It's a great joy and privilege to be with you today, and I was hoping you wouldn't mention my travels, but it's a joy that the journey was smooth and I could be with you. I'd also mention, I hope you'll excuse me for this, but to say that Wessex Auxiliary has been a great encouragement. to those at HQ to be able to be sending Bibles out that would be distributed in schools, and as we've heard today, in prisons and various other places. And this was long before, in recent days at least, the London Auxiliary, which I am part of, were able to distribute scriptures. And we were greatly encouraged by how the work goes here, and we sought to follow in your footsteps in that regard. I'd like to draw your attention then this afternoon to the passage that was read a few moments ago in Psalm 119. Psalm 119, and in particular from verse 105 to 112. Now in these verses you will find in verse 105 one of the most well-known verses of scripture, one that you may know well yourself. We read thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And here we see presented before us the rich blessing. It is to have the word of God. Without the word of God and its work within us by the Holy Spirit, we would continue in a spiritual darkness. And yet through God's precious word, he reveals his will to us, the glorious truths pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ and exposes our sinful nature. And so I'd like to look at this particular passage, concentrating especially on Psalm 105. We're in a world today where there's a lot of information. You will easily find an expert or someone who will advise you to do almost anything. And they will give you great detail about it. It may seem in light of all of these things when we come to spiritual matters. It is impossible to find the way. And of course, humanly speaking, it is. It is like being in a dark night without any light at all. Some would tell us, it doesn't matter which path we're heading, as long as we are sincere, we'll end up being okay in the end. But the psalmist here is someone who knows the Lord, draws our attention to God's word, that is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. The psalmist has come to love the word of God. As many of you know, Psalm 119, we're presented with a range of different ways of expressing the Word of God. In testimonies, in the Lord's judgments, the Lord's commandments. As we see in this passage, the Lord's righteous judgments. And in this longest psalm of the whole scriptures. We have presented to us in various ways over and over again the Word of God, how important it is, how it had been such a guide for the psalmist, how much he loved it. And so he should challenge us if we profess to know Christ as to where the Word of God stands in our own hearts and minds. In this particular psalm, the psalmist presents to us resolutions or evidences of his sincere desire to live for the glory of God. He has told us repeatedly that he loves the word of God and he desires the Lord to give him understanding of the precious word. Well let's then look more detail in verse 105 where we read of the lamp and light of God's word. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The reason why it is so consequential, the reason why the psalmist describes it as something he loves is because it is God's word. He says, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It comes with the authority of the creator of the whole universe, of everything. It comes with the stamp of divine authority and wisdom, a God who knows all things. and has revealed himself in his word by those prophets and apostles as the Holy Spirit moved them, as the scriptures say, to write these things exactly as the Lord intended them to be. Thy word. That is why it is so important. That is why it is so vital to us. The one who gives us life and breath is the one who's given us this Word. And wouldn't we be foolish to ignore it? Wouldn't we be foolish to put it to one side? How we should seek the Lord would help us to love His Word more and more. We read two things here with regard to the word of God. It's a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. There is a sense in which the Lord's word is a lamp unto our feet, if you like, our next step, and a light unto our path, looking further forward. But this happens in the Lord's providence when the Lord converts someone. The Lord uses his light, doesn't he, to expose our sin, as we see our helplessness before the Lord. Some of you may have, as you've grown up, been told by your parents to clean your room. And sometimes when the light is off, the room doesn't look so bad. But then you flip the light on and the room looks terrible and you maybe realize the wisdom of your parents at that moment. Well, this is how the Lord works in showing us our own sin. In light of God's word, in light of God's perfect holiness, he brings the slave sinner to see their helplessness. Also, there's a forward part to that. Not only does the light expose our sin, but it shows us what's to come in eternity. If we're not made right with God, then in eternity we will face the judgment of God. It reveals to us the light of what is to come for those who are not saved by the grace of God, those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. And so in that sense, at the very beginning, for the believer, the word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. The lamp here points us to this immediate guidance. And the sort of thing that's being referred to is a small portable light that symbolizes a constant access. And so it could be used, you'll see, if you happen to have the TBS Westminster Bible, you'll see an alternative there is given of a candle. This sense of immediate light round about us. is this small portable light, and how God's word is like that for us. We should read it so it is on our hearts and minds, that it may be deployed as we wish to take the next step in our daily walk with the Lord, as we leave our houses. John Gill comments that the word is like a lantern. which directs the traveler in the night, shows him the way in which he should go and what to avoid. The blessing we have in scripture is this immediate light so we may see those temptations and things which are sinful round about us. We may seek guidance so we do not stumble. So often we can be prone to stumble in our Christian walk because we haven't been in the Word of God as we should. We put it to one side. We put other things that were a greater priority to us. The Word of God is something that we fit in maybe if we have time in the day. Oh, that shouldn't be the case for the believer in Christ. The word of God should be so central to us. We see this as vital to our Christian walk and we don't want to stumble. And so as we read this verse, it says, thy word is a lamp unto my feet. I don't want you to just think it's speaking here of an intellectual knowledge. Of course, it's speaking to us of a truth. of the truth that God's word reveals. But someone who has been truly converted not only knows the truth intellectually, but knows by the grace of God in their very heart and soul that this is the thing that they should follow. They delight in the word of God. It is not just an intellectual interest for them. It is something that is deep and spiritual. I remember a few years ago I met a man when I used to work in the legal courts who is a barrister, but he's also an ardent quiz individual, and he's been on well-known shows of Mastermind and so on, and we met him on Victoria Street evangelizing, and he knew the word of God. He had that sort of mind that could quote verses all over the place. but he knew nothing of the God of the Word. And that is so vital and important. We do not just read God's Word as an exercise to stimulate us intellectually. It should be that which we seek to apply to our lives that causes us to consider our spiritual state before the Lord and causes us to look upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Thy Word is a lamp unto our feet. Dear friends, we are walkers through this world. We are pilgrims traveling through, and we are often called to go through narrow paths, through which we need the guidance of God's word to keep us continued on that straight way, lest we stumble. Of course, if we know the Lord, we can never be lost, but we should seek to guard our steps that we glorify Almighty God. Our love for the word is best shown by how we live in the word. The Lord Jesus Christ emphasizes this truth himself while many religious leaders of his day claimed they had a high view of scripture. The Lord rebuked them that they should be not only hearers of the word of God, but doers. A well-known commentator on the Psalms, Mr. Dixon, once wrote, love to the word and estimation of it. are best evidenced by making practical use of it in a man's conversation. And it's here talking about conversation in the biblical sense, our course of life, how we live for the glory of God. And so we have in the word of God something which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And that shouldn't only be the case for us. Our heart's desire is that the Lord should use this in the converting of others. That they too may walk in the light of the word of God. That is why is it not that we distribute God's word. We seek to make God's word known that the Lord will bless it to those who read it. That they too would no longer walk in darkness, but know the glorious light of the gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it is with that burden we seek to spread God's word. There were days, of course, in this land, in this country, where there was a darkness with regard to the word of God. We're thinking especially this year and next year of William Tyndale. He was a man who translated the Word of God into English from Greek, one of the first to do so, if not the first. And when he did it, there was no one who was brave enough to publish it in England. He made a trip to London and thought he'd get support there. And in the end, he had to be a fugitive through Europe as he completed his translation and sought to find someone who would print the Word of God. He, by the grace of God, was able to print that New Testament that was then sent into the UK and the authorized version in the New Testament is estimated around 80 or 90% to be from William Tyndale. How we're thankful that the Lord used William Tyndale in that way that he might spread the light of the Word of God. And we are in a privileged position today That I'm not going to ask you to come up, although I know some are translating in other languages. But you don't need to go and translate into English. We have a faithful translation of the word of God. We have a faithful translation that the Lord is blessed. And we can study it and grasp the truths presented to us. So we not only read in the scriptures, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, but it is a lamp and light that is something the Lord has given to us in our own language, that we might read and grasp it. And by the Holy Spirit's illuminating, we might understand these things. And because it is God's word, the Lord blesses it to different people in different places. I saw in the presentation there you were distributing to prisons during the past year. And the Lord in his providence can use his word in unexpected ways. I met a man in the U.S. just last year who is now a minister. Prior to his conversion, he was a man who was involved in all sorts of addictions and various things. And the Lord used a copy of the scriptures that was in a prison that he was put into. And that copy of the scriptures, he read in the late 1990s. And it had been put in that prison in the 1970s. And you think how in the Lord's providence that Bible had been there, may have been discarded by the person who originally received it, but the Lord blessed it many years later to the glory of God. And so I would encourage you in that great work of distributing God's word. We read in the scripture, don't we, that God's word will not return unto him void, but will accomplish that to which he has sent it. So not only do we see here the lamp and light of God's word, but in verse 106 we read, I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgments. Because the psalmist sees God's word as the thing that is going to guide his life, as he's looking to the Lord for grace and strength, he is going to make an oath in this verse to follow what the word of God says. The psalmist holds God's word in such high esteem. Judgments here that are described refer to God's ordinances and laws. He desires to follow those things that the Lord has instructed because he knows this is the lamp and light for his walk. Again, John Gill says, that swearing an oath signifies a solemn, deliberate commitment to obedience. The psalmist not only makes this vow, but confirms his intent to perform it, showing a deep respect for God's word, end quote. And so we see here, this should be the heart of the believer, that we have a solemn resolve as the Lord grants us grace and strength to follow God's word. It should be, as Americans like to say today, non-negotiable. It's a non-negotiable for us that we want to follow God's word. We resolve to keep it. The best evidence of the mark of grace on our hearts and lives is that we delight to follow God's word. That we delight to live according to the word of God. Thirdly, we see in verse 107, The psalmist says, I am afflicted very much. Quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word. Now, as we seek to follow the Lord, we may find occasions where it's a time of suffering for us. Each believer knows we will endure these times in different degrees. But the Lord knows these things. And that is why in his word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, he has drawn for us such great comfort in affliction. As the psalmist here prays and presents that he is afflicted very much, quicken me, bring me to life, O Lord, according to thy word. The psalmist looks to the promises of God's word. And here is the source of his comfort and strength during times of distress. During times of discouragement, he looks to the word of God. As we go through sufferings, maybe bodily, maybe for other people around the world, they endure persecution for the sake of the gospel. As we endure these things, we have a light to our path, looking forward, knowing that one day we will stand before the Lord. And if we know Him, He will welcome us. Or as we see it put in the scriptures, the sufferings of this present time. are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us at the last. Do you see how we can have a lamp view, if you like, where the word guides our immediate steps, but we must also have the light to our path, looking that we're heading to eternity, if we're in Christ, to glory. And one day as we endure these sufferings, the Lord will wipe away the tears from our eyes, as it says in Revelation, and there will be no more suffering. And we will dwell in the presence of the lamb for all eternity. What a blessing. What a comfort that should be to the heart of the believer. And how we should recourse to the word of God when we find ourselves in times of affliction. We're blessed with great means today where we have things that help us physically with physical ailments. but how we should run to the word of God through the first place in all of our afflictions. John Owen writing on affliction says, a man may read the promises of God in prosperity and be comforted, but he will live upon them in affliction. In our darkest hours, they are life itself, end quote. So we read the promises of God, we rejoice in them, but in the affliction, we live upon them. And that's where the Lord grants us great grace and help. And so we find the psalmist here applying the word as a lamp and a light as he sees and goes through affliction. Fourthly, in verse 108 we read, Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments. Here the psalmist expresses delight in worship. The term freewill Maybe that concerns some of you, but the term free will here is pointing us to those days in Israel where you had certain sacrifices you had to do each and every day, but there were free will offerings in the sense that you would overflow with praise on occasion, or you may bring an extra sacrifice to the Lord as thankfulness for a particular thing. It doesn't mean that we have free will in that sense. It is pointing us to these offerings and it is describing the psalmist who knows God's help in affliction and he is going to praise God as he reads the scriptures. Maybe outside of a church service or outside of some formal meeting, he reads the word of God in his own study. And it causes him to give praise to God in prayer or maybe in singing of a psalm or something. That he is going to rejoice in the Lord, the free offerings of his mouth. And through it, trust that the Lord will teach him his judgments. These offerings are not material sacrifices in the days in which we live now in the New Testament. But they are the fruit of our lips of praise and thanksgiving. That we desire to learn God's judgments. That we see the Lord's dealings with men and women, boys and girls. That we see the Lord's actions through history and we recount the Lord's grace as we hear reports of those receiving scriptures. And these things cause us to break out in praise and thanksgiving unto almighty God. One writer says, praise is good in itself. but it is also a plea with God to give us instruction. Praise is not merely a return for blessings, but it is in itself a boon and benefit to the believer. And so here in verse 108, the psalmist is giving praise to God with his mouth, but in so praising God, his desire is that the Lord would teach him more. The Lord would teach him more from the word of God. Fifthly, we see in verse 109, my soul is continually in my hand, yet do I not forget thy law. Here the psalmist realizes the precariousness of his own life. My soul is continually in my hand. Or we could look at other verses of scripture. Our life is like a vapor. Or like a plant or a flower that grows for a moment and it is gone. We are frail and we do not know the time of our calling to eternity. And the psalmist here realizing this, realizing his own frailty, resolves himself to remember God's law. Now God's law in the Old Testament, of course, is used sometimes to point us to the Ten Commandments. Other times it points us to the law in terms of the ordinances of the tabernacle and temple. It's also used to describe those early books of the Old Testament. And so he is not going to forget God's law, how the Lord has instructed him. He's going to keep himself in the word of God. Dear friends, do we live in such a fashion that we strive not to forget God's word? Do we strive not to forget God's word? I know there may be limitations of memory. But do we delight to read God's word because we know every morsel is so vital that it helps us in affliction? That it is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path? Do we resolve not to forget God's law or is God's word something that we, as soon as we leave the door or the church, we've forgotten it. We've forgotten what the word of God says. Now it's time for us to live how we prefer. Know that the Christian, the one who bears the marks of grace, the one who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as savior and redeemer, desires not to forget God's law. They want to live for the glory of Almighty God. We read in verse 109, my soul is continually in my hand. And so in light of the fragility of our life, we don't know when we will be taken. We are going to never forget God's law. So it is written on our hearts and minds each and every day as we go out into this world. Thomas Brooks once wrote, the godly man's heart is so set upon God's word that neither sword nor flame can separate him from it. He would rather lose his life than let his love for the truth be removed. Is that the case for us? Is that the esteem we hold the word of God in? That no flame or sword can separate us from it? We are living in days where we have so much liberty in the UK at least. Where we can read God's word. We don't have anyone trying to remove it from us. We don't have any struggle that if we're found as we go through the airport and they see that we've got copies of the Bible there, they might remove them from us or they might detain us. And yet because of that, because there's no danger, sometimes familiarity in that sense can breed contempt. We don't realize how precious this is. Whereas when you see in some of the work of TBS, some individuals who are given the word of God, and for them it is dangerous. If they are found with it, they could be imprisoned. If they are discovered as followers of Christ, they would suffer torture even. And yet the word of God for them is so precious. They rejoice that they have access to it. And what a rebuke that is to us who have such easy access to the Word of God that it is neglected so much. And so may we follow in the psalmist's footsteps and instructions here with regard to the Word of God. May we have this determination that by the grace of God, we will pray before the throne of grace. Lord, may we not forget thy Word. May we write it upon our hearts each and every day. Verse 110 moves on. The psalmist speaks of the wicked lay a snare for him. Yet I heard not from my precepts. The wicked, because they know the psalmist's walk is with the Lord, are seeking to catch him out. Maybe you've known that, dear friend. I remember being in the workplace and on various occasions when people know you're a Christian, they keep an eye on you. They want to see is this person consistent? Do they carry out these things? And they watch. And on various occasions, I hope you don't know this, but you find little traps that may be set where someone would say, oh, how can you do that if you're a Christian? Well, dear friends, the psalmist probably experienced that to a far greater extent. But for the believer, we follow God's word faithfully. And we're living in days where if we express certain things from the word of God, well, we are likely to face some sort of difficulty for it, aren't we? Maybe, dare I say, even in a workplace setting. And yet, what is our calling? We're not to earth in the precepts of God. We're not to err from the precepts of God, because the Lord is true. The Lord delivers to us his word, and what he says is right, and what may be the imagination of a man, or the desire of a man's heart, does not supersede the precious word of almighty God. We also see here in verse 111, the psalmist declares, thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever. for they are the rejoicing of my heart. Now the psalmist turns to God's testimonies. They are his heritage. They are the rich blessing and what a heritage we have. even in this English Bible. That we have that which Tyndale translated, that was then translated later in 1611, and edited a bit in 1769, that we have a faithful translation of God's word. That what a heritage we have of those who've gone before us, who've died, so that we can have access to the word of God. What a heritage we have for those who stood in the Reformation period. To call people away from a salvation by works, to salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, and to the glory of God alone. By testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever. This was what the psalmist based his hope for eternity on. The heritage of the word of God, the Christ that the word of God speaks of. This is what he's looking for forever. When we leave this world after our lifespan, the Psalmist knew that God's testimonies are true. That word testimonies draws us, doesn't it, into the sort of court of law. If you give your testimony, it's sometimes related to conversion, but it's also related to the fact of our testimony, our evidence in court. And the evidence that the Lord has given is something upon which the Christian bases the surety of our salvation upon. That the anchor of God's word and the glorious salvation each and every true believer has is based on the testimony of God. Imagine that. The testimony of God. Now we can base our life upon other people's testimonies. We can base our life upon what we think is best. But the believer is safe and secure because we look to the testimonies of God. The one who is true and righteous and perfect. Lastly, we see in verse 112, I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end. As the Lord has revived the psalmist, and as he knows the Lord and his grace towards him, his heart is inclined. He's going to continue following the Lord by God's grace, even unto the end. And he's going to ground himself in God's word. The word of God is something that the believer is to be grounded on each and every day. In the spiritual armor that we're presented in the book of Ephesians. Do you remember we're told the sword of the spirit? This is the only piece of the armor that we see as both defensive and offensive. That it can be used, of course, in defense against Satan's attacks. But it is also offensive as the Lord blesses it, as we declare the word of God, and the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearers who hear the proclamation of God's word. He's inclined his heart by God's grace, and so he's going to follow the word of God. In conclusion, The psalmist shows us these evidences and his love for God's word, and this should challenge each and every person who professes faith in Christ to the extent to which we love God's word. And if we do not know the Lord, we pray that the Lord may open your eyes to the foolishness of a life lived according to man's wisdom and not according to the word of God, a life that one day you will have to give account for before the throne of almighty God. And as the unbeliever is not in Christ, he will say, depart from me. I never knew you. But for the believer, the word is which we situate ourselves, it comforts our hearts, It is that which guides our paths. It gives us a daily blessing. As Christ described himself as the bread of life, and as the children of Israel partook of fresh manna each and every day, so we're to partake of fresh, the manna of the word of God each and every day in his word. That we might not be those who are only distributing the word when we are not in love with the word of God ourselves. May we observe the psalmist delight in how the word of God drives him to praise almighty God. And even in praising God, he's still seeking more instruction from the word of God. And may the Word of God be the place we go in our affliction, in our trials. May we cherish the Scriptures as that which has come from God and not from any other source. And let us come to God's Word with hearts ready to learn. May we come to God's Word with hearts ready to stand for what the Word of God says, even where it may not be popular amongst those around us. knowing that one day we will stand before the Lord and his word and the promises in which we trust now will be brought to fruition and to an end. Let's pray together. Dear Lord, bless thy word to us. We're so thankful that we have a revelation from thee, the revelation of the Old and New Testaments translated for us into English. We pray, dear Lord, that The fact it is so easy to access wouldn't make us negligent of the Word of God. We pray, Lord, that as we read it, it would not just be that which we can grasp intellectually in our own minds, but we might know it in the very core of our being. That we might know and rejoice in the Savior that it speaks of. And we pray that as we live in this world where we may face those who lay snares for us because we follow God's word, yet we may be found those who consistently follow thy word, placing where we stand before God above what men may think of us. Dear Lord, we pray that if we go through the veil of affliction, Oh, that thou would grant us all needed grace. May thy word be that sweet cordial to our souls in such condition. And we pray, Lord, that as we distribute thy word, that thou would be pleased to bless it, and thou would revive even this nation, this land, which seems so far from thee, that thou would be pleased to bless once again. In Christ's precious name, amen.