THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXIX. The Vast Value Of God’s Word

H. The Path To Satisfaction

(Psalm 119:57-64 [Cheth])

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Satisfaction is an elusive goal for many people today:

(1) It is an elusive goal for “(l)eft-wing media outlets and late-night hosts” who were “beside themselves over President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, culminating in a cross-media melt-down of epic proportions . . .” (Nicholas McEntyre, Ariel Zilber, James Franey and Chris Nesi, “Good grief! TV hosts get weepy,” The New York Post, November 8, 2024, p. 4-5) The editorial, “Don’t blame the candidates” (Republican-American, November 14, 2024, p. 10A) explained this reaction, noting the far-left does not share the views of most voters when it asserted, “Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden were simply figureheads, acting on behalf of an entrenched bureaucracy and a far-left base whose bizarre ideology is increasingly repellant to a majority of voters.”

(2) However, satisfaction is an elusive goal for the winning side, too: Conservative Kevin Roberts in his piece, “Don’s Mandate: Ending the era of elite manipulation” (Ibid., The New York Post, p. 33) asserted, “Americans . . . have re-elected Trump to defeat the deep state . . . Winning the White House is . . . only the first beachhead . . .”

(3) Satisfaction with the election is an elusive goal for many people locally: (a) As a “recount of ballots” to determine “the winner of the 65^th House District seat” was “still hanging in the balance” on November 12^th, “Registrar clerk Melissa Russell told Mayor Elinor C. Carbone (that) counters found ‘a bunch’ of unopened ballots that had not been previously counted,” and an audience member asked Russell, “‘I know the district for my state representative is really important, but how do I know all of my votes were counted?’” (Sloan Brewster, “No clear winner yet in Torrington,” Republican-American, November 13, 2024, p. 1A) (b) “An elementary school teacher is on paid leave and under police investigation after her profanity-laced social media video threatened individuals who voted for President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election.” (Bruno Matarazzo, Jr., “Cheshire teacher on leave over rant,” Ibid.)

(4) Satisfaction is an elusive goal globally: Several story headlines in the November 11, 2024, Republican-American revealed this fact as they announced, “Massive drone strike rattles Moscow,” “Amsterdam police detain pro-Palestinian protesters at banned demonstration” and “Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and northern Gaza.”

(5) Satisfaction is an elusive goal for many first-time homebuyers: News articles and young adults alike tell us that competition from wealthier home buyers, high rent costs where they currently live and a shortage of affordable homes on the housing market is making their dream of owning a home seem increasingly out of reach.

Need: So, we ask, “In an era of significant dissatisfaction, CAN one gain satisfaction, and IF so, HOW?”

I. The psalmist asserted that God was all he needed to satisfy his needs and desires in life, Psalm 119:57a:

A. When the author claimed that the Lord was his “portion” (KJV), he used the Hebrew noun heleq, “share of land” that was given out by lot to the Hebrew tribes in Joshua’s time. (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1082; H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. I, p. 293)

B. However, the priests and Levites who were dedicated to God’s service had no land share, for God was their heleq, and He would provide for their living needs through the tithes of the other tribes, Ibid., Num. 18:20-24.

C. The psalmist thus likened himself as dependent upon the Lord for his livelihood needs, and thus the “Lord was all he needed to satisfy his heart in life” in the spiritual sense, too. (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 804)

II. Thus, in Psalm 119:57b, the psalmist implied that his heeding Scripture was the practical means by which God would address all of his needs and desires in providing him complete satisfaction.

III. The WAYS the psalmist APPLIED Scripture to OBTAIN God’s blessing are explained in verses 58-64:

A. The psalmist asked the Lord to bless him since he had applied God’s Word with his whole heart, Psa. 119:58.

B. Specifically, the psalmist reported that he had considered his ways and turned his steps in life to align with God’s statutes, expecting God to bless him for such obedience, Psalm 119:59.

C. The psalmist had not postponed obeying the Lord but had applied His Word as soon as he knew it, v. 60.

D. Even if wicked foes to his heeding Scripture would bind him with ropes to keep him from obeying the Lord, the psalmist would then not forget God’s Word but stay motivated to heed it when he was free to do so, v. 61.

E. Even at midnight, the psalmist would rise up out of bed to give thanks to the Lord for His righteous verdicts, indicating that he had a constant appreciation and motivation to obey God’s Word, Psalm 119:62.

F. Consequently, the psalmist noted that he fellowshipped with all other people who revered the Lord and who obeyed His Word, affecting his relationships, Psalm 119:63.

G. The psalmist’s fellowship with God affected his viewpoint to where he realized that God’s grace was abundantly displayed in the world around him, what motivated him all the more to be taught of God, v. 64.

Lesson: (1) God is all we need for complete satisfaction, and obeying His Word is the practical means by which He satisfies us. (2) However, such obedience requires (a) aligning our ways with Scripture, (b) doing so immediately, (c) doing so consistently (d) and doing so regardless of opposition that we face to the contrary. (3) This results in fellowship with other godly people and a growing appreciation of God’s grace that motivates us to learn even more.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we then find God’s full satisfaction by aligning our ways with Scripture, doing so immediately, consistently, and regardless of opposition to the contrary, that we might enjoy fellowship with other godly people and grow in our appreciation of the Lord.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

We can apply Scripture to the issues of concern in our introduction to find God’s satisfaction in each case:

(1) Regarding the left-wing melt-down over President-elect Donald Trump’s election win, since Psalm

119:57a reveals that God is all we need for satisfaction, it is idolatrous for us to grieve over an election result as if our happiness depended on a particular candidate’s victory. God is our “portion,” so we can always rejoice in Him!

(2) Regarding the issues of concern by Trump voters relative to overcoming the alleged “deep state” of entrenched and hostile leftists in government institutions, (a) Ephesians 1:20-23 reveals that after His resurrection, Jesus Christ our Lord ascended to heaven and was seated by God the Father at His own right hand far above Satanic powers, above every name in this world and in the world to come, above every entity in the universe, and is Head over all things to the Church, His body, and He fills every believer in every way! Thus, there is no need to be concerned about who is in a position of government influence, or what he or she will or will not do in office, for it is all under our Lord’s oversight and sovereign control! (b) Romans 13:1-2 directs that Christ controls who gets into office anyway, so we are responsible to submit to all officials, the sole exception being that we obey God over the official(s) if they oppose the Lord’s commands for us, Acts 5:29.

(3) Regarding issues of concern about the election at the local level with uncertainties on the recount of the ballots and the rant by an elementary teacher in Cheshire that included her threat to harm those who voted for President-elect Donald Trump, (a) James 3:14-16 ESV reveals that jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder and every evil practice is typical of demonic activity, and 2 Corinthians 4:4 reveals that Satan is “the god of this world” in which we live. (b) We then do well to respond to disorderliness, evil behaviors, etc. over the election at the local level by relying on the Lord’s power through applying Scripture and praying for God’s help (Ephesians 6:10-19) instead of expressing reactionary rants that only undermine our Christian testimony and personal credibility!

(4) Regarding issues of concern at the international level with the war in Ukraine, pro-Palestinian protests in the world and Israel’s conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, (a) Daniel 9:25-26 predicted that Israel would face war and desolations until the end time as God’s national discipline for rejecting her Messiah Jesus at His first advent. (b) For now, as we have often noted, we know from Revelation 3:21 with 7:17 that we will face a “mini-Great Tribulation” era, but not the Great Tribulation that is only for those who have rejected Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). Though there will be wars, there will be no catastrophic nuclear holocaust that ends human history before Christ’s return!

(5) Regarding the lack of satisfaction in first-time home buyers who see home ownership as out of their reach, (a) Psalm 62:11-12 indicates that God rewards a head of household the income he needs to support his household in direct proportion to the quality of his workmanship on the job! (b) Also, 1 Timothy 6:8 in the Greek text tells us to be content with “the means of subsistence” (diatrophas, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 189) [not just “food” as in the KJV] and “clothing and housing cover” (skepasmata, Ibid., p. 761) [not just “raiment” as in the KJV], so we can expect God to provide these things for us if we obey Him as Psalm 119:57a implies! 1 Timothy 6:8 is directed to us believers in the current dispensation of the Church, so this verse is an implied promise to us on God’s supply of the means of subsistence and clothing and housing cover even in today’s economic environment! Whether God provides housing by means of home ownership or renting or some other means, and it may be impossible for us to predict which path He will choose, we know that He WILL provide what we NEED!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then find complete satisfaction in life by aligning our ways with the God of Scripture.