Exposition
of Psalm 119
ל
Lamed
The Greatness of the Word of God
Psalm 119:89-96
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
There is an interesting and most encouraging development at this point in Psalm 119. In the last three stanzas, the psalmist’s struggles are vividly apparent. There is an increasing emphasis upon his afflictions until, as we saw in our last study, he comes to almost utter despondency. He says, “My soul fainteth” (v. 81), “Mine eyes fail” (v. 82), “I am become like a [wineskin] in the smoke” (v. 83), “The proud have digged pits for me” (v. 85) and “persecute me wrongfully” (v. 86). He then ends with the plea, “[Revive] me after thy lovingkindness” (v. 88).
As we now come to this twelfth stanza, we see a turning point. While not all the affliction ends, the overall tone changes and the Psalmist begins to move on in a more positive way. He begins again building on the Word of God alone by writing about its stability, security, strength, and sufficiency.
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
In these three verses, the Psalmist emphasizes the same truth three times, that the Word of God lasts [forever].
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Here is a verse that should rule the Christian’s life. The old Christian cliché that goes, “God said it, I believe, and that settles it,” is one that has grieved me for many years. While it is certainly stated with the deepest sincerity and the purest of motives, is it true? No, it is not. What settles a matter forever is what God says about it, regardless of what we believe. Some argue in defense, “Well, my believing it settles the matter for me.” Again, not so. The matter is settled in heaven for you, not here on earth when you believe it. Realizing the truth of this principle is essential to the doctrine of Biblical authority. If a matter is settled when we believe it, then what God says is not actually in effect until we put our stamp of approval upon it. We could greatly improve this cliché simply by saying, “God said it, that settles it, and I believe it.”
If there is one thing that is true of this world is that it and everything in it is unsettled; everything is in turmoil and nothing is sure. In stark contrast, God’s word is settled in heaven. The Hebrew verb behind settled (natsab) means “to station, to appoint, to erect, to take a stand.” Jacob, for example, set up a stone pillar where God spoke to him and renamed him “Israel”; Jacob in turn named that place “Bethel,” which means “house of God” (Gen. 35:14-15). Jacob set up another pillar on Rachel’s grave (Gen. 35:20). This word is also used for when God established the boundaries for Israel (Deut. 32:8). The idea in all these is the setting up of something intended to be permanent.
That is, indeed, what God has done with His Word. The clearest statement in Scripture of its own permanence is Matthew 5:17-18:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
So permanent is God’s Word that not even the smallest letter (yod) or the smallest part of a letter (tittle) will be lost. Every last word will be fulfilled, either by Christ’s first advent or future prophecy, and will be carried out no matter who tries to prevent it.
Many men have tried to destroy the Word of God. In the second century A.D., the famous pagan philosopher Celsus wrote against the Bible, calling Jesus’ birth the result of adultery, His incarnation as God as being absurd, the idea of resurrection as being foolishness, and many other attacks. But God’s Word lives on. Emperor Diocletian made a decree in 303 A.D. to extinguish the Bible and slaughter all Christians, but God’s Word endured. The story has been told often of how the French philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778), held up a Bible and said, “In 50 years I’ll have this book in the morgue.” Well, in 50 years he was in the morgue and the Geneva Bible Society owned his house and used it as a place to store Bibles that they first printed on his press. Countless others have tried to destroy it, but as Isaiah declared, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Is. 40:8).
The application is clear. God has set up His Word permanently in heaven and wants it to be permanently set up in the hearts of men. Dear Christian Friend, as it is in heaven, is God’s Word permanently settled in your heart and mind? This leads us to the Psalmist’s next statement.
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
The Hebrew translated faithfulness (‘emuwnah) comes from the same word for “truth” (’emûnâ), as mentioned, in fact, back in verse 30, where David writes, “I have chosen the way of truth.” Why is God’s Word perpetual? Because it is true, and that “truth endureth to all generations” (Ps. 100:5) and it “endureth for ever” (117:2). As mentioned back in verse 43, Truth speaks of certainty; Truth is always true and never changes. While Truth has “gone out of style” in our day, being distorted, diluted, and denied at every turn, it is still stands as absolute.
David goes on to illustrate: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. How did God establish the earth and all else of creation? By His Word. Genesis 1:3 declares: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (emphasis added). Then in verse 6 we read: “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters” (emphasis added). We read the same words for each day of creation (vs. 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26). As the Psalmist again declares in Psalm 148:4-6:
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Is there any doubt as to the importance of what God says? Much of Christianity today ignores what God’s Word actually says. But His Word brought the universe into existence. Should it not rule our lives?
They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
They refers back to “heaven” and “earth.” They, therefore, and all that is in them, continue ('amad; stand, last, endure) simply because God says so.
What a truth that is! Do you get it? Our Lord “upholds all things by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3). “Word” here is not the usual logos, “to speak intelligently, to articulate a message, to give a discourse,” rather rhēma, which usually relates to individual words and utterances. Jesus came, for example, to “[speak] the [individual] words of God” (Jn. 3:34). Paul declared “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the [individual] word[s] of God,” and he said that part of the Christian’s spiritual armor is the Sword of the Spirit, which “is the [individual] word[s] of God” (Eph. 6:17).
What, then, will enable us to stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil? The individual words of God. This point is crucial in our day. Words mean things. While evangelicals say, “Oh, yes, we believe in the Word of God,” the real question is, do we believe the words of God, every one them, every jot and tittle? I lovingly submit that if the words of God really mattered to us, we wouldn’t have near as many problems as we do today, such as the diluted Gospel, the seeker-sensitive movement, and various other methods of ministry. Further, the words of Scripture demand that our preaching be based solely on those words, that we begin with a text, a principle that is denied by many today,[1] and that all that we say flows out of the text.
I
would also dare to interject that an emphasis on the words of Scripture
makes the whole concept of “Dynamic Equivalence” (the basis of the NIV and
other translations) very troubling. This approach to Bible translation replaces
the concept of a word-for-word translation with a thought-for-thought translation. In other words, as long as we get
across the thought of the author, then the exact words aren’t
really important. While that approach is popular, it should deeply trouble
those who cherish the words of Scripture.
Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
Returning to the theme of affliction, David tells us that only one thing rescued him from being totally overwhelmed. What exactly was it that rescued him? Was it God’s law? Well, not exactly. You could read your Bible all day long but not be rescued from trouble because the words are not truly received. More specifically, it was David’s [delight] for God’s law that rescued him. This is, in fact, the seventh time he has referred to God’s Word as his delight, and has now mentioned four of the eight synonyms for Scripture in this dlight. His delight is in God’s statutes (v. 16), testimonies (v. 24), commandments (vs. 35, 47, 143), and law (vs. 70, 77, 92, 174).
Once again we marvel at such joy and pleasure in God’s Word. It’s really not a mystery, however, when we see the reason. The world looks to everything under the sun for security: money, success, popularity, insurance policies, retirement accounts, investments, and more. When affliction, misfortune, heartaches, and pain come, it again looks to those things and others, such as: self-help books, therapists, gurus, mysticism, drugs, and the like. The Psalmist, however, knew where to find real security. It healed whatever ailed his soul as quickly as a mother’s kiss heals her little boy’s scraped knee. While the physical wound is still there for a while, and might even leave a little scar, but the inner healing is immediate.
We appreciate this comment by Warren Wiersbe: “We do not go to the Bible to escape the realities of life but to be strengthened to face life and effectively serve God.”[2] Indeed, the Bible isn’t an escape; rather it is our refuge.
I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
The Psalmist now turns to the strength that he derives from God’s Word. We see here three progressive principles.
I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
Here is a principle the Psalmist has mentioned before. In verse 16 he says he won’t forget God’s word, and in verse 83 he adds that he won’t forget God’s statutes. It is now God’s precepts that he vows never to forget. As we’ve noted, the Hebrew (piqqud) speaks of instructions, injunctions, and moral obligations. Here, then, is the source of our strength—the moral obligations and instructions of God’s Word.
Oh, how young people of our day need to realize this! Tragically, many of our youth are weak because they are not being taught even the most basic morals in school or even in the home. Even many adults fail miserably, as is seen in those who commit adultery because they disobey something so basic as the moral obligation demanded in marriage.
Is it surprising that America is crumbling around us? Certainly not! As was true of the Roman Empire, our society is disintegrating because of immorality and lack of even the most basic values. When people will not tolerate the Ten Commandments being posted in the yard of a courthouse or on the wall inside a courtroom, our ruin is inevitable.
If I may impose upon the reader a moment, I would share an illustration of an especially personal nature. It is a great understatement to say that God works in amazing way. On the very morning I was studying this principle and working on this sermon, I was speaking to a dear Christian friend on the telephone who shared a burden with me. The specific trial in his life was that his outwardly beautifully house was virtually falling down around him and his wife. The contractor who built it failed to put any steel reinforcing rebar in the concrete foundation and also did not do continuous concrete pours where required. It was now necessary to do major repairs on the foundation by drilling and installing several deep pylons around it to strengthen it. I thought my illustration would end there, in that here was a picture of America in needed of some foundation work.
I was stunned, however, to say the least, when only a few days later, my dear friend, Mr. Otto Shults (to whom this book is dedicated), was outside inspecting the work late one night and fell into one of the twelve-foot trenches around the house. Hitting his head and lying unconscious in that trench all night caused irreversible brain damage, and he passed away as a result. While it is most certainly true that God in His sovereignty took my friend home, I could not escape just how this even more vividly illustrates the crumbling foundations of America. Is not the greatest example, in fact, that some 4,000 babies a day legally die by the hands of murdering physicians, whose original Hippocratic Oath was to “first do no harm.” A society is only as strong as its moral foundation, and ours needs major repairs, repairs that only the Word of God can supply. Only It will be the “pylons” that will sink deep into the “Bedrock” of Christ and bring back strength to our nation.
I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
Once we recognize the source of our strength, it is essential that we actively seek that strength. The Hebrew behind sought (dārash) means “to seek with care, to inquire of, to examine.” It’s used in the literal sense, for example, to speak of seeking out property, such as a lost ox or cattle (Deut. 22:1-2). It is then used in a theological sense for studying or inquiring into the Law of the Lord, as in Ezra 7:10: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” Such seeking, in fact, will be greatly rewarded, as David writes in Psalm 34:10: “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”
Seeking God’s Word should be the number one priority of the Christian. Nothing is more important. Dear Christian Friend, are you seeking the Word? Is it first in your life? Do you start your day with it? Is the preaching and teaching of it at every opportunity the most important time of the week for you? Is that the priority, or do you allow anything to keep you from it?
The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
Once we recognize the source of our strength, and actively seek that strength, we must then trust that strength as our safeguard from our adversaries. Returning briefly to the affliction that dominated the previous three stanzas, David reemphasizes that God’s Word is his only safeguard, the only thing that delivers him from the attacks of the enemy.
What exactly gives us this safeguard? The key is in the word consider. The Hebrew here (bîn) is the same word translated “understand” in verse 27 and “understanding” in verse 35 and means “to perceive, to observe, to pay attention to, to be intelligent, to be discreet, to understand and to discern.” What, then, is the key? Discernment. Mark it down: only through the discernment of truth from error do we have a safeguard from destruction. In a day that discernment is virtually nonexistent in most Christian circles, its emphasis has never been more critical.
This leads us right to one final principle.
I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
The amazing, poetic words, I have seen an end of all perfection, picture the idea that David had seen the limitation of what the men call perfection. He’d examined everything that man calls “perfect” and found it lacking. While men think they have the answers, those answers are shown to be nothing in the end, simply “smoke and mirrors.” At best, all the world can offer is a soap bubble, a pretty little sphere that floats for a few seconds and then disintegrates.
In dramatic contrast, David says but [God’s] commandment is exceeding broad. Note a subtlety here. While some modern translations (NIV, NLT) inaccurately read “commandments” (plural), the proper reading is commandment (singular), emphasizing one united Book, one unified, cohesive revelation from God. This is further emphasized by the description exceeding broad, that is, abundantly wide, spacious, and large. The Hebrew behind broad (rāhāb) is used, for example, to describe the Promised Land as “a good land and a large . . . a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8).
What a wonderfully picture of the sufficiency of God’s Word! So broad and spacious is it that it encompasses all issues, all subjects, and all answers. We need nothing else. Let us love it passionately, trust it implicitly, and obey it unconditionally.
[1] “The ground we have in common with unbelievers is not the Bible, but our common needs, hurts, and interests as human beings. You cannot start with a text” (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, p. 295, emphasis added). This and many other such clearly unscriptural trends should trouble us deeply.
[2] Wiersbe, p. 124.