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Intro:
Recently, with the record lows of the Mississippi river, treasure hunters flocked to the exposed banks of the river that were at all time lows.
I followed one on Instagram and some of his finds included: civil war belt buckles, buttons from military uniform and a make up container.
These treasures lay at the bottom of that powerful river, but were exposed due to a lack of rainfall.
It didn’t take much effort for these items to be discovered, but other treasure hunters who mine the oceans at great depths spend vast amounts of resources to discovery riches of old.
During our time today, I want to challenged all of us to make commitments in 2023 to a lifestyle of hunting for treasure in the pages of God’s word.
As you know, we are starting a church-wide emphasis on memorizing Scripture together because we want to grow in that discipline as God’s people.
Some of us here today need to take a deeper dive into the study of God’s word in 2023.
You may need to move from a quick glance of the word in your morning devotion, to a deeper study of it day by day.
Or maybe you are struggling to set aside time in your daily routine to study the word of God at all.
We are all on a journey in our faith and hopefully in your journey, there is continual growth of some kind.
We are not all at the same place in our spiritual journeys but we all came from the same place.
People on the front of the train arrive at the desitnation ahead of those at the back but they al left the same train station and they all arrive at the same destination.
My challenge for you this afternoon is consider your spiritual habits as a beleiver in Jesus Christ and ask yourself: How can I grow as a believer in 2023 in relationship to my study and love for the word of God?
Our study of this passage in Psalm 119 will guide us consider the treasures that await us as we seek the Lord diligently in His word.
We can know the Lord more intimately as we seek him through His revealed word to us.
Psalm 119 context:
Psalm 119 is a massive body of work.
It is divided according to the Hebrew Alphabet and so every section of this psalm begins with a letter of that alphabet.
Most of those sections contain 8 verses each and the entire psalm contains 178 verses , all of which points the readers to the intimacy with the Lord that is found in his word.
Luther writes,
This psalm “contains prayers, consolations, doctrines, thanksgivings, and repeats all these with varied fullness.
It is given forth with a deep and blessed intent; namely, that by this repetition and fullness, it may invite and exhort us to hear and diligently to treasure up the word of God.”
As we look then this afternoon at our passage, let me invite you to take up the commitment to be treasure hunters of God’s holy word so that you may benefit from the riches contained within in your spiritual journey.
Let’s begin by looking at:
1. Foundational Truths for Treasure Hunters
All of these verses in Psalm 119 contain a list of synonymous words that depict the word or law of God.
In totality across these 178 verses, there are 8 words used interchangeably and these words are:
Law, Testimony, Statutes, Precepts,
Commands, Word, Way, Decrees
In all of these words, we understand them to mean the whole counsel of God.
Although the psalmist, who is not mentioned, does not possess any of the NT, these words today are NOT limited to a study of just the OT or just the NT.
All of God’s word is written for our benefit and instruction as God’s people.
This point is very controversial in our culture today.
Some of the more famous, ear-tickling preachers of heresy in the world today want to discredit or devalue parts of the Bible.
They day those parts are outdated, no longer relevant or culturally appropriate.
One such preacher is Andy Stanley, son of well-known Baptist preacher Charles Stanley.
Stanley leads a popular church in Atlanta, GA called Northpoint and he has said some clear, blasphemous things in the last few years about the Jesus and his word.
In 2018, Stanley made a clear statement about how the church needs to “un-hitch from the OT” because it has become one of the largest stumbling blocks to faith in Jesus.
For example, on page 136 of his book Irresistible, he writes regarding the OT,
“The Ten Commandments have no authority over you.
None.
To be clear: Thou shalt not obey the Ten Commandments”
But the bible actually refutes such a claim made by Stanley.
Paul states that
Therefore, followers of Jesus must first find value in all of God’s word, from the simple narratives, to the poetry to the letters and the prophecy.
Regardless of the genre, the entirety of the Bible is food for the soul of the follower of Jesus.
The psalmist in v 9-11 states
In verse 10, the psalmist makes the connection that seeking the Lord with all one’s heart is accomplished in and through the word of God.
Seeking intimacy with God is not accomplished through quiet meditation, sitting by a brook, clearing the mind of thoughts.
In that quietness, if our time is not instructed by the word of the Lord, leading us to prayer according to the word, then whatever experience we are seeking will not happen.
The Lord will speak, not from out of thin air, not through the babbling brook, or the singing bird.
He speaks to us by the Holy Spirit as we engage in studying the word of God.
Knowing the Lord rightly is found in knowing him through the word of God which reveals him.
Believers come to faith in Jesus Christ upon reading or hearing the word of God.
At this point, the Spirit open our eyes and mind to interpret it rightly and in that by faith we believe.
That is the power of the words of God given to us.
Therefore, the psalmist rightly describes this love for the Lord and his word as finding treasure.
The psalmist already recognizes the value and worth of God’s word and he knows that wandering from it’s truths in disobedience will be detrimental to him physically and spiritually.
This means that the treasure of the word is already apparent to the psalmist because the Lord has shown him its value in his salvation.
Unbelievers will not value the word of God.
It doesn’t make sense to them.
They cannot understand it clearly and therefore it is rubbish to them.
But the value of God’s word as a treasure is a gift to all who believe.
v 11 “Your word I have treasured in my heart”
Some translations in v 11, state “I have hidden your word” which sounds like hiding something impersonal or unimportant .
But in biblical times, those most treasured items of value which were discovered or earned, would be hidden for their safety from thieves and robbers.
Jesus makes this point in a parable about the hidden treasure that a man finds buried.
This jubilant man hides the treasure again and then buys the field, ensuring the treasure belongs to him.
But another translation, like in the NASB, is that the word is treasured in the heart.”
It is considered valuable and precious and it is stored up and prized above all things.
The Psalmist states that the word and the road of following God’s word leads to rejoicing over it more than all riches found elsewhere.
Calvin rephrases,
“I have taken more exquisite delight in the progress which I make in the doctrine of godliness, than if I abounded in all manner of riches.”
-John Calvin
WHY is it a treasure?
1.
Because the word is the pathway to knowing our Lord and Savior.
It leads us to him.
It speaks His precious name.
It shows us his compassion and grace.
It opens our minds to see his power and loving faithfulness.
v. 12 reads,
To praise the Lord rightly, we must praise him as He reveals himself to us through His word.
He teaches us through the Holy Spirit, we don’t teach ourselves.
We must come to the Scriptures, each day with such a prayer on our lips.
Sometimes our minds are sleepy and our energies are spent, but we must pray as the psalmist.
To ask for the Lord to teach us so that we may worship him rightly is never a vain request and one that will always be granted.
God loves to teach his people about himself!
2. It is also a treasure because it leads us to a good life.
It guides us in holiness and uprightness so that we might not offend the God to saves his people from their bondage of sin.
The young man maintains purity in this journey with the Lord is by allowing the word of God to shepherd his life along the way.
The Lord is our shepherd who guides us according to his shepherding word!
This is the language of verse 9 and we know how clearly we are a sheep who like to walk off the prepared path.
v 10- “Do not let me stray”
v11- “so that I might not sin against (offend) you”
The follower of Jesus can stray and in our struggle with the flesh, we are tempted with sin.
But God shepherds us from straying as we walk according to His word.
How can we walk in his word, according to His good governance over us if we don’t study and learn all that God’s word says to us.
So we treasure God’s word because it allows us to know our Lord and it allows us to love him in a worthy manner by rightly guiding us away from offense against him and towards a holiness.
The psalmist hates evil because he knows and loves the Lord.
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