Introduction:
Mouth to mouth resuscitation. This is a procedure given to a drowning person whose lungs are filled with water. The Nostrils of the victim is pressed by the one administering and air is blown into the lungs of the victim. Troubled waters were over my head when I came to the Lord but I was sustained by the word of God. It saved a drowning man with its lifegiving power. So much of what I share today is what I have personally experienced
As we know by now that Psalm 119 is an acrostic psalm of the Hebrew alphabet the verse of our meditation is part of the eight verses that begin with the Hebrew Alphabet Peh. Hebrew in its history was a pictorial language. The Symbol for Peh is mouth and one of its meaning is to blow. And this must be taken into consideration in any interpretation of the context of this verse. When our Psalmist says that He is longing for God’s word he is saying that he is longing for the word of God With a longing that is so intense that His very life depends on it and the entrance; some translations say unfolding of the word Gone forth from the mouth of God is eagerly inhaled by him as if His life depended on it. If your very life depends on the word of God one must understand this longing this hunger for the word of God of the lack of it.
To give you a sense of how I eagerly inhaled God’s word I brought the bible that led me to Christ. It is tattered and torn and unreadable because of the dog ears that it has; one cannot search for a verse as one cannot see the top reference. It Was given to me by a Barry Sjostrand of Visialia CA USA at a church meeting I attended conducted by the catholic priests. God bless him. I carried it around for 20 years till a member of the very church that this group planted, the Indian church of Christ, took time out and studied the word of God with me. God is indeed Longsuffering. In the intervening period I led a wayward life separated from the life of Christ till the Miracle of my spiritual birth happened.
That brings me to the first point in the context of our verse
The Miracle of God’s word: Born of God , Born of His word
Points:
1. The Miracle: Born of God and Born of the Word Gen 2:7, 1Pe 1:23
The first time something a kin mouth to mouth resuscitation is mentioned in the Bible Gen 2:7 it is concerned with birth, God blew the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam and it says ..And Adam became a living soul. Even today the fact that conception occurs and a physical birth occurs is a miracle. The male spermatozoa has to travel is 4 inches which for its size is equivalent to and adult human swimming across the pacific ocean from Los Angeles to Tahiti; that is a distance of 6500 Kms or 8 hours of flying time. Wow! How much more is the miracle of a spiritual birth. The root of the word in Hebrew for “wonderful” is miracle so when the psalmist is saying Thy testimonies (witness of The LORD about himself) are wonderful, he is affirming the supernatural nature of the word of God. When the Psalmist said I opened my mouth and panted he is using a simile to say that his very life depends on it
a. The Miracle is extremely personal; one cannot tell Jn3:8; therefore, obedience is the natural outcome of the miracle. Others will see the change don’t bother explaining you can’t.
Many of us seated here if not all have experienced the lifegiving power of the word of God and since then have such an intense longing for the word of God that we can’t get enough of it. To understanding the longing, we must put into perspective the miraculous lifegiving power of the word of God that results in spiritual birth. 1Pe 1:23 “we are born again of the living and abiding word of God”. This spiritual birth is so important that Jesus explained it to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was part of the Jewish Sanhedrin a Pharisee doing all the right religious practises as the pharisee sect had separated themselves to strictly adhere to the word of God. He tells Nicodemus that unless this spiritual birth takes place a man cannot see the kingdom of God. Then Jesus goes on to give the analogy of the wind, “we cannot tell” you feel but cannot explain it completely. This holy Word Leads you to God through Jesus Christ. I was fascinated by this man Christ who I know as God and Messiah. If you want to point some one to God begin with the Man Christ 1Tim 2:5
My flat in Banaswadi had a 200 square feet garden. I used to sit there and sing that beautiful hymn I come to the garden alone….and he walks with me and he talks with me…The word was interacting with my spirit and my softened heart. The miracle does not go unnoticed. Others notice it. I remember I was in the garden of the flat and a neighbour passed by, Robin, He observed I had lost weight, in fact I had lost 15kgs. I testified that I had given up smoking and drinking also. His reaction surprised me .. He said it is as if you have been born again. But if you begin with trying to explain this miracle to your friends and relatives by beginning with the spirit they will not understand because you yourself cannot fully explain it to yourself how will others understand it. One’s testimony must begin with testifying Jesus Christ. If you begin with the Holy Spirit, then they will think you are gone mad
As here with our psalmist the miracle is extremely personal. It begins a relationship with God One on One. As we observed in the beginning we can’t get enough of His word. The words that led me to God filled me with an intense longing to know more so that I could know more about Him Whom I love. The psalmist reflects His Love of God and His word in these eight verses
b. Even the simple grow in understanding. 1Co 1:26-29 (vs130b)
In the great plan of God; He chose the simple or the foolish in the world to build up so that no one may boast in His presence. This building takes place through His word. His word Gives understanding to the simple. The baby born out of the darkness of His mother’s womb learns gradually to live in the light. So also, the simple who are called. His word gives them light and better understanding to journey through life. Only a longing for God’s word feed this and increase the intensity of the light and understanding
c. An Intense longing for God’s word internalizes it to sustain the spiritual life (vs 131a)
What does one do when one is out of breath? one pants! Because if enough oxygen does not reach your brain you will be brain dead. This is a natural reflex and designed by God. Breathing is automatic, and one cannot stop it. It only stops if there is injury in some way to the brain or the lungs or the rib cage. So also, the life sustaining power of God’s word by the injury that sin causes to the soul
i. Volitionally through improper rationalizations. Excuses we give ourselves. Time is a common one
ii. Damage to our protection. The rib cage that puts a hedge around our lunges and helps them inhale and exhale. So also, Our Lord has his hedge around us. This hedge is sustained by His word and natural obedience to it. Disobedience removes this hedge
iii. The lungs. If we breathe the wrong air, we get suffocated. So also, our sustenance should be from the bible and discernment in reading Biblical literature. Normal practise is to interpret from your own reading then get confirmation in commentaries
2. A longing for God’s word and Love for Him evidenced in A Life is sustained by prayer Heb11:6
Let us read Heb11:6 in the KJV ..”but without faith it is impossible to please Him (God): for he that commeth to Him must believe that He is and that He Is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. If our LORD was to say this in first person …”without faith it is impossible to please me: For those that come to me must believe that I AM and That I AM a rewarder of them that diligently seek me. A longing for the word of God increases our faith and our desire to come to Him in prayer. Reading the Bible meditatively and prayerfully sustains spiritual life. Through His word we know His revealed will and His word reveals more about HIM and so increases our faith. Faith empowers us. What did our Lord say? He said if you have faith the size of a Mustard seed you can move mountains. You can move any mountain in your life. If you understand the miraculous nature of the word of God. You will long for it. If you long for it, you will read it. If you read it, you will know Him better. If you know Him better your faith in Him will increase and you will come to Him prayer
a. Through the commandments Sin is utterly sinful Rom7:13b. And we become acutely aware of the need for His grace and we access grace through faith Rom5:2. We must Confess and pray. What does our Psalmist say in His Prayer? He confesses first Vs 132 Turn to me…Look upon me and have mercy on me .. some translations be gracious to me as thou usest to do with those who love your Name… In other words the psalmist is praying, be gracious to me, I don’t deserve it but you know that I love you. Such an intense state can only come from a deep relationship that satisfaction of the longing for His word has brought about.
b. Slave to righteousness Rom6:15-23: (6:18) Pray for this
Vs 133 Order my steps according to thy word. Let not any inequity have dominion over me
The Longing for God’s word makes you slave to righteousness. Everyone knows the famous verse on the fruit of the Spirit …Gal 5:22-23… Against these there is no law
c. Freedom to practise righteousness Luk1:74-75: Vs 134 Pray for this
Today the radical head of rabid Hindu fundamentalist are curtailing our freedom to practise our religion. We hear of case where they do not allow the saints to worship in homes. This is the psalmist’s prayer. Freedom to practise righteousness.
Let us take the illustration of the work place. You are in procurements and your boss asks you to make a deal with the vendors to inflate the bills, he will pass it and through the vendor you and he will share the kickbacks. Your freedom to practise righteousness is hampered irrespective of how much you long to practise honesty that The Word demands. We must prayer that we have the freedom from such an oppression. Zachariah John the Baptist’s Father prayed such a prayer
d. Truth is the Goal of learning 2Tim 3:7 Pray for knowing His truth
The psalmist prayers for the LORD’s favour and that He taches him his statutes. But here I was prompted to admonish. The LORD will teach but TRUTH is the limit for learning. When the LORD has brought understanding of a TRUTH in HIS word stop there do not dissect it so much where the truth is lost. Paul warms Timothy of such people (2Tim 3:7). Superficial questioning e.g. The word says we are slaves of righteousness then where are free? Has not Christ set us free?
3. Does the longing for holiness move you to tears when you see your fellow relatives in Adam rather than in Christ? Vs 136
A longing for God’s word brings about a longing for holiness. People do not practise holiness or the word of God. Because this spiritual birth has not occurred. But those in whom the spiritual birth has occurred persevere, You are in love with Him through Hs word and you aspire to holiness because you love him and not because He has commanded you to be holy because He is Holy though that command is sufficient. Your desire is to see it in others
Summary:
1. The word of God is a lifegiving Miracle it is as necessary as breath is to life for giving us understanding in life situations. Those touched by this sharp double-edged sword have an intense longing as if their very life depends on it because makes them know more about the object of their Love, the LORD himself
2. A longing for God’s word is and Love for Him evidenced in A Life is sustained by prayer
3. Does the longing for holiness move you to tears when you see your fellow relatives in Adam rather than in Christ?
Application:
1. Your relationships are a barometer of your burden 2Co 2:15-16
a. Fellowship: Love for one another is proof of being Born again 1Jn4:7
b. Compassion or Conflict
