Brothers and sisters, I bring you greetings from your brothers and sisters from the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Delmas in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It's a privilege to be with you tonight. Let's open the Word of God in Psalm 119. Psalm 119. We'll read from verses 73 to 80. Psalm 119, we'll start with verse 73. Let's read, let's hear the reading of God's Word. Your hands have made and fashioned me. Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Let Your steadfast love comfort me according to Your promise to Your servant. Let Your mercy come to me that I may live, for Your law is my delight. Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood. As for me, I will meditate on your precepts. Let those who fear you turn to me, that they may know your testimonies. May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise your name for your goodness to us. We thank you, Lord, for your word. We thank you that we are able to read your word, to meditate, Lord, and to preach your word. Give us eyes, Lord, to see in your word. Give us a heart to listen, Lord, and to receive your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Many of you don't know my country, Haiti, but thank you for your prayers for our ministry in Haiti. But you may have heard that Haiti is a very difficult place. It's a difficult country to live in. We have been going through difficulties for political reasons in the past. 30 years or so. But the last two years have been very, very difficult in Haiti. We closed the year 2019 with three months lockdown in the country for political reasons. The country was locked down. We couldn't go to the street except for emergency needs and then go back home, and it was very dangerous. Schools were closed. Even to go to the church, it was not easy, and sometimes we couldn't meet for worship. It was very difficult times for the country, and that was for three months. But when you know that the people of Haiti, most of them live day by day in their activities, you understand how big a trial is it for some of our brothers and sisters. And then we started the year 2020, and then it started better. We had more freedom to go in the street, and schools opened again. And we said, oh, that was really good. But three months later, again, the pandemic happened, and they had to lock down the country again, and for four months. Those were difficult times, those years for our brothers and sisters. So during this time, I started to preach a series of sermons on Psalm 119. I said that while they had time in their home, they stayed home most of the time, they can go to the Word and read the Word. Because that's what we see in Psalm 119. We see the love of the psalmist for the Word of God and his love for God. So that my prayer was that my people would love the Word and stay in the Word and love the Word. But what we see in Psalm 119 is that the psalmist put an emphasis on different aspects, practical aspects, in the Christian life. But we see also that he puts an emphasis on the suffering of the believer. The psalmist loves God, he loves the Word of God, but we see that his life is full of sufferings, his life is full of trials, and he loves the Word of God. In Psalm 119, it should be our prayer, too, that we love the Word of God, that we love God. And that's what the psalmist is doing in the whole psalm. He's sharing his love for the Word with the church, with the people of God. But we see in that psalm that You stay in the Word, you are serving God, but we learn that our life as believers is full also with trials. The Psalmist invites us to take the Word of God as our portion to love the Word of God. So in that stanza that we are in, the psalmist is singing his love for the Word of God. But he is teaching us also, over and over, that the Christian life is filled with affliction. But he is teaching us also that those trials, they are not without purpose in our life. They are just not accidental disasters that afflict the believer that are trying to destroy his joy. But he's teaching us that God is at work in those trials. And God is teaching us through these trials in our life. He is teaching us that those afflictions, those sufferings, they even hold blessings for us who are serving God. And they have a purpose in our life. We see in that stanza that we are in that the Lord is sovereign, and he is sovereign in our affliction, and he is teaching us good lessons in those afflictions. Psalm 119 is a very long psalm. It's a love song to the Word of God. It is what we call an acoustic sum. That means the sum is divided into sections according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabets. So we have 22 sections in this sum. Each of those stanzas, the 22 stanzas of the psalm, the psalmist is teaching us the blessing that he gets from the word of God. But in each stanza, he is teaching us also practical lessons for our life. So in this stanza, the 10th stanza that we are looking at tonight, the psalmist is teaching us three lessons. First, God's faithfulness in our trials. Second, God's goodness in our trials. And third, God's works in our trials. Let's see the first one, God's faithfulness in our trials, and we see that in verse 73 and 74. Verse 73. Your hands have made and fashioned me. Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. The psalmist start to teach us that it is important for us to understand that he put an emphasis on the glory of God. He's telling us that God is our creator. He created us. He is the God who created all things, who created the world by the word of His power. The psalmist is putting the He's talking in the context of affliction while he's teaching us that. But you don't see that until you get to verse 75. To see that, he's talking to the context of trust in his life. telling us that the Christian life, according to the word of God, the Christian life in our pilgrimage on this earth, it is full of trials. It is a life mixed with joy and suffering, and this is the Christian life. But the psalmist, we don't see him complaining in this psalm. We don't see him discouraged in this psalm because he knows that he is created by God. And he's telling us, he's reflecting on that truth of the Christian life that God is in control of our life because he's the creator. Since he's the creator, since he's made us, the psalmist understand that He made us for the time of joy, but He made us also for the time of trials that comes to our lives. So He knows that God made Him, and if God is His Creator, because God made Him, God is in control of those moments, of those hard times that comes to His life. So he's acknowledging God as his creator, that God creates all things and he is a creature of God. That's the first truth that the psalmist is teaching us in this psalm. And that's what we acknowledge as Christian. We acknowledge that God is our creator. He's our redeemer. He's our Lord. He has control to our life. And that what we teach to our children in the children catechism, that God made us. He made us for his own glory. He made us to enjoy him for ever. He made us to worship Him, to live for Him, and even in those hard times to worship Him. That's a way for the psalmists to say that God, you made me, and you know all things in my life, and those things, Lord, you control them. Even those time of afflictions, even those time of trials, you have a purpose for me in them. You have a purpose for my life. So the Psalmist, he is on the afflictions, on the trials, but he believes that God has a purpose. for him. And the purpose of God will be accomplished in his life, even what is happening in his life. He believes that God, his plan, cannot change because God is sovereign in his trials. God is faithful to him, even in his trials. and in his faithfulness to him, the Psalmist believed that God in his mercy will bring an end to his afflictions according to his wills. So he believes that God will bring those afflictions, God brought those afflictions in his life not to harm him because all things works for good in the life of the believer. So instead of complaining, the Psalmist is reflecting on the truth that God is the creator. He's saying, Lord, your hands have made me. I am your child in Christ, and since I am your trust in those trials in my life, I know that you love me. You are good to me, and you are good all the time, Lord. But you will agree with the psalmist that this is not always easy for us to understand. This is not always easy for us to grasp. That's why the psalmist is saying in the second part of verse 73, give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. The psalmist understands that God's ways are sometimes mysterious to us and it's not easy to understand. And he's praying, Lord, give me understanding. Lord, give me wisdom in that difficult time. That's what the Apostle James is saying. James is preaching to people who are suffering. He's writing to believers who are dispersed in the woman world. And he's writing to them, and he's telling them, count your trials as joy. But this is difficult to understand. And then he tells them, if someone needs wisdom, He needs to ask God who gives plenty. And that's the same thing that the psalmist is telling us, that we need wisdom, we need understanding from God to understand that the Lord is there to us in our trials. Our trials are not bigger than our God. And we need wisdom to understand that. That's the prayer of the psalmist, that God will give him understanding that comes from the word of God, that comes from the Holy Spirit, so that he can understand what the Lord is doing in his life. And then the psalmist is telling us that the trials in our life, they bring encouragement to other believers that God is blessing those trials so that our life under those trials they bring encouragement to others. That's what he said in verse 74. Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I hoped in your word. That's another great truth that the psalmist is teaching us in that stanza. He's telling us that trials come to our life, and he's saying that God allows those trials to come to us, but in those trials God brings blessings to us. In those afflictions, God brings blessing so that those afflictions can be a blessing to others. So the psalmist is saying, others will see me and rejoice. What will they see when they see me? They will see that I am on the afflictions, but I still believe in God. They will see that, under my afflictions, I have grace to continue to grow in my faith, in my Christian life. And the psalmist is saying, oh, they will see that, and they will rejoice. Because God used our afflictions to bless others. That's what the psalmist is saying there. That God is preaching through us to others. so that they may see how our life is, even under those affliction, and we are in the word of God. Those who fear you, he said, will see me and rejoice because I have hope in my word. Because they will see that under those afflictions, God will keep us. God is faithful and we still believe. in God. Why? Because we are in Jesus and like the servant Job, he said, I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He is my portion forever. And we rejoice even under those trials because we encourage in Jesus and we continue to comfort others in our trials. So even in those trials, God bless his church and continue to bring people to him. even in those trials. So that God's faithfulness in our trials. But the psalmist talks also about God's goodness in our trials. And that's in verses 75 to 77. In verse 75 he said, I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. The psalmist is telling us, remembering us, that our God is righteous in what He is doing. Our God is righteous in His rules. That means that what God does is always right. God is always good to us. Again, remember that the psalmist is talking in the context of affliction. But in his affliction, he is acknowledging that God is just, that God is good. He's saying, Lord you are righteous, you are good to me, you are not unjust to me in my trials. So he's acknowledging that God is good. all the time. He's telling everyone, he's proclaiming to everyone the goodness of God even in his trials, how God is righteous to him. So why the psalmist is saying that? Because when we are suffering and unbelievers see that, see our trials, what do they think? They tend to think that this man or this woman is not a child of God. That's why he is suffering. But the psalmist is telling to everyone, Though I am under suffering, I am a child of God, and my God is just to me, and my God is righteous to me." So the psalmist is coming to God to be comforted in his trials, and he's proclaiming the righteousness of God to everyone. even in his trials." So you see that the psalmist is following Christ even in his trials because he knows that those afflictions doesn't teach that God is not unjust but he knows that he is a child of God and his father is righteous to him. In verse 76 he said, Let your steadfast Lord comfort me according to your promise to your servant. So the psalmist is sure that God is his comfort in those times of difficulty. He knows that God is faithful to him. He can come to him all the time. to find comfort in his need. So the psalmist is acknowledging not only that God is faithful to him in his trial, but God is a comfort to him in those time of difficulties. So we come to God to be comforted in our trials. So we come to Him as our comforter and we find hope in Him. So we come to Him, that's what the psalmist is saying, we come to Him according to His promises. let your promises, let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant." So God comforts us in his promises. That's why the Psalmist loved the Word of God so much. He stays in the Word of God because in the Word of God He finds the promises of God, and those promises bring comfort to him. And he knows that the promises of God are true. They are always true. They are yes and amen. So that's why he keeps those promises. But those promises, he said, they are according to the mercy. of God. Let your mercy come to me that I may live for your law is my delight." So the psalmist sees that he cannot do that on his own, not by his own strength that he can do that, that he can hope in those time of difficulty, but he sees that this is by the mercy of God. He cannot live the Christian life by his own strength, but he can do that only by the mercy of God. The psalmist understands that we need Christ, we need the Lord, we need Him to lead us. In those dark times, in the valley of the shadow of death, we need Him to be with us. It's only by His mercy that we can stand in those difficult times. So we will find mercy in Him if you come to Him, if you believe in His promises, His mercies will comfort you. That's a friend we have in Jesus. In times of need, He's there to comfort us. He's the one who died for us, and He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and He promised us to comfort us. He's a compassionate Lord. He is a faithful God. But we see also in this stanza that God is faithful in our trials, we see that God is good to us in our trials, but we see also God's works in our trials. Let's see that in verse 78, it said, Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood. As for me, I will meditate on your precepts." So we see in that stanza that the psalmist starts telling us how great God is as the creator, and then he's telling us that that comes in the context of trials. But we did not know where those trials come from. What are the sources of his trials? But he tells us that in verse 78. He's telling us that those trials come from other people, from unbelievers that did wrong things to him. They wronged him with falsehood, he said in verse 78. So he knows where those trials come from. But he's not trying to... revenge. He's not trying to attack those people who did wrong things to him. But we see in verse 75 that he's talking to God. He's saying that, you have afflicted me. Because the psalmist understand that everything that comes to us, to our life, it is ordained by our God. He is in control. So the psalmist is And he understand that, that our God is sovereign, and everything that comes through our life, it comes from him. He allows those things to come to our life. That's why he's not trying to fight back and attack those people who did wrong things to him. So we see in that censor that the psalmist is teaching to believers through his trials, but he is addressing also to unbelievers, to those people who are attacking him. And he is preaching to them the goodness of God. And he's telling them how God is good to us. They are trying to do wrong things to us, but he's teaching them how God is good to us. Because those people who expected that he would be down in his trial, and now that God uplifts him, and now he's telling them the goodness of God. He's telling them how God is good and God can deliver his people. God can deliver them because in his mercy he does not allow him to be put to shame. So God in his will he deliver his people. And now the psalmist is saying that when they see that, they will turn to God. They will turn to you in your blessings, in your trials, and they will see how God is good to you. So your victory under those trials, how you persevere by the grace of God, is a blessing to the church so that the people see that and they come to God. So you see that even in your trials, the Lord is growing his church. He's bringing people to himself even in your trials. So you see that our trials can be a tool of evangelism. to unbelievers so that they see how great our God is and they come to God. So he's growing his church, he's doing his works even in our trials, even in our suffering. That's what the Lord is doing. He's working to grow his kingdom. He's saying in verse 79, let those who fear you turn to me that they may know your testimonies. You see, what the Lord is doing in the psalmist, that's his prayer, that the Lord may continue his work in his church, but also his work in the life of the believer who is on the trials, that you may come out of those trials transformed by the power of God, that you may come out of those trials sanctified by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. So he wants people to see how he's growing in his faith under those trials. And on those trials, his prayer is that he may continue to grow in his faith. Is that your prayers in your trials, that the work of God may be evident in your life so that other people may see how you are growing in your trials? Is that your prayer so that other people may see the faithfulness of God in you, and so that your trials may be a tool to grow the church, to bring other people to God? In fact, in that census, the psalmist is a symbol of Jesus Christ. In his trials, he did not complain, but he was praising God for who God is. And in that, he is a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in the deepest affliction, he was giving glory to God. He was praising God in his suffering, his suffering for you and me so that through his wound we are healed. That's what he was doing. And the psalmist, that was his goal so that we know that we are living in a fallen world and that we understand that we cannot do that in our own. So he's praying that God may give him a new heart so that he can live the Christian life in those difficult time of his life. So that even he's going through trials that he may continue to grow in his life that he may continue to give glory to God, that he may continue to find the big truth of the Christian life in the Word of God. And he's praying that God may do his work in him, even in those trials even in those hard times in his life. He believed that we cannot do that on our own. So we pray because God is sovereign, because God is faithful, because God is good all the time. And that's our prayer also, that His name may be praised in us, in all our lives, so that we follow Him in our pilgrimage on this earth, even in dark times in our life. Amen. Heavenly Father, we praise your name for your goodness to us. We thank you, Lord, that you are God, you are sovereign, you are in control even of our trials. We pray, Lord, that you bless the preaching of your word to us and keep us, Lord, in your mercy. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.