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Psalm 119:169-176
I have really enjoyed our walk through Psalm 119.
Now we are in the 22nd and final section of this chapter.
Designated with the Hebrew Letter Tau (Tav), this last section takes a surprising turn.
Have you ever read a book or saw a movie and it was going along just fine, but then it took a sharp turn in a way that we never saw coming?
Psalm 119 ends kind of this way.
For 175 verses the psalmist is growing in the Lord, learning from and leaning on God’s Word as his strength.
He has been attacked and persecuted, even from his own rulers, but the Psalmist remains faithful in his obedience to the Law.
His very life seemed to hang in the balance at times.
But he never backed down from his convictions.
He realized that God’s Word is sufficient to every situation that he will face in his life.
So it is really surprising when we read in the very last verse him say, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.”
Commentators and Bible students have tried to poor over this psalm and tried to explain away this verse.
They have said, that he is talking about his previous life when he wandered from God.
But I think it best to look at it literally.
The grammar of this word also suggests that it is happening now.
It would be similar to saying I am a goer astray…but that would just be awkward.
Bible Teacher John Phillips said, “It is the nature of a sheep to stray.
It does not do it [stray] to be wicked or wanton.
It does it because that is what a sheep is like.
Likewise, it is human nature to go astray.
Nobody has to take a course in theology to know that.
Our sin nature is bent that way.
It is not necessarily that we deliberately make up our minds to neglect our daily quiet time, the place of prayer, the gathering of God’s people.
We just allow the crowding concerns of everyday life to loom too large.
We do what comes naturally.
We stray.”
In spite of our best efforts and grandest intentions, we are still sheep and are prone to stray.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love:
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it
With Thy Spirit from above.
We have to stay vigilant and when we stray from God and His Word make a quick correction.
So When You Realize You Have Strayed...
I. Cry Out to God
169 Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord: Give me understanding according to thy word.
170 Let my supplication come before thee: Deliver me according to thy word.
The psalmist realized his tendency to stray from God, so he cries out to Him and pours his heart out to Him.
The psalmist cries out for two specific things:
A. Give Me Understanding
“Give me understanding according to thy word.”
It means to be able to discern, perceive, observe, pay attention to.
He knew it could only come from God’s Word.
When we realize we have strayed we need to run back to Prayer and His Word.
Ask God to help you watch for those stumblingblocks, to help you see the way of escape and the willingness to take it.
Which is akin to the next specific thing he cries out for:
B. Deliver Me
“deliver me according to thy word.”
Both requests, for understanding and deliverance are according to Thy Word.
All throughout this chapter the psalmist has depended upon God’s Word.
He has grown closer to the Word, and has learned the sufficiency of the Word.
So it is no wonder that he realizes that his deliverance is going to come through the Sword of the Spirit.
After all that is where Jesus’ deliverance came from as our perfect example during His temptation.
So Cry out to God - and run to His Word.
Secondly, when we realize that we have strayed from God, after crying out to God,
II.
Worship God
171 My lips shall utter praise, When thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: For all thy commandments are righteousness.
This may not seem like the natural response in this situation…that is because it is not.
It is a choice to worship, not a response.
The psalmist does not murmur, question God, or complain about his situation.
He determines (chooses) to praise God, why?
Because he realizes that his affliction has taught him God’s Word.
He will sing and worship about God’s Word as an endless testimony to God’s Righteous commandments.
VIDEO of sheep
When we find ourselves coming back to God after we have strayed, we need to pray for more understanding from God’s Word - it is sufficient.
We need God’s Spirit to guide us in all truth and help us discern God’s Word and apply it to our lives.
Paul prayed for the Colossian believers that they would be filled with wisdom and spiritual understanding…and we need to pray the same thing.
Pray that God will deliver us from our enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are fighting enemies that we cannot see.
We battle everyday, many battle discouragement, depression, fear, doubt, or something else that is holding them captive.
Whatever it is you are battling, we can cry out to God for help and he will!
Pray that God will give us a spirit of true worship, no matter what is going on around us.
III.
Ask Help from God
173 Let thine hand help me; For I have chosen thy precepts.
174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; And thy law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; And let thy judgments help me.
The psalmist asks for God’s hand to help him.
The hand, often the right hand, is used in scripture as a symbol of His mighty power.
Ask for Help from God:
A. Because You Have Chosen His Word
“For I have chosen thy precepts”
That is you have chosen to follow and live by His Word.
precepts is the word for instructions - you are following the directions.
I know men don’t like to do that, but when it comes to God’s directions we better listen!
If we chose our own directions, our own thoughts, our own understanding, we have no right to ask God for help.
B. Because You Long for Deliverance
174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; And thy law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; And let thy judgments help me.
When we come back to the Lord there is a hunger to do right.
There are times that I confess my sin, but I’m not quite there yet.
I’m still upset about what was said to me to be sorrowful about what I said back.
I chose the path of the sharp tongue rather than the soft answer.
But when true repentance comes, godly sorrow is there.
Then we “long for His salvation”…we long for his “judgments to help me.”
In the Psalmists case, he is quite possibly facing death.
But the psalmist expresses his desire to live.
“Let my soul live”
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