Worship XI Day 15 Shin & Tav: Digging Deeper
June 16, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Psalm 119:161-176
161 Princes have persecuted me without cause, but my heart fears only your word. 162 I rejoice over your promise like one who finds vast treasure. 163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your instruction. 164 I praise you seven times a day for your righteous judgments. 165 Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble. 166 Lord, I hope for your salvation and carry out your commands. 167 I obey your decrees and love them greatly. 168 I obey your precepts and decrees, for all my ways are before you.
ת Tav
169 Let my cry reach you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. 170 Let my plea reach you; rescue me according to your promise. 171 My lips pour out praise, for you teach me your statutes. 172 My tongue sings about your promise, for all your commands are righteous. 173 May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174 I long for your salvation, Lord, and your instruction is my delight. 175 Let me live, and I will praise you; may your judgments help me. 176 I wander like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commands.
The Original Intent
1) What is to be consumed in “Shin”? (verses 161-168)
The Hebrew letter “Shin” denotes “consuming, devouring, or eating” as the shape of its letter “resembles flames of fire and teeth”. (Tanya Remkiv)
Unique from the other octets of Psalm 119, Shin records no specific prayerful pleas whatsoever. In the absence of requests, we glimpse the beauty left in the wake of our desires being consumed by the God who is Himself Satisfaction and Delight.
Shin is marked by the quiet, calm, yet firmly decided insistent knowing and shared intimacy with the One for whom every octet has been written.
Listen for this sweetness in the psalmist’s carefully chosen words, “…My heart fears only Your Word.” (verse 161) “I rejoice over Your promise like one who finds vast delight.” (verse 162) “I love Your instruction.” (verse 163) “I praise You seven times a day.” (verse 164)
Go read the remaining 4 verses of this octet and see the pattern the psalmist models of quiet, decided delight! Fear, anger, anxiety, pride, the desire for control, insistence on one’s own way, complaint, and all other forms of self that actively fight against perfectly satisfying love have been consumed and drowned out by the Lord’s ways, wisdom, and good presence.
Praise, rejoicing, adoration, peace, and delight have taken their place; there is secret joy here!
The Everyday Application
1) What is to be consumed in “Shin”? (verses 161-168)
In reflecting on these delightful verses of praise, I recognize four responses in myself.
1) I feel drawn in to the intimacy found between the psalmist and the Satisfying Savior.
2) I feel encouraged and urged forward to continue seeking the depths of relationship available to me in the Lord.
3) I’m convicted to use my prayers not only for pleading and interceding, but also for praising and rejoicing.
4) I’m reminded of the pure delight and peace found in simply basking in knowing and trusting the goodness of the Lord.
One of my favorite verses in the psalter is little known and rarely quoted, but it speaks volumes of the relationship that is readily accessible to all who would give themselves to knowing the Lord God through His Word. “I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child.” (Psalm 131:1-2)
This level of depth in trusting relationship with the Lord does not come overnight or by reading snippet verses on social media or even regularly attending church or listening to excellent biblical podcasts. It is only slowly discovered over time of intentioned pursuit of the Holy One by meeting regularly, daily, yes, but moment by moment, in the secret place of the soul known only to the Holy Creator and the Beloved Creation.
Have you met Him here? He’s waiting to be known and consume your fears, your sin, your vile things, and draw you into blissful satisfaction that knows no bounds!
The Original Intent
2) What is the theme of “Tav”? (verses 169-176)
“Let my cry reach You, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. Let my plea reach You; rescue me according to Your promise.” (verses 169-170) Do you hear the psalmist’s urgent fervor in his pleading? Do you feel his desperate longing for the One he has learned to love and trust with all that is within him?
Read his plea again until you’ve connected with his prayer in a way that mirrors some part of your own desperation. Have you ever felt as if your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? Have you ever begged the Lord for His ear and attention while sobbing on the floor or screaming at the sky or with shoulders shaking and fists clenched? The psalms are filled with moments of raw honesty when the one praying is pleading for justice, begging to be seen, grasping at Hope that the Lord will be faithful to answer, but this is not the theme of this octet.
It isn’t desperation that drives the author’s words, it’s trusting dependence. The author knows exactly what is on the other side of the door on which he bangs, and he can’t wait for it to open because of the deep love he has found in knowing the Lord God.
There is none who satisfies, as the previous octet declares, but there is none other in all creation on whom the psalmist would rather lean for utter dependence in every season the Lord God, His Word, and His wise ways. On the heels of his pleas, “Let my cry reach You… Let my plea reach You…”, (verses 169-170) the author can’t stop the grin spreading across his face or the joy shooting from his hands, “My lips pour out praise… My tongue sings…”. (verses 171-172)
The Lord and His ways have proven a faithful anchor and steady harbor in which to moor his life and he chooses praise and worship for the gracious goodness of the steadfast Lord.
The Everyday Application
2) What is the theme of “Tav”? (verses 169-176)
Where does your heart lean when you think of the Lord? How have you seen Him prove faithful, steady, and true? When was the last time you banged in His “door” just to shout His praise and declare His goodness and pour out your heartfelt praise? When was the last time you shared His praise on whatever platform the Lord has given you whether it’s social media, friendships, or simply standing in line at the check out stand?
Jerry Bridges is quoted as saying, “And yet who of us are fit to praise, except those whom God has taught? The ‘new song’ ill accords with the old heart.” The psalmist spent 176 verses declaring what he had been taught by the Lord’s Word, commands, statutes, precepts, and ways. The end result was a giddy tongue that delighted in singing of spontaneous praise that could not be held back.
Herein is rich encouragement for each of us regardless of where we are in our faith journey. If you’re looking for more joy and delight, no matter how much you have or have not already experienced, the answer is found in allowing the Lord to teach you more of His ways.
How to begin? By reading His Word! (Psalm 119:9) Want an excellent place to start? Try Psalms! Read 1 to 150 and then start again!
The Original Intent
3) What tension exists in the final verse of the psalm? (verse 176)
Have you ever felt caught between “both and” or the often difficult and murky “time between”? For me, I most often find myself in the “now and not yet” where I often cry out “I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
This tension was also the dwelling place for the psalmist of 119, and as he closed his alphabet song intended to teach and train and remind himself and his son of truth, he grew reflective of this reality.
He had penned 175 verses declaring the kind, gracious goodness of the Lord and His ways, but also spoke frequently of his own passionate desire to follow those ways and be forever marked by them. He often boldly declared how much he loved the Lord and His wisdom while others spurned God. (verse 161)
Yet, in the very last verse, in keeping with the Tav theme of utter dependence, the psalmist states, “I wander like a lost sheep.” He recognized his own very desperate need for a shepherd God.
No amount of love for God, no matter how great or impassioned, could keep him from straying from the Lord. He was human. He erred. He wandered. Though claiming a love that would outlast all others, he knew in his heart, he was still prone to wander.
His final plea is stunning, “seek Your servant”. He cast himself wholly upon the Person of God. Not even God’s laws could seek him out and bring him home to the heart of God, only the Shepherd could seek what was lost.
Turning full circle, knowing with confidence that he would surely wander, but would certainly be sought after and brought home, he penned his final words in light of his assured reinstatement and continued growth in deepening relationship with the Holy One, “for I do not forget Your commands.”
The Everyday Application
3) What tension exists in the final verse of the psalm? (verse 176)
Doesn’t this raw, tender testimony give you hope and comfort?! It surely does for me, because, sisters, I know I’m a wanderer.
Oh, I’ve learned there is nothing sweeter or better than my Jesus. I will trust Him for all my days and want nothing more than to sit and know Him more and more; He is that precious. But, like the psalmist, I also wrestle grievously.
With doubt. With fear. With lust for (perceived) control, or (my version of) perfection, or worshiping my schedule, or my children’s wants, or the stability of my marriage relationship or 100 other idols that deserve absolutely nothing compared to the Lord God. Still, I know I will wander, chasing them down only to be left empty handed, disappointed, and frustrated.
How encouraging it is to know my status with the Lord, and the stability of our relationship doesn’t heave and sway based on my ability to follow all the magnificent, wonderful ways of the Lord I truly love so much.
The Lord knows I will leave Him. He also knows I will long to be back at His side, but not as much as He longs for me to be more fully His. He loves me enough to chase me down, not recklessly mind you, for nothing the Lord does is reckless, but with a passionate pursuit that refuses to relinquish His relationship with me.
With Yahweh, Sisters, breathe this gracious truth in with me, I am safe. You are safe.
Every single time I’ve wandered away and the Lord has brought me home, I’ve sung His praises all the louder and decided a little more firmly that He alone is worthy of my worship and, like the psalmist, I’m intent to “not forget Your commands”!
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