Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Lesson for January 1, 2017

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Lesson for January 1, 2017

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Bible Studies for Life By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.

Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook

GOD’S WORD IS ALWAYS RELEVANT

Psalm 119:89–96

God’s Word is timeless. (89–91)

From its low point, Psalm 119 now moves to its zenith. Complaint gives way to a profession of faith in God’s sovereignty for all time and in all places. The psalmist observes three realities: heaven, the long sweep of human history and the created order. All three realities bear witness to the unchangeable character of God’s Word. The word “faithfulness” is often paired with the word “steadfast love” (see Ps. 25:10; 57:3; 85:10). This paring communicates how God exercises sovereignty with faithful love that issues in forgiveness.

A striking feature of this stanza is the coupling of God’s creative, world-sustaining Word with His law for humanity. Both are the product of His perfect, ordering mind. Not only humans but “all things” are His “servants.” The psalmist is confident in God’s Word, as God Himself is consistent from generation to generation.

God’s Word is life-giving. (92–93)

It is only because of his delight in the Lord’s instruction that the psalmist did not come to his end. Realizing he was about to forget his dependence on his Lord for life itself, the psalmist promises with a new vigor never to forget the Lord’s precepts, “for in them you have given me life.” Out of this realization is a reminder for all of us: We do not go to the Bible to escape the realities of life but to be strengthened to face life and serve God boldly. We may not be able to delight in what is going on in the world, but we can delight in what the Lord says in His Word.

The psalmist found things in God’s law that brought him a high degree of pleasure. In fact, they brought such a high degree of pleasure as to offset the high degree of his affliction. Indeed, there are multiple “delights” in Scripture that can bring us joy, even in the midst of severe trial. Whether it is the passages about God’s salvation, His promises, His mighty attributes or His true and just commandments, we can always find words in His Word to strengthen and sustain us.

God’s Word is perfect. (94–96)

Verse 94 conveys again the psalmist’s conviction that his life belongs to God. The petition and renewal of complaint against wicked enemies in verse 95, which follows the marvelous affirmation of faith in verses 89–93, affirm that there will never be a time when the psalmist will be self-sufficient. However, this time he asks for God’s deliverance with less desperation and more assurance. As he stays focused on the Lord’s “testimonies, or “statues,” the psalmist is able to overcome the harassments of his enemies. The focused study on the Word reminds the faithful student the Lord is far greater than human adversaries. The key for the psalmist — and for us — is that we always depend utterly on God and His Powerful Word.

Verse 96 could well be a summary of Ecclesiastes, where every earthly enterprise has its day and comes to nothing, and where only in God and His commandments do we get beyond these frustrating limits. “Perfection” is an otherwise unused word. All that humanity counts as perfect has, in the end, its limitations; on the other hand, God’s Word is inexhaustible. Even our universe is finite, while God’s Word is infinite. One scholar suggests verse 96 could be paraphrased as “I am weak, but Thou art strong.” Thus the psalmist is professing yet again his utter dependence on God and His inspired Scripture.