Verses 9-16, THE DOMESTIC FILE: Each couplet in this file begins with the letter beth, which stands for house and represents the domestic life of the believer. Success in life begins at home.

Verse 9, The integrity entry: It presents the principle of soul purity, and of course, soul purity is the basis for sinless consistency.

1. How: This question inquires about the mechanics for soul purity; BY WHAT MEANS?

2. Can a young man: na`ar - he is a young man (vs. 99-100). This Psalm is an outline of Divine truth from his perspective.

3. keep pure: The verb is zAkAh as a piel imperfect. In the piel stem it means to MAKE clean or pure. In the Qal stem it means to BE clean or pure.

The idea of PURITY refers to being conformed to Divine viewpoint standards, and thus has in mind the development of integrity in the soul.
    a. His way: The noun, ’orach, refers to character expressed in his overt way of life.
    b. Man's viewpoint about his own way is seen at Proverbs 16:2.
    c. But, in general, there is no such purity in man. Jeremiah 10:23
    d. Thus it is very rare to find it. Proverbs 20:9
    e. It is evidenced by consistent moral standards expressed in everyday life.
        1. Proverbs 20:11 - pure and upright (zak and yAshAr)
        2. Proverbs 21:8b - the conduct of zak is yashar (morally upright).

f. But the mechanics is by getting God’s word in your soul and using it.

4. By keeping it: The verb is shAmar as a qal infinitive + le. The verb means to guard or preserve, and this preposition, le, with the infinitive, indicates the means by which one can MAINTAIN a pure (overt) manner of life. Thus, BY keeping it.

5. according to your word: dAbhAr + the preposition, ke .

            a. “ke” is the preposition of standard or similarity.
            b. dAbhAr: the emphasis is on the SOURCE of revealed truth; whether that truth is taught  orally or
                 is in the written scriptures. The WORD of God embraces all SIX words found in this psalm that
                 emphasize some aspect of divine TRUTH.

6. Thus, the standard of Divine truth must be stored in the heart in order to purify the character of the believer, and that results in a purified overt life. And that manifests itself through sinless consistency.

a. The command of Isaiah 1:16-17
b. The principle of Psalm 73:13 with verse 15.
c. And the dedication; the follow through of Ps. 119:10-11

7. The goal of the home life IS to cultivate integrity in order to prepare for interaction within society as a representative of the Messianic promise; the standards of the kingdom of light.

8. The challenge to parents is to teach by word and by example. The challenge to children is to listen and follow. To the degree that there is success in cultivating spiritual and moral standards within the home, to that degree individual societies and ultimately, a nation, will endure.
This is the principle of the blessing and the curse found at Deuteronomy 28:1-19;  30:15-20; 32:44-47.

Verse 10 - THE STUDY ENTRY
This of course is the means by which one acquires God’s word so that the purification process can occur.

1. With all my heart: Undivided total dedication which does two things.

            a. It recognizes priority between value systems.
            b. It maintains detail of life control and balance.

2. I have sought you: dArash - follows the principle of verse 2
This is the expression of love dedication mentioned at Deuteronomy 6:5 (Mat. 22:37; Mark 12:30).

“And you shall love Yahweh your God with all your character (heart) and with all your emotion (soul) and with all your mentality (might).” BFT

3. do not let me wander: The verb shAgan, means to stray, swerve or wander.
Thus, it indicates the violation of a standard. And of course, the standard is God’s word as detailed in His commandments.

     a. The verb is a hiphil imperfect (with a 2^nd masc. sing. Suffix), and means to CAUSE to stray.
     b. With the negative, it indicates God's positive influence in his life through the diligent  pursuit of truth.

     c. The idea of “YOU, do not let me wander,” does not suggest that God will cause wandering or DIRECTLY prevent wandering. Rather, it’s an appeal to the principle that God ministers in the life of the believer through REMINDER factors. This is the activity of bringing to remembrance various principles and truths that the believer has learned so that he will be able to choose either divine or human viewpoint when facing the various issues in life.

4. from your commandments: mitswAh, refers to God’s standards and guidelines for life.

5. Such a desire and such an application begin in the home through whole family participation.
Deut. 6:6-9; Ephesians 6:4; the example of Lois and Eunice, 2 Tim. 1:5.

6. It is then perpetuated through collective activities within the believing community.

    a. The congregation of Israel: Psalm 107:32; 149:1
    b. The local church. Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Peter 5:1-5

Verse 11 - The Fellowship entry

1. Your word: ’imrAh has an emphasis on what is spoken as Divine revelation.
2. I have treasured: the verb is tsAphan, as a qal perfect, and means to hide or treasure up.

Thus, the idea is to STOCKPILE or LOAD UP the heart with specific information.
The word does not inherently have the idea of A TREASURE, but rather simply to hide away. However, it is also assumed that what one chooses to “hide away” or “stockpile” in his heart, has considerable value to that person. Thus, while “have treasured” communicates VALUE or QUALITY, “have stockpiled” communicates QUANTITY. However, no matter HOW VALUABLE, the word is to the believer, it is not USABLE until and unless it is residing in the mentality of the soul; the heart.

3. in my heart: lābh

     a. This is the place where God's word settles in and builds a structure of divine viewpoint.
     b. This structure then strengthens the soul to resist the lusts of the sin nature.
         And that of course is the basis for sinless consistency and genuine fellowship with God.

4. so that I may not sin: The verb is chAtA, and mans to violate a standard or fall short of a personal or accepted goal for one’s life.
The word of God provides protection for the believer in all three phases of his daily life (starting the day, living the day, and sleep). Proverbs 6:20-23, “When you walk about she (God’s word) will guide you; when you sleep she will guard you; when you awake, she will commune with you.”

5. Against you: WE are reminded of a principle that reflects a spiritual axiom and also the attitude of humility.  All sin is actually against God. Psalm 51:4
Man might be harmed through your sin, but ultimately it is a sin against God.
It is a violation of God's standards - not man's.

6. Sin in the life breaks fellowship with God.

a. Isaiah 59:2-3
b. Psalm 66:18, it hinders prayer activity.
c. Rom. 8:1-8, the believer cannot please God.

7. The danger of reversion or backsliding:

a. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 with 1:4-9
b. Hebrews 5:11-14

8. Therefore, protection and stability is vital for advance in the Christian way of life. Hebrews 6:1-20

9. This entry reflects the FOREVER ATTITUDE, that basically desires to never sin.

See Topic: The Forever Attitude

Verse 12 - The worship entry

1. Blessed: bArak means,  praised be and not BLESSED. Blessed communicates the idea of HAPPINESS, but the idea here is one of PRAISE; thanksgiving for WHO and WHAT God is.

2.  are you 0 Yaweh: This recognizes him as the source. True worship stems from true humility that recognizes our place in the plan of God as both creatures and family members with the purpose of serving Him and representing LIGHT standards in this world which is ENEMY ENVIRONMENT.

3. Teach me: lAmadh as a  piel imperative indicates the humility attitude of teachability.

    a.  The need is seen at verse 9.

    b. The teacher IN GENERAL is any of God’s communicators.

        1. The Levites: Deut. 33.10; Mal. 2.6-7

        2. The prophets: Jer. 23.21-22; 35.15;

        3. Church age: Eph. 4:11 (pre and post canon).
    c. However, this believer receives personal instruction from God through divine revelation as I pointed out in the introduction, and as is seen at verse 102, “For YOU, yourself have taught me.”
    d. The source for truth is your statutes. The word, choq refers to God’s decreed standards for the Christian way of life.

4. Of the 10 times that TEACH ME occurs in this psalm, 8 times it is STATUTES that are taught (verse 12, 26, 33, 64, 68, 124, 135, 171).
One time it is ordinances that are taught, verse 108.
And one time it is, “teach me good discernment and knowledge,” verse 66.
At verse 18, we find, “open my eyes that I may behold miraculous things from your law.”
At verse 27, we find, “make me understand the way of your precepts.”
The humility/command of “give me understanding” occurs 5 times, verses 34, 73, 125, 144, 169.

\/erse 13 - The service entry
The ultimate issue in service is the proclamation of truth.

1. With my lips I have told: This is sAphar as a piel perfect.  (In the qal stem, it means to count)
The piel has the idea of order and accuracy, and thus comes across as an orderly and accurate communication of truth to others.

2. Your judgments: mishpAt, refers to the principles of Divine justice.
Justice is really the bottom line when it comes to relating to God.

3. This is the natura1 follow through from a soul which fulfil1s the attitude of teachability.

4. DOCTRINE OF SERVING GOD

Verse 14 - The priority entry

Priority has to do with orienting to true value in this antagonistic environment.

1. I have rejoiced: sus, as a qal perfect, expresses happiness (It occurs also at verse 162)
2. in the way of: Derek, again refers to the way of 1ife; the 1ife style dictated by God's policies. 3. of your testimonies: `aduth refers to the standards and principles of truth designed to be passed on to others in order to promote the plan and character of God.

4. As much as in all riches: principle of equal value to communicate priority.
Ps. 19.7-11; Prov. 2.4-5; 3.13-15; 8.10-11, 18-19; 16.16, Psalm 119:72, 103
In reference to food details, Job 23:12, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
And Deuteronomy 8:3 (Mat. 4:4; Luke 4:4), “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.”

5. The issue of priorities in life must be established on the domestic front in order to keep the other areas of 1ife controlled and balanced.

6. CF Psalm 119.162 in the PEACE FILE
The priority of truth establishes the reality of the peaceful soul.

7. Thus the happiness expressed is an indication of true inner peace and joy.

Verse 15 - The meditation entry

1.  I will meditate: The verb is siyach as a qal imperfect. This is the natural follow through from a soul that is ordered by the priority of truth.
2. on your precepts: The noun, piqqudh, refers to God’s policies for maintaining fellowship with Him.
3. And regard: nAbat as a hiphil imperfect. As at verse 6, it means to look upon or "focus on" and pay attention to. It refers to the overt application of meditation, which is to follow God’s guidelines for morality.

4. Your ways: The noun is ’orach, and refers to the OVERT action of one’s life. Here it is the application of verse 9; the overt behavior that God requires of His people for fellowship and testimony.

a. Psalm 25:10
b. Isaiah 26:7-8
c. Proverbs 2:6, mishpAt; Prov. 2:13, yosher

5. The right attitude toward truth and error is based on occupation with Divine standards.
It requires a consistent relationship between piqqudh and ’orach.
Ps. 119:101, 104, 128

Verse 16- the pleasure entry

1. I shall delight: The verb, shA`a, means to take delight in something ; to take pleasure or sport.

It means to have a great time doing something.
At Isaiah 11:8, it has the idea of play; “the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra.”

2. in your statutes: chuqqAh is a feminine noun, which means the same as choq; the decrees of God for proper living as a participant in His plan.

    a. This word occurs only here in Ps. 119 but 104 times in the Old Testament.            .
    b. It occurs in Genesis 26:5 as part of Abrahamss spiritual and moral responsibility.
    c. It pre-dates choq in usage, Which does not occur until Gen.47:22 (2296 AH), more than
        200 years later.

3. What we have here is a believer having fun in the pursuit and application of God's policies for life. Ps. 119:70, delight in your law (torAh).

4. The noun form of the verb "shA`a" is sha`ashu`iym, which is an intensive plural.
It refers to something which is a source of fun and pleasure.

    a. It occurs 9 times: 5 times in Psalm 119; verses 24, 77, 92, 143, and 174.
    b. See at Proverbs 6:30-31
    c. Isaiah 5:7
    d. Jeremiah 31:20

5. I shall not forget: This is shAkach as a qal imperfect. The key to success is consistent occupation with truth; no neglect; no memory loss; no displacement.

6. your word: dAbhAr refers to God’s revealed truth with emphasis on what He has said; that is, the focus is on God AS THE SOURCE of the information. The focus is on SOURCE rather than content, although when God is the source, the content is certainly validated as both applicable to my life and reliable or dependable as pertaining to my life.

Like at Romans 12:2. The WILL of God (His revealed truth) is “intrinsically good, and pleasingly good, and sufficiently complete.”

7. This man continues to hold truth in his soul because it is enjoyable. It’s FUN.

8. Learning truth and meditating on truth and LIVING truth is pleasurable.

It starts in the home and from there, has impact in every area of life. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

9. It does not displace normal human sources of moral and recreational pleasure. But the study of God’s character and plan is an additional and indeed, SUPERIOR source for genuine pleasure in life.

SUMMARY OF THE DOMESTIC FILE

1. THE INTEGRITY ENTRY: Verse 9
Character strength must be cultivated for balance and stability in every area of life. But the cultivation of integrity begins at home.

2. THE STUDY ENTRY: Verse10  
The pursuit of God is the basis for building character strength. That pursuit is centered in learning His word, and the home environment should be centered in that pursuit.

3. THE FELLOWSHIP ENTRY: Verse 11
Fellowship with God is a spiritual issue which is measured by both inner and overt expressions.
The protection of fellowship IS knowledge and application of truth.

4. THE WORSHIP ENTRY: Verse 12
Worship always recognizes God as the source, and always expresses the humility attitude of teachability.

5. THE SERVICE ENTRV: Verse 13 –
True service always centers around the proclamation of Gods truth to others. Service that does not showcase the character and plan of God is inadequate and unacceptable to God.

6. THE PRIORITY ENTRY: Verse 14
Every area of life and everything in life must be subordinated to the true value of God’s word. The home front is always the launching  pad for this recognition of value.

7. THE MEDITATION ENTRY: Verse 15
The domestic life must be characterized by proper mental activity, which is meditation on Divine viewpoint. This in turn leads to consistent overt activity.

8. THE PLEASURE ENTRY: Verse 16 |
True pleasure in life is centered around learning and using God’s word. It does not displace involvement with norma1 human sources of recreational and moral pleasure, but it is an additional and indeed superior source for pleasure and fun for the human soul.
 

Questions and comments are always welcome

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