The Law of God (Part 1)

Lord God, we thank you for today, and we are grateful that we are able to gather together to study your Word. Thank you for the Word of the Lord, and thank you, Father, for the opportunity you give us to dive deep into it, to understand more of what you have for us. We truly are a blessed people.

Thank you for those who are here tonight. Thank you for the journey that they have made. We know, Lord, things sometimes are difficult for families to get out during the middle of the week, but we're grateful for the opportunity to come, and for those who are here, and pray that you bless them in a special way because of the effort they have made to be here tonight, and pray, Lord, that as we study your Word, the truths that we learn would be indelibly fixed in our hearts and minds, that we might live in line with them. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Take your Bible, if you would, and turn with me to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Living Like a Child of the King is the title that we've titled this three-chapter sermon that our Lord gave in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. He begins by interpreting the identity of a child of the king by going through the Beatitudes. After he interprets the identity of those children, then he articulates the authority of those children, and it falls into two categories.

One is their peculiarity because they are salt and light. That's peculiar because they are the ones who are persecuted, but the ones that are persecuted are the solution to a world that's decaying and a world that's dark. Then he goes into their veracity, the veracity of God's truth, because that's the authority by which they live their lives, and that's in verse 17.

So follow along with me as we read this, please, and we'll spend a couple of weeks here. It says, verse 17, Do not think that I came to abolish the law of the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now Christ says these words because I'm sure that as the audience sat there and listened to the Lord speak, they had all kinds of questions about this preacher, this prophet. They are taken back by the things that he says, but at the same time, they wonder by what authority does he speak?

He will never quote a rabbi. He will never quote another source because he is the source of all truth. And so I'm sure that there were questions among the people. So in their minds, he knows that they are probably wondering, is this guy a follower of what the Old Testament Scriptures teach? And so Christ begins to tell them that he's not come to annul the law, abolish the law, get rid of the law, but instead he is here specifically to fulfill the law, accomplish all the law's requirements.

And the statements that the Lord makes are quite incredible. And we're going to sum them up in four categories. One is the brilliance of the law.

The next is what we will call the importance of the law. Then we'll look at the endurance of the law, and then the relevance of the law. By looking at the brilliance of the law, I want to take you back to the Old Testament, to a passage of Scripture that describes for us the magnificent brilliance of the law of God.

It's a summation of Psalm 119, which is 176 different verses. But this summation is found in Psalm 19, written by David himself. So if you've got your Bible, turn back with me if you would to Psalm 19, and we're going to look at what the Word of the Lord says in terms of the brilliance of the law.

David makes six statements about the law of God, six statements that sum up the nature of the law. And then he gives the consequences of that title, and then the benefits of that part of Scripture, to help you understand the absolute brilliance of the law of God. Psalm 19, verses 7 to 14.

In the first 6 verses, he talks about the work of God. The remainder of the chapter, he talks about the Word of God. The works of God describe His beauty. The Word of God describe His brilliance. And so with that, he gives us general revelation that speaks to us about God, and then he talks about the special revelation, which is the Word of God, to help us understand the effects of it.

So he says in verse number 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned, in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern errors, acquit me of hidden faults, and keep back your servant from presumptuous sins? Let them not rule over me, then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Now there is not one thing imaginable, not one issue that the word of God does not address. God's word is absolute truth, and it gives us the truth concerning everything in life.

In fact, Peter says it this way in 1 Peter 1. He says this, seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. In other words, God has granted to us everything that we need to know about life and how to live godly in that life according to the true knowledge of God himself. And that true knowledge, of course, comes through the written word of God.

In fact, Isaiah said it this way. Isaiah chapter 55, verse number 10. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bare and sprout and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will my word be which goes forth from my mouth.

It will not return to be empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. In other words, God's word, when it goes forth, accomplishes everything he designs it to accomplish. In fact, it never doesn't accomplish what he wants it to accomplish.

That's the power of the word of the Lord. And so the Bible says these words in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. All scripture, both Old Testament and New Testament, is inspired by God or literally God-breathed and profitable for teaching.

It's profitable on how to know that which is right. It's profitable for reproof, how to be right. It's profitable for correction, how to get right.

It's profitable for training in righteousness, how to stay right, so that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work. In other words, every work that God has designed you to accomplish, the word of God equips you not only to know that which is right, not only to be right, get right, and stay right, but to make sure that it accomplishes everything in your heart and life, so that you can do what God has called you to do.

So if you're here tonight and you are hurting, God's word has all the tools to fix those who hurt.

If you're hungry, God's word has all the food to feed you. So whatever need that you have, God's word meets that need. There is no need that you have that God's word doesn't meet.

Now it's hard to imagine that, because you can combine all the literature in the world, put it all together under one roof, but it cannot accomplish what the living and abiding word can accomplish. One book made up of 66 different other books into one, called the Bible, is the answer to all of your needs. Every situation that you encounter is answered by the truth of the living God.

So when Pilate asked Christ about truth, Christ said, I have come to fulfill all truth. I've come to speak to you about all truth. Truth concerning life, truth concerning death, truth concerning eternity, truth concerning heaven, truth concerning hell, truth concerning creation, truth concerning man's destiny, truth concerning marriage, truth concerning morality.

No matter what the truth is, God came to fulfill that truth and to speak that truth. And so we have the word of God, the one book that has the answer to everything, that makes foolish men wise, and helps us understand what it is God wants for us, and how we might be able to accomplish those things for his glory. So it's important to understand the power and the authority of God's word.

Paul would say these words in the book of Romans. He says in verse number 9 of chapter 1, for God whom I serve in my spirit, in the preaching of the gospel of his son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers, making requests if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you, for I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established. Paul says, I want to impart to you some spiritual gift.

Now that is not spiritual gifts like sign gifts or support gifts or speaking gifts as are outlined in Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4, Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12. He's not talking about spiritual gifts because spiritual gifts are not imparted by another man. They're given to you by the spirit of God at the time you're born again.

But he wants to impart something spiritual to them because he wants to establish them. It's where we get our English word steroid. It's the word steroidzo.

And so he wants to strengthen them. He wants to make them firm. He wants to establish them by imparting to them something that's spiritual.

It could be through the preaching of the word, the exhortation of the word, the teaching of the word, something along those lines because that's how he's going to do it. We know that because of how Paul speaks all throughout his epistles. For example, this is what he says over in first Thessalonians chapter 2.

He says these words, for this reason also we constantly thank God that when you receive the word of God which you heard from us you accepted it not as the word of men but for what it really is the word of God which also performs its work in you who believe. So Paul says you receive the word of God and the word of God actually performs its work in you. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's word truly works in your life.

In fact earlier he says this. He says in verse number 2, he talks about we came to speak the gospel of God to you. In verse number 4, we have been entrusted with the gospel.

In verse number 8 we have a fond affection for you. We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives.

And then he says in verse number 9, for you recall brethren our labor and hardship how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you we proclaim to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses and so is God how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behave towards you believers just as you know how we are or were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children so that you would walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

So again Paul is saying, look, we wanted to make sure that we imparted the gospel to you not just the word of God but our own lives as well. But the gospel is that which we have presented to you that you might walk worthy of your calling because God's word works.

In fact, over in Colossians 1 he says this in verse number 5. He says this, I'm sorry, verse number 6, the gospel which has come to you just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has been doing in you also since today you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth. Now did you get that? He says that when you receive the word it was already bringing fruit and bearing fruit in your life and is constantly doing that. See we live in a world where people are saying, well you know I love the Lord, I believe in the Lord, I love his word, but there's no fruit in their lives.

That's a contradiction in terms. If you're a Christian there is fruit in your life. If there's no fruit you're not a Christian.

Why? Because Paul testifies to the fact that when you receive the word you began to bear fruit and that fruit is increasing and unceasingly happening in your life on a regular basis. You see we don't want to think that someone's not saved because they said a prayer or we were with them or they made a profession of faith but their lives are a contradiction to what the Bible says. If your life is a contradiction to what the Bible says then you do not know the Lord because God's word actively changes a life.

God's word goes forth accomplishes its purpose and always does its work in those who believe. So Paul says because God's word works in those who believe when you hear it it changes your attitude, it changes your actions, it changes your conversation, it changes your relationships, it changes everything about you. You cannot say you're a Christian and live an unchanged life.

That doesn't happen. Why? Because God uses his word constantly in your life to do a fruit-bearing kind of work and when God sends forth his word it always accomplishes the objective. That's why Paul would go on in 2nd Timothy 4, verse number 2, and tell Timothy, Timothy make sure you preach the word because God's word's profitable for a man to know right to be right to get right and to stay right and to make sure that that man is thoroughly furnished to accomplish every work that God's given to him.

So therefore preach the word because you're going to live in a day where men will turn away from the word and they will gather for themselves preachers who will speak to them things that will tickle their ears. But you need to box their ears by giving them the truth of the word of God that they might understand what God's word says. And when you come to Psalm 19, you have this commentary on the brilliance of the word because what God's word does is producing us the kind of joy that we so desperately need.

The kind of understanding and clarity that we need to make it through life. It helps us understand how it is God works in us through the power of the word of the living God. So I want you to notice several things about the brilliance of the word.

They're in your notes. You're in your outline.

First of all, you need to know that God's word is precious. It's precious. And not only is it precious but it's pleasurable. It's protective. It's powerful. It's priceless. And then, well probably not tonight, but we'll give you some principles that come from the brilliance of the word of God.

Okay. First of all, it's precious. Why? Look what he says.

He says the law of the Lord is perfect. Notice he calls the scripture the law, the testimony, the precepts, the commandment, the fear, and the judgments. He says that the law of the Lord is perfect.

The law simply is all of God's manual for living his kind of life. It's the law of God. It's God's standard.

God has a standard. He's given us his law that we might meet that standard. And that law is, as he says, perfect.

Perfect. Not meaning that there are no errors in it although there are no errors in it. It means that it's complete.

It's sufficient. It's all-encompassing. So the law of the Lord is absolutely sufficient for everything. It's complete for everything. It's more than just adequate. It's sufficient.

Albert Barnes in his commentary says this about the word perfect. He says the meaning of perfect is that scripture lacks nothing for us. It's complete.

Nothing in order that it might be what it should be. It is complete as a revelation of divine truth. It is complete as a rule of conduct.

It is absolutely true. It is adopted, or excuse me, it is adapted with consummate wisdom to the needs of man. It is an unerring guide of conduct.

There is nothing there which would lead men into error or sin. There is nothing essential for man to know which may not be found in the word of God. Everything is here.

Your whole life is in this book. And God has given to us by his grace. And the law of the Lord is perfect.

And it says restoring the soul or converting the soul or transforming the soul. This is the testimony of the word of God. God's law is so sufficient and so complete that it is that which transforms, changes, revives, and restores the soul.

In other words, you can't be in the word. You can't read the word. You can't sit under the word without that transforming nature power of God working in your life.

Unless, of course, you don't know the Lord. Now, if you don't know the Lord, sitting in the preaching of the word and reading the word is going to make no difference to you whatsoever. It's just another nice sermon.

But if you know the Lord, then it works actively in your life, bearing fruit in your life. You leave with conviction, knowing your marching orders, knowing what you need to do next, knowing what God's call upon your life is. And that's why we constantly preach the word to you.

We teach the Bible to you because the law of the Lord is perfect, converting and restoring the soul. The soul is the nephesh. It's the inner part of the man. It's the real you. It's the real you. That's what is in the inside.

That's who you are. And God's law works in that capacity. And so, it says the law of the Lord is whole, complete, sufficient, so much so that it converts, refreshes, transforms the soul.

Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 119. Remember, Psalm 19 is a summation of all of Psalm 119. He just sums it all up for you.

And look what he says in Psalm 119. Verse number 25. My soul cleaves to the dust.

Revive me according to your word. My soul cleaves to the dust. I'm down.

I'm out. But Lord, you can revive my soul. You can restore my soul.

You can enliven my soul according to your word. Verse 28. My soul weeps because of grief.

How many people do you know that are weeping today because of the grief that encompasses their lives and family? Strengthen me according to your word. Strengthen me. It's the same thing that Paul was saying in Romans chapter 1.

I want to impart something spiritual to you that I might strengthen you, establish you. That's why he said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, strengthen you. I'm going to leave, but I'm not leaving without giving you the word of grace, which strengthens you, establishes you, builds you up.

So important to understand this. And then from verse number 28, look what it says over in verse number 92, or excuse me, 93. I will never forget your precepts for by them you have revived me.

Psalm 107. I am exceedingly afflicted. Revive me, restore me, O Lord, according to your word.

Are you afflicted? The psalmist knew, Lord, I need your word to revive me, to restore me. And then over in 116, sustain me according to your word that I may live. See the psalmist knew that God's law is complete.

It is more than sufficient to do what God has designed it to do. And so David says the law of the Lord is perfect. It restores the soul.

And then he says this. He says, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The testimony of the Lord.

The Bible is the testimony of the Lord Jesus. It's the written testimony of who Jesus is and what he's done. So the law of the Lord is a witness.

It's a testimony to the character and nature of God. He says the testimony of the Lord is sure. Remember in John 5 verse 39, when Christ said to the Pharisees, you search the scriptures for in them you think that you have eternal life, but they are that which speak of me.

See, they were looking for something other than the Christ. But all of the Bible speaks about the Lord. It's his testimony.

And so David calls it the testimony of the Lord. And now he's only referring to the Old Testament because that's all there was, right? So he's only referring to the law of the prophets. And he's talking about how this is a testimony to the character and nature of the Lord, the God of Israel, the Messiah who's coming.

This is his testimony. And it's absolutely sure. It's unwavering.

It's unmistakable. It's absolute. God's testimony about who he is, is the most sure thing ever.

Let me give you an example of that. Turn back with me, if you would, to 1 Peter chapter 2. I'm sorry, 2 Peter chapter 1. Listen to Peter's testimony. He says in verse 16, for we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Now Peter is giving a testimony as to what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration there in the land of Israel. He's going back to that time where Peter, James, and John went up with the Lord up into the mountain.

I believe it's Mount Hermon up in the northern part of Israel because that really is a high mountain, and it falls in the context of them being in Caesarea Philippi, which is at the base of Mount Hermon. But they went up into this mountain, and the Lord unzipped his flesh. And the glory of the Lord, the brilliance of the Lord would shine out, and a great cloud consumed them.

And the majestic glory of God said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And they saw Moses, and they saw Elijah, right? And Peter said, let's build three tabernacles here. This is a great opportunity for us.

So Peter's giving testimony to what he experienced in life. And the Bible records that experience. But then he says this, and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. He says, we have something more sure than my experience, because this is my experience. It's subject to the surety of God's testimony, God's law, God's word.

We have a prophetic word, the word of God, made more sure than my experience. That's why we always tell people, well, I experienced this or I experienced that. And we say, okay, if that's your experience, match it with the sure word of the Lord.

Because if you can't match it with a sure word of the Lord, your experience trumps the surety of scripture and the authority of scripture. And therefore you have put yourself above God and his word. Can't do that because you're subject to God and his word.

So whatever your experience is, if it doesn't match what the God's word says, you probably had too much chili the night before as to why your experience was the way it was. The bottom line is, is that God's word is absolute surety. And he says, so the testimony of the Lord is unwavering.

It's ironclad. It's sure. You can bank on it.

It's absolute truth. Making wise the simple. Making wise the simple.

God's word is so sure, so absolute, so true that the simple person can become very wise. Now note this, the word for simple is the word that means open door, open door. You've heard people say, well, you know, I'm really open about this.

I have an open mind. That's not a good character quality to have. That's a bad character quality to have.

For example, if I say to you, do you open your door at night when you go to bed? No. What do you do? You lock your door. You shut your door.

You lock your door. Why? Because you don't want anything on the outside coming on the inside. So what do you do? You shut your door. You bolt your door. You lock your door. You set your alarm because you don't want anybody coming in, right? That's a closed-door mentality.

That's the right mentality. An open-door mentality says, I'm just going to leave it open. All the books can come in.

All the burglars can come in. It's okay. I have an open-door policy.

I have an open mind policy. No, it didn't work that way. Why? Because when you're wise, your mind now is shut off from that which is corruption, that which is evil, that which might bring harm to your life.

See? And that's what happens with the testimony of the Lord that is so sure it closes your mind to all the corruption and all the evil on the outside so it doesn't get in because now you have wisdom. You have discernment. The open-minded person is an undiscerning person.

The closed-minded person is the discerning person. He discerns between what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. He shuts the door to the evil.

He shuts the door to the bad. He opens the door to the good and to the right and to the true. That's the wise person.

You receive wisdom. And wisdom is the application of truth to life. Wisdom is just not an accumulation of knowledge.

In fact, the Bible says over in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 24, verse number 14, these words about wisdom. Know that wisdom is thus for your soul. If you find it, then there will be a future and your hope will not be cut off.

If you find wisdom, and we know from Proverbs chapter 3 that wisdom, excuse me, Proverbs chapter 2, verse number 6, that wisdom comes from the mouth of the Lord. And these words are what the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And so, wisdom comes to us through the testimony of the Lord.

It is absolute, unwaveringly sure to make the open-minded person closed-minded to all that which is evil on the outside so he can be very discerning by the wisdom of God in the decisions that he makes. This is the preciousness of the Word of God. You want to be wise in your decision-making, don't you? You want to be wise in your relationships.

A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally, James 1, verse number 5. But an unstable man, verse 8 of chapter 1, is, excuse me, a double-minded man is unstable in every one of his ways, not just certain ways but all of his ways, because he has no wisdom. But God's Word gives you wisdom.

And God's Word is that which is perfect, restoring the soul. And so the psalmist says that the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise and simple.

And the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The precepts, the statutes of the Lord, those principles that guide all of our actions, those precepts that are of the Lord. And remember, each phrase says, of the Lord, of the Lord, of the Lord, because he wants you to know that this is the Word of the living God.

And so the precepts of the Lord are right. Now, that's not right as opposed to wrong. That's right in terms of the right way to go, the true way to go, right? So, what you have is that the precepts of the Lord, the statutes of God show you which path to take.

Always when you cry for discernment and when you ask the Lord for wisdom and you ask the Lord for direction, he always gets it to you through his Word. He always shows you where to go through his Word. That's why when someone goes someplace and it goes contrary to the Word of God, they say, well, the Lord led me there.

I'm not sure he did because it's contrary to what God's Word says. See, what does God's Word say? You know, don't make a move, don't make a decision without knowing you have chapter and verse behind the decision-making process in your life. If you do that, it will affect everything else you do.

The decision you make today determines your destiny tomorrow, right? Make a bad decision today, your future is in jeopardy. Make the right decision today, your future is going to go the right way. That's why he says that the precepts of the Lord are right.

They give you direction. They show you which path to take and know what? Rejoicing the heart. See, the decisions you make about the path you take causes great joy in the heart, not turmoil, not anxiousness, not tragedy, but causes your heart to rejoice, to sing songs of joy because you want to follow what the Word of the Lord says.

That is just so incredibly important. The precepts of the Lord are right. They are showing you which way to go, which path to take so that your heart will always be rejoicing over what God is doing.

If you're making the decision and your heart's not rejoicing, you probably made a bad choice. You probably didn't look to the precepts of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord. You probably didn't look to the law of the Lord.

You probably didn't look to the testimony of the Lord. Why? Because God's Word speaks. It speaks loud.

And all you got to do is read it. All you got to do is sit under it. All you do is hear it with an open heart that says, Lord, teach me that I might understand your precepts, your testimony, your law.

This is the brilliance of the law. Look at the next one. The commandment of the Lord is pure or lucid or clear, enlightening the eyes.

In other words, the commandments of God are absolute, right? They're not suggestions. God never gives suggestions. He doesn't even give you his opinion.

He just gives commands, right? And so, God's Word is filled with all kinds of commands. And so He doesn't give you options. He gives you commands.

This is what the Word of the Lord says. And so the commandment of the Lord is pure. It's clear.

It's lucid. In other words, it's not mystifying. It doesn't boggle your mind.

The commandments of the Lord are very clear. When God gives a command, He makes it very easy to understand. They're very clear.

And so therefore, when you obey those commands, your eyes are completely enlightened. In His light, you're able to see light. He shows you which way to go.

He gives you clarity. He gives you direction. He helps you understand hope versus despair.

And so God gives you commands that are very clear, not convoluted, so that you know what to do, how to live. The problem comes when we say, well, I don't want to do that. I don't want to obey that.

And that's where my sinful nature creeps in. I want to do my own will, not God's will. But the commandments of the Lord, they're absolutely clear.

They're pure, enlightening the eyes. And then He says, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Now, this is really abnormal to call the Word of the Lord the fear of the Lord.

But David does. It's the fear of the Lord, because there's something about the Scriptures, the law of God, the commandments of God, the statutes of God, the precepts of God, the testimony of God that causes great fear in those who read it. That's why the Bible says there's forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared.

But the commandments strike fear in our hearts, knowing that God is serious about what He says. And so David calls it the fear of the Lord, because he wants you to understand the magnitude of disobedience and the importance of following all that God says. It's a manual for how to worship the one in the Bible that testifies about who He is.

Because the fear of the Lord speaks of the reverence and the all-encompassing admiration and affection we have for the God we serve. And there's nothing better than teaching you how to worship that God than the fear of the Lord. And the fear of the Lord is clean.

It is free from any impurities. It is free from anything that's defiling. Scripture is without evil, without corruption, without error, without blemish.

Psalm 12:6 says that God's Word is flawless. So the fear of the Lord is flawless, clean, no impurities in it. And what does it do? It endures forever.

Forever. You see, God's Word is something that is never-ending. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Why? Because His words are magnified even as His very name, Psalm 138, verse number 2, right? So as His name is the highest name, His Word is the highest word, because they're on the same equal plane. And so the Word of the Lord is to be obeyed and to be followed, but it endures forever. That means that God's Word, because it endures forever, is relevant to every generation.

Every generation. You can't say, well, that's Old Testament stuff, and that doesn't really apply to us in today's day and age. Or that's what Paul said.

And the culture now has changed, society has changed, things are now different. No, God's Word is that which endures forever. It is as relevant today as it was in Genesis chapter 1, verse number 1, when God spoke the universe into existence.

It is so relevant that it applies to every one of us in the room. No matter where we're from, no matter what we're going through, it comes to speak to us in our point of need. And then he says the judgments of the Lord are true.

They are righteous all together. The judgments of the Lord, the ordinances, the divine verdict, it comes from the holy bench of God. We will be judged by this standard.

This is the only standard by which man is judged. God's holy Word. So whatever God's Word says, man is measured against.

And so therefore, they're called the judgments of the Lord. And they, they are true. They are absolute.

That is just so important. Because you see, you can actually go to your philosophy class and say, I know the truth. I know the truth.

Class is over. Class is done because you know the truth. You have the truth.

You embody the God of truth, and you hold the truth of God in your hands. But the reason there's a philosophy class is because it's taught by people who don't know the God of truth, who don't understand truth, can't live truth, because they don't know that God. But you do.

So you can say, I know the truth. Whatever question you have, I know the truth to the answer to that question, because God gives me the answer in His Word that's absolute true. The judgments of the Lord are true.

They are righteous altogether. In other words, they produce nothing but righteousness, righteous acts in the lives of those who follow them. This is the preciousness of the Word of God.

And David sums it up in six simple statements that will change a person's life forever. One person said this about the Bible. It doesn't have an author.

It's anonymous. It says, though the cover is worn and the pages are torn, and though places bear traces of tears, yet more precious than gold is the book worn and old that can shatter and scatter my fears. When I prayerfully look in the precious old book, many pleasures and treasures I see, many tokens of love from the Father above, who is nearest and dearest to me.

The old book is my guide. It is a friend by my side. It will lighten and brighten my way.

And each promise I find soothes and gladdens my mind as I read it and heed it today. So true. So many people just lay the truth of God aside.

Don't spend time in studying it, memorizing it, learning it, growing in it, reading it. This is your life. Every question you have is answered in this book.

All you have to do is seek for wisdom that comes from the mouth of the Lord. But not only is it precious, it's pleasurable. Look what he says next.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold. David would know that. He was a rich man.

He had lots of gold. But this testimony, this judgment, this commandment, this law, this fear of the Lord is so precious. It's more valuable than gold.

There is no earthly commodity that can measure or stand against God's word. And then he says this. He says, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

That's just a marvelous statement. Because honey is sweet to the taste. And David is thinking of the sweetest thing that is most pleasurable when it goes down.

But he compares the Scriptures with honey. Why? Well, number one, honey is provided through the work of someone or something else other than you. It's provided by the work of bees.

Number two, it's a natural food. That means it doesn't take a lengthy time for digestion, and it acts immediately to give you energy. Number three, the taste of honey is unique.

There is no other sweetness quite like it in the richness of all tastes. Now, compare that to the word of God. You have the word of God, not by your efforts, but by someone else's efforts.

Holy men of God spoke as they were moved and born along by the Spirit of God, right? So you've been given this word. The word of God has been placed in your presence, and now you have it by the work of the Spirit of God in the lives of holy men, and now you obtain it. Number two, when you read it, when you study it, like honey, it goes to work immediately in your life to give you the strength and energy that you need.

And number three, there is no other piece of literature known to man ever written that provides the sweetness of the truth of the living God. That's why David uses the comparison. He wants you to understand the pleasurableness of the word of God, the sweetness of the word of God, the joy of the word of God, the value of the word of God.

It is so, so pleasurable. And so, as you think about this, and you begin to realize how important God's word is, the Lord comes along and says, I've not come to abolish the law. I've come to fulfill the law, so much so that the people in my kingdom are committed to keeping that law and teaching others that law.

In fact, those people are the greatest ones in the kingdom. The greatest ones in my kingdom understand that the law of the Lord is perfect and it restores the soul. So, they want to teach others about that.

They want to impart that truth to others. If you're a mother, you impart it to your children. You want to instruct them in the ways of God.

You're looking for someone else to teach, to invest in, so that they can learn the truth that you learn. And God says, the people in my kingdom, they keep this word. They teach this word, because it's a testimony about me.

And if it's a testimony about me, it's absolutely sure. And it takes the open mind and closes it to all those things that will corrupt it. And they want to teach others how to do that.

And the precepts of the Lord are right. They give you clear direction, a clear path. They give you a true path, so that your heart's always rejoicing, because you're walking in obedience to God, in the ways of God, filled with the joy of the Lord.

The commands of the Lord are clean, pure, undefiled. And what do they do? They enlighten the eyes, that you might see the things that God wants you to see. Fear the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

And the judgments of the Lord are true, they're righteous altogether. So the Lord says, I've come to fulfill all that. And I've come to make sure that you understand that this law is the most brilliant thing ever, because Christ is brilliant.

And these are the words of Christ. And therefore, you want to adhere to all that he says. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today, the opportunity to be in your word, and pray that you direct us and lead us in the way that we should go. Thank you so much for how it is you have articulated so clearly the importance of your word. May we as your children long for more of it.

May we want it to be a part of our everyday life. May we not go a day without it, knowing that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That's how we live our lives.

You have a life-giving word that transforms us from the inside out. May we see the value of that, act upon it, teach others the same thing also. In Jesus name.

Amen.