My Faith, My Love, My Focus: Psalm 119:1-8

My Faith, My Love, My Focus: Psalm 119:1-8 (Aleph)

• Focusing in the fog: aphoraō [G872] Hebrews 12:2
  • Runners, field goal kickers, and other examples from life.
  • Isaiah 45:22
  • Zachariah 12:10
• Psalm 19 and Psalm 119: Proclamation, Prayer and Poetry
  (Forcefulness, Flow and Facticity)
  • Exploring the Divine/Human Relationship in
    Proclamation, Prayer and Poetry
  • Accepting and embracing paradox and enigma
  • Putting ourselves in David’s sandals
• Reading Psalm 119:1-8: Each line matches the effect with the cause … including verse 8.
• The phenemenon of properly experienced shame:
  • Adam and Eve: The change from Genesis 2:25 to Genesis
    3:7.
  • Shame from lack of knowledge of God’s Word: 1
    Corinthians 15:34
  • Shame from substituting human wisdom for God’s Word: 1
    Corinthians 6:5
• Compare: Untrustworthy emotions connected with misplaced
  shame
  • Misplaced shame from things out of our control (e.g.,
    actions of others, accusations of others).
  • Misplaced shame about sin that has been confessed and
    forgiven (Luke 7:48-50).
• Compare: Genesis 3:21.
• Compare: No one who believes in the Lord will be put to shame (Romans 10:11; 9:33).
• Psalm 119:8: How do we stay focused God’s Word?
• John Owen: ” A constant view of the glory of Christ will
  fix the soul unto that object which is suited to give it
  delight, complacency, and satisfaction.”
  • The majority of our spiritual decay and barrenness
    arises from an inordinate admission of other things into our
    minds for these things weaken grace in all its operations.
  • Where we are engaged in this duty, it will stir up
    every grace unto its due exercise; which is that wherein the
    spiritual revival inquired after does consist.
  • This will assuredly put us on a vigilant watch and
    constant conflict against all the deceitful workings of sin
    (Hebrews 3:13), against every entrance of temptation
    (Matthew 26:41), against all the ways and means of the state
    of being surprised by foolish frames, by vain imaginations
    which are the cause of our decay.” (1)
• Psalm 119:8 – David’s closing prayer.