19th Psalm. And if you've not been here for a while, I'm going to give you a little bit of idea of what we're going through every eight verses. There is a Hebrew alphabet letter. right at the top, and most Bibles do have that letter, right at the top of the first eight verses. Then the next eight verses there's another alphabetical letter, but it's in Hebrew. And there are 22 letters to the Hebrew alphabet. We went through number 11 last week. This week we're on number 12, so notice where we're at. It says, and if you can follow along in your Bible, or if you can do memory, I would be astounded if you could look at me and say these letters without looking at your Bible, but I know better. So anyway, look at the Hebrew alphabet. There's Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Wa, Zayin, Heth, Teth, Yod, Koph, and Lamed. So the letter we're on tonight is the letter Lamed. And I want you to notice here, remind you that the whole 119th Psalm, 176 verses, all those verses, they're all related to the Word of God. They all have something to do with the Word of God, and there's all but one or two verses that have the word or a word related to the Word of God. So that is very fascinating. What we're looking at tonight is verses 89 through 96. And I want you to notice, if you were to read this first verse in the Hebrew, this is how it was originally written. Your Word, Yahweh, forever in heaven is settled." Now I want you to notice how it's written in our language. Forever, oh Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven. It starts with the word forever, but I want you to notice it's focused upon the Word, the Word of God. Now the Word is a way of communicating. We communicate with our words. We can do sign language, but we're doing it in words, so we're communicating with sign language. But here is the Word of God, and God's communicating His Word through the Word. He's got a purpose in that communication. Being this verse starts with a word that says, I want you to think with me for a moment. Everything in this world seems to change. There's always changes. It seems like that's going on in this world. Humans, we people, we're made up of cells. Do you know how long your cells last? Anybody got an idea? seven to ten years and those cells die and those cells are replenished. It is how God has made us. So in a sense we are changing every seven to ten years in some way by the new cells. Now that does not mean we change as a person. I'm saying we change in some various ways because of how we are made up. We also change physically through personal growth. We change Through experiences, we change through choices in life and decisions that we make. We change in our relationships. And sometimes relationships change. Sometimes marriages change. Friendships change. They say climate changes. All this I know is there's four seasons, and you know what? Those seasons are still four seasons. God has that set. Though some are trying to play God by changing the weather, I believe, those seasons are still intact. Some have a God that changes. You think of Mormonism. Mormonism believes that God can change his mind and God does this and that changes. Well, that's a different God than Christianity. There are some people, and I say this cautiously, that change and they change their view of God. And the reason they do that is because of sin in their life and they're trying to justify their sin. There are people And I've mentioned over this past Sunday, there are some marriages that are in problems and difficulties. And one particular believes he can keep serving God and keep sinning in his life. And this is tragic. Has their thinking changed? Yeah, I know someone in ministry for years and decades of years, but they've chosen to live a life of sin now. I don't understand. Though our minds change and we can change our decisions in life, this is why we believe that salvation is of the Lord and not of us. Because what God does, God does forever. God doesn't change. When God saves, he doesn't unsave. He changes not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed, is what we read in the word of God. Forever, oh Lord. Your word is settled in heaven. This verse is a very comforting verse because here what we find, we've got something that is stable in life that absolutely nothing can affect it. nothing can change the Word of God. God's Word does not change. There are people who try to change God's Word, but God's Word does not change. Therefore, we have a sure foundation when it comes to the Word of God. I want us to notice here, God's Word is God's revelation. It is God's revelation about ourselves, God's revelation about sin, God's revelation concerning our souls, concerning morals, concerning values, concerning God's will. All this is entailed in the Word of God, and the Word of God does not change. Therefore, it is very consistent from generation to generation. We can base our souls upon what the Word of God says, because God changes not, just like God's Word does not change. God's Word does not change. If you notice in verse 90, it says, Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. You have established the earth and it abides. God's earth that he has established He has caused it to remain. And the reason God's word does not change is because God does not change. In verse 90, his faithfulness is the same throughout all generations. And I am thankful for that because or we would be consumed. Therefore, God does not change, nor does his word change. God does not change because, if you think about it, God has foreknowledge. He knows all things. He has all wisdom. He is sovereign over all. He is what we would call omniscient, all-knowing. Therefore, if God knows all things, God don't need to change anything. God has foreordained what shall be. Listen to what it says over in the book of Acts chapter 15. In Acts the 15th chapter, notice down in verse 18. In Acts 15 verse 18, the Word of God says this, known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. God knows all things. That shows the omniscience of God. He knows all things from the very beginning of the world. He knows the end from the beginning. Now nobody else in here can say that. Well you can say that, but you'd be lying. Only God can do that. Here in this verse we see God's Word is settled in heaven. and it's settled in heaven forever. Now if you think about if God's Word is settled in heaven, that means no man can change it. Because no man can go up to heaven and change it. God has settled it. There are laws that God has put in place. And they're not the laws of man. They're God's law. And man's law cannot change God's law. Let me give you a case in point. In our society, in recent years, there have been some that tried to change the definition of marriage. Marriage has been a lifelong institute all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was God who ordained marriage, Adam and Eve. It's always been man and woman. Up through the last few years, they've tried to change that and say men can marry men and women can marry women. But let me tell you something that's not according to God's law. And that doesn't change God's law. God's law still stands. I'd rather obey God than man. In other words, the laws of man cannot change God. nor change God's laws. The unbelief of man cannot change God's laws. Back a few hundred years ago there was a man named Voltaire. I mentioned this man's name before. He was very atheistic, hated the thought of God, and he tried to disprove God all his life. In other words, he fought against that which he did not believe all his life. He was an atheist, and he fights against that which he does not believe. He wasted his life, didn't he? He spent it fighting nothing, if that were true. He once made the comment that he was going to put the Bible in the mortuary. Within 50 years, I'm going to put the Bible in a mortuary. Fifty years later, Voltaire was in the mortuary, not the Bible, and we still have the Word of God. It was the Geneva Bible Society that actually bought his house to store Bibles in. When Voltaire died, the nurse that attended him said she would never want to attend another person that was an atheist when they're passing from this world. His death was so horrific he was screaming and crying out because of all of his sins and his enmity against God. I want you to notice just a few verses of scripture. You don't need to turn there. In Matthew chapter 24 and verse 15, Jesus said, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. If you would look over to first Peter. In first Peter, there is a passage of scripture there. In chapter one and down in verse 25. First Peter chapter one and verse 25, there we read in the word of God, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Same thing we're reading in Psalm 119. And notice what Peter says, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. The good news of Jesus Christ is preached unto us from the word of God. And I am so thankful that it endures forever. what God said that he will do. Our whole eternal life is based upon the promises of God and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is settled in heaven, which no man can change. Now I want you to notice it says, for ever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven. And then it says, your faithfulness is unto all generations. In other words, the Word of God is settled in heaven, and the Word of God is also settled upon this earth too. You have established the earth, and it abides. This psalm, no doubt, was written over 2,000 years ago, probably around 2,900 years ago, and here is the word that was written 2,900 years ago. God's word is settled upon the earth. Over in the book of Job, if you look at the book of Job, notice what it says in chapter 38. Job chapter 38, And down in verse 4, we read there, as God is questioning Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if you have understanding. God would have asked you where you were when he laid the foundations of the world. I do believe your mouth would be stopped. Where were you? The Word of God says in verse 6, Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof? The Word of God tells us that God made this world and he literally hung it upon nothing. Now I don't know how you take, I had it on another note, how many tons the world weighs. It's literally thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands of tons. I can't even hang a ton on nothing. And you can't either. But God hung this earth upon nothing. It is God who's put the laws in place. He is the one who has laid the foundation. He is the one who created light. And he also created the laws of light. They say light travels at 186,000 miles per something. But you know what? made the lights, the stars, the sun, and the moon, but he also made those rays, and I believe he made it in full maturity. And boom, it happened. It's because of the light. It was one by the name of Albert Einstein. You've probably heard that name before. Albert Einstein came up with that theory, E equals MC squared. Have you ever heard of E equals MC squared? Does anybody know what E equals MC squared means? I had to look it up, and you know, even looking up the definition of looking it up, I think I have to look up the definition to understand Einstein's brain. It very simply means energy equals mass, the mass or matter, energy equals mass or matter, multiplied by the speed of light squared. Now how much is that? I think it's something like 90 trillion, I forget, the numbers are just astronomical. How do we use that? E equals MC squared. Is it relevant to us today? Because of that theory, That's how we can do PET scans and use other instruments as far as in hospitals today, which I found that very fascinating. It is God who's made these laws and no man can change them. If I were to ask you a few definitions of something, how would you define darkness? We know how fast light travels. How fast does darkness travel? You know what? Darkness does not travel. Darkness is simply the absence of light. So can you really explain darkness other than it being the absence of light? If there's no light, how do you describe darkness? Let me give you some deep thoughts to think upon. How do you describe gravity? You think about it, we're not floating up in the air. If you throw something up in the air, it comes down. If you jump off the roof of the building here, you're going to prove there's gravity. But what is gravity? It is some type of pull toward a mass. But it's God who has established these laws. established the laws of science and of energy. And what we read in God's Word, I want you to notice, he says in verse 91, they continue this day according to your ordinances, for all are your servants. All these laws are whether it's the law of gravity, the law of light, the law of science, whatever law it might be, the law of energy, it is God that has ordained it according to His ordinances. These are not the laws of nature, which is what people say, they are the laws of God. God has laws. Now what people will say is the law of nature simply because they don't want God in the picture. Things become so much more clear when you see God is the master designer. When you see there is fingerprints to his design on all things. One of the things, I was kind of flabbergasted Sunday. I don't know if y'all noticed, Madeline had peacock earrings. Did anybody notice that besides me? I noticed it because I've been reading about peacock feathers. Now, none of y'all been reading about peacock feathers. You wonder, why are you reading about peacock feathers? Let me tell you why I'm reading about peacock feathers. Because peacock feathers, they all have the same design, the same colors, and it's just they're iridescent colors. In other words, they've got to catch the light just the right way. And those feathers, they're fascinating because there's a design in all of them. If there's a design, there's a designer. Who designed your clothes? All you've got to do is look at the back of your collar and tell you who designed that clothes. God designed the peacock. And if you look at the back of the peacock feather, now I've not had a peacock feather in my hand. I was going to buy one because I was reading about peacocks. I didn't have to. There was Madeline with a peacock wearing earrings. If you look at the back side of the peacock feather, it's all brown. Now that's very interesting how God's made those feathers. There are certain barbs and barbules that go in those feathers. They interlock. And it's just fascinating. I put something on Facebook. If you want to go to my Facebook site, just look at this bird. He's flying in the air. And the feathers on that bird, they're hollow on the end. And it's just fascinating how they are designed. They got a tail feather, and I don't doubt that the Wright brothers kind of took that design as far as with the airplane because that tail kind of helps guide the airplane. The wings, have you ever watched a bird glide in the air? It's because those wings lock and they're able to glide for long periods of time. When they flat down, they can raise up because there's no air that goes through. When they go back up, the air comes through. It's all because God's got a design with all that. It's pretty fascinating, I think. I'm sorry I got off on that peacock rampant, but look what the Word of God says over in Romans chapter 1. In Romans chapter 1, look down in verse 19. Well, verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth or suppress the truth in unrighteousness. In other words, they see truth, but they push God out of the equation. They don't want God in the picture, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, or it's shown to them, because God has showed it to them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. God's power is displayed from the invisible things since the creation of the world. They're clearly seen and understood by the things that are made, all creation. And you can see His divine power in it all, in His divine design. God has established the foundation of the earth. and the Word of God says in the passage we're looking at, they continue this day according to your ordinances. Because of God's laws, those laws continue even unto our day and time. And he says at the tail end of that verse, and man, we just made it verse three, notice what the bottom part of that verse says, for all are his servants. All these laws, all these designs, all of God's creation God's servants. They serve God. Think about with me. Can you think, in the Word of God, all the different things God uses to serve Him? You remember when Jesus was in the ship, and the winds became boisterous, and the waves started crashing on the ship? Remember what Jesus said? Peace be still. Those winds and those waves served a purpose, and it was to show that Jesus Christ is God. They were serving God. If you think further than just the winds and the waves, you can think about the rain. God sent the floods in Noah's day. And it rained for forty days and forty nights, and the earth was covered with water. That was God's servants. God used locusts in the land of Egypt. He used lice and flies in the land of Egypt. He caught them. Boom. He used quails to feed his people, dropped manna from heaven to feed his people. Look how God used different things simply because they are his servants. You remember Balaam? Balaam had a donkey talking to him. God used a donkey as his servant. You remember what Jesus said as he's making this triumphant entry into Jerusalem? that if these people did not praise me, even the rocks would cry out. You know what? I would not doubt the rocks could cry out if God wanted them to because they are God's servants too. God used a big fish in the life of Jonah. He prepared it. And what did that big fish do? Swallowed up Jonah. that served God's purpose. And what did God cause that fish to do? Caused him to get sick to his stomach to where he went bleurgh! And out come Jonah. God used fish to have a coin in his mouth to where Peter could pay tribute. God uses all kinds of things as his servants. You think he uses the sun to beat down upon man. You think he uses frogs. Wow, God uses frogs. That's what he did in Egypt. God used a gourd. to give Jonah shade. God used a worm to eat that gourd up to take the shade away. You see how God uses things to bring glory to His name? Notice it says, "...for all are His servants." God used a cross. God used a cross that His Son would die upon for our sins. the cross became His servant. That you might have forgiveness if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. God's faithfulness is as immutable as His Word. In other words, neither one change. The Word doesn't change, His faithfulness doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Notice in verse 92, "'Unless your law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.'" In this verse, in verse 92, what we see is how God's word helps us. Sarah pointed out to me on Sermon Audio, you remember when those The man and the woman went up into space in a spaceship not too long ago, about 8 or 9 months ago, and they were stuck there. They were only supposed to be there a few days, I think about 7 or 8 days, and they were out there for 8 or 9 months. Can you imagine being them? You know what kept that man sane? The Word of God says, actually they said it through the Word of God, that's what kept him sane, the Word of God. He listened to sermon audio in the space station. That's amazing. He goes to a church down in Texas and he's listening to the Word of God, worshiping God in space, and that kept him in the right frame of mind. Wow. Here, God's word, unless your law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. How many people have gone through affliction in life? And it's the word of God that has strengthened them. You think of John Bunyan. You remember John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress? He was in the Bedford prison. He was married, had many kids. I can't even remember how many, but one of them was blind. His little girl was blind. John Bunyan, though they took everything from him and put him in an old dark, dank prison, they couldn't take the Word of God from him. If they took the literal Word of God from him, he had it in his heart. In other words, he memorized and memorized. That's where that great classic Pilgrim's Progress comes from, written in a prison. How many people have been on the bed of affliction, hurting, but they find hope in the Word of God. We mentioned Sister Helen. You start singing a song, she'll bump right in with you. She told me she wanted me to just read the Word of God to her. She told me she wanted me to come back. I started sharing, we got interrupted. I started sharing again, we got interrupted. I started sharing again, we got interrupted. Finally, I had to leave and come back the next day. I said, let's continue before it got interrupted. And you know what? She was picking it right up. She wanted to hear the Word of God. And it's the Word of God that gives us hope. It's the Word of God that gives us strength as we're going through difficult times in our life. I challenge you to read just portions of pages in our library concerning martyrs' mirrors. You can read about martyrs, people who died for their faith, and they're writing letters in prison, and some of them have been preserved way back from the 1600s. You'd be amazed how they knew Scripture. They're quoting it off and writing their spouse and telling them to remain faithful and persevere, and they're just quoting Scripture left and right. You know what? It's the Word of God that gives us hope when the world has no hope. It's like that song we sing, When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. We have a sure foundation in the Word of God. I want you to notice verses 93 through 95. Pick it up just a little bit right here. And notice in verse 93, I will never forget your precepts, for with them you have quickened me. It's through God's word. The psalmist is saying God gave him life. God invigorated him. That's how we sing that song. Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. Beautiful words. Wonderful words. Wonderful words of life. Notice he says, I will never forget your precepts, for with them you have quickened or made me alive. God's Word gives life. Think about different illustrations in the Word of God. When Lazarus was in the tomb, he's in the grave, he's buried, he's dead. Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth. Jesus is the Word of God. What did Lazarus do? Because that Word gave him life, he came forth. Jesus said to that storm, peace be still. What did the storm do? The winds and the waves obeyed Him. God's Word can be used against temptation. It's our strength, our strong tower that we run to and we find hope and protection in the Word of God. And one day, God will speak the word and he will call his children home. You know what all God has to do? He just has to say the word. That's all the more reason why we need to study the word of God. We need to memorize the word of God. We need to encourage one another with the word of God. We need to edify one another with the word of God. We need to be in the word of God. In verse 94, notice he says, I am yours, save me. I am yours. There is a song there, I am thine O Lord. Here, notice what he's got. He's got some new hope. Lord, I belong to you. In my affliction, I belong to you. My life is in your hands. When you see that, there is hope. So he cries out with just two words. Notice he says, save me. Deliver me, for I have hoped in your precepts. I have desired to walk in your ways. I have sought after your word. I desire to do your will, O God. Deliver, so I might walk in your ways. In verse 95, the wicked have waited for me. They've waited to destroy me. but I will consider your testimonies." Although evil persists, and evil might be all around us and we see it every day. I saw where one man got whacked by a hatchet by another man somewhere out west. And the guy's a dad. He was with his wife and they had got a little kid. And just out of meanness, the guy just hit him with a hatchet. Although evil persists, what the psalmist says, I'm going to continue to follow your word and think upon your word and how God delivers. the psalmist is focused. Think about how God is delivered. You can go through the Word of God and think of how God is delivered. There was Adam in the Garden of Eden. He had fallen into sin. What did God do? God delivered Adam. There was Abram in the Ur of the Chaldees worshiping false gods. What did God do? God called Abraham to go to a place where he knew not. There were countless numbers of people as you go through the Word of God there was Noah. God told him to build an ark when there wasn't even no rain. God delivered Noah. There was Lot who was living in a very sinful place called Sodom and Gomorrah. And you know what? It was God that delivered him. It is God that delivered Joseph. from his brothers, from the prison. It was God that was faithful and delivered his people. Notice in verse 96, as we close out this portion of Psalm, there's so much here. I went downstairs today and I had such a short time looking at all this, and I told Sarah, it's just too much. It's just too much. God's Word is too much to try to cram it in just a little bit of time. But notice verse 96, and we'll stop with this. It says, I've seen an end of all perfection, but your commandment is exceeding broad. What is he saying? The first part of this verse of scripture, man's understanding and man's knowledge, man's wisdom, all of man's philosophies is limited. It's finite. It has an end because it leaves God out of his thinking. But notice God's word. God's word or his commandment, that's God's revelation, his communication to us tells us, what does God's word tell us? It tells us how creation began. It tells us how creation's gonna end. It tells us how to have the abundant life. It tells us our purpose in life. It tells us how we are sinners. It tells us the cause of all the chaos that's going on in the world and all the sinfulness going on in the world. It tells us why there are wars, why there is division and divisiveness among people. And it's all because of sin, but it tells us also how we can be saved, how we can be free from sin and guilt, and how we can walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's God's Word. There's so much there, and there's so much more. How we ought to get in it, be in it, study it, memorize it, use it in the lives of others, and also flesh it out and live it in our lives. We're going to have a word of prayer, then we'll sing a song or two. Father, we thank you for your Word. Lord, we know you honor your word. We know your word is established in the heavens. And Lord, we know that your faithfulness is unto all generations and that you change not. We thank you for a firm foundation which we have in your word that gives us hope, that gives us help, that gives us strength, Lord that gives us courage and boldness in a world that's full of sin. So we ask that you would use your word in our lives in such a way that we'd be a blessing unto others, edifying and building up with your word. Cause it to prosper wherever you send it and to accomplish the purpose whereunto you send it. for Your namesake. Amen.