One of the very first changes that a new believer in Christ notices in their life is that they no longer have a hatred in their heart towards others. They no longer look upon people with disdain and malice. They no longer are envious of others due to being so self-centered. Instead, this new believer begins to have a genuine concern, a genuine interest in other people. And this change of heart from self-centeredness, the self-centered hatred of others, to consideration of others, is precisely what the Bible says is the experience of everyone who comes to faith in Christ. In Titus chapter 3, verse 3, Paul says this, For we also once were foolish ourselves. He's speaking of every unbeliever or every believer looking back and how they were when they were an unbeliever. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures. And watch this. Spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Folks, that was us. And if you're not a Christian, that's still you. Paul goes on to write Titus about the grace of God that came and changed our lives. But this is what we once were. Now concerning the truth that non-Christians do hate one another, regardless of the smile they might have on their faces, they do in their hearts hate others and are hateful. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones said this, he said, this is the life of the world. I need not press it. Is it not true? Listen to people's conversations. You don't know them, but listen to them as they are talking about somebody else. Listen to the spite and the malice and the envy. Look at their eyes. There's murder in them. They may not actually commit murder, but the principle is there. I'm not condemning such poor people. I'm sorry for them. Look at the faces of the people who are always criticizing somebody else. Look at them. They cannot see themselves. That is the tragedy. If only they saw the ugliness and the venom. Now, where did all this hatred come from, this ugliness, this venom, as Lloyd-Jones puts it? Well, the very first demonstration of this ugliness, of one human being hating another human being, shows up in the earliest days of man's history. It's recorded for us in one of the first chapters of the Bible, Genesis chapter 4. Let me read this to you. We read now, the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. And she said, I've gotten a man-child with the help of the Lord. Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground, and Abel on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and for his offering he had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is for you. But you must master it. Cain told Abel his brother, and it came about that when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Based on what we read here, we learn several important facts about Adam and Eve's two sons, Cain and Abel. We learn that both of them had occupations. They both had work that they did. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. Both of them also, we read, that they worshipped the one true God, because they both brought sacrifices to Him. However, their attitude towards God was very different. Cain was only outwardly religious, but inwardly he had no regard or love None at all. And the proof of this is that, unlike Abel's offering of animals, Cain's offering of food was absolutely rejected by God. Now, why? Why did God reject Cain's offering? Well, apparently, because God had revealed, even back then, that he was to be approached by a blood sacrifice. God, being holy, said sin must be paid for, and it's paid for by a blood sacrifice, by an animal sacrifice. And Cain just disregarded that, even though God had apparently revealed that to him. He just disregarded that because he didn't care what the Lord said. He just brought whatever he decided to bring. And what did he bring? He brought some of what he grew on his farm. See, Cain is the first example of someone who is religious, but lost. They're lost. Cain invented his own form of religion, and he rejected God's revelation. It's interesting, in the New Testament letter of Jude, Jude says that false teachers embrace, all false teachers embrace the way of Cain. What is the way of Cain? Well, the way of Cain is to invent your own style of religion. to do whatever you think is best, to disregard the Word of God, and in particular, to disregard what the Lord has said about approaching Him with a blood sacrifice, specifically the sacrifice of His Son, believing on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His death on the cross. And what was Cain's reaction to God rejecting his offering of food? Well, we read that he became angry, he became upset, because sin reigned in his heart. but instead of repenting, as God was prodding him to do, in clear defiance of God, Cain spoke to his brother Abel about going with him to a field, and there he rose up against Abel, and he killed him. Now that is the story, folks, as presented to us in Genesis chapter 4. But many years later, the apostle John, writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, writes in his first epistle about this incident and he explains it. He explains why Cain killed Abel. 1 John chapter 3. Starting in verse 11, John said, for this is the message which you've heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brothers were righteous. And then he adds, do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. Now, notice the reason that the Apostle John gives for why Cain murdered Abel. He said Cain slew his brother, and for what reason did he slay him? It was because his deeds were evil and his brothers were righteous. Now, I want you to know, this is an amazing statement. There's more here than meets the eye at first glance. This is an amazing statement on the depth and the intensity of man's depravity and his hatred for one another. I'll show you why. The Greek word that is translated slew, as in slew his brother, was actually used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures, called the Septuagint. And it was used of slaughtering an animal, in the sense of cutting its throat. It would appear then that what John is telling us is that Cain had such intense hatred for Abel, that in defiance of God, who rejected him for not bringing an animal sacrifice, Cain slit his brother's throat as a way of saying, God, if you want a blood sacrifice, here's my blood sacrifice, my brother. Now, that's the kind of wicked hatred that Cain had for Abel. And listen, the point that the Apostle John is making in telling us about these two brothers is that this is the kind of hatred the Bible says that unbelievers have for believers in Christ. They despise believers. And why do they despise us? Well, the same reason that Cain despised his brother. Because unbelievers resent the behavior of believers in Christ. Cain killed Abel because his deeds were evil and his brothers were righteous. You see, what drove Cain to despise and slit the throat of his brothers is that he resented Abel's righteous behavior. He resented it. Abel's obedience to God was a rebuke to Cain. It condemned Cain. It exposed him for what he was, an ungodly man. And Cain hated him for it, so much so that he actually butchered him. I want you to look though at verse 12 again and notice something else that John tells us about this incident between these two brothers. It says, Not as Cain, now notice this, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. Who's the evil one? Well, Satan, the devil. So John tells us that Cain's character was of the evil one. It was satanic. He was a child of Satan. He acted just like Satan, whom Jesus, you recall, said he's been a murderer and a liar from the beginning. The proof that Cain was just like the devil is that he too murdered. He murdered his own brother Abel. Now, the story of Cain and Abel took place thousands of years ago, but it is still extremely relevant for us because it tells us that Cain was actually a prototype, meaning he was the original model of how unbelievers, especially religious unbelievers, feel about believers in Christ. They hate us because they resent us. they resent everything we stand for that's righteous, and if given the opportunity and the right set of circumstances, they would attempt to do exactly what Cain did to Abel, murder us. Now this morning, as we return to our study of Psalm 119, we find that this is precisely the experience of the man who wrote this psalm. He too experienced the extreme hatred of unbelievers who persecuted him for his faith and for his godliness. Now I won't take the time to read all the verses again, but we started the stanza that I read to you earlier. We started a couple of weeks ago and notice in verse 161 the opening statement, the opening verse of this paragraph, the psalmist tells us, really for the final time in this long psalm, about the persecution that he's been going through. And that forms the background. His persecution forms the background of the psalmist. He tells us his response to the word of God in light of his persecution. But notice, verse 161 says, princes persecute me without cause. Although he has told us throughout this psalm about suffering for his faith. The reason he brings up his persecution here for the last time is that before he ends his psalm, he wants us to understand that although he's endured so much, so much suffering at the hands of these evil men, it hasn't been in vain. His suffering has not been in vain. God has used it to bless him and to benefit him and to help him. And folks, That's the primary message of this stanza. You see, the psalmist only mentions his persecution here as a springboard. He's said it enough. He doesn't need to elaborate anymore. But he brings it up here as a springboard to tell us that God has used all of the suffering he's gone through to produce in him some very godly character qualities that otherwise, frankly, would not be there had he not suffered. And that's why, as I told you several weeks ago, This paragraph is so important for us to know, so important for us to understand, so important for us to apply to our lives, because suffering for the Lord is a difficult part of the Christian life, but it is a necessary one. No one enjoys being mistreated, no one enjoys being insulted, no one enjoys being rejected by others for their faith. But what helps us to endure when all this happens is to understand that our suffering is meaningful and useful for our spiritual growth. God sends suffering into our lives out of his heart of love, out of his heart of goodness, in order to develop certain godly, Christ-like character qualities in us, which, as I said a moment ago, we would not have had we not suffered. So listen, if you've ever asked the Lord, to make you a man of God, a woman of God, a young person who follows the Lord. You've asked the Lord to teach you things to make you more like Christ. I want you to understand that your suffering, whatever it is, that's part of the answer. Don't fight the Lord on this. If you ask Him to make you more spiritual and He sends you suffering, that's part of the answer. Thank Him for that, because He's using that to produce in you Godliness. So this morning, as we return to these verses, we're going to hear the psalmist speak of the specific godly qualities that were produced in him as a result of being persecuted for the Word of God. Last time we studied these verses, we discovered three of those godly qualities. And so what we've seen, and I'm just very quickly going to review, as a result of being persecuted, he tells us that God produced in him, number one, an attitude of awe, meaning reverence for the Word of God. He says in verse 161, princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. Although these high-ranking government men, called princes, persecuted him, he wasn't in awe of them. He wasn't spellbound by their authority. Instead, he was in awe of God. He was in awe of God because he recognized God as totally sovereign, just like we sang before, and in control of every detail of his life, even his suffering. Secondly, persecution produced in him a rejoicing for the Word of God. In verse 162, he says, I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil. In spite of suffering greatly for his faith in the Word of God, the psalmist says that he is great joy because of the Word. He says it's like a treasure to him. He considers it the most valuable thing in his life, the Word of God, even though he suffered for it. Suffering and persecution also produce in him a love for the Word of God. In verse 163, we read, I hate and despise falsehood, but I love your law. While he hates, and I take it he means the falsehood, the false religion propagated by his persecutors, he says he loves the Word because it's all truth. Even if he's mistreated for the truth, he loves it. So now as the psalmist continues telling us how his sufferings have benefited him, he moves on to a fourth godly quality that was produced in his life. as a result of being persecuted by these princes. He tells us, and now we're in new material, he tells us that being persecuted caused him to have an abundance of praise for the Word of God. An abundance of praise for God's Word. In verse 164 he writes, seven times a day I praise you because of your righteous ordinances. Now, because he has such great affection in his heart for Scripture, which he knows comes from God. He reveres it. He rejoices in it. He loves it. He just can't contain himself. You can't keep that in. He just naturally bursts forth in praise for God because, as you know, the Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So his mouth spoke praise because in his heart was this deep affection for God's Word. But I want you to notice that the praise for God that comes from his mouth, it's not small. It's not minimal. Notice, it's plentiful, it's abundant. He says, seven times a day, he praises God for his word. Now, what does he mean by this? Is he putting a numerical limitation on the number of times that he praises God? As if he counts and when he reaches the seventh, that's it? Not at all. He's not saying that he praises God seven times a day, literally. What he is saying is that he praises God frequently and repeatedly throughout the day. See, in ancient times, devout Jewish worshippers made it their habit of praying three times a day. They would stop to spend time in prayer, morning, noon, night, three times during the day. And that was a mark of piety. It was a mark of devotion. in the Hebrew way of thinking. We read, for example, in Psalm 55 verse 17, evening and morning and at noon I will complain and murmur and he will hear my voice. Three times a day I'm going to bring my complaints to the Lord. We also read in Daniel chapter 6 verse 10 that Daniel opened his window and prayed towards the city of Jerusalem Three times a day. That was his normal, regular habit. Daniel was a godly man. So, when the psalmist says that he praises God seven times a day, when it was really customary for a righteous Jewish person to pray three times a day, what he's telling us is that his praises went beyond the norm. They went beyond what was expected. He lifted up his praise for God many times throughout the day without any consideration for how many times he did it. He didn't stop at seven. So we know that this man praised God frequently. That's what he's telling us here. But it is important for us to just stop, ask a couple of questions, and we need to think a little bit. Question number one, what exactly does it mean to praise God? We use that expression. What does it mean to praise God? Secondly, why did he do this when he was going through such intense suffering? Who praises God? Why? When they're suffering. Well, first of all, the praising of God that this man does throughout his day. Praising God simply means that frequently this man was expressing his thanks to God. He was giving gratitude to God. He was extolling his virtues. He was offering words of thanksgiving and appreciation for God. This is what it means to praise God. You're not asking anything from God. Instead, you're offering thanks and appreciation to God for Him being the wonderful person that He is. That's what praise is. So the question is, do you do that? Do you praise God? You should. You must. It's not an option. You may think that's a nice suggestion. That'd be nice if I did that. It's a command of Scripture. Many times, especially in the Psalms, God commands us to praise Him. Now, we ought to praise Him. We ought to be praising Him when we're having our quiet times. We ought to be praising Him throughout the day. Of all the Psalms, though, Psalm 150, the last of the Psalms in our Bibles, is dedicated to commanding us to praise God for who He is and what He does. I'm going to read Psalm 150 to you, and you get the point that this is a command of God to praise Him. The psalmist said, praise the Lord, praise God in His sanctuary, praise Him in His mighty expanse. That means praise God wherever you are. If you're at the temple, praise Him. If you're out of the temple, in the open, outdoors, praise Him. Praise Him for His mighty deeds. Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound. Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing. Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals. Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. You know, when something is repeated once in Scripture, we say, oh, that's for emphasis. When you have a whole psalm saying, praise the Lord, that's a whole lot of emphasis. We ought to get the point. Praising God ought to be a very natural part of your life. It's one thing to ask of God petitions for yourself and for others, and we should do that. But don't leave out praising. Praise God for who He is and what He's done. But I also want you to see something very important about the psalmist's praising. Notice that he says that his frequent praising of God was because of God's Word. Notice he says, seven times a day I praise you, now watch this, because of your righteous ordinances. In other words, he praised God because everything about God's Word was just and it was right. His commandments to obey, they're right. The behavior He tells us to avoid, sins He tells us to avoid, that's absolutely right. His pronouncements of judgment upon others who continue to rebel, it's right. His rebukes are right. His corrections are right. His exhortations are right. Everything that God's Word says to us, it's right. It's true, it's upright, it's moral, it's virtuous. So what does his praising God for his righteous word have to do with his persecution? Listen closely. Remember who this man is. Remember where he is. Remember his situation. He is continually surrounded by falsehood. Probably a Jewish man living in pagan Babylon, taken during the exile. So he's in a pagan country. The men who are persecuting him, he has told us throughout this psalm, they're liars. They hate God's Word. They follow the wicked dictates of their heart. They're trying to persuade Him to embrace their pagan, heathen, false religion. Everything about Him is based on falsehood. Not of Him, but around Him. Pagan princes who are trying to convert Him to idolatry. He has apostate Jewish people who have forsaken the Bible for false thinking. This man is being constantly bombarded and oppressed with error and idolatry. But as a result of this unrelenting barrage of evil, wicked falsehood, he's gained a new appreciation for the Scriptures. So that his heart is filled with praise for the righteous character of God's Word. Spurgeon put it this way, he said, at the sight of the oppressive princes and the hearing of the abounding falsehood around them, he felt all the more bound to adore and magnify God who in all things is truth and righteousness. See God has used the errors of the psalmist's evil society and all the persecution he has endured from those who propagated these errors, these lies, to show him how wonderful the Word of God is. Because it's true. In contrast to the unrighteous falsehood of all of his persecutors, the Word is true, and it's given him a greater appreciation for the righteousness of God's Word. And folks, that's exactly how God uses persecution for good in your life and in mine. Like the psalmist, we too live in a very pagan world. Whereas in years past, we might have said that American culture was somewhat, somewhat sympathetic to certain biblical values and truths, The fact is, it's not anymore. In fact, it is blatantly opposed to the Word of God. It is hostile to the Word of God and the righteous standards of the Word. But one thing that comes from all of this hostility towards Christianity is that it gives us, it ought to give us, a greater appreciation for the righteousness of the Word of God. As one views the foolishness of the world and its twisted view of pretty much everything ranging from the origin of life, to sexuality, to morality, to ethics, to marriage, and raising children, it ought to give you cause to praise God because His Word is true. The world we live in has such twisted thinkings. I was just, I don't have this in my notes, but I was just reading this that our Vice President Mike Pence has said that he will not dine, he will not have a meal in public with any woman alone unless his wife is there. Now I think that's a wonderful statement. I think all men would be wise to do that. But you know that he's been criticized for that. That is, according to our world, at least some, a sexist comment. I read that and I thought, we're living in crazy times. That's just crazy. That's just absolutely crazy that someone would have something negative to say about that. But that's the world we live in. Listen, when you are surrounded by the darkness of thinking like that, you ought to praise the Word of God for being so right. Listen, where would we be if we didn't have the Word of God? We'd make dumb statements like that too. We wouldn't know the truth. If you didn't have the Word of God, you'd be lost. His Word really is a light and a lamp to us, to guide us in this sin-darkened world. So, beginning today, make a conscious effort to stop during the day and just praise God for His Word being righteous. Develop that as a habit. That honors the Lord, and it will remind you of how precious the Word of God is. So praise Him for always being right. So how has the suffering of persecution benefited the psalmist? Well, it's produced in him, he said, a reverential awe for the Word. It's caused him to rejoice at the Word. It's brought about in him a love for the Word, and it's produced in him an abundance of praise for the Word, and it ought to do that in our lives. But he's not finished. As he continues his psalm, the writer gives us a fifth godly quality that persecution produced in him. He tells us that persecution produced in him an unwavering commitment to the Word of God. an unwavering commitment to scripture. In verse 165, he says, those who love your law have great peace and nothing causes them to stumble. What a precious verse. In fact, Spurgeon, who I quoted earlier, called this a charming verse. And it really is. But I want you to know it can be a misunderstood verse. Years ago I knew someone who interpreted this statement as meaning that nothing that anyone could say or do to him would offend or insult him. This individual would tell me, Many times, you can't insult me. I mean, I tried. No, I'm kidding. I didn't try. But you can't insult me. You can't offend me. And he was just making a statement that he was incapable of taking any insult personally because he always had peace in his heart. Well, you know what? That's a nice thought. But it isn't what the psalmist is talking about. It's not what this verse means. When he says that those who love your law have great peace, he means regardless of all the persecution, all the opposition that came to him, and others who loved the Word of God, they have a great sense of calm and tranquility in their soul. Therefore, no antagonism directed at them because of God's Word will cause them to stumble into sin. to fall into sin by disobeying the Word. In other words, those who love the Word have great peace in their hearts because they're in fellowship with God, since they are always striving to obey His Word. And no persecution will rob them of that peace by causing them to deviate from the path of obedience to the Word. That's what he's talking about. Folks, this is a very significant statement. by the psalmist, because he's telling us that persecution for the Word of God should never cause us to abandon the Word, no matter how strong that opposition is. Instead, it ought to have just the opposite effect on us. It should cause us to have an unwavering commitment to Scripture, no matter how much opposition we get for it. And the key, notice, the key to having this unwavering commitment is to love the Bible. The psalmist says, those who love your law have great peace. And they have this great inner peace. Why? Because their love for the Bible leads them to strive to obey the Bible. You can't say, I love the Bible, and you don't obey the Bible. Jesus said, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. You love the Bible, you'll obey the Bible. We're not talking about perfection now. We are talking about a desire and the general direction of your life. And as a result, When you do that, you won't allow anyone to pressure you into disobeying the Bible and stealing your peace. So when you love God's word, and let me say all believers in Christ do love the word, at least at some level, there's always room for a deeper love. And then you know what it's like. as a Christian, to experience that peace that comes from obedience. It's that wonderful, what Paul said, beyond human comprehension peace. He wrote about that in Philippians 4. And when you have that peace, you're not willing to forfeit it by falling into sin. Sin is what forfeits that peace. So no matter how much you have to suffer for the Word, which may be very painful at times, especially if that persecution comes from a family member, and it's rejection, and it's hard, but you're not about to give up your peace by stumbling and falling into sin. You're going to hold fast to the Word of God even as the opposition and persecution rages all around you. And that's what the psalmist did. He didn't let the wicked Gentiles or his apostate Jewish kinsmen cause him to stumble and deviate from the path of Scripture. His persecution produced in him a deep commitment to obey Scripture, and a determination to hold on to that peace that comes with loving it and obeying it. So, do you have that peace? You should. If you love the Word of God, and you love the Lord of the Word, and you're striving to obey His Word, you will have that peace. I mentioned a moment ago that Paul spoke of this great peace. that God gives when we're obedient to Him. And I want to read to you what He said. It's Philippians chapter 4, starting at verse 6. He said, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, Whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. and the God of peace will be with you. So here's how Paul says that we gain a heart of peace. If you're in turmoil today, you know Christ and yet you're in turmoil, here's how you gain peace. First of all, instead of worrying, which is sin, we trust God. Instead of worrying, we trust. Instead of letting your minds dwell on the wrong things over and over and over again, and that's what it means to ponder and dwell on these things, that's sin too. Dwell on what's true and what's excellent. Instead of just mentally knowing the truth and leaving it at that, we put the truth into practice. We apply the truth. And when you do this, when you trust and think properly, and that's a discipline of our minds, and you practice the truth, Paul says that you will have God's peace and no one will take it from you. So will you do this? Will you make sure that you have this peace, this tranquility of heart by striving to obey the Word of God? If you do that, then nothing and no one will cause you to stumble into sin. Listen closely, though. This great peace that we have that comes from God, it doesn't mean that everything's great in our lives, that circumstances are just wonderful. Certainly the psalmist circumstances were not good, but he still had peace even though he was in the midst of great turmoil, great persecution. And so as he moves along in these verses, he gives us still another blessing that came to him as a result of being persecuted. In verse 166, he tells us that persecution produced in him an attitude of hope for the future. He says, I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and do your commandments." Now having just told us that he is God's peace in his heart and that he's determined to obey the word and not allow opposition to his faith to cause him to veer from the path of obedience, now he tells us that his hope is in God delivering him, delivering him from his persecutors. He says, I hope for your salvation. And what he means by this is that he is looking to the Lord to rescue him, watch this, at some point in the future. Why do I say that? Because the concept of hope in the Bible, especially as it relates to salvation, has to do with the future. Hope always has to do with something down the road in the future, a better day coming, because at that time God is going to rescue, going to intervene. This is why the return of Christ is referred to by Paul in Titus 2.13 as the blessed hope. It's the hope that all believers have, that at some point in the future, Jesus is returning for us, coming back to complete our salvation. That is the blessed hope that we have. That's exactly how the psalmist is using the word hope when he says, I hope for your salvation. Only in his case, his hope is not for spiritual salvation, but he speaks here of a future physical deliverance from his enemies. But faith and what God will do for him in the future, notice this, he's hoping, he's trusting in God delivering him in the future, but what is he doing in the meantime? Well, notice, he's not twiddling his thumbs. He says it doesn't prevent him from being faithful to the Lord right now. Notice, he says, I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and do your commandments. In other words, instead of sitting around and doing nothing, As he waits for the Lord to come and rescue him, this man says he's going to be diligent in obeying God's commands while he waits. So you may ask, what does this have to do with benefiting him from his persecution? Well, listen closely. What the psalmist is telling us is that he knows there is a better day coming for him in the future. He doesn't know when, but he knows that it's coming. His hope is in this coming day of salvation. And watch this, it's his present problems and troubles that have caused him to look to the future and have this hope. Folks, that's exactly what our troubles do for us. They encourage us to turn our eyes upon the Lord, looking to Him for that better day coming, the glorious appearing. of our Lord and Savior, that blessed hope, a bright future of eternity with Him. That's what suffering does. It helps us to not be so attracted to this world and to look to the Lord for the next world, which is far better. This is exactly what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8, how we ought to be thinking. He writes this, starting in verse 18, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that's to be revealed to us. Isn't that great? He says, for the anxious longing of the creation, by creation he means the fallen world, waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope." It means when Adam fell, creation fell as well, though not willingly, he says. That the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth, together until now. And not only this, but we also, we ourselves having the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves. That's what we all do. We groan as we go through this world, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Watch this, for in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope. Why? Because it's the future, he says. For who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it. That's what we're doing. We're waiting for the future to come. for a better world. Listen, this world, you don't have to have me tell you this, this world is tough to live in. It's hard. It brings with it a great deal of pain. It brings with it suffering. But there is a great day coming in our future, if you know Christ, when He's coming back for us. And what suffering does here and now, what suffering does for us, it makes the future just more appealing, more attractive. And the world just less attractive, To be in. That's why persecution is so beneficial for us. Because after you've been persecuted for your faith or any type of suffering, the attractions of this world, they don't look that good. They don't look that attractive. And our minds then are drawn to the glories of heaven and being one with our Savior. It was C.S. Lewis who made this great statement. He said, has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regrets? There are better things ahead. than any we leave behind. So persecution does us a favor. It does us a favor. It turns our minds from the things of this world to the glory that's to be revealed to us in the future. Now, so far, the psalmist has given us six ways that he benefited from being persecuted. He comes now to the last one, the last two verses. He gives us one more godly quality that persecution produced in his life. He tells us that persecution produced in him an awareness that God knows all about him, everything about him, that God knows the truth about him. He says in verses 167 and 168, my soul keeps your testimonies and I love them exceedingly. I keep your precepts and your testimonies for all my ways are before you. Now, in these two verses, the psalmist affirms his obedience to the Word of God, but that's not new. I mean, he's been telling us that throughout this whole psalm. What he does say that's new is he tells us what drove him to obedience, what motivated him to obedience. Notice how he ends this stanza. He said, I keep your precepts and your testimonies. Now watch this. For all my ways are before you. He's telling us that what drove him to obey God like he did was an understanding that God sees everything about him, and God knows everything about him. And what he is affirming is that God is omniscient. He knows all. He sees all. He knows everything. He knows everything about you, everything about us. Why do you suppose that the psalmist mentions this truth here. And what does this have to do with persecution benefiting him? I remind you how the psalmist began this stanza in verse 161. He said that the princes who were persecuting him did it without a cause, meaning without a valid reason. In other words, he didn't do anything to warrant such treatment. He was innocent. He didn't break any of their laws. He didn't sin against them. His suffering was totally unjustified. And now he closes this stanza by stating that God knows all of his ways. And the point that he seems to be making is that even if we are persecuted for something we didn't do and are falsely accused of wrongdoing, God knows the truth about us. He knows everything about us. Now he knows when we sin, but he also knows when we're falsely accused. And I think that's the point that he's making here. He knows that the psalmist is striving to obey Scripture. God sees your heart. He knows when you've been misunderstood, and you've been wrongly accused, and He sees your heart. Even when you blow it, He sees the intentions of your heart. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Therefore, because God knows the truth about us, the psalmist is, in essence, saying He'll vindicate us, regardless of the lies being told about us. Someday, we'll be vindicated. Persecution for our faith makes us better people, because it reminds us that although we may be falsely accused now, God knows the truth about us. He knows your heart, even when others say terrible things about you. He knows your actions even when others accuse you of wrongdoing. He knows everything there is to know about you, and that's as the psalmist keeps him pursuing Scripture and obedience to Scripture even when falsely accused by others. Why? Because God sees everything. So may you be like the psalmist and pursue obedience even if others accuse you of wrongdoing, because God sees all. Now, as I mentioned a few weeks ago when we started on this stanza, I mentioned that suffering, according to Philippians 1, is a gift from God. And it's a gift we ought to be thankful for. We ought to be thankful for it because it carries with it great blessings. These blessings are the godly character qualities that we've been reading about. So, listen, don't fight God when he brings persecution or any kind of suffering into your life. Don't become bitter. Don't become angry. Don't become one who blames others. Instead, let the Lord use this suffering to produce in you a reverence for His Word, a rejoicing in the Word, a love for the Word, an abundance of praise for the righteousness of the Word, an unwavering commitment to the Word of God, an attitude of hope for the future, and an awareness that God knows all about you. Let these qualities become yours. Cooperate with the Lord. And you cooperate by submitting to Him. Yes, Lord. Yes. As He uses your sufferings to make you a man or a woman of God. Now, if you don't know Christ, in a personal way. He's just a storybook figure to you. If you don't know Christ as your Savior, as your Lord, your Master, then perhaps God has sent suffering into your life to get your attention, to show you your great need for Him. Not so much to bring you out of that suffering, but to save you from the worst suffering ever, and that's His eternal wrath. Christ died for sinners just like you. and He invites you to repent, turn from your sin of self-centeredness, and turn to Jesus Christ, trusting Him alone, Him only, as the sole basis of your salvation. I urge you to do that. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that your word, Lord, though it is the ancient words you spoke so many years ago, yet they are just as relevant and meaningful to us today as when the psalmist penned these words. I pray that you'll help us to have ears to hear it and hearts to obey and apply these truths. And I pray, Lord, I know there's a lot of information here, but I pray that you'll give your people the capacity to grasp and process this and assimilate these truths into their lives. And I pray for those who are without Christ that they would see their need for you, Lord, and the simplicity of the gospel. As you said, come unto me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest for your souls. May some come to you even today seeking the rest in their hearts from trying to earn your favor to resting in your grace through Christ's death. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.