And now let us once again turn
to the Book of Psalms and Psalm 119, and this evening we'll meditate
on the four verses from 41 to 44. So Psalm 119, verses 41 to
44. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation,
according to thy word. So shall I have wherewith to
answer him that reproaches me, for I trust in thy word. And
take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I have hoped
in thy judgments. So shall I keep thy law continually
for ever and ever. Well again the psalmist sets
before us some great and glorious truths and how relevant they
are to us today as they were when they were written all those
many years ago. And he comes and he prays for the mercies
of the Lord to come upon him. and he directs us not to just
any mercy, but he tells us, O Lord, even thy salvation. Surely that is the greatest blessing
and the greatest mercy that you and I can receive, to have the
wonderful blessing of salvation. That means the saving of our
soul. What a wonderful blessing to
have that same desire, that real prayer in our heart, that God's
mercies may indeed come to us, O Lord, even thy salvation. And he says, according to thy
word. And we know that in the blessed
word of God, that great plan of salvation is set forth so
very clearly and so very wonderfully. And if we can therefore be led
by the Spirit into those great truths to realise that we do
have a good hope of eternal life. The Lord has shown us through
his mercy our need of salvation and has directed us to none other
than that great and glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely there will be cause to
rejoice and to praise and thank God if we are able to realize
the wonderful mercy and favor of God which he has granted to
us and it is in accordance with his word as the psalmist says
according to thy word what a blessing that will be and he goes on to
say then so should I have wherewith to answer him that reproaches
me well There are those of course who do reproach, who don't believe
the same truths that we have and that we are favoured to understand. What a mercy it is if God has
shown us the evidence of His work in our very heart. We know
it is His Word which has come and made us spiritually alive
and therefore we do have something very positive to answer those
that reproach us. We can come and say, well, by
the grace of God, I know, because the Lord has granted to me that
great, wonderful blessing of eternal life. And we may be able
to come and say, even like the psalmist did in Psalm 116, where
he tells us, I love the Lord. Because he hath heard my voice
and my supplication, because he hath inclined his ear unto
me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. What a wonderful evidence and
what a wonderful testimony that is to be able to declare such
truths. So if there are those that reproach
us, we have a good answer, an answer which we can speak of
the Lord's work in our own heart. in our own soul for his honour
and for his glory. And so, having spoken about the
great need for salvation, and if a psalmist observed it, and
if we observe it, we are able to come and say, so, shall I
have wherewith to answer him that reproaches me? And he gives
us the wonderful reason for, I trust, in thy word. Yes, what a mercy it is if we
trust in the word of God. Again, Asaph, I think it is,
in Psalm 71, tells us, In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. Let me never be put to confusion. And how wonderful that is to
realize we have a God who never fails us, a God who is always
ready to hear and to answer our prayers. and to support us and
to strengthen us in every time of need. And what a blessing,
therefore, to have this answer in our own hearts. And so he
says, And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for I have hoped in thy judgments. And again, we can remember the
glorious words that the Saviour spoke in that high priestly prayer.
to his father, the 17th of John, and he says, sanctify them through
thy truth, thy word is truth. And so it is. And what a strength
it should be for us today. And take not the word of truth
utterly out of my mouth. We don't want to lose this great
favor and this great blessing. We want always to be able to
assert that God's Word is truth, and that is what we believe,
and that's what we trust in. And so he goes on, for I have
hoped in thy judgments, the righteous judgments of the Lord. And to
realize that the Lord looks upon us and sees us through the Savior,
through the Lord Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, that one
who gave his life in order that we might receive life. And so how very humbling and
very wonderful it is to realize we're possessed with these blessings. And then finally he says, so
shall I keep my law continually forever and ever. Well we know
of course that we're sinners on the earth, but the day will
come by God's grace when we shall have passed out of time into
eternally. And there, in that heavenly abode,
we shall indeed be able to keep the law continually, forever
and ever. We'll always be favoured with
that perfect understanding to have no sin and we shall be with
Christ. We read together that beautiful
chapter, the 22nd chapter in the Revelation, because right
at the end, We have a little view of what the glory of Immanuel's
land will be like, and it's described in these words, and there shall
be no more curse, no more curse, also no more sin, but the throne
of God and the Lamb. shall be in it, and his servants
shall serve him. Well, all God's people are his
servants. What a privilege to be serving
the Lord forever and ever. And they shall see his face,
and his name shall be in their foreheads. Yes, what a wonderful
blessing that is. to be one of the Lords, to have
his name in our forehead. And there shall be no night there,
meaning no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God
giveth him light. Again, it's hard for us poor
mortals to comprehend the glory of Emmanuel's land of perfect
condition, no natural light needed, because the Lamb is all the glory
in Immanuel's land, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God
giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. So we have this grand statement,
so shall I keep thy law continually forever and ever. Well may we
have faith to look forward and to that great day when by his
grace we shall be with Christ and the whole Church of God all
redeemed and have that common song together and behold we shall
the Lamb of God has taken away all our sins well what a wonderful
prospect to be able to realize that such a scene won't fade
no night no day or rather eternal day no night and that forever
and ever well may we be helped to consider these things and
be blessed in our meditations because They were very wonderful
and very real and very glorious.