Demonstrating Love For God’s Word (Psalms 119:105-112)
Demonstrating Love For God’s Word
Psalms 119:105-112
November 13, 2011
Last week we covered a very passionate and enthusiastic stanza
Of this 119th Psalm as we heard the Psalmist
Declare his undying love for the word of God.
“Oh how I love Your law!”
He is a person who has achieved victory over affliction.
(That doesn’t mean the affliction is gone, but his perspective certainly changed)
And he gives credit for that victory to the word of God.
(93) “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me.”
And so the Psalmist found victory over affliction and that led him
To that amazing doxology of praise we studied last week.
He declared his love for the law of God.
• It is God’s law that makes him wise.
• It is God’s law that gives him understanding.
• And he loves it exceedingly.
But we’ve all heard the statement.
“If you’re gonna talk the talk…”
Many a man has professed a love for God only to have it grow cold.
Many a man has professed a love for God’s word only to disregard it.
We’ve talked extensively recently on Sunday mornings about
The parable of the sower and the response of the “rocky-hearted” person.
Remember what Jesus said?
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
And important distinction for us at this point is that
The parable doesn’t teach that the man received Jesus,
But that he received what? – “the word”.
That man also professed a love for God’s word.
But “when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
That parable teaches us that while the word may bring revival,
The word also promises to bring persecution.
Jesus said “affliction” and “persecution” arise “because of the word”.
Many at that moment fall away
And refuse to honor their previous commitment.
So, while we love to hear the doxology that our Psalmist gave,
If we are to be honest, we have heard that sort of thing before.
But it is not those who declare love for God’s Word that delight us,
It is those who demonstrate love for God’s Word that delight us.
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
• Owning a Bible is good.
• Reading a Bible is good.
• Quoting a Bible is good.
• Claiming to love the Bible is good.
But none of those compare to actually doing what it says.
God’s Word is not here to simply make us smarter.
God’s Word is here to guide our lives.
And so a declaration of love is good, a demonstration of love is better.
And that is precisely what we have here in our text tonight.
Our Psalmist is going to demonstrate his love for God’s Word.
And so after learning what it sounds like to love God’s Word last week, tonight let’s see what it looks like to love God’s Word.
Four points tonight
#1 HIS OATH DECLARED
Psalms 119:105-106
We all rejoiced last week as we listened to the Psalmist talk about
How God’s Word makes him wise.
(98) “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies…”
(99) “I have more insight than all my teachers…”
(100) “I understand more than the aged…”
There was absolutely no denying that the Psalmist knew
God’s word made him wise.
But again, God’s Word is not just meant to make you smarter,
It is meant to guide your life.
If all we ever get is understanding,
But fail to ever apply that understanding,
Then we are in actuality fools.
And that is what makes the statement of the Psalmist here great.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
The Psalmist is no longer talking about
Understanding or Insight or even Wisdom.
Now the Psalmist is talking about GUIDANCE.
He knows that with his feet he is walking a path.
He is headed somewhere.
And he doesn’t just want to understand the truth,
He wants to apply it and walk in the right direction.
Those who study geography may know how to read the maps,
But those who hike the country understand the purpose for them.
The Psalmist isn’t interested in declaring his love for God’s word
And leaving it at that.
He has a path to walk.
He needs direction for the journey.
And he finds that direction in God’s Word.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
• I know where to walk…
• I know how to walk…
• I know what places to avoid…
He is not simply interested in knowledge, he wants guidance.
And because of that he makes a commitment.
(106) “I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.”
He doesn’t just want to declare a love for God’s Word,
He wants to demonstrate a love for God’s Word.
He chooses to make a vow to God.
He chooses to strike a covenant.
This is like a man who chooses to take the next step and marry the girl.
This by the way is the same step taken at salvation.
When we are saved we enter covenant with Christ.
When we are saved we are united with Him.
We become His bride.
The Psalmist is NOT SAYING that he is now making that commitment.
He did that in the past.
“I have sworn”
He is saying that no matter what, he will honor that commitment.
“I will confirm it”
This is not so different from our commitment.
When we confess Christ as Lord (a thing required for salvation)
We cannot separate obedience out of that commitment.
Obedience and salvation are linked.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Matthew 7:21-27 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”
When we confessed Jesus we made the same commitment.
We said, “You are Lord, I will follow.”
But as we have said many times, anyone can say that.
Anyone can say, “Lord, Lord”.
What we are looking for is not the one who will declare love,
But the one who will demonstrate it.
(It is the whole faith and works issue)
Here the Psalmist is promising to make good on his commitment.
“I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.”
IT IS NOT ABOUT MAKING THE OATH, IT IS ABOUT KEEPING IT.
His Oath Declared
#2 HIS FOCUS DISPLAYED
Psalms 119:107-108
Here we catch a glimpse of the great focus of our Psalmist.
Notice first of all that our Psalmist is still afflicted.
“I am exceedingly afflicted;”
Just in case we fail to remember what he is walking through,
He adds the word “exceedingly”.
His life is hard.
Sometimes we assume that when people profess a great love for God,
That they only do so because their life is all roses.
(That is what Satan said about Job)
That isn’t true.
Sometimes it is the most afflicted that declare love the loudest.
This Psalmist has conquered his affliction, but it is still there.
And he still needs help with it.
“Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.”
Now don’t misread this as a complaint or even as despair.
That is not the point.
The point here is simply to remind you
That the Psalmist’s condition is still a hard one.
His life is not easy.
He reminds us of that, not as a complaint,
But to say, “I will love You anyway!”
(108) “O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, And teach me Your ordinances.”
What are “the freewill offerings of [his] mouth”?
It was that oath he swore back in verse 106 to keep God’s ordinances.
And so what we see here is that even while he is afflicted,
His focus is still on keeping the oath he made to God.
Is it hard? Yes
Does he want relief? Yes
But more than that he wants to be faithful
And he wants God to accept his commitment.
That is tremendous focus!
• He is not a prosperity follower.
• He isn’t following under false pretenses.
• There are no rocks in his soil.
This man’s commitment is real.
It reminds of Job’s statement.
Job 2:9-10 “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”
That is the mindset of our Psalmist.
He has declared a love to God’s Word.
He has promised a love to God’s Word.
He has promised to obey God’s Word.
And even though his affliction is real,
It is that commitment he focuses on most.
He wants to obey.
His Oath Declared; His Focus Displayed
#3 HIS COMMITMENT DEMONSTRATED
Psalms 119:109-110
Again, notice the struggles our Psalmist faces.
“My life is continually in my hand”
In other words, “My life is in danger and I am forced to make a decision that is a matter of life or death.”
Imagine if every day you lived you had to make a decision
That effected if you would live or if you would die.
He is constantly in that predicament.
Continually he has to take matters into his own hands
And determine if he will live or die.
And despite this serious predicament, “Yet, I do not forget Your Law.”
Regardless of the situation, I cling to Your Law.
I am not about to make a decision
That may save my life but break Your Law.
(110) “The wicked have laid a snare for me,”
And there we see why his life is always at risk.
There are traps everywhere.
“Yet, I have not gone astray from Your precepts.”
This is a tremendous demonstration of commitment to God’s Word.
He is NOT SAYING that by keeping Your word, I miss all the traps.
He is saying that keeping God’s Word causes him to walk into some traps, but he keeps God’s Word anyway.
Remember this man?
Daniel 6:4-7 “Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.” Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, live forever! “All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.”
We call that a trap.
If Daniel obeys it will lead him into a trap.
And what did Daniel do?
Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”
You can say you love God’s Word all day long.
But this is a demonstration of it.
And it is the same for our Psalmist.
He isn’t just claiming to love God’s word,
He is demonstrating a love for God’s Word.
He obeys, even when obedience will land him in trouble.
And we often have to make those same decisions.
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”
James 1:12 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
The point is, you can’t just claim to love God and His word
And never back it up.
“If you’re gonna talk the talk…”
The Psalmist is doing that here.
His Oath Declared; His Focus Displayed; His Commitment Demonstrated
#4 HIS HEART DELIGHTED
Psalms 119:111-112
And once again his love for God’s word comes out.
As I was studying this text and recognizing that
The Psalmist willingly made an oath to God.
I thought to myself.
WHY DID HE HAVE TO MAKE THE COVENANT?
WHY DID HE HAVE TO TAKE THE OATH?
I mean, why not just try to obey without actually entering
Some sort of covenantal agreement?
THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME
• Live together without the covenant of marriage
• Associate with the church without ever confessing Christ
WHY NOT JUST DO THAT?
(Instead of taking an oath and entering a formal agreement)
Here is why.
“I have inherited Your testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart.”
The reason you take the oath…
The reason you enter the covenant…
Is because that is the only way you get the inheritance.
God won’t give Himself to you apart from a commitment.
If you don’t commit yourself to Him,
You won’t get His Spirit,
You won’t get His Salvation,
You won’t get understanding of His Word.
The inheritance is only for those who commit to Him.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
When Paul talks about believing there, the Greek word is PISTEUO
And it doesn’t mean to believe in an intellectual sense.
It means “to trust” or “to entrust”
As in commit your life to, or enter a covenant with.
And Paul said, only when you do that, do you get the Holy Spirit,
And He is the one who is guarantor of our inheritance.
And now we begin to understand why our Psalmist
Chose to commit to obey God’s Word.
Because only then would he receive the blessing of owning God’s word.
WHAT WAS HIS INHERITANCE?
“I have inherited Your testimonies forever,”
Because I committed to keep Your word, I received Your word.
And “they are the joy of my heart.”
He committed to obey and he keeps that commitment
Through hardship because he loves to have God’s word.
Remember those Jesus spoke the parables to?
Matthew 13:11-15 “Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’”
They wouldn’t enter a covenant, so they did not get those blessed truths.
And that is why the Psalmist is committed.
He commits not matter the hardship because it is so worth it!
(112) “I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end.”
Earlier he said, (101) “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word.”
But here “I have inclined my heart”
We know the heart is deceitful,
We know the heart is shallow,
We know the heart is corrupt,
We know the heart is fickle.
And so we know that “following your heart”
Will only lead you to destruction.
The Psalmist doesn’t do that.
He forces his heart to follow God’s Word.
His commitment is not to his feelings, his commitment is to God’s Word.
And that commitment is “Forever, even to the end.”
In other words, “I would die to obey”.
That is putting your money where your mouth is.
We all rejoiced when he declared his love for God’s Word last week.
Those are truly inspirational passages.
But this week we are even more encouraged
When we see him demonstrate that love.
Affliction couldn’t deter him…
Near death experiences couldn’t deter him…
The snare of the wicked couldn’t deter him…
He made a covenant to obey, and he is keeping that promise.
(106) “I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.”
And this is a good stanza to measure our life by.
We are probably all those who have “sworn” that we would obey.
But the real question is are we confirming it?
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.”
“I’m glad you believe, but it is your obedience that matters.”
The Psalmist knew that, we must as well.
So let me encourage you.
• Declare your love for God’s Word.
It is perfect, and the world needs to know we love it.
• But don’t stop with a declaration.
Demonstrate your love for God’s Word with your continued obedience.
And don’t let affliction or danger or persecution
Throw you out of your commitment.
For it is only the committed who receive the glorious inheritance.
So stand with the Psalmist.
“I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end.”
Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
