Zayin
November 30, 2011
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wednesday Bible Study Series
Psalm 119:49-56 (ESV) – 7 of 22
49Remember Your word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope.
The word ‘remember’ here in this verse is very important. It is the Hebrew word Zaw-kar – which means… to remember, recall, or call to mind. It can also be used to relate the thought of “to be brought to remembrance OR to be remembered, thought of OR brought to mind
Another nuance of this word is that it can be used to reveal the CAUSE for recall, the cause for remembering… or even the making of a memorial in order TO remember a thing…
So the psalmist is emphasizing the WORK of God’s word in his life how it is the CAUSE of his remembrance of God’s law… and because he has the remembrance of God’s word… He has great hope!
The term used by the psalmist here for God’s Word is the Hebrew word Dabar or Dabaw which is one of the nine words I gave you at the beginning of this study that represent the Law of God or the Word of God throughout this entire chapter. To refresh your memory, the Hebrew word Dabar means these are the utterances of God Himself… He is speaking these words to be written down.
So what we have here is the psalmist saying that the very utterances or speech of God brings him a remembrance of the Law and ultimately that brings hope into his heart.
The term ‘servant’ here is the Hebrew word eh-bed which is equivalent to the Greek word doulos which Paul uses in all of the introductions for his letters to the churches where he calls himself a servant of Christ or a bondslave of Christ.
Here the psalmist is revealing his view of his standing before God. He is a willing and submissive servant to God and God’s plans, and he draws hope from the Law that God provides for him… a hope that he knows will not abandon him or leave him wanting.
50This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your promise gives me life.
He is not left wanting because, as he reveals in v.50, this hope he has in God’s word brings him ‘comfort’ in his time of trouble, and his life is made whole in the promise that comes from the law of God.
This verse begins with the impersonal pronoun ‘this’… to which we must know what ‘this’ is the author speaking about. As I just mentioned the ‘this’ here points back to the ‘hope’ that he claims in v.49.
The author of the psalm uses the Hebrew word Ithiel which can be translated as an English phrase that means "God is with me"… in looking at this we can see that the psalmist had a wonderful picture of hope… he describes his hope as ‘God is with me’
What greater hope can we have than to say “God is with me!” This is the hope we now have in Christ… The One whom the prophet Isaiah proclaimed would come… the One he said would be named:
“Immanuel” - God with us!
When we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and receive Him as Lord and Savior, we have the ULTIMATE hope of all hope… we have “God with us!” We can say with confidence… just as the psalmist does here… “God is with me!” and that is our hope… and with our ‘hope’ found in Jesus we have new life… an eternal life with God the Father!
51The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from Your law.
When the psalmist proclaims his hope that is found in God’s law, he is ridiculed… likewise in the world today believers are ridiculed about our faith in an unseen God…
Aberrant and deviant behavior are accepted and even encouraged, and society promotes them and places pressure on all to accept these ‘alternate’ lifestyles, but when Christianity is brought up or discussed… INTOLERENCE is all we see!
There is NO room for that in our society say many people… they ridicule and deride us who believe in God and that Jesus was born of a virgin and raised from the dead and now saves us from our sin…
The psalmist knew of this prejudice but we find that he did not cater to their pressures… he turns TO God’s word when under persecution, not away from it!
The Hebrew word here for insolent is zed means ‘arrogant ones’ or those who are presumptuous which is defined as those who are inconsiderate, disrespectful, or overconfident, especially in doing something when they are not entitled or qualified to do it…
In other words, those who are UNQUALIFIED to judge me are casting judgment upon me… and the psalmist understands that this is not to dissuade him from his obedience to the Law of God. So instead of turning away… he turns TO the Law of God in such a time.
Those who are inconsiderate and disrespectful and cast judgment… they ‘deride’ him… the word used here is the Hebrew word Lilleth which refers to a demonic goddess who supposedly stalks the darkness of night…
In Jewish folklore supposedly Lileth was created before Eve but rebelled against Adam and was cast out and became the representative for all that was evil and rebellious against rightful authority… it can also be translated as a ‘screeching owl’ …
The representation here used by the psalmist is one of perpetual attacks from the darkness… from evil… from those with NO standing… and how often do we as believers suffer attacks from those with no right to attack us? From those who are disrespectful and inconsiderate but have NO entitlement or qualification for their attacks… We suffer this from the world and from the Evil one…
Our answer is NOT found in shrinking away OR cowering away, but in resting in the Law of the Lord… resting in the Word of God! For the believer, our answer lies in Scripture and staying in tune with Christ!
The psalmist then begins to exalt God for His faithfulness…
52When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.
Here in this verse I believe we can see the wisdom of the psalmist as he does not seek refuge in anything outside of the wisdom of the Lord… He takes comfort in God’s words for his plight…
I believe we often find ourselves in that situation where we are being ‘thrown under the bus’ so to speak in our situation … in whatever circumstance life brings our way, and we try to deal with it on our own or we strike out in vengeance or we fret and worry and anxiety overwhelms us… but here the psalmist reiterates how important it is for us to remember the faithfulness of God and take comfort in it! Can you?
I know that there are days when I cannot… when I simply want to scream to the top of my lungs at this world or those in my life who are pounding down upon me…
But my solace is not found in the release of my anger or in the words of malice that may come out of my mouth, but my solace is found in one place… God himself! I revel in the fact that God has included me in His plan! From the beginning of time He has had me in His sights and on His radar… this brings me great comfort!
53Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.
Hot indignation… those are rather hostile words from the psalmist, but they are words of righteous indignation. The wicked and their supposed successes here in this world fly in the face of God’s law and seemingly mock God… but God’s law will not be mocked and God will not be mocked!
As believers, there is a time and a place for righteous indignation… a righteous anger, but we must realize that it cannot be an anger toward any person, but our anger and our indignation must be focused toward the evil of this world… Paul shares with us in his letter the Ephesians
Ephesians 6:11-12 [ESV]
11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Although we may ‘see’ people opposing us… our true enemy is Satan himself. We must never forget that and we must NEVER transfer our righteous anger from him to those in this world!
With that being said, the psalmist is reacting more here to the actions and deeds of these people who forsake the law… in other words, his anger burns toward the SIN that is taking place that flies in the face of God’s law!
The psalmist says that this anger… this ‘hot indignation’ actually SEIZES him… he uses the Hebrew word ah-hazz which reveals a total capture… our word overwhelm is close to the meaning of this word… this righteous anger OVERWHELMS him when he sees God’s law being abused and forsaken…
How often do we find ourselves burning hot with righteous indignation about the sin in this world… I believe that far too often the target of our indignation is at the people and NOT the sin and evil of this world. As believers we are called to reach out in love to the people, while rejecting the sin and evil of this world that they may be caught up in… Love the sinner, HATE the sin!
I believe we muddle these two far too often and it comes across as a judgmental and condescending attitude (holier than thou)… We are called to HATE sin… but we are called to love people!
54Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.
In this verse the psalmist is lifting up praise to God for his Word… for His law… for His guidance in his life! Your statutes represent the very words of God… God’s direct instructions for our lives… these directions… these instructions are as a SONG in the psalmist’s heart.
Have you ever wondered why musicians are looked upon with such awe and admiration? Music carries a message and it can reach down to the very SOUL of a person! Music touches us when mere words cannot… here the psalmist reflects that God’s message… God’s statutes… are like music to his very soul.
The Hebrew word here for house is bye-itt (bay-ith) which is a metaphor for the inner most parts of a person… God’s law reaches down to the psalmist’s very soul… and carries through his journey here on this earth!
This is a rejoiceful man who is content in his relationship with His God and rests in the Law of His Lord…
55I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, and keep Your law.
In this verse the psalmist reveals his delight in the Lord at ALL times… he says here that “I remember Your name in the night…” This phrase represents the dark and terrifying times of our life. When it is night and the light is NOT there… it is hard to see… it is hard to navigate… but the psalmist says that even during the dark, terrifying and difficult times, he remembers God and His law… He turns to them for guidance!
We see this reflected in the psalmist throughout this entire chapter. In v.105 we find the psalmist saying that God’s word is the light of his life and that he walks by the light of God’s word…
Here he lets the reader know that when the dark times of life come, the light of God’s word will guide you… Far too often during the dark moments of our lives we turn away from God’s word… we either hide from God or run to human intervention because we don’t trust God.
Here the psalmist is telling the reader to trust God as he does…even in the darkest moments of life! How does the psalmist get thru these dark times… by fastening himself to the Law of God! How do we get through the dark times of life… by fastening ourselves to God’s WORD incarnate, Jesus Christ!
56His blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts.
Once again we see a praise from the psalmist… “His blessing has fallen to me…” is a phrase of praise! I have kept His precepts and God has blessed me!
Now don’t take this to mean that God is in the prosperity business… far too many preachers have taken this verse and used it and perverted its meaning. This is NOT the prosperity gospel! What the psalmist is saying here is that he has been obedient and God has blessed him…
It is not a reward from God that he seeks, but it is a benefit that flows from the mercy and grace of God out of His love for those who are obedient! There is NOTHING we can do to obligate God to bless us… His blessing comes directly from His grace and mercy… but we can find favor in His sight when we are submissive and obedient to His Law… to His calling on our lives!
God has promised blessing to those who honor Him and obey Him, but honoring and obeying God must be done out of love of God and submission to His Lordship NOT because God is going to bless us or prosper us in our obedience! The reason for our obedience must be pure!
What is YOUR reason for following the Law of God?
What is it you turn to… or Who is it you turn to in the dark times of your life?
How does God’s word speak to your heart? Does it sing? Does it resonate down to the very fiber of your soul?
What is your reaction to the evil of this world? Are you tolerant of evil just wanting to get by? Or does a righteous indignation arise within you when you see evil present?
Do you remember the faithfulness of God when life’s circumstances and situations seem to ‘throw you under the bus’?
When those who are unqualified or unjust in accusing you raise their voices, to whom do you look? Is it to man and your accusers OR do you look to the Word of God which represents God Himself?
The psalmist in this section refers to and rests his heart and soul within the very heart of God’s law and word! As believers regardless of the situation we must always REST in Him…and RELY on Him! Do you fully trust in God’s word to lead you today? Surrender your heart to Him this very moment…
Pray/Dismiss…
