Scriptural Delight 07

He

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G’day and welcome to Partake! Welcome back to Scriptural Delights, our series going through the wonder that is Psalm 119! Here is our seventh podcast. Today we look at the fifth of its twenty-two letters, He

³³ Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees;

then I will keep them to the end.

³⁴ Give me understanding, and I will keep your law

and obey it with all my heart.

³⁵ Direct me in the path of your commands,

for there I find delight.

³⁶ Turn my heart toward your statutes

and not toward selfish gain.

³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

preserve my life according to your word.

³⁸ Fulfil your promise to your servant,

so that you may be feared.

³⁹ Take away the disgrace I dread,

for your laws are good.

⁴⁰ How I long for your precepts!

Preserve my life in your righteousness.

Thanks Aubree! Having being revived in the previous section, the Psalmist now seeks to be taught! He continues using words for the Law such as decrees, commands, statutes and precepts! His responses are equally clear: Teachable, kept, obedient, directed, turned and yearned! His initial outburst from verse 1 is a heartfelt cry “Teach me to follow your decrees O Great God so that I will discover my reward!” He then goes from teaching to understanding, because understanding is the practical application of what has been taught to his life as a believer. Through applying and understanding what God has taught him, then obedience is the result. This obedience then is the catalyst for the next part – direction!

If the Psalmist moves in obedience, then God Himself will direct him! Something that is moving, and not standing still, can be easily steered! When Almighty God using His decrees, directs the Psalmist, the Psalmist finds true ecstasy, joy and delight! True happiness comes from serving God and obeying Him by serving others! The Psalmist does all this, not for a feel good factor or for his own pride and self-righteousness. No! The Psalmist does this so his life is preserved, abandoning all that is worthless, in pursuit of that which is eternally worthwhile! WOW!

If his own work of selfishness is useless, what does the Psalmist say about the work of the Lord? The Lord’s work is the fulfilment of His promise to the Psalmist – to preserve his life in the Lord’s righteousness. What is righteousness? Righteousness under the Mosaic covenant was active obedience to God and living according to God’s ways. How is the Psalmist declared righteous? By fearing the Lord (v38) and when the Lord is feared, then the utter disgrace is taken away! God fulfils His promises always! There is a battle ensuing within him – the inner battle where the Psalmist can choose two ways to live. First is the choice to live in obedience to God, or secondly he can choose to disobey God and live life his own selfish way. By choosing to obey God, the Psalmist is preserved.

What does this have to do with us as twenty-first century Christians? The Christian life is to be an active one of dynamic contact with the Holy Spirit who lives with you. Sometimes we like to think our own self-righteousness is what is going to save us. We all think that at some point even if we are not aware of it. When we do that, we are no better than the Pharisees of Jesus’ time.

The Pharisees were righteous people, but they were looking to their own righteousness for salvation. They adapted the Laws of God for their own ends. Jesus said that unless righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, then we can’t be saved. How is that possible? It is possible, because true righteousness is not an external righteousness like that of the Pharisees, but an internal righteousness – a righteousness of the heart. A righteousness which will see God the Holy Spirit living within those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and He writes the laws of God on their hearts. The Pharisees had a distorted view of the Law and saw it has only an external obedience. But as the Psalmist here reminds us, the “obedience of the heart” (v34) shows it also to be internal matter as well. So righteousness now, under the New Covenant, is not just an active external obedience to God but an internal declaration before God!

How is this internal righteousness seen? It is as the Apostle Paul would write a few years later in Philippians 2v12-13: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” When God the Father sees you, if you are a Christian, he sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ His Son. When Jesus died on the cross, it was so that all who chose to follow Him could be declared righteous and wear the robe of righteousness. As a Christian, you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1v7; Acts 13v38-39) and you have received the gift of righteousness (Romans 5v17) through faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3v9)

If you need help in any are of your life, then ask God the Holy Spirit, who lives inside you, to help you. He will, because God the Holy Spirit is in the transformation business. What areas of your life do you need to hand control over to Him? We all have areas to work on, ceding control and handing them to God. How are you doing at living as a Christian? Are you struggling in some area of life where that specific aspect of your life is in direct disobedience to God? That is the pursuit of your own selfish gain, as the Psalmist would say. Ask for help, and He will help! Thank you.

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POD – Psalm 119v33-40

Psalm 119v33-40

(h He)

(as read by Aubree)

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33 Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.

34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.

35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.

36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.

37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.

38 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.

39 Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.

40 How I long for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life.

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Scriptural Delight 06

Daleth

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G’day and welcome to Partake! Welcome back to Scriptural Delights, our series going through the wonder that is Psalm 119! Here is our sixth podcast. Today we look at the fourth of its twenty-two letters, Daleth:

25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.

26 I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees.

27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.

28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law.

30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.

31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame.

32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.

Thank you Tori! From verse 25, the Psalmist describes himself and the condition he is in. He is laid low, weary and tired. He is in desperate straights, heavily burdened and clinging onto life, both spiritually and physically. He is at the bottom of a pit and the only way out is up! So what does he do? He cries out a series of short prayers to God! Revive me! Preserve me! Make me live again! O God, my Lord, you promised that you would restore me again to yourself! He may be low, but he knows that God will answer him.

The Psalmist knows that God’s testimonies about Himself are true! The Psalmist knows that God’s decrees, precepts, commands and statutes are glorious, and that through them, he can be set free! The Psalmist piles up the metaphors about God’s Law and his own response to them! He is never negative about any aspect of God’s Law because he knows that through the Law is his only hope of knowing God and allowing God to rescue him from both physical and spiritual death. He knows that to life a life of obedience to God, he needs to read about God’s commands, precepts and interactions with those in the past! Remember, the Psalmist would have had at least the first 5 books at his disposal: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy!

The Psalmist has a choice to make. He could just wallow in self-pity and curl up and die. But he doesn’t. In verse 30, he makes a conscious decision to follow God, hold fast to God and run with God! That is not the actions of somebody who is wearied and burdened! God has answered his prayers and restored him, just as He promised to do! God is faithful! What was the catalyst for this? Verse 29 says that God’s graciousness is seen in the Law! The only time the Law and God’s commandments are a bad thing is when it is used as a means to salvation! God’s Law was never meant to be as a means to salvation, only to show how foolish it was to seek salvation that way and that salvation is only due to God’s mercy and God’s grace. Through God’s gracious Law, the Psalmist has renewed energy and is able to fly once more with God! God’s revealing of Himself and His rescue/restoration go together! As Isaiah, would write some years later:

“but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.(Isaiah 40v31)

Jesus in Matthew 11v28-30 also echoes this when He proclaims “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Why is Jesus saying this? Firstly to those undergoing the burden of religion as many of the Jewish people did at the time, under the regime of the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders – people were spiritually oppressed by the use of Laws as a means to salvation! The opposite of its purpose according to the Psalmist! This Jesus would offer them salvation via grace and not through keeping rules! Secondly to those who are searching for God, that if they do so wholeheartedly and expectantly, then they will find Him! The Greeks had long held an exhausted search for truth! Whether it was the search for divine truth or the unnecessary burden of religion, Jesus came to set people free – free from their burdens! In some ways living the life of a Christian is difficult, but not as a means to salvation! Following Jesus can be hard work if we try to do it in our own strength. But if we do it in the strength of the Holy Spirit who lives inside you, if you are a Christian, then the burden is light and the yoke is easy!

So if you are struggling under some burden of man-made religion or seeking truth, then look no further than Jesus, who claimed to be God and was God. Are you struggling to live the Christian life in your own strength and not the strength of God the Holy Spirit who lives inside you? How, this very day, can this God ease your burdens, lighten your load and restore you to Himself? Ask Jesus to take the burden you or others have placed upon yourself and restore you once more so that like the Psalmist you can follow, hold and run!

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Scriptural Delight 05

Gimel

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G’day and welcome to Partake! Welcome back to Scriptural Delights, our series going through the wonder that is Psalm 119! Here is our fifth podcast. Today we look at the third of its twenty-two letters – Gimel, verses 17 to 24.

17 Do good to your servant, and I will live;

I will obey your word.

18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

19 I am a stranger on earth;

do not hide your commands from me.

20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.

21 You rebuke the arrogant,

who are cursed and who stray from your commands.

22 Remove from me scorn and contempt,

for I keep your statutes.

23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,

your servant will meditate on your decrees.

24 Your statutes are my delight;

they are my counselors.

The Psalmist plea in verse 17 is not an uncommon one in the Old Testament. The Psalmist is turning his eyes away from his own situation, and onto God and what God wants for him – total obedience! Now it could be that the Psalmist’s life was in danger of physical death from one of his enemies. It is equally true that the Psalmist is also speaking of his spiritual life, which is only in fellowship with God. Salvation, is not through keep the rules of the Law but rather the Law was there to show the futility of man’s efforts to save himself. Salvation could only come from God alone, which it would do through the Messiah who was to come. It was due to God’s mercy that the Psalmist had fellowship with him, which the Psalmist wants to offer himself in total obedience to God.

POD – Psalm 119v17-24

 

Psalm 119v17-24 (g Gimel)

(as read by Jessica)

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17 Do good to your servant, and I will live;

I will obey your word.

18 Open my eyes that I may see

wonderful things in your law.

19 I am a stranger on earth;

do not hide your commands from me.

20 My soul is consumed with longing

for your laws at all times.

21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed

and who stray from your commands.

22 Remove from me scorn and contempt,

for I keep your statutes.

23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,

your servant will meditate on your decrees.

24 Your statutes are my delight;

they are my counselors.

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