OK, you can turn to Psalm 119. Psalm 119. I need to constantly remind myself how that you all have been at
work all day on these Wednesday nights. I wish I could always
remember that. I have a distinct advantage over
you because I've been studying these verses for hours on end
and it means a great deal more to me already. I'm already enthused
about it. And perhaps I'm able to enter
into it a little more easily than you. But I do remind you this, though,
that God has promised to give the Holy Spirit to everyone that
asks for Him. And I would remind you again
and again, constantly bring to your remembrance that if you
will endeavor to prepare your hearts just a little bit for
these worship services, it could be, well, according to the promise,
God will give the Holy Spirit. So I urge you just to, within
yourselves, utter a silent prayer that the Lord will bless me,
bless the Word to my heart, and bless you in turn. Now, the first
verse of our study tonight is one that we all quote, quote
quite often. Quote this quite often, but I
don't ever remember hearing anybody preach on this. And once again,
I want to show you tonight, I want us to see in these verses how
that these verses relate primarily and chiefly to Jesus Christ. primarily, and then we'll take
a practical look at it as it applies to us in our daily lives. Now, at first glance, all of
these words, as I've said before, all of Psalm 119 at first glance
looks, seems to be repetitious, seems to be saying the same things
over and over again, but that's far from being the case, especially
these these verses before us. I don't remember having a better
time in any of the previous studies than I have had with this one
here tonight. It's full to overflowing with
Christ, this portion here. And I'm still amazed, I'm just
amazed that the writers, the books that I've got, they missed
it. Every flat one of them. They
just didn't bring Christ out in this, and I think if the Lord
will help us with the Holy Spirit, I think we're all going to see
how this can't apply to anybody but Christ. Alright, verse 105. Psalm 119, 105. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. Now, we just read two portions
of Scripture That leave no doubt. Who the word of God is, it should
leave no doubt, and whenever we see this word word in the
scriptures, we've got to primarily and chiefly and first and foremost,
apply it to Christ, don't we? He's the word. John kept emphasizing
it over and over and over. And poor Charlie Spurgeon didn't
see it. I just, it just boggled my mind.
Christ is the Word. I did see one writer, a fella
named Christoph Stumpf. A fella lived back in about the
year 300 or 400 A.D. One little fella, he used to
be a mob. saw Christ in his face. And that's not saying that all
of them missed it, but just the ones I read, five or six different
writers, Matthew, Henry, John Gill, Charles Spurgeon, Treasurer
David, just keep on and on. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He's the Word of God. Now, when
we say the Word of God, what we mean, what the Scriptures
means, I believe, is He's the revelation of God. He's the manifestation
of God. He is the revealed will or mind
of God. And when I speak to you. When
I speak to you, I'm revealing to you my thoughts. I don't want
to reveal my thoughts, I want to reveal God, but when I'm talking
or conversing with you, my word, you're hearing my word, you're
hearing my heart, my thoughts, my will. And this is the sense
in which Christ is called the Word of God. The scripture says
this, no man knows the things of God save the Spirit of God
revealed. The things of God knoweth no
man but the Spirit of God revealed him because I hadn't seen. The
naked, the natural eye hasn't seen God. Ear hath not heard. Neither have entered into the
heart, the mind, the understanding of men, of women, of natural
man, the things of God. God has to speak, doesn't it?
How does he do that? He sent Christ. He sent Christ. He spoke in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets, that is, through the Old Testament
word. And what does the Old Testament word speak of? Christ. Christ
said, they are they which testify of me. And then finally, in these
last days, the Scripture says, he is spoken unto us by his Son. God actually came down and spoke. Actually came down and spoke.
Because no man knows the Father but the Son, and him to whom
the Son will reveal him. So Christ is called the Word
of God, the manifestation, the revelation of God Almighty. All right? You understand that?
Because you see, this world is in darkness. John showed us that. This world is in darkness when
it comes to knowing God. We've conjured up all kind of
imaginations of God, but it's superstition, it's confusion.
But we're in darkness of sin, ignorance, and religious superstition. But Paul said, just as God commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, and lighten this world that was
void without form and void. God has shined in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, this heart,
this mind that was void and without understanding of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. But the light that we have, The
light, when I say light, we're talking about understanding,
OK? The light that we have, the understanding, the revelation
that we have, is like a coal oil lamp compared to the real
light of Christ, sunlight. It's like an oil lamp compared
to looking at bright sunlight. Because, Paul said, we see through
a glass dimly. And the illusion could be there
to a smoky, old chimney of a coal oil lamp, you know. Some of you
lived back then, but didn't have electricity, at least too poor
to have it. And the old smoky old coal oil
lamp, you couldn't see very well inside. You thought you could,
but you couldn't, could you? You go out in the bright sunlight,
you know, the next morning. Well, someday, you know, we see
through this glass dimmer, like lamp light. But someday we'll
see him as he is. Scriptures talks about Christ
God being a light which no man can approach. Someday we're going
to be able to hold him with our eyes. I'm going to see him, Job
said, and not another. I'm going to look right into
that face whose countenance shines, burns and shines as the sun and
all of its strength. Christ is that light. And also,
I thought about this, when Christ is preached from these earthen
vessels, it's like lamplight compared to sunlight. We just
can't see the real brightness of his person, can we? See, a
little glimpse, a little glimmer of light here and there. You
know, we can turn the lamp up just as high as we want to turn
it, but there's still not much light in it. We can turn our
ears up in tune and listen and do all we can, but Can a man,
by searching, find out God to perfection? No way. It's lamplight,
isn't it? See dimly. But someday we'll
see the very brightness of His glory. Turn with me over to 2
Samuel 22. 2 Samuel 22. David wrote this. This is Psalm 18 as well. 2 Samuel
22. You may remember this from our
study in the tabernacle. And like I said a while ago,
the old writers, most of them missed it. And I'm not saying
that just so I can say I got it and they didn't. I'm not doing
that at all. But we need to see Christ in
every portion of Scripture, or we've missed it. Right? Christ said that Himself. They
aren't they, which testify of me. And granted, I got some good
things from some of them and practical virtues of the Scripture,
but that's not what he's speaking about primarily. It's not that
the Word shows us how to live. That's not the primary purpose
of the Word. The Word is to show us Christ.
Now, look here. David says, now, I wrote, David
wrote this Psalm 119, and David wrote Psalm 18, and here David
says here in 2 Samuel 22 29, he says, now, let there be no
mistake about it, thou art my lamp. Lots of pages of a book. What
good are the pages of a book unless he enlightens it, unless
he enlightens our mind, right? The book doesn't enlighten us. The Word of God is more than
printed word. It's got to be more than printed
word if it's going to open our understanding. God's going to
have to speak, right? We're going to read it until
we're blue in the face. Thou art my lamp, O Lord, the Lord
will lighten my darkness. Right. I'm reading the Bible.
Oh, Jerry Falwell made his five resolutions for 1992. Number
one was to read the Bible through in a year. I want everybody here
to do this. Read the Bible through a year.
Secondly was to pray more. Get up 15 minutes, four times,
pray more. Thirdly was to, if I can recall,
thirdly was to Perfect church attendance. Perfect
church attendance. Don't miss a day. Fourthly was
to witness more. And I forget what racked my brain,
but it didn't have a thing in the world to do with Christ.
Winning Christ and be found in him. Knowing Christ. Learning
more of Christ. It wasn't even mentioned. That man doesn't know Christ.
Let's just be plain about it. Number one resolution of 1992.
Win Christ. Number two, be found in him. Number three, that I
might know Christ. Number four, that he might be
made unto me. All these things. Christ is all. You can read the
Bible until you're blue in the face, right? You can read it
through five times in a year and miss it. The Pharisees did
that, didn't they? Christ said, you search the scriptures,
I'll grant you that. You read the Bible through in
a year. You search the scriptures, but
you flat missed it because they testify of me, of me. Now, practically speaking, the
word of God, Christ is this lamp under my feet. He's the light
under my path. He is the word, the word, practically. I mean, I do want to apply this
practically. God's written word, as we see
Christ in it, will show us every step we're to take with our feet.
Every single step is outlined in God's word. Oh, you mean where
I should find work and where I should go? Yes. If we looked
hard enough. And let me let me say this. Let's
look in relation to how Christ did things, where Christ went.
Does it tell you where to go? Yeah. Where did Christ go? Where
did Christ go? What did he do? What did he say?
It'll tell you every step to take. And the Word of God will
illuminate the whole course of our lives. That is our path,
our whole road before us. To win Christ. pressed toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling. Now whatever, whatever
is conducive to and nurtures our lives to press toward the
prize for the mark, did I get that wrong? Press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. Whatever
it is, that is this illuminating light of God. And if we'll just
use the word, if the Holy Spirit will teach it. And I got these
three quick things from Thomas Manton. He said, the Word is
a light to reveal danger. The Word of God will warn us. It will reveal danger. It will
keep us from falling into a pit. The Word of God is a light to
discover our sin. You know, light uncovers all
darkness. All corners go in a dark room. It may seem clean to you when
you're in it, but when the light's turned on, And then the Word
of God is a comfort, just like sunlight. Boy, when you're out
on a cool day and the wind is blowing, it shivers your bones. But when the sunlight comes out
and beams on your back, it feels good, doesn't it? Nothing feels
quite like sunlight. And the Word of God, the knowledge
of Christ will warm us. All right, verse 106. So the
Word of God is Christ, and He is a lamp and a light, just like
David said. 2 Samuel 22, and that was in
Psalm 18 as well. All right, look at verse 106.
Boy, this is good. He says, I've sworn in our performance
that I will keep thy righteous judgments. Now, oh, these fellas said, now,
we've got to swear to God, swear unto God to do these things. There is a sense in which we. Confess God and and say with
all all that lies within us with all the faith that lies within
us with all the sincerity we can muster Lord. I believe. Lord, I believe Lord like Peter,
I think the Lord honored Peter's resolve. I'll go with you wherever
you He sure couldn't fulfill that, though, could he? It turned
out to be a vain and empty promise. Maybe the Lord honored his, his
resolve. Understand where I'm coming from?
Maybe he did, but that's not what this is, that's not who
this is talking about. This is talking about Christ. No doubt whatsoever in my mind. The song, it says, I have swore
and I'll perform it. The song says, his oath, his
covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood. That oath, or this holy swearing
here, is God's oath, God's swearing, God's promise to save a people
by the sacrifice of his son. That's who's doing the swearing
here. The father, the son, and the Holy Spirit all took this
oath and swore to perform all things for the salvation of his
people to the glory of the triune Godhead. Look over, I'll show
you this, look over at Matthew 20, uh, Matthew, uh, did I write
it down? Matthew chapter five. Yeah. Matthew
chapter five. Christ tells us over here in
Matthew five, not to swear. He warns us over and over and
over, don't swear. Don't forswear thyself, not by
heaven, not by... Look, let's read it together.
Matthew 5, beginning with verse 33. He says this over and over
again. Verse 33. Again, now you've heard that
it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear
thyself, but thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. That's
Leviticus 19, and it may be an allusion to what we're reading
tonight. But I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by
heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his
footstool. Neither by Jerusalem, it is the
city of the great king. Neither shalt thou swear by thy
head. You can't make one hair white or black, or grow one,
for that matter. But let your communication be
yea, yea, nay, nay, whatsoever is more than these cometh of
evil." Now, I know that he's talking about swearing in a common
way there. I swear, you know, I swear to
do this, like they do in the courtroom, swear on a stack of
Bibles, you know, this sort of thing. But this is talking about Christ,
people, because it's not within our power to fulfill anything
that we swear to do, is it? Now, I can swear. I can swear, cross my heart,
cross my legs, cross my fingers, rub his foot in four-leaf clover.
Stand on one leg, you know, have a horseshoe over my head, and
swear I'm going to be at Henry's house Sunday afternoon. I might
die in the morning. I can't. I can't fulfill, I can't
even swear that I'm going to get up tomorrow morning. I can't
swear anything. I can't fulfill any promise or
any swearing, but God can. And the Scripture says, when
he could swear by no greater, He swore by himself. He doesn't
swear on a stack of Bibles. He wrote it. He doesn't swear
by heaven or by earth or by this and that. He swore by himself.
He said, I've sworn and I'll perform it. Who said that? David? Well, David made a lot of promises
and so forth, but he sure did break them later on. He's just
a man. Who said, I've sworn and I'll
perform it? Who can say that but God? Christ. He did. Christ says here, this
is what, this is the, this is the meaning of this passage.
Christ is saying here on behalf of all God's elect people, I
have sworn and I will perform it. Fulfilling of the law, that
is. I will keep thy righteous judgments
on behalf of my people." Do you see that, John Davis? Yes, that's
the only person this could be talking about. Christ says, I
have sworn, I have taken an oath, a covenant with God, an eternal
one, to keep all of, and I'll perform it, I'll carry it through,
to keep all of God's righteous judgments on behalf of these
people that I want to represent. Did he do it? Oh, yeah. I've spoken it. I'll do it. I'll
do it. He's the only one who can say
that. Now, practically speaking, again, the only way we can make
any vow or promise to God or before men is to say this. If
the Lord wills, I'll keep his word. If the Lord wills, I'll
do this and do that, right? If the Lord wills, we can't say
I have, I will, I shall, can we? If the Lord will, if the
Lord shall, I will. All right. All right. Now look at verse 107 with me.
He says, I'm afflicted very much. Quicken me, O Lord, according
unto thy word. I'm afflicted very much. Now
we're going to talk about this in relation to Christ. We're
going to leave man in the foreground here. I'm afflicted very much. Quicken me, O Lord, according
unto thy word. Scripture says that though he
were a son, yet he learned obedience through the sufferings, through
the things he suffered. Right? Christ was afflicted and
ready to die from his youth up. Right? Yes, he was. He was afflicted
and ready to die from his youth up. Now, God says, call on me
in a day of trouble and I'll deliver you. God says, that's
a commandment, not a request. Call on me when you're afflicted
and I will help you. Christ called on every hand. He prayed without ceasing, Henry
Soar. Christ was always found praying somewhere, everywhere.
Always in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
he made his request known to God, didn't he? I am afflicted
very much, quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy. If it be
possible, let this cup pass from me. Christ as an obedient son
called upon the Father, and the Father always heard him. He prayed
without ceasing. And the Father quickened him.
How did the Father quicken him? The Father gave him life. and
vitality to carry through this mission and this world, this
terrible ordeal that he was going to go through. He had to be ministered
to by the Spirit just like we did. After he was tempted by
the devil for the forty nights of fasting and tempted by the
devil, it says, and then angels came and ministered unto him.
He's a man. And he called upon the Father.
As an obedient son, and he was quickened according to God's
word, he kept using God's word as his comfort and practically. To us, if we're going to make
it through this life without killing ourselves. If we're going
to make it through any trial or affliction, if we're going
to make it, if we're going to be kept from fainting, from quitting,
from killing ourselves because of our sin and our misery, faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We're not
going to find it anywhere else. Quicken me, O Lord, according
unto your Word, your Gospel. Show me Christ, because I have
a high priest who's touched with the feeling of my infirmity.
All right, verse 108. Except I beseech thee the freewill
offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments. Except
my freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, freewill offering. Thank God Christ was willing,
freely willing, to offer the sacrifices of righteousness with
his life, of blood with his death, and of praise with his mouth,
because that's what God requires of us. And we've sinned and come
short of the glory of God. We've sinned in thought, in word,
And indeed, and God requires perfection by us in all those
areas. We can't do it, can we? God says
the only one that can come up into his holy presence, the only
man who can come up into his holy hill is he that hath clean
hands, he that hath a pure heart, he that has never lifted up his
soul unto vanity. And the last one says what? He
that has never sworn deceitfully, he that has never out of his
mouth offered anything but the sacrifice of praise, no murmuring,
no bitterness, no complaining. Who can say that but Christ,
right? He says, I beseech thee, accept
the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, for the sake of
my people. Only Christ can do that. Only
Christ can live a life, thirty-three years as a man, and never sin
with his lips, because grace pours from his lips every time
he opens his mouth. Praise to God. Praise to God. Nothing but praise and thanksgiving.
And that's what God requires of me. I can't do this. I cannot fulfill this. And thank
God Christ learned well, it says here, teach me thy judgments.
Thank God, Terry, thank God he learned every jot and tittle.
If he missed something, I'm a goner. If he left something undone,
woe is unto me, I'm undone. Right? If there's one jot or
the tittle of the law unfulfilled, if Christ missed something, he
failed to do something on my behalf, God's going to hold me
accountable for it, isn't it? He said, heaven and earth may
pass away, but not one jot or tittle of the law will pass till
it all be fulfilled. Either by me or by Christ. We've
got to come up to that glory, don't we? Can't do it, can we?
Christ could. Christ said, it's finished. I've
done it all. It's finished. I learned them well. I learned
his judgments well, he said. And practically, now he says
here, the free will offerings of my mouth. Practically, and we quote this
all the time, Psalm 110.3, thy people shall be made willing
in the day of his power. All true believers are freely
willing, not that they don't have a free will, but they're
freely willing to worship and offer praise unto God. They don't
have to be They don't have to be offered reward. They don't have to be constrained
to do something for reward, but the love of Christ constrains
them, compels them, woos them. And they long to be taught and
to learn what is the good and perfect will of the Lord, even
their sanctification. Now, unless somebody takes this
verse and tries to prove man has free will with it, I guarantee
they have. Guarantee it. That they have. They've used this verse to prove
man's free will. Remember who it's talking about
first. It's not talking about us first,
is it? Huh? No, can't be. It's talking about
Christ. Christ primarily. And I tell
you this, once in Christ, Once God saves somebody by his will
and by his power and puts them in Christ, creates them anew,
makes them a new creature in Christ, then he demands of them
free will worship. Then, not before, not exercise
your free will and believe on Jesus. No, you can't, you're
dead. Your will is dead. We're dead in trespassing sin. Our will will only Let us do
what our will will let us do. And that's sin, our nature. But after we're a new creature
in Christ, then God requires of us free will worship. Then,
that is, that all of his people be willing and do it willingly
and not do it out of duty or reward. He says, don't draw near
to me where you live. Don't draw near to me for reward.
Draw near to me because you want to. Right? That's the sense in which that
applies to us. And teach me thy judgment. Verse
109, my soul is continually in my hand. My soul is continually in my
hand." What man, who can say that? What man could say that
his soul was in his hand? Only Christ could say that, couldn't
He? And He did. He said, No man taketh my life
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it
down, I have power to take it up again." He said, this is the
commandment I've received of my father. This is the commandment. Christ
said his life, his soul was totally within his own power. They came
to take him several times, didn't they? Tried to kill him. Zip,
right through the middle of him. Couldn't take him. His time wouldn't
come. He said, you can't kill me. You
can't kill God, can you? You can't kill the Lord of life. Only when he willed it would
it happen. It was impossible for him to
die, and God can't kill a righteous man. Christ couldn't die until
he was made sin. Right? God cannot kill a righteous
man. No. The wages of sin is death. But a righteous man, he can't
kill. He doesn't deserve any death. And Christ was the only
righteous man. He said, I'm not going to die
until I just decide to do so. Thank God he decided to do so.
He was willing to do so. He said this. This is what he
says here. My soul is continually in my hand. I don't have to die,
he says, yet. I don't forget God's law, His
covenant. I'm not going to forget this
agreement I made with the Father, and I'm going to lay down my
life. But you better not forget that you don't kill me. I lay my life down. Thank God He didn't call those
twelve leaders of angels. Thank God He didn't come down
from the cross. Somehow or another, I wish I
could have seen Him do it. All of them smearing at Him,
you know? He saved others, himself. If the heavens should have just
exploded and twelve million angels come, he can't do what? An old man takes my life from
me, my soul is always in my own hand, yet I don't forget this
covenant I made with the Father. Thank God Christ didn't forget. That he willingly laid his life
down because of the joy that was set before him, for the love
he had for his chosen people. Now practically, for us, we live
this life now, as believers, we live this life as free moral
agents. We're not puppets. We were puppets. with pawns in Satan's game, weren't
we? Now, Paul said that in Ephesians
2, I believe it is. We lived according to the prince
of the power of this air, among whom we all had our conversation
and time passed, walked in disobedience. Puppets, pawns in his evil game,
weren't we? But the Son sets you free, cuts
the chains, doesn't He? He says, now you're a bond slave
of mine. And now we're free moral agents to come and go, that is.
We're not puppets. We're responsible creatures.
The reason being is that now we have only ourselves to blame
for our actions. You can't blame God. Wouldn't
that be charging God with our sin? You can't blame God. We're free moral agents. And
whatever we do, we have ourselves to blame for it. But whatever
good comes about, we have God to give. credit for. And God's
word must be our guide. He said, yet I don't forget thy
law. God's word must be our guide. Christ must be the one we look
to or else we'll fall. 109, or 110, I mean, the wicked
have laid a snare for me. Yet I didn't err from your precepts."
The wicked, our substitute, our representative before God, our
great high priest was in all things, in all points, tempted
like as we are yet without sin. The tempter, the wicked one. When Christ taught us to pray,
he said, deliver us from evil, he said the evil one. The evil
one. And that's who David's talking
about. That's who Christ is talking about here. The wicked one has
laid a snare for me. The tempter. The wicked one laid
snares of temptation before Christ. In all areas of sin, Christ must
be tempted in all points as we are. Yet without sin. Now listen to this. 1 John 2.16.
says this, listen carefully, all that is in the world, in
other words, every sin that can be categorized or named in the
world, every sin can be categorized under these three headings. All
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, the pride of All sin can be categorized under one of these
three headings, okay? Christ was tempted in all those
three areas by Satan. The lust of the eyes. You're
hungry, aren't you? I'll make bread. I'll make bread. Hunger. Lust of the flesh, Daddy,
I'm sorry. The lust of the flesh. Hunger. You're hungry, aren't you? Well,
come in at these stones and you'll make bread. You're hungry. Man
doesn't live by bread alone. Well, look at these things I'll
give you if you'll bow down. Your eyes lust after the things
of this world, don't they? I'll give them to you if you
just bow. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. The pride of
life. Well, cast yourself down from
here and show everybody your power. Show how Jesus will raise
you. Your angels will come and minister
to you. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." All three
areas. The lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life. Christ was tempted in all
three points, yet without sin. Satan couldn't find anything
in him. Thank God, Joe Park, because when Christ goes to looking
at you, you better not find anything in you. You better find Christ
in you. Right? Right. He says, yet I have heard
not from thy precepts. Christ kept referring to God's
word, didn't he? How did he foil the tempter's
power? He kept referring to God's word.
What does that tell us? Us. He committed no sin because
his word was hid in his heart. Right? Hid in his heart. Practically. If we are to escape
the net of the fowler, these snares, if we're to escape the
net of the fowler, the temptations of the wicked one, we must not
err from thy precepts. That is, the precepts, the word
means preordained purposes, preordained refuge, fortress, hiding place. One of my favorite songs, temptations
lose their power when thou art nigh, I need thee. Oh, I need
thee. Peter said it. To whom shall
we go? Not to what? Getting back to
the Word again. It's not, well, I'm tempted,
I'll read the Bible. It's like hocus pocus dominocus. Right? Isn't that what people,
it's like a rabbit's foot. Oh, I'm going to read the Bible. There, I'll take care of it.
No. Unless God speaks to you through
the Bible, right? Not unless Christ comes with
sweet words. How many times have you done that? How many times
have you been reading the Bible and thinking evil thoughts? Why
are you reading? Have you ever done that? Think
the most wicked and ungodly thoughts flowing through your mind while
you're reading the Bible? So it's got to be more than a printed
page, doesn't it? It's got to be Christ speaking
to your heart. Christ. To whom shall we go is
the question. Paul said this. Paul said, Henry
Paul said, we cannot do the things that we would, didn't he? He said, I find, when I would
do good, I find another law in my members warring against the
law of my flesh, my mind. And I cannot do the things that
I would. Who shall deliver me? Was his
question. Not what, not how, what am I
going to do? Who shall deliver me? And then
the answer finally came. I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. There's a deliverer, not just
deliverance. Go back and read Spurgeon. Did
you read that article by Spurgeon in the Bulletin last Sunday?
If you didn't, read it again. If you did, read it again. is
a help. It's to whom coming, not to what. I'm not splitting hairs here.
I'm getting to the heart of this thing. I thank God for providing
Jesus Christ, a person, not a thing. A person. And when I'm tempted
with sin, I need to call on Christ because Christ has promised to
keep me. Not run and read the Bible. Call on Christ. Call on
Christ. Does that make sense to you? All right, verse 111. Thy testimonies
have I taken as a heritage forever. They are the rejoicing of my
heart. Thank God Christ took upon himself
the likeness of sinful flesh. He took pleasure in fulfilling
that covenant, or the testimony, the gospel. He said that thy
testimonies, God's covenant, this gospel covenant, the covenant
mercies, I've taken it on myself as a heritage forever. The covenant
of God, our salvation, Christ took it as his personal responsibility
forever, his heritage, his heritage. God said it there in Psalm 2,
didn't he? He said, I'm going to give you the heathen for your
possession, for your heritage. Christ didn't get much, did He?
Oh, we sure did. But we're going to be made new,
and we're going to give glory to Him. But Christ took this
covenant, His personal responsibility, and not because He had to. It
says here, because He just rejoiced His heart for the joy that was
set before Him. It rejoiced his heart in making
you his people. That's what you call grace. Verse
112, I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always. Verse 112, I have inclined my
heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end. I've
inclined my heart. Well, I hear where it says the
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
Who can know it? Christ can know his. The only
way I can know mine is if Christ is in my heart. I have inclined
my heart. Christ said, I have inclined
my heart. Thank God Christ was inclined
to do all that he did for us. He didn't have to. Paul said
in Ephesians 1, the only reason he did this was according to
the good pleasure of his own will. There's nothing in you
to incline him to show mercy, was it? Hmm? There wouldn't be
mercy then. There's nothing in you to incline
him to pour out his soul unto death. The king of glory to come
down for the likes of you? He was all according to the good
pleasure of his own will, according to the merciful and gracious
inclinations of his blessed heart. He said, I'll undertake all for
that old bird, that old bird, I'll undertake all for her, young
bird, all the way to the bitter end, he said. I'll do it just
because I'm inclined to do something. Just got an inclination to do
it. Now, that's what sovereign grace
is. It's just an inclination on God's part to do something
for old, poor, wretched sinners. Isn't it? Huh? In order that
we may live happily ever after, even unto the end, and practically
speaking, may the Lord incline our hearts to keep his word,
because that's how we may know we're his disciples. He said,
if we faint not, we keep looking to Christ, to whom coming, looking
to Christ, and may God reveal Christ to our hearts by faith.
Christ is the light of the world, a lamp under our feet, a light
under our path. Look to Christ. There's no doubt to me who that's
speaking of. Is it to you now? Huh? quotes one of these verses, we
got a free will, that's what it says in Psalm 119, what was
it, 108, 109. No sir, Christ's got a free will. Christ has got a free will. That's
it. And unless he inclines our hearts
according to the inclination of his heart, we'll not be inclined
to believe or anything. Christ is all. To Him be the
glory, both now and forever. Amen.