Well, once more, may God help
us as we turn to meditate in the 119th Psalm, and this evening
we'll read verses 85 to 88. So that's Psalm 119 and verses
85 to 88. The proud have digged pits for
me which are not after thy law. All thy commandments are faithful.
They persecute me wrongfully, help thou me. They had almost
consumed me upon earth, but I forsook not thy precepts. Quicken me
after thy lovingkindness, so shall I keep the testimony of
thy mouth. It's good if we can recognise
that the word of God through his servants and especially David
in the Psalms explains the pathway of a child of God and it demonstrates
the ups and downs that God's people have and therefore it
should be encouraging for us as we read the Psalms and perhaps
as we're going through Psalm 119 now especially to be able
to trace out that what the psalmist said does find an echo in our
own hearts because if it does it's a very strong evidence that
we are a companion with the psalmist we understand what he's saying
because we are experiencing the same things that he's able to
write down and such words should therefore be an encouragement
to us to believe that we're not out of the way sometimes we may
perhaps think we are but if we can find an echo in the words
recorded in God's Word that should be a wonderful encouragement
to us to believe the Lord is dealing with us as sons and daughters
of the Most High God. Well here we've read tonight
verses 85 to 88 and David says the proud have digged pits for him. That means, really, they've set
snares before him. They've tried to trip him up. They've tried to make him realise
that what he's professing is not true. They're trying to influence
him to walk contrary to the way of God. therefore he's able to
give this illustration, the proud have dig pits for me and of course
in those days they did dig pits to often trap animals and here
he refers to it with regard to himself and the proud the evil
people in this world have dig pits for him and then he tells
us which are not after thy law. No, they follow their own proud
way. They don't follow the way set
forth in the Word of God. They don't follow that right
and good way. And so he's able to tell us which
are not after thy law. How good it is when you and I
again compare ourselves with the Scriptures to see whether
it is well with our soul to be able to trace out that we do
follow after the truth of God's Word. We don't turn away from
it. We don't think it has no application
to us. But we should study it and trace
out in the Word of God that which has an application to us in our
lives. And if such, it will be an encouragement
to us to press on through the world in which we live. And he
tells us, all thy commandments are faithful. All God's laws
are right. All the commands that are laid
down in the word of God are for our benefit, for our eternal
good. And they are those things which
bring honour and glory to our God. So it's good that he's able
to tell us this great truth. All thy commandments are faithful. It's good for us today to be
able to acknowledge that those things that we do read in the
Word of God are faithful. God's given them to us to encourage
us All God's ways are true. Let us not think they're anything
other than true. And then he goes on to say, they
persecute me wrongfully. Well, unbelievers do persecute
the Church of God wrongfully. And the reason they don't understand
the right way. They don't understand the truth
of God, and therefore they're very apt to persecute the Church
of God wrongfully. And that's not easy to have to
stand up to, to endure. We are told, though, that endure
unto the end shall be saved. So don't think your pathway,
my pathway, will be one of ease. It will endure. Persecution. It will follow. We will have
a time of opposition. They persecute me wrongfully. And therefore with these statements,
he then says, help thou me. Well, I wonder whether you've
had to cry out, Lord, help me. You don't seem to be able to
help yourself. You don't seem to be able to
find the right way. You seem perhaps you're in a
wilderness. Well, what a simple statement
this is. What a simple prayer it is. Help
thou me. Remember the Syrophoenician woman
in the New Testament. It's recorded there. Lord, help
me. It's something which is so easy
for us to remember. and it's a prayer that we will
so often need. We won't be unfamiliar with a
prayer like this. We'll need it in our natural
life, we'll need it in our spiritual life. Help thou me. What a merciful God we have,
who does help, as David was able to say. My help cometh from the
Lord. And that's a wonderful blessing
to realize that and to enjoy the help of Almighty God. And then he says in verse 87,
they had almost consumed me upon the earth. Yes, the devil's aim
is to consume us. The devil's desire is to make
us despair, to bring us into that evil position where we doubt
the Word of God. We doubt the truth of God's Word. And indeed as we've sung in that
first hymn, the hymn writer says, the temptation is that we come
and say all the Bible is lies. Well of course it's not. or the
Bible is truth, the devil will try and convince us that it is
not true. Well, what a mercy then to realize
that although we may be tempted and have to face much opposition
to be spiritually alive, that almost consumed me upon earth,
but I forsook not my precepts. That means he didn't walk away.
from God's path, from the way set before us in the Word of
God. And that path is to be a follower
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and to take on board the
fact that the Lord Jesus had a most difficult path and we
should not think Therefore, as you and I walk on this earth,
that our path will be one of ease. Now it's through a difficult
path, through much tribulation, that we inherit the kingdom. So, says the psalmist, they had
almost, they didn't, they almost, sometimes you and I may feel,
we'll be almost consumed, perhaps almost consumed, by an evil heart
of unbelief. That's one of the devil's greatest
schemes, is to convince us that the word of God is not true. They'd almost consumed me upon
the earth, but I forsook not thy precepts. That means he relied
upon the truth of God's word. And that's a great blessing for
us today. We have God's Word. It is true. And what a mercy therefore if
we don't forsake it. There's many temptations that
make us turn away from it. But let us not forsake the Word
of God, the Law of God. What a blessing it is that we
have it. And then finally, in this 88th
verse, he then says, Quicken me after thy lovingkindness,
so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. Quicken me, it
means he wants to be kept alive. Kept alive. Well, I wonder whether
that's our concern. It's very easy, you know, to
become almost dead. and we want to be kept alive. And therefore he comes. And this,
don't forget, is a man of God, a man who has been blessed with
many favours, and yet he still has to come and cry out, quicken
me, after thy loving kindness. You see, he recognises he has
a God, who is love, and a God who has granted to him lovingkindness,
and therefore is able to plead such a word as this, make me
spiritually alive after thy lovingkindness. Now if you and I have had a touch
from God, a touch of his mercy, a touch of his favour toward
us, sinners as we are, To realise that the Lord hasn't dealt with
us as our sins deserve. We will realise something of
the loving-kindness of the Lord, and desire that we may be kept
spiritually alive, seeking after holiness, seeking after godliness,
quicken me after thy lovingkindness. So should I keep the testimony
of thy mouth. Well, we have the Word of God,
which is a testimony of God, testimony of his mouth. And he
desires, so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. Well,
may that be our prayer as well. to keep God's law, to keep his
testimony, the glorious words that he's left on record for
us today, so that we may be found walking close to him and not
afar off, that we may be a true follower of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Well may we truly enter in to
such a truth, quicken me After thy lovingkindness so shall I
keep the testimony of thy mouth. May God instruct us from his
holy word.