Psalms Chapter 119 Discussion Page 9

This verse is a continuation of thought from vs. 55. In verse 55 we see David remembering the name of the Lord and following by keeping the law. I believe that 's where his comfort came, in the act of obedience to what he knew and did. It is a clear conscience with God that brings comfort to any who are seeking God, to do His will.

Those sleepless night when all were asleep, David would remember the name of the LORD. This was not a simple thought as to remember a persons name, but he reflected on all that God 's name embodies. I believe, we like David, will spend an eternity without sleep, never exhausting all knowledge of the Glory and Majesty of God. Thinking on God now and His word by the way, will produce holy living as one seeks, as David did, to keep His Law.

I believe David knew that his life was temporal and as the writer of Hebrews stated in Heb: 11:13 he was just a pilgrim on earth passing through. Having an understanding heaven is the next stop sure helps one deal with the momentary light afflictions, as Paul wrote of. The natural affect that will occur is songs of praise to God, which you see David doing in this verse.

This shows a strong desire on David 's part to follow God in perfection, even to the point of compulsion. He said make me to go. His delight was having the approval of God so the natural outflow of that kind of life would be obedience at any cost.

The memory is an amazing thing however in order for you to recall the word of God you must first commit it to memory. When anyone faces opposition due to the Word and obedience to it, they will find comfort during the affliction, knowing that they could suffer for no better cause than honoring God in the trial. 1 Peter 2 20 states, there no comfort in suffering when you have done wrong, but if you suffer when you do well and you take it patiently. this is acceptable to God. This teaching has been lost in much of todays churches. David found the comfort of God in hard places.

Knowing God and his word will determine whether we react or respond in an adverse situation. Reaction is usually out of control. David knew the art of waiting on the Lord and then responded accordingly. He was not ignorant of the injustices of others, however he wasn 't about to abandon the only solid foundation he knew, the word of God.

Without His Word, I would surely have been lost. I will never forget what Jesus has done for me. Praise His Wonderful Name!

David was king yet he knew not to expect a bump less ride through life. He knew trials often worked as God 's refining tool. I believe David knew of the sovereignty of God and that any thing that got to him had to pass through the fingers of God. He wrote in Psalms 119:71, It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes. He ends verse 50 even in any affliction, Thy word has quickened me, or gives me life. Unbelievers have no understanding of this. Any adversities that they face is never to their good, and they can never find peace in the trial.

It 's one thing to know God 's word when no battles is raging and there is peace in the land but it 's another thing when you are ducking the arrows of the enemy. It 's at these times that we run to God 's word in total dependence of Him and His promises. Notice, the ground work is already done in David 's life. You can 't hope on something you do not know anything about. Preparation for battle must be done before you enter into it. David is just reminding God of something God is already aware. He is not doubting but calling on God to act.

This is a continuation of the thoughts of the previous verses. He is again affirming his love of God 's law. The meditation is simply exhausting all possible truths that my be found within God 's law, so as to fulfill his complete duty to it.

My mind went immediately to Psalms 19: 9 10. 9B states, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, vs. 10 More to be desired are they, than fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Any person who devotes themselves for the right purposes to the study of scripture, will develop a insatiable love for it, that will not be extinguished. The more they learn the more their faith is built up and as Job said in Job 23:12 I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

Before David became king he was not silent about his faith in God. A great illustration of this is found in 2 Samuel 17 when David stood before King Saul and shared his faith in God. David knew God would act because Goliath mocked the Living God. He then convinced Saul and slew the Giant, literally running at him with just a sling and a few stones. David 's faith in God began as a young shepherd boy and grew throughout his life. Any man who 's faith is strong will never faint under temptation, even to his death.

It 's almost as though James was referring to Psalms 119:45 when he penned James 1:25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. When you walk in the truth you are set at liberty, for you are freed from the bondage of sin that would imprison you.

This again is a continuation of the previous verse. David requested that God not take the word of truth out of his mouth in vs.43 and now he is simply states the benefit of that, which is the ability to see, comprehend and obey the truth. It is essential that we understand that God illuminates his word, and that no understanding of spiritual things are understood naturally.

David knew that God 's word was truth and not only contained truth but embodied truth. His request begins with, don 't take the word of truth out of my mouth. Without God 's counsel it is the blind leading the blind. David knew without God 's truth he was no good to others or himself. A great illustration of this is found in 2 Samuel 16.A man named Ahithophel was David 's advisor. it 's said of him, vs. 23, and the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled, in these days, was as if a man had enquired of God. When David 's son Absalom tried to overthrow the kingdom, Ahithophel defected and joined allegiance with Absalon. As a result God confounded the counsel of Ahithophel to the point of stupidity and he went and hanged himself. David had trust in God as an obedient follower of him, that he would an unrestricted access to truth.

Verse 42 to is a continuation of thought of verse 41.David had cried out to for God 's salvation. David knew when God intervened in the troubles of men that it silences the mouths of our critics. We have a beautiful picture in the New Testament. In John 9 we have a story of a blind man who Jesus gave sight. Weary of all the questions of the Pharisees and doubts about how it was done and whether Jesus, who they already decided couldn 't be of God, because Jesus did this miracle on the Sabbath, this former blind man silences these Pharisees. vs. 31-33 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God and doeth his will, him he heareth. vs. 32 Since the world began was it not heard that any opened the eyes of one born blind. Conclusion, If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. End of discussion!

David had an deep understanding of God 's Law and he knew enough that observance of it was not the way of Salvation. He knew it rest on the mercies of God. David had both a temporal and a eternal salvation in mind. As a king David would battle many enemies, and for that he asked temporal salvation, but more than that he knew what he deserved eternally, and it wasn 't eternal life and for that he cried out for God to save him eternally. David himself, under the inspiration of God, had penned many of the promises of God and was placing his trust in God 's word.

Over and over again David declares his love for God 's law. It wasn 't enough for David just to know the law but to walk towards perfection in it. A simple reading of this Psalm alone shows this. The second part of this verse is key though. Quicken me in your righteousness. David knew God had a righteousness unattainable by human effort so he prayed, quicken me, bring me to life, revive me, for that 's the only way God 's righteousness will be mine. Titus 3:5n Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration. There it is, to make alive.

What is the price of your testimony? David is asking God to turn away my reproach. I know from my own walk, the last thing I want, is to be a stumbling block to others. Imagine King David and the influence he had over untold numbers. His concern was in giving occasion to God 's enemies. David knew God 's judgments we good however he also knew man 's weren 't. At one point David was about to be disciplined of God and he had 3 choices, of which he chose to be disciplined by God rather than by men, for he trusted God to be more gracious in the process. 2 Samuel 24: 12-14. We are thankful for God 's forgiveness however our sinful choices will often be devastating to the lives of others and will, even forgiven, carry eternal consequences. Nothing to me is worse to hearing someone saying, " if that 's what Christianity is, I don 't want anything to do with it "!

This a unique request. In verse 89 of this chapter David makes the statement, For ever, O LORD, your word is settled in heaven. The word stablish has a number of meanings for us to consider. Accomplish, be clearer, make good or sure, are just a few. I believe David was seeking for a deeper trust in God, not that God 's word itself was incomplete. Knowing God more intimately has been his cry all through the Psalms and the second part for this verse brings clarity to this point, "who is devoted to thy fear ". David had a deep reverence of God, that is what he lived for. This should be a pattern in our lives. Those who know God will not remain where they are at in relationship to God but will want to draw closer and closer into that inter circle of the Lord 's dearest. In the New Testament it was Peter, James and John. May we out of and unrestrained devotion find our names there also.

This is another great example that godly living does not happen by accident but by a focused and deliberate life. David ask God to turn his eyes from beholding vanity. Vanity is the false way, it is the lying way and always is the way most traveled. Living primarily for pleasure or seeking to be honored or self promotion is vanity. David prays quicken me, revive me, restore me or make me alive to you purposes in my life. David knew, left to himself, he was prone to wander, prone to leave the God he loved.

I believe the testimonies are things God reveals about himself. David wrote in Psalms 37:25, I have been young and now I am old yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread. David knew God would provide any need so there was no need to preoccupy himself on the material things. Jeremiah wrote the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? David knew all to well the struggle of the flesh. His desire was to incline his heart with God and His word to the extent covetousness would have no place to take root. Many good man have had to leave the ministry because they did not guard themselves in this area.

Following God is not always easy for the path we are on may at times be foggy and distractions my try to pull us off that path. David is asking God to be personally involved to the point of compulsion, make me to go. If it 's left up to me to go in any direction I want, more than likely I will choose the easy way, but when God is involved he opens and closes doors that ultimately causes us to wait on him and seek Him for direction. David said it 's going in God 's direction that he delights. I don 't think it 's necessarily loving the difficult way that brought that delight to David as it was being in the will of God and pleasing Him. That brings joy!

This is a continuation of the thoughts from verse 33. In vs. 33 David asked God to be his personal teacher of His word. In this verse he is pleading for clear understanding so as to implement it into his life. He goes on to say, I will keep it, that is , I will obey it 's instructions, but he goes even further when he states, with my whole heart. That is an unwavering faith in spite of what may comes into his life. David would never have been happy to just warm a pew had he lived in our day.

If you think of it David had the prophets and priests available in his day to declare the truth out of God 's word. I think of the great prophet Samuel. With all that available to David he wanted more. He wanted God to open the depths of His word as to have it in completeness. David 's pledge was to keep it to the end. This shows his resolution and heart after God that was only increased the more with understanding which produced more obedience and determination to follow through to the end.

This verse is a continuation of verse 29. In verse 29 he 's requesting God to remove the way of lying from him and now he is choosing the way of truth. I like this verse. Going the way of truth is a definite choice. There is no way this is going to happen without a resolve to do so. When a person has no commitment to live like this, they will always take the road of least resistance. Living like that Daniels 3 friends would have bowed to the golden statue. Joseph would have slept with Potifar 's wife or Daniel would have stop praying. These all had resolve to go the way of truth. What the psalmist did to ensure he stayed on that path was to lay God 's judgments before him. Being able always to reflect on these, he would be able to see any consequences for wrong doing as well as seeing the great benefit for choosing the way of truth.

Being honest is a godly character. David wanted to emulate God in every way possible. The request sounds simple on face value but when you think on it being honest is not always the easiest thing to do. Exaggeration is a form of lying. Telling a story and adding or subtracting details may make a better story but it becomes a lie non the less. At times we are we enter situations that telling the truth may cost us. It may be friendships, money, position, and so much more. The psalmist wanted to know God 's law for in understanding that it will dispel all lies.

Everyday life brings grief and it doesn 't matter what era you are born in. This is when we run to the word of God. John knew this when he penned the words in 1 John 2:14, I write unto you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. There is nothing that will encourage or strengthen one like the word of God does. We are reading and it 's like a verse is lifted off the page and you know that it 's just for you.

We get input in our study of scripture from a number of sources. Preaching and teaching, books such as commentaries however what illuminates the heart to see is the Holy Spirit and with out Him we will see men as trees. The psalmist knew that The Author of Scripture would be the one to seek understanding of what is written. 1cor 2:14 shows our dependency on God for His unveiling.

This shows a great intimacy between David and God. He 's saying I 'm an open book. I shared my trials, my burdens with God. He 's no stranger to my voice. This also involves confession of sin. With all that said David is still looking for more wisdom, teach me your statutes. Psalms 17:15 is David 's heart. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake in your likeness. This should be everyone 's desire.