Psalms 119 is the longest of all the Psalms,
being divided into twenty-two parts or sections. Each part begins with a
different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Psalm teaches respect and
praise for God’s Word.
Our part today,
verses 25-32, teaches how the Word can strengthen each of us as we read
and apply it.
25
My soul clings to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.
28 My soul melts from heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall enlarge my heart. (Psalms 119:25-32)
The Word
Revives (Verses 25-26)
·
The psalmist is in deep
distress. He is crushed and not able to rise. He feels like giving up.
For our soul is bowed
down to the dust;
Our body clings to the ground.
(Psalms 44:25)
He asks God
to revive him, to give him strength and joy in life, to raise him up to
life and health. He cannot do it himself.
·
He prays for strength through God’s Word, a
deeper knowledge of Scripture. Life is promised as a result of obeying
the Lord’s precepts.
88 Revive me according to
Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the
testimony of Your mouth.
93 I will never forget
Your precepts,
For by them You have given me
life.
107 I am afflicted very
much;
Revive me, O Lord,
according to Your word.
(Psalm 119:88,93,107)
Note the words of
John in John 6:63.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the
flesh profits nothing. The
words that I speak to you are spirit,
and they are life.
·
Dust may also refer to worldly
or unworthy things. The world can choke the Word.
Now he who received
seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this
world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes
unfruitful.
(Matthew 13:22)
The world offers no to the lost soul. “If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable.” 1 Corinthians 15:19. So here, the psalmist asks God to
give him the strength to rise above worldly things.
·
In verse 26, the psalmist
“declares his ways,” recounted his past life–sins, temptations, sorrows.
He kept nothing back. He was confident the Lord heard his prayers and
confessions. God’s statutes would provide answers to his questions about
how to deal with life.
16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
98
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies;
For they are ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep Your precepts.
(Psalm 119:98-100)
The Word Teaches (Verses 27-28)
·
The psalmist prays for
understanding, for comprehension.
Open my eyes,
that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.
(Psalms 119:18)
We need to
understand God’s precepts so we can apply them to our lives.
But solid food
belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of
use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
(Hebrews 5:14)
As we meditate upon His wondrous works
(creation, redemption, providential acts), then we can tell others about
them as well.
But sanctify the
Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to
everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with
meekness and fear;
(1 Peter 3:15)
Let your speech
always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer each one.
(Colossians 4:6)
·
By coming to understand the
Word, we will be comforted and be able to comfort others. The psalmist
cried out that his soul was melting from heaviness. Melts: weeps,
dissolves in tears. He sinks under the weight of affliction. Whether
from health, finances, or family, God’s Word can bring comfort
regardless of our burdens. Scripture contains wisdom to aid us through
our troubles. The Word is like spiritual bread that strengthens the
soul.
This is my
comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
(Psalm 119:50)
The Word Directs (Verses 29-30)
·
The word of God directs him to
leave the ways of falsehood–all conduct not governed by God’s truth.
Through Your precepts I
get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
(Psalm 119:104)
This would include insincerity and
unfaithfulness—also deceit, apostasy, heresy, and idolatry.
Let love be without
hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
(Romans 12:9)
Always be sincere and truthful. Be governed
by God’s gracious word and stick to it.
·
“chosen the way of truth”—We
are given free will so we can choose the way of truth of the way of
error. The way of truth is the way of true religion, the way of a godly
life.
Sanctify them by
Your truth. Your word is truth.
(John 17:17)
The psalmist says he has laid God’s judgment
before him. The Word serves as an open book, a road map, to be looked at
continually, to guide us to our eternal home. His judgments are a rule
to walk by, the only faithful guide to direct our steps.
The Word Gives Us Hope (Verses 31-32)
·
Life should be lived clinging
to the Lord’s testimonies. Cling: stuck, cleaved, kept firm, and
steadfast to God’s precepts.
For we have
become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end,
(Hebrews 3:14)
The
psalmist desires to resolutely persist in the practice of God’s
testimonies despite temptations and adversity. He wants to do right. He
does not want to fall into sin and disgrace.
·
His course was to be run in the way of the
Lord’s commandments—to obey the precepts with all readiness, fervency,
and diligence. To offer God energetic service and take pleasure in them.
“enlarge my
heart”—stimulate my will and desire, deliver me from everything that
would hinder my running the course.
Following
God’s instructions will bless us with the best possible life.
But he who looks into
the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
(James 1:25)
As Jesus himself said in Luke 11:28,
“…blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” And in
John 13:17, “If you know these things, blessed
are you if you do them.”
We have seen today
the various ways God’s Word strengthens us.
Therefore lay aside all
filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the
implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
(James 1:21)
Sermon Outlines on All Topics:
