Valuing The LORD

Psalm 119. We will begin our reading in verse 57.

And we will read through verse 64.

Hear the word of Our Lord.

You are my portion O Lord. I have said that I would keep your words. I am treated your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful to me, according to your word. I thought about my ways and turned my feet to your testimonies I made haste and did not delay to keep your Commandments. The cords of the wicked have bound me but I have not forgotten your law. At midnight, I will rise to give. Thanks to you because of your righteous judgments. I am a I am a companion of all who fear you and of those who keep your precepts. The earth. Oh Lord is full of your mercy. Teach me. Your statutes.

There are those who have at times level to charge against us in the reformed community that We have deviated from worshipping God. And we worship His word. And they they level that critique. As if to say that we place God's word. higher than it should be, that we emphasize God's word too much and sometimes they even include the critique that we are legalist that we care only about love keeping for the sake of law, keeping but as we've spent, the last several weeks, going through, various Psalms, and looking at the ways in which the Lord has chosen to structure his church, We come again to. the Psalms and to this song in particular, To seek to understand the place of the word of God in the life of the church.

in order to understand what place the word ought to have, We must first understand why it is that we place such an emphasis on God's word. Why it is that we push and encourage people to, to keep God's commands to obey his laws. And we find this in the opening verse Of our checks verse 57 says, you are my portion. Oh, Lord. In both of the checks that we read today, both from Ezekiel and 1st Peter, we were reminded that under the Old Testament economy, the priest and the Levites did not receive an inheritance in the land. And why is that? Because their inheritance was to be the Lord. And I think this is an often missed aspect of what it means for the church to be a holy priesthood. We are to view our inheritance as the Lord. Our portion is to be the Lord. And it is this love for the Lord. This satisfaction in having the Lord and all that, that entails that is what drives us then that is what drives every aspect of our life. And it is having the Lord. As our portion, that drives us to his word. Think about what our savior said. In places such as John 15 and also John 14. He says if you love me keep my Commandments and it is as if to say not as if he is directly stating that love for God is displayed. Through obedience to his word and this is what we find in this song. Selection all of Psalm 119 as I've reminded you in the past deals with the singular subject of the word of God. But this section particularly deals with the word of God as it flows from A heart that loves God. And So, It Begins.

It begins with those simple words. That simple phrase you are my portion, not as we look at this song, we are going to look at it with two main headings. I realize that is deviating slightly from my typical three, but we will see if we can make it work. The first is that the word changes us. The word, changes us. I want you to notice the progression that we see. Starting in verse 57, the song that says you are my portion O Lord, I have said, I would keep your words, you see the psalmist desire for obedience starts with a fact that he recognizes the Lord is his portion. The Lord is his inheritance, and on a practical level, what this means then, is that what the psalmist cares about most in the world is having the Lord, and pleasing the Lord with his life. Having the Lord first. Because if you do not have the Lord, you will not desire to please. The Lord. This means that he desires. First and foremost, the Lord over all of the of the material possessions that he could acquire. There's a trend of going around on, I assume it's on Tik Tok. I'm seeing it on Instagram, where they're taking. They're taking this little clip from VeggieTales and it's where I think it's King George and the rubber ducky if I remember, right? But Bob is asking Larry.

How much stuff? Is enough. And Larry response, I don't know. How much stuff is there? I need to see this drives on the basic disposition of our hearts. That we have this sinful desire to get all of this stuff and it can be good things. It can be building a wonderful field logic Will Library. It can be collecting cars. It can be, we'll just name whatever your hobby is. It could be having a quirky coffee cups or just having nice coffee cups, having China, whatever, whatever it is. The song as though, the psalmist focus is not on having all of these material. Things, his focus is singularly on having the Lord And the wonderful thing is, he doesn't say the Lord will be my portion. he says, you are my portion O Lord and so it is this recognition that for the believer who has a Believer lives in that in that reality that the Lord is his That therefore, that is what drives him to pursue. Enter desire. Obedience to God's word.

And then he goes on and he says, I am treated your favor with my whole heart.

Notice that his Pursuit. His pursuit of the Lord's favor. It's not a half-hearted effort, it's not something where he thinks, you know what? I will pursue the Lord's, favor on Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I will pursue my own favor. He's not saying I will pursue the Lord's favor Monday Wednesday and I will pursue my favorite, where my friend's favorite, where my boss is favored for the rest of the time. He says, he desires the Lord's favor. With his whole heart, with all that he is and often times the heart. In Scripture. Is used as, as reference to the seat of emotions. And so when he says that he entreats the Lord's favor with his whole heart, we should also understand that he is saying he will use and he desires to use his emotions his Passions. In the pursuit of gone. Now for those for us and the reform Community, this is a good reminder, it's a good reminder because sometimes we are sadly referred to as the Frozen chosen and it's almost as if we have this reputation, which I think sadly is true more often than not, then that we must bestow it. That we must be expressionless in our emotions. And the ironic thing is that the Psalms teach directly against that, the Psalms are full of emotion. In fact, some have have have commented that the Psalms contain a right expression of all the human emotions and that's part of what makes them. So, beneficial for us and worship is that they teach us how to use our emotions, how to use our passions in a manner that glorifies and honors gone. So the song that says that he entreats the Lord's favor with his whole heart and then noticed what he says next. He he says be merciful to me. No, he could have stopped right there. He could have just said, be merciful to me. And that would have been a wonderful statement. It would have been David or the psalm is acknowledging that. He is, indeed the Lord's. He's in need of the Lord's Mercy, but he goes beyond that he's not just asking that the Lord would be merciful but he's taking an understanding of how God has acted mercifully in scripture. How he has recorded his acts of Mercy in scripture and he sang Lord. Be merciful to me according to your work. So what you think about this? Think about this. God said God created man right in the space of six days. Created the entire world created man on the sixth day and then he gives Adam the charge of every tree in the garden. You may freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, you shall not eat for in the day you eat of it, you will die. What happens? Adam, eats of the tree. Eva's to see if she eats of the tree, she gives to Adam Adam eat of the tree. And then as the Lord is going through and he is, he is handing out discipline for their disobedience.

He starts off that discipline which is discipline of the serpent, right? The cursing of The Serpent and he includes a promise of Deliverance. God did not need to include that. He did not have to include that he chose, he chose to promise deliverance. And to tell Adam and Eve that she was cursing, the serpent that one day a savior will come. If you look if you look in Genesis 6, we're told that the whole earth, the whole earth has gotten to a point where it's full of wickedness and the Lord decides that he will not dwell with men forever that he will not abide with them. And if you carry it logically through, he says, man's days shall be a hundred and twenty years. He gives that Wicked generation. 120 years to repent before sending the flood. 120 years, if you think about about Abraham and why he's not inheriting the promised land. When that promise was made the, the stated reason is because the sins of the Canaanites has not filled up yet and then God gives the Canaanites 400 some years to repent of their sins. You see time and time again. What we repeatedly see in scripture is that God is merciful.

And he's merciful to a very generous and abundance agree. He is full of Mercy.

So when the psalmist says to be merciful to me, according to your word, he's thinking about not just the examples. Given we only covered Genesis, he's thinking about all the scripture. All that he would have had. In Scripture. And he's thinking about the mercy of the Lord. And he wants that kind of Mercy, that Mercy, that never runs out. That never runs dry that Mercy, that is undeserved and so overwhelming because of how merciful god is towards his people. That's the kind of Mercy, but the song just once

But the word doesn't just affect. Our view of material Goods or view of emotions are the word affects our life, our actions, our view of our self. Look at verse 57. I thought about my ways and turned my feet to your testimonies. You see, part of the problem in the world today is that we don't think about our ways enough.

We don't critically think about our ways to examine is it right? Or is it wrong? And in addition to that the world because the world has no desire, no Cara concern for the word of God. The world has no objective standard upon which to evaluate their ways. But we do and the song that says that he thought about his ways. And while this is unstated, he clearly concludes that his ways were wrong, but he was in sin that his ways needed to be corrected. But it doesn't just conclude that they needed to be corrected. He concludes that. There is an objective standard. There is a means of correcting his ways and it is found in the testimonies of the Lord.

You see sometimes? Sometimes we can treat scripture as if it is. It is basically a Systematic Theology textbook. That we go to scripture whenever we need to look into this particular issue or this particular problem, and then we find a couple relevant passages. We look over those passages. And we often times, I think there are at the very least tempted to neglect the context in which those passages are found, but we treat them almost. We treat scripture almost as a topical study. Rather than a study or the word, the word of God that is intended to drive. Not only what we believe. But how we live our standard say that the word of God is the only infallible rule for Faith and life. It's not just the infallible rule for Doctrine. It's the infallible rule for how we live, which includes how we interact with one another and includes how we operate businesses. It includes how we train of our children, how we teach our children to obey? All of these things are covered in the word of God. And we need that sort of correcting, because with our sin nature, we are by default as it were. In a posture of rebellion to God our go to disposition is I want to be on the throne, I want to do my own thing and so I will set my own standard for what is right and wrong. And more often than not what we want, what we want to do is not only in Rebellion to God, but it's harmful to our neighbors. Which of the word of God changes, our lives. That changes our Actions.

I'm in the final Point under this heading is

I have it as it changes, our commitments. Notice in verse 60.

The song has rights, I made haste. And did not delay to keep your Commandments.

You seem the psalmist is committed. He is committed. To the word of God. But why is he committed to the word of God will? Again it goes back to that first verse in our text. You are my portion. You see the psalmist concludes that it is good and right to obey his Commandments not because he desires to be this legalist who merely obeys for the sake of obeying because that's all that really matters what he is focused on. What drives him as we've already seen it, what his sole concern is. To love God. And to be loved by God and to honor God, in every way that he can. And so, in his study of the word, and as he's study the word and come to see that his ways, Are wrong. It is his ways are not the Lord's ways and his thoughts are not the Lord's thoughts in his study and coming to that conclusion. He says, I made haste. I did not delay to keep your Commandments. You see it's so important to him showing his love for God, through obedience to his Commandments is so important. That one, he keeps it before his eyes, each and every day, he keeps it before his eyes. And then he devotes himself that he will be committed to quick and thorough obedience. but he will obey quickly and completely and with a happy heart as we tell our children,

And that is how proper obedience is done. Quickly completely and with a happy heart and a happy heart. The happy heart really is a way of saying with love for God. Or with love for parents. But most importantly with love for God.

So we do not love the word. merely, because It is some random book. That people in a bygone era, pulled out of the dirt and said, here is your scriptures. We love the word of God. Because the word of God reflects God, reflects Our God and the word of God, as we engage with it changes us. Changes. How we think how we express our emotions, how we live, what we are committed to the word changes us.

With the word also changes. How we see the world?

Notice what the psalmist says in verse 61. The first thing of the word changes is how we view persecution. The cords of the wicked have bound me but I have not forgotten your law. You know, in troubling times. We tend to forget many things. as we go through various trials in life as we experienced various Temptations, we forget things And it's no doubt would be the case. That, that, as we experienced persecution, we will forget things, we will forget some of the things that we are taught. We will forget why we held to this position, or that position. But the psalmist here says, though, the cords of the wicked have bound him that he has not forgotten. God's law. You see he is describing being in the midst of persecution and not not a kind where he is running from his enemies but where he's already been caught, he's been caught and he's been found. And no doubt mistreated. What he says even though that's the case, he's still does not forget God's law. The, why is that? And how does he get to that sort of position? How does he come to a point where in the midst of persecution, he doesn't forget God's law will again, is because that's what he's driving after. What he desires is the Lord, who is his portion and he desires, pleasing the Lord. And as a result of having that as his number one priority, his number one desire, he has spent his time. In the word. And what happens when you spend your time and you give yourself to something, you get to a point where you don't need in a certain sense. You don't need the instructions, you don't need the how to guns. You don't need any of those things because it's become through your studies. So embedded, in your mind, But you can't forget it. And that's what happens. Also, with the scripture, the psalmist is saying that he has studied and he has as much as he can afford scripture into his mind, but in the midst of persecution, he doesn't forget it. And indeed, its it goes beyond.

It goes beyond that because he then describes the next verse that in these hard times in these sleepless nights. What is on his mind? Is the word of God. So it's not just that he hasn't forgotten it, but even in those hard times he says at midnight, I will rise to give. Thanks to you. And why is he rising to give? Thanks if he's bound. It's not like he's going and picking up his copy of the scriptures and reading it in his bondage. Perhaps his captors are so kind, but probably not. And so he is then reflecting upon his circumstances and he's reflecting upon what God and His word has to say about those circumstances and his conclusion, then I will give thanks to you. Oh Lord, because your judgements are righteous The psalmist rises in the middle of the night with the sole purpose of giving. Thanks to God. For his righteous judgments.

And this this is not meant as a way of saying that that we have to search out. If the Lord's judgements are righteous, you see the psalmist begins. Their he has that as his disposition that all that. The Lord does is good and write all of his judgments therefore must be, right? They must be righteous because they flow from who he is. And so, he acknowledges that whatever circumstance, he finds himself in the Lord is right. The Lord is righteous and the Lord's judgment.

Our righteous. Do the word.

Our love for the Lord. Which is expressed in love for the word. Changes how we view persecution and hard times.

It also changes how we view, friends. The word changes how we view friends. Notice what he says, I am a companion of all who fear you and of those who keep your precepts.

You've heard the phrase. I trust that bad company corrupts good behavior. Will this is also true when it comes to theology when we keep company with those who hate God.

Then in time we learn to hate God. Or if nothing else. We come we become a bit numb. To that hatred of God. There was a a poem that that, my mom used to recite. I have no idea where she got it from. I've never been able to find who the author is, but it goes something like this. It says sin is such an awful thing that to be hated needs to be seen, but seem too often and familiar with face first, we pity Then we enjoy your. Then we embrace, you see. That is the danger of having friends who and companions who do not fear the lord. That is the danger of having friends and companions who do not keep his precepts. Now, that's not to say that that we must cut all ties. Then with those unbelieving friends, Paul says that he in in dealing with the issue of sexual immorality, exhorts the church, that he's tells them. I'm not telling you to not keep company with the sexually, immoral of the world. But with those who call themselves Brothers Wright and his rationale is because then you would have to go out of the world. So this is not telling us that weird to not have friends and that we are to never keep company with those who do not fear the lord, or with those who do not keep his precepts. But it is saying that that our priority and who we spend our time with and how much time we spend with them should be run through the filter of of verse 63, those who fear the lord, and those who keep his precepts. And for all others who who we spend time with, and they do not fear the lord and they do not keep his precept, our disposition towards them should be, they are centers in Rebellion to God, and they need the gospel, they need price, they need the savior. and so that should then color how we interact with them that we should we should look for every opportunity to share the gospel and then when we see that opportunity, we should share the gospel,

Which first requires us to know the gospel. And we're as our catechism says children, where do we learn how to love and obey, God? In the Bible alone. Which means the only place where we can find the gospel is in the Bible alone. No.

There's one more Arium, one more area of life where the word changes our view and that is, it changes our view of the world. I think about this 464 says the earth. Oh, Lord is full of your mercy.

That's his starting point. The Earth is full of your mercy.

Have you thought about how the Earth is full of the Lord's? Mercy, have you have you given much thought to what scripture says of God's interactions with those who hate him? So we know on the one hand as we covered momentarily that the Lord is merciful and not punishing sin as quickly as he could, he could punish sin and would be just to do. So the instant it comes to our mind. even before it has an opportunity to be expressed But he's merciful towards us and in that Mercy does not punish us in the instance for every sin. He's also merciful were told and how he provides and sustains life in this world, we're told that he sends rain on the just and the unjust

Think about that. That there are no doubts. God hating atheistic farmers in the world who depend upon rain for their crops write. As many of you do.

And we could expect that God would send rain. For the crops of his children. I think we could expect that. but what we find in Scripture that God not only sends rain,

For those in the Covenant Community, he sends rain for those outside the Covenant Community. God is merciful Not only in not punishing us for sin, but in giving good things, perhaps, perhaps you've looked at at the wealthy of the world or those who are well-off and you see that there are wicked unbelievers who who materially Prosper greatly. That is an example of the Lord's. Mercy. Towards those individuals that ought to drive us to the Lord, that ought to drive us into his arms to thank him for being. So merciful to undeserving people to undeserving centers, it ought to drive us every time we see and experience the mercy of the Lord, it ought to drive us there. But sadly, it does not. And for the unbelievers. Of the world, they experienced the mercy of God and that Mercy eventually builds up. To a storehouse of Wrath. For not acknowledging the Lord. But the song is here, he uses the Earth, being full of the mercy of the Lord.

Has reason to learn the Lord's statutes. it is as if to say, That since the lord requires us to be as he is think of like being be merciful or be holy for. I am Holy. Forgive as you have been forgiven, I think we could be merciful as you have received mercy and so the psalmist then wants to learn of this mercy and how to be merciful. And so where would he go to learn from the merciful god how to show Mercy? He would go to his word. And so he concludes teach me your statutes.

Beloved. Regardless of what some may say. Love for the word. Is not the same. As not loving the Lord just because we love the word does not mean we are in idolatry and worshipping the word over the Lord. But more than that, What we see here and what we also see and other places. Is that our love and our disposition towards the word is an indication of what's going on in our parks. It showed the church ought to be the place where the Lord is valued and loved the most

But we cannot value and love the Lord. And at the same time, disregard his word.

When we say or when we use as an excuse that, I don't have time. To read my Bible or I don't have time to attend worship or to be with God's people. What we are in fact saying, is that, we don't have time. Forgot. What we are saying. Is that truly we don't love God. and this is something then, but it's good for all of us to examine ourselves on because if we love the Lord, then we will love his word. If we love his word, we will be in his word. Thank think of it like this.

You, you've heard of you've heard of quarters, right? He just seemed to collect things for no apparent reason.

mountain, in my case, the things that I collect and that, I hold onto and I refuse to let go I'll have some sort of sentimental value.

And so, I have letters. I have cards. some from people who have long since passed, some from people still living, And to anyone else that pile of letters and cards is just a pile of letters and cards. It means nothing else to anyone else.

But it means something to me. Because those who sent the cards, those who sent the letters are those that I love. You see, we value things. Based upon.

Our love. We value. Letters based upon who wrote them. We value gifts based upon who those who gave them. and at the same time, we don't value some things because Of who gave. so, when it comes to the word of gone,

The word of God Is How We demonstrate our love for God. until then, we cannot

We cannot say. We cannot say that we love God, that we value God. While at the same time, living in a way that says, I do not love his word. Also think of it like this.

We're going to go. Husbands and wives, I want you to think about this. Imagine having a friend.

Who says to you. I love you but I can't stand your spouse. Know what would your motivation than be? For spending time with that individual. Who sang? I love you but someone that you love I can't stand. The reason I point this out is because that imagery is used time and time again throughout scripture that the church is the bride of Christ.

And and it's because the church is the bride of Christ that Christ gives the church gifts. Text that God works. All things. All of his providential and Sovereign dealings in the world are for the good of his church. For the good of its brine. So how can we say? First, how can we say that? We love God and not love his word and how can we say that? We love God. If we don't also love his bride,

Now, it should be clear. None of us are going to love the word or to loved the church perfectly.

That's where the word comes in. That's where the freedom that we have to approach the Lord in prayer comes in. Because who holds the hearts of kings in the palm of his hand. It is the Lord. Who holds our hearts also in the palm of his hand. It is the Lord. And so, when we find that our love for the word is not as it should be. When we find that our love for the church is not as it should be. We ought to be driven then to go to the word in prayer.

To go to the Lord in the word and in prayer to be instructed, by the Lord in the word. And to tell the Lord in prayer that we need. We need that shaping in that forming of our heart. We need him to do his work as a Potter. And to shape our hearts to love him and to love his word and to love his people.

Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven. We thank you for your word. We thank you that you have given us such sound wisdom. And father, we consider it sound. Not because not because in our own minds it it gives good advice. But because oh God you are The Fountainhead of all wisdom and knowledge and so whatever comes from, you must be sound. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that in your word. You teach us not only about the history of the world, but you teach us about your dealings with the world. You teach us about our fallen condition. You teach us about the way of Salvation. You teach us about the beauty of the Gospel.

That we cannot. Earn our way to heaven.

That we cannot do it. Enough good works and indeed that our best works are still as filthy rags. So they're not even good. In Ultimate sense. Father, we thank you. We thank you for this Plan of Salvation.

Where you sent the sun to become incarnate. To live a life of perfect obedience here on this Earth.

We thank you for his substitutionary death, where he died. In our place, he took the punishment that we deserve for our sins.

So that we might be United to you. We thank you also, Father for sending the Holy Spirit. After Jesus Christ, ascended on high, you and the sun sent. The Holy Spirit. To work in our hearts to apply the Salvation that was purchased by Christ.

Father, we confess. but our love for you, Our love for your word, our love for your church, our love for all that is pure and holy is not as it should be. Father, more often than we care to admit, we would prefer material blessings. We would mature. We would prefer materialism.

Oh God, forgive us.

Forgive us of this sin. Forgive us for valuing created things more than you our creator.

Father, forgive us also.

For presuming upon ourselves. A posture of Greater wisdom and Authority.

Which leads us, then to reject your word. Father, forgive us. For thinking that we know, better as to who should be saved.

Forgive us. For those times when we though, we have received a great deal of Mercy.

Are like that Wicked servant in the parable that our Lord told who owed, a great debt and whose fellow servant owed a very minor deaths. And upon being forgiven of his great. He went and strangled his fellow servant for a much smaller death. Oh God, we can be that way. And often are

forgive us. And help us. To freely, give Mercy as we have freely received it.

Help us to be gracious and loving and our disposition towards one another.

father, help us to remember,

Help us to remember.

that we are not the only

child of God. That you have more children outside of us. And father help us to be gracious and merciful towards them.

Father, we ask that you would net us together.

That you would cause us to grow and love for you and love for your word and love for one another. For that is the witness that Christ said. We would have to the world that the world would know. We are your disciples. By our love for one another.

Our Saviour also told us.

That if we love you, we will keep your commands. And so, father Grove us and love for you.

And love for your word. And love for your people. That Christ would be honored and exalted.

In our midst. And in our communities.

And around the world. And this, we pray. In his great and glorious name. Hey man.