looking at Psalm 119. I forget who it was that said
it, but someone in time past has
said that we are to preach as though never sure to preach again. As a dying man, a dying man,
may God give us grace. We're looking in verse 65. And this begins with the Hebrew
letter Teth. Thou hast dealt well with thy
servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment
and knowledge, for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was
afflicted, I went astray, but now I have kept thy word. Thou
art good, and doest good. Teach me thy statutes. The proud
have forged a lie against me, and I will keep thy precepts
with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease,
but I delight in thy law. It is good for me that I have
been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. The law of
thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
And then, Jod, thy hands have made me and fashioned me. Give me understanding that I
may learn thy commandments. They that fear thee will be glad
when they see me, because I have hoped in thy word. I know, Lord,
that thy judgments are right and that thou unfaithfulness
has afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful
kindness be for my comfort according to thy word and to thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto
me that I may live, for thy law is my delight. Let the proud
be ashamed for they dealt perversely with me without a cause, but
I will meditate in thy precepts. Let those that fear thee turn
unto me and those that have known thy testimonies. Let my heart
be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed. Now, I think we have made it
abundantly clear that we believe that these are the words of Christ as we have, you know, as surely
the Lord gave them unto a author to write them down. The Lord
Jesus Christ did not take up pen and paper and write these
words down, but he gave them unto possibly, probably David
to pen these words, put them in his heart, and gave him a
desire after these same things. But we believe that these are the prayers of Christ and primarily
because the certainty and the detail in which he goes into
in declaring his love for the Word of God from the beginning
of this psalm to the end of it. Now there's no man alive that
could honestly say the things that are said in this
psalm in the perfection in which it's set forth. Now we can all
say we love the word of God. I mean I hope to be able to say
before you I love the word of God. But I have to confess I
do not love the word of God perfectly. It is not in all of my thoughts.
It is not always precious to me as it should be. But when you read this psalm,
and most other psalms as well, but this one specifically, of
course, as he speaks specifically about the law of God, the commandments
of God, the precepts of God, the statutes of God, these, he
says, are the very part and parcel of his life. He came into the
world, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world with one
purpose, and that was to do the will of His Father. And He completely
and absolutely did the will of His Father. He was without fault
and without sin of any kind. But an amazing thing is true
in that He was a man, as real a man as any man ever lived,
without the taint of Adam's sin, but yet as weak as any man's
ever been weak, stronger than any man's ever
been strong, but he endured all things for our sake. He became
sin, the scripture says, for us. He learned obedience by the
things which he suffered. He was heard in that he feared. God. And so in all points he
was tempted like as we are. He is the Savior of sinners,
the only man who has ever been fully and completely identified
with all men. Now we're identified with all
men in the sense that we're all sinners alike and we're not worthy
of the least of the Lord's mercies and that we do share that common
bond, but we don't feel the need of one another, do we? We're
counseled in the scriptures to bear one another's burdens, but
it's impossible that we could do that. But it was not impossible
that Jesus Christ did that. He has done that completely and
perfectly. And so we see this in this passage
of scripture, and there is some difficulty. that some might have
with some of the things that are said in this scripture in
light of what I just said to you, that these are the words
of Christ, but I do not, I believe they are. And so he says, thou
hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word.
Teach me good judgment knowledge, for I believe thy commandments.
Now you know, and I might have mentioned this last week, it
always is a wonderment to me to consider that him who had
all knowledge, knew all things, yet as a man coming into the
world as a baby and as a young child, he learned things. I can't explain how that would
be. But yet, he did that. Why did he do that? He did that
because we have to learn things. And he would be touched with
the feelings of our infirmities, that is, our weaknesses. Now,
you know, we have infirmities that are not necessarily categorized
as sin. Now, all of our weaknesses and
infirmities are as a result of sin, but all of our infirmities
are not sin. But we have many weaknesses.
We have many troubles. And these are infirmities for
sure. The Lord Jesus Christ has borne
all of them according to what the scripture says. He fully
identified. He knows exactly every trouble,
every trial, every heartache, every problem that a man can
face. He knows what it is. And so he
says, Thou hast dealt well with thy servant according to thy
word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge. And the basis
upon that, he says, I have believed thy commandments. See, I mean,
how does a man believe the word of God? You can't teach a man
to believe the word of God. You can teach a man what the
word of God is. But it's only by the power of
God working upon the heart and mind of a man that he comes to
the place where he believes those things to be true. And that is
the work of God. And when a man believes the commandments
of God, then he can be taught. But you know, if a man doesn't
believe, the word of God, how can you teach him? I mean, how
can a man be taught anything from the scriptures if he hasn't
been given the gift of faith to believe that it's true? How
can it be? Now here's a passage, here's
a verse that does cause a person to stop and consider whenever
we read what he says. Here is this, the words of Christ.
Before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now I have kept thy
word. Now we know that the Lord did
not, in the sense in which we might understand that, he never
went astray from the Lord. That is, he never departed from
the way of the Lord. But he has acquainted with it,
was he not? How do we know that? Because he bore our sin. He became
sin for us. See, he knows what repentance
is. How does he know what repellence
is? Because he bore our sin. He was sorrowful over the sin. I mean, what do you think it
was that crushed him in the garden that caused him to bleed great
drops of blood? What was that? It was the knowledge
of our sin. Not just offhandedly, not just
like looking over there and seeing it, having it put upon him, bearing
it. Now brethren, we can't really
fully and completely comprehend that. I can't. But the scripture
plainly says that it became so. I mean, what was it that weighed
him down so heavily was the sin of his people. And on the one
hand, he hated that sin and he cried out to God under the burden
of it. But yet for the joy that was
set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame. What was the shame? Well, it
was the shame of men, but it was the shame of being a sinner
before Almighty God. Oh, that's a wondrous thing. I can't even begin to enter into
it. But he says here, before I was
afflicted, I went astray, but now I've kept thy word. How did
he know what it was to be astray? He certainly didn't know it through
his own activity, did he? But he knew it through his people.
He knew what it was. But he was afflicted, was he
not, in his own body, but now, he says, I have kept thy word. He has kept the word of God.
Who'd he keep the word of God for? Did He do that for Himself? No, He did it for us. I mean,
you see, some people, they think that God has to abide by His
own law. I've heard men say that. God
doesn't have to do anything. Now, He will. be faithful to
his own word, but he's not bound by anything. He's not bound by
the word. These people that say you can
bring the promises of God before him and you can back him up into
a corner and you can demand that he does something because he
said something, that's the biggest bunch of baloney that's ever
been put out there. You've got no power whatsoever
before Almighty God to call him into question on anything. Who
art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing form say
to him that form it? Why shall it make me thus? How
foolish is such a thought process! O God, who will not lie, he will
not go back on the things that he said he would do. But he doesn't
do it because there's some cosmic necessity or some power outside
of his own purpose and will that causes him to do those things.
He does those things because he desires to do them. It's in
his character to do them. He will do them, but not because
of anything man's going to bring up to him or remind him of. Well, Lord, maybe you forgot
about this. No. Thou art good. And do us good,
teach me thy statutes. The proud have forged a lie against
me, but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. As we spoke last week, the whole
case against the Lord Jesus Christ, as far as men were concerned,
was all built on lies. They paid men to lie that they
might bring him into their condemnation of their law because then the
truth was they couldn't find anything that they could condemn
him about. Even a Gentile judge looked at him and said,
well, look, there's nothing this man's done. I mean, he could
see it clearly. But you see, they were blinded
by their pride because they would crucify him. Not because they
had anything, but because they hated him. The proud have forged
a lie against him, but he said, but I will keep thy precepts
with my whole heart. And he was led as a lamb before
shears as numb, and they accused him. But the scripture says that
he didn't open his mouth. Why? Because he wouldn't answer
a fool according to his folly. Why would he speak, I mean, why
would he raise a defense of himself? So he says, I have, I will keep
thy precepts with my whole heart in spite of the fact that the
proud have forged a lie against me. Their heart is as fat as
grease, but I delight in the law. It is good for me that I
have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes. And he did
indeed, as we quoted that scripture a moment ago. He learned obedience
by the things which he suffered. How can he who knows all things
learn things? I don't know how it is. But he
knew what it was, he knows what it is, that he might learn thy
statutes. Because you see, it's in the
afflictions of the flesh that we learn the truth of God's word.
because he applies those things to us. The law of thy mouth is
better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Now that
is a statement. It's easy to say that, is it
not? All of us would say it, wouldn't
we? But you know, sometimes when faced with that choice between
gold and silver what we know to be true, we sometimes kind
of get on edge there, looking at that gold and that silver
and those things of this world, and we kind of start having to
have a little, have to weigh it up, you know,
and decide, well, is it? The Lord Jesus Christ, he didn't
have any deciding to do. See, he didn't have to wonder
whether or not he said, Thy law is better to me than thousands
of gold and silver. No comparison. Thy hands have made me and fashioned
me. Give me understanding that I
may learn thy commandments. Now there again, you know, how
can it be that the eternal God could take on human flesh flesh
that is formed and fashioned in the hands of God just like
He made Adam. I mean, how can that be? You
know, how can it? The wonder of the incarnation
of Jesus Christ is no doubt the grandest of mysteries that God
came in the flesh that He walked amongst. It's beyond our thought Thy hands
have fashioned me. Give me understanding that I
may learn thy commandments. Why do we want understanding? You know, a lot of times we want
understanding just so we can kind of satisfy our own mind.
You ever find yourself learning, going to the Bible and learning
things just so you'll know something or just so you'll have some kind
of answer to give to somebody that's been giving you a hard
time or something like that? He said, Give me understanding that I
may learn thy commandments. Why do we read the Word of God? Why do we study the Word of God?
It's so that we might know the truth of God, that we might do
the things that He says. Why do you say you love me, He
said, and do not the things which I say? Is that not what He taught
the nation of Israel? Is that not what we learn from
the nation of Israel? I mean, the Lord said you are
a holy people. What did he mean? He said, I've
set you apart. Brother Abel brought that out.
What made the nation of Israel holy? God made them holy. They weren't holy because of
anything they did. They were most unholy people.
I mean, they were constantly falling away from the things
of God. He's made us a holy generation, a royal priesthood. Now what
makes us holy? Are we holy because of how we
wear our hair or where we go and we don't go and all the things
that we do? Is that what holiness is? No,
the holiness of God's people is found in Jesus Christ if we
are set apart in Him. There's our holiness. We've been
made holiness. Follow peace and holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord. There's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved but the name
of Jesus Christ. He is the salvation of God. He's
the holiness of God. And he's made our holiness. They that fear thee will be glad
when they see me. He said, they that love His appearing,
they'll be glad when they see Him. See, when we see Christ
revealed in the pages of the Word, we rejoice, do we not?
I mean, is that not what we go to the Word of God looking to
find Christ? You know, I've heard men speak
about, well, you know, they didn't preach on Christ because that
wasn't in the text. Well, dear brethren, if you can
go to the text and you don't find Christ, then you're looking
at the text wrong, or either you've not been given any understanding. Because Christ is in the text
from beginning to end. In the giving of the law, Christ
is there. There's no place where Christ
is not. And as one old gentleman said,
as he was accused of trying to put Christ in the passage of
scripture that he wasn't in. He said, well, I'd rather preach
Christ where he's not than I had to miss him where he is. But
he's here, brother. The only reason that you can't
see him in every verse and every page of this book is because
you haven't been given eyes to see it yet. You know, they accuse,
usually when a man, when the Lord starts opening up a man's
understanding to the sovereign grace of God, one of the accusations
that people make against people that the Lord please give that
understanding, well, he says, they just see it on every page.
That's the truth. The reason you see it on every
page is because it is on every page. You can't hide from it. It can't be hidden. It's amazing,
you know, how you can read the Word of God and have read a passage
of Scripture a hundred times. And when the Lord is pleased
to apply a passage of Scripture to your heart, you can read a
passage and you'll swear that that was never in there before.
There ain't no way that I could have missed that. I mean, how
could I have read that and not seen that? But that's the way
it is, dear brothers. Our eyes are holding Just like
those men on the road to Emmaus when the Lord was with them.
Now, can you imagine that? I mean, I don't know all the
details of how that was, but I've seen pictures that artists
have painted and stuff, and it's like they have the Lord there,
and he's got like this hood, you know, over his face,
and they can't see who he was. I don't think that's how it was
at all. I think he was right there with them. But you see,
unless the Lord gives a man eyes to see and ears to hear, But
see, what was it that caused them to recognize who He was? It's when the Word of God burned
in their heart. They said, did not our hearts
burn within us? Because you see, when the Lord
is pleased to give His Word, then that's when He reveals Himself. I have hoped in thy Word, The Lord Jesus Christ hoped in
the word of the Lord. That was his hope. Now, you know,
when we speak of hope, and we talked about this, I think, a
couple weeks ago, but it's good to remind ourselves of this.
When we say we hope to do something, we mean by that, usually, that
we plan on doing it, but it might not turn out that way. You know,
I hope that. And oftentimes, you hear men
speak about salvation like, I hope. Well, I hope. I'm one of the
elect. Well, there's nothing wrong with
that. I wouldn't ever get on to a fellow
that says such a thing. I hope that I am. I hope that
I am. See, sometimes we don't always
know. But that's not our hope. See, that's not the hope that
the scripture speaks about when it says Christ is our hope. It's not, well, we hope he's
good enough to bring us into the presence of God. No, he is
our hope. You see, we expect. that if we
be found in Him, that we shall surely be given an entrance into
the Lord. He is our hope. We have cast
all our care on Him. We're not depending on somebody
else or some thought process in our own mind. It's Christ.
We want to be found in Him because He is our hope. He's the only
hope we have. He says, I have hoped in thy
word. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that
thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Oh, that we might always
have such an understanding as he had. We don't always have
that understanding, that in his faithfulness of the Lord it afflicts
us. You know, in our daily trials and troubles, It's a mercy when
God is pleased to bring to our mind that he's doing all these
things for our good. I'm working on an old car, and
there's nothing more aggravating than working on an old car. But
I tell you, the Lord is able to teach you patience, and through
his faithfulness, and he brings these things. See, if everything
was easy, we'd just breeze through it, and there wouldn't be nothing
there. But when things just don't work out, and you have to do
it three or four times, then the Lord reminds us that he's
faithful. Because, see, he doesn't care
if you get the old car. Understand how I'm saying this.
He doesn't care if you get the old car done or not. His purpose
is not you building the car. His purpose is teaching you what
Christ, who Christ is, teaching you His faithfulness, His goodness,
His mercy, His kindness, and all of these things. And so sometimes
I have to just fall back and just laugh and thank the Lord,
you know, for His goodness in bringing these aggravations into
our lives. Now, that's not an easy thing
to do, and it's impossible. that we would do that by nature.
It's only as the Lord is pleased to show us. But the Lord Jesus
Christ, he never had any doubt in it. He said, thou and thy
faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let I pray thee, thy merciful
kindness be for my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant. Now, we would not desire, he
would not desire, anything outside of the word of God. Now there's
a lot of knowledge in the world.
You can gain a lot of understanding of a lot of things by studying
the things that men write. But there's nothing that is comforting
to the sons of God apart from the Word of God. That's the only
place we're going to find comfort. You know, you can read your book
on some of these guys that can tell you about the positive thinking
and, you know, triumphing over this, that, and the other. But
that's not going to bring you any comfort. I mean, the word
of God alone is that that's going to comfort you. Because all of
those things are just temporary. They pass away in a moment. And
they're actually ultimately not true if they're built on the
power of the flesh. Because you can think as positive
as you want to all day long, and it's not going to change
anything. It may change your attitude a little bit, but it's
not going to change the circumstance. Not at all. Let thy tender mercies
come unto me that I may live, for thy law is my delight." I
ought to be able to say that. The law of God is my delight.
To read about the Lord making the difference and telling the
children of Israel not to eat the pie guard. That's what he
said. I mean, we read it there a moment
ago. He said, don't eat the pie guard. I don't know what a pie
guard is. Probably some kind of animal that we would call
by some other name. But see, we can rejoice even
in that if the Lord gives us a love for his word, can we not?
I mean, if we understand what it is, the reason why he did
that, as Brother Al again pointed out, is so that he might show
the difference between his people, that he puts a difference between
his people and the people of the world, that he loves them
in a peculiar and special way. Let the proud be ashamed, for
they dealt perversely with me without a cause, but I'll meditate
in thy precepts. See, the Lord, you know, when
you read many of the Psalms, or what the theologians and great
scholars have called the imprecatory Psalms, that is, Psalms where
the psalmist is speaking out threatenings against the enemies
of God. When you read those, if you don't
understand that these are the judgments of God, this is not
a man. You don't have any right to be,
you know, asking God to judge somebody and bring down wrath
upon them. But the Lord Jesus Christ surely
did. And I believe we see that. But
you know, when he walked among men as a man, he never did that,
did he? I mean, when he had the opportunity
and the right, according to the law, to condemn a sinner, he
didn't do it. He said, neither do I condemn
thee. Go and sin no more. When he spoke to the woman at
the well, and he tenderly dealt with her,
he pointed out her sin, but he didn't condemn her. Oh, what
a gracious God he is. How often ought he to have condemned
us, but he has not. But he said, they have dealt
perversely with me without a cause. Let them be ashamed. Let them
be brought to the awareness of their sin. But I will meditate
in thy precepts. I won't worry about what they're
doing. See, a lot of times people, we
worry too much about what somebody else is doing, and we worry about,
we wanna be, well, they couldn't possibly be the children of God.
We don't need to be worried about that. That's not our concern. It's like when John, or when
Peter asked the Lord, he said, well, what's gonna happen to
John? I won't say that's not any business
of yours. If I will that he should live to be 200 years old, what
difference does that make to you? See, our concern before
Almighty God is to be found faithful before him. I will meditate in thy precepts.
Let those that fear thee turn unto me. Now, who could say that? Let those that fear thee turn
unto me. It has to be Christ, does it
not? Let them turn to those that fear God. How does a man fear
God? God has to give him that fear. And those that have known thy
testimonies, let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I
be not ashamed. See, his desire was to do his
father's will. Now, he had no inclination not
to do his will. Now, if he prayed, Lord, let
me not be ashamed before thee without an inclination towards
sin, how much more ought we to pray? Lord, help us not to be
ashamed or to make you, your name, to be shamed in the eyes
of others. As sinful men, ought we not to
pray continually in that fashion? He has set for us an example.
And of course nowhere do we see that example that he has set
and the reason for which he came into the world set forth in any
clearer light than when he gave this supper for us to remember
his death till he comes again. And there's nothing that is more precious, more telling to the
children of God than the consideration that he bled for sinners. As
we come to this table this morning, let's be reminded of that, that
he came and was made sin for us. And this that we do here
reminds us of that. His body was broken. for our
sake. His blood was shed for our sake.
He who knew no sin became sin for us. May the Lord help us
as we take this supper.