Psalms 119
McGeePsalms 119THEME: Praise to the Word of GodWe come now to the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. It has in it 176 verses, and every verse (with the possible exception of two verses) is praise to the Word of God. Oh, that you and I might put an emphasis upon the Word of God. As believers, we need to put the emphasis where God puts it. In our day there is too much emphasis upon programs and methods and ceremonies and church activities. Our emphasis should be on the Word of God, because that is the only thing He has promised to bless. He has never promised to bless me or my ministry or any other ministry, but He has promised to bless His Word. The mechanics of this psalm, the arrangement of it, is indeed interesting. It was written with a great deal of care. It is an acrostic, but an acrostic that is a little different from any that we have seen before. Instead of having one verse that begins with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet (there are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet), there are eight verses for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, beginning with Aleph, Beth, Gimel, and so forth, which gives us 176 verses in this psalm. There are Bible students who feel that numbers in the Bible are very significant. I don’t want to labor the point, but I do find it interesting that eight is the key number in this psalm, because under each letter of the Hebrew alphabet there are eight verses. The number eight in Scripture seems to be the number of resurrection. It was on the eighth day that our Lord came back from the dead; He was dead on the seventh day, the sabbath, and the eighth day, the first day of the week, He was resurrected. Many people think that God is through with Israel, but He is not through with them. Paul made that very clear in Rom_11:15: “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” God is definitely not through with Israel.
Just as the Lord Jesus came back from the dead, these people will be brought back as a nation in the Millennium. God would, in a very special way, save nationsoh, the multitudes that are yet to be saved! Spurgeon used to say, “God is going to win. There will be more saved than there will be lost.” I believe that with all my heart, although as I look around me today I don’t see it happening. Many people get excited when they visit the land of Israel today, thinking they are seeing the fulfillment of prophecy. While it is true that Jews are returning to the land of Israel, it is not a fulfillment of Scripture, because they are returning in unbelief; they are not turning to God. I read recently of Jewish immigrants to Israel who were shocked by the atheism and lack of observance of the Jewish religion in Israel. It is true that there is no more a turning to God in Jerusalem than there is in my hometown or your hometown. But when God fulfills His prophecy, He will bring the Jews back to their land and it will be a resurrection of the nation, life from the dead. And, my friend, if you receive life from the deadif you receive eternal lifeit will come through the Word of God. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1Pe_1:23).
We are begotten by the Word of God that reveals Jesus Christ. God’s Word will bring life to you, it will bring liberty to you, it will bring joy to you, and it will bring blessing to you. This psalm has meant a great deal to believers down through the years. Late in life John Ruskin wrote, “It is strange that of all the pieces of the Bible which my mother taught me, that which cost me the most to learn, and which was to my childish mind most repulsivethe 119th Psalmhas now become of all the most precious to me in its overflowing and glorious passion of love for the Law of God.” William Wilberforce, the statesman who was converted in the Wesleyan movement, wrote in his diary, “Walked from Hyde Park corner, repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort.” What a wonderful statement. If you can’t sleep at night, don’t count sheep; count the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and read the verses of this psalm. It would mean a great deal to you. In this wonderful psalm God’s Word is designated by several terms: word, saying, way, testimonies, judgments, precepts, commandments, law, statutes, and faithfulness. As we go through this psalm, I will lift out certain verses. We will begin with Aleph which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalms 119:1
ALEPHOh, that we would seek God with the whole heartnot halfheartedly. I get a little discouraged with some folk who start out with our “Thru the Bible” program with a great deal of zeal at first. Then they begin to let down, and before long they drop by the wayside. They are not like the man in Psa_1:1, of whom it is said, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Blessed is the man that walketh not, standeth not, sitteth not, but just keeps on walkingwalking in the Spirit. “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
Psalms 119:9
BETHOne thing that every young man should learn about today is the Word of God. They are taught everything else in school except the Bible. It is against the law to teach the Bible in school, but we need to get the Word of God to them.
Psalms 119:11
Many people believe that this verse only means that Scripture should be memorized. I think memorizing God’s Word is a wonderful thing, but some of the meanest little brats I have seen in Sunday school were the ones who could stand up and quote one hundred verses of Scripture. When the psalmist wrote, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart,” I think he meant, “I obey it.” That is the important thing. It is a wonderful thing to be able to stand up and by rote recite verse after verseI’m not criticizing that; I’m in favor of Scripture memorization programsbut we also need to obey the Word. That is what the psalmist means by hiding it in your heart.
Psalms 119:18
GIMELThis is the verse I used to begin the “Thru the Bible” program years ago when I first taught it in a little weather-beaten church on the side of a red clay hill in Georgia. I used this verse as a theme for many years. This is a good one"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law [thy word]."
Psalms 119:25
DALETHIn the Daleth section we read: The tendency today is to pull downward. Everything pulls us down. Televisiona marvelous instrument that could be used for Goddoes nothing but pull us down. Everything is geared that way. “My soul cleaveth unto the dust"we gravitate in that direction. Not only will our body fall downward, but our soul is pulled downward in the world. How can we overcome it? “Quicken [revive] thou me according to thy word.” This is another reason I have a five-year program of going through the Bible. If folk will stay in the Word of God for five years, it will keep them out of a lot of sin. The Word will revive us and lift us up.
Psalms 119:33
HEIn the He section we read: Oh, to follow on with God, running the race with patience, looking unto Jesus.
Psalms 119:41
VAUGod’s mercy is channeled to usthe pipe that brings it to us is the Word of God. Therefore, the psalmist says:
Psalms 119:47
Does it give you joy to read the Word of God? Do you love the Bible? If you don’t love God’s Word, ask Him to give you a love for it. I did that for years. I prayed, “Lord, give me a love for Your Word.” I was not brought up in a home where I heard the Word of God, and it took me a long time to become interested in it.
Psalms 119:49
ZAINIn other words, “Fulfill thy promises to me, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.”
Psalms 119:57
CHETHThis is literally, “My portion O Lord!” Spurgeon comments: “The poet is lost in wonder while he sees that the great and glorious God is all his own! Well, might he be so, for there is no possession like Jehovah himself.”
Psalms 119:62
Have you ever thanked God in the middle of the night for His Word? Well, wake up tonight and do it.
Psalms 119:69
TETHCritics of the Bible need to go on a diet, or they may die of heart trouble. We need to stay close to the Word of God. It is marvelous for heart trouble!
Psalms 119:73
JODGod made us. He knows exactly what we need. One of our basic needs is His Word, and that is what the psalmist is talking about here. I notice that some of the manufacturers of automobiles say, “When your car needs repair, take it to us. We made it, and we know how to fix it.” Well, that may be good advice also. I know for sure that you need to take yourself to the Lord and to His Word. He made you, and He knows what is good for you.
Psalms 119:83
CAPHThis psalm speaks of one persecuted but not forsaken “A bottle in the smoke” undoubtedly refers to a wine skin “bottle” hung up in the fire, which would become blackened, parched, and cracked. What a picture of the one who endures long and severe persecution! But he was not forsaken because the Word of God was his stay.
Psalms 119:89
LAMEDI have preached on this verse many times. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven"His Word is in heaven; that is where the original copy is. I believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of that copy, and I hold a good copy of it right in my hands. Actually it is settled in the heavens. Now heaven and earth may pass away, but where He is, it will never pass away.
Psalms 119:97
MEMHe meditated in God’s Word because he loved it, and then he loved it even more because he meditated in it.
Psalms 119:99
When I taught a course in Bible at a Bible institute, I used to tell my students, “Don’t you ever give me this verse or I’ll give you an F in the course!” Seriously, humble believers who sit at the feet of Christ are often more skilled in the Word than a man who has a D.D. or a Ph.D. after his name.
Psalms 119:105
NUNNow here is a verse you may have heard all your life Each of us should use the Word of God personally, practically, and habitually as we make our way through this dark world.
Psalms 119:113
SAMECHNow, again, let me lift out only one verse from this section: How much time do you spend reading the newspaper, or reading trash, in comparison to the time that you spend reading the Bible? God is telling us, through the psalmist, that He hates vain thoughts. If you spend time in the Word of God, the day will come when you will not be interested in a lot of the trash that is published.
Psalms 119:126
AINThis is a good prayer for us to pray today. I pray this prayer, “Lord, the world has forgotten You, and the world has forgotten Your Word. Help us get it out today, and make the world conscious of Your Word.”
Psalms 119:129
PE"Thy testimonies are wonderful"full of wonderful revelations, commands, and promises. As Spurgeon has well said, “Jesus the eternal Word is called Wonderful, and all the uttered words of God are wonderful in their degree. Those who know them best wonder at them most.”
Psalms 119:130
Since I come under that classification, I want to know the Word.
Psalms 119:137
TZADDIRighteous art thou, O LORD"we can rest in the truth of that when we cannot see the reasons for our trials and troubles. We may be confident of this sure and certain fact that God is righteous and His dealings with us are also righteous.
Psalms 119:145
KOPHWhen God saves you, He wants to put you on a new diet, a diet of the Word of God.
Psalms 119:154
RESHThe word quicken is better translated “revive.” So the psalmist is saying, “Revive me according to Thy Word.” The only thing that can revive us is God’s Word. Dwight L. Moody said that the next great revival will be a revival of the Word of God. I hope that that is true, and we are seeing more and more interest in the Bible.
Psalms 119:161
SCHINThe psalmist had more respect and awe for the Word of God than he did for the rulers of this world.
Psalms 119:176
TAUAs long as the Word of God is in your heart, my friend, as long as there is a longing deep within you to come to God, the Shepherd is out looking for you. He will put you on His shoulder and bring you back into the fold. Psalms 119 is a glorious psalm. It glorifies the Word of God which is the foundation of all liberty. And it reveals the Savior"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Joh_8:36). Oh, what liberty the Word of God will give to your heart and life!