Psalm 119. We've spent the better part of a year focusing on prayer, and I thought it was best at this point to go to a psalm and spend some time, and we could spend the most time out of all the Psalter in Psalm 119 because, as many of you know, it is the longest psalm in the Psalter. So, what I want to do tonight is I just want to give a very brief introduction, okay? Just kind of, if I can, just whet your appetite for coming to a psalm like Psalm 119. I kind of feel, and I hope that you feel, kind of like a greedy miser standing over a treasure chest full of gold. That's how I feel when I come before Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is many things, but one of the things you could call it is an ode to the word of God. In fact, it's very poetic in the sense that it doesn't use one word, but many words to describe that word, and we'll get to that in just a moment. But Psalm 119 is a feast upon and in the word of God. As I said, it is the largest psalm. It's the most prolonged, powerful expression of delight and joy in the word. It is a psalm of worship, it is a psalm of praise, it's a psalm of thanksgiving. And it's interesting that apart from verses 1-3 and verses 1-13, the whole psalm is addressed directly to Yahweh. So it's really an ode to the word that the psalmist gives to Yahweh himself. Now, let me just give a few details before we get into some substantial matters about Psalm 119. Number one, it has a number of different genres within it. When we talk about genres, there are different genres within the psalm. There are psalms of lament, there are psalms of wisdom, there are psalms of thanksgiving, there are royal psalms, and really Psalm 119 is kind of a medley or an eclectic mix of all kinds of different genres. There are 176 verses and probably the most prominent feature of Psalm 119 is that it is an acrostic. Now what is an acrostic? Somebody tell me. Good, okay, so with every letter of the alphabet, you have a stanza or a phrase. So there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. So for each letter of the alphabet, there is a strophe, okay, or a particular subsection of a psalm. But in each one of those, so for verses one through eight, That's under the Hebrew letter Aleph, which means that each line is going to begin with a word that starts with the letter Aleph. And each one of these are eight verses, and there are 22 sections in all. Now, why does the psalmist use this alphabetic acrostic? Well, there's a few reasons that I would submit to you. Number one, Just the sheer artistic beauty of the poem reflects the beauty of God's Word. So the poet, if you will, is taking his palette with all the colors that he has in the form of words, and he's trying to express before the Lord with every single letter of the Hebrew alphabet how complete and how wonderful and how perfect is the law of the Lord. But secondly, it's a memory device. My Hebrew professor studied in Washington, D.C., and he lived in a part of D.C. that was basically the Jewish district, and he said that as he was outside watering his garden or whatever, he would hear the little Jewish boys and girls playing, and then their mother and father would call them in to come memorize Torah. They had to memorize large swaths of Torah, of the Bible, of the Old Testament. And to this day, Jews have large sections of Torah memorized, and they're always looking for devices that would aid them in memorizing it in a better way. And an acrostic, which, you know, eight verses that all start with Aleph, and then eight verses that all start with Bet and Gimel, and all the way down to Tav, is a wonderful memory device. But then here's the third reason why the psalmist uses this acrostic. Sometimes even in English we say that a manual is a manual from A to Z. Or this is the official word on whatever, such and such a product or whatever the case is, from A to Z. When we say A to Z, what are we saying? From beginning to end, it's complete. Well, in the same way, but in an artistic way, not in an exhaustive knowledge kind of way, because that's impossible. We cannot say everything about the beauty and splendor and depth of God's word, or even about God himself in 176 verses. But in a poetic way, it's meant to be from Aleph to Tav, a complete depiction in a poetic way of God's word. Now, let me just ask you, just kind of raise your hand if this is true of you, how many of you have found yourself in a dry season in your life, a dry spiritual season, and have gone to Psalm 119 and been refreshed? Raise your hand. Okay, all right, just not too many of you, okay. Does that mean we have a congregation full of antinomians? I don't understand why. I know that I have often gone back to Psalm 119 because one of the things that it does is it extols The Word of God. It extols the Word of God. Let me just give you a few, very quickly, a few different ways that it talks about the Word of God. Number one, it talks about the Word of God as the law, Torah. And this is really getting at, Torah comes from a Hebrew word that means to point, right? And from it we get Torah, which is the instruction of the Lord. But what it is, is it's the Lord directing or pointing to us the way. It's pointing to his commands. But we also, the psalmist talks about the word, the word of God, the word that comes from God. One of the things my professors would always say, and I think they're right about it, is when you're talking to unbelievers about God's word, don't call it the Bible. call it God's Word. And it took me years to figure out, well maybe it didn't take me years, it took me a while to figure out what he was getting at, but I get it now. To talk about the book, or the Bible, because that's really all Biblos means, it just means the book, the codex if you will, is impersonal. But when you say God's Word says this, what you're saying is that a personal being, the God of creation, of all cosmos, has spoken directly to you about this particular thing. It's a much more personal thing. And so the psalmist will talk about the Word of God. So we talk about the law of God, the Word, but also His testimonies. Now God's testimonies are very, very important because his testimonies tell us what he has done in history. They are something of a memorial stone. They are something of a hanger, if you will, that you could hang God's magnificent wonders and works upon. And often the psalmist goes back to those and meditates upon them to remind him in this way what God has done in the past, surely, because this is the kind of God he is, so shall he do in the future. But it's also, he talks about God's commands and God's commandments, God's decrees, God's precepts, and certainly God's promises. Now, the psalmist's approach to the word, no matter what word he uses here, is very interesting. The word, listen to this very carefully, because it's very applicable for us as Christians. The word is the way or the avenue through which God ministers to him. In other words, okay, the psalmist encounters God in the word. He encounters him in the word. The attributes of God are the attributes of the word and vice versa. So he will talk about his testimonies as just. Well, God is just, you see. He will talk about his testimonies like he does in verse 24, are my counselors. Well, you see, God is our counselor. In fact, that's one of the words that is used in Messiah by the prophet in Isaiah chapter nine, wonderful counselor. God is wise, and so also the commandments are wise. You see, there is this, I don't want to call it mystical, but there is this mysterious, perhaps is the best word, mysterious manner in which the way we commune with God is via or through the, shall I say, means of the Word. And that's why we make so much of the means of grace here at Grace Covenant Church, because one of those means is the Word of God. And if we're to know anything about God, any saving thing about God, about specifically His character and how He saves the people, we must know it through the Word. We can learn a lot about God through general revelation. We can learn about His judgment. We can learn about His justice. We can learn about His sovereignty and His providence, but we cannot learn how He saves. Well, the Word of God tells us. The Word of God tells us what He commands us to do. Thank God that we do not have a God that expects us to engage in what is called will worship, where we just guess according to our own will what God wants us to do. No, God gives us a law. He gives us concrete words so that we may know exactly what He expects from us. Well, let me move on very quickly to authorship. Who wrote Psalm 119? Open question, not a rhetorical question. Who wants to gander a guess? Huh? Asaph? That's a good guess. I've actually not heard that. Anyone else? You're like, I know you, Josh. You're going to try to trick me, so I'm not going to say anything. Well, traditionally this psalm is attributed to David. Many in the Jewish tradition have espoused that position. Many in the Christian tradition just kind of assume it. If you read Spurgeon on Psalm 118, he just assumes it. Many of the evangelical authors out there who are writing commentaries just assume it. But here's the thing, when it comes to psalms, There's kind of external evidence and internal evidence, okay? External evidence would be in another book, it confirms that the things that these are saying, that are said in this Psalm are written by such and such an author. So for example, I think it's Psalm 18 is also seen in 1 Samuel 22, I believe that's right. So one of David's Psalms is included in 1 Samuel 22. It's almost cut and pasted into Psalm 18, and we know that that's the Psalm of David. But there's another way we can tell, and that is by what is typically called a superscription. And a superscription is basically a title that's at the beginning of the Psalm that says a number of different things depending on when it was penned, but it will tell the author of the Psalm, It will tell sometimes the melody according to which the psalm is being sung. It'll give alternate melodies that you could sing it according to. And sometimes it'll give biographical information, like this was the song that David sung when he was feigning madness before Absalom or something like that, or Ahaz or whoever. But in Psalm 119, if you go to verse one, you'll see that there is no superscription. So we don't know who wrote Psalm 119. So here's what I want to do very quickly. I want to suggest that the author is Daniel, okay? Now, if you're like, wow, I've never heard that, up until a week ago, I had never heard that either, okay? But in my study, as I was looking through this, I wanna say we cannot be dogmatic about this, but I want you to just consider a few things, okay? And I'm not going to hang my hat on this, because again, we don't have a superscription, we don't have external evidence, but if you look at the internal evidence, which what I mean by internal evidence is just look at what the psalm says, what kind of, Environment, does it depict? What kind of disposition does it depict? What does it say about the person who is speaking? I think there's a good, a few good reasons to argue that it's Daniel's. First off, there are a number, and this is where I'm doing a lot of my Hebrew, my dissertation work. There are a number of late words in this psalm. There are what's called Persian-isms, Persian words, okay? And could it be that David knew of Persian words and included them in Psalm 119? It's possible, it's possible. I mean, all things are possible, right? But at the same time, why would Daniel be exposed to Persian words? Anybody know? He was carried off to Babylon, okay, and then who took over after that? The Medo-Persians took over, but Babylon was the center of the world when they were in control, and certainly, remember, Daniel and the three youths, they were sent to the University of Babylon, right? Remember that? They had to learn the culture and the language and the history and the theology of the Babylonians, and Persian would have been one of those languages that they would have learned, because after all, he was a counselor, and he had to be able to talk with dignitaries, okay, that would come and confer with the king. So he had to be multilingual, so he would have had these Persian words under his belt. But there's also a place, Psalm 119.99, where he says, I have more understanding than all my teachers for your testimonies are my meditation. I just want you to think about that for a second. If this were David and he said, I have more understanding than all my teachers, all my rabbis have taught me, but I have more understanding. Don't you think that'd be a little arrogant? I mean, I've had many teachers in my life and I would not say about any of them that I have more understanding than them. In fact, I would say that my professors, my teachers have forgotten more than I've learned, okay? They have much more wisdom than I do. But if you were Daniel in exile, okay, and you had Torah, you had God's word, you had the word and the testimonies and the statutes of the living God, not these false gods, and then you went to the University of Babylon and you sat under Professor Marduk, okay, and he's spitting all his Babylonian hogwash, you could say, I have more understanding than all my teachers because I treasure your testimonies, couldn't you? Not only that, but if you look at Psalm 119, 1 and 2, "...Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways." Now that word in verse 1, blessed are those who are blameless, it's undefiled. It's clean, okay? What was Daniel so concerned with when he was in exile under Babylonian rule? With following not only the dietary laws of the Mosaic law, but also not defiling himself by eating meat sacrificed to idols. Some people say, well, when Daniel only ate vegetables, he was following the Mosaic law. That's not true because they could eat meat, right? They just couldn't eat pork. But when the meat came into the king's ballroom to eat, to what God do you think it was sacrificed? It was sacrificed to Marduk, it was sacrificed to the Babylonian gods. And so Daniel was keeping his way pure and blameless by not eating that meat that was sacrificed to idols. And of course, this is what the three youths said, that they would not participate as well, they would not bow down, they were blameless. And then also, He says in Psalm 119.96, this is interesting, very, very interesting. Psalm 119.96, let me get there for a second. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. What do you think he's talking about when he says a limit to all perfection? Anyone want to guess? I think what he's talking about is the temple. When the temple was standing, it was glorious. Remember, who built the temple? under Solomon, it was under Solomon, right? And it was exquisite, it was glorious. David couldn't do it because he was a man of blood, but Solomon in all his wisdom that the Lord had given to him, he was a man of peace, and he was able under him to hire tree cutters and woodworkers and stonemasons and all that to build this beautiful temple. And then it was destroyed, they went into exile, and they came back, remember? They rebuilt it, and what happened when it was rebuilt? Does anybody remember? Why were they sad? It wasn't as glorious. It wasn't as glorious. I think that what Daniel's talking, if Daniel's the author, I've seen a limit to all perfection. When the temple was standing, oh, what perfection stood in our midst under Solomon. Oh, what perfection, in fact, there is a passage somewhere in Chronicles, I think, that says under Solomon, every promise that God had given to David was fulfilled in Solomon. Now, that's problematic on other terms that we'll talk about in a different time. There's another level in which they weren't fulfilled, but on an earthly level, they were because that time was so perfect. But then Daniel sees the temple destroyed. He's carried off to Babylon. And despite that, he sees that God's commandment is exceedingly broad. It goes beyond the perfection that even they saw in the temple. But let me give you another example here. I want you to turn to Psalm 119, verse 19. This is very interesting. Psalm 119, verse 19. And this is one example that you see throughout the Psalms, okay? Psalm 119. He says in verse 19, I am a sojourner on the earth, hide not your commandments from me. Now, another word for sojourner is stranger. Another word for sojourner is exile. Now, you don't need to turn there, but I'm going to read Daniel 1, 3 through 4. Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court. And he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. They were carried away as exiles." Now, somebody has said, and this is fair, that there was a time, was there not, when David was fleeing from Absalom, and he went into foreign lands, and at some point he was even fighting for the Philistines, really crazy to think about. So they say it's possible that while he was doing that, he was in exile, he was a stranger, he was a foreigner, but Daniel's whole life, for the most part, was characterized by that. Here's another one. How does a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to thy word. Daniel is described as a young man in the book of Daniel. Here's another one in Psalm 119.23. Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes." Daniel 3.8. For this reason, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. Not only does the psalmist in Psalm 119 say princes, but also kings bring charges before him. This is what happened to Daniel. Let me just give you one more, last one tonight. Psalm 119.46. I will speak of your testimonies before kings." Daniel 2, 27-28. Daniel answered before the king and said, as for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men nor conjurers, musicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. So can we be sure? No, we can't be sure, but here's why I bring up the possibility of Daniel, or really for that matter, Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego, any of those exiles possibly being the author. This simple reason. Psalm 119 is the meditations of an exile about the excellencies of God's word. When he or she is taken out of that which is comfortable, When he or she is taken out of that environment that has become like something of a security blanket for them, when all is stripped away, when comforts are gone and health is gone and family is gone, what do we have? We have the promises of God. It is the meditations of an exile on the exquisite nature and perfection and stability of the Word of God. And beloved, when I look at Hebrews chapter three and four, that's how the author describes us. He describes us like the children of Israel going through the wilderness, but the wilderness isn't over there in the Arabian Peninsula. The wilderness is this world until the new heavens and the new earth. We are traveling through the wilderness as exiles, as sojourners, until Christ comes back. We are sojourners and exiles. So these are just a few reasons why I think it's gonna be helpful for us to mine out the treasures in Psalm 119. But let me ask one last question and seek to answer it tonight. And I'll open this up. Is the psalmist's attitude toward the law a contradiction with Paul's attitude toward the law? How does Paul talk about the law? Second Corinthians, he talks about the law as a ministry of what? Anybody know? Death. Ministry of death. He says in Romans chapter seven, I once was alive until the law came in and I died, it killed me, okay? He says the works of the law that he had before, the works that he had as a proud Jew, he counts them as scubalon, rubbish. There's actually a more explicit word to describe that that I can't say in the sanctuary, okay? He counts them as rubbish compared to the excellencies of knowing Christ. Paul certainly had something of a negative view of the law. Is there a contradiction between these two things? Well, the answer is no, okay? The answer is no. But here's where our tradition helps us out in understanding the three uses of the law, okay? The first use of the law is to slay us. The first use of the law is to drive us outside of ourselves. so that we could go to a foreign righteousness in that person that is outside of ourselves, Jesus Christ. There's nothing I could do within myself. There's no law keeping that I could do, even the law keeping that I cobbled together. It is as filthy rags before the Lord. That is the first use of the law. There's nothing we can do, it drives us out. And yes, that's the way that Paul in many respects speaks in the New Testament, that the law is a ministry of death. I once was alive apart from the law, but the law came in and it slayed me, it killed me. That's the first use of the law. The second use of the law is to maintain order in society, to maintain some level of common grace at the civil level. And then the third use of the law, the third use of the law comes not to the unbeliever, like it does in the first use of the law, but to the believer, the spirit-filled Christian, and gives them a desire to keep that commandment. along the lines of what Jesus says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. And so what does the psalmist say? Oh Lord, how I love your law. It is my meditation day and night. Who can say that? Only the regenerate believer. So the regenerate believer in Psalm 119 is giving a full-orbed poetic description of the third use of the law in their own life, and they are giving an ode to God through it, meeting God within it. and extolling God for His majesties and giving Him a law that would allow Him, by the help of the Spirit, to walk in obedience, clinging to the cross of Christ and depending on the grace of God. So this is where we're going. There's no contradiction between Paul and the psalmist. In fact, they're saying the same thing. In fact, in Roman chapter 7, Paul says, the commandment is good and holy and right. And in that, he's in agreement with the psalmist. So we are embarking upon a wonderful journey together where we're gonna mine out the spiritual nourishment of this psalm. And what I would encourage all of you to do in preparation for next week, yeah, we've got one more week in September, is read Psalm 119, one through eight. And if any of you wanna memorize it, I'll tell you what, you memorize it, you can come up here and you can cite it before everybody, okay? No pressure. We'll have everybody close their eyes, all right? But we're gonna mine this out. And let me give one more challenge to you. If you could, if you would, especially coming up on January, you could read through Psalm 119 twice a year, okay? If you read one verse every day, you would get through it twice in one year, if my math is correct. I think that's right, 176, yeah, roughly. Okay? All right, so let me pray, and then we'll get into some corporate prayer. Father God, thank you for your word. It truly is our meditation day and night. We pray now, Father, as we go into this season of prayer, you would guide us. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen. All right.