PSALM 119:121-128 AYIN

Ayin is the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and it has a special
significance in our study of Gods Word this morning. It is also a word
that is mentioned almost nine hundred times in the Old Testament and it
means simply, an eye. Often it is also used to describe the natural
source, - i.e. the eye, (for example) of living water, Deut 8:7 the LORD thy
God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains [ayin]
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. God is the psalmists Source.
His salvation depends upon God. His witness, His personality, His
understanding all depend upon God as their source, - their eye, - and He
is never disappointed because with God as the Source of the fountain, the
waters will never run dry.
Yes, when your foundations are strong you are like the house built upon
the rock that J esus spoke about, Mt. 7:25 the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock. The psalmists faith had its source in God Himself.
In Ps. 31:3 and 71:3 he proudly boasted in the Lord, Thou art my rock and
my fortress 31:3 therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. 4 Pull
me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. He
is in need of being pulled out of the net his oppressors had laid for Him.
Lets look at these verses of the psalm to see what they have to teach us.

THE LORD IS MY SUSTAINER (v.121)
The psalmist here appeals to God. It is as if he is in a courtroom and
his accusers, - his oppressors, - are throwing accusations at him one after
the other. They are not giving him any respite; they can see no good in
him for they hate him and he stands up for everything they loathe.
All they have they gained deceitfully; they have defrauded and
cheated in order to gain their positions.
J udgment and justice are foreign concepts to them, - they have
nothing in common with the psalmist.
He is concerned only with the judgment and justice of God but
such things are of no interest to them. Mans justice is flawed, it is fallen,
it belongs to a society at war with God but the psalmists conscience is
clear; as he comes before God there is nothing of which he must answer.
In II Sam. 8:15 they said about King David, David reigned over all
Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. That is
quite a testimony!
In the early days, Saul oppressed him and treated him badly. One
day, in the wilderness of Engedi he was trying to capture David and in
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the course of things he had to go to the toilet, I Sam 24:3 he came to the
sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet.
It just so happened, - as planned by the will of God, - that he should
choose to go into a cave where David and his men were hiding. Some of
Davids men thought this was the perfect opportunity to kill Saul and for
David accede to the throne of Israel. Not so, said David, v.6 The LORD
forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to
stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
When Saul returned to his camp and his armies, David stood on the
ledge of a rock and showed Saul the little piece of the royal robe he had
cut off, v.11 see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of
thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor
transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest
my soul to take it. 15 The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me
and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
In this section of our psalm God is called upon to notice how the
psalmist is seeking to live in accordance with Gods righteousness,
judgment and justice and to recognise the oppressors who opposed and
oppressed Gods faithful servant. The Lord is my Sustainer.

THE LORD IS MY SURETY (v.122)
Surety simply means my security, my guarantee my promise
and the eye/source/fountain of my hope.
God is his J udge; just as J ob said to his accusers, 9:4 He is wise in
heart, and mighty in strength: 15 I would make supplication to my judge.
The psalmist had his enemies looking for every possible opportunity
to accuse him and it was wearing him out. Like Paul, when he wrote
to Timothy, II Tim. 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men
forsook me ... 17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me;
18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me
unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever.
The work is the Lords work but He has entrusted it to me to do for
Him. The results do not depend upon me; the Lord calls me to be
faithful and faithful I must be! but it is He Who brings in the
harvest, as is determined by His sovereign will.
The work is not mine, it is the Lords and He requires nothing more
and nothing less from me but absolutely everything.
Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me
undertake for me against those that would run me down and ruin me. He
is petitioning God for he knows he is the servant and God is his Master.
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Notice how much he depends upon his Master, v.122 Be surety for thy
servant 124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy 125 I am thy
servant; give me understanding.
He does not tell God what God ought to do; no, but his confidence is
firmly fixed on J ehovah as His Sustainer and His Surety, - nothing can
harm him if Gods power and goodness is engaged to protect and rescue.
How many times have we been taught the lesson that Gods ways are
always best even if He does take us on a long and hard road? He does
not leave us, He does not rush on ahead nor abandon us He walks
beside us and brings us through all the briers and thorns, through the
valleys of desperation and pain and heartache, - He feels them too and
He always leads His people to the wonderful destination He Himself has
prepared for us. No enemy, - no matter how wicked or cunning, - is
able to take you from His hold when you keep on trusting in Him.
Gods infinite wisdom, - God being your Friend and your Master, -
you are in a far better condition than those who would persecute you and
oppress you because you have the surety of God the security of
knowing, Rom. 8:31 If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared
not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifieth. The Lord is my Sustainer, the Lord is my Surety

THE LORD IS MY SUPERINTENDENT (v.123-125)
A superintendent is one who directs, manages and oversees does
that not describe the work of our Lord?!
The psalmist is oppressed, in fact, he only uses this term three times
in this psalm, - in vv. 121,122, and in v.134, Deliver me from the oppression
of man. He is waiting and wishing for the salvation of the Lord.
Its coming so slow, so slow that my eyes are failing. I have
been crying out to You for so long, I keep looking for the answers and
they never seem to come. He has become weary in waiting for God to act.
Do you ever feel like that? Of course, you do. You cry to God to
work and it is as if He is in a far country. But even though your eyes
fail Gods Word does not, and when you build upon His promises He
will in due season deliver you.
When people attack you, they also attack the Lord for you belong to
Him. When they laugh at you for standing up for what you believe, they
laugh at Him also. When they make fun of you for being a Christian, they
are making fun of Him too.
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When Saul of Tarsus persecuted the Christians, he also persecuted
the Lord, Acts 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against
the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to
Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were
men or women, he might bring them bound unto J erusalem. 3 And as he journeyed,
he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am
Jesus whom thou persecutest. J esus said, Mt. 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men
shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for my sake.
God cares for His servants. He doesnt always prevent us from being
oppressed but He always has a good reason for allowing it to happen.
He is our Superintendent, - He directs us and manages us and He is
watching over us and He is helping us to handle the problems of life
Where would you be without Him?!
And as well as that He gives you promises you can claim over and
over again to find the strength you need and the wisdom to see them
through. Ps. 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt
thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Teach me thy statutes May my study of Gods Word show me what
I ought to do; when I am in doubt, take me to the Word, so that I may
know what is my duty Direct me and make it plain to me. Give me
a renewed understanding for this situation that I would do only what You
would have me do.
Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy Lord, I dont deserve
any favour from You and yet I know, Ps. 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the
LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
How is it we can make these pleas? Simply because I am thy
servant. He is my Master, He has said, Is. 43:1 Fear not: for I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
The Lord is my Sustainer, my Surety, and my Superintendent.

THE LORD IS MY SOVEREIGN (v.126-128)
He is the final J udge. Lord, there are those who have made void Thy
law, they have laughed at You and laughed at Your ways Lord, it is
time for You to work! How often have we prayed that prayer?
Lord, society is sinning against You and it seems they are getting off
with it Its time for You to do something about it!
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J ust as Pharaoh said to Moses, the unsaved say today also, Ex. 5:2
Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?
But do you know when God usually chooses to work? It is not often
when we have the ground already suitably prepared for Him (because we
might take some of the glory) no, the complete opposite. Often God
works when sin is at its most daring and fearless. Often God chooses to
work when the world expects it least!
Ps. 12:5 Now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him
that puffeth at him. 6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a
furnace of earth, purified seven times. He will not be mocked one moment
more than His sovereign will allows.
He says, Is. 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places
straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of
iron: 3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret
places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am
the God of Israel Jer. 28:4 for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
And we need to watch we dont try to rush God, - His ways and times
are not always in sequence with ours but His ways are always better!
Indeed, the greatest means of succeeding in the Christian life is to
arrive at the knowledge that our God is absolutely Sovereign not just
in some things, but in all things.
He cannot and will not be dethroned; He cannot and will not ever be
replaced; He cannot and will not ever be improved upon for He is perfect
Ps. 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

CONCLUSION The Lord is my Sustainer, my Surety, my
Superintendent and my Sovereign. Ps. 121:3 He will not suffer thy foot to
be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
As we considered at the commencement of our study, in all things He
is our ayin, our eye, our Source. He is our salvation; apart from Him,
there is no salvation and the psalmist makes the conclusion, v.128
Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate
every false way.
Lets join up His conclusion along with that of the greatest prophet
the Israelites had, Moses, and he told the people of God, Deut 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the
LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
May God teach us through His Word and make us to be obedient, to
His glory. Amen.