Psalm 119 Tzaddi

 

"You are righteous, Yahweh, Your Judgements are upright.

You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy.

My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore my words.

Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

I am small and despised. I don't forget your precepts.

Your Righteousness is and everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth.

Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight.

Your testimonies are righteous forever.  Give me understanding, that I may live."

                Psalm 119:137-144

    

    Ask any builder working on any kind of structural project and the majority of the people should tell you that before a single post goes up, the foundation of the building goes in first. Then you can build up and out and any which way you want to go. I love that God's word continues to model this formula for success. In the last post, I mentioned how if the windows to the soul are taking in sights that are pure and good, the things that come out will be pure as well. What the psalmist is saying with this stanza, Tzaddi, is that a person cannot be righteous, if they eyes and they mouth are not pure and blameless Jesus describes this beautifully when he says, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will love one and hate the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. (Matthew 6:24 NIV) In order for a man to take on the mantle of humility and righteousness, he must be vigilant of what he allows his eyes to see, what his ears to hear and his mouth to speak. Righteousness is also not something to be praised and revered. Imagine your scrolling on your various social media platform and you see a video of someone giving to the poor. Although the act itself is good, if it is only done for the likes and hearts it will undoubtedly receive, that is not righteousness, but pride. David understood what it meant to be humble before God, because he witnessed the result of a prideful heart. Whenever David did things to show off his power, God always came in and showed him the greatness of his "strength" and David then had to admit his sin so that God's peace could return to the people. 

    Our actions carry more power than we might ever realize while on this earth. Should we not try with everything in us to be good and pure simply because God says it is right, not because the world will see it. May we go every day, operating like a shadow in the night, doing things for the people around like a year-round Santa Claus that only lives to give. Never to receive a pat on the back for "helping the less fortunate", but being a person who has nothing to offer but our lives, not allowing pride to create a false sense of "holy righteousness". 

    "Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:1-4

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms. 

Psalm 119 Pe

 "Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.

Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. 

Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey your precepts.

Make your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees.

Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.

                Psalm 119:129-136 Pe

    God always has a plan and a purpose for everything that we do and every path we walk on throughout this life. The way His holy word, the Bible, is structured is no different. 

            "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 

            "He has made everything beautiful in its time"- Ecclesiastes 3:11

            "Oh, the depths of his riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out."- Romans 11:33

    Throughout the Bible, there are moments when God tells his people to watch and see, then go and tell. The 119th chapter in the Psalms lays this out from one stanza to the next. In the previous secction, AYIN, we see that this letter, essentially a vowel in our alphabet, describes the window to the soul, our eyes. What we see and what we choose to focus on will be what ultimately comes out of our mouth(PE), and heart. This 17th letter in the section means simply that, the mouth by which we speak. From the blog A Small Drop of Ink, the writer has this to say about the correlation between Ayin and  Pe, 

            "Rabbis point out that “Pe” (mouth) follows the letter “Ayin” (eyes), suggesting the importance of seeing (understanding, having awareness) before opening the mouth. If this order is reversed, the result is mindless chatter."

How can we speak the words of truth and love and grace, if we have yet seen them for ourselves? If you have every been around someone giving a testimony, you believe the words more easily when you can see in their eyes that they have seen what they are speaking, and that they are speaking truth. Whenever someone speaks on a matter they know nothing of, their words fall short and the truth is far from them. 

I want to live a life of someone who has seen the works of the Father firsthand, so that when the time comes to share what I have seen, people will see the genuiness  of my words. 

            "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight. O Lord, my strength and my redeemer"- Psalm 19:14

May the words that come from your heart be full of truth and pleasing to God, because you only speak about the things you have seen, and the things you have seen are good things bestowed on you by the Father. 

Adam Semple, AYoung Man on a Journey Through the Psalms

Psalm 119 Ayin

"I have done justice and righteousness;  Do not leave me to my oppressors. 

Be surety for your servant for good, Do not let the proud oppress me.

My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation, And your righteous word

Deal with your servant according to your mercy and teach me your statutes                                    

I am your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know your testimonies 

It is time to for you to act, O Lord, For they have regarded your law as void.

Therefore, I love your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold.

Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right: I hate every false way.                                                             

       

 

                                            Psalm 119:121-128 AYIN  ע

    The Hebrew letter portrayed in this passage of the Psalms is the 16th letter Ayin,(Ayen). It is more regarded as a vowel due to the fact that the letter itself does not typically have a sound, but it adds to other letters to create new words. The creation of this letter is believed to be tied to what it means, which is basically the window to the soul, or in layman's terms, the eye,(eyes): One being good and one being bad. This unwraps what Jesus was taliking about in the Gospel of Mattheww when He says this to the people, "The eye is the lamp of the whole body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. Matthew 6:22-23. Although the verbage here might be a little hard to grasp at times, what Jesus is saying is that the things we choose to focus on will be the things that permeate our entire soul. Say you know someone who looks at the world and only sees despair and disappointment. The reason they see the world this way is because they have chosen to focus solely on these things. Now, take someone who goes through life with a smile in all circumstances and joy in their heart. If you put these 2 people in the same environment and told them to tell you what they see, you would receive 2 very different answers. Person one would see all the things wrong with the place you have put them in, but Person 2 would see the blessings and the beauty that is all around them. So where does the difference come in? Why do 2 people looking at the exact same view come to 2 very different responses? Because throughout their life, they have to decided what they want to focus on, therefore allowing those things to take up their whole focus. Person 1 has decided that the world is only out to disappointment and fill them with heartache, so that is what they have chosen to set theirs eyes on. Person 2 realizes that life is filled with big and small joys, and God has proven to reveal Himself to his children through these little beauties. 

    The author of this psalm is trying make it very clear that what we choose to set are eyes, our AYIN, upon will completely change our outlook on life. Look back at the beginning of this section. When the psalmist has his gaxe on the world, he sees only his oppressors and the trouble they bring. It is only when he shifts his perception back to the Father, the ones coming against him mean nothing to him, because he knows the one he has set his eyes on will carry him though and watch over him as long as he trusts in what he sees, not just what is around him.

    In the boat, as the waters were tossing every which way around him, Peter was able to walk on the water if he kept his eyes on Jesus. It was only when he looked away that he began to sink. Let us always keep our eyes on the Father and whatever trials and tribulations come our way, we will be able to walk above them, because we know what has our focus. 

    I want to go through this life walking with the Father, not sinking from the troubles of this world.

"Turn your eyes, upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of Earth, will grow strangely dim. In the Light, of His Glory and Grace" - Lauren Daigle Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms.