THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CXIX: Appreciating And Applying Scripture For Every Spiritual Need, Psalm 119

P. Ayin - Divine Assurances Following Hard Decisions

(Psalm 119:121-128)

I. Introduction

A. Psalm 119 tells of the profitable use of God's written Word, the Scriptures, and the psalm is formed as an acrostic where each section has a Hebrew letter that begins each of the eight verses in its respective section.

B. Section "Ayin" in Psalm 119:121-128 explains how Scripture equips the believer to gain God's assurances following difficult decisions he has made, and we view the passage for our insight and edification (as follows):

II. Divine Assurances Following Hard Decisions, Psalm 119:121-128.

A. The verse numbering system in the Hebrew text matches that of the English Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1084), so we stay with the English Bible's numbering system for this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 119:121-128 (as follows):

1. "I have performed litigations and what is just; do not abandon me to my oppressors," Psalm 119:121.

2. "Be protective surety for Your servant for good; let not the presumptuous ones oppress me," v. 122.

3. "My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation, and for the fulfillment of Your righteous promise," v. 123.

4. "Deal with Your servant according to Your loyal love and teach me Your decrees," Psalm 119:124.

5. "I myself (em. pr.) am Your servant; give me discernment that I may know Your solemn charges," v. 125.

6. "It is time for You to act, O Jahweh; Your law is being broken," Psalm 119:126.

7. "Because of this, I love Your commandments more than gold; yes, more than pure gold," Psalm 119:127.

8. "Because of this, I esteem all of Your precepts to be right, and I hate every false path, Psalm 119:128.

C. We consider significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. The psalmist reports that he made a decision regarding oppressors to do what was Biblically right, v. 121a.

2. However, due to (apparent) trouble he faced from his oppressors, the psalmist suffered doubt over the decision he had made, so he asked God not to abandon him in his predicament of doubt in the matter, Psalm 119:121b-124a: (a) he prayed for God's assistance in his unsettling state of doubt, v. 121b. (b) He asked God to back him up, to act as a surety in his behalf in the matter, v. 122. (c) The psalmist was concerned about gaining God's advice which seemed to be absent from him at the time, so he asked God to speed up getting involved in the matter, Psalm 119:123. (d) Finally, the psalmist asked God to deal with him according to His Scriptural promises, Psalm 119:124a.

3. In this crisis, the psalmist realized he needed God's instruction to be sure of God's will in the matter, so he asked for divine instruction from Scripture and discernment to understand God's Word, v. 124b-125.

4. Satisfied with God's answer to this request for wisdom (cf. James 1:5-8), the psalmist boldly expressed joy upon finding that his initial decision was right in God's view, Psalm 119:126-128: (a) Having gained the assurance of God's full approval regarding his initial decision, the psalmist called upon God to act in the situation he faced with his oppressors, v. 126. (b) He then told of his deep mental peace over this whole experience, noting that he loved God's Word due to the peace of mind it offers in times of difficult decisions, v. 127. (c) The psalmist also beccame more deeply committed to heeding Scripture and more committed to despising every non-biblical choice he might face in his future, Psalm 119:128a,b.

Lesson: Having experienced doubt about a difficult decision he had made regarding oppressors due to their oppression, the psalmist sought God's wisdom from Scripture. Having gained the discernment that his decision met God's full approval, the psalmist was able to relax, and he gained a greater appreciation for the value of God's Word in making hard decisions and he became more committed to hating non-biblical choices in all future decision-making events he would face.

Application: (1) If we struggle with doubt over a difficult decision we have made, we should pray for wisdom from God through His Word on the matter. (2) If we then find we erred, we can correct our decision, but if we find we made the right decision, we can relax over it and resolve all the more to keep making right decisions if facing hard choices. (3) One reason God may let us face doubt over a difficult decision we have made is to use that doubt toward enhancing our appreciation of His Word's ability to provide us guidance in such difficult decision-making ventures that we become ever more dependent upon its insight for ALL FUTURE decision-making experiences!