PSALMS LESSON 131

     We will continue this verse by verse study of the 119th Psalm
with Psalms 119:153 "{RESH.} Consider mine affliction, and deliver me:
for I do not forget thy law."

      Consider, in the verse above, is from a prime root word that
means to see. Look upon my afflictions, and understand my plight,  and
deliver me from all my afflictions. This, again, is an urgent prayer
of David.  He reminds God that he has never forgotten His law.

     Psalms 119:154 "Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me
according to thy word."

     The Christians are promised that we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. This verse above is as if God will
plead on the side of David. David knows that he is helpless unless God
takes his side. This is like an attorney who pleads your case for you.
He works on your behalf. The second Adam, is the quickening Spirit. He
has nothing to do with our body. He quickens our spirit.

     Psalms 119:155 "Salvation [is] far from the wicked: for they seek
not thy statutes."

     Salvation is offered to everyone. The secret is that we must
avail ourself of it. It is a free gift, but to receive a gift, you
must open your hand and receive it. I Timothy 4:10 "For therefore we
both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God,
who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
The wicked do not receive the salvation that is offered them. How can
they receive something that they do not believe exists? They do not
seek the law of God, because they do not believe in God.

     Psalms 119:156 "Great [are] thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken
me according to thy judgments."

     More than anywhere else in the Bible, I guess, is the mercy God
showed these adulterous people, when they made the golden calf and
worshipped it. I just knew that He would utterly destroy them for
this. Moses plead their case, and God did not utterly destroy them.
It is amazing to me, also, how He forgave them over and over. His
patience and mercy is far above what we can imagine. God is slow to
wrath and is easily found when a person desires to repent and come to
him.

     Psalms 119:157 "Many [are] my persecutors and mine enemies; [yet]
do I not decline from thy testimonies."

     In the greatest persecutions, David still reaches out for and
depends on the testimonies of the Lord. David has faced many an enemy
with very little except his faith to protect him.

     Psalms 119:158 "I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved;
because they kept not thy word."
     In another verse similar to this, we found that David had cried
seemingly rivers of tears over this very same thing. These law
breakers {transgressors} were living very close to David, because he
had seen them himself. As we said before, part of David's grief was
for the transgressors themselves being lost, and the other thing he
was grieved for was God's law being broken.

     Psalms 119:159 "Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O
LORD, according to thy lovingkindness."

     He is saying here, take into consideration how I love your
teachings. Make me alive, O Lord, with thy Spirit. He is saying,
again, that he does not deserve this favor from God, but is depending
on the lovingkindness of the Lord.

     Psalms 119:160 "Thy word [is] true [from] the beginning: and
every one of thy righteous judgments [endureth] for ever."

     God does not make fleeting judgements. His judgements are from
everlasting to everlasting. Once God has said it, there is no turning
back. His judgements are absolute. They are unshakeable. John 1:1 "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God." Notice, that the Word was in the beginning. The Word was
God. God is Truth.

     Psalms 119:161 "{SCHIN.} Princes have persecuted me without a
cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word."

     We have discussed, in a previous lesson, that these princes are
probably David's sons. David was the King and his sons would have been
princes. Even though David's own sons have persecuted David and even
tried to kill him, David still knows that God's Word is true. He will
not abandon the Word of God, even though his sons have turned away
from God. Sometimes, belief in God's Word separates families.

     Psalms 119:162 "I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great
spoil."

     Spoil is free for the taking, and so is the Word of God. He
rejoices that something as valuable as the Word can be had for the
taking.

     Psalms 119:163 "I hate and abhor lying: [but] thy law do I love."

     Lying is one of the sins that will keep you out of heaven. The
Bible says that those who love and make lies are of their father the
devil. The devil is the father of lies. The law is the opposite of
lying which David hates. The law is unshakeable Truth.

     Psalms 119:164 "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy
righteous judgments."

     Seven, is symbolic of spiritual completeness. This just shows the
extreme importance of praising God. The righteous judgements are truly
something to be praising God for.

     Psalms 119:165 "Great peace have they which love thy law: and
nothing shall offend them."

     This peace is that peace that passes all understanding. This is
the peace that comes from the King of Peace {the Lord Jesus}.
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
These who have this special peace that cannot be understood are peace
makers. They are dead in Christ. Dead people are not easily offended.

     Psalms 119:166 "LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done
thy commandments."

     When the rich young ruler came before Jesus, he said, what must I
do to be saved? Jesus told him to keep the commandments. He said he
had kept them from his youth. Jesus told him he lacked one more thing,
if he were to be perfect. He loved his money so much that he refused
the last condition. You see, just doing the commandments are not
enough. We must have no other gods before Him. This young ruler's god
was his money.

     Psalms 119:167 "My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love
them exceedingly."

     We discussed how the soul of man has to do with his will. David
is saying, in this, that his will has followed the teachings of God
and his spirit has overruled his flesh. He is saying, the battle
within him was won by the spirit. His love for God's Word is what
caused his will to line up with his spirit.

     Psalms 119:168 "I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for
all my ways [are] before thee."

     David is aware, here, that God knows more about him than he knows
about himself. He says, I am an open book to you. He knows that God
has looked upon his heart and found it pure.

     Psalms 119:169 "{TAU.} Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD:
give me understanding according to thy word."

     This cry of David's is not just to come before Him, but to be
near Him. This understanding that David is crying out for, here, is a
gift of the Spirit of God.

     Psalms 119:170 "Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me
according to thy word."

     Supplication, in this particular verse, means, graciousness, or
entreaty. The Word of God promises deliverance for those who love and
serve God. David is bringing his petition before God, coupled with
God's Word.

     Psalms 119:171 "My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught
me thy statutes."

     Praise from lips that do not understand God's statutes are false
praise. The true praise is when your whole heart, full of
understanding, praises God aloud. How can I praise except I know?

     Psalms 119:172 "My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy
commandments [are] righteousness."

     The tongue is the most evil part of the body. When the most evil
part of the body speaks words of praise, it means the person is
totally consumed with praise. When it is settled in his heart that the
commands of God are righteous, there is nothing left to do but praise
Him with everything within them.

     Psalms 119:173 "Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy
precepts."

     The Hand of God is speaking of the Lord Jesus. A decision to
follow God, always brings help from the Right Hand of God.

     Psalms 119:174 "I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy
law [is] my delight."

     Every person who ever lived, has a longing in his heart to
worship God. All the material things they might accumulate, and all
the fame they might get, will not fill this longing of their heart.
The Saviour is the only One who can fill this longing. Salvation is
the gift we receive, when we find Him and accept Him. He is the
fulfillment of the law.

     Psalms 119:175 "Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and
let thy judgments help me."

     God breathed the breath of life in man, and he became a living
soul. It is God that gives life. The breath of the Spirit of God can
renew David's soul. When this breath of the Spirit of God comes in, it
brings eternal life. David is speaking of his soul praising Him, when
he says it shall praise thee. Let everything that has breath, praise
the Lord. God's judgements have always been to benefit man.

     Psalms 119:176 "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy
servant; for I do not forget thy commandments."

     The Great Shepherd will always go in search of the sheep that has
strayed. If you are His sheep, you belong to Him. He will seek, until
you are found. This really is a cry of repentance from David. David's
heart has been always stayed on God. He never stopped belonging to
God, even though he strayed.




                             Questions 131

1.  What does consider mean in verse 153?
2.  Who is the advocate with the Father for the believer?
3.  David realizes that he is helpless, unless what?
4.  Who is the quickening Spirit?
5.  Who is salvation offered to?
6.  What do we have to do for it to be ours?
7.  Quote 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10.
8.  Why do the wicked not receive salvation?
9.  Where is one prominent place in the Bible that we see the mercy of
    God?
10. In David's greatest persecutions, what does he do?
11. Why was David grieved over the transgressors?
12. David wants to be quickened according to what?
13. God does not make fleeting ___________.
14. Who are the princes in verse 161?
15. What is spoil?
16. In verse 163, David abhors ________.
17. How many times a day did David praise God?
18. What is that number symbolic of?
19. What is the peace spoken of in verse 165?
20. Quote Philippians chapter 4 verse 7.
21. Why did the rich young ruler go away from Jesus sorrowful?
22. The soul of man has to do with his _____.
23. What does supplication, in vese 170, mean?
24. What is important about the tongue speaking of God's Word?
25. What does every person having a longing for?
26. What can renew David's soul?
27. Who should praise the Lord?
28. In verse 176, David says he has gone astray as a _______.