Psalm 119 Lesson 1 Alef - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Psalm 119

Alef

Lesson 1

Text: Psalm 119:1-8 “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.”

Intro:Tonight we are going to be in the first lesson of Psalm 119. We will repeat some of theses things over on a number of occasions over the course of this lesson. And if that is the case remember, it was written as an acrostic for the people to easily remember it. And if God wanted them to remember this Psalm, and He repeats certain themes, don’t we think they must be important for us as well.

Blessings and Blamelessness

Notice the Letter Aleph,
1. the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet,
  1. Alef-
    1. there are several different spellings to most if not all of the Hebrew letters, that is to the English reader. (don’t let that throw you)
    2. But originally designed to look like a Ox head it evolved to the Hebrew letter we most often use.
  2. The Catalyst of the first section to Psalm 119
    1. vs.1-8 all start with the same Hebrew letter.
    2. On the chart you will notice the words written from right to left,
      - each one starting with the Alef
    3. We should also remember that each word in the Hebrew can translate to a number of English words,
      - a simple dot, or slash can change a great deal about the mood, tense, voice, etc of the word.
    4. In the picture, you will notice the words circled in vs.1, are the ones that appear in the original text.
2. Blessings:
  1. The opening word is Blessed
    1. Alef, Sheen, Reysh
    2. Power, consume, a person
      - What a beautiful word,
  2. How to be blessed:
    1. How can we receive blessings?
      - Stated right here, being undefiled (blameless) before the Lord, Study the Word of God, Be Obedient to His Law, Devoted to a relationship with Him,
      - We want to walk in the blessings of God, there it is,
    2. However some of the words that will follow, do not bring to mind the idea of blessings rather curses, words like:
      - LAW, Precepts, Statutes, Decrees, Commands,….
        
        these words have a way of making us feel uneasy,
        
        even frighten us,
      - We tend to focus on places like Deuteronomy 27&28 where it goes on and on about curses,
        
        we find in the law many curses, in fact the last word of the Old Testament is curse (Malachi 4:6)
    3. But we forget that
      - Galatians 3:10-13 tells us that all who are under the law are under a curse, but Jesus came to become a curse for us, that we could be free,
        
        so there is no reason to fear a cruse, that is for the child of God who has been redeemed from the curse.
  3. The Law is not a Weapon, but a Tool,
    1. it wasn’t a weapon for an angry God to exact judgment and vengeance on the world, as some would have you to believe,
    2. But, a tool in the hands of a Loving Father to help shape us and make us into the image of Jesus.
    3. The word/ Law makes it possible for us to Know God better.
  4. Undefiled, Vs.1
    1. some translations translate it as blameless,
      - but this does not mean without sin,
        
        the bible is clear that we have all fallen short of the glory of God, we all have sinned, if we say we haven’t, we are a lair.
        
        Only Jesus was “undefiled”
      - The word means to walk upright, in sincerity,
    2. Only Jesus was blameless, but because we are entered into a relationship with Jesus, we are made the righteousness of Him, and we are Holy because of Him.
    3. Ephesian 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
    4. So as believers we should understand that His:
      - Law, Precepts, Commandments, and so on are NOT a heavy yoke that is for the purpose of crushing us, but…
      - I John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. ”
  5. Seeking God is more than reading/ studying the word,
    1. this section makes it clear that the relationship we have with God is a balanced relationship.
      - Meaning that we: read the word, study the word, Walk in the word, directed by the word, Learn that the Love of God is both in the blessings, and vs.7 in the Judgments of God.
    2. In short it is learning to both hear, and be obedient to the voice of God when He speaks.
  6. Even with all this, it doesn’t mean we won’t fall,
    1. Look at Vs. 25,37,40, 50, 88, 93, 107, 149, 154, 156, 159
      - they all seem to suggest the author of this psalm struggles with maintain a proper relationship with God.
      - Not that he is a wicked person, but that sometimes the world gets the best of him
    2. But, each time, he gets up, confesses his sin and continues,
      - “The Victorious Christian Life is a series of new beginnings” Warren Wiersbe
3. Cultivating an Appetite for the Word of God,
  1. The Nutrients of Life,
    1. Jesus said “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. ”
    2. When we feed the Spirit, it works within our hearts, and enables us to walk in God’s path.
  2. Are we ashamed of the word of God?
    1. vs.6 tells us it is a simple matter of respect to the word of God,
      - Paul told the Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. ”
    2. Vs.80 “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed. ”
      - if we feel ashamed, then we need to take a good look at our lives,
      - If we are ashamed, it will affect our witness to others, we will be ashamed of our hope,
  3. Praise God For His Words
    1. Praise Alef- Vav- Dalet- Dalet
      - Power to secure a pathway to enter.
    2. If we desire to enter into the presence of God, we need to learn how to Praise Him
      - John 4:23&24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
        
        notice that, The Father seeketh such to worship Him.

Points for Home:

God’s initial desire for man is to BLESS them,
- Above anything else, the blessing of salvation, then the blessing of a relationship
God’s word is not a weapon God uses to punish people, but a tool He uses to help us become like Him
- The word of God warns the consequences of sin and disobedience, but the destruction doesn’t come from the word, it simply warned.
- (if we drove past a sign that said danger ahead, would we be mad at the sign, or the person that put it up?)
God’s word is the doorway to Blessings, which leads to Obedience, and results in Worship.

Match Words

Bet- Tav 1. Morning
Bet 2. Bless
Bet- Qoof- Reysh 3. Daughter
Lamed- Bet 4. In
Bet- Dalet- Sheen 5. Heart

Answers: 1-3,2-4, 3-1, 4-5, 5-2