TETH - The LORD is my Companion

Introduction

Study 1: The Never-Ending Supply, Psalm 119:1-32 (Aleph to Daleth)

Study 2: Seeing Life Through God’s Eyes, Psalm 119:33-64 (He to Heth)

Study 3: Living Life In The Presence Of The Lord, Psalm 119:65-96 (Teth to Lamed)

The Christian classic book The Practice of the Presence of God, written by Brother Lawrence, captures the essence of this section. Having learned of our supply (Psa 119:1–32), and of our perspective and eternal prospects (Psa 119:33–64), we are now ready to begin the journey. As indicated before, the life of faith is a journey from the cross to the crown. The author calls it “the house of my pilgrimage” (Psa 119:54). How well we fare along the way is always determined by our conscious communion with the Savior, day-by-day. The word “affliction” dominates this section (Psa 119: 67, 71, 75, 92), reminding us that apart from the presence and power of our Lord, we would easily be destroyed.

Teth—Psa 119:65–72; The Lord is my Companion

Jeremiah 20:11 “But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.”

The Teth is a figure of a hand that is holding or gripping something valuable. The most valuable thing we ever grip is the hand of another who is precious to us.

Psalm 119:63 “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, And of them that keep thy precepts.”

Fellowship with God always also involves fellowship with those who love and serve Him. This is why the two greatest commands of the Old Testament both speak of relationship through spiritual love.

Matthew 22:37–40 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Both of these commands are encompassed within the greatest command of the New Testament:

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

The concept of “taking up the cross” (Luke 9:23) may represent this two-way spiritual relationship—the vertical beam being a symbol of our relation to God, while the horizontal beam represents our relation to those around us. One thing is certain; we can never have right relations with those around us until we make our relationship to Jesus Christ the priority. We will look at three figures of a growing relationship to Jesus Christ in the following points:

Thy servant (v.65). Here is the relationship of a servant to his master. This is one of the most common figures of spiritual relationship found in the Bible. It speaks of the believers’ responsibility to seek and do the will of the Lord. Both James and Jude—though blood relatives of Jesus Christ—chose to open their epistles by identifying themselves as a “servant of Jesus Christ” It is essential that we lay hold of the mind-set of the humble servant if we are to grow up to spiritual maturity.

Teach me (v.66) Here is the relation of the teacher and a disciple. From the servant of Christ, we grow into the disciple of the Holy Spirit. In the Upper Room Discourse Jesus’ primary objective was to introduce the disciples to the crucial role of the Holy Spirit following His departure. Three times He speaks of the Spirit of God as “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; John 15:26; John 16:13). In this way, He places the emphasis on the role of the Spirit as teacher of the Word of God. Only as we hear the “voice of the Spirit” through the Word of God will we be enabled to know and do the will of God.

Afflicted (Psa 119:67, 71). This word suggests the relation of a father and son. The father disciplines the son so that he might become a man. This discipline is always motivated by love. The discipline of God will increase and intensify according to our failure to respond. In (Hebrews 12:5–6) we find three levels of divine discipline. “Rebuke” comes first, which refers to the reproof of the Word of God itself (2Timothy 3:16–17). If we fail to heed God’s Word, then it is necessary for us to undergo “chastening.” This means “child-training,” and speaks of using the rod on a disobedient child. Failure to respond to this painful form of discipline constitutes true rebellion, calling for “scourging.” It is intensive, painful, and prolonged punishment, designed to break our hardening condition of heart. Continued willful rebellion may even lead to premature death (Acts 5:1–11; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 John 5:16). Yet, all these forms of discipline are motivated by love (Hebrews 12:6) and are also a proof that we are indeed a child of God (Hebrews 12:6, cf., 1 Corinthians 11:32). There are many today who have assumed the role of “fruit-inspectors,” using the statement “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16) out of context, to judge the genuineness of others’ salvation. (In the context, Jesus’ words speak of false prophets, not believers.) Yet few have the maturity or discernment to look at divine discipline in the life as an evidence of regeneration!

New Testament Confirmation

It is worth noting that in the three examples above, we see a preview of the believer’s relation to the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit. While the essence of the Triune God is evident in many Old Testament passages (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:3; 42:1; 48:16–17; 61:1), we who live in the Church Age and have New Testament revelation, have a far greater understanding than did any believer in Old Testament times.

Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has been “born from above” by the Heavenly Father and, as His beloved child, is under His constant watch-care and provision.

Each and every child of God is personally indwelt by the Spirit of God, who is to be our Guide and Teacher.

Each and every believer is a member of the Body of Christ, and will in the future become the Bride of Christ in Heaven.

The goal of the Christian life is that we “grow up” spiritually, into a life of deep communion and fellowship within the family of God. As we do this, our understanding and appreciation for the role of the Father, Son, and Spirit in our lives increases, as well as our ability to love and serve those members of the Body of Christ in our own sphere of influence.

Conformity to the character of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only means by which we discover our place and fulfill our role within the family of God.