All of Psalm 119 is read before me (22 readers reading eight verses each).
Today we conclude our series, Life By the Book. The psalmist takes 176 verses to motivate us to get into the Bible and get the Bible into us. If you’ll continue to keep Psalm 119 open with me (page 611 in your Black pew Bibles in front). I want you to elevate your attitude toward the Bible to a higher level. I want you to coordinate your prayers and your Bible study to transform your life to conform to the image of Jesus Christ.
My Greatest Habit
My greatest single habit is to read the Bible each and every day. I’m not perfect, and I miss a day every so often. But again, my greatest single habit is to read the Bible each and every day. My reading of God’s Word has saved me from more heartache…
… given me more wisdom…
… protected me from more mistakes…
...given me more comfort…
… and provided me with more encouragement than anything else I’ve done in life.
No wonder the psalmist says, “I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live and praise you,
and let your rules help me.” (Psalm 119:174-175).
Psalm 119 is the most sustained act of praise and commitment to the Word of God in all of the Bible. The psalmist takes 176 verses to motivate us to get into the Bible and get the Bible into us.
Today’s Reading
“Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
give me understanding according to your word!
170 Let my plea come before you;
deliver me according to your word.
171 My lips will pour forth praise,
for you teach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your word,
for all your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live and praise you,
and let your rules help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments” (Psalm 119:169-176).
It’s one thing to read the Bible. It’s another thing altogether to live by the Bible.
I want you to elevate your attitude toward the Bible to a higher level. I want you to coordinate your prayers and your Bible study to transform your life to conform to the image of Jesus Christ.
An Overview - Two Halves
These last eight verses of Psalm 119 have two sections or two halves. First, verses 169-172 are a cry for the Lord to hear. That’s the first half. The second half starts at verse 173 and the focus is for the Lord to act. The first half is a plea for the Lord to hear and the second half is for the Lord to act. Notice that the psalmist concludes both halves with the word “commandments” which gives symmetry to this portion of Scripture. The stanza’s headlines might read “Lord, hear my prayer,” “Lord, hear my praise,” “Lord, act to help me,” and “Lord, act to restore me.”
1. Guide Me, Lord
“Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
give me understanding according to your word!
170 Let my plea come before you;
deliver me according to your word” (Psalm 119:169-170).
These last eight verses of Psalm 119 are petitions or prayers. Notice how Hebrew parallels one another as the thought in verse 169 is complemented in verse 170. This is a standard feature in Hebrew poetry as the two lines complement one another.
1.1 Lips and Tongue
The Psalmist makes it all about lips, tongue, and mouth. The Psalmist says, “Let my cry come before you, O Lord … 170 Let my plea come before you … 171 My lips will pour forth praise … 172 My tongue will sing of your word.” Here’s his prayer: “give me understanding according to your word … deliver me according to your word … teach me your statutes.”
I need my mind filled with your wisdom, Lord. Teach me what’s really best and what really matters. I need your thoughts to overtake my thinking. In a similar way, the prophet Isaiah quotes God, the Father as saying: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
1.2 Praying and Reading the Bible
Reading the Bible is not enough. He’s not just reading the Bible as you would a phone book. He’s not just clicking off “done” like you’d read your homework from school. He’s praying and reading. He’s earnestly praying and reading. He’s intensely praying and reading. He’s meditating on Scripture and feasting on Scripture. My friend, you need to pray for the Spirit of God to bake those words deep in your soul, psyche, and mind.
The Psalmist says, ““Let my cry come before you, O Lord … 170 Let my plea come before you … 171 My lips will pour forth praise … 172 My tongue will sing of your word.” Here’s his prayer: “give me understanding according to your word … deliver me according to your word … teach me your statutes.” “Bake your words deep into my psyche, Lord.”
1.3 Jesus on Scripture
There’s an idea in some circles that Christianity is oppressive and patriarchal. Christianity is rejected because some think the ideas inside the Bible do not square with modern psychology and modern science. Jesus didn’t think the Bible was repressive. Instead, Jesus said: “….Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35b). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35). Jesus had a high view of Scripture. He had the highest view of Scripture. Again, cry out with the psalmist, ““Let my cry come before you, O Lord … 170 Let my plea come before you … 171 My lips will pour forth praise … 172 My tongue will sing of your word.” His prayer should be your prayer: “give me understanding according to your word … deliver me according to your word … teach me your statutes.”
1.4 Be Honest
One thing the Bible has in common with every book that has ever been written is it is absolutely useless if it stays closed. Be honest with yourself for a moment: If you are not in the habit of listening to what God has to say and letting God speak to you every day, you believe you can make it on your own and do life by yourself. If you are not in the habit of listening to what God has to say and letting God speak to you every day, you don't need God’s help or you believe that what God has to say is not just that important. Now if you deny that, then what single possibility could you have for not reading, studying, and meditating on the Bible? Again, one thing the Bible has in common with every book that has ever been written is it is absolutely useless if it stays closed.
There is not a day in your life that you do not need to hear from God. There is not a day in your life that you do not need to listen to God.
1.5 Wisdom for Every Part of Life
How important is the Bible to being a Christian? Look at the first thing the ancient Hebrew king was to do when he sat on his throne: “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them….” (Deuteronomy 17:18-19).
Imagine the President sitting down at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, taking a quill pen to start copying out in Hebrew long hand the ancient words of the Torah. What a sight that would be! Imagine the silence as the leader of the Free World copiously moves verse by verse through the commandments of God. The ancient kings of Israel were supposed to copy out the Bible, or some significant chunk of it, and then he’s supposed to read it every day. Every day that’s what he’s supposed to do. He’s supposed to copy it and keep it nearby, so it’s with him all the time. And then he’s to read the law each and every day.
The Bible is everyday wisdom and sound thinking for all of life. Imagine if you took a new job and you sat down at your new job to write out the Ten Commandments. That way, you can read it and keep it close to you every single day.
1.6 Nathan Cole and the Bible
Go with me to the year 1765 when a farmer was converted under the ministry of America’s first great evangelist, George Whitefield. The farmer is Nathan Cole, and I invite you to listen to this farmer’s love for the Bible born in 1711: “I was filled with a pineing desire to see Christs own words in the bible…. every leaf line and letter smiled in my face; I got the bible up under my Chin and hugged it; it was sweet and lovely.” Stirred by the preaching of the English revivalist George Whitefield, the Connecticut farmer Nathan Cole found solace for his troubled soul in the living words of Holy Scripture. From then until now, you can have this kind of relationship with the words of life.
1.7 My Reaction to Reading God’s Word
If God accuses me of wrongdoing, then I respond with repentance. If the Lord praises me, then I respond with gratitude and joy. If He warns me of danger, then I thank Him for His protection. If God commands me to do something, then I ask Him for help to accomplish the command. If God makes me a promise, I marvel at His power and trust Him to do what He says. And if God tells me something about Himself, then I worship Him.
1.8 The Refrain of Psalm 119:169-172
Cry out with the psalmist, ““Let my cry come before you, O Lord … 170 Let my plea come before you … 171 My lips will pour forth praise … 172 My tongue will sing of your word.” His prayer should be your prayer: “give me understanding according to your word … deliver me according to your word … teach me your statutes.”
1. Guide Me, Lord
2. Restore Me, O Lord
“168 I keep your precepts and testimonies,
for all my ways are before you.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments” (Psalm 119:168, 176).
It seems as if Psalm 119 contradicts itself here. On the one hand, he says, “I have kept your law. I do what you tell me to do in your Word.” On the other hand, he says, “I have gone astray. I have veered from your path. I have failed to do all your law says to do.” Again, it seems as if Psalm 119 contradicts itself here. Yet, both of these things are true of the same man, at the same time.
Here’s how to find your way back to the Lord.
2.1 The Best of Us Are Inconsistent
The Best of Us Are Inconsistent. Here’s what we know about the author of Psalm 119. This man had a deep love for the law like no man I have ever met (Psalm 119:97). He continually praised the law of God (Psalm 119:164). He had this tremendous prayer life, as we have seen (Psalm 119:164). And he loved to obey the Lord (Psalm 119:22. 110, 121). We know these four items about his inner life, his Christian life. We also know this about him. He veered off the good path (Psalm 119:176). This wasn’t even the first time he strayed (Psalm 119:67). Again, the Best of Us Are Inconsistent. How do go back when we have strayed?
2.2 Seek Your Servant
“168 I keep your precepts and testimonies,
for all my ways are before you.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments” (Psalm 119:168, 176).
Because he has gone astray, listen to how he pleads with God to act: “seek your servant” (Psalm 119: 176b). He admits his need for help. The original Hebrew behind the words “I have gone astray” means a continual imperfection and continual helplessness. The Hebrew verb relates not only to the past but to the present. Earlier in verse 133, he prayed: “Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133).
2.3 He’s Not Content
He is not content with being away from the Lord. When you recognize that you have strayed from the Lord, are you content to be away from the Lord? Or do you lower your head and pray, “seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments” (Psalm 119: 176). The psalmist does not say, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep, but I can return when I please.” No, instead, he prays to the Lord, “seek your servant.” “Lord, come and seek me. Lord, come and find me. Search for me, Father. Find me, God!” “I want to be perfectly holy, come and help me now. Forgive every sin of omission or commission. Draw me away from every mistake. Draw me nearer, and yet nearer to yourself. Seek your servant.”
Conclusion:
The truth is you cannot keep the all the law all the time. There is only One who kept all the law, all the time.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
When he was in his twenties, Robert Robinson wrote those words to the classic hymn. Robinson’s family was a disaster when he was growing up. His father abandoned the family, and his mother took in boarders to their home to keep the family afloat. At age thirteen, Robinson went to study to be a barber in London. On May 24, 1752, Robinson and a group of his friends went to a fortune teller drunk on cheap gin. They then visited a church in Moorfields where they heard George Whitefield preach on the wrath to come. Whitefield’s sermon haunted Robinson for three years. His unrest culminated in his conversion to Christ, where the would-be barber soon became a pastor. No wonder he would soon write in his famous hymn:
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with his precious blood.
