How to Answer Wisely (Psalms 119:41-48)
How to Answer Wisely
Psalms 119:41-48
September 18, 2011
We have talked a lot recently about the tongue on Sunday mornings.
Jesus gave us that startling truth that “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks”
And “Every careless word that people speak, they will give an accounting for it on the day of judgment.”
When you couple that with James warning
That not many should desire to be teachers because as such
“they will incur a stricter judgment”,
It almost makes us totally gun-shy about talking at all.
Given those ramifications, one might almost assume
That talking only gets you in trouble.
We quote: “Silence is golden”
Or “Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought of a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.”
We have all found times when silence was preferred.
However, you and I know that silence is not the answer.
After all, even our Lord did not have issue with the tongue,
But rather the heart that drove it.
The problem isn’t talking, in fact you and I know
That a Christian is commanded to do so.
1 Peter 3:13-15 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”
According to Peter, a Christian should be ready
At a moment’s notice to deliver the truth.
Our Lord said:
Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”
There can be no such thing as a silent witness.
We are called to proclaim the truth.
Put another way, one person said, “Sometimes silence is golden, other times it is just plain yellow.”
We know we are called to answer.
We cannot fear the reproach of the enemy and refrain from testifying.
But fear of reproach is only part of the problem.
In fact, I would tend to say that it is the lesser part of the problem.
The main thing that keeps Christians from speaking or responding
Is not a fear of repercussion, but fear of saying the wrong thing.
It is obvious that Jesus perceived that fear in His disciples.
For when He was about to send them out, He addressed that very issue.
Matthew 10:16-20 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
Luke’s gospel records it like this:
Luke 21:12-15 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.”
Christ knew they were concerned about knowing what to say,
And so He promised to give them the words.
You may remember that He even reiterated this promise
On the night before He died.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Jesus promised that the apostles would never be at a loss for words.
They would be under constant scrutiny, but never without an answer.
And the book of Acts certainly bears that out.
Acts 4:13-14 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.”
• Listen to the brilliance of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost.
• See Philip presenting the gospel to the Ethiopian Eunuch.
• Listen to Paul preaching on Mars Hill.
The point is that Christ promised His apostles that He would equip them with what to speak, and He did.
But move to us.
Does God promise to give us the words to speak?
And the answer is yes, in fact, He already has.
God has given us His word, it is what the apostles left behind.
God promised to give them the full revelation:
John 16:12-13 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
And now they have recorded it for us.
We have the words of God, we have what God wanted us to know,
And we have everything we need in order to answer wisely
In a world filled with skepticism.
And that is a truth that is reiterated in our text this evening.
For here we find our Psalmist caught in a dilemma,
And needing to know what to say.
So let’s study our stanza from the 119th Psalm tonight.
3 things.
#1 HIS DAILY PROBLEM
Psalms 119:41-43
It really isn’t hard to see the dilemma our Psalmist finds himself in.
(42) “So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me,”
He is a man under reproach.
And certainly this is not a new concept.
Even in our last stanza we heard the Psalmist asking God
To take his reproach away.
We know that “reproach” is something a Christian can expect in this life.
Jesus said:
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
And so we know that criticism, and confrontation are all part of the job.
We can expect that if we don’t live like the world lives,
Our differences will not be tolerated.
1 Peter 4:4 “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”
We can expect to endure reproach.
And certainly it is not a one-time thing,
But a Christian can expect it frequently, if not daily.
The gospels record Christ literally bombarded on a continual basis
In regard to His convictions and preaching.
If we endeavor to live like Christ, we can expect the same.
So the reproach isn’t surprising.
But the reproach itself is not his concern.
He is not here asking God to take his reproach away.
He is not here asking God to make his opponents stop.
His request here is merely that
God will give him the right answer to their reproach.
(41-42) “May Your lovingkindness also come to me, O Lord, Your salvation according to Your word; So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.”
The Psalmists request is that God give him the answer.
He wants to be able to answer wisely.
It is also very important that you and I understand
Exactly what the Psalmist had in mind.
• He was not looking for some new profound prophecy to speak.
• He was not expecting some deep revelatory insight by which to confound his opponents.
In short he wasn’t looking for something new.
HOW DO I KNOW?
(43) “And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances.”
He just wanted to speak God’s word.
And he wanted God to help him.
This is what Jesus did.
How many times do we read of Him being caught under reproach and responding by saying:
• “Have you not read..?”
• “It is written…”
Jesus was always going back to the authority
And guidance of the word of God.
And our Psalmist seeks to answer the same way.
He is under reproach and he must give an answer,
But he wants to make sure he answers wisely,
And so he asks God to be merciful and give him His word.
We have to understand that God’s word is the answer we seek as well.
WHAT COULD WE POSSIBLY GIVE ON EQUAL WITH THAT?
Jeremiah 23:28-29 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”
Adrian Rogers illustration:
(Hebrews 9:27 – “It is appointed for man once to die, and then comes judgment”)
There is no wiser answer, and so the Psalmist asked for it.
His Daily Problem
#2 HIS DAILY PLEDGE
Psalms 119:44-46
We already know that it is God’s word he longs to speak,
But let me show you how committed he is to it.
First of all he pledges that if God will give His word, then he will obey it.
(44) “So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever.”
It is certainly a hypocritical man who only wants God’s word that
He may preach it to others with no intention of obeying it himself.
This man wants an answer for those who reproach him,
But it is not as though he is only interested in Scriptures
That relate to their lives.
He also wants Scripture that relates to his own life.
Furthermore it is a tremendous commitment to find a man
Who can be reproached for his obedience
And yet still long to be obedient.
This was the same conviction we found in the apostles.
Acts 4:13-20 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
The disciples wanted obedience even in the face of their reproach.
So must we.
And this is also important to understand.
When we fall under the reproach of men for our obedience to Christ
And we seek to answer their accusations.
Our answer is only partly verbal.
Part of our answer to them is how we verbally respond,
But part of the answer is how we continue to live.
This Psalmist wanted to answer well on both counts.
Second he pledges that if God will give His word, then he will trust it.
(45) “And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.”
Now we do know that this man is under reproach,
But we don’t know any other circumstances.
Based on the fact that in verse 46 he is going to talk to “kings”
I suppose it is reasonable to assume that he is at least held under arrest.
It could be in fact that he has been arrested
And is about to be brought before a king.
(Just as Peter and John were, just as Paul was, just as Jesus was)
And it could be very likely that he is actually under arrest awaiting trial.
If that is true, this statement is even more uplifting.
“I will walk at liberty”
I will be free!
“For I seek Your precepts”
DOES HE SUPPOSE THAT HIS WISE ANSWER ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD WILL RESULT IN HIS FREEDOM?
Maybe, maybe not.
But freedom of the soul
Has nothing to do with freedom of the body.
Paul understood this.
2 Timothy 2:8-10 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
The freedom of Paul was freedom of soul.
It was the freedom of knowing that you are in the middle of God’s will.
And this man knew that freedom came from
Obedience to the word of God.
He knows his freedom is not found in answering according to the will of his accuser, but in answering according to the word of God.
He trusts that God’s word sets him free.
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The Psalmist gets that.
So he is committed to obey God’s word
He is committed to trust God’s word
Thirdly, if God will give His word, he is committed to proclaim it.
(46) “I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed.”
I absolutely love this statement.
• What words are fitting to speak before a king?
• What words are fitting to answer those who reproach you?
There is no higher word than the very word of God.
And even when the world calls it foolishness…
And even when the world calls it ignorance…
Even then the Psalmist said, I “shall not be ashamed”
Can’t you hear Paul here?
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
• Or how about when they called him an “idle babbler” in Athens?
• Or how about when Festus said, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.”
Paul knew what it was to be considered a fool.
But Paul never tried to wow them with anything else.
• It was never about philosophy…
• It was never about humor…
• It was never about history…
It was always about proclaiming the word of God,
And he was not ashamed to do it.
And there we find our Psalmist.
• Committed to obey God’s word
• Committed to trust God’s word
• Committed to proclaim God’s word
And believe me; that MUST be the attitude of a man who asks for it
Do we suppose that God grants His word to those who have no intention of obeying it, trusting it, or proclaiming it?
James put it this way:
James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Our Psalmist did it right.
He requested God’s word that He might answer wisely,
And he was committed to whatever word God revealed to him.
His Daily Problem, His Daily Pledge
#3 HIS DAILY PRACTICE
Psalms 119:47-48
And we find his example here to be of the utmost importance.
We find ourselves in dilemma’s where we need to answer.
We find ourselves in predicaments where a response is required.
And we may be afraid that we will not answer well,
So at the moment we cry out to God for an answer to give.
And there is certainly nothing wrong with that.
But what I want you to understand is that waiting until the dilemma is upon us to start seeking the answer is not the intention.
We must find ourselves committed to God’s word
Before we ever find ourselves in the situation where an answer is required.
Notice that is what this man does.
Look at his daily practice.
TO SEEK IT
(47) “I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.”
It is just a general love for the word of God.
Obviously it implies a continual reading of God’s word.
TO SUBMIT TO IT
(48a) “And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love;”
This is obviously an act of worship directed toward the word of God.
It is funny to me even today the number of people
Who try to separate worship of God from obedience to His word.
How can you possible praise God and ignore His word?
The Psalmist beautifully states that his worship
Includes worship of God’s word.
We submit to it.
We honor it through our obedience.
We extol it through our commitment to it.
TO STUDY IT
(48b) “And I will meditate on Your statutes”
“meditate” is one of my favorite words.
I don’t mean to sit “Indian style”
With a blindfold and your palms turned out.
Rather it is to continue pondering on what God has said,
Even after you have quit reading it.
To chew on it.
To converse on it.
To practically apply it over and over in your mind.
To dig in it.
To question more.
I have found this absolutely essential in my life.
The Psalmist shows that he doesn’t just want to read it,
He wants to know it.
He wants to get it right.
WHY DOES HE DO THIS?
• Why does he seek it?
• Why does he submit to it?
• Why does he study it?
BECAUSE HE WANTS AN ANSWER
FOR HIM WHO REPROACHES HIM
And he is not waiting until the moment of reproach
For a supernatural thought.
He is preparing himself ahead of time to be able to answer.
Listen, those promises about “it will be given in that hour” were promises given to the apostles. (Men who wrote the New Testament)
Now, I’m not saying that God never aids our memory in the heat of battle.
But He does not give new revelation.
God brings His word to your mind,
So it is imperative that you have first placed His word in there.
Consider Apollos (not an apostle)
Acts 18:24-28 “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
Consider Timothy
2 Timothy 2:15-16 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,”
These men did not depend on some supernatural answer
To come during the point of attack.
These men were ready for reproach long before the reproach ever came.
It was a spiritual discipline.
DID THEY WANT TO ANSWER WISELY? – yes
DID THEY KNOW GOD’S WORD WAS THE ANSWER? – yes
And they proved it by studying it ahead of time.
This is the call for us as well.
If we believe God’s word is the answer,
Then prove it by studying it ahead of time.
We are all familiar with the Believers Armor.
Remember this piece?
Ephesians 6:15 “and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;”
• We are called to be prepared.
• We seek God’s word
• We submit to God’s word
• We study God’s word
So that we will be able to give an answer to all who demand it.
This haunted me as a young preacher.
I had preached 14 sermons when I started at Crawford, and to say I was ignorant of the Scriptures is an understatement.
So I set out to read the Bible through 3 times a year.
I thought, I can’t have someone come up and say, “What in the world is Habakkuk talking about, and me not have an understanding.”
If you want to answer wisely…
Then obviously you must answer according to the word of God,
There is no greater wisdom.
But if you want to know the word of God,
Then you must commit yourself to studying it now.
It is awfully hard to give what is not in stock.
And woe to us all if we ever give people
Is our opinion on the matter.
We are called to answer wisely.
And we do it through careful study of God’s Word.
Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
