Psalm 119:129-136

Psalm 119 for a few minutes. It's left this morning. Psalm 119.

Now of all the verses in the psalm and the sections, we'll just note beginning at verse 129. The emphasis in the psalmist who wrote the words, we are not told and do not speculate, is centered on the Word of God, His statutes, precepts, and the evidence that you and I, while we've been reminded of New Testament truth, revealing to us the person of Christ, the work of the gospel is foretold in the writings of old. So we'll read these verses, pick up a few thoughts, Lord willing.

Verse 129, Thy testimonies are wonderful. Therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of Thy words giveth light.

It giveth understanding unto the simple. Simple enough to believe it, take it in, in other words. I open my mouth and panted, for I long for Thy commandments.

Look Thou upon me and be merciful unto me as Thou used to do unto those that love Thy name. Order my steps in Thy word. Let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Deliver me from the oppression of men. So will I keep Thy precepts. Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant and teach me Thy statues.

Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not Thy law or Thy word. May the Lord bless the further reading of His word. We're reminded last evening that Luke closes his gospel with the words of the Lord Jesus.

As he spoke to the travelers on the road to Emmaus, he spoke of the things concerning himself through the words of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms. And so, as I think of verse 129, we have the word, Thy testimonies are wonderful. And thinking of the very fact that the Word of God reveals the person of Christ as our need, relative not only to salvation, but we're not a Christian until we have Christ.

And the thought of being wonderful, my mind went to those words of Isaiah. As the nation would say, and prophetically, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And then the names that are mentioned there of the Lord Jesus, His name shall be wonderful.

Could we bring into our thoughts in verse 129, Thy testimonies are wonderful? Because after all being here, we're here, I trust, with the right motive, we desire God to speak to our hearts, speaker included. In the moment of coming to know Christ, I was saved in the month of August, 1950. And I've mentioned this over the years in La Crosse, the first conference I attended as a believer, Labor Day weekend, 1950.

And you know, as you think of the peace and enjoyment, and to recognize it's the testimony that God has given to us in His Word of Christ, and of the purposes of our lives as believers, and then to recognize that the psalmist is speaking to the fact that those truths he's appropriating into his own heart, and to keep them. We realize that we're failing people, but God is faithful. And we're reminded last evening as well of the words of the writer in the Hebrews, chapter 13, as he could say concerning the things of yesterday, the Lord is unchanging.

He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we think of the thought of verse 130, the entrance of thy words giveth light. It giveth understanding unto the simple.

Now, the psalmist is thinking of his life, and yet it makes us go back to that moment when the light of understanding brought us to know the Savior. The Word of God opened our minds to considering our destiny. The entrance of that truth, a truth sown even in my heart as a boy.

Sad to say I was out of high school before I bowed to the fact guilty and condemned on the way to hell. You're missing what God wants you to have, Robert. Offer as a gift, so that as anyone here not saved, we trust you'll realize that God desires you to come to know the person of Christ.

And the entrance of that word, the truth of the gospel, that my need was met completely fully for the penalty of sin at Calvary. Sin was put away. And now as the psalmist is thinking of life, and as he thinks of the thought of preservation, we recognize that first of all is coming to agree that God's truth is what we need to appropriate in our souls.

I move on. I open my mouth in panic, for I long for thy commandment. You can see the writer is thinking how good and precious the Holy Scriptures.

It links your mind, does it not? With 2nd Timothy 3, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Because as we think of the psalmist thinking as to the truth of his word, he longed to hear afresh.

And he says in verse 31-32, look thou on me and be merciful unto me. I'm hurrying through this. As thou used to do unto those that love thy name.

And that moment that you trusted Christ, you appreciated for the first time absolutely his work was sufficient for the settlement of sin, God satisfied. You came to know him as I did as well. Satisfied with the Lord Jesus.

I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. And he longs to have a word. And he appreciates the very fact that he bears the name.

You know, as often realized, you can't spell the word Christian without first spelling Christ. That's the one that has captivated your soul and mine. The lover of sinners, the salvation we enjoy.

As we think of 133, he speaks about order my steps in thy word. I remember the Sunday evening. This probably was now the end of October that year 1950.

One of the brethren, Fred Lincoln was his name over years there in the assembly in Waterloo, Iowa. Robert, you're saved. I said absolutely.

God said it's truth. Christ died for me. What about believers baptism? You know, that was what the Lord Jesus reminds us in the Great Commission, Matthew 28.

The gospel going out to every nation. And then those that have received Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. My answer was I suppose I ought to think about it.

I'm glad he just put his hand on my shoulder says Robert, it's no supposing. It's the command of the Lord Jesus. And then in a short while later, we were thinking of the assembly.

And when asked about the fellowship, why do you want to be in the assembly? I don't know which of the brethren posed the question I answered. I would like to take part in what I witnessed as a boy all my life. Remembering the Lord Jesus Christ on the first day of the week, the Lord's Day.

I want to break bread. Yes, but there's more than just the Lord's Supper is precious. It's his supper given to us to remember.

But you see the light as they desire. And he's speaking about the fact that to order my steps in thy word, our marching orders are in the truth of God. And to recognize that the Lord Jesus has saved us is the one that we have gathered to.

And when I was received in the fellowship that first Lord's Day morning, I never wrote that date down what day of the it was in November, prior to Thanksgiving. And of course, growing up in a farm, it was cold that that week that we were in the cornfield. But I was wide awake that Lord's Day morning.

First time to sit down with my brothers and sisters in remembrance of the Lord Jesus. You know, it's precious to be in assembly fellowship. It's what God desires.

We've been reminded of wisdom and the link with Acts chapter two. They that gladly received his word were baptized and thus identified with the Savior and his death, burial and glorious resurrection, and thus entering into the word of devouring to it. Not only that God saved us, we're in the family the moment we're saying, but to realize that there's a continuing in the apostles doctrine, the truth of the New Testament, rather gathering to the simplicity of knowing Christ, being identified with him outside the camp.

Yes, we're glad and thankful for every child of God. But here the psalmist says, order my steps in thy word, and let not iniquity have dominion over me. You see, we can allow our own thoughts and wrong ideas.

Is it what we want to do is to please the Lord? We could be in his presence at any moment. His promise, I will come again. As the writer here long before the Savior appeared in the world, the psalmist, he values what they had the word of God, order my steps in thy word, let not iniquity have dominion over me.

But as we think of now, our lot is here in these last days of the age, the violence in the world, and the things taking place, he's grieved about it even in verse 136, as he notices a disobedience. But how wonderful to, we'll look a moment at 135, make thy face to shine upon thy servant, and teach me thy statutes. Isn't it wonderful to realize his truth, to flood your heart and desires with an attitude, I want to please him.

Enoch walked with God, and he pleased God, that was his testimony. And life is soon, moves through as we think of time, whether you're younger, whether we're older. The Lord said in his own word, occupy until I come.

How wonderful we can anticipate his coming, and yet to recognize I'm here to put the word of God and its truth to affect my life, and to recognize that I bear testimony to others individually, as the Lord's people collectively, as to the assembly, gathered in his precious name unto him. May the Lord preserve us with what we've been reminded of, that his face might shine upon us with blessing, and our hearts warm, and we'll realize here we are, seeking to be waiting and watching, and yet there's work we do, our marching orders, order my steps in thy word, and the Lord will preserve and bless, and we'll be able to say, thank God for his faithfulness, for his care, and for the promise of the Lord's, and his blessing for his name's sake. Amen.