Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19981129.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm One Hundred And Nineteen (Tsade) - Handling Frustrating, Ignorant Opposition To Our Advancement
(Psalm 119:137-144)
  1. Introduction
    1. If all one one's problems in life focused on his own failings or lack of knowing God's Word, life would be simplistically fixable. However, we often must suffer the frustration of being blocked or hampered by the inexcusable ignorance or spiritual stubbornness of other parties that work to limit our happiness!
    2. Thankfully, this problem is an ancient one which the psalmist addresses in Ps. 119:137-144 for our insight:
  2. Handling Frustrating, Ignorant Opposition To Our Advancement, Psalm 119:137-144.
    1. The psalmist described the frustrating complication he faced in dealing with spiritually obstinate people:
      1. On the one hand, the psalmist was fully dedicated to knowing and heeding Scripture's Word, 119:137f:
        1. He expressed how he appreciated the Bible's forthrightness, Ps. 119:137.
        2. He told how he loved its reliability as he had found it tested and approved in life, Ps. 119:138.
      2. However, an opponent who neglected Scripture's guidance had come to deadlock the psalmist's advancement in some area of his life. This had led to the psalmist being very frustrated, Ps. 119:139.
    2. Well, even this frustrated state was to be overcome by the psalmist's use of other Scriptures as follows:
      1. To find encouragement in the midst of his being frustrated by the obstinate opponent, the psalmist took refuge in recalling Scripture's seasoned capacity to handle such troublesome opponents, Ps. 119:140.
      2. Then, the psalmist handled the pain of the frustration itself that had gotten him down, 119:141-143:
        1. First, he handled the opponent's externally troublesome interactions with him via Scripture: he recalled that the Bible's promises will outlast the opponent's stubbornness, Ps. 119:141-142.
        2. Second, he offset the inner emotional turmoil created by his reacting to the persecutor through immersing himself into Scripture readings about God's promises that relate to his trial, Ps. 119:143. God then releases the oppres sed believer's pain as he learns to appreciate these promises this way.
    3. In seeing his pain of such frustration thus offset, the psalmist followed Scripture to see his way out of the challenge that had gotten him so down in the first place, Ps. 119:144. In this way, he found emotional renew al out of the trial's draining effects.
Lesson: God's Word when READ is so effective for the believer that it (a) supplies not only reliable truth for his own life to bless him, but (b) also equips him to overcome the FRUSTRATION he feels upon facing others around him who counter him unb iblically and resolutely simply because they are too unwise or carnal to use Scripture themselves!

Application: (1) As believers who USE Scripture in our lives, we must go BEYOND merely finding personal solutions to problems in our lives caused by our OWN failings! We have to find in God's Word the equipping to deal with the sin or ignorance in others who stubbornly refuse to READ the Word and which in turn create interpersonal problems for us. This process is a form of SPIRITUAL SOCIAL MATURITY, something prized by God (cf. 1 Peter 2:21-24). (2) This being the case, we need to see the FRUST RATING BLOCKAGE that OTHERS who resolutely remain spiritually ignorant or rebellious against God's Word are LEFT in our pathway by GOD as training for MORE GROWTH on OUR part, cf. Psalm 119:71.

Illustrations: (1) God led Israel out of Egypt in a roundabout way, taking them into the wilderness to face trials and battles with non-Palestine nations BEFORE they ever FACED Palestine enemies simply because they were too immature to face war quickly and successfully by going up the Mediterranean sea coast into Palestine, Ex. 13:17-18. (2) Similarly, when Israel failed to obey God once they got into the land, God left the Philistines there to plague them so that they would turn to God und er stress, Judges 2:1-3. (3) Enemies are useful tools for growth!