Message 56
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Scripture Reading: Psa. 119:1-2, 14-16, 20, 30, 35-36, 40, 42-43, 45, 47-48, 54, 55, 58, 66, 70, 74, 77, 80, 92, 94, 97, 103, 111-114, 117, 119, 127, 131-132, 135, 140, 147, 159, 162, 165, 167-170, 172-174; 19:10b
Psalm 119 is a psalm which dwells specifically on the law. The longest piece in the book of Psalms, this psalm was written according to the sequence of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with each of its twenty-two sections using eight verses for each of the twenty-two Hebrew letters. Thus, this psalm of one hundred seventy-six verses has more verses than the whole book of Ephesians. Due to its length, it is difficult to cover in a brief way.
The foregoing messages on the law of God should be helpful to us in understanding Psalm 119. The psalmist did not write this psalm according to theology. Rather, it was written according to his sentiment and experience, according to the deep aspiration of his heart, and according to his enjoyment of the law. The psalmists expressed their hunger, thirst, and desire for the Lord. Like all the psalms, Psalm 119 is filled with aspiration, not with doctrine. Verse 131 says, “I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.” Here the psalmist uses the word panted, a word also used in Psalm 42:1: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” The note in one version says that in Hebrew the word pant refers to the longing for a cool spring after suffering burning heat. The use of this word in Psalm 119:131 and 42:1 shows the deep sentiment and aspiration of the psalmists. The psalmists thirsted and panted after God. Hence, although Psalm 119 has much to say about the law, it does not speak about the law from the perspective of doctrine, but from the viewpoint of spiritual experience. This psalm was written by one who dealt with the law in the way of enjoyment. In this message and in the next, we shall look into Psalm 119 to consider how the Old Testament seekers of God enjoyed His law.
Psalm 119:2 tells us that those who enjoyed God’s law in the Old Testament were seekers of God: “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” The writer of Psalm 119 was such a seeker. Many Christians are not familiar with the term “seekers of God,” even though this concept is biblical. According to Psalm 119, seeking God is related to keeping the law. If you try to keep the law without having a heart to seek God, your efforts will be in vain. This was the serious shortcoming of the Judaizers at the time of Paul. Trying to keep the law without seeking God with their whole heart, they failed in their endeavor to fulfill the law’s requirements. If we want to walk according to God’s law, we must seek Him with our whole heart.
Psalm 119:132 says, “Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.” This verse indicates that the psalmist loved the Lord’s name. Verse 55 says, “I have remembered thy name, O Jehovah, in the night, and have kept thy law” (Heb.). When the psalmist awoke during the night, he remembered the Lord’s name. What we remember in the night reveals our true interest, even the thing that occupies us. What do you think of when you wake up at night? If you are one who seeks God, you will remember His name. His name will be your special interest. Young people, I hope that when you awake during the night, you will not dwell on worldly things, but will remember the sweet, precious name of the Lord. Like the Old Testament saints, may we all love the Lord’s name and remember it, even in the middle of the night.
Psalm 119:58 says, “I entreated thy face with my whole heart” (Heb.). The King James Version uses the word favor instead of face. To seek a person’s face is actually to seek his favor. If we entreat the Lord’s face, His countenance, we shall receive bounty. Often little children will earnestly seek the face of their mother. To them nothing is more dear than beholding their mother’s face. We also should seek the Lord in such an intimate way, entreating His countenance. The Lord’s countenance brings His favor to the seeking one. For whatever the psalmist needed, he would entreat God’s countenance.
Psalm 105:4 says, “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” According to this verse, we need to seek God’s face continually. Then in Psalm 42:5 the psalmist praises God “for the help of his countenance.” In a deeply personal and intimate way, the psalmist sought the help of the Lord’s countenance.
The Old Testament seekers of God also prayed that the Lord’s face would shine upon them. Psalm 119:135 says, “Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.” This thought is based upon the second aspect of the priests’ blessing in Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” No doubt, this threefold blessing refers to the blessing of the Trinity: the blessing of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. With respect to the Son’s blessing, there is mention of the Lord’s face shining upon the people. Prayer for the shining of God’s face is also found in Psalm 4:6 and in 80:3, 7, 19, where the psalmist prays, “Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine.” The Old Testament seeking saints were not people who merely endeavored to keep the law in letters. They lovingly sought God in an intimate way, even asking Him to cause His face to shine upon them.
If we do not have such a heart to seek the Lord, we shall not care for the shining of His face. Even if He caused His face to shine upon us, we would not be conscious of that shining. To sense the shining of the Lord’s face we need a seeking heart. If we are those who seek the Lord in an intimate way, we shall sense the shining of His face. According to 2 Corinthians 4:6, we can experience this shining: “Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” Praise the Lord that we can experience the shining of His face!
If the Lord’s face shines upon us, we shall automatically walk in His presence. In 119:168 the psalmist declares, “All my ways are before thee.” This indicates that his goings were in the Lord’s presence. This is a clear indication that the psalmist was one with the Lord.
Although the matter of oneness with God is revealed in a full way in the New Testament, there are also indications of this in the Old Testament. Psalm 90:1 says, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” Written by Moses, this verse indicates that he experienced the Lord as his dwelling place. God was his home, his habitation. But notice that Moses speaks of “all generations.” This tells us that the Old Testament saints in all generations had the experience of dwelling in God. The seekers of God in the Old Testament dwelt in Him; they were one with Him. To dwell in God is to be one with Him. How could these seekers dwell in God without being in God and one with God? If we study the Psalms carefully, we shall see that the seekers of God in the Old Testament became one with Him through their appreciation and enjoyment of the law. They not only walked in God’s presence; they dwelt in God, experiencing Him as their dwelling place.
Time and time again the writer of Psalm 119 speaks of the law of God as the word of God. There is a significant difference between the law and the word. The law is a matter of commandments which make demands on us or require that we keep certain regulations ordained by God. Although the law demands, it cannot in itself supply life. Paul refers to this in Galatians 3:21: “For if a law was given which was able to give life, righteousness would have indeed been of the law.” Although the law cannot give life, the word of God does supply us with life. The words spoken by God are His breath (2 Tim. 3:16). According to the Bible, God’s word is also life, food, and water. It should be our daily life supply. However, if we treat the law only as the law and not as God’s word, we shall not receive the supply of life through the law. For us, there will be no breath, food, water, or nourishment. Rather, we shall take the law in the same way the Judaizers did. But if we regard the law not only as the law but also as God’s word, we shall receive life, breath, food, and living water through the law. According to the word of the Lord Jesus in John 6:63, His words are Spirit and life. At least thirty-seven times in Psalm 119 the psalmist refers to the law as God’s word. Instead of simply declaring that he loved God’s law, the psalmist declared that he loved God’s word. This proves that he thought of God’s law as His living word.
The Bible is the word of God. But if we take the Bible only as letters in black and white and do not contact the Lord directly as we read, it will become a dead book to us. Paul said, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). The Greek word for letter in this verse is the same word used by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:15 in speaking of the holy Scriptures. If the Bible is taken only as letters, it will kill. However, the spirit gives life. If we contact the Lord in our spirit as we read the Bible, the Word will become spirit and life to us. In our spiritual experience, it will be God’s breath. Whenever we read the Word, we need to touch the source of the Word, and this source is God Himself.
We have pointed out a number of times that through the Word, which is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), we can breathe God into us. Certain faultfinders have twisted our words, quoted us out of context, and criticized us for teaching that believers can breathe God into them. They call this blasphemy and a work of the flesh. According to the Scriptures, God’s word is His breath. Oh, how God desires that we breathe Him into us! We thank Him for making this real in our experience.
Considering God’s law to be His word, the psalmist believed in the word: “Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments” (119:66). According to the New Testament, the first requirement in taking the Word of God is that we believe in it. We must believe in its genuineness, its accuracy, its authority, and its power.
Along with the Old Testament seekers of God, we should also choose God’s word. Psalm 119:30 says, “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” Verse 173 says, “Let thine hand help me: for I have chosen thy precepts.” What a marvelous choice this is! We all need to make a strong decision in favor of the word of God.
In 119:48 we find an unusual expression: “My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments.” What does it mean to lift up our hands to God’s word? If we consider the way we lift our hand to greet someone, we shall be able to understand this. To lift up our hands unto the Lord’s word is to welcome it, to indicate that we receive it warmly and say “Amen” to it. Many of us have spontaneously lifted up our hands when inspired by God’s word. Therefore, to lift up our hands to the word of God means to receive it gladly.
The Old Testament seekers loved God’s word. Eleven times the writer of Psalm 119 speaks of loving the word of God (vv. 47, 48, 97, 113, 119, 127, 140, 159, 163, 165, 167). I also can testify that I love the Word of God. No book is as lovable as the Bible.
The psalmist also delighted himself in God’s word (119:16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 174). He enjoyed the word and found it a source of delight. There is joy to be found in the word of God. Daily we need to take time to delight ourselves in the holy Word.
The psalmist even tasted God’s word: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (v. 103). Notice that the writer does not say, “How sweet is thy law!” Instead, he declares, “How sweet is thy word!” If we regard the law as nothing more than the commandments of God, it will not be sweet to us. But if we realize that God’s law is His word for our nourishment and life supply, we shall enjoy its sweet taste. According to his experience, the psalmist realized that the law was the sweet word of God. It was not just a list of commandments to regulate him; it was a word full of enjoyment and life supply, a word that, to his taste, was sweeter than honey.
When we taste the word of God, we rejoice in it. The psalmist says, “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies” (119:14), and “Thy testimonies...are the rejoicing of my heart” (v. 111). In verse 162 the psalmist testifies of his rejoicing in the word: “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.”
To rejoice is more than just to be joyful. We may be joyful silently, but we must use our voice in order to rejoice. There is a difference between making a joyful noise and having a joyful voice. When we rejoice, praising the Lord and even shouting, we make a joyful noise to Him. To certain opposers, this is bedlam. They condemn us for making a joyful noise to the Lord. Nevertheless, we must be those who rejoice in the Lord and in His word. If you have never spontaneously rejoiced in reading the Bible, perhaps you have never been fully inspired by the Word. Whenever we are helped by the Bible, in a living way, we spontaneously rejoice in the Word.
The psalmist says, “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (119:54). The psalmist would even sing of God’s word. We do not have much experience of this. We need to learn of the psalmist to sing the words of the Bible. I encourage all the saints to sing the Word of God.
Furthermore, the psalmist had respect unto all the Lord’s commandments (119:6). In verse 117 he declares, “I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.” If we would be genuine seekers of God, we must respect His word.
Psalm 119:80 says, “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes.” We need to have a sound heart in the word of God. Such a heart is healthy, having no spiritual sickness related to God’s word. With respect to the word of God, we should not be sick in our heart. We need to be healed of all spiritual disease so that our heart may be pure, sound, and healthy toward the word of God.
In 119:36 the Lord’s seeker prayed, “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.” Then in verse 112 he declares, “I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.” We need a heart inclined to the word of God. Because our heart often has the tendency to depart from God’s word, we need to pray that our heart would be called back to God’s word and be inclined to it. The psalmist prayed in this way and could also testify that he himself inclined his heart toward the Lord’s statutes. On the one hand, we need to pray that the Lord will incline our heart to the word; on the other hand, we need to exercise our spirit to bring our heart back to the word and to cause it to incline unto it. We need both a sound heart and a heart inclined to the word of God.
The Old Testament seekers of God also sought God’s word (119:45, 94), longed for it (vv. 20, 40, 131), hoped in it with prayer (vv. 43, 74, 114, 147), and trusted in it (v. 42). According to our experience, these matters go along with having a sound heart in the Word and inclining our heart unto the Word. If our heart is sound in the Word and is inclined to the Word of God, we shall seek the Word. Many people read the Bible and get nothing from it because their heart is not right. A certain scholar admired the Chinese version of the Bible and sometimes quoted from it. Nevertheless, he did not receive help from reading the Word, and he died an unsaved man. Even Christians may study the Bible and teach it without being helped by the Word themselves. The reason for this lack is that they have a problem in their heart. Their heart either is not sound or is not truly inclined to the Word of God. But if our heart is right, we shall not only seek the Word; we shall also long for it, hope in it, and trust in it.
Because Psalm 119 is filled with aspiration, inspiration, enlightenment, and nourishment, it helps us to realize the “day” side of the law, and it teaches us how to enjoy the law of God as His living word. The writer of this psalm was neither a theologian nor a Bible teacher; he was one who wrote to express his experience and enjoyment of the law of God. As we read Psalm 119, we see that what we have pointed out in the foregoing messages concerning the “day” aspect of the law is right.
The mountain where the law was given is called both Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai. Mount Horeb has a special reference to the “day” aspect of giving the law, whereas Mount Sinai has a particular application to the “night” aspect. Furthermore, when the law was given, there were two classes of people. Moses and his helpers were of one class, the ones on the mountain experiencing God’s presence. But those at the foot of the mountain were of another class, the ones trembling in darkness at the giving of the law. To Moses and those with him, the mountain was the Mount of God, but to the remainder of the people, it was Mount Sinai. In these messages we are not at the foot of the mountain; we are on the top of the mountain receiving the Lord’s infusion. In their experience, the psalmists and all the other Old Testament seekers of God were on the mountain and received a divine transfusion. Because they were infused with God, the psalmists used marvelous, wonderful, and even exciting expressions to speak of their experience of God and of their enjoyment of His word.
Psalm 1 indicates that the law, when taken in a proper way as God’s word, can minister life to us. Those who delight in the law of the Lord and who muse on it day and night are like trees planted by the rivers of water (vv. 2-3). As we shall point out in the next message, the Hebrew word translated meditate means to muse upon. This Hebrew word implies worship and prayer. If we contact the law of God by musing upon God’s word in worship and prayer, in our experience the law will become a river of water, and we shall be trees planted by the water. This is the indication in Psalm 1 that the law can supply us and water us.
As we have pointed out, in 2 Corinthians 3:6 Paul says that the letter kills. Whether the law kills us or supplies us with life depends on how we deal with it. If we regard the law as the living word of God through which we contact the Lord and abide with Him, the law will become a channel for the supply of life. The source of life is the Lord Himself. The law in itself is not such a source, but it is a channel through which the divine life and substance are conveyed to us for supply and nourishment. What a blessing it is to receive the law in this way!
In the Bible, those who lovingly sought God were not the only ones who handled the law of God. The Pharisees, scribes, and Judaizers also handled the law. In the four Gospels we see a portrait of those who were zealous for the law and for the traditional exposition of the law. To them, the law was not a channel of life; it was dead letters which brought them into death. By contrast, the aged Simeon and Anna were nourished and watered by the law. It is hard to say where Gamaliel fits in. A famous teacher of the law, he may have been neither in the “day” nor in the “night.” Perhaps he was in the “evening.” Simeon and Anna are representatives of the “day” people; the Pharisees and Judaizers, of the “night” people; and Gamaliel, of those in the “evening.”
In our approach to the Bible today, we may be either in the “day” or in the “night.” By the Lord’s mercy, we can testify that concerning the Bible we in the Lord’s recovery are in the “day.” As we read the Word of God, we experience sunrise, not sunset. But when many read the Bible, they are in the “night.” As Paul said of the Jews, there is a veil upon their heart in the reading of the Scriptures (2 Cor. 3:14). They are veiled by their tradition and by their natural concepts. In their experience the Bible thus becomes a book of dead letters. Like the ancient Pharisees, scribes, and Judaizers, they handle the Word without directly contacting the Lord. Instead of exercising their spirit, they rely on their natural understanding. Furthermore, they are often zealous to maintain their religious tradition. But whenever we come to the Word, we need to contact the Lord. As we come to the Lord in the Word, we need to hunger and thirst for Him and seek to enjoy Him. This seeking after the Lord is well expressed in the lines of a hymn:
I come to Thee, dear Lord, My heart doth thirst for Thee;Of Thee I’d eat, of Thee I’d drink, Enjoy Thee thoroughly.
Just to behold Thy face,For this my heart doth cry;I deeply long to drink of TheeMy thirst to satisfy.Hymns,#812
In our reading and pray-reading of the Word, we should seek the Lord’s glorious, radiant face. Then in our experience the Word of God will be a source of life supply and nourishment, and we shall be in the “day,” not in the “night.”
