Psalm 119e | HSB Series

Psalm 119:33–40 (KJV 1900)

33 HE. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; And I shall keep it unto the end.

34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight.

36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness.

37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way.

38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, Who is devoted to thy fear.

39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: For thy judgments are good.

40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.

Those underlined expressions are found in every verse in Psalm 119 except for 122 —

Bring someone up and have them read random verses looking for those words.

One exception Psalm 119:122 “122 Be surety for thy servant for good: Let not the proud oppress me.”

Introduction

Anyone have any prayer requests? Rarely do we here any of these but these should be 7 we always have.

There are seven requests that lead to one affirmation Psalm 119:40 “40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.”

Summary

The psalmist prays for God to teach him, give him understanding, and guide him so that he might faithfully keep God’s ways. But he is faced with two difficulties that make these requests urgent:

(1) the allurement of the world in which gain at any cost and worthless activities compete for his attention,

(2) the reproach he suffers from those who reject God and the way of righteousness.

Theme: Desiring God, which includes His ways and His words.

The nature of these requests reveal the psalmist’s humility and dependence on the LORD

To keep the Word with your whole heart you are going to need to know it

Believers need to know the word in order to obey it

First request. Psalm 119:33 “33 HE. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; And I shall keep it unto the end.”

Request that God would show him his ways.

It requires humility to realize we need to be taught.

In learning in this manner, the Psalmist, know he will keep the statutes.

The law itself is the reward for the servant of God; the very keeping of it is its own reward and gives delight to the heart whose whole affections are set upon it. Psalm 19:11 “11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: And in keeping of them there is great reward.”

Believers need to understand the word in order to keep it wholeheartedly

Second request: Psalm 119:34 “34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”

We need discernment to know how to apply the Word.

“whole heart” qualifies the idea—the more he knows and understands of God’s word and way the more enthusiastically will he obey it.

Saw a person quote the Bible where it says Adam had three sons and say it would be impossible for this story to yield so many people. If they would have just read the next verse. — Often we read and know so little we cannot embrace the truth with our whole heart.

Believers desire guidance in its ways because they delight in it

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

Desire to be led because we delight in this.

Reminds us of Psalm 23:2 “2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

Why should we delight in His word

Remembering life came to us by the Word 1 Peter 1:23 “23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

Sanctification and growth will come from the Word John 17:17 “17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

How can we do this?

We need to soak our minds in the Word. Psalm 1:2 “2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

Bible Memorization

“Nothing can replace Bible memory in forging a connection between the Bible, our minds, and our hearts.”

Pray the Scriptures

At the end of your Bible reading

We will do this Sunday night

Discuss the Scriptures

Write out thoughts from your devotions

Have conversations

Example seen in Deut 6:9 “9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Transitional Statement: We should see this as a promise, rather than as one more obligation to keep

We need a work of the Spirit in our hearts to prefer God’s word over covetousness and vanity

Our lives should be lived seeing Him and not the things of the world.

Fourth Request: Psalm 119:36 “36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness.”

The psalmist wants the LORD to turn his attention away from the things of the world and toward the things of God.

This is a heavy verse but one that explains so much about this world. Romans 1:25 “25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

In this prayer the psalmist reveals that he is completely dependent on God to change his heart; and this will be accomplished through God’s word.

Not sure of the circumstances or the world that the Psalmist lived in but this prayer is very fitting for me. How about you? Does your mind tend to gravitate toward the things of this world?

Maybe you need to pray this as you walk through Publix, scroll on Facebook, or even when we sit in church. — What problems are you solving right now. What is it you are trying to gain in this moment? Where is your heart inclined?

We should make a covenant with our eyes to not behold the empty things of this world

We know of Jobs covenant with his eyes. Job 31:1 “1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; Why then should I think upon a maid?”

Looking upon a maid is not he only way in which we can behold vain things.

We are surrounded by them.

Has there ever been a time when nothingness is celebrated and watched. If you are watching television and someone asks what you are watching the answer “nothing” is most likely very true. We stare at nothing so much of our lives. It is empty.

Fifth request. Psalm 119:37 “37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way.”

Vanity is empty and worthless.

Things with not intrinsic value.

Where is a common place people go to view vanity? We have the temptation for this now more than ever.

· worthless because they do no good.

· worthless because they do not last.

· worthless because they help no one else.

· worthless because they build no faith, hope, or love.

· worthless because they distract from things that are truly worthy.

· worthless because they have nothing to do with Jesus.

Look at the response of understanding God’s Word.

Prayer to incline heart.

Prayer to turn eyes from the world.

The Word helps us realize that only God can remove our reproach and renew our lives

This realization inspires reverence

Sixth Request. Psalm 119:38 “38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, Who is devoted to thy fear.”

The prayer requests change to calls for God to act on his behalf.

In the NT we see it as “reckoning” something to be true. Romans 6:6-11 “6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It is the reckoning of the truth that puts it in to action. In this case yielding your members unto God. Romans 6:13 “13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

This realization removes reproach and restores life

Seventh Request. Psalm 119:39-40 “39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: For thy judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.”

As long as they continue with their reproach, God’s promises of blessing for obedience seem not to be fulfilled. But the psalmist is persuaded of better things, because he knows God’s decisions are good.

The Psalmist does not make a false litmus test for the Word of God because He knows to Whom those Words belong.

As we have see in Psalm 119:9-10 “9 BETH. 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.”

Transitional Statement: God’s Word will cleanse our way so we should seek it with our whole heart. It removes our reproach and restores our life. So we should desire it with all our heart.

Review

Stated Positively: The life of faith means to learn to desire to seek God and God’s ways through God’s Word.

It means to delight in studying God’s Word.

It means to to seek understanding and knowledge there.

Negatively, the life of faith means turning away from other desires —

the desire for selfish gain (verse 36)

from vain pursuits (verse 37)

from those things which only bring disgrace (verse 39).

Let us close by praying this portion of Scripture.

Psalm 119:33–40 KJV 1900

33 HE. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; And I shall keep it unto the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way. 38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, Who is devoted to thy fear. 39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: For thy judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.