In this special Sunday School lesson, Mark Twombly presents an introduction to Psalm 119 and prepares us to go more deeply into this psalm.
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law of Yahweh and in his law he meditates day and night and he’ll be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and its Leaf does not wither and in whatever he does he prospers not about I don’t know about you when I read that that seems elusive there are times again that I experienced that but it’s not all the time but God has set this wonderful Vision in front of us um and and and there’s a lot I could say here but I one of the things we think about is what is our what is our view of prosperity that sounds almost unbelievable right in everything he does he prospers but keep in mind what God has in mind for us is what Proverbs calls enduring wealth what God calls fruitfulness this is Way Beyond material Prosperity which is not what this is talking about this is talking about a heart that abounds with the character of God really the fruit of the spirit this is the prosperity that God has for us and so you see these words here that we’ve talked about we’ve seen blessed we’ve seen Delight meditate’s a big one we’re going to get into that a little bit more next week so let’s talk a little bit about the next word Revival I don’t know if any of you’ve had followed What had happened in recent weeks about the Asbury Revival um and I just want to encourage you that you may have various opinions on that but Revival in the scriptures is they’re not specific events if we look at Psalm 119 we see this should be our continual experience kind of like repentance we don’t just kind of repent we’re done with it and we move on with our lives right that’s not the life of a Christian we live lives of continual Revival the psalmist said this my soul clings to the dust revive me revive me according to your word we’re pleading with God to bring us life and that’s really what this word means revive the Hebrew word means to be alive to live to keep alive right in Psalm 119 employs us were to say that God’s word both gives and preserves life um look with me if you will at Deuteronomy verses verse chapter 32 verses 46 and 47. speak very importantly to us about this Deuteronomy 32 verses 46 and 7 say this and he said to them place in your heart all the words with which I am command warning you today this is Moses to the people of Israel which you shall command your sons to be careful to do even all the words of this law for it is not an idol a word for you indeed it is your life and by this word you will prolong your days in the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess I quoted it earlier too when Jesus said man shall not live on bread alone quoting Moses from Deuteronomy 8 man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God do you approach your life if you approach God’s word that way most of us would not think of going through a day without eating unless we’re fasting for some special purpose right because you need food how much more do you need God’s word do you approach God’s word that way job said I have I valued his word more than my necessary food right and so when we ask God to revive us we have a great sense of our need for his word now I don’t know about you but some of you who know me know that I tend toward anxiety and depression and so when I wake up in the morning this doesn’t happen for me naturally if I can be honest with you I wake up desperate if I don’t get into God’s word right away it’s going to go south very fast and it’s going to spiral down very fast I’m going to go negative and I’m going to bring as many people as I can with me you don’t want to be around me if I haven’t been in God’s word that’s just my experience I know that’s not everybody’s experience but in a sense I praise God for it because I think it reminds me of just it’s my need is very obvious to me if I don’t spend a generous amount of time in God’s word every day it’s just not good and I think that’s the the sentiment that is expressed here in psalm 119.
from Spurgeon the word of God shows us that he who first made us must Keep Us Alive he’s referring to Galatians 5 25 which says if we live by the spirit let us also walk by the spirit in other words if if God has made us alive right in Christ then he is the one who sustains our lives he does that through God’s word so he who first made us must Keep Us Alive it is a grand thing to see a believer in the dust and yet pleading the promise a man at the Grave’s mouth crying Quicken me revive me and hoping that it shall be done life is in both cases the object of pursuit that he may have life and have it more abundantly that’s quoting from Jesus in John 10 10.
so we need Revival we need God’s word to make us alive right First Peter 1 23 we have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable that is through the living and abiding word of God so God’s word has birthed New Life in us and it sustains that new life one of the things I’d like to talk about is I title the lesson God and His word because we’re not simply talking about words on a page we are talking about God speaking to us through the written word and we never want to separate God from his word they come to us together so let’s talk about God a little bit and I love this from Deuteronomy 32 3-4 for I proclaim the name of Yahweh ascribe greatness to our god The Rock his work is perfect for all his ways are just a god of faithfulness and without Injustice righteous and upright is he I think you’ll see as you as you wander as you not wander as you journey through Psalm 119 that you will experience God I love this verse too in Psalm 138 verse 2. I will worship toward your Holy Temple and give thanks to your name for your loving kindness and your Truth for you have magnified your word according to all your name it’s an amazing thing to think about God and His word are right there together I don’t know about you but I’ve heard people talk about this in terms like this well we don’t worship the Bible do we I think we want to be careful about how we talk about that but it’s God’s word and we worship him now that accusation it’s called um let me give one more verse for you and then we’ll get into that um how God how God personally comes to us Psalm 119 151 near are you Yahweh and all your Commandments are truth so again I’ve repeated this a number of times I want us to really get this that God comes to us personally through his word more than anything else right and so so when we when we think about getting into the book we’re not just getting into the book right or experiencing him so as we approach this couple Concepts I want to encourage you with is the words Perfection and presence as we saw in in Deuteronomy 32 we worship a god of infinite Perfection whose thoughts words and ways are infinitely above ours right the verse says as high as the heavens are above the Earth so much higher his ways his words his thoughts than ours surely in light of that perfection we stand in speechless awe I love Psalm 33 8-9 I think Pastor Dave you’ve quoted it several times in the creation series let all the Earth fear the lord let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him for he spoke and it was done he commanded and it stood fast right this is the power of God’s word and I would say also the power of His written word yet in that Perfection he is not aloof as I said before he draws near to us through his word Reviving our souls and perfecting our ways this is the purpose of God’s word and particularly of Psalm 119.
so let’s look at a verse that’s I think maybe very familiar to many of you II Timothy 3 16 all scripture is God breathed then profitable for teaching for reproof for correction for training and righteousness so that the man of God may be equipped having been thoroughly equipped for every good work and we see those purposes that God has for us in his word right teaching reproof correction training right as you spend time in God’s word is it is it teaching you is it reproving you yes it is every day is it correcting me is it training me right um this is its purpose and so all of this is seen in marvelous detail in psalm 119.
and by means of his promises and attributes and his powerful discipline in our lives as a loving father he transforms us into the image of Christ in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge so make this the very purpose of this is the very purpose of Psalm 119 and make this your purpose in Psalm 119 will be for you the most valuable companion okay so with that just a couple of warnings I mentioned one earlier this is the idea of what what’s sometimes called bibliology or worship of the Bible and it comes from this particular passage in John 5. it says you do not have his word abiding in you this is Jesus speaking to the Pharisees for you do not believe him whom he sent you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life it is these that bear witness about me and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life I just find that amazing um so how confusing must it have been for the people of Israel at that time to see the people to see the people who seemingly knew God’s word best reflect his character perhaps the least you imagine that it’s really really confusing they knew the book of life but refused to draw near to its author that was Jesus assessment of them how could this be I think as you unfold this through the Gospels the Pharisees Focus actually wasn’t on God’s word the focus was on their own Traditions by which they invalidated God’s word we see this in Matthew 15 and other passages so when you really look at that they worshiped not God but themselves they promote it they said you you you’re Jesus said you were teaching as doctrines the precepts of man in other words you’re putting your own ideas forward as if they are God’s ideas an example of pride a greater example of Pride can hardly be found and this is something we really have to watch as well even as I teach this lesson this morning I need to be tethered this is my phone but I’m pointing to my Bible I need to be Tethered to What God Says and promote that and not my ideas necessarily about what God says we’re always going back to him so what we find with the Pharisees is they didn’t love God’s word too much but too little and so this so when people talk to me about bibliometry I just don’t think that accusation sticks right and I would I would challenge us with this is there an epidemic of bibliology are there people out there who love God’s word too much is this a problem has anybody seen this anywhere I have not seen this anywhere we need to trust we’re not thinking highly enough of the Bible and but always in relationship with the Lord so I trust that as you meditate on the words of Psalm 119 you will see nothing of this sentiment of loving words on a page but not God but you will see a growing realization of the incalculable treasure that God has placed before you you’ll be blessed beyond measure as you experience God’s presence as he speaks personally and powerfully to you through his perfect word this is how I think the Lord would have us approach Psalm 119 and all of his word okay I’ve got a second warning and this was actually the warning that um that we see goes all the way back to Creation Genesis 3 1 now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made and he said to the woman indeed has God said You shall not eat from any tree of the garden Paul would remind us of this in First Corinthians but I fear that as the serpent deceived thee by his craftiness your minds will be corrupted from the Simplicity and purity of Devotion to Christ so that phrase has God said this Rings through history and into our lives even today I think Pastor Dave brought this out very clearly most recently in the creation series did God really say that is God’s word really true and trustworthy because the attacks on God’s word are constant we need constant reminders of what it is in Psalm 119 will remind you daily of the reality of what you have in front of you in the written word of God you and I approach it as much as may we may think we value it we do not yet value it enough and Psalm 119 will help us with that God’s words are certain and correct and they are the only rock upon which to build a life as our Lord has told us okay that’s a lot so far we doing okay okay I’ll send out the slides as well if you want to take some time in them so there’s actually um it’s not actually um known or there’s no there’s no broad consensus about who the human author of Psalm 119 was I have an opinion on this but I’m going to give you the options these are three very good examples for us that we’re going to walk through the first option is David a king of Israel man after God’s Own Heart so if you if you read the treasury of David commentary by Spurgeon on someone 19. he will talk about it as if David wrote it and he will refer to events in David’s life which is interesting um Psalm 119 103-104 right uh how sweet are your words to my taste yes sweeter than honey to my mouth through your precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way and so you look at David’s life and you say that sounds like David right David lived the life of other dependence and love for God in his word right and so uh we look at Psalm 19 7-10 which is ascribed directly to David and a lot of these words here it’s interesting Psalm 19 in Psalm 119 have some interesting similarities this was David’s view of God’s word the law of Yahweh is perfect restoring the soul the testimony of Yahweh is sure making wise the simple the precepts of Yahweh are right rejoicing the heart the Commandment of Yahweh is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of Yahweh is clean enduring forever the judgments of Yahweh are true they are righteous altogether they are more desirable than gold even more than much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb right look at all the things that God’s word is and does amazing it’s perfect it’s sure right Pure Clean true restores the soul makes us wise or choices the heart enlightens the eyes all of these things more desirable than gold Psalm 119 it expands on this principle I think it’s in verse 14 with this I valued um it says more than all riches right I value your word more than think about that think about how excited people get about potentially winning the lottery which by the way that doesn’t necessarily work out that doesn’t work out well for people you know I think you know that when people do that um but but we think about how excited we can be about coming into some wealth right in someone I’ve seen it says it’s greater than all of that all of that option two in terms of who wrote Psalm 119 is Daniel might surprise you a little bit he was a man of conviction he was an Israeli Ambassador in the Babylonian exile Daniel lived the life of resolved conviction and faithfulness recognizing that the welfare of God’s people was the result of their faithfulness to his word and he expressed this in Daniel 9 9-10 to the Lord Our God Beyond compassion and forgiveness for we have rebelled against him nor have we listened to the voice of Yahweh our God to walk in his laws in which he put before us through his slaves and Prophets he was living this he was in Exile recognizing I think it was in a recent sermon we talked about about the sabbaths right that God had you owe me 70 years because you because of your Disobedience and Daniel recognized that the very situation he was in was because God’s word was true so Daniel’s a an interesting candidate to be the author of Psalm 119 and the third one which I’ll give away my my hand I I gravitate toward this Ezra uh priest for the returning Exiles in Israel uh Israel Ezra represent presents to us a holistic approach to God’s word an Engaged heart and a credible Life as a foundation for teaching and this is a verse that really motivates me whenever I prepare to do something like this right for Ezra had set his heart to study the law of Yahweh and to practice it and to teach his statute and judgment in Israel that’s a great chronology for us you’re teaching in any way your first task is to study it then to practice it and then to teach it so as much as I enjoy teaching you today this isn’t the best part the best part was the preparation the time that I spent with God doing it that’s the best part you’re just seeing maybe something that would benefit you as a result and so that’s something that if you’re involved teaching or serving in any way right we don’t we don’t learn to teach we learn to practice and then to teach so Ezra is a good a good candidate a good candidate for uh the authorship of Psalm 119.
this year I think probably presents the heart of Psalm 119 more than in any other verses before we do that I just want to go back to that concept I kind of went a little fast and I think we’re doing well on time about what um what Psalm 119 says comparing God’s word to riches if you look at Psalm 119 verse 14.
I was the one I was referring to earlier I rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches just this is worth stopping and meditating and thinking about that all riches God’s word rejoicing in the way of his testimonies obedience is more valuable than that this has become mine that I observe your precepts I think that’s in verse 56 right that’s our that’s our most precious possession is knowing god and his word and obeying him um I think there’s another one was it uh yeah I’m trying to find it here guys I think this would be a lot slower in a paper Bible but it’s not going fast now all right well maybe I’ll unfold that a little bit more next week as we as we look at the value of God’s word so let’s look at these verses here oh how I love your law it is my meditation all the day I have not turned aside from your judgments for you yourself have taught me again we see that personal teaching from God himself to us how sweet is your word to my taste sweeter than honey to my mouth from your precepts I get perception therefore I hate every false way going back to the concept of God’s word being like seeds that we sow in our hearts I don’t think this is natural for us to love God’s word this much our flesh doesn’t do this our flesh actually will go in the opposite direction but God’s God’s word can actually change our tastes our appetites our affections as the Puritans would call it right I think of when um when Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied in Matthew 5 . it’s wonderful we can get to that point in our lives where we might our flesh might gravitate to certain other things but it just won’t do it for us just won’t satisfy like God’s word and God’s righteousness will you know there are things that I’ve seen in my life over time you know we all have our besetting sins right those things that we struggle with more than others um anyone here have a uh have the perception that I I’ll never have victory over this anybody experienced that right hopefully we all have but over time I I remember there’s certain times in my life where I sat and I was thinking and meditating I realized wow that just does not have the appeal that it used to have it just doesn’t have the hold of my heart that it used to you know that Delight that we talked about I would default to to this particular thought whether it be anger or lust or whatever it is I just I just don’t want to go there anymore my delight is changing to be in God’s word and I sat there and I thought well you know I know I didn’t do that I know I didn’t make that happen but God’s word soon over time has had a transforming effect um it’s called sanctification right and for all of us I think it’s probably going slower than we’d like anybody wants sanctification to speed up I would like to but this is where I really want to urge us to spend some time in Psalm 119 because it will give you hope and it would continue to cultivate those things um it’s a I kind of look at it like an accelerator if you will for your time in God’s word so I urge you to meditate on Psalm 119 personally slowly and prayerfully and so this lesson is meant to encourage you in your intimacy with God in time in his word so this is my prayer for you this is my prayer for us as we as we get into God’s word I am surprised to see that I am done with material that went really fast I normally I have too much and I was urged by my friend Danny and others to to not cram too much but I’m gonna have to I’m going to save the rest of it for next week um we can interact a little bit and I can maybe um walk through some of the verses that have been particularly impactful to me so I’m really surprised this is not like this is not typical for me at all I’m usually I was told that I needed to end by 10 and I think I think we’re going to end by 10.
some comments or questions today Steve so so Steve says the author of someone I think is David okay yeah um I don’t I I can I get back to you on that next week a little bit more um yeah um it’s in my notes somewhere I think a lot of it has to do as I recall for with the chronology and the timing of it which seems to fit much better uh for a later date uh than David yeah it’s it’s interesting um if any of you saw the Sight and Sound play on David which we had a chance to see um as a family Ezra is a character uh uh on the uh in that no no it was Esther thank you he was in the play on Esther which is much later and Ezra is a character and he’s quoting from Psalm throughout throughout the play so maybe that’s how I got at Steve from a play I I don’t think that’s quite it but but they interpreted it that way I think um perhaps and we’re watching too many movies Steve said yeah Danny mm-hmm ah so I’ll go back to well let’s look at that so actually those are unfolded a little bit more clearly or concisely in Psalm 19. so let’s go let’s look at that Psalm 19 verses 7 through 10 and I think it has a lot of those words that you’re talking about Danny and I think I have I think I have your answers Danny in my study notes on my phone so I’m gonna I’m gonna try that so Psalm 19 7-10 right and you notice the different words that are used right the law of Yahweh is perfect restoring the souls that’s one way of describing it law the testimony of Yahweh is sure making wise and simple so you’ve got law you’ve got testimony precepts you got a third word there right the precepts of the law of Yahweh are right rejoicing the heart and then you’ve got a fourth one the Commandment of Yahweh is pure enlightening the eyes you look a little bit further psalm 19 the fear of Yahweh is clean enduring forever the judgments of Yahweh are true they are righteous altogether and I have to read the next couple verses they are more desirable than gold even more than much fine gold sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb moreover by them your slave is worn in keeping them I’m just gonna keep reading this is good stuff I’m gonna gather some things here and keeping them there’s great reward who can discern his errors equip you have hidden faults also keep back your slave from presumptuous sins let them not rule over me then I will be blameless and I’ll be acquitted of great transgression let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight o Yahweh my rock and my redeemer I think you’re seeing some of the benefits already of what God’s word does right it it helps discern our errors right so that we can confess sin accurately to God right um it it brings sweetness to our lives so it to back back to your question Danny the law right the law I think is simply the word Torah right it is it is formerly the law as given to Moses right that’s that’s the first part and and think about what it says about that I’m just going by my study notes Here the law is perfect restoring the soul and how do when people think of the word law what do they think about you throw this thing law at people what are some some of the the things that come to mind rules yeah what’s that Ten Commandments right legalism right you don’t think you don’t necessarily think of something life-giving do you right you think of something uh restrictive and oppressive God’s not God’s law is not like that we referred to it earlier his Commandments are not burdensome right wow that’s an amazing thing to think about um so it what does the law do it’s perfect and restores the Soul we never get away from the law let’s just think out loud a little bit we’re talking about this from Galatians actually so I’m giving away the answer a little bit uh what what are some of the other things that the law does show us our sin thank you Tony Glenda pointing you to look at the word of God I love what it says in Galatians it is our tutor right to lead us to Christ so isn’t that wonderful it shows us that we can’t obey the law which is discouraging but it leads us to the one who did and fulfills that requirement for us isn’t that amazing it’s life-giving so there are some there are some pastors that have said we need to get away from the Old Testament it’s not life-giving right I’ll just call out a name Andy Stanley talks about this says we got to get away from it how are people going to come to Christ without that right how’s that even possible so that’s the law um the testimony this is what God says about himself let me um let me just look up the Hebrew word here and uh some of the trained Professionals in the room like uh can help us out here what’s up we’re not there yet we’re not there yet we’re on we’re on um test oh I see yeah yeah okay we’ll get there Steve yep I’m I’m with you on that yep it’s a witness here the testimony is yes what God essentially is what God says about himself right what God says about himself is true um make sure I have the right one yeah it’s it is this in the clear sense it is a witness right so God never lies what he says about himself is true what God says about everything is true right so um and that law that perfect law restores the testimony makes us wise isn’t that what it says right that’s a promise the testimony of Yahweh is sure making wise the simple right we don’t we don’t assess things properly but shining the light of God’s word does right yeah so that’s testimony I can unfold this a little more well we’ll think about what we’ll do next week precepts right that’s the idea behind that is that the collective mandates of God that’s probably the one that’s most like rules right if you will um it’s uh means instruction right I’m just reading this from my word study dictionary it’s a masculine noun meaning precept or instruction the root expresses the idea that God is paying attention to how he wants things ordered right so when God gives precepts he’s prescribing things should be a certain way we were talking at Iron Man Tuesday night about um the Holiness of God but if you look through the pentateuch and how God wanted things ordered it’s painful detail you can just feel the weight of it wow you know and I don’t know about you when I read that I need a picture to show me what the temple looked like it’s really it’s just so much detail um God has prescribed for us so let me summarize the law is the Torah the law again by Moses um the testimony is the witness of God right as you pointed out Steve thank you for that um and the precepts are how God wants things ordered how God wants things done what’s next commandment that’s pretty straightforward right Commandments um the edicts that God gives us the direct commands and as I heard a brother say very simply he is our King and as such his commands are not optional how often do you look at God’s word and you think that’s that’s that’s that’s one of a few options For Me Maybe the best option but it’s in some way optional no this sharpens our Focus to say not not optional um that’s and and those commands are and so those precepts are right rejoicing the heart think about that if God has prescribed something for me do I rejoice in that or do I chafe at that this is a kind of tells me where my heart is a commandment right we talked about that the the the direct commands they are pure enlightening the eyes right and then the last one’s judgments right his his verdicts right I think is probably the best way to to understand that right um that judgment is a legal decision uh it’s a proper claim right if God says something is so it is so right uh if he has judged Me by his word to be in sin and then I need to repent I need to pay attention to that that’s a long answer to a short question Danny and I think you see all of those I know I went to Psalm 19 instead of 119 but those words appeared there as well so you see the kind of multi-dimensional aspects of God’s word yeah some other anyhow what is the relevance of the author what is the relevance of the author and why do I think that the author remains unknown well to Steve it’s not unknown so Steve Steve doesn’t have the same dilemma that you have and I do you have anyhow um you just well there you go he just assumed it you assumed it I got another one from a play so we’re not we’re not doing great here in our in our study yeah and I’ve practically said that right they are so close that’s absolutely right um I have a thought on that um I don’t know that no if God wanted us to know anyhow who the specific author was he would have told us um so we don’t need to know that to benefit from it but but I just I thought putting those three possibilities in front of you is really encouraging because what you see is not people who wrote brilliant things from the from the hand of God but were examples to us and and and in some ways reflected the impact of God’s word on their own life that’s really the only answer that I have um I’m thinking of a verse and let me bear with me here that helps Express this as well um from Ecclesiastes yeah and this this how has more of a direct application I think the Proverbs but when we think of God’s word this is a wonderful thing to think about it says the words of wise men are like goads and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails they are given by one Shepherd isn’t that wonderful they all come to us from our Lord yeah Glenda yeah yeah ah yeah yeah so we don’t learn God’s word to show off our knowledge or to make a point or win an argument yeah I’ve never done that I don’t know what you’re talking about no I I was terribly convicted that’s something I fight all the time particularly as a younger man um honestly I’ll tell you a brief story I was at a conference one time this was just one of these scary moments where my sister was there as well and she said well Mark everybody thinks that you’re just perfect and I was horrified because I thought well that’s not good that speaks of Pride but then the Lord convicted me and and reminded me well Mark that’s what you’re going for isn’t it you’re trying to impress people I’m using his word to do that oh it’s terrible that’s very pharisaical right and so these words kind of carry weight for me because I see this tendency in my own heart even as I’m doing this I find any anyone who teaches fights Pride when they teach right I don’t want you to walk away from the sled and say wow Marcus Mark knows a lot about God’s word isn’t Mark wonderful no no no that’s not it at all God’s word is incredible and can take a schlub like me and I don’t know if that’s even a word but a Wretch like Me and just even do something right it’s amazing sure the written word [Music] I’m doing this for people who can hear online the written word is an expression of the the word incarnate Jesus yeah yeah yeah yeah mm-hmm I think I think and then you know so then when people are thank you Cheryl I’ll try to capture capitalize that for maybe folks online so um God’s word reflects God himself in particular Christ and it’s very Dynamic and as you were speaking Cheryl I think of all the things that we saw that God’s word is and does that’s God doing that the law of yahweh’s perfect restores the soul God restores our soul right uh God’s God’s word is sure it makes he makes us wise he enlightens our eyes right yeah wonderful wonderful as you so that’s really reflected I think in Hebrews one um God after many after after he spoke long ago to the prophets in many portions in many ways in these last days has spoken to us through his son right whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world now I’ve got a whole lesson on this like I’m it’s in my head I could just go right off on that but people hold that off for next week right but we think of the implications of God speaking through his son yeah wonderful did Tony did you have something slowly prayerfully yep yeah Psalm 119 creates that longing yes yep yeah yeah yep yep yep yeah yeah yeah [Music] that’s wonderful yeah because you see Psalm 119 and so many times I say that’s that’s so far from my experience but I want that I think what you’ve reflected there Tony is something we see in God’s word is it it both satisfies us and makes us hungry at the same time isn’t that amazing because we need more and I think what we’re asking God for Lord give me more capacity for your word increase my capacity I’m going to get in with two thoughts going back to um has God not said from Genesis 3. it’s kind of a good continuation from the creation series I think Pastor Dave brought up brought about the fact that those who um have different ideas about um creation let’s say evolutionary creationists if if I can use that term I would say they haven’t read Psalm 119 enough because they don’t have the they’ll admit and you even gave some quotes there that well I I admit that that’s not consistent with what the word of God says but but but what this is God’s word you don’t you don’t have that option right so so that would I think be an example of where where we really need to be on guard where are those areas in our lives easy to pick on these these Scholars so-called right but but where where are we not regarding God’s word as it speaks to us in our lives in certain areas that’s that’s I think what we really need to think about um and uh I’m going to go back to the the uh the issue of Revival real quick and then we’ll we’ll close um when it when it says in Psalm 119 my soul Cleaves to the dust I mean there’s just this sense of desperation um that if you you express there Tony that I’d like to save you end on and encourage us to really think about um let me see if I can find it obviously I haven’t memorized Psalm 119 yet so if you but do you know who did I don’t know if you know this story is a William Wilberforce and it was a parliamentarian in England who was instrumental in abolishing slavery um he would walk to Parliament it’s about a 15-minute walk and that’s about how long it takes to read Psalm 119 he memorized it and that’s what he would do as he would walk back and forth from Parliament incredible stuff incredible stuff I’ll get it here guys and then we’ll close yeah psalm 119.
if you look around verse 25 yeah yeah this is incredible thanks for bearing with me here this is the Hebrew letter daleth was so it’s 25 through 32 and I’ll just read this and then we’ll pray my soul Cleaves to the Dust revive me according to your word I have told him my ways and you have answered me teach me your statutes make me understand the way of your precepts so I will meditate on your wonders my soul weeps because of grief strengthen me according to your word remove the false way from me and graciously grant me your law I have chosen the Faithful Way I have placed your ordinances before me I cling to your testimonies oh Lord do not put me to shame I shall run the way of your Commandments for you will enlarge my heart father God we seek this in our own lives we see here a man who was clean to the dust and you’ve revived them to the point of running in your word that we ask you to do that in our lives we pray this week our time with you would be revived strengthened May our resolve to seek you and your word be stronger than ever this week and we trust you to transform us as we do so into the perfect image of Christ in Jesus name amen thank you