YOHD
January 18, 2012
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wednesday Bible Study Series
Psalm 119:73-80 (ESV) – 10 of 22
Yohd – 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet…
73Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments.
Here we find the Psalmist extolling the power and providence of God as we look at 3 of the Hebrew words in the 1st portion of this verse. Scripture says, “…Your HANDS have made and fashioned me…”
The Hebrew word used here for hands is actually the feminine noun Yawd which represents power and strength. Like the hands of a mother, strong and sure, but loving and caring… God’s strength is what is behind our creation and who we are…
The 2nd word I want us to look at is the Hebrew word used here for ‘made’. “…Your hands have MADE and fashioned me…” This Hebrew word is the verb aw-saw which means to bring to completion or accomplish a task. God is Creator and his involvement within the Creation process is complete.
The 3rd word we need to review here tonight is the Hebrew word used for ‘fashioned’ “…Your hands have made and FASHIONED me…” This is the Hebrew verb Kuwn which means to firmly establish or securely fixed or determined. God is solid in His choices and creates what is firmly established.
This means that our creation is by the very hand of God, we are intentionally created for a purpose, made in His image, by His power, for His purpose… securely fixed and firmly established by His hand. We are no accident, we are NO evolutionary development, we are CREATED by the very powerful hand of God!
The psalmist understood this and understood how awesome it was to have God as his creator… so he desired to KNOW his creator… and so the psalmist cries out, “…give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments…”
Here the psalmist is crying out for an overflow of God’s wisdom in his life so that he can learn God’s commands and discern how they are applicable within his life. So often we LEARN about God but we do NOT seek to apply God’s word into our lives.
The psalmist here wants a complete transformation in his learning and way of life… the word he uses for “understanding” is the Hebrew verb bene which is to gain a higher understanding and vision of something, to know it intimately, to know it so well you can instruct it.
We are called by God to be disciple makers… we need to know God’s word in such a way that we are able to share that knowledge in the making of those disciples, but also so that the new disciples then are able to go out and make disciples and teach them about God’s Word.
Made in His image, BY His power, FOR His purpose, the psalmist rejoices and so should we!
74Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in Your word.
After the psalmist has rejoiced in God’s hand in his creation and God’s plan for his life, he goes on to state that he is willing to serve God in a positive and meaningful manner.
Here the psalmist makes a vow that he will live his life in such a way that those who serve God will look at his life and they will rejoice because they will see God and see what God is doing…
The psalmist is quick to recognize that it is NOT he that will make this happen but it can and will only happen because he has put God’s Word at the forefront of his heart and life. God’s word has transformed him in such a way that people who fear God will notice… and REJOICE!
The word for rejoice here is the Hebrew Saw-machk which means to rejoice, but it also reveals the cause of that rejoicing. These people will rejoice because of what God has done in the life of the psalmist.
Is that NOT what we should strive for as believers… that our lives are an edification and encouragement to our fellow believers? Paul wrote that we should avoid becoming stumbling blocks to our fellow believers and here the Psalmist gives us a template of how we can avoid being that stumbling block to others… we can live out the Word of God in our lives and we will be an encouragement and source of joy for those who fear and follow God.
75I know, O LORD, that Your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
Here the psalmist backs up just a bit and recounts where he has failed God on many occasions and how God has disciplined him when he failed and when he had fallen.
Here the psalmist reveals that God’s way… God’s Law… God’s rules are righteous and a good and proper way to live and that he knows that God’s discipline is fair and has come because of his disobedience and straying from God’s Law!
The focus here is where it needs to be… it is on God and His law… so often we find ourselves shaking our fist at God when He disciplines us for disobedience. We want to blame our circumstances or the situation of life around us… we want to point the finger at anyone else other than ourselves…
But the finger must be pointed at the one who is unfaithful, and the psalmist understands that God is NEVER unfaithful, NEVER unjust, and NEVER going to accept sin in our lives, and when we allow sin into our lives… God is going to discipline us… God is going to ‘afflict’ us until we pray for forgiveness and deliverance from our sin.
76Let Your steadfast love comfort me according to Your promise to Your servant.
Knowing his sin dilemma and knowing God’s promise of deliverance the psalmist reaches out to God promise and claims that promise! God has promised that He will cover us with His love if we call on Him in confession and with a contrite heart.
God’s ‘steadfast’ or ‘unchanging’ love is ALWAYS going to be there for us, even when we don’t think was deserve it. The fact of the matter is that NONE of us do deserve it, but He has promised His love to those who will submit to His lordship in their lives.
On the plane home from Haiti I spoke with a man named Doug. He was from New Orleans and was now living in Costa Rica. He had married a local woman there and was flying home to check on his home in the states. After a few minutes of small talk, I asked Doug where he went to church and if he had a relationship with Jesus.
He told me flat out (in a very nice and respectable way) that he did not go to church and he knew that because of what he had done in his life and how he had lived his life that he was bound for hell, and he was at peace with that…
I shared with him how God loves him and wanted to forgive and save Him to be with Him in Heaven, but Doug could not accept the fact that God could or WOULD forgive him… Here the psalmist lets us know that God’s love is EVERLASTING and FAITHFUL…
His love covers ALL of our sin! His love displayed on the Cross of Calvary brings forgiveness and salvation to all who surrender to Him. Here the psalmist sings the praise of God’s love for him…we should sing that same praise every day!
77Let Your mercy come to me, that I may live; for Your law is my delight.
Here the psalmist cries out to God to saturate his life with God’s mercy. Basically he is saying TOTALLY COVER me with Your mercy. The reason for this request is so that he could live. He understood that when left outside of the mercy of God… only death awaited. Although we live in this earthly body…without Christ and His mercy we are all bound for an eternity of death and destruction.
The psalmist knows these things and understands this concept because he is a scholar of God’s law… God’s law is his delight and the psalmist revels in the law of God and the love of God that is shown through His law.
78Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on Your precepts.
All throughout the book of psalms the writers speak of their enemies and how they are seeking to destroy them and tear them down. Here the psalmist cries out to God to put his enemies to shame… In some manner they have wronged him and attempted to disgrace him with lies about him.
Here the psalmist portrays a characteristic many of US today lack… He displays the characteristic of humility. He does not demand revenge or retribution, but cries out for God’s justice. He does not demand God to meet his demands against his enemies but cries out for God to handle the issue.
Far too often we allow our emotions and our desire for retribution and revenge to cloud our thoughts and actions when we deal with those who disagree with us and those who oppose and seek to tear us down. We seek to destroy them or to cause pain upon them, but this is NOT where our heart should be…
We should, like the psalmist, cry out to God for His justice and His dealing with those who seek to destroy us. Our duty is NOT to seek justice for ourselves OR to seek retribution on those who have harmed us, but to meditate on the Word of God and serve Him faithfully. All the other things will take care of themselves if we are but OBEDIENT to God’s Word.
79Let those who fear You turn to me, that they may know Your testimonies.
Here it seem that the psalmist is seeking people to turn to HIM for guidance, but actually the word he uses here for ‘turn to me’ is the Hebrew verb Shoob which refers that the psalmist wants to be an example for those who fear God.
His example is found in his exuberance and joy for God’s Word and he seeks unity among those who fear God. His cry here is NOT for attention to HIM but a cry for unity and focus on God’s word, and if his life must be the example then so be it. His desire is not focus on Him but that they would focus on God’s word… focus on God’s testimonies in their lives… to lift up God to those who do NOT fear God.
How often do we find ourselves divided because we feel one or another within our fellowship is seeking attention for themselves. Our goal must always be to point others to Christ and His salvation! Our actions and words may lead others to look to us as an example, but our example must always be pointed TO GOD… TO CHRIST and what God’s Word can do for them! Our actions and words must always UNIFY the body and NEVER separate or divide!
Jesus taught that a kingdom divided against itself CANNOT stand. If we, as a body of believers, are fractured and divisive, HOW can we draw others to the love of Christ! We must focus on unity within, so that we can be the example WITHOUT…
80May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!
The psalmist ends this particular section with a cry to God for help. His desire is to live a life that will never put him to shame… and therefore never bring shame upon the God he says he loves!
When he says, “…let my heart be blameless…” just what is he saying? He is using the Hebrew adjective of description… Tahw-meem which means complete, whole, sound, wholesome, and having integrity. He is NOT saying that his is without blame in his life… or that he has no sin… what he is saying here is that in His study and application of God’s Statutes, his heart is changed and molded to a more complete, sound and wholesome heart… a heart of integrity before the world!
And if he will continue in God’s Word and continue allowing God to shape and mold him… that his life will not bring shame upon him and this also implies that his life will NOT then bring shame upon the God he serves!
When we focus on studying God’s Word and then applying it to our lives, our hearts are changed, our hearts are molded to what God desires of us. We become more ‘complete and sound’ in our walk with Him and our heart is filled with HIS integrity… in turn we walk UNASHAMED before the world and we bring glory to God in our actions. As Jesus taught in Matt 5:16 [NLT], “…In the same way, let your good deeds [your life actions] shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father…”
Our calling is to serve Him and when we store up His word in our hearts, we are more able to serve Him and do what He has called us to do, and become what He has called us to become. So let our hearts be blameless in His statues so that NO shame come to us or the God we serve!
Pray!
