Psalm 119 (11)

Read 119:97-104

Introduction: If you journey thru the upper peninsula of that state up north, you will eventually come across a little lake called, Superior. Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,700 square miles, which is approximately the size of South Carolina. It has a maximum length of 350 miles and maximum breadth of 160 miles. Its average depth is 483 ft; with a maximum depth of 1,333 ft; Lake Superior contains 2,900 cubic miles of water. There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America to a depth of 12 inches. It dwarfs the other four lakes in the region and is the third largest fresh water lake in the world. It has rightly been called, Lake Superior.

Transition: In the same way the Bible dwarfs every other word that has been written. The Bible contains the very words of God. It is a living word that doesn't simply rest with ink and parchment, but rather just as it was inspired to be written by the Holy Spirit so too it illuminates the lives of those who meditate upon it’s streams of truth. The Bible has been banned, burned, blasphemed, and brushed aside and yet it remains superior to any other word. The big point that we discover from our text today is that...

God’s Word is Superior

In what way is God’s word superior?

I. Specifically, we observe from verses 98-100 that God’s word is superior in that it produces superior wisdom to those who love and meditate on the Scriptures.

1. Notice that the Lord’s commandments make him wiser than his enemies. The point is that God’s word is always with us and able to give us superior wisdom in the heat of battle. For the Christian, we can take up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God and fight the battles against the devil. The word of truth is our superior defence against the lies of our enemy.

2. Also, notice that the Lord’s testimonies give more understanding than his teachers. This does not diminish the role that teachers have in educating students. Or the influence that a parent has on instructing their children. Rather, it simply places teachers in a the proper position under God’s word.

A good example of this is what I’m doing right now. I have been called and commissioned to preach the Word of God. It is my part in the body of Christ to instruct and teach the Scriptures. However, since God the Holy Spirit is our ultimate teacher, and since the Word of God is our ultimate source of truth, there is no reason that any one gathered here cannot grow far beyond the wisdom of the teacher.

3. And in verse 100 obedience to God’s precepts give him more wisdom than the aged. Why is this? this is not disrespect but rather the simple truth that God’s word is superior over experience. Even though there is much wisdom gained through living , and when those years accumulate they should build wisdom into the lives of those who have the privileged of many years. However, a young person who is in submission to the truth of Scripture can be just as wise as a person who has experienced many things without the Scripture. This is why the apostle Paul told young Timothy, I Timothy 4:12 Experience alone does not produce greater wisdom. God’s word does.

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Transition: God’s word is superior in producing wisdom, but it is also superior in producing obedience. Notice verses 101-104 (read again)

God’s word reveals to us what we should refrain from and repent toward. The picture is much like that of a horse pulling a plow. When the reigns are pulled back the horses feet must stop, and when reigns are pulled from side to side the horse must pull the plow in that direction. As the head of the horse goes so the body and plow follow. And it is the reigns of the farmer that direct the horses head.

Point:God’s words are the superior reigns and trustworthy rules to direct our obedience. The Bible contains the precepts of God or the direct orders so that we can hate falsehood and delight in the sweet honey of His word.

However, the question remains, “How can we obey the superior word of God?” How can the word be my Superior delight? How can the Word produce restraint and repentance in my obedience? How can this superior word that produces superior wisdom produce holy obedience in us?

How can we obey the superior word of God?

Conversion

Verse 97 says, “Oh How I love your law.” How is it that a person can love the whole collection of God’s laws? This is not the natural disposition of our hearts desire. Rather, in Adam we all have inherited the disposition to reject and disobey God’s laws. Because we are sinners by nature we require a heart change in order to love something that is against our natural inclination to love. David could declare that he loved God’s law because he was hoping and trusting in the fulfillment of God’s law. He was anticipating the Deliverer that the Law of God promised. He was believing in the Christ who was to come and turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. The reason he could say that's God’s words are sweet to his taste, sweeter than honey to his mouth is because God had given him new taste buds. The word of God is like a good coffee, it is an acquired taste. And in order to acquire that taste we need new spiritual taste buds.

For you and I today we must have a heart change in order to love what we do not have the capability to love. As Jesus said, We must be born again. We must have spiritual life breathed back into our hearts in order to love lovingly obey God’s word. Its much like how Paul commended the church at Thessalonica when he said in, I Thessalonians 1:13 Have you welcomed the good news concerning Jesus Christ and entrusted your life to Him by faith? Have you been truly converted?

2. Meditation

To meditate on God’s word means to offer thoughtful contemplation to the Scriptures. It is not simply clearing our minds but rather focusing our mind son the truth of the word and having it fill up our thoughts.

Closing: As a young man we see David exemplifying that he was a man after the heart of God. At first glance we might read this passage and thin, “Wow, this guy sure is egotistical. Perhaps it seems like he’s over spirtualizing his obedience to God’s word. However, when we read the whole of Psalm 119 we see that this passage is surrounded by humility and genuine submission the the God as his ultimate teacher. Even to the point that he says in the very last verse Psalm 119:176 The sad reality though is that in his later years David did drift from God’s word. His feet turned down a pathway of sin and destruction. After breaking every commandment David did repent when the prophet Nathan confronted him, but the consequences of his disobedience followed him to the grave.

This is why an authentic conversion and ongoing meditation is so necessary for holy obedience. We need our pride constantly struck down, and consistently contemplation on the superior word of God will help us to remain in our place of submission to God. We should be very leery of rising our head in self superiority and very delighted to have the harness of God’s word steering our heads.

Psalm 119:176 ESV

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.