TEXT: Psalm 119:168-176

SUBJECT: Exposition of Psalm 119 #22: Tau

Tonight brings us to the last stanza of this Psalm and to the last sermon on it for the time being. Psalm 119 is a long and varied tribute to God's Word. David knows what the Word is--God's Word. Thus, he stands in awe of it; he loves it; he obeys it. Although he meditates on it all day every day, he hasn't mastered the Word. Neither have I. Nor have you.

Before this mighty Word the most learned saint is but a child, learning the alphabet of things Divine. Like David, we'd do well to confess our ignorance and to plead for insight. Are we willing to do so? God make us willing, for Christ's sake. Amen.

David pleads for understanding.

David was a man of much learning. The student knew more than his teachers; the young man more than his elders. But he wasn't satisfied with his present level of knowledge. And so, he prays for more: "Let my cry come before You, O LORD; give me understanding according to Your Word".

Note the urgency of his request: "Let my cry come before You..." The word can mean either to shout for joy or to shriek in horror. In either event, it implies a seriousness rarely found in our prayers. David is in earnest about this desire. Like Jacob of old, he's not going to let go till he's gotten what he wants.

What does he want? "Understanding". Not general learning--though that's good--but the knowledge of God's Word. Like his son, David "Cries out for discernment and lifts up his voice for understanding. He seeks it as silver and searches for it as for hidden treasure".

David thinks "Wisdom is the principal thing". Do we? We all pay lip-service to that, but do our actions speak louder than our words? And to the contrary? What are we doing to learn the things of God more perfectly? There's a lot to be done--but we start with earnest prayer: "Let my cry come before You..."

To be honest, scholarship is an elite affair. Very few of us have the brains, the discipline, the time, and the resources to achieve it. But if we cannot sit before learned books, we can

kneel before the One in Whom

"Are hid all the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge".

And who knows? Maybe He will confound "the wise, the scribe, the disputer of this world" by giving knowledge to the fools who ask Him for it.

Ignorance of God's Word is an evil from which David wants to be "delivered", v.170. I fear we forget this: Satan uses ignorance and error to wage war against our souls. The weapons are real and deadly; they must be contested with knowledge and truth!

General Patton said: "There is no substitute for a warlike spirit". Sixty years ago, the Ethiopians had plenty of that. But the Italians had machine guns! We too can "resist the devil" with everything we've got. But if we lack understanding, we'll fall to him every time. This knowledge is obtained in answer to sincere, fervent, and prolonged prayer.

Knowledge is not easily gotten or kept. But "with God all things are possible". When we pray for understanding, His "hand [will] become [our] help". "Hand" is a figure of speech for strength. He will exert His Almighty Power to give us the knowledge we need to live for His glory!

How encouraging! The feeble-minded believer has access to the Almighty God. Who is no less generous than He is powerful. He will "give wisdom liberally" to everyone who but "asks in faith, without wavering".

But do we "long for it" as David did? Or have we become satisfied with what he know? Content with mediocrity? "Lukewarm"? God forgive us these wrongs! God "Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of His Law". And for us? Let us "Gird up the loins of our minds!"

Why he wants understanding of the Word.

To David, the knowledge of God and His will is "the one thing necessary". He tells us why he wants it so badly. There are two reasons:

He loves the Word and wants to sing its praises: "My lips shall utter praise...My tongue shall speak of Your Word...Your Law is my delight...My soul shall praise You...I do not forget Your commandments..."

The better you know the Word, the more impressed you are with its Divine majesty. And the better able you are to express your devotion to it. Does the Word deserve your praise? If so, find out what's in it. Thankfully, God accepts shallow praise: "Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants, He has ordained praise". But, "in understanding, [He wants us to] be men".

So that our praise can be deeper and wider and purer and more befitting His glory.

The other reason David wants God's help in understanding the Word is his own weakness. If David were a sinless man, his understanding would still be imperfect; if he live a thousand years, he'd just scratch the surface.

But David won't live that long, will he? And he's a long way from sinless. He admits his weakness: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep..." This implies both folly and sin. Which hinder his understanding of the Word. He wants God to break through the barriers and to give the knowledge he so needs.

Our problems are no different than his. Some of our not knowing is the result of not wanting to know. If you're honest, you'll admit that. But how can we know what we don't know and don't want to know? Only if God goes to work in us, making us "willing in the day of His power".

Let us confess this folly to God and ask Him to "Give us ears to hear what the Spirit says to the Church...even if we're not too eager to hear it".

Close.

There you have it. One hundred-seventy six verses in praise of God's Word. It hasn't been praised too much, but too little. David struck the first note, now he's turning it over to you. May God tune our hearts to sing the praises of His Word. For Christ's sake. Amen.