God's Word: Sight for the Soul

Let's pray Father, we thank you so much for your great majesty and holiness We thank you that you are the maker of the world and that you are the maker of our souls We thank you, Lord, that we can worship you and praise your name We thank you, Lord, that in your sovereignty you chose us to be a part of your great kingdom We thank you, Lord, for the gift of your word, the word that so clearly states who you are and what you've done, and you've given us the wonderful privilege to study it

And, Lord, we truly can't thank you enough that each and every moment of every day we can open the pages of scripture and see there Jesus Christ, our Lord, in great and living color And I pray that tonight as we study once again your great and precious word that we would see again our Lord and worship you in spirit and in truth We pray in Jesus name Amen Psalm 119, as we continue this magnificent study of what God's word says concerning God's word Tonight we are looking at what God's word says about how it provides sight for the soul

We began by looking at the first eight verses, helping you to realize that God's word is the basis for blessing We move from there to show you how God's word is the pathway to purity Tonight we will see that God's word truly is that which gives sight to the soul, that we might come face to face with the magnificent splendor of Jesus Christ, our Lord Whenever I read this section of scripture, I'm reminded of the words of Jesus way back in Luke chapter 24 when he said to his disciples these words

These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled Then verse 45, he opened their minds to understand the scriptures That little phrase, he opened their minds that they might truly understand the scriptures, is absolutely profound when it comes to realizing what the Lord wants to do in your life and mine, that we might clearly see and understand the word of God Unless God opens the mind that we understand, we will never grasp the great truths of scripture

In fact, the Bible says a lot about the mind of a man The Bible tells us that the mind of a man is a dark mind The Bible says over in Ephesians 4 verse 17, this I say therefore and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God The Bible's clear that man before God opens his mind has a dark mind

The Bible also says in the book of Titus, the first chapter, the 15th verse, these words, to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled The Bible says that we have a dark mind The Bible says we have a defiled mind

The Bible also says these words over in 2 Timothy or 1 Timothy chapter six, verse number four, speaking of, I'll begin in verse number three, if anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing, but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of truth

The Bible says a man has a dark mind, that man has a defiled mind, that man has a depraved mind, that man has a deprived mind It's deprived of all truth And so that kind of mind is what Paul describes as a dead mind The Bible says in Romans chapter eight, verse number five, for those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the spirit For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace

Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so And why is that? It's because it's dead And why is it dead? It's because it's dark, it's defiled, it's deprived, it's depraved And that's the condition of the mind of the unregenerate man He cannot see God in the word of God He cannot see and understand the truths of God So God has to open his mind

And so we read in John chapter 16 that the spirit of God is that which convicts a man of his sin, convicts a man of what it means to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ And so the spirit comes and convicts the mind of a man And once it convicts the mind of a man, it begins to convert that mind We talked about this a few weeks ago And once it converts the mind, it corrects the mind Once it corrects the mind, it cleanses the mind so the mind can clearly grasp the things of God That doesn't happen unless the spirit of God operates in the mind of a man

Why? Because that man's mind is dark, depraved, deprived, defiled, and dead So the psalmist, having had his mind open to the things of God, now comes to the point in his life where he begins to cry for more understanding, that he might see more of who God is You see, once God opens the mind of a man, that he sees the glorious nature of God Listen carefully That mind only wants more of God It is not true that once a mind has been opened by God and a man is saved, that he no longer wants to know more of God It is true that when God opens the mind of a man, he longs to know more of his God

And there's a cry and a longing in his heart to see him, to understand him, to know him more today than yesterday It is true that there is a believer, and that believer always longs to know more of God It's characteristic of the unbeliever to care nothing else, to care nothing at all about God, nor to know him But the believer, once his mind opened, that he might once again see the greatness of his God So we come to the third section of Psalm 119 In this third section, help us understand that God's Word truly is sight for the soul

Let's do as we have done the previous weeks. I'll read the odd verses, you read the even verses, because I'm the odd guy out, okay? So I'll begin reading with verse number 17 You will read 18, I'll read 19, and so forth, down to verse number 24 Verse 17, deal bountifully with thy servant that I may live and keep thy word. I am a stranger in the earth, do not hide thy commandments from me Thou dost rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from thy commandments Even though princes sit and talk against me, thy servant meditates on my statutes

This, once again, is a section of Scripture filled with great and deep understanding of God And this, hopefully, will begin to open up, once again, your eyes to be able to see where you are in your walk with the Lord This becomes for us, I have preached different times out of Psalm 119, and I have used verses out of Psalm 119, but I have never done the study of Psalm 119 like I am presently doing

And I've come to realize that each and every verse begins to spring forth into all kinds of beautiful treasures, that we could spend hours speaking just on one verse alone, and the emphasis of that for your life and for mine We're not going to do that, or we would never get through the longest chapter in the Bible It would be the longest chapter of our lives if that was the case But we will go through these eight verses this evening to show you exactly what's going on Let me begin by telling you what the psalmist talks about when it comes to the prerequisite for sight for the soul

That's point number one The prerequisite to spiritual sight Remember last time we told you, as we concluded, that the results of a pure life out of the second section of Psalm 119, is that you will see God, right? Matthew 5, verse number 8, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God The psalmist said that he had treasured the Word of God in his heart, that he might not sin against the Lord God How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to the Word of God, right? That's what the emphasis is in the previous section And so it's the pure in heart that see God

They're the ones who get a glimpse of God You don't see God with the physical eye, you see Him with the spiritual eye And now the psalmist, having obtained a desire and obtained the path to purity, now wants to know more of what he's already seen because of a pure heart that glorifies God You with me? That's where we are in verse number 17 So this now becomes the prerequisite to spiritual sight Here it is Deal bountifully with thy servant that I may live and keep thy word The prerequisite to spiritual sight is that God somehow will deal bountifully with me

Now the question comes, what does that mean? What does it mean that God deals bountifully with me? Well the great thing about the Bible is that it always interprets the Bible So turn back to Psalm 13 Psalm 13 And in Psalm 13 you have these words in verse number 5 and verse number 6 The psalmist said, but I have trusted in thy lovingkindness or in thy mercy or in thy compassion My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation Okay, because the psalmist trusted in the grace of God, he now rejoices in the salvation of God

And then it says in verse 6, I will sing to the Lord because he has, what's the next phrase, dealt bountifully with me So when the psalmist says, I need you Lord to deal bountifully with me, he is asking God to deal with him gracefully He is asking God to bestow grace upon him in order for him to be able to live and keep his word The prerequisite to spiritual sight is the grace of Almighty God It's the grace of God We know that we're saved by grace, right? Ephesians 2, 8 and 9

For by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves that is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast In fact, if you go back to Second Timothy Second Timothy chapter 1, verse number 9 It speaks about these words concerning the grace of God and salvation It says that God who has saved us and called us with the holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity

Well, we know that when God deals with us bountifully, it's because Psalm 13 says it's bestowed loving kindness or grace and mercy upon us, the compassion of God that we might rejoice in the salvation he brings because he deals bountifully with us So we know we're saved by grace, but we also need to realize that we can only serve by grace, right? That's why Paul says in Second Timothy 2, verse number 1, you therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus In other words, keep being filled with the strength of God that comes through his grace

So if man is going to be saved, he's going to be saved by the grace of God If man is going to serve once he's saved, it's because of the grace of God So the psalmist says, I need you to deal bountifully with me, Lord. I need you to bestow grace upon me in order for me to live your word and to keep your word. I can't do it alone

That's why Paul said to the Galatians in Galatians 3, oh you foolish ones, how is it that you began in the spirit, excuse me, but are now trying to be perfected by the flesh? How is it you of all people, knowing that you're saved by the spirit of God and his grace, are now trying to live the Christian life in the flesh? You can't do it, excuse me So you need to realize that a man is able to serve as God by grace because he's saved by grace

But a man is also sustained by grace, right? 2 Corinthians 12, Paul said that he had prayed 3 times that God would remove this thorn in the flesh from his life And God said, no, but my grace is sufficient for thee And Paul learned the sufficiency of God's grace to sustain him from day to day in spite of that thorn in the flesh And we also know that without the grace of God, there is no satisfaction Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 116 Psalm 116, verse number 5 Psalm 116, verse number 5, gracious is the Lord and righteous Yes, our God is compassionate

The Lord preserves the simple. I was brought low and he saved me Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has what? Dealt bountifully with you Do you know that the only way that your soul can be at rest is because of the grace of God? You live an anxious life, your life full of turmoil You need the grace of God You need God to deal bountifully with you, to bestow that grace upon you so that you might be able to be sustained from day to day, so that you might be able to serve him from day to day, that you might be able to deal with him and deal with life from day to day

It's God's word that speaks to us about how God deals bountifully with us And listen to what the psalmist said He says, deal bountifully with me Why? So that I might live. I might live Folks, without the grace of God, you can't live Just can't Oh, you might be able to exist in life and walk to work and drive to work and have kids and raise kids You'll be able to do that kind of stuff. I mean, because that's just normal stuff, but you won't have life Real life comes because of the grace of God Our Lord is the way, the truth, and the life

John 10.10 says that he came to give us that life and to give us a life that's more abundant Well, the life that God wants to give is the grace life It comes because he deals bountifully with us And so the prerequisite to spiritual sight is for God to bestow grace upon me in order that I might live, and number two, keep his word Now think about that You know, a lot of people don't experience the sufficiency of God's grace because they want to live, but they don't want to live to keep God's word

Do you see the implications there? This is absolutely breathtaking to realize that the psalmist knows that, Lord, I need your grace to live, but I don't want to live for me. I want to live for you. I want to keep your word. A lot of people never experience God's grace because they don't want to keep his word And God's just not going to deal bountifully with people who don't want to keep his word He's not going to do that He knows your heart He knows what's there And the psalmist says, Lord, deal bountifully with me so that I might live and keep your word See, the grace of God's important

Remember over in Titus 2 verse 11, it says, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus You see, the grace of God teaches Teaches us how to live See, people who say they've experienced God's grace and live opposite of what God's word says have not experienced grace but are a disgrace

Because the grace of God is at work in your life, teaching you to deny ungodliness, to deny worldly pleasures, to look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ The grace of God is a motivator The psalmist knows that The psalmist says, Lord, deal bountifully with me because I want to live in such a way that I can keep your word If that's not your desire, you'll never see the things your soul needs to see It's the prerequisite to spiritual sight That's what the psalmist explains to us We want to keep the word of God

Isn't that what Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse number 14? For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died, and he died for all, that they who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf Paul says, the reason I'm compelled to live for God is because he died for me And because I know he died for me, it causes me to live for him See, it's a contradiction for someone to say, I love the Lord and not live for him

It's a contradiction for a man to say, I'm a Christian, but yet not want to live for God Because you see, the Bible speaks directly against that The Bible says, if Christ died for you and you believe that, he died so you would live no longer for yourself, but for him So what does the psalmist say? Lord, deal bountifully with me. I need your grace that I might live your life and keep your word What a great verse That's a prerequisite to spiritual sight Number two, the purpose behind spiritual sight The purpose behind spiritual sight That's verse number 18

Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from thy law Open my eyes Open my eyes, Lord, that I might behold wonderful things from your law Now you think about that We go to the word of the Lord and we say, Lord, open my eyes so I will know when I read your word who I am to marry Lord, open my eyes so that I might see in your word where I am to work, where I am to live, what I am to do Lord, show me who to marry, how many kids to have, what job to take Lord, you show me Open my eyes so I can see those things You see, we go to the word of God to ask him the wrong things Think about it

The psalmist said, Lord, I want you to open my eyes for one reason, that I might behold wonderful things in your law That's what I want How many times have we gone to the word of God because we need an answer to something? We need an answer about the decision I got to make tomorrow So I'm going to the word and I'm doing the whole, you know, open the Bible, close your eyes, put your finger on a text thing, trying to say, okay, God, now show me what to do We're not asking God to open our eyes that way We might behold wonderful things out of his law We just want an answer to tomorrow's question

Now, this is good This is really good This is so good. I couldn't wait to get here tonight So you wonder why my days are so excited is because I spent my day studying and I just can't wait to get to the next time to preach because there's something else that God's teaching me that I just can't wait to teach you What are the wonderful things out of God's law? We read that and we think, wow, there's just so many wonderful things in there No, that's not what the Hebrew means

The Hebrew means open my eyes that I might somehow be able to see that which is incomprehensible, that which is too hard to understand and comprehend See, the Hebrew has a different word that explains to us what these wonderful things are For example, the Bible says that one day a child will be born and a son will be given and that son will have a name And the very first way that Isaiah explains that name is that that name will be called wonderful Now, I know some people think, well, it's the wonderful counselor No, it's not it Okay Is he a wonderful counselor? Yes, he is Okay

But he's wonderful and he's a counselor His name is wonderful His name is incomprehensible Now, how do we know that? Judges chapter 13, Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, who is the pre-incarnate Christ, what is your name so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you But the angel of the Lord said to him, why do you ask my name? Seeing it is what? Wonderful See, wonderful is the name of God That's who he is He is incomprehensible And so the psalmist says, Lord, I need you to open my eyes that I might somehow be able to comprehend that which is incomprehensible about you

See, the psalmist is asking the Lord to open his eyes so that he can see God You see, we forget about that Remember, we tell you how many times you open the word of God to see Jesus That's why in John 5, 39, Christ says to the Pharisees, you search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life But the problem is you missed the fact that they speak of me They speak of me The scriptures are about me, about the Lord God, who is the eternal one who bestows life on those who believe But you see, they miss that

And how many people do you know that miss the incomprehensible? They miss the wonderful one Why? Because they go with their petty issues and petty problems to the word of God saying, Lord, tell me what the solution is to this issue And God says, I want you to go to the word that you might see me, because if you see me, you'll understand what you're supposed to be doing We miss that The psalmist didn't He got it Open, Lord, my eyes that I may behold wonderful things out of thy law Without God's help, none of us will see what God wants us to see None of us

Remember that verse over in 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2 says in verse number eight, the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood For if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory But just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him People quote that verse because they say you can't believe what God has prepared for you when you get to heaven That's not what the verse says

It's in the context of gaining wisdom and understanding the mind of God And the way you do that is through the word of God It's not about the wonders of heaven It's about the word of the Holy One It's about the word of God, because eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man those great and wonderful things that God has prepared for those who love him And what has he prepared for those who love him? It's in his word, and in his word is him

And that's why he goes on to say, these words we have received, verse 12, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God These things have been given to us by God, that we might know them, that we might see them So the purpose behind spiritual sight is that I ask God to open my eyes, that I truly might see the one who is incomprehensible and come to grips with his great character He wants to bestow life He wants to bring light His word is that which saves our soul His word is that which shines in our darkness

And the psalmist was not looking for instruction, was not looking for information He was looking for illumination, because illumination provides inspiration for the soul that needs to see God So good, so clear And you know, the psalmist only had half the Bible We forget that He didn't have the New Testament, right? And he prized it Here's a man who prized half of what we have We have the whole kit and caboodle, what do we do? We're not asking God to open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things that it was law We can't understand half the things we read anyway

But we got to go to the Lord and ask him to open our eyes Because remember, Lord, deal bountifully with us So we might live and keep your word Once I made that commitment, I come back, that's the prerequisite to spiritual sight Now I come back and say, okay, now Lord, open my eyes that I might behold wonderful things out of that law Because Lord, if I have made a commitment to live and keep your word, when I see you, I'll follow. I'll do what you say. I'll obey. I will be your servant And that's the purpose behind spiritual sight. I love what Charles Spurgeon said

Spurgeon's written such wonderful work on the Psalms, especially Psalm 119 He says this, the prayer implies a conscious darkness and dimness of spiritual vision, a powerlessness to remove that defect and a full assurance that God and God only can remove it It shows also that the writer knew that there were vast treasures in the word, which he had not yet fully seen marvels, which he had not yet beheld mysteries, which he had scarcely believed the scriptures team with marvels The Bible is a wonderland It not only relates miracles, but it is itself a world of wonders

Yet what are these to closed eyes and what man can open his own eyes since he is born blind God himself must reveal revelation to each heart Scripture needs opening, but not one half so much as our eyes do The veil is not on the book The veil is in our hearts What perfect precepts, what precious promises, what priceless privileges are neglected by us because we wander among them like blind men among the beauties of nature And they are to us as the landscape shrouded in darkness We do not pray, God opened my eyes that I might see and behold wonderful things out of thy law

And Spurgeon says, you know, we need to go to God and ask him to remove whatever veil is there that we might see the great wonders of God That's the purpose behind spiritual sight, that I might truly see my great God and Savior Jesus Christ Point number three Point number three is the passion for spiritual sight And this gets better and better as we go through each verse This is the passion Listen to what he says. I am a stranger in the earth Do not hide thy commandments from me My soul is crushed with longing after thine ordinances at all times This is the passion for spiritual sight

Notice the progression Once the prerequisite has been fulfilled and the purpose has been accomplished, the passion then begins to run rampant There's passion And listen to what he says. I am a stranger in the earth No truer words have been spoken by a man of God. I am a stranger in the earth He knew what Abraham said in Genesis chapter 23, verse number four, where he was a sojourner, where he was an alien You see one of the things that dim our passion to see God is that we don't see ourselves as strangers on the earth We see ourselves as welcome members of the earth

That's a problem because that's going to dampen whatever passion you want to have If you don't see yourself as a stranger, if you don't see yourself as a pilgrim, if you don't see yourself as an alien, if you don't see yourself as a citizen of another country, you will have trouble with passion when it comes to seeing God Because it will be blurred, it will be marred by the things of the world You know there's a unique word in the book of Revelation, and it deals with those who dwell upon the earth It's a word used 10 times in the book of Revelation

The phrase is used, those who dwell upon the earth, or it's literally called earth dwellers The word is katoi koinkoutos It's a word that that doesn't speak of earth dwellers because of geography, it speaks of earth dwellers because of morality And they are said in contrast, that word is never used of the believer in the book of Revelation, not one time, all 10 times Those who dwell upon the earth, that word is used to describe the unbeliever who is enamored with Satan's system The believer, he's a stranger, he's a pilgrim, he's an alien

He knows what, as Hebrews 11 states so clearly, all these died in faith, verse 13, without receiving the promise but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own And indeed, if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them God's not ashamed to call people who are strangers on the earth their God Why? Because those people know their citizenship is in heaven See, this person's passion was fueled by the fact that he was a stranger on the earth You know, we get really comfortable with where we live We really get comfortable with the American culture We get really comfortable with the American lifestyle And we feel really at home in America That's a bad feeling Bad feeling Never feel at home here

Because if you do, you're not going to be looking for another country You're not going to be looking to want to go home to be with the Lord But listen to what he says He says, I am a stranger in the earth Do not hide thy commandments from me Lord, you can't not tell me what to do You ever been in a foreign country? You're a stranger in a foreign land? Okay You don't know what to do? You don't know where to go? You don't know the language? Right? You got to somehow get direction Well, the psalmist realizes that he's a stranger in this land He needs direction

God, you can't hide your commandments from me because I got to know what to do. I got to know how to live. I got to know what to say See, God's word tells you how to live as an alien in this country How to live as a stranger in this world The psalmist recognized the fact that he was a stranger and so desperately wanted God to show him what to say, how to respond, how to live, and where to go And then he says so clearly, he says, my soul is crushed with longing after thine ordinances at all times

That little phrase at all times is very important because there are times where our soul is crushed and longs for the ordinances of God or the judgments of God And there are times that it doesn't Right? Usually the times that it does, it's a time of adversity Things aren't going so well And I'm longing for God to show me something. I'm longing for God to help me understand his judgments, his ordinances Lord, I got to know what's going on here, Lord And I'm longing for you to show me But in the times of prosperity, we're just not that way When things are going well, my marriage is good

My kids aren't rebelling The income's good. I'm feeling pretty good My soul isn't crushed for the longing of God's ordinances But the psalmist said, my soul is crushed My soul is longing My soul is broken for thy judgments or thy ordinances at all times Boy, I wish I could say that Maybe if I could, I'd be the psalmist But man, that's just amazing. I wish that was me. I wish that I was broken and crushed and longing for the ordinances of God every moment of every day that I live But this is where the psalmist was He wanted to know the judgments of God He wanted to know the ordinances of God

He wanted to follow his God at all times, not just when things were bad, but when things were good He wanted to have that same longing How about you? Is that where you are? Here is a man with great passion for spiritual sight The reason our passion is diminished is because we're not strangers here We love it here That's just not a good thing And if we're loving it here, we're not longing for God to show anything to us We don't care if he hides his commandments from us or not, because we just like the way we're living right here anyway

But the psalmist, he knew, Lord, I got to know. I just have to, I have to know your commandments because I'm a stranger in this land. I don't know these people. I don't associate with these people They're different than I am So I got to know what to say to them. I got to know how to respond to them. I got to know how to relate to them Lord, you got to help me here

And you see, if you see yourself as a stranger, if you see yourself as an alien or a pilgrim in this land, and you are a citizen of another country that is a heavenly country, if you truly see yourself as that, you will be broken and crushed and longing for the ordinances of God at all times, because you need to know how to act as a stranger in a foreign land Well, that's just so good, man So good So rich Point number four, the proof, the proof of spiritual sight Verse 21, thou dost rebuke the arrogant, the cursed who wander from thy commandments

How do I know that my sight is spiritual? How do I know my soul is seeing God? I know how God works. I know how he operates. I see and sense what God sees and knows, because he is the almighty one He is the creator He realized that God rebukes the those who try to live without his word He knows that How many of us know that? How many of us know that God truly rebukes those who seek to live without his word? And then he realized the reason for God's rebuke was that he might not stray from the commandments of God

This man was spiritually astute, because he knew that it was imperative that he not wander from the commandments of God Because those who wander, wander because of their arrogance If a man who humbly serves the Lord and wants to see him and know him, once he's seen him, he is humble before him He never wants to leave him He wants to stay with him The proof of spiritual sight is that I don't want to wander and leave. I want to stay and sit at the feet of the presence of my God And this was the psalmist God opposes the proud He gives grace to the humble

Remember the book of Proverbs, the 18th chapter, the 12th verse says, before destruction, the heart of a man is haughty Proverbs 16, verse number five says, everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord Assuredly, he will not be unpunished Proverbs 15, 25 says, the Lord will tear down the house of the proud, but he will establish the boundary of the widow God tears down the house of the proud because God will not let the prideful man stand

Over in Proverbs chapter 30, verse number 13, it says, if there is a generation, oh, how lofty are his eyes and his eyelids are raised in arrogance There is a generation who is extremely arrogant The psalmist knew, he knew very well that God rebukes the arrogant They are the cursed and the cursed are those who wander from the commandments of God He didn't want to do that Not at all He wanted to stay close to his God, which leads us to our last point, and that is the plea, the plea of the soul that's received spiritual sight Listen to this

Take away reproach and contempt from me, for I observe thy testimonies Even though princes sit and talk against me, thy servant meditates on thy statutes Thy testimonies also are my delight They are my counselors Now, all of a sudden, the psalmist changes tunes Why is it he would receive reproach? Why would he be slandered? Well, number one, he's a stranger, right? He's a stranger and an alien He sees himself as such He asked for God to not hide his commandments from him so he could live the way God wants him to live in his land So God's going to show him how to live a righteous and holy life

We already know the pathway to purity comes because he's a man wanting to live a pure and holy life and treasure God's word in his heart So if he's a man wanting to live a pure lifestyle in an impure environment, he will be slandered He will be reproached, right? All you got to do is have your own people go to school and stand strong for the gospel and not succumb to peer pressure and live a life of purity among their peers, and they will instantaneously be slandered Immediately It's not popular to be a virgin in today's society If you're a virgin, you're slandered

And so you immediately take a stand and live a pure and holy life, and you are reproached You are spoken against So the psalmist already knows the basis for blessing He's walking in the counsel of God He knows the pathway to purity He is seeking to live a pure life Now he wants to be able to see his God and worship him and live for him and keep his word Well, if you're going to do that, you're going to be slandered, right? Sure

Isn't that what Jesus said way back in Luke's gospel, the sixth chapter? Jesus said these words in Luke chapter six, verse number 20, turning his gaze on his disciples and began to say, blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God, and blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you and cast insults at you and spurn your name as evil for the sake of the Son of Man

Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven and in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets Christ says the blessed man is the poor man, that is poor in spirit The blessed man is the hungry man, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness That's the blessed man The blessed man is the one who weeps and mourns over his sin If he lives that kind of life, he will be slandered His name will be sneered Why? Because he's living my life as a Christian, he will suffer all things for the sake of me, but rejoice and be glad

Literally do a spiritual dance Why? Because so they persecuted the prophets who were before you You seek to live a righteous life, a pure life, a holy life, you'll suffer all kinds of reproach for the name of God So the psalmist has a prayer, a plea He says this, remove, remove reproach and contempt from me, for I observe thy testimonies He experienced criticism, he experienced the fact that people would speak against him, and he would ask God to protect him and preserve him, that he might keep the word of God

As people reproach you for the name of Christ, speak evil against you for the name of God, your prayer is that somehow Lord I will observe your testimonies no matter what they say and how they say it And all you got to do is read Peter's account in 1 Peter chapter 2 and 1 Peter chapter 3 and 1 Peter chapter 4 as he over and over and over again says you've been called to inherit a blessing When man insults you and speaks against you, you've been called to inherit a blessing, you've got to live that blessed life If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye

Peter knows quite well what that means Listen to this, verse 23, even though princes sit and talk against me, thy servant meditates on thy statutes So it wasn't just the common man who spoke against him, it was those of the upper echelon that spoke against him

They gathered together to slander my name, the princes sit in council to slander my name, they speak against me, they are not in favor of my stand on truth, they are not in favor of my stand for purity, they are not in favor of the gospel that I preach, they sit and speak against me, but notice what he says, he says, but thy servant meditates on thy statutes Listen, what he resolved to do in the comforts of life, he remembered to do when conflict arose Remember back in verse number 15, what commitment did he make? This was his resolve, I will meditate on thy precepts, I'm going to do it

You ever made that commitment? Lord, I'm going to meditate on your word, I'm going to meditate on your word, I'm going to chew it up, I'm going to digest it, I'm going to read it, memorize it, do all I can to meditate upon your word day and night, I'm going to do that, and you go, you leave, you go home, you go to work, you face conflict, and all of a sudden you forget everything you meditated upon, you forgot everything God said Solomon said, oh, when princes sit and speak against me, I meditate on thy statutes

He kept his word, didn't he? What he resolved to do in verse number 15, he remembered to do in verse number 23, I'm going to keep your word, I'm going to meditate on the word of almighty God And then look at 24, thy testimonies also are my delight Remember back up in verse number 16, I shall delight in thy statutes Commitment he made. I am committing to delight in the word of God

And so how is it one delights in the word of God when people slander his name, speak against him, and reproach him for the sake of the gospel? It's because he's already meditated upon the word of God in the midst of all that He stays true to his commitment And as he meditates upon it, he sees what God says, leap for joy Blessed are men when they persecute you Why? For so persecuted they, the prophets who were before you They did the same thing to everybody who stood for truth You're in good company And the psalmist says, oh, I'm delighting in that testimonies

In spite of the slander, the gossip, the negative articles, whatever it may be, I delight in thy testimonies Why? Because I have resolved to keep my commitment to meditate upon the word of God And then he says this, they are my counselors Oh, I needed sight. I needed direction. I needed to know where to go And you know what? Lord, I am so happy that you have counseled me in the way, that you have shown me what to say, what to do While there are others who delight to my line, my name, I delight to meditate on your name. I delight to do that, Lord And as I do, I see the joy that you give

And in spite of all that, Lord, you give me the words, you counsel me Your testimonies are my counselors Psalm 16, verse number seven, says this, I will bless the Lord who has counseled me Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken That was a psalmist. I will rejoice because the Lord has counseled me Psalm 48, 14 says God will be our guide even to death Isaiah 58, 11 says the Lord will guide you continually Psalm 73, 24, with thy counsel thou wilt guide me and afterward receive me to glory

Psalm 32, 8, I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you The Bible says in Proverbs 29, 18, that without the revelation of God, man is completely out of control But happy is he who keeps the law of God Without the revelation, counseling me, teaching me, instructing me, I will be out of control. I will be unrestrained But happy is the man who keeps the law of God God's word truly is sight for your soul The question is, how well do you see? Let's pray Lord, we praise you and thank you for all that you have done tonight in our study

And thank you, Lord, that you're able to open our eyes to that which is incomprehensible, your character and nature Thank you, Father, for our time And we pray, Lord, that the things we have learned would enable us to live, not for ourselves, but for you and your glory In Jesus' name, amen.