Psalm 119 Lesson 14 NOON - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Psalm 119

Lesson 14

Vs.105-112 (Noon)

Text: Psalm 119:105-112 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. 107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word. 108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments. 109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law. 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. 111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. 112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.”

Intro: This section begins with what is one of if not the most famous verses of the Psalm. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The idea that this section begins with the letter that means life is appropriate. Being that it is in the word that true life happens “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” John 6:67&68.

The Letter Noon (n),
1. Life,
  1. The Meaning,
    1. the letter was original drawn as a fish darting through the water. Much like the ichthys.
    2. It carried the meaning of obviously a fish, or to sprout, as in new growth,
      - by using this the writer could convey the idea of “Continuing”
        
        after all, when one sees new growth sprouting out of the ground, they assume it is going to grow larger.
      - It is also tied to offspring, children, or grandchildren.
        
        This letter coupled with the Hebrew letter Bet gives us the word for son
  2. examples of the Letter Noon usage:
    1. Bet Noon, (nb) son, as already discuses, life in the house
    2. Noon Sheen Reysh (rcn) Eagle, the sheen and reysh combine to make Prince,
    3. Noon Dalet Chet (tdn) to expel or reject is to get their life out the door, to be separated.
    4. To please on the other hand is to (an) grow in power, become accepted
    5. the Noon also refers to action, such as in (rn) action head, light or candle
Faithfulness,
1. This section speaks to the faithfulness of both God and Us,
  1. Faithful Feet, Vs.105
    1. two of the most powerful ideas in the bible is the path we take, and the light to guide us.
      - We find both in this verse.
      - The path lets us know there is a standard, a direction for life,
      - where the light helps us to understand and follow it.
    2. Proverb 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”
    3. II Peter 1:19 “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:”
    4. consider the time this was written,
      - today we have very nice flashlights, but not that long ago, our lights were not very good. Flashlights that were a dull yellow.
      - For the people of the time of this, their light source was a oil lamp,
        
        a simple clay pot, with a wick, and oil that burned.
        
        Literally 1 candle power, enough light to only see a step or two at a time.
    5. The comparison is that we live in a dark world that we need a light to guide us through:
      - we find many references to the fact God has called us out of darkness into His light:
        
        See John 1:5; 3:19; 8:12; 12:46 Col.1:13; I Pet. 2:9
      - all these mention the difference between the darkness of the world, and the light God has called us to.
    6. Obedience to the word keeps our feet on the right path,
      - we should strive to be faithful to the word,.
  2. Faithful Words, Vs.106-108
    1. an oath to God is a serious thing,
      - Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
    2. one should consider the severity of an oath before they take it,
      - Numbers 30:2 “If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.”
      - See also Deu.23;21 & Ecc. 5:1-7
    3. this is not to say we should never give our word, but it is to say when we do, we need to fulfill that.
      - This is not just true to God, but to man as well.
      - We need to be people of our words.
    4. To speak to God, and vow to live according to his word, and not have the intention to do it, is defined as hypocrisy.
    5. I love the idea of the freewill offering of the mouth vs.108
      - sometimes the highest offering we can give to the Lord is our praise,
      - certainly to witness with others
  3. Faithful Memory, Vs.109&110
    1. we are responsible for our own actions, our life in that way is in our own hands, even tho we know our soul is secure.
      - We must be mindful of the steps we take,
    2. this is why he did not forget the law,
      - we must remember, the psalmist did not have access to a pocket bible,
        
        for the people of this time, in order to know what the word was, they would go to the temple or other place where the reading of thew word would take place. Then, be attentive and commit that word to memory.
      - Even for the Old Testament believer, the Holy Spirit was their aid, to help bring to remembrance the word. Not only to help remember it, but also to understand it.
        
        There is no understanding of the word without the Spirit of God to illuminate it to us.
    3. I Corinthians 2:10-14 “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
  4. Faithful Heart, Vs.111&112
    1. the word of God is and should be treated as a treasure,
      - we should treat it as a deep mine of Gold and silver, digging and extracting every bit of value out of it.
    2. Finding a gold mine and then not mining it would be foolish,
      - just as finding truth in the word of God and not being obedient to it.
    3. The Psalmist concludes this section with the idea that he has inclined his heart to follow the word,
      - He has prepared and trained his heart to be sensitive to the word,
      - How many of us have ever took on the task of training a vine to go up a pole? Such as a bean pole?
        
        We take the tender sprouts, and carefully twist them around the pole, tying them when necessary,
        
        but as the vine grows, after we have trained it, it naturally follows that pole up, for strength, and light.
      - As a child of God we grow in much the same way,
        
        left to wander we end up in the dirt and never reach the point that we produce fruit, but with a little guidance form the word, and illuminating from the Spirit, in a short time we become stable and producers of fruit for the Lord.

Next Week: Samech (s) a prop (such as propping up a wall/ aid/ assist)

Samech Bet- prop/ support Home, 1. Trust/ Refuge
Samech Reysh- Prop/ support, Head, 2. Grandfather
Samech Pey Reysh- Prop, Mouth, Head, 3. Sullen/ Moody
Chet Samech Hey- Fence, Support, Behold 4. Book/ Scroll

Answers 1-2; 2-3; 3-4; 4-1