Thinking About Strength
Psalms 119:161-168
March 13, 2022
Tonight I want us to THINK ABOUT STRENGTH.
And certainly we should, the Bible has a lot to say about being strong.
• The Bible has a lot to say about standing strong.
• The Bible has a lot to say about endurance.
• The Bible has a lot to say about perseverance.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Very clear that we are intended to stand.
Endurance is even a necessary fruit of salvation.
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 perhaps my favorites come in the letter of 2 Timothy
As Paul encourages Timothy to stay the course and be steadfast.
And of course, not only to be steadfast,
But to be steadfast in his proclamation of the word of God.
(which is what our Psalmist has done)
2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”
2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
2 Timothy 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:12-17 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
And that is just a few examples.
Perseverance, endurance, steadfastness;
Those are all valuable and necessary qualities for the man of God.
THE MAN OF GOD MUST BE STRONG
BUT WE AREN’T TALKING ABOUT WORLDLY STRENGTH.
But you know that the strength we want is not worldly strength.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We want to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
It is a different kind of strength that we are after.
Well, this is the strength obviously of our Psalmist.
• We have seen him now resist all manner or persecution, affliction, and oppression.
• He has stuck with God even when no answer seemed to be found.
WE WANT THAT KIND OF STRENGTH.
By now we can see that the Psalmist is strong in the Lord.
He does not stand because he is strong in a fleshly sense.
He stands because he is strong in a spiritual sense.
When you channel through this Psalm somewhat chronologically
It is amazing the strides our Psalmist has taken.
• You will remember back in verses 1-8 he was a man who had not been obedient to God’s Word and he recognized that it resulted in a lack of blessing.
• Verses 9-16 continued with him asking how to achieve purity in his life, obviously because he wanted blessing.
• By the time we got to verses 33-40, it almost has the feel of salvation. As the Psalmist asks God to make a change in his life.
• Here were some of the requests of that stanza.
• (33) “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes”
• (34) “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law”
• (35) “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments”
• (36) “Incline my heart to Your testimonies”
• (37) “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity”
• (38) “Establish Your word to Your servant”
• (40) “Revive me through Your righteousness”
Those are all requests of a man who wanted to be different,
Who wants to be obedient, who wants to be pleasing to God.
It almost resembles the cry of salvation.
But there was one other request in there too.
Psalms 119:39 “Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.”
The Psalmist not only asked for a more committed heart,
But he also asked that his obedience not land him in reproach.
He wanted what many of us want.
“An obedient life that the world doesn’t hate”
Now I only remind you of that because I want you to remember
That our Psalmist didn’t like controversy any more than the next guy.
Our Psalmist was not a glutton for punishment.
If you look at his strength and pass it off
Simply because you find him to be a tough sort of man
Who doesn’t mind such things, then you are wrong.
He definitely minded such things.
He prayed that God would not let reproach find him.
And yet it did, and regardless, he continues to endure.
That is called being steadfast; THIS IS BEING STRONG.
He’s a man with no desire or love for oppression,
And yet he refuses to let it derail him.
Tonight I want to show you why he is strong.
I want to show you where his strength comes from.
I want you to see the secret to achieving it,
And how to be strong in your own life.
3 things the Psalmist did in order to be strong.
#1 SOURCE OF HIS STRENGTH: HE CHERISHED TRUTH
Psalms 119:161-165
Right off the bat we recognize A REOCCURRING THEME.
“Princes persecute me without cause,”
There have been very few stanzas in this Psalm
Where he did not mention the presence of some type of hardship.
AND THIS PERSECUTION IS NO DIFFERENT
We see the SOURCE “Princes”
• But it is no insignificant man who is persecuting him.
• THIS IS THE PRINCE, and he has the ability to inflict harm.
We see the DEGREE “persecute”
• This isn’t just the hardship of life.
• Someone has set out to harm him.
We see the CAUSE “without cause”
• it is done PURELY OUT OF HATRED,
• For the Psalmist has done nothing to deserve it.
This is no small dilemma, this is a major problem.
• It is an attack meant to shake the Psalmist to his core.
• It is an attack meant to turn the Psalmist toward a different direction.
• It is meant to wreck his faith.
• It is meant to stop his witness.
This is major pressure.
And yet, there he is once again standing strong.
“But my heart stands in awe of Your words.”
It just really doesn’t seem to matter how stiff the adversity is in his life,
His love of the word of God is too great to rattle him.
He “stands in awe” of the word of God.
Now there is a statement to ponder.
• How many times have you stood in awe in your life?
• How many times have you been focused on something so grand that everything else just seemed to fade into oblivion?
The word used here literally means “to be in dread or in awe”
Job actually used it of God.
Job 23:15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him.”
And while it does mean “dread” it is NOT necessarily a negative thing.
He just understands the magnitude of what he is reading.
It is reverential awe.
His current attitude is exactly what Jesus described.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
The Psalmist just has a proper discernment and understanding.
He sees God in His rightful place and knows it is far better
To break the words of man than to break the words of God.
He is “in awe” of God’s word.
AND THEN HE SAYS WHY.
Four reasons he is in awe of God’s word.
WE CONSIDER THEM SO THAT WE MAY BE TOO.
1) THE VALUE OF GOD’S WORD (162)
Here he paints a great word picture.
Let me call your mind to an Old Testament story
TURN TO: 2 Kings 7:8-16
You may remember from our study of Kings,
• When Jehoram was king of Israel, they were oppressed by Aram, so much so
that two women got in a fight over eating their own sons. (6:26-31)
• Scripture said that “a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver,
and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.” (6:25)
• It was then that Elisha promised God would deliver (7:1).
• In the meantime God caused the Arameans to flee and leave behind their spoil
(7:6-7). And there were some lepers who had decided to go to the
Arameans camp (not knowing they had fled) and beg for food. (7:3-5)
• When they got there they found the place deserted and full of spoil.
(READ IT) – (7:8-16)
Now here is my question.
After starving for a time, what do you think the mood of the people was?
DID THEY REJOICE?
You know they did.
Now listen to what the Psalmist said:
“I rejoice at Your word, As one who finds great spoil.”
The Psalmist is saying, “I rejoiced like those lepers”
He has learned God’s Word has great value.
• More value than bread.
• More value than clothes.
• More value than a donkey’s head or dove’s dung (obviously)
He stands in awe of God’s word because of its tremendous value.
It is worth more than great spoil.
The value of God’s word
2) THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD (163)
“I hate and despise falsehood”
• That no longer shocks us.
• This is coming from the man who loathes the wicked.
• Certainly we are familiar with his hatred for “falsehood”
And very simply put, if it isn’t true he not only disregards it, he hates it.
This man is a stickler for accuracy.
So when he endorses the word of God, we know it must be true,
For if it wasn’t, this man would hate it.
“I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Your law.”
That indicates it is true.
IN A WORLD SUCH AS OURS, THE FACT THAT SCRIPTURE IS TRUE SHOULD BE ALL THE MOTIVATION YOU NEED TO LOVE IT.
He stands in awe of it because it is valuable, it is true
3) THE PERFECTION OF GOD’S WORD (164)
“Seven times a day I praise You,”
I wonder how many can say today
That they read God’s Word seven times in one day.
Spurgeon asked, “Do we praise seven times a day, do we praise once in seven days?”
And notice why he praises
“Because of Your righteous ordinances.”
He reads seven times and every time he praises
Because he is amazed at how righteous the word of God actually is.
It is perfect. It is flawless.
God’s Word doesn’t just reveal morality
It reveals perfect righteousness.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a coward a murderer because of
the hatred in his heart.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a virgin an adulterer because of
the lust in his heart.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a poor man a glutton because of
his worry, and a rich man a thief because of his greed.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a chief priest a hypocrite and a
tax collector forgiven.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
And the Psalmist praises God’s “seven times a day”
Because His word is so righteous.
AND THAT MEANS WHATEVER GOD SAYS…IT HAPPENS
It is beyond what God says, it is what God ordains through His word.
WE THINK OF HIS SOVEREIGN DECREES
And the Psalmist said that “Seven times a day I praise You because of Your righteous ordinances.”
I thought to myself what that might look like
And wanted to at least give us a blueprint perhaps to follow.
Let me give you 7 opportunities (I’m sure there are far more)
When you wake up, immediately praise Him for LIFE
He ordained for you to still have it.
James 4:15 “Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
Job 14:5 “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”
Praise God for His sovereign ordinance that you would be alive today.
We’ll say from there you go to prayer and to read God’s word and think about the things of God, so at that moment praise Him for SALVATION
You are only saved because He sovereignly decreed for you to be.
Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
After you pray and read, you walk out the door.
You are off to undertake some task; some plan.
And you praise God for THE PATH HE ORDAINED FOR YOU.
Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”
Proverbs 20:24 “Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?”
Nothing about your day is accidental or left to chance.
He has ordained your path and you praise Him for it.
As you go out into the world you begin to take in THE WORLD’S NOISE.
You get news from some source, you contemplate the circumstances of the world.
And you praise God for THE TIME AND LOCATION OF YOUR LIFE
Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”
Esther 4:14b “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
It’s not a mistake that you are alive at this moment in this place.
He ordained it and you can praise Him for it.
At some point in the day you eat something and of course you praise Him for HIS PROVISION
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
• You even contemplate His command not to worry for He feeds the birds and clothes the fields.
• You contemplate that by His sovereign hand He sends rain on the just and the unjust.
And then at some point in the day something will bring frustration. It may even be a form of suffering or trial or persecution, and you praise God FOR THAT SUFFERING
Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,”
And we remember that God causes all things to work together for good.
That He uses our suffering even for our sanctification
And to purge us that we might better reflect His glory.
And finally you return home and go to bed and you praise God for His PROVIDENCE
• That somehow through all the hectic busyness of the day.
• Somehow through all the decisions being made throughout the world.
• Somehow through all the many contingencies
God ordained His perfect plan to prevail.
Isaiah 45:12 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.”
Ephesians 1:11 “[God] works all things after the counsel of His will,”
And you lay your head on your pillow trusting in the sovereignty of God and have then praised Him 7 times that day.
ALL OF THAT IS A RESULT OF GOD’S ORDINANCES.
HE ORDAINED IT ALL BY HIS WORD
With such contemplation it’s easy to see
Why the Psalmist stood in awe of God’s word.
It’s value – It’s truth – It’s perfection
4) THE BENEFIT OF GOD’S WORD (165)
And how important this is to our main point
Of why the Psalmist is steadfast.
“Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.”
We really could have made a whole sermon on that one phrase.
They have “great peace” in part because through the word of God
They are put in right relation to God.
There is great comfort in walking in obedience.
But that is not the main peace our Psalmist refers to.
Those who “love” God’s law have great peace
Because through it they FIND THEMSELVES SECURE.
“and nothing causes them to stumble.”
To “stumble” is to fall away.
It is become apostate.
It is to fall away totally and finally.
It is God’s word that keeps us from doing that.
This morning we spoke in 1 John about those antichrists that defect.
Do you want to see your protection?
1 John 2:24 “As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”
But those who love God’s law don’t fear such a fate,
For God’s law will not let them fall away neither totally, nor finally.
We have often quoted that great 19th Psalm
About how the Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.
But listen to this statement in that same passage:
Psalms 19:11-13 “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”
Notice the Psalmist had a fear of unknown errors and hidden faults.
He was afraid of committing presumptuous sins, (just seemed right)
And he was afraid they would take hold of him and lead him astray.
• How do you protect yourself from unknown errors?
• How do you protect yourself from hidden faults?
• How do you protect yourself from actions that feel right?
The answer:
God’s Word.
It protects men from stumbling, by warning them of things
They would not otherwise be concerned about.
Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
God’s word has great benefit, it protects us from our own falling away.
SO YOU SEE THE SOURCE OF HIS STRENGTH.
He had such awe for the word of God that he continually cherished it
And it was God’s word that made him strong and gave him endurance.
So the Source of our Psalmist’s strength is that He Cherished Truth
#2 PICTURE OF HIS STRENGTH: HE CHOSE OBEDIENCE
Psalms 119:166
Here is another great verse
That could easily stand alone as a singular theme.
It gives a perfect picture of the great Christian mindset
While in the midst of trying times.
We have both what we hope for and what we do in the meantime.
“I hope for Your salvation, O Lord, And do Your commandments.”
I’ve told you before about a book I love called “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer, in it he talks about a Christian in the midst of his suffering.
“If you stand at the end of a platform at York Station, you can watch a constant succession of engine and train movements which, if you are a railway enthusiast, will greatly fascinate you. But you will only be able to form a very rough and general idea of the overall plan in terms of which all these movements are being determined (the operational pattern set out in the working timetable, modified if need be on a minute-to-minute basis according to the actually running of the trains.)
If, however, you are privileged enough to be taken by one of the higher-ups into the magnificent electrical signal-box that lies athwart platforms 7 and 8, you will see on the longest wall a diagram of the entire track layout for five miles on either side of the station, with little glowing worm lights moving or stationary on the different tracks to show the signalmen at a glance exactly where every engine and train is. At once you will be able to look at the whole situation through the eyes of those who control it: you will see from the diagram why it was that this train had to be signaled to a halt, and that one diverted from its normal running line, and that one parked temporarily in a siding. The why and the wherefore of all these movements becomes plain once you can see the overall position.
Now, the mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is an illustration of what God does when he bestows wisdom: to suppose, in other words, that the gift of wisdom consists in a deepened insight into the providential meaning and purpose of events going on around us, an ability to see why God has done what he has done in a particular case, and what he is going to do next. People feel that if they were really walking close to God, so that he could impart wisdom to them freely, then they would, so to speak, find themselves in the signal-box; they would discern the real purpose of everything that happened to them, and it would be clear to them every moment how God was making all things work together for good. Such people spend much time poring over the book of providence, wondering why God should have allowed this or that to take place, whether they should take it as a sign to stop doing one thing and start doing another, or what they should deduce from it. If they end up baffled, they put it down to their own lack of spirituality.
Christians suffering from depression, physical, mental or spiritual (not, that these are three different things!) may drive themselves almost crazy with this kind of futile inquiry. For it is futile: make no mistake about that.”
(Packer, J.I. “Knowing God” [IVP Books, Downers Grove, IL; 1973] pg. 102-103)
From there Packer turns to Ecclesiastes and listens to the old realist preacher who warns us against trying to make sense of everything.
If you do, it all becomes “meaningless”
He mentions how the preacher tells us to be practical in life
And a realist in the way we look at circumstances.
(Take off our “rose-colored glasses” so to speak.)
And at the end of the book, he REVEALS WHAT TRUE WISDOM IS.
It is NOT understanding of your events, it IS obedience to God
Even when you don’t understand.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
A Christian may very well be in adversity, and may not understand why,
But that is no excuse to stop obeying.
• Do we hope for deliverance? Yes
• Do we hope for salvation? Yes
But we don’t wait until we have it to obey God.
That was the focus of the Psalmist.
This isn’t so much how to be strong,
But it is a great picture of what strength looks like.
THIS REPRESENTS THE GOAL
When we say that we are looking for strong Christians,
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN.
• We DON’T mean a Christian who understands everything.
• We DON’T mean a Christian who always walks around in victory.
• We mean a Christian who obeys even when he is losing.
• We mean a Christian who obeys even when he doesn’t understand.
“I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, And do Your commandments.”
THAT IS STRENGTH
And that is what the Psalmist has.
SOURCE: He Cherished Truth PICTURE: He Chose Obedience
#3 MOTIVE OF HIS STRENGTH: CHASED THE PRIZE
Psalms 119:167-168
He begins with a familiar declaration of his love for God’s Word.
“My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.”
The Psalmist just can’t stop declaring his love for God’s word.
He loves it and here he says he loves it “exceedingly”
And this love naturally culminates in obedience.
“I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies”
Love that doesn’t manifest itself in action isn’t actually love.
We know we love Christ when we keep His commandments.
The Psalmist loves so he keeps.
BUT HERE IS WHY
“For all my ways are before You.”
In other words, he knows that God is watching all that he does.
He keeps an eye on the end when all the rewards will be given.
LET’S READ IT AGAIN:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
And of course that sounds negative, but it is also a positive thing.
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
And the idea is that he knows if he stays the course
And continues to obey God’s word
That the prize at the end will far outweigh the present cost.
It is very similar to the advice that the writer of Hebrews
Gave to those struggling Jews.
Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
He wanted people to focus on the prize.
AND THAT IS CHRISTIAN STRENGTH.
1. It comes from loving God’s word
2. It shows up in obedience regardless of understanding
3. It is motivated by the coming reward
Remember the church at Philadelphia?
Revelation 3:10-12 “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
That was a strong church.
But do you want to see more about them?
Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
From a worldly look they were small and weak and insignificant.
• By they cherished God’s word
• They obeyed even amidst hardship.
• And they looked to the prize.
THAT IS HOW TO BE STRONG.
THAT IS WHAT STRENGTH LOOKS LIKE.
THAT IS THE MOTIVE FOR STRENGTH.
