PSALMS LESSON 125
 
     We will continue the verse by verse study of the 119th chapter of
Psalms with Psalms 119:57 "{CHETH.} [Thou art] my portion, O LORD: I
have said that I would keep thy words."

     We can see, in this, that the LORD is the portion of each person
who seeks and finds Him. Salvation is not a collective thing. God
offers salvation to the masses, but saves them, one at a time. Our
relationship with God, must be a personal relationship. Joining a
church is not what I am speaking of. The Lord is my personal God. He
would have given His body on the cross, if I had been the only person
who needed saving. The psalmist's decision to keep God's Word is,
also, personal. I can not promise for anyone, but myself.

     Psalms 119:58 "I entreated thy favour with [my] whole heart: be
merciful unto me according to thy word."

     We used the following Scripture in another recent lesson, but it
says so clearly what I need to say here, that I will use it again.
Mark 12:33 "And to love him with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and
to love [his] neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices."  If God can not have 100% of your heart, He
will not take any at all. He does not want any half-way commitments.
These few verses, here, are focusing in on God's part in all of this.
The psalmist is not asking for mercy on his own merits, but on the
merits of the Word of God.

     Psalms 119:59 "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies."

     He is saying, here, that his decision to turn unto God's
testimonies was not a sudden decision. He had considered carefully and
then made his decision.

     Psalms 119:60 "I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy
commandments."

     After he had carefully considered the Word of God, and decided to
follow in the testimonies of God, then he hurriedly made it right with
God. This is speaking of speed, after he had decided repentung was the
right thing to do. After he made his decision , he realized the
urgency of being saved.

     Psalms 119:61 "The bands of the wicked have robbed me: [but] I
have not forgotten thy law."

     A band means that this was not an individual, but a group. They
have robbed him of his material goods, but this did not affect his
position with God. He still remembers and keeps the law.

     Psalms 119:62 "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee
because of thy righteous judgments."
     If you were to rise at midnight to give thanks to God, it would
not be for others eyes. This would be a personal thanksgiving for His
righteous judgements. Jesus is the Righteous Judge. Those, who keep
His commandments, have nothing to fear from the righteous judgement
of the Lord.

     Psalms 119:63 "I [am] a companion of all [them] that fear thee,
and of them that keep thy precepts."

     This is saying, that he fellowships with those of like belief. We
are told, over and over, not to be unequally yoked to those of
unbelief. This would be like fellowshipping with the members of your
church. To fellowship with the world brings heartache. Fear, in this
instance, is speaking of holding God in reverence.

     Psalms 119:64 "The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me
thy statutes."

     The sun shines, because of the mercy of God. The rain waters the
crops, because of the mercy of God. I am living and breathing because
of the mercy of God. I could go on and on, but you can get the picture
from this. The earth is filled with the mercy of God. The Scripture
says, it rains on the just and the unjust. God is merciful. He is not
willing for even one to be lost. Someday the patience of God will run
out. God will not force Himself upon anyone, but He will teach His
ways to those who are willing to receive the salvation that He made
available to all.

     Psalms 119:65 "{TETH.} Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O
LORD, according unto thy word."

     There is a change of tense here. The psalmist is speaking in the
past tense. The psalmist is looking back to the times that the LORD
had kept His Word with the psalmist. He still speaks of himself as the
servant. This means that he had decided to serve the Lord, and the
Lord had blessed him mightily.

     Psalms 119:66 "Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have
believed thy commandments."

     This is not someone seeking the Lord. This person is already
saved. He is just asking to grow in knowledge and judgement.
Christianity is a walk. It is not a one time happening, and then never
doing any more about it. When we first receive the Lord, we are baby
Christians and are fed on milk and honey of the Word. Later, we are
supposed to grow in the Lord, and put away childish things, and get
into the meat of the Word. The best way to acquire knowledge of the
Word, is to study your Bible.

     Psalms 119:67 "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have
I kept thy word."

     All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but we do not
have to stay in that lost condition. We can repent, and be saved, and
then grow each day in the Lord. Salvation is a daily walk. The
psalmist is saying, that after he repented, he has kept the Word of
God.

     Psalms 119:68 "Thou [art] good, and doest good; teach me thy
statutes."

     There is only one good, and that is God. The psalmist, here, is
recognizing the fact that God's ways are good ways. He wants to learn
the ways of God, so that he can walk in the goodness God has shown
him.

     Psalms 119:69 "The proud have forged a lie against me: [but] I
will keep thy precepts with [my] whole heart."

     There is no reason for the proud not to lie. They are not of God,
and they do not keep God's Word. They do not even believe in God's
Word, so why would they not lie, if it would benefit them? The
psalmist is saying, that he will keep doing the teachings of God. Even
though they lied about him to get an advantage over him, he will not
lie to get the advantage over them. He regards God's Word too highly
to sin to get even.

     Psalms 119:70 "Their heart is as fat as grease; [but] I delight
in thy law."

     This type of heart is an evil heart stayed upon desires of the
flesh. The fatness, here, would be a harm and not a help. Those, who
delight in the law of God, have a pure heart.

     Psalms 119:71 "[It is] good for me that I have been afflicted;
that I might learn thy statutes."

     Many a person has come to God and received salvation during great
afflictions. If it takes afflictions to bring a person to God, then
bring on the afflictions. This had certainly been the way it had been
with the Israelites. They lived in sin, until God allowed afflictions
to come upon them. Each time they repented of their sins. Jesus put it
even more severe. Mark 9:43 "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off:
it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands
to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:"

     Psalms 119:72 "The law of thy mouth [is] better unto me than
thousands of gold and silver."

     There is not enough money in the world to trade for the law of
God. Gold and silver are temporary luxuries for this earth. The law of
God brings life to those who keep it. The law of thy mouth is the
spoken Word of God. What would you exchange for your soul?





                             Questions 125

1.  Salvation is not a ________ thing.
2.  God offers salvation to the masses, but He saves them ____ at a
    ____.
3.  The psalmist decision to keep God's Word is, also, _________.
4.  Quote Mark chapter 12 verse 33.
5.  What % of your heart is the only % God will settle for?
6.  The psalmist is asking for mercy on whose merits?
7.  Verse 59 says, that he considered _______, and then made his
    decision.
8.  When did he begin to hurry?
9.  Is a band one person or a group?
10. In verse 62, when did he rise to give thanks?
11. What is different about giving thanks at midnight?
12. Who was the psalmist companion to?
13. Who is the Righteous Judge?
14. Name just a few of the merciful things God does every day.
15. Who does God teach His ways?
16. In verse 65, what does the psalmist call himself?
17. In verse 66, what two things did the psalmist ask God to teach
    him?
18. How is the best way to acquire knowledge of the Word?
19. ___ have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
20. Salvation is a daily ______.
21. Who is the only good One?
22. Why would it be logical for the proud to lie?
23. In verse 70, their heart is as fat as ________.
24. It is good for me that I have been __________.
25. What was the more severe statement Jesus made about afflictions?
26. What is the law of Thy mouth?