WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:06.140 Well, a very good evening, one and all. Can I just say thank you for coming out this evening 00:00:06.140 --> 00:00:10.880 and what is probably the best day I think we've had in Scotland this year. And I'm delighted 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:16.640 that you'd come out this evening to hear from God's words this evening. So why don't you 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:22.679 turn to Psalm 119, if you have it there. That handout as well is going to be useful. So 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:27.760 please have that in front of you as we go through this evening. But let's pause before 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:29.920 we begin and let's pray together. 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:41.920 Oh, Father God, we thank you so much for this evening. And we thank you for the chance that 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:49.680 we have at the end of our busy week to spend time listening to you. So I pray that you would speak 00:00:49.680 --> 00:00:55.560 to us by your spirit. And Lord, in the words of the psalmist, that you would open our eyes, 00:00:55.560 --> 00:01:02.160 that we would behold wonderful things in your words. And this is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:10.579 Amen. So a couple of weeks ago, Alex, Chloe and I, we went to Brittany in the north of France 00:01:10.579 --> 00:01:16.340 for a holiday with my parents-in-law. We flew from Edinburgh to Bristol. From Bristol, 00:01:16.340 --> 00:01:22.040 we traveled in the car to Portsmouth. I'd never been to Portsmouth before. But as soon as we got 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:29.280 to Portsmouth, we encountered the biggest ferry I think I've ever seen. Now, the only ferries that 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:33.219 I've been used to in my lifetime come from the west coast of Scotland is that little Calmac one you get 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:38.160 from Largs to Millport, you know the one? So I very much felt like I'd graduated from the lower 00:01:38.160 --> 00:01:45.700 leagues of Scotland to the premiership of ferries. So got to Portsmouth, got on the ferry, set sail, 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:54.359 a lovely evening in Portsmouth, people waving us off, stunning buildings and coastline, and a real 00:01:54.359 --> 00:02:00.780 stillness to the sea. It was beautiful. As we progressed on the journey, we got a bit further 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:09.379 out to sea. Things began to get a little bit choppy. Now, we had a bunk for the evening, and I don't know 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:13.060 about you if you've ever tried to sleep on a ferry. I've never tried it before until last week. 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:15.000 It's not something I'm going to do again. 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:23.539 I felt every single wave. I felt as if I could feel the sea moving, the ship. I was waking up 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:30.520 feeling disorientated. I could feel that nauseating feeling inside increasing as we were going on and 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:37.840 on and on. And I'm thinking to myself, I just want to get through this. And eventually, I woke up, 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:42.980 and we're at the other side. The waters have stilled. The French coastline is there. 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:47.759 I'm watching the sunrise with a café au lait in one hand and a croissant in the other, 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:52.860 living the French dream. And I'm making small talk with my parents-in-law over breakfast the 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:59.080 next morning. And I commented on what I thought was a very rough night at sea. And they replied to me, 00:02:59.140 --> 00:03:03.860 groom, you've got no idea what you're talking about. I remember when we used to cross this channel 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:09.140 when we were young on an old ferry. It was rocking all over the place. Grandma was literally 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:15.799 climbing uphill to get to the toilet like a Navy SEAL. Graham, last night was absolutely nothing. 00:03:16.899 --> 00:03:20.939 Well and truly put in my place. And I think at that point, I decided I don't think I'm made for the 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:27.099 sea. And I'll stick to Starbucks in the city center. Thank you very much. But it occurred to me, 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:38.620 isn't being at sea a bit like life. There are calm times, moments of stillness and beauty, 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:46.180 family vacations, time that we spend with loved ones, marriages, births, opportunities, 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:52.280 the receiving of good news. But don't we also know that they are choppy times, 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:59.900 when life gets tough, when that friend turns out not to be the trustworthy friend that you thought 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:09.939 they were going to be. Unemployment hits, sleepless nights, stress at work, times when you don't feel 00:04:09.939 --> 00:04:15.780 in life like you're swimming, but actually like you're just trying to keep ahead, not to drown in the 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:22.220 water. And then don't we know that there are calamitous times as well? When those test results 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:29.920 come in that reveal the worst loss of loved ones, when you never seem to be able to shake away 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:39.199 that dark, cloudy storm. And I guess my question for us tonight as we come to Psalm 119 is, in those 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:45.579 calm times, in those choppy times, in those calamitous times, where do you go? 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:52.879 In those times, where do you look to make sense of it all, to keep with the analogy? When you have 00:04:52.879 --> 00:05:02.639 to put down anchor, where does it go down into? I've spent the last couple of months in Psalm 119, 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:09.219 and, guys, I just can't get enough of this Psalm. And the reason is, I think, that it's so real. 00:05:09.819 --> 00:05:14.699 It's so beautifully raw. I mean, the Psalmist, as you read it, he just tells it like it is. 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:20.099 He doesn't sugarcoat how he's feeling. It's so refreshingly honest, and he just pours out his heart 00:05:20.099 --> 00:05:25.979 before God. And this is the point where I give you a quick overview of Psalm 119. This is some of the 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:34.180 things that we see, like us. He knows rejoicing. He knows times of affliction. He knows peace in his 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:40.819 own life. He knows times of sleeplessness. He knows times of praise. He knows times of distress. He knows 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:46.759 times of confidence in God. And he knows times of doubt in who God really is. God, are you really there? 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:55.500 This Psalm is viscous thick with emotions. And the thing to see is that as the music of his life 00:05:55.500 --> 00:06:01.160 moves between the major and the minor keys, there's one thing that he clings to throughout all of this, 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:07.959 and it's God's words. Now, here's what we need to do this evening. 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:14.259 We need to imagine that Mr. Psalm 119 is standing right here in front of us. 00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:18.879 Now, there's been a change to the preaching schedule. I'm not going to preach tonight. You're 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:24.220 probably delighted to hear that. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to hand over to Mr. Psalm 119. 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:28.720 He's going to do the preaching this evening. He's got the microphone. And to some extent, 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:33.880 this is what we do every time we open our Bibles. We want the Bible to speak. We want Mr. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:40.140 Psalm 119 to speak. And what's his topic for this evening? Well, we just want to know, 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:49.320 what does he believe about God's words? Because I think what he will tell us is that God's words 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:56.040 is in the ups and the downs of his life. God's word is the most important, trustworthy, 00:06:56.659 --> 00:07:03.860 and loving word in his life. He delights in God's word. He loves his Bible. He leans his whole life on 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:10.180 it. It's the only sure path for his feet. It tells him the difference between what's right and what is 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:18.959 wrong. It tells him. It shapes him. It molds him. He trusts it. And see where Mr. Psalm 119 is, 00:07:19.100 --> 00:07:22.340 what he believes about God's word. Friends, that's what I want to believe about God's word. 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:27.620 These are the convictions that I want to have. And these are the truths and the convictions I want 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:35.180 you to have as well. So I want to believe what he believes. And so the question is, 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:44.519 how has he got there? Well, from our verses this evening, verses 65 to 72, he's going to tell us 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:48.960 three things about what he believes about God's word. Now you see this all the way through the psalm, 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:56.139 but I think you see them in these verses particularly. What does he believe about God's 00:07:56.139 --> 00:08:00.800 word? Here's the first thing that he believes, that God's word is revealing. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:08.900 Now I wonder if you've ever heard that age-old objection to religion, that when you take away 00:08:08.900 --> 00:08:13.879 all the traditions and practices, that essentially they're the same thing. Have you heard that before? 00:08:14.780 --> 00:08:20.980 And the argument goes something like this. Imagine that there are six blind men in a room feeling an 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:28.280 elephant. And one man, he feels the tail and he concludes that, hey, God must be like a tail. 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:35.339 And the other man, he feels the tusk and he concludes that God must be like a tusk. And the other man, 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:42.039 he's there, he feels the ear and he proclaims and concludes that God must be like an ear. And so on 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:48.039 and so forth. Therefore, this is what it's like when you're trying to understand what God is like. 00:08:48.459 --> 00:08:51.939 Essentially, you're talking about the same thing, but you're talking about it with your own 00:08:51.940 --> 00:08:55.960 interpretations of it. There's the objection checkmate. 00:08:58.060 --> 00:09:02.000 Well, friends, I hope you can see two massive inconsistencies with that argument. 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:07.340 Firstly, the person telling you the story is assuming the place of the only one in the room 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:13.880 that can see the whole thing. But even more importantly than that, secondly, what happens 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:23.019 if the elephant speaks? And says, no, listen, I'm not a tail. No, no, I'm not an ear either. And I'm 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:30.460 definitely not a tusk. I'm an elephant. There's no mystery to who I am. I'm telling you who I am. 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:36.500 I'm an elephant. What happens at that point? You see the Christian faith right at the heart of it? 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:43.419 Revelation. Now, we don't worship a book. We worship the God who has made himself known 00:09:43.419 --> 00:09:48.840 through the book. God speaks. Look what the psalmist writes at verse 72. 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:58.159 The law from where? Your mouth. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:06.320 of silver and gold. Here's his conviction. The unfathomable has made himself fathomable. 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:13.399 It's quite a tongue twister, that one, isn't it? The unfathomable has made himself fathomable. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:18.340 God's not playing hard to get. He's not playing hide and seek. He's not waiting for us to figure 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:26.399 him out because let's be honest, that would never happen. God has lovingly taken the initiative and 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:33.679 fully disclosing himself for everyone to see. Now, Amy or Ewing, some of you might have heard of her. 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:36.839 She's written a fantastic book on this subject. She says this, 00:10:37.979 --> 00:10:44.359 At the heart of the Christian faith is the revelation of a personal God who can be known 00:10:44.359 --> 00:10:54.299 and related to. What does the psalmist love? He loves that God has made himself known in his words. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:00.519 Throughout this psalm, you'll see the psalmist using eight different words to describe God's words. 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:07.179 He's going to talk about God's instruction, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:14.919 judgments, words, promise, all words that he uses to describe what God has said, what he's doing 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:21.879 creatively in kaleidoscopic fashion. There's another tongue twister. He's telling us that he loves it all, 00:11:22.419 --> 00:11:28.139 all of it he loves, that God would make himself known to him. It blows his mind. 00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:35.819 And so if God has revealed himself, I guess the next question is, who has God revealed himself to be? 00:11:37.439 --> 00:11:42.039 Well, look at how the psalmist addresses God at verse 65. He says, 00:11:42.199 --> 00:11:50.299 Lord, that's a little word that is so easy to miss and assume. It's a word, a name for God that is 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:59.519 packed full with meaning. The psalmist worships the covenant God, the God of steadfast love, 00:11:59.579 --> 00:12:07.179 the God who has made himself known to Israel, the God of all grace, the rescuing God, the providing God, 00:12:07.259 --> 00:12:12.439 the God who leads his people and protects his people, the loving God, the unchanging God, 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:18.620 the God who is for his people, the promise keeping God, the God who said, you are my people and I am 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:28.520 your God. The Lord is who he addresses and worships, the Lord who God has revealed himself to be in his 00:12:28.520 --> 00:12:38.760 words. Now, the psalmist, whenever he's writing this, it certainly was BC, i.e. it was before Jesus. 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:44.980 And what an incredible privilege it is to sit here, the other side of the cross, 00:12:45.439 --> 00:12:52.879 to have the whole Bible, to have the New Testament, because we know that God has supremely revealed 00:12:52.879 --> 00:13:03.100 himself and spoken finally in the person of his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, God in the flesh, not just a 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:09.540 reflection of who God is, but the exact radiance of God, his father. In other words, this is what we 00:13:09.540 --> 00:13:17.920 need to understand. Jesus shows us God as he truly is. How do I know God loves me? How do I know he is 00:13:17.920 --> 00:13:26.759 for me? Well, look to the cross. There we see the son of God, the living words suspended there for us, 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:32.259 taking our sin on the cross, taking the blame that was yours and mine on his shoulders. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:38.379 Jesus, the one who lost all his glory so that you and I could be clothed in it. 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:43.220 Jesus, the one who was shut out from his father so that you and I could gain access. 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:49.759 Jesus, the one who was bound and nailed so that we could go free. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:54.319 Tim Keller, a great author, he puts it like this, 00:13:54.460 --> 00:14:01.480 only through weakness and pain did God save us and show us in the deepest way possible the 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:10.019 infinite depths of his grace and his love for us. Two modes of revelation, God's words and Jesus, 00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:16.819 the living word, as is written about in the words, they reveal to us one God, a God who is delightful. 00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:23.280 And why has God revealed himself? Well, God's not revealed himself simply for information. 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:30.300 God's revealed himself for relation. Not just so that you and I can know things about God, 00:14:30.800 --> 00:14:38.000 but so that you and I can know this living God. He is not silent. He is not silent. He speaks. 00:14:39.020 --> 00:14:45.860 You see, this is not our best guess at what God is like. This is how we know what God is like. 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:53.060 The God who spoke creation into existence reveals himself. Now, brothers and sisters, 00:14:53.240 --> 00:15:01.120 I wonder if that truth still thrills your heart. The God who holds galaxies in his hand, 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:10.039 he's revealed himself to us. Think about it. Without revelation that you and I would be walking 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:16.079 around blindly in darkness, we'd have no hope of knowing God. We'd have no hope of knowing about 00:15:16.079 --> 00:15:22.799 the way unto salvation. What a glorious thing that revelation is. And we do well as we pick up our 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:31.039 Bibles every day to remember that, to stop and to think about what we're doing. And I know it's true 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:38.439 in my own life. How at times I'm so complacent, I'm so apathetic, and I'm so quick to rushing in 00:15:38.439 --> 00:15:46.439 to reading this. This is no ordinary book. C.S. Lewis, who one of my friends described him as the 00:15:46.439 --> 00:15:51.879 poster boy of evangelicalism this week, he said this about the Bible. I have been reading poems, 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:59.740 romances, vision literature, legends, and myths my whole life. I know what they're like. I know none 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:08.580 of them are like the Bible. This is God's words. This is God speaking. That when you and I open our 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:14.779 Bibles, we meet with the living God. And this should create in us a deep humility. 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:22.519 That we open our Bibles and we put ourselves under it, not over it. That we listen to what 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:26.439 our Bibles are saying, what God is saying. We listen to what it says. We don't tell it what 00:16:26.439 --> 00:16:34.339 it should be saying. Look at the words that the psalmist uses to describe himself, verses 65 and 66. 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:40.740 What does he call himself? He calls himself a servant. And how does that manifest himself? 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:43.379 What does he pray, verse 66, teach me? 00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:53.259 It's this God, this gracious God who has made himself known in his words, this God that the 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:59.600 psalmist knows personally and deeply, that the psalmist now turns and says, I trust your words. 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:06.680 I trust it. And that's the second thing that Mr. Psalm 119 would say to us this evening, that God's 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:14.399 word is true. It's true. It's the thing around which he bases his life. He depends on it. He follows it. 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:22.519 He walks in its instruction because he knows it's the truth. And he trusts it. Now, let me just make 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:27.560 the observation, living in this world that we do, do you not know it to be true that we have massive 00:17:27.560 --> 00:17:34.519 trust issues as a society? Do we not? And not just as a society, we have massive trust issues in our own 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:42.879 hearts. Some of you wouldn't trust the politician. You would not trust a journalist. You would not trust 00:17:42.879 --> 00:17:48.879 a football player. You would not trust a car mechanic. You might struggle to trust a doctor. 00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:54.480 And don't I know it to be true in a previous life of mine, some of you would struggle to trust a lawyer. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:18:03.960 Do you want to know how many lawyers it takes to change a light bulb? It takes three. One to climb 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:11.920 the ladder, one to shake it, and one to sue the ladder company. But our society doesn't trust. 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:19.620 So quickly, we're skeptical. And the thing to see here is that if we're not careful, that attitude 00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:26.139 can make its way into what we think about God's words. It's so popular in our day for people to 00:18:26.139 --> 00:18:32.199 write off the Bible, simply outdated thoughts, that God has passed his sell-by date, that this 00:18:32.199 --> 00:18:39.679 book has been corrupted by men, that this book is full of errors and unexplainable contradictions. 00:18:39.679 --> 00:18:43.259 Can I say if you've heard that at some point in your life, it's just not true. 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:50.220 You can trust God's word. There's two things I want us to see that we can trust about God's word. 00:18:50.379 --> 00:18:55.240 Firstly, we can trust its composition. In other words, we can trust how it's been put together. 00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:00.940 That the Bible that we have in our hands is in the format that God intended it to be in. 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:05.640 In other words, you can trust what we have is what God wanted us to have. 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:08.660 Now, the thing is that that's a massive subject. 00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:13.779 It's needing a lot more time than what we have tonight. But if you want to read more 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:18.420 up on the reliability of the Bible, if that is something that you're struggling with, 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:24.500 can I recommend this wonderful little book by Barry Cooper? It's called Can I Really Trust the Bible? 00:19:24.620 --> 00:19:28.100 It's 100 pages. You'll get through it in an afternoon. You'll feel great that you've read a book. 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:32.460 But if that's something that's on your mind, can I really encourage you to get into that? 00:19:32.820 --> 00:19:38.300 You can borrow my copy. You'll get it for £3, I think, online. But it's a great book written for Christians. 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:43.200 Christians and non-Christians alike seeking to answer some of the common objections and problems 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:49.279 that people have with the Bible. But all for now we'll say is that you can trust its composition. 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:57.099 And secondly, you can trust its contents. In other words, every word in the Bible is there 00:19:57.099 --> 00:20:03.319 because God wanted it to be there. There are no unexplainable contradictions. There are no errors. 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:07.879 This book holds. And you can trust Jesus on this one. 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:11.899 Jesus believed the Scriptures can't be broken. 00:20:12.939 --> 00:20:15.919 That every word was from God himself. 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:21.039 Jesus in John chapter 10, confronting the Jews who are ready to stone him. 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:25.460 He quotes Psalm 82 saying that the Scriptures cannot be set aside. 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:31.160 It's the Greek word lou, which in context means that God's word cannot be broken. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:34.480 It cannot be nullified. It cannot be invalidated. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:40.640 You see, Jesus approached the Scriptures confirming the chronology. 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:44.539 He confirmed the events. He confirmed the history. He confirmed the authors. 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:48.900 He quoted Moses. He quoted the prophets. 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:54.180 He even quoted something like the events of Jonah as being absolutely true. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:02.620 For Jesus, Scripture is powerful. It's decisive and authoritative because it is the voice of God. 00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:06.920 And it can't be true. It can't be wrong. It's always true. 00:21:08.340 --> 00:21:11.840 And you see, that's what Mr. Psalm 119 is saying to us this evening. 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:13.800 That God's word is not telling us lies. 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.380 That to follow God's word is to follow the truth. 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:19.940 That's what I want you to understand this evening. 00:21:21.320 --> 00:21:29.360 As you live your life as a Christian in this world where the Bible and its teachings are continually being questioned and rejected, 00:21:29.800 --> 00:21:35.000 you can understand and know that your faith is not based on irrational confidence. 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:37.720 It is based on historical fact. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:42.279 That you can always trust God's word. 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:48.519 All of it, all the time, every verse, without exception, without end, because it's the truth. 00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:51.960 It's telling you the truth. 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:54.900 You can trust it when it tells you that God created the world. 00:21:55.360 --> 00:21:57.940 You can trust it when it tells you that Mary was a virgin. 00:21:58.420 --> 00:22:01.500 You can trust it when it tells you that Jesus did miracles. 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:05.460 You can trust it when it tells you that he was innocently crucified. 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:07.099 That the tomb is empty. 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:12.640 That he rose from the dead and he reigns in heaven and he will return to judge the living and the dead. 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:13.579 You can trust it. 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:17.460 The Bible is true. 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:20.279 And therefore, this is what we need to see. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:21.659 Verse 66. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:26.460 Let's make the psalmist's exclamation our exclamation. 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:27.919 What does he say? 00:22:28.339 --> 00:22:35.299 Teach me knowledge and good judgment for I trust your commands. 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:38.399 Now, let me ask you right now. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:39.879 What are you trusting in this evening? 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:44.399 What are you leaning your life on? 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:46.200 What is shaping your life? 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:48.720 What is guiding your life? 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.899 Whatever that thing is that you're thinking about. 00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:54.559 The question is, is it true or is it false? 00:22:56.299 --> 00:23:01.919 Now, Christopher Ash, who's again written another great book on this subject, he puts it like this. 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:07.500 The word of God gives us the only reliable map of the world as it truly is. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:15.920 You know, the Bible, if you want to think about it this way, it's like the picture in the front of a jigsaw box that makes sense of all the bits of the puzzle that are inside. 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:21.640 The Bible gives us a truthful and accurate view of ourselves. 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:25.380 That we are more deeply flawed than we ever care to admit. 00:23:26.080 --> 00:23:30.300 But we are more deeply loved than we ever thought could be possible. 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:33.800 Kevin DeYoung writes this. 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:47.980 He says, if you ever think to yourself, I need to know what is true, what is true about me, true about people, true about the past, true about the good life, and true about God, then come to God's words. 00:23:48.980 --> 00:23:51.300 You can trust your Bible. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.019 And here's the third thing that Mr. Sam 119 would tell us. 00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:58.019 God's word is good. 00:23:58.019 --> 00:24:28.000 God's word is good. 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:29.019 God's word is good. 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:29.279 God's word is good. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:35.500 And secondly, I concluded that I think she's screaming because she doesn't think that I'm going to put the clothes back on her. 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:37.859 That I'm going to leave her in the cold. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:41.960 And it's interesting because now when I change her, she's quite happy about it. 00:24:42.139 --> 00:24:45.139 I mean, she puts her foot in her mouth now and tries to eat it, but she's quite happy. 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:49.100 because she understands a bit more about who I am 00:24:49.100 --> 00:24:50.640 and how this whole process works. 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:53.380 So let me ask you this evening, 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:55.460 what is your understanding of who God is? 00:24:56.680 --> 00:24:59.560 What do you believe about God's words? 00:25:00.820 --> 00:25:02.860 Is he like the cosmic traffic warden 00:25:02.860 --> 00:25:06.759 out to spoil your fun and just to keep watch? 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:09.100 I mean, we love traffic wardens in this city, don't we? 00:25:10.100 --> 00:25:11.840 Is he like the divine tax man? 00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:14.060 Is he someone just to be begrudgingly obeyed, 00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:14.880 not to be enjoyed, 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:18.880 but what is Mr. Sam 119 saying? 00:25:19.580 --> 00:25:20.380 He's good. 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:24.360 He uses that word five times in these verses alone. 00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:25.960 God's good. 00:25:26.620 --> 00:25:29.380 God's good and that's why I follow what he says. 00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:30.900 Look at verse 68. 00:25:32.140 --> 00:25:33.120 What does he say? 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.300 He says, you are good 00:25:35.300 --> 00:25:38.280 and what you do is good. 00:25:39.040 --> 00:25:40.320 Teach me your decrees. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:44.360 This is the God that he knows 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:45.359 and he worships. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:46.059 He worships. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:47.259 God is good 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:49.359 and what he does is good. 00:25:50.159 --> 00:25:52.399 God does not lay down arbitrary rules. 00:25:53.679 --> 00:25:55.139 God doesn't bark orders 00:25:55.139 --> 00:25:56.419 so that we would be restricted 00:25:56.419 --> 00:25:57.639 and miserable. 00:25:57.879 --> 00:26:00.039 God never says anything 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:02.039 that is unloving or unwise. 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:04.259 His demands, 00:26:04.639 --> 00:26:06.059 his words are always noble, 00:26:06.479 --> 00:26:07.359 they're always perfect, 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:08.339 they're always righteous 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:10.139 and they're always wise. 00:26:11.339 --> 00:26:13.559 And don't miss what the psalmist says 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:15.339 at verse 71. 00:26:17.939 --> 00:26:19.699 The psalmist is saying here, 00:26:20.019 --> 00:26:20.859 very profound. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.059 The psalmist sees God's goodness. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:23.500 Where? 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:25.180 In his affliction. 00:26:27.420 --> 00:26:27.619 So, 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:30.160 understand it like this, 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:31.740 that the psalmist in his own words here, 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:32.339 what is he doing? 00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:33.460 He's going astray. 00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:36.220 He's going away from God 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:39.140 and something happens in his life, 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:40.579 God brings some kind of pain 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:43.059 or something happens in his life 00:26:43.059 --> 00:26:46.240 in order to help him see the folly of his ways 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:48.259 and to bring him back to God's words. 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:51.740 Maybe that's a description 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:52.980 of where you are this evening. 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:54.920 I mean, 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:56.279 is the Lord in his wisdom 00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:57.519 and his goodness, 00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:58.980 is he teaching you something? 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:02.359 Is he allowing you to experience something 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:04.539 in order that you might see the folly 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:06.079 of what it means to go astray 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:08.480 and that he might bring you back to his words? 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:13.000 Do you see how the psalmist sees that 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.259 as the goodness and the grace of God 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:16.160 in his life? 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:18.460 Do you see how the psalmist 00:27:18.460 --> 00:27:20.759 has a stable and settled confidence 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:22.500 in the goodness of God? 00:27:22.540 --> 00:27:23.620 He sees this affliction, 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.580 whatever it was, 00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:26.420 whatever it's to do with the smearing campaign 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:27.400 that's going on against him, 00:27:27.600 --> 00:27:28.820 he sees this affliction 00:27:28.820 --> 00:27:32.360 as the goodness of God in his life. 00:27:33.860 --> 00:27:35.060 And that's gutsy faith. 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:38.759 And it's a challenge, isn't it, to us? 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:40.900 Can we say that? 00:27:41.820 --> 00:27:42.860 Do we believe that? 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:45.480 Do we know his goodness? 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:47.720 Do we trust in the goodness of his words? 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:49.980 You know, I think, 00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:51.240 I know this in my own prayer life. 00:27:52.120 --> 00:27:53.960 I know so often I pray to God 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:56.319 and I ask him for what I want 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:58.500 rather than trusting in that 00:27:58.500 --> 00:27:59.860 he knows what I really need. 00:28:01.860 --> 00:28:03.680 Now remember that we come before God 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:04.720 as Abba Father, 00:28:04.860 --> 00:28:05.759 not Sugar Daddy. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:08.700 So when God says something, 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:11.220 we can trust his heart behind it. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:13.420 When God gives something, 00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:15.799 when God prohibits something, 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:18.900 when God gives us something 00:28:18.900 --> 00:28:20.039 that we don't like, 00:28:20.100 --> 00:28:22.600 that we know the goodness of the God 00:28:22.600 --> 00:28:25.339 who stands behind the Bible. 00:28:27.600 --> 00:28:29.079 You know, I read this quote this week 00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:30.900 by a woman called Anne Voskamp. 00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:32.600 I'll be honest, I don't know who she is. 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:35.099 I read her in a book and she says this, 00:28:35.899 --> 00:28:37.419 if trust must be earned, 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:41.459 hasn't God unequivocally earned our trust 00:28:41.459 --> 00:28:43.179 with a bark in his raw wounds, 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:47.599 the thorns pressed into his brow, 00:28:48.179 --> 00:28:49.799 your name on his cracked lips? 00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:53.500 You know, I think our problem so often 00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:54.919 is that we come before the God 00:28:54.919 --> 00:28:56.579 that we've conjured up in our own minds. 00:28:56.579 --> 00:28:59.220 I know what it says, 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:02.439 but God couldn't possibly be like that. 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:04.119 I know what it says, 00:29:04.199 --> 00:29:05.899 but that's not the God that I believe in. 00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:08.799 And I think that's why it's so important 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:10.960 that God's word is the thing 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.599 that is filling our minds. 00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:14.539 That the God of our understanding 00:29:14.539 --> 00:29:15.579 and the God of the Bible, 00:29:15.699 --> 00:29:16.399 they match up. 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:20.039 That our faith rests on God's words 00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:21.960 and what God has said in his word 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:24.259 and not simply on Christian cliches 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:26.619 or the things that we understand 00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:27.900 with our limited imagination. 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.500 Because the thing is, 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:33.220 when we gaze at God's words, 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:34.680 when we gaze at how God 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:36.019 has revealed himself to be 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:38.140 and immerse ourselves in his words, 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:40.359 we find there a God 00:29:40.359 --> 00:29:42.279 of infinite love and beauty. 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:46.079 We find a gospel that is richly glorious. 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:48.559 We find a God who is so far above 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.000 the things of this earth. 00:29:50.700 --> 00:29:51.839 And we find a savior 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:53.900 who is altogether victorious. 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:58.720 So as we close our time together this evening, 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.500 let me take you back to the Brittany Ferry. 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:03.900 And let me ask you that question 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:05.319 that I asked you at the start. 00:30:06.379 --> 00:30:07.039 In the calm, 00:30:07.879 --> 00:30:09.160 in the choppy, 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:10.579 in the calamitous of life, 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:11.299 where do you look? 00:30:12.220 --> 00:30:13.539 How do you make sense of it all? 00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:17.640 Well, let me read you a couple's story 00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:19.980 that I read recently in a book 00:30:19.980 --> 00:30:20.599 that I was reading. 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:22.319 This couple are called Mary and Martha. 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:27.159 In fact, they're called Mark and Martha. 00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:28.519 I need to get a new spell checker. 00:30:32.679 --> 00:30:34.079 Wasn't a time for a joke, was it? 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:34.439 Okay. 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:37.419 This is Martha. 00:30:39.379 --> 00:30:40.119 Their words. 00:30:40.659 --> 00:30:40.939 Martha, 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:44.240 as my husband Mark sits in his wheelchair, 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:47.120 unable to move anything but his eyes, 00:30:47.880 --> 00:30:49.900 and even that being increasingly difficult, 00:30:50.580 --> 00:30:52.900 we're approaching the 10-year point in our journey. 00:30:53.860 --> 00:30:55.539 It began with a small twitch 00:30:55.539 --> 00:30:57.559 when Mark was 48 years old, 00:30:58.059 --> 00:30:59.480 and within a month, 00:30:59.600 --> 00:31:01.759 our doctor had diagnosed the cause 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:03.380 as the terminal illness, 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:04.220 ALS, 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:05.920 or Lou Gehrig's disease. 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:08.600 We'd been married 25 years, 00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:09.779 and we had four children. 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:12.279 We'd always been an active family, 00:31:12.420 --> 00:31:14.380 so Mark's quick physical demise 00:31:14.380 --> 00:31:16.579 was absolutely devastating. 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:19.360 When Mark got sick, 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:21.299 I fell into a black hole of despair. 00:31:22.100 --> 00:31:23.960 I didn't know how I was going to live 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:26.059 through the pain of the coming days. 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:26.799 I was struggling. 00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:29.420 During those early days, 00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:31.759 Mark and I quoted every verse 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:34.599 we could think of telling us about God's care. 00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:36.819 We attempted to find ways 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:39.099 to beat into our hearts 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:41.940 the love and faithfulness of God. 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:44.480 We planted our feet in the truth 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:45.779 that we understood, 00:31:46.339 --> 00:31:48.700 even though everything else in our lives 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:49.759 was telling us otherwise. 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:54.079 And this is Mark's testimony here. 00:31:54.220 --> 00:31:54.440 It says, 00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:54.839 Mark, 00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:55.539 and in brackets, 00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:56.859 writing at a computer 00:31:56.859 --> 00:31:58.839 that captures his eye movements. 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.500 He says, 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:02.299 I have found that singing scripture 00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:03.380 and hymns 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:05.160 and African-American spirituals 00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:05.740 in my head 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:07.119 to be so helpful 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.359 during these last years. 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.200 Sometimes I say 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:11.980 I am suffering unfairly, 00:32:12.099 --> 00:32:13.440 but the only one 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:14.359 who went through 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:16.640 suffering unfairly 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:17.160 was Jesus. 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:19.279 His separation 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:20.000 from the Father 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:20.700 on the cross 00:32:20.700 --> 00:32:23.299 has been anything 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:25.539 of experience. 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:26.599 How can I complain 00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:27.720 when he went through 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:28.960 cosmic pain for me? 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:31.200 Martha again. 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:32.940 We found meaning, 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:33.799 purpose, 00:32:34.019 --> 00:32:34.299 joy, 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:35.120 and growth 00:32:35.120 --> 00:32:36.299 and wholeness 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:37.120 in our loss. 00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:39.620 I see how sorrow 00:32:39.620 --> 00:32:41.259 and intense sweetness 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:42.480 are mingled together. 00:32:43.340 --> 00:32:43.880 The depth 00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:44.600 and riches 00:32:44.600 --> 00:32:45.420 of life 00:32:45.420 --> 00:32:46.420 has come in suffering. 00:32:47.259 --> 00:32:48.440 How much I have learned 00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:50.039 and how much sweeter 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:51.299 Jesus is to me now. 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:53.860 Isn't that a heartbreaking 00:32:53.860 --> 00:32:56.200 yet heartwarming story? 00:32:56.200 --> 00:32:58.700 There's a couple 00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:00.019 whose roots go deep 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:01.759 into God's words. 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:03.580 They know 00:33:03.580 --> 00:33:05.680 who God is, 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:07.960 they trust him, 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:10.400 and they know his goodness. 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:12.779 And so they would echo 00:33:12.779 --> 00:33:13.880 a hearty amen 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:14.819 to what Mr. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:16.120 Sam 119 00:33:16.120 --> 00:33:17.640 has been saying to us 00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:18.519 this evening. 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:20.940 that God's words 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:22.619 is the most important, 00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:23.759 trustworthy, 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:25.759 and loving word 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:27.500 in our lives. 00:33:28.139 --> 00:33:29.000 Now there's two things 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:29.539 I want you to do 00:33:29.539 --> 00:33:30.000 this week. 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:31.480 Firstly, 00:33:31.619 --> 00:33:32.660 you should have received 00:33:32.660 --> 00:33:35.200 a Sam 119 bookmark. 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:36.379 Or if you didn't get 00:33:36.379 --> 00:33:36.859 a bookmark, 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:37.940 there's ones on the way out. 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:39.039 You can see it 00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:39.480 on the reverse 00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:40.440 of your sheet as well. 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:42.000 It's just a reading plan 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:42.819 for this Sam. 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:43.819 Can I encourage you 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:44.660 to get into it? 00:33:45.379 --> 00:33:46.200 Get into it, 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:47.500 immerse yourselves in it, 00:33:47.500 --> 00:33:48.579 read through it, 00:33:49.099 --> 00:33:50.299 pray through it, 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:51.200 learn it, 00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:52.539 get it into the pores 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:53.319 of your skin. 00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:55.819 And the second thing 00:33:55.819 --> 00:33:56.460 you need to do 00:33:56.460 --> 00:33:57.180 this week 00:33:57.180 --> 00:33:58.319 is come back 00:33:58.319 --> 00:33:59.079 next Sunday night. 00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:01.079 And we'll ask 00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:02.559 Mr. Sam 119 00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:03.200 having heard 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:03.880 what he believes 00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:04.799 about God's words, 00:34:05.299 --> 00:34:06.039 we're then going to ask 00:34:06.039 --> 00:34:06.839 him to tell us 00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:07.799 what he feels 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:09.539 about God's words. 00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:11.199 Let's pray together. 00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:22.260 Father, 00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:23.179 we are so grateful. 00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:25.260 Lord, 00:34:25.300 --> 00:34:25.880 we are amazed 00:34:25.880 --> 00:34:26.639 that you have not 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:27.139 left us 00:34:27.139 --> 00:34:28.260 in the darkness. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:30.159 Father, 00:34:30.219 --> 00:34:31.019 we worship you 00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:31.539 that you have 00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:32.340 made yourself 00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:33.500 known to us. 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:35.880 You've revealed 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:36.880 yourself to us. 00:34:36.920 --> 00:34:37.400 You have not 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:38.179 remained silent. 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:39.980 Father, 00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:40.739 I ask 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:42.000 this week 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:42.739 for us all 00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:43.760 that you would 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:44.219 lead us 00:34:44.219 --> 00:34:45.059 by your words. 00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:46.299 Father, 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:46.920 that we would 00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:48.380 love your words, 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:49.039 that we would 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:50.179 immerse ourselves 00:34:50.179 --> 00:34:51.179 in your words 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:52.079 and by your spirit 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:52.880 you would lead us 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:53.840 by your words. 00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:55.500 So help us 00:34:55.500 --> 00:34:56.179 to love it, 00:34:56.880 --> 00:34:58.079 help us to live it 00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:59.599 this week we pray. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:00.519 Amen.