PSALM 119: PRICELESS TREASURE
Psalm 119 is deeply admired among all the psalms as revealing the nature of the word of God.. It speaks of precepts, word, judgments, righteousness, His statutes and His way, which reveal the character of the Lord.
While its truth is eternal, it records elements of time; predawn, daily, three times daily. (like a pharmaceutical provision) , at night and at midnight , which was 2359 in army parlance.
God reserved a special blessing for the undefiled (upright, truly sincere, and blameless).
In Hezekiah’s medical crisis, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. Then he made an impassioned plea, ‘Remember now O Lord, how I have walked before you in truth and have done what was good in your sight with a perfect heart. Hezekiah wept bitterly.’ 2 Kings 20:3
‘Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart. v1
The term ‘blessed’ awakens thoughts of the Matthew 5:’Blessed are the poor on spirit, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven; Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted; Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, with delightful certainty, ‘they shall be filled; Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; Blessed are the peacemakers-for they shall be called the sons of God’ (what a unique promise) Dr Colin referred to this in his monumental study of God’s precious word.
Our Lord taught, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.’’ In Luke 11;28, He sets great store by the obedience of His children, bought with His blood.
In Revelation 22:14, we read, ‘ Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they might have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city’.
God’s undefiled word spoke highly of Josiah: ‘Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did that which was good and right and true before the Lord His God.’ 2 Chronicles 31; 20. God enlarges his undefiled nature. Good, right and true. We match this, when we possess the all-sufficient Holy Spirit! Job is another example of the undefiled life. ‘Job was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.’ 1:1. God confronted satan with the simple, unchallengeable character of this man Job.
Paul defended himself before Felix, the king. He claimed in defense of the resurrection of the just and unjust, ‘I myself always strive to have a good conscience without offence with God and man.‘ Acts 24:16
We should desperately yearn for the word of God: to know and appreciate His favor; and to know the length, breadth, depth and height of the love of God (His great salvation) ; then eliminating worldly pursuits , disdaining present pleasures; denying common lusts, wherein many fall; so that our lives will be virtuous and saintly. ‘The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age.’ Titus 2: 11,12
God’s treasured Word achieves His lofty craftsmanship in all who follow Him closely.
We have majored on God’s gracious gifts to us, overlooking that the Word of God is working a singular procedure in lives. God’s work is expressed in surgical language, showing the potential of the bible truth to shape lives. He will unify the heart or driving force of each life: He will exchange our rock-like heart for a sensitive responsive one. A spiritual cardiac exchange. The ultimate purpose is to step out into the statutes, delight in the father’s judgments, and relish the practice of godliness. God’s Word binds us to Himself, thus, adopting us into the family of God into the intimate walk with the living God, we must expose ourselves to the constant fashioning of God’s holy Word.
‘Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh. That they may walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.’ Ezekiel 11:20 *
Our special granddaughter commends us for our wisdom. In response, ‘it is not our’s, but the wisdom that comes from above‘. For her special birthday, my dear wife and I gave her a teachingCD with dozens of commentaries and concordances. She hugged us in appreciation. God’s Word makes us wise. Two generations prior, I recall the insight of a grandfather and mother who, though denied formal schooling, studied with strong grasp God’s holy word. The Holy Spirit vindicates the word of God, while warning that the defiant stagger in hourly walk. Hosea concluded his prophecy, soundly endorsing God’s Word,
‘Who is wise, let him understand these things. Who is prudent, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. 14:9
God ordained that the child born of this marriage should introduce His beloved Son as ‘the LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the world’: One of the most pregnant statements in God’s Word. His parents must be schooled in the Word of God to teach their son John the Baptist as privileged forerunner of our Lord. How his dad and mother studied the scriptures, for they were both righteous before the Lord. How they cherished the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. How many times did they pour over them so that the sense of them infiltrated their lives. All this occupied the years preceding the miraculous conception of a son, John the Baptist. They had dismissed the possibility of a child, except for the over-ruling of the Lord.
Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were both righteous before God, walking blameless in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Luke 1:6 The studious study and absorption of the Word of God will produce the righteousness of the Lord in us, as we walk blamelessly in the charges, decrees, edicts and injunctions of the Lord.
The Word of God releases the latent life of Christ- so we abound increasingly in His grace.
God’s word reinforces the commandments of God as well as teaching how to let the life of Christ shine through. Only the eternal word can prescribe dedication and maintain our entry into that realm. It is God’s word: hence the living Word dictates His indwelling in our lives. Then the Holy Spirit touches the sensitive theme of sexual purity, warning against immorality, as a common blight of the day. God’s word is abundantly clear in defining purity and holiness in our sex-saturated century. Our web site has an article on pornography. www.biblestories.stellaris.com.au Amazingly the distinguished Albert Mohler recorded a discussion with the Professor of neurology at Wheaton college on ‘How pornography hijacks the mind.’
‘You should abound more and more, just as you have received from us how you ought to walk and please God. You know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality: that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour’. 1 Thessalonians 4:2,3
God spoke, not as a schoolteacher urging reluctant students, but as our heavenly Father who released His treasured word, enlarging our vision and releasing His life among us. Give fair attention to the statutes and judgments, which I urge you to observe; so that you may truly live the unencumbered life of a released slave. Is that your constant experience? God’s Word is the title deed to possess the nation with its unlimited facilities, but you must register your eternal deed with the Registrar, the Spirit of God. Sadly, this truth is unknown among many of the Lord’s chosen. God jealously preserves His Word-especially applied to our lives and conduct. Selfish man shied away from God’s Word where man’s freedom is restricted. For example, many who have divorced their partners for a lustful lifestyle, defy the Word of God. They add to and subtract from the eternal Word, breaking God’s heart, and stirring His wrath with such patent neglect of the living truth. Hebrews12:32 reiterates this truth assuring that we recognize this unchallengeable truth. ‘Hands off the eternal Word.’
Our God released His statutes and judgments to resuscitate and allow us to live as He intended. The bible discloses God’s highest purpose for His blood-bought children. How dare intellectuals demean and attack
the eternal word. When God’s word came to the people of Kalimantan, (that is from the wild men of Borneo) the people whose long houses (community of 100 persons) were lined with the skulls of their victims, they took the message of the Word to their own people. Later, they went to villagers of their former enemies with the life-giving truth of a Saviour and Lord. Not skull-seeking but precious lives to be molded into His likeness. They established Bible colleges, restraining some from entry when they flocked for bible training, accommodation hopelessly inadequate. Our theological colleges have devalued the life-imparting Word: therefore, our colleges are empty.
The ’wild men of Borneo’ discovered the power of God’s eternal Word.
In Deuteronomy 4 * God chooses for us: ‘Listen to the statutes and judgments which I teach you to observe , that you may live , and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. This key truth is God’s wholesome and integrated Word: ‘You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandment of the Lord your God which I command you, \v2
God’s spirit repeated these solemn words in the following chapter of Deuteronomy. ‘O that they had such a heart in them that they would fear (or reverence) Me and always keep My commandments , that it might be well with them and with their children for ever. Our worship service should be reverent : our home life joyful , relaxed, saturated with laughter. ‘As for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may obrve them in the land which I am giving them to possess. Be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you: you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’ Walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you that you may live and that it may be well with you.’ 5:29 WE must jealously ‘keep’ the commandments of the Lord; by which we treasure them, preserve them and heed them. (Strong’s)
Listen to www.albertmohler.com on watchfully cherishing the precious word of God.
We cannot claim to be believers in our Lord Jesus and yet indifferent to His commandments; nor selective in our allegiance to our mighty Lord. Our freedom to choose is not an entitlement to disobey the mighty Lord.
God’s Word simply states we are to conscientiously keep (reverence) the divine prescription of the Lord.
‘You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord, your God His testimonies, and his statutes which he has commanded. 6:17
*Deuteronomy 28 is unparalleled in Scripture in advocating obedience to the law of God and the judgments which follow the disobedience or abandoning the holy law of our Lord. The first 14 verses proclaim the richness of His blessing the faithful life, while the next 54 expand on the severity of God’s judgment on Israel and each disobedient person. Yes, the principle applies directly to each believer as part of the holy nation (1 Peter 2:9)
In simple, unmistakable language, God stated, ‘It shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.’ Then, God specified the course of the blessing,: the city, country, the fruit of the body (your progeny) produce, herbs, cattle, offspring of flocks, your basket, kneading bowl et al. Such a broad spread of God’s blessed realms and disturbingly comprehensive where He has dispossessed vast areas of His enrichment.
Our Lord Jesus bore the ghastly weight of our sins and gloriously conquered death with his resurrection and his 40 days’ ministry. HE rightfully commanded His chosen ones to live in implicit obedience. The Father has endowed Him with unqualified supremacy in every realm so that we, his blood-bought ones, shall delight to conform to the will of the risen Lord. The command is clear, without alternatives, for the world is our mission field- and we are to venture in unchartered paths. And as we teach, produce disciplined followers, simply compelling them to go through waters of baptism, be buried and rise joyfully from the watery grave. Our charter simply demanded a respectful adherence to all that the Lord Jesus commanded. No exceptions will minimize our loyalty to our risen Lord.
The risen Christ added to this solemn truth: ‘Jesus came and spoke to them. Saying, All authority* (exousia meaning authority, power, jurisdiction, right, liberty, strength) has been given unto me in heaven and earth.; This incredible enhancement is only by exercising faith. Then risen **royalty commanded, ‘Go , therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and (a glorious supportive promise) I Am (the eternal Deity: not the Man of Nazareth) ) with you always, even to the end of the age.’ * Matthew 28:20 In the Sahara as a young fellow, I leaned upon this promise as my invisible support. Years confirmed what the Lord taught generations ago have reinforced my faith amidst extended family, grandchildren, patients and friends. I am currently reading the history of the Chinese Christians by Dr John Tay, brilliant former professor of Pediatrics and cardiology Singapore and consultant to vast nations of China and Japan. ‘Chinese underground church is vibrant, suffering and surviving aware of the immediate presence of the risen Lord.
Our Lord commends the one who treasures our Lord’s commandments, preserving them, cherishing and keeping them. It is inexcusable to teach that grace grants Christ’s salvation freely, but dismisses the Lord’s right to a compliant family. He longs to restore submission to the race who defied Him: acceptance rather than rebellion. He died and rose triumphantly to reintroduce obedience to our lives and spiritual character in submission to HIM. Frankly, many who profess obedience to Christ clearly defy the law of God.
Christ defines the one who loves Him as the obedient one. Do we qualify for that commendation?
He had said, ’If you love Me keep My commandments.’ While simple, the truth is neglected. ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them , it is he who loves me. He who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to him. John 14:21‘*
God’s word tells us where we may safely meditate: that does not restrict our thinking: rather it safeguards us from drifting minds. Paul boasted that he was an example for the Philippians to follow. Paul had taught them, they had observed him, they listened attentively, and had seen his good behavior. He knew he was their role model. ‘Finally , brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things that are of good report-and if there be any virtue, and if there anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things‘. Philippians 4: 8
Paul longed for faithful followers for His Lord, claiming, ’The things which you learned, and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace shall be in you‘. 4:9
‘ O that my ways were directed to keep the statutes; the enactments or decrees.’ This truth is repeated numerous times in this 119 th psalm.. Psalm 51:10 reinforces this truth as it states, ‘Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me’. The word create is ‘bara’ or create or form out of nothing ‘ex nihilo’. The mighty Lord who created our intricate universe has reserved special artifice in recreating a new heart for us. Oh, what treasure. In that purified environment the statutes of the lord flourish - and so do we.
The expression in this psalm demands a hidden work of the eternal One within our lives. We are transformed from within; the gracious work of the eternal Father, the hidden operation of the Holy Spirit; the cleansing of the blood of the eternal Son. Each member of the Trinity played their eternal part in writing God’s statutes on our heart.. Treasure such indelible recording.
Jeremiah expressed this truth, ‘Oh this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel. After those days says the Lord I will put My law in their minds and write them upon their hearts; and I will be their God , and they shall be My people‘. * Jeremiah 31:33
Paul boldly stated, ‘ I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.’ Romans 7:24
‘Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ’. 2 Thessalonians 3:5
God longs for us to be complete. Only He can achieve this; and His eternal Word performs this. He introduces the resurrection of our Lord , the Eternal shepherd grazing His flock, the precious shedding of His life-blood in an everlasting covenant to make us complete in every good work . Dare we challenge this heavenly prescription substituting a degraded one for His choice. We must not!
*Paul’s benediction in Hebrews 13 supports the enrichment of God’s Word, ‘May the God of peace (shalom) who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep , through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, through whom be glory for ever and ever Amen! . Vv20,21 Complete is translated, to adjust, shape, mend, restore or prepare.
This day a dear friend, formerly Mayor of a prosperous farming city in the South East of our state spoke on ‘Abandoning Our Christian heritage’ to celebrate Australia Day. 300 plus heard him at a Mayoral breakfast. He showed how our beloved nation of Australia had been constituted not like Indonesia (Muslim rather as Christian), but founded on the word of God with Christian principles prevailing. Then he showed how our state was dedicated for the settler evangelism of our indigenous tribes. He showed how we had discarded Christian values, substituting our inferior standards for God’s royal ones. Ignominiously, we abandoned the eternal realities of God’s Word, favoring a poor substitute.
Many citizens confirmed the gist of the speaker, overflowing in their gratitude for the awakening.
Prayer for revival in the Southeast dominates persistent praying.
No shame or confusion or disconcerting follows drinking the word of God. God shields His special children from humiliation or dishonor when we have truly followed Him
God’s Word adds substance to us as we absorb the precious Word.
My prayer associate came to faith in the Lord during Billy Graham’s visit in 1959 to our nation. He saturated himself as the word of God seeped into every part of his personal , family and business life.
He has now preached in 1000 major (some use the term ‘mega’) churches of our generation,(on several continents) , presenting the word of God. When enquired of the theological college, which prepared him , he responds that daily absorbing the Word of God prepared him for a world-wide ministry. Does God’s word seep into your life, purifying every nook and cranny of your existence? ‘I cling to your testimonies; O Lord , do not put me to shame. I will run the way of your commandments, for you shall enlarge my heart.’ V31
‘Let my heart be blameless, regarding your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.’ v80
Prime Minister Daniel confirmed that we shall return to the land of the living, who sleep in the dust of the earth, and we shall come round with our resurrection body. Every promise in the Book shall be fulfilled by our faithful God. We shall participate in the Hallelujah Chorus extolling the redeeming glory of our God. Some unbelievers or Christ-rejecters shall be aroused from the dust of the earth, ashamed and contemptuous not of God but of their unrepentant selves. Saddest day in the universe- recognizing the only path to salvation had been closed and all hope of eternal redemption dissipated. Oh, let the stern reality of this moment grip our soul.
Oh, how glorious is our hope of the bodily resurrection of every believer. Miraculous- sure beyond all thought. I look forward every day to the special wonderful body my Lord has prepared for me. I have lost x centimeters of height and x kilograms, for my physique is doomed to perish. My resurrection body -never! ``
‘Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those that be wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever.’ Daniel 12;2,3
God stirs the fires of devotion, enlarging His holy Name as the motivation of our lives. No human desire can accomplish what the Lord does through His holy Word. Nor is it casual, or seasonal, I will glorify your name more and more. The determination to praise the Lord is independent of our gender, our stature , our belligerence or placidity, our intelligence or ordinariness. It flows from our learning of His upright discernments. Are you still teachable for the Spirit of God has much to pass on to us? Some of God’s people have closed their minds to brand new truth from God’s Spirit. I endeavor to receive what newly picked fruit, the Spirit would pluck for me. Ideally, with an open heart, we should welcome truth from an open heaven.
‘I will praise you Oh Lord my God. And I will glorify your name for evermore. ‘ Psalm 86:12,13
‘I will praise you with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments.’ 119;7
Repeatedly the psalmist states, ‘I will delight myself in your statutes, I will not forget your word.’v16. He wrote, ‘ I have sworn and confirmed, that I will keep your righteous judgments v106 and ‘Depart from me you evil-doers, for I will keep the commandments of my God’. V115 He has committed himself to preserve and cherish the enactments, the word (Christ is the Word made flesh), the upright reasoning and the commandments of the Lord.
‘I will keep your statutes. Oh, do not forsake me utterly.’ V8
The passage of years should deepen our convictions in safe-guarding special characteristics of our gracious God. Fallen man’s tendency is to loosen our grasp of eternal realities and content ourselves with fulfilling our days. God forbid!
In Joshua’s latter years, at the ripe age of 120, he boldly claimed, ‘If it seems evil for you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. ‘ Joshua 24:15 ‘Far be it for us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.’ To disown or renounce is ‘to forsake, render destitute, abandon and apostasise.’
My medical friend had been nurtured in the strong faith of father and mother while they served the Lord, He closed his heart to the living Lord during his medical career. He vigorously opposed his son for showing sacrificial love for his Lord, ultimately serving Christ overseas. Until he faced an early end to his life, when he called me from his hospital bed to tell his medical condition and how he had returned to the Lord. How profligate. Oh, what a relief.
By God’s grace, and infused determination, let us never depart from our God-given heritage.
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.
Blessed are those who keep His commandments. Who seek Him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity. They walk in His ways.
You have commanded us to keep your precepts diligently.
Oh, that my ways were directed to keep your statutes.
Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all your commandments.
I will praise you with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments.
I will keep your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly.’ Psalm 119 1-8