Well, we're back in Psalm 119. I'm not doing a message on every
single one of the 22 sections, but picking into it. Last week
we did verse 97. Oh, how love I thy law! It is
my meditation. all the day. The most valuable
thing that this world affords is the ceremony crowning the
last queen, giving her a Bible to be her guide in that symbolism. Those words, that the Bible is
the most valuable thing this world affords, and we've been
singing that in those hymns. It is the truth of God communicated
to his people by Holy Spirit revelation. This truth is objective. worldly wisdom, man's wisdom,
human truth, is fluctuating. You know, that which was undeniably
true 30 years ago, now is held up as being absolute nonsense,
and completely wrong, and vice versa. But this is objective. It is eternal truth, because
it is God's truth, and God is eternal. It is unchanging. It never changes. Don't say,
ah, it's changed. The Old Testament's not like
the New. It's exactly the same. It reveals the one salvation
of God, the eternal purpose of God, the kingdom of God, as opposed
to this kingdom of Satan in which we currently live. It's eternal,
it's unchanging, it's absolutely dependable truth. Don't we all
love to have things that we can depend upon? Well this week,
our text is verse 130 that Stephen read to us earlier. The entrance
of thy words giveth light, it giveth understanding unto the
simple. The entrance of thy words giveth
light, it giveth understanding to the simple. And I've got three
points, the light of God's word, its entrance, and the understanding
given to the simple. The light of God's word, its
entrance, and the understanding given to the simple. So the light
of God's word then, there it is, the entrance of thy words
giveth light, the light of God's word. Light was given at creation. If you turn in your Bibles to
Genesis chapter 1, and the first two or three verses, in the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without
form and void, chaotic. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. That chaotic creation. And God
said, let there be light. And there was light. Light was
the very first thing. There was the universe that God
had created. But there was darkness upon the
face of the deep. There was chaos. And God said,
let there be light. And there was light. And that
light Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6, you know
this verse I'm sure when I remind you of it. God who said let light
shine in the darkness, Genesis chapter 1 and verse 3. God who
said let light shine in the darkness has shined into our souls. to give us the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Do you see how
there's that parallel? There's that... Comparison between
creation light and the light when a person is saved from darkness
into the light of God. A soul which, like the world
before God caused the light to shine and before the Spirit of
God moved on the face of the waters, that creation was without
form and void. It was chaos. And so is the soul
of the one who is converted before they come to a knowledge of the
truth. That soul is without form and void, it is chaos, it is
twisted until God's light shines. And when God's light shines,
that darkness is dispelled. Darkness is a lack of light,
that's what it is. Darkness itself isn't anything,
it is a lack of something, it is a lack of light. It's an inability
to detect reality. In Isaiah chapter 9 we read of
this, the first couple of verses. The people, verse 2 of chapter
9 of Isaiah, the people that walked in darkness, all of us
by nature since the fall of man in Eden, all of us by nature
in our flesh, We walk in darkness, the darkness of separation from
God. The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. God's
light. And that is quoted in Matthew's
Gospel, chapter 4, verse 16. The only difference being the
people that walked, the people that sat in darkness have seen
a great light. When Christ came, he was that
light that came into the world. Man in his natural state, you
and me as we are born, you and me in the flesh, the natural
man, we know from 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, the natural man,
you and me as we are, receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned. Why do, supposedly,
intelligent people deny God? You see them on the television
all the time, if you look, held up as great paragons of human
goodness and intellect, and yet they deny God, they deny God. The fact that they're on the
television proves that they're people that deny God, because the television
wouldn't have them on there if they were people who believed
in God. Why do they deny God? It's because they're blind. Doesn't
matter how intelligent they are, doesn't matter how esteemed in
the world's eyes, they're blind. They're without spiritual discernment. Richard Dawkins, I don't know
if he still is, but he was for many years professor of public
understanding of science at Oxford University. Oh, what a prestigious
organization. And yet he was there, basically
he was the professor of godlessness. He was that university's professor
of unbelief. He was the professor who said,
there is no God, you don't need to believe in a God, everything's
explained without God, don't waste your time believing in
God. Such a supposedly intelligent man. But why did he do that?
Not because he was ultimately clever. Not because he ultimately
got the key to things. No, he was spiritually blind.
He couldn't see. You know, blindness is the physical
impairment that I think most of us dread more than anything
else, unless there's anybody out there listening now who has
that impediment and has suffered from it for some time. But imagine
going with a blind person to the most beautiful scene in the
English Lake District. which for me is looking down
over Grasmere absolutely beautiful place and you say well describe
what you see and however intelligent that person without sight is
they will not be able they may be able to describe the sounds
that they hear but they can't describe the scene because they're
blind so the likes of Richard Dawkins there is no sight of
the soul 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4, just two verses
before that one I quoted earlier, says, The God of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not. Who is the God of
this world? Well, in our translations it's
a small g, and I believe that's right actually. All things are
in God's hands. Yes, our God is God over all
things, but since Satan captured this world, since Adam, for love
of his wife, gave away that delegated viceroyship of God's creation
to Satan, the God of this world has blinded the minds of them
which believe not. You might remember when I did
the series on Revelation and then wrote the book, the first
chapter describes a holiday that Christine and I had there in,
I think it was 2010, and we arrived on this June day in the height
of summer and got the train up the mountain to Villars, way
up above Lake Geneva. and a beautiful hotel, lovely
little town, but thick mist everywhere. And so it remained for two days
or more. And we had a lovely room in this
hotel, which supposedly had fantastic views. And looking out on the
balcony over the view, we could barely see the shapes of pine
trees across the road. And then on the third morning,
The mist had gone and we looked out at a magnificently blue sky
and crystal clear views across to the snow-capped peaks and
up Lake Geneva. Absolutely wonderful. It was
there all the time. It was just hidden by the mist. It was hidden by the mist that
caused us or made us blind to its existence. It was there all
the time. So it is with the truth of God
and the light of God. God's truth, God's light, God's
eternal reality, shines in this dark world. Look at John's gospel
and chapter one. You don't have to turn to these,
because I'm turning to them anyway. But in John's gospel, chapter
one, in verse five it says, and the light shineth in darkness. And the darkness comprehended
it not. The light shines in the darkness.
This light of God shines. Where does it shine? Firstly,
it shines in creation. The light of God shines in creation. Oh yes it does, it shines in
creation. Romans chapter 1, I think I referred
to this last week as well. It shines in creation. Romans
chapter 1 verse 19. Well, verse 18, the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth, what truth? That there is a God who
is real in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God
is manifest in them, for God has showed it to them, for the
invisible things of Him, of God. from the creation of the world
are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made.
His creation, even His eternal power and Godhead, is displayed
all around us in this universe. And so they're without excuse.
But people wouldn't believe God, and didn't glorify God as God,
and neither were thankful, and their foolish hearts were darkened,
and professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Blind
human minds refuse to notice the light of God shining all
around us in this creation. We used to sing a hymn. and we
haven't sung it for quite some time, which says something like,
you know, earth around is sweeter green, sky above is softer blue,
and things that Christless eyes have never seen those things.
Blind human minds refuse to notice. So God shines his light in creation,
but he also shines his light in his son, who is the word of
God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
light of God, the word of God. He shines in Christ. John chapter
8 and verse 12 says, Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. In that first
chapter of John, verse 4, in him, in Christ, who is the Word
of God, was life, and the life was the light of men. We read
it earlier in John chapter 12, right at the start. Verse 46,
Jesus said, I am come. a light into the world, that
whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." Why wouldn't
anybody want that? John 3.19, men, in their sinful flesh. Men loved
darkness rather than light. Why? Because their deeds were
evil. Their deeds were sinful. Their
deeds were contrary to the justice and righteousness of God. God
is light. In Him is no darkness at all.
And that light is visible, most visible, in the face of Jesus
Christ. God, who caused light to shine
in the darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And then thirdly, that light
shines in the written Word, the pages of Scripture, all of which
speaks of Christ. This is why God has said He's
exalted His Word above all His name. As every village, somebody
once said many, many years ago, every village in England has
a road sign pointing to London, this way to London. So, every
verse of this book points to a road which leads to Christ.
It's here, these are they, said Jesus, that speak of me. All
of this scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, it all speaks
of Him. This is the abiding declaration
of God's salvation, and of God's Saviour. And Psalm 119 extols
the wonderful. the marvelous written testimonies
of God's grace and salvation in Christ. It is that which is
a guide to us. Psalm 119 verse 105, Thy word
is a lamp unto my feet as I walk through this life in this world.
Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. Oh, what
a good thing it is. in a pitch dark night, when you
cannot see, literally you cannot see your outstretched hand in
front of you, to be able to know where your path leads, where
to next put your foot safely. That's what this word is in this
life of uncertainty. No wonder it is truly the most
valuable thing that this world affords. So, the light of God's
Word shining in creation, shining in His Son, shining in the written
Word. But then it says, the entrance
of thy words giveth light. It's the entrance of God's Word. Just as the Spirit of God moved
on the face of the waters in Genesis at creation, That word
there is the same word as, you know, it talks about an eagle
fluttering over her chicks, over her young, protecting them. It's
that movement of the wings of the eagle. It's protecting them. So the Spirit of God fluttered
over the chaos that is creation and brought order out of that
chaos. So with the darkened soul, the
darkened soul, the Spirit must give sight. You are saved by
grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God. The Spirit must give that faith,
that sight of the soul, that life, that faith to see and to
discern the truth of God. It is that light from God's Spirit
that shines in the heart to give us the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There is no
natural human ability to discern God's light. It isn't down to
human intellect. So how does verse 130 work? The entrance of thy words giveth
light. The entrance of thy words giveth
light. Psalm 18 and verse 28 says this,
the psalmist says, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. How does it work? God is the
one who shines his light into the fallen darkened heart. Fallen
man, you and me, we have no natural ability to see God's light of
saving grace. It's not just the true words
of God on the page of Scripture. All can read that, all can physically
read that. If you can read English, you
can read this. But it must enter into the soul. You can read the
words on the page, but that doesn't mean it's entered into the soul.
It is the entrance of thy words that giveth light. When it enters
the soul, the soul is illuminated with divine truth. It must be
divinely revealed, revealed by God. And it's God alone. You
know when he talks about salvation, it's not of him that wills, nor
of him that runs, but of God who shows mercy. It is of God,
who are born, not of the will of man, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of whatever it might be, but of God. It's the will
of God. And God's way of illumination
is preaching. That is it. God's way of illumination
is preaching. Whether it's preaching that you
hear audibly, whether it's preaching that you read from a record written
down, However it is, a recorded message, it's preaching. It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. You
say, what a silly way of doing it. No, that's the way it pleased
God, and so that's the right way. Paul was commissioned to
preach. When he was giving his account,
at the very end in Acts chapter 26, Acts chapter 26 and verse
18, Well, let's start a verse or
two before. He's giving his testimony as he's being examined. I think, is it King Agrippa?
I think it's King Agrippa, yes. I can't find it right at the
minute, but I'm pretty sure it is. And then, verse... He says how he met the Lord Jesus
Christ on the road to Damascus and was told to get on his feet.
And he said, I will send you and I will deliver you from the
people and from the Gentiles to whom I now send you. Paul
was sent to open their eyes, their spiritual eyes, and to
turn them from darkness to light. and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Yes,
it is King Agrippa, verse 19. Whereupon, O King Agrippa. You
see, that was the commission of Paul to preach. to give light. And of course, earlier in the
book of Acts, we read in Acts chapter 13 about Paul and his
companions preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews refused
to hear, so he said, I go to the Gentiles, and he preached,
and they were glad. And it says in Acts 13, 48, the
most significant of words, those that were ordained to eternal
life believed. They believed what Paul preached
because God caused that word to enter into their, the entrance
of thy words giveth life. God caused it to enter and it
gave light in their souls. In Acts chapter 16, I refer to
it often, Lydia the seller of purple in Philippi, Lydia whose
heart the Lord opened. She, along with all others who
were within audible range of Paul's preaching, heard his words,
but the Lord opened Lydia's heart. You see, God says in Revelation
3 and verse 7, He, Christ, says that He has the key of David,
and with that key, He opens, and no man shuts, and He shuts,
and no man opens. He is sovereign. over that door
of the heart to see and so it is that when Paul preached to
the Thessalonians when he came there in that in that part of
Greece a bit further on in Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and
verse 9 he says he's talking about the testimony of the Thessalonian
believers and how people spoke of them they themselves show
of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. What
manner of entering in. The manner of entering in wasn't
based on the eloquence of Paul. It wasn't based on the oratory
of Paul. It was based on the one who has
the key of David, who opens and no man shuts, and who shuts and
no man opens. Whose will it was that these
Thessalonians should believe. And they who believe, these Thessalonians,
they were, as Ephesians 5 verse 8 says, ye were sometimes darkness. You were once darkness, as we
all are by nature in the flesh. You were once darkness, but now
that he's come and shined his light, and the Holy Spirit has
caused that word to enter in by shining his light into your
heart, ye are now light in the Lord. This light of God shining
in His Son from the pages of His Word is shone into the heart
by God's Spirit for every and each and everyone chosen in Christ
before the beginning of time. So people, who all of us by nature,
as Paul writes to the Ephesians, Ephesians 2 verse 3, you were
children of wrath, even as the others, as sinners you were deserving
of the wrath of God. So people who were children of
wrath, even as others, are made, 1 Thessalonians again, chapter
5 and verse 5, they are made children of light. and the children
of the day. We are not of the night nor of
darkness. Why? Because the entrance of
God's Word has come and given light in the heart. Do you hear
this? All listening to me this morning,
do you hear this? Do you desire the light of God in the soul? The most valuable thing this
world affords, the light of God in your soul. You know it's not
currently there. What do you do? You've been listening
to me saying about God being sovereign, and it entirely being
the purpose of God, and the decision of God, and the choice of God,
and so what can I do? So I'll just passively wait and
see. No, that's not the teaching of Scripture. That's not the
teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, seek and you shall
find. He said, knock and it shall be
opened to you. Pray, pray that God will enlighten
your soul and give you this light, and that he will cause by his
Spirit the words of truth to enter into your soul, to give
you the light of God. And we know what it is, there's
a hymn that we used to sing, it has a line that says, I sought
the Lord. And afterward, I knew He, God,
moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me. It's all of God, but nevertheless,
I didn't sit back passively. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock,
and ye shall open. The entrance of thy words giveth
light. It must enter into the soul. It must be caused to enter by
the Holy Spirit, shining that light into your heart. And it
says, when that happens, it giveth understanding unto the simple. The simple are given understanding. What do I mean by understanding?
You read about it in the first few verses of the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs chapter 1, the first six verses. The Proverbs of Solomon,
the son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction.
to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of
wisdom. Remember, these are 3,000 years
old, these words. To receive the instruction of
wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity, to give subtlety
to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion, A wise
man will hear and will increase learning. And a man of understanding
shall attain unto wise counsels, to understand the proverb and
the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.
You see, you young men, we've got some young men here this
morning, while you're young, this is to give understanding
to the simple, to the young man, knowledge and discretion. This
is the word of God, to give understanding. To give what Paul calls elsewhere,
we have the mind of Christ. To give the mind of Christ, the
thinking of Christ, the thoughts of Christ, of God. You know,
God made man in His own image. Christ made man in His own image.
a sentient being to think and communicate with God, to understand
the things that God understands. Not the vastness, obviously,
but something of it, regarding life. regarding the person of
God, the character of God, regarding the reality of sin and the offense
that it is to God, to understand something of what sin deserves,
and salvation, and just salvation from that, to understand something
of the things of eternity. Man in his natural state is so
bound up, so fickle, so frail, so much As the Word of God says,
like a vapor that's here one minute and gone. You know how
you look and you see the morning mist and the sun comes up and
in moments it's gone, it's completely disappeared. And so is man, this
is it, the best of us, in our flesh, in our impact upon society,
are so fleeting and so fickle. God's wisdom versus man's wisdom. You know what 1 Corinthians 1
says, that the foolishness of God, as if there was such a thing,
is wiser than the wisdom of men. It is so vast, the gap between
them, that we have a true concept of what life is, a true concept
of consciousness. of the destiny of us. Who am I? What am I? Where am
I going to? The destiny revealed in the soul
by God's Spirit and having some understanding of God's character
and of God's holiness, His absolute purity, His utter moral purity
and the evil of the fall and the vileness of sin and divine
justice and what it must do, how it must recompense that sin
with punishment. and redemption, the payment of
a price, redemption from that punishment, redemption, purchase
price from it, by substitution in one who is God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and imputed holiness, and adoption into the family
of God, and preservation for all eternity. All of these things
are understanding concerning the realities of God and eternal
life. He it is, the Spirit, who reveals
Christ, who is made unto us wisdom from God and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. Wisdom from God. The understanding
is that God-given quality that keeps a believer stable in the
worst of trials. It is this understanding of the
truth of God that is given. The simple is given understanding.
Think of Bunyan. John Bunyan was a simple man. He was what was called a tinker
then, a seller of pots and pans and other nefarious things, dragging
his cart around Bedfordshire in all sorts of difficult circumstances,
scraping together a very meagre income. And that man, of course,
had the light of God shone into his heart in a most remarkable
way. It was by hearing some of the
people, the women he was trying to sell his pots and pans to,
singing the truth of God in choruses. And he sought out to know more
of it and was converted. And of course, he was put through
severe trial for preaching the truth he'd come to know. And
he was locked in Bedford jail for 12 years where he wrote Pilgrim's
Progress and other things. And how did he tolerate that
trial? It was by his understanding that
God had given him. God the Holy Spirit had given
him such understanding. You only need to read Pilgrim's
Progress to see the breadth and the depth and the riches that
God gave him understanding of to do that. Think of the martyrs
of 400 and 500 years ago, and even more recently, but you know,
how did they, as they were tied to the stake to be burned in
London for their faith, how did they cope with that situation?
It was with the understanding that God had given them. It was
that solid foundation that they had in their hearts. Whatever
comes your way and mine, it gives us understanding. It gives us
a stable foundation, an anchor for the soul. It teaches the
felt truth of this. We know it. Romans 8 31. If God before us, if God before
me, who can be against me? God's on my side, who can possibly
be against me? You say, all these things are
working out badly. No, if God be for us, who can
be against us? But to whom does God's word give
understanding? Yes, it gives understanding.
It gives understanding unto the simple, the simple, the simple. The world, its intellectual leaders,
think you need to be a simple dimwit, if I can put it that
way, to believe in God. Don't they? They think, oh, you
believe in God, you simple dimwit. You know, they just treat it
with contempt. No, simple doesn't mean dimwitted. It doesn't mean
gives understanding to the dimwitted. What that word really means is
untwisted, unchaotic. I always am amazed, you know,
I know Luca likes his scouts, don't you, Luca? And they teach
how to tie all sorts of knots. And I think, you don't need to
teach scouts how to tie knots. Just get a pile of cables and
throw them on the floor and leave them for a while. And mysteriously,
when you come back to them the next time, they're tied in such
a knot, it takes great intelligence and patience to untangle them.
Because they just get tied up. Well, this is it. The word simple
means untied up, unchaotic, untwisted. Straightforward is what it means,
straightforward. Straightened out in your thinking
by the entrance of God's Word. Like creation, where there was
chaos without form and void, and then God's Spirit fluttered,
moved over the face of the waters and brought order and shined
light. So in a soul twisted by satanic
delusion and sin, The new man, created by God's Spirit, is straight-minded,
is simple, straight-minded, simple in revealed truth. Psalm 19,
verse 7. The law of the Lord, the Word
of God, is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the
Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Not the dim-witted making
wise the straight-thinking, making wise the untwisted in their thinking. And who makes untwisted? The
Spirit of God, when the Word comes and enters and gives light.
It is what Jesus declared in John chapter 1 concerning Nathanael. John chapter 1, and he was starting
to gather some disciples. Philip went and found Nathaniel. And Nathanael, we don't read
about it there, later on we know because Jesus said, he was sitting
under a fig tree, meditating. And he said, come and see, come
and see Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael
said to him, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? And
Philip said to him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming
to him and said, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile,
in whom is no twist. who is a simple one, who is a
simple one, made simple by the Holy Spirit. And Nathanael said,
how do you know me? And he said, I saw you under
the fig tree. And he said, truly, you are the son of God. Nathanael,
do you believe because of that, just because I said that? You
shall see more than that. You'll see what Jacob saw, the
angels of God ascending and descending into heaven on that ladder that
God sent and God made. That's what he means. The straightforward,
honest truth of God, taught by God's Spirit. It's taught by
God's Spirit. Jeremiah 31, 34 says this, For they shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more. It's God that teaches these things
in the heart. And so, the child of God, the
believer, the simple, who is given understanding, is always
learning. We've never reached a situation
where we don't need to learn more. Always learning, always
growing, always maturing in faith, but progressing. on that straight
and narrow and simple way that leads to life. Satan keeps trying
to sweep believers back into conformity with the world's thinking
and the world's chaos. In 2 Corinthians 11 verse 3,
Paul writes to them, he says, I fear lest by any means, as
the serpent beguiled Eve, the devil beguiled Eve through his
subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity,
the untwistedness that is in Christ. So, Be aware of him,
Satan, and his subtlety. The Word of God warns us to be
circumspect, looking around, aware, and don't be deluded and
tempted by his delusions. He prowls, says Peter, as a roaring
lion, seeking whom he might destroy and might devour. Be aware of
him. Heed the warnings of God's Word.
God has promised to keep his people, so pray in accordance
with that promise that he will keep you from falling away from
his gospel simplicity. The entrance of thy words giveth
life, it giveth understanding unto the simple. Don't you Want
to be among those who are called the simple, the untwisted, the
straightforward. Do you want to be among the simple
who are given understanding by the entrance of the light of
God's word? Amen.