Psalm 119, and we'll be going through the section that Daryl read this morning. In 1 Kings, the section that David, or David, our brother read this morning, when David, or Solomon, again spoke to the people when he said in verse 23, it says, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or beneath or on the earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. God is extremely gracious and kind. God who has given us his word, who has given us the ability again to know him through his word. And he is steadfast in that he continues on a regular basis to allow us to read his word and to sit under the preaching of his word as well. And let's just bow our heads in prayer and ask the Lord again to help us this morning to hear that word and again have it impressed upon our hearts as well and for me as well. So let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, we thank you again for Bringing us together here this morning, Lord, it's a privilege again to be able to be in your house. But Lord, it's a privilege just to have your word and to be able to open it up and to read it and Lord, to study it and to meditate upon it. And I pray, Lord, that as we have gathered here this morning, that your spirit would descend upon this place. Lord, that it would truly again quiet every one of our hearts, including my own, Lord. Lord, that it would come And take that word and apply it to us as well. Make it, Lord, that we just don't hear this word. But make it, Lord, that we truly believe it. We walk accordingly. And, Lord, we desire to do all that you have commanded us to do as well. So, Lord, bless this day, I pray. Strengthen every one of us. Save those who are yet outside your kingdom. Provide for us in all of our needs. We ask now that you would come and be with us and we ask and pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. The last time that we opened our Bible up to the book of Psalms, we made mention that we need to have the Word of God ever present in our minds and set before us. This is when we go on a holiday and we need to have a map in front of us as well. If we're on a holiday and we do not have a map, especially if we're getting into an unfamiliar region, we will very easily get lost and will not be able to get to our destination on time. The same is with the sojourner here on earth. If he is to find his way and not become lost, then he must have the word of God always and forever before him to give them the direction and the help that he needs as well. And without the Word of God, we will always go astray, and we will find ourselves in a position where we do not know how to get back to where we even came from. It is interesting how few people today actually realize that the Word of God is God Himself speaking to us in person. It is God who is absolutely sovereign and controls everything in our lives, has written us a book of instructions, encouragements, directions, and means to attain the greatest thing that all people need in this world and that is salvation in his son Jesus Christ. This book, the Bible, is still the most widely purchased and yet the most neglected and least read and followed. The people of this world will do anything other than read this one book and will try any method they can think of to seek out an eternal plan of salvation on their own. God has been so gracious to mankind in writing this book and having it preserved for years, and yet they are so quick to throw it out, its teachings, and not having anything to do with its author. And as Christians, we can see that the world has gone astray and is lost, and we know that they must turn to the Word of God if there is any hope for their salvation. And in the same breath, do we see the need to know what the Word of God has to teach us as well. The Christian life may not be any easier, but we would understand a lot more of what the Lord would have us to do. And we may go through fewer trials, or go through them understanding them better if we would be more intent and in tune with what God wants to teach us in His Word. The Bible is the Christian's roadmap here on earth and it will direct us in our paths and will lead us to a hope that is secured only in the Word of God. This is why the psalmist in the first few verses asks God to teach him his statutes or his word. And then the psalmist David makes some very positive statements and he says he will meditate and he will contemplate and he will not wander and he will delight and will also rejoice in the Word of God. The psalmist has found that the Word of God is the most precious thing that he has in the world. And as we begin to open up the next section this morning of this psalm, how do you feel about the Word of God? What does the Word of God really mean to you? Do you cherish it or you despise it? Do you use it as a means of finding your way through this world or do you stand in your own strength allowing the wind to blow you in any direction that it seems to want to move you? God warns us about this in Ephesians 4 and verse 14 where it says that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. Even as Christians we can be deceived and we must be on guard at all times and have the word of God in our hearts and minds so that we will have the sword in our hands to fight off those attackers and stand firm in the Lord and not drift with every wind that blows by. So as we open up this next section of Psalm 119 we find that the psalmist is asking for God to help him in this very manner. If you look at verse 17, it states, Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. David totally submits to the will of God as he opens his verse. If any one of you asks someone to deal with them, or someone else, then we are asking them to have total control over them. Just as we ask a judge to deal with a criminal, We are putting the life of that person in the hands of that judge. As a father, we are to deal with our children and to have control over them as they live in our house. David is asking the Lord to deal with him. David is saying that he wants the Lord to have control over every aspect of his life and is submitting himself to whatever the Lord will want to do. Have you ever asked the Lord to deal with you? Consider the request that he is making. David is stating that he is willing to let the Lord take action or to deliver or administer his life. David wants the Lord to have absolute control of his life. And David is saying that the Lord is a sovereign God and he can deal with David in the way that is best for him. David has experienced the sovereignty of God in his life and has found that the Lord is the only person that anyone can trust. So David asked the Lord to deal with him. And so he is saying, God, you are totally sovereign. And then now I know I can trust my life with no one else. And I'm asking you to deal with me. How is it that David wants the Lord to deal with him? He asked the Lord to deal with him bountifully or with great liberality, to be generous in what he is about to do. And what is the one thing that the Lord can give us? And he states that he is willing to give us liberally. That one thing is grace. And that is the unmerited favor and love of God. This is the one thing that David saw that he needed more than anything else. Spurgeon here says that David as a servant is saying, let my ways be according to thy goodness and not according to my merit. David saw his sinfulness and he saw that he, as he lived in this world, that he needed more and more grace day by day. This was the one thing that he needed more than anything else and he asked God for a very liberal portion of it. If we were to see ourselves the way David did, then we too would pray the same and ask the Lord to be generous in bestowing grace on us as well. Do you see yourself as a sinner? in need of the Lord. Then I ask you to pray as David did, and seek God with your whole heart. And God, being kind and gracious, will deal bountifully with you, and through his Son, Jesus Christ, will forgive you of all your sins, and will pour grace out upon you in large portions. And this applies to both the unsaved and the saved. We all need grace in our lives. We are all sinners, and the only way that we can be saved is by grace. David saw the need as he knew without it he would not be able to live. It takes abundant grace in order to keep the saint alive. Life is a gift of divine abundant overflowing grace which we have received and we have not deserved in any way. Grace is the only thing that preserves our life and it is only right that we pray that the Lord will let us live as well. If we are going to live here on earth and serve the Lord, then we need grace upon grace. And we cannot function unless the Lord provides that for us. We cannot do anything in our own strength, and so we must do as David did and cry out to God to give us all the grace that we need in order to live in this world. How many here can say that each and every day they get up and pray for grace to live out this day and for the grace to serve God in everything that they say and do? David was very much in tune with his needs. The fact that he was a sinner and that God was the source from where he could find, have his needs met and forgiveness could be found and received. David also sees that one of the most blessed things that we can do as well is to keep God's word. If you are a Christian, then you cannot wish to live and sin, but you must pray to live and keep God's Word. It's a very important point, and that is that you cannot wish to live and sin, but you must pray to live and keep God's Word. It all starts with coming to Jesus Christ and asking for cleansing of our sins and trusting in Him and allowing Christ to be the Lord of our life. And when He is, then and only then, can we start to live a life where God will grant us grace and the ability to keep his word. God will even give the desire to pray that he would give us the strength to do so. If we strive to keep God's word with total dependence upon God, then we are striving for his holiness. And then and only then will God be pleased with us. God is one who hates sin and we as a people need to recognize that it is so important to flee from sin and desire more and more to keep the word of God. The only way that we can do this is to have the grace of God given to us so that we can be enabled to complete the task that is set before us. David was a man after God's own heart, and he knew how much God hated sin, but recognized how much God loves those who are obedient to His Word as well. I want to be like David in this area, and I want to be able to keep the Word of God, but I know that I cannot do it on my own, and I need the help of the Lord. And without Him, I can do nothing. I am making it a daily prayer that I cry unto God for His grace, so that I may keep the Word, which he has entrusted me with, and that I would be faithful in handling it as I walk in this world. And I challenge all here to do the same thing. Trust God. As we have seen in 2 Samuel, God was moved by the prayers of his people. Do you believe that you can move God to answer your prayers, especially to do something that God wants you to do? The commentators all agree that you can take the first three lines of each of the first three octaves and form a chain, as it were, from one to the other. Verse one of the Psalm 119 blesses the holy man. Verse nine asks, how can we attain to such holiness? And verse 17 traces such holiness to its secret source and shows us how to keep the blessing. Virgins states that the more a man prizes holiness, and the more earnestly he strives after it, the more will he be driven towards God for help therein. For he will plainly perceive that his own strength is not sufficient, and that he cannot even so much as live without the bounteous assistance of the Lord his God. I'll read that once more. It says that the more a man prizes holiness and the more earnestly he strives after it, the more will he be driven towards God for help therein. For he will plainly perceive that his own strength is not sufficient and that he cannot even so much as live without the bounteous assistance of the Lord his God. And again, I ask you this morning, where are you at? Do you prize holiness? Hebrews 12 and verse 14 states that we should pursue peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. The Word of God can be very hard to read as it can pronounce judgment and often we feel that sometimes we are part of that judgment. But God has given us who are saved the Holy Spirit that will continue to prod us on to do that which we need to do in order to attain the completion of our salvation. Remember that we are very much like David. We do sin, but we need to be like David, and that is to repent of those sins and flee to God again. We need to be mindful of the Spirit's prodding, as it is always pointing us to the Word of God, and help us to pray for grace that we need in order to live, in order to keep the Word of God, So often in this busy world we need to stop on occasion and be still and listen. For God stated in Psalm 45 and verse 10 that we are to be still and know that He is God. Take time in your busy world and stop and ask God to be gracious to you. Ask for bountiful amounts of grace so that you may live and keep the word of God and pursue holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. So it is by grace that you stand today. We are a child of God and it is only by grace that we can access the throne of God. So where do you stand today? Is it by grace alone or on your own merits? And just as we contemplate where you stand, and do you really trust in the Lord? I'd like you to stand with me and sing number 19 in your praise and worship book. And I want you to look at those words as you sing. The song is entitled, By Grace Alone. Out of the depths, I cry to you So I hear my voice, I'm bleeding And down your grave, you see my grave seven evenings. If you remember each routine, and each thought and word to keep, who can remain before you? Only Thy praise, Thy praise alone. For pardoning the guilt of God, Your grace alone must save us. Our works will not remove our guilt, The strictest life would fail us. Let none indeed our merits boast, but let us own the Holy Ghost. For He alone can change us, only by grace, by grace alone. O free our sins, and soar our hopes, His grace much more abundant, His helping love, no limit to our apostasy. Thank you, maybe seated. You believe the words that he has spoken in that song. You believe it is by grace alone. David's prayer doesn't stop there. He continues if you continue to read on. He says in the next verse, he says, open my eyes that I may see the wondrous things from your law. He continues to seek God's help and he asked God to open his eyes. David is not asking for a vision from the Lord, but is asking that his eyes may, that he may, excuse me, from the Lord, that he is asking his eyes that he has, that he may be enlightened or open to see what it is that the Lord has in his word. And that what would be a benefit to him. David not only wants to see, but he wants to see so that he may have meaning to what he reads. If your eyes are not open, they're blind. and you cannot see, and you are in a state that then you will wander as it states back in verse 10. You will have no direction in your life. You will have a lost feeling and you will go from place to place looking for something and never find what you were looking for. If you look around you in the world, do you see a people who are forever trying to find happiness? They buy this thing, and then they buy something else, hoping to find something that will satisfy their inward need. Many people today go from job to job, school to school, never quite knowing what they're going to do or what they want out of life. We need to take up the message that they need to pray as David did, and that is, open my eyes that I may see. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. We're going to look at verses 12-18. I'm just going to read them to you. 2nd Corinthians 3 verses 12 to 18. It says, Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, one who turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. What is it that the Lord has granted us to see? What is it that the Lord has used to take the veil from our eyes? Can we see the truth of God's Word and does it speak to us in such a way that we can see the glory of God and the wonders of His Son Jesus Christ. In verse 14 we see that what David was asking to see, David longed for the coming Messiah and he was looking for the long-awaited Savior. He was asking to see the wondrous things that he could find in the Word of God. He wanted to see Jesus Christ which would have been to him the most wondrous thing that he could have ever seen. There was a longing in the hearts of the Old Testament saints to see the Savior. That was the cry of David here. And we can see that he first asked for grace, and now he asks to see what he has been unable to see up until this point. Do you wish to see Jesus Christ? If not then, your eyes are veiled and you need to ask God to remove that veil and point you to the Word of God. where you will be able to see the only person in the whole world that will have any meaningful significance in your life. That is what this time of year gives us an opportunity to reflect on as well. The world sees this time of year as one of fellowship with one another, the ability to visit family and friends, and to share gifts with each other. And none of these are wrong, but Christmas is a time of year when we should be looking back to the beginning, when we saw the first evidence of grace come down from heaven, to dwell among men. David's prayer of asking to deal bountifully with his servant is one that applies to us today as well. The world actually, in most part, takes this time of year and stops everything that it is doing and is quiet, at least for one day, or at least for a portion of that day. Probably the only time of the year when most actually stop and take time to think and not chase off to work or chase off to somewhere else. Let us take advantage of this and see to it that we take every opportunity to tell others about Jesus Christ and pray that the Lord would open their eyes and remove the veil so that they will be able to see Jesus Christ for who He really is and that they will come to faith as well. They then will continue to pray as with David that the Lord would open their eyes to see even more fully the reality of Christ and all that He has done for them. David continues in verse 19 and states that he's a stranger in the earth and asks that the Lord would not hide his commandments from him. We also become aware of the fact that we are really not citizens of this world. David calls himself a stranger, one who really does not belong where he is presently located. What David is asking here is that the Word of God not be hidden so that he may find his way in this foreign land. And David is using the Word of God as a map. In the previous verse David is saying that he wants his eyes to be focused on the Lord as the eyes of a servant should be. And in this verse he is saying that he does not want to be a stranger to the way in which he should walk in order to find his way home. Neither one of the verses, David, is entirely dependent upon the Lord. Verse 20 states that his soul bracelet longing for the judgments at all times. Spurgeon states, true godliness lies very much in desires. As we are not what we shall be, so also we are not what we should be. The desires of gracious men are holiness, for after holiness are intense. They cause a wear of heart, a straining of the mind till it feels ready to snap with a heavenly pull. A high value of the Lord's commandment leads to a pressing desire to know and to do it. And this so weighs upon the soul that it is ready to break in pieces under the crust of its own longings. Once your eyes have been opened and you can see the wondrous things in God's law, then it should become part of your life to strive for holiness. It should be a burden of our minds to continually fight to do the commandments that we read and see before us in the Word of God. Last week before we partook of the Lord's Supper, I went over eight points that help us to attain such holiness. These are the things that we need to strive for. If we truly want to see the Lord and to be like Him and to walk in a way that will demonstrate to the people of this world that there is something far more superior than what this world offers, then we must pursue a life of holiness. We as a people of God need to spend much time contemplating the Word of God. And as we do this, then we will have what David calls a soul that breaks with longing. As our eyes are open to the truth, we will see the struggle that there is in this world. And we will long to do what the Lord has asked us to do. But we will also have a battle on our own hands to fight against the wicked one who does not want to have us have any joy or contentment while here on earth. Then we will have, excuse me, then we will have this soul that breaks with longing for the commandments of God. Remember that we were told last week and that is that Satan's desire is to destroy all men. He is not a friend to anyone, sinner or saved. So there will be a battle to do the will of God and the heart of a Christian will long for the time when he will be able to fulfill the word of God. David continues in the next verse to say that God will rebuke the proud and the cursed who stray from his commandments. In the previous verse, David says that in his heart he is longing for the Word of God, and he states in this verse that there are consequences for not cherishing the Word of God. It is the proud that stray away from God's Word, and those that pay no attention to the Scriptures that are cursed. If you want to open your Bibles to Romans 1 and verse 28, we'll read from 28 to the end of the chapter of Romans 1. It says there, and since they did not see it fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to the base mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteous evil, covenants, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. And they are gossip, slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless. heartless and ruthless. And though they know that God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they don't only do them but give a full approval to those who practice them. It says that those who are boastful, those who are proud, are cursed. And in verse here it says in Romans that those who do such things deserve to die. There is a warning there to those who again who are proud and boastful. The end for those who are proud is the fact that they are cursed. And this passage states that they will die. The warning to those who do not want anything to do with the Word of God is that you will be condemned. It is a statement that again asks the question, where are you today? As we sit here this morning, where is your mind? What are you thinking about? Does the Word of God have any interest in your heart at all? Check carefully and make sure you know your heart because out of the heart will come the issues of life and the people will know you by what you say and what you do. Is the Word of God meaningful to you or are you one who depends on yourself and you know the right answer and you know the right thing to do? Only the meek will inherit the kingdom of God. Seek God with your whole heart and ask Him to deal graciously with you and turn to the Word of God where you will be able to find the answers that you need as well. Verse 22 gives us a prayer that David submits to the Lord. He asks the Lord to remove the reproach and contempt that the people around him have shown him because he has desired to keep the testimonies of the Lord. If you are a true follower of the Lord, There will be a time when people will despise you and speak evil of you. There is nothing wrong with desiring to have a good name. In Proverbs it states that a good name is better than precious ointment. It is good to know that you have nothing about you that people can condemn. People will always look for something and if they do not find anything then they may do as they did to Daniel and make something up so that they can accuse you of at least one thing. David here knows that people are falsely bringing reproach on his name and contempt and he wants his heart, excuse me, he wants his name cleared and he asks God's help to do this because he knows in his heart that he has kept the word of God. This again, as we see in this part of the psalm, is only done if the person has been saved and his eyes have been opened to see the wondrous things in the word of God. And the person realizes that the Lord is the only one that can deal with this issue. David does not take it into his own hands, but puts it into the hands of the Lord. May it be that we all, we as well, would simply trust in the Lord when people speak evil of us and desire to destroy our name. But verse 23 is very similar to what we saw in verse 22. And that is, it is almost identical to the trouble that Daniel had as well. David says that princes sit and speak evil against him, but he simply sits and meditates on the word of God. You see the similarities between Daniel and David. Those in high places who should be doing other things spend their time devising plots against the person simply because they can find no fault in him. The greatest thing to note here is not that people devise evil because that is what most spend their time doing, but the fact that David saw no need to spend time worrying about it, but took the time simply to meditate on the Word of God. When we have the grace of God within us, and we have our eyes open to see the wonders of the Word of God, then this is where we find our comfort and our strength. And we do not let the world around us bring us down or make us feel uneasy. If these things are going on in your life, be like the psalmist and meditate on the Word of God. This can be done because David continues in verse 24 to say that he finds God's word to be a delight and they have become his counselor. This is where we have again to search our own hearts and come to grips with what is our delight and where do we find our counsel. This is where the section wants to have us stop and think and spend some time in prayer. asking the Lord to deal with us by pouring out bounteous amounts of grace, opening our eyes to the truth of His Word, and that His Word would become our greatest source of strength and encouragement. And this can only be done if you personally know who God is, and who it is that will give you the grace that is needed to accomplish all of the things that we have spoken about this morning. Anybody here this morning that does not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior must begin at that point. Cry out to God. Ask for forgiveness of your sins. Take hold of Christ by faith and get into His Word. Then and only then will anything that has been said this morning or any other morning have any meaning or benefit to you. Our prayer is that God would save every single person in this place and bring in more and have them to understand the simple gospel message and build this church here in Lethbridge so that the people would raise up their voice and glorify God for the wonderful work of grace that he has shown to all of us. Praise be to God for his wonderful word, and may our eyes be opened to see the wondrous truths that God has written in the Bible, which is the word of God. And all of us, we have the words in our possession. Let's read it. Let's just bow our heads in a word of prayer. Father, we truly thank you for the blessings of having your word. Lord, as we continue to study through the book of Psalms, especially Psalm 119, Lord, the psalmist there, entreats us, begs us, pleads with us to get in, to read, and to study, and to meditate, and to learn from what you have given us in your word. And Lord, we thank you that you have preserved your word from days past. And Lord, through your word, you reveal to us who you are. You have revealed to us, Lord, the plan of salvation. You have revealed, Lord, how you have accomplished that plan. through your son Jesus Christ. And Lord, we thank you that you have opened our eyes and that you have shown us the reality of who we were, sinners who were in need of grace. And so, Lord, I pray this morning that you would make that a living reality in everyone who sits here this morning. Lord, if you would pour out your grace upon those that are sitting in this place this morning who are yet outside your kingdom, that you would open their eyes to see Jesus Christ, their Savior. And may they bow their knees this morning, Lord, and confess their sins and turn their life over to him to rule and to sovereignly reign as well. And so, Lord, we again just pray that you would continue to help us as individuals as well, those who are saved here this morning. Lord, grant us a desire to be in your word. Grant us, Lord, a willingness to spend time in opening up your word, to read it, to study it. And Lord, may you strengthen us and give us courage to go forth, Lord, to continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout this world. Encourage us, Lord, we pray. Bless this word that we have heard this morning. Use it again, Lord, to again, to build your kingdom up. We pray now for your blessing upon all of us, and we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. In conclusion, if you'd like to stand again with me this morning and take your praise and worship books and turn to number 20, number 20.