Well, amen to that. And thank you, Rachel and Lynn, for reading that to us. Please do keep it open. God's word, as we will see this morning, is vital. And so please do have it in front of you and follow along as we go.
So, Psalm 119. It's a great psalm. And in case you've not been around, I know we do have some visitors here this morning, but also sometimes we just forget, and that's okay. So we'll do a wee catch up on what Psalm 119 is all about.
This is the third in the series. So, so far you've missed 1 to 48. Well, the Psalms generally, they are spiritual songs written by various people. Some of them we don't even know who wrote them. An example would be this psalm. There is a bit of contention about who wrote this one.
But there are many themes throughout the Psalms. Yes, they are hymns of praise, but there is also wisdom to be found in many of the Psalms. There is also lament. There is a lot of crying out to God, asking why? Why are things happening the way that they are?
So that is the Psalms. And 119 is a famous one. Why? Well, it's the longest. It's the longest psalm. It is, in fact, longer than many books of the Bible. It is the longest chapter that we have in the whole of the Bible.
And it could be a mix of themes, but really it is a wisdom psalm. And there is much wisdom, like we heard about with Solomon, there is much wisdom to be found in it.
But it is good to remember that it is a hymn. And it is a hymn celebrating God's law or God's word, God's precepts.
All these words, they are pointing to God's word, God's written word. And it is a guide for life.
And what we will see this morning is the love that the writer has for God's word, but also for the author of it.
Not himself, but the true author of God's word.
And as Ian laid out in the first week, it is a very clever literary, which I really struggle to say, literary piece of writing.
It's an acrostic poem. So what it means is that, as you can maybe see, if you've got headings, Zion, Heth, Teth, and Yod in your Bibles, you might see that.
That is a letter of the Greek alphabet. And so essentially what the psalm is, is it's going through the A to Z, as we would call it, of God's word.
And in the original Hebrew, each eight verses that you see in each section start with that letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
It's very clever. And the repetition that we see in it, the repetition of the themes, there is so much repetition seen throughout the whole psalm.
Well, it shows the theme and it adds emphasis. And we'll see that as we go through this morning.
You know, I stumbled across this from C.S. Lewis, writing about this particular psalm.
The poem is not, and does not pretend to be, a sudden outpouring of the heart, like, say, Psalm 18.
It is a pattern, a thing done like embroidery, stitch by stitch, through long, quiet hours.
The love of the subject and for the delight in the leisurely disciplined craftsmanship.
It is a wonderful psalm. And it is great that we can study it through our series and great that we can open it up this morning.
So, intro over. Let's get us thinking.
Iron Brew gets you through. Have you seen those adverts, those billboards?
There used to be adverts on the TV back in the day. Some of them were maybe a bit rude.
But, you know, they certainly got the message across.
And how they basically went was that someone was going through an awkward situation or a difficult time in a sort of jovial sense.
But they cracked the Iron Brew and, oh, that just solved all their problems.
I'm sure there was a few Iron Brews cracked overnight, I imagine.
But, you know, does Iron Brew get you through?
Well, you know, I've had some long, hard days where, you know, an Iron Brew at the end of the day, you know, it is nice.
It quenches that thirst.
I'm sure after a long walk, you maybe tried one for the West Highland Wears who are here this morning.
But, you know, does it get you through the actual difficult times in life?
Well, I'm going to suggest, contrary to the above, no.
No, it does not.
So what does get us through the difficult times of life?
Well, this morning we're going to look at that.
We're going to see what the psalmist has to say about how we get through difficult times in life.
And as we've seen in the last couple of weeks, it's potentially difficult to split up these passages.
There's so much repetition throughout.
But I've just gone by splitting them based on each letter of the alphabet, each of the four sections.
So we're going to see comfort while suffering.
We're going to see faithfulness in suffering.
We're going to see learning through suffering.
And we're going to see reliance during suffering.
And as Corey pointed out to me, the word suffering is up there a lot.
But believe it or not, this is actually a fairly positive sermon.
And it should hopefully be encouraging and challenging for us.
So let's dive into comfort while suffering.
And we're looking at that first section, verse 49 to 56.
So as already asked, where do we look for when we are suffering?
Where do we look for comfort?
Is it, as Graham mentioned last week, do we go towards the excesses in life?
Do we plow into our fitness regime?
Do we go into the negative things?
Do we plow ourselves into drink or alcohol, drugs, whatever it might be?
Or do we just go for distractions?
Are we binging Netflix, hiding away from the difficult times that we face?
I suppose you could call that option one.
Or option two, like the writer here, do we go towards God?
Do we look to him and his promises, the one who made us, the one who loves us?
Do we go towards him in our times of difficulty?
Do we look to him for comfort?
Let's see what the writer has to say.
Well, first of all, we see that if we're going to go towards God for comfort,
then we need to know his word.
We need to know the word of God.
As I said earlier, repetition in the Psalms is so important.
And if you look down, you can see the word remember three times in this section.
Verse 49, 52 and 55.
The writer, he knows the word of God.
He studies it.
It is important to him.
He knows it and has learned it so that he can remember it.
He can bring it to mind when he needs it the most.
We need to be students of God's word in order that it can be there for us and comfort us
and that God can help us in times of need.
The Psalmist, he is remembering, and he only had the Torah,
the first five books of the Bible available to him.
But in those, in those Old Testament stories, he can see God's faithfulness.
He remembers that.
God has proven his faithfulness.
You can read all about it.
And we live in the privileged age of having the whole Bible there for us to read.
God's word.
And we can see God's faithfulness to it.
What a comfort that can be for us to remember where God has been faithful in the past.
And if we know God's word and we can remember it, then we need to trust in it.
You might think that's the same thing.
Well, it's very different.
It's one thing to know something, but it's something else to wholeheartedly trust in it.
Verse 49 says this,
The word of God, it gives hope.
Verse 50,
What is that hope?
Well, the writer, he had hope in a faithful God.
But us, in this position that we find ourselves in, this age that we find ourselves in,
it is the hope of eternity.
The hope of eternity, it provides comfort for our present day suffering.
God, yes, he promises to help us on earth.
He promises to be with us.
But we have an assured future with him one day.
That is the hope that we have in God.
But you know, it requires trust.
It is not guaranteed.
We need to do something to gain it.
We need to trust in Jesus.
You know, we often sing that hymn, don't we?
Living hope.
The Lord Jesus is our living hope.
The Lord Jesus, yes, we can read about him.
He came down.
He lived that perfect life.
He died and rose again, having taken the suffering,
the sin upon himself that we deserved.
He took that upon himself.
Why?
So that he can be our living hope.
The writer here, he could read God's promises of a Messiah to come.
We see that in the Psalms, don't we?
And yet we can think back on the Lord Jesus,
the one who fulfilled these things,
the Messiah, the Savior who came.
And we can trust in him.
You know, the Lord Jesus, he promised that he would go
and he will prepare a place for us
and he will come back again to take us to be with him.
That is the hope that we have,
that we can read about in God's word.
But first of all, we need to trust in the one that can make it happen.
You know, often man's promises and words,
they mean nothing, don't they?
How many times have we been let down by people?
I'll meet you at five o'clock.
They just don't appear.
They don't come.
People cancel on you.
They let you down.
And we let down those that we love, don't we?
But you know, with God, it is impossible.
His promises are faithful and true.
So we need to trust in the word.
You know, thirdly, comfort while suffering.
Well, we need to work at it.
We need to work at it.
It's not a passive thing.
In verse 51, and we've seen this throughout so far,
that the arrogant mock me unmercifully,
but I do not turn from your law.
He is ignoring the mockers.
There is such outward pressure coming from people who are laughing at him,
who are persecuting him here.
But he is looking to the everlasting word,
rather than the whims of man.
You know, even in the most difficult situations,
verse 54,
your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.
In the night, Lord, I remember your name,
that I may keep your law.
The night, it speaks of darkness.
It speaks of difficulty.
It speaks of evil, the darkness.
Even in this most difficult of time,
he dwells on God's word.
And how can he do that?
How can he have that strength?
Well, it takes practice.
Verse 56,
This has been my practice.
I obey your precepts.
It takes discipline and obedience.
Training for godliness.
It takes training.
Why do we do things?
Well, we do things out of a response of love.
And the writer here,
he is obeying God
because of that response of love that he has
for the one who is faithful to him.
1 Timothy 4, verse 8 says,
Godliness is profitable for all things
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come.
Training for godliness is a worthy pursuit
and we must do it.
We cannot just sit idly by.
And if we do so,
well, this is how the hope of eternity,
it provides comfort for us
while in present day suffering.
So that's section one.
And then the writer moves on
to talk about faithfulness in suffering
in verses 57 to 64
in that second section.
So when the going gets tough,
do we get going?
That's the song, isn't it?
The going gets tough,
the tough get going.
Well, first of all,
we see that knowing who God is
springs us into action.
You know, verbs are called doing words,
aren't they?
And we really see that here.
Follow with me in this section.
It says,
promised,
sought,
considered,
turned,
hasten,
obey,
rise.
There's a real sense of action here
in this section.
He says in verse 57,
you are my portion, Lord.
The writer,
he realizes God's worth
and it causes him
to obey
and to seek
his face.
Neil,
he brought this into his prayer
about seeking
the face of God.
What does that mean?
Well,
face,
it could mean favor.
But essentially,
what he's talking about
for us in this age
is praying,
seeking the face
of God.
You know,
remember the COVID song
as I still call it,
the blessing?
It's talking about
Numbers 6.
The Lord bless you
and keep you,
make his face shine upon you
and give you peace.
There's a lesson here
to pray earnestly to God.
Seek his face
and his favor.
And we might think
that praying isn't actually
doing anything.
That's not an action word,
is it?
Well,
it is.
Pray earnestly.
Prayer works.
Prayer matters.
So pray.
Verse 59 to 61.
The writer here,
he considers his ways.
I have considered my ways
and have turned my steps
to your statutes.
I will hasten
and not delay
to obey your commands.
Though the wicked
bind me with ropes,
I will not forget your law.
He considers his ways
and he changes
his direction.
There's a real lesson here
to practice holiness.
What does that mean?
How do we practice holiness?
Well, we're not perfect.
We mess up.
But it's constantly assessing
our character
and our conduct
and seeing if it matches up
to what a holy God
wants us to do.
And if not,
then like the writer says,
we need immediate correction.
We need an immediate
correction of our course.
He says,
hasten and not delay.
You know,
I was driving down the,
I think it's the M6,
the one past Carlisle
one time.
And not only was I late
to somewhere,
I was also running out of fuel.
But I took the right turn off,
so go me.
And I was needing to turn
away off into the Lake District.
And so I'm going around
this big roundabout
and I take the turn off,
but then I end up back
on the M6.
So I continue going south.
I'm late.
I'm running out of fuel.
My friend's in the car.
He's just laughing at me.
He thinks the whole thing's hilarious.
But you know,
what do I do?
Well,
I realise my mistake.
And do I just cruise on
and end up
in the south of England?
No.
I want to get off,
turn around
and get back to where
I'm meant to be
as soon as possible.
You know,
it's a silly example,
but that is how we should be.
When we realise,
when we assess ourselves,
hold on,
when I'm going wrong,
I need to turn around
and I need to get back
to where I'm meant to be.
That is the lesson here.
And in verse 61,
though the wicked bind me with ropes,
I will not forget your law.
The writer,
in difficult situations
and testing times,
he goes towards God,
not away.
We need more of God,
not less of God,
more of God.
So as well as knowing
who God is
brings us to action,
we see surprising actions
in difficult times.
Again,
like the previous section,
we have this sense of midnight
and in this midnight,
in the depth of the night,
in the depth of the difficulties,
he rises to praise
in verse 62.
You know,
you can't read this section
without thinking about
Paul and Silas.
Now hopefully we know that story.
If you don't,
go and look up Acts 16.
But you know,
they were in the jail.
They were in jail
because of their love
for the Lord Jesus
and wanting to follow him.
But you know,
even in that most depth
of difficulty,
they were singing praises to God.
And hopefully you know the story
about how that worked out.
But what a witness that was
to those around them in the jail.
And what a witness
that this,
the writer has here
to those around him
because of his surprising actions
in difficult times.
His mind is on things above,
not things that are going on around.
And as he does so,
he brings fellowship into it.
Verse 63,
I am a friend to all who fear you,
to all who follow your precepts.
Brotherly fellowship
like Paul and Silas had with one another.
They supported one another.
They looked out for one another.
And it is so important
to look out for one another
and support each other
in these difficult times.
God's abundant, loving kindness
is the motivation
behind why we should want to live
in this way
and be faithful
in our suffering.
Verse 64,
the earth is filled with your love, Lord.
Teach me your decrees.
That is how we can remain faithful
in suffering.
Moving on to our third section,
we have a bit of a shift.
Learning through suffering.
You know, maybe that seems
slightly counterintuitive.
There's a band called the Oh Hellos.
I don't know if anyone knows them.
They're pretty small.
Maybe not.
You know, they're a...
But I think they're a brother and sister
from America
and they're Christians,
I believe.
And they have this song called
I Have Made Mistakes.
So you can tell what that's about.
But the album is called
Through the Deep Dark Valley.
Again, that darkness
is talking about suffering
and it's talking about difficult times.
And in that song,
they have a lyric
and it goes like this.
The sun,
it does not cause us to grow.
It is the rain
that will strengthen your soul
and it will make you whole.
You'll be thankful
that I've not sang it to you,
but you can listen to it later on.
But what they're getting at there
is that it is not the good times
in that they have grown and learned.
It is the bad times.
It is the difficult times.
It is the times of suffering.
The times of difficulty.
You know, in a plant point of view,
yes, plants need sun
but they also need rain, don't they?
It is that kind of thought.
And in this section,
we have the word teach
in verse 66 and in 68.
And we have the word learn
in verse 71.
There's this real sense of teaching
and learning going on
in this section.
But you know,
it is paired with the word afflicted
in verse 67 and 71.
Hence, learning through suffering.
So what can we see here?
Well, we can see that we should want
to learn and to grow.
Verse 66, the writer says,
teach me knowledge
and good judgment.
Good judgment, that is wisdom.
Derek very helpfully
laid out about Solomon,
that wise king,
the one who is given much wisdom.
We should want
good judgment and wisdom.
You know, it is not just knowledge
that we need.
Who put their hand up
for who wanted to be
the cleverest person.
You know, we probably all
want to be clever, don't we?
And knowing stuff is good.
But we need to know
what to do with that knowledge.
We need wisdom.
The old adage goes,
knowledge is that
tomato is a fruit,
but wisdom is not putting it
in your fruit salad.
You know, it is an oldie,
but it is a goodie.
We need wisdom.
We need to know what to do
with our knowledge.
Solomon was a great example
of wisdom
and how to deal
with situations.
And yes,
it is a gift from God.
Yes, it is a gift from God,
but mostly it just comes
from experience.
Mostly it comes
from living life.
I don't know about you,
but the wisest people I know
are the oldest people I know.
It seems to go hand in hand.
Life's experience
gives us wisdom.
And that is the benefit
of a church
where we can rub shoulders
with those of different ages
and stages and life experience.
But you know,
pray for wisdom as well.
Pray that God,
as Solomon did,
would grant wisdom to us
in our daily dealings
with the people
that we come across.
But we should want
to learn and grow,
but we should also know
what we're asking for
by doing so.
We had that word,
affliction.
Well, it caused repentance
and it taught lessons
for the writer.
Verse 67,
Before I was afflicted,
I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
We're taught
through difficult experiences.
Verse 71,
It was good for me
to be afflicted
so that I might learn
your decrees.
You know,
it's worth remembering
in this that God is good.
The writer says that.
In verse 68,
he is not blaming God.
He says,
You are good
and you do what is good.
Teach me your decrees.
The writer,
he sees God's hand
in the difficult situation
that he finds himself in.
And he says,
God,
you are doing
what you are.
You are good
by definition.
And so what you do
is good.
God is not the cause
of our difficulties,
but he is willing
and graciously
he uses our difficulties
to teach us
and to help us grow.
He does so
so that we can learn
to be like him.
Christians,
it means to be Christ-like
and so it means
that we need to learn
to be like Christ.
We are not automatically
like him.
Verse 71,
this affliction,
you know,
that my mind went
to the refiner's fire.
It's talked about
elsewhere in the Bible.
It's talked about
in many songs
and hymns.
But what is the refiner's fire?
Well,
you put a chunk of metal
into a really hot furnace
so that you get
the pure metal
out the other side.
It is that thought
that God uses
a potentially bad
thing
for good.
So we should know
what we're asking for.
But you know also
what's key
is to ignore
the world.
though the arrogant,
verse 69,
have smeared me
with lies,
I keep your precepts
with all my heart.
Their hearts
are callous
and unfeeling,
but I delight
in your law.
The writer,
his heart
is in the right place.
So he says,
it doesn't matter
what the others think.
He puts them
to one side.
He says,
they are at fault,
not me.
They are callous
and unfeeling,
but he keeps
the precepts
of God.
Verse 72,
the law from your mouth
is more precious
to me
than thousands
of pieces
of silver
and gold.
You know,
I was curious
about why it said
thousands.
I thought,
that's not,
it's quite a lot.
It's not a huge amount,
so he's put a limit on it.
You know,
if it was more than that,
then,
you know,
maybe.
But you know,
that was the biggest word
that they had for a number
in the Hebrew language.
I actually looked it up
as a piece of trivia for you,
that the biggest word
that we have for a number
now is goggleplex.
If anyone knew that,
then well done,
fair play.
That is the biggest word
that we have for a number,
and that is essentially
what he is saying here.
He is saying that
there is nothing on earth,
no riches,
he would take
over God's things.
The word of God
is more precious to him
than anything
that you can even name
or think of.
That is what he is saying here.
And what an amazing thing
to say,
yes,
but to actually mean
and to cherish
and to have in your heart
as you live your daily life.
So ignore the world,
those naysayers,
yes,
but also the attractions
of the world
and go towards God's things.
So we learn through suffering
and keeping focused
on God's goodness.
And finally,
we see reliance
during suffering
in our last section.
So what are we relying on?
Is it our great knowledge
at school?
Is it our social status
or our career?
Is it Iron Brew
gets you through?
Well,
we need to remember
our place,
first of all.
Verse 73,
your hands made me
and formed me.
We are created beings.
We are not creators
or the creator.
No,
we are the creation.
And that puts us
in a place,
so to speak.
You know,
my version of that verse
says this,
God,
you made me,
so teach me your ways.
When we remember
who we are,
that we are created beings,
we should want to seek
God out
and the way that he thinks
best for us.
And hand in hand
with that goes
verse 74,
may those who fear you
rejoice when they see me,
for I have put hope,
I have put my hope
in your word.
believers are called
to shine for the Lord Jesus.
You've seen guys like these
on Princess Street,
golf sale.
This was a particularly
funny one,
I thought.
But you know,
the obvious thing here
is not the man hiding
under the hood
on a cold day.
No,
we don't know anything
about him.
The obvious thing
is the golf sale,
isn't it?
He isn't trying to advertise
how good he is
as a billboard man
or his background
or whatever
about him.
No,
he is purely wanting
to point people
to the golf sale.
You know,
that is our call
as Christians,
to be signposts
to the one
who has done
everything for us.
Why?
Because the Lord Jesus
can do everything
for others.
Make the love of God
and his word
that we have
obvious in our lives.
Testimony and witness
to those around
like we see
in verse 74.
So remember
our place.
Also to realise
God's purposes.
Verse 75,
a bit like the last section,
he says this,
I know, Lord,
that your laws
are righteous
and that in faithfulness
you have afflicted me.
Seeing God
in suffering,
seeing his hand in it,
well,
it is a sign
of spiritual maturity.
And I'm not saying that
and saying that
it is an easy thing
through the difficult times
to see God's hand in it.
Often it is
way later on
we look back
and see that God
was using certain situations
for our good.
But realising God's purposes
and things.
And as part of that,
we remember
his compassion.
We remember
his compassion
that sustains us.
Verse 76,
may your unfailing love
be my comfort
according to your promise.
And in verse 77,
God's purpose
that he gives us life.
Verse 77,
let your compassion
come to me
that I may live.
Yes,
that we may live
now
and we may have life
to the full
as Jesus said,
but also that we may live
in that life to come
that we are promised.
And finally,
relying on God's
help,
reliance
during our suffering.
You might see
and if you follow down
verse 76 onwards,
the first word
in the NIV,
you've got
may,
let,
may,
may.
That's not the name
of the month.
That is a petition
to God.
That is asking God
for help.
Why do we,
why does he go
to God
for help?
You know,
if you're in a difficult
situation,
you're going to phone
someone who can actually
do something about it,
aren't you?
That's why we phone
the ambulances.
That's why we phone
the fire service.
We speak to someone
useful
and God is the
most useful person
that we can turn to
in our difficult times.
He is the one
who can help
and his,
the things that he
is asking for
is for his
unfailing love,
his compassion,
his justice
for fellowship
with other people
which is so important.
Do we pray for that?
Do we pray for fellowship
with other believers?
How important it is
to have other people
around us
in difficult times.
And finally,
in verse 80,
he prays for purity.
A pure heart
so that we don't have
that shame
it talks about
at the end
of falling
into sin.
Relying on God
and on others
is so important.
Hebrews 4.16,
let us then approach
God's throne of grace
with confidence
so that we may receive
mercy
and find grace
to help us
in our time
of need.
We can rely on God,
our creator,
the one who made us
and loves us
and cares about us
and has done
everything for us
to sustain us
during our suffering.
We merely need
to ask in prayer.
So does Iron Brew
get you through?
Hopefully,
you've not just
ended the sermon
craving for an Iron Brew
and that's all
you've taken from it.
Plenty of other drinks
available
in the interest
of fairness.
But you know,
does it get you through?
Well, no.
No is the answer.
The next time you see one,
I want you to think
of some of the things
we thought about this morning.
That the hope of eternity
through trust in Jesus,
well, it provides comfort
for us
while suffering.
Also,
that we can remain
faithful
in suffering
by knowing God
and keeping our minds
on things above
rather than things around.
that we can learn
and become more God-like,
more Christ-like
through suffering.
That we should desire growth
despite the fact
we know it might be painful.
And that we can rely on God,
our creator,
our sustainer,
to help us
and sustain us
during our suffering.
So let's ask,
let's pray,
let's trust things
to Him.
Let me just pray
and then we'll respond
by singing
a couple of hymns.
God and Father,
we thank You
for Your Word.
We thank You
for the truth
that we can find in it.
We thank You
that we have
the whole Bible
to study
and to learn
and we have many
helpful commentaries
and videos
and all sorts
to help us.
We thank You
that You speak to us
through Your Word.
We thank You
that we can learn
so much from it.
We thank You
for the challenges
contained.
We thank You
that Your Word
corrects us
and puts us back
on the right path.
And so just help us
as we consider
these things
that we've thought
about from Psalm 119
this morning.
We pray that
through Your Holy Spirit
that You will keep
these things
at the forefront
of our minds
and our hearts
and that You will
continue to speak
to us this week
as we dwell
on these things.
So I ask Your blessing
as we go.
We pray that
confidently
because Your promises
are faithful
and so we pray
that You will be with us,
that You will go
before us
and that we will
remember that hope
that we have,
that eternal hope
because of the Lord Jesus,
our living hope.
And so help us
to live faithfully
to Your Word
in a response of love
and it's in His
most precious name
we pray.
Amen.