Psalm 119. The Greatness and Glory of the Word of God. Part 9

Tav is the summary of everything in everything. For example, as a symbol of division, the cross divides the angelic race as well as the human race. The cross is the reason for the angels being divided which is why they are called either Elect angels or fallen angels. The cross is also the reason for human race being divided into believers and unbelievers. In some mysterious way believing that God was going to die for the sins of the human race divided the angels into the Elect angels or the Fallen angels.

So, as you can see the letter tav is the culmination of this acrostic Psalm. And so this is the last day of the slave march and the writer ends with fervent prayer.

PSA 119:169,  Let my cry come before Thee, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Thy word.

The Babylonians (Iraqi’s) were known as mean taskmasters. And notice his prayer... PSA 119:169,  Let my cry come before Thee, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Thy word. This means to cause him to learn from this experience and to evaluate things correctly. There is no past disaster in your life that should ever make you bitter. Clinging on to your past will only cause you sorrow, regret, bitterness and misery. Blaming others for your present state will only make you bitter and miserable.

This is saying give me understanding, however, the writer wants it to be according to HIS word. This is a very victorious person emerging from the very pit of pressure and disaster. So he says...”give me understanding,” This was the same prayer of Solomon in 1KI 3:9 that we are told that it pleased the Lord so much that the Lord blessed him above all the kings in the world. He had wisdom and money. He had doctrine and materialism. He was literally graced out by the Lord with blessings that staggered his imagination, although later on they because a source of his reversionism and backsliding.

PSA 119:170, Let my supplication come before Thee; Deliver me according to Thy word.

Again he stands on the word as the basis for his deliverance.

PSA 119:171, Let my lips utter praise, For Thou dost teach me Thy statutes.
The word utter is the first word in the sentence therefore it begin with the letter tau, it is the Hebrew verb taba`naah meaning togush out with praise. Think about it here is a man who has just through literal hell on the earth and he is not blaming God or blaming other but instead he is gushing out with praise! The slave march is almost over. He can probably even see the city of Babylon, his new slave home on the horizon. In fact, this is how the prodigal son thought he saw when he saw his father’s house, thinking that he was going home to be a slave and no longer a son. However, little did he know that the father had other plans.

His tongue is dedicated to the communication of the word, even through singing and songs. And he was not singing the blues or songs in minor chords. He was singing songs from inner happiness in his soul. But the first word in the sentence is ‏ a verb which really means to communicate, to respond; to shout, testify, announce: (also - sing).

PSA 119:173, Let Thy hand be ready to help me, For I have chosen Thy precepts.

This is the highest choice to make...the precepts! The precepts included such things as the plan of God and the divine decrees--all of which God allowed to happen and helped him through them.

PSA 119:174-5. I long for Thy salvation, O Lord, And Thy law is my delight. Let my soul live that it may praise Thee, And let Thine ordinances help me.

The word live means to be refreshed. A refreshed soul is what we all need.

Refreshed from scars, wounds, bitterness, insecurity, guilt, condemnation, fears, anxieties and worries etc. I like how Isaiah put it in ISA 1:2-6, Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the Lord speaks,  “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand. Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts, and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.

ISA 1:16-20, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A refreshed soul is one full of life.

Then finally, PSA 119:176, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant, For I do not forget Thy commandments.”

He’s failed but when sheep go astray the shepherd gets them back! Here is a man who taught the word of God for the rest of his life! Here is a man who has a wonderful life ahead of him!

PSA 119:175, “Let my soul live that it may praise Thee, And let Thine ordinances help me.”

He doesn’t know how long he’ll live. Just like no one knows how long you’ll live.

How much time do you have left? You see this was the signature file, the signing file. What will it take for God to get your attention? These are questions only you can answer alone with God. What this man learned was when the sheep go astray the shepherd will search for him. Remember the parables about the lost.

LUK 15:4, “The lost sheep”
LUK 15:8, “The lost coin”
LUK 15:11, “The lost son”

With all of the experiences that those in the slave march went through, God reached out to them in this position of slavery to restore them back to fellowship. And I don’t believe there is any passage in the Word of God that illustrates more about the Father’s heart than Luk 15 - a passage that most of you are familiar with known as the Prodigal son.

In LUK 15:11, our Lord began His third parable with an audience made up of tax‑gatherers, sinners, prostitutes, Pharisees and scribes, a very interesting combination for a congregation. And this parable brings out the principle of how dangerous it is for us to desire to be on our own and to live in a state of independence from God.

LUK 15:11, And He said, “A certain man had two sons;

They are his sons when it started and both will be His sons when this passage finishes.The man in this parable represents God the Father and the sons represent believers, therefore, this is not a gospel message, this is a doctrinal message for born-again believers who for some reason have fallen away.

LUK 15:12, and the younger of them.
This is the prodigal son. By the way prodigal means to waste your life away.

So he said to His Father, in LUK 15:12, Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me. And he [the Father]divided his wealth between them.”

Notice that He didn’t give to one without giving to the other representing the fact that God gives all of us equal privilege and equal opportunity. So each one receives his share of the estate. Also notice that the Father made no attempt to stop him. God does not violate our free will nor does He force us to remain in fellowship with Him.

LUK 15:13, “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, [this is analogous to life in the devil’s world or the cosmic system] and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

It doesn’t say exactly what is meant by loose living. All it says is loose living. Only his arrogant legalistic self-righteous brother said that he spent it all on “harlots or prostitutes” in verse 30. However, the point is that he spent it all. He spent everything and he was broke!

Whenever a believer goes astray, eventually he will come to a point as the last part of this verse says when he will begin to be in need.

Having forsaken his Father who represents God, he can find himself with nothing but poverty, misery, and want. So when the famine hit, he began to be in need and he couldn’t even find a job. No matter what he tried, everything failed and I want you to notice what he finally did. He did get a job feeding pigs on a farm. And remember that there could be no worse job for a Jew than feeding pigs.

Gone were the fine robes and the rich food, now he was occupied with the filthiest of jobs, feeding swine. And his hunger was so great that he considered filling his own belly with the pig slop. However, even that food was unavailable for the prodigal so that the detestable pigs were now eating better than the prodigal. This man finally became honest with himself which means to face up with the situation as it really exists.

To recognize the sins in your own life. To stop rationalizing or justifying them. And to stop blaming others for them. And remember, this is not a parable about what happens to a believer when he sins, this is a parable about what happens to a believer when he changes his lifestyle. He realized the absurdity of his situation. He knew that the hired servants in his Father’s household were far better off than he was. And until a person can be con­victed of the reality that he travels a dead-end road, true repentance cannot come to pass.

So he figured that his Father’s servants were better off than he was and so he was going to go home to see if the father would take him in as his servant and let him live with them. So verse 19 is just a lot of emotional nonsense. LUK 15:19, I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” Emotions can be wonderful when they’re responding to truth but; When emotion is not based on thought it is asinine, ridiculous, inconsequential and arrogant.

So in LUK 15:19, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” Treat me like one of your servants, one of those hired hands, which by the way is an insult to his Father. That’s like saying that his Father has no character and no integrity and He is not the forgiving type. For people who have character and integrity are the forgiving type!

So in LUK 15:20, “And he got up and came to his Father. Now, think of what may have been going through his mind as he walked back home. He was probably wondering “Will my father receive me? Will he shut the door in my face and tell me to leave and ­spend the rest of my life where I have been? “Is he going to ask me where all my inheritance is”?

However, what is God’s attitude toward the believer who desires to come home?

LUK 15:20, “And he got up and came to his Father. But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him, and felt compassion {for him,} and ran and embraced him, and kissed him.”

Notice his Father is a wonderful person and this is a magnificent way of expressing God the Father and His gracious attitude toward us when we have completely and totally blown it. His Father saw him while he was a long way off. It almost appears as if his Father had been looking for him. You see, whether it’s our fault or someone else’s fault is not the issue with God. With God, our Father, the issue is coming back home!

LUK 15:22, “But the Father said to his slaves, Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;”

This is a picture of what happens in rebound, restored righteousness. The best robe remember represents restoration to full experiential righteousness and fellowship with God.