#861 Lamedh 12

Lamedh

89 Forever, O Lord, your word

is firmly fixed in the heavens.

90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

91 By your appointment they stand this day,

for all things are your servants.

92 If your law had not been my delight,

I would have perished in my affliction.

93 I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have given me life.

94 I am yours; save me,

for I have sought your precepts.

95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

but I consider your testimonies.

96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,

but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Psalm 119: 89-96 ESV

A continuation of Psalm 119, God's word is fixed.

Lamedh is the twelfth letter of the Hebrew Aleph-bet, numerical value of 30. The pictograph is that of a shepherd's staff or goad. It comes from the root lamad which means to learn or teach and it is the tallest of the letters, considered the center of the alphabet. It is said that the studying the Torah is for heart knowledge, it teaches us the way and like a shepherd draws us back when we stray. Studying itself is not the end, but rather the means to the end, which is to see the infraction and find the remedy, Christ, the King of kings. 

38 nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent. 39 You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40 yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.… John 5: 38-40

…14 But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. 15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,… 2 Timothy 3: 14-16

Forever, O Lord, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens - Everyone has an opinion, but as far as Scripture is concerned, it is not the best opinion among men, nor the popular opinion, my opinion doesn't matter. It does not change the counsel of God in heaven. In fact, heaven and earth will pass away, but God's Word shall remain. He is unchanging, not a man that He should lie, and what He has spoken has come and will come to past. A diligent student must put aside his ego, and search most longingly for the Author's intent. Do not look to defend yourself, but rather look to defend the truth, the honor and glory of your Savior, Jesus Christ. 

- “Sentiments fluctuate so constantly in this nineteenth century that I suppose we shall soon require to have barometers to show us the variations of doctrine as well as the prospects of the weather. We shall have to consult quarterly reviews, to see what style of religious thought is predominant, and then we shall have to accommodate our sermons to the dictum of the last wise man who has chosen to make a special fool of himself. As for myself, I shall continue to be unfashionable, and abide where I am. ‘Sticking in the mud,’ says somebody. ‘Standing on the Rock,’ say I.” (Spurgeon)

Is firmly fixed in the heavens - God does not change, His sovereignty, His providence is not in the dark. He need not write another gospel, it is finished. Everything of old declares first, His right as the Creator, then the fall of man, promise of a redeemer, fulfilled in Christ. 

- Every preacher should especially be able to say, “Your word is settled in heaven.” “They say that they are thinking out their doctrines. I would be greatly sorry to have to think out the road to heaven without the guiding star of heaven’s grace or the map of the word. Not gospel-preachers but gospel-makers these men aspire to be, and their message comes forth, not as the gospel of the grace of God, but as the gospel of the imagination of men; a gospel concocted in their own kitchen, not taught them by the Holy Spirit. It is the reverse of being ‘settled in heaven,’ it is not even settled in the mind of its inventor.” (Spurgeon)

Your faithfulness endures to all generations - God has given His word to all generations, preserved it and it has found it's way to believers in remote places where the authority of God's word is hated by those who are in rule. He has caused men to rise in every generation, men that call for reform, the return to the glorious truths of the gospel. 

- “Throughout much of this time, the Bible was an object of extreme hatred by many in authority. They tried to stamp it out, but the text survived. In the early days of the church, Celsus, Prophyry, and Lucien tried to destroy it by their arguments. Later the emperors Diocletian and Julian tried to destroy it by force. In some periods of history it was a capital offense to possess a copy of the Bible. Yet the text survived.” (Boice)

For all things are Your servants - He spoke the universe into existence by His word, and there is nothing that can take place that will in anyway thwart His plan. This should give the believer much hope, present circumstances, no matter how frustrating, are not outside His plan.

- “A striking feature of these verses is the coupling of God’s creative, world-sustaining word with His law for man. Both are the product of the same ordering mind; and not only men but ‘all things’ are His ‘servants’.” (Kidner)

…38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”… John 6: 38-40

I would have perished in my affliction - The Psalmist has mentioned in past sections that God's judgment is right, and that he has been rightly afflicted for his transgressions. Whether by case of sin or even in suffering for righteousness sake, he delights in God's law. It is there I have found the ability to forgive things I once thought unforgivable, because in the devouring of God's word I have found myself a transgressor of His law. There are no good men that come to the cross, only sinners, with only their sin to offer, believing in the words of our Lord, that "whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." 

…31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Luke 5: 31-32

For by them You have given me life - 

- God’s word brings life because it is alive. “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me. The Bible is not antique or modern. It is eternal.” (Luther, cited in Boice)

I am Yours save me - I am Your child, belonging to You, and so I have followed Your precepts. You are my teacher, corrector, Savior. 

…19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider Your testimonies - They have not been distraction enough, I still consider Your word, I return to Your words, and so they have lost, for all else is fading.

I have seen a limit to all perfection -

- “Of ‘all perfection’ in this world, whether of beauty, wit, learning, pleasure, honour, or riches, experience will soon show us the ‘end.’ But where is the end or boundary of the word of God?” (Horne)

But Your commandment is exceedingly broad - I shall not outlive Your word, and I shall always wish that I had known it better.