Last time I wrote, it was early October and we were reading Psalm 191. We went over roughly the first 1/3 of it. The psalm is a poem which has 22 stanzas, one for each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and each stanza is 8 verses long. The general theme of the poem has been and will continue to be the praise and the adoration of the word of God. The Psalmist keeps using the phrases God’s commands, God’s precepts, God’s Laws, God’s promises, God’s decrees. Psalm 119 is in some ways very repetitive, the psalmist keeps asking for guidance from God, and repeating how much he loves God’s decrees, his commandments, but if you read it closely, the psalmist has said some very deep things about God’s character, about communion and fellowship of God’s people, about how people of God are strangers on Earth. He’s talked about how he longs to obey God’s commands and be blessed, and how he wishes to be saved or rescued from the curses of disobedience. He has spoken about seeing the face of God, instead of being forsaken. Let’s keep reading.

ט Teth

• 65 Do good to your servant according to your word, Lord.
• 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.
• 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
• 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.
• 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart.
• 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.
• 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
• 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

The Psalmist is asking God to do good to his servant acording to God’s word. Its a prayer for sustinence and instruction, but also the psalmist is thinking about and meditating on God’s holy promises, what God’s word describes when outlining the law, which good things will come when commands are followed, which bad things happen when God’s word is ignored. He is thinking about not just what are the commands, but why are the commands good, how do they reflect God’s Glory. Knowledge, Good Judgment come from understanding and obeying God’s word. The Psalmist is clearly experiencing difficulty, adversity, affliction. Vs 69, Arrogant people have smeared him with lies; Earlier in the psalm, he describes the wicked binding him with ropes, the evildoers setting snares and traps, the kings, rulers, and powerful people slandering him. The Psalmist knows and has experienced affliction, and instead of complaining to God about it, he realizes in vs 67 that Before the affliction he went astray, before the affliction he lacked understanding. The world will give us affliction. 2020 has been a year where nearly everyone has been exposed to difficulty and hardship; even if you haven’t gotten sick, many of us know people who have. Even if you are lucky enough to not know anyone who has been sick, the virus and the response to the pandemic has isolated healthy people, separated us from our families and friends. What has been the result of this affliction? It’s hard to find silver linings from the pandemic where over 200k americans have died, but the general public has learned a lot about hygiene, immunology, infectious disease transmission, and even though we’ve been isolated I believe lives have been saved, and good has resulted from it. I have personally cherished fellowship more now, although I’d taken it for granted before lockdowns and restrictions. It’s not the first inclination to find blessings among affliction when you are personally afflicted. It’s not easy or our first feeling to try and see the hand of God at work. Look at verse 71. When the Psalmist says he’s been afflicted, he said it was good for me to be afflicted. Why? So that I might learn your decrees. Affliction can and should be a learning experience. Look back at verse 67. Before I was afflicted, before I suffered, I went astray, but Now I Obey. In the midst of affliction, the Psalmist states, “God you are Good. You do what is Good. Teach me from this.” He sees arrogant people smearing him with lies, but he focuses on God’s truth. In vs 70 He sees the callous and unfeeling hearts of the wicked, and asks God to teach him to be different. Scripture talks about how God’s Spirit changes peoples hearts from stone to flesh, God is the one who changes our hearts, so he’s not just a creator, he re-creates or renovates our hearts, He makes us be born of Spirit.

י Yodh

• 73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.
• 74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.
• 75 I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
• 76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.
• 77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.
• 78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts.
• 79 May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes.
• 80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.

Verse 73 affirms what Psalm 139 says, God knitted us together in our mother’s womb. Since the very beginning of time and the very beginning of Bible, we’ve known God to be the creator. He is a creative force, and that is one of his attributes. He isn’t just the creator of the universe, as in He set things in motion and then stepped back. It’s more intimate, more personal. God is our creator, we are his creatures, vs 73 says His hands made and formed us. He knew us and His figurative eyes saw us as we were being knitted together. He knows the hairs on our head. He created us, but he sustains us in a creative way (Colossians 1:15-17 says Christ is the image of the invisible God, in him all things were created; he is Before all things and in him all things are held together). Colossians is the New Testament, but it isn’t a New God. The Psalmist is asking the same God to instruct him and counsel him in the Commandments, how? By Prayer and being in God’s word, His Spirit gives us understanding to learn his commands. He is a creator of our physical bodies, which is amazing enough , but he is the source of our understanding and our knowledge of Him. read Verse 74, People who fear God rejoice when they see me (the Psalmist). He’s mentioned his friendship and brotherhood with those who fear God in verse 63. People who put their hope in God’s word should cause joy in others who share that hope. Christians should rejoice when they see each other. Sadly, throughout history and still today, people in the church bite and devour each other the same way people in the world do, but it shouldn’t be like that. We should have an upstanding reputation that should cause other believers to rejoice because we live our lives in a way that represents God and his order and his commandments. Read verse 75. I know God, your laws are Righteous. God’s laws are the measure of righteousness; and so if affliction has brought the Psalmist closer to God’s laws, God was faithful to allow the affliction to come to that Psalmist. In our hardships, God is faithful, God is good. What a mature view on hardship. It’s obviously consistent with what Paul says, when I am weak, you are strong. And when we see affliction, we should reach out to God’s unfailing Love like the Psalmist points out in verse 76. Verse 77 affirms that without God’s compassion, we can not live. God let your compassion come to us, so that we may live. Our lives are dependent upon God’s mercy, his grace. Without God’s mercy, we are subject to his justice, and that means we are the rightful recipients of God’s wrath. Without his grace, we have no good thing on this earth, and God in his compassion gives common grace to all of his creatures. We don’t deserve a warm sun or a breath of clean air, but God created good things for his creation, and every breath we take, every time our heart beats, we are experiencing God’s mercy, his Grace and his Compassion. Verse 78 the psalmist asks God to put the arrogant to shame. He doesnt take vengeance into his own hands, but trusts in God’s power and ability to right wrongs. And in verse 79-80 He asks God to bring people to him who fear God like he does. He wants fellowship and companionship with others who understand God’s statutes, he wants to spend his time around people who Fear God. He wants to wholeheartedly follow God together with those around him, which is consistent with how the Proverbs 27 says as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. We are called to each other, to edify the body of Christ..

כ Kaph

• 81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word.
• 82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, “When will you comfort me?”
• 83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees.
• 84 How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?
• 85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me, contrary to your law.
• 86 All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
• 87 They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.
• 88 In your unfailing love preserve my life, that I may obey the statutes of your mouth

This stanza of the poem is an honest outpouring of human lament. The Psalmist is feeling impatience and dissatisfaction with the current situation.. He says his soul faints with Longing for salvation. He needs to be saved from his persecutors, but we understand God’s salvation is the only thing that can save us from our sin and from the penalties of our sin. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone, not by our works, but by his perfect obedience; God can protect us from earthly hardships, or allow us to endure those hardships, and still be a Righteous and Just God. But we understand his promises of Salvation to mean that Jesus Christ came and lived a perfect life and died a perfectly obedient death, that I deserved so whosoever believes can be forgiven and spend an eternity with God. The Psalmist is straining and looking but hasn’t seen the completion of God’s promises that we have. The Psalmist says his hope is in God’s word, but his eyes fail looking for God’s promise. Of course his eyes fail and strain, that psalmist hasn’t seen God’s word become flesh and dwell among us. All the words of his Psalms yearn for something that is fulfilled in Christ! He is asking when God will comfort him. He compares himself to a wineskin in the smoke. Typically homes were warmed with fires, and wineskins would come in contact with smoke. Sometimes the smoke would give wines a bit of flavor and aroma, But If the wineskins dried out they would become hardened and start to crack and eventually become worthless. Wineskins needed to be protected by moisture and water; they needed time in fresh air and a pure safe environment. The Psalmist is explaining that he is in an unsuitable environment, he is hardening, he is drying out and starting to crack, but his solace is God’s decrees. Again, he has persecutors, but he waits; remembering God’s commands. God will punish those who break the law, God will punish those are digging traps for the Psalmist, God punishes those who persecute without cause. God is Just and will punish wrongdoing; God is also merciful and will forgive those who repent. So in one case, God will make the wrong right, and in the other case the person who wronged the Psalmist will become a friend and an ally. God works all things for our good, and we will talk about that more in the next 8 verse stanza. God’s commands are trustworthy, and the Psamlist resolves to not forsake scripture. Vs 88 The Psalmist recalls God’s unfailing Love, and in that Love, the Psalmist’s life is preserved. The Psalmist asks God to preserve his life, not just for comfort, ease, prosperity. The Psalmist wants a preserved life so that he can obey the statutes that God puts forth. The Psalmist is affirming a life purpose here. Preserve my life why? so I can Obey your statutes. Often we ask God for things that make our lives easier, more pleasant, or more comfortable. Those things aren’t bad, but the reason the Psalmist is asking God to preserve his life is so that he can follow the commands and live a life of obedience.

ל Lamedh

• 89 Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
• 90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.
• 91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
• 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
• 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.
• 94 Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts.
• 95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes.
• 96 To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless.

God’s word is eternal, it stands firm in the heavens. God’s word is unchanging; and because it comes from God it is unchangeable. God’s faithfulness continues through generations and the earth and God’s faithful word endures. Verse 91 God’s law endures, and the Psalmist says that all things serve God. Romans 8:28, Paul says that in All Things, God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. It’s hard to believe sometimes that All things serve God. Because we see a lot things that WE don’t like . And we also see plenty of things that we know God doesn’t like – police brutality, looting, violence, come to mind from just the past week. It’s hard to see God at work when we see wickedness and evil. But our hope and our faith is in God’s word, and His word affirms that God is served by all things. Verse 85 says Arrogant people dig pits to trap the people of God, contrary to God’s law. And yet Affliction of God’s people serves God. The Psalmist says without the Word of God, if the word had not been his delight, he would have perished in his affliction. But back in verse 75, God, in faithfulness, afflicted him, Verse 67 before he was afflicted he went astray, but now he obeys God. Verse 71, it was Good to be afflicted so he might learn God’s decrees. By God’s precepts he preserves our Life. Why do we study the Bible? Why do we care about what God’s word says? Well, here’s a big reason! by God’s word he preserves our life. By God’s word, he saves us. The Psalmist says, “Save Me, for I am yours”. His heart is searching for Salvation, and it’s only by God’s word that we can see righteousness. The Psalmist says all perfection has a limit; God is 100% perfect, he can’t be any more perfect. He can’t get any better or fix any fiber of his existence even the slightest bit. God is Perfection. He has nowhere to go, because he is perfection. Now compared to us, he is infinitely more perfect because we can look at every aspect of ourselves and fall short of perfection; we can spend our lives fixing our conduct, our thoughts, our words, our deeds, and still desperately need to be saved by God’s grace and mercy. But that’s why the Word of God is boundless. Because we are a totally depraved and imperfect people. God’s Word, when it is spoken to sinful humans is boundless. That says more about the depths of human sinful nature, it says that no matter how good we think we are, no matter how refined, no matter how smart, we will always have a capability to be taught, a capability to grow and mature, a capability to find sin in our lives, and let God’s word speak to us to change our heart.