The Living Word of God (Psalm 119, Matthew 5.17-19)

 Sermon by: Robert Austell; September 10, 2017 - Psalm 119; Matthew 5:17-19

:: Sermon Audio (link) ::
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:: Scripture and Music ::
Wonderful Words of Life (arr. Austell)
Good, Good Father (Tomlin)
Everlasting God (Brown)
Come, Thou Fount (NETTLETON)
Show Us Christ (arr. Grassi) - worship choir, benediction
 
:: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) ::
This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose.

Today we are going to look at Psalm 119, which is a very special Psalm focused on the Law or Word of God. Why do I say it’s special? There are several reasons. With 176 verses, it is the longest chapter in the Bible. And almost every one of those 176 verses refers to one of eight words (synonyms) for God’s Word: including Law, statues, testimonies, word, judgments, precepts, ordinances, and commandments.

On top of that, it is an ACROSTIC poem, which means that it is tied to the Hebrew alphabet. This was often done to aid with memorization. So, there are 22 stanzas of eight verses and each one is tied to a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And when I say ‘tied’ I mean it is really tied. Every one of the eight lines of a given stanza starts with the same letter of the alphabet. So, the first stanza is the ‘aleph’ or ‘A’ stanza, and each line starts with the Hebrew letter aleph. So imagine, eight lines start with the letter ‘A’ and each line has a reference to God’s Word. Then eight lines starting with ‘B’ and so on.

Primarily we are going to listen to God’s Word, but I will briefly reflect on each stanza before or after we hear it. Now that acrostic feature is lost in translation to English. Not only do the words not necessarily start with the same letter, but Hebrew word order is different, so the A-word isn’t necessarily the first English word you see in your translation. So, I have prepared slides and a handout with the acrostic word in bold. You’ll see that it sometimes is the first word in English, but sometimes gets moved later in the sentence after translation. I have also put the reference to God’s Law or Word in bold all-caps.

Finally, to try to give you a sense of what you are missing from the Hebrew, I have chosen an English word that starts with the acrostic letter of each stanza to summarize that stanza. So, for example, I have chosen “ABIDING” to summarize the main idea of the ‘A’ stanza. As we go through I’ll say a bit about each stanza, then give you the one or two word summary word in English that starts with the letter corresponding to that stanza.

We ABIDE with God when we ‘walk’ according to his Word. In this stanza you will hear language of ‘observing’ and ‘learning’ and ‘keeping’ and ‘walking.’ It is a description of life lived in obedience to God. And the way we know what that looks like is by intimate knowledge of, love for, and obedience to God’s written Word. This stanza sets up the whole Psalm/song by inviting us to “make our home” in God’s Word as we live life.

The next stanza features the word ‘blessed’ and the pronoun for mine and yours, which is a ‘b’ tacked on words like heart, lips, and several of the variations for God’s Word. Overall, the focus is on the blessing of belonging to God and holding God’s Word in our hearts and lives, so I doubled up on the B’s and call this section BLESSED BELONGING.

The ‘G’ stanza names a number of difficult situations – being a stranger, being crushed, dealing with the anger and contempt of others; God’s Word in its various forms offers encouragement, strength and serves as a ‘counselor.’ I chose the word GRACE because of the way God cares for us through His Word in these difficult situations.

The next section is ‘D’ (I know this doesn’t match our ABCs) and uses the word for ‘way’ four times to describe how God’s Word leads us through life. So, I chose the word DIRECTION to summarize this stanza.

The next section is ‘H.’ This letter shows up a little differently. Instead of showing up as different words, it is a prefix put on the front of verbs to make them an imperative (or appeal). So we have eight appeals to God: teach me, give me understanding, make me walk, etc… So I chose the word HELP to illustrate calling out to God for help through His Word and teaching.

The next letter is ‘V/W’ and it is also unusual like the ‘H’ was… it is the word ‘and’ or ‘also’ and can be tacked onto any word to say “and ___.” In this stanza it has the effect of piling up the eight verses to say “God’s Word does this” AND “God’s Word does this” so I chose WHAT’S MORE to illustrate the abundance that we find in God’s Word.

There’s a certain word that repeats several times. It’s ‘remember’ which starts with the Hebrew ‘Z.’ This stanza demonstrates the value in remembering God’s Word when we are in difficult places. I couldn’t think of a Z word, so I chose MEMORIZE (hear the Z in the middle?) as one way we can remember God’s promises.

The next letter is one Hebrew has that we do not. It is ‘Heth’ and the closest we have is a ‘CH’ sound. You may have heard me speak of Hesed before; it shows up in the last of the eight verses as ‘lovingkindness’ – it is God’s compassion and faithful, enduring love. While the CH words vary widely, the stanza as a whole is about this love of God, so I chose the word CHERISHED.

There was one predominant word in several English forms in this stanza – did you hear it? Good, better, well – they all point to who God is and what God is like: a good Father. I chose the word TRUE for this stanza.

The next stanza features ‘Y’ – two Y-words are ‘hands’ and ‘know’ and then it shows up as another prefix on verbs that you see in English five times as “May you….” So I chose the word YOU since all of these focus in a personal way towards God as our help and hope.

In an interesting pairing with the preceding YOU stanza, this K (or hard C) stanza catalogues a series of low points in life: a languishing soul, eyes failing, a wineskin in the smoke, pits, and near destruction. So I chose COLLAPSED, realizing that more than ever we need God’s help.

The ‘L’ stanza speaks of God’s Word and faithful character as continuing, being exceedingly broad, and lasting forever. So I chose the word LASTING to describe this stanza. Listen to where this theme shows up.

The ‘M’ stanza mostly uses the Hebrew letter ‘mem’ to show that the resources of God’s Word (particularly wisdom) is greater than any other resources or power. So I chose the word MORE to highlight this “more than” feature of God’s Word. 

That may look like an I, but it is an ‘N’ – and the sense of the whole stanza is that we are to be INCLINED toward God and His Word. We look to it as a lamp, we incline our will in allegiance, we make offerings, and so forth. The last line summarizes this as we “incline our hearts” in obedience.

With God as hiding place and shield, and words like sustain and uphold, I could not come up with one ‘S’ word, so chose several: we are SUPPORTED, SAFEGUARDED, and SUSTAINED by God. Where do we learn more about this? In God’s Word and as we obey that Word!

The next stanza is for the Hebrew letter ‘ayin’ which is not really an ‘A’ but that’s the closest thing we have. I chose ATTUNED because it starts with ‘I have done justice and righteousness’ – in other words, “God, I’m tuned in, be with me!” And there is language of serving God as well as the overarching theme of reading, heeding, and trusting God’s Word.

For ‘P’ there was no one word to make me think of a PRESENT, but the overall idea of this stanza suggested that to me… from the delight in the word ‘wonderful’ to the plea for God to “be gracious to me” to the picture of God’s “face shining upon us” – I thought, God’s Word and God’s presence really are a PRESENT to us!

One of the more unusual Hebrew letters is “tsadhe” which corresponds to a TS sound in English. While there are several TS words used in this stanza, the word for ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness’ are so central to Biblical theology overall, and it happened to have a T and S if you kind of get creative. RIGHTEOUSNESS is so important in the Bible as a whole because it is the nature of God’s holiness and lack of it is what keeps us from God. It is Jesus’ obedient act of compassion (hesed) on the cross that ultimately covers us with righteousness. So this stanza is an appropriate lead in to our time of confession and the assurance of God’s grace.

The next stanza is ‘Q’ (or close enough to it). In this stanza the Psalmist does a lot of crying out, looking in hope, and calling out to God. So I chose the word QUESTION, which is a very appropriate way to approach God and His Word.

The calling out and pleading for God’s intervention continues in the ‘R’ stanza, as the Psalmist says: Look on my affliction, plead my cause, Revive me, and more. So I chose REVIEW, asking that God REVIEW my situation and help.

The next stanza is a letter that makes a ‘SH’ sound. Again, I could not settle on one word or image, so I chose SHIELD and SHEPHERD, pointing to two ways in which God protects and cares for us.

The next stanza is the last of Psalm 119 and is a (different) letter ‘T’ from one we had earlier (tet). In most cases in this stanza, this is another prefix which is translated ‘let’ in English. So, I chose ENTREATY, though in this stanza it is a double ENTREATY, first to self (e.g. to “utter praise”), but then to God to hear and respond to our ENTREATIES.

And finally, the choir will sing a benediction over us. In it they sing “Show Us Christ.” And this is the net effect of Psalm 119 and all of God’s Word. Think of some of those one-word summaries: BLESSED, GRACE, HELP, TRUE, PRESENT, RIGHTEOUS. We could trace each one to a teaching of Jesus to see how he embodies each one… but I won’t today. I would read this one summary passage from the Gospel of Matthew (5:17-19)

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

All of this, all of God’s Words, all of God’s will, is to show us Christ, who in turn has shown us God and made a way for us TO God. Listen now and receive the choir’s benediction. Amen!