Salmos 119

Salmos 119

Calvin - Disciplined to Obedience Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Psalm 119:67 SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Hebrews 12:5–11 Experience demonstrates that when God deals gently with us, we often break into rebellion. Since even a prophet of God who strays needs to be corrected by forcible means, discipline is assuredly needful for us when we rebel. The first step in obedience is the mortification of the flesh, which does not come naturally to people. So, not surprisingly, God brings us to a sense of duty by manifold afflictions. As the flesh is from time to time resistant, even when it seems to be tamed, it is no wonder to find God repeatedly subjecting us anew to the rod. This is done in different ways. He humbles some by poverty, some by shame, some by disease, some by domestic distress, and some by hard and painful labors. He applies the appropriate remedy to the diversity of vices to which we are prone. It is now obvious how profitable is the truth of David’s confession. The prophet speaks of himself even as Jeremiah (31:18) says of himself that he was “as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke,” setting before us an image of the rebellion that is natural to us all. We are very ungrateful indeed if the fruit that we reap from chastisements does not assuage or mitigate their bitterness. So long as we are rebellious against God, we are in a state of the deepest wretchedness. The means he chooses to bend and tame us to obedience is his chastisements. The prophet teaches us by his own example that God gives evidence of his willingness that we should become his disciples by the pains he takes to subdue our hardness. We should then at least strive to become gentle, and, laying aside all stubbornness, willingly bear the yoke that he imposes upon us. FOR MEDITATION: If the afflictions we experience have a blessed end—our sanctification (Heb. 12:11)—shouldn’t we learn to become thankful for them? Rather than simply enduring them with a stiff upper lip, we should be praising God that he did not leave us to ourselves. Are you facing afflictions today? If so, how can you shift your perception of them to offer thanks to the Lord for them? (365 Days with Calvin) Psalm 119:68 You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes. good (KJV): Ps 86:5 106:1 107:1 145:7-9 Ex 33:18,19 34:6,7 Isa 63:7 Mt 5:45 Mt 19:17 Mk 10:18 Lu 18:19 teach (KJV): Ps 119:12,26 25:8,9 You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes. THOU ART GOOD (Ex1:20 18:9 33:18-19 2Sa2:6 1Ki8:66 2Ch5:13 7:10 Ne9:25,35 Ps16:2 23:6 25:7-8 27:13 31:19 34:8 65:4 68:10 69:16 73:1 86:5 100:5 106:1 107:1 109:21 118:1,29 119:68 135:3 136:1 145:9 145:7-9 Isa63:7 Je31:14 33:11 La3:25 Ho3:5 Isa63:7 Je31:14 Na1:7 Mt19:17 Mk10:18 Lu18:19): GOOD or GOODNESS describes the attribute of God which gives to others, not according to what they deserve but according to His good will & kindness toward them. The theologians tell us that God's goodness is "his benevolence to his creation" or "his kindness exhibited toward all he has made." That seems a bit vague so perhaps we might state the matter this way. God's goodness is the answer to the question: Is this a friendly universe? The answer is yes; when we come to the end of our thinking we find that behind the vastness of this universe stands a God who cares about what he has made. He is not indifferent (as in stoicism) or undecided (as in dualism) or absent (as in atheism), but he is fully involved for the good of the universe because he himself is a good God. God's goodness is a vast subject that occupies a huge portion of the Old and New Testaments. We often sing "God is So Good. He's so good to me." That's true of course, but to say it that way limits our thinking to us. God's goodness is the sum total of all His attributes. To say it another way, there is nothing about God that is not good. Goodness may be appended to all his other attributes. His wrath is good. His mercy is good. His justice is good. His holiness is good. His love is good. Everything God does is good. There is nothing but goodness in His being! Since God is good, He always has our best interests at heart. That must be true and if we are going to be "happy" (or better yet "blessed"), we must believe it & lay hold of this profound truth by faith (not by sight). Because God is good, nothing happens to us that is not for our ultimate good. This truth by no means downplays the pain of tragedy or the sorrow of unexpected loss. We all know what it is to stand by the graveside and say farewell to those I love & we all have wept many tears. And we all certainly know what it is to pray and have our prayers go unanswered-sometimes very fervent prayers for healing and help and life itself for those we love. But no matter -- GOD IS GOOD. His other great attribute of IMMUTATBILITY prevents Him from being anything other than GOOD...ALL THE TIME. Darkness veils His lovely face so we must lean on His unchanging grace, knowing that He is still GOOD. When God says, "No" He does it because he loves us. What God forbids is for our own good just as much as what he grants. Will we always see the good in the midst of our pain? Generally we won't. Nevertheless because God is the God Who sees (Pr15:3 El Roi Ge16:13 XR 2Ch16:9), the God Who is there (Je23:23,24), the omnipotent God (Ge18:14 Je32:17 Lu1:37 Mk10:27 Job42:2) is in the midst of the darkness (not dark to Him Ps139:11-12) working out that which is for our ultimate good and his ultimate glory. We see this by faith and believe it by faith (2Co5:7). Oftentimes we won't see GOD'S GREAT GOODNESS until after our trials are past. (Job23:10) says "He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" Both parts of this verse contain precious truth. "He knows the way that I take." (GOD'S OMNISCIENCE & OMNIPRESCENCE) How wonderful to know that God knows. Very often we walk in such darkness that we cannot tell where we have come from or where we are going. Even the next step is a mystery to us. God knows! He knows where you are at this moment, he sees (Ge16:13 Ps139:11-12) the path in the darkness as though it were the blinding light of day. God knows! Let this thought comfort your heart, child of God. And then Job adds "When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Gold is produced by taking the raw ore, putting it into the smelter, and heating it until the impurities rise to the top to be skimmed away. Then nothing is left but pure gold itself. Do you feel as if God has put you in the furnace of affliction? Does it seem as if the temperature is too hot to bear? Fear not, my friend. God knows what he is doing. In the end, you will come forth as pure gold. The heat of your present trials is producing pure gold in your heart. Some day you will look back with joy on your present struggles. Truth always demands a response. What shall we say to the goodness of God? If you are saved … Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. If you are lost … Taste and see that the Lord is good. The GOODNESS of God is that the gospel is the ultimate good news! "Gospel" means Good News. God has made a way & the way is now opened for the price has been paid. The goodness of God is meant to lead sinners such as we to repentance. (Ro2:4) AND DOEST GOOD: Hiphil Part: Note different Strong's #. The psalmist frequently appeals to the character of God: 1) His faithfulness (v75, 90); 2) His compassion (v77); 3) His righteousness (v137, 142); and 4) His mercy (v156). TEACH ME (Ps 25:5 119:12, 26, 64, 66, 68, 108, 124, 135, 171): Piel Imp: Ultimately what is the psalmist asking God to do? What is the Law's ultimate purpose? To lead us to God as a schoolmaster or tutor. So if He teaches me His statues I will learn the proper fear of the Lord which in turn is the beginning of wisdom. (cp (Dt4:10; Dt14:23; Dt17:19; Dt31:12, 13). THY STATUTES (prescribed portions, fixed order, boundaries, allotments, limits): This Hebrew word is. from root haqaq which means "to scratch" or "engrave,'" & hence "to write." It was a common practice among the ancients to engrave laws upon slabs of stone or metal and to set them up in a public place (e.g. the code of Hammurabi, engraved on diorite stone) {dikaioma: Ro8:4} The Psalmist praises God's goodness and gives him the glory of it: Thou art good and doest good. All who have any knowledge of God and dealings with him wilt own that He does good, and therefore will conclude that he is good. The streams of God's goodness are so numerous, and run so full, so strong, to all the creatures, that we must conclude the fountain that is in himself to be inexhaustible. We cannot conceive how much good our God does every day, much less can we conceive how good he is. Let us acknowledge it with admiration and with holy love and thankfulness. 2. He prays for God's grace, and begs to be under the guidance and influence of it: Teach me thy statutes. "Lord, thou doest good to all, art the bountiful benefactor of all the creatures; this is the good I beg thou wilt do to me, -- Instruct me in my duty, incline me to it, and enable me to do it. Thou art good, and doest good; Lord, teach me thy statutes, that I may be good and do good, may have a good heart and live a good life." It is an encouragement to poor sinners to hope that God will teach them his way because he is good and upright, Ps 25:8 Spurgeon's exposition - Ps 119:68. Thou art good, and doest good - What a delightful description this is of God and his works! Who is good? Our Lord Jesus supplies the answer, “There is none good but one, that is, God.” And his works are like himself: “Thou art good, and doest good.” Charles Bridges - The blessed effects of chastisement, as a special instance of the Lord’s goodness, might naturally lead to a general acknowledgment of the goodness of his character and dispensation. Judging in unbelieving haste, of his providential and gracious dealings, feeble sense imagines a frown, when the eye of faith discerns a smile, upon his face; and therefore in proportion as faith is exercised in the review of the past, and the experience of the present, we shall be prepared with the ascription of praise—“Thou art good.” This is indeed the expression1—the confidence2—the pleading3—of faith. It is the sweet taste of experience—checking the legality of the conscience, the many hard and dishonorable thoughts of God, and invigorating a lively enjoyment of him. Indeed ‘this is the true and genuine character of God. He is good4—He is goodness. Good in himself—good in his essence—good in the highest degree. All the names of God are comprehended in this one of “Good.”5 All the acts of God are nothing else but the effluxes of his goodness, distinguished by several names according to the object it is exercised about. When he confers happiness without merit, it is grace. When he bestows happiness against merit, it is mercy. When he bears with provoking rebels, it is long-suffering. When he performs his promise, it is truth. When he commiserates a distressed person, it is pity. When he supplies an indigent person, it is bounty. When he succors an innocent person, it is righteousness. And when he pardons a penitent person, it is mercy. All summed up in this one name—Goodness. None so communicatively good as God. As the notion of God includes goodness, so the notion of goodness includes diffusiveness. Without goodness he would cease to be a Deity; and without diffusiveness he would cease to be good. The being good is necessary to the being God. For goodness is nothing else in the notion of it but a strong inclination to do good, either to find or to make an object, wherein to exercise itself, according to the propension of its own nature. And it is an inclination of communicating itself, not for its own interest, but for the good of the object it pitcheth upon. Thus God is good by nature; and his nature is not without activity. He acts consistently with his own nature;—‘Thou art good, and doest good.’ ”6 How easily is such an acknowledgment excited towards an earthly friend! Yet who has not daily cause to complain of the coldness of his affections towards his God? It would be a sweet morning’s reflection to recollect some of the innumerable instances, in which the goodness of God has been most distinctly marked; to trace them in their peculiar application to our own need; and above all to mark, not only the source from which they come, but the channel through which they flow. A view of covenant love does indeed make the goodness of God to shine with inexpressible brightness “in the face of Jesus Christ;”1 and often when the heart is conscious of backsliding, does the contemplation of this “goodness” under the influence of the Spirit, prove the Divinely-appointed means of “leading us to repentance.”2 Let us therefore wait on, even when we see nothing. Soon we shall see, where we did not look for it. Soon we shall find goodness unmingled—joy unclouded, unspeakable, eternal. Meanwhile, though the diversified manifestations—the materials of our happiness—in all around us—be countless as the drops of sand and the particles of dew—yet without heavenly teaching they only become occasions of our deeper misery and condemnation. It is not enough that the Lord gives—he must teach us his statutes. Divine truths can only be apprehended by Divine teaching. The scholar, who has been longest taught, realizes most his need of this teaching, and is most earnest in seeking it. Indeed “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord,” yet we may be utterly ignorant of it. The instances of goodness in the shape of a cross, we consider to be the reflection on it. Nothing is goodness in our eyes that crosses our own inclination. We can hardly bear to hear of the cross much more to take it up. We talk of goodness, but yield to discontent. We do not profess to dislike trial—only the trial now pressing upon us—any other cross than this—that is, my will and wisdom rather than God’s. Is there not therefore great need of this prayer for Divine teaching, that we may discern singly the Lord’s mercies so closely crowded together, and make the due improvement of each? Twice before had the Psalmist sent up this prayer and plea.3 Yet he seems to make the supplication ever new by the freshness and vehemency of his desires. And let me ever make it new by the remembrance of that one display of goodness, which casts every other manifestation into the shade—“God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son.”4 This constitutes of itself a complete mirror of infinite and everlasting goodness—the only intelligent display of his goodness—the only manifestation, that prevents from abusing it. What can I say to this—but “Thou art good, and doest good?” What may I not then expect from thee! ‘ “Teach me thy statutes.” Teach me the Revelation of thyself—Teach me the knowledge of thy Son. For “this is life eternal, that I might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” ’5 1 Heb. 11:6. 2 Nahum 1:7. 3 Psalm 25:7; 86:5. 4 Ps 34:8, with Micah 7:18. 5 The revealed “goodness” of God made to Moses in answer to his prayer—“I beseech thee show me thy glory”—shows it to be not a single attribute, or a display of any particular feature of the Divine character, but rather the combined exercise of all his perfections. Exodus 33:18, 19 with 34:5–7. 6 Charnock’s Works, vol. i. 581, 585, 588. For another exquisite view (parallel, and in some degree identical, with Charnock) of this “perfecting perfection, which crowns and consummates all the rest,”—see Howe’s Works, 8vo. edit. 1822, viii. pp. 107–114. 1 2 Cor. 4:6. 2 Rom. 2:4. 3 Verses 12, 64. Comp. Ps. 25:8. 4 John 3:16. 5 Jn. 17:3. Psalm 119:69 The arrogant have forged a lie against me; With all my heart I will observe Your precepts. proud (KJV): Ps 35:11 109:2,3 Job 13:4 Jer 43:2,3 Mt 5:11,12 26:59-68 Ac 24:5,13 I will (KJV): Ps 119:51,157 with my whole (KJV): Ps 119:34,58 Mt 6:24 Jas 1:8 THE ARROGANT: ZED:Root word means "to boil"; in the sphere of personality, "to act in a proud manner." The basic idea is pride, a sense of self-importance, which often is exaggerated to include defiance and even rebelliousness. Includes ideas of willful decision, rebellion, disobedience, presumption. HAVE FORGED: TAPHAL: Qal Perf: to smear, plaster over,stick, glue A LIE: SHEQER: an untruth, a sham, a lie, lying words (Ex 5:9), a liar (Pr. 17:4), a lying witness (Dt. 19:18), a falsehood, fraud (Ps 33:17), deceit; deceitfulness, a vain, unreliable thing, perjury (Lv 6:5; 19:12). It describes groundless words or activities which have no basis in fact or reality—completely worthless. Sheqer is a way of life which goes completely contrary to God’s Law. {ADIKIA:} WITH ALL MY HEART: KOL LEB: = unreservedly committed to the task ALL THE TIME. Jesus told us to keep watching and praying as a lifestyle in Mt 26:41. Father teach me these great truths as a lifestyle. Renew my mind to this clear thinking, the truth of Your word. Amen. I WILL OBSERVE: NATSAR:Qal Impf: Examination of the objects protected (INDUCTIVE STUDY!!!) assists in assigning to it a proper semantical range. The watchman who is not wholly committed to the guard post will not be alert, will fall asleep, will allow the enemy entry. THY PRECEPTS: PIQQUWD: appointment, allocation, what is mandated by God SPURGEON: The proud have forged a lie against me. They first derided him (verse 51), then defrauded him (verse 61), and now they have defamed him. To injure his character they resorted to falsehood, for they could find nothing against him if they spoke the truth. Proud people are usually the bitterest opponents of the righteous: they are envious of their good fame and are eager to ruin it. Slander is a cheap and handy weapon if the object is the destruction of a gracious reputation. It is painful to the last degree to hear unscrupulous people hammering away at the devil’s anvil forging a new calumny; the only help against it is the sweet promise, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that riseth against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.” But I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. My one anxiety will be to mind my own business and stick to the commandments of the Lord. If we keep the precepts, the precepts will keep us in the day of contumely and slander. David renews his resolve—I will keep; he takes a new look at the commands, and sees them to be really the Lord’s—thy precepts; and he arouses his entire nature to the work—with my whole heart. When slanders rouse us to more resolute and careful obedience they work our lasting good. If we try to answer lies by our words we may be beaten in the battle; but a holy life is an unanswerable refutation of all calumnies. Spurgeon's exposition - They have kept on hammering away until they have finished the falsehood; they have “forged” it, as one forges a deadly weapon in the fire. Charles Bridges - If the Lord does us good, we must expect Satan to do us evil. Acting in his own character, as a “liar and a father of it,”6 he readily puts it into the hearts of his children to “forge lies against” the children of God! But all is overruled by the ever-watchful care and providence of God for the eventual good of his Church. The cross frightens the insincere, and removes them out of the way while the steadfastness of his own people marvellously displays to the world the power and triumph of faith. A most delightful source of encouragement in this fiery trial is to take off the eye from the objects of sense, and to fix it upon Jesus as our pattern, no less than our life. For every trial, in which we are conformed to his suffering image, supplies to us equal direction and support. Do “the proud forge lies against us?” So did they against him.1 “The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household.”2 “Consider him therefore, that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”3 But is it always “lies that are forged against us?” Is there no worldliness, or pride, or inconsistency in temper and walk, that opens the mouths of the enemies of the Gospel, and causes “the way of truth to be evil spoken of?”4 Do they not sometimes say all manner of evil against some of us, for Christ’s sake; yet alas! not altogether “falsely?”5 “Woe unto the world, because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”6 If however the reproach of the world be “the reproach of Christ,” “let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.”7 Insincerity of heart can never support us to a consistent and persevering endurance of the cross. A heart divided between God and the world will ever be found faulty and backsliding.8 Wholeness of heart in the precepts of God adorns the Christian profession, awes the ungodly world, realizes the full extent of the Divine promises, and pours into the soul such a spring-tide of enjoyment, as more than counterbalances all the reproach, contempt, and falsehood, which the forge of the great enemy is employing against us with unceasing activity, and relentless hatred. Yet forget not, believer, that these proofs of the malicious enmity of the proud must often be received as the gentle stroke of your Father’s chastisement. Let the fruits of it then be daily visible in the work of mortification—in the exercise of the suffering graces of the Gospel—in your growing conformity to his image—and in a progressive meetness for the world of eternal uninterrupted love. 6 Jn. 8:44. 1 Comp. Matt. 26:59–61. 2 Mt. 10:24, 25. 3 Heb. 12:3. 4 2 Peter 2:2. 5 See Matt. 5:11. 6 Mt. 18:7. 7 Heb. 10:23. 8 Comp. Hosea 10:2. Jer. 3:10. Psalm 119:70 Their heart is covered with fat, But I delight in Your law. heart is as fat (KJV): Ps 17:10 73:7 Isa 6:10 Ac 28:27 but I (KJV): Ps 119:16,35 40:8 Ro 7:22 Their heart is covered with fat - Hebrew = "their heart is insensitive like fat." This speaks of dullness to spiritual truth, to God's Word, to God's way, to God's Son Jesus Christ. The phrase "as fat as grease" describes one who is insensitive and indifferent to what is right. THOUGHT - Is your heart fat? Then begin your workout in God's Gym and " have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself (gumnazo a command in the present imperative something you can only accomplish by continually leaning on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit) for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Ti 4:7-8+) Ponder that thought - what we do today impacts our days on earth but more importantly our eternal days in Heaven! Do you really believe that is true? If you do, than make some "life adjustments" and begin daily "seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Setting your mind on the things above, NOT ON the things that are on earth." (Col 3:1-2+), for "the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1 Jn 2:17+) May God grant each of us the desire and power by His Spirit (Php 2:13NLT+) to be "imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises," (Heb 6:12+) including men like Adoniram Judson who wrote these challenging words A life once spent is irrevocable. It will remain to be contemplated through eternity… If it has been a useless life, it can never be improved. Such will stand forever and ever. The same may be said of each day. When it is once past, it is gone forever. All the marks which we put upon it, it will exhibit forever… Each day will not only be a witness of our conduct, but will affect our everlasting destiny (Note: Not in loss of salvation but of rewards - cf 1Co 3:11-15, Jn 15:5, 2Co 5:10+). No day will lose its share of influence in determining where shall be our seat in heaven. How shall we then wish to see each day marked with usefulness! It will then be too late to mend its appearance. It is too late to mend the days that are past. The future is in our power. Let us, then, each morning, resolve to send the day into eternity in such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever. And at night let us reflect that one more day is irrevocably gone, indelibly marked. (See page 33-34 of A memoir of the life and labors of the Rev. Adoniram Judson) This passage recalls Jesus words of warning to Israel and to all who hear and continue to reject the Word of the Gospel. Matthew 13:15+ FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ Become dull (3975)(pachuno from pachus = dull) mean to thicken, to fatten and figuratively to make dull. Friberg = " literally make fat, thicken; figuratively make impervious, insensitive, dull; only passive in the NT become dull or insensitive, be unable to understand." Only other use is Acts 28:27. Uses 5 verses in the Septuagint - Dt. 32:15 "Jeshurun (Term of affection for Israel) grew fat and kicked,-- you are grown fat (Lxx = pachuno)" ; 2 Sam. 22:12; Eccl. 12:5; Isa. 6:10; Isa. 34:6 The use in Isaiah 6:10 = “Render the hearts of this people insensitive," (Lxx = pachuno) where "render....insensitive" is a command. Render is a command and so this is clearly judicial hardening. Covered (02954)(taphash) is a verb essentially meaning "to be fat," occurs just once in the OT, in Ps. 119:70. This verse is a part of the stanza designated "Teth" (Ps 119:65-72), which explores some of life's hard lessons and how God uses adversity for the believer's spiritual growth. The term tāphash indicates the spiritual insensitivity (thus "fat" in KJV) of the godless (v. 70). Many propose the meaning of this verb as "to be insensitive" or "to be coated over," taking into account all information. To be fat did not carry negative connotations in the ancient Near East, a cultural truth often still held today. Fat (02459)(heleb) is a "masculine noun referring to fat, the best. It refers to the covering of the interior of the body, of a person's belly, of a person's face (Ex. 29:13; Judg. 3:22; Job 15:27). It indicates the best or fatty portions of an offering (Gen. 4:4; Lev. 4:26) which were pleasing to the Lord. Fat was God's portion of an offering (1 Sam. 2:15, 16). It was not to be eaten by people (Lev. 3:17; 7:23-25). The "fat of the land" refers to the best part of the land (Gen. 45:18) and also indicates the products of the land: oil, wine, corn (Num. 18:12, 29, 30, 32). But a heart grown fat symbolizes a heart that has become insensitive to God (Ps. 17:10; 119:70)." (Complete Word Study Dictionary – Old Testament) 70v - Gen. 4:4; Gen. 45:18; Exod. 23:18; Exod. 29:13; Exod. 29:22; Lev. 3:3; Lev. 3:4; Lev. 3:9; Lev. 3:10; Lev. 3:14; Lev. 3:15; Lev. 3:16; Lev. 3:17; Lev. 4:8; Lev. 4:9; Lev. 4:19; Lev. 4:26; Lev. 4:31; Lev. 4:35; Lev. 6:12; Lev. 7:3; Lev. 7:4; Lev. 7:23; Lev. 7:24; Lev. 7:25; Lev. 7:30; Lev. 7:31; Lev. 7:33; Lev. 8:16; Lev. 8:25; Lev. 8:26; Lev. 9:10; Lev. 9:19; Lev. 9:20; Lev. 9:24; Lev. 10:15; Lev. 16:25; Lev. 17:6; Num. 18:12; Num. 18:17; Num. 18:29; Num. 18:30; Num. 18:32; Deut. 32:14; Deut. 32:38; Jdg. 3:22; 1 Sam. 2:15; 1 Sam. 2:16; 1 Sam. 15:22; 2 Sam. 1:22; 1 Ki. 8:64; 2 Chr. 7:7; 2 Chr. 29:35; 2 Chr. 35:14; Job 15:27; Job 21:24; Ps. 17:10; Ps. 63:5; Ps. 73:7; Ps. 81:16; Ps. 119:70; Ps. 147:14; Isa. 1:11; Isa. 34:6; Isa. 34:7; Isa. 43:24; Ezek. 34:3; Ezek. 39:19; Ezek. 44:7; Ezek. 44:15 But I delight in Your law - The Septuagint (Lxx) translates delight with the verb meletao which means to continue to perform certain activities with care (root word = melete = care) and concern and thus to practice, to continue to do, to cultivate. It means to give careful thought to (to think about, to meditate upon) which is the primary sense in 1 Ti 4:15.In classical Greek the primary meaning of the verb meletaō is “to take thought for, attend to, care for.” It can also mean “to exercise” or “to practice,” for example, an orator who practices speaking or reviews a speech in his mind before addressing an audience. The Septuagint uses meletaō mainly to translate hāghâh which means “to meditate” or “ponder” on something by talking to oneself. The Lord spoke to Joshua and advised him to meditate on the Book (the Torah) day and night (Joshua 1:8). The same is said of the righteous man (Psalm 1:2). Delight (08173)(shaa) means "to be sealed tight," "to be blinded," "to behave as if blinded" or "to gladden," "to delight," "to take pleasure in." These two groups of meanings, while perhaps bearing some semantic connection, are clearly distinguishable in the various texts in which they occur. Shāʿaʿ occurs nine times in the OT, and all of the occurrences are confined to Psalms and Isaiah. Shāʿaʿ appears in Isaiah with the prophetic meaning "to be sealed tight," "to be blinded." This usage describes the spiritual blindness of wayward people (Isa. 29:9; some conjecture Isa 32:3). Another occurrence in Isaiah describes the shut eyes and ears of spiritually blind and deaf people (Isa 6:10). Isaiah also used shāʿaʿ with its second meaning, "to delight," referring to the delight of a child during times of peace. In Isa 11:8, a child playing near a cobra's hole is a symbol of a peaceful order during the reign of Jesse's branch. Similarly, the play of a child on a person's knee is an eschatological symbol of peace (Isa 66:12). Psalms 94 and Ps 119 also use shāʿaʿ meaning "to delight." The Lord's consolation delights the psalmist's troubled soul (94:19). Unlike the arrogant whose hearts are "fat as grease," the psalmist says, "I delight in the law" (Ps 119:70). The reflexive occurs in Ps 119:16 and Ps 119:47 as the psalmist proclaims, "I will delight myself in your statutes" and "in your commandments." (Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary) All uses of shaa - delight(4), fondled(1), play(1). - Ps. 94:19; Ps. 119:16; Ps. 119:47; Ps. 119:70; Isa. 6:10; Isa. 11:8; Isa. 29:9; Isa. 66:12 A GREAT VERSE FOR ANXIETY RELIEF - Psalm 94:19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul. It is interesting that the word delight (in English in the NAS) is found 73 times in the Bible with 10 in Psalm 119 (13% of all uses in the Bible)! Gen. 3:6; Deut. 28:63; 1 Sam. 15:22; 2 Sam. 15:26; 2 Sam. 24:3; 1 Chr. 29:3; 1 Chr. 29:17; Neh. 1:11; Job 22:26; Job 27:10; Ps. 1:2; Ps. 16:3; Ps. 37:4; Ps. 37:11; Ps. 40:8; Ps. 40:14; Ps. 51:16; Ps. 51:19; Ps. 62:4; Ps. 68:30; Ps. 70:2; Ps. 94:19; Ps. 109:17; Ps. 111:2; Ps. 119:16; Ps. 119:24; Ps. 119:35; Ps. 119:47; Ps. 119:70; Ps. 119:77; Ps. 119:92; Ps. 119:143; Ps. 119:174; Ps. 147:10; Prov. 1:22; Prov. 2:14; Prov. 7:18; Prov. 8:30; Prov. 8:31; Prov. 11:1; Prov. 11:20; Prov. 12:22; Prov. 15:8; Prov. 16:13; Prov. 18:2; Prov. 23:26; Prov. 24:25; Prov. 29:17; Prov. 31:13; Eccl. 5:4; Eccl. 8:6; Eccl. 12:1; Cant. 2:3; Isa. 11:3; Isa. 32:14; Isa. 55:2; Isa. 58:2; Isa. 58:13; Isa. 58:14; Isa. 62:4; Isa. 65:12; Isa. 66:4; Jer. 6:10; Jer. 9:24; Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 24:21; Ezek. 24:25; Hos. 6:6; Hos. 8:13; Amos 5:21; Mic. 1:16; Mic. 6:7; Mal. 3:1 Spurgeon's exposition - What a blessing it is for us to find our fatness there, — to delight in the marrow and fatness of God’s law! Charles Bridges An awful description of the hardened state of the proud forgers of lies! Yet not of their state only, but of every sinner who stands out in wilful rebellion against God. The tremendous blow of Almighty justice has benumbed his heart, so that the pressure of mountains of sin and guilt is unfelt! The heart is left of God, “seared with a hot iron,”1 and therefore without tenderness; “past feeling;”2 unsoftened by the power of the word; unhumbled by the rod of providential dispensations, given up to the heaviest of all spiritual judgments! But it is of little avail to stifle the voice of conscience, unless the same power or device could annihilate hell. It will only “awake out of sleep, like a giant refreshed with wine,”3 and rage with tenfold interminable fury in the eternal world, from the temporary restraint, which for a short moment had benumbed its energy. Wilful resistance to the light of the Gospel, and the strivings of the Spirit, constrained even from a God of love the message of judicial abandonment—“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”4 Who then among us will not cry, From hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word and commandment, Good Lord! deliver us!5 Tenderness is the first mark of the touch of grace, when the heart becomes sensible of its own insensibility, and contrite on account of its own hardness. ‘Nothing,’ said Jerome, in a letter to a friend, ‘makes my heart sadder, than that nothing makes it sad.’ But when “the plague of our own heart” begins to be “known,”6 and becomes matter of confession, humiliation, and prayer; the promise of “a new heart,” is as life from the dead.7 The subject of this promise delights in God’s law; and this, amidst the sometimes overwhelming power of natural corruption, gives a satisfactory witness of a change “from death unto life.” Christian! can you daily witness the wretched condition of the ungodly, without the constraining recollection of humiliation and love? What sovereign grace, that the Lord of glory should have set his love upon one so vile!8 What mighty power to have raised my insensible heart to that delight in his law, which conforms me to the image of his dear Son!9 Deeply would I “abhor myself;” and gladly would I acknowledge, that the service of ten thousand hearts would be a poor return for such unmerited love. What, O “what shall I render to the Lord!”10 Prayer for them who are still lying in death—praise for myself quickened from death. But what can give the vital breath, pulse, feeling, and motion? “Come from the four winds, O breath; and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”11 Let us apply, for the purpose of daily self-examination, this description of the heart, either as given up to its natural insensibility, or as cast into the new mould of “delight in the law of God.” Such an examination will prove to us, how much even renewed souls need the transforming, softening influences of grace. “The deceitfulness of sin hardens the heart”12 to its original character, “as fat as grease,” unfeeling, incapable of impression, without a divine touch. O Lord, let not my heart be unvisited for one day, one hour, by that melting energy of love, which first made me feel, and constrained me to love. 1 Tim. 4:2. 2 Eph. 4:18, 19. 3 Ps. 78:66, P. T. 4 Isa. 6:9, 10. 5 Litany. 6 1 Kings 8:38. 7 Ezek. 36:26. 8 Eph. 2:4, 5. 9 See Ps. 40:8. 10 Ps. 117:. 11 Ezek. 37:9. 12 Heb. 3:13 Spurgeon's Treasury of David Ps 119:70. Their heart is as fat as grease. They delight in fatness, but I delight in thee. Their hearts, through sensual indulgence, have grown insensible, coarse, and grovelling; but thou hast saved me from such a fate through thy chastening hand. Proud men grow fat through carnal luxuries, and this makes them prouder still. They riot in their prosperity, and fill their hearts therewith till they become insensible, effeminate, and self indulgent. A greasy heart is something horrible; it is a fatness which makes a man fatuous, a fatty degeneration of the heart which leads to feebleness and death. The fat in such men is killing the life in them. Dryden wrote, "O souls! In whom no heavenly fire is found, Fat minds and ever grovelling on the ground." In this condition men have no heart except for luxury, their very being seems to swim and stew in the fat of cookery and banqueting. Living on the fat of the land, their nature is subdued to that which they have fed upon; the muscle of their nature has gone to softness and grease. But I delight in thy law. How much better is it to joy in the law of the Lord than to joy in sensual indulgences! This makes the heart healthy, and keeps the mind lowly. No one who loves holiness has the slightest cause to envy the prosperity of the worldling. Delight in the law elevates and ennobles, while carnal pleasure clogs the intellect and degrades the affections. There is and always ought to be a vivid contrast between the believer and the sensualist, and that contrast is as much seen in the affections of the heart as in the actions of the life: their heart is as fat as grease, and our heart is delighted with the law of the Lord. Our delights are a better test of our character than anything else: as a man's heart is, so is the man. David oiled the wheels of life with his delight in God's law, and not with the fat of sensuality. He had his relishes and dainties, his festivals and delights, and all these he found in doing the will of the Lord his God. When law becomes delight, obedience is bliss. Holiness in the heart causes the soul to eat the fat of the land. To have the law for our delight will breed in our hearts the very opposite of the effects of pride; deadness, sensuality, and obstinacy will be cured, and we shall become teachable, sensitive, and spiritual. How careful should we be to live under the influence of the divine law that we fall not under the law of sin and death. EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS. Ver. 70. ”Their heart is as fat as grease. The word vpj occurs nowhere else in Scripture, but with the Chaldees vpj signifies to fatten, to make fat; also to make stupid and doltish, because such the fat ofttimes are... For this reason the proud, who are mentioned in the preceding verse, are described by their fixed resolve in evil, because they are almost insensible; as is to be seen in pigs, who pricked through the skin with a bodkin, and that slowly, as long as the bodkin only touches the fat, do not feel the prick until it reaches to the flesh. Thus the proud, whose great prosperity is elsewhere likened to fatness, have a heart totally insusceptible, which is insensible to the severe reproofs of the Divine word, and also to its holy delights and pleasures, by reason of the affluence of carnal things; aye, more, is altogether unfitted for good impulses; just as elsewhere is to be seen with fat animals, how slow they are and unfit for work, when, on the contrary, those are agile and quick which are not hindered by this same fatness. ” Martin Geier. Ver. 70. ” Their heart is as fat as grease. This makes them” 1. Senseless and secure; they are past feeling: thus the phrase is used (Isaiah 6:10): "Make the heart of the people fat." They are not sensible of the teaching of the word of God, or his rod. 2. Sensual and voluptuous: "Their eyes stand out with fatness" (Psalms 73:7); they roll themselves in the pleasures of sense, and take up with them as their chief good; and much good may it do them: I would not change conditions with them; "delight in thy law." ” Matthew Henry. Ver. 70.€” Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law; as if he should say, My heart is a lean heart, a hungry heart, my soul loveth and rejoiceth in thy word. I have nothing else to fill it but thy word, and the comforts I have from it; but their hearts are fat hearts: fat with the world, fat with lust: they hate the word. As a full stomach loatheth meat and cannot digest it; so wicked men hate the word, it will not go down with them, it will not gratify their lusts. ” William Fenner. Being anxious to know the medical significance of fatty heart, I applied to an eminent gentleman who is well known as having been President of the College of Physicians. His reply shows that the language is rather figurative than literal. He kindly replied to me as follows: ” There are two forms of so called "fatty heart". In the one there is an excessive amount of fatty tissue covering the exterior of the organ, especially about the base. This may be observed in all cases where the body of the animal is throughout over fat, as in animals fattened for slaughter. It does not necessarily interfere with the action of the heart, and may not be of much importance in a medical point of view. The second form is, however, a much more serious condition. In this, the muscular structure of the heart, on which its all important function, as the central propelling power, depends, undergoes a degenerative change, by which the contractile fibres of the muscles are converted into a structure having none of the properties of the natural fibres, and in which are found a number of fatty, oily globules, which can be readily seen by means of the microscope. This condition, if at all extensive, renders the action of the heart feeble and irregular, and is very perilous, not infrequently causing sudden death. It is found in connection with a general unhealthy condition of system, and is evidence of general mal-nutrition. It is brought about by an indolent, luxurious mode of living, or, at all events, by neglect of bodily exercise and those hygienic rules which are essential for healthy nutrition. It cannot, however, be said to be incompatible with mental rigour, and certainly is not necessarily associated with stupidity. But the heart, in this form of disease, is literally, "greasy", and may be truly described as "fat as grease." So much for physiology and pathology. May I venture on the sacred territory of biblical exegesis without risking the charge of fatuousness. Is not the Psalmist contrasting those who lead an animal, self indulgent, vicious life, by which body and mind are incapacitated for their proper uses, and those who can run in the way of God's commandments, delight to do his will, and meditate on his precepts? Sloth, fatness and stupidity, versus activity, firm muscles, and mental rigour. Body versus mind. Man become as a beast versus man retaining the image of God. — Sir James Risdon Bennett, 1881. HINTS TO PREACHERS. Ver. 70. ” 1. Fatty degeneration of the heart. 2. Thorough regeneration of the heart. Ver. 70.€” A fatty heart. 1. The diagnosis of the disease. 2. Its symptoms. Pride; no delight in God, nor in his law; dislike to his people; readiness to lie: Psalms 119:69. 3. Its fatal character. 4. Its only cure. Ps 101:10, Ezekiel 36:26. ” C.A.D. Ver. 71. ” 1. David knew what was good for him. 2. David learned what is good essentially. Active obedience is learned by passive obedience. Ver. 71. Affliction an instructor. 1. Never welcomed: "Have been." 2. Often impatiently endured. 3. Always gratefully remembered: "It is good, "etc. 4. Efficient for a perverse scholar: "That I might learn." 5. Indispensable in the education of all. J.F. Ver. 71. ” The school of affliction. 1. The reluctant scholar sent to school. 2. The scholar's hard lesson. 3. The scholar's blessed learning. 4. The scholar's sweet reflection.” C.A.D. Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. good: Ps 119:67 Ps 94:12,13 Isa 27:9 1Co 11:32 Heb 12:10,11 Spurgeon's Sermon - Two Good Things - Ps 119:71, Ps 73:28 See in depth article on Afflictions-Suffering-Quotes, Devotionals, Illustrations See commentary on 1 Peter 1:6-7 See The Refiner's Fire See commentary on James 1:2ff New Testament Words Related to Affliction/Suffering Verses Related to Affliction/Suffering - note the "+" sign after each verse indicates an in depth comment is available. Why? Seeing God in our Pain Out of the Ashes What does the Bible say about suffering? Why do so many people have to experience terrible suffering before death? Why Would A Good God Allow Suffering? Finding goodness in trouble AFFLICTIONS ARE A GOOD SCHOOLMASTER It is good for me - This is one of those Spiritual Paradox in the Christian Life that the world scoffs at and finds foolish, but to those saints who have walked through this fiery furnace, they understand is the way God brings forth His children like "pure gold." "The refiner is never very far from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in the fire." -- C H Spurgeon 2 Corinthians 12:9; 10+ And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Reproofs for discipline are the way of life (Pr 6:23), a source of great blessing (Ps 94:12), to keep us from going astray (Ps 119:67), the highway to holiness (Heb 12:10), the fertilizer & rain that brings forth a harvest of righteousness & peace (Heb 12:11), the path to a true full & fulfilling life to those who submit (Heb 12:9), the fire of testing to prove our faith so that God receives great glory and honor at the revelation of Christ (1Pe 1:6,7). That I was afflicted - He was humbled, the effect (or at least intended effect) of afflictions. Afflict (Humble) (06031)('anah means to be afflicted, be bowed down, be humbled, be meek. 'Anah frequently expresses the idea God sends affliction to discipline (Dt 8:2-3+, see context Dt 8:5, 1Ki 11:39; Ps 90:15 Luke 3:5). It often speaks of harsh and painful treatment (Isa 53:4, Ge 16:6). 'Anah is most frequently translated in LXX by tapeinoo (as it is here in Ps 119:71). God commanded them to “afflict themselves” (“deny yourselves” Lev 16:31NIV), which is the same word used to describe the pain that the Egyptians inflicted on the Hebrews (Ex 1:11,12) and the suffering Joseph felt in prison (Ps 105:18)! James 4:6+ But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE (tapeinos).” That I may learn Your statutes - That expresses purpose. Here the purpose of affliction is to learn. Affliction is God's schoolmaster to conform us more and more to the image of His Son. (Ro 8:29, Ps 119:6) Don't run from affliction. Run to God, to His word that provides us everything necessary for life and godliness according to the true knowledge Statutes (decrees, ordinances)(02706)(hoq from chaqaq = to cut in or engrave in stone - hew a tomb in rock Is 22:16, draw picture on a brick Eze 4:1 or a wall Eze 23:14) is a masculine noun that means regulation, law, ordinance, decree, custom. The primary sense of hoq is an expectation or mandate prescribed by decree or custom - general decrees of God (Jer 5:22; Amos 2:4); statutes of God to Moses (Ex 15:26; Nu 30:16; Mal. 4:4) Septuagint - Statutes (1345)(dikaioma from dikaióo = to justify <> díkaios = just, righteous <> dike = right) refers to what God has declared to be right and here referring to His decree of retribution which has the force of law.