Help for the Straying Heart
The purest saint at the moment of his greatest strength is as weak as he was before his conversion. What has happened is that he has switched from his little human battery to the infinite power of God. He has quite literally exchanged weakness for strength, but the strength is not his; it flows into him from God, as long as he abides in Christ. — A. W. Tozer: The Incredible Christian, page 33)
INTRODUCTION: We are coming to the end of our awesome study of Psalm 119. We have come to know a man who loves God’s law because he loves God. The law of God is the place where the psalmist discovers wisdom that enables him to fight the enemies of his joy. In this study, we have come to understand the close bond that exists between the Word of God and prayer. They are the two tracks that keep us traveling in the right direction. God speaks through His Word and we respond in words of prayer. Thus, the Christian walk is a communion between friends. In this unbreakable relationship, the enemies, though they are great and numerous, are not sufficient to keep us from reaching our glorious goal. When we abide in Jesus Christ and His words abide in us, the Father will be glorified by making our lives fruitful (John 15:7).
Great Peace
“God never pursues his glory at the expense of the good of his people, nor does he ever seek our good at the expense of his glory. He has designed His eternal purpose so that His glory and our good are inextricably bound together.” — Gerry Bridges
INTRODUCTION: We live in a dangerous world. Read the papers or listen to the news and you will be reminded of just how evil and unpredictable it is. Consequently, many people are gripped with fear. They plan their days in order to avoid any circumstance that might be dangerous. However, all their schemes will not insulate them from the threats of this life. Jesus said it like this: “In this world you will have tribulations …” No matter how hard you try to protect yourself, you will not escape the dangers of life. It is this way in all places and at all times. Here is how Augustine expressed it in the 4th century:
“What disasters are suffered by those who travel by land and sea! What man can go out of his own house without being exposed on all hands to unforeseen accidents? Returning home sound in limb, he slips on his own doorstep, breaks his leg, and never recovers. What can seem safer than a man sitting in his chair? Eli the priest fell from his, and broke his neck.”
The Poison of Profession without Practice
“Open sin, and avowed unbelief, no doubt slay their thousands. But profession without practice slays its ten thousands.” — J. C. Ryle
INTRODUCTION: Religious ritual can be so deadly. It is like a sugar coated poison. It tastes sweet and good going down. It isn’t until later, after many doses, that we discover its deadly consequences. We maintain a form of religion but it is without power. We still participate in the ritual but the joy is gone. Growth is stymied. We may become so deluded that we become like Samson. Our power is cut off long before we are ever aware of it.
On the day before the Babylonians would overcome the city of Jerusalem, God came to Ezekiel to explain why this tragedy was happening.
“As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice” Ezekiel 33:30-32.
Read more: Psalm 119 #20 The Poison of Profession Without Practice
A Battle Cry
“The Bible was not given to make us comfortable, but to shake us up with radical life changing truth.” — J. I. Packer
INTRODUCTION: God has one great purpose. His purpose is to manifest His glory through a people He would create and redeem by His grace. His people, chosen in eternity past, would bring Him glory by the way they live for Him on earth (Ephesians 1:11-12). His plan cannot be thwarted. Even sin is used to bring glory to His name through mercy and grace. Joseph is one example: “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
The cross is the greatest example: “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead” (Acts 2:23-24).
Tried and Proven
“Even today I live every moment with the Bible. It is my constant companion. As a believer for fifty-six years, I have tested God’s Word and found it true. In more than five decades I have not encountered one situation on which I have not been able to turn to God’s Word for comfort, wisdom, guidance, joy and blessing. At eighty-one years of age, I would rather have the Bible on my shelf and in my heart than any other book written in history because it contains the message of God. It is a love letter to me and to all other human beings, who are created in His image. Not only have I been transformed and enriched through reading the Bible, but I have also seen it change the lives of multitudes of people.” — Dr. Bill Bright (Quoted from the book he was writing when he went to be with the Lord.)
INTRODUCTION:
It seems strange to hear someone delight in commands. We love our freedom. Freedom is often seen as doing anything you want. But that is not the psalmist’s view. He knew that in the law of God were blessings, not burdens. It is even more astonishing to attach love to obedience of commands. But that is exactly what John’s epistle affirms. “This is love for God: to obey his commands” (1 John 5:2-3). However, when we do obey our Lord we also find that “his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:4). They are wisdom which enables us to overcome the forces in the world that seek to rob us of our joy. Our faith in the goodness and greatness of Jesus and our obedience to His commands enables us to be victorious in any situation. May God speak to us again and reveal His awesome glory to us as we meditate upon God’s precious Word.
Shutting the Door of Our Minds
A man approached a speaker and said, “You Christians are all brainwashed.” The speaker replied, “I think we are all brainwashed to a degree. The important thing is that we Christians choose what we want to wash our brains with.”
INTRODUCTION:
G. K. Chesterton observed that an open mind, like an open mouth, does have a purpose: and that it is, to close upon something solid. Otherwise, it could end up like a sewer, rejecting nothing. The psalmist has closed his mouth on something solid: God’s Word. Our culture is moving in another direction. It is an open sewer that swallows all ideas and practices, no matter how bizarre or sordid. It is an open sewer which rejects nothing. There is no force within our secular world that will stop this destructive slide. That is why Christians, who have found the truth in God’s Word, need to speak out clearly and forcefully to their decaying world. We believe the Word of God not because it works (it does), not because it is good (it is) but because it is true. We close our doors to all other claims to ultimate truth because they are not only false, but also evil. As we take time to go though this stanza, let us ask God to help us sense the absolute necessity of letting God’s Word rule over our thoughts and our actions. May God speak clearly and powerfully to your soul and may you become a God-honoring, Christ-exalting thinker.
Life is Hard. God is Good.
“By faith the believer triumphs over the world’s enticements: he sees that all that is in the world, suited to gratify the desires of the flesh or the eye, is not only to be avoided as sinful, but as incompatible with his best pleasures.” — John Newton
INTRODUCTION: The apostle Paul described his life like this, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:9-10). In the service of Jesus he never knew when or where the next blow would hit. But nothing could steal his joy. Problems only came to deepen his joy in Christ. His love for Jesus and his passion to know Him and make Him known was the controlling pleasure of his life. That is the background for John Newton’s remarks above. When you follow Jesus, what you get far outweighs what you lose. The desires of the flesh are to be avoided because they are sin. But the desires of the spirit are the real motivation for holiness. Sin is to be avoided because sin is incompatible with our best pleasures. That is why Jesus said, “If any one would come after me let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me” (Luke 9:23-25). Sure there is denial of self. Sure there is the picking up of the cross. But the reward is that we get Jesus. Losing the self for His sake means we find our true selves.
The Man Who Sings One Note
Open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things in Your law. Psalm 119:18
“I find him always singing one note.” — Stephen Vaughn on William Tyndale
INTRODUCTION: William Tyndale had to flee England. His crime? He was committed to translating the Bible into the English language so that the common people could have the joy of reading God’s Word for themselves. The Catholic Church and the King were set against it. So, he fled to Europe where he continued his translation of the Bible while hiding from the authorities. For political reasons, King Henry wanted Tyndale back in the country, but he had one stipulation. He would have to agree to stop all of his work on the English Bible. The King had sent an emissary, a merchant by the name of Stephen Vaughn, to negotiate Tyndale’s return. However, each time Vaughn laid out the King’s demands, Tyndale refused to budge. He would come home only if the King permitted him to complete the vernacular Bible. Three times Vaughn met with Tyndale. Three times William Tyndale refused to compromise. So, in frustration, Vaughn sent back this message to King Henry: “I find him always singing one note.”
The Clarity of God’s Word
"I prayed for faith and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, ‘Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.’ I had up to this time closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since." — Dwight L. Moody
Sweet Words of Truth
“Even today I live every moment with the Bible. It is my constant companion. As a believer for fifty-six years, I have tested God’s Word and found it true. In more than five decades I have not encountered one situation in which I have not been able to turn to God’s Word for comfort, wisdom, guidance, joy, and blessing. At eighty-one years of age, I would rather have the Bible on my shelf and in my heart than any other book written in history because it contains the message of God. It is a love letter to me and to all other human beings who are created in His image. Not only have I been enriched through the reading of the Bible, but I have also seen it change the lives of a multitude of people.” — Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade
More Articles...
- Psalm 119 #12 The Eternal Rock
- Psalm119 #11 Stars in the Midst of Darkness
- Psalm 119 #10 The Man Everybody Wants to See
- Psalm 119 #9 Pain and Purpose
- Psalm 119 #8 Its All About HIm
- Psalm 119 #7 Hope in the Midst of Problems
- Psalm 119 #6 Love and God's Word
- Psalm 119 #5 Prayer, Perseverance and Pleasure
- Psalm 119 #4 Pathway to Freedom
- Psalm 119 #3 Open Our Eyes Lord
- Psalm 119 #2 Treasure in the Heart
- Psalm 119 #1 Door Way To Delight
- Delight in God's Decrees
