Scripture Reading:

Psalm 119:145-152

145 I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will keep thy statutes.

146 I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.

147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.

148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.

149 Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O Lord, quicken me according to thy judgment.

150 They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.

151 Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth.

152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

The Point:

By faith, we commit to opposing wickedness and walking circumspectly in a dangerous world filled with treachery and deceit.

How do we feel in the recitation of this Psalm?

There are times when it is impossible to sleep.  It is 3:00 am, and we are tossing and turning in bed. There are some things that are more important than sleeping, especially when we are in a spiritual battle. Certainly, sleep is important, and the average person will die after 11 days without it , but God stirs up a desire in us to turn back to His Word, especially when we are in the heart of spiritual warfare.  This may take priority over something as crucial to our lives as sleep.

What does this Psalm say?

Verses 145-148.

Verse 150 provides a context for this portion of the Psalm.  It must be that David (or another civil leader or military leader), is confronted by a malicious enemy.  He can feel the forces of darkness descending on him. It is that unsettled feeling that the enemy is breathing down your neck and he is about to do something very damaging to you, your family, your church, or your nation. Under these conditions, the Psalmist rolls out of bed at 3:00 am and cries out to God in prayer. When we are faced with spiritual dangers, it is safest to pray in the early morning hours. Once again, he appeals to God for His salvation, while committing to keep His statutes and testimonies. We do not save ourselves by keeping the commandments of God.  We rely on God to do the saving business, and we focus on keeping his statutes (verse 146).  This is the Christian life.

He consumes the hours of the evening and the night both praying and meditating on the Word of God. During these quiet hours, the spiritual leader really grapples with the serious challenges that lie before him. When all is quiet, the mind usually settles on the more essential issues. Rather than strategizing for the day and preparing his arguments and armaments against his attackers, he wrestles with God in prayer for His favor. He spends valuable hours just marinating in the Word of God, framing his perspectives by the fear of God and the truths of God’s Word. No doubt, many leaders would condemn him for wasting his time with such “worthless” activities. Yet, this man truly frames his reality by God’s truth.  He has his priorities straight, and he knows how to win in these spiritual battles.

Not only does he meditate on God’s Word, but he also hopes in God’s Word.  His leadership is steeped in optimism, despite the most severe circumstances.   Leaders must always remain optimistic and hopeful, but their optimism must be founded on  the right object. When the empires of men have all but consumed the kingdom of God, he knows that God can grab the deck of cards and institute a whole new game. He knows that Jesus Christ is on the right hand of the Father.  He is convinced of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and maintains strong hope in his own resurrection someday.  In light of these things, he cannot possibly be discouraged.

Verse 149. 

The Psalmist here pleads for God’s help and quickening on the basis of his lovingkindness and judgment. If God is a just God, He cannot simply ignore the corruption of sin and the death penalty required by sin.  To bring about this quickening therefore, God cannot ignore His justice.  That is why it is so important that God is both the just and justifier of those who believe in Christ (Rom. 3:26).  Death came by Adam, but new life comes through Jesus Christ. In order for all of this to happen, Christ had to die on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. Thus, God’s justice and mercy are both evident at the cross of Jesus Christ: justice demanded the sacrifice, and mercy provided it.

Verses 150-152. 

Three realities are clear to the Psalmist at this point. First, the enemy is closing in, and he is dangerously near to the believer. Secondly, the enemy is far from God. Yet, God is near to the believer.  If this be the case, that both God and the enemy are close to the believer, then he must know that the enemy has no power over him.  As David says in the twenty-third psalm, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine  enemies.”  God’s presence must overwhelm the idea of the enemy’s threatenings in the mind of the believer.

That which defines wicked and destructive men is their far removal from the law of God. The cultural destroyers of the 21st century are self-conscious in their intent to obliterate marriage, social structures, and even sexuality itself. Their art forms are decadent and self-consciously destructive too.  They press in upon our families hard, and every parent is concerned for his children who may have some contact with the popular culture. What makes them so dangerous at the root is that they have abandoned God’s laws.  They gave way to the sins of fornication, dishonor of parents, sexual idolatry, pride, and unlawful divorce.  They refuse to give God the glory at their academy awards ceremonies.  These are the root problems with Western culture;  their cultural and social destructiveness only follows from their abandonment of God’s laws. To this, the Psalmist says, “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.”  He is committed to the age-old principles of God’s Word to the death.

How do we apply this Psalm to our lives?

Every waking hour, the Psalmist wants to saturate himself in the Word of God.  He will even extend his waking hours long into the night and rise early in the morning, so as to stay in prayer and meditation upon the Word. While we may not be reading the Word of God fulltime, our minds should still be consumed with God’s truths.  All worldviews assume a certain perspective concerning history and world events. News coverage seldom acknowledges Christ as King over history.  If we spend 30 hours per week absorbing a false worldview and only one hour thinking about God’s perspective, we will see the world differently. It would be much better to keep our minds well saturated in God’s view of truth and reality.

How does this Psalm teach us to worship God?

The nearness of God should be a continual consideration in our worship.  In fact, corporate worship involves more “nearness” than in any other setting, because Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered, there am I in your midst” (Matt. 18:20). Where there are elders and congregants who love God and love each other gathering to worship, Jesus Christ shows up.  He is there with them.

Questions:

1. What does the Psalmist wish to do here instead of sleeping through the night?

2. Why is it so important for a leader to hope in God’s Word?

3. How can God be both merciful and just in our salvation?

4. Where is the enemy, the believer, and God in proximate location to each other?

5. How do ungodly people demonstrate the fact that they are very far away from the law of God?

Family Discussion Questions:

1. How is our hope?  Are we hopeful in the resurrection of Christ, and is this obvious in the overall optimism in our family?

2. How often do you have a hard time sleeping?  How do you spend your time when you are not sleeping?