSB) – 19 of 22
Qoph[K’off]–19th letter of theHebrew Alphabet
Read/show ALL verses b4 verse by verse teaching…
[ESV]
145With my whole heart I cry [out]; answer me, O Lord! I will keep Your statutes. 146I will call to You; save me, that I may observe Your testimonies.
[NLT]
145I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey Your decrees. 146I cry out to You; rescue me, that I may observe Your laws.
Here the psalmist cries out simply for God to ‘save’ him… we can also see that his cry is accompanied with a request for God’s acknowledgment of his request!
This simple, yet very profound prayer from the psalmist requests affirmation or confirmation that God hears his prayer and that God would simply save him…
His request for salvation from what is not mentioned here, but the psalmist’s has written so much about his enemies closing in on every side and being oppressed by others… it could be to save him physically.
However, there is another option here! It would be that the psalmist is praying for deliverance from his sin and for God to save him spiritually and eternally… to grant him forgiveness and mercy for his sin.
The Hebrew word used here for “cry [out]” or “pray” means to call, to cry, or to utter a loud sound or call unto, or cry (for help)… specifically a cry out to a deity for help!
This is the cry of desperation from someone who realizes he cannot help himself but seek help from the One he believes who can.
Matt Henry says that that the psalmist prayer was ‘inward’ in that he was praying with his heart… possibly a silent prayer unknown to the world around him.
The term the psalmist uses here is “whole heart” and it is a term that literally reflects the entire ‘seat of emotions’ or basically ALL of who the psalmist is as a person…
Another aspect we can gather from this prayer that the psalmist was persistent in his prayer! He cried out in earnest and with fervor and a holy passion and vigor of desire. But just ‘how persistent’ was he…
He was seeking after an “Answer” – he was desiring a response from God… a response to his prayer, a response to cry for God’s guidance…
Have you ever been there in your prayer life? Have you ever prayed that type of prayer to God? The prayer where you say something like “God let me know you are THERE!”
I know I have… we do this because there are times when we literally feel so alone and abandoned because of this world… that we can lose sight of God in our lives and we cry out for His presence and we desire to hear an acknowledgement from Him to our prayer!
In this prayer we find the psalmist using a term that the Jews hardly ever used. It was a term that translates as “Lord”, but it was and still is the Hebrew word “Yahweh” which is the proper name for God.
Now, this name was highly respected and out of the fear of God and based on the 2nd commandment the Hebrew nation simply did NOT use this name. They were afraid that the slightest slip of the tongue or mispronunciation could be interpreted as profaning God’s name!
So from this we can deduce 2 things about this prayer. First it was a serious and heartfelt prayer, this was important and somber to the psalmist!
The 2nd thing is that the psalmist, because of how important this prayer was to him… was focused on the prayer and what he was going to say!
This was not a prayer of REFLEX… but a prayer from the heart and one that he agonized over…
When move to v.146 we see a word similar to the word in v.145 this word means to “Keep” or “Obey” and it is the Hebrew word naw-tsar which means to observe or guard with fidelity…
When we look at this prayer by the psalmist we can see his sincerity! The psalmist was not seeking salvation and safety to gain ease and comfort in his life, but he was seeking peace with God!
Likewise, our cry for salvation cannot be so we have ease and comfort in this life, but it must be so that we can have the blessed opportunity to serve God in a greater way… so that our soul will be at peace with God!
In this verse we can also see that the psalmist uses the term “Statutes” or “decrees” which is the Hebrew word khoke which is a form of one of the nine words I gave to you at the beginning of this study. I have also passed these out tonight as a reminder for you… This is used by the psalmist to reflect the law of God… the WORD of God to his readers.
Here we can see where the psalmist binds himself to duty or submission in service as he was pursuing God’s mercy. He says, “I will keep thy statutes… I will obey your commandments…” this leads us to know that the psalmist was resolved to obedience to God’s Law…
He was resolved to observing God’s law because he understood what we find Solomon teaching in the book of Proverbs where he writes: “…God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.…” Prov. 28:9 NLT [show verse]
He understood that if he ignored the law that God would not even listen to his prayer… this is a principle we should keep in mind today as well…
God does not want to hear the prayer of those who open rebel against His commandments… in fact Scripture says those prayers are an abomination to Him! So we can learn from these 2 verses that the psalmist knew and understood that prayer in and of itself was useless without a willing and obedient heart and attitude behind those prayers!
He cried out for salvation and acknowledgment, but did so in a spirit of obedience and submission to God, knowing that God’s promise to hear him was based on his willingness to submit to God’s law!
But let’s move fwd to the next 2 verses [147-148]
[ESV]
147I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in Your words. 148My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Your promise.
[NLT]
147I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in Your words. 148I stay awake thru the night, thinking about Your promise.
Reformation Study Bible:
119:147 “I rise before dawn.” The psalmist’s 1st thoughts as wakens are of the Lord. His prayer is consistent and frequent as well as it is fervent.
Matthew Henry Commentary:
The psalmist relates here how he had abounded in prayer, how he had cried out to God offering his deep affection. Henry tells us of 2 exercises that attended the prayer of the psalmist…
In v.147 the KJV reads, “…I prevented the dawn…” that does not mean to say that the psalmist thinks he can hold back the day… the word used here for prevented—literally means "to come before,"
This means that the psalmist anticipated not only the dawn, but even the watches of the night; when one might be expected to find someone asleep! He says that he is awake and seeking after God’s truth!
(Ps 63:6; 77:4; La 2:19). Such is the earnestness of the desire and love for God's truth.
Ps 63:6 – “…I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night…”
Ps 77:4 – “…You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray!”
Lam 2:19 – “…Rise during the night and cry out…”
Here we can 1st can come to see these prayers are the
handmaids of the psalmist’s godly devotion!
1. It reflects his complete hope in God’s LAW, which encouraged him to continue in prayer, although the answer did not come immediately:
2. It reflects his meditation on God’s LAW. This reveals that the more intimate we converse with the word of God…the more we dwell upon it in our thoughts… the better we are able to speak to God in His language! AND the better we shall know what to pray for as we should.
In other words, simply READING God’s word is NOT enough for His servants, but we must meditate on it and absorb it into our lives! The 2nd exercise of this prayer was…
2nd It reflected the hours of his devotion to God and His law.
The psalmist was early riser & began day w/ God.
The 1st thing the psalmist did in the morning, before he committed himself to any business, was pray! This is because this was the time when his mind was most fresh and in the best frame.
Here the psalmist teaches us that the first few moments of the morning… our first few thoughts in the morning should be of God! If so, they will help to keep us in his fear all the day long.
The psalmist’s mind was full of God,
Even in the night-watches, when he awaked from his first sleep, he would rather meditate and pray than turn himself and go to sleep again.
v.48 tells us that EVEN before the watchman proclaims the hour, that the psalmist was awake and meditating on the Law of God… His holy words!
What does this mean… about the night watch? Well the Jews divided the night into three watches, which began at what we call six o'clock in the evening, and consisted each of four hours. (6pm, 10pm, 2am)
So we can see that sleep and slumber were not the priority here for the psalmist. We must know and understand that there are times when we must be in prayer and meditation on God’s word… and many times that means we should sacrifice sleep to do so…
The Psalmist would set aside time for prayer:
Here we find that the psalmist, although he was a very busy man, he made NO excuse from keeping his private time of devotion!
This is because it is better to take time away from our sleep, as the psalmist does here than to not to find time for prayer.
What about you today? How often do we seek God only in times of OUR convenience… only in times when we think we HAVE the time!?? When we travail at the cross… we must be willing to do so whenever it is needed or necessary… even if that requires the interruption of our daily schedules or nightly routines!
Our relationship with God is not one based on convenience, but one based on submission and service to God. If we are not willing to miss sleep to pray… we are not willing to serve when He calls!
As we move forward here let’s read v.149
[ESV]
149Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to Your justice give me life. [NLT] 149In Your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry; let me be revived by following Your regulations.
Reformation Study Bible:
119:149 according to your steadfast love . . . according to your justice. What the psalmist is saying here is that God’s love and justice toward His people will never be incompatible with His law for them.
1. Here he encourages himself to hope that he shall obtain his request; for he depends,
(1) On God’s loving kindness: The psalmist believes that in his obedience God is pleased and will bless him with good things… and a good life.
(2) Upon God’s judgment, the wisdom of God is what he is seeking here…
[ESV]
150They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from Your law. 151But You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are true.
[NLT]150Lawless people are coming to attack me; they live far from Your instructions. 151But You are near, O Lord, and all your commands are true.
Here we find the psalmist bemoaning that the enemy is near… and that they have nothing but ill will or intent toward him, but look what the psalmist does here! In v.151 he says, “…BUT You are near…”
Many may miss this… but here the psalmist is clarifying that God is his shelter and refuge… and although the enemy surround him, he does not worry or fret because God is near. This reminds me of Ps 23 where David says, “…and though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear NO evil for YOU are with me…”
We need fear NO evil in this world when we have the presence of God in our lives! The psalmist knew this and we must realize and recognize it…
Our enemies may be malicious, and they may have grand plans for persecuting us… They may even be resolute so as to NOT allow ANY opportunity slip by without attempting to harm us, but our focus cannot be upon them but our on our protector and on the task he has for us…
Our enemy does NOT fear God… and in this is their downfall! They don’t know what they are up against! They believe it to me a weak and frail person, but their lack of fear toward God will be their undoing!
Matthew Henry says that this comes in here as a reason why the psalmist was SO very earnest in his prayer, [looking back at v.149]. God allows us to enter into peril, but as He has promised we are in His hand, and when we cry out for Him, he has promised to deliver us!
Henry points out that the psalmist had an assurance of protection with God: 150Lawless people are coming to attack me… 151But You are near, O Lord, and all your commands are true. Henry reassures us that this promise of protection from God is the happiness of the saints! We know that when trouble is close, God is closer! And that there is NO trouble that can separate us from Him!
Paul assures us of this in his letter to the Romans when he says, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The psalmist also tells us here that all of God’s commandments are TRUE! Our enemies think that they can defeat us and that the promises of God are meaningless, but like the psalmist in this verse we can be SURE they are true!
[ESV]
152Long have I known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever.
[NLT]
152I have known from my earliest days that Your laws will last forever.
This confirms what the psalmist has told us in the close of the previous verses… …all your commands are true.
What the psalmist means here is the covenant God has with His people! This is the WORD thru which God has spoken his promise! This is the promise God has affirmed to a thousand generations. IT is as firm and true as truth itself.
Why? Well 1st we can see that God’s promise was founded BY GOD! God has framed His promise for all time… set it in perpetuity… a promise without END!
The promises of God are founded forever, so that when heaven and earth shall have passed away every promise from God shall still stand firm!
2nd the psalmist had also found it to be true… both by a work of God’s grace upon his heart and by the works of God’s providence on his behalf! God always fulfilled His promise beyond what the psalmist expected.
This assurance was confirmed by observations and experiences of his life, and others that had gone before him.
Like the Law itself is true, so are the promises and covenants of God toward humanity. He will not abandon us to ourselves, but is constantly seeking to redeem us… now through His Son Jesus Christ! Let us revel and glory in the promises of God! PRAY!
