Sunday School, Psalm 119:169-176 Hebrew letter TAW Rev. Bart Lester
The voice and the will of the psalmist.
The first 4 verses speak of the voice of the psalmist, that of a 'cry'. Implied is a loud, desperate, intense plea or posture of urgent prayer. He asks in such a demeanor for understanding and for deliverance 'according to (God's) Word.' He is asking to see reality according to God's statutes.
Understanding:
Reference Ephesians 4:17 ff. The emphasis is on the mind, and notes the futility o thinking of the Gentiles (world) which is darkened, alienated, impure, etc. In Christ, our minds are renewed. We are to both know and apply God's Word in our lives. Thus the psalmist asks for an understanding of life from God's perspective.....not his own.
Also, reference James 1.....understanding God's Word in the midst of trial. He is at work in all of it for the end effect of maturity in us.
Deliverance:
After understanding, comes the plea for deliverance. He knows God's promises because he
knows God's Word from study and meditation and asks Him to keep them.
He will both praise God for teaching Him, and because His Law is right.
The second set of 4 verses speak of the will of the psalmist. He chooses God's precepts and is committed to keep them. He longs for salvation, and right behind that states that the Law is his delight......He knows that God's Word provides the understanding and direction he needs for the salvation he longs for! That Word teaches us how that salvation is accomplished.
He desires to live and to praise his God.
But then the final verse: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; see your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments."
After all of the statements of loving and desiring God's Word, of studying it and meditating on it, and commitments to keep it....the final word is this. "I can't." He humbly recognizes his incapability of keeping all of God's Law, or even remaining steadfast in his commitment to study and meditate on it all the day long, so He asks God to help him in it.
What a fitting picture of how things really are. I think the psalmist got what he was asking for......understanding. He knows his need, where to go for help, comfort, guidance, etc., and that he needs help even to go to that source. Any pride and arrogance , or superior feeling because he 'has it', is blown away, leaving him the picture of humility before God.
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Sermon: Bland NOR Blind: Matthew 5:13-16. Rev. Billy Joseph
Context: The Sermon on the Mount, the beatitudes.
Jesus has taught in the same chapter about those blessed by God: the poor in spirit, those that mourn their sinful state, the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The merciful, pure in heart (declared righteous in Christ), peacemakers and those persecuted for righteousness sake (for who he is >Christlike< as in the above attitudes, rather than what he does.)
These will be persecuted.....and should rejoice in that because such is worthy of one who lives rightly before God. The prophets and Christ Himself were/are persecuted for the same. Let their example bring us joy, in that we are worthy for the same.
Meaning: Taken alone, without the context the meaning lacks the impact it has when taken IN context.
Salt: It has been debated whether the meaning is in the preservative nature of salt, or the taste of it. While both are applicable, the text mentions specifically the taste of salt. If it becomes 'unsalty', or looses it's taste, it is no longer any good, and can't be redeemed.
Salt is used to enhance the flavor of food. It makes the bland, tasteful.
And thus we should view our presence in this world.....We are here to enhance the flavor, to preserve truth, to make the bland tasteful.
I thought of all the questions raised by non-believers: what is the meaning of life? Is there a God? Is there absolute truth? Why am I here? Etc, etc.
We, as salt, provide answers to these questions by living salty lives in this bland, bland world. If we are as the blessed described in the first few verses of the chapter, then our very lives.....attitudes and responses to life around us......will be salt to a dark, bland, unstable world.
Light.......cannot be hidden. Even covered, it seeps through cracks and peeks through pinholes. Light has a purpose....to make what is invisible in the darkness visible in the light. We produce light for a purpose, and that is not to cover it up and hide it. We are light, in a dark, dark world.
But not in and of ourselves. We are light because of Christ in us. And again, if we are like Him, blessed as in the first part of the chapter, then that light will shine, not because of what we do, but who we are. We will be visible......not hidden, not covered up, unmistakably different from the world.....reflections of Him.
"Let your light so shine..." Don't be a 'secret' Chirstian. Don't try to cover up, or look like the world. Look like Christ indeed. Openly.
It is a painful thing to ask myself, and more so to ask God to reveal to me......
Am I like worthless, tasteless salt for Him in this world?
Am I like a light hidden or covered up?
May His Word not return void.
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