Sermon Psalm 119:129-136 God’s Law

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 119:129-136 God’s Law

July 30, 2017

We continue today looking at the Psalms of Summer.  We have seen that we are created by God to praise him jubilantly because of his steadfast love and faithfulness.  We learned that God remains faithful to the poor and needy in our society and wants us to do the same.  Whenever we have problems in our lives we can always turn to God in prayer, and humbly ask God to satisfy our needs.  Today we will look at one of the greatest blessings we receive from God.  We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Today we turn to Psalm 119.  This psalm is the longest in the Bible with 176 verses.  It is a marvelous work of literature.  For you crossword puzzle addicts, it is an acrostic.  The psalm has 22 sections that correspond to the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.  Each line in each section begins with the corresponding Hebrew letters,  The first 8 lines all start with alef.  The next 8 begin with bet.  Then there are 8 lines that start with gimmel, as so on.  The psalm is a celebration of God’s law.  Eight terms are repeated in each section:  law, decrees, statutes, commandments, ordinances, word, precepts and promise.  All of this was beautifully done in order to show the close relationship between God’s law, torah, and the Hebrew language.  I think that Psalm 119 was developed to teach children to read.  As they memorized it they would learn the Hebrew alphabet and learn about the law of God.

Before I get started with our look at Psalm 119, I would like to talk a little bit about English pronouns.  We have two third person subject pronouns, he and she, and two object pronouns, him and her.   So when I am talking about a person and want to use a pronoun in place of a name I have to use one of these.   If I am talking about a man I used he or him.  If I am talking about a woman I use she or her.  That’s simple.  But what if I am talking about someone whose gender is unknown?   Which should I use?   When I was young I was taught always to use he or him in this situation.  But times have changed.  Today it is not acceptable to use masculine pronouns all the time.  So what I do is use both.  When I don’t know if a biblical author is a man or a woman I have to use something.   And sometimes I use he and him and sometimes she or her.   That is why sometimes I will refer to a psalmist as he and sometimes as she.  I hope this helps.  Let’s turn to our topic today, God’s law.

Christians have an uneasy relationship with God’s law.   Our New Testament has many stories of religious leaders misusing the law as a club to punish people.   Jesus rejected this use of the law.   And Paul taught us to focus on our God who graciously forgives us through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.  So we don’t have to worry about the law anymore.  Right?  Well, as Paul might say, “No Way!”

The protestant reformers said that there are three appropriate uses of the law.   First, God’s law is practical.  Any community that adopts it for its citizens will flourish.   The second use of the law was to help each of us know when we have fallen short of obeying God.   The Holy Spirit uses the law to convict us of our sin.   The third use of the law is that it gives us a plan for our future.   As forgiven and restored sinners adopted as children of God we gratefully obey God’s law as a blessing, a wonderful way to live our lives. And it is in this sense of the law that we turn now to Psalm 119, verses 129-136, which all begin with the Hebrew letter Pe.

Psalm 119:129 Your statutes are wonderful;
   therefore I obey them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
   it gives understanding to the simple.

For many people God’s law is to be avoided.  That is why many people refuse to come to church.  They don’t want to bother with anyone telling them what to do.  But we understand, as did the psalmist, that the law of God is a blessing.   When we obey it we experience great joy in our lives.  Through God’s law we find wisdom and knowledge of how best to live our lives.   Our cars come with instructions manuals that tell us to change the oil every few months.   If we do this our cars run well for many years.  So too with us.  God’s laws are the instructions given to us, which if followed, result in good, fruitful and long lives.  So we rejoice with thanksgiving  because God has given us wisdom to live our lives in the best way possible.

A lifetime of learning and praying on God’s law enlightens us with the wisdom we need to live our lives.  From time to time we will have to choose a course of action.   God’s law is for us a lamp to our feet; so we know which way to go.  So I urge you to study God’s law through Bible studies and meditate on God’s law in your daily Bible readings and prayer.   You will experience God’s blessings as you do these things.  Let go back to the psalmist.

131 I open my mouth and pant,
   longing for your commands.

132 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
   as you always do to those who love your name.

When a dog returns home after a long run on a hot day the only thing on his mind is to find some cool water to drink.   As he looks for his bowl his tongue hangs out almost dragging on the floor.  The dog is panting.   Panting is how a dog expresses his great desire for a cool bowl of water.   Like a dog panting for water, the psalmist pants for God’s law.  This is the result of years of faith.  We desire God’s law so much that we pant for it.

I know many people who pant for God’s law.  They come to worship every Sunday and attend Bible studies whenever they can.    They know that studying God’s law satisfies their deepest need.   And when they do it they experience great joy.  To experience this is a blessing.  It is a gift of the Holy Spirit.   To receive this gift, turn to God in prayer and ask for mercy.  God will bless you with forgiveness and invite you to experience a life of joyfully obeying his law.  Experience for yourselves God’s grace.  And you will pant for more and more of God’s words.  Let’s return to the psalm.

133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;
   let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from human oppression,
   that I may obey your precepts.

The psalmist has experienced a life of doing her own thing.  She knows what it is like to go your own way.  It leads to a dead end.   Problems multiply.  You reach the end of your rope.   Finally when you bottom out the only place to look is up.   And when we look up we see that God has a better way.  So we confess our sin to God and experience his love and forgiveness.  And then we receive a blessing.   This blessing is the ability and motivation to obey God’s law for our own benefit.

This is the problem today.  So many people believe that God’s law is optional.   They ignore God’s law and go down a destructive path.   Talk to anyone in AA and they will tell you what happened to them.   You can’t follow yourself.  If you try to follow yourself, you will spin around in a circle and fall down.  So you have to follow something.  And the best thing to follow is the God who made you.  His law will lead you to where you need to go.

According to the psalmist one benefit we receive by obeying God’s law is that we can protect ourselves from the evil around us.   There are those in our families and friends who will lead us down their path to destruction.   Without God’s law we are blind, and you know what happens when the blind lead the blind.   But with God’s law our eyes are open.   We can protect ourselves.  We can say “no” when someone tries to lead us astray.  God’s law helps us to withstand the forces of evil in our world.  Let’s return to the psalm.

135 Make your face shine on your servant
   and teach me your decrees.
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
   for your law is not obeyed.

The best thing we could ever experience is God’s face shining on us.   This happens when we forsake all other desires and focus solely on God.   Sadly this happens to very few.  Most people, even in church, don’t experience this.  They go off following their own will and desires.  What can we do to have God’s face shine on us?  John Calvin suggested that we regularly pray for this.  Then the Holy Spirit will fill us with the knowledge of and desire to obey God’s law.

When we realize all that God is offering us we become sad when our friends and loved one miss out on what we receive.   We watch as they walk a path of destruction.  And we weep with the psalmist, tears that seemingly never end.  The Holy Spirit places in our heart not just the desire that I obey God, but also the desire that everyone obey God.  And this is our reason for evangelism.   We want everyone to experience God’s face shining on them.  We want everyone to have the wisdom to know the best way to lead their lives.  

But even though we grieve for others, our first concern must be ourselves.   We must meditate on God’s law all day long.   We must hold fast to God’s law as we live our lives.  We must use God’s law to keep ourselves away from sin.  We must use God’s law as our way of following Jesus.  As we do these things, God’s face will shine on us.  We will be blessed.  And we will share our blessings with others showing them a better way.  Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven we ask that you shine your face upon us.   Send your Spirit to place your law in our hearts as you promised through you prophets.   Give us wisdom to lead joyful lives.  And bless our families and friends.  This we pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.