Psalms 119:9-16

King James Version Psalm 119

9  Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

10  With my whole heart have I sought thee:

O let me not wander from thy commandments.

11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart,

That I might not sin against thee.

12  Blessed art thou, O LORD:

Teach me thy statutes.

13  With my lips have I declared

All the judgments of thy mouth.

14  I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

15  I will meditate in thy precepts,

And have respect unto thy ways.

16  I will delight myself in thy statutes:

I will not forget thy word.

Psalms 119:18

King James Version Psalm 119

18  Open thou mine eyes,

That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

We started last Wednesday evening with our study of Psalms 199. I began this study by saying, “I was not a Hebrew scholar or that I even knew anything about the Hebrew alphabet.”

I want to back our study up a little bit tonight. I want us to look at a few things about the Hebrew alphabet tonight. Some truely amazing things. I’m going to touch base on few things pertaining to the headings we see at the start of each 8 verses from Psalms 119. We will look back to the first 8 verses from last week first.

Aleph

*Hebrew4christians.com

*The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

*the father of the Aleph-Bet, represents an ox, strength and leader.

*numerical value is 1 & also, 1,000.

*Aleph therefore is preeminent in it’s order and alludes to the ineffable mysteries of the oneness of God.

*Aleph indicates the Oneness and Unity of the Creator; the Creator is the source of everything.

*Aleph represents the creation of something from nothing.

*the word aluph, derived from the very name of this letter, means “Master” or “Lord.”

Beth or Bet

*The first letter of the Hebrew Bible is a Bet rather than an Aleph, and certain Jewish sages have puzzled over why this is the case. One sage thought that this is because the letter bet connotes power because of the force of air being spoken forth; another thought that by starting with a Bet rather than an Aleph, the Almighty was in effect revealing that man did not know the first principles about the creation; and yet another thought that since Aleph was a silent letter, it represents God in His ineffable glory and life, which forever precedes all things(see Isaiah 44:6; cp. Rev. 22:13). Yeshua described Himself as the “Aleph and the Tav, the First and Last”, the One who encompasses all Reality and gives out its strength (Aleph) before the house (Bet) of creation in sacrificial love.

*numerical value of 2

*The pictograph for Bet is a house or dwelling, and the “architecture” of the classical Hebrew letter likewise looks something like a house constructed of three Vavs. The opening on the left side of the letter : it functions as a “window” for the letterform.

*Bet has a prefixive function meaning “in”, suggesting God’s intention of abiding within the realm of creation.

*Since we know that Yeshua was “in the beginning with God” and is Himself God(John 1:1-2), the Head of the house of creation is no other than Yeshua the Messiah(Hebrews 3:4).

*Yeshua is said to have “tabernacled” with us (John 1:14), whose body was indeed (Bet-El), the habitation of God Almighty.

*Bet is used with several Names and Title of God.

*The word for “create” in Hebrew is bara, and the Aramaic word for son is bar. If we separate the letters within the word for bara, we will have bar Aleph, which points to the Son of the Father(Aleph).

*The pictograph for Bet is that of a tent or house.

***I thought it was interesting that these letters in design and meaning have a spiritual ramification or result about them. Can we say that about the English alphabet.

John Phillips title’s this passage, “God’s Word Hid in the Heart.”

King James Version Psalm 119

9  Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

*We look at a young man here. Do you remember back in your early years. All of the things you had to be careful of. Remember the school yard: the cussing, fighting, and what ever it took to fit in. What about your 20’s: drinking, drugs, sex, and also what ever it took to fit in. All of things we could get involved in; where did our direction come from.

*Psalms 25:7 “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: According to thy mercy remember thou me, For thy goodness sake, O lord.”

King James Version Psalm 119

10  With my whole heart have I sought thee:

O let me not wander from thy commandments.

*2 Chronicles 15:2 “And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”

*Anyone who tries to keep God’s Word halfheartedly will fail.

Phillips, J. (2012). Exploring Psalms 89–150: An Expository Commentary (Vol. 2, Ps 119:10). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.

King James Version Psalm 119

11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart,

That I might not sin against thee.

*The more we know the Word of God, the more we will love God. The more we love God, the more we will love the Word of God. It is a spiral stairway to glory.

Phillips, J. (2012). Exploring Psalms 89–150: An Expository Commentary (Vol. 2, Ps 119:11–12). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.

*We need to enthrone God’s Word in our hearts.

*Psalms 37:31 “The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.”

King James Version Psalm 119

12  Blessed art thou, O LORD:

Teach me thy statutes.

*Deligence

*Psalms 25:4 “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.”

Psalms 143:10 “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

*Psalms 119:26, 64, 68,108, 124, 135, 171

King James Version Psalm 119

13  With my lips have I declared

All the judgments of thy mouth.

*Daring

*Psalms 40:9 “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: Lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

King James Version Psalm 119

14  I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

*Psalms 119:162 “I rejoice at thy Word, As one that findeth great spoil.”

*Such a treasure as God’s Word is not to be kept to ourselves.

*We have been given a prize worth far more, yet how nonchalantly we take it. Our possession of the Word of God should send us into ecstasies of joy. The psalmist said, “I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies as much as in all riches.” Imagine dying without ever having heard John 3:16, without ever having heard the saving name of Jesus, without any assurance of sins forgiven and of peace with God. These things are more precious than gold.

Phillips, J. (2012). Exploring Psalms 89–150: An Expository Commentary (Vol. 2, Ps 119:14). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.

King James Version Psalm 119

15  I will meditate in thy precepts,

And have respect unto thy ways.

*Psalms 119:48 “My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; And I will meditate in thy statues.”

*Psalms 119:97 “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.”

*Psalms 119:99 “I have more understanding than all my teachers: For thy testimonies are my meditation.”

* The practical worth of this Book lies in the fact that it leads us to respect God’s paths.

*The Bible will keep our feet away from life’s slippery places. It will keep us out of danger. It will direct our feet away from the places where Satan has hidden his snares.

King James Version Psalm 119

16  I will delight myself in thy statutes:

I will not forget thy word.

*Psalms 119:47 “And I will delight myself in thy commandments, Which I love.”

*Psalms 119:35 “Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight.”

*Psalms 119:24, 77, 92, 143, 174

* It is not much use reading this Book if we immediately forget what it says. The best way to keep God’s Word alive in our life’s experience is to prove it, to put it to the test in our everyday affairs

*The Bible abounds with such principles. We must prove them in the rush-and-bustle of our lives—at home, at work, at school, at play. As we do that, we will prove for ourselves the value of God’s Word as a practical counselor in life.