Psalm 119: Focus On God's Word Pt. 80 What Are We Talking About?

Psalm 119:25,26  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. 26)  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. 

We speak about that which we know well. 

Psalm 119:27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. 

We will now look at the second part of this text as we have explored the benefits of seeking God's help to understand His pure precepts.

The Psalmist is so filled with wonder and joy and amazement from what he learned from the scriptures. He was moved to tell other people about the wonderful things of God. As we more fully learn God's truth we will talk about it to other people. 

What is in our heart is what we will speak about. 

Matthew 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Though the words of Christ are spoken in a negative sense because they were directed toward religious hypocrites, they are true. If we fill our hearts by reading the Bible and we take in an abundant supply of God's Word in our hearts, then we will speak of it. 

This is a challenge for many of us today because we live in a culture where everyone feels they have to weigh in on things that do not concern them. 

Believers in Christ have an opportunity to witness for our Lord by talking about the wonderful things of God, instead of letting what we talk about be influenced by our culture. 

We should be those who say "Come and hear what God has done!"

Psalm 66:16  Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. 

The Psalmist is inviting all men to unite in praise to our All Glorious God. He is remembering some of the mighty works that God did for him. He recalls special reasons to offer his thanksgiving, and celebrate God’s great mercy.

He is speaking from what is in his heart. 

God is honored when we talk of His wondrous works.

John 1:44,45  Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45)  Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

After Jesus found Philip and called him to be His disciple, Philip responded by going to a friend named Nathanael and spoke to him about Christ. Notice why Philip was excited and motivated. He connected what Jesus said to him, to all that the scriptures said about the Messiah. 

Thus, his heart was full of the scriptures and this motivated him to seek other men to follow after Jesus Christ. 

Others are edified when we talk of God's wondrous works.

Luke 22:31,32  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32)  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 

Jesus told Simon Peter that Satan was trying to attack the disciple, but Jesus interceded with His Father. He prayed that Peter would be fully and completely converted, and when he was, that he would strengthen many disciples.

The book of Acts contains the record of Peter's conversion on the day of Pentecost, and tells us how Christ used him to build the early church. 

The word "strengthen" means that Peter would confirm new believers in their faith making their faith strong, like firmly set concrete, fixed and unwilling to waver. 

Rivers of truth flow from us because of God's indwelling Spirit.  

John 7:37-39  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38)  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39)  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 

Jesus taught His disciples about the future ministry of the Spirit of God and He connected that ministry to a beautiful picture of rivers flowing with living water. This metaphor would resonate with the people who live in an arid, dry, dusty land like ancient Jerusalem. 

The scriptures are the pure water of God for tired souls.

Psalm 36:5-9  Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. 6)  Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. 7)  How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. 8)  They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. 9)  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

The mercy of Jehovah is higher than clouds and reaches beyond the heavens, which is a way of communicating that His mercy is everlasting and infinite. His judgments are as vast and comprehensive as the ocean depths. 

The Psalmist tells us that there is abundant satisfaction with all the things of God and that all believers will drink from the river of His good pleasure. 

Jehovah alone, has the fountain of life, both physical and spiritual life. The word "fountain" refers to pure, cold waters that are like a spring emerging from the depths of the earth. 

Heavenly refreshment is promised to us by Jehovah.

Isaiah 44:3,4  For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: 4)  And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 

Jehovah will send copious waters into the soul of any person who has a heart like the dried bones seen by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37). 

The idea here is that the fiery trials we sometimes endure, the hard times of this life, can wear us out. It is similar to doing physical labor under the summer sun which saps our strength, weakens our focus and makes us dehydrated.    

The promise of God is that He will pour water into our dry, thirst, parched souls. He will do this through the vibrant ministry of His indwelling Spirit.  His work of grace in our hearts causes us to revive and thrive.

A true spring of freshwater is constantly supplied with water from deep within layers of earth and stone. So shall the soul of the genuine believer be supplied with light, life, love, liberty, and all the other graces of the indwelling Spirit, from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Water from the world cannot satisfy. Only scripture quenches the thirst in our hearts. 

John 4:13,14  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14)  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

Drinking of normal water from a well is like partaking of the world's pleasures. They bring a temporary diversion and respite from the burdens of life, but consuming it does not bring lasting satisfaction.

The water Jesus referred to plainly means natural water and temporal satisfactions of a earthly and perishable nature. 

Water from the world's many wells come from a polluted, external source, and reaches only superficial parts of our nature. Benefits derived from such temporal waters are soon exhausted, and need to be resupplied, just as if we had never consumed them.

Some have said that drinking from the waters of the world is like drinking salt water. You end up craving more and more because it does not quench your thirst, and eventually you become sickened by it. 

Enduring satisfaction comes only from drinking deeply from the fountain of God's pure Word and allowing His Spirit to minister His truth into our soul. This living water from the Word and made living by the Holy Spirit, is transformative, revitalizing and sustaining. 

The living water that Christ gives is spiritual life. This living water reaches the very depths of our being and makes our soul a fountain of truth springing, gushing, bubbling up and flowing forth within us, ever fresh, ever living. 

The indwelling of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Christ is the secret of this life with all its enduring energies and satisfactions. “Never thirsting” then, means simply that such souls have ample supplies of living waters in them.  

Thoughts to Ponder..

This text ends with a simple, yet profound thought. We must ask ourselves the question "Which well of waters have I been drinking from?" 

Drinking from the world's wells will never satisfy. Those waters can never address the issues of our hearts. 

If this is the source of the water we take in, then this is what we will talk about: the things of this world. 

However, the Psalmist is concerned with showing us our need to drink deeply from the living waters of God's eternal Word. When the reservoir of our heart is full of living waters, then we will talk about the things of God. We will speak words of truth, blessing and worship.

May we be those people who seek those things which are above and not those things of the world. 

Bob