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Psalm
119, Part Four
We continue our series on Psalm 119, this month studying verses
73 through 96.
Yod indicates the next set of verses, 73 through 80. It reads:
“Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give
me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. Those
who fear You will be glad when they see me, because I have
hoped in Your word. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are
right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Let,
I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according
to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come
to me, that I may live; for Your law is my delight. Let the
proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
but I will meditate on Your precepts. Let those who fear You
turn to me, those who know Your testimonies. Let my heart
be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.”
God is our Creator, as the Psalmist begins. The Lord made
us and fashioned us; indeed Psalm 139:15-16 states: “My
frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret,
and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your
eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book
they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as
yet they were none of them.” Not only did our Creator
see us (He saw our substance not yet formed!), He also made
us (He made us in secret, He made us fearfully and wonderfully!),
and He chose us – before He made us!
Ephesians 1:4 states: “just as He chose us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and without blame before Him in love…”
The author writes that those who fear the Lord will be glad
when they see the Psalmist, because he has “hoped in
Your word.” Psalm 34:2 states: “My soul shall
make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and
be glad.” Notice who this draws – the humble.
The prideful have a difficult time hearing about the boasting
of the Lord. Also noteworthy is that the Psalmist has hoped
in the word of the Lord. When we receive a word from the Lord,
we can take it to the bank! It will be a reason for our hope,
because it comes from our source of all hope – the Lord.
Let me give an example of this.
In May of 2008 I sensed one day during prayer a verse from
Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
I had read this Scripture, heard it many times and at that
time was not going through a situation where this verse seemed
especially timely. Oh, what a God we serve, however! The One
who is the First and the Last could see what was coming in
my life, and since He made me, He knew certain things I should
be prepared for. So, this verse was given to me to under gird
me for what was to come. June 1st my father passed away. A
week later my Pastor was seriously injured. Five weeks later,
my grandfather passed away. That word from the Lord was food
for my spirit and my soul – given to sustain me in a
time of grief, loss, and woundedness. During the months that
followed, I needed the tender mercies of the Lord to come
to me, so I could go on. My hope was in the Lord, who had
wanted to reassure me that in the midst of adversity and affliction,
He was – good.
Next are verses 81 -88: “My soul faints for Your
salvation, but I hope in Your word. My eyes fail from searching
Your word, saying, ‘when will You comfort me?’
For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, yet I do not forget
Your statutes. How many are the days of Your servant? When
will You execute judgment on those who persecute me? The proud
have dug pits for me, which is not according to Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful; they persecute me wrongfully;
help me! They almost made an end of me on earth, but I did
not forsake Your precepts. Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.”
As we consider the importance and power of verse 81, let us
examine other Scriptures:
»
Ps. 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart fail; but
God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
» Ps. 16:5 – “O LORD, You are the portion
of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.”
» Ps. 142:5 – “I cried out to You, O
LORD: I said, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in
the land of the living.” |
From these three verses, we can identify the significance
of the word “portion.” It comes from the Hebrew
root word “chalaq” and refers to the father’s
estate, which is divided up for his sons. That is amazing!
In the Scriptures above, the Psalmist is claiming that God
is his portion – it is as if God is saying we are His
children and He will give us Himself. That is our inheritance.
There is precedence for this in God’s choosing and treatment
of the Levites. Numbers 18:20 states, “Then the LORD
said to Aaron, ‘You shall have no inheritance in their
land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your
portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.”
The Levites were chosen by God and set apart for priestly
service. Once Israel entered into the Promised Land, the Levites
were not given tribal land; rather they were given places
of refuge as they relied on God as their portion, their strength,
and their inheritance.
Further, let’s look at Dt. 32:9 – “For the
LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of
His inheritance.” We can claim the Lord as our portion
because He claimed us! A portion was allocated to Jesus, as
found in Isa. 53:12 – “Therefore I will divide
Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil
with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death,
and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the
sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
The Psalmist describes persecution and wrongdoing and utters
one of the greatest prayers in the Bible: “Help me!”
In verse 88 the author states, “Revive me according
to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of
Your mouth.” This reads like a plea for spiritual
life support, as the writer is in need of revival. It is the
favor and kindness of the Lord that revives us when we feel
weak and low.We end with verses 89 through 96: “Forever,
O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness
endures to all generations; You established the earth, and
it abides.
They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all
are Your servants. Unless Your law had been my delight, I
would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget
Your precepts, for by them You have given me life. I am Yours,
save me; for I have sought Your precepts. The wicked wait
for me to destroy me, but I will consider Your testimonies.
I have seen the consummation of all perfection, but Your commandment
is exceedingly broad.”
Let us consider the beauty of verse 89, which states that
God’s word is settled or fixed in heaven. Isa. 40:8
states, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the
word of our God stands forever.” Isa. 55:11 further
states, “So shall My word be that goes forth from
My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish
what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which
I sent it.”
Now, turn to Matthew 24:35 – “Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
We also know from John 1:1 that “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God.”
Jesus Christ is the Living Word, while the Bible is the written
word. This Word, and these words, are settled forever in heaven.
When we allow the Lord to reveal Himself to us through His
word, we know it is a settled word – and the place where
it is settled is heaven!
The Lord speaks to us in so many ways. When He speaks, He
is revealing an aspect of His character and nature to us.
He can speak to use as Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Healer,
Banner, Protector, Hearer, Seer – and so much more.
We end this study with verse 96 from Ps. 119 – “I
have seen the consummation of all perfection, but Your commandment
is exceedingly broad.” The Complete Jewish Bible
states it – “I see the limits of all perfection,
but your mitzvah has no bounds.”
We can reference the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:18,
“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth
pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from
the law till all is fulfilled.” Jesus came to fulfill
the Law and the Prophets, not to destroy it. The words of
the law and the prophets are still being fulfilled; some yet
to be fulfilled. Indeed, the Lord’s commandment is exceedingly
broad and has no bounds. John 15:12 wraps up this important
truth – “This is My commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you.”
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