to us. And now once again may
God bless us and help us as we turn to the 119th Psalm and this
evening we'll read the four verses 113 to 116. So Psalm 119 verse
113 to 116. I hate vain thoughts, but thy
law do I love. Thou art my hiding place and
my shield. I hope in thy word. Depart from
me, ye evildoers, for I will keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according unto thy
word, that I may live. And let me not be ashamed of
my hope. Well, David starts with this
statement, which is very true. And what a wonderful blessing
it is if we understand what he says when he says, I hate vain
thoughts. We all have vain thoughts. explaining thoughts about things
that we perhaps hope might come to pass with no real substance
at all they're just thoughts which come into our mind and
often they're evil thoughts and often they're covetous thoughts
we're told in the commandments we are not to covet and yet of
course in the epistle to the Corinthians we are told to covet
earnestly the best things so there's a very clear line we
are not to covet the poor things of time which perish with the
using and how easily it is that our minds go after these things
which are vain vain thoughts it's good to remember this very
simple statement that the psalmist was able to write down. Clearly,
he understood it. Clearly, he knew it. I hate vain
thoughts. And then there's a wonderful
comparison, a wonderful alternative. And it is, but thy law do I love. The Word of God, how wonderful
it is. I remember speaking to someone
a few years ago now, who he said, often wake up in the night. And
so I said, what do you think about? Well, he said, I try and
repeat the word of God. Evident, wasn't it? That he loved
the law of God. whereas it's very easy we wake
up in the nights to think about this, that and the other which
things are really vain they don't really profit what a blessing
if we're favoured to live near to the Lord so that when we do
wake up perhaps in the night our thoughts go to the gracious
and glorious things and truths of God so that it is because
this Word is true in our experience, but thy law do I love. It's wonderful, isn't it? We
have these two statements in opposite directions. And what
a mercy, therefore, if we understand what David says. And then he
moves on. And he says, thou art my hiding
place and my shield. I hope in thy word well we read
that chapter in Isaiah because there the prophet speaks about
the Lord being a hiding place and he tells us in the second
verse he says and a man and that man of course is the gracious
and glorious Savior and a man shall be as a hiding place from
the wind, a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in dry places,
as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.' It's a wonderful
statement really, if we ponder it and recognise that as we travel
on through this world with much opposition, much opposition from
the man of sin who endeavours to turn us away from the things
of God, to have Christ as our hiding place, where we can, by
His grace, continually resort. It's a wonderful blessing, isn't
it, to have such a Saviour. And indeed, in the Psalms itself,
in the 32nd Psalm, David tells us, Thou art my hiding place,
Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Thou shalt compass me about with
songs of deliverance. Selah. And again, if we by the
grace of God are familiar with the word of God, there are plenty
songs of deliverance. There's plenty of encouragement
as we think upon the Word of God. To realise, yes, what a
blessing it is to think that this God is our God. And He's our hiding place where
we can continually resort. It's a wonderful blessing, isn't
it? And it's good, you know, therefore, the Holy Spirit leads
us and directs us into that situation. And he carries on in this verse
and says, I hope in thy word. That really means that our hope
is in the promises which are recorded in the word of God. And again, if you and I are,
by God's grace, familiar with the word of God and familiar
with the promises, what a blessing it is then when we have difficult
thoughts and difficult times to be able to bring to remembrance
the Word of God and to recognise in that Word is our hope. Our hope for eternity. Not in
what we've done, but our hope in what Christ has done. What
a mercy then to be found in that place with that good hope that
it is well with our soul as we consider the glorious Word and
the glorious promises that we have in God's Word. I hope in
thy Word. Well, I hope all of us can enter
in to such a great truth and as we perhaps have a hope in
God's Word, the promises which we may have read, perhaps we
had applied to our hearts and there's our hope. And really
it comes down to this, as the hymn writer says, my hope, is
built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness, set
forth in the Word of God. And so may our hope indeed be
in thy Word. And then he comes and says, depart
from me, ye evildoers. Well, we realise there are evildoers. And what a blessing it is when
we are faced with evildoers, that we have this God as our
shield. We're told about the hiding place.
He also says, and my shield. Again, he tells us in the 28th
Psalm, he tells us this, the Lord is my strength and my shield. And he goes on to say, my heart
trusted in him. It wasn't just a head knowledge. It was that which was deep down
in his heart. My heart trusted in him. And what was the result? He tells
us, and I am helped. We're helped, you see, as we
are faced with evildoers, to trust in the Lord, and to remember
he is our rock he is our support and he tells us this therefore
because of this great truth my heart greatly rejoices it's good
isn't it to have statements like that he doesn't just say my heart
rejoices he says my heart therefore my heart greatly rejoices and
I hope sometimes our heart might truly greatly rejoice to realize
that he the blessed lord himself is our shield and our strength
and he goes on he says and with my song when I praise him. Again, how important it is that
we do praise our God. For I will keep the commandments
of my God. It's a wonderful blessing if
our concern is to keep God's commands. The devil's at our
elbow all the time, pretending that we need him, telling us
it's not very important. telling us we can do what we
like well what a mercy if we know the fear of the Lord which
is an unctuous light to all that's wrong a light to all that's right
and a bar to all that's wrong what a mercy then to have such
a God and then he comes and tells us uphold me according to thy
word We can read into that truth that left to himself and left
to ourselves. We fall. We've only got to think
of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden, faced with temptation. They fell. They disobeyed the
simple word of God and we should never think that we'll be any
better. But what a mercy if we understand
the words of the Apostle Paul, Peter, when he tells us, kept
by the power of God. Uphold me according unto thy
word. What an encouragement it should
be to us. to pray that prayer. And then he says, that I may
live. Surely that means that blessed
with this true prayer, this true desire, then we shall know what
it is to be blessed with spiritual life. And not only blessed with
spiritual life, but to be healthy and to be lively in the things
of God. and to be led to the Saviour's
bleeding side. Well, according unto thy word
that I may live. And then finally he says, and
let me not be ashamed of my hope. My friends, we have no reason
to ever be ashamed of the hope that God has implanted in our
heart. And may we not be tempted be
ashamed. But let us stand firm for the
great truth of God. We live in a dark age, a dark
age when so many people think nothing of God. I'm happy to
take his name in vain, but what a mercy it is if you and I in
this evil world can set a good and right example and therefore
we're not ashamed of my hope. We're not to despise small things. If God blesses us with a little
hope, don't despise it, lay hold of it, praise God for it, bless
him for it, and therefore may we walk and go in the strength
of the Lord God, make him mention of his righteousness, yes of
his only, and so therefore let us not be ashamed of our hope. What a mercy if we do have a
good hope. A hope founded upon the promises
of God. A hope founded upon his word. And my friends that will never
be put to confusion because it emanates from the good hand of
our Saviour. Well may God instruct us and
bless us and help us to think upon these things.