Latest / Reformed Thinking / When God’s Word Brings Light, Mercy, and Holy Sorrow (Psalm 119:129–136) | Charles Spurgeon

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When God’s Word Brings Light, Mercy, and Holy Sorrow (Psalm 119:129–136) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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You know, usually when we talk about a medical diagnosis, there
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is this expectation of precision.
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It is like engineering. Right, it is very objective.
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Yeah, you break your arm. The X-ray shows that jagged
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white line and the doctor just points and says, well there it
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is. Broken or not broken, it is
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clean. It is visible and categorized.
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What to do with it? But then you step into the world
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of the human heart, of the human will, and you know our spiritual
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affections, and suddenly that X-ray machine just shatters.
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We are looking at an internal landscape that is honestly quite
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murky. It is a massive bundle of
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contradictions, really. It is, I mean we are capable of
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staggering intellect, building skyscrapers and splitting atoms
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while simultaneously exhibiting this astonishing, almost
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deliberate blindness to our own faults and the reality of the
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universe around us. Welcome to reform thinking.
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It is great to be here for this one.
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For those of you joining us, our mission for this specific deep
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dive is to systematically unpack a curated stack of sources
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focused on Charles Spurgeon's The Treasury of David.
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We're looking specifically at his exposition, along with some
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historical commentaries on Psalm 119, verses 129 through 136.
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And the central question driving our conversation today is pretty
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heavy. Yeah, the question is this.
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How does an ancient text physically and psychologically
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rewire the human operating system?
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And we are evaluating this analysis through a distinctly
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reformed theological lens. Right, which means we adhere to
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the Westminster Confession of Faith.
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Spot on. Viewing Scripture as the supreme
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judge in all controversies of religion and acknowledging human
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nature is completely dependent on God's grace for any true
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illumination. Now, we're dealing with weighty
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concepts today, so I want to note our format rules for this
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session. Good idea.
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We're going to take our time passing the microphone back and
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forth. We want to ensure complete
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thoughts without any messy crosstalk or interruptions,
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giving you, the listener, a clean, structured intellectual
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experience. That systematic rigor is highly
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necessary, I think, given the density of the material we are
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examining today. Oh absolutely.
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The Puritans and the historical theologians Spurgeon compiled in
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his treasury, well, they did not write in sound bites.
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They thought systematically. They built arguments brick by
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brick. Yeah, they really did.
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O let us get into the text. The section begins with verse
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129, which reads, Thy testimonies are wonderful,
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therefore doth my soul keep them.
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And George Horne provides A striking initial observation
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regarding the nature of these testimonies.
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He points out that the Scriptures veil sublime
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spiritual truths under external ceremonies.
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Like the sacraments and typical histories, right?
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Yes, and parables. There is a visible tactile
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layer. You know, water, bread, wine,
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historical battles, ceremonial washings.
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But there's an invisible, staggering reality beneath it
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all. It is not just surface level.
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Not at all. Horn notes that when these texts
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are properly opened and enforced, they achieve an
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astonishing array of effects on the human mind.
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The text acts as an active agent.
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Wait, what do you mean by active agent?
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I mean, it terrifies the conscience of the proud, it
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humbles the arrogance of man, it converts the rebel's soul, and
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it consoles the weary. It is not a static object
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sitting on a desk. Oh I see.
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It is an actual mechanism of conviction and comfort.
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Precisely. That active agency is what
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Thomas Manton outlines when he details 5 specific reasons why
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the word is considered wonderful.
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Manton was a massive figure in the Puritan era, and his
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systematic breakdown here cuts right to the issue.
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He always brings such clarity. What is his first point?
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First, he points to His Majesty. Manton says the Scripture speaks
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to us at a God like rate. It commands reverence simply by
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its tone. It does not beg for the reader's
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approval. Does it?
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No, not at all. It does not try to win you over
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like a human author might. It declares reality with
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absolute authority. Second, he highlights the depth
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of mystery. The Bible addresses subjects
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that cannot be found anywhere else in human literature.
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Like what specifically? Things like the creation of the
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world from nothing, the immortal condition of human souls, and
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the origin of our brokenness in the fall of man.
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You just do not get that in other ancient writings with this
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level of coherence. Right, the scope is massive. 3rd
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is purity imperfection. Manson looks at the Decalogue.
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You know the 10 commandments. He realizes it is an incredibly
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dense compression algorithm. A compression algorithm.
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I like that, yeah. It comprises the whole duty of
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man in just ten statements, but it does not just police your
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external hands. It reaches down into the
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deepest, unvoiced motives of the human heart.
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Which is terrifying, honestly. Highly terrifying 4th is
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harmony. All true religion is of a peace.
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One part does not interfere with another, but they all conspire
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to promote the subjection of the creature to God.
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That is a great point. And 5th he points to its
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efficacy, referencing First Thessalonians 1.5.
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There is a mighty force that goes along with the word,
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astonishing the hearts of those who consider it.
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If we look closely at that fourth point, the harmony of the
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text, it connects to a staggering argument made by Jay
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McLaughlin. He talks about the sheer
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logistical improbability of the Bible's unity.
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Oh, the logistics of it are wild.
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They really are. Mclagan calls the Bible a
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standing miracle, and when you look at the data, you see his
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point, He notes It was written fragment by fragment over the
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course of 15 centuries. 1500 years.
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Yeah, and produced under vastly different states of society in
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different languages by authors of opposite temperaments and
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conditions. You have learned men trained in
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all the wisdom of Egypt. Right, yes, or the academies of
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the Pharisees. And then you have unlearned men
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who, well, who smelled like fish.
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You have Princess sitting on Thrones and peasants living in
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poverty. You have the bond and the free.
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And it spans so many genres too. Right.
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It contains history, prophecy, poetry, and literal precept.
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Yet, despite treating subjects that are incredibly difficult,
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these diverse authors do not contradict one another upon
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their grand scheme. Think about the mechanics of
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human consensus for a second. Getting 3 experts in the same
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room today to agree on a single tax policy is nearly impossible.
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Oh, it is a nightmare. Yet here you have dozens of
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authors across millennia maintaining total unity in their
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momentous theological framework concerning the nature of God,
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the ruin of man, and the method of redemption.
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It is mathematically absurd if it is just a human book.
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If you actually realize this text is a logistical miracle
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compiled over 15th centuries, you stop treating it like a book
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of poetry. That is why historical monarchs,
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people who literally held the power of life and death, bowed.
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To it, Thomas Watson provides some fascinating historical
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narratives regarding how royalty viewed the Bible.
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Actually, let us hear them. Take King Edward the 6th.
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On the day of his coronation, there is massive pageantry.
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He has three physical swords presented before him, signifying
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he is the absolute monarch of three kingdoms.
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UK setting the stage. But the king stops the ceremony.
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He looks at the assembly and says there is one sword wanting.
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When asked what it was, he answers the Holy Bible which is
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the sword of the Spirit and is to be preferred before these end
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signs of royalty. Wow.
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Stopping a coronation for that? Yeah, then you have Robert, King
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of Sicily. He told his friend Pet Shark
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that he protested the Scriptures were dearer to him than his
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Kingdom, and if he had to choose, he would rather lose his
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jeweled diadem than the Scriptures.
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That is a massive statement for a king.
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Jeremiah Burrows adds the account of Alphonsus, king of
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Aragon. Despite running a nation,
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negotiating treaties and managing massive state
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occupations, he read through the scriptures 14 times alongside
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dense commentaries. 14 times while running a country that
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forces a critical question about the nature of our engagement
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with the text. Is labeling the text wonderful
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just a subjective emotional reaction, like looking at a
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beautiful sunset, or is it an objective reality we must reckon
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with? That is the core issue if we
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look at the structure of the votes, David says.
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Thy testimonies are wonderful, therefore doth my soul keep
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them. So the wonder leads directly to
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action. Yes, the wonder leads directly
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to obedience. It is an objective reality that
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demands A practical response. Historical monarchs you
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mentioned recognize this. They did.
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Not view the text as a collection of interesting
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ancient maxims to quote at dinner parties no, they.
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Viewed it as the ultimate authority over their own
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sovereign authority. When King Edward stops a
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coronation for a book, he is publicly subjugating the crown
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of England to the text of Scripture.
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It is the difference between a museum exhibit and a military
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command center. I mean, treat the Bible like a
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museum exhibit and you look at it behind glass.
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You admire the calligraphy, say oh how wonderful, and then walk
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the door completely unchanged because.
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In Fuseum exhibit requires nothing from you except the
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price of admission. Exactly.
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A command center, on the other hand, dictates your every move
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in a hostile environment. It issues directives that
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determine your survival. So ask yourself, as you listen
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to this, do you treat the text with the same gravity as these
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historical kings, or do you treat it as an ordinary book on
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a shelf? Does it?
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Dictate your actions? Or is it just something you
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admire from a distance? Yeah, that.
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Is the challenge now that transition from acknowledging
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objective reality to living in practical obedience requires a
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mechanism? How does the objective truth of
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this command center actually enter the murky human mind to
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produce that obedience which brings?
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US to verse 130. The entrance of thy words giveth
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light, it giveth understanding unto the simple.
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We have to look closely at that word entrance, the Hebrew.
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Translation is interesting here right it?
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Is scholars like Joseph Addison Alexander and JJ Stewart Peron.
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Note that the common English translation is slightly
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ambiguous. The literal meaning in the
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Hebrew is the unfolding or the unveiling of the words.
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So it is. Not just the physical act of
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opening the book, no. It does not refer to the
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mechanical, physical act of opening a book's cover or
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turning a page. It refers to the spiritual
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opening of its true sense by divine illumination to a mind
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that naturally cannot discern it you.
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Can read the words mechanically all day, but until the sirit
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unfolds them, they remain locked.
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To see how that unfolding happens in real life, we have to
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look at the four distinct historical vignettes provided by
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James Hamilton. These stories show how this
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light enters unexpectedly, often bypassing human preparation
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completely. Hamilton.
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'S accounts are incredible. The first one involves A profane
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shot man setting. The scene This is a man,
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completely secular, entirely unconcerned with spiritual
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realities. Right he is.
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Running his business and he crams A torn leaf of a Bible
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into his pocket just to use the paper for a receipt or to wrap
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goods. He has 0 reverence for the
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material. Just scrap.
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Paper towel just scrap. Later he pulls it out and reads
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the last words of Daniel on that torn leaf.
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It says, Go thou thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest
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and stand in my lot at the end of the days.
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And what happens? Suddenly that fragment unfolds
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in his mind. The Holy Spirit strikes his
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conscience with those specific words, and the secular
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shopkeeper begins to agonizingly consider what his own lot will
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be when his days are ended. The text ambushed him that.
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Is wild. The second scenario, Hamilton
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gives shifts from the grid of the shop to the halls of
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academia. He describes a gutting in
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Professor A very. Different environment.
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Very. Different.
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This man is surrounded by books likely steeped in rationalism.
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He opens a large printed Bible simply to test his eyesight.
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He's getting older, his vision is failing, and he wants to see
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if he has enough biological sight left to read the large
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font a purely. A medical test?
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Essentially, yeah. But his eyes alight on Isaiah
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42.1 Steen, I will bring the blind by a way that they knew
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not in reading those words, the eyes of his spiritual
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understanding are suddenly enlightened the.
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Irony there is staggering. The mechanical act of testing
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his physical vision results in the divine unveiling of his own
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spiritual blindness. The text dissects him right
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there in his study. The third.
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Scenario takes us to the chaos of a battlefield.
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One of all of our Cromwell's soldiers is in the thick of the
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English Civil War. Smoke, noise, lead flying
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everywhere. Sounds terrifying.
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He takes a hit to the chest. He thinks he is dead, but he
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realizes A musket ball has pierced his coat and lodged
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directly in the Bible he carried in his pocket.
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The physical book literally saved his biological life, but
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there. Is a spiritual layer to this too
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huge? Layer.
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He opens it to see how far the lead ball penetrated.
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He finds the ball stopped precisely at the verse in
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Ecclesiastes 11.9. Rejoice, O young man in thy
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youth, but know thou that for all these things God will bring
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thee into judgement. Wow, the physical.
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Salvation becomes the avenue for a terrifying spiritual
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awakening. He realizes God spared his body
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just to warn his soul that. Is intense.
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And finally, the 4th scenario involves A Kentish soldier who
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is out on a frolic. Was that?
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Mean a frolic. He is living a reckless,
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rebellious life. Drinking in Taverns, running
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from his upbringing. He casually opens a Bible that
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his broken hearted mother had sent him.
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Perhaps he opens it out of a fleeting sense of guilt or mere
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boredom. And what does?
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He read the first. Sentence that turns up is
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Matthew 11.28 come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
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laden. Hamilton notes that the weary
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profligate repairs for rest to Jesus Christ.
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Right then and there, the rebellion collapses under the
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weight of an invitation. These. 4 Narratives The shopman,
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the professor, the Cromwellian soldier, and the Cantus rebel.
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They perfectly illustrate the Reformed doctrine of
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illumination, especially when we consider the second-half of
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verse 130. It giveth understanding into the
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simple yes. William Cowper offers a sharp
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contrast here regarding who actually receives this
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understanding. Who does he?
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Contrasts He. Contrasts the simple with high
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minded naturalist and with those who claim the text is obscure
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and should be kept from the common person.
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We must note, just as an impartial analysis of the source
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material, that Cowper uses the term papists in his historical
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context, right? We are just reporting what the
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source says here. Yes.
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He uses it to describe those who historically withheld the
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translated text from the laity, arguing the common man was too
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ignorant to understand it without the church's mediation.
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OK, I see. Cowper.
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Argues that those who approach the text with immense
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intellectual pride, testing the mysteries of godliness purely by
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natural reason, cannot profit from it.
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Thomas Manton clarifies that the simple are the sincere.
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They are the plain hearted who do not oppose God with their
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carnal wisdom. Wait, hold on.
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I need to push back on this concept of the simple believer.
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Sure. Go ahead, we are.
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Talking about total depravity, the necessity of divine
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illumination, and praising the simple.
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Yet we are literally sitting here systematically dissecting
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incredibly dense academic Puritan commentary.
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We are looking at Hebrew translations of the word
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entrance. Inciting historic theologians,
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that is. True.
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How do we? Reconcile this biblical praise
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for being simple with the rigorous, highly intellectual
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theological study demanded by the Reformed tradition.
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Isn't this an elitist intellectual exercise
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masquerading as simplicity? That.
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Is a vital tension to resolve. The resolution lies in defining
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what the Puritans meant by simplicity.
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OK. How did they define it?
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Simplicity. Here does not mean anti
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intellectualism, laziness or a refusal to study the original
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languages. It means epistemological
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humility. Epistemological humility.
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Break that down. For me it is.
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The recognition that human intellect, no matter how
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rigorously trained, is completely insufficient without
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the unveiling work. The Holy Spirit.
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William Gurnell hits this brilliantly when he says that
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the Holy Spirit is the master schoolmaster who can teach even
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a dunce A. Dunce, that is blunt he.
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Argues that there are none so knowing that God cannot blind
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them, and none so ignorant whose mind his spirit cannot open.
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If we view this through the Westminster Confessions
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understanding of total depravity, the logic holds
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perfectly because. Total depravity means humans are
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spiritually dead by nature. Exactly.
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Our minds are darkened. We are born in a state of of
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rebellion regarding divine truth.
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Therefore, the human intellect cannot unfold the text on its
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own, so the. Reformed tradition demands
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rigorous study, but it demands that study be done.
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On our knees, that is. Spot on.
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The simple scholar uses all their linguistic and historical
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tools, parses the Greek and Hebrew, reads the commentaries,
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but in the end says, Lord, unless you unfold this, I am
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staring at a closed book. Simplicity is not the absence of
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thought, it is the absence of pride.
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That makes a lot of sense. Once that pride is broken and
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the light actually enters the mind, we see a massive shift in
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how this light affects the physical and emotional desires
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of the believer. Verse 131 captures this vividly.
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I. Opened my mouth and panted, for
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I long for thy commandments, Charles.
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Spurgeon points out the sheer desperation of the imagery here.
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David is so animated by his desire that he looks into the
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animal Kingdom to find a picture of it.
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He compares himself to a haunted stag.
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In the chase, that is. A very visceral image.
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Imagine. The scene the dogs are pursuing.
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The stag is hard pressed, racing through the forest, its lungs
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burning, gasping for breath. It must have water, it must have
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air. David says he pants for the
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entrance of God's word into his soul.
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Exactly like that. Nothing else can sustain him,
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William. Cowper provides an observation
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on this verse regarding how an earnestly affected mind
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physically moves the body. The spiritual and the physical
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are not hermetically sealed off from one another.
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No they. Bleed into each other when the.
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Soul is intensely focused or in deep distress.
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The body reacts physiologically. Your heart rate spikes, your
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breathing changes. Commentators draw 3 distinct
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metaphors from this panting. What is the first one?
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First, it is the traveler who is seeking refreshment to renew his
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strength on a long, arduous path under a hot sun.
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Second, it is the hungry and thirsty person, gasping for air
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and sustenance, driven by a biological imperative to
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survive. And the third?
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Third, it is the person who has run themselves out of breath,
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chasing after something, and is desperate to recover.
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Henry. Melville extrapolates on that
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third metaphor in a way that feels incredibly relevant right
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now. He speculates that this panting
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is the exhaustion of a person who is entirely out of breath
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from chasing earthly shadows and baubles that.
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Applies perfectly to modern life.
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Think about. The modern rat race.
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A person spends decades running after wealth, building a
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reputation, chasing status, curating an image, seeking
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pleasure and distraction to run themselves ragged.
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Finally, they collapse. It's.
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Completely burned out, yeah. They are exhausted, their lungs
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are burning, and they're completely dissatisfied.
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They realize the shadows they caught have no substance in that
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moment of collapse. They realize only God's
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commandments provide actual solid satisfaction.
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Melville. 'S diagnosis of the human
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condition is devastatingly accurate.
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We routinely exhaust our physical and mental resources
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chasing things that cannot satisfy the immortal soul.
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We try to fill an infinite void with finite things, which.
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Never works. Never.
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When the illusion shatters, the resulting spiritual desperation
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is acute. Melville frames the second
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clause of the verse. For I longed for thy
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commandments as the logical conclusion of that exhaustion.
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Whither then shall I turn the? Soul realizes that the
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commandments are the only source of true sustenance.
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Yes. The panting is the physical
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manifestation of a spiritual crisis resolving into clarity.
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It is. Exactly like a person who has
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been trapped in a suffocating smoke filled room, they've been
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trying to breathe the toxic air of their own self rule, their
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own ambitions and their own earthly pursuits and the.
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Oxygen is just running out. Suddenly the smoke alarms go
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off. In their conscience, they
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realize they're lying in that room.
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They smash a window, shove their face into the opening, and gasp
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for fresh oxygen. The commandments are the oxygen
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for a suffocating soul. The panting is not a mild
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preference for religious instruction.
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It is an absolute desperate necessity for survival that.
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Intense longing for survival naturally progresses into making
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specific requests regarding God's grace and the daily
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governance of the believers life.
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We see this progression in verses 132 and 133, which.
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Say, look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou uses
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to do unto those that love thy name.
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Order my steps in my word, and let not any iniquity have
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dominion over me. William.
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J provides a master class in Reformed theology when he
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explains God's order in verse 133.
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J points out a fundamental reality of the divine economy.
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God connects his blessings. He never justifies A Sinner,
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declaring them legally righteous without also sanctifying them,
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actually making them holy over time.
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He gives No title to heaven without also creating a meekness
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or a fitness for it. He grants no comfort of the Holy
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Ghost without simultaneously instilling a reverence and fear
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of the Lord. So the salvation God provides is
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a complete package. You do not get one piece without
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the others. Exactly.
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Right the. Concept of having our steps
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ordered is fascinating. Spencer provides an anecdote to
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illustrate what this ordered life looks like practically.
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He writes about bolus loss. King of Poland.
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Oh, I remember. This one the king.
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Carried a miniature picture of his father with him at all
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times, worn close to his chest. Whenever he was about to do any
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great work, sit in judgement, or set upon any extraordinary
21:16
design, he would pull out the picture, look at the face of his
21:20
father, and pray that he might do nothing unworthy of such a
21:23
father's name. That.
21:24
Is a powerful practice. Spencer compares this to the
21:27
Scriptures, acting as the picture of God's will drawn out
21:30
to the very life. Before a believer engages in any
21:34
business, speaks to a neighbor, or makes a decision.
21:36
They look at the Word to see what is to be done and what is
21:39
to be left undone. They're constantly checking
21:41
their actions against the portrait of their father, John.
21:44
Bunyan as another layer of architectural imagery to this
21:47
idea of ordered steps in his work solomon's temple
21:50
spiritualized, bunyan talks about the physical steps leading
21:54
up to the temple in Jerusalem he.
21:55
Spiritualizes the actual architecture, yes.
21:59
Whether those steps were made of cedar, gold, or stone, they were
22:02
shadows of the spiritual steps we must take in God's house.
22:05
He lists them. Steps of faith, steps of truth,
22:09
steps bounded by a divine rule. So the believer praying verse
22:12
133 is asking for a highly specific micro level governance
22:17
of their life. They do.
22:18
Not just want their general direction to be pointing toward
22:20
heaven, they want every individual footfall to be placed
22:23
precisely where God ordains. They want the blueprint of the
22:27
Word to dictate the placement of their feet.
22:29
Then we. Hit the negative side of the
22:30
plea and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
22:34
William Copper makes a sharp theological distinction here
22:36
regarding human motivation. He looks.
22:38
At why people ask for mercy, right?
22:41
He notes that many people seek mercy just to forgive their past
22:44
sins. They want the guilt removed, but
22:46
they do not seek grace to deliver them from the future
22:49
power of that same sin, which is a.
22:51
Huge problem calper. Argues that to seek pardon
22:55
without seeking purity is to abuse God's mercy.
22:59
It is an attempt to turn his grace into a license for
23:02
wantonness. The person who only wants
23:04
forgiveness is just a lover of himself.
23:06
He just wants to avoid the penalty.
23:08
But the person who wants deliverance from the dominion of
23:10
sin is a lover of God. And Michael Bruce summarized
23:14
that exact sentiment in 1660. Sucks when he said I had rather
23:18
be a prisoner to man all my life than be a bondage to sin one
23:21
day. That.
23:22
Is quite the standard, Bruce. Points out a grammatical nuance
23:24
in the text. The text does not say let not
23:26
this or that man rule over me, but let not sin have dominion.
23:30
True obedience to God is utterly inconsistent with the dominion
23:33
of anyone. Lust.
23:34
You cannot serve 2 masters. How does?
23:37
Thomas Manton say this works practically.
23:39
He. Clarifies how this dominion
23:40
works. He says sin reigns or has
23:43
dominion not just when it exists in the heart, but when we cease
23:46
endeavoring to mortify it. Mortification.
23:48
Being the Puritan concept of actively starving and killing
23:51
sin, right? When we stop cutting off the
23:53
provisions that feed the lust, when we call a truce with our
23:57
pet sins, we have allowed them a quiet rain.
24:00
Let me. Stop you there because this
24:01
raises a massive tension and reformed thought.
24:03
OK laid out. If we are pleading for God to
24:06
strictly order our steps and we are relying totally on His grace
24:10
to deliver us from dominion, where does our active human
24:14
responsibility fit in? You just mentioned mortification
24:18
actively killing sin, but does praying for God to order our
24:21
steps mean we just sit back passively and wait to be moved
24:24
like chess pieces on a board that.
24:26
Tension is resolved in the harmony of divine sovereignty
24:29
and human action, which is a core tenet of the Westminster
24:32
Confession. So it is.
24:33
Not either or, no. Praying for God to order our
24:36
steps is not a plea for passivity.
24:39
It is an acknowledgement of our absolute dependency while we are
24:42
actively in motion. We are commanded to strive to
24:45
mortify sin, to run the race and to fight the good fight.
24:49
So the power comes from where? But we.
24:50
Recognize that our striving is effective only because God is
24:53
sovereignly working in us both to will and to do of his good
24:57
pleasure. The prayer order my steps is the
25:00
act of reliance on divine grace to fuel our human obedience.
25:04
We work out our salvation with fear and trembling precisely
25:07
because it is God who works in us.
25:09
The. Effort is ours, but the power
25:11
behind the effort is entirely his.
25:13
Precisely. That.
25:14
Internal battle against the dominion of sin often coincides
25:17
with external physical threats from the world.
25:20
We see this transition in verses 134 and 135.
25:24
Deliver me from the oppression of man.
25:26
So will I keep thy precepts. Make thy face to shine upon my
25:29
servant, and teach me thy statutes.
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Let us look at Thomas Manton's three angles on the word man in
25:34
this plea for deliverance, because he dissects the phrase
25:37
the oppression of man with surgical precision, right.
25:40
What is? His first angle first.
25:42
He notes the distinction the psalmist is facing oppression
25:45
from man, not from demons or fallen angels.
25:48
While spiritual warfare is a biblical reality, the immediate
25:52
crushing weight David feels here is human tyranny and the. 2nd,
25:57
2nd. Manton points to the aggravation
25:59
of this reality he uses the famous Latin phrase homo hominy
26:03
lupus man is a wolf to his own kind he notes the shame that no
26:08
creatures are as ravenous and destructive to one another as
26:11
human beings because. Beasts do not usually devour
26:14
their own kind, right? But humans have a long, bloody
26:17
history of slaughtering and slaving and oppressing one
26:19
another. Third, he notes the diminution
26:22
in the word man. He points out that the specific
26:24
Hebrew term used here is Adam. How does that lessen the terror
26:28
it is? Meant to lessen the terror of
26:29
the evil by contrasting the weakness of mortal man with the
26:32
omnipotence of the sovereign God.
26:34
The oppressors, no matter how terrifying they seem, are mere
26:37
men. They are fading grass compared
26:39
to the eternal Creator. So we're.
26:41
Not just talking about external tyrants here, John Gill
26:45
introduces A theological extrapolation referencing the
26:48
scholar named Durama, who translates this as the
26:51
oppression of Adam that. Changes the meaning
26:54
significantly. It does.
26:55
Irama interprets this not just as a prayer against human kings
26:58
or bad bosses, but as a prayer to be delivered from the sin of
27:02
Adam. Gel is saying the greatest
27:03
dictator I face isn't a corrupt politician, it is my own
27:07
inherited source code. It is the internal glitch from
27:09
Adam that makes me actually want to rebel that.
27:12
Connects seamlessly to the Westminster Confessions
27:14
teachings on inherited corruption or original sin.
27:18
The concept of federal headship means Adam represented all of
27:21
humanity. So when?
27:22
He fell. Human nature fell, yes.
27:24
The greatest oppressor any human faces is that inherited sin
27:27
nature. It is the internal tyrant that
27:30
bends our will toward rebellion from the moment we were born so
27:33
praying. To be delivered from the
27:34
oppression of Adam is a plea for the redeeming blood of Christ to
27:38
break both the legal guilt and the functional daily power of
27:41
original sin over the believer's life once.
27:44
That deliverance from internal and external oppression is
27:47
sought, the believer turns to seek divine instruction in verse
27:51
135. Make Thy face to shine upon My
27:54
servant, and teach me thy statutes.
27:57
Thomas A Campus offers thoughts on this verse that are
28:00
absolutely piercing. He contrasts external human
28:03
teachers with the internal teaching of the eternal Word A.
28:07
Campus argues that human ministers can pronounce the
28:09
words, that they cannot impart the spirit, they just.
28:12
Have eloquence they can. Entertain the fancy with the
28:15
charms of eloquence. They can construct brilliant
28:17
logical arguments, but if God is silent, they do not inflamed the
28:21
heart. External teachers administer the
28:23
letter, but it is the eternal Word, the Holy Spirit, that
28:27
opens the sense human. Authors point out the way of
28:29
life on a map, but only God bestows the strength to actually
28:33
walk the path a campus. Goes so far as to pray that all
28:36
teachers would be silent and the whole creation dumb, so that God
28:39
alone might speak directly to his soul.
28:41
Think of. Human ministers, authors and
28:43
even the historical theologians we are reading right now as St.
28:46
Lamps on a dark Rd. That is a helpful image.
28:49
They are. Highly useful.
28:51
They help you see the potholes, they keep you out of the ditch,
28:54
and they hope you find your way in the dark.
28:56
But a street lamp is fundamentally different from the
28:58
sun rising. It is a.
28:59
Different category of light when?
29:01
God's face shines and He teaches you internally.
29:04
It is the sunrise illuminating the entire landscape.
29:07
The street lamps are no longer the primary source of light.
29:10
The divine reality has dawned, rendering the artificial lights
29:14
secondary. Richard Elaine adds to this,
29:17
noting the various pedagogies God uses.
29:19
He says God teaches by book. He teaches by his fingers,
29:22
meaning the works of creation he teaches.
29:24
By his rod, right? Yes.
29:26
His rod of discipline and affliction, but his most
29:30
comfortable and effectual teaching is by the light of his
29:32
eye. That progression from seeking
29:35
God's shining face to the believers reaction to the
29:38
breaking world around them is jarring but highly logical.
29:43
When a believer is bathed in the light of God's statutes, when
29:46
they see the purity and beauty of His law, their view of the
29:49
surrounding darkness changes drastically.
29:51
This. Brings us to the final verse in
29:53
our section, verse 136. Rivers of waters run down mine
29:57
eyes, because they keep not thy law.
30:00
John Gatsby provides some helpful historical context here,
30:03
noting that Easterners in the biblical era shed tears much
30:07
more copiously than modern Westerners he had.
30:10
Personal experience with this, didn't he?
30:11
Yeah, he. Stays He has personally seen
30:13
Arabs shed tears like streams, meaning the language, while
30:18
highly figurative, is grounded in literal, physical expressions
30:21
of intense, uninhibited grief. But the contrast of who is doing
30:25
the weeping is what is so striking.
30:27
Thomas. Adams points this out.
30:29
He looks at David, the author of the Psalm.
30:31
Look at his resume. Here is a mighty warrior, a man.
30:34
Who tore a bear in pieces he killed?
30:36
A giant who defied God, he beat down his enemies in brutal hand
30:40
to hand combat. Yet this status champion of the
30:43
world is reduced to weeping like a child at the sight of a broken
30:46
law. The contrast between physical
30:48
toughness and spiritual tenderness is massive that.
30:51
Contrast highlights the nature of true spiritual maturity.
30:54
Matthew Henry captures this with a brilliant axiom.
30:57
The sins of sinners are the sorrows of Saints carnal.
31:00
Men weep over physical losses, financial ruin, or bruised egos.
31:05
Spiritual men weep over the dishonor cast upon the holy name
31:08
of God to. Properly understand this
31:11
reaction, we need to rigorously define what this godly sorrow
31:15
is. It is very easy to mistake our
31:17
own psychological reactions or tribal outrage for godly sorrow.
31:22
Robert. Layton systematically walks
31:24
through 5 definitions of what the sorrow is, not Layton.
31:28
Actually diagnosis this perfectly.
31:29
He warns that we often fake this sorrow, replacing it with
31:32
something far more self-serving. He points out several false
31:35
versions of it, starting with the stoical apathy.
31:38
Right. Layton's first point is that
31:40
this sorrow is not a stoical apathy.
31:41
It is not an affected carelessness that looks at a
31:44
wicked world, shrugs its shoulders, and says, well, the
31:46
world is going to hell in a handbasket.
31:47
What can you do that is? Cynicism, not sorrow, exactly.
31:51
Second, he warns it is not a proud pharisaical marking of
31:54
other sins. It is not looking down from a
31:57
balcony of self righteousness cataloguing the failures of the
32:00
peasants below and thanking God you are not like them.
32:02
And the. Third.
32:03
False version. Third.
32:04
It is not derision or mocking. It is not making jokes at the
32:08
expense of the wicked or laughing at their folly on
32:10
social media. We see.
32:11
A lot of that today we do. 4th It is not a bitter, bilious
32:16
anger. It does not break forth into
32:19
railings, screaming matches, reproaches, or upbraiding
32:22
insults and the. 5th 1/5. And perhaps most challenging, it
32:27
is not a vindictive desire for punishment.
32:30
It is not like the disciples who when rejected by a Samaritan
32:33
village, immediately asked Jesus if they should call down fire
32:37
from heaven to consume them that. 5th point is convicting.
32:41
Thomas Manton provides an analogy to explain the practical
32:44
function of these tears and why weeping is actually a protective
32:48
mechanism for the believer. What is his?
32:49
Analogy, he says. Mourning for the sins of others
32:52
is like quenching a fire in a neighbor's house before it
32:54
reaches your own. The sorrow keeps the believer
32:57
free from infection that makes. A lot of sense if you.
32:59
Genuinely grieve and weep when you see another person commit a
33:02
sin. Your soul will never agree to
33:04
commit that same sin to yourself.
33:06
It maintains a safe distance from temptation.
33:09
It creates a. Prophylactic effect on the
33:10
conscience If you are weeping over the rebellion of your city,
33:14
you are highly unlikely to join in that rebellion.
33:17
The sorrow reinforces your own internal alignment with the law
33:21
of God, so it. Is an act of self preservation
33:23
born out of outward facing compassion you?
33:26
Grieve for the offense against God.
33:28
You grieve for the ruin the Sinner is bringing upon
33:30
themselves, and in doing so your own heart is fortified against
33:34
the deceitfulness of sin. I am reminded of a quote
33:37
regarding the monk Benedetti, the author of the historic hymn
33:40
The Stabat Mater. One day he was found weeping
33:42
copiously in the street. When asked the reason for his
33:45
tears, he simply explained. I weep because love goes about
33:48
unloved. That's a beautiful way to put
33:51
it. Look at your.
33:51
Own reaction to the sin you see in society today?
33:54
Is your default reaction outrage, bitter sarcasm and
33:58
keyboard warrior anger? Or is it genuine heartbreak and
34:01
literal tears? The difference between the two
34:03
is the difference between carnal tribalism and actual spiritual
34:07
illumination. The progression.
34:08
We have tracked through these 8 verses is a complete theological
34:11
system. We began with the objective
34:13
miracle of the text, its majesty, and its logistical
34:16
harmony across millennia. We.
34:18
Moved to the total necessity of the spirit's illumination
34:22
required because of our natural inherited blindness, we.
34:25
Saw how that illumination produces an intense physical
34:28
longing for God's commandments, A panting for holiness like a
34:32
haunted we. Examine the plea for God to
34:35
order our steps, understanding the unbreakable link between
34:39
justification and sanctification and the need for deliverance
34:42
from the dominion of original sin.
34:44
And finally. We arrived at the result, a
34:47
heart so aligned with God's law that it breaks when it sees that
34:50
law despised. We want to.
34:51
Leave you with a final concept to Mull over on your own.
34:54
We talked about how the entrance or the unfolding of God's Word
34:57
brings so much light that it makes a mighty battle hardened
35:00
warrior weep for the sins of complete strangers.
35:03
It is. A heavy thought consider.
35:04
This If you began consistently praying for this specific type
35:09
of sorrow, praying that God would replace your natural anger
35:12
and frustration with genuine tears for the lost, how might
35:16
that completely rewire your daily interactions with a
35:19
hostile world? It would change.
35:21
Everything. How would?
35:21
Your conversations change if you viewed your ideological
35:24
opponents not as enemies to be crushed in a debate, but is
35:27
suffocating prisoners who desperately need the oxygen of
35:30
the very commandments they are rebelling against.
35:33
Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into the Treasury of
35:35
David. We will see you next time.