Worship XI Day 9 Kaf, Lamed, & Mem: Digging Deeper
June 8, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Psalm 119:81-104
81 I long for your salvation; I put my hope in your word. 82 My eyes grow weary looking for what you have promised; I ask, “When will you comfort me?” 83 Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke, I do not forget your statutes. 84 How many days must your servant wait? When will you execute judgment on my persecutors? 85 The arrogant have dug pits for me; they violate your instruction. 86 All your commands are true; people persecute me with lies—help me! 87 They almost ended my life on earth, but I did not abandon your precepts. 88 Give me life in accordance with your faithful love, and I will obey the decree you have spoken.
ל Lamed
89 LORD, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness is for all generations; you established the earth, and it stands firm. 91 Your judgments stand firm today, for all things are your servants. 92 If your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for you have given me life through them. 94 I am yours; save me, for I have studied your precepts. 95 The wicked hope to destroy me, but I contemplate your decrees. 96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your command is without limit.
מ Mem
97 How I love your instruction! It is my meditation all day long. 98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the elders because I obey your precepts. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow your word. 102 I have not turned from your judgments, for you yourself have instructed me. 103 How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth. 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
The Original Intent
1) Why would the psalmist compare himself to a “wineskin dried by smoke” to emphasize his faithfulness to God’s statutes? (verse 83)
In Psalm 119:82-83, the composer cries out to God, “My eyes grow weary looking for what you have promised; I ask, ‘When will you comfort me?’ Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke, I do not forget your statutes.” He is intensely distressed by the trials he is facing, waiting for God’s deliverance.
He compares himself to a dried wineskin, referencing how “The skins used for containing wine, when emptied, were hung up in the tent, and when the place reeked with smoke the skins grew black and sooty, and in the heat they became wrinkled and worn.” (Charles Spurgeon) The psalmist feels weak, useless, and drained of physical and spiritual energy and life like a sooty old wineskin. Even so, he reminds God that no matter how defeated he feels, he never forgets His statutes.
David Guzik explains that the Hebrew word for statutes is “derived from the root verb engrave or inscribe; the idea is the written word of God and the authority of His written word.” The psalmist knows that God is watching over him to perform His Word and keep His promises. (Jeremiah 1:12) He understands his help comes from trusting in the authority of the Maker of Heaven and Earth. (Psalm 121:2)
John Calvin notes that “In whatever ways he was afflicted, his mind had not been distracted by various devices, because, trusting in the word of God, he never doubted of his assistance.” The psalmist implores God to comfort and rescue him, reminding the Lord of His statutes and how completely he relies on them for life and peace.
May we be as reliant on God and the promises in His Word when we face troubles in our own lives. His Word is as effective and trustworthy today (Isaiah 40:8) as it was when the author of Psalm 119 clung to God’s statutes for his life.
The Everyday Application
1) Why would the psalmist compare himself to a “wineskin dried by smoke” to emphasize his faithfulness to God’s statutes? (verse 83)
Erica is a relatively new Christian whose reliance on God constantly encourages me. She is healing from addictions, abuse, and the trauma associated with her difficult past. She also manages the daily challenges of health issues, financial difficulties and parenting special needs children, not to mention the stressors of marriage, work, and relationships.
I have seen her question God, plead with Him, and even scream and shake her fists at the sky in frustration. Some days, her physical pain is so intense and her emotional trauma so relentless she appears to feel like the author of Psalm 119:83, who described himself as a “wineskin dried by smoke.” She also feels worn out, devastated, and purposeless, but no matter how weary Erica feels, she follows the psalmist’s example by clinging to God’s Word, “I do not forget Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:8)
Like the psalmist, she trusts God and relies on His Word to keep her from despair (2 Corinthians 4:8) and lead her on the path of life (Psalm 16:11). Author Charles Spurgeon suggests, “Our trials are smoke, but not fire; they are very uncomfortable, but they do not consume us.”
My friend relies on God to keep the trials from consuming her. She reads the Bible, studies verses, and prays Scripture to practice clinging to truth. Her conversations and even her media consumption focus on the life-giving properties of God’s Word.
Randy Alcorn proposes, “If we are to face suffering well, if we are not to waste our suffering, we must let it take us to God’s Word. If we don’t, our loss will be incalculable. If we do, our gain will be abundant and eternal.”
I rejoice for the work of God in Erica’s life, and I purpose to embrace God’s statutes as faithfully as she and the author of Psalm 119 have done.
The Original Intent
2) How is God’s Word “firmly fixed in Heaven”? (verse 89)
Psalm 119:89-90 declares, “Lord, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. Your faithfulness is for all generations; you established the earth, and it stands firm.” Author David Guzik explains how these verses discuss “the unchanging nature of God’s Word. Because it is settled in heaven, it will not change on earth. The word is settled in heaven, not merely settled in the heart or mind of the psalmist. It is objectively settled in heaven, whether the psalmist or anyone else believes it to be or not to be.”
These verses tell us that God’s Word is unchangeable and immovable. It doesn’t fluctuate with the shifting views of people or culture. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Isaiah 40:8) God created everything (Colossians 1:16) and He knows every future action (1 John 3:20). He does not need to change with the times (Malachi 3:6) because He holds time in His hands (Daniel 2:21).
No matter what the world may say, the truth about God is firmly fixed in Heaven and has been since before time began. (Psalm 90:2) Like a lonely sojourner relies on a fixed star in the sky to guide his travels, people require the fixed point of God’s unchanging Word to guide their journey and give them a strong foundation on which to build their lives. (Luke 6:48)
When lines of right and wrong get blurred and everyone is following her own version of truth, having the constant, eternal Word of God to cling to brings peace to our lives and calm to the chaos surrounding us. Following God’s Word makes us like a light shining in the darkness drawing others out of calamity and into the clarity of God’s Truth. (Matthew 5:16)
The Everyday Application
2) How is God’s Word “firmly fixed in Heaven”? (verse 89)
A favorite movie is Danny Kaye’s “The Court Jester” because of a scene when the plot to poison the bad guy changes abruptly. At first, the plan is to poison the enemy while he drinks a toast before a joust. The jester is told, “The vessel with the pestle has the pellet that is poison, but the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true.” When the chalice from the palace breaks, then the “the flagon with the dragon has the pellet that is poison and the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.” Inevitably, the jester jumbles the rhymes about the potion, and hilarity ensues.
Whenever there is uncertainty, things easily spiral out of control, but not always with such a humorous outcome. Usually, the absence of absolutes causes mayhem. Scripture addresses this in Psalm 119:89-90, “Lord, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. Your faithfulness is for all generations; you established the earth, and it stands firm.”
We can fully rely on the constancy of God’s abiding. We can trust that “The promises of God are as sure and unchanging as the cycle of the heavenly bodies, as sure as the rising and setting of the sun and moon as well as the arrival of rain clouds to water the earth . . . We rightly expect tomorrow to come, so we can rightly expect the promises of God to endure as well.” (Ligonier.org) We know God’s Word is true, and that we can trust what the Scriptures say. (Psalm 33:4)
In a world where the rules are constantly changing and what was deemed moral yesterday is considered immoral today, having God’s Word forever settled in Heaven keeps believers off the merry-go-round of confusion and ambivalence regarding Truth.
The Original Intent
3) Why does the psalmist say God’s Word is “sweet” to his taste? (verse 103)
The psalmist describes his love for God’s Word in a way most people can relate to and appreciate in verse 103, when he writes, “How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth.” This appreciation for God’s Word is also reflected in Psalm 19:9-10, which tells us that God’s ordinances are sweeter than honey.
When Ezekiel ate the scroll containing God’s words, they tasted sweet like honey (Ezekiel 3:3), as did the scroll John ate. (Revelation 10:9-10) God makes it clear that those who love His Word will find it sweet and satisfying. The psalmist found God’s Word even sweeter than honey because it gave him life and sustained him during times of trouble. (Jeremiah 15:16) John Piper asserts, “To have holy taste buds on the tongue of the heart is a gift of God. No one naturally hungers for, and delights in, God and his wisdom.”
Without God’s grace and help, we indulge in selfish, sinful behaviors that go against God’s Word and keep us from tasting how sweet it is. As Thomas Watson observed, “Til’ sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” It is not unlike how a chocolate bar tastes bitter if eaten too soon after drinking orange juice or brushing your teeth. The chocolate is still sweet, but you aren’t able to taste it because of what you have just eaten.
For the psalmist, God’s Word is sweet because He is devoted to reading, learning, singing, and meditating on the Scriptures. Jared C. Wilson asserts that we find the Scripture “tasty like honey by moving beyond what God requires of us and seeing what He has accomplished Himself.”
When we understand the love and grace found in God’s Word, nothing will seem sweeter.
The Everyday Application
3) Why does the psalmist say God’s Word is “sweet” to his taste? (verse 103)
I love watching online videos of little babies having their first taste of something sweet, like ice cream. Their eyes open wide, they smile, and then they dive deep into the sugary goodness until their parents pry it from their clutches. It is clearly an experience the youngsters want to continue!
In Psalm 119:103, the author describes his own deep dive into the goodness of God’s Word when he marvels, “How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth.” The author of this verse has experienced the sweetness of God’s sustaining Word, and he finds the goodness better than sweet honey in his mouth. Andrew Wilson writes that Scripture “doesn’t need any flavorings or preservatives to make it taste better, and you cannot add to it or take away from it. It lasts through the centuries and never goes out of date. . . In a world filled with processed products and hybrid wisdom, the words of God are pure, golden, and luxuriously sweet.”
It can be difficult to recognize the sweetness of God’s Word when you have a steady diet of “junk” from the world that fills you with subtle lies and blatant heresies. It may seem good for a while, but eventually it kills you. (Proverbs 14:12) The pure, sweet Word of God does just the opposite; it brings life and sustains life. (James 1:18, Hebrews 1:3)
When you deeply know the Living Word of God (1 Peter 1:23), you comprehend that you can persevere in any situation because you can trust Him to see you through.
Experiencing God’s love through His Word is sweeter than anything this world offers. He is the only True Source of full satisfaction! (John 6:35)
Can We Pray With You?
Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!
This Week's Lock Screen
Authentically living out a life of worship to the God who rescued us from darkness requires accountability and intentionality. Join a GT POD and take the next step in your faith journey!
