Alright, let's bow our heads in the word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your grace in our lives. And we can sing of it. We can sing of how great You are, how amazing You are. Your creative power. Your saving power. We can reflect upon Your presence, God, in our lives and Your desire to dwell with us though we are unworthy. We can sing of our desire for You to be our all in all, to take our lives. And we are claimed property anyway. And it is only by Your grace that we can humble ourselves before Your mighty hand and Your mighty throne. Surrender our lives to You. And in that surrender, Lord, we want to submit to your word. We know that it is for our good. We know it reveals who you are and we can rejoice in that. So please give us, give us obedient, humble hearts today as your word goes forward and may it transform our lives and may it conform us to the image of your son. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right, we'll go ahead and open up your Bibles. to the Old Testament, to the book of Psalm 119, the longest chapter by far in all of Scripture. It's a total of 176 verses. It is a very rich text. And I would say one that can be puzzling to many a Christian this side of the cross. And yet, we understand the value of all Holy Writ, and I think most of us would not hesitate if I asked you, is Psalm 119 the Word of God? You would say, yes, it is the Word of God. Therefore, it speaks to us, and whatever it has to speak to us is binding upon us. And so we definitely want to understand that going in. And what a wonderful word this has for us this morning. Much has been said about Psalm 119. There were so many different quotes that many theologians have made throughout the centuries, but I am particularly fond of Charles Spurgeon's quote regarding Psalm 119. He says, this wonderful psalm from its great length helps us to wonder at the immensity of Scripture. From its keeping to one subject, it helps us to adore the unity of Scripture, for it is but one. Yet, from the many turns it gives to the same thought, it helps you to see the variety of Scripture. Its variety is that of a kaleidoscope. From a few objects, a boundless variation is produced. In the kaleidoscope, you look once, and there is a strangely beautiful form. You shift the glass a very little, and another shape, equally delicate and beautiful, is before your eyes. So it is here. And so Psalm 119 is this great kaleidoscope describing the glory of God's revelation, specifically the glory of His law. and as the sermon is entitled today, glorying in the law of God. And for many Christians, that would be a very strange thing. I think many Christians bristle at the thought of the law. We hear the law and we think that it is opposed to the gospel. We hear the law, sometimes we think legalism. We hear the law and we think things that we have to do. We hear the law and we think, okay, what must I do to earn eternal life? And that should be a strange thing. And I'll get into that in due time. The law is God's Word. The law is a good thing. The law instructs us. Summed up in the Reformed tradition, there are three uses of the law. And I would say these three uses are ongoing. But just to sum up, the first is that it is a muzzle. The law is a muzzle. If you have a dog that is prone to biting, I know how much we love our animals, but you put a muzzle on that dog. Maybe if you're prone to talking too much, you put a metaphorical muzzle on your mouth so you don't say certain things. So that you don't bite. Now what this means, of course, is that the law is given to restrain sin. And that is still ongoing. That is still in effect. We understand, and more importantly, God understands that this world is fallen. It is full of sinners who do not regard Him, who do not acknowledge Him, who do not bow to His Lordship. We recognize that, yes, There is sin, and so God has graciously given commands in order to check sin. That is a very basic understanding of the law. There are certain penalties, of course, attached to breaking certain laws that are given, certain laws that are revealed. And depending on the law broken, there will be attached to it a just punishment or penalty commensurate with the broken law. We understand that God is just, and so He will make sure that the punishment fits the crime. So the law restrains sin. If you are in a society that even reflects remotely certain aspects of the law, whether moral or civil, there is a check and balance that takes place. You may be about to commit a particular crime. Let's just say theft. But then you remember, oh, wait a minute. There is a particular penalty attached to theft. Maybe I shouldn't do it. And for the person who loves God, when that temptation comes, there is more than simply the penalty. There is the check which says, wait a second, God has spoken, He has revealed Himself, I love the Lord, I want to obey the Lord. So I will not do this out of love for God. Secondly, the law is a mirror. What does a mirror do? It reveals. It reveals all of our imperfections. Sometimes we look into a mirror and we think, oh, that's too close. There's too much that is revealed. The law acts as a mirror in that it reveals who we are in light of God himself. Imagine the mirror represents the character of God. We look in that mirror and what we are able to see is how short we fall from God's standards. The mirror communicates that. The mirror communicates the righteousness of God. Remember, the law is a reflection, it is an expression of the heart of God, of who He is, of His character. And He is altogether good and righteous and perfect and holy. And so as fallen human beings, when we put ourselves before that, we understand how unholy we are apart from God. We understand not only how sinful we are, but how good we are not. But then of course, we see just how good God is, how indescribably righteous He is. And of course, that can result in a couple of things. We can be proud and try to make our own way to manufacture our own righteousness. Or we can humble ourselves and come to the Lord and ask for His mercy and His grace. We recognize that we need Him. We need a righteousness not of our own. And of course, that's where the gospel comes into play. The law shows us a need for a Savior and points us to Him. Thirdly, it is a map. So we say, well, how does the law perform for the Christian today? Well, it is a guide for life. The law is still expressive of God's holy and righteous standard, and so it becomes a map, a guide for living for the Christian. And so the Scripture describes the law of God in a variety of ways, and the uses of the law of God in a variety of ways. And of course, again, one of the biggest debates on this, even in Reformed circles, is how we are to understand the use of the law today. And depending on who you talk to, and Jeremy will remember this, we were in a conversation with some wonderful brothers about a year ago, and they insisted incorrectly that the law only brought a curse. They were focused on the curse that the law brought and not any kind of blessing that it may be in the life of a believer. A very strict view of how the law operates or how the law does not operate. And so we would say, of course, yes, the law absolutely brings a curse if you look to it as a source of life or righteousness. Paul repeatedly explains that in the New Testament. And I also believe that the Jews understood that as well. They had enough light to understand that they would never be justified by works of the law. That's why Paul says what he says in the book of Romans. The problem with the Jew wasn't that they had the law. The problem with the Jew is that they sought the righteousness of God apart from faith in Jesus Christ or faith in God, right? We understand that eternal life has always come by grace through faith and not by any ability of ours Perform in a certain manner. We will always fall short. And if we break the law in one regard, as James tells us, we have broken all of it. But that does not make the law bad. That does not make the law sin. It does not make the law unnecessary. And I would say that even the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection does not do away with the law completely. Remember, Jesus said, I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And then we say, of course, well, now what after this? What does the Christian do? with the law. And of course, it is not the purpose of the sermon today to present what I would call an exhaustive outline of the application of the Mosaic law for today and go through, you know, in minute detail what laws apply, you know, whether they are civil, whether they are moral, right, whether they are sacrificial. But on the whole, how can we as believers approach the law of God. We can even say more generically, the commandments of God, because God still gives commands. So going forward, so we actually get the sum and substance of this psalm, I want to bring up certain things that we know about the law to provide a proper grounding and framework for how we approach Psalm 119. Because what Psalm 119 says can be very puzzling. Why is it that this man, again, under the law, in the Old Testament, how can he speak of the law in the way he does if all the law does is condemn? That's the question. Because from the looks of it, he spends 176 verses glorying in the law and saying just how good and wonderful it is. What a delight for him that it is. What a blessing it is to walk in the law of God. And so we have to bring the appropriate biblical balance to our understanding of how this applies. But what do we know? What do we know from Scripture regarding the law of God? I think first and foremost, we have to say that the law of God is good. The law of God is good. Paul says as much in 1 Timothy, the law is good. Especially if one uses it lawfully. We as believers in Jesus Christ, however the law applies to us today, are able to obey it. Because in Christ, we use the law lawfully. We do not approach it as a means for life or righteousness. We can approach it from the standpoint that in Christ we have both life in Him and righteousness in Him. So, as His Holy Spirit empowers us, we can obey the commands of God. We can obey the law of God. Consider, if you want to turn very quickly a few pages to the left, Psalm 19. And in this, he uses some of the same vocabulary that the psalmist does in chapter 119. He starts off in verse 7 saying, the law of the Lord is perfect restoring the soul. Well, if all the law brings is a curse, if all the law does is bring condemnation, how can it restore it? How can it bring refreshment to the inner man? The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." So we see, again, a use there for the law and its reliability of making wise the simple. The psalmist is reflecting on the effectual nature of God's revelation of Himself and what He desires from us. Then he says, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. There it is again. The psalmist does not approach the precepts or the law of God in some kind of overly dramatic terror. He's not drawing himself close to the law and saying, oh my goodness, all I see is condemnation here. All I see is the wrath of God. No, he sees goodness. He sees perfection. He sees blessing and benefit. and his heart can rejoice. How often do we hear the law talked about today in such a manner? I listen to the law of God, I listen to His instruction, and I rejoice. The result is praise for its presence in my life. The commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes. And then you go down to verse 9. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. And note how much he treasures this. Verse 10, they are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb. Can you imagine that? The law is sweet. It's not bitter. It doesn't bring a bitterness to the soul to leave the Christian crushed and hopeless. There is a great benefit to the believer when we draw near to the law of God. So we know that the law of God is good. The law, and how do we know it's good? The law of God expresses the heart and character of God. And from that heart and character, we have produced, written down, a standard. A standard by which we judge everything else. A standard by which we evaluate all of life. So the law of God expresses the heart and character of God. And here's why this is significant. God, by His own testimony of Himself, says that He does not change. He does not change. And if God does not change, nor does His standard. Nor do His standards change. His standards are fixed. And the standard is always perfection. And so the law was a way where He could delineate how that standard of perfect righteousness is expressed in the life of His people. And we of course say, well, why would He do such a thing? And we have to go back to the heart of God. God has a heart for His people. And the law was given as a provision so that His people, to whom He desired to draw near, knew how to dwell in His presence. To obey Him. But once again, the objective of that was never to obtain righteousness or life by their own merit. Or through rigorous obedience. Or keeping of ceremonies and particular dates. The law was always meant to be kept by faith. Even while you were observing the commandments of God and keeping them, you were keeping them by faith, understanding that you were clearly under the grace of God still. You needed the grace of God. The law was never a means of being right with God. It's always been from God's grace. But as believers, we obey God precisely because we are alive. We obey God precisely because we are righteous. It's not an if-then, right? It is a since-then. That's the key difference there, and I think that's where we get it wrong. So you think about some examples, especially from the Ten Commandments, which we now label the Ten Suggestions today. They are still commandments. Idolatry, murder, blasphemy, covetousness, theft, bearing a false witness have always been wrong. We would agree with that. They have always been wrong, and they are still wrong today. Why? Because in the heart of God, that is His standard, and it always has been His standard. Another thing you need to know about the law of God is the moral law is largely repeated in the New Testament. You go down the list of the Ten Commandments, they're all repeated. They are all binding. I said there's some debate on the place of the Sabbath, but like I said, that is a discussion, a very protracted, long, unending discussion for a different time. But we do know, as the Sabbath is mentioned, that we now enjoy the Sabbath rest in Christ. We know at least that much. And so there is rigorous debate as to how that applies. But they are all repeated because they all point us back to the heart of God regarding His relationship to His people and His desire for them to dwell with Him and to do His will from faith and out of a loving heart. And so we say again, we do not obey God's law to be righteous. We obey God's law because we are righteous. Do not forget that when you obey the Word of God, you can do so from the standpoint that you are justified. You have Christ's righteousness imputed to you. Christ who obeyed the law perfectly. And so we are treated by God as if we had obeyed the law perfectly. That righteousness from God has been credited to our account. So we obey whatever commandments are still in effect today from that standpoint. Here's another one that I believe is very important. The law of Moses and the law of God are summed up in the same way. This is why we teach continuity, even though we are not under the law. We are not under the curse of the law. The law of Moses and the law of Christ, which Paul talks about, and James calls it the royal law and the law of liberty, they're all pointing to the same thing, and that is the law of the King, the law of the Lord Jesus Christ, which I would say is a greater law. It is an exalted law. But it's summed up in the same way. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. And that, of course, upholds our assertion that this all expresses the heart of God. It all points to His eternal, unchanging standard. The law of Moses was summed up in loving the Lord your God with all you are, literally with your muchness, and then, of course, loving your neighbor as yourself. And then in the New Testament, we read much the same thing. Whoever loves fulfills the law. bear one another's burdens. That is an act of love. And so fulfill the law of Christ. Whoever loves his neighbor is doing what the law would require of him. And so as such, we can conclude there is still much written in the law that is still binding on God's people. So all that to say is do not, regardless of what popular preacher told you to do this, do not unhitch from the Old Testament. There is great benefit in learning from the law of the Lord. And so this is why we come to Psalm 119. It answers that very important question. How do we as believers, even on a very basic level, relate to and approach the law of God? And I'll tell you this, we do not approach the law of God with some unreasonable horror at being condemned by it. We can approach it as the psalmist did. joyfully anticipating to hear from God. Looking forward to seeing His will not only revealed, but applied to our lives. We can come to the law joyfully because we are not under its condemnation. We are not under its condemnation because we have been granted the faith to trust in the only One who can take that condemnation from the law upon Himself, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why we are free. We are not free from the will of God. We are free now to do the will of God. We can obey God. We can obey the law of God and draw near to His commands and rejoice over them, knowing that by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation. And so we get a glimpse here of how a person justified by grace through faith can approach the law of God. So I hope that that much is clear. So you'll notice, and here's another important point, and we're probably not going to go through all of the sections in this, but I really want to underscore verses 1 through 8 for our edification this morning. But notice very quickly, and you will if you read it, how many words are used interchangeably to simply say the law of God or the commands of God. You have this very interesting vocabulary. And note that the psalmist, I think that it is David who wrote this, note that David is not being cute or clever here. Each of the words he uses pointing to the commandments of God have a point. There is a purpose to them. The first, of course, is the most basic. It is law. Who walk in the law of the Lord. This simply comes from a word which means to teach or direct. When we hear the word law, we think of something that is binding and authoritative. And of course, that is the same thing that is going on here. It is a law that is binding, but also a law that is revealed. God is graciously revealing His holy character to us. And it can be used as a single command, or the law can represent the entire Torah. That is the first five books. of the Old Testament, of course, Kidner, Poole, Clark, Van Gemmeren, all of these men were very helpful in breaking these words down. So credit to whom credit is due. And then, of course, we have Word. If you read through Psalm 19, the word Word comes up from the Hebrew Devar used 24 times in this psalm, which means, of course, God's spoken word, God's word that has been revealed to us. So we speak of the law not as something static, not as something that is sort of just sitting there as words written on a page. We see God's law as something that is revealed to us for our good and for God's glory. Because of course in our minds we want to keep the goodness of God's law intact. Then we have judgments. judgments, which of course means to make a judgment, determine, regulate, discern. This of course acknowledges the standard of God, that as He has His own creation under His command, He has it ordered the way that He believes it should be ordered. We talk about that from a human point of view as we come to conclusions, right? We take the available data and we come to conclusions. And when we talk about God's judgments, we always speak of a right conclusion. When we speak of God's judgments, we always acknowledge that God has evaluated something flawlessly. and that we should adjust our judgments so that we evaluate the way God does and come to the same conclusions that God does. And that is, we can only do that if we draw from the truth. Then we can make true and righteous judgments. Testimonies. Not so much a personal testimony that we characterize that often as. But this word testimony, which we obey, according to Willem van Gemmeren, signifies loyalty to the terms of the covenant made between the Lord and Israel. So, we can view that in the sense of the entirety of Scripture. That the Lord, in His dealings with His people, testifies something concerning Himself. We are saying that in the law, and in God's track record, His own holy character bears witness of Himself. And that His character is righteous. What this tells us regarding the law is that it does not rise and fall on who man is, but on who God is. So we can say very safely that the law of God is good. It is good and wise. Commandments. Just like it sounds. This word emphasizes the straight authority, according to Kidner, of what is said. The right to give orders. So there's another component of it. When God speaks, when He tells us to do something, and we have the nerve to say, by what authority do you say this? It was asked of our Lord all the time. God can simply answer, by My own authority. Authority begins and ends with Me. I have the right to give commands because I created you. I am the Creator. You depend on Me for life. So this represents the inherent authority of the law. Statutes. This is an interesting word. From a root verb meaning to engrave or inscribe. Our mind should go a couple places at least. That the law is written on tablets of stone. The Ten Commandments that God wrote His law in. And then of course, the promise referred to in Jeremiah 31, where He would write His own law on our hearts. He would inscribe it on our hearts. So that's what statutes mean. It gives us the idea of permanence. When we say, this has been written in stone, or inscribed in stone, we're saying that this is permanent, it will not change. It abides forever. And so we understand that when God reveals Himself, when He gives commands, they are reflective of His eternal, unchanging character. So when He commands it, unless otherwise noted, that command is still in effect. Very important that we remember that when speaking of the law of God. And so in this, He declares His authority and power in giving us laws, according to Matthew Poole. So what this is doing is it's speaking also to a prescribed limit or a boundary. If we are conscientious parents, we talk about boundaries to our kids all the time, right? There is a boundary in the kitchen. Do not touch that hot pan that is frying taquitos on the range. Do not do that. And you set a boundary there to keep them from harm. The sea has boundaries. The heavens are spoken of in Scripture as having boundaries. The land of Israel has boundaries. So it talks about permanence. Precepts, used 21 times. were drawn from the sphere of an officer or overseer, a man who is responsible to look closely into a situation and take action or to attend to something, according to Derek Kidner. So you see the way precepts operates in the confines of the law of God. We see that God looks carefully upon His law. There is attention to detail. And even if you look at the law of God, there is a great attention to detail. He cares about how He delivers His law to His people. He even tells them, be careful to obey My commandments. Watch yourself. Pay attention to what I have said to you. And the last one, different Hebrew word for word, similar to devour. and comes to point to anything that God has spoken, commanded, or promised. So hopefully you got all that. And the point, of course, is to give us that kaleidoscope look that Spurgeon was alluding to. that we can see the beautiful dimensionality of God's law. But there is a point to using each of these things. They have something to say to us, whether it's judgment, statutes, precepts, or just plain old law. So in this, of course, where's the application? There's a desire in this to see a blessing. When we glory in the law of God, we are acknowledging that there is a blessing attached to knowing God's law. So let's jump into this. Psalm 119, the first thing that we read here, is how blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. So that's the first thing that we notice, right? Put this idea of the law only being a curse to us aside, and consider what David says. His first evaluation of the law is the blessing that is attached to it. How blessed is the man whose way is blameless, who walk in the law, who walk in the law of the Lord. And we understand a blessing, I think, very plainly. When we look at a person who is blessed, we would acknowledge that that person receives good things from God. That they have God's favor flowing out from God's abundant goodness and generosity. to understand that we are in a blessed position is to be happy in God, is to be content in Him, and to see that He is the giver of all good things. To be blessed is to truly have an understanding of God's grace. To know that all good things come from Him. And that He doesn't do it selfishly or miserly, but He gives us in accordance with His resources. And God owns everything. So He gives us what we need abundantly. It is a blessing that goes before and a blessing that goes after. Meaning that a man must be blessed by God to even walk in a manner that is blameless. To walk in the law of the Lord. But then we understand that to do that, to live an obedient life, is to also open yourself up to God's blessing. It's not that we deserve it or we merit it, it's just the way that the Lord has designed His universe to operate. That if you obey Him, there is a blessing. And we could look at that and say, even challenges, even persecution, affliction, can be a blessing, because it always points to a greater purpose. And even in those hard times, we are determined as God's people to walk with Him, knowing that we are blessed, and that more blessings await us even in this life. This is the kind of man every Christian should desire to be. And from a certain standpoint, we have to start by understanding that in Christ, this is the man that we are. We are blessed. We have a great inheritance that awaits us. In heaven, undefiled, that can never be taken away, says Peter. And we desire to be a blessed people. We desire to live in light of the blessing of God. And of course, walking with Him, living by faith and obedience to His commands brings more blessing. And so this is the first thing we are told about this blessed man is that his way is blameless. That is what is characterized of him. You could almost say that this is the blessing that is described. This is the psalmist describing the blessing. And who is this blessed man? His way is blameless. That's the first thing we ought to know. His way is blameless. This word for blameless is the same word that is used to describe a spotless, unblemished lamb fit for sacrifice. Now think of this in the context of being a New Testament Christian, right? We are a kingdom of priests. We serve in the tabernacle, the greater tabernacle of the living God. And we are to walk blamelessly. So on one hand, we are blameless in Christ. But that is the foundation of our conduct. That we live blamelessly. We live in an undefiled and untainted manner. Because the Word of God has changed us. This, of course, brings an echo of the opening psalm. Psalm 1. What's the first word? Blessed. Blessed is the man who does not do this, right? And here we have it positively stated. Whose way is blameless. And we'd say, well, whose way? This is key. This is key to a blessed life. This is key to glorying in the law of God. How blessed is those whose way is blameless. The way in question here is the way of God. Not some generic way. Not some pick-and-choose path to life. The path that God has laid out for those who trust Him. This is God's way. This is a blessed man who is blessed because his way is God's way. And that way is blameless. And then further described, how is he blameless? Well, he walks in the law of the Lord. That's how we know his path is God's path. Because this walk, this pattern of life is characterized in close proximity to the law of the Lord. And that man is blessed, right? That man's not cursed. That man is not afflicted. He knows He is walking in the commandments of God, and He knows that that is a blessed place to be because He does not stand there on His own strength. He stands there on the strength of God Himself. His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law He meditates both day and night. This is the picture of a man who is always thinking, always considering, always meditating on and living out the Word of God as it is revealed. And then we go to verse 2. See, we're not just stuck here with one blessing. There is actually a double blessing here. So again, think about this in the context of the Christian. Think about John 1. What did Jesus bring us? Grace upon grace. This is the picture we have in view here. Blessing upon blessing upon blessing. So much, you wonder how you can stand it. How blessed is the man whose way is blameless. How blessed are those who observe His testimony. So here's a person who is doubly blessed. They sit and consider the testimonies of the Lord. What God has to say concerning Himself in all of His holy character and conduct. See, that's the thing. This is a big application for today. We don't open up the Bible so much to find something out about ourselves. That's a big thing today. Inserting ourself into the Scripture instead of opening the Word of God and discovering and concerning or observing how God reveals Himself to us. What is God saying to me concerning Himself? And what is God telling me about myself and who I am in light of Him? In light of His grace. But note how this is characterized. Go on in verse 2. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. So what are we told right here? This is great. Is that seeking the Lord is not some cold academic exercise. Many of us in here may love reading theology. We may love getting that great theological work that has just spanned the ages and we love to open it up and we love to study it. But if it becomes just a cold or even lukewarm academic exercise, you're doing something wrong. We study the Lord. We observe the Lord so that our affections for Him grow, so that our love for Him grow, so that our trust for Him deepens. It's not merely a mental exercise that we come and we think about the text and we say, oh yes, oh yes, I get it. And there's no zeal, right? There's no heartfelt love for the Lord. No, we seek Him with all of our hearts, the entirety of the inner man, to seek diligently, to inquire, to ask. When we seek something with all our heart, we not only seek it in an undistracted manner, but we also follow up. This is what we call holy dissatisfaction. We seek the Lord and we seek Him some more. We seek the Lord, we are filled, we are satisfied, and we return again and again and again to receive grace upon grace. It's like what Augustine said, right? The heart is never at rest until we find our rest in God. We seek Him with all of our heart. Mentioned six times in Psalm 119. We have to understand that obedience is concern with the heart, not merely going through the motion. Yes, we do what God says, but we do what God says because we want to. We do what God says because we love what He says. We love His Word. This goes all the way back to the initial giving of the law in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 4.29. But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. He wants us to pursue Him and to know Him. He wants us to keep His commandments, but He wants us to keep His commandments from the heart. And that means keeping the commandments from a loving heart. A heart that is bent toward His will. Deuteronomy 5. You hear Moses expressing this. Oh that they, that is Israel, had such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it would be well with them and with their sons forever. So you see there is a generational legacy attached to this. Attached to obeying the Lord from the heart. You obey the Lord from the heart. Think of the example that sets for your children and your children's children. That they don't just see some cold-hearted fundamentalist who's just going through the motions. Yep, God said it. I'm just going to obey Him. Without any joy. Without any affection. Without any desire to communicate to those under your spiritual care that God is to be not only obeyed, but treasured above everything else. And He is treasured from the heart. And we would desire a heart for our kids as well. That it would be well with them and their sons forever. Guys, obedience is not contained. A cold heart is not contained. It communicates what you believe about God and who He is. And we want to communicate that He is a God who is good and who blesses us and who is worthy of our love and adoration. And that is why in the Shema itself, Deuteronomy 6, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Again, your might, your muchness, with all that you are. The Christian does not need to be fearful of a broken heart. We understand that. God understands that. And He draws near to the brokenhearted. He draws near to those who are crushed in spirit. And we understand that there will be times where life will be so difficult that we will have a crushed heart. Don't fear a crushed heart. Fear a divided heart. Fear having a heart that is partitioned. that is split in its affections, that wants to serve two masters, one heart that is always trying to beat two rhythms at a time, one for the Holy Spirit and one for God. And we will never obtain a full sight of God if we search for Him with half a heart. We will not receive a full sight of God if we search for Him with seven-eighths of a heart. Or with 19 32nds of a heart. Any way you split it, you have a divided heart. And God wants us to search for Him, to seek Him with a whole heart, with all of our heart, with all that is in us. And yes, that is difficult. This is not something that is easy. I don't want to be flippant about it. But this is what God desires from us. And God is not going to command a Christian what he is unable to do through the powerful inworking of the Holy Spirit. God gives us the provision to obey Him. God gives us the provision to seek after Him. How do we know we can seek Him with the whole heart? Because we have a new heart that God has given us. A heart that is inclined to seek after Him and to do His will and to rejoice in His law. So be careful of a divided heart. Seek Him with all that you are. And so we go on, not only to the blessing that is declared, but listen to the blessing described. Listen to how David unpacks this. He says, they also do no unrighteousness. Speaking once again to the conduct of the Christian. Some translations say, they do no iniquity. But literally, this is, they do know unrighteousness. And of course, we are not saying that the Christian or that the one who draws near to God's law and loves His law never sins, never falters, never stumbles. What we have in view here is a particular pattern of life. So you have verses 1-3 that are bookended by a walk. They walk in His ways. His way is blameless. This is a course of life prescribed by God. So we see here as Christians, grace at work as the Word of God informs us. This is given to us by God. Notice this is not the blessed man's own way that he is demanding, but God's way. He wants God's way to be in play here. God's way to be revealed that directs and blesses him. The man who does no unrighteousness fears the Lord and shuns evil. So this is a man who is wise in the Word. He not only knows what pleases God, he knows the character of God enough to be able to recognize that which is unrighteous. He is like Job, a man who fears the Lord and shuns evil. He forsakes unrighteousness. He clings to that which is good. He understands that the way of God is righteous. Just like we read in Psalm 19, the judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous all together. In Deuteronomy 32.4 we read, "...the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness, and without injustice, righteous and upright is He." So this is a picture of a man who sees the character of God and says, by God's grace, I want to be like that. I want even the Lord to be able to look upon me and see a man of integrity. A man whose way is righteous. A man who trusts in the Lord. This is to conform to God in the entirety of his character. Listen to 1 Peter 1, 14-16, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance. This unrighteousness is in the past. This is no longer a way of life. Rather, he is walking the way of life. He says, Do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. Be devoted, be committed to the same things that I am devoted to. This is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome, but they are a way of life. And it is a way of life that is sustained by the ongoing presence and work of God Himself. We also see this blessing design. We see the design of the blessing. We see the very plan and purposes of God worked in to keeping His law and keeping His Word. Look in verse 4. You have ordained your precepts that we should keep them diligently. Literally, you yourself have commanded. This is an emphatic statement. Looking to the Lord and saying, you yourself have commanded. So ordained here isn't so much pointing to election or predestination, but it is a command. This is God's authoritative power at work. This is a command from the King. You have commanded that your precepts that we should keep them diligently. So note the transition here. I think this is really interesting as Psalm 119 continues. David is going from the third to the second person. He says, blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who seek Him. They. They. And then, He begins talking to God Himself. He begins by praying. And shouldn't this be our reaction to the law of God? We gaze upon it. We see the blessing. And then we commit it to God's work. We say, ah, I see. You, Lord, have given this to me. You have commanded these things, Lord. Your precepts are at work here. And we keep them diligently. This was the design of God all along. These precepts speaking of a command that is personal and detailed. And of course, details require diligence. We have to be watchful. We have to pay attention. We are not to obey God by accident. We obey Him on purpose. And it's hard to obey what you don't know. So rather than becoming a law unto ourselves and making up our own rules, We look at God's precepts. Because if we fail to do that, what do we do? We end up making an idol. We end up making our own God. How many times have you talked to another professing Christian and you kind of get into the middle of some perhaps hotly debated... Nothing is dispassionately debated anymore. Everything is a sticking issue, right? We're passionate about everything these days. Everything is hotly debated. And you may say something, And then they reply, well, the God I worship, or, well, the God I know, or the Jesus I believe in, and usually, the Jesus I believe in doesn't hate. Jesus hates lots of things. Hate to break it to you. God hates lots of things. And being a godly man, being a blessed man, means hating the same things He hates. And this is the value of reading the whole law of God, so we know God in His totality and completeness as He has revealed Himself. That prevents us. The most wicked thing that we do is conjure up our own God, is conjure up an idol. And what did we say? The law restrains. The law restrains us from idolatry because the law presents the reality of who God is. So there's a gracious guard against that. But we are called to keep His precepts diligently. And in doing so, we see God revealed as who He is. Listen to what Spurgeon says. God has not commanded us to be diligent in making precepts, but in keeping them. Some bind yokes upon their necks and make bonds and rules for others. But the wise course, listen to this, is to be satisfied with the rules of Holy Scripture. Just like we talked about last Lord's Day. God said it, that settles it. Even if we don't understand completely what is going on, our first response as spirit-indwelt believers is to hear the Word of God and say, God, You have spoken. You have spoken this. It is right and it is true. That settles the issue for me. Are you going to debate the living God about what is true and what is right and what is wholesome? That is a lot of courage. And that is foolhardy. We listen to the law of God and we agree that it is good. And so, when we are diligent to keep His precepts, it means we keep them intentionally. We don't obey from ignorance. We obey, we keep, we treasure that which has been revealed to us, and we continue to seek it out. Diligence also means that we study God consistently. It's a regular pattern of life. You go to the Word again and again. And then you are able to continue to build your understanding of who God is, and you are able to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this means doing so trusting that however God reveals Himself, He is good. Diligence means also regularity along with consistency, that this is not intermittent obedience. It's a pattern of life. That's what it means to be diligent. Being diligent also means purposefully, that when you keep God's precepts, you see that there is a point behind it. You don't miss God's point that He gives. Remember, we've talked about this before, that I don't think we ever see it in Scripture where we simply obey God for its own sake. There is always a higher purpose behind it. that there is a reason that God gives. We may not know those reasons, but there is always a higher and redemptive and God-glorifying purpose behind obedience. And this means that keeping God's precepts is not meant to be this hopeless, soul-crushing task, a burden beyond our ability to bear. It is if you don't have God, but we do have. And so clearly here, the point is that the psalmist is rejoicing in the law of God, and not only that, he finds freedom in it. He wants to know the Lord more because he knows that there is liberty in keeping it. And that is how we view the law of Christ. It's the law of liberty. It's the royal law. We obey the king, and that is an expression of the freedom that we have, is the ability and desire to obey. And so we come to this fourth thing. A blessing that is desired. Verse 5, O that my ways be established to keep your statutes. There's that word for inscribing something. O that my ways may be established to keep your statutes. Now listen to this. He has identified God as the giver of the blessing and what it means to walk in the law of the Lord. But note here, note his cry, O that my ways... They use the same way we do today. Once you say the word, oh, you are expressing a need for something. You are recognizing what only God can give. That my ways may be established. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build. If the Lord isn't watching, the watchmen watch in vain. This is an acknowledgment that this is only possible, this blessed life of living in obedience is only possible in God. O that my ways..." So here's another transition. He's going from the third person to the second person, and now he's going to the first person. He's talking about himself to God in light of what he knows now. He considers man's relationship to the law, but he considers God's relationship to his own law. And now the man considers his relationship to God the law giver. And so don't miss the progression here. He understands the point of God's law, that it is for good and for a blessing. And the good in view is that God's commands are obeyed and obeyed diligently and carefully. But now the psalmist has to turn his attention to that which makes it possible in the first place. There's this cry for help. Oh, that my ways may be established. You see, the cry of the psalmist here should be the cry of every Christian, is that we do not want to be a bystander when it comes to the righteous activity of the saints. We don't want to be standing by. We don't want to be a spectator of godliness. Like many other things in life that we desire to enjoy, we don't just want to stand there and watch things happen. Who wants to be a cheerleader for the rest of their life? Give me a break. No, you want to be on the court, right? You want to be in the thick of it, I would hope. You want to be where the action is. You want to be a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer who watches it happen. You want to participate in it. You don't want to be like Peter. You know what happened when Peter fell? What was he doing? How did the New Testament describe him? Jesus was going to the trial, and what was Peter doing? Do you remember? And Peter followed Jesus at a distance. He followed Jesus at a distance. And that's what many of us do. But Obed, our ways would be established so that we are directed by God. that we are walking closely with Him and in Him, not wondering what's going to happen, but anticipating what is going to happen because we know the Shepherd so well. Rather than trying to stand somewhere between the sand and solid rock, which doesn't exist, by the way. Wondering if that rock will hold up in the storm. That is, don't be a wait-and-see Christian. Repent of this idleness. Do not wait to do what is good. If you know that the Lord will establish you, then walk in light of that reality. Keep His statutes. Keep what is inscribed. And don't just stand by and watch. Be established, prepared, lay down, firm, enduring, directed, speaks of something fixed and immovable. All these are in view here. Just as the throne of David was established, so does the man of God want the Lord to establish His ways. We understand here that we are at the mercy of God. If God does not establish it, it does not get established. Very important that we don't miss that. This is the way of obedience. That it would be so established, it is like it is inscribed in our very hearts. And note the result here. then I will not be ashamed when I look upon all your commandments." None of us wants to look at the commandments of God and review them and say, when we go to the living water of Scripture to refresh ourselves, we don't want to look at Scripture and then be ashamed to be downcast, right? We want to be joyful. We want to look at the commandments of Scripture and say, yes, consistently, because of God's grace, I have been walking in obedience. That is boasting in the Lord. Do not be ashamed to say, praise the Lord, I have obeyed. Because God has given us the ability to obey. We don't want to be those who are ashamed when we look upon God's commandments because something has gone unestablished. Because we have fought conformity to God's way. And if we do that, the only end is everlasting shame and contempt. We should be able to look upon the blessing of the law of God, walk with the Lord, obey Him consistently, understanding that every provision to do so is there. Put there by Christ Himself. as the Holy Spirit ministers to us. We should see that at work. Then we are not ashamed. We are truly not ashamed. Think of Paul's mindset, not being ashamed of the Gospel. Why? Because he saw the power of God at work. The power of God brought salvation to everyone who believed. So we take that same mindset here as Christians and say, wow, we see God at work in obedience. We see Him establish us. We see Him give us the strength to obey. We see this present in our lives as a pattern, as a way of life. There is no reason to be ashamed if we obey God by grace through faith. There is nothing that would call the power and presence of God into question, because the consistency is there. His power is at work. When I look in to all of your commandments, He says, that is His standard of whether or not He is ashamed. Not some standard of His own making. So keep that close at hand. The psalmist isn't hiding. That's another thing. When we look at the law of God, when we look at His word, His commandments, We are not to hide from it, but nor are we to hide it from us. That is, we are willing to examine all of our lives in light of the totality of God's revelation. We used to sing that in children's church. Hide it under a bushel? No. No. I'm going to let it shine. That's our resolve. We do not dim the light, obscure the light, or point the light downward. We don't ignore certain parts of Scripture because we know that it's going to expose something sinful we're doing. Or it's going to expose a realm of immaturity or ongoing disobedience. We want to be mature. And to grow in Christ, that means all areas of life. are exposed by His commandments. So that in all of our behavior, we are devoted to Him that wherever the light of Scripture shines, there is a consistent pursuit of holiness and obedience. It doesn't mean we're going to be morally perfect, but what it does mean is that no area of life is claimed autonomously. We understand that it is all subject to the Lordship of Christ. And in this light, the psalmist desires to hear the whole counsel of God. It's like if you're watching a really good movie and you say, well, I don't like this part, so you fast forward it or something. Or you skip certain parts. When it comes to our life before God and our life lived before His law, we skip none of it. Especially not the hard parts. All of it is laid bare to expose the condition of our heart. Listen to what Matthew Poole says. We do this so as not to be partial in my obedience, not to allow myself in the practice of any known sin or in the neglect of any known duty. We're not partial Christians and we're not cowardly Christians. So we come to the Word of God and put all of life into the light of His Word. Going on in verse 7, "...I shall give thanks to you with uprightness of heart when I learn your righteous judgment." So note the cause and effect here. He learns God's righteous judgment. And rather than recoiling in horror, he says, no, I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart. Right? He is not ashamed. He is not ashamed when He looks into all of His commandments. He can see the law of the Lord at work. He can see the fruits of obedience put on display. And so He knows that He can praise Him with uprightness of heart. That is, His praise, upon reviewing and seeing the law of God, He knows there is no hypocrisy. So His worship can be true. He can praise the Lord and mean it. He can praise the Lord from an obedient heart because God has established His way. God has been faithful to direct His path, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. And so, of course, the result is obvious. That's the progression here. The result is thanksgiving. What is there left to do but to praise God for His activity, to praise God for the work of His Word? See, the heart is not divided, but it is whole. And here is a heart straight and upright rather than crooked and compromised. And so now we can praise the Lord without hypocrisy. The last thing we want is for our worship to be hypocritical. To listen to the Word of the Lord with a disobedient heart. To sing songs merely repeating words on a screen without any affection for God. To hear the Gospel again and again and again and not think of it as the greatest news in the history of mankind. And you guys hear this here every week. And for some of you, just nothing's changing. And that is why I preach this message, is that I want you to consider the condition of your heart. Is the Word of God at work in you and do you delight in it? And does it result in praise because you know that it's at work? Rather than going about your week, leaving here with a rebellious heart that's devising wicked schemes. And that is why we have the blessings determination as well. Look at verse 8. I shall keep your statutes, O do not forsake me utterly. So that is his determination after going through all of this. Notice the psalmist is resolute. He's just been put through the worship ringer here. But He says, I shall keep your statutes, meaning keep as in not just obey them, but keep as in guard them, right? He's treasuring them. He's storing them up to use. But He guards them. He watches over them. And of course, that is the practical outflowing of love for God's law, is that we hate to see it maligned and misrepresented. We hate to see it ignored. We hate to see it manipulated and customized. We want it treated as God would have it treated, and so we keep His statutes. And one of the primary ways we guard that is speaking it forth in spirit and in truth, and passing it along to those charged to our spiritual care. That is our determination. That is our conclusion in the matter. After going through all this, and it should be no other, that we stand firm on the Word of God in all of its beauty and authority and majesty. In all of its grace. I shall keep your statutes. That is our resolve. And you know what, friends? As Christians, we are able to do that. We're able to do that. And then he concludes with this. And I would say this is a blessing's desperation. I shall keep your statutes. Do not forsake me utterly. And we think, well, that's kind of strange for him to conclude with that in verse 8. Is David asking, don't depart from me like you did, like Saul, in terms of the anointing, right? There's also the thought that he's crying out asking, do not in any sense forsake me. This is an emphatic expression here. But I think this is more what's in view. Is that the more you plumb the depths of God, the depths of His grace, the more you realize how dependent you are. There is a sense, a greater sense of desperation and dependence the more you explore and experience the greatness and grandeur of God's grace. And you understand the weight of His commands. And how desperate is the man who faces the law of God without the presence of God. So what I would conclude here, and I think we could say this too, do not forsake Me utterly. And we know that God's promises are true. He will never leave us or forsake us. But there is something within us that is a holy terror, a fear that clings to God and that trembles at the thought of ever being alienated from God even though we know it's never going to happen. But there is a reverence for God's law. A fear that drives us to cling all the greater to Him. Think about a diver, a scuba diver, goes down to the depths of the sea. The farther down he goes, right, there's the weight of atmospheres upon him, the more aware he is of his surroundings. It's pressing in from him at all sides. And then he realizes, wow, without this gear, without this oxygen in this tank, I would surely perish. And I think our awareness of the grace of God grows commensurate with that. So we are like that diver. We want to plumb the depths of God's grace, but as the deeper we go, the greater realization we have of our need for Him. And the greater realization we have of our need for His Word. So draw closely to Him. Do not draw near in fear of His law, because we are not condemned by it. Draw near to it with anticipation, with joy, knowing that God's Word is good, it is complete, And it is for our instruction, and yes, and construction, as we are growing in grace. So with that, we will close today in prayer. Father, thank You again for Your Word, for Your love for us, that we can come to Your Word. We can gaze upon Your law. We can fix it with our vision and see, Lord, the greatness of who You are, the greatness of Your character, that You're righteous, You're holy, but that You are also love and goodness. All these things, Lord, we learn from what is written. And we can, as believers in Jesus Christ, draw near, even to the law of God, knowing that we can because we're not condemned by it. We don't need to draw near in fear. We don't need to feel the weight of condemnation. We can feel the weight certainly of responsibility. We can feel the weight of the depth of grace and be aware of our dependence upon You. All of those things are good things. But we can draw near in confidence, Lord, This Word. Your law is not spoken against us. It is spoken for us. That we can rejoice in it. Lord, that is the end point. Is to glorify You. Is to give thanksgiving with uprightness of heart. Not merely by routine, but thanksgiving as it reflects the work that You do in our lives. The thanksgiving of a changed heart. Of a heart without hypocrisy. Of a heart that always draws near to You and wants to give thanks. May that be characteristic of us, Lord. May You change our hearts so that we are thankful. That we can stand and praise You. Knowing that You will never leave us or forsake us. Lord, Your law is good. And from it, we can grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that it is his gospel that has saved us and even changed our relationship to the law, that we can walk in it without being condemned under it. In all these things, we give thanks. In your precious name, amen.