034: Max Wickum - Exhortation: Psalm 119

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:13

   Welcome to the good Christian talks podcast. I’m Levi and I’m Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week on this podcast. We select one taco week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post at the start of each week for you to listen.

2. 0:30

   With a short intro before hand to kind of set the stage for the talk. You’re about to hear and now let’s hear more about this week’s talk.

3. 0:43

   Thank you for joining us for another top this week. We’re listening to an expectation that was given by Brother Max Wickham from the San Diego Police in California is excitation was given back in March at the Verdugo Hills Ecclesia. Sorry going back to that. Well that I remember hearing in person and really enjoyed his approach this exhortation. He’s taken as excitation from Psalm 119, which is the longest book in the Bible and he even makes a joke at the beginning that he was going to go verse by verse For his entire to tation and to buckling who’s going to be a little bit of a longer top, but he ends up deciding not to do that and rather than going and looking at one specific section in Psalm. 119 is broken up into little stanzas as it’s written brother Max instead sort of looks at the entire Psalm as a whole picking out little themes throughout it and uses that to build a really interesting look at the way that the chapter works and some lessons that Pulls out for us.

4. 1:44

   He had a really neat point when it came to talk about spiritual food versus physical food near the end. If you’re anything like me you enjoy really good food, but eventually unfortunately no matter how long you take eventually you get full and you can no longer eat the good food that you’re sitting down to eat for the Mac.

5. 1:59

   Thanks a really good point that the opposite happens when you’ve been with spiritual food that when you’re doing a personal study now the state is driven by a by a talk or by class, but just digging into the word just to edify yourself. At the opposite happens you end up becoming more hungry you end up becoming hungrier to dig into the word as you learn.

6. 2:20

   I remember when I heard this excitation in person. I really really enjoyed it. I wanted to make sure to share it with everybody. So I put it on to the list as Levi mentioned in his intro last week There’s also been a lot of new podcast from christadelphians have been popping up in addition to ours. There’s also the extended talks that we do which there was some more classes that were just uploaded earlier this week. There’s also the pause to consider My Brother Sam Taylor, there’s the essential Bible studies that Tim young is doing which is a great way to share your faith with people that are interested in learning more about the gospel. There’s also a new podcast that was started down in Australia called new every morning which has been really great to listen to if you know of any other podcast that we’re missing feel free to send it our way.

7. 3:00

   I’d love to give them a shout-out to make sure that we’re sharing it. Everybody’s learning as much about all the different podcasts that are out. There is people seem to really be enjoying this medium. Also if you’re like me and you’re sitting in your meeting and you hear an excitation, that’s Really really good.

8. 3:13

   Feel free to send it our way. If you know that it’s being recorded in the brothers. Okay with it being published on the podcast lots of occasions record their expectations for people that aren’t able to come in or or for other reasons people there in isolation. So they have a talk to listen to but if you happen to have one particular week where there’s a really fantastic exportation. We’re using those as well as as Bible talks send them our way give us the link to it if there’s any tricks or anything to find it in your closures website send that to us as well. We would love to have everybody participating kind of being at least you’ll scare us in finding any talks or expectations that are out there that are that are really good that we would like to share with with everybody as always continue to send in your other suggestions as well or talks that you’ve listened to their always appreciated.

9. 4:00

   We recently got more suggestions from people that we’ve added in are going to start listening to and are excited to be able to share them with you as always thank you for listening and for all the support in the comments and with that we’ll turn it over to our brother Max for his extra tape.

10. 4:12

    Action on Psalm 119. The excitation is going to be out of Psalm 119 and There’s a number of ways that I’m sure that that could be approached one way might be just spend, you know, start in verse 1 and go through a verse at a time maybe spend a minute or two on each. So, let’s see how many verses are there. So we decided not to do that.

11. 4:41

    And actually when I first saw this great reading I thought I’m going to do the whole excitation from these 40 verses. But then as I read through the psalm several times, I thought man there’s there’s some great verses 1 through 40. and then much later I thought Can I really stay out of the last half totally? But it’s not going to be verse by verse. And mostly it will be from the first 80 verses of this chapter picking and choosing according to subject. This study like any Bible study I’ve ever done. There’s the early days early Impressions and then later on. And when I first started going through this the first thing I noticed was that it does not state. Who wrote these words who the psalmist was but when I was reading it and rereading it, I thought it really sounds like David.

12. 5:53

    And later when I was looking at some commentaries, it seems most people believe it was David. The other thing that we can’t miss in this is the alpha layout. in little groups of verses letters of the Hebrew alphabet very unusual and hard to miss But if there’s one thing you can’t miss about Psalm 119, what would that be? the word of God it is said that the word of God is mentioned one way or another and every single verse and that maybe course the verses were added much later, but that shows you how prominent It is and it’s also got a great variety of terms for the word of God.

13. 6:50

    These are out of just the first eight verses the law the testimony the precepts the statues the Commandments and the judgments there are others later on, but that’s just the first eight verses. As I continued looking through this Psalm. I realized that this is an intensely personal Psalm accept the first four verses we’re going to read the first four. Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord blessed are they that keep his testimonies that seek him with the whole heart?

14. 7:39

    They also do noren no iniquity. They walk in his ways thou Hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. So what do we have? We had blessed are they? They do no iniquity. They walk in his ways you have commanded us not personal at all. But from the beginning of verse 5 through 176, the rest of the psalm is entirely personal how personal is it?

15. 8:13

    well When you look at me my I and mine in the first 80 versus I counted a hundred and thirty-three. That’s pretty personal. That’s that’s amazing. And you know, we might have the feeling that. That’s a self centers sort of Saul but it isn’t it is standard on the word of God and upon the Lord because when you count up on the other hand. When you count up also.

16. 9:11

    How many times the Lord and his word come up? It’s even more prominent. I counted up about the same except that many times. The word of the Lord is implied like in verse 17 deal bountifully with thy servant. the Lord deal bountifully verse 27 Implied is Lord make me understand the way verse 29 implied his Lord remove from me the way of lying. It’s kind of like when my mom.

17. 9:50

    Would say to me take out the trash now. I understood that there was a you imply. Even though it wasn’t stated. I look at the first four verses as being the ideal because the first four verses talk about those who are undefiled who walk in the way they keep his testimonies with the whole heart.

18. 10:21

    They do no sin. And they are diligent. So I say that is the ideal. but then the psalmist when he gets personal the first thing that he says is oh that verse 5 o that my ways were like that. If they were verse 6 then I wouldn’t be a shame. And I will praise you verse 7 when I have learned. And verse 8 and I will keep your statutes, but forsake me not literally.

19. 11:09

    And so the psalmist he starts with the ideal and we would all agree with that ideal. We would agree we ought to walk in the ways of the Lord. We ought to not sin. We ought to be 100% All In wholehearted.

20. 11:32

    But we would also say with the psalmist. Oh that oh that that was always the case though that that show that those words represented my life.

21. 11:45

    But we would also say with him and that’s one of the reasons we’re here this morning. We would say don’t forsake me there with me forget. Teach me. so much of this Psalm is about the psalmist saying improved me help me. I need it. I know I know I lack in fast. In fact the last verse of the song.

22. 12:23

    Says I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant for I do not forget your Commandments. And I believe that’s us this morning. We have all one way or another wander astray one extent or another but we haven’t forgotten him. We haven’t forgotten his word if we had we wouldn’t be here.

23. 12:53

    But we are looking for mercy and Grace as our presiding brother was saying brother Christian. The feeling I get about the psalmist attitude towards the word is that he is hungry for more. He has a close relationship with God. He wants more. He walks with God he wants better. He wants less sent less distraction.

24. 13:26

    He talks about God turning his feet because they’re not always walking in the way, but he would like to. And I think that that is the way we are. We would like to be and I think the psalmist indicates the way we get there is through his word and through the Lord God himself who will help us. You know in my experience what what has given me that kind of hunger for the word of God.

25. 14:01

    It’s typically when I’m doing a personal study one of the brothers down our home Ecclesia last Thanksgiving. We were just chatting and he said to me what kind of a personal study are you doing right now now and I said, none

26. 14:23

    and Course I have in the past and I just realized you know here I am retired. I have the time. And within a day or two, I started a personal study, which I’ve now concluded and I’m on am on another one, but my experience is when I’m in a study like that, which is not for a class not for a lecture not to present just to absorb.

27. 14:54

    Just to enjoy just to Devour the word of God like the psalmist is. It makes me hungry for more. It’s just the opposite of food. Now the more we eat natural food than the less we want unless it’s a chips or chocolate. but with the word of God the more we get the more we want don’t you find that? and if we drift away from reading the word doesn’t naturally make us hungry for it.

28. 15:32

    Because the spiritual things just don’t come naturally to it. And when I read of the psalmist. maybe David the number one impression I get of him is that he understands he is very much a work in progress. He’s an unfinished piece. God is working with him God’s word is working upon him, but he’s far from finish. I won’t read these verses but I’ll just read you some verses and what he says Verse 18 He says open my eyes verse 27 make me understand verse 33 teach me.

29. 16:27

    Verse 36 inclined my heart verse 80 give me a sound heart and so many more but then he comes back and says if you do that for me, if you help me in those ways verse 42, then I will know how to answer verse 46 then I will speak of your word. Verse 62 I will rise in the night and thank you verse 44.

30. 16:59

    I will keep your law forever. So that’s very much as I see it the pattern of this song. The psalmist is saying help me teach me and prove me and when you do I will be a better man. I will be more like you want me and more like I want me.

31. 17:27

    Brother Christian emphasized God’s mercy and the psalmist is very aware of that and its availability. He says in verse 64 the Earth O. Lord is full of thy mercy. Is full of thy mercy teach me thy statutes and verse 76 and 77. Let I pray thee thy merciful kindness be for my comfort. According to Thy word verse 77 let thy Tender Mercies come unto me that I may live for.

32. 18:06

    Thy law is my delight so he totally understands that. The very last thing that is said is very similar to what he says in verse 5. We read that but I’m going to read it again 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep. What does that remind you of I mean it reminds me of the Lord Jesus.

33. 18:39

    He says I’m the Good Shepherd. And he tells Parables about lost sheep, doesn’t he? And what does he do? Well, he goes out and he looks for them. He finds them and he brings them back and that’s exactly what the psalmist is praying will happen. He says multiple times do not forsake me. and in the New Testament the Lord says I will never or say or Leave You Never And this is the assurance that I think the psalmist realize it he has not forgotten God and God is not going to forget him. He is going to contain to work with him. And he is going to Grant him Mercy. What is it that the psalmist saw in the law and in the precepts and in the testimonies that he wrote all of these words about it?

34. 19:50

    I think he must have seen what the Lord Jesus says that the law is essentially about and I know you know this he says two things, right? number one to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and the second one to love your neighbor as yourself.

35. 20:12

    So David sees if it’s David or whatever whatever psalmist it is. Sees that it’s not just a group of you cannot dues. It is a law pointing us to God and pointing us toward others. Well this morning.

36. 20:37

    We come now to the table. And I love that him. That we play just before about helping each other walking together. And letting others help us which can be hard for some of us. This morning we could have stayed home. We could have broken bread at home. I’ve done it especially when I’m sick. But we’ve come together because we are companions. I love this verse 63. of this psalm He says I am a companion of all them that fear thee of them that keep thy precepts. So we share many things don’t we brother? And one of them is we are companions on the way. We are brothers and sisters.

37. 21:40

    We love the Lord’s word. We don’t always keep it. We would like to and we say with the psalmist don’t give up on me. And we know as the Lord said I would never leave or forsake you. And so that’s our hope and our understanding this morning. And as much as the psalmist understood and loved the word of God. He didn’t have all the advantages that we do. That is brought home by what John says. John says The word was made flesh. Well 19 is all about the word but John says the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. Thank you for listening to the good Christian talks podcast, Please Subscribe for new episodes and leave a review. You an apple podcast or whatever service you are listening from to help people find the show when they search for it. If you enjoyed this talk share it on social media. So other people can find it to for show notes and links to the talk that you just listen to visit our show page at anchor dot f m / G CT.

38. 23:14

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39. 23:38

    God bless and talk to you next week.