Sermon Tone Analysis

*Faith Under Fire: Cultivating Unwavering Loyalty and Unashamed Love (Ps.

119:41-48)*

/Preached by Pastor Phil Layton at Gold Country Baptist Church on November 16, 2008/

www.goldcountrybaptist.org

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Our verse-by-verse study through this great Psalm brings us the 6th stanza, vs. 41-48, with heading VAV because each verse begins with the 6th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, pronounced Vav or Waw (if your Bible prints out the Hebrew characters, this letter looks like a little shepherd’s staff).

In this passage we’ll see how:

-         the rod and the staff of the Good Shepherd comforts those who know Him as their LORD, through persecution or pain

-         and how He leads His sheep to open green pastures

-         and how He makes those who trust Him to lay down beside still waters--peace in the midst of danger ~/ fear around them

-         and how He restores our soul, through what Ps. 19 speaks of: “the Law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul”

-         and how even if we go through the darkest valleys, even if we come in danger of death, even if the kings of this world may be against us -- we will not fear evil, because the King of Kings is with us -- He will give us the words to say and strength for whatever shadows and darkness lies ahead

-         this stanza was certainly written while the writer was in the presence of enemies, but we see his cup overflowed with the delight and love for God and His Word that pours forth

-         in our text he pledges unwavering loyalty and unashamed love and obedience, but it is only because he has prayed for and is confident in God’s lovingkindness or goodness and mercy following every day of his life, and salvation’s promise of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.

*41 **May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Lord, Your salvation according to Your word; 42 **So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.

43 **And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances.

44 **So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever.

45 **And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.

46 **I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings And shall not be ashamed.

47 **I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.

48 **And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes.*

Steve Lawson summarizes this passage as reminding us:

‘that the Christian life is not lived aboard a cruise liner, boarded by sight-seers vacationing in leisure.

[We should instead think of] a battleship, armed by soldiers of the cross.

And the promises of God are weapons for our warfare, equipping us for victory against the many enemies of our soul that we face.

The Christian life is lived in a context of spiritual warfare, and soul-searching conflict, and any other perspective of the Christian life would not be true to the Word of God.

The fact of the matter is we sail through stormy seas, and storm clouds of opposition threaten us, and tides of temptation pull us toward hidden reefs of sin, and waves of adversity batter the hull of our faith, and winds of opposition shred our sails.

All is not smooth sailing in the Christian life - even for the most mature believer – /especially /for the most mature believer.

/Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come.

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far And grace will lead me home/

/ /

Amazing grace will transport us to glory, but it will be through bloody seas that we travel.

This is certainly the atmosphere of Psalm 119.

It is written by a man who is being besieged for his faith in the Lord … besieged for his commitment to the Word of God.

He is being assaulted for his faith.

He is not sitting in an air-conditioned library while he is studying the Word of God while all is quiet and serene … rather he finds himself as he writes this psalm in the midst of tribulation, and in the midst of persecution, and in the midst of conflict.’[1]

In vs. 42-46 we see his unwavering loyalty to God and His Word:

 

42 So *I will* have an answer for him who reproaches me, For *I trust* in Your word …  44 So *I will keep Your law continually*, Forever and ever.

45 And *I will walk* at liberty, For *I seek Your precepts*.

46 *I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings* …

 

“I will” he says several times (“I will” or “I shall” 8x in 8 verses), I will be loyal to God no matter the pressure, no matter the price.

His faith being under fire also did not diminish his unashamed love

 

46 I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings *And shall not be ashamed.**

*47 I *shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.*

48 And *I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love*; And I will *meditate* on Your statutes.

When our faith is under fire, how can we cultivate the same unwavering loyalty and unashamed love for God and His Word?

 

#.

*Praying in faith for grace-enabled boldness (v.

41-43)*

 

The prayer in verse 41 is the only way the rest of this passage could be possible.

He is praying in faith in God’s Word as the end of v. 41 says “according to Your Word” or “Your promise” (NASB margin, NIV, ESV) or “/as You/ promised” (HCSB, NET).

The term here in the original language emphasizes a specific promise from God.

It is very biblical to pray in line with God’s promises.

The end of v. 42 says “for I trust in Your word”

The end of v. 43 says “for I wait for Your commandments”

 

Both terms communicate faith in Scripture.

Your translation may have the word “hope” in v. 43, but the English word “hope” often means a wish, dream, or desire, so “wait” is probably better.

In OT language, this /hope /is not what we would like to happen but what we believe and trust /will/ happen.

The word means “confident expectation, trust, and patient waiting.”

The NT equivalent of this word has the idea of “to expect with desire.”

In the OT & NT, hope communicates certainty (not uncertainty like in English) and an attitude of absolute assurance and rest or trust in that assurance.

His faith is in Scripture despite the reproaches of the enemy in v. 42, the taunting opposition or criticism aimed against those who trust in Scripture.

To answer unbelievers, the believer’s faith is not in his own words, but in God’s Words.

He prays in faith that God will not let him answer apart from God’s truth --v.

43: “/do not take the word utterly out of my mouth/” (because of fear or whatever it might be that causes us to not speak God’s Word when we’re out in the world).

We may have a great fear of speaking God’s Word in public … but it seems this psalmist’s great fear is that he would /not/ speak God’s truth, so he prays his mouth will never stop speaking God’s truth, no matter the situation, no matter the cost.

/We’re afraid of speaking God’s truth in the slightest persecution; the godly man’s fear is not speaking God’s truth even in the greatest persecution!

The godly fear God’s disapproval, not man’s./

/ /

He prays in faith that as God answers the prayer of v. 41, the reason or result in v. 42 is “/So/ I will have an answer” or in other translations “/then /I will answer” (NIV, ESV, HCSB, NET).

We are to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks, Peter wrote (1 Pet 3:15), any ~/ all unbelievers.

Some will engage us like v. 42, reproaching or challenging our faith.

How are we to answer opposition to God’s truth?

How else but /with/ God’s truth itself?

Ephesians 6:17 reminds us the only weapon we have is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, applied prayerfully and carefully.

Anything outside this book and not true to this book will not be living and powerful and sharper than any 2-edged sword, but everything God says is. How do we answer unbelievers?

Not with the /arguments of men/, but with the /announcement of Truth/.

The power is not sharing “this is what I think” – but “Thus says the Lord,” a phrase we see in Scripture over 400x.

Even with the devil himself, our Lord’s example was “It is written” (/God’s Word says/).

If God said it, that settles it.

Charles Bridges wrote: ‘there is a far heavier /reproach/ than that of the world—when the grand accuser [Satan] injects hard thoughts of God—when he throws our guilt and unworthiness—our helplessness and difficulties, in our face … Most important, therefore, is it for us to pray for a realizing sense of /the Lord's mercies—even of his salvation /[as v. 41 prays] —not only as necessary for our peace and comfort—but to garrison us against every assault, and to enable us to throw down the challenge—"/Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me/." (Mic 7:8.)

Free grace has saved me—an unspotted righteousness covers me—an Almighty arm sustains me—eternal glory awaits me.

Who shall condemn?

"Who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?"

(Rom.

8:33-39).’[2]

This psalm prays for grace-enabled boldness to believe and to speak God’s truth

 

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Our spiritual boldness will be hindered by our spiritual coldness or lack of prayer.

The Jewish believers in the early church, the first time they encountered persecution and opposition, seemed to be quite familiar with this psalm, and praying very much in line with it.

In Acts 4, God was working wonders and great numbers were turning to Christ and the disciples were speaking the Word of God all around Jerusalem, calling for repentance and trust in Christ.

The authorities throw them in jail and command them to speak in the name of Jesus no more.

They get out of jail and the disciples then gather and pray, not to escape their persecution, but for grace to be bold and faithful /in persecution/.

They weren’t praying God to grant increased comfort, but increased confidence.

*29* “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and *grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence* [or “boldness” NKJV] …

 

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and /began /*to speak the word of God with boldness … *

* *

33 And *with great power the apostles were giving testimony* to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and *abundant grace was upon them all.**

*

 

We need great grace to speak God’s Word with great boldness and power, so Psalm 119:41 begins our passage praying for grace-enablement.

God’s grace saves us from eternal suffering but not from earthly suffering.

Jesus even promised “in this world you will have trouble.”

Some of that trouble like in Ps 119 is in fact /because/ we follow the Lord.

Our prayers should not be for a trouble-free life, but for grace to speak and live God’s truth in our troubles.

Grace often helps us /through/ (rather than taking us /out of/) trials.

Look at v. 41 and how this whole stanza starts – in need of God’s  grace or lovingkindness to come first, so that we can then love and be loyal to the Lord as we should.

That’s the focus of this prayer.

By comparison, when you’re in difficulty, how often do you focus on ~/ dwell on self and things that cannot give you relief, rather than selflessly praying to the God of all grace and comfort?

How much time do we spend complaining rather than pleading with God to visit us with His mercies, His lovingkindness, His grace?