Psalm 119 – Dr. Joseph V. (Josh) Carmichael: Recent Episodes
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You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend. (Psalm 88:18 NLT)
The 88th Psalm has been my companion for almost 25 years thanks to a sermon by Dr. D. R. Davis. To be more precise, I have come to admire my mentor from ages past, Heman the Ezrahite. Heman had the guts—the audacity—to close a prayer to the one true and living God with the statement: “Darkness is my closest friend.” Taking that to heart has given me courage to keep searching for a way out the many times I have found myself in my own Mirkwood or Shadow Valley. Many might mistakenly take Heman’s poetic monologue to the Lord as doubt. And in our twenty-first century definitions it does resemble doubt in a way. But it is really a lament from a circumstance of distress. He is straight with God: I am as good as dead; You have thrown me into the lowest pit; O Lord, why do you reject me? (4a, 6a, 14a) And he is still praying.
Further, he knows who he is talking to: O Lord, God of my salvation (1a). He is taking his pleas and cries and tears to the Covenant Lord who does not seem to be listening. But what else can he do? What else can you do when you find yourself in the darkest valley (Psalm 23:4b)? What else could Peter do when the crowds began turning from Jesus (John 6:68)? I invite you to read Heman’s prayer line by line. He makes the profound assumption that God cares to listen to him recount his troubles and afflictions, his fear and loneliness. He argues a logical case with the Almighty as to why he ought to answer: Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction? (v. 11) Lord, if you let me die, I won’t be here to praise you! (Reader, do not get hung up on the language. He knew about the resurrection (see Psalms 16 and 116). That is not the point. He wants the Lord now! His closest friend is darkness after all.)
This psalm leaves the reader hanging. Psalm 13, on the other hand, allows us to experience the happy ending. In Psalm 88 the last word is darkness. If that is where you are today, do not despair. The psalm has been preserved. It seems Heman survived to tell his story. And now it is an encouragement to us when neither friend nor family can console us. May we in the valley today, like Heman’s musical cohort Aspah, say: Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart (Ps 77:6 ESV).
For all those words which were written long ago are meant to teach us today; that when we read in the Scriptures of the endurance of men and of all the help that God gave them in those days, we may be encouraged to go on hoping in our own time. (Romans 15:4 Phillips)
Why did God give us the Bible? Because it is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness (see 2 Tim. 3). Because it is living and active. It sees right inside of us, judging the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. It leaves us exposed before the one to whom we will give an account of our lives (see Heb. 4; 9:27). It also shows us the way to salvation from our sin. As the Westminster Confession of Faith puts it: “Those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain sufficient understanding of them” (1-7).
Scripture is a light unto my path. We may hide it in our hearts so that we may not sin against God. It contains the wondrous things of God’s law (see Psalm 119). It is sweet like honey for the soul. God’s word makes one wise, joyful, and reverent for God (see Ps. 19). And friends, all these words were written when the “Bible” was the Old Testament. The New Testament was still being written. And so we have Romans 15:4.
The stories of the Old Testament, not to mention the law, poetry, and prophecy, were preserved for our endurance and encouragement. As I prepare to preach on the final chapter of Daniel, Paul’s words to the Roman Christians have been ringing in my ears. Daniel’s three friends had endured the fiery furnace in their commitment to the second commandment. Daniel had faced the lions in his commitment to the first commandment. At the end of his life, Daniel was told of the coming persecutions of God’s faithful remnant. Yet Daniel was given remarkable words from God through his angelic messenger: “As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.” (Daniel 12:13 NLT).
We must endure in times today when good is now called evil and evil good (see Isaiah 5:20). We hear the words of false teachers, people whom we thought we could trust (see Matt. 24; 2 Pet. 1-2). And in some cases believers in Jesus are hated just for loving him and believing his word to be true (see Luke 6; John 15). So where do we go for help? Go to the word of God. These wise words were written long ago so that they might be relevant and applicable to us today. God’s word teaches us. We see the patient endurance of those who have been faithful to God before us. We see the evidence that God truly does not leave nor forsake his people. The word of God offers us encouragement. It gives us hope, that is, certainty, that with the powerful help of the Holy Spirit, we shall endure. So as Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 KJV). Amen.
And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:25b ESV)
What word? The word through whom God spoke and everything that is came to be (Genesis 1:1-25). The word that was spoken from the fire on the mountain (Exodus 19:21-20:1). The prophetic word: You are the man! bringing conviction of sin unto repentance (see 2 Samuel 12:7 CSB). The one to whom the Lord God gave the tongue of one who was instructed to know how to sustain the weary with a word (Isaiah 50:4). The word that refuses to return to God empty, but accomplishes all that he pleases (see Isa. 50:11). The word that is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (see Psalm 119). The Word through whom all things were made that were made and who became flesh and dwelt among us (see John 1).
And in the context of Peter’s letter (1:22-25), this word is the truth through which we are purified by our obedience to it. It is the living and abiding word of God, through whom one is born again unto new life in the Spirit. Though the things of this world will fade away, the word of the Lord remains forever. This word is the good news that was preached to you.
Have you believed? Have you been born again? There is one name under heaven given among men and women by which we must be saved: Jesus. Call on the name of the Lord and be saved. Jesus says to come unto him and find rest. Do not be ashamed of the gospel, the good news, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. (See Matt. 11; Acts 2, 4; Romans 1; 10) For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame,since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him.For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:11-13)**
Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction. (Psalm 119:18 CSB)
The writer to the Hebrews described God’s word as living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (4:12). Paul instructed Timothy: All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). That word inspired there does not mean inspirational. It is a compound Greek word actually invented by the Apostle Paul: God-breathed. The Bible was written by men as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is divine: the word of God to men and women, to boys and girls.
God’s word thus has the power, through the work of the Spirit, to bring one to the point of conviction of sin, profession of faith in God, and confession of the truth and power of God. It gets down inside us and shines light on our darkness, piercing our hearts that we may turn away from sin and turn to God. And this word tells us that as we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). God’s word teaches us the way of salvation and how to live as one thus saved. It tells us what we ought not do and what we ought to do. It shows us our errors and how to recalibrate our lives. It trains us in righteousness, that is, in the ancient path—the good way—where we find rest for our souls (see Jeremiah 6:16 and Matthew 7:13-14; 11:28-30).
The ESV translate today’s verse, Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. This is a prayer to God that as we read and encounter the Bible, and the God of the Bible, our spiritual eyes would be opened, our hearts would be filled, our minds would be sharpened, and our souls would be strengthened. It is a prayer to experience the joy of our salvation. Pray this prayer with the psalmist. Read God’s word. Meditate on the Scriptures—the Holy Bible. God will answer this prayer. And you and I will be changed and made for fit for God’s purposes for us.
My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. (Psalm 119:136)
In my late forties I finally became attracted to Psalm 119. Formerly it was one of those chapters I would dread in the chapter-a-day Bible reading plan. I taught several weeks of brief studies on it to open our Wednesday evening prayer times a few years ago. I had broken through. Check that, God’s Spirit had broken through. Now, in my early fifties, I return to it regularly. It is made up of 176 verses, every one of which considers God’s word in some way. And the backdrop of it is prayer and meditation. What could be more needful in the midst of the spiritual warfare of our day than meditating on God’s word about God’s word and then offering your thoughts and requests to our Lord in prayer?
My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. Isn’t it an arresting comment? He weeps at the observation of people in rebellion against God’s good precepts. Let me ask myself, do I even weep over my own sin, not mention the sins of others? We do well to examine ourselves and consider our own consciences and convictions. The psalmist’s primary object of concern is God and his honor and glory. And second, he is sorrowful over lost sinners.
This causes us to recall a passage from Luke: As [Jesus] approached and saw the city, he wept for it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes … you did not recognize the time when God visited you” (19:41, 42, 44b CSB). Destruction would come in A.D. 70. They had rejected their Savior. And Jesus wept over their sin. Does the rampant sin and rebellion against God all around us cause us to weep and to plead with God for deliverance for the lost sinners in our midst? I want my heart to be heavy and my conscience tender as I observe those “as sheep without a shepherd.”
PRAYER: Dear Lord, our Savior was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He wept over the lost. Help me to have your heart of love the lost, for those who will perish if they continue in rebellions against you and your law. Help me to desire your honor and glory over all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Evening Worship at NCPC-Selma, audio from the sermon, “Getting to Know God,” June 3, 2018, from the series: Walking in the Word (22:49). Sermon text: Psalm 119:57-64 Sermon outline: (1.) Treasuring God, 57. (2.) Seeking God, 58. (3.) Following God, … Continue reading →
Evening Worship at NCPC-Selma, audio from the sermon, “Finding God’s Comfort,” (23:32), May 27, 2018. Sermon text: Psalm 119:49-56 Sermon outline: (1.) The Spiritual Dynamic, vv. 49-52 (2.) The Circumstantial Dynamic, vv. 53-56
Sunday Evening worship at NCPC-Selma on April 22, 2018. Audio from the sermon “In the School of Scripture, or ‘The Game of Life‘”. Sermon text: Psalm 119:33-40. Sermon outline: (1.) The Game Plan, 33. (2.) The Offensive & Defensive Plays, … Continue reading →
Audio from the NCPC-WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY, “Revival in the Word,” taught April 11, 2018. Bible Study text: Psalm 119:25-32 Bible Study Outine: (1.) Five Pledges the psalmist makes. (2.) Five Places the psalmist finds himself. (3.) Seven Petitions the … Continue reading →
Sunday Evening Worship at NCPC-Selma, audio from the sermon, “Spiritual Strength in the Word,” from the Series, Walking in the Word. Sermon text: Psalm 119:17-24 Sermon outline: (1.) The Spiritual Nature of the Word, 17-20 (2.) The Spiritual Power of the … Continue reading →
Continuing our recent studies in Psalm 119, sermon audio for Evening Worship at NCPC-Selma, “Walking in the Way of the Word of God with Purpose,” March 18, 2018. Sermon text: Psalm 119:9-16 Sermon outline – (1.) Priority, vv. 9-11. (2.) … Continue reading →
Audio on Bibles Studies and a sermon for NCPC-Selma – Studies on Psalm 119 (1) Wednesday night Bible study – introduction to Psalm 119 (time = 12:44) – Here. Outline: Testimonies, Precepts, Statutes, Commandments, Decrees, Word, Promise, Ways. (2) Wednesday night … Continue reading →