Oh, How Lovely is the Word of Our Lord! (2LCF 1.1-5)

Psalm 119, starting at 25.

The word right above it is left in Hebrew.

! It's one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

!

Because the whole psalm is an acrostic.

Daleth.

My soul clings to the dust.

Revive me according to your word.

I have declared my ways, and you answered me.

Teach me your statutes.

Make me understand the way of your precepts.

So shall I meditate on your wonderful works.

My soul melts from heaviness.

Strengthen me according to your word.

Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me your law graciously.

I have chosen the way of truth.

Your judgments I have laid before me.

I cling to your testimonies, O Lord.

Do not put me to shame.

I will run the course of your commandments.

For you shall enlarge my heart.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Oh, living God, the giver of life,

thank you for breathing out your scriptures,

and thank you for how your Holy Spirit now takes your scriptures,

and the word of God in the hand of the Holy Spirit, so to speak,

is sharper than a two-edged sword.

Lord, we pray, Lord, that your spirit will use your word,

and all that you reveal in your word about who you are,

and about Jesus Christ,

and the good news of salvation for sinners like us,

in God, through Jesus.

That you'll make this so clear today, Lord.

We pray that your word will wash over us, Lord,

like a tide from the most pure ocean,

that you'll cleanse us by your word, Lord.

You'll sanctify us.

You'll prepare our souls for eternity with you.

Lord, for those who are in darkness

and know nothing about your word,

we pray that today you will shine the glory

of who you are on these dear souls,

that they will not be the same,

that they will know you through your word, we ask.

Amen.

Oh, how lovely is the word of the Lord.

Amen.

Oh, how lovely is the word of the Lord.

That's my one message for you today,

but let's walk through this passage one verse at a time

and appreciate it more and more together.

Psalm 119 is anonymous.

It's also the longest chapter in the whole Psalter,

in the whole Bible.

Some possible authors include David

because many of the phrases and the style

is very similar to David's.

Another possibility is Ezra

because he was the priest who taught the people the law.

This would be a very fitting psalm

for them to sing over and over,

remembering this lesson of the precious word of God.

Others have supposed possibly Daniel or Jeremiah.

Both lived in a similar time.

Both were raised up by the Lord and were in exile,

so they're lamenting the loss

and longing to have that worship of God restored,

which comes through in this psalm.

Now, the beautiful thing about God's word

is while we don't need to know

who the human author was

because we have the divine author,

the Holy Spirit,

who breathed out all of Scripture.

And he does this in such a gentle, kind way.

As I mentioned,

Daleth is the Hebrew letter D.

So A, B, C, D.

It's early on in the sequence.

To use our own English spin on that,

the mood or the tone,

the condition of the author,

the human author,

is dire, depressed, and doubting.

Now, the Bible gives us here

one little snapshot, like a case study,

but we can turn to a number of other parts of the Bible

and we're going to hear very different tones,

very different styles.

The beautiful thing about God's word

is that the one Holy Spirit breathed it out

through the pen of over 40 different human authors

on three different continents

in three different languages.

Well, you know Hebrew in the Old Testament,

Greek in the New Testament,

what was the third?

There are portions, like in Daniel,

which were Aramaic.

Very good.

It was written over 1,500 years.

And despite all this diversity

and all this variance from a human perspective,

the Bible, the Holy Word of God,

reveals one way of salvation,

one God, one hope, one promise.

The one message of all the scriptures

is life in Christ alone,

by grace alone, through faith alone.

That's what it very clearly presents

to everyone who God will give an ear

to hear the good news.

2 Peter 1, verses 19 and 21 says,

2 Peter 1:19

we have the prophetic word confirmed,

which you do well to heed

as a light that shines in a dark place

until the day dawns,

knowing that scripture

came through holy men of God,

speaking as they were moved

by the Holy Spirit.

That's how this glorious,

lovely library,

this Bible came to be.

The reason I picked our passage today,

more broadly,

it's because all of Psalm 119

is all about the word of God.

Every single couplet

is going to mention the law,

the word,

the testimonies of God

in some form or another.

The whole psalm lifts up

the loveliness of God's word.

But the reason I chose Dalif,

specifically,

this little stanza,

is because we're so small,

I'm able to know our congregation

very well,

very easily,

very naturally.

And this psalm,

this stanza in particular,

is for those who feel dead.

Yes, Christians,

who have the Holy Spirit,

but we feel a deadness.

We need reviving.

It's for Christians who feel weak,

and that's who we are.

Some of us,

army crawled this morning

just to be here.

It's for those who are so aware

of their sin

and hate their sin.

And it's for us who feel very unloving

much of the time.

That's why I picked it.

It's because I don't want to just tell you

what God's word is.

I want you to be reminded

and experience it

in the condition that we are right now,

in our weakness.

Let the power of God's word in Christ

wash over us.

So here's four encouragements

from this passage.

Number one,

when your soul clings to the dust,

ask the Lord to disciple you

in his word.

When your soul clings to the dust,

ask the Lord to disciple you

in his word.

Look at verse 25.

That's exactly what the psalmist cries out.

My soul clings to the dust.

Revive me according to your word.

I have declared my ways

and you answered me.

Teach me your statutes.

By the light of nature,

every one of us can clearly see

God's goodness, wisdom, and power.

So every one of us,

before this holy God,

is left without excuse.

We sit here knowing that

God is my creator.

He is holy and just,

and I owe him worship.

We know this.

Yet we also know that we fall

short of his glory,

don't we?

We don't glorify and enjoy God,

even though that's the end

for which he created us.

And so we know what dust is,

the way the psalmist uses it poetically.

God made us human beings

from the dust.

Dust we are,

and to dust our bodies

shall return.

So when he says,

my soul clings to the dust here,

dust stands for

the lust of our flesh,

this body that we're in

in this life,

our pride in this life,

worldliness.

That's the dust

that his soul is clinging on to.

We know what this is like,

don't we?

Ephesians 2, 3,

speaking to the church,

people like you and me,

reminds us that

we were all slaves to the dust.

By nature,

children of God's wrath.

We all once conducted ourselves

in the lust of our flesh,

fulfilling the desires of the flesh

and of our fallen minds.

He says,

my soul clings to the dust.

That verb,

to cling,

it's used and translated

in other parts as cleaves.

It sticks to it.

It's intimately joined together.

It's a bond

that's exceptionally tight.

It's like two objects

that are glued together,

unwavering,

deep affection for that thing.

Specifically in Genesis 2, 24,

it's the exact same word

used to describe

how a man will leave

his father and mother

and shall cling

or cleave to his wife

and the two will be one flesh.

And this is what

the psalmist is saying.

My soul clings

to the dust.

Put it in our own words,

it could be like this.

My body

will return to dust

when I die.

I know this.

But my inner man,

my soul,

still clings

for this perishing life.

My thoughts,

my desires,

my personality,

who I am inside,

it clings to this earth,

the dust from which

I was made.

And so what's the solution?

Look again at this verse.

He says,

revive me according

to your word.

I've declared my ways

to you.

I've confessed

this is who I am

and you answered me.

You spoke.

He says,

teach me

your statutes.

The solution

is the same for us

as for the psalmist.

because this is my condition,

because this is the

bent of my soul.

I need God himself

to disciple me.

Teach me

according to your word.

Look in verse 25.

He uses that

to describe the scriptures.

He calls it

the word of God.

This is one of seven terms,

one of seven titles

given to the scriptures.

The word of God

is the most broad.

It's the way

that God has revealed

or unveiled

and made known

what his promises are.

He says,

Lord,

I'm declaring this

to you about my ways.

My soul is crooked.

If left to myself,

my soul

will still actively

and persistently

choose dust

over glory.

If left to myself,

I will hold tightly

to this world

instead of

to the world to come.

If left to myself,

my affections

will grasp

tightly to this life

instead of the next.

My flesh is too powerful

for any other philosophy,

any other course of study,

any other teacher.

No other source of truth

in this world

is sufficient

to give me

the knowledge of God,

to know the will of God,

that it's necessary

for salvation,

that God reveal himself

to me.

And in his word,

he's given us

the full revelation

of how he can bring life

to a soul

that's twisted like that.

The psalmist

confesses,

Lord,

I need you to speak to me.

Answer me,

he says.

In verse 26,

teach me your statutes.

This is how God speaks to him

and answers his cry.

And it's the second term used,

statutes.

Statutes describe

God's binding,

permanent decrees.

Statutes are permanent

because the literal Hebrew word

is engraving something

in stone,

inscribing it

somewhere that won't get erased.

These are the statutes of God.

He says,

Lord,

your word is stable.

My soul is not stable.

I'm going to put myself

under your teaching,

your statutes over me.

And you discipline me,

you disciple me.

You correct my heart.

You be my teacher.

I'll be your student.

And your statutes

are my curriculum.

Revive me, Lord.

Put your life

inside my body.

My body,

my flesh,

it's like a bag of dust.

Breathe life into me,

enliven me

according to your word.

And he says

he trusts God to do this

because God has promised

this in his word.

And the psalmist

didn't have the full revelation

which we do now.

We can turn to 1 Peter 1.23

and be reminded

how we too

are born again

of incomparable,

incorruptible seed

through the word

of God

which lives

and abides

forever.

It's the same prayer

in the New Testament.

And this means this.

God is the one

who spoke

and creation

came to be.

And that same

word of God

that creates

life

is just as powerful

to revive again

my soul

and to sustain

his life

inside of me.

So dear brothers

and sisters,

when your soul

is clinging

to the dust

and it will do

this again

as long as

we're in this life,

ask the Lord

to disciple you

according to

his word.

One more time.

And if you

feel spiritually

dead today

or at another

moment maybe

later this week,

through

his word

the Lord

promises

to revive you

again.

Oh how lovely

is the word

of our Lord.

The second

encouragement

is this.

When your soul

is depressed

meditate on

what the Lord

has done

in his word.

When your soul

is depressed

meditate

on what

the Lord

has done

in his word.

Look at verse 27.

Make me understand

the way

of your precepts

so shall I

meditate

on your

wonderful works.

My soul

melts

from heaviness.

Strengthen me

according

to your word.

When was the

last time

you experienced

this level

of depression?

I know that

for some of us

it was just

this past week.

Verse 28

he describes it

as the soul,

the inner man

melting

because of a

great heaviness.

can you imagine

the weight

it would take

to collapse

your soul

down to that

point

of liquefying

it

and letting

it drip

out of your

body.

It's like

he's saying

I don't know

how to describe

it but

the heaviness

upon me

is so

unbearable.

My body

is like a

vessel

that's just

leaking out

my very soul.

what he says

next in verse

27

make me

understand

the way

of your

precepts.

God

I can't even

understand

what's going

on inside

my own

soul

and so

please

make me

understand

your

precepts.

And here's

the third

word he uses

in this

stanza

to describe

the word

of God

it's

precepts.

Precepts

highlights

the detailed

specific

instructions

appointed

by God

to govern

his people.

And it's

something that

we won't

understand

naturally.

We can't

just sit

there with

God's

word and

completely

grasp it

on our

own.

It has

to be

the Holy

Spirit

illuminating

it,

teaching

it,

showing

through

meditation

on God's

word

the details

inside

his word

that are

life-giving

that are

a blessing

for us.

He prays

so to

speak,

take my

thoughts

off of

myself

and put

my thoughts

on your

word instead.

Lord,

I'm so

depressed

by my

own guilt,

by what

I have

done,

so teach

me to

meditate

instead

on your

wonderful

works.

Strengthen

me,

Lord,

as I

ponder

you,

what you

have done

as recorded

in your

word.

Romans

15,

4 tells

us,

this is

why we

have

the

Bible.

God's

word

was

written

for

our

learning

that

we

through

the

patience

and

comfort

of

the

scriptures

might

have

hope.

Turn

to the

scriptures

when we

need

hope,

when our

souls

are

depressed.

We

can

thank the

Lord

and the

language

of our

confession.

God,

you have

revealed

yourself

in writing.

By

your

word,

you

establish

and

comfort

the

church

with

greater

certainty

against

the

corruption

of the

flesh,

the

malice

of

Satan,

and the

worldliness

of the

world.

Because of

your

statutes,

we know

the

truth.

And this

authority

that God

gives us

through

his

word

does not

depend

on the

testimony

of any

person

or

church,

but on

God,

the

author

alone,

who is

truth

itself.

Your

word is

a perfect

treasure

of

heavenly

instruction.

It

has

God

for

its

author,

salvation

for

its

end,

and

truth

without

any

mixture

of

error

for

its

matter.

How

lovely

is

the

word

of

God.

So

brothers

and

sisters,

when your

soul

is

depressed,

meditate

on what

the

Lord

has

done

as

recorded

in

his

word.

If

you

feel

weak,

remember

how

through

his

word

the

Lord

promises

to

strengthen

you

and

me.

How

lovely

is

the

word

of

our

Lord.

The

third

encouragement

is

this,

when

your

deeds

accuse

you,

lay

before

you

what

the

Lord

has

decreed

in

his

word.

When

your

deeds

accuse

You

lay

before

you

what

the

Lord

has

decreed

in

his

word.

Look at

verse

29.

The

psalmist

prays,

remove

from

me

the

way

of

lying

and

grant

me

your

law

graciously.

30.

I

have

chosen

the

way

of

truth.

Your

judgments

I

have

laid

before

me.

In

these

verses,

the

psalmist

knows

the

temptation

to

lie,

to

sin.

He's

in need

of

grace.

He

sees

options

before

him.

He's

tempted

away

from

the

truth

and

the

Lord

persuades

him

on

the

way

of

truth.

And

he

says

in the

last

phrase

there,

your

judgments

I

have

laid

before

me.

This

is how

God

did

it.

So

he's

guilty.

He's

accused.

He's

wrestling

with his

own

sin.

The

Bible

tells us

that the

devil is

the

accuser

of

God's

people.

Even

though

Christ

has

silenced

our

adversary

before

the

throne

of

God,

the

devil

gets

no

audience

in the

throne

of

heaven

to

accuse

God's

people

any

longer.

But

the

devil

still

accuses

you

and

me

to

ourselves,

doesn't

he?

The

devil

lays

our

recent

and

past

sins

before

us.

The

devil

speaks

condemning

thoughts

into

our

ears.

The

devil

tries

to

burden

God's

people.

with

guilt.

And how

is it

that the

Lord

ministers

to us

in those

moments?

Verse

29,

he says,

remove

from me

the way

of lying.

Lord,

I don't

ask you

to lower

your

standard

of

righteousness.

A

lie

is a

lie.

And I

have a

bent

toward

being

deceitful.

But he

says next,

grant me

your law

graciously.

Your law

is good,

but I

can only

receive

from you

the grace

that the

law exposes

my great

need of.

And here

he uses a

fourth term

for the

word of

God,

law.

The

Hebrew word

is Torah.

The first

five books

of the

Bible and

also the

law.

So it's

the law

of God.

It can

mean teaching

or direction,

instruction.

It's

revelation

that

steers

the

believer

away

from the

path

of

deceit

that

leads

to

destruction.

He

says your

judgments

I have

laid

before me.

And there's

the next

term,

the fifth

one,

judgments,

the judgments

of God.

Another

English

translation

would be

rules or

ordinances.

These are

God's

legal

declarations

about what

is right,

true,

and good.

2 Timothy

3.15

says help

me to

know the

holy

scriptures

which are

able to

make you

wise for

salvation

through faith

in Jesus

Christ.

And so

what he

does,

the psalmist

crying out in

his sin is

to say Lord

your judgments

what you have

said is right

and wrong,

I lay it all

before me.

I don't

dodge your

law,

I don't

try to

bend it or

find a way

to work

around it.

It's all

laid before

me.

And now

you need

to minister

your law

to me

in a

gracious

way.

And so

what God

does is

he gospels

him through

it.

And that's

what the

Lord loves

to do,

it's to

gospel you

and me

out of

our guilt

time and

time again.

We can

rehearse this

together this

way.

We can

pray like

the psalmist

Lord,

I know

you are

holy and

just.

I know

your law

is good.

Lord,

I'm a

sinful

law

breaker.

I lay

all your

judgments

before me

and that's

what it

makes me.

I confess

my heart

is deceitful,

my lips

have lied,

and I've

rejected the

way of

truth.

But I

know from

your word

that I

deserve a

capital

punishment

for my

sin against

you.

When I

sin against

you,

I'm acting

as if I'm

God.

But yet,

Lord,

in your

same word,

you show

that you are

gracious to

me.

you bound

yourself to

a wretched

sinner like

me by

your covenant

of grace.

You've

ministered your

law graciously

to me.

And it's

by the

blood of

the only

substitute

that you

could rightfully

accept.

That's the

life and

the death

of Jesus

Christ.

He's the

one who

chose the

way of

truth when

I failed.

Your

judgment

that I

must pay,

you took

upon yourself

instead,

upon our

Savior,

the Lord

Jesus.

We know

by your

word,

your decree

to save

a people

for yourself.

We know

by your

word,

your decree

to love

us in

Christ while

we were

still your

enemies.

We know

by your

word,

your decree

before the

foundation

of the

world to

redeem us

in Christ.

We know

by your

word,

your decree

to be

our God

and to

have us

be your

people.

forevermore.

We know

this by

your word

and I've

laid all

of your

word in

front of

me to

receive your

grace one

more time.

We can

thank the

Lord for

his lovely

word.

His holy

scriptures are

the only

sufficient,

certain,

and infallible

standard of

all saving

knowledge,

faith,

and obedience.

obedience.

We praise

God through

the Holy

Spirit.

It's his

spirit who

makes us

to see the

heavenliness of

the contents

of the

Bible,

the power

of the

system of

truth,

the majesty

of the

style,

the harmony

of all the

parts,

and the

central focus

on giving

all glory

to God

in Jesus

Christ by

his word.

So,

brothers and

sisters,

when your

deeds accuse

you,

lay before

you what

the Lord

has decreed

in his

word.

When you

feel sinful

before the

holy God,

remember that

through his

word,

the Lord

removes you

from the

way of sin.

He reminds

you you're

covered in

Christ's

righteousness.

And we have

certainty of

this because

it comes from

the very

word of God.

himself.

Oh,

how lovely

is the

word of

our Lord.

Or the

fourth and

final encouragement

for today

is this.

When you

cling to

what the

Lord has

declared in

his word,

he shall

direct

your desires.

When you

and I

cling to

what the

Lord has

declared in

his word,

he shall

direct

our desires.

Look at

verse 31.

He says,

I cling

to your

testimonies,

O Lord.

Do not

put me

to shame.

I will

run the

course of

your

commandments,

for you

shall

enlarge

my

heart.

You

notice this

beautiful

full circle.

It's a

great

redirection

of the

psalmist's

soul from

where he

started in

this stanza

and where

he is now

at the

end of

it,

isn't

it?

At the

beginning of

this stanza,

when he

started this

prayer,

you remember

what his

soul clung

to?

You can

say it,

it clung

to the

dust.

In

verse 25,

but now

look at

what the

soul clings

to,

it's the

same word,

the same

verb in

verse 31,

I now

cling to

your

testimonies.

Here's our

sixth term

for the

word of

God,

testimonies.

These are

God's

solemn

witnesses

!

about

his

own

character

and

his

covenant.

It's

so

glorious,

it's

so

otherworldly

that no

human mind

could conceive

of a

creator

God,

and that

this God

would covenant

himself to

a people.

It's God

self-testifying,

it's the

testimonies of

who God

is,

preserved for

us in

writing,

so that we

can have

certainty

and believe.

it's like

the psalmist

says,

I've

tasted

now by

the end

of the

stanza

in your

word that

you are

God.

I've

experienced

through your

word that

you are

good,

and now

I'm stuck,

I cling

to Christ

through the

ministry of

the word.

I cling

now to

your

testimonies.

Lord,

you have

knit my

soul

intimately

together with

Christ,

your living

word.

I'm glued

to your

word.

I have a

deep affection

for you,

oh Lord,

through your

word,

your

testimonies.

The quality

of your

word is

incomparable.

It's

lovely.

The

perfections

of your

word are

matchless.

Lord,

I'm trusting

your testimonies,

your promises,

your word.

I trust,

I receive,

I rest in

your word.

Lord,

by your

help,

I'm not

hedging my

bets anymore.

I'm throwing

myself on what

you've promised

with abandon.

That's what he

says,

let me not

be put to

shame,

Lord.

Prove

yourself

true.

Don't

stop being

faithful now,

Lord.

I need

your steadfast

love again

now.

I need

your covenant

faithfulness

again.

run.

And I

love verse

32.

He says,

I will run

the course

of your

commandments.

Here's the

seventh and

final term

for the

word of

God.

Commandments.

Commandments

are God's

authoritative

orders.

It's what a

king pronounces

over his

kingdom.

They provide

a clear,

defined path

for how the

citizens of

the kingdom

are to

live.

And he's

saying,

Lord,

prove

yourself

once more

like you

always do.

And notice

how he's

asking it

in prayer

form.

Verse 32.

I will

run the

course of

your

commandments,

but he

hasn't run

yet.

And he

says,

for you

shall

enlarge

my heart.

God

hasn't

enlarged

his heart

yet.

He's

praying

this with

hope,

trusting

the promises,

trusting

what the

king has

said.

It's

still in

prayer

form,

but it's

prayed as

a believer

who has

known God's

tender mercies

and who

needs them

again.

It's a

believer who

knows that

God's mercies

are new

every morning.

How do we

know this?

From his

word.

He said so.

It's like he's

saying,

Lord, I know

you will do

this again

because you

are faithful.

You promise

yourself to

your people

again and

again in

your word.

I love

how we

sing this

when we

hide it

in our

hearts.

Lamentations

3, 22

and 23.

The word

of God.

The steadfast

love of

the Lord

never fails.

His mercies

never come

to an end.

They are new

every morning.

Great is

thy faithfulness,

O Lord.

Lord.

And then

he says,

I shall

run for

you shall

enlarge

my heart.

Our legs

run toward

whatever our

hearts consider

lovely,

don't they?

That's what

we move

toward.

We move

closer to

something we

love.

We come to

love something

when we

behold it

as lovely.

And it's

true that

the more we

love something,

in general,

despite our

own weakness,

the faster

we will move

to that

thing.

Our hearts

are small,

so that's

our problem.

We don't

have great

capacity to

behold how

lovely God

is.

And so,

first the

Lord has

to enlargen

the heart.

He has

to make

our hearts

capable of

great love.

The wonderful

word in

English for

a great

heart,

an enlarged

heart,

is

magnanimity,

magnanimous.

It means

big-hearted.

That's what

the Spirit

does to

Christians.

He expands

our capacity

for love,

and he

fills us

with more

love for

God,

because God

first loved

us.

So for you

and I,

who in our

flesh,

we feel

unloving,

remember that

through his

word,

the Lord

promises to

enlarge

our hearts.

We can

be fully

persuaded and

assured,

like the

psalmist of

the infallible

truth and

the divine

authority of

the scriptures.

And these

come from the

internal work of

the Spirit,

who bears

witness by and

with the

word in our

hearts.

Much more

powerful than

our own

flesh.

So when you

and I

are tempted

to cling to

the dust

one more

time,

we trust

the word

of God,

the promises

of God,

and the

power of

the Spirit

to apply

the word

of God,

to cause

our hearts

instead to

cling to