Transcript

If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Psalm 119.

Today during our time together in God’s Word we’re going to begin looking at the longest chapter in the entire Bible, the 119th Psalm, which contains 176 verses. If you’re ever doing Bible trivia, remember that this is the answer to the longest chapter of the Bible!

The Psalm has been called the golden alphabet of the Bible. This chapter, and this Psalm, is in the acrostic form, meaning it has an alphabetical arrangement.

The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, and the Psalm is arranged in 22 stanzas, or 22 sections, which correspond with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Normally, an acrostic in the original Hebrew has one verse or one statement for each letter, with verse one beginning with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and each verse or statement following beginning with a subsequent letter.

There are 8 other acrostic psalms: 9,10,25,34,37,111,112, and 145. But this particular psalm is obviously the longest and the most elaborate of them all.

Psalm 119 includes a section of 8 verses for each letter of the alphabet. So doing the multiplication, 22 stanzas multiplied by 8 verses per stanza, equals 176 verses.

In our Bibles, we find the Hebrew letter supplied before each stanza: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, etc. In the Hebrew, each verse in that section begins with that letter. Every verse in the first section begins with Aleph, in the second section each verse begins with Beth, etc.

If it was English, the first word of each verse, in verses 1-8 would begin with the letter “A,” verses 9-16 would start with “B,” verses 17-24 with “C,” and so on.

Nothing is without significance in God’s Word, and the reason the Hebrews put verses and passages in the acrostic form was so they could more easily memorize a portion and remember it, and also so they could meditate on it and sing it.

So this shows you something as to the importance of this passage among the Hebrews and to God, who inspired the writer to put it in this form. God wanted Israel to remember this Psalm, to have it in their hearts and minds.

And I believe God wants us to remember this Psalm, because its grand subject and theme is the exaltation of the Word of God. What we have in front of us is 22 sections of meaningful and purposeful declarations about God’s Holy Word.

One commentator said this: “By using the alphabet in this acrostic form, the writer may have been suggesting that all the possibilities of human language are exhausted in setting forth the fullness and perfection of the Word of God.”

Similarly the Lord speaks of Himself as the Alpha and Omega in Revelation 1:8. Alpha and Omega are first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

That title for the Lord teaches that He is everything of goodness and perfection that can be expressed by every letter of the alphabet, arranged in every possible combination in all possible words. From beginning to end, He exhausts the vocabulary of excellence and greatness.

So too by this alphabetical arrangement from the first letter to the last letter, the Word of God is shown to be perfection by all the possibilities of human language.

Remarkably, God Himself is referred to in every verse, all 176 verses. And in all but 5 verses (84,90,121,122,132), God’s Word is mentioned in one way or another.

There are various titles given to God’s Word in the verses, such as: “Law” (Heb. torah, v. 1), “Testimonies” (v. 2), “Ways” (v. 3), “Precepts” (v. 4), “Statutes” (v. 5), “Commandments” (v. 6), “Judgments” (v. 7), “Word” (v. 9), “Ordinances” (v. 91).

Many things are taught about the ministry of God’s Word in the Psalm, such as how it: blesses (vv. 1,2), cleanses (v. 9), quickens (v. 25), strengthens (v. 28), establishes (v. 38), defends (v. 42), comforts (v. 50), instructs (98,99), enlightens (v. 105), assures (v. 114), upholds (v. 116), brings great peace (v. 165), and delivers (v. 170).

There are various descriptions of the Word of God as well, as it is considered by the writer as: riches, wealth and treasure (v. 14,162), a counselor (v. 24), a song to sing (v. 54), honey (v. 103), a lamp (v. 105), and a heritage (v. 111).

It is not known for certain who wrote the Psalm or when it was written. It has, however, been stated that it is Davidic in tone and expression. But we can’t be 100% sure.

The Williams Bible Commentary said this about the chapter: “The Psalm contemplates a pilgrim walking through a wretched place on a dangerous road in the dark night and wholly dependent upon a lamp to light his way and guide his feet.

“The lesson of the Psalm is that the lamp may be wholly trusted, and that whoever follows its light will be preserved from the filthiness of the way, saved from the dangers of the path, and surely led to its desired end. This lamp is the Bible.”

Psalm 119:1-8 reads, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways.

“Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.”

The writer begins by delighting in those who act and live according to the Word of God and are “undefiled” or blameless in the “way” of righteousness. There is blessing in this.

Back when this was written, “the Law” was an appropriate title for the Word, because that’s the only Word they had and the Word they lived by under the Law.

Today we are under grace, but there is a principle that is true always that there is blessing in walking according to the truth of God’s Word, rightly divided.

He rejoices in those who make God’s Word a way of life, who conform to it and “walk” in the Lord, who “keep” and obey His Word, and who also with all their heart and soul pursue and “seek” God and a fuller knowledge of Him (v. 2).

In doing all this, in walking in Him, in obeying His Word, and seeking God, they are kept from sin, as “they also do no iniquity” because “they walk in His ways.” Being occupied with God and His righteous ways, sin is kept out of their lives (v. 3). The closer you are to the Lord and to His Word, the farther you are from sin, and have strength against sin.

And the writer says that these that walk in His ways are only doing what God has commanded, as His will for all of us is that we “keep [His] precepts diligently” (v. 4).

Then the writer wishes to be one of these type of people: “O that MY WAYS were directed to keep thy statutes!” (v. 5).

His desire is to have respect unto ALL the Lord’s commandments in His Word, and to live an unashamed life, praising God from an upright heart, because he is living in accordance with God’s righteous Word.

I like the grit and resolve of v. 8: “I will keep thy statutes.” He resolves within himself to “keep” and obey God’s Word. But then at the same time he realizes his own incapacity and need of the Lord to be with him always, and he pleads that He would not forsake him and leave him alone as he goes down the pathway of life.

Psalm 119:9,10 says, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word. With my whole heart have a sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments” (Psa. 119:9,10).

The psalmist asks a question and answers it himself. He simply asks: how shall a person clean up his life? The answer: by heeding God’s Word. By obeying God’s way, our ways and lives can be cleaned up, changed, transformed, and made right. As it’s been said, “The Bible was not just given for our information, but for our transformation.”

The Bible is a book to be “heeded” and obeyed by faith, knowing that it contains supreme wisdom in all that it teaches. We must humble ourselves and submit to it, trusting that God has the answers and will guide us into the way that’s best for our lives (v. 9).

The writer with his “whole heart” seeks God, and he seeks God as God desires, by wholeheartedly devoting himself to His Word, not wandering from its commandments (v. 10)

The farther we wander away from the Word, the farther we wander from God, and a distance comes into our relationship with God, practically speaking. The opposite is true as well, the more time we spend in the Word, the closer we become and are to the Lord.

By his desire to not to wander from the Word, the writer is declaring his desire to not wander from the Lord, and to be close and near to the Lord in life.

This is a good challenge for all of us: to resolve to not wander, to wholeheartedly make a commitment with God’s help to get into God’s Word on a regular basis, knowing that as we spend time in the Word this will lead to nearness to the Lord in our relationship with Him.

We need to make Bible reading a part of our lives, but have it fit naturally into the flow of your life, making it something you know needs to be a priority so that you don’t neglect it or forget to do it. But make it realistic on yourself so you don’t give it up after a period of time. Do what works for you. Don’t follow the model of others.

Listen to the Bible on CD if you have trouble reading. Or listen and read at the same time. Use Daily Reading planners if they work for you. Or make your own plan. Use a Bible with larger print. Use a Bible app on your phone. Set a time or do it spontaneously.

Read while you’re waiting somewhere. I often read while I’m waiting on my wife when she is shopping. Read God’s Word anytime, anywhere.

When you’re reading God’s Word, if you don’t understand something, write down your questions. Oftentimes the Bible answers itself as you keep reading. Or bring your questions to church and ask your pastor. Or write in to Berean Bible Society.

Prioritize your time with God’s Word, because God wants us to prioritize Him as first in our lives. He wants us to have the heart of the Psalmist here to not wander and to wholeheartedly seek Him and His Word.

Psalm 119:11: “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”

This is one of the best known verses from this chapter. We see by it how the writer also hides God’s Word in his heart. He internalizes it, and it changes his life. God’s Word is our defense against sin to keep it out of our lives. God’s Word gives us strength in life.

It’s been rightly said that “The most important Book in the world is the Bible. The most important place to put it is in the heart.”

God’s Word is filled with challenges and exhortations to implant God’s truth in our hearts. Proverbs 4:4 says “Let thine heart retain My words.” Proverbs 7:3 speaks of writing the Word “upon the table of thine heart.” Job 22:22 says: “Lay up His words in thine heart.”

Having God’s Word hidden in your heart changes your attitude and outlook on life. Your thinking changes and you become observant what’s important, you understand why this world and people are the way they are, and you feel this world’s deep need of Christ.

Having God’s Word hid in the heart, your faith is solidified, your hope is strengthened, and your love increases.

Hiding God’s Word in our hearts also reminds us of the importance of Scripture memorization. Scripture memorization is not like “Trix” cereal: just for kids! We all need to do this. It’s for all ages. Memorization pays great spiritual dividends.

It strengthens your prayer life. It sharpens your witnessing. Your counsel will be in demand when you have God’s Word always on the tip of your tongue.

Turn to a passage that speaks to you, that has helped you, and commit that passage to memory. You can learn isolated verses, but consider doing whole chunks of Scripture, chapters. Doing this you get the flow of thought God has in mind.

Scripture memorization can be an incredible testimony of your love for the Lord and His Word and its importance to your life.

Psalm 119:12 says, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord: teach me Thy statutes.”

The writer then praises God and asks Him to teach him. This request to be taught and led deeper into the Word is a request to be led into a deeper, fuller knowledge of God. To know God by His Word is the greatest thing to know in life!

We each have a personal, individual responsibility and need to know Him and to learn and grow in His Word. Look for avenues to do this and to help you in this.

Consider taking distance studies from a Bible school. One I would recommend is Berean Bible Institute, which was established by Berean Bible Society in the mid-90s.

I was trained and graduated from BBI. I highly recommend it. The school is located in Slinger, WI.

Consider volunteering to teach a Bible study or Sunday School class. Teaching others drives you deeper into the Word when you must present it clearly to others.

This verse reminds us that when we get into God’s Word ourselves that we should pray when we read. Pray a simple prayer. It doesn’t have to be a long, glorious prayer.

Just a short, simple, to-the-point prayer, like v. 12: “Teach me Thy statutes.” It’s been said that “The Bible is the only Book where the Author is with you every time you read it.” Ask the Holy Spirit, the Bible’s Author, to show you things, to teach you, to help you understand His Word.

One of the Holy Spirit’s ministries under grace is illumination. He enlightens us to the truths in His Word. Illumination has to do with the Spirit enlightening us to spiritual meanings and what God’s truth means to us personally.

The illumination the Spirit gives is about understanding what it means to your life. Illumination is about heart-change, not just mind-filling and knowing facts.

True spiritual understanding takes place as the truths of God’s Word travel from the head to the heart and changes both our thinking and our heart.

In Ephesians 1:17,18, the Apostle Paul prayed, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.”

The goal of the Spirit’s work of enlightenment and giving wisdom and knowledge helping us making connections, understand spiritual meanings, is to increase our “knowledge of Him.” Knowing Christ and being more like Him is what truly changes us and transforms our lives by grace.

Psalm 119:13,14: “With my lips have I declared all the judgments of Thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.”

The Word, which the psalmist has hid in his heart, now comes out through his lips in declaring it to others. He declares the Word with his lips, which he says, first came from the “mouth” of God who breathed it out.

God wants us to be His mouthpiece to share His Word with others. The writer’s delight in the Word led to his desire to share its truths with others. His deep belief and trust in what God’s Word says made him want to pass it on.

Evangelism and sharing the Word is not something that should be done from compulsion, but is an overflow of joy at the good news you fully trust and know to be the truth.

The psalmist lifted up his voice and spoke it OUT to others, and then lifts his voice UP and rejoices to God for His Word, rejoicing in it because he has found it of greater worth and value than all the riches of this world.

A number of years ago a story appeared which told of a man who picked up a beautiful rock from a North Carolina stream bed and used it as his cabin doorstop for 3 years.

Years later a geologist, who was hiking in the area, stopped at the cabin and noticed the doorstop, which he immediately recognized as a huge lump of gold. In fact, it proved to be one of the largest gold nuggets ever found east of the Rockies, a 17lb nugget.

The Bibles we own are of much more significance and value than this huge gold nugget. The Bible is much more than decoration for a table, or another book for the bookshelf, or a place to put pictures or important papers.

Like the man who used the gold nugget as a doorstop, so many don’t know the treasure they have in owning a Bible. It is the very Word of God. It is His wisdom, His revelation to man. In some things we should be content, but when it comes to the Bible, we should never be satisfied with how much we know.

For those who patiently, consistently search and learn the Word, there is always more treasure for God to reveal to us and in which for us to rejoice.

It’s important to read God’s Word, but the riches of God’s Word reminds us that it’s also important to study it, to dig into it.

There are riches on its surface when you read, but there are even more, greater riches as you dig in deeper and study it closely. The Bible is a mine of exhaustless wealth.

You see the results of spending time in God’s Word in all this, as you see blessing in v. 12 and joy in v. 14. As a result of closeness to God’s Word, and thus a closer relationship to the Lord, it results in joy, blessing, comfort, and encouragement.

People search for these things in many other places, but we find these things by spending time in the Word of God.

Psalm 119:15,16 says, “I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways. I will delight myself in Thy statutes: I will not forget Thy Word.”

The psalmist dedicates himself to meditate on God’s precepts. Meditating is just thinking about the Word and passages of Scripture, rehearsing what you’ve learned in your mind.

Meditating is about contemplating God and His Person, considering His overall plans and will and how it all fits together, thinking about what He’s saying to you personally.

Often the Spirit illuminates truth in those moments too, when you make spiritual connections and other verses and truths come to mind.

You can do this at work or at school or at home, laying awake at night, cutting the grass, doing dishes, etc. Meditating shows God wants His Word on our minds at all times.

The writer says he’ll meditate on God’s “precepts.” The term “precepts” speaks of instructions from a superior, to those under Him, regarding the duties they are to perform.

This is what God’s Word is, and thus we should “respect” His ways as v. 15 says, knowing that the Superior who has given this Word, is the One who is Superior above all.

The duties that we are to perform, however, is something we must obey as we rightly divide God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15), and understand the Bible dispensationally.

All Scripture is for us, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, instruction, and is all for our learning (2 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 15:4), but not all Scripture is written directly to us.

God gave Israel precepts that they were to perform under the law, and God has given the Body of Christ duties and precepts we are to perform and obey under grace.

We must rightly divide between God’s instruction for Israel and His instruction for the Body so that we rightly apply God’s Word to our lives.

Thus as we read, study, memorize, meditate, apply God’s Word we must do so it in light of Paul’s letters of grace and the Word rightly divided.

A simple breakdown of the Word, rightly divided, is that the Old Testament and the Gospels (Genesis-John) were written to the nation Israel according to God’s plans and purposes for them and their earthly kingdom hope.

Acts is a transition book from Peter to Paul and from Israel to the Body of Christ. Paul’s epistles (Romans-Philemon) are our letters for today and are Christ’s direct commands for the Body of Christ under grace in accordance with our heavenly hope.

The letters of Hebrews through Revelation are letters for Israel, after the dispensation of grace and the Rapture, for their direct application in the Tribulation and in the Kingdom.

Finally the writer says he would “delight” himself in God’s Word. God’s Word is not, as some suppose, God trying to take away delight and joy in life. Instead God’s Word gives this to our lives as we obey it.

“I will not forget Thy Word,” v. 16 says. Not forgetting the Word is about not forgetting the Lord and our relationship with Him. May we remember His Word and its vital importance to our lives, and spend time with it consistently. In doing so we will be transformed by grace.