Sweeter than Honey

[0:00] The law of the Lord is perfect, comforting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

[0:19] For to be desired are they than God, did enlarge by God. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

[0:32] The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commands of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes.

[0:48] For to be desired are they than God, did enlarge by God. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

[1:03] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

[1:18] For to be desired are they than God, did enlarge by God. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

[1:32] Psalm 19 from verse 7 through 11. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

[1:43] The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

[1:58] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Moreover, more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold.

[2:14] Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward.

[2:24] The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. Salvation is one of the essentials of the word of God, isn't it?

[2:38] Salvation. You can search the world over through many holy books, so-called, and many religious philosophies, and yet miss that which really counts. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

[2:53] This book can convert souls. It's got a soul-converting message. It's his story. His story. The story of our Saviour. It is the gospel.

[3:04] The power of God. The power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. And it's often a forbidden book. I read this story recently, and it goes like this.

[3:18] Get that book out of here. Gloria was stunned by her parents' anger. Intense anger. How could a Bible be such a bad thing?

[3:30] Gloria had brought home a Bible that she had received from school. She thought her parents would be pleased. Possibly a New Testament, such as the Gideon New Testament.

[3:43] There's many, thankfully, people giving out the Word of God to youngsters. And she came home from school thinking her parents would be pleased with that.

[3:54] Instead, they forbid her to read it. And they told her to destroy it. Her parents' vehement reaction would soon come to haunt them.

[4:04] It was only a few months later, Gloria suddenly became ill and died. And grieving her loss, Gloria's parents searched through, sorted her things, her belongings.

[4:17] And as they emptied Gloria's school bag, they came across the small Bible. That they had angrily demanded that she destroy.

[4:29] But it was no longer a clean, crisp book as she had brought it home that day. Just a short while ago, it was dog-eared and worn and well-read.

[4:41] And on the inside of the front cover, they found Gloria's handwriting. Today, Jesus, I give my life to you. Be my life, Jesus.

[4:55] Gloria's parents stared at this short message. As they held their daughter's forbidden Bible in their hands, they felt hope that maybe there was life after death.

[5:08] They no longer felt angry. And to settle their question, they went to a preacher carrying Gloria's Bible. People asking Him question after question.

[5:20] And today, Gloria's parents have found faith in Christ. And they've become members of a church in the South American city where they live.

[5:31] And they each now have their own copy of the Bible. I know I was hearing someone, I can't recall who said it now, someone saying that you're not well-dressed without a Bible.

[5:43] You know, come to church with your Bible. And if you don't have one, we'll give you one. Amen? Bring a Bible to church so you can read it and follow along with the preacher.

[5:55] And be blessed and encouraged and exhort yourself. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Because the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. And when the ears are open and the heart is receptive, there's a converting of the soul.

[6:12] As we read in Romans 10, 8 to 10, it says, But what saith it? The word, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart.

[6:25] That is the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

[6:43] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

[6:58] It's got the message of the gospel. The gospel. Jesus didn't die for your success.

[7:12] Jesus didn't die for your sicknesses. Jesus died for your sins. He died for your sins. He died for your soul to be saved. He died for your soul to be one.

[7:25] He died for your salvation. For your salvation. Now some get it all around the wrong way. Friends, he died. Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, brothers and sisters.

[7:37] And the word is sure. It's dependable. And we can take heart in it. The gospel and wisdom that comes from the word. It says that the testimony of the Lord is sure.

[7:48] Making wise the simple. Making wise the simple. Friends, we all can come to that place where we're a bit like, what's his name, Sergeant Shultz?

[7:59] I know nothing. You know, when it really comes down to it, doesn't it? You know, when it really boils down to it, we really don't know a lot. You know, even if we are the most well-read PhD or whatever you might be, and, you know, no, all manner of learning, as the world would count it, really are just scratching the surface.

[8:20] But there's wisdom in this book. The wisdom of the ages. The wisdom of God himself. The maker of wisdom. The source of wisdom. Of Christ who is our wisdom. And where do we get our wisdom, is the question.

[8:33] Where do you get your wisdom from? Where do I get my wisdom from? It's been said, the average household has television on 6 hours and 47 minutes a day.

[8:44] I don't know if that's the latest count. But 6 hours and 47 minutes a day. Is that wisdom coming in from that tube into your home?

[8:55] Some have described it as a bit of light to an effluent pipe coming into your home half the time. Friends, we've got to get our wisdom from somewhere.

[9:06] Where are you getting your wisdom from? It's in here. It's in here. Search and read the Scriptures. Go to the Word. Because the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

[9:18] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the beginning of knowledge. So salvation. The law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul.

[9:29] Salvation. And secondly, you could say, sanctification comes from the Word soon. Sanctify them through thy Word, the Lord says. Make them holy, in other words.

[9:41] The holiness of God. The holiness that he longs for his people. As you would be the saints. In other words, the holy ones. That's what it means. Sanctification comes from the Word.

[9:52] As we read in verse 8. The statutes of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes.

[10:05] This is a pure Word. As it says of the Word, it's purified seven times. Thy Word is pure, it says. The Word of God is pure.

[10:15] And it will make you pure. As it will wash you. As there is that washing of the water by the Word. There is a washing, there's a cleansing, there's a purifying, there's a sanctifying Word.

[10:28] That God does through the Word. And if you're searching for holiness, if you're searching for rightness with God. Then this is where to look for it. To find the keys, the truth, the application for that.

[10:41] And the Word rejoices the heart. It gladdens the heart. It cheers the heart. It brings a freshness, a gladness, a joy. The statutes of the Lord are right.

[10:53] Rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes. Gladness and joy. We read of that in Jeremiah 15. 16 where the prophet has a munch on the Word.

[11:07] He gets some chewing of the Word in his spirit. And it says, Thy words were found and I did eat them. And thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.

[11:22] For I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. Thy words were found and I did eat them. Now I don't know how he did that. But friends, the Word is something we can feast on.

[11:35] We can feed on it. Our soul can be fed by it. Our heart can be nourished by that Word. It can bring nourishment and nurture. And it can be the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.

[11:48] And the Word opens the eyes. It says there is an enlightening of the eyes. We know for the world, it says of them, that the evil one has blinded the minds of them that believe not.

[12:01] And yet the Word says there can be an enlightening of the eyes. There can be light. As we know the Word is described as light and a lamb. And the Word opens the eyes.

[12:12] It brings a revelation as we read it. Do we read it? Here's a good quote. A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase.

[12:27] That's a good one, isn't it? A Bible in the hand is worth two in the bookcase. And I know I've exhorted and I don't always do it myself, but it's good to carry a New Testament around with you.

[12:38] You might have need of it. You might have need of it. Have a Bible on you. It's a good practice. I know I don't always do so, but it's always good to have it handy, isn't it?

[12:52] When you can just grab it and read it. Maybe in those moments of the day when you've got a, you know, that precious time is just ticking by.

[13:03] You don't have much else maybe to occupy yourself with. What better thing to do than to read the Word? I know as a young man, as a new Christian, I was encouraged, and I've mentioned this before, but the fellowship I was in encouraged the people to memorise the Word of God.

[13:23] And as a young man, amongst others in the youth group, we made little cards, you know, just about so big, and we wrote the Bible verses on them and the reference on the back, and we were encouraged by the teacher to take those Bible verses and look at them and just sort of check and memorise them, get them in a heart.

[13:47] And there's quite a number of them, like 100 verses or so, and even more than that. And by simple repetition and by simple practice, carrying those little cards around, and you've got time to read a card.

[14:01] On the bus, down in your lunch break, or through the week, through those quiet moments, those spare moments.

[14:11] And what better thing to do than to take the Word and memorise it, put it into your heart. And I just thank God for that teacher and that training that I had as that young man, because that's stayed with me.

[14:25] Those Bible verses have stayed with me. Even as this grey matter gets a bit scarcer, I can still remember those Bible verses, amen? And it's still a blessing to me. And it's useful for me, as it is for everyone, to learn to meditate and memorise the Word of God.

[14:42] And verse 9, it says, The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. As we feed on the Word, as we feast on it, we think of the fear of the Lord.

[14:57] We think of that purity, of that holiness. We think of the sacredness of these Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures. And we don't need to add to it or take away from it.

[15:10] There's some that seem to make practice of thinking they can add to the Word. Extra-biblical revelation. That's a danger. Now, I'm not saying God can't reveal things to us, but we know where the cults get all their extra-biblical revelation from.

[15:28] Where Joseph Smith got his another testament of Jesus Christ from, it wasn't from the Lord that we know.

[15:39] And friends, that's so. It's a very great danger. Extra-biblical revelation. We need to get the biblical revelation. And we get that right, and then we can test what other revelations we might get, whether they actually line up with it.

[15:50] And the sacred page, the sacred Scriptures, we need to be founded upon them. A firm foundation. The Word of God. That's what we need to build lives upon.

[16:02] And thank God, the Word shows real lives. You see, of some so-called sacred Scriptures today, and I've read some truths about the Koran, for example, as to some of the statements in that book.

[16:15] It's laughable. Mythological, mythical fables. And friends, yet the Word of God has been tested and searched, and we know it's real.

[16:28] And it talks about real people. So if you could transport yourself back in time, there'd be people just like you and me. And the Bible shows it, warts and all, doesn't it? It doesn't make them look like they're better than they were.

[16:41] It shows them with all their faults. And it shows them with God's forgiveness, and God's cleansing, God's saving power, God's life-changing power. And the Word of God, it changes men.

[16:53] I read this account of a couple of fellows who tried to attack the Word of God. They tried to attack the Word, and to find fault with it, to be sceptical, and finding some contradiction in it, and to destroy, faith in God's Word.

[17:12] And these two fellows, it was 1747. One was Lord George Littleton, a member of Parliament, and he contacted his friend, Gilbert West.

[17:23] And these two men talked about the falsehood of the Bible, as they saw it at that time, and of Christianity. And both of these men, they'd known each other, son, 18 years, way back to their time at Oxford University.

[17:37] And they thought, huh, we can tear this book to shreds. And they were going to write two different books. Littleton chose The Conversion of Paul.

[17:49] West chose The Resurrection of Christ, as the subject for their hostile criticism. And they both spent the majority of that year, dedicating themselves to expose the flaws of the Scriptures.

[18:05] And at the end, both independently came to the same conclusion, that the Bible is reliable. They couldn't deny the truth of it.

[18:16] Littleton wrote, The conversion and apostleship of St. Paul alone, duly considered, was to, of itself, a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be divine revelation.

[18:32] Littleton just couldn't stand against it. He surmised that Paul's 25 years of suffering and service for Christ was a reality. And then his conversion was true, for everything he did began with his accepting Christ as his Lord.

[18:49] And if Paul's conversion was true, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, for everything Paul was and did was attributed to the sight of the risen Christ.

[19:03] Both Littleton's observations on the conversion of St. Paul and West's observations on the resurrection of Christ have been hailed by Christians as outstanding works to support the Bible.

[19:16] The Word of God changes people. It converts the soul. It makes wise the simple. It takes hold of people, as we would let its power take hold of us.

[19:27] Converting power. As someone put it, divine inspiration. It makes the Bible uniquely the Word of God.

[19:38] Not merely a book containing the Word of God. And as such, different from any book, sacred or secular. So we see salvation, converting the soul.

[19:49] We see sanctification, making wise the simple. Enlightening the eyes. Purifying the heart. And verse 10, the satisfaction of the Word of God.

[20:02] Salvation, sanctification, satisfaction. Verse 10, More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.

[20:13] Moreover, by them is thy servant worn, and in keeping of them, there is great reward. There's a reward. There's a satisfaction. It's precious. It's worth more than fine gold.

[20:25] Worth more than money can buy. George Mueller was known for his strong faith. He confided, the first three years of my Christian life after conversion, I neglected the Word of God.

[20:41] I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I've read the Bible through 100 times. And always with increasing delight.

[20:55] John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, testified, Read the Bible, and read it again. And do not despair of help to understand something of the will and mind of God, though you think they are fast locked up from you.

[21:12] Neither trouble yourself, though you may not have commentaries and expositions. Pray and read. Read and pray. For a little from God is better than a great deal from man.

[21:29] It's good advice, isn't it? Pray and read. Read and pray. A little from God is better than a great deal from man.

[21:40] It's the Word that we need. It's the Word we need to feed on it, feast on it, dig deep into it, day by day, every day. The Word. It will enlighten us, enliven us, enhearten us.

[21:53] And there's a sweetness there. As the psalmist said, sweeter than honey. Sweeter than the drop from the honeycomb.

[22:04] I know I love honey. I don't know about you. My wife's a honey, but I love honey too. I love the honey and the honeycomb. And it's sweet. Amen. And the Word of God is sweeter, sweeter, sweeter.

[22:19] There's a sweetness there. There's a warning there too. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned. By them is thy servant warned.

[22:31] We can neglect to heed the warnings of God's Word. I know I started a sermon one day, one morning, and I said, warning! And people thought I was saying warning.

[22:43] No! There's a warning! There's a warning in this Word. And sometimes we've got to bring a warning! A warning! Sometimes we don't always catch it.

[22:55] Or we block it out. There's a story about a ranger in the Yellowstone National Park. Went hiking one day with some hikers to a lookout point.

[23:05] And he was so intent on showing them all the scenery and all the sights about the flowers and the animals that his two-way radio kept going off. And so he just switched it off.

[23:15] It was so annoying. And nearing the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout who asked why he hadn't responded to his messages on the radio. So a grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group.

[23:28] And the authorities were trying to warn them of their danger. And friends, we can do that with the Word of God. We can tune out to the warnings of the Word.

[23:39] The warnings of it. At our peril. Friends, don't neglect to heed the warning. As well as enjoy the sweetness of it. There's a reward from the Word.

[24:00] There's a satisfaction. There's a joy. There's a blessing. When we're searching for peace, when things are all chaotic about us, when things aren't as we'd like them to be, think of the Scripture, Great peace have they that love thy law.

[24:21] Great peace have they that love thy law. What a blessing. The great peace. The great peace. We neglect the Word. We neglect the peace.

[24:34] And the reward of Bible study is great. Great. As we learn, as we grow, as we rest upon it, meditate upon it, memorise it, feed upon it, and apply it.

[24:48] Friends, this is really just a simple message. But think of those simple things today and meditate on that very verse that we have read today.

[24:59] The law of the Lord is perfect. It's converting the soul. Are you saved? You can think you are, pretend to be, believe you are, yet not be.

[25:12] If you haven't received the Saviour, the Gospel, as he died, as he rose, as we believe in our heart, as we confess with our mouth, as we trust him by faith, as we call out on the name of the Lord, we shall be saved.

[25:28] Friends, don't neglect your soul. Don't neglect the warning. As we know, except you repent, you shall likewise perish. And that's a great, vital truth.

[25:40] The converting power, the salvation power of God's Word, the sanctifying power, as there is the wonderful joy of the commandment of the Lord, is pure.

[25:52] And it will help you to be pure. Sanctified and through thy Word, there's a sanctifying power, and there's a satisfaction that only he can give. Only he can bring the satisfaction.

[26:04] I know our brother was talking to me earlier tonight of two Bible characters, Martha and Mary.

[26:16] Martha was cumbered about with much serving. It's like a lot of Christians today, get very busy. Yet Mary have chosen the good part.

[26:33] She has sat at my feet and heard my Word. And it was what the Saviour was saying to the folk there. And what about you tonight? Do you sit at his feet and hear his Word?

[26:45] We must, wasn't we? We must spend more time with our Saviour, with his Word. And read and pray, pray and read. I love to tell the story of haunting things above, of Jesus and his glory.