#858 Teth

Teth

65 You have dealt well with your servant,

O Lord, according to your word.

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in your commandments.

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,

but now I keep your word.

68 You are good and do good;

teach me your statutes.

69 The insolent smear me with lies,

but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;

70 their heart is unfeeling like fat,

but I delight in your law.

71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,

that I might learn your statutes.

72 The law of your mouth is better to me

than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Psalm 119: 65-72

A continuation of Psalm 119 keeping with the Word.

Teth or Tet is the ninth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, 9 or when follow by an apostrophe, 9000. Tet is one of 7 letters in the Hebrew Aleph-bet that can receive a tagin (decoration written over the letter, a tag, a crown).  

This letter was also seen in paradox, used first in the word "good" from Genesis 1: 4, but also in the word tumah, which represents impurity or filth. In the minds of the spiritually bankrupt, when we develop our own religions and philosophies, we come up with a system of cosmic duality, such as eastern philosophies' yin and yang, or that there is no good and evil because we believe there is no Creator Judge. The pictograph is that of a snake coiled in a basket. 

Providence Part 1

Providence Part 2

Interesting note from Matthew Henry's commentary on Isaiah 45: 5-10

- 45:5-10 There is no God beside Jehovah. There is nothing done without him. He makes peace, put here for all good; and creates evil, not the evil of sin, but the evil of punishment. He is the Author of all that is true, holy, good, or happy; and evil, error, and misery, came into the world by his permission, through the wilful apostacy of his creatures, but are restrained and overruled to his righteous purpose. This doctrine is applied, for the comfort of those that earnestly longed, yet quietly waited, for the redemption of Israel. The redemption of sinners by the Son of God, and the pouring out the Spirit, to give success to the gospel, are chiefly here intended. We must not expect salvation without righteousness; together the Lord hath created them. Let not oppressors oppose God's designs for his people. Let not the poor oppressed murmur, as if God dealt unkindly with them. Men are but earthen pots; they are broken potsherds, and are very much made so by mutual contentions. To contend with Him is as senseless as for clay to find fault with the potter. Let us turn God's promises into prayers, beseeching him that salvation may abound among us, and let us rest assured that the Judge of all the earth will do right. Matthew Henry

You have dealt well with Your servant - In all things, let this be understood. 

- He hath done all things well: the rule has no exception. In providence and in grace, in giving prosperity and sending adversity, in everything Jehovah hath dealt well with us. It is dealing well on our part to tell the Lord that we feel that he hath dealt well with us; for praise of this kind is specially fitting and comely. This kindness of the Lord is, however, no chance matter: he promised to do so, and he has done it according to his word. C. H. Spurgeon

27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.… Romans 8: 27-29

Teach me good judgment and knowledge - David had been wrong about God in times past. He saw God's commandments as good, but reacted in ignorance and emotion when witnessing His justice. I am reminded of Uzzah, who put his hand out to steady the ark, and was killed for doing so. David was an overwhelmed spectator to this, but to paraphrase one of the best teachers on the subject of God's holiness, R.C. put it  like this:

- Consider now the story of Uzzah. The ark of the covenant was being carried in a cart. This was not the way it was designed to be carried. It should have been on the shoulders of priests. When one of the oxen stumbled the ark looked like it was going to fall. Uzzah keeps it from tipping in the mud. God's reaction was not, "Thank you, Uzzah!" No, God killed Uzzah instantly. Uzzah believed that mud would desecrate the ark, but mud is just dirt and water obeying God. Mud is not evil. God's law was not meant to keep the ark pure from the earth, but from the dirty touch of a human hand. Uzzah presumed his hands were cleaner than the dirt. God said no. R. C. Sproul

Lord, grant me discernment.

Before I was afflicted I went astray - Again we see that whom the Lord loves He chastens. David was not left outside the rod of God's correction. In quiet prosperity he fell into grievous errors, Bathsheba comes to mind, and the Lord dealt with him according to His word. We always reject that which does not afford us our comforts, but David is growing to realize that the dog of affliction is only nipping at the heels of complacency. 

- It may be that some believer cries, "O that it were with me as in those summer days before I was afflicted." Such a sigh is most unwise, and arises from a carnal love of ease: the spiritual man who prizes growth in grace will bless God that those dangerous days are over, and that if the weather be more stormy it is also more healthy. It is well when the mind is open and candid, as in this instance: perhaps David would never have known and confessed his own straying if he had not smarted under the rod. C. H. Spurgeon

But now I keep Your word - Sickness may bring sorrow, but sorrow will also teach a man to pray. David sees that affliction has brought him back to obedience, and that happy state of communion with the Creator of the universe.

You are good and do good - Even in that which we perceive as evil, our discomforts, our sorrows, our sickness, hunger and pain, God is still doing good. 

The insolent smear me with lies - But he can go to God, Who knows all truth, every matter, and what joy that he can say, "with my whole heart I keep Your precepts." The Lord rebuke you, I am not guilty of your gossip, your slander.

Their heart is unfeeling, like fat - They are proud, and their affections are on feeding themselves, even at the cost of integrity, of kindness. 

1 Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. 3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.… 1 Timothy 4: 1-3

…18 They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more. 20 But this is not the way you came to know Christ.… Ephesians 4: 18-20

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes - After Uzzah died and David came to grips with it, he could go back into the word of God and see how he should have led, and what would prevent this from happening again. He came to trembling, which is the only response possible when confronted with the presence of a Holy God. Yet God, in His mercy, has provided a way for that approach.

5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”… John 14: 5-7

Than thousands of gold and silver pieces - In God's Word he found something more wonderful and beautiful than the riches of this world. 

…34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.… Matthew 24: 34-36