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Psalm 119 Lesson 20 REYSH

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Psalm 119 Lesson 20 REYSH

Psalm 119

Lesson 20

Reysh (front of head)

Text: Psalm 119:153-160 “Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. 154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes. 156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments. 157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. 158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. 159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. 160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.”

Intro: three lessons left, reysh Shin and Tav. I pray this has been an interesting study for each of us.

  1. The Letter Reysh,

    1. The Meaning,

      1. A Head,

        1. the original picture was to be drawn as a head, it symbolized:

          • the highest, a person, what is important.

            • I love that last one, think about it, the ancient Hebrew people when they were first putting chisel to stone, and they wanted to convey what is important, they chose a person.

            • People are important, not things, not all the other stuff that distracts us form our calling, it is people.

      2. Examples:

        1. Reysh Bet- head of house, Rabbi, leader, master

        2. Reysh Mem Hey- Head sees chaos, Betray, or deceive

        3. Reysh Pey Hey- importance comes from mouth, Slothful, or idle

        4. Reysh Noon Hey- see life out of the head, shout, song of joy

        5. Reysh Cheth Mem- person surrounds chaos, Compassion

  2. The Word of God,

    1. Revive Me O’ Lord, (Quicken me)

      1. Quicken Me By Thy Word, vs.153-155

        1. one of the main points of emphasis of this entire psalm was that of the Word of God.

        2. Some of the uses of the idea of Word are:

          • Commandments used 22 times

          • Judgments used 19 times

          • Law used 25 times

          • Ordinance once,

          • Precept used 21 times

          • Statues 22 times

          • Testimonies 23 times

          • and word is used 42 times.

            • That means a variation of the word of God is used 175 times in Psalm 119, incidentally there are 176 verses in the psalm.

            • With nearly every verse mentioning the word, how important is the word of God in our lives?

        3. Consider Mine Affliction,

          • Consider- Reysh Alef Hey (har) head power to see.

            • Literally, to see, gaze upon me.

          • Think about the willingness of God to see us in our afflictions:

            • Exodus 3:7 “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;”

            • Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”

            • I Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”

          • the Lord is looking to see who He can show His strength to,

            • II Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…”

        4. The Lord does not look on us because He must, He desires to, listen to this,

          • Psalm 113:4-6 “The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, 6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!”

            • get that, he humbeleth Himself to behold us,

            • the word humble used here in the Hebrew carries the idea to humiliate,

              • and He does this to see us,

                • if He is willing to do that, do we think He is willing to do something about it?

        5. The psalmist has continued to profess that he has kept, or tried to keep the word of God.

          • Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ”

            • why do I jump to this verse? Because the psalmist knew it to be true, and was counting on the fact that God is a rewarder.

            • So he is asking for deliverance.

        6. Plead my cause,

          • defend my cause , as our kinsmen redeemer

            • our Mediator, our Advocate, the one who represents before the throne of God

              • I John 2:1&2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

              • See also: I Tim:2:5; Hebrews 8:6, 9:15 & 12:24

        7. through all of this, the psalmist relies on the word of God to quicken him.

          • How a Christians truly “lives” without studying the word is beyond me.

      2. Quicken Me By Thy Judgments, Vs.156-158

        1. think about that verse, (156) make me alive through Thy Judgments,

          • the psalmist joins two seemingly different things together,

            • Great is Your Mercies, and

            • make me alive through Your judgments

          • The Psalmist knows the truth of the matter is that judgment and mercy are not mutual exclusive,

            • even when God describes Himself in Exodus 34, after mercy, grace and the rest, He goes on to say, and this by no means will clear the guilty.

            • There is still judgment.

              • Even for the Christian, there is a judgment day which we will be rewarded, and suffer loss for our lives.

                • Yes our sins are forgiven, yet we will answer for all we did.

                • This should quicken us to live according to the will of the Lord

        2. The psalmist also here eludes to the point, we will be subject to one or the other,

          • the people of the world, or to God

          • Here he mentions the number of enemies and persecutors,

            • the world will always be against the people of God

            • John 15:18&19 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

            • James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

          • Acts 5:26 to the rest of the chapter, Peter stood and told the high priest and others, that the people of God had an obligaton to be obedient to God rather than to man.

          • However the psalmist here testifies,

            • I do not decline from Thy testimonies, to bend away from, or to stretch.

        3. Vs.158 is interesting to me on many levels,

          • “I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.”

            • and I want to explore this more in depth on my own, and with the church in the not too distant future

          • The question I have here is the grief. Who was the grief directed toward?

            • Was it toward himself? But why would the actions of others make hims sad for himself? (yes the grief was his, but was it directed to him?)

            • Was it directed toward the transgressor? (was he sorry, because he knew their end, and what was waiting for them?)

            • Or, was it directed to God? (he grieved because God deserved their obedience?)

          • Quite possible a little of all.

            • We should feel bad for those who oppose themselves, as well as the Lord that paid the price for obedience yet is hated.

      1. Quicken Me By Thy Loving Kindness, Vs.159&160

        1. I suppose this brings us naturally to this conclusion,

          • it is the Loving Kindness of God that truly quickens us.

        2. Without the Love of God, none of the other things would have even been offered.

          • When I read Exodus 34, I notice the way things are placed. It is first his mercy,

            • withholding judgment which is deserved, at the very moment of sin.

            • Without it, there would be no need for grace, and so on….

        3. The Psalmist closes this section with one of the greatest truth contained in the word of God,

          • His word is “true” from the beginning,

            • His word is Certain, Stable, Trustworthy, Established, Faithful, Right, Sure,

            • We can depend on it,

              • when the word of God declares something to be truth, we can have no greater evidence.

        4. Not only is the word true, His judgments are everlasting,

          • this should both bring Joy, and sadness.

            • Sadness to those who reject, once life is over, their judgment is set.

            • Joy to know, once we are forgiven, we are forever forgiven.

              • Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”

Next week: Shin, teeth, to consume.