A Word On the WORD
There was a Psalm last week that I mentioned to you was the Mount Sinai of Charles Spurgeon, it was the Psalm to which he feared greatly to enter upon knowing that any effort he made with respect to its commentary would be woefully insufficient even to disrespect to it;
It is a bush burning with fire, yet not consumed, he said. And with that psalm he felt a voice that seemed to cry to him when he approached near it saying “Draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” Psalm 51 was indeed Holy Ground to Spurgeon and he feared greatly treading lightly upon it.
Well what Psalm 51 was to Spurgeon, Psalm 119 certainly is to me. It is the most holy ground of all to me because it is a Psalm all about the word of God. And what words can any man say that can give an appreciation and understanding to a chapter in which all but three verses deal specifically with the words of the living God?
I am too much of a babe in the Lord to feel in any way qualified to expound this chapter, nor could I physically do so in any credible way even if you gave me a month of Sundays. I feel so not up to the task of commentary on this chapter, and I would not dare presume that I was at this time. But I am up to the task to share my own love for it and my appreciation for a Psalm that has impacted me more than any other in the Bible. But I am certainly not alone in how I feel about this Psalm
It is recorded that St. Augustine, who wrote so many works and commentaries also commented on the book of Psalms, but he delayed to comment on Psalm 119 until he had completed the other 149 Psalms.
But even then, only did so because of the many urgencies of his friends. He said, “as often as I essayed to think thereon, it always exceeded the powers of my intent thought and the utmost grasp of my faculties.”
Another ancient church father wrote of this Psalm, titling it “the perfection of teaching and instruction”; another says that “it applies an all-containing medicine to the varied spiritual diseases of men—sufficing to perfect those who long for perfect virtue, to rouse the slothful, to refresh the dispirited, and to set in order the relaxed;”[1]
But probably the most familiar truth that I have read of all the commentators on this Psalm was that given by Matthew Henry when he gave an account of the death of his father Philip Henry, he says:
“Once, pressing the study of the Scriptures, he advised us to take a verse of this Psalm (Psalm 119) every morning to meditate upon, and so go over the Psalm twice in the year; and that, saith he, will bring you to be in love with all the rest of the Scriptures. He often said, “All grace grows as love to the word of God grows.”[2]
This I will confess to you is the most wonderful truth and applies in just such a way to me. In the book of Isaiah, it is God who himself speaks of his words as the rain that falls from heaven to nourish the earth saying;
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8-11)
I started gardening this year and I’ve learnt a lot. I learnt that you need the right soil to grow vegetables, they don’t just grow in any soil. Anything to heavy seems to harden around the plant. But I also learnt that seeds need water before they sprout. Water makes things grow. The Bible is likened to water in Isaiah.
Psalm 119 will be like that first water that quenches a thirsty soul, cool and delightful and has you desire more.
If you have long desired to read the Bible but have continued more and more to put it off, than let Psalm 119 bring to your heart the reason why the Bible is so precious.
In these times of immense confusion and doubt, which will only increase before the coming of the Lord, as deception runs rife and there is a famine for the truth, Psalm 119 is what provides the appetizer for the main meal.
PLALM 119
1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Blessedare they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
You have noticed that no author is given for this Psalm, but it is near impossible to read through this Psalm and not see the hand of David within it. True, there is no certainty for us, but like the book of Hebrews in the New Testament that have the Character of the Apostle Paul in the structure and syntax of the words, so too Psalm 119 betrays David, the king and sweet Psalmist of Israel as its penman.
Psalm 119 was affectionately known in days gone by as “David’s Pocket book”
- Longest Psalm in the Bible
- 176 verses
- All but four directly speak of the word of God
- 7 words as synonyms for the word ‘word’
- Found in first seven verses
1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Blessedare they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
- The 176 verses are broken up into 22 octaves
- Each Octave begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph, beth, gimel, daleth, he….down to tau the last letter of the Hebrew alephbet
- There are 22 letters in the Hebrew Aelphbet
- There are 22 octaves making up the 176 verses.
- Each letter that heads the entry to each octave of verses, also sets the first word in each of the eight verses. Yes, in the Hebrew all eight verses under ‘Aleph’ begin with words that begin with that letter.
- Aleph…..beth…..gimel….etc
- Not easy to do even if you tried for every letter of English and still have the sentence make grammatical sense. No doubt the translators would have loved to duplicate that in the translation.
That does not mean that there has never been an effort on the matter. In 1867 a group of friends thought they would give it a try, and did so with the first 8 verses;
A blessing is on them that are undefiled in the way
and walk in the law of the Lord;
A blessing is on them that keep his testimonies,
and seek him with their whole heart:
Also on them that do no wickedness,
but walk in his ways.
From “The Psalms Chronologically Arranged. By Four Friends.” 1867.[3]
Etc, but that is not the literal interpretation of the words of Psalm 119, and hence the problem.
Please let me then give a short exposition on just one octave of this Psalm, which to me was the most wonderful of pearls that I have found in the Bible, and we will probably remain here for the duration of the Sermon;
Turn to Psalm 119:97-104
97 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they areever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
This section is titled with the Hebrew letter MEM (Corresponding to the English ‘M’), and each verse begins with a word that starts with that letter. This is the 13th Octave of the 22 in this Psalm and when I first read it, I sat down and thought to myself “could it be true”?
TEACHING WORD
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
Is that possible?
Can the words of God give me all the understanding that I will ever need, can they make me understand more than all my teachers? Could the keeping of and reading of the word of God alone give me greater understanding than the ancients?
When I first read these verses in this Psalm I believed them and my life has frankly never been the same again. There are those who try to tell me that believing everything that the bible says is the most naïve thing a person can do. They denigrate it, they say things like, “you need to think for yourself” and “Don’t you have your own mind”, they make it as if the Bible is like a person just telling you what to do and what to believe and that you should be able to decide for yourself.
On the surface that seems almost valid. On the surface many people would think that these detractors might have a point. But when you ask the questions of yourself that I asked of myself, the truth really comes to the surface.
But perhaps you are nothing like me. Perhaps you have always made the right decisions and you have never been deceived, perhaps you have always been perfectly right and always assessed things correctly, you got 100% on every exam and every essay and every test in life for all of your life. But me, that’s not the case.
I have made mistakes; I have made HUGE mistakes in life. I have made bad decisions, I have said stupid things, made inappropriate jokes at the most inappropriate times (to which some of you were a witness, especially my wife). I have wasted so much time making up for the errors I have made and so…no, I am NOT THE ONE PERFECTLY QUALIFIED TO RUN MY LIFE.
I have been wrong; the Bible has never been wrong. But these people believe the Bible is more unreliable than they are.
So, I have more chance of leading myself astray through poor understanding than the Bible has of leading me astray, and this word says 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation
When I ponder and meditate on the word of God, I often also find myself reflecting upon my own life think of all the mistakes I have made again, and again and again.
What I can tell you is that if you will do so, then you permit the testimonies of the Lord to teach you.
And the words of God are permitted to bring ALL THE NOURISHMENT for THE SOUL AND THE MIND
“I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:12
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Ps 19:9-10)
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Ps 119:11)
The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide (Ps 37:21)
I don’t want my feet to slide! How often have my feet slid?
Beloved, you can have all the confidence in the world that your feet wont slide, but I guarantee you that circumstances change, things happen that are unexpected and, without the wisdom of God, your feet will slide.
If any men have ever walked on the top of a Colourbond steel roof you would know that rubber boots on a warm day will keep you firm and stable, you won’t go anywhere….unless it rains!
If it rains your own weight is going to work against you, there is nothing that will keep you on that roof unless you have something to hold on to.
The Bible gives you the wisdom to anticipate those things that may have your steps slide and avoid them. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide(Ps 37:21)
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (119:11)
If the word of God become your meditation, you will indeed have more understanding than all your teachers:
WISE WORDS
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
BUT this they also say; “Don’t you have your own mind?” It is a statement that presumes they are not influenced by anybody. But the same people who reject the Bible and make this claim are themselves greatly influenced by other entities. They believe things are true because they are told they are and not because they have considered things with their own minds.
They know the media lies, and yet they believe them time and time again.
They know politicians lie, and they believe them time and time again.
“Don’t you have your own mind” they say, and yet they don’t employ their own minds to discern what is true or what is false.
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
It is through the precepts of the Lord that we have understanding and are able to discern the truth of a matter.
Isaiah wrote;
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” in (Isaiah 8:20)
If the media and politicians, and even your teachers do not speak according to this word, according to truth, is it because there is only some light in them? NO, its because there is NO light in them.
You can apply this to television, to the internet, to anything other than the Bible, the results evidently speak for themselves, take a good look at this world today. Beloved, it’s not me saying this, it’s the Bible that teaches it, but if you don’t want to believe the Bible…I can’t help you.
When men and women held to the truth of the Bible as their one foundation and reference for truth, then the world around them was blessed and prospered. The world has rejected the word of God, it did so some time ago, and now look at it!
Never has there been a time of so widespread deception and a time of such division as there is in this time when, coincidently, there has also never been such widespread rejection of the Bible and its precious WORDS.
REFRAINED AND REMAINED
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
If this is not the common desire of all those who love the Lord, then there is no hope of them keeping his word. THEY ARE TO REFRAIN FROM EVIL, AND REMAIN IN HIS JUDGMENTS
Christians today are as frequently in sin and excusing evil ways almost as much as those who serve sin. Too many Christians are finding the company of Christians who refrain from sin, as distasteful as those who serve sin. They stand on the side of the unbeliever in their discomfort of those who refrain from evil. In fact, far too many Christians are enjoying the company of unrepentant sinners more than they do Christians.
Generally, but not always, it’s the reason they rarely appear at church, rarely seen at prayer meetings, rarely seen at Bible study, rarely share the Gospel, rarely read their bibles, rarely spend time in prayer. The word of the Lord is not kept by them, they do not desire it as their necessary food, they would rather live on bread alone than by every word of God.
But not David and those who’s greatest striving is to be as the one who has refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: I have not turned from them, I have not rejected them, I have not counted them as meaningless in my life, I have not denied them as just and true, I have not departed from thy judgments for thou hast taught me.
Who would have thought it true that in the reading of the word of the Lord and meditating upon its testimonies, you are being taught by the Lord himself? If this was true for the Psalmist, it is doubly true for you and I.
The moment you were born again you were given the Holy Spirit. It is he that came to dwell in you and will be with you forever. It was he who was promised by Jesus Christ that he would send “another comforter” and it is that comforter (which is the Holy Ghost Jn 14:26) whom you have received as the “earnest of your inheritance”.
When the apostle Paul qualified his statement in Romans 7:18 saying “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing”, he was qualifying the reality that the spirit of God abides in him, so he could not leave out the qualifying statement and say, ‘for I know that in me dwelleth no good thing’, why? because the Holy Spirit is in him.
So too with those of you who have received the New Birth. It is that same Holy Spirit that the Bible says inspired the scriptures.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Pet 1:21)
And so, if that same spirit that is in you is that Spirit of God that authored the scriptures, are you not then being taught by God when you read the Bible?
I have not departed from thy judgments for thou hast taught me.
Turn in your Bibles to John 14:26
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Beloved you are not to be taught by your lecturer in a Bible college, if you do you will find yourself twice the disciple of error than he is. You are not to be taught by your Pastor at Church, if that is all you rely upon you will be twice the disciple of deception as he is.
You are to be taught by the Holy Scriptures, and if your pastor is doing his job well he should be inspiring you to read that blessed book, to give you an appetite for it, a hunger for it. A respect for the Holy Precious words of Christ that would have you not wanting to wait but to turn to it again and again.
If your pastor has plummeted the wonderous depths of the words of the Living God and is a changed man as a result, then that same transformation is awaiting you and greater than this and you should not strive for less.
If Jesus told his disciples “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (Jn 14:12)
Then how much more could you learn directly from the word of God than any teacher who has only ever fed you the crumbs of the bread of life? How much more if you are taught by the Lord?
Sweetest Words
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
In every field of Science and Philosophy there is a desire to find and genuine axiom, a constant, a truth that they can hold onto as absolute from whence they can understand more of the field in which they study.
BUT they don’t have it, not in Philosophy and nor, surprisingly, in Science. Science, for all its successes, can never prove anything to be absolutely true, but only give probabilities of it as true.
Bertrand Russel the famous Philosopher of the 20th Century, agrees that Science can’t prove anything absolutely, but only probably. His his book titled “My Philosophical Development” he writes
‘Science is at no moment quite right, but it is seldom quite wrong, and has, as a rule, a better chance of being right than the theories of the unscientific. It is, therefore, rational to accept it hypothetically[4]
He goes on to explain the logical reasoning behind it, but the point is that Science needs a constant from which it can hang and test its notions.
It’s the same with philosophy.
When I some of the writings of the ancient philosophers such as Plato or Aristotle, I was absolutely astounded to find that they begin with a guess, a supposition and they use that as their axiom, their standard from which everything else they write about is based.
And all that they write might indeed be somewhat true IF and only IF their first guess or supposition is true. If not, their entire theory and philosophy falls down like a deck of cards.
It was when I saw this in their writings, that I agreed with this very Psalm in verse 100 saying
100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
So when you have the absolute truths of the words of God, and you have your constant from which all things can be tried and tested, then there is no doubt that you will say with the Psalmist 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Despising Error
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
And it is when you understand the truth of these very words and the infinite impact they have made upon your life, the understanding you have gained, that you also come to “hate every false way”.
Beloved this is the reason I am very passionate about having in my hands the very words of God in my language, and absolutely despise those who create doubt in these words.
I Hate every false way, and I take as heresy the notion that God has not kept all of his words intact and available to his Church.
Inspiration assumes preservation, and preservation presumes possession.
God says he inspired his words, he promised to preserve his words, and not a single word is lost in translation. That is what the bulk of the Church had believed true for the majority of the last four hundred years, and I hold that still true today.
Satan deceived Eve by creating doubt in Gods words, Bible colleges have been doing the same almost from the beginning, and I do not know of any in this state that do not still create doubt in Gods words, and I hate it.
The first point of departure for me is men teaching the Bible has errors in it, even to a single word.
That is NOT what the Bible says of itself, but every time a preacher corrects the scriptures by even vainly thinking they know the so-called originals, they unwittingly create a false way and I hate it.
I hate it because it has led to the mess that we have in the world today.
When pastors deny their Bibles, then eventually so will the Church, and when the Church denies the truth of the Bible, so too will their Children, and then the secular world and then the laws of the land, until deception and lies replace the truth and the world is upside down calling evil good, and good evil.
I hate every false way because I love the truth of Gods words.
Jesus said “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Jn 6:63
We worship one who’s name is The Word of God, and we wonder to ourselves how it can be that people justify correcting God’s words.
Psalm 138:2 says “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” and so should we all.
There was a time not very long ago that a man’s word was the highest identifier of his Character. “My word is my bond” would a virtuous man say. And indeed, if he was as good as his word, then he was always seen as a good man.
His word was what identified his Character. If his words are in error, he was seen as deceitful, if his words were true, he was seen as dependable.
How DARE ANYONE claim Gods own words are in error?
How Dare those who are charged to teach it claim such a thing?
I truly do fear for such men who them themselves more wise and more virtuous than the Lord. What vanity!
It’s not Gods ways that are false, but their own.
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Friends Psalm 119 is the nutrient and fertilizer that is given before the rain, this chapter will create in you a desire for the word of God that will help you grow in wisdom and understanding, virtue and hope.
Psalm 119 tells of the truth of Gods words, but there is another way;
Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
The Bible can lead you to the knowledge of the truth concerning your state before a holy God.
It will tell you things that are true, but that you might not want to hear, bitter things such as the fact that you are a sinner before a holy God, will soon die and find yourself before his throne in judgment and damned to the hell created for the Devil and his angels.
But just as the bitter is before the sweet, this must be understood by you for you to cry out as multitudes have before you, “What must I do to be saved”.
God sent his only begotten Son to take the punishment of your sin on your behalf. He was nailed to a Cross, he died and he rose again the third day.
That victory over death that Christ accomplished for all people is offered to you as a free gift, if you will believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, you will have eternal life.
For God gave his only begotten Son, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:15)
But There is also a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
God’s way leads to life everlasting, but there is another way that leads to its exact opposite.
There is a true way, and there is the false way.
The choice is yours to make.
[1] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 111-119, (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers), 5:132.
[2] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 111-119, (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers), 5:132.
[3] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 111-119, (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers), 5:134.
[4] Bertrand Russell, My Philosophical Development. London: Routledge 1959, p. 13.
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