Life in the Word
Do you know someone for whom you’d say: That person has a love for life! Typically, we would reserve such a phrase for those we feel are uninhibited, who live without fear, following their passion wherever it may lead them. These are your world travelers and thrill-seekers, sky-divers and mountain climbers, even party-goers. In a pejorative sense, some would call such people pleasure seekers, and would relate them to the younger prodigal brother in the story of the two sons.
The truth be told, even those who would call themselves reserved, also have a love for life! Why else would they be so intent on preserving it! These people take calculated risks, only bet on the sure thing, expect a guaranteed rate of return, in writing, if blood is not available. They prefer days in the ski lodge drinking coffee, as opposed to going down the bunny slope (that’s me, by the way)! They no less have a love for life than the thrill-seeker, but their love for life expresses itself differently.
Friends, we are a people who hunger and thirst for life. By life, I don’t merely mean existence, I mean experience. Human beings posses within themselves a longing to live, to walk in the fullness of joy, authentic and truthful, full of love and relationship, and with purpose. This desire was given to us by God. It is a result of being made in His image, for God himself is full of joy, complete and perfect in His nature, full of grace and truth, in loving relationship within the Trinity, as He is the very definition of love, and has created all things by His will and for His purpose.
The two extremes we mentioned are the polar ends of the spectrum. We tend to sit at our end of the spectrum and cast aspersions on those opposite us. Let me submit to you, it is not the personality type that is wrong or sinful; what makes our pursuit of life right or wrong is in the what or in whom do you seek it. All humanity lives with a hungry heart, a soul thirst for life. Scripture is bursting with this love for life, and I want you to see where where it is found.
Our passage today is Psalm 119:17-24
Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem according to the Hebrew alphabet. There are 176 verses, which are divided into 22 stanzas— one for each letter, and each stanza contains 8 verses. Each of the first eight verses begins with the letter aleph, each of the next eight verses begins with the letter beth, and this week the letter is gimel, and so on. Though no authorship was given in the inscription, I believe this psalm was written by king David. There are a few indicators, one we will read today, that have convinced me so. Scholars would agree that the writing fits with his style, and his experience.
If we were to stand and read it in its entirety, it might seem to be the Psalm that never-ends. It is the longest Psalm, and chapter, in the bible. In contrast to the children’s song, which was sung for the primary purpose of gleeful annoyance, Psalm 119 indeed has merit to be sung forever. It is a pouring forth of praise, of adoration and adulation, centered around the never-changing Word of God. This psalm fits with our conviction for Christ-centered worship. Friends, we know that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh. Thus, in the word we see the very Son of God, who gives life. We study His word because it reveals His character, His beauty, His glory! This is what we aim to preach, for it is in His words that we have life!
Let me read to you the words of Charles Hadden Spurgeon regarding Psalm 119:
[Psalm 119] equally excels in breadth of thought, depth of meaning, and height of fervor. It is like the celestial city which lieth four-square, and the height and the breadth of it are equal. Many superficial readers have imagined that it harps upon one string, and abounds in pious repetitions and redundancies; but this arises from the shallowness of the reader's own mind: those who have studied this divine hymn, and carefully noted each line of it, are amazed at the variety and profundity of the thought. Using only a few words, the writer has produced permutations and combinations of meaning which display his holy familiarity with his subject, and the sanctified ingenuity of his mind. He never repeats himself; for if the same sentiment recurs it is placed in a fresh connection, and so exhibits another interesting shade of meaning. The more one studies it the fresher it becomes. As those who drink the Nile water like it better every time they take a draught, so does this Psalm become the more full and fascinating the oftener you turn to it. It contains no idle word; the grapes of this cluster are almost to bursting lull with the new wine of the kingdom. The more you look into this mirror of a gracious heart the more you will see in it. Placid on the surface as the sea of glass before the eternal throne, it yet contains within its depths an ocean of fire, and those who devoutly gaze into it shall not only see the brightness, but feel the glow of the sacred flame...
We will look at the the Word of God in Psalm 119 under the following headings:
The word of God is:
That for which I live…
That which fills my senses…
That which calls me home…
That which fills my soul…
That which directs my path… [counsel]
That which guides my thoughts… [comfort]
That in which my soul delights
Would you stand in honor of the reading God’s word. Please open your Bible to Psalm 119, and I will read verse 17 through 24.
Psalm 119:17-24
17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
[Pray]The word of God is:
That for which I live…
17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
The Psalmist is telling us the reason for his petition: he desires to live and keep God’s word! His petition is for life— deal bountifully with your servant, is in the context of life! God’s sovereign and gracious provision enables one to live, to eat, to breathe. But living isn’t the end result of what he is asking for.
The reason for living is so that he may keep the word! He is not bargaining with God merely for his life, but asking that he may live more because he has found life—experiential fullness of life, in the word of God! He is saying, this is better than the highest mountain, richer than the best food and wine, more life-giving than fresh water, and surpasses the greatest pleasures of the earth! His desire was to live, not to experience more of the pleasures of the earth, but more of the pleasure of living and keeping the Word!
Christian, do you understand life this way? So often, we live and act as if a relationship to God is death to our joy. Truly, there is a death— death to sin, death to the selfish man who lives within us, but this death leads us to the fullness of life! It leads to greater pleasure, a greater joy, a greater love, a greater knowledge, a greater peace, one that the goods of the world cannot offer!
Let me remind you, friends, that people of wealth and people of poverty all make shipwreck of their lives. In search of their joy, they’ve chased the sirens into the rocks to their own destruction. What they thought would bring joy, has only brought death. The promise of life in these pursuits were merely a hologram, that disappeared in the grasp of their hand.
Not so with God. He is not a giver of false promises. He is the ultimate fulfiller of life. I stand to testify that the life I have in the word of God, in seeing and savoring Jesus, is greater than anything I’ve experienced in the world. It doesn’t dissipate when I reach out and take hold, but it only gets better, deeper, richer over time.
And this is what I want to fill my life with: the pursuit of God… through His word.
The word of God is:
That which fills my senses…
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
First, notice that David, called himself a servant in verse 17. This is a humble title for a king. He labeled himself a servant, a slave, in humble subjection to God. And then he pleads with God to do what only God could do: Open his eyes!
We think ourselves so intelligent, don’t we? What do you mean, open my eyes? I can see! I can read! No. David is saying, “no, I can’t. I need the sovereign God of the universe to open my eyes in order to see Him.” There is a seeing that perceives what man can perceive, and then there is a seeing that perceives the nature, character, beauty, glory, wonder of God. This is illustrated to us today in the prestigious universities where the Bible is taught by unregenerate Bible scholars, those who have a fascination with the Bible, yet do not believe, or worship, the God whom wrote it. One can see, and not perceive. David knows that in order to perceive, God must open his eyes, not unlike Saul of Tarsus. We know him as Paul. He was a pharisee who knew the word of God, yet did not perceive its truth until God blinded his physical eyes and awakened his spiritual vision. God does that, not man. God opens the pupils, not man. So David pleads with God, open His spiritual pupils.
Why… To what end… for what purpose?
To fill his senses with the wonder of God from the Law. David longs for his senses to be filled with wondrous things. The king of Israel, who need not deny himself any pleasure, turned to the Word of God to have his senses filled with wonder. Why? What is in the Word of God that would capture his attention?
I would submit that the Word of God presented to David, as to us, the character of God, the glory of God, and pointed to the Son of God —Jesus Christ, who was the himself the word of God, and the radiance of the glory of God! There is nothing more wonderful than God himself. There is nothing more soul-satisfying than seeing, then beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This was David’s pursuit of life: beholding God in His glory!
Next we see…
The word of God is:
That which calls me home…
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
The term sojourner should draw to our mind Abraham, who was called from his homeland, the land of Ur. We read in Genesis, God appeared to Abraham and called him to wander the desert. God promised land, a nation, and many descendants. In Abrahams life, he saw the beginnings of God’s fulfillment with the birth of Isaac, but he did not see many descendants, his people become a nation, or the land that God would give them. Wouldn’t David, king of Israel, would say that those promises were fulfilled? Israel is a nation, possessing the promised land, with many people under his rule! How is it the king would call himself a sojourner?
David saw there was a greater promised land, a greater city, a greater King to which he belonged. The earth, in which he lived, had not the King of kings ruling over it. Yes, he was king of Israel, but THE King of Israel, and all his power, wonder, joy, perfection, had not yet taken dominion of the earth. This earth, this kingdom he had, presented much pleasure, much wonder, but it was not the Kingdom for which He longed. It was not the Kingdom that was his home.
Have you ever lived away from home? Have you looked longingly at a picture, or a keepsake, something that stirred up affections and reminded you of all the comfort, love, people, and joy of home? Consider the word of God as that picture, that keepsake. This is what home really looks like. This is what peace really looks like. This is what my people really look like. This is what joy really looks like, because this is what my King REALLY looks like… I see what my home looks like in the commandments of God.
So here we see the pleas of David: open my eyes to behold and fill my senses, and don’t hide your commandments from me.
What is David looking for? A fulfilled soul the only place he knows to find it…
The word of God is:
That which fills my soul…
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
The psalmist declares that his soul is consumed with longing…
To be consumed with longing, these are strong words! This kind of desire can only be matched by that of an intimate relationship with another person.
Psychologists and sociologists recognize as a universal truth what God had made known to us in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that man should be alone…”
Relationship between man and woman is the strongest, most profound, most filling and consuming desire on the earth. I can say that during my courting period with Tiffany, I had experienced a longing for her that surpassed anything I had experienced for any other person. That desire, men, we are to nurture and cultivate through our marriage. It should not wane with time, but grow! This was the case for the Psalmist and the word of God. The psalmist was likening this soul-consuming desire to a longing for the rules of God.
He recognized there was a relational element with man to the word of God, for He rightly recognized that only through the Word of God was God made known. Yes, there were prophets who spoke to rebuke and encourage Israel, and yes, angels had come in times past to foretell the actions of God to His people, but in the scripture the person of God was made known. In His law, His character, thoughts, perfection, made clear. His eyes were open to see it, and what he saw was beautiful, and produced a longing to see more and more.
And his desire was for life— through beholding the word, His rules, at all times!
There is both pleasure in pursuing God’s word, and there is avoidance of scorn and pain! For, when your eyes are on the Word, your path is straight!The word of God is:
That which guides my path…
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
When I first read this Psalm, I thought the psalmist was speaking of himself: that God would rebuke him when he wanders from the commandment. This is true, for we know that the Lord disciplines those he loves (Hebrews 12:6). However, I have to see the words insolent, and accursed as speaking of the same person(s). The psalmist is not accursed, nor insolent and prideful. He calls himself God’s servant in verse 17. Furthermore, he states that he has kept your testimonies in verse 22. So, what is he saying, and whom is he contrasting himself to?
First, the word guides his path. He sets in contrast to himself those who wander. He is stating that he doesn’t wander, but pursues the path of the righteous! Those who wander deserve rebuke, scorn, and contempt. However, the psalmist, whom I believe is David, lives in a world where he suffers scorn, and contempt— underserved! This supports his view that he is still a sojourner, even as king of Israel, on the earth! There is still wrongdoing, for the rules and commands of God are not universally followed. The Kingdom of his Lord had not fully come to fruition, as the Lord is still making his enemies the footstool of Christ (Psalm 110:1).
So, David is trusting that God will rebuke the insolent, accursed ones. He is trusting that God will remove from him scorn and contempt. He is trusting that God is true to His word, that God rewards and repays his servants, as He is perfectly just!
[The first word of v17 - means to repay abundantly]
This fits well with the story of David, as he enacted this faith that God would repay those who did evil. David did not lift his hand against Saul. David suffered scorn and contempt as he was leaving Jerusalem when Absalom abducted the throne. David did not choose that his Son, Absalom, be killed. David left justice to be served by the hand of God. David let his path be directed by the Word of God, for he was subject to the King of kings.
He put his trust, faith in the word… to direct his thoughts.
The word of God is:
That which directs my thoughts… [counsel]
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
I mentioned earlier I believe the psalm presented evidence of David’s authorship. This, I believe us most telling. Even though princes sit plotting against me…
In 2nd Samuel 13-17 we read the story of Absalom, one of David’s sons, exacting revenge upon Amnon for what he did to his sister. The drama unfolds, and Absalom, within a period of a few years, attempts to usurp his Father’s throne. He played the politics perfectly, but overestimated his father’s God greatly. David, literally, had his sons, one of his own princes, plot against him. His response: to meditate on the statutes of God. His counselors were not war counselors, but the counsel of the Word of God.
Friends, how many of us, when facing a dire situation, first turn to the Word to determine our actions? Is that your first inclination? Or do you look to the counsel of friends? Do you look to control or manage the situation? Or do you trust the hand of God to work all things perfectly to the good of His will? Are you willing to suffer a little scorn and contempt, which Jesus also suffered, knowing that the scorn and contempt will one day be removed, permanently, under the Lordship of Christ?
If we are worldly minded, and think according to its rules, we will operate by those same rules. We will be of no use to the King, Jesus the Christ.
If we are heavenly minded, and think according to its rules, we will operate by the word of God. We will be of great use to the King, Jesus the Christ!
For we in whom love has been born for God, this delights our soul. We find that delight, here and now, in the Word of God.
The word of God is:
That in which my soul delights
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Let us make a full circle to verse 17. I want to live! I want to live joyfully, with great love and affection and pleasure and pursuit of purpose! This is what God calls us to, and gives us in His word! His word is the delight of believers! It is through His word that our hearts can say,
“You have put more joy in my heart than when their wine and grain abound!” Psalm 4:7
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:5-8
My admonition to you, David’s admonition to you, is to LIVE! Live FULLY! The only means you have to such fullness is through God himself, and he gives us this fullness through knowing Him in His Word!