Psalm 119:41-48

(This is just a copy of my sermon notes, and not a transcript - I don't always stick to my notes!)

If you were here last week, you ought to remember what the service was all about.
You ought to remember because in Luke 8 Jesus reminded us, “consider carefully how you listen” to God's word.
We heard that, one day, the spotlight will fall on each of us, and reveal how we have listened to God's word.
And we heard Jesus say that his true family was those who not only hear God's word but also put it into practice.

So, as far as Jesus is concerned, listening to God's word and obeying God's word are crucial. That's why I say, we ought to have remembered what last week's service was all about.

That's why it's surely no accident that the longest Psalm in the Bible is all about God's word – that is, it's about God's communication to humanity and our response to him.

Now one of the things we saw last week was that the truth about Jesus is public – it's a light that mustn't be hidden under a bucket – it's a truth for everyone, and they need to hear it.
And yet, if you've ever spoken about Jesus in public – if you've ever dared to put the Bible into practice in your business life – you will probably have experienced some kind of criticism for doing so.
That's the experience of the Psalmist in v42 – he's taunted for trusting God's word.
We don't know what the circumstances were, but some people were taunting him for believing the Bible and for putting it into practice.

I wonder how you respond when people taunt you for believing the Bible – or perhaps you've never been in that position because, to be honest, you've never been that public about your faith – you've never admitted to your non-Xn family, friends or colleagues that you do read the Bible, and that you allow God's word to shape every aspect of your life.
And so perhaps you need some encouragement to be more public about your attitude to God's word.
Perhaps you need reassurance and a reason to be more open about the Bible.

Well, that's just what the Psalmist gives us here – reasons to be confident in God's word.

First we find that God's love and salvation come from his word: vv41 & 42
v 42 is saying something really amazing – God's unfailing love & salvation come to us from his word of promise.

When we think of God's love, it's easy to become sentimental and think of him as a sort of friendly, jovial Santa Claus.
But there are three things here that tell us it's far more than that:
First, this is 'unfailing love'. This is how our Bibles translate a special word that speaks of God's undeserved and unending mercy and loving-kindness.
Second, it is the unfailing love of 'the LORD'-in-capital-letters. This is is how our Bibles translate a special & personal name for God – Yahweh – the God who is personal and is always with his people.
Third, this is the unfailing love of the LORD which brings salvation according to his promise.
God saves us according to his promise. Now that could simply mean that God saves us because he promised to do so – that's true, but the rest of the Psalm shows that it's more than that.
God's unfailing love and salvation comes to us through his word of promise.
It is as we believe and trust God's promises that his love & salvation come to us.
And where do we find God's promises? In the Bible.

And we receive the benefits of this promise by trusting it. By trusting that God is honest and true and will fulfil his word. That's all.
God doesn't ask us to be more religious or more moral. He simply says, 'Believe me. Trust my word.'

When I started work as an 18 year old in the City of London, business was still conducted on the basis of, 'My word is my bond'.
And that's the basis on which God offers us his love and salvation – 'Take me at my word', he says, 'As you do that, my unfailing love and salvation will come to you.'
So God saves us by the word of his promise – so the apostle James says, 'humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.'

But how does this give us confidence and assurance when people taunt us?
Well, the Psalmist knows that one day, the truth that God loves him and has saved him will come to light – everyone will see God's salvation and, v42, he will, once and for all, be able to answer the one who taunts him.
And the same's true for us. One day, when Christ returns, everyone will see that we were right to trust God's word.
They will realise that they were the real fools, not us.
This is exactly what Jesus said about the light – one day it will shine on each of us revealing whether or not we listened to God's word.
Now because of this, the last thing we want to do is to stop trusting God's word.
We want to be on the winning team when the final whistle goes. So in v43, we cry out to God, 'Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws'.

These days, almost as soon as a child learns to read, we encourage them to read quietly to themselves. But when the Psalms were written, even adults would always have read aloud.
So when he asks God not to snatch the word of truth from his mouth, he's asking God to keep him faithful in his Bible reading.
Why? Because his hope is in God's laws – his future depends on his continued trust in God's laws.
And here the word 'laws' means the decisions of God the judge.
One day, God will sit on his throne and pass judgement on everyone – and in this context, it's about his judgement on whether or not we've believed and received his word of promise.

The Psalmist does trust God's word, so he trusts that God the judge will judge in his favour – he'll be found innocent if he continues trusting.

But believing God's promises does more than just guarantee that one day we'll be able to say to our non-Xn friends, 'See, I told you so'.
And in vv44-45, we see just what a difference following God's word makes to our lives today: READ.

Now, generally speaking, the translation of the Bible we have here is first-class, but here it's not very helpful.
The word translated 'law' in v44 is very different from the word translated 'laws' in v43.
So v43 says, 'Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws – your judgements – your legal decisions.'
But, v44, says, 'I will always obey your law – your teaching'

You may have heard of the word Torah – that's the word here in v44 – it means 'teaching' or 'instruction'.
So here the writer is saying, 'I will always pay attention to your teaching – for ever and ever.'

Now most people think that to follow God's teaching means being restricted and confined.
But that's not what actually happens. Look at v45, when the writer follows God's teaching, he walks about in freedom.
When we follow God's teaching life opens up – the horizons of possibility are broadened, there's freedom from the false promises of sin and self-obsession.
And one of the ways God's teaching brings this new freedom is by replacing our old ways with a new ministry – a new goal and reason for living.
God gives us the ministry of proclaiming the goodness and greatness of his promises to those who haven't yet believed him.
This is the gospel ministry of sharing God's unfailing love and salvation with those who are still trapped in sin.

READ v46

Yes, our writer is experiencing the taunting and mocking of unbelievers, but that doesn't stop him proclaiming the promises of God.
And this, of course, is the ministry & mission of every Christian believer.
We too know that even if we're taunted now, one day we will be vindicated because the Bible tells the truth about God.
And we know the unfailing love of God for ourselves – we've seen it in Jesus Christ, and we've received it by faith.
We too experience the freedom of a life lived in accordance with God's teaching.
And so we want to share the truth about this great promise-keeping God with others.

And yet so often we lose our motivation for speaking about Jesus. In fact, even our love for him fades and grows dim.
How can we rekindle this motivation and love?

If we spot the connection between v46 & v47, they will help is here: I will speak of your statutes before kings and will no be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.
So our love and passion for God and our motivation for speaking about him are rekindled by our love for his word.
God speaks to our hearts and minds when we read the Bible. That's why we love the Bible.
We don't love it because it's a great work of literature. We don't love it because it's part of out tradition at St Peter's.
We love the Bible because it is God's word to us today, and because as we read it we hear God's voice.
This is how we relate to God – the only way we can form a relationship with anyone is by listening and talking.
And yet this seems too easy, and people look for all kinds of mystical ways to relate to God.

So we need constant reminders that if we delight in God's word, we delight in God himself. If we love God's word, we love God himself.
And so being immersed in God's word will mean being immersed in God. Our love for him will grow, our knowledge & understanding of him will deepen, and we will want to speak of him to others.




Daily Bible reading notes from The Good Book Company
For adults: Explore
The Daily Reading Bible
For 14-18s: Engage
For 11-13s: Discover
For 7-10s: XTB

Sample copies are available for each of these, or you can subscribe (£13-£16 per year).
Available from The Good Book Company: www.thegoodbook.co.uk 020 8942 0880





Study Bibles

These Bibles have cross-references, introductions to each book, and notes at the foot of every page to explain the text.
The NIV study Bible is generally very good, but the ESV (English Standard Version) has better notes, some good general introductions to the Bible and allows access to their helpful website.

Amazon is selling the ESV study Bible for £23.49 (RRP £40) and the NIV study Bible for £20.99 (RRP £30).

These are also available from Tonbridge Christian Resource Centre and Burrswood Bookshop, though you may have to order them.



THE BREIFING
A monthly magazine full of good articles for those who are prepared to think about God & his word.
£16.00 per year, includes a daily Bible reading plan with comments.
Pick up an old copy from the back of church and have a look, or visit www.thegoodbook.co.uk/the-Briefing



Online resources
Always be careful with websites – there's some wacky stuff out there! Good sites include:
www.thegospelcoalition.org A huge collection of sermons, articles, talks, blogs etc.
www.stag.org/multimedia/sermons First class sermons from St Andrew the Great, Cambridge
www.sthelens.audiop.org.uk St Helen's, Bishopsgate – Dick Lucas, David Jackman etc.
www.biblegateway.com Online Bibles with search tools, commentaries. Also mobile site.
www.www.allsaintslittleshelford.org Great sermons by Christopher Ash & others.
www.sydneyanglicans.net A huge resource of multimedia articles on parenting, films, youth work, theology, church... you name it, and if you search, you'll probably find it here!
www.phillipjensen.com Clear, straight, humorous talking on various topics & questions.
www.bethinking.org Video, audio & text articles on many subjects. Aimed at students, but useful for anyone & pitched at different levels.


Read the Bible in a year
www.ewordtoday.com/year Bible reading plans starting at different times of year
www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans Various plans & and email reminders!
www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.one.year.tract.pdf The Psalms & NT twice, the rest once in a year.
If you'd like one of these printed off for you, please ask Lindsey Sumpter.