Psalm 105
Psalm 119:105 — NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT
A. Acrostic
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Verse 105 is the best known verse of Psalm 119;
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Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, consisting of 176 verses. It is an acrostic (1 of 9or14) with each section containing eight verses that begin with the same Hebrew letter.
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NAVIGATION: 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
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NECESSITY 106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
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NOURISHMENT: 107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
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NOTE OF PRAISE: 108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
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NONETHELESS 109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
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NOT DETERRED 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
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NEW AND OLD JOY 111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
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NOBLEY BENT 112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
B. THEME: The relationship between the believer and the divine law
I. The Bent & Straight "Noon"
- NUN: The Hebrew letter Nun (נ) is the fourteenth letter of the aleph-bet. It is pronounced as "noon" and represents the sound /n/ in various languages.
- The letter has two forms: the bent Nun (נְ) in the middle of a word and the straight Nun (נָ), which is used at the end of a word.
- Ps 10:12 ¶ Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
- Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
- 1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
- (A STRAIGHTENING) The numeric value is 50.
- Ge 6:15 Widh of the Noah's Ark was 50 cubits.
- Haman's Gallows was 50 cubits High: Es 7:9
- Every 50th year is Year of Jubilee: all lands of Israel are “given their freedom,” and returned
- 50 days from RESURRECTIO to PENTECOST (Leviticus 23:15,16)
Leviticus 23:15,16 — And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
- FEAST OF WEEKS, PENTECOST SUNDAY -- count 50 days 7 sundays - KEPT ON A SUNDAY made of the new flour.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The relationship between the believer and the divine law -- 9 different synonymns in Psalm 119. How is God's Word a lamp to our feet and a light to our path? Consider the FORMs and EFFECTs of God's LAW. 1. LAW, 2. TESTIMONIES, 9. WORD
1. ---> Law (TORAH) (v. 109)
God's LAW is a HIS Will. It is temporal window into the INFINITE 'soul' of God. His LAW is not matters of technicality, but of HIS HEART.
- Maine Law: It is illegal to catch a lobster with your bare hands.(Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, §6432: Methods of fishing)
- God's Law is not "COLD", "OUTDATED", "NOT RELEVANT", "WITHOUT CLEAR PURPOSE" --- HIS HEART IS REVEALED
Deuteronomy 6:4,5 — Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
2. ---> Testimonies (WITNESS, earthly type, 'ARK') (v. 111)
Exodus 25:16 — And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
3. Precepts (guiding principles) (v. 110)
Proverbs 3:5-6 — Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
4. Statutes (LEGAL REGULATION) (v. 112)
Leviticus 18:4 — Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
5. Judgments (PRECEDENTS) (v. 106)
Exodus 21:1-27
6. Ordinances (INSTITUTION/FORMAL DECREE) (v. 91)
Exodus 12:14 — And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
7. Commandments (PRESCRIPTIONS/ORDERS) (v. 115)
Exodus 20:3-17 (the TEN COMMANDMENTS) - telling His people exactly what they are to do
8. Ways (collective conduct) (v. 104)
Ps 81:13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! Heb 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
- The route, the journey, the HIGHWAY
9. ---> Word (powerful commununication that brings about his will) (v.105)
Isaiah 55:11 — So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.