Quicken Thou Me

Q: What does the Bible say about being kept in God's ways?

The Bible teaches that it is the Lord who teaches and keeps us in His ways through the work of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 119:33-40 emphasizes that our understanding of God's statutes and commandments comes not from our own strength but from God’s teaching. The psalmist requests divine intervention to be kept in God's ways, highlighting the necessity of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. It is clear from Scripture that our ability to understand and obey God's law is a task the Lord must do in us, showing that true spiritual understanding is a gift from Him.

Q: Why is understanding God's word important for Christians?

Understanding God's word is vital for Christians as it forms the basis of their faith and guides their actions. Understanding God's word is not just about intellectual comprehension; it's about spiritual discernment that can only be granted by the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 119, the psalmist expresses a deep desire for God to establish His word within him, indicating that true comprehension comes from God’s grace. When His word is truly understood, it becomes a source of life, nourishment, and guidance, allowing Christians to live according to God's will.

Q: How do Christians overcome vanity according to the Bible?

Christians can overcome vanity by fixing their eyes on Jesus and relying on the Holy Spirit for spiritual discernment. Psalm 119 advises believers to turn their eyes away from vanities and focuses on the beauty of Christ. It suggests that true wisdom and clarity are found not in withdrawal from the world but in the transcendent beauty of Jesus. By relying on the Holy Spirit to keep their eyes on Christ and His truth, Christians are safeguarded from the distractions and false doctrines that lead to spiritual vanity. This ongoing divine help is essential for living a righteous life centered on God’s word.

Q: Why are spiritual desires important for Christians?

Spiritual desires are crucial because they reflect God's work in a believer's heart, guiding them toward holiness. In Philippians 2:12-13, Paul teaches that it is God who works in believers both to will and to act according to His good purpose. This divine influence generates genuine spiritual desires, leading Christians to pursue righteousness and to long for God’s precepts, as seen in Psalm 119:40. Such desires are not mere human aspirations; they emanate from a transformed heart that seeks to align with God's will, demonstrating that spiritual life is active and continually shaped by the Holy Spirit.

Turn to Psalm 119. We're going to read this section once again of verses 33 through 40. Psalm 119, 33-40, and it says, "'Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes, and I shall be kept unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments, for therein do I delight. Incline mine heart unto Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way. Establish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach, which I fear, for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts. Quicken me in thy righteousness."

And once again, as we've mentioned over time in looking in Psalm 119 and in this particular section here, that of every verse here is work that the Lord must do. And there's nothing in here that says, I'll take care of business. I can do all this. I can strengthen myself. I can teach myself. I can understand by myself."

And we've looked at what that's referring to, and we read several passages over time of that, the understanding. We can teach the words of what the Scriptures say. We can make the sense of it plain. and give the idea of what it's speaking about. That's as far as we can go.

We can't truly make a person understand spiritual things, and this is indeed all this, as in other passages in all of the Scripture, is the same way that this speaks to the work that the Holy Spirit has to do in His people. and that's not a work that we do. We strive to spend time in the scriptures and to understand the words of it, and we pray that He reveals those things to us, but it's all of His doing and none of our own in that way.

In verse 37 it says, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way. There's three, in some of the study I've done, the commentaries, three thoughts that I'd like to bring that how three men worded a thought from here, and I really appreciate them. And I'm going to start with what they say, and then we're going to look at several verses of Scripture. William Kay, and I don't have a time period, but William Kay, from gazing at the delusive mirages which tempt the pilgrim to leave the safe highway, where he says, turn away my knives from beholding vanities.

And most of the commentaries, a lot of them say from worthless things. Well, there's a lot of worthless things in the flesh and in the world that that we might spend our time with, but I think the greater thing that's spoken about here is vanity as far as what the scripture says, as far as what the scripture says about the redemption of his people. And there are many vain or vanity vain doctrines that people have come up with in our time even that they're worse than vanity.

They're just plain not scriptural, but the Lord has to keep us from those things and turn us away from those things. We see that in through the scripture when we've spent several books looking over time at heresy in the church and those that are anti-christ in the church and those type of thinkings, and that's there and we can say, yeah, that's bad stuff. But here that Psalms says, when he says here, turn our eyes away from that type of thing, from the untruth in the scripture, and stick to what the Word says. And then another man, Charles Bridges, and these were quotes that I found in Spurgeon's book on the Psalms and so these were these quotes for from way back.

These are not modern modern days. So the problem was there back hundreds of years ago and in our time and Charles Bridges said about this verse about turning our eyes away from vanities What will not What will most effectually turn my eyes from vanity?

Yes, not the seclusion of contemplative retirement, not the relinquishment of our lawful connection with the world, but the transcendent beauty of Jesus unveiled to our eyes and fixing our hearts. And here where it talks about He said, not the seclusion of contemplative retirement.

You don't draw back from everything when it says, or the relinquishment of our lawful connection with the world. We're in the world. We're not of the world, but we're still in the world and connected to that. There are those that draw back as to monasteries or what have you, in connection with the world to say, well, that'll keep us from vanity. Well, it doesn't. As long as we are there, we can manufacture vanities, if that be the case.

But it says, but the transcendent beauty of Jesus unveiled unveiled to our eyes and fixing our hearts. And there's no date with that either, but looking to Jesus, and it says unveiled to our eyes, and the Spirit's all that can do that. That's the only way that that comes about, and fixing our eyes on Him and fixing our hearts is by the Scripture of the Spirit of God.

And then the last one by a man named William Seeker from 1660, and he says, speaking about this verse, the eyes of a Christian should be like sunflowers, which are open to no blaze but that of the sun. And he put in, he actually spelled it S-U-N, but I changed it to capital S-O-N. I paraphrase that last word that's not his quote, but I think that of the Son of Himself, our Lord and Savior, not just the Son, but as they are open to the Son physically, then He opens our heart to Himself. and draw from this, with our eyes, and this isn't quoting anybody else, with our eyes we behold both good and valuable things, as well as all manner of empty things.

I believe at least partly this verse is referring to that or those things or ideas or false doctrine that would divert our attention from Christ and the true gospel. We see, as I said earlier, we see in our own times those vain thoughts about our Lord that are contrary to what the scriptures tell us. And I think only the Spirit can keep us safe from those things. And we've seen, like I said, in recent times, terrible heresies come about about what men say about who the Savior is, and that are not just a little bit of semantics about it, but complete heresy from that.

And that is man's vanity in making things that are not true, or as Norma said many times, lying on God, lying on what the scripture says. And we have to be constantly turned from that and kept on the way, kept in his way, in his Scripture and His truth and His Word to us as we've looked at the beginning of this Psalm 119, those many words that speak about how God communicates with His people in the physical world. scriptures and those things we have, but that is all the Word of God and that carries the same weight to us as the phrase, thus saith the Lord. And not just an acknowledging of, yes, that this is the Bible and this is God's Word, but understanding and truly knowing that not just assenting to that or saying that we believe it, but that He reveals that to us.

Turn to the book of Isaiah, if you would, with me for just a minute. Isaiah chapter 33. Okay, starting with Isaiah 33, starting with verse... 13, I believe it says, Hear ye that are far off what I have done, and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.

Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly, he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil, He shall dwell on high.

His place of defense shall be the munition of rocks. Bread shall be given him. His waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. They shall behold the land that is very far off. And here, as it says, who shall dwell? Who's going to abide the everlasting burnings? Him that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly. And that is those that has, verse 17, thine eyes shall see the King and His beauty. they shall behold the land that is very far off."

And the thing that will keep us from, by the Spirit, keep us from beholding vanities is beholding Him. And that, if we keep our eyes on Him and our eyes are kept on Him by the Spirit, we will be kept from vanities. And it harkens back to when one was talking about the scriptures that had not heard the gospel and was asking questions about things that were vanities, probably, or beside the point, and the answer came back that those things were not the point. And there was one that, at our camps, it said that preaching the gospel of our Lord to us is that the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing, and that indeed is our Lord Himself. That's the main thing, and that the preaching of the Word and the understanding of the Scriptures has to get back to and has to stay there and in mind, and that keeps us from other vanities, other thinkings that are not as they should be, scripturally speaking. And I think that there's vanities that we know of physically and in the flesh that we speak of that we are to stay away from and to be guard on. But I think, again, the main thrust or the real point is spiritual vanities as far as turning from the true gospel.

In the Song of Solomon, and we spent some time in this many years ago now, speaking about the book here and speaking about what the Lord says of the church and what the church says in here about the Lord Himself. And in chapter 5, two verses in chapter 5, And in this chapter here, the speaking about, and before this, speaking about how fair the bridegroom is and how fair the bride is, but the bridegroom here, but in Psalm chapter 5 and verse 9 says, And this is those that the other women were speaking to about their beloved. And the question is, what is thy beloved more than another beloved? O thou fairest among women, what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou so dischargest? And it goes on and describes that, but it's down through here, but in verse 16 says, his mouth is most sweet.

Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is mine. my friend of daughters of Jerusalem." So this is the, they, all the description there were saying, well, what's, what's special about him, about this one? And it says here, and we've quoted this a lot, many times, but it says, he's altogether lovely. And speaking about the, those things that He has done for His people. He is altogether lovely in the redemption of His people, the many things that He has provided and has accomplished for us.

And then in Hebrews 12, along the same thoughts here, but Hebrews 12, Just a couple of verses. After the chapter 11 of all the examples of the men of faith that we have in chapter 11 of Hebrews, in chapter 12, it says, first two verses, it says, Wherefore, seeing we are also encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." So here, in light of all those that God provided faith and put faith in them, as we have record of, and it says here, because of all those, and we have this, it says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And that is the, that In so doing that, not just considering words and verses that talk about Jesus, but truly looking at Him as the author and finisher of our faith, keeps us from other vanities of other methods or other things that might enter into what the gospel says and what we might claim and look to as our source and our provision for salvation.

And then one more spot in the book of Philippians. In the book of Philippians, the second chapter, Philippians chapter 2, and this here verse, and it says in verse 12, It says, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have also obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And this relates to this, because it is God, it says, to cause us both to will and to do, worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. to desire that we are kept from vanities in that way, both physically and spiritually, that desire to be in accordance with what the Scriptures say, that is put in us, that is worked in us by His Spirit. There are those that claim to believe in the Scripture that work the the gospel so terribly that you kind of have to look at the page and see where they're coming from, that do not have that desire put in them to be according to what the Scriptures say. It's how they read it and how they want to interpret things to their own ends.

But not only to will, but to do of His good pleasure, to those desires, and then the outworking of those things is by His doing. And Paul, we're going to look at that again in another spot, but that Paul talks about that, about the willing and doing, and we've quoted him and looked at that passage in Romans several times. that if he doesn't do the doing, we go our own direction. And we are never lost. We are secure. We could not be more secure, but on our own, we will wander. We just will.

And I think that's why it says here, to turn our eyes from vanity, turn my eyes from vanity. And then verse 38, Let me go back here. Verse 38 says, Establish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear. Establish thy word unto thy servant. This would be the work also of the Spirit of God, not just that we acknowledge his word, but reveal to us, make solid in our hearts the utmost import of thus saith the Lord. that it become our soul food and life to us by grace to be so part of the new birth, that establishing His word isn't just that we acknowledge and say, yeah, that's God's word and we live by God's word, but that it's deeper than that, that it is more than acknowledging. There are many world over that say that, yeah, the Bible is God's word. that has no meaning to them, it really doesn't. And only through the new birth can that, when we read, thus saith the Lord, actually have a meaning to us, other than just saying, yeah, we believe that's God's word, and that's the Bible, and we believe everything of it. It's deeper than that. It's more than that. It's not just a physical thing and a physical understanding in the mind, but that it's established to us. That's the standard.

Thus saith the Lord is, and we see that when we look there in the book of 1 Samuel there, that that wasn't exactly the gold standard in some of the carryings on there in the tabernacle in the worship of God. And then we see God very severely punishing those that took lightly the, thus saith the Lord, and didn't do that in that physical way. But that's a picture of the spiritual. If it's taken lightly and not taken to heart or placed in the heart by God, it's to no avail. It's to no good will come of it.

Establish thy word to thy servant. In the book of 2 Peter, 2 Peter, in the first chapter. I'd like to read the first little bit of this to start with. Starting the first verse of 1st chapter, 2nd Peter, it says, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness broadly kindness, and to broadly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make that you neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged for his old sins. For if we're the brother, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall." Here speaking about how we have a standing in him, having escaped, it says, that corruption that's in the world.

And these things that it talks about that we give diligence and add to us, that's the same as what we see here in Psalm 119 and in several passages of it, that these are not things that we seek to add to it and we check off the list that we've got that part done, that we make sure that we're in good standing in those. Those are things that the Lord has to bring about in us There are people that when it says let brotherly love continue, there's some times that's pretty tough to do. It's not an easy thing sometimes. the different virtues that it speaks about, that our virtues, indeed, our Lord has the fountain of all these things, and that He does grant these things to us, and that these, in Him, we have these things.

And then verses 19, starting with verse 19, a couple of verses of of this, 2 Peter 1, it says, We have a more sure word of prophecy. Wherefore, you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." And that we have a more sure word of prophecy that He can only establish that in our hearts. We have His Word to us, and like I said, we quote His Word, but for Him to make that real to us is only His doing. We can study and understand, and as we read there in the passage some time back, that it's to be read clearly and distinctly, give the understanding of it and the sense of it, we can do that. The Spirit is the one that puts that and establishes those things in our hearts that, as I said earlier, become our soul, food, and life to us is the Scripture.

That's the only way that God speaks to His people is through His Word. And by His Spirit, that's the only source. We don't have Him much speaking to us out of a cloud or out of a burning bush or out of many ways that we have record that He actually did speak to people physically, but we have His Word. And that is His testimony to us as one of the other words that we've used. And that's how it is established to us.

In Luke chapter 17. Turn to the book of Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. It says here in just one verse out of here that the Apostle said unto the Lord in the midst of some things he was saying, in verse 5, and it says, The Apostle said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And then he goes on and says, if you had faith as of a grain of mustard, ye might say unto the sycamore tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you.

But here the thought is, I think not only they, but we understand that faith does not come by us. wanting it, it comes by the Lord giving it and by his grace. And that is constantly, I think, in God's people's mind that he increased our faith, that he increased our faith as we read his word and as we pray and those different things. that he established that word unto our servant, and that it says, it says, who is devoted to thy fear. Establish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear. And that fear, that awe, that reverence, a little bit of understanding that He gives us is from Him. And that is why it says, "...establish Thy Word," because we desire that. We desire to have His Word made real to us.

In verse 39, it says, "...turn away my reproach, which I fear, for Thy judgments are good." A lot of the commentaries take this verse and say, and I'm not saying what they say is not true. I think they missed the mark on some of it. That the reproach they speak about here is reproach from others because of our religious beliefs. That may be a reproach. They're on from the outside.

Not many of us get a whole lot of reproach in that way. We don't know what that is compared to other places, other times, of what that means socially to us. You know, you talk to people about the scripture, about the gospel, they may just laugh at it or they may say, well, that's not for me, type thing. We don't get much reproach from that. That doesn't put us in bad standing because people don't, they don't have much regard for it.

But I think what it's speaking about, at least in the same level that we're looking at these things that the Spirit has to do in God's people, I don't think it's taking a sidestep and saying we need to watch out for what the judgment of the world is. I think it speaks about here, and I wrote this, the reproach of sin is in us, I believe, again, that is what this book speaks to.

Paul laments over what we are by nature, and David, and all of the record that we have, and the promise in his word that he is faithful by way of the righteousness of our Lord. And it says here, where it says here, turn away my reproach which I fear for thy judgments are good. We stand in reproach by sin by nature, but there was one that took that judgment. And the judgment here, I think partly, at least to what it's saying, is not for thy judgments are good as far as the judgment by nature where we stand, but that he took that judgment. Our reproach, as it talks in Psalm 53 and other places, He bore that, and the judgment is that, like as last Sunday, the sacrifice was accepted. And judgment for us is in a good spot. In Romans Paul speaks to that, and I've been referring to that because I think those are the same words that God's people use about our ability to do and to not to do, but also all the saints that we have record of, bore record to this too, that the reproach in him has been taken away.

And we see that in Isaiah. We see that in all the scriptures, that that reproach that we had on us was born, was taken away. And we stand on the good side of the judgment of God of that result of that. And verse 40 says, Behold, I have longed after thy precepts, quicken me in thy righteousness. It says, I have longed after thy precepts, quicken me in thy righteousness.

That's the only way that we've been quickened is because of what he has done for us, what the Lord has done for us. And like last week, we see that not only was he bore that reproach and was the death of the cross, but he rose again. That was the key thing. It wasn't that he died and was crucified, he didn't die. The key thing was that he rose again and that the Father accepted that, and because of his righteousness that we are quickened, as it says here.

And a thought by another, another one that says this by Adam Clark that we've quoted a couple of things that he said over time. It says, Behold, it is thy work and through thy mercy and Mercy, I breathe after thy mercy. Quicken me, I am dying. Give me the spirit of life in Christ Jesus," by Adam Clark.

And we were going to get to the This was going to be the last time, but we have one more time. We have to look at this at the at the end of this under is delivered by his righteousness. And I have another whole page that we will wait till next time. We're going to we're going to get to this, though. So this. Again, this section here, dealing with what the Spirit must do in His people, as always. We're going to disconnect at this spot, and we'll pick this up one more time, one last time next time. Thank you for your attention and for being here.

Quicken Thou Me

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being kept in God's ways?

Why is understanding God's word important for Christians?

How do Christians overcome vanity according to the Bible?

Why are spiritual desires important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

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Quicken Thou Me

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being kept in God's ways?

Why is understanding God's word important for Christians?

How do Christians overcome vanity according to the Bible?

Why are spiritual desires important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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