Power in the Pulpit | Psalm 119:1–16

Introduction: Thank you Leighton and team for leading us this morning. If you have a Bible with you this morning, we are going to be looking at Psalm 119:1-16. As we go into the New Year it’s time for people to begin making their New Years Resolutions. Merriam-Webster defines New Year’s Resolution as, “A promise to do something differently in the new year.” Typically, it has to do with doing a better job of something. I don’t think anybody has ever had a New Year’s Resolution where they were like, “This year I’m going to go further into debt, eat more unhealthy and exercise less. That’s not typically how it works. Forbes magazine did a survey and gathered all sorts of information on New Years Resolutions. In order from most common to least common, the five most common New Years Resolutions for 2024 are, improved fitness, improved finances, improved mental health, lose weight and improved diet. And this isn’t an uncommon thing for people to do. A poll by YouGov in 2022 found that 37% of Americans made a New Years Resolution for 2023. But there’s not a high success rate when it comes to New Years resolutions. The survey done by Forbes finds that the average resolution lasts just 3.74 months. That is April 23rd in non leap years. Which some of you are like, that’s the average? I made it until about January 4th last year? But we all know that doing better is a hard thing to do. We find this true in other areas of our lives as well. How often do we say we are going to walk moe faithfully with God. How often do we say that we are going to find happiness, but yet we find ourselves right back to where we were. I believe that when we look at today’s text we will find that, “True blessedness is found in a life lived faithfully which only happens through devotion to God’s Word.” Would you please stand with me as we honor the reading of God’s Word?

Verses 1-8

Exposition: Psalm 119 starts in verse one where we read Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!” The word blessed means happy or favored. It describes both the internal state of the person as well as the external reality that the person experiences. So happy or favored is the person whose way is blameless the psalmist tells us. When we think of the word blameless does not imply sinless perfection. The psalmist is not describing something that is impossible to ever achieve. Instead the connotation of the word is that this person has a lifestyle of faithfulness. We see this in what the psalmist says here at the end of verse 1. The way that he clarifies what he is saying is that he who walks in the law of The Lord. Walk is a common metaphor found in scripture for one’s way of life. It’s why we call our Sunday Night youth gatherings The Walk, because our goal is to help have a manner of life that is seen as blameless. So how does one have this walk or manner of life, the Psalmist tells us that this person’s walks in the law of the LORD.

Explanation: When we hear the word law we get this negative connotation. We think of it like a speed limit that just places constraints on us. But in the Hebrew, the Word also carried the meaning of instruction. As we will see, it is binding and absolute as we think of law, but it was also helpful instruction for how we live our lives.

Exposition: So blessed is the person whose life reflect what scripture calls us to be. And this should not be a surprise. The one that is handing down this instruction is the one who made the universe. He knows how it is suppose to be. He knows how sin has broken our world and how sin continues to make our lives worse, whether it is our sin or the sin of others. Of course the person whose life reflects the way God meant for the world to be would be blessed. This isn’t a prosperity gospel. And sometimes the sin of others or our past sin will still have consequences, but how much better our lives are when we walk faithfully with God.

Exposition: The psalmist goes on to say in verse two, Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,” Once again, the Psalmist brings up this concept of blessedness. And once again it has to do with God’s Word. But this time he uses a different word. He uses a different word, he uses what is translated testimony. This word is edotay and is one of the few words I still remember from my two semesters struggling through Hebrew in seminary. It means the statements a witness would make under oath of what he or she had witnessed. And you see, this is important. Because it means that God has said what He has said under oath. And we know God cannot lie. But it is also of things He has witnessed.

Application: In seminary, I had to take two Old Testament survey classes. And I remember whenever I would tell people I was in an Old Testament Survey class, they would always speak about how boring that sounded. The assumption was that the OT was boring. I would imagine that many of you in here think the same way. But this always broke my heart a little bit. You see, there are some really dense and hard to read portions of the Old Testament. I’m not going to act like it is all easy to read. But it is in the OT that we find that God promised to Adam and Eve that even though they had sinned, he would send one to defeat sin and death. It’s where we read about Abraham being promised by God that he would have a son that would begin a lineage that through which the whole world would be blessed. It’s where we read about God using Moses to save His people and establishing a nation that would bless the whole world. But it’s not just the Old Testament. It’s the New Testament as well. That is where we find out that God The Son left the glory of heaven to come to earth as a human. It’s where we find that that Son died a death we deserved and that he rose again so those who believe in him and confess Him as Lord can have eternal life. It’s where we read that He has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us, but He has given us His Spirit. And one day He is coming back to establish His Kingdom forever. The Bible is not just a collection of rules. It is a story about all God has done, and all He is going to do. And when we change our perspective on what scripture is it changes how we view it.

Exposition: Those who keep his testimonies seek Him with their whole heart. If we will change the way we view scripture and what God asks of us, it will change our obedience. We stop halfway following Christ because we feel like we have to, and follow Him with all we have because we see He is worth it.

Exposition: Verse two ends with the psalmist saying, “who seek him with their whole heart.” He then starts verse three with Psalm 119:3 “who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” This seems like it is redundant, doesn’t it. Doing no wrongs and walking in his ways seems like the same thing. Here is the difference. We can do no wrong without completely walking in his ways.

Explanation: A lot of times we can focus on what scripture says not to do. Don’t steal, don’t murder. don’t lie. All of those things are bad and we shouldn’t do them. But just not doing bad isn’t enough to be fully obedient. To be obedient, we have to be actively obedient. Are we looking to see how we can help those in need. Are we looking not just speak about God in vain, but to instead share with others about who he is. Obedience to God’s Word is not passive, it is an active choice.

Exposition: The psalmist goes on to say in verse four Psalm 119:4 “You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.” This word precept is a different word from the Word Torah but also means instructions. But the psalmist makes clear, these are to be kept diligently. Obedience was not something that was suppose to be a spotty thing where we pick and chose when will be obedient to God’s Word or which parts of God we are going to be obedient to. No when God tells us to do something, it is expected that we are going to do it.

Illustration: I used this illustration with our students from their perspective a few weeks ago. I asked them to picture a day during the summer or a holiday when they are home from school. And when you become a teenager part of that is the to-do list of chores that are expected to be done. I told them that the next time they got one of those, I wanted them to go through the list and pick chores they liked or were easy and to do those chores and do them really well. And then the one’s that were hard or they didn’t want to do and just not worry about those. And when their parents got home tell them that at least they did some of them, there are some people that don’t do any chores, or say the ones they didn’t do were too hard, or say that they did the ones that they felt were important. I then wanted them to report back to me how that conversation went. Obviously I was being sarcastic because we all know how that conversation is going to go. But isn’t that how we pick God’s commands. Don’t we pick the ones we want to follow and do those and then ignore the one we don’t want to do. Don’t we come up with justification as to why it’s not a big deal that we aren’t being obedient. If we believe it is more wrong and disrespectful when a child does that to a parent than when we do that to God, I believe we have a mixed up perspective on how what kind of authority God has.

Exposition: The psalmist goes on to say in verse 5 Psalm 119:5 “Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!” Let me ask you this morning, when it comes to obedience is steadfastness the goal? Is your goal in your obedience to God steadfastness? Or is it enough just to to try and make you not feel bad? What verse 6 reveals to us is that when we are walking in any level of continued and willing disobedience, there is no amount of obedience that can relieve that guilt. Verse 6 says Psalm 119:6 “Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.” There is a fallacy that is being preached in our society today that if you are just true to yourself, you will find happiness. I think we can look at the amount of anxiety and depression in our society and see this isn’t true. There is a shame that comes with knowing we are being disobedient to what a a loving God who has given us so much wants us to do. In fact, I imagine many of us in here can think back to the shame we felt at different points in our lives when we were walking in disobedience. Some of us this morning may be actively in that place right now.

Exhortation: What I can tell you is that there is freedom in obedience. There is a sense of relief that obedience brings. Walk in it.

Verses 7-8

Verse seven says Psalm 119:7 “I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.” How the Psalmist views God’s commands here is important. He doesn’t say that when he finds out what they are he will begrudgingly do them because he has to or lightning will strike him dead right there. No, he says that He will praise God when he learns his righteous rules. He understands that God’s way is better. Do you? Or do you chose to be like Eve who focused so much on the tree that she could not eat from because it would bring death, that she began to take for granted that God had given them so many more places they could eat from? How we view God’s Will have a great impact on whether or not we are obedient to it.

Exposition: The psalmist goes on to say in verse eight, “Psalm 119:8 “I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!” The first section of Psalm 119 ends with the Psalmist pledging to keep God’s commandments. The way the psalm begins seems like this should be the last sentence in this section, it should point to how this mindset he has led to a place of obedience. But that’s not where it ends. It ends instead with the words do not forsake me. It seems as if the psalmist is falling short. It doesn’t end with his six week proclamation that he is sin free. It ends with what seems like failure.

Transition: The psalmist ends this first section sounding like his mindset is somewhere we have all been at one point or another. He pledges to keep the statutes, but ends acknowledging his failure. This leads us directly into the next section, and starts with a question and answer for all of us when we find ourselves in those desperate situations.

Verses 9-16

Verse 9

Exposition: Verse 9 starts with a question we have all asked ourselves at some point. How can a young man keep his way pure? When so many of the messages we receive on a daily basis are not Godly. When so often we are surrounded by people that do not know him or walk with him. When so often our natural inclination is not to be obedient, how do we keep our ways pure? By guarding it according to the word of God. The only way one can keep his or her way pure is go make God’s Word the standard for his or her life. This verse is popular and I believe it’s one we should all know. But it is better understood within the context of the next seven verses. Verse 10 says, “Psalm 119:10 “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” The psalmist asks not that God would keep him from making a huge turn away from obedience, but that he would not let him wander.

Illustration: When I read this verse I think about how people travelled in colonial times or frontier times. They traveled with nothing more than a map and a compass. And they had to stay directly on their line. Because if they barely wandered from the path it could be catastrophic. Because if they started barely going north, it wouldn’t change where they were going right away. But eventually, they would end up miles off course. That’s true in our lives as well. Very seldom dos anybody take one big leap away from biblical obedience. It starts with excusing a sin here or there. It’s hard to even notice sometimes. But we are already off course, we are already disobedient, so we don’t realize when we are just a little more disobedient. But eventually one day we look where we are and we don’t even recognize the person we have become. We don’t even know how we got to that point. The biggest threat to our walk with Christ and to the reputation and effectiveness of God’s Church is not big turns away from Biblical obedience. I say that not because that’s not bad, but because it’s not what starts the process. The little compromises we make on what we believe are what lead to the big turns. Once we begin to wander, we begin to turn from the way God would have us to live.

Verse 11

So how, how do we avoid this wandering. How do we know when we have started to wander. How do we keep our way according to God’s Word? The psalmist spends the rest of this first section telling us. He says in verse 11 Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” The Psalmist is speaking about memorizing scripture and having it stored in one’s heart. He is saying that He is going to learn scripture to the point that when life gets hard or when temptation comes his way, he knows scripture so well that he knows exactly what scripture says about that situation. He knows what is faithful and what is not because he has scripture stored in his heart. He does not have to google is such and such a sin. He doesn’t have to go and ask his pastor what the Bible says about something. No, he has hidden God’s Word in His heart to the point that he knows it.

Application: Scripture memorization is not something we value like we should, this is myself included. I look back with shame of how I have not put forth the effort to do this. But the psalmist makes it very clear, there is a direct correlation in the effort we put into knowing God’s Word and how faithful we are in obeying. Remember when Jesus was tempted in the desert. Each time Satan tempted Jesus, Satan used scripture out of context to be able to tempt Jesus into doing something that was against what God would have him do. Each time Jesus responded by quoting scripture. Folks, this is the best tool we have against the schemes of the devil.

Verse 12

Exposition: When we get to verse 12 the psalmist tells us why God’s Word is so special. Why it is so important. He says in verse 12 Psalm 119:12 “Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!” This term which means happy on the internal state of the person and blessed on the external part of the person is now used to describe God. Have you ever thought about what make’s God’s Word special? Really, why is God’s Word Special? We could say it’s because it so historically accurate. And this is true. One thing people who are not Christians do not like to talk about is how the description of world events in the Bible are almost all found in other sources and the description we have of the different world leaders matches very well what we know about them. But lots of history books do that. So as great as that is, that’s not what makes it special. Is it the beautiful story. The story of scripture is great. But on its own, the story means nothing. Is it the ethical code we find in it? That ethical code is great and is the basis for Western Society which has flourished more than any other society in the world. But there is something that makes all those things great. What makes God’s Word great is that God’s Word is God’s. Period. The creator of the universe, who saw us rebel and continue to rebel and chose other things, who loved his people enough to not leave them in their sins for eternity, but give them a chance at salvation by sending his son into the world and having him die on a cross for our sins. That same God who did that and then had the power to raise Hum up from the grave. That same God who though he is no longer with us in the form of HIs Son, is now here in the person of The Holy Spirit who guides us and convicts us and raises dead hearts to life. That God who never leaves us or forsakes us and gives us a hope of eternity. That God has given us access to his thoughts, ways and will through His Word. We literally have access to the Word of the God of the universe and its not by going to a temple and having a priest do some ritual to hear from God. It’s by opening the pages of our Bibles.

Application: Folks, the Psalmist loved God’s Word not solely because of the great story, or ethical tradition it held. He saw all of those things as great because He saw God as being great. The reverence and love we have for God’s Word is a direct reflection of the reverence and love we have for God Himself. Brothers and Sisters, if you hear nothing else I say this morning, please hear this. God has given us His Word. People often ask how can we know God’s Will. Here’s how, we read His Word. If we do not cherish God’s Word, it is because we do not truly appreciate how special it is that we can read the Word of an almighty God. The Psalmist’s love for God’s Word was driven by a love for God. Never stop appreciating how special it is that we have access to God through the reading of His Word and the guiding of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 13-14

Exposition: We see that the Psalmist values and loves scripture because he values and loves God. How much does he do this. We see in verses 13 and 14. In verse 13 he writes Psalm 119:13 “With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.” The Psalmist isn’t just privately reading scripture and not telling anybody like a middle school boy who listens to Taylor Swift when nobody is around. No, he is declaring his love for God’s Word openly.

Application: My evangelism professor in seminary use to say, “We communicate what we cherish.” If we cherish God’s Word, it will be obvious because it will be something we talk about. I think this plays out in conversations where we talk with other believers about God’s Word. But it also plays out because we our speech is different. Jesus said in Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” If we are filling ourselves with God’s Word out of the love of God’s, then our speech will sound like somebody that is studying God’s Word.

Exposition: But it’s not just in how we speak that our love for God’s Word is obvious. Verse 14 says Psalm 119:14 “In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.” The Psalmist delights in following God’s Word as much as He loves all material goods. I think in 21st Century America where material possessions are so much a part of our daily life we take them for granted. We don’t realize how dependent we are on things that a great percentage of the world would see as luxuries. But somebody living several centuries before the birth of Christ would not have. He would have understood just how expensive they were. But yet he says that he delights in the testimonies of God as much as all riches.

Application: Let me ask you, how much do you value scripture? How much do you value God’s Word. It’s easy to say a lot. But here’s how we can tell, how a part of your daily life is God’s Word. How much time do you spend in studying and knowing God’s Word. I’m not going to be the guy that says check your screen time and check your Netflix usage and how much time you spend hunting and fishing or watching sports or any of that. But I will say if you don’t have time for those things and studying God’s Word, which is the first to go? What I think all of us will find, is that we struggle to value scripture in that way.

Verses 15-16

Exposition: But how do we change that? It’s not possible to guilt anybody into loving God’s Word. So how can we desire God’s Word in this way? The Psalmist gives us an answer. He says in verse 15 Psalm 119:15 “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” He makes a commitment to study God’s Word. To ponder it and meditate on it. And what happens when he does that. He tells us in Psalm 119:16. He writes Psalm 119:16 “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” By meditating on God’s Word it becomes so ingrained in Him that he says he won’t forget it.

Illustration: When I was in high school and middle school I read my Bible sometimes. Some seasons were better than others. It happened, just not consistently. Then I went to college. And it was there that for the first time I had people actually asking me about my daily quiet time. They encouraged me to be in God’s Word daily and held me accountable. It was then that each night I began to study God’s Word before I went to bed. And I grew in my walk with Christ like I never had before. My attitude was better, I was kinder and I talked more openly about Christ. Temptations became easier to resist or certain ones went away. It was not because of anything I was doing. And I certainly was not perfect. But by allowing myself to be filled with God’s Word I grew. For years my quiet time was at night. Then something happened. My wife and I had our first child, and suddenly I was not quite the night person I use to be. So I had to shift. Eventually I started a different routine. Each night before I go to bed, I set my coffee pot to brew at 5:15. Then at 5:30 my alarm goes off. I go into our kitchen poor myself a cup of coffee and sit down and spend time studying God’s Word. I have never been a morning person. Ever. But I can honestly say now that I love that time in the morning. I look forward to it. On the days I oversleep or hit the snooze button too many times, I truly do miss it and I can tell it impacts my day.

Application: Maybe right now you hear all of this, but you don’t know how to love God’s Word in the way the Psalmist says. Maybe you have tried and tried and just can’t be faithful in quiet times. Studying God’s Word is a discipline in the same way working out, eating healthy and making your bed are. When you are out of the routine, it’s hard to make yourself do it. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Not only because you are use to being in the routine. But because your love for God’s Word will grow. You will begin to delight in God’s Word in the same way the Psalmist does. You will know God’s Word in a way that you didn’t before and that will have a direct impact on your life. I tell our students all the time, we cannot be a people of God, if we are not a people of His Word.

Conclusion: Everything we have talked about today takes a commitment. Walking in obedience to God takes commitment. Maybe you have been walking in disobedience because you don’t like somebody else having authority in you. Are you struggling with disobedience today. Maybe you realize that you have not been walking with Him faithfully and you need to repent. Don’t let today pass without making the commitment to be obedient. But that leads into the next point, maybe you realize you have not been devoted to God’s Word. Maybe you realize that you haven’t valued God’s Word the way you have. And that this is having some impact on your life. Pray today that God would give you a love for Him that leads to a love for His Word. Pray that God will help you hunger for God’s Word. At the next steps table, there are some resources to help you with this. I’ve placed a few different Bible reading plans as well as guide called the Sword Method that gives you questions to answer while doing your quiet time. But lastly, maybe you realize that the thing holding you back from being obedient to what scripture says, is because you have never placed your faith in it. Maybe you realize that you have never wanted to submit to the authority of scripture, or that you have never trusted in Jesus as your savior. What we find in scripture is that God is a God of grace. No matter how unfaithful you have been, he is faithful to forgive. I will be down front, if you feel that God is calling you to place your trust in him, don’t delay. Pray with me.