WWUTT 1239 I Do Not Forget Your Commandments? (Psalm 119:161-176)

WWUTT Podcast

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

The laws of this world are inherently corrupt, because they are created by corrupt people.

00:06

But the law of God is perfect and just, and His Word endures forever when we understand the text.

00:25

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the

00:30

Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our

00:37

Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. For our Thursday study, we've been in Psalm 119 since the end of April.

00:47

The last Thursday in April is when we started our study of Psalm 119. Here we are on the last

00:53

Thursday in June, and we're going to bring this to a close. We've got two more Hebrew letters to look at as we finish

01:00

Psalm 119, but then of course we've got 30 more Psalms to go, 120 through 150, which we'll continue with next week.

01:08

So first of all here, this is Psalm 119 verses 161 through 168, and it's under the heading of sin and shin.

01:17

It's not sin and shin, although that's what it looks like. But it's more pronounced like seen.

01:23

So here's what we read. The psalmist writes in verse 161, Now this statement that we have here in verse 161, this is something that is sadly becoming more and more relatable for more and more

02:28

Christians. There are many Christians in the world who face this on a daily basis, but some of us are not so accustomed to not being able to practice our religion freely in the country in which we live.

02:42

A lot of English -speaking countries value the freedom of religion to some degree. But even here in the

02:48

United States, we're starting to see that right being taken away from us little by little.

02:55

The Bostock decision in the Supreme Court that was made just last week is probably one of the greatest threats against the freedom of religion of any law that has ever been passed in this country.

03:06

And be sure of this, what the Supreme Court did was they passed a law.

03:11

That's not their job. They're supposed to interpret and uphold the law. But they instead determined that the

03:18

Civil Rights Act passed in 1968 prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

03:27

It doesn't do that. No one was thinking of that when the Civil Rights Act was passed back in 1968.

03:34

But that's what the Supreme Court has determined. Oh, no, it was on people's minds when it was passed back then.

03:40

And so the Equality Act, which is something that has been in the works, it's a bill in the

03:47

United States Congress. If passed, it would amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on those things, basically giving rights and special privileges to LGBTQ persons for whatever form of perversion they want to practice, that everybody would have to bow the knee to to their demands, essentially.

04:06

But now the Equality Act was passed by a judicial fiat by what the

04:13

Supreme Court did over a week ago. And this is this is going to have massive ramifications against the way churches operate, the way a

04:21

Christian operates their own business, the way that seminaries and Christian institutions, even parachurch ministries, the way that they do things, this is going to be massive.

04:33

Which if the Equality Rights Act had passed, we knew that that would be. But it's been unable to get through Congress.

04:40

And here the Supreme Court just said, you know, you guys don't have to worry about it. Here you go. Here's a hand wrapped gift for the left.

04:50

And this is is one of the foremost attacks on the freedom of religion.

04:55

Now, it's not directly an attack. It's not like it says Christianity is now outlawed for the sake of LGBTQ rights and privileges.

05:03

It doesn't say that. But this is the the effort of the left to destroy

05:09

Christianity because it is the church presently acting as salt and light in this world, preserving and shining a light on evil, exposing evil practices that is preventing the progressive left from reaching the level of debauchery that they are actively clawing and scratching for.

05:32

Every once in a while, you'll catch a liberal in a moment of honesty in which they will fully admit that this is that the freedom of religion has to go.

05:40

The church has to get out of here. We have to outlaw Christianity. Every once in a while, they'll they'll kind of overstep their bounds.

05:48

They'll draw the curtain back a little bit and and expose themselves as to the evil that they're actually trying to carry out.

05:56

Just last week after the Bostock decision, it was Congressman Sean Maloney who said that religious liberty is a bogus term used to allow

06:07

LGBTQ discrimination. Religious liberty is in the Constitution.

06:13

The freedom of religion is literally the First Amendment. It's in the First Amendment, our freedom of religion rights.

06:20

And and yet here you have a congressman who is in Congress now.

06:26

Who is saying we have to get rid of that. We have to get rid of the freedom of religion because it's discriminating against LGBTQ rights.

06:34

That's coming. That is coming down the pike, folks. And it is going to be upon us faster than you think.

06:41

Already, this is kind of overtaken us and our heads are still spinning like what did the

06:46

Supreme Court just say? So this is this is only beginning and it is only going to get worse.

06:53

Pray that God would be merciful to this nation. It looks like he is turning us over to a depraved mind.

07:00

He's turning the United States over to their own depravity. But pray that God would be merciful and revival would sweep this land.

07:07

We certainly hope for that. But anyway, all all of that to say that this statement here is becoming more and more relatable even to people in a country with a

07:16

Constitution that protects the freedom of religion. That Constitution is being ignored.

07:22

It's not even being upheld by our elected officials. And so when we read in Psalm 119, verse 161, princes persecute me without cause.

07:34

Suddenly, that's starting to make a lot more sense, isn't it? But what does it go on to say? But my heart stands in awe of your words.

07:44

God's word is going to remain. Jesus said in Luke 1617, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void.

07:57

And so even though we're going to be persecuted for what it is that we believe in, First Peter, Chapter four,

08:03

Peter says they will. They're going to make fun of you because you won't join them in their debauchery, and they're going to malign you.

08:10

But they're going to have to give an account to him who judges the living and the dead. And so we must submit ourselves to God.

08:18

We must love his law, obey his precepts, walk in his ways.

08:25

May our heart stand in awe of his words. So in awe of God's word that we're not so overtaken when something crazy happens in this country, like the decision the

08:36

Supreme Court made last week. Our heads not spinning over that. We're steadfast and firm.

08:42

Jesus said in this world, you will have tribulation. But take heart. I have overcome the world.

08:48

So my heart stands in awe, not of the evil that's happening in this world, but stands in awe of your words.

08:56

I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil as if you just stumbled upon something.

09:04

Oh, my goodness. How great this is, right? That's what you see when you open up the word of God.

09:10

You knew it was good before you opened your Bible. But it's that much better when you read it, when you take heart to these words, when you have them written on your heart, when you want to do what the word says, how amazing it is.

09:28

Like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood. We most certainly should.

09:34

We most certainly should. There we go. But I love your law.

09:41

Seven times a day, I praise you for your righteous rules. Now, there's nothing in that as to, you know, we need to be praising

09:48

God seven times a day. Pick seven times that you're going to praise God. Seven is the number of completion.

09:56

So it is demonstrating a heart that is completely in love with God's word, fully devoted to his word, not teetering back and forth, not going, well,

10:06

I like this part. I'm not so sure about this. But we love God's word. If there's any part of it, we don't understand.

10:12

We seek to understand it. We don't try to reinterpret it. We don't try to twist it into something that it doesn't mean.

10:18

We are fully committed unto God, loving him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

10:24

We don't want the word of God to agree with our minds.

10:29

We want our minds to agree with the word of God. We want to come into conformity to God's word.

10:35

So seven times a day, I praise you for your righteous rules. We don't have any inherent righteousness.

10:42

The righteousness comes from God by faith in Jesus Christ. Great peace have those who love your law.

10:48

And indeed we do. The world is in chaos. We need to be at peace. We're not panicking.

10:55

We are at peace, at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing can make them stumble.

11:02

I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do your commandments.

11:07

And when we're reading hope here, I hope for your salvation. It's not something that's like, I hope

11:13

I get it right. It's not like saying, I hope that we're actually going to have a football season this year.

11:19

You don't know what is going to happen this year with COVID -19. And, you know, we're seeing numbers going back up again, and maybe things are going to shut down again.

11:29

Who knows? We don't know. So you'll use that word, I hope, and, you know, just kind of freely.

11:35

But you don't really know what's on the other end of this. When we hope for the salvation of the

11:40

Lord, we don't see it with our physical eyes, but we know it with the heart. There's no doubt.

11:46

If I put faith in Christ, I'm saved. So I hope for your salvation, a meaningful hope, a real hope, not a fleeting hope.

11:57

And I do your commandments. You will have the most assurance of your salvation if you are obedient to the word of God.

12:05

My soul keeps your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.

12:11

All of it. What God testifies about himself is in his law. And we love his law.

12:18

And again, if there's anything you don't get, you don't understand how this would apply, well, then you seek to gain that understanding.

12:25

And you ask God for wisdom in those things. I keep your precepts.

12:30

It says in verse 168, I keep your precepts and testimonies. For all my ways are before you.

12:38

Ultimately, we know everything that we say and do is before God. He knows all. And so I want to keep your precepts and do what is pleasing unto the

12:48

Lord. For all my ways are before you. Nothing is hidden from God. Now that is seen and sheen.

12:55

We've got one last letter here to cover a Hebrew letter for Psalm 119.

13:01

And this is verses 169 to 176. How do we conclude this beautiful psalm, which, as I said in the very beginning, is a love song to God for his law?

13:13

How do we finish? Let's begin here. Psalm 119 verse 169 under the

13:18

Hebrew letter. Tav. Let my cry come before you,

13:24

O Lord. Give me understanding according to your word. Let my plea come before you.

13:33

Deliver me according to your word. My lips will pour forth praise for you.

13:41

Teach me your statutes. My tongue will sing of your word for all your commandments are right.

13:49

Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation,

13:56

O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you and let your rules help me.

14:06

I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

14:17

That's how we that's how we finish Psalm 119. Let's look at this together. Verse 169.

14:22

Let my cry come before you, O Lord. Give me understanding according to your word. So just what

14:27

I was saying earlier in the in the previous section that we must ask God for understanding.

14:33

James 1 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously to all and without reproach.

14:40

But if you ask, let it be without doubting. That passage goes on to say, give me understanding according to your word.

14:48

Wholeheartedly ask of God. Give me understanding. The understanding that we have of God's word comes from God, for it is the spirit of God himself that is interpreting these things to us.

15:01

According to the apologetic that Paul lays out in 1 Corinthians 2, the spirit of God knows the mind of God.

15:09

So the spirit of God communicates to us an understanding of God's mind when we read his word.

15:17

Let my cry come before you. Give me understanding according to your word. Let my plea come before you.

15:25

Deliver me according to your word. And you see this request over and over again. Let my let let it be this because this is a full submission to God's will.

15:36

Anything that happens for me, any benefit that I receive, it comes from the

15:42

Lord. Let my plea come before you. Deliver me according to your word.

15:48

My lips will pour forth praise for you. Teach me your statutes.

15:53

That's just like what we read in the previous section. Seven times a day. I praise you for your righteous rules.

15:59

My lips will pour forth praise for you. Teach me your statutes.

16:05

The result of asking God for understanding is that God teaches us his ways.

16:12

When we read his word, we are being taught by God. And the what is going to be produced when we understand the mind of God according to his word is praise like this leads to godliness, right?

16:27

Whenever we read the Apostle Paul say to Timothy, for example, that teach the message of our

16:34

Lord Jesus Christ, which accords with godliness. What does that mean that the gospel of Christ accords with godliness?

16:41

It means that it produces godliness. When we preach the gospel, when we teach all that Christ had commanded, the effect that it has on a person is godliness.

16:52

You will walk in a godly way in a way that is pleasing to the Lord in a way that is seeking after the

16:58

Lord, because remember, before you came to Christ, you were not seeking God. That's in Romans 312.

17:05

No one seeks for God. All have turned aside together. We have become worthless. But when our heart is transformed and we become worshipers of Christ, we seek the

17:13

Lord. You seek him and desire to please him. That is the result of a heart that loves

17:22

God. It can't help but praise God, obeying God with our actions, praising

17:27

God with our words. So therefore, my lips will pour forth praise for you teach me your statutes.

17:35

We know the word of God. We praise God for his word. My tongue will sing of your word.

17:43

There's something else that is produced by a heart that has been transformed in Christ. We sing praises unto

17:49

God for all your commandments are right. We even have a song in our heart, a song of glee, a song of joy because of God's law.

18:01

See, that's a beautiful thing. We're reminded of over and over again in Psalm 119 and how unlike it's not very like a

18:10

Christian today to praise God for his law. We often like separate God's love from his law, but it's because he loves us that he gave us his law.

18:20

We'll retreat to verses like it says in Romans six. We're no longer under the law, but under grace.

18:26

So law bad, grace good, right? But it is by the grace of God that we understand the law and desire to keep the law.

18:34

As Jesus said to his disciples in John 14, 15, you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments.

18:43

And we read at the end of Romans three in our study of Romans, the very last verse in Romans three.

18:49

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means.

18:55

On the contrary, we uphold the law. We love God for his law.

19:02

Why do you think we want to put, you know, a stone tablets that have the 10 commandments on them in front of courthouses?

19:10

Why do we do that? It's because we love the law of God and our law needs to come in submission to God's law.

19:17

There's nothing bad about God's law. It's bad for you when you disobey the law.

19:23

But we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, the righteous one who is forgiving us of sin and is making us right, sanctifying us, growing us in holiness as we continue to strive for that godliness that is the result of the word of God taught to us.

19:40

Let your hand be ready to help me. It says in verse 173, for I have chosen your precepts.

19:47

That's a statement of salvation that I would be saved by the Lord because I love his word.

19:54

I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight.

20:01

Let my soul live and praise you and let your rules help me.

20:06

Our soul has been brought to life by faith in Christ. We were previously a dead man in Adam, as we've been talking about a federal headship in Adam, federal headship in Christ in our

20:17

Romans 5 study this week. We are dead in Adam. We're alive in Christ. Our spirit was born dead.

20:24

We were physically alive but spiritually dead when we were born. It is faith in Christ that makes us alive.

20:30

Let my soul live and praise you. Let your rules help me for it is by obedience to the word of God that we're grown in sanctification.

20:41

I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant for I do not forget your commandments.

20:51

Jesus is the good shepherd and he calls his sheep to him and they know the shepherd's voice and they follow him.

20:58

They will not go after anyone else. They won't go after a stranger's voice, but they follow the shepherd's voice.

21:05

When you hear the call of the gospel, you turn from sin and you follow Jesus Christ because the

21:10

Holy Spirit has regenerated your heart to love the word of God and desire to obey it.

21:18

So don't go after strangers. Don't go after the weird philosophies of this world. The ways of this world have nothing to do with that.

21:25

Look to the Lord Christ. Listen to his word and follow it. Amen. You've been listening to when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes.

21:35

We hope you are a part of the church family committed to gospel teaching and we thank you for including us in your

21:41

Bible learning. If you would consider a gift to this ministry, please visit www .utt

21:46

.com and click on the give tab in the top right corner of the page. Give online or send a check in the mail.