THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CXIX: Appreciating And Applying Scripture For Every Spiritual Need, Psalm 119

V. Taw - Victory Over Great Deception

(Psalm 119:169-176)

I. Introduction

A. Psalm 119 tells of the profitable use of God's written Word, the Scriptures, and the psalm is formed as an acrostic where each section has a Hebrew letter that begins each of the eight verses in its respective section.

B. Section "Taw" in Psalm 119:169-176 explains how Scripture equips the believer to overcome great deception, and we view the passage for our insight and edification (as follows):

II. Victory Over Great Deception, Psalm 119:169-176.

A. The verse numbering system in the Hebrew text matches that of the English Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1086), so we stay with the English Bible's numbering system for this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 119:169-176 (as follows):

1. "May my ringing cry come near before Your face, O Jahweh; give me discernment (bin, B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 106-107; H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. I, p. 103-104) according to Your Word," Psalm 119:169.

2. "May my supplication come before Your face; according to Your promise snatch me away [from danger; harm] in deliverance," Psalm 119:170.

3. "May my lips overflow with praise, for You teach me Your decrees," Psalm 119:171.

4. "May my tongue sing of Your Word, for all of Your commands are righteous," Psalm 119:172.

5. "May Your hand be ready to help me for I have chosen Your precepts," Psalm 119:173.

6. "I long for Your salvation, O Jahweh; and Your law is my delight," Psalm 119:174.

7. "Let my life principle live that I might praise You, and may Your verdicts help me," Psalm 119:175.

8. "I have wandered about as a lost sheep. Seek to find (baqash, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 134-135) Your servant [as a Shepherd for His lost sheep], for I have not forgotten Your commandments," Psalm 119:176.

C. We consider significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. The psalmist confessed that he was greatly deceived, v. 169b, 176a: (a) He called for discernment (v. 169b) and (b) admitted that he had wandered about like a lost sheep that is vulnerable to harm in the open country, but which has no sense of the correct direction to take for safety and livelihood provision, v. 176a.

2. The solution to this needy state is described as follows: (a) The psalmist initially cried out to God in prayer for His help out of the dangerous state he faced in having been greatly deceived, v. 169a, 170. (b) God then answered this prayer, instructing the psalmist on His truth from Scripture, v. 171. (c) As a result of understanding the truth, the psalmist obeyed that truth's instruction in his lifestyle, v. 172-173. (d) When the psalmist applied the truth, God helped him in reward of his obedience, v. 173a,b, 174. (e) As the result, the psalmist obtained help for his entire inner man (v. 175), so he praised the Lord, v. 171a, 172a.

Lesson: Once the psalmist realized he had been greatly deceived, he prayed to God for discernment, admitting his need for direction as he had floundered about much like a lost sheep in the open, dangerous countryside. God answered his prayer by instructing the psalmist from Scripture on the specific truth he needed, and the psalmist aligned himself with that truth, applying it in his life. God further rewarded the psalmist for obeying His Word to where the psalmist's entire inner man was edified and he could praise the Lord for His deliverance.

Application: (1) Overcoming great deception BEGINS by one's REALIZING he has been deceived and by his admitting this. [(2) If we are not sure if we are deceived, we can take the "Shepherd's Psalm Test" at Psalm 23:1-6 for discernment as to whether we are or are not deceived (as follow): (a) if we FAIL to be spiritually nurtured (as in v. 2a), (b) if we FAIL to find peace in life (as in v. 2b), (c) if our inner man FAILS to be built up and nurtured (as in v. 3a), (d) if our paths in life very obviously FAIL to align with Scripture (as in v. 3b), we are NOT being shepherded by GOD, but we have been DECEIVED, and we need discernment from Him!] (3)The believer THEN must PRAY for God's instruction, and (4) God will use Scripture to give the insight the believer needs to rectify the situation. However, (5) this insight of necessity must involve the believer's CORRECTING his unbiblical paths in life, bringing himself into alignment with God's will in Scripture, (6) to which God responds in blessing the believer, and that in turn (7) leads to the believer's praising the Lord.