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[0:00] Good morning. Take out your Bibles with me, please, and turn not to Luke, but to Psalms, Book of Psalms, Psalm 119.

[0:15] ! Now, if you don't know where that is, just open your Bible about halfway. It's right about halfway. If you open the Bible to the very middle, you probably hit the Psalms and just find 119.

[0:30] There are several reasons that I chose to, as we go between Old Testament and New Testament, and now we're back to the Old Testament, to go to this particular place in the Scriptures.

[0:49] Psalm 119 is very, very special to me, because during a time, the first time that I experienced depression, and when I was very disillusioned and downcast and feeling defeated and all that kind of stuff, I didn't know how to pray about that.

[1:09] And Psalm 119 was my guide. In fact, I came to the point of every week praying through the first 40 verses of Psalm 119, which taught me how to pray, taught me how to pray Scripture, taught me a Scriptural way for praying about depression and discouragement, but also about depending on God's Word.

[1:39] And so it's one of my favorite subjects, the subject of the Bible, the subject of the Word of God, learning from it, relying on it, depending on it, looking into it, digging into it, not just reading, but really mining it, because it's always going to bring forth fruit as we dig into it.

[2:03] So this morning, we're simply going to do an introduction. We're going to read the 176 verses, and then we'll dismiss. No, we're going to just read the first 12 verses or so, and I just want to give you some observations, some perspectives on how we look at this song and what it's about.

[2:24] There's some, I think, misunderstandings about it, that it's repetitive and that, and it is intentionally repetitive, but not in a human way, but in a thoughtful way.

[2:40] So we're just going to dig a little bit this morning. So let's read it first. I want to read the first 12 verses, Psalm 119, verses 1 through 12. So if you're able, please stand as I read from Psalm 119.

[3:00] Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways.

[3:22] You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes. Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

[3:40] I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes. Do not forsake me utterly.

[3:51] How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you.

[4:03] Let me not wander from your commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

[4:15] Blessed are you, O Lord. Teach me your statutes. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the fact that you include in your written scriptures, the scriptures you want read, that you want preached, that you want sung.

[4:36] Thank you, Lord, for such an exquisite testament to the words that you have given us, the words to live by.

[4:50] So, Father, we pray over these weeks that you would give us a heart that seeks you by seeking your word. Teach us the value of the word of God.

[5:02] Teach us its many facets, its many delights, its many instructions. Teach us, O Father, as this psalmist prays.

[5:16] Teach us your statutes. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Amen. So, since this is one of my very favorite subjects, I want to give one of my favorite stories.

[5:36] It's about a man by the name of Martin Luther. Martin Luther did not intend to start a reformation. He was a simple monk.

[5:52] And he was given an assignment to teach the book of Romans. That was the Catholic Church's first mistake. As he taught through the book of Romans from the original languages, not from Latin, but from Greek, he discovered many things that transformed his own heart.

[6:12] First and foremost, he discovered that God's righteousness is a gift, not a standard, to be judged by. That justification, he was justified by grace.

[6:28] So, three years after giving this, teaching through this book of Romans, because of his teachings that he taught from Romans, he was on trial.

[6:41] He was on trial, not just before the church, but before the emperor. He was being examined by the top archbishop of the Catholic Church, a guy by the name of Eck.

[6:55] Yeah, Eck. And when Eck was done with examining Martin Luther, he pronounced Martin Luther a heretic of the church.

[7:07] He was told, Martin was told, to renounce all of his books, all of his sermons, all of his writings.

[7:23] That's what he needed to do if he wanted to save his life. His response, let me, I've got a really old copy.

[7:37] It falls apart, if I'm not careful with it. So he was asked, do you, or do you not, repudiate your books and the errors which they contain?

[7:57] Luther replied, since then your majesty and your lordship's desire a simple reply. I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes and councils.

[8:19] Why? For they have contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything.

[8:32] For to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.

[8:48] That didn't release him from trouble. Here I stand. My conscience is captive to the word of God.

[9:00] Not to councils. Not to popes. Not to opinions of men. Not to emperors. But to the word of God alone.

[9:15] Does that resonate with you? Would you be able to say your conscience is captive to the word of God? That unless you're convicted by scripture, you can do nothing otherwise?

[9:33] How do you think of this book? Whatever version you have, whatever translation you have, what do you think of it?

[9:44] Is it something valuable to you? Is it a resource? Is it a treasure? What is it to you? So we're going to look at Psalm 119 and Psalm 119 is all about exalting in the word of God.

[10:07] Because the word of God is that which leads us to God. in fact, the psalmist will several times say, he'll say like in verse two, blessed are those who keep his testimonies.

[10:24] Well, who are the people who keep his testimonies? They're the people who seek him with their whole heart. To seek the word is to seek the Lord. I seek the Lord through the word.

[10:37] And I'm hoping some of that will come across as we walk through this. I want you first to think about the value of Psalm 119.

[10:49] There are different people that have preached through Psalm 119 who have written commentaries in Psalm 119. Both Calvin and Spurgeon spend over 150 pages in their commentaries on the book of Psalm, on this one Psalm.

[11:08] There are people that write whole books on Psalm 119. James Boyce has a whole book on Psalm 119. But the guy that wins the prize is a guy by the name of Thomas Manton.

[11:20] He was a Puritan. And if you know anything about Puritans, if you know about the true Puritans, not the ones that are staged on TV, but the true Puritans loved the Word of God and poured themselves into the Word of God.

[11:37] And so this guy Thomas Manton wrote three volumes, three books, each book 500 to 600 pages long. So 16, 1700 pages on this Psalm.

[11:54] And these were sermons that he also preached. He preached 190 sermons on 176 verses. Talk about digging.

[12:08] And it's good stuff. I have those volumes and I'm going to try. I don't know if I can keep up with them, but I'm going to try to get some value from him.

[12:20] The value of Psalm 119. So there are folks that have dug in and find great things from Psalm 119. First question, why 176 verses?

[12:30] Did you notice it's 176 verses long? Could you imagine singing that song? It's a psalm. I can't wait till we sing that in heaven. I wonder if we'll sing it in Hebrew.

[12:42] That'd be cool. I know enough Hebrew to be dangerous, so it's a wonderful, wonderful language. 176 verses.

[12:53] The reason there's 176 verses is because it's written in 22 stanzas of eight verses each. And the reason it's written in 22 stanzas is because there are 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

[13:09] So each stanza, each line, for example, the first eight verses, now your Bible may have the little word for the Hebrew letter above verse one.

[13:22] You see that in Aleph? Do any of your Bibles have the actual Hebrew letter? Cool. Isn't that cool? Looks like an X, right? It's an X.

[13:36] It's this cross, and that's the Aleph, right? And then the next one is Beth, the next one is Gimel. Anyway, I'm showing off the little bit I know.

[13:46] So the first eight verses all start, the first word of each of those verses start with the letter Aleph. Okay?

[13:56] And then verses 9 through 16, the next eight verses start with, the first word of each verse starts with the letter Beth or B, and then on and on, right?

[14:11] So you go through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Can you imagine, composing this? Can you imagine how long it would take to compose this?

[14:24] 176 verses which exult and magnify and describe the great preciousness of the word of God, and in 176 verses, the same phrase is never repeated.

[14:39] so to come up with 176 ways to talk about the scriptures in different ways.

[14:51] Now, it seems repetitive because the theme is the word of God, obviously. But it communicates that he does it, whoever the writer is, some think it's David, to do it with such magnitude, communicates completeness and perfection, that the word of God is complete, that the word of God is all that we need.

[15:19] It's a creative expression, it has multifaceted, shows the multifaceted preciousness of the word of God. So, acrostic, so let me give you an example.

[15:30] Unfortunately, Hebrew doesn't translate right into English in terms of an acrostic. So, if we could make it in English, where every verse, first eight verses start with the letter A, would be something like this.

[15:45] A blessed person are those, or a, yeah, see it's hard. A blessed person are those whose ways blames. Verse 2, a blessed person are those who keep the testimony.

[15:59] Verse 3, also, who do no wrong but walk in his ways. Verse 4, a precept is something you have commanded. Verse 5, instead of, oh, my way, say, ah, that my ways.

[16:13] Verse 6, and then I shall not be put to shame. Verse 7, as for me, I will praise you with an upright heart. Verse 8, with an eye to your statutes, I will keep, do not forsake me utterly.

[16:32] Something like that. That's not very good. Something like that. And that gives you an idea. Now, to do that for 176 verses.

[16:45] Okay, 22 different letters. That means the author of this psalm, and many believe it's David, and absolutely David, it sounds a lot like David. He is certainly a man who could have written something like this.

[17:02] And remember, back in that day, it's not like they had tons of paper. Once he wrote it down, he had to get it right the first time. It's not like he could cross it out and erase it.

[17:14] You're writing on papyrus and such. So he would have to have composed it in his head and then write it.

[17:24] And then compose the next section and then write it. And compose, right, he would have it in memory and walking through it and working, connecting dots. So, and then notice verse nine, he talks about how can a young man keep his way pure.

[17:44] So one of the thoughts is that if David was the writer, he began writing it as a young man. So by verse nine, he's still young. When you get to the later parts of Psalm 119, he talks about being an old man.

[17:57] So maybe this is something he composed over his lifetime. It seems to be one person because he talks about I. And the other thing, not only is it an acrostic, but it is a meditation exalting the word of God.

[18:16] It talks about the benefits of the word, the effect of the word, the delight in the word, the depth of the word. And all of it evokes a concentration that leads to meditation.

[18:28] If we read it kind of as a surface thing, if we read it kind of quick and without kind of digging in, we get the feeling like it's just repetitive. It's just talking about kind of the same things.

[18:39] But if we slow down and really let it, because it forces us to concentrate, that will lead us, as we concentrate, to meditate.

[18:50] And I have found with this, I'll talk about later, I have found with this psalm when I had it memorized, and I could kind of do prayer walks with it, that that led me to be able to reflect more kind of back and forth and how it was composed and what that means.

[19:09] And, you know, meditation on the scripture is incredible. You gain great insights. So that's one of the benefits of this psalm. It's also a prayer, okay?

[19:19] You notice that he prays. He will talk about, in verses one through three, he will talk about the word of God and the blessing of being, of living by it.

[19:32] Verse four, all of a sudden it changes to a prayer. You, he's talking to God, now you have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Verse five, a prayer. Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your, your, uh, statutes, keeping, what word, yeah, keeping your statutes.

[19:52] Okay, so just note, it intermingles. He'll meditate on the word and then he'll pray and it's kind of all done before the Lord. Okay, so that's the value to kind of get a sense of what Psalm 19 is like.

[20:04] Let's look into this psalm, living by the word of God. I'm titling this series living by the word of God because I believe that's what this psalm is about.

[20:17] How do I live by the word? How do I keep the word central? How do I keep the word, how do I live by the word in such a way that it helps me seek the Lord, not just seek the word for knowledge, but to seek the Lord?

[20:30] Because that's what this psalm is about. How do I live that way? How do I live by it? Jesus talked in similar ways and I think this psalm points to Jesus very obviously as the true word.

[20:45] Right? We live by his word. In fact, we're even saying that today. He's the way, the truth, and the life. Right? He is the way. He is the word. If you abide in my words, if you abide in my words, you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.

[21:04] So he talks about it and then he talks about himself being the word. He is the living word. Right? So, okay. So two things just want to put before you about this psalm, the theology of the psalm.

[21:18] In other words, what is it about? What is it teaching us? And then secondly, the theme of this psalm. Okay? So it's theology is simply this.

[21:30] God blesses the life that lives by his word. God blesses the life. God blesses the person. Blessing of God comes upon the person who lives by the word.

[21:42] That's very clear in this psalm. That's what he says twice in verses 1 and 2. Blessed are those whose way is blameless who walk in the law of the Lord. That's the blessed person.

[21:53] That's the blessed life. Those whose way is blameless who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong but walk in his ways.

[22:08] That's the blessed life, walking in his ways, living according to his word. Right? So here's something not all people know and wouldn't know if you didn't know Hebrew.

[22:22] The word blessed in Hebrew means literally to go straight. To go straight. The word in Greek for blessed means happy.

[22:36] blessed or fortunate or lucky. So blessed in our culture, in Greek culture, means lucky and what happens to you.

[22:48] Right? Because happiness, what's happiness? Happiness implies you're happy because what? Of what's happening. Your happiness depends on your circumstances.

[22:59] Your happiness depends on how things are going. How are things going? Well, they're not going well, so I'm not smiling, right? Things are hard, so it's hard to be happy.

[23:11] Hebrew understanding, if you want to say blessed is something like happiness. In Hebrew, blessedness does not depend on what happens.

[23:27] Blessedness depends on walking in the way of the Lord. Living by the word.

[23:39] You are blessed. No matter what happens. Regardless of what happens. It's a way that you go. To go straight.

[23:50] Going straight are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Going straight are those who keep his command, his testimonies, and seek him with their whole heart. It's a picture.

[24:01] It's a picture of being on a road. You're going on the way. You're going on the way of the Lord, and you're going straight. Jesus talked about what broad way and narrow.

[24:16] Right? Narrow is the way that leads to life. The broad way is the way that leads to destruction.

[24:27] Right? Because the broad way has all the distractions. Right? Narrow is the way. So it's talking about going straight, keeping on the way of God, the path of God, the way of God.

[24:39] Right? Circumstances don't matter if I'm on the road, going straight. So this is theology in the Old Testament.

[24:51] Psalm 1 starts the same way. Blessedness, regardless of your situation, it's a road that you're on. Psalm 1 says, how blessed, in other words, on the right road, how blessed is the one who does not what?

[25:08] What's the language? Not walk in the counsel of the wicked. So he's not walking over there. He's on the right road. Nor stand in the what?

[25:19] The path. Again, roadway language. He's not on that path over there. He's not walking over there. He's not standing over there. And he's not sitting in the seat of scoffers.

[25:30] But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. What's the result? And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water.

[25:44] So walking in the law is like the water that keeps me alive, which yields its fruit in its season. And its leaf does not wither.

[25:54] And in whatever he does, he prospers. Contrast with the way of the wicked. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, the way, the path, the road of the righteous, but the way, the path, the road of the wicked will perish.

[26:12] So I believe it's the same theology that Jesus introduced in his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon that I believe as we went through Luke, we saw the Sermon on the Plain. I think it's the same sermon Jesus preached everywhere.

[26:25] And he started the sermon with what's called the Beatitudes. Blessed are, blessed are, blessed are, right? So Jesus would have known, what was Jesus raised on?

[26:42] Huh? This. Yeah, this, the Hebrew Bible, right? The Old Testament. He would have known Hebrew. He would have also known Greek.

[26:54] And that's what he preached. And then the Greek. Because the Greek was the language of the day everywhere. Because of Alexander the Great, he brought Greek to all the cultured areas.

[27:05] And that was still the way of the time. That's how they commuted with the Romans. That's how they communicated with visitors through Greek. So Jesus would have known Hebrew and Greek.

[27:16] And he also would have known Aramaic. Greek. But he would have preached in Greek. But his thinking wouldn't be Greek. His thinking would be Hebrew.

[27:28] So when he preached in Greek, the Greek word for blessed, as I mentioned earlier, is the word. If you look up the word, the Greek word for blessed, you'll find that it means fortunate, happy, or lucky.

[27:43] So does that make sense in Matthew 5? Happy are the poor, happy are the mourners, happy are the meek. Lucky are the poor, lucky are the mourners, right?

[27:56] Does that make any sense? No. I mean, the Greek language wouldn't. Jesus is thinking of Psalm 119 blessed, ashar, going straight.

[28:09] On the right road are the poor in spirit. The broken ones, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The people that recognize they can't fix themselves. Blessed are those who mourn, who get out, what they're struggling with, for they shall be comforted.

[28:25] Blessed are the meek, the ones not who are weak, but have strength under control, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, right?

[28:36] On the right road are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who don't hunger and thirst for earthly comfort, hunger and thirst for righteousness, the kind found in Christ.

[28:47] They shall be satisfied. On the right road or going straight are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Going straight are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

[28:58] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God, because they act like God. Blessed are those who are persecuted. persecuted. On the right road are those who are persecuted.

[29:11] Going straight on God's path are those who are persecuted. In other words, if you follow God, if you follow God's word, you will be persecuted. You will be mocked and scorned and disrespected.

[29:28] Right? But Jesus says, but you're on the right road if you're persecuted for righteousness sake, because yours is the kingdom of heaven. You're already possessing the kingdom of heaven.

[29:44] Okay? So this is the theology, not just of the Old Testament, not just of Psalm 119, but this is the theology of the Bible, that blessedness, the theology of blessedness is something that is countercultural.

[29:58] It's a reverse of the world's values. It is, as Jesus talks about, entering by the narrow gate, walking on the narrow way that leads to life and peace and joy.

[30:10] And the theology is that God blesses the life that lives by his word. That goes straight, stays on his path, regardless, stays on his path.

[30:24] So, that's the first part. So what is this word? What is this word of God? So, what do you call this?

[30:37] The living word of God. The living word of God. Okay. What else do you call it? The gospel, the truth. What else do you call it? The scriptures. The scriptures.

[30:48] What else do you call it? Your guide. A light on the path. All kinds of words we use to describe this book.

[31:04] Right? Well, so Psalm 119 does the same thing. The theme of Psalm 119, no surprise, is this book. Lord, that's its theme.

[31:17] But he's going to use eight different descriptions of it. He's going to use all these different words, these synonyms, these alternate expressions for the Bible, for the word of God, for scripture.

[31:30] The theme is the word of God in all its forms and expressions. So, the psalmist is going to use eight different words. Okay? And if you have the outline out, they'll be right there.

[31:42] Verse one, he uses the word law. Verse two, his testimonies. Verse three, his ways. Verse four, his precepts. Verse five, his statutes. Verse six, his commandments.

[31:53] Verse seven, his rules or judgments. Verse nine, his word. Eight different descriptions. Eight different synonyms for what we call the word of God, the Bible, the scripture.

[32:07] Okay? Some of these descriptions are very general and some are very specific. He seems to kind of flip back and forth with them.

[32:19] But as I said before, out of 176 verses, he does not repeat himself once. He repeats ideas, concepts, but he doesn't repeat a sentence the same way as he'd written before.

[32:35] So the law, what do we mean by the law? Law is the word Torah. We've heard the word Torah before. Torah can mean several things. It can mean the law of God, specifically the Ten Commandments.

[32:49] It can mean that kind of law. It can mean the first five books of Moses. It's called the law, the law of Moses, but that includes all five books. It can simply, and I think here, it simply is a general term for the direction of God.

[33:05] So the law is, it gives direction. It's the instructions, the way that you go. It's the walk and the lifestyle. So Hebrew is very concrete and gives pictures.

[33:21] Okay, so we could say Torah is the word he uses when he's thinking about the direction that you're going, right? You're going to walk in the law of the Lord. You're going to walk in the direction of the Lord, the direction that the Lord gives.

[33:33] All right, so you're looking ahead. So he uses it again in verse 18. He says, open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things out of your law. Right?

[33:44] So he's praying, open my eyes so I can see, so I can behold the wonderful things out of your law. We need God to open our eyes. Verse 34, he talks about the law again. He talks, he says, give me understanding that I may keep your law.

[33:59] So he understands that I need to understand some things to rightly keep the Lord's law. Okay? So the law. Secondly, he gets more specific.

[34:11] The term his testimonies we see in verse 2, his testimonies. What are his testimonies? What does testimony remind you of? Law court, right?

[34:22] You're giving a witness, you're witnessing. Yeah, so you're giving a testimony, something that happened, right? So his testimonies. So those are reminders of his faithfulness, the reminder of his promise.

[34:37] So in the Ten Commandments, when he gives the command, keep the Sabbath, right? You shall remember the Sabbath day, right, to keep it. And then he gives a reason.

[34:47] What's the reason? Now it depends if you're looking at Exodus or Deuteronomy because there's two different reasons. What's the original reason? Why should we keep the Sabbath? For the Lord in creation, right, worked for six days and then rested on the seventh day.

[35:06] That's your reason to remember the Sabbath. By referring to what the Lord did, he's giving a testimony. Remember what the Lord did, right?

[35:17] And then in Deuteronomy, keep the Sabbath. Why? Because you shall remember that you used to be slaves in Egypt and he has set you free. And so on the Sabbath day, you should not only rest for yourselves, but you should give your workers, your servants, your slaves, your animals, even your dog the day off.

[35:37] Right? I threw in dog. It's not really in there. Right? So those are testimonies referring to the Lord. So when he begins the giving, excuse me, the specific ten commands, he first says, remember that the Lord brought you out with a mighty arm out of Egypt.

[35:57] Right? There's a testimony. So it's testifying to something God has done. Okay? So we study his testimony. We study what God has done. It reminds us of his faithfulness, of his promise.

[36:10] And so he talks about keeping and watching and guarding those testimonies. Verse 14, he says, in the way of your testimonies, I delight as much as in all riches.

[36:22] So I value the testimony of the Lord. I value the things that God has done. I delight in them because when I think about what God has done for us, what God has done for his people, that gives me delight because it gives me hope.

[36:37] It reminds me. Okay, his ways. Verse 3, his ways. Literally his path. Okay? Here's a picture. His law is the direction. His ways are the road.

[36:49] They're the path. The ways of the Lord. That's the path, the road, the journey. We walk in God's paths. Right? So in verse 37, he prays, turn away my eyes from looking at vanity and revive me in thy ways.

[37:07] Revive me in your path. Okay? Verse 4. Now the next three, verse 4, 5, and 6, precepts, statutes, commandments, get a little more specific and precise.

[37:20] Okay? So you have ways, that's general. But then precepts. So the word translated precept here is not, if you look that up in the dictionary, you'll get an English description of precept, which is not the Hebrew description of precept.

[37:40] Okay? So in English, precept means like a principle. Right? But in Hebrew, the word means a directive, something very specific, a specific application of the law of God.

[37:56] So something that God commands diligently. So in Exodus 20, he gives us the Ten Commandments. He says, you know, you shall not do this, not steal, not commit adultery, not murder, not give false witness, not covet, etc.

[38:13] Right? So after, that's Exodus 20. Exodus 21, he begins to talk about precepts and statutes. In other words, specific applications of those commandments.

[38:27] So if you are to not steal, he's going to talk about issues of stealing. Right? Those will be statutes and precepts.

[38:39] Those will be the application. He talks about if you have a slave, how do you treat the slave rightly? Right? So they're just specific applications. Statutes. Precept.

[38:52] Right? That is a specific application. Statutes. Literally means an engraving, a prescription, something very fixed and determined. Something that we long for.

[39:04] Verse 6. Commandments. So what are commandments? We know what those are. Right? That's a little bit easier. And we get into this precept and statute language. We're kind of going, I don't know what that, I'm not sure what that is.

[39:16] I got to keep looking it up to see what it means. Because I don't use that in my life. I don't talk like that. Right? So, but, but commandment, I know what a commandment is. You know, you're told something to do.

[39:27] It's something very definite. It's, and commandments specifically in the Old Testament refer to terms and conditions of the covenant. Of those 10 commands.

[39:40] Those are the terms. Zach read for us Daniel 9. Daniel talked about how they disobeyed God's terms and his commandments.

[39:52] They did not obey. So what happens? They are cursed. Right? They're experiencing all this horrible stuff. Jerusalem has become a byword.

[40:05] God is ready to destroy them. Right? Daniel recognizes they've disobeyed the covenant. If you break one of those 10 commandments, you're toast.

[40:17] And remember David, what did David do? He broke at least half of them within about a week. Right? He coveted. He committed adultery. Set up murder.

[40:29] Right? He lied about it. I mean, good night. And I'm sure he dishonored the Lord. And he probably dishonored his parents and the same. All of that. And so when he wrote Psalm 51, he said, what shall I do?

[40:42] If there was a sacrifice, I would bring it. But there's no sacrifice I can bring. Because I'm a dead man. If I broke the 10 commandments, I'm a dead man. There's nothing. There's no forgiveness. At least that I can earn or that I can offer a sacrifice for.

[40:58] It's mercy alone. And God was merciful. He did not give him what he deserved. Right? He did not give him what he deserved.

[41:10] He gave him grace. He spared his life. His life wasn't fun after that. But you did reap what he sowed.

[41:22] So it was commandments. Right? Those are the terms and the conditions. Those are the limits. I would say a commandment is like a boundary. Right? So it's the line. You don't cross. I don't steal.

[41:33] Right? I don't cross that line. I don't commit adultery. I don't. That's the line. And remember, Jesus moved the line. Right? You have heard it said. Right? Shall not commit adultery.

[41:45] But I say. Whoa, the line's way back here. Now it's lust. You have heard that it was said. You shall not murder. But I say. Who moves the line way back here?

[41:57] Don't even curse at them. Don't even get at you. You know. I mean, Jesus makes us really uncomfortable with his law. Because he's trying to help us see that under the law we're absolutely condemned.

[42:12] It should say that. Yeah. That's the point of the law. And that's what Paul says. The point of the law is not to show you the way of salvation. The point of the law is to show you that you can't save yourself.

[42:25] To show you that you're a sinner. That's the point of the law that the Jews never got. Because they thought they could keep it. Statues, commandments.

[42:37] So then rules. Verse 7. The rules are judgment. Basically just things that are right. Right? Those are applications of the law. What is the right thing to do?

[42:48] And then finally, verse 9. His word. His word. I love that one. That one is referring to spoken words. Right? Things that were said by the Lord. What the Lord said about this or said about that.

[43:02] And verse 9. It's a means by which we guard our purity. How could a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it. Keeping it. Watching it. According to the word.

[43:13] Right? So it's a tool that helps us maintain purity. Verse 25. Some of my favorite verses here. Verse 25.

[43:24] My soul cleaves to the dust. Have you ever felt that? Yeah. You ever felt your... If you've been depressed. Okay. Downcast. Because he's talking about that.

[43:35] That's why I love this song. Because I've experienced that. Your soul cleaves to the dust. What a description of depression. So what does he say?

[43:47] My soul cleaves to the dust. Revive me. How? According to your word. This can revive me. This can get me back.

[43:57] Give my life back. When I'm discouraged. My soul weeps because of grief. There it is again. My soul. Right? By deep affection. My soul weeps because of grief. So what?

[44:08] What's the prayer? Strengthen me. According to your word. The word can strengthen me. So he's talking about the... Through his...

[44:19] What he says about the word. And through how he prays through the word. We learn the incredible preciousness of the word of God.

[44:31] That it revives us. It strengthens us. It's a light into our path. Right? It's all these wonderful things. So what does all this mean for a Christian?

[44:45] I don't want to study Psalm 119 simply as a Hebrew believer. And there were wonderful things that this word, this psalm said to Hebrews.

[44:55] Who didn't believe in Jesus. But if I believe in Jesus, what does this psalm... How does this help me? How does this psalm point to Jesus?

[45:07] Anybody see it yet? I kind of gave a hint earlier, but... It helps you walk in his way. Walk in his way. Right? If the word...

[45:21] If the word... The living word... Draws me to the Lord... How does that point to Jesus? Jesus is the word.

[45:34] In the beginning was the... Word. And the word was with God. And the word was God. And the word became flesh. And he spoke to us.

[45:49] He is the Torah. He is the testimony. He is the way. The precept. The statute. The commandment. The rules. And the word of God.

[46:02] He is. Amen. So this... This for all of its wonderful value. By itself is... Is... Is great. A treasure.

[46:14] But the fact that this... Is not meant to be by itself. But it is to be fulfilled. In Jesus Christ. Right?

[46:26] That gives us... Even greater... Because Jesus says... Right? Abide in my word. If you abide in my word. And...

[46:36] My words abide in you. You shall be disciples of mine. And you shall know the truth. And the truth... Will set you... Free. And how will the truth set you free?

[46:48] Because he is the word that came... And took on flesh. So that he might... Keep this law... That we cannot keep.

[47:02] He was the blessed man... Whose way was blameless. Who always walked... In the way of the Lord. Who did not sin.

[47:16] Right? We're captive to that. Yeah. Yeah. So Luther...

[47:27] To complete Luther's story... You know... There at the beginning... When he began to be hunted down... By the church... He had to be rescued. By the way... He'd swept away. Kind of a... Delta Force thing happened...

[47:38] Where... He got out... And escaped. But they kept hunting for him. He would hide away... In places... In towers... In different places. And he ended up translating...

[47:49] The whole New Testament... Into Greek... Into Greek... Which... Which... Was really the real... Reformation... Of the church...

[48:00] Because... Finally we got back... To the original language... And not the Latin... Which translated things... In the wrong... Some crucial things... In the wrong way. Plus...

[48:10] Plus... Nobody read Latin... So Luther translated... Into Greek... So people could read it... Actually... Luther's German...

[48:21] I think he translated it... In German... Probably... He translated from the Greek... Into German... For his people to read it... Because he knew...

[48:31] That... Once they had the word... And they could read it... They would be transformed... Um... But yeah... He... His mind... You know... He's captive...

[48:43] Uh... But while he's writing... Uh... Translating the New Testament... Uh... There's some stories about... He would be attacked by Satan... And... And...

[48:53] With Luther... Uh... Being attacked by Satan... Was kind of a very dramatic thing... And... Uh... He spoke back to the devil... Of course... That's the way you take the sword out...

[49:05] And... You speak to the devil... Because he can't read your mind... Um... But at one point... He threw it... He took an ink bottle... And threw it... Where he thought the devil was... Um...

[49:15] And I guess you can go... And you can see where the ink bottle... The ink is all over... Uh... So he took his battle very seriously... Uh... But the devil would say... How he's so unworthy... And how he's such a sinner...

[49:26] You know... And he's just a... A poor example of a Christian... You know... He's such a... Unworthy person... And... And Luther would say... Yeah... And I'm a lot worse than that...

[49:37] And then he'd say... But... My... Lord... Died for me... This is what he would say to the devil...

[49:48] My Lord has forgiven me... So... Say all you want... My Lord has forgiven me... So it would become more than just the... That the...

[49:58] The... The word was... He was captured by the word... But he's captured by Christ... And... That's why God could use him so mightily... Luther was no perfect saint...

[50:09] By the way... He did some horrible things... But... But in the way that God used him... Even in his unworthiness... Even in all his... Failures...

[50:20] Socially... He's a man possessed by the word... So... By the way... He married off a whole bunch of nuns...

[50:33] He went into convents... And he got all the nuns married... You gotta get married... Married... Finally married off all the nuns... And then... And then this lady... This one kept...

[50:43] There was one left... And... She's like... Marty... You know... And he's like... Katie... And... She's like... It's time... Okay... So he got married too... This wonderful woman named Katie...

[50:55] Alright... So we see... The theme of the Psalm 19... Is the word of God... In all its expressions... All the expressions are talking about the same thing... It's God's word...

[51:05] God's way... His laws... His testimony... His statutes... His precepts... And the blessed life... His son... The blessed life... Yeah... And son of God...

[51:15] The blessed life is one who lived... It's by the word of God... Which is ultimately living by... Christ... Abiding in... Christ... And this will help us do that...

[51:28] Let's pray... Father... We thank you for your word... We thank you... For the power of your word... The depth of your word... Lord... We pray that in the weeks ahead... Give us a heart for it...

[51:40] May... The psalmist... Whoever... He may be... May his words rub off on us... May we be captured by... This word...

[51:52] Your truth... Your scripture... Your testimonies... Your... Your pathway... Your words... Capture us by that... Father... Because it puts us on the road that leads to life...

[52:04] Lord... Not just a life of... Of... Of... Of... Of... Fortunate life in this world... But true life... Life everlasting...

[52:17] A life that is peace beyond understanding... That is joy even in... The trial... This is what we ask...

[52:29] Change us through this... We pray... In Christ's name... Amen... Thank you.