❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
ט (Teth) You are good, and what you do is good
Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law 9/22
Psalm 119:65-72
Andy Nagahara
The ninth in the series of Psalm 119, called Hymn to the Law, is the ninth paragraph in the entire series. It is verses 65 through 72, where the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Teth, is placed at the beginning of each line.
The origin of this script is not well known, but some scholars assume that it derives from a script depicting a spindle (a tool used for spinning yarn).
Now let’s read on as usual.
1. The LORD is good (65-68)
65 Do good to your servant
according to your word, O LORD.
66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
for I believe in your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.
The psalmist says, “The Lord is good who does what is good to me,” so today I would like to begin by considering this word “Lord.”
We call Jesus our Lord. Even back in Old Testament times, before God came to the world as Jesus, people called God the Lord. In Old Testament times, people thought that the name Yahweh (meaning “I AM”), which God told Moses (Ex. 3:14) as His name, should not be spoken carelessly and casually so instead they used the word Adonai, which means “master”. And later the Old Testament, when it was translated into Greek, used the word “Lord” (kurios), which is used in the New Testament to refer to the Lord Jesus.
This is a question about how Japanese people address each other in Japanese language.
As a wife, do you refer to your husband as “Shujin” which literally means “master”? Seems that it is not uncommon for wives to still refer to their husbands as “Shujin, meaning masters,” even if this is not accompanying the reality of the situation. Some younger people also call their wives “Yome, meaning brides or wives,” and in both cases, women were originally intended to belong to the male side of the family.
Although the expressions of the Bible are subject to the limitations of the times and cultures where it was written, the core of what the Bible conveys is that only God, who expressed Himself as Jesus, is the ultimate “Lord. In New Testament times, Roman emperors were so powerful that they were deified, but the New Testament insists that there is only one “Lord” by calling Jesus “Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16).
Many people may be repelled by the biblical assertion that God is the Lord and we are His servants, and they may say, “I am supposed to be free to everyone and to God.
But the idea that we are free from anyone or anything is nothing but an illusion. Because it is the desires of others and of the person him/herself that take away freedom from people. And the Bible discerns that it is exactly what worship of idols is all about.
And God is not a ruler. He made that clear to us when He Himself came to this world as the one person, Jesus. How did Jesus behave among the people? Although He was “the Lord,” He lived His whole life as a servant. All we really need to do to be free is not to avoid God, but to believe in Jesus as “my Lord”.
The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (8:32). Another words of Jesus from the same Gospel. ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (14:6), then it is clear that truth refers to Jesus himself and his words. Over the counter of the National Diet Library in Japan there is an engraving in both Japanese and Greek from these words of Jesus, “The truth will set us free”.
The psalmist knew that even in the days before Jesus’ coming, the essence of God’s word and the law, was not to bind people but to liberate them. The word of commandment was the word of love. Therefore, as verse 66 says, to study God’s word is not to be in bondage, but to gain superior discernment and knowledge that frees us.
However, the psalmist makes a surprising confession in verse 67. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Perhaps he had stopped thinking of keeping God’s word as important, but through some suffering, he rediscovered the importance of God’s word.
Here we see that our trust in God and His word is fragile, and especially when things are going well, we are the ones who easily forget the true Lord, as if we are the Lord and not God. But such a state will never last long. Because we need the Lord to rely on.
After relying on something that is not God, and facing a problem that his “idol” will not solve, the psalmist is glad that he has finally turned to God. And this time, he is determined to live his life firmly listening to God.
God is so good that He gives us the opportunities to turn back again and again to those of us who have been liberated and then return to a state of inconvenience on our own.
Let’s read the next part.
2. Callous and unfeeling heart (69, 70)
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,
I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,
but I delight in your law.
This part of the text compares our own attitude to that of our tormentors. They are arrogant, speaking lies and putting people down. Although it is not reflected in the NIV’s translation, many English and Japanese translations describe it as “the heart is covered with fat and dull”. The NIV’s translation of ” callous and unfeeling” implies that they are extremely callous in their words and actions toward others and, moreover, they have “strong hearts” that are not affected at all by what is said to them. The attitude you should take toward them is described in the second half of each verse.
I keep your precepts with all my heart. I delight in your law.
What this means is that you don’t have to play along with them, you don’t have to deal with them. Regardless of how respectful you are, how rationally you try to convince them, or how righteous you preach, it is a waste of time and will only cause them to fight back even harder. The most effective thing to do is not to fight.
Also, they may try to entrap you with so called sweet-talk (words of flattery) that seems to benefit you, not with direct aggression, but with seemingly crafty tactics. For example, there is a sales talk that says, “If you hold this stock for 5 years, the price will surely increase by 20%.” If a 20% price increase is really certain, the salesperson would buy the stock themselves, instead of recommending it to others.
Yet our desires can dull our judgment. We are more easily deceived, especially when our own hearts have strayed from the path of walking with God, as in verse 67. Since you may not want to make a profit even by cheating others, you may let your guard down and assume that everyone else is the same.
But unfortunately, there are callous and unfeeling people and organizations, such as those described here, who have no regard for human suffering or even human life for their own benefit.
Instead of engaging with such people, we follow God’s word to fill our hearts with good things and take pleasure in God’s word.
It is a life of hearing God’s word and doing it. This is a way of walking that leaves no room for the fat-covered heart.
Let’s read the last two verses.
3. Was it Good for you to be afflicted? (71-72)
71 It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Through suffering, we come to know God, and though we have been separated from Him, we return. When you decided to believe in God and live your life, or when you decided to walk with God again after being separated from Him for a long time, some kind of suffering or trouble must have been the opportunity for you.
If you believe you can live without God, you won’t even bother to seek Him.
In this sense, hardship is a turning point for you, but, however, you do not have to associate with it and think that all hardship is God’s trial to make you reflect on it and get you back on the right path.
Moreover, no one should say to others, “Your current suffering is a trial given by God to help you realize good things.
The only person who can say, “It was good for me to be afflicted,” is the one who managed to overcome it and feels it was good for them. The fact that God’s word is better than gold and silver is not something that people tell you.
It is something that you have to find and realize for yourself as you walk with God. We can share God’s love with those who are suffering or troubled. But it is not about persuasion through words. It is about having people see your joy and peace. In order to do so, what is needed is not a Bible study to convince others. It is a daily walk where you can realize that the joy you have received is sure.
The reason we gather here on the first day of the week to worship is to begin our weekly walk filled with the Holy Spirit. But it is not the only place where you can recharge your spiritual fuel. I am sure that you all do not come here every week with an empty gas tank. Like an electric car that can be recharged at a home outlet, if you have soul recharge time with God, He will fill your heart with the Holy Spirit each time because He is good. Again this week, let us continue to walk filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
(Prayer) O God. Our hearts are yearning for your word and your spirit. Please, as you promised, fill our hearts with your goodness. Fill us with Your Spirit in response to our requests in the worship we offer. May your goodness overflow from within us and be passed on to those who need your goodness. Please guide us so that we will not stray from your path. We thank you and pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Summary
“Jesus is my one and only Lord.” Jesus gladly accepts this confession and walks with us as our guide. Believing in Jesus as Lord is liberation from all bondage. Even so, we lose sight of that freedom and sometimes lose our way of walking with Jesus. But even on such a path, He gives us the chance to return and pulls us back.
For Discussion
1. What does it mean to you that Jesus is Lord?
2. What made you want to seek God?