Psalm 119 tonight. Psalm 119 and we're going to look at verse, really we're going to start verse 165. Psalm 119 is the great big chapter basically right in the middle of the Bible and we're going to look at verse number 165 to start this evening and then do a Bible study entitled Great So if you would, stand together out of respect for the reading of God's word. We're gonna look at just verse 165 as we get started. And I would like for you, if you would, to read it in unison with me. The Bible says, great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Let's say it again, amen. Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Tonight, brief Bible study in Psalm 119, entitled Great Peace. Father, I pray that as we turn our hearts to your word tonight, that you would open our hearts to your word. Lord, that we would have hearts that are expectant, Father, for the Spirit of God to speak to us. And Lord, I pray that, Lord, into our troubles and trials and traumas and stresses, Father, into the ups and downs of life, that we would see from your Word how we can have great peace. Help us tonight, I pray. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. Psalm 119, 165. Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. This is such a wonderful, strong, challenging verse. Who doesn't want peace, amen? Who doesn't want great peace? But the issue is, standing between people and peace is a whole bunch of problems. Now, in one sense, offenses are unavoidable. You know, Jesus said in the Gospels, it is impossible, but that offenses should come. We live in a sin-cursed world. I say it quite often, that people plus personalities produce problems. And so, in one sense, it is impossible, but that offenses should come. Offenses are unavoidable. Well, what do we mean by an offense? To be offended, it means an offense or offended means an obstacle or a stumbling block. It refers to something that causes another person to fall. Now, offenses can come from all over the place. Offenses can come from situations. Maybe life doesn't meet my expectations and it causes me to stumble and wonder about God's love and goodness and presence and care. Maybe an offense would come from a sinner And lost people gonna act like lost people. And sometimes that could make me sanctified offended, right? Sometimes offenses, though, can even come from the saints. Offenses come from all over the place. But the thing about offenses is offenses often bring outsized reaction. How many of us can ever think of a time where we overreacted to something that happened? I mean, it's probably just a misunderstanding. Maybe you misread the tone. Maybe you misread the text message. Maybe somebody else made you mad and somebody else just walked in and got the brunt of it. I mean, we can all think of times where we've overreacted, can we not? Sat in my seat, I'm gonna leave the church. But offenses, if you think about it, are one of the devil's great tactics. Because when Satan can get us offended, he can defeat you in a way that you will agree with him as justifiable. The beautiful truth though is though offenses may be coming, they don't have to be in control. And in spite of offenses, God offers great peace to those who love His law. So let's talk about peace tonight very briefly. What is peace? What peace is not, first of all, peace is not the absence of crisis. You know, sometimes we think that in order to have peace, we have to have a perfect life. No pressure, no problems, no people, no perturbances, no nothing. But peace is not the absence of crisis. Rather, peace is the presence of a confidence that is greater than the crisis. So tonight, I want to look at these verses from Psalm 165 and see from the psalmist four avenues in which loving God's law brings us great peace. The Bible says great peace. Have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. Let's say it together, ready? Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Well, let's look back at verse 161 and find out how we get there. The Bible says in Psalm 119, 161, princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart standeth in all of thy word. Number one tonight, great peace is the product of great confidence. Great peace is the product of great confidence. The psalmist here mentions trouble. He gives a contrast. On one hand, we have princes. Princes are men of means and authority. We have princes that have persecuted without reason or without cause. On the other hand, the psalmist talks about we have the Word of God. And what we find here is the psalmist has made a choice. He has made a choice to stand in awe, to stand in wonder, to stand in reverent amazement and fear at the Word of God. In essence, what is happening here is the psalmist is standing in awe, not of a book, but of the one the book reveals. Psalm 40 and verse 7, the psalmist says this, of coming Messiah, then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it is written of me. Jesus said, search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, but they are they, Jesus said, which testify of me. You see, God's Word reveals an awesome God. You know how loving God's Word gives us great peace? Because when I love God's Word, I find that God's Word provides me an instructive viewpoint, a perspective, because it continually points me back to my great God. You realize, Christian, that you get to choose what you focus on? You can choose what you focus on. And we can choose to focus on people and situations that we cannot control. Anybody ever been there? When I focus on people and situations I can't control, I'm out of control. My emotions are out of control. My thoughts are out of control. Sometimes my actions are out of control because I can't control what I think I need to control. And I can choose to focus on the people and situations I can't control or in loving this book I can choose to focus on the one who is in control. Psalm 135 verse number 6 tells me this. Whatsoever the Lord pleased that he did in heaven and in earth and in the seas and all the deep places. You see, the princes may have some measure of earthly authority, but they have no authority that compares to God's authority. I can choose to focus on that which I cannot control, or I can choose to focus on the one who is in control. And when I love God's Word, I find that God's Word points me back, not just to the reality of my great God, but more importantly, It points me back to my relationship with my great God. Romans 8 and verse number 15 reminds me, for ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. By the way, when one of my kids yells, Dada, Daddy, Dad, guess what? It gets my attention. Even when Tim does it at two in the morning. I just hope he gets mama's attention first. Amen. Amen and amen. I love this book, and I'm in this book, and this book points me back to the one who loves me more than I can imagine. I think about how great He is, how wonderful He is, how powerful He is, how patient He is. I think about how merciful He is, how loving He is. I think about how He has blessed us abundantly. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. I think about the fact that He's my Father, that He's my friend, that He's my Savior. He sticks closer than a brother. He never leaves me or forsakes me. And I'm going to tell you, great peace is the product of great confidence. And it is great confidence in the God of the Bible. You know what? There is not a whole lot of peace without trust. I think one of my most vivid illustrations of this are those times when we would drive in the car in bad weather, be it a snowstorm or a thunderstorm and we're coming home and if it's a long trip, the same thing's always happening. The kids are in the back playing around with something. Amy's in the passenger seat sleeping. They are all having a great time. And me, in my late 30s, is hunched over the steering wheel going, I think I can see. I think I can see. I think I can see. Stressed beyond measure. Micah, you'll get there one day. Old. Not wanting to drive at night. The kids play. The wife sleeps. I'm stressed because I'm behind the wheel. Christian? Relax. God's behind the wheel. Did you hear me, Christian? God's behind the wheel. Relax. Isaiah 26 and verse number 3 of the Bible says, That will keep him in what church? In perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. See, what does loving God's Word do to give us great peace? Loving God's Word reminds us of the great confidence that we can have in our great God, and great confidence yields great peace. Let the princes do what they may. My God's in control. Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Number one, we find that great peace is the product of what, church? It is the product of great confidence. Great peace have they that love thy law, the psalmist said, and nothing shall offend them. Let me show you another avenue, verse 162. The psalmist said, I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoils. So number one, we found that great peace is the product of great confidence. Let the princes do what they will. My God is in control. Number two, we find that not only is great peace the product of great confidence, but great peace is the product of great contentment. The psalmist says, I rejoice that thy word is one that findeth great spoil. Think about great spoil tonight. Think about treasure. Oh how money and material possessions rob us of so much peace. You know in our human nature we're pretty prone to covetousness. What does the Bible say about covetousness? 1 Timothy 6 and verse number 10. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some, coveted after, have erred from the faith. And what does it say, church? And pierced themselves through with what? With many sorrows. We're prone to covetousness and that robs us of our peace. We are prone to comparison. You ever looked at somebody that wasn't living right and felt a little jealous that they were so blessed? And then it seemed to have the problems you did. The psalmist had a similar thought, Psalm 73, beginning in verse number two. Look what he said, but as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their deaths, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. We're prone to comparison. We're prone to stinginess and greed. By the way, all of these things rob us of peace. We worry about the rainy days that may be on the horizon, but while money and material possessions may rob us of peace, the psalmist said, I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil or treasure. You say, preacher, how does that help me have great peace? Because as the psalmist points out, when I love God's word like I ought to, it helps me to recognize the infinite value of God's word. Psalm 19 and verse number 10, the psalmist says of God's word and God's law, more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. You know, God's word is not just a set of rules to be followed, it is a treasure to be cherished. The infinite value of God's word, hear this, is stable and sure. You know, there's not a lot or really anything in this world that we can point to whose value is stable and sure. I'll give you an example. You follow the news recently. You know that the stock market has not quite known what to make of President Trump, his tariffs, and other economic policies. Well, towards the end of last year, I said to myself, self, why don't we invest a little bit of money in one of those wonderful technology companies that is leading the world in making semiconductors and other things? And I was all excited. It was going to be great. And then, David, go ahead and put it up. That's been my life. See up there? That's where I bought in. I'm going to tell you, I thought I'm making a pretty safe investment. Whoops. It'll come back. I ain't worried. But what happens? It's up one day. It's down the next. It's all around, and this, that, and the other. But praise God, this book, the value, is sure and secure. It doesn't fluctuate like a stock. It doesn't depreciate like a car. It is sure. God's Word is sure. The infinite value of God's Word is not just stable and sure, it is universally advantageous. 2 Timothy 3, beginning in verse 16, the Bible says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is, what is it, church? And is? Oh, come on, church. And is? And is? And is? Was it profitable for doctrine? That teaches me what's right. For reproof, that shows me when I'm wrong. For correction, that shows me how to get right. For instruction in righteousness, that shows me how to stay right. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. The value of God's Word is universally advantageous. You know, there is no area of life that I cannot look to this book and not be benefited thereby. You know, when I look to this book for my marriage and family, I find this book adds value to my marriage and family. I find this book adds value to my ministry, to my stewardship, to my thought life, to my self-discipline, to seeing the fruit of the Spirit produced and lived out in my life. There is no area of my life that this book does not have infinite value towards. It's not a rule book. a love letter, a treasure to be cherished. There is no situation or circumstance where my life is not profited by God's word. And when I realize that, I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil. I recognize that when I hold this book and love this book and read this book and live this book, I have an incredibly valuable asset in my hands. In fact, I have all I need. And when I recognize that, you know what happens? I find that great peace is the product of great contentment. that I hold that which is precious and valuable in my hands. Hebrews 13 and verse number five reminds us, go to Hebrews, let your conversation, your lifestyle be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have for he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Where do we find that? We find that in this book. You know what? Riches may come and riches may go, and friends may come and friends may go, but this book is sure and secure. And when I know I have what I need, let me ask you, why in the world would I worry about lesser things? Great peace have they which love thy law. Nothing shall offend them. Why is that? Because when I love this book, I can find great confidence in God. Because when I love this book, I can find great contentment that God has given me what I need to live this life in a way that honors Him. But the psalmist gives us another way that loving God's law brings us great peace. Of course, it says, great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Verse 163 says this, I hate and abhor lying, but thy law do I love. So we find great peace is the product of great confidence. Great peace is the product of great contentment. Thirdly tonight, great peace is the product of great clarity. Solomon said, I hate and abhor lying. You thought about the fact that truth is under great attack in our day. But before we get to feeling sorry for ourselves, I think we have to remember that truth has always been under great attack. In fact, if you open your Bibles back to Genesis chapter 3, what do we find Satan doing? Yea, hath God said? Ye shall not surely die. So from the very beginning, what do we find? We find that truth has been under attack. Can I ask you tonight, without clear truth, how in the world do we know what's right? Without clear truth, how in the world do we know which way to go? Without clear truth, you think about it, all we're left with are the shifting sands of cultural opinions, emotional sentiment, or logical leaps. Without clear truth, we have no standard. And what happens then? Well, we find in the book of Judges a number of illustrations how when there is no clear standard, every man does that which is right in their own eyes. We find in Proverbs that those are the ways of death. And we see a lot of that in our culture today, do we not? But praise God, we are not left to the shifting sands of cultural opinion, emotional sentiment, or logical leaps, because we have the truth. Our God is a God of truth. Our Savior is the way, the truth, and the life. The Holy Spirit is described in a number of places as the spirit of truth. John 17, 17 says of God's word, sanctify them through thy truth. Say it with me, thy word is truth. I'm gonna tell you, because God's word is truth, it provides great clarity for our lives. Psalm 119, 105 describes it how? As a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. I'm going to tell you, when I can see where I'm going, that is a source of tremendous peace. Even if there are problems on the horizon, having a lamp, having a light is a source of great peace. And because God's Word is the truth, It provides the supreme standard that all other truth claims must be measured by. You see, you don't get your truth and I don't get my truth. We have God's truth. We have God's truth. And truth that is truth will measure up to this book. You think about how crazy it would be if everybody had a tape measure with a different length of an inch on it. Someone at some point had to say, this is what an inch is. This is what a foot is. This is what a yard is. And by the way, it's kind of weird, crazy measurements. I mean, 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard? What is it, 5,280 feet to a mile? Like, why? Who? Who was like, I think we'll just make a mile 5,280 feet. I'm sure there's a story behind it. But at some point, somebody had to say, that's the standard. And it's not the size of my foot. And it's not the size of Sam's foot. It's the size of 12 inches. Can I tell you what God's Word provides for us? It provides that absolute, overarching, clarifying standard. It is the truth. And praise God, great peace is a product of great clarity. I'm going to tell you, you know, you can have peace even in hard things when you have clarity of heart and mind. You ever been there? You ever been there? You've been faced with a difficult situation. You don't want to be there. You don't want to have that conversation. You don't want to make that decision. You don't want to walk down that road. But in your heart, when you know what is right, and in your heart when you know what is best, you still have a measure of peace that the world can't take away. Why? Because great peace is a product of great clarity. And God's Word provides the clarity of truth in our life. It is unchanging. It is unimpeachable. It is the truth that has the power to set us free. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. So how does loving God's word give us great peace? Number one, it provides great peace because it what? Number one, it gives us great confidence. Great confidence in our God. Number two, it provides great peace because it also helps us provide great Contentment. God has given me what I need. Number three, it provides great peace because it provides great clarity. It is a lamp unto our feet. It is a light unto our path. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. Look at verse 164. The psalmist says seven times a day, do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments. Great peace is the product of great confidence. Great peace is the product of great contentment. Great peace is the product of great clarity. I'm going to tell you though, finally tonight, great peace is also the product of great celebration. As the psalmist considers God's Word, it leads him to praise, or as we talked about Sunday, celebrate the Lord seven times a day. That's morning, noon, night, and a couple of times in between. Because when I love this book, and it points me back to my great God, and it brings me great contentment, and I find great clarity, and I think on these things and fill my heart and life with these things, when my heart is focused on the Lord, and the beauty and the glory of His Word, let me ask you, when my heart is focused and filled with that, how can my heart not be focused and filled with peace? Seven times a day, seven times a day I do praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments. I think about the fact tonight that God's Word is living and powerful. That God's Word is a well that will never run dry. You know, you can go back and read the same account in Scripture time and time and time again, and every time God gives you a little bit of a different nugget, every time God fills your soul, every time God speaks to your life, the Word of God is a well that can never run dry. You know, you think about the aspects of earthly glory, And everything this world has to offer will lose its wonder and splendor. So in a couple of weeks from now, my wife and I are going to go on a little trip. We've not really been on a trip together since we got married. And the day we got married, she got the swine flu. So it's high time that we're going to take a trip together. So in a couple of weeks, we're going to take a trip together. And we're going to go. And Grandma and Grandpa are going to watch the kids. Hallelujah, amen. And we're going to go away. And it's going to be somewhere sunny. And it's going to have some sand and some salt. And I'm going to be a happy camper. And we're going to go. And it's going to be wonderful. And I can't wait. We're going to be there for a number of days, just the two of us. And it's going to be wonderful and beautiful and all sorts of awesome. But I can already tell you how it's going to end. You know how it's going to end? Day one, it's going to be like, wow. Day two, it's going to be like, man, this is incredible. Day three, it's going to be like, man, we should have done this sooner. But by the time we get to the end, it's going to be like, I want to see the kids. I want to go home. I want to sleep in my own bed. I mean, this is great, but I can already tell you how it's going to end. Why? Because the most beautiful, wonderful, splendid thing this world has to offer, the glory of that will wane and fade. But praise God, we can look into the Word of God. And we can look into the face of God a thousand times a day for a thousand million billion days and still find greater wonder still. Seven times a day I do praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments. And when my heart is filled with his praise, how can my heart not also be filled with peace? Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Christian, peace is not the absence of conflict. There's still going to be some people, some princes that rub you the wrong way, that come after you for no stinking reason, that do you wrong without any justification. Peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is not the absence of confusion. Our money and material goods and the certainty of life will go up and down and there'll be good days and bad days and our account will be full or not full or below full and everywhere in between. But peace is not the absence of conflict or confusion. You know, in this life, the world, the culture will still attack truth, say that it can be my truth and your truth or no truth at all. But in spite of the conflict that rages around us, I can have peace because peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of a confidence that is greater. You know what's greater than the conflict and confusion of the world? You know what's greater than that? My God is greater than that. What He has given me in His Word is greater than that. He's given me enough, amen? The clarity He has given me in His Word is greater than that. I'm going to tell you, when I think of Him, when I look in this book, I have reason after reason after reason to celebrate. Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of a confidence that is greater. Peace is not the pursuit. It is the byproduct. It is the byproduct of what? Say it with me one more time. Psalm 119, 165. I'm going to let him put it up. Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.