PSALM 119:17-24 GIMEL What value do you place on God’s Word? It may sound a strange sort of a question as we begin our Bible Study but … what value do you place on God’s Word? Do you know that in many countries today, to own a Bible or to be found in possession of a Bible is a crime punishable by imprisonment or worse? For example … ∗ Danilo de Guzman, 38, and Benjamin Diaz, 40, (from the Philippines) were caught in possession of a Bible and Christian CDs when police raided their room near Riyadh (Saudi Arabia – a ‘friend’ of the West). A local court sentenced them to a month's imprisonment and a higher court increased their sentence to include 150 lashes. ∗ Sadeq Mallallah, at the age of 23, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, was beheaded for the crime of owning a Bible. This morning … What value do you place on this Book you are holding in your hand, God’s Word? This section in the psalm, known as gimel, presents to us first of all the … SERVANT OF GOD V.17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. ∗ Do you consider yourself a servant? A servant serves, he has no grand illusions about himself. A servant has a master to whom he must be obedient and submissive. ∗ Do you find the concept of being a servant easy? In 21st century developed society, I don’t think we do. ∗ It used to be, a soldier in the army obeyed instructions without questioning them. However, recently an army officer brought his seniors to court because he disagreed with them that he should be sent to Iraq. ∗ Prisoners, - including murderers and rapists and child molesters, - now have rights that formerly were denied them because of their crimes. ∗ The concept of being a servant has become outdated and is considered to have no place in modern society. ∗ More particularly though, I fear that the concept of being a servant of God has also been downgraded because it doesn’t fit in with the spirit of the age … even as a Christian. ∗ Nevertheless, … as a Christian you have the responsibility before God of being a servant. Here are some examples of what I mean …

2 ∗ Is. 20:3, God speaks about my servant Isaiah. In Is. 37:35 my servant David's sake. Is. 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen. Is. 44:1 O Jacob my servant. Mal. 4:4 Moses my servant. ∗ Rom. 1:1, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ; Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God. ∗ James 1:1, James a servant of God. II Pet. 1:1 Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Jude 1:1, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ.

∗ And of course, the greatest Servant of them all is the Lord Jesus Christ; the point I am trying to make is that it is the greatest privilege given to any of us to become a servant of the Most High and Holy God. ∗ The psalmist, in Psalm 119, grasps hold of this privilege and pleads that he continues to know the goodness of God in his life, Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live. ∗ “Lord, I want to have a good life, I want to enjoy life to the full”, - … here is the formula the psalmist shows to us in order to achieve this aim, Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. ∗ He projects himself as a servant requesting from his master blessings over and over again. ∗ … Pick up the last four words in the verse and join them with the next verse, … and keep thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (the law and the word are one and the same) STUDENT OF THE WORD ∗ If you want to have an orderly, disciplined, fruitful, wholesome life … be a student of the Word of God … the Bible. ∗ This Book, - the Bible, - is unique, there is not another book like it. If you collected all the books and all the journals and magazines in the world … this Book would continue to remain in a class of its own! ∗ This is God’s holy and infallible Word, it is inerrant, - it contains no mistakes, no contradictions, no inaccuracies because its Author is God. … Yes, I still believe that … for this Book uniquely substantiates the claim that God inspired men to write it as He directed them. ∗ Sadly, there are many professing Christians and churches who do not hold strongly to these sentiments any longer. ∗ But this is God’s Word, it is our manual; if you want to find out what God teaches in relation to sex, it will tell you; if you want to find out what God teaches in relation to the environment, it will tell you;

3 ∗ If you want to find out what God teaches in relation to running a business, it will tell you the principles; if you want to find out what God teaches, this Book will tell you. God’s Word is all-sufficient. ∗ … What? It is different to how the world instructs you to live? Yes, so it is … but look at the state of the world because of how it has rejected God’s Word. ∗ The Bible tells you sex before marriage is wrong, - the world tells you there is nothing wrong with going out and enjoying yourself with as many partners as you can ‘notch up’. ∗ The Bible gives you clear instructions about many things … but the world turns those instructions ‘on their ends’ and tells you, “No, go out and explore … the world is your oyster … do what makes you feel good!” ∗ How better off is the world for the rejection of God’s Word? … Crime is always increasing, teenage pregnancies, AIDS numbers rising, drug abuse is so much out of control they have to change the rules as to the various categories of drugs, there aren’t enough prisons so they have to ‘tag’ offenders and downgrade certain crimes so that the people committing the crimes don’t necessarily have to go to prison. ∗ … Here is a tried and tested ‘centuries-old’ method whereby you as a Christian can live as God directs you to live: live according to His Word. ∗ His commandments are not there to strip you of fun in life, or enjoyment; the teaching of His Word gives you grounding upon a foundation that will not shake. ∗ But I sometimes do hear Christian people saying, “I think … such and such” … and what they are telling you basically has no substance in the clear instructions God gives you in His Word. ∗ If you are tempted to compromise God’s Word … the tempter will not simply stop there! The tempter will only stop when he has ruined your belief and confidence in God’s Word completely.

∗ “Oh, that would never happen to me!” … I have heard many people say that and who nowadays are nowhere with God!

∗ When the psalmist prayed, 18 [Lord] Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law, he was setting out to consult the mind of God as demonstrated in God’s Word. ∗ He was setting out to be a student, … learning from God’s Word, … not coming to God’s Word as if he knew it all, … not coming to God’s Word trying to use it to bolster what he already mistakenly believed … but, instead, he was coming to God’s Word for God to teach Him more.

4 ∗ So far, in this section, we find the psalmist as a servant of God and as a student of the Word. When you have these two Christian characteristics, what does it make you? Verse 19 gives you the answer … It makes you a … STRANGER TO THE WORLD 19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. ∗ The world doesn’t know what you are talking about, - it hasn’t a clue what language you are speaking; you are living ‘out of a different suitcase’, … “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through”. ∗ The psalmist was writing these 176 verses and to those who did not worship God in truthfulness and in sincerity … they hadn’t the faintest idea what ‘he was on about’ … even in his day! ∗ … But it is hard being a Christian, especially for many of our young people. The ways and customs and philosophy of the world are being ‘shoved’ at them and they need to keep up, no matter what methods they have to use. ∗ They are in college, they are in school, they are with their friends … and their emotions are being abused so that what they read in the Bible doesn’t seem to have much bearing on ‘real life’ situations. ∗ And, of course, it’s not only confined to the young, - the pressure is on us all to conform to the world. ∗ The lottery is a good thing, - think of all the charities it supports, it is sometimes used for church building projects … yes, but the lottery is gambling, and the Bible forbids God’s people to be involved. ∗ The world tells you about ‘white lies’ and how, sometimes, they can be justifiable … but the Bible makes no such distinction. ∗ The Christian is a stranger in the earth, - we have a different Master, a different set of rules, a different format throughout our lives and a different conclusion. The Bible describes us as ‘separate’ and ‘peculiar’ (in the sense we are different). ∗ Our two sets of lifestyles are incompatible, - one rules out the other, the Bible says, I Cor. 3:19 the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God … and conversely the wisdom of God is foolishness with the world. ∗ The world considers itself up-to-date and modern but God tells us, I Cor. 7:31 the fashion of this world passeth away. Through James 2:5, God says, Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

5 ∗ Believer, this is not your home, - it doesn’t finish here; there is more to life than what you see around you. If you are saved you are looking forward to a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:10). ∗ You are a stranger to the world … and the psalmist is all too aware of the pitfalls along the road and he realised the importance of God’s Word as he walked along the various pathways of life, hide not thy commandments from me, - Lord, I need Your Word, I need you to guide me. ∗ A servant of God, student of the Word, a stranger to the world … Sincere, Steadfast and Satisfied ∗ Sincere … he longs to be faithful unto God; it is not a whim some people have when they first profess to come to Christ, it just doesn’t last a little while; it is a longing that takes over you. ∗ This psalmist was sincere in his faith, he said “My soul is breaking for You, Lord!” What a testimony! Is your faith as precious as that? … at all times? ∗ Are you sincere in your love of Christ and of His Word? Does the desire draw you to His Word? … Do you look at the Bible just now and feel so privileged that the very Word of God is open before you and you are longing to understand more of the depths of its great truth? ∗ … No, this is not some hyper-Christian we’re talking about … or some fanatic ‘way-out’ fundamentalist! This is simply the love of one who was brought to recognise what God has done for them. God loves you so much that His Son died on the cross for you; God loves you so much that He tells you about it in His Word and instructs you how to live in the light of such a One as Himself. ∗ You are not being an extreme fanatic … you are just simply being what God has made you to be, - one for whom He died and who acknowledges the debt of grace that you owe to Him. ∗ Sincere … Steadfast. The psalmist is surrounded by the proud who have their own thoughts and opinions as to what it means to worship God … but, in the light of God’s Word they are in error. So the psalmist doesn’t seek their company … why would he? He has nothing in common with them. ∗ They are cursed, they are under God’s wrath; he, on the other hand, is a servant of God, a student of God’s Word and a stranger to the world, - he is not cursed, he is not under God’s wrath.

6 ∗ He is sincere, he is steadfast in his faith and in his love for God. ∗ And it almost goes without saying, - but I’ll say it just to amplify and make the point, - he is sincere and he is steadfast … and he is satisfied. ∗ I’ll let you into a secret … why are there so many churches floundering and threatening to sink below the waves? Here is the answer … and it is not a secret really. It is because of dissatisfied believers. ∗ Many are lacking in sincerity, - they don’t know what they believe because they don’t search out God’s Word and they have an inadequate understanding of it; they don’t believe God’s Word strongly enough or correctly to be steadfast and they waver about from side to side with ever prevailing wind (Jude 12 refers to them as clouds … without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit). ∗ And since they are lacking in sincerity and lacking in steadfastness it is not difficult to see how they have become dissatisfied believers. ∗ But … the psalmist is satisfied because the whole way along he has kept the Word of God and the God of the Word before Him. ∗ If something threatened to mar his relationship with God the psalmist simply would immediately reject it, neither touch it or go near it. He had no time for it. Instead, Lord, Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors. The prophet Isaiah taught, 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Conclusion ∗ Is adherence to the Bible practical today? Oh yes, it is … absolutely! ∗ Is it for every believer to live by God’s Word in every circumstance? Yes, again, absolutely! ∗ What about the young Christian person, … do they need to be obedient to all the Bible says too? Yes, they most certainly do. God will bless you and give you a better life when you are obedient to his Word. Disobey it and you will end up in all sorts of troubles that otherwise could have been avoided. ∗ Here then is our example in this psalmist, - a servant of God, a student of the Word, a stranger to the world … sincere, steadfast and satisfied in his faith and in his love for God. ∗ Let’s learn from Him … to God’s glory. Amen.