PSALM 119 BETH
Word of God creates pure young men verse 9-16
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanses his way?
by taking heed thereto according to YOUR word
With my whole heart have I sought YOU
O let me not wander from YOUR commandments
YOUR word have I hid in mine heart
that I might not sin against YOU
Blessed are YOU O LORD
teach me YOUR statutes
With my lips have I declared
all the judgments of YOUR mouth
I have rejoiced in the way of YOUR testimonies
as much as in all riches
I will meditate in YOUR precepts
and have respect to YOUR ways
I will delight myself in YOUR statutes
I will not forget YOUR word
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (2135 “cleanse” [zakah] means to be translucent, to be innocent, be clean, be clear, or count pure.)
DEVOTION: This second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, beth, continues the acrostic in this psalm. This section informs us that there is a way to purify our lives. We can live a life that is pleasing to the LORD. What does it take? It takes giving heed to the way the Word of God instructs us to live. It states that we should enjoy the study of the Word. It tells us that we should want to seek it more than riches. Is our first desire to find out what the Word of God has to say to us each morning? Can we use the word “rejoice” in our study of the Word? Can we use the word “delight” in our study of the Word? Where is our whole heart looking for direction? The direction for us is to be clean in relation to our world. Our prayers should be that we want to be pure in a very corrupt world. Once we become a follower of Jesus Christ we should daily look to the LORD to clean up our act. As HE instructs us on how to do it, we have to put it into practice. We have to understand the whole counsel of the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: It should be our life goal.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
:10 “With my whole heart I have sought YOU; Oh, let me not wander from YOUR commandments!” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (Wander – 7686 שָׁגָה [shagah /shaw·gaw/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 2325; GK 8706; 21 occurrences; AV translates as “err” 11 times, “ravished” twice, “wander” three times, “deceiver” once, “cause to go astray” once, “sin through ignorance” once, “go astray” once, and “deceived” once. 1 to go astray, stray, err. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to err, stray. 1A2 to swerve, meander, reel, roll, be intoxicated, err (in drunkenness). 1A3 to go astray (morally). 1A4 to commit sin of ignorance or inadvertence, err (ignorantly). 1B (Hiphil). 1B1 to lead astray. 1B2 to lead astray, mislead (mentally). 1B3 to lead astray (morally). James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: Tomorrow in church we will be celebrating with individuals who have decided to follow the Lord Jesus in water baptism. As they or their family members tell their testimonies, the congregation will hear how Jesus came into their lives and cleansed them. Baptism is a time when an individual confesses that they have sought the Lord and desire to follow in obedience to Him. The psalmist is declaring the same thing here as he cries out his desire to fully follow the Lord’s commands and word. The warning in this passage is not to wander but to remain close to the teachings of the Lord. Whether it be in baptism or in the everyday activities of life, may we determine to follow closely the Lord’s teachings in our lives! Regardless of our age may we commit to hide and obey his word daily so we do not wander away from Him.
CHALLENGE: Seek the Lord through reading and meditating on this section of Psalms. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 11 YOUR word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against YOU. (6845 “hid” [tsaphan] means shelter, keep, save up, store, treasure, to regard as highly valued, esteemed, or to conceal.)
DEVOTION: When we think of Bible verses, do we think of treasure usually? The answer probably is NO!
When we think of treasure we think of money and possessions. Yet we need to realize that those who are genuine followers of the LORD want to know as much about HIM as they can know and here we have a letter from HIM to us that tells us all about HIM. HE has shared through all the authors of the Bible what HE expects of us with the help of the Holy Spirit.
HE has revealed that we can only come to HIS location if we have Jesus Christ in our heart according to the New Testament. HE has given us reasons why having Jesus in our heart would help us face the wiles of the devil.
Each day we need to learn what HE has to teach us. There are some who think they know it all. Some have a good portion of the Bible memorized. There was one individual on our quiz team when I was a teen that could read a section of Scripture and have it memorized for questions during our competition.
However, that same person didn’t apply what he had learned from the Bible to his daily life. So, just memorizing Scripture will not make us a better Christian but applying it to our daily walk is what the LORD wants us to do with HIS Word.
If we keep learning what HE wants from us by applying it we will be the saints HE is looking for in our world.
CHALLENGE: Are you able to memorize the verses of this Psalm and apply them to your life today? If not, ask the LORD to help you learn and apply, so that, you can be a better servant.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 Blessed are YOU, O LORD, teach me YOUR statutes. (2706 “statutes” [choq] means an authoritative rule, something prescribed, that which is established, law, commandment, ordinance, action prescribed, decree, or decrees.)
DEVOTION: For any activity there are rules. If we are playing a sport we need to know the rules of the game in order to win. If we play without knowing the rules we will be called out by those who are in authority over the game.
God wants us to know that there are rules to living a life that is pleasing in HIS sight. HE doesn’t leave the children of Israel in the dark regarding what HE expects of them and HE doesn’t leave New Testament saints in the dark regarding what HE expects of us.
We can learn a lot about God from the Old Testament and how HE dealt with HIS people the children of Israel.
It was not an easy task to obey the LORD. Too often they knew the rules or commands and didn’t follow them because they thought they could get away with it but then the LORD sent judgment and they had to ask HIM for mercy.
This is still true today. Too often there are people who say they are believers and yet their actions say something different. They have learned to confess their sin but they have not turned away from it.
Too many people are playing at church and that is the reason we are not reaching our world for the LORD today. If every person who attended a Bible believing teaching church would go into the world and reach their friends, family and neighbors we would have a revival in our land.
We need to be teaching the Word of God to the people understand what is expected of us and then we go out and do it. Our world would be a different place or at lease our individual world would be different.
CHALLENGE: God wants us ALL to be teachers of the Word to those we can reach with HIS words of salvation.
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: 15 I will MEDITATE in YOUR precepts, and have respect unto YOUR ways. (5027 “respect” [nabat] means show regard to, pay close attention to, consider, look that you may see, or implying an appropriate, caring response.)
DEVOTION: Once we start reading the Word of God and asking the LORD to give understanding regarding what they are saying to us personally we then need to pay close attention to how it will affect our lives on a daily basis. They are not just words to read but actions to take if we are going to be faithful to the LORD in our daily walk with HIM. Too often we can study the Word of God and have a head knowledge of what they are saying but never apply them to our heart and our walk with the LORD.
The Psalmist is saying that he is going to meditate on the Word God has given him to obey and then he is going to obey it as best he can with the LORD’S help. He is not going to just study the Bible but he is going to apply it to his daily walk with the LORD. God doesn’t want us to just study the Word of God and then walk our own way. HE has a way we should walk and HE gives us the strength to walk that way if we allow HIM to work in our life.
Do you and I have an appropriate caring response to the Word of God on a daily basis? At the end of the day when you evaluate what you have done for the LORD in the way of obedience do you and I say to ourselves – “You did good!” or do we say “I failed!” Only you know how your day when in the area of obedience!!
CHALLENGE: After evaluating yesterday what are you going to do with what you learned from your study of Word of God today?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Cleanse verse 1
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Meditate verse 15
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Rejoice verse 14
Meditate verse 15
Delight verse 16
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word verse 9, 11, 16
Commandments verse 10
Statutes verse 12, 16
Judgments verse 13
Testimonies verse 14
Precepts verse 15
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 11, 12
Teacher verse 12
God’s ways verse 15
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Young man verse 9
Riches verse 14
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Wander verse 10
Sin verse 11
Forget the Word of God verse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Cleanse verse 9
Take heed to the Word of God verse 9
Seek the LORD whole heartedly verse 10
Hide God’s word in our heart verse 11
Bless the LORD verse 12
Learn from the LORD verse 12
Declare all God’s judgments verse 13
Rejoice in the LORD verse 14
Meditate on the Word of God verse 15
Respect the Word of God verse 15
Delight in the Word of God verse 16
Not forget the Word of God verse 16
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Declare God’s judgments with your mouth verse 13
Rejoice in the way of HIS testimonies verse 14
Not forget God’s word verse 16
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
The psalmist declared that a person cleanses his way (conduct) by obeying God’s Word (v. 9). The psalmist testified that he had internalized and rejoiced in God’s Word so that he might be morally pure (vv. 10–14). He continually meditated in the Law (vv. 15–16). (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 880). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Whatever delights will capture our attention and we will think about it and meditate on it. This is true of God’s Word. In this psalm, delighting in the Word, loving the Word, and meditating on the Word are found together (vv. 15–16, 23–24, 47–48, 77–78, 97–99), and they should be found together in our hearts and lives. We must take time to be holy. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be exultant (1st ed., p. 108). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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Ver. 16. I will delight myself in thy statutes, &c.] In looking over them; in meditating on them; in obeying them, and walking according to them; as every good man does delight in the law of the Lord, after the inward man, Rom. 7:22 see ver. 24, 92, 97. I will not forget thy word; he took all proper methods to fix it in his memory; he laid it up in his mind; he meditated upon it in his heart, and he talked of it with his lips, ver. 11, 13, 15. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 4, p. 212). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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16. “I will delight myself in thy statutes.” In this verse delight follows meditation, of which it is the true flower and outgrowth. When we have no other solace, but are quite alone, it will be a glad thing for the heart to turn upon itself, and sweetly whisper, “I will delight myself. What if no minstrel sings in the hall, I will delight myself. If the time of the singing of birds has not yet arrived, and the voice of the turtle is not heard in our land, yet I will delight myself.” This is the choicest and noblest of all rejoicing; in fact, it is the good part which can never be taken from us; but there is no delighting ourselves with anything below that which God intended to be the soul’s eternal satisfaction. The statute-book is intended to be the joy of every loyal subject. When the believer once peruses the sacred pages his soul burns within him as he turns first to one and then to another of the royal words of the great King, words full and firm, immutable and divine.
“I will not forget thy word.” Men do not readily forget that which they have treasured up, that which they have meditated on (verse 15), and that which they have often spoken of (verse 13). Yet since we have treacherous memories it is well to bind them well with the knotted cord of “I will not forget.”
Note how two “I wills” follow upon two “I haves.” We may not promise for the future if we have altogether failed in the past; but where grace has enabled us to accomplish something, we may hopefully expect that it will enable us to do more.
It is curious to observe how this verse is moulded upon verse 8: the changes are rung on the same words, but the meaning is quite different, and there is no suspicion of a vain repetition. The same thought is never given over again in this Psalm; they are dullards who think so. Something in the position of each verse affects its meaning, so that even where its words are almost identical with those of another the sense is delightfully varied. If we do not see an infinite variety of fine shades of thought in this Psalm we may conclude that we are colour-blind; if we do not hear many sweet harmonies, we may judge our ears to be dull of hearing, but we may not suspect the Spirit of God of monotony. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 111-119 (Vol. 5, p. 161). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture
Exodus 7-9
How many times does it take for God to speak to you about a situation before you obey? Sometimes our obedience is immediate and at other times it may take two, three, or four requests from the Lord before we listen and obey.
Moses knew that it would be a long process before the children of Israel would be released from Pharoah’s service. The Israelites had come to believe Moses and Aaron’s words and deeds. They had anticipated that the king would comply as well. Instead of believing, Pharoah stated, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice…” (Exodus 4:2).
Repeatedly, Moses stood before Pharoah and reiterated the request, and each time the king’s heart was hardened and resistant toward Moses. In the interim, the people of Israel suffered and faced intense hostility by Pharoah. Instead of being reverent and obedient, Pharoah did just as God had stated he would do and hardened his heart toward the commands of God.
Pharoah’s heart was hard, and the pain inflicted was felt by all the people of the land. Both Egyptian and Jew were affected by this warfare waged between God and Pharoah! God allowed trials to continue for Egypt to be humbled and Israel to learn dependance upon the LORD. God uses all suffering for His honor.
Today many are refusing and rejecting the teaching of God which has led to suffering and heartache both within and outside the church. The abortion, human trafficking and drug crisis have caused financial, and family breakdowns. Let us be prayerful that people may have ears to hear and eyes to see God’s ways. “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts …” (Hebrews 3:7-8).
With an Expectant Hope, (Pastor Miller)
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Moses reminds the new generation of their parents’ disobedience.
INSIGHT
Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it. Moses reviews the history of the wanderings of Israel to the new generation poised on the plains of Moab-ready to enter the Promised Land.
Moses tells them that their fathers did not believe the promises of God. Therefore, they were not obedient to Him. Their fathers condemned themselves to a life of untold hardship. Their fathers made their own destiny; they sealed their own fate.
Learn from their history. Do not repeat it. (Quiet Walk)
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THE HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK IN US
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13
Our Lord said in John 15 that we are bound to Him as are the branches to the vine; His life is in us, and it is a part of this blessed work of the Spirit. Then He goes on to work in us, sanctifying and perfecting us. “Work out your own salvation,” says Paul in Philippians 2:12-13, “with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Heaven helps us in our prayers: “We know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). He then goes on to produce the fruit of the Spirit in us: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The work of the Spirit is to make the Lord Jesus Christ real to us. So do not waste your time trying to picture the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not go and look at portraits of Him that are wholly imaginary. There is a sense, I believe, in which nobody should ever try to paint Him—it is wrong. I do not like these paintings of Christ; they are the efforts of the natural mind. If you want a photograph of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will give it to you in the inner man. Christ said Himself, in John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” That is the work of the Spirit—to make Christ living, to make us certain He is there, so that when we speak to Him, and He to us, the Spirit makes Him real, and He is formed in us.
A Thought to Ponder – The work of the Spirit is to make the Lord Jesus Christ real to us. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 92-93, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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We should be careful to distinguish between reward for service and salvation by grace. All who trust in the Lord Jesus are saved, and this completely apart form human merit. But all who profess to believe in Him are responsible to serve Him and to use whatever gift, ability, or means they have for His glory and to further His interests in this world. There are those who profess to be servants who are not even born of the Spirit. But God holds men accountable for what they know and profess. It is incumbent on all who believe His Word to serve whole-heartedly in view of the day when every one of us shall give an account. In that solemn hour no one will regret having been overly concerned about living for Him, but many will regret the hours spent in selfishness and folly which might have been used for His glory. (H.A. Ironside, The Continual Burnt Offering)
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Bill writes (MO): I think churches miss an opportunity on the second Sunday of September, Grandparents Day. We made a big deal of it, and have as many or more people showed up for Grandparents Day as we had on Mothers Day or Easter. There is a special bond between grandparents and grandchildren. Most churches seem to totally ignore Grandparents Day, however.
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Leadership Transfer
“Now after the death of Moses . . . the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan.” (Joshua 1:1-2)
The Lord’s ministries are many and varied—even among the churches Jesus established on Earth. Leaders of those churches and of the many groups that serve the churches add layers of character and skills that must be replaced. As expected, the Bible is not silent on this important matter.
The replacement should be identified, trained, and ready before needed.“Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:16-17).
By the time the earlier leader dies, God has already selected His next leader. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1). “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon” (1 Corinthians 3:9-10).
The work of God’s Kingdom will continue with or without you. “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Galatians 6:3). “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7). “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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