Hungering for God’s Word: Psalm 119:113-144

As you know, we study through books of the Bible here at the Village Chapel, and you are always encouraged to follow along as we study.

So if you'd like a Bible, just slip your hand up and someone will bring one to you.

If you don't own a Bible, please feel free to take this Bible with you.

That's our gift to you today if you need one.

We want you to have that.

We want to welcome anyone joining us online for this service this morning.

We've been joined recently by folks in uh Wilmington, North Carolina, not too far from home, San Antonio, Texas, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Ilo, Ilo City, Philippines.

So grace and peace to you both near and far.

Wherever you're joining us from, if you're watching online, we pray that this time is encouraging to you in your faith, and we are so encouraged as a body that you're joining us.

Well, as I mentioned at the top, uh this is our first Sunday of a brand new year.

Who among us, I'm curious, who among us typically tries for things like resolutions, even whether it's whether you call it that or not?

Who typically does that?

Yeah, feel free.

I we're not down on resolutions.

I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna um say anything bad about that.

I think it's normal for us at the beginning of a year to uh to naturally reorient, to adjust trajectory, to evaluate what the previous year has looked like, and then um get a plan for how the new year can look different if you want to improve things, if you want to change things.

That's pretty natural.

Um I I actually think sometimes it's kind of adorable that we do that, right?

It's like January 2nd, National Exercise Day.

You guys observe that?

That's good.

You don't go to the you don't go to the gym on January 2nd, you won't get a treadmill, right?

You go the next day, and then you can get a treadmill because everybody's done, because national exercise exercise day is over at that point.

So I asked Perplexity AI what the top 10 New Year resolutions for Americans are, and this is what it gave me.

We'll put it on the screen here.

Number one, you'd expect this exercise more.

Number two, save more money.

We always do that after Christmas, don't we?

I gotta stop spending money.

Number three, eat healthier.

We also do that after Christmas.

Uh, number four, spend more time with family and friends.

Five, lose weight.

Some of these seem kind of related, don't they?

By the way, we have a cake bake off happening next month.

Excited about that.

Um good luck until then.

I will say the last potluck we had, we had a pie bake off, if you remember.

And um, I was at the right place at the right time.

I heard that.

Jim, that's wonderful.

Yeah, I was at the right place at the right time, and I was selected to be a judge.

Um, I begged to be selected to be a judge, and my thought behind that was this way, I have to try every pie.

And I did, and that evening was both a high point and a low point for me in my life.

And I woke up the next day sort of reconsidering everything, um, as as we sometimes do on the first of the year.

So, number six, improve overall physical health or fitness.

This is broader than just exercise or weight, it says.

Number seven, reduce stress or improve mental health.

Again, fitting that these are after a season where sometimes these these things are um are up.

Eight, get more organized in your home, your finances, in your life.

Nine, learn a new skill or a hobby.

Uh I do that.

I get real excited about things in January, and then my wife always knows that that's that's probably gonna pass away by February.

So I try not to spend money on those things.

Number 10, spend less time on social media or quit a bad habit such as smoking.

See, I was gonna ask, raise your hand if these apply to you, but then I was afraid that one would get confusing because we wouldn't know if you were quitting scrolling or smoking or what.

So um, but there's probably something on this list that some of you go, yeah, yeah, maybe me, maybe that's me.

We're so good at identifying the problems at the end of the year as we begin the next year, but we're not always great at ongoing, continuing solutions to those problems.

Our psalmist in today's study of uh Psalm 119 is uh what I would describe as resolute in his language when it comes to God's word.

And I think there's much to be considered today as we begin a new year of renewed commitment to the Lord, to his word, to his people.

And again, we're we're setting our trajectory, we're adjusting our trajectory for the year, and sometimes a good start can make all the difference in how the year looks.

And that's certainly the case for me personally.

How I begin is often uh the secret to whether or not I uh I um end up in a year that feels like it was spent doing the things that I intended to do or not doing the things that I uh intended to do.

Um so uh we're continuing this morning in this in this somewhat short study of Psalm 119.

You remember this psalm is made up of 22 stanzas, which correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

This is known as an acrostic.

Each stanza contains eight verses, and really we can kind of we can kind of read each stanza as if it's its own short psalm.

That's how it feels.

Uh so we'll be looking at four stanzas today, starting in verse 113 and going through 144, and we're going to read that in just a moment together, but I want to begin by going all the way back to Psalm 1.

Um, you you heard Emily mention and you've heard us mention over the last few weeks this treasuring God's Word initiative for our church.

And so that's two things.

That's a reading plan that will get you through the Bible in a year if you if you uh follow the plan, and then it's also weekly memory verse um memorization.

So I want to start with our first memory verse that we've got for this year uh because it relates so well, it sets us up so well for what we're gonna read in Psalm 119 today.

So we're gonna put that on the screen.

Let's read that together.

We won't do that every week, but let's read that together.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.

That's Psalm 1, the first two verses 1 and 2.

So the entire book of Psalms begins with this idea that the person who does not side with evil, but does delight in God's work, word is blessed.

And so we're going to continue on with that theme here in 119.

Let me pray for our time in the word this morning, and then we'll start our reading in verse 113 of 119.

Father, be with us as we uh mine the depths of your word, Lord.

We anticipate the treasure that is waiting for us in your word.

Spirit, teach us, minister to us during this time, illuminate these words, Lord, for your glory, for our good, move us closer to you.

We ask.

We ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So we're gonna put this on the screen, this first stanza.

If you are 45 or older, read along with me on this.

Um, everybody's laughed at that in the first service, too.

I don't understand.

What is are you are the younger people laughing when I say that?

Is that what's happening?

That's so mean.

We're gonna begin in 1.13.

I really thought through this and thought, well, this is a great way to break this up.

We'll do age groups and then later we'll do men and women, but it's like the same thing in the nine o'clock.

Something funny about being 45 or older, I guess.

So we're gonna put this on the screen.

Let's read it together.

This is Psalmic the first stanza.

This is ESV translation, so it's not gonna match the Pew Bibles if you're looking in those, so I would encourage you to use the screen.

Let's read it together.

I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.

You are my hiding place and my shield.

I hope in your word.

Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.

Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope.

Hold me up that I may be safe, and have regard for your statutes continually.

You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain.

All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross.

Therefore, I love your testimonies, my flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.

So the first thing we notice here is that the psalmist is using this very strong language.

He's talking about what he hates and what he loves.

He's drawing an unmistakable contrast between these two things.

He hates the double-minded.

Now, at first, look, we might read this and feel like it's a little kind of pharisaical.

We might hear it that way, as if he's sort of looking down from this ivory tower in this sort of self-righteous way and talking about uh the sinful people down there.

But the next verse really tells us more.

It says, You are my hiding place and my shield.

So that would indicate to me that the psalmist feels that he's under attack.

He needs a place to hide, he needs a strong defense against these double-minded people that he says he hates.

These are people who say they are about one thing, but their hearts are about something else.

These are members of the same holy nation that the psalmist is part of, but at best, they are in some way ambivalent when it comes to the things of God.

And at worst, as we see later as he describes them, they're actually wicked and deceitful.

And they're making it hard for the psalmist to keep his way.

They represent a threat to his ability to keep his way and to keep the commandments of God.

So he's resolutely saying, I hate those people and I love God's word.

So it's the language of someone who intends to create distance between himself and those things and those people who would lead him astray and keep him from the things of God.

And he's trying to close any distance that's formed between him and God.

And so we get this very resolute declaration right out of the gate.

He's formed a view of his enemies that's driven him to deeper dependence on God.

And let's look at these other descriptions that he uses in this stanza for those double-minded people.

Verse 113, he calls them double-minded.

Verse 115, they're evildoers.

Verse 118, those who go astray.

Also in 118, they're cunning.

So they're using deceit, they're deceitful in their disobedience.

And in 119, he calls them the wicked of the earth.

As I said before, it's strong language.

But remember, it's a contrast, so let's look at the other side of the coin here.

On the other side, we have a hiding place and a shield.

We have a promise that upholds and gives life.

We have safety.

And he ends the stanza in verse 120 with this very descriptive wording My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I'm afraid of your judgments.

So this is important.

On the one side, the wicked, evildoers, enemies, and on the other, safety, shield, hiding place, a way to be upheld, and judgments that scare me so much that it makes my skin crawl when I consider them.

Right?

His hair is standing on end.

That's the description he's giving there.

My skin crawls when I consider your right judgments.

So that's a right fear of God that leads to a right fear of others, a right fear of his enemies.

So he's appropriately esteeming his enemies, and it's driving him to a right fear of God.

And likewise, his fear of God is allowing him to esteem his enemies correctly.

He doesn't say that his enemies make him tremble, he's entrusting his enemies to his God whose judgments cause him to tremble.

Really important.

Let's read this next set of stanzas.

Ieen, so this would uh begin in 121.

We'll put it on the screen and read together.

Um, if you are under 45, all you chucklers who were laughing at the older people earlier, under 45.

Read it aloud with me if you're under 45.

I have not, I have done what is just and right.

Do not leave me to my oppressors.

Give your servant a pledge of good.

Let not the insolent oppress me.

My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.

I am your servant, give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies.

It is time for the Lord to act, for your law has been broken.

Therefore, I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.

Therefore, I consider all your precepts to be right.

I hate every false way.

You folks who are 45 and older, did you hear the youth and the hope and the vigor there?

That was they really, there's there's still some things to encounter for them.

That's good.

So notice, notice the multiple appeals that the psalmist is making here.

So at first it might seem like he's saying, Hey, I've done my part, God, now you do yours.

Especially when he says, it's time for Yahweh to act.

He's using God's name there.

It's time for you to act, Lord.

It's time for the Lord to act.

Don't you love that the God of the universe allows us to use this language as if we're waking him up, as if he's not already doing something, like he's just sitting and not paying attention.

But his claim is not actually a claim of his own merit.

He's appealing to the characteristics of God that he knows are true.

He's saying, on the one hand, because I know that your judgments are right, yes, they make me tremble, as we saw earlier, but I can also claim protection because of them.

This is like when a child naturally slips behind the leg of their parent when they're in an uncertain situation, right?

Yes, you're the one who makes the rules, you discipline me, but you're also the bigger, stronger one who protects me.

And I depend on you for that.

So knowing how God will judge and deal with his enemies brings assurance to the psalmist.

But also, because your promise is righteous and your love is steadfast, I have assurance that you will act on behalf of those you love, and you will act in love and patience and faithfulness toward those you love.

So essentially what he's saying is, I trust you to deal with my enemies, and I trust you to deal with me.

That's what he's saying.

And notice the servant language, he uses that word three times.

He's submitting himself to God, he's humbled himself.

Teach me, give me understanding.

He wants nothing more than to understand the word of God, and he goes as far as to say that it's above gold, above fine gold.

And this is important because we're starting to see this language of longing and hunger developing, and it's going to pick up steam as we get into the next stanza.

He's not simply comparing the word of God to something like gold, only better.

He's saying he loves it more than he loves the finest gold.

So after experiencing this, after experiencing God, after experiencing what comes from his word, nothing else will satisfy.

Gold won't satisfy.

It's the finest thing that he can think of there, and it won't satisfy.

And I really think what he's getting at here is that he knows that the word of God is life-giving.

And this life that he knows is available has more value to him than gold does.

He's saying that the word of God gives life that no one, no sane person would ever trade, even for the finest gold, because it's the only thing that could satisfy their soul.

And we see assurance of God's character, it drives him to a greater resolve to loyalty.

But also there's this hunger, this longing.

It's really starting to be evident.

This time, men read the next stanza with me.

Pay, your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them.

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

I open my mouth and pant because I long for your commandments.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.

Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep your precepts, make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Notice, he's not compelled to keep the testimonies of God.

He keeps them because they are wonderful.

So he's had a taste of this, and it's good, and so he wants to obey.

And that's evidence of grace.

That's what that is.

How else could a sinful human love the ways of a holy God only as a response to God's grace?

Psalm 130 he says, the unfolding of your words gives light.

The unfolding, he's talking about God opening the words to reveal them to him, and it leads to understanding.

The psalmist knows that God, through his spirit, is the best teacher of his word.

I'm gonna say that again.

God, through his spirit, is the best teacher of his word.

When we study his word, we always want to invite the spirit to instruct and illuminate.

Otherwise, if we're just reading the word and we're just trying to work it out on our mind, and we're not trying to work it out from a spiritual level, it's being taught and ministered to by the Spirit, we're missing.

We're missing such a huge part of what it means to get to know God through his word.

So in verse 131, he's panting with his mouth open.

What a description there.

Reminds me of the an as the deer moment that we see earlier in the Psalms, as the deer panteth for the water.

How many of you have seen a deer pant?

Anyone?

There was one person in the first service who had seen a deer pant.

I've never seen a deer pant.

Not even in a Looney Tunes cartoon have I seen a deer pant.

Um, but he's what he's trying to do is he's he's he's painting a picture of this animal appetite, an animal that's driven by its thirst.

How many of you have seen a dog drink from the toilet?

Much more accessible, isn't it?

Here's the thing, and not to be not to be crass with that, why does a dog drink from the toilet?

Because it's thirsty.

Yeah, because it's thirsty.

And it's driven by its need, it's driven by its instinct, and it obeys its thirst.

And that's what he's that's what he's painting a picture of here.

An animal that says, I know what I need, and I'm not going to let anything get between me and having that thirst quenched, that need fulfilled, that that appetite satisfied.

So I think that this is a uh sort of an example of not caring about manners, about rules, about cultural expectations, about social expectations.

It's about trying to get to what he's longing for.

Can you imagine if in 2026 more of us were more like this, where we said, you know what?

My my thirst and my hunger and my appetite for the word of God, for the things of God, for more of God, is going to drive me more so than what my culture or my society or my family or my workplace or whatever it is expects from me.

And I'm gonna I'm gonna let that appetite lead me.

And I'm gonna I'm gonna look for more of that.

I'm gonna I'm gonna go where I know that I can get more of that, and I'm gonna be be plugged into the source of that every day.

Imagine what 2026 would be like if we developed and cultivated that appetite and then we followed it.

So then he says, Turn to me, be gracious to me.

So this is still all about God's initiative toward him.

Turn toward me, be gracious to me.

Toward me, God's graciousness.

He's even though he said, hey, earlier, I've kept your word, I've done the right things, he still knows it's your graciousness toward me that I depend on.

Turn toward me.

I want to experience you.

I want relationship with you.

And he knows that he's vulnerable.

He says, Keep my steps steady.

Don't let iniquity get dominion over me.

Right?

I have weaknesses, Lord.

My intention is to keep your law.

That's my heart.

But I'm asking you to help me with that.

I need you to help me with that.

That's the psalmist here in this stanza.

And then we see in 136, he's appropriately brokenhearted over sin.

He's weeping over it.

Imagine if this was actually written by David later in his reign, as some suggest.

Think about the serious mistakes that David has made.

Think about the serious mistakes that David has made.

And he's brought to tears when he considers those who don't keep the Lord's word, that keep his commandments.

And that includes him, right?

That includes him.

So we can't be brought to an appropriate grief over sin without also realizing our sinfulness.

And that's what he's doing here.

He's weeping, he's grieving over sin.

So in the last stanza, women, we're going to put this on the screen.

Women, read it with me.

This is Sade beginning in 137.

Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules.

You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness.

My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words.

Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.

I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.

Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.

Your testimonies are righteous forever.

Give me understanding that I may live.

I love the arc of these four stanzas together.

He began at this low point.

He's grappling with darkness, wickedness around him.

And here we see him putting all that in perspective in light of God's word.

Whereas in Samek, he contrasted the wicked with the word.

We see him here toggling back and forth.

He's got this contrast now between this little self-portrait that he's painted for us and the faithfulness of God.

I am small and despised, but your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.

Trouble and anguish have found me out.

Remember, he's under attack here.

But I delight in your word.

Why?

Because it's righteous forever.

In other words, I'm being tried, I'm going through some suffering here, but I see it in light of your word, which has also been tried.

And it's been proven faithful.

And now things are taking their proper place.

And listen, I want to be sure to say this is not to say that when someone we know is suffering or walking through hardship, that we just need to say, you shouldn't feel that way, because God is faithful.

So buck up, get some perspective, and expect that that's helpful in some way.

But the word of God reveals the God of the Word.

And in the light of His great love for us, big things in this world, big things in my life, become properly small.

And that is not meant to minimize our pain.

It's meant to maximize our hope.

Amen.

Themes of Psalm 119, 113 to 144, we'll put this on the screen in the first stanza, the wicked versus the word.

We saw that, the assurance through the word that he moves toward an appetite for the word that begins to really develop, and then the trustworthiness of the word where he ends up.

And in all of these, I want to emphasize when we're talking about the word here, for the psalmist and for us, the word of God is a means to an end.

And the end is to gain knowledge of God Himself.

That is the primary purpose of the Bible, to know God.

So in all of this, to just know the word is never the end goal.

We have to let the promises lead us to the promise maker.

And we hear that in the psalmist longing when he says things like, Turn to me or make your face shine upon your servant.

He wants to experience God in relationship because he's tasted how good he is from his word.

And part of how he knows that and trusts that he has a knowledge and an understanding and a continuing hunger for God because of all the God, all the words of God in the scripture, the characteristics of God.

And so he communes with God in this way.

And that's what we're meant to do too.

We we commune with him in his word.

We commune with him through prayer.

We say, illuminate your word to me so that I can know you better.

And then we we we commune with him in prayer.

But it's a it's a process that we're always engaged in.

We can't simply just have the head knowledge of what the Bible says and expect that we're going to flourish in relationship with God.

Three observations on this text.

Number one, the psalmist has cultivated a hunger for God and his word.

He expresses that through these words of longing and delight.

He longs for it, he thirsts for it, he hungers for it, and then when he experiences it, he delights in it.

He loves it.

Because of God's word, the psalmist has a realistic but reassured perspective on the wicked.

I said it before, in other words, Lord, I trust you to deal with my enemies.

And number three, because of God's word, the psalmist has a realistic but reassured perspective on himself.

Lord, I trust you to deal with me, your servant.

As we get to know God through his word, we develop more of a hunger, a continuing hunger for more of him.

Why?

Why do we hunger for him once we've tasted it?

Number one, because it points to life.

It revives that life when it weakens, when it fades.

And most of all, the word of God points to the God of the Word, in whom we live and move and have our being, Paul says in Acts.

That sounds a lot like living, doesn't it?

Number two, we hunger for it because it provides safety.

It directs us to a God who will defend and protect, who will hide us under the shadow of his wings, so that we can rest assured that our enemies are not to be feared.

We are spiritually secure in him.

Number three, it promises salvation.

The writer of Psalm 119 had a longing for the fulfillment of a righteous promise that had been made.

He said, My eyes long to see it.

A promise made by God for the salvation of those he calls his people.

And that could be in an immediate sense.

I need you to save me from the current situation I'm in.

We can imagine that, but it's also in an ultimate sense.

And Christopher Ash in the UK, who has a great commentary on the Psalms, points out that when the psalmist says this, he talks about this longing.

What he's ultimately longing here for is the cross, the cross of Calvary, the place where God's righteous promise of salvation would be completely and forever fulfilled in the sacrificial death of his son, the Messiah, the spotless Lamb.

That's the place where God's righteous judgment and his steadfast love were poured out on our behalf.

And so, in that way, this is both poetic and it's also prophetic literature.

But behind every promise of God's word is a trustworthy promise keeper.

And so we can trust that that promise has either been kept or it will be kept when we see those in his word.

And number four, we hunger for God's word because it proves itself faithful.

Like the psalmist, we can trust that the word of God has been tested and proven true and good over and over again because of God's very nature.

The promises of God have been well tried, lead us to the conclusion that his righteousness is righteous forever.

And his testimonies are indeed righteous forever.

And let me tell you, this word of God, this Bible that we study is, I had a pastor who oftentimes said it's like an anvil that through the centuries men have beat their hammers against.

And their hammers have broken, but the word of God remains.

It's faithful, it's trustworthy, it's true.

And who wouldn't want more of that?

Another way to put it would be as the psalmist says elsewhere, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Taste and see.

John Stott says this about this spiritual appetite we're talking about.

There is perhaps no greater secret of progress in Christian living than a healthy, hearty spiritual appetite.

Again and again, Scripture addresses its promises to the hungry.

God satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.

If we are conscious of slow growth, is the reason that we have a jaded appetite.

These are good questions to ask at the beginning of a new year.

What is my appetite for the things of God like?

What is my appetite for his word like?

Is it jaded?

Or is it hearty?

Is it healthy?

Do I want more?

Am I coming to the table, expecting to be filled?

Matt Smethurst says this, which is so simple.

I love it.

Spiritual disciplines.

And we're talking about prayer, we're talking about Bible reading, we're talking about giving, we're talking about watchfulness.

They're all kinds of spiritual disciplines.

They're not how you earn God's love, they're how you enjoy it.

Hear that this morning, brothers and sisters.

We're not trying to get God's attention by being in his word.

We're trying to enjoy more of God by being in his word.

We've tasted that he's good and we want more of it.

So indeed, let that be true for how we continue to enjoy God's love as a church, as families, and as individuals in the coming year.

Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for the faithfulness and the forever righteousness of it, Lord.

Thank you for your steadfast love toward us.

Thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus.

We pray, Lord, that as we uh continue on in the early parts of this year, Lord, that we'd be honest with ourselves about what our appetite for you is like.

And if there's something or someone that is keeping us from the things of you, Lord, we pray that you would give us the courage to step away from those things and toward you.

Lord, help us to adjust our trajectory.

Help us, Lord, to cultivate hunger for you, Lord.

Knowing that you're going to fill us and satisfy us over and over and over again, Lord.

Your word is a well that never runs dry, Lord, and we pray that we would never grow tired of returning to it again and again.

We ask all this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.