Let us turn again to God's Word
in that Old Testament portion that we read, Psalm 19, and I'll
read again from verse 7 through to 9. Psalm 19, 7 through to
9. The Lord of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are
right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlighten the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous altogether. Here we read of God's Word. Psalm 19 in many ways similar
to Psalm 119. The latter psalm, of course,
is built around the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and is very
much a celebration of the Word of God, that special revelation
that He has given of Himself in Holy Scripture. Psalm 19 also
reminds us of the great blessing that we have here tonight in
God's Word and in these verses that we've just read we observe
how that different synonyms are being used but each of them really
refers to Holy Scripture the law of the Lord, the testimony
of the Lord, the statutes the commandments, the fear of the
Lords, and then the judgments of the Lords. And in particular,
it's that remarkable statement that we have at the beginning
of verse 9 that I want to center your attention upon. What a description
this is of Holy Scripture. The fear of the Lords is clean,
enduring forever. And so the theme that I want
to take up is that of how we should reverence the words of
God, the reverencing of God's words. God has been pleased to reveal
himself. We know that ultimately there
is that sense in which he is altogether above and beyond our
minute mind, how can we begin to comprehend the one who is
eternal, the one who is the creator? When we are but feeble, frail
creatures of a day, how can we really begin to understand the
holiness of God when we ourselves are poor, miserable sinners? whose questions are put in Job
chapter 11. Can so by searching find out
God? Can so find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is higher as heaven, what
can so do? Deeper than hell, what can so know? The measure
thereof is longer than the earth, broader than the seas, or the
vastness, the immensity of God. He fills heaven and earth Heaven is his throne. Earth is
his footstool. He dwells in the highest heavens. Or he dwells in the third heavens,
beyond the vastness of the universe, outside of space and of time. We could never know God except
God should condescend to reveal Himself. And He has revealed
Himself and we're reminded of that at the beginning of the
psalm, that general revelation that is to be seen in the works
of God, the works of creation, the works of providence, the
heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament showeth his
handiwork day unto day, uttereth speech and night unto night showeth
knowledge. There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard, their line is gone out through
all the earth. and they were to the end of the world and all
that God has created bears a witness to Him and so all who are in
that state of sin, that state of rebellion, that ignorance
of God they are without any excuse and doesn't the apostle remind
us of that there in the opening chapter of his epistle to the
Romans how all this creation that is about us as a voice how
it speaks of God and of the greatness of God and the glory of God Romans
1.18 The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness,
because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. so that they are without excuse. Even those who never read a page
will know anything of Holy Scripture. There is that general revelation,
declaring God, showing the power of God. How His providence reveals
to us His faithfulness. As He not said, while the earth
remaineth seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,
day and night shall not cease. Oh, the movement of time is a
revelation of God. The seasons of the year speak
to us of a God who is sovereign and by His providence is overruling
and governing all these things. And who so is wise will observe
these things, says the Islamist, and shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord. There is a general revelation
and it's spoken of here in these opening verses of Psalm 19. But how good God is, there's
not only a general revelation in creation and in providence,
there is also a special revelation which we have with us tonight
in Holy Scripture. And that is what is being spoken
of here in verses 7, 8 and 9, as I said, these various synonyms,
but all of them ultimately referring to Holy Scripture, to the Word
of God. And how favoured the children
of Israel were, because it was to the Jews that God gave this
special revelation. As we see at the end of the 147th
Psalm, "...he showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and
his judgments unto Israel. He hath not doubt so with any
nation. And as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise
ye the Lord!" Now what advantage then hath the Jew is the question
that the Apostle Paul puts in Romans chapter 3. What advantage
then hath the Jew? What profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, you see, because
unto them were committed the oracles of God. God spoke by
those prophets of the Old Testament. God gave his law at the hand
of Moses, his servant. and unto whomsoever much is given
of the same shall much be required says the Lord Jesus Christ and
how favoured and how blessed we are that we should have the
Word of God and that we should come together under the sound
of that Word of God and ultimately how that Word directs us to all
that fullness of God's revealing of himself. Here in verse 5 we
read, which is, as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. Or doesn't this remind us so
much of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why in Scripture we see him being
referred to as the bridegroom. Look at the language that we
find, for example, in the Gospel of Matthew. And there in Matthew
9 14. Then came to him the disciples
of John, John the Baptist, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast
off, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can
the children of the bride chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them? But the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they mourn.
Who is the bridegroom? The bridegroom is the Lord Jesus
Christ and the bride is His church. Why we read those words at the
end of Ephesians 5 concerning husbands and wives, the great
mystery, Christ and His church. And here, surely, in the language
of verse 5, the imagery reminds us of the Lord Jesus, a bridegroom
coming out of His chamber. Oh, what a revelation there is
with the coming of Christ. He is the image of the invisible
God. No man has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared Him. And then here do we not have
indicated to us the spreading of His Gospel. Verse 6, He's
going forth. He's from the end of the heaven
and His circuit unto the ends of it. And there is nothing hid
from the heat thereof. Why? It reminds us of the language
of the 72nd Psalm, a psalm for Solomon, the title of Psalm 72. And now that Solomon, of course,
is a remarkable type of the Lord Jesus Christ, David's son. His very name means peace, and
He points us to Him who is the Prince of Peace. Solomon, a type
of David's greater son. And what does it say here in
this 72nd Psalm, which is so prophetic, speaking of Christ,
His coming, and the spread of the Word of God, and the proclamation
of the Gospel? Verse 7, In His days shall the
righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon
endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from
the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the
wilderness shall bow before Him, and His enemies shall lick the
dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring presents,
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall
fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him. how His Gospel
is to go on to the ends of the earth. All that revelation of
God. General, yes, in works of creation
and providence. Special when we think of Holy
Scripture, but ultimately we remember the Scriptures and the
Lord's. Bear one tremendous name, the written and incarnate words
in all things are the same. Here we have God's Word in Holy
Scripture, But Christ is also the incarnate Word. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh,
says John, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Oh, what a revelation! God who
at sundry time and in diverse manner spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son says the Apostle Paul. The Lord Jesus Christ then
is that one in whom ultimately we have the revealing of God. The fear of the Lord is clean.
The words of our text The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring
forever. Now we are to reverence this
Word of God, this revelation that centers ultimately in the
person and the work of the Lord Jesus. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom in order to be made wise. in Holy Scripture, wise
to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well then as we turn
tonight to consider these words in Psalm 19 verse 9, the fear
of the Lord is clean enduring forever. I want to mention two
evidences of what it is to reverence the Word of God. Firstly, we
reverence God's words by pure lives. And then secondly, we
reverence God's words by pure worship. First of all, pure lives,
clean lives, a fear of the Lord is clean. Now what is the purpose
of the word of God? Think of the Lord Jesus ministering
here upon earth, that one who is the greatest of all the prophets,
the fulfillment of the prophetic office, that one who is the prince
of all preachers. Man never spoke like this man.
And when he comes to the end of his ministry, his prayer recorded
in John 17 in that petition when he says to the father sanctify
them sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth God's
word is to have a sanctifying effect upon men God's word separates discriminates
when it comes to those whom God has purpose to do a gracious
work with how it will have that sanctifying effect in the sense
of making them a people desirous of holy living. We read there
in Ephesians chapter 5 that lovely passage often read of course
at a wedding service the respective roles, the duties of husbands
and of wives. And I was struck by those words
that we find in verse 26. We're reading also the previous
verse, as Paul has given exhortation to the wife. The verse 22 following,
there he addresses the husband. You'll go on, of course, at the
beginning of chapter 6 to address their children and so forth. But here he addresses husbands. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. I think in many ways the husband's
duties are far, far greater than those that belong to the wife. The wife is directed to the church
as it were. So meet yourselves to your own
husbands as the church is subject unto Christ. But the church's
subjection to Christ is not all it should be. But when we think of the husband
and what he said before him and the pattern there is Christ and
the love of Christ. Perfect. Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for
it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word." And it was those words that struck me. Here
is the effect of the Word of God. Sanctifying and cleansing
with the washing of water by the words, says the Apostle there. God's word has a sanctifying
effect, it should have a sanctifying effect it directs us to the Lord
Jesus Christ of course and in him that sanctification is so
perfect after him are you in Christ Jesus who have God is
made unto us amongst other things sanctification that he that glorieth
must glory in the Lord What has the Lord done? How does he sanctify
his people? Well, when we come to his Word
we find precepts and commandments. These are the
various words that are employed as a description of the Word
of God, the law of the Lord, the testimony, the statutes,
the commandments, the judgments. And we are not to be partial
with God's Word. we're not to be those who only
delight in the promises, thank God there are promises, we'll
come to the promises presently, exceeding great and precious
promises there are but there are also precepts and there are precepts in the
New Testament and that is to be our rule of conduct, our rule
of life, the precepts of the gospel why there in Ephesians
5 we have gospel precepts often times when we read through Paul's
epistles and we come to the latter part of those letters we see
that there are exhortations upon exhortations instructing us how
we are to live our lives, how we are to conduct ourselves and
we're not to be partial with the word of God we're not to
think well I like this part but I'll ignore that part We have
to take it in the whole. Through the Prophet Malachi we
find God rebuking the priest in his day because of their partiality. In Malachi 2.9 God says, I have also made you
contemptible and base before all the people according as you
have not kept my ways. But I've been partial in my law. And God dealt with them. And
God will deal with us if we're partial. In our reading and our consideration
of the Word of God we should seek to read the whole of it.
read it through from Genesis to Revelation, not necessarily
in that particular order. We might want to read some of
the prophetic books in light of the historical books, to see
them in their context. But we should try to read God's
words and to meditate in all of that Word of God. What is
God doing in His Word? He is revealing Himself, He is
revealing His will. He's giving us commandments. Look at what the psalmist says.
Verse 10. More to be desired are they. And what has he been speaking
of in these previous verses? The law, the testimony, the statutes,
the commandments. More to be desired are they than
gold. yea, the much fine gold greater
also than honey and the honeycomb moreover by them is thy servant
warned and in keeping of them there is great reward." Well,
Paul, when he comes to those to those practical parts of the
epistle, the epistle to the Romans, the first eleven chapters there
taken up with great truth, great doctrine when we think of Romans
we think principally of that great doctrine of of justification,
justification by faith, the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to
the believer. And so the sinner is justified,
so a sinner is justified, clothed with Christ's righteousness. And then Paul comes to the end
at the chapter 12 following and now we get those exhortations
I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto
God which is your reasonable service and be you not conformed
to this world but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind
that you might understand what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God order we delight in God's word as I said
there in Ephesians 5 we have we have gospel precepts and see
how Paul reminds us of the motivation to obedience he says be ye therefore
followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also
hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and
a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour." Here's a motivation. All remember all that Christ
has done in order to your redemption and so follow and express your
true gratitude by that holiness of life all that's law that commandment, those precepts,
the fear of the Lord, it's clean. When it has its effect, it makes
us poor sinners clean, it sanctifies us, it does us good. When God brings us to it and
brings it into our minds and into our hearts, And we have
it not then just on the page of Holy Scripture, but we have
it inscribed in the very depths of our being. It's that implanted
Word, able to save the soul. But this Word that sanctifies
and makes pure, it's not just in terms of the precepts. Thank God for the precepts. But
there are also promises. great promises. The promise of the Gospel is
all centers in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber and rejoices that there's a strong
man to run a race. He's going forth, he's from the
end of heaven and he's circling under the ends of it and there
is nothing hid from the heat thereof. Oh, he is that blessed
one, that bridegroom. We read of Him again in Isaiah
62 and verse 5, "...as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall
thy God rejoice over the earth." There's the promise of God. He
rejoices over His people. They are a delight to Him. He
loves them. Or they are pleasant in His eyes.
and how the Lord, you see, has provided for them. That promise
that centers in Christ, all the promises of God in Him, that
all Yah, that all Amen to the glory of God, by us. It's by
us. There's that cleansing blood
that was shed wherein the poor sinner is washed, all his sins
blotted out, The Lord Jesus has paid that terrible penalty that
was due to the sins of His people. Oh, He has redeemed them with
His precious blood. But then there's also that blessed
justifying righteousness, that that He wrought by the life that
He lived, that life of complete and utter obedience, honoring
God's law, magnifying God's law, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners. Now the Lord, you see, has made
His people clean and righteous in His sight. In the language,
again, of Scripture, Revelation 19.8, to her, that is, to the
Church, the Bride of Christ, to her was granted that she should
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, For the fine linen
is the righteousness of saints. The fear of the Lord is clean.
Oh, when there is to us that blessed revealing of the Lord
Jesus Christ, he says, sirs, the Scriptures, they testify
of me. It's here that we find Christ,
it's here that we learn of the exceeding great and precious
promises of the everlasting Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again,
we have the language of Holy Scripture concerning the way
wherein the Lord God has made provision for his people in the
45th Psalm. It's a song of love. And does
it not again speak of that love that Christ has towards his people,
towards his church? And we're told here in the psalm,
verse 13, the king's daughter is all glorious within, her clothing
is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the
king in raiment of needlework. The virgins, her companions that
follow her, shall be brought unto thee, with gladness and
rejoicing shall they be brought, they shall enter into the king's
palace." Oh, what provision the Lord God has made in order that
His people might be a sanctified people, might be a justified
people. So many scriptures, so many scriptures
remind us of these things, a multitude of promises we find here in the
Word of God. Look at the language at the end
of Isaiah 61. I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God, for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He
hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom,
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself
with jewels. The Lord's people then, they
are a pure people, a clean people, a righteous people, a sanctified
people, a justified people. The fear of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes. It endures and it endures forever. But turning from that purity
of life that the Lord looked for and has provided in his people,
I want to say something with regards to purity of worship. This is how Dr. Gill explains
the use of this word fear. He says worship is often meant
by the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring, forever. Our worship is to be in that
fear of the Lord. We have to remember when we come
to worship God, who God is. We have to remember that God's
name is holy. going the language that we have
in the 111th Psalm holy and reverend is his name it says and that's
speaking of God it's God who is truly reverend in a sense
I don't like that title to be given to any man it says holy
and reverend is his name that's God's name don't you know the
significance of names in Holy Scripture, the names that are
given to people, the names sometimes of the prophets, I suppose always
of the prophets, the name is part of the message that they
are proclaiming. When suddenly the prophet Elijah
appears on the scene, amidst all the idolatry in Israel, Elijah! The Lord is God. Jehovah is God. His name, He declares something.
The name often that the prophets give to their children is part
and parcel of the message that they are proclaiming. And ultimately
we see it with the Lord Jesus, Thou shalt call His name Jesus.
Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people.
from their sins. Jesus, the Greek form of the
Hebrew Joshua, which means salvation. And God's name is holy. Holy and reverend is His name.
Think of the commandments. Out there in the Ten Commandments
God is revealing Himself, holy, righteous, just. The third commandment,
thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,
for he will not make him guiltless that taketh
his name in vain. What is it to take God's name
in vain? You know it's not just a matter
of blasphemies and swear words. and we have to examine ourselves
when we come to worship God are we taking his name in vain when
we come and our worship is nothing more than a pretense our worship is nothing more than
an outward form our heart is it in the worship of God do we
want to reverence the name of our God when we come to prayer
What is the first petition in that pattern prayer that the
Lord teaches us through His disciples? When we pray, we just say, Our
Father which art in heaven, the first petition, hallowed be thy
name, let thy name be holy. Oh, that's what we're to desire
above and beyond everything else, God, the holiness of God, the
glory of God. when we come to worship him.
Now worship then is not to be man-centered. So much worship
today is man-centered. Nothing more often than entertainment.
Let's make the service something that the outsider will enjoy.
Let's have messy church. You know the sort of things that
go on today. What is the argument? Oh, it
gets the people in. principle object in worship is
to be God, His Holiness. And how in Scripture the Lord
has told us how to worship Him. The Lord Jesus Himself says of
the true worshippers they worship the Father in spirit and in truth. True worship must be spiritual
worship not just a form that through worship as it is
spiritual so it is also in accordance to truth. What is truth? Was
the question that Pontius Pilate put to the Lord Jesus. We have
truth here in Holy Scripture. Our worship is to be governed
and regulated then by the Word of God. Here's an illustration
of this. in the imagery that we have in
the book of the Revelation. There in Revelation 11, John
said, There was given me a reed like unto a rod, and the angel
stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar,
and them that worship therein. All the worship is measured by
a reed like unto a rod. What is that measure? It's the
word of God. All our worship then is governed
by Holy Scripture. All the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. How it is such a blessed word,
a word that endures. A word that endures. What else endures? Why all the
things about us, all of creation, it's all temporal, it's all passing
away. And yet what the scriptures tell
us, I referred at the beginning to the 119 psalms, such a blessed
book, it celebrates the Word of God, as you know, as I said,
it's altogether built around the letters of the Hebrew alphabet,
it's a sort of acrostic poem really. And we have many verses
there. Forever, O Lord, thy Word is
settled in heaven, says the psalmist. There in verse 89. Forever, O
Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. When we come to the New Testament,
what does Peter say? The Word of the Lord endureth
forever. It's an enduring Word. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
in the Sermon on the Mount, Verily, it says, till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Lord
shall all be fulfilled. Not one jot, not one tittle. What is the jot? Well, the jot
is the very smallest of all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
What is the tittle? Well, some say that's the little
pointings underneath all the consonants, the Hebrew alphabet
is simply consonants and the vowel sounds are made up with
little dots and dashes and some say that that's what's being
referred to by the Lord Jesus as the tittles. Even those dots
and dashes. None will ever pass away. All the Word of God and how God's
Word has been assailed and assaulted and attacked It was so, was he
not there at the beginning in the garden of Eden? What does
the serpent, Satan's instrument, say to the woman concerning God
and God's word of command? God had said to Adam concerning
disobedience, partaking of that tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, in the day that they eat us hereof, they shall surely
die. They shall surely die. And the
serpent comes and says to the woman, ye shall not surely die.
Ye shall not surely die. God's Word being attacked, denied. When we come to the New Testament,
the temptations of the Lord Jesus Christ when again that wily serpent,
the devil himself comes and attacks Christ. And what does He say? If thou be the Son of God, if
thou be the Son of God. Oh, what an if! What an if! Why, just previous to that, the
Father had spoken from heaven and said so plainly, so clearly,
this is my beloved Son. All the heavens were opened,
the Spirit descended in the form of a dove and the voice from
heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. if
they'll be the Son of God. And God's Word are ever assaulted.
It's been assaulted of course historically, we know that there
were in the 19th century those higher critics in Germany who
were attacking God's Word, undermining the authority of the Old Testament
saying it was all filled with myths and fables, the creation
account is just a tale that is told. and now even in our own
days it's been assaulted in the English-speaking world with such
a multitude of translations now so many different versions of
the Bible in English people say well which one is really the
Bible? in all this multiplicity how it undermines how it undermines,
it's an assault on the Word of God God's Word endure us. And God's Word, what does it
do? It shows us our frailty. It shows
us our sin. Verse 11, here in the psalm,
Moreover by them is thy servant warned. It warns us. Think of the ministry of John
the Baptist. He comes to prepare the way for
Christ He is the forerunner or the harbinger and He is the voice
remember of one crying in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord
make straight in the desert a highway for our God the voice said cry and He said
What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the
goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord
bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. Oh, what
a but is that! God's Word stands, and God's
Word tells us what we are says before us how real it's a revelation
of God we said that at the beginning it's a special revelation but
when God made man he made man in his image after his likeness
and we come to the word of God and we look into the word of
God and we should see a reflection of ourselves James says it's
like unto a looking glass, a mirror and we see what we are and what
do we see? we see How warped we are. We have sinned. And sin has had its effect. And
that image is now marred and disfigured and destroyed. All
we see ourselves. We see all our frailty. We see
all our sinfulness. But the Word of the Lord endures. endureth forever. Oh God, cause us then to come
to that understanding of ourselves. The final verses of the psalm,
who can understand these errors? Asks David, cleanse thou me from
secret faults, keep back thy servant also from presumptuous
sins, let them not have dominion over me, Then shall I be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable
in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Amen.