The Excellence of God's Word (Psalm 119:49-56)

Introduction

We continue our examination of as we look at the excellence of God’s Word

Two weeks ago we looked at one main point as found in :

The salvation of God’s word (mercy)

We turn our attention to two areas from :

Be ready to give an answer

Fired up

Be ready to give an answer

The Psalmist understood that God’s mercy and His word work together to answer the reproaches ()

him that reproacheth (herpah) is a word which describes verbal abuse designed to disgrace, taunt, humiliate and curse the subject being reproached

Make no mistake, there are plenty of people that will speak evil of Christians! ()

Christ warned about everyone speaking well of you ()

He also said the world would hate His followers (, )

What is the solution when the reproaches come? Trust in God’s word ()

We are commanded to be ready to give an answer ()

Notice the context (, )

If God be for us, who can be against us ()

Let the suffering come but suffer for Christ’s sake because He suffered for us! ()

Do not be afraid or ashamed to teach and follow God’s word ()

Paul preached the gospel to politicians, kings and rulers (Governor Felix: ; King Agrippa: ; Caesar’s household: )

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel ()

He considered himself a debtor to all ()

Am I willing to do this?

Read

Fired Up

Have you ever been “fired up” before?

Perhaps it was at a child that did not do what was right

Maybe it was a coworker, neighbor or friend that did you wrong

It could be some injustice you saw or read about in the news

We have all been there before and so has the Psalmist

By “fired up” I am describing indignation ()

indignation = anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean (Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.).)

Remember that anger is not necessarily a sin ()

It is, however, the strongest of our emotions and can lead to sin

Horror (zalapah - zal-aw-faw’) is defined as:

Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

a glow (of wind or anger); also a famine (as consuming) (Strong’s A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 2, p. 35).)

Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 2, p. 35). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

indignation, zeal, i.e., a mild righteous anger, or strong opposition, that may cause a basal response to skin temperature (+);

(in the context of ) indignation, zeal, i.e., a mild righteous anger, or strong opposition, that may cause a basal response to skin temperature (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament))

The Hebrew word zalapah is used only three times in the Old Testament

Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

(an horrible tempest)

(horror)

(terrible - perhaps speaking of a fever)

The ASV translates the Hebrew word zalapah as “hot indignation” in :

“Hot indignation hath taken hold upon me, Because of the wicked that forsake thy law.”

Hot indignation hath taken hold upon me,

It is alright to have indignation about wickedness

Because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

There are several recorded instances of Jesus having indignation because of wickedness:

At Jerusalem in the temple early in His ministry ()

At Jerusalem in the temple during passion week ()

American Standard Version. (1995). (). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Healing of the man with the withered hand in the Jewish synagogue ()

In all three cases notice the motivation

Christ did not behave the way that He did because He wanted revenge!

His indignation was a result of His great love of God and the wrongs that were done to Him

In we see that Jesus was “grieved for the hardness of their hearts”; He was sorrowful and sympathetic

I must always ask myself, what is my motivation when I am angry?

Other examples of indignation in the Bible:

Moses ()

Ezra ()

Nehemiah ()

Indignation is closely related to zeal

Such is seen in Jesus cleansing the temple in (quoted from )

The word “zeal” used in is translated as indignation twice (; )

As members of the Lord’s church, we need to be zealous for the Lord ()

Indifference is a killer

Christ wanted them to be zealous ()

That means He wants every congregation to be zealous for Him!

We should be zealous for one another ()

Here the word is rendered “jealousy”

Paul did not want to lose the church to Satan

We do not want to lose our members to Satan!

Look after one another, encourage one another, be zealous for one another and the church will profit greatly

Conclusion

Be ready for reproaches to come in life as you stand up for God and His word

Arm yourself with the word through careful study and application so you can give answer!

Do not be afraid but stand up for the Lord

You will encounter wickedness that will get you “fired up” and that is alright

Make sure it is motivated out of a love for people and their souls

Such will direct that indignation into teaching and instruction of God’s word

Be zealous for one another

Above all else be zealous for the Lord

Staying “fired up” for the Lord now makes sure we are not “fired” for all of eternity