Well good evening. It's great to be back here at HBC with you and and of course we see many familiar faces and many who has had a great impact on our life. over the years and continues to impact our lives and it's been great also to meet new people as well each time that we come. First of all, Janelle and I are thankful for your continued prayers and for your continued kindness and generosity. Many times you've allowed us to stay there in the Mission House and this gives us an opportunity to spend time with family as well as a little bit of time of vacation and and refreshment and we're all in the same boat. We're just amazed how quickly time travels by. And so as we see different ones and we're we're like every other family we're just amazed at how quickly time has gone. Our our children age now age 21 down to 11. And as of this past May, we now have three that are out of high school. And so just amazing how quickly time has gone by. About a year and a half ago, and as Pastor Turner mentioned, about a year and a half ago, the Lord led us to move from ministry in North Central PA to Beckley, West Virginia. And we're excited that God's leading And it's hard to believe it's already been a year and a half. And as is mentioned, I pastor Beckley Regular Baptist Church. I always get the question, what's up with the regular? I can give you a further explanation. I just tell people that I'm just a regular guy, you know. Actually, the church has never been a part of what is known as the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. There's some unique history in that area and the reason for their name. If you're not familiar with Beckley, Again, as Pastor Turner mentioned, it's near Appalachian Bible College. In fact, many of our members are on staff and faculty there at the college, which makes things busier. Again, it's been a transition. Again, you have your church schedule, but you also have different things going on with the college, but we praise the Lord for each one there. And so it's a blessing. One of the things that I prayed when we moved in a previous ministry, I felt, you know, sometimes you feel very much alone and the Lord has answered prayer that he's given some great men and men that have much more experience than I do that are around me to encourage, that I get to encourage, but it's wonderful. And as many of you know, Dr. Anderson, I've had some great times with him and getting to getting to know him and truly enjoyed our time together for lunch with Pastor Turner. In fact, the Dean of Students, one of my deacons, joined us for that lunch, and so we appreciate that opportunity. We praise the Lord for what he's doing. We just finished our vacation Bible school on Friday night and ended with me being pied in the face. So that's something they had done, whatever team wins gets to pie someone in the face and it was my turn this year. But we praise the Lord for two salvation decisions this past week and we rejoice in that. And so we value your continued prayers as we minister in Beckley. And if you've never been to that part, a lot of great things to see. Again, you have the National Park, the New River Gorge National Park, and a great place to be. I invite you to open your Bibles to Psalm 119, Psalm 119. And as we get into God's Word, again, I wanna thank Pastor Turner for the opportunity to share God's Word with you and for Pastor Andy and helping organize things. And Pastor Andy's been a blessing. There's been certain things, again, transitioning to a different church, certain, he's helped me with a couple things and suggestions. So I appreciate that this evening. But Psalm 119, and Again, if you're like me, this is a psalm that I love dearly. In fact, I'm in the process of preaching through this psalm again for the second time in my years of ministry. two different churches. I recently had someone ask me, well, how come you can spend so long in Psalm 119? Isn't it about the same thing? Yes, it's all focused upon God's Word. In fact, Psalm 119, as we know, is a great tribute to God's Word. In that tribute, it teaches us about the character of God. In that tribute, it reminds us of our absolute dependence upon God. And so what a wonderful masterpiece. And even the skeptics of the scripture marvel at the organization and the structure of this song. Now you'll be glad to know, I think you'll be glad to know, that we're not going to cover all of it tonight. In fact, here in a moment we'll start by reading in verse 65, just looking at one of the stanzas. But as you're familiar with it, again, each stanza, which is eight verses, is devoted to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in their proper order. But again, we could take a lifetime, or several lifetimes, of studying even just this Psalm, and we would just scratch the surface of the depths and riches of God's Word. Let's take a look at the text. Again, we're going to begin with the stanza there that starts in verse 65. And when we get to verse 71, I invite you to read with me. Again, we'll read verses 65 through 72. The Bible says, thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word. Thou art good, and doest good. Teach me thy statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in thy law. And then together, verse 71, it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Let's dedicate our time of study unto the Lord. Our Lord and Heavenly Father, it truly is wonderful to gather in your house. Lord, it truly is wonderful to gather and to study your word. And Lord, I pray, starting with me, Lord, that we've come tonight not just to sit through another sermon, another service, but we've come to hear from thee. And Lord, I pray that we have come with hearing ears, with an open heart to receive your word. And then Lord, by your grace, that you would help us to be doers of your word. I pray, Lord, that you would strengthen me, that again, it would be your word that is brought forth. And Lord, we give you the praise in Jesus' name, amen. The title of our, if you're taking notes, the title of our study, it really is a title that was given by J.B. Phillips and his commentary on this particular stanza, and it comes from a very well-known hymn. So thus our title is, It Is Well With My Soul. It Is Well With My Soul. In a sense, if you think of that wonderful hymn, what we see in this particular stanza is really a declaration of the psalmist saying, it is well with my soul. Now again, as you may know, Psalm 119, we cannot be certain who God used to write that psalm. Many attribute it to David. Others, I've seen others attribute to possibly Hezekiah or Jeremiah. We're not specifically sure. But as you read through the psalm, I may encourage you, if you've never read through the entirety of Psalm 119, or it's been a while, I may encourage you to do so. And if you want something to, again, to renew that commitment and understanding of our dependence, of our need, of our application of God's Word, read Psalm 119. But notice, first of all, if you would, again, as a way of of introduction here, notice in verse 65, it says, thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. You think of that phrase, it is well. You know, we sing that many times. How is it? And in fact, many times when we go through trials, challenges, or whether there's trials or not, And our message, our proclamation as we live our lives, it is well with my soul. Many times the unbelievers can't fathom that. They can't understand. And again, as we'll see through here in the passage, that it's through great affliction, it's through great trial, and through those times that we can say it is well. And again, I think of different Examples I can think of, when my mom passed away when I was younger, watching my dad go through that. And yes, it was difficult, but to see him live his life in such a way that even though everything is falling apart, he could say, it is well. So I ask the question, how is it that if you trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, how is it that we can say that phrase? How is it that you and I can sing that song and really mean it? Obviously, first and foremost, because of what Christ has done for us, because of the finished work on the cross, because of the empty tomb. But may I submit to you, one of the main reasons We can sing, we can say, we can proclaim it as well because of God's goodness. Because of God's goodness. It's interesting, in these eight verses, you will find the Hebrew word tov, which is translated either as well, or good, or better. It's used six times in these eight verses, with the first time being there in verse 65. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant. So that word, we find the meaning of it and often translate it as that which is good, pleasant, that which is well or beneficial, precious, delightful, and right. Again, when we think about the goodness of God, it's interesting if you look at various systematic theologies and look at the attribute of God's goodness, you will find closely linked, in fact, many systematic theologies do not necessarily define it as separate, but they tie it together with God's love, with God's benevolence, God's mercy. And so we find a theme here in this particular stanza. We find the theme of God's goodness. Literally, it's a stanza, it's a declaration of God's goodness. You know, we sing such stanzas, whether there's that chorus, God is so good, or one of my favorite hymns, I sing the mighty power of God, the second verse in that wonderful hymn. I sing of the what? What's the hymn say? I sing of the goodness of the Lord. And so, again, as we come to this particular stanza here in Psalm 119, we see the psalmist being reminded and declaring God's goodness. So three things, I believe we see three statements in truth brought out in these verses. Number one, number one, God does what is good. Number one, God does what is good. And the psalmist says, thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. He has dealt good, he has dealt pleasant, he's dealt well with me. How often when we go through trials, when we go through challenges, when we look around our world, Can we say that or do we say that? And as you read and whether you attribute God using David to write the words of this particular song, we know David faced many afflictions. He was betrayed by his son. He was as a fugitive. Again, in trials and times like that, can we say God does what is good? You know, I believe it's one of the distinctions as God's children. Again, as we look around our world, there are many that point a finger at God, and they ask the question, is God good? Is he merciful? And yet, again, as believers, they watch us to see as we go through challenges, as we go through trials, what is our proclamation? What is our declaration? And so notice, it says, thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord. And notice the end of verse 65. How? What? According unto thy word. Not my word, not my way, God's word. But then if you would note the request. And again, this is not new to just this stanza in Psalm 119, but notice in verse 66, teach me, and there's another example of that Hebrew word, teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I have believed thy commandments. The psalmist says, teach me. The psalmist, again, the declaration is, again, you have dealt well with me according to your perfect and holy word. And so we see that attitude of submission, that attitude, teach me, good judgment, teach me knowledge, for I have believed thy commandments. Wiersbe says this about verse 66. He says, we should pray the prayer of verse 66. For the better we know God's word, the better we can pray in God's will and obey God's word. I'll say that again. We should pray the prayer of verse 66. Teach me the judgment. We should pray the prayer for the better we know God's word, the better we can pray in God's will and can obey God's word. And so, the declaration, Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. But then notice, beginning in verse 67, it says, Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word. First of all, number one, God does what is good. Number two, God overrules evil and from it brings good. God overrules evil and from it brings good. And notice, and what we're gonna look at here in a few moments in verse 67 and 71, again, that theme, before I was afflicted. And notice he says, before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now, coming through the affliction, I have kept thy word. He rejoices because it was for that affliction. It was through that trial. It was through that difficulty. that brought him back to that place where he is now obeying and keeping God's word. And then in verse 68, it says, Thou art good and doest good. Again, we know this is a song and would be sung, again, the Psalms would often be sung maybe in two parts and one echoing the other side. Could you imagine, again, singing, just as we sing that chorus, God is so good, the declaration, thou art good and do us good. Is that some of the time? Is that, is God's goodness dependent upon the circumstances? Know that we know that God, he does not change, he's immutable. He is good all the time. So the psalmist says, thou art good and doest good. What would Satan have us believe about God? Satan would have us believe that God doesn't want what is best for us. In fact, we see that in the Garden of Eden. The serpent talks to Eve and raises the question, does God know what he's doing? Again, we know the devil is good at twisting God's word and putting questions and saying, does God really want what is best for you? Does God know what he's doing? And the answer is absolutely yes. I believe that one of the reasons that many Christians struggle, and even sometimes in our churches we struggle, it's because people have either a false or an incomplete view and understanding of God. One's view and understanding of God, which should be according to His precious and holy word, will greatly impact how one lives, how one makes decisions, but sadly many do not have a complete view of God. Or again, who God is, they want God to be whatever they make Him out to be. You know, we live in, of course, in this day and age where things can be customized. And you remember a number of years ago, there was a thing where a church was trying out a virtual pastor. And people sat in the service, and during the worship time, they, through some electronic, they could Today, on the screen, I want the pastor to be wearing this, and I want him to do this, and to say this, and to customize. Sadly, many people, and even those that proclaim the name of Christ, they want to declare God is love, and that's all they see. And God is love. God is merciful, but He is also holy. He is righteous. He is just. Again, and I'm sure you face this question many times with maybe a co-worker, when their view of God is not biblical, when their view of God is not complete, and they question the goodness of God. something that's been an adjustment in ministry there in Beckley, it's an opportunity. Going from very rural in Pennsylvania to a little bit more urban, and our church parking lot basically is a main thoroughfare from one neighborhood to the homeless shelter. And so Again, just in a year and a half, the different, I'll say, experiences I've had, the opportunities, but many that I talk to that are facing addiction, that are facing circumstances. I just talked with a young man, probably about a couple weeks ago, was outside in the parking lot. And he said, well, I've been sober for about a year. But he honestly said, preacher, he said, I'm really struggling with this thing about God. God just recently, again, this is the way he said it, God recently just took my brother. And he goes, I'm mad at him. I don't have any reason to believe in him. And again, to share an opportunity to share the gospel. His name is David and to share the Gospels with them and to share that Again, God is good. God can bring comfort and healing, and most of all, he needs salvation. He needs eternal life. He needs his sins forgiven. And so, we see in this declaration that again, many sadly blame God for things that God has no part in. Yes, God is sovereign, but we make choices. You know, how many times do we get in a mess because of our choices? But then God never gets the credit and the praise for the things he does. And so we see here, number two, that God overrules evil and from it brings good. And the message, friends, to share with a needy world, to share with a world that is without hope, is to say only God can bring good out of what is going on. And whatever their situation or as they look at the world, Again, we know the scriptures say what man means for evil, God can bring good out of it. Again, the example of Joseph is a clear example of that. And so we see here in verses 67 through 70, and so he says, thou art good and doest good, teach me thy statutes. The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep thy precepts, thy commands, thy word. How? With my whole heart. Not half-hearted. And then he mentions, and again it's an interesting phrase in verse 70, their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in thy law. You know, you look at that expression like, what in the world does that mean? Again, the idea is that their heart is insensible or incapable of receiving spiritual truth. It's all about them. And so the psalmist realizes that the pride, and again you read through the other parts of Psalm 119, again his enemies are bearing down upon him. And the psalmist declares here in this song, but I will keep thy precepts. I will continue to keep them with my whole heart. See, Scripture teaches, and again, we don't have the time to look at this completely, all the verses, but Scripture teaches and experience demonstrates that God is good. If someone were to ask you, how do you know that God is good? What would you answer? Well, it's in a psalm. It's in the Bible, and true. But can you also say, hey, I have experienced God's goodness through a daily walk with God. Notice, if you would, a couple passages. You can hold your place in Psalm 119, but we see Scripture teaches us this, that God is good in Mark chapter 10 and verse 18. Mark chapter 10 and verse 18. And Jesus said unto them, why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, and that is who? That is God. So God is good. God does good. If you would turn back to, well, while we're in the New Testament, go to Matthew chapter seven. Matthew chapter seven. So God is good, but he does good. Matthew chapter 7 and verse 11. In fact, when we think of God's goodness, this verse may come quickly to mind. If ye, this is Christ speaking, if ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? I mean, this is pretty common sense. Christ is saying, if an earthly father knows how to give good gifts, and again, as you read through that passage there about prayer, you know, if a child asks for a bread or for food, we don't give them a stone. We don't give them something that is useless, that doesn't meet that need. And if an earthly father knows how to do that, so much more our heavenly father gives good gifts. And then back to Psalm, there in Psalm 103. Just again, some reminders of God's goodness. Psalm 103, verses 1 through 5, the Bible says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is in with me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. who forgiveth all thy iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Again, who satisfies, only he can satisfy with good things. One of my favorite verses about God's goodness is Psalm 3410. Psalm 3410. Psalm 3410, the young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. He needs to see. Back to verse 67, it says, Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word. What is good, God overrules evil, and from it brings good. Number three, last point, number three, God uses the word to show us good. God uses the word to show us good. Notice, again, the psalmist says, it is good for me. And again, remember the meaning of that word, it is delightful, it is precious, it is beneficial, it is well for me. that I should be afflicted. And then notice verse 72, the law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Again, here's that same Hebrew word of good, that which is good, that which is better. In fact, again, we're reminded that this is actually the second time in this Psalm where we're reminded that His Word is compared to treasure and is better than treasure. Still in Psalm 119, but in verse 14, I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies as much as in all riches. As I have preached, and again, I'm amazed as I'm in the process of preaching stanza by stanza through this psalm, and again, learning more, one of the questions I have been challenged with and has challenged my church family is what is my view, two questions, what is my view, number two, what is my relationship to the word of God? Again, we were reminded this morning that we cannot and we should not go without our spiritual food. We can't survive. And so, again, it is so needed in our lives. And again, we're reminded, again, stepping back here a second, but how precious, what is our relationship to God's word? Is it one of, would you describe your relationship to God's word as an acquaintance? As a friend you see once in a while? Or in today's terms, would you consider, and not to diminish, but would it be considered like a BFF, best friend forever? A close, intimate friend that our relationship would be described as, we cannot live without it. But notice here, the psalmist goes on a step further. And again, to focus in on that phrase, it is good for me that I have been afflicted. Because of the affliction, I learn his word. I learn by statutes. Again, we know in this Psalm that there are many words, whether it be his judgments, his precepts, his testimonies, his statutes. His statutes refer to God's truth, the inscription or the engraving of God's truth upon our hearts. And so he again declares, it is good for me to be afflicted because without it, I would have continued to wander. Without it, I would not be keeping your word. And so why is it that we can say it is well with my soul? Because of God's goodness. You know, I think about, and we can, again, it would be great to have a service some night and just testimonies of God's goodness, something that the world In our lives, God allows, you know, we might see a couple of the dots. We might see what's right in front of us, but over time, God begins to show us the other dots. And then when we see the picture, it causes us to say, God, you are good. God, because it is good for me that I have been afflicted. It is good for me that I have gone through this. And because of that, I can say it is well with me.