Psalm 119:129-136 “Pe”
Psalm 119:129129 Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them. (ESV)
What a simple prayer, and a delightful truth about God’s word. His testimonies are wonderful in every sense of the word – they are amazing and joyous to us, and they are full of wonder. So, we keep His law and His testimonies.
Psalm 119:130130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple. (ESV)
The word of God is indeed powerful. It gives light where there is darkness… the light of Christ. Christ came into the world to shine light, and to give understanding to the simple. Even the simple can understand the message of the Gospel – that Christ died for our sins.
Psalm 119:131131 I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments. (ESV)
Like the deer pants for the water brook, David pants for the word of God, as we do as well. We long for it, and we feel its absence when we go without it.
Psalm 119:132132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your way with those who love your name. (ESV)
God does indeed have mercy on those who love His name. He looks upon them, and sees His son.
Psalm 119:133133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity get dominion over me. (ESV)
David once again asks God’s help in keeping His word, and not allowing sin to have control over Him. And God does it for us! Without Him, we would still be dead and wallowing in our sins, but with Him, our steps can be directed to His word.
Psalm 119:134134 Redeem me from man’s oppression,
that I may keep your precepts. (ESV)
Under oppression, we can still keep God’s word, but we can keep it easier with freedom. We don’t think about this often enough today, in the United States, where we do have the freedom to worship as we will, at least for the time being.
Psalm 119:135135 Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes. (ESV)
God’s face does truly shine upon us when we learn His statutes. There is no greater joy for God than the redemption of the saved!
Psalm 119:136136 My eyes shed streams of tears,
because people do not keep your law. (ESV)
Do we feel pain for the lost? Do we weep for those who do not know Christ? Teach us your statutes, Lord. Not only those that teach us how to live, not only those that teach us how not to sin, but those that teach us the glorious gospel of the payment for our sins by Your Son’s death and resurrection. Amen.
Psalm 119:121-128 “Ayin”
Psalm 119:121121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors. (ESV)
If we do justice and righteousness alone, that is not sufficient for God’s good pleasure. But if we do it, as David, after God’s own heart, with faith in Him, then He will save us from our oppressors.
Psalm 119:122122 Give your servant a pledge of good;
let not the insolent oppress me. (ESV)
A surety is a guarantee of debt, and indeed the Lord guarantees our debt of sin, that we may do good. The proud may oppress our bodies, but they may never oppress our spirit.
Psalm 119:123123 My eyes long for your salvation
and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise. (ESV)
Again, David speaks of his eyes failing while seeking God’s precious promises of salvation in His righteous word.
Psalm 119:124124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes. (ESV)
The psalmist, like us, recognizes his sinfulness. He knows that if God deals with us according to His justice, we are doomed to our rightful punishment in hell. But if He deals with us according to His mercy, then He will save us from that second death, and teach us His statutes and grant us, through His grace, wonderful faith in Him.
Psalm 119:125125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know your testimonies! (ESV)
Another very good Bible study prayer… We should always remember to humbly ask God to give us understanding of His testimonies before we examine them.
Psalm 119:126126 It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken. (ESV)
“For they have regarded Your law as void.” How much is this as true today as it was 3,000 years ago? Everywhere, men ignore the law of God, and regard it as void, no longer applicable. They create their own moralities, just as the wicked in David’s time. Act, O Lord, from Your perfect mercy, perfect justice, perfect love, and perfect righteousness.
Psalm 119:127127 Therefore I love your commandments
above gold, above fine gold. (ESV)
Is our love for His word growing? None of us spends as much time in His word as we ought, but we do find ourselves loving it more and more? Does it capture our thoughts more than it used to? Do we spend more time discussing it, meditating on it, contemplating it, and studying it?
Psalm 119:128128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
I hate every false way. (ESV)
There is no lack of truth in God’s word, and in those areas it speaks, we consider it to be right. Grant greater understanding to your servants, Lord, that we may know Your precepts concerning all things. Amen.
Psalm 119:113-120 “Samek”
Psalm 119:113113 I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law. (ESV)
Who are the double-minded? Those who say one thing, and do another. The hypocrites. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day. The false teachers of our own day.
Psalm 119:114114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word. (ESV)
God’s word brings us strength, protection, and hope. We know that we can trust in Him and His word, because of the hope that is in us.
Psalm 119:115115 Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God. (ESV)
While we should reach out to the lost, we must also avoid being entrapped by the snare of evildoers. David reminds us of this many times throughout the psalms, often with the contrast between them and the word of God.
Psalm 119:116116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope! (ESV)
Let us, too, ask God to uphold us, and protect us, and keep us in the comfort and obedience of His word. Let us also not be ashamed of the hope that we have through Christ Jesus, but to proclaim it always.
Psalm 119:117117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually! (ESV)
We are indeed held up and kept safe by God, to, as Peter says, “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation…” How glorious is it that the power of God Himself keeps us through our faith? That He keeps our inheritance incorruptible?
Psalm 119:118118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain. (ESV)
God rejects those who claim to hold faith, but deceive by rejecting Him through His law. Their deceit shows the falsehood of their so-called “faith.”
Psalm 119:119119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
therefore I love your testimonies. (ESV)
Merriam-Webster online defines dross as:
the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal; waste or foreign matter: impurity
The 1828 edition of Webster’s mentions that this scum is “thrown off in the process of melting,” and includes the definition as “waste matter; refuse; any worthless matter separated from the better part; impure matter.”
There are a lot in the church today who say that God does not punish. They deny hell, either explicitly saying it does not exist, or refusing to say one way or another. The Bible is not so vague. Christ himself said more about hell explicitly than anyone else. But even David praises God for his justice – for putting away all the wicked of the earth like dross.
Psalm 119:120120 My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments. (ESV)
Usually the fear of God refers to awe and respect, but here, David truly trembles before God and His judgments. Father, we, too fear your righteous judgments, and tremble along with David. Amen.
Random Thoughts – 09/03/2006
Happy Labor Day. Hope everyone is enjoying a 3-day weekend!
Found My Homeboys:
Centuri0n from Team Pyro has been good enough to respond to the demand for Homeboy t-shirts. In case anyone is interested, I’m a 2XL, and at the top of my wish list would be Edwards, Spurgeon, and Calvin. In case anyone is interested.
Everybody’s Talkin:
This time, about the coincidentally redesigned sites at Desiring God and Ligonier Ministries. These are both excellent sites with a lot of very good resources from two very good teachers. Inicidentally, I grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, just a stone’s throw from the town of Ligonier, the original home of Dr. Sproul’s ministry. The Desiring God site has an excellent starter page, too, called The Essential Piper.
The Annihilation of Hell, and Our Internal Trinities:
Ken Silva at Slice of Laodicea quotes Dr. Walter Martin on the de-emphasis or denial of the doctrine of hell, as well some really, um, unusual views on the trinity recently from Robert Schuller.
The Best of the Best:
Monergism.com has posted the top pages on the site for August, 2006. There is a lot of good stuff on that site, so this collection of pages is pure gold…
Star Trek News:
Gene Bridges at Triablogue has posted some awesome news for us geeks who are still big fans of the original Trek. Can’t wait to see Captain Kirk hitting the small screen again, even in remastered reruns!
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