this evening. Once again, as the Lord may be
with us and help us, we'll turn to the 119th Psalm and this evening
we'll read the four verses beginning at verse 89 down to 92. So Psalm
119 from verse 89 to verse 92. Forever, O Lord, thy word is
settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all
generations. Thou hast established the earth,
and it abideth. They continue this day according
to thine ordinances. for all are thy servants. Unless
thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in
mine affliction. Well, we should be thankful that
we have such wonderful and glorious statements as this 89th verse,
where we read, forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. And of course, we have the word
of God from Genesis to Revelation. And to realise that that is a
settled word. That is not a word that is going
to change. That's not a word which is going
to have any variation. Because, as the psalmist says,
it is forever. The Word of God is forever. and
indeed when time shall be no more the Word of God shall still
be there as a glorious witness to those things which God has
said would come to pass and for the wonderful way of salvation
set forth so very clearly in the Word of God and to realise
that that was settled that great plan way back in eternity It
was settled in heaven. And it is our great and wonderful
benefit and wonderful favor to realize that is so. And because
of that, truly we can rely on the word of God. There's not
many things that you and I can rely upon today in this changing
world in which we live. But we can rely upon what God
has said in the Bible. His word is true. His word does
not change. His word is settled. Indeed,
we read in the Gospel of Matthew, in the 24th chapter, in verse
35, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away. It's a great truth, isn't it? And it's something that should
be a wonderful encouragement to us through our lives as we
recognize what God has said will come to pass. What he said with
regard to each of us in our little lives, in our natural lives and
more importantly in our spiritual life and to realize that those
words which are recorded, which speak so gloriously of the Saviour
and his finished work. That work was finished on Calvary's
cross. He did die to shed his precious
blood in order that his church should be redeemed. And therefore how wonderful it
is, as John the Baptist said, to behold the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world. To think that our great and glorious
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, did come, did die, so that our
sins may be all washed away in His most wonderful and precious
blood. And as we have so many illustrations
of that coming to pass, right from Genesis, right through the
Old Testament, again and again, references to the glorious death
of the Saviour and the satisfaction of that death to his Father to
take away all our sins. Well, we should be very, very
thankful for that. And then he moves on and says,
thy faithfulness is unto all generations that has established
the earth, and it abideth. The faithfulness of God. That's
why we read together part of that third chapter in the Lamentations. Because there the prophet speaks
about the faithfulness. And he tells us in verse 22,
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed Because his
compassions fail not, they are new every morning. Great is thy
faithfulness. What a mercy it is that we have
such a compassionate God, such a merciful God, a God who does
not deal with us as our sins deserve, and a God who is faithful. And as we read here, we are not
consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every
morning. Isn't that wonderful? As you
and I get up, they are today. Get up in the morning, a new
day. God's compassions have not failed. God's compassions will
not fail. And they will not fail because,
as we read, great is thy faithfulness. When you and I look at ourselves
and realise by comparison how unfaithful we are, unfaithful
in our thoughts, unfaithful in our words, unfaithful sometimes
in our deeds, to realise how very merciful the Lord is, how
wonderfully gracious He is, and therefore truly we can rejoice
in these words. Thy faithfulness is unto all
generations. It's not something which only
exists for a short period. His faithfulness is right to
the end of time. What a merciful God we have.
And then He tells us, Thou hast established the earth and it
abideth. Well, we know the Lord created
the earth. He created everything. Almighty
God did all that. He spoke the world into being. And yet he tells us, as we've
already stated, heaven and earth shall pass away. This earth will
be burnt up and there will be a new heaven and a new earth,
and yet you see the words of God do not pass away. Thou hast established the earth
and it abideth. And we see it, don't we? All
around us. Until that time when the great
trumpet shall sound and the angel will sound and say, time shall
be no more. They continue this day according
to thine ordinances for all are thy servants. Again, what a blessing
it is to be a child of God. If we're a child of God, we are
one of his servants. All his people are born to serve
him. And that's a great and wonderful
blessing and a wonderful privilege for all are thy servants. And in doing so, what a desire
it should be. As the Psalmist has said, they
continue not something which just begins and finishes. They continue. This day, according
to thine ordinances, the gracious words and commands set before
us in the word of God, they continue. And we are to walk in them. And we are to obey them. We are
to honour the Lord. The Lord tells us, they that
honour me, I will honour. And those that despise me, shall
be lightly esteemed. Well, we have so much to thank
God for, don't we? And then, finally, in this 92nd
verse, he says, unless thy law had been my delights, I should
then have perished in mine affliction. What that really means is, very
simply, he rejoiced in the Word of God. It was a support to him. It was a strength to him. And
what a blessing for you and me today, as we now live on this
earth many, many years after David, but David was able to
speak these truths from his heart. Unless thy law had been my delight. Do we delight in the Word of
God? As we read the Word of God, do
we read it and do we rejoice in it? And do we delight in the
wonderful truths that the Bible contains? It's not something
which is boring. It's not something which is of
no value. But it is the very word of God,
the very truth of God. And therefore to be able to come
and truly to delight, unless I, Lord, be my delights. I should
have perished in mine affliction. It sets before us, the church
of God are an afflicted and poor people. They're much to cast
them down, and much to disappoint them. But there is this great
remedy of the word of God, the law of God. and what a balancing
there is as we may be cast down we may be afflicted may be afflicted
in body, in mind, whatever it may be afflicted because of the
evil heart which we possess And yet, you see, to be able to look
out of ourselves to the great and glorious finished work of
the Saviour, which will be our delight. We can delight in it,
and that puts everything then in a right perspective. It's
a good thing, isn't it, to have the Word of God, to resort unto
whereunto we may continually resort, and find now that refuge
for sinners The Gospel makes known it is found in the merits
of Jesus alone.