「すべてを善とする方の言葉」 一月第四主日礼拝 宣教 2025年1月26日
詩編 Psalms 119編65〜72節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning. I thought I had greeted you for the New Year just a few days ago, but it is already the last Lord’s Day of the first month of the year. I thank God for the opportunity to worship with you all on such a morning. According to yesterday’s news, snow or sleet is forecast to fall in the Kanto area early this Tuesday morning. It is not expected to be heavy, but it may hit during the commuting hours, so please be careful. Praying for you all. I am one who wishes to enjoy January until this Friday.
Now, I would like to begin this morning’s message by sharing something for which I am grateful. At the beginning of last week’s Sunday service message, I had asked everyone to pray for an annual scripture and theme appropriate for the new fiscal year starting in April, especially for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the church’s founding. I would like to propose them at next month’s deacons’ meeting, and although I cannot officially announce them until they are approved at the church’s business meeting to be held at the end of March, I think that the scriptures and motto that I was led to are probably the best ones. Please pray for the Lord’s guidance, and please pray for the Lord’s blessing on our 60th anniversary.
In January, we have been listening to what God has to say to us using the word “good” as a key word. This word “good,” the Hebrew word for “good,” is “tohv,” and is used much in the Old Testament with the connotation of God’s “mercy. In last week’s message from Psalm 23, we heard that God’s mercy drives us into God’s enclosure, and in that enclosure we are loved, protected, and blessed.
The Hebrew word “tohv” also means “happiness” or “victory,” and it is thought that true happiness will be given to those who believe in the Lord God, and true victory will be given by the God of mercy.
However, happiness does not mean a life without hardships, setbacks, or failures. It means that even though there are constant hardships and setbacks, the Lord God always accompanies us, and that alone is a blessing and peace of mind.
Victory does not mean victory by human or military power, but victory by the fact that even if we lose absurd battles and conflicts in our lives on earth, even if we are treated unfairly, and even if we spend our days being ridiculed by people, when our life on earth is over, we will be invited to God’s presence and can spend eternity there. God’s presence and spend eternity there. I believe that grace is called victory.
To make each one of us good before God, God has sent a good shepherd, Jesus Christ, to earth, who, while we were wandering in darkness and suffering and agonizing, finds us and brings us into the light, leads us into the enclosure of God’s love, and lets us rest there. I believe that we were able to hear that this is God’s will, and that living our lives with constant joy and gratitude for this great grace, day after day, is a good way to live in accord with God’s will. From Psalm 23, we learned that it is God’s will and what God is most pleased with when we walk in joy and gratitude for this abundant blessing every day.
The word “good” is also used in other Chinese characters such as “好favorable” and “佳good.” This morning, the text led us to Psalm 119:65-72, where the Chinese character for “善good” is used. The kanji word “善good” is used twice in Psalm 119:68. In the New Common Lectionary used at Okubo Church, it reads, “You are the Good One, the One who makes all things good.” In the Newer Bible Society’s Joint Translation, it is translated “You are good, You are good, You do good. The Newer Common Languages Bible translates it as “You are good and You do good”.
The previous New Revised Bible translates “You are merciful and good,” but the New Revised 2017 Bible translates “You are the One who is merciful and good,” which is very interesting because the words “mercy” and “good” are used.
However, the first question that arises is what is the difference between the Chinese characters for “良い” and “善い” and what is the difference between the two. Having lived in the U.S. for a long time, I do not know how to distinguish between the two and how to use them correctly. In Susumu Ohno’s book “Japanese Language Practice Book,” he says that the kanji for “良いgood” is used when referring to “good quality” and the kanji for “善いgood” is used when referring to “good action”. As an example, the kanji used for the “良い” physical condition, workmanship, state, or quality is “良い”. And the kanji used for the “善い”is used when referring to “ effort, measure, treatment, or way is. This is very instructive. In English, “良い” is “good” and “善い” is “goodness”.
So, in the case of verse 68, the psalmist says, “You are good, the One who makes all things good,” which means that when he says that the Lord God is good, he is confessing that God always does what is best for us, that He leads us in the best direction, that He is a God who makes everything good. How can we not rejoice and be grateful to such a merciful God? He is not without trust. That is why, in the second half of verse 68, the psalmist asks, “Teach me your statutes.” He is asking, “Teach me your law”.
In this Psalm 119:65-72, there are many words: law, commandment, exhortation, and statute. All of these refer to God’s Word. The psalmist clearly tells us that listening to and obeying God’s Word on a daily basis is the way to live in God’s mercy and love. He confesses that this is the best life and the best way.
In verse 65, the psalmist asks, “Lord, graciously deal with your servant according to your word.” “According to your word” means that it is in accordance with the promises that God has made. The way we live according to God’s Word is to live as His servants. Many of us make ourselves masters and God the fulfillment of our desires. But our master is God, Jesus, and we are His servants. Blessings are given to us as we listen to and obey God’s and Jesus Christ’s Word.
In verse 66, the psalmist says, “Teach me to have sound judgment and knowledge. I trust in Your commandments.” He is saying, “I trust in Your commandments. God’s commandments and Word give us accurate judgment and knowledge”. Not the words of men, not the words of wise men. As we listen to God’s Word daily, God gives us the wisdom and knowledge to discern what is good and what is evil, what is His will and what is our own selfish thoughts, and we develop the ability to judge things accurately.
In verse 67, the psalmist says, “I have gone astray and have been despised at last. From now on, let me keep your commandments.” The psalmist must have made many mistakes in the past that led him away from God, and he must have suffered a lot of humiliation there. He asks God to guide him with His Word and make him a person who lives by His Word, because he repent.
We, too, have made many errors in judgment, made mistakes, and gone astray in our lives, and we have experienced much humiliation, suffering, and pain. However, like the psalmist, these painful experiences become opportunities to turn back to God, to be transformed in His mercy, and to become people who bear fruit that God is pleased with. The Lord of mercy is at work.
So the psalmist confesses in verse 68, “You are good, the One who makes all things good,” and “Teach me your law, O Lord.” He is hoping that he will be able to do the same. He shares his grace with us because he has experienced that listening to and obeying God’s Word is the best life and the best way.
Verse 69 says, “The arrogant try to apply false medicine, but I keep your commands with all my heart.” He is saying, “The arrogant ones have accused me with lies and slander, and have tormented me all these years, and my heart has almost been broken”. However, the psalmist says that he will no longer be swayed by the selfish and irresponsible words of people, but will listen to and obey God’s words with all his heart and live by them. Shouldn’t we do the same? It is not what people think or say about you, but what God says to you, “I love you. You are important to me,” and the most important thing is to believe and rejoice in that word.
In verse 70, the psalmist says, “Their hearts are shut up in fat.” He says that their hearts are hardened with fat and insensitive to God’s love. Those who do not live joyfully and gratefully for God’s love will accumulate visceral fat in their bodies, and they will become ill with high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries, and will die an early death. It is important to listen to and follow the Word of God daily in order to receive the eternal life that God provides through Jesus Christ.
Verse 71: “It was good for me that I was despised. I have come to learn your law.” is common to verse 67. It is important to listen to and learn from the Word of God.
In the last 72nd verse, the psalmist confesses, “The law that proceeds from your mouth is to me a blessing greater than thousands of gold and silver.” He confesses, “God’s Word is a grace far more precious than material possessions acquired on earth, a wisdom, strength, and encouragement for living that cannot be obtained through worldly wealth or effort”. This grace of God can be accessed by anyone, anytime, anywhere. All we have to do is pray and seek God’s Word, open our Bibles, and listen with an open heart to what God is saying to each one of us. That is the time of grace, the time of bliss. The repetition of that grace leads to eternal life.