Turn back in your Bibles now
to Psalm 119. If we here today all knew how
to read Hebrew, and we had a Hebrew Bible before us, we would notice
that in this section that I read, these eight verses or eight sentences
beginning with 105, We would notice that every word, the first
word in every line, begins with the same Hebrew letter. 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet
and this is the 14th in this section that we're looking at
today. It's been said that the scripture was written, some of
the Psalms, Psalm 119 or Psalm 19 was written in a similar fashion
that it was done so to help them commit to memory the Word of
God. They didn't have a Bible like
you and I have for the most part. But I want us to think about
what is suggested to us in verse 105 by the psalmist David when
he confessed what other scriptures teach and that is that our life
in this world is like or it may be compared to a journey. He says, Thy word is a lamp unto
my feet, and a light unto my path. When we take our first
breath in this world, our journey begins. And as every journey
has an ending as well as a beginning, when we breathe our last in this
world, that journey ends. Solomon in Ecclesiastes said,
to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under
the heaven. A time to be born and a time
to die. We began this journey at one
point in time and we end the journey at another point in time. And I see David here in this
part of the Word of God. I see him doing three things. if he's thinking about his journey
in this world. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. I see, first of all, praise. Praise. Because David recognized
the necessity of the Word of God on this journey. And second, I see thanksgiving
because David recognized the value of the Word of God on this
journey. And third, I seek confidence,
for David recognized the sufficiency of the Word of God on this journey. Three things I want us to think
about and consider as life, a journey, and the Word of God. David says,
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. First,
I would like for us to consider what it is to journey without
the light. And when I say journey, I'm talking
about our life in this world. What it is to journey without
the light, without the Word of God. Have you ever thought about
that? I want you to go with me, if
you will, to Acts, the book of Acts, chapter 17. Acts chapter 17, and I begin
reading in verse 22. Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things you are too superstitious. And that word could be translated
religious. I perceive in all things you
are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld
your devotions, I found an altar." He found many altars. Athens
was full of altars. But he found one altar in particular
that he uses to introduce this message. He said, I found an
altar with this inscription, to the unknown God. Whom therefore
you ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you, God that made the
world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven
and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Neither is worshipped
with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth
to all life and breath and all things. and hath made of one
blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the
earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if
happily they might feel after him, and find him, though he
be not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move
and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said,
for we are also his offspring. For as much then as we are the
offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is
likened to gold or silver or stone, graven by art and man's
device. And the times of this ignorance
God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.
Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised
him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection
of the dead, some mocked, and others said, We will hear thee
again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them,
albeit certain men claimed unto him and believed. I want you to think about the
fact that Paul, in this message that we've just read a part of,
a portion of, that he was preaching in Athens, Greece, which at that
time I'm sure would have been concerned the seat or the center
of learning for this world. the seed of wisdom and philosophy. But I want you to look at their
condition. Think of this. These men he was
preaching to, these were not ignoramuses. These were men who,
as far as the learning of this world, they had it. And they spent their time in
hearing something new. That's what they desired to do.
Always listening to new things. But notice what Paul says about
them. He describes their condition
in verse 27, with all their wisdom, with all their learning, and
yet without the light, without the Word of God, they were as
men who are groping, seeking in the dark to find Him, In whom,
he says in the next verse, we live and move and have our being. Do you see what I'm saying? Here
are people without the light, without the Word of God. Yes,
they had the knowledge of this world, the learning of this world,
the wisdom of this world, but they did not have the Word of
God. They did not have the light.
And so, the best they could be described as, as people, That
we can see this picture very well in our minds, how if you
were in pitch dark and you know there's an object there, maybe
you've seen it before, but there's no light and you're groping for
it, you're seeking for it, but you cannot find it. That's man
apart from the Word of God. No matter how religious he may
be. Without the light, the psalmist says, thy word is a lamp under
my feet, a light under my path. Without the word of God, the
best they could do is worship an unknown God. That's the very
best they could do, because they did not have the written revelation
of God, the Word. We know that Christ is a living
Word of God who reveals God unto us, but the living Word is revealed
unto us in the written Word. You can't divorce, you can't
separate the living Word and the written Word. Why is it important
that we study the Word of God and proclaim and preach the Word
of God? Because in the Word of God, the
Savior is revealed notice the Apostle spoke to them about a
man notice that in verse 31 because he hath appointed that is God
and there's no question that the Apostle Paul preached the
truth about God I've often looked at this passage of scripture
and wondered Paul probably knew this was the first and last time
he would ever preach on Mars Hill. This was the first and
last time he would ever preach to these people. I don't know
how many he was preaching to, but what do you preach to a people
knowing that you only have one opportunity? I've thought about
that a lot. I've preached in some places
that I'm convinced the gospel had never been preached there
before, but there had been some knowledge from the Word of God
in those places. But he's in a place of darkness. They did not have the Word of
God. That's the time, he says, the time of this ignorance God
winked at, when this little nation of Israel had the oracles of
God, had the Word of God. All these other nations around
them and in this world were without the Scripture, without the Word
of God. But Paul, among other things
that I've been able to pick out of his message, and again, this
certainly wasn't all of his message. But he speaks about Christ. That
man. Notice that in verse 31. Because he hath appointed a day
in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that
man. That man. He speaks to them about
a man. And yes, he was a man. But he
was a man and he is a man unlike all other men. How many men are
on the face of the earth right now? How many men have walked
upon God's earth since its beginning? Billions. But here's a man who
is unlike all other men in the sense that here's a man who is
the God-man, the glory-man. This is God, the Eternal Son
incarnate. That man. He is that man that
God has ordained to save sinners. Through whom God has ordained
to save sinners. No other name under heaven given
among men. Whereby we must be saved. Yes,
He spoke to them about that man. That man that He says was raised. God raised Him from the dead.
And don't you know, don't you know that He told them how he
died. He speaks to them in what we
have that God raised him from the dead but don't you just know
he told them how he died. That he died as a sacrifice,
as a substitute, as a sin offering that he was crucified on the
cross. And that His dying in reality,
no matter what men may say and what men may think as they look
at Christ on the cross, in reality, it was God setting forth His
Son to be the propitiation for our sins. It was God in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself through His Son. This man that
died on this cross that Paul had to have spoken to them about,
it was that man who finished the work of redemption, who finished
the work which the Father had given him to do. That man who
is the one and only mediator between God and men. That man. Something wonderful
and strange happened while Paul was preaching. You say, well
was it strange and wonderful that those men, most of them
I think, mocked, they laughed, they ridiculed the Apostle Paul.
That message, that's crazy. That's crazy. That's foolish. To think that was the Son of
God who died on a cross? Oh, they mock. Well, there's
nothing strange about that. Because men continue today to
mock and ridicule and make fun of this gospel. It's foolishness
unto them that perish. But unto us which are saved,
it's the power of God unto salvation. There's nothing strange, nothing
wonderful about those who mocked Him. And there was nothing strange
or wonderful about the majority of them because this is the response
that happens the majority of the time. They listened to what
Paul had to say and they said, well, we'll think about that. Well, we'll hear you again. The Bible never says they heard
him again. I don't know if they did or not.
Sometimes people tell me, well, I'll come hear you. And I always
think of what a pastor friend of mine told some people one
day. They told him, well, we may come to hear you Sunday.
He said, yeah, you may and you may not. And they didn't like
that. You may and you may not. That
depends on God. They said, well, We'll put this
off. We'll think about this. We'll
consider this. And yes, there's some people,
when they hear the gospel, they say, well, you know what I need
to do? I need to change my life. I need
to clean my life up and make some changes in my life. And
then this gospel, this message, this Christ that is preached,
then I'll consider trusting Him and coming to Him. Well, should
there be anyone here this morning with those thoughts, just remember
this. Christ came to save sinners. He didn't come to save sinners
who've cleaned themselves up, who've changed their lives. No,
He came to save sinners, bona fide sinners. Men and women who
have no righteousness whatsoever, no claim upon God. He came to
save sinners. Augustus' top lady got it right
in his end, didn't he? Rock of Ages cleft for me. in
my hand no price I bring." A price would be you cleaning up your
life, you turning over a new leaf or whatever. Don't bring
any price in your hand. No, come to Him as a bankrupt
sinner. He came to save sinners. But notice the thing that I say
is wonderful and strange Some of these people to whom
Paul preached, they heard the voice of the Son of God. Now, with this ear, they were
hearing Paul's voice. There's no question about that.
But in hearing Paul's voice, some of them heard the voice
of the Son of God. Remember, he said, Verily, I
say unto thee, the hour cometh, and now is. when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall live. How do we know they heard his
voice and lived? Because we're told two things. They claimed to Paul. They held
on to him. They followed him. This is a
life-giving message I've heard. I've got to hear this again and
again and again. They claimed to him. Where are
you going to be preaching at tonight, Paul? That's where I'm
going to be. Where are you going to be preaching
tomorrow, Paul? That's where I'm going to be.
They claimed to Paul, and they believed the indication that
they had heard the voice of the Son of God, and He had given
them life. They believed. You know, faith is God's gift,
just as repentance is. And Paul told them, God has given
assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised that man from
the dead, that there's coming a day when he's going to judge
the world by that man. People like to say, well, you
know, I'm not so bad. Who are you comparing yourself
with? Not with the Lord Jesus Christ. who is perfect, who is
righteous, who is holy. No, you're comparing yourself
to somebody you already know that's fallen maybe a little
bit deeper into sin than you have. He's going to judge the world.
He's commanded all men everywhere to repent. People say, well,
I don't know if He's calling me. Yes, He's commanded all men
everywhere to repent, and He has also commanded us to believe
in His Son. This is a commandment, that you
believe on Him whom God has sent, and that you love one another. So, do you follow me there? Considering
man in this world without the light, without the Word of God,
groping, following, even though we live and move in God, every
breath we breathe, He gives it to us. But dead in trespasses
and sins, in the darkness, without the light, without the Word of
God. Well, here's the second thing.
Let's consider the path that God that God's Word lights the
path that God's Word lights I want you to go with me now to Matthew
chapter 7 Matthew chapter 7 the path that
God's Word lights verses 13 and 14 The Lord Jesus speaking, enter
you in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad
is the way that leadeth to destruction. Many there be which go in thereat,
because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it. We all began our journey
at one point in time, we've already said that. But we all begin our
journey of life in the broad way. I mean, the broad way. And the Lord Jesus tells us here
three things about this broad way, this path on which we journey. He tells us, first of all, it's
broad. It's wide. And second, he tells
us that there's a whole lot of people on it. A whole lot of
people on this path. And I don't know why men think
in numbers there would be consolation. Have you ever heard someone say,
well I tell you one thing, if I go to hell there will be a
whole lot of people there with me. Now what consolation is that? Yeah, if you go to hell there
will be a lot of people there with you. But that's not going
to lessen the penalty, the punishment of eternal separation from God,
just because there's a lot of people with you. Our Lord said
there's a lot of people on this road. Many people are journeying
on it. And the third thing he tells
us, it's broad, there are many people on it, and number three,
it ends in destruction. The broad way, the way in which
we walk, we journey as we come into this world, it ends in destruction. And something else we might say
about it is this, it is the path without the lamp. The broad way. It is the path without the lamp.
The path without the Word of God. We just read of some there in
Athens, as Paul preached, who left that broadway. They were
in that broadway that very day. This is so amazing, isn't it,
about the gospel of Jesus. The power, the gospel is the
power of God unto salvation unto every one that believeth, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. That as the gospel is
preached, as Paul was preaching there in Athens, that some believed. And while they had come to the
service in the broad way, they leave in the narrow way. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
gate. He said, I am the door. By me,
if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and
out and find pasture. The only way out of the broad
way It's through the gate. The only way into the narrow
way is through the gate. The Lord Jesus Christ, He is
the door. He is the gate. Notice our Lord
also tells us three things about this way, this path. He told
us three things about the broad way. Now He tells us three things
about this narrow way. Number one, it's narrow. It's
narrow. And number two, it has few journey
on this path. And number three, it leads unto
life. And so we would say it is the
path with the lamp, the Word of God, this narrow way. The
Word, David said, is a lamp unto my path, a light unto my feet. Now this makes me think of Paul's
words in Colossians, he's writing to believers, he's writing to
those who had experienced being taken out of the broad way and
put into the narrow way. And I bring this out to us, I
think of it because that broad way is the way without the light,
that means darkness, and the narrow way is the way with the
light. Now, Paul wrote to them, and
he said, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, now listen,
who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. We sang that hymn, What
Can Wash Away My Sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. In Proverbs we read the path
of the just. This is the path with the light,
the Word of God. The path of the just is as the
shining light which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. How long have you been in this
path? If you are in this path, you would agree. You would say
amen to what I'm saying and what the writer of Proverbs said,
this path shines more and more unto the perfect day. I was reading
what Mars, F.B. Mars I believe, he's the one
who gave us the Mars code and he established the telegraph
system up in the east, part of it anyway. He had a line that
went from Baltimore to the Supreme Court building in Washington
DC. And the first line transported
on that telegraph line was a word from the scripture, from the
book of Numbers. What hath God wrought? What hath God wrought? But I
mention him because I read what he said when he came close to
the end of his life about the Word of God. He said, the nearer
I approach to the end of my pilgrimage, that's his journey, right? His
pilgrimage. The nearer I approach to the end of my pilgrimage,
the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin of the Bible. The grandeur and sublimity of
God's remedy for fallen man are more appreciated and the future
is illuminated with hope and joy. It shines more and more
into the perfect day. Okay, we've looked at men without
the light, without the Word of God. And now we've looked at
this path that is a narrow way in which we find the Word of
God. Now I want us, lastly, to consider
our responsibility, if you profess to be in this narrow way, our
responsibility and God's promise concerning this Word as a light. Turn with me, if you will, to
Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 6 Proverbs chapter 6 beginning
in verse 20 My son Keep thy father's commandment,
and forsake not the law of thy mother. Now we're talking about
the Word of God, a lamp. Bind them continually upon thine
heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall
lead thee. When thou sleepest, it shall
keep thee. And when thou wakest, it shall
talk with thee. For the commandment, that is
the Word of God, is a lamp and the law, the Word of God is light. Now in those verses we see that
we have God's promise and we also have our responsibility. I want to point out our responsibility
first and then look at God's promise. We have a responsibility to keep to bind it continually upon our
heart and to tie it about our neck. Apostle Paul says, all scripture
is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction, that the man
of God may be perfect, the child of God may be mature, perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. How is it that we
are to continually bind this word upon our heart? I said we
have a responsibility. If we're God's children, and
we're in this narrow way, we have a responsibility, first
of all, to bind, to keep this Word, bind it upon our heart.
How do we do that? Well, first of all, we read the
Word of God. Read the Word. If you were traveling, well,
I'm going to have to think about this illustration. Because most
of the young people, they use their phone. They don't use a
map. But if you're going cross-country
and back in the old days, when I was young, you'd have a map. It'd tell you what highway to
go on, where to turn onto another highway, how far. And you wouldn't
dare just get in your car and take off. I'm going to Fargo. Is that South Dakota or North
Dakota? One of them. I'm going up there.
Well, I want to have a map. Now today, you use your phones. I understand that. But you wouldn't
think of just getting in your car and taking off on a trip,
would you? We are on a journey. And God
has given us His Word to guide us. to lead us, as we'll see
in just a moment. We must read. To bind His Word
on our heart, we must read the Word of God. Every child of God
here, I know there's exceptions and there's times when this is
not possible, but all of us should read God's Word daily. That should
just be a Natural. Almost like breathing. We should
read God's... You say, I don't have time. You
have 24 hours every day. The same as every man who has
ever lived on the face of God's earth has had 24 hours in every
day. This is important. You make time. No, you don't have time. You
make time. You may cut out some sleep. or
whatever, but every one of us to bind this word on our hearts
we should read the Word of God and we should meditate. Now that's
really something that most of us don't know a whole lot about.
But it is important that we meditate upon the Word of God. Don't just
try to read so many verses and so many chapters every day that
you just run through it and when you finish you don't remember
anything. Take a verse of scripture. Take
it with you through the day. And think on it. Turn it over
in your mind. And certainly to bind this Word
upon our heart, we should hear the Word of God like we're doing
here today. We hear the Word of God, taught
and preached. And I see families sometimes,
young families, who have young children And they don't take
advantage of the opportunities to bring their children, that
their children may hear the Word of God and learn the Word of
God. And I just think to myself, in all probability, the day is
coming, the year is coming, they're going to regret that. They're
going to regret the times, the opportunities they had to have
their children under the sound of the Word of God and something
else was more important. Meditate. Hear the Word of God. Study the Word of God. What about
tying it around the neck? Well, people put things around
their neck for adornment. I look out here and some of the
ladies, you have necklaces around your neck. That's for adornment,
right? Or a scarf or something like
that. We're not to take this literally. That's what the Israelites
did, wasn't it? When God said to bind the word
on their hand and on their forehead. And they took that literally
and they'd just write the scripture of the law down and roll it up
and put it on their hand. No. Remember what Peter told
wives who have unbelieving husbands? He said, that we are to, or they
are to adorn themselves with the hidden man of the heart.
And that goes for men just as well as women. We are to adorn
ourselves with the hidden man, the new man, with the Word of
God. In other words, the Word of God
must regulate our behavior. As we walk along this path, as
we journey, the Word of God, we must tie it about our neck.
And we must let it speak to us and lead us and guide us. And
then we have this promise here that God promises that as we
journey, as we go, God's Word will lead us. We certainly need
that, don't we? God the Holy Spirit will bring
scriptures to your mind that lead you. When you're in a certain
situation and you don't know which way to go, God, the Holy
Spirit, will bring His Word to your memory, to your heart, if
you've hidden His Word in your heart. And He'll show you which
way to go. He'll lead you. That's His promise.
And not only does He promise to lead us, but He will keep
us when we sleep. I read this word of the psalmist. He said, I will both lay me down
in peace and sleep. For thou, Lord, only, make us
dwell in safety. The Word of God will keep you,
help you to sleep at night, the peace of God which passeth all
understanding. And the third thing, he says,
it will talk with us, it will speak with us as we walk a long
life way. long life's way. You know, there's
a proverb which says, for a just man falleth seven times. A man
who's saved, justified by the grace of God, by the blood of
Jesus Christ, we fall, we stumble, don't we? All of us have. That's
what the writer of Proverbs says, for a just man falleth seven
times, but listen, and riseth up again. He didn't stay there. God's Word quicken me, O Lord,
according or with Thy Word. Yes, it speaks to us. Well, let
me close with this. I started by saying in David's
statement concerning Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a
light unto my path. Let us praise God for His Word,
recognizing the necessity as we journey through this life.
There are things we need. Food, clothes, shelter, all of
those things that we need. But I tell you, here's something
we really need. The Word, the lamp, the light. Let us praise God for His Word. And let us thank God for His
Word, recognizing the value as we journey through this life.
The Word of God is The price is above rubies, isn't it? More
precious than gold and silver. The Word of God. Oh, you see
those people there in Athens? Groping. Darkness. Trying to find the one in whom
they live. The necessity, the value of the
Word of God. And let us be confident in God's
Word. It's sufficient. It's sufficient
as our guide as we go through and go along our journey in this
world. Well, I pray the Lord will bless
this word, these thoughts to all of us here today.