Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119?

    The poetry in the Psalms is beautiful.  I've always liked reading them, and Psalm 119 has always been a favorite because it always seems to make me love the Bible more.

   Not until I read chapter 40 in the Life-Study of Psalms  did I learn that Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem. Each of the 22 sections corresponds with each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section also begins with that Hebrew letter!  That can be pretty tricky. I took a poetry class to get my language arts teaching endorsement, and I know that's not as easy as it sounds. 

     In Psalm 119 the psalmist talks about how much he loves God's law.   As you read through this psalm, it's easy to see that this psalmist saw the law as a portrait of God not as a bunch of dos and don'ts.  In this chapter Witness Lee says you can come to the law in two ways--as a law keeper or a God seeker.  And what spoke to me was how you come will determine what the Bible is to you.  He explains that on pages 454-456:

"Whether you have a killing law or a life-giving law depends on your attitude. If your attitude in coming to the law is to care only for the commandments in letters and to realize that you cannot fulfill these commandments, then you have the law in the aspect of the letter. However, if you take every part of the law--all the commandments, ordinances, statutes, precepts, and judgments--as the word breathed out by the God whom you love, then you will have the law in the aspect of the Spirit .... If this is our attitude toward the Bible today, then whenever we come to the Bible we will have the sense deep within that we are with God." (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, Print 1993).

     I learned when I read the Life-Studies of Exodus that we needed the law to expose the fact that we CANNOT keep it.  Have you ever heard that before?  And because of that we have to seek God because we cannot do it!  

    Thinking about this psalm and writing this post at the end of 2018 touches me a lot. No matter how muchI we read the Bible, it always fills me with a hunger for more.  So my prayer for myself and all my fellow believers is that we would come to the Bible as God's seekers and touch God every time we read His word!!

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,/

Who seek Him with all their heart.

Psalm 119:2

 You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.

Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?





What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?

Psalm 84 is one of my favorites.  The poetic imagery touches me deeply.  In this psalm  the psalmist likens himself to a sparrow and a swallow seeking a home in the two altars. The two altars mentioned are the burnt offering altar in the outer court and the golden incense altar in the holy place.

 Of all the furniture in both the outer court and tabernacle, why these altars?  Like always Witness Lee brings the reader to the Bible to see how in Exodus 40:5-6 these two altars are mentioned together.  Here's what it says on page 370-371 and 373 of chapter 32 of the Life-Study of Psalms: 

"The brass altar typifies the cross of Christ. At this altar all the negative things have been dealt with by the offerings which typify Christ....At the cross we confessed our sins, and at the cross we were forgiven. This qualifies us to enter into the Holy Place and to come to the showbread table to receive food, to the lampstand to receive light, and to the golden altar to experience Christ as our incense acceptable to God....Day by day we come to these two altars. Day by day we are hiding and resting" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

My granddaughter checking out a huge puddle!

Following this David talks about having highways to Zion in our hearts which has a lot of poetic meaning. All the males were required to travel to Jerusalem in order to attend the annual feasts. In this Life-Study I was touched to see that this is also a spiritual picture of our experience. 

 Every day we are on this highway as we  begin our day by spending time with God confessing our sins which is typified by the burnt offering altar, and this in turn brings us into God's presence  where we pray and have fellowship which is signified by the golden altar of incense.  It always awes me when I get to see clearly the connections in the Bible. .

 Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
 

What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?

    In Psalm 73 the psalmist is considering why the wicked seem to prosper and the godly suffer.  That looks a bit backwards, doesn't it?  But many times that's how it goes. And I'm sure the psalmist wasn't the only one who asked this question because I know I have!  The more he thought about a situation, the more it perplexed him, and it almost stumbled his faith.  

For I was envious of the arrogant,/When I saw the prosperity of the wicked./....When I considered this in order to understand it,/ It was a troublesome task in my sight,/ Until I went into the sanctuary of God;/ Then I perceived their end. Psalm 73:3, 16-17
 

    It's a good thing that the psalmist didn't let his confusion and maybe even bitterness keep him from going to God's sanctuary. In chapter 30 Witness Lee states that for us New Testament believers God's sanctuary is not only our spirit where He lives but also the church, God's house. Witness Lee explains that when the psalmist finally got to the sanctuary, he had a whole different view of what was happening.  

     More than the psalmist seeing that God does eventually even out the score, he realized that God was really his heart's unique goal. That is really touching. The end of this psalm is so beautiful.   My heart is encouraged by this part on page 355 in chapter 30 of the Life-Study of Psalms:

"Whom do I have in heaven but  you?/ And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth" (v. 25). This verse reveals that God's pure seeker would have God as his only possession in heaven and his unique desire on earth. God was the psalmist's unique goal. The psalmist did not care for anything except God and gaining Him.... Psalm 73 ends with these words: "My flesh and my heart fails,/But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever" (v. 26)  Here we have the answer to the psalmist's question. The one who does not care for God may gain many things and seem to prosper. However, the one who cares for God will be restricted by God and even stripped by God of many things. As we will see in the upcoming Life-Study of Job, this is what happened to Job" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

     You may have to read those last lines a few times like I did.  It may be hard to wrap your head around this fact that God allows heart-rending losses to occur so that we can really know and experience the grace of Christ. I've found out that it can be a bumpy journey sometimes, even scary and painful at times.  Even when I feel like a wreck  I know I just need to get one-on-one with God or get with another believer and pray.  During those times I just want to hear God speak to me!  So make the decision ahead of time that no matter what happens to you, you're going to keep talking to God and getting together His people!

Here's a beautiful song based on Psalm 73 it's called There are Times. 

 You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.


Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?
Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119?

Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45

     Seeing that there's a divine romance in the Bible has changed the way I understand it.  It's like there's a thread running through all the 66 books, sometimes it's hidden and sometimes it's obvious.  In the Life-Study on Psalm 45 Witness Lee said it's the highest and greatest of all the psalms because it shows God's intention to gain His believers as His bride. Underneath Psalm 45 is the psalmist's note that it's a Maschil, a song of love. In a footnote on this verse from my Recovery Version of the Bible it says the Hebrew word here is feminine indicating that the love here is between a male and a female.

 

   So as I read this outstanding exposition on this psalm, I saw that all the beautiful imagery here portrays what Witness Lee called the divine romance between God and His people. There's a lot of parts to this psalm and lots of details were brought up in the Life-Study, but what touched me the most was his speaking about the importance of our having a loving relationship with the Lord on pages 250-251 in chapter 21:

 

"Our love for the Lord Jesus should be a love full of affection....According to Psalm 45, we all need to have a pure life with an affectionate love for the Lord.  John Nelson Darby, who lived to be 84 and never married, had such a love full of affection.  One night in his old age, he was staying alone in a hotel, and at bedtime he said, 'Lord, I still love You.' When I read this, I was deeply touched, desiring to have an affectionate love for the Lord Jesus.  Now I can testify that, as an elderly person, I love Him much more than I did when I was young. Recently I had a time of intimate, affectionate prayer to the Lord regarding a certain matter, and in my prayer, I told Him, 'Lord Jesus, I love You.' As I was praying, I fell in love with the Lord Jesus once again"  (Lee. Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

This word about John Nelson Darby has always touched me.  I appreciate how Brother Lee's writings draw me to seek and love the Lord more.

 

Let us rejoice and exult and let us give the glory to Him

 for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

 and His wife has made herself ready.  Revelation 19:7 

Other Posts on Men/Women From Church History:

G. H. Pember - Why are There Two Trees in Genesis 2 Anyway?
On George Mueller  - From the Life-Study of Philippians - What's the Theme of the Bible?   
On Martin Luther, Johann Guttenberg, Moravian Brethren,Watchman Nee -  Why Did God Abolish the Ordinances in Ephesians 2:15?
On Watchman Nee & Witness Lee -  What is the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?  
On M.E. Barber  - What Does God's Salvation in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 Accomplish in New Believers?
On John Newton - God's Love in 1 John 4 Seen in the Life of John Newton
On the Apostle John  - Touching Account From Church History on the Apostle John




Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?

-41

Why is God's House Important in Psalm 25-41?

    The history of the Jews is centered on both the tabernacle and the temple. Back in the book of Genesis God spoke individually to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and several others. But after bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt in during the exodus, God gave Moses instructions on building a tabernacle so that He could finally dwell among  His people and speak to them.

When I read the Life-Study of Exodus, I learned that the tabernacle was like a tent that didn't look like much on the outside with its red porpoise skin and other layers, but inside were wooden boards overlaid with gold and beautifully embroidered curtains. You can see here again that God's not about the outward appearance of things but the inward content.

    
   For the 40 years of their wilderness journey all the children of Israel's living, service, and worship were centered around this tabernacle.  When they entered into the land of Canaan, the Israelites set up the tabernacle first in Gilgal and then in Shiloh.  But something happened when David became king.  

   When King David had his palace built, his heart was troubled that God still dwelt in a house made of curtains (see 2 Samuel 7). He wanted to make God a permanent dwelling place. God let him know that his son Solomon would actually build this temple; so David spent many years gathering and preparing all the necessary materials.  In chapter 12 of the Life-Study of Psalms and on page 151 I really liked Witness Lee 's explanation of why the tabernacle and temple were so important to God: 

"We have to realize that God is located!  On the one hand, He is not a wandering God, but on the other hand, He is omnipresent, He is everywhere. Thus, He is the universal God, yet the universal God today is located! The house in which we live has an address, which indicates that we are located. People can write us letters if they know our street address and the city in which we live....In Psalms 25-41 we can see the location of God. This location is also mentioned in the foregoing psalms. The universal God is located in His house, His dwelling place" (Lee. Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

     And all of this reminded me of what I learned from the Life-Study of Ephesians that all the believers are  being built together into a spiritual dwelling place (Ephesians 2:22).  Many of the psalms on God's house touch my heart, especially the one below that expresses David's earnest desire and love of spending time with God in His house.
     

One thing I have asked from Jehovah;

That do I seek:

 To dwell in the house of Jehovah

All the days of my life,

To behold the loveliness of Jehovah,

And to inquire in His temple.   Psalm 27:4

  
  You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.


Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?
Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119?

Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2

   Who would have thought that Psalm 23 reveals 5 stages of the Lord's shepherding?  I know I didn't see it. In this post I'm continuing looking at these stages.  It amazed me to read that all these stages are both progressive and continual. Someone asked on the last post for some more elaboration, and so I am putting first Witness Lee's overview  of these stages on page 139 of chapter 11 of the Life-Study of Psalms:



my grandkids at a nearby park

This psalm also tells us that Christ's shepherding of us is in five stages. The first stage is of the pastures and the waters of rest (v. 2)....The second stage is the stage of the paths of righteousness (v. 3). The paths of righteousness indicate our walk. After we enjoy Christ, are filled up with Christ, and are nourished by Christ, we walk on the paths of righteousness. The third stage is the valley of the shadow of death (v. 4). The valley, the shadow, and death are not pleasant. Christ's shepherding leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. The fourth stage is the battlefield (v. 5), where we are fighting against the adversaries. At the battlefield a table, a feast, is spread for us. Finally, the last stage is to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life (v. 6)" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

      The 4th stage may sound a bit strange. After knowing the Lord in the valley, it  all of a sudden says God spreads a table before us in the presence of our enemies. When I read this, it made me think about Ephesians 6 and how the Lord equips the Body with the heavenly armor to stand against His enemy. 

    When we're at this stage, the Lord begins to show us that every day we're in a spiritual warfare, and  the Lord shepherds us to fight the battle with Him. I've realized that every day this battle starts as soon as my alarm clock goes off! 

      I was really touched with the 5th stage of the Lord's shepherding that brings us to dwell in His house. In Psalm 23:6  David proclaims "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  The New Testament tells us that all the believers make up God's house.

  I didn't see before that God's shepherding has a destination and it's God's dwelling place.  Wow!  To think that all of this is pictured in Psalm 23!! That's why I like to read these Life-Studies on the Bible.





 You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website. 

Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?
Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119

Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2

     The 23rd Psalm is famous.  Most people either have heard it or can recite it from heart. I heard this psalm in Sunday School when I was in 1st or 2nd grade.  For most of my life this psalm just conjured up pictures of a kind shepherd leading his flock through lush green pastures to a pristine lake.  That's all I would still be thinking if it weren't for chapter 11 of the Life-Study of Psalms.  I learned from reading this chapter that all the imagery of this psalm actually depicts five stages of the Lord's shepherding us. Who would have thought?!

     In the first two verses of this psalm  I learned that the contented sheep signify the 1st stage of the Lord's shepherding that occurred when we first got saved.  Instead of feeding on the dry stubble in the world, we are now feasting on the rich pastures in God's word and drinking the refreshing life-giving water of the Spirit. What a difference! 
 
     In verse 3 David speaks of the shepherd restoring our soul and guiding us on the paths of righteousness; this is the 2nd stage of the Lord's shepherding. This causes me to picture a shepherd using the crook of his staff to bring back any wayward sheep on the path.  In this section Witness Lee says to restore is to revive, renew and transform. 

    So this showed me that in this stage the Lord's shepherding is more personal.  I've found that as I'm feeding on the word and drinking the Spirit every day, the Lord within me will point things out that are taking me off the path of righteousness. 

     I learned from reading the Life-Study of Matthew that righteousness means being right with God and man. Like you I'm not always right with God or people in my life.  Inside my heart the Lord kindly reproves me, and that's His way of correcting me so I can return to the path of righteousness. 

      The 3rd stage of the Lord's shepherding of us is seen in Psalm 23:4 where David talks about walking through the valley of the shadow of death.  This includes all the sorrows that are part of our Christian journey. I got a lot of help from brother Lee's fellowship on pages 144-145  about knowing the Lord's shepherding in the valley:

 When we are in the valley, the best way for us to deal with it is to rest.  The tests in the valley always tempt us to do something so that we can come out of the valley.  But the more we do, the more the valley extends. We just need to be quiet, to rest.  Our resting in the Lord will shorten the valley, reduce the shadow, and remove the death. We should not talk about our being in the valley. The more we talk, the wider the valley becomes. The best way is for us to forget that we are in the valley, because we have the Lord with us. We do not fear evil, because He is with us....If we have had the proper experience in the valley, we can testify that it was a place for us to enjoy the Lord's presence in such a close way (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

        Through such beautiful imagery, David leads us through all the stages he had experienced of the Lord's shepherding him. Every day we can know Him a little more as our shepherd!   Next time I'll post  the last two stages of the Lord's shepherding.
 
You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.


Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?
Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119?
  

How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?

     Don't you think the beauty that surrounds us should make us think who created this? In Psalm 8 David took that question up another level and asked God why did you create man? I sort of feel that God set it up like this because when David looked up at the night sky that was studded with stars it obviously evoked wonder within him. 

A friend sent this picture to me.

When I see Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is mortal man that You remember him, and the son of man, that You visit him?  Psalm 8:3-4

I read a real thought-provoking Life-Study on Psalm 8; in chapter 5 Witness Lee brings God's creation of man in Genesis 1 together with Psalm 8.   In Genesis 1:26-27 it's clear that God wanted man to express Him with His image and represent Him with His dominion. 

     Long before the fall that occurred in Genesis 3 Satan had rebelled and had been cast by God to the earth  (These are reference verses I picked up from the Life-Study-- Isaiah14:12-16; Ezekiel 28:13-16).  It may have looked as if Satan had won the day. Centuries passed between Genesis and David's writing of this psalm.  It may have even looked like God had given up, but on page 62-63 I learned this wasn't so:  

"Three portions of the Word speak of the same thing concerning man--Genesis 1, Psalm 8, and Hebrews 2. What is revealed in Psalm 8 was first spoken of in Genesis 1. Genesis 1 says that man was commissioned with the authority to rule over all the created things (vv. 26, 28). Psalm 8 repeats this. Then in Hebrews 2:6-8 Paul quotes Psalm 8. These three portions of the Word show that man has been in three stages: created in Genesis 1, fallen in Psalm 8, and redeemed in Hebrews 2....Man is the central object of God in His creation for the accomplishment of His economy to fulfill His heart's desire" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

  In this chapter I learned that God didn't give up His purpose that man would have dominion over every created thing including His enemy.  Through this psalm David shares in beautiful poetry God's intention of becoming incarnated to visit man and redeem him. And it amazes me that this psalm also shows us that it's through the praise of God's redeemed people that the enemy's mouth is shut up! 

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!!!

 

I really like this poster!   I heard on a documentary that if the earth wasn't located on one of the outside arms of our galaxy, all we would see at night would be interstellar dust.  It really makes me feel that God positioned the earth in such a way that we could see so many stars and planets so that we would start asking questions that would lead us to faith in God!!

 

 

 

 You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.


Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?
Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119?



What's the Focus of the Psalms?

      Who doesn’t love the Psalms?   I’ve turned to them many times for encouragement and comfort. I’ve always liked Psalms honesty; David and other writers told it like it was with any pretense.   But I learned as I started reading the Life-Study of the Psalms that not all of the Psalms are God’s sentiments; some are a mixture of some of the writer's  human concepts and views.

 

My daughter and children in Arizona

     In chapters 3 and 4 I found Witness Lee's explanation  about what was going on in the Psalms really helpful. These excerpts are   from page 41 and 44 of chapter 4:

 

“Suppose that we were the arrangers of the 150 psalms.  Which Psalm would we place as the first one? The Lord’s way is the best way.  He put Psalm 1 first where we see the law in man’s appreciation.  Then we see Christ in God’s economy in Psalm 2....David, who appreciated the law with its keeper in Psalm 1, murdered Uriah and robbed him of his wife (2 Samuel 11:14-27)....In his great sin, however, he broke all the last five commandments, which require men to have virtues expressing God's divine attributes. Did David, the one who wrote Psalm 1, keep the law? I do not believe that many readers of the Psalms ever thought about this. They agreed with David's exaltation of the law in Psalm 1. The greatest teacher in the New Testament, Paul told us that no flesh can be justified by keeping the law (Gal. 2:16; 3:11). It is impossible for fallen man to keep the law (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of the Psalms. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993, Print).

 

      So instead of boasting in himself  or the law,  he said David should have been repenting. Because of his human concepts, not all of David’s sentiments were spot on.  David didn’t have the book of Romans and Galatians to explain to him that fallen mankind can't keep God’s law.  In Galatians 2:16 Paul says, "Knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,...."  It was neat to learn that in the Psalms it's important  to see that Christ is the center and focus of the entire Bible not the law.

 

   You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Studies of Psalms on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Study of Psalms and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.


Others Posts on the Life-Study of Psalms:

What is the Focus of the Psalms?
How Does Psalm 8 Show Us God's Purpose in Creating Man?
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 1 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at Psalm 23 - Part 2 of 2
Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?
Seeing the Divine Romance in Psalm 45
What Did the Psalmist Perceive in Psalm 73?
What are the Highways to Zion in Psalm 84?
Why Did the Psalmist Delight in God's Law in Psalm 119?