picked up with verse 7. And verse 7 is the part that you should have. And verse 7 is down to verse 11. We are looking at God's specific revelation or God's revelation of himself in the scriptures. So as we are developing this, let's keep in mind that no one can be saved just by looking at creation. But it does teach about the reality that God exists and that he is powerful. He's a powerful creator. And if someone receives that revelation and Desires to know the Creator that's when God is faithful to bring people the gospel That's why we have so many missionaries around the world because God is truly You know, there's been a lot of places I've been in that I've realized we were there as a result of prayer of someone there and Not so much just because we went there and thought it would be good for us to go take the gospel, which it is. And you have kind of liberty in doing that, you know, as God sends you into all the world. But there are times when you realize they were praying for this. They were waiting for this. And that's the work of God in missions. And so when people desire to know him, he sends the word, he sends the gospel, he sends the scriptures. And so we are going through this and it says many things about God's word. Let's begin by reading verse 7 and we'll read down to verse 11. and I think we'll be able to finish up the outline tonight of this section. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. One thing I have to ask, is this, did we finish this outline? Okay, because my wife, I think you were teaching last Wednesday. Okay, because I looked at her outline and I thought, oh no, maybe she was teaching the children and she didn't fill it in. So we did see in verse seven, God's word is perfect, letter A. The law of the Lord is perfect. And the law is referring to his teachings or his instructions. And we realize God has given his law through Moses unto the nation of Israel, but then we do have all of the entire Bible, we could say, is perfect. In fact, we could go to many verses to talk about all of the scripture. And so when we think of the word perfect, it is complete or entire, amen? God's word, you don't have to add to it, it's perfect. Amen? And it is sufficient. You don't need anything else but God's word. And then we see the first great benefit of God's Word, and that's found in number two. It converts the soul. So because the law of the Lord is perfect, it converts the soul. And this is a turning or returning unto God. Think about the Bible and the plan of salvation. It's from Genesis to Revelation. So everything you need to know to return unto God, to be right with God, is found in God's Word. We could go through the whole gospel. We're not going to do that. But we do know this, that the law, by the law is the knowledge of sin, and by the law, or Galatians says the law is what? A schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. That's how it converts the soul. All right, we will continue on now. In letter B, God's word is not only perfect, it is sure. It says here the testimony. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple when you think of testimony. All of the scriptures are God's witness to us of who he is, what he has said and what he has done and what he wants us to be and what he wants us to do. It's a testimony. It's a witness. But it also bears witness of himself. And that witness is sure that witness is reliable. It is true. It is a solid foundation that you could build your life upon. And so that's why it says, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. So this is the second benefit of the scripture. It gives us wisdom. How much did we learn about wisdom in the book of Proverbs? That's just one book of the Bible and we didn't even exhaust it. Now think of all 66 books of the Bible. How much wisdom can you get from God's Word? It makes wise the simple. And we know simple is a person, as we learned in the book of Proverbs, that lacks discernment and good judgment. Why? Simply, they're inexperienced. They haven't gone through it yet. So simple as in like, you know, a derogatory term of a, you know, a person It's not equivalent of saying you're stupid or you're foolish No, it's the idea of lacking discernment lacking good judgment and unlearned. They just didn't learn yet There's a lot of people who are simple But aren't you thankful? Through God's Word if you're disfaithful and reading the Bible every day God will give you wisdom God will teach you what you are to do in life. God is going to lead you to make good decisions. God's going to teach you more about himself, about his ways. And when you apply that to your life, you will have wisdom. In fact, I like what it says over there in Psalm 119. You're in Psalm 19. You can look at Psalm 19, the passage we are in is like an introduction to Psalm 119, which every verse is about the Bible. So if you have any interest in learning more about God's word, read Psalm 119, amen? What we see in Psalm 119 and verse 99, what can happen in someone's life? I have more understanding than all my teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation. Is there any limit for you in your understanding and wisdom that you can gain from God? There is no limit. It just depends on how much you want to invest your life in God's word. Obviously you get out what you put into it If you put very little into God's Word, what are you gonna get out of it? Verse 8 go back to our text God's Word letter C is right God's Word is right The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Statutes is talking about precepts or detailed instructions concerning the practical matters of life. Every little detail of life is in God's Word. Did you ever read the Old Testament and try to break it all down? You know, there's so much It's like the law book, it would do us time, you know, to read the Old Testament, understand civil law. Civil, how we are to treat one another, how we are to, you know, how we're to treat property, how we are to respect authority, how we are to get along. All that's in God's word. And a lot of that applies to today. And then you have the morality of the Old Testament. That's what we need today. The morality of God's Word. So when we say it is right, it means it is straight, it is upright, it is morally right, it is ethically right. You can think about the Old Testament Jews and the Israelites, how they had to read everything about how to eat, how to dress, how to keep clean. I mean, everything. Hygiene's in there. Everything is in the Old Testament. about every area of life that you can imagine. And I'm not saying we are to follow all those laws because we know the New Testament tells us we are not to follow those laws in sense of gaining a relationship with God or trying to make ourselves righteous by following the law. God says that no flesh will be justified in his sight. No flesh will be made righteous in his sight by keeping the law. So we can't look at the law and say, hey, I'm going to go back and do all that, then maybe God will accept me. No, that's not what the law is for. But there's a lot of good practical knowledge and laws. And they do apply to specific situations of life. It's amazing. There's a lot in the Bible, amen, that we need to learn. God's statutes are right, but it says, here's a third benefit, and think about this. The statute of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. So when you are following God's word, they bring deep abiding joy to our life. Obedience. Isn't that how people, they look at the opposite, right? They're like, man, if you, it's like, you know, taking a swallowing a pill or something, you know, a bitter medicine. I mean, the Bible, keeping God's word. I mean, that's bitter medicine. Who wants to do that? And the truth of the matter is if someone truly obeys God's word, they will have joy in their life. They will have joy in their marriage. They will have joy in their family. They will have joy at work. They will just be filled with joy. Why? How does God's word and statutes bring joy to our heart? Well, They give clear instructions about certain situations that you're going to face every day so you know what to do. That's a relief. They also give instructions on decisions that you need to make. Amen? And if you have answers to any questions of life, you can consult God's Word and it tells you all the answers you need to know. Isn't that something that brings satisfaction? When you're not left wondering about what's right and wrong, when you really know, hey, this is the right thing to do. That brings joy. But it also brings joy because when we obey God's Word, we avoid the painful, tragic consequences of sin. When you follow God's word, then you're not gonna suffer because of sinful consequences. When you do what's right, we could go through many verses about how righteousness brings joy to our lives. And then, think about another way it brings joy. The Bible simply tells us, or even statues tell us, what pleases God. Why are we here on earth? We're definitely not here to please ourselves. We're here to please God. And the more you please God, and the more you sincerely love God, and you sincerely please God, then you're going to have a calm assurance and peace in your life that will result in joy. And also, I could think of another reason or another way they bring joy is How do we know what the purpose of trials and afflictions are? Well, we find that in God's Word. So even when we're suffering, we can actually read God's Word and understand God has a purpose for the suffering and trials we're going through. And knowing that purpose, even though it's difficult, just knowing that purpose brings joy. brings joy, because you know why? Because you know God's working in your life. You know God is fulfilling His purpose, even in the difficult times, and so that alone brings joy. Amen? Verse 8. God's Word is pure, letter D. Pure. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The word commandment means that which is appointed. Brethren, God loves us so much, He commands us what to do, and He warns us what not to do. So David is saying that the commandment, all the commandments of God are pure because all the commandments of God are perfect, flawless, and undefiled. They are clean. And you know what? When you obey God's word, what kind of life will you have? Pure life. a clean life. So that's how we could say the commandments are pure. Why? Because they are completely right in God's eyes, they are perfect, they are undefiled, they are flawless, but they lead to a pure life if we would just obey them. And he says, the fourth great benefit of God's word, it enlightens our eyes. It enlightens our eyes. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. So what does God do? I think I read recently, and I'm trying to remember in which scripture, it was in the Psalms. I'm trying to remember which Psalm because I was reading all these different Psalms now. But it says, in thy light, We shall see light, or we shall have light. You see, this is the shining light for us. You want to know, you want to know everything about, uh, your life, what you need to do. You need to know everything about God. You need to know what direction to go in, what path to take. This is the light right here. And the wonderful thing is the more we get into God's word, the more light he gives us. Oh, I have a list of verses, we can never read them all. What it's saying is God's Word guides us in life. It gives us insight. It gives us an understanding. That's what light is. It enlightens us. Truly, there's a truth in this. Like, you know, here your eyes are beholding light. It puts light in you. You know, and that light fills your life. And you gain strength from this light that God puts in you from His Word. It's an amazing thing. It enlightens us. It enlightens our eyes. And then, verse 9. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. God's word is clean, letter E. Now, he uses the phrase, the fear of the Lord, right? And you would say, well, the fear of the Lord, that's an unusual name for the scriptures. But you know what? It's not. Because you can't. It reminds us that we can't learn the Word of God. We will not read the Word of God. We will not have concern for the Word of God. We will not desire to obey the Word of God without the fear of God in us. Because we won't respect. We don't respect. Listen. Is everyone listening tonight? Your relationship to your Bible speaks of your relationship to God. And if you have no relationship with this Bible, you have no relationship with God. That is the truth. And we need to take, we need to really examine ourselves. You don't just come to church to fill your life with God's word. You fill your life with God's word daily. Because you need it. And you need to know what he says. You need to hear from him. We fear God. And so we must reverence him, respect him. And you know what it does? Just like it says up there when it says it's pure, it's clean. It cleanses, what do we learn, right? It cleanses us, it purifies us. Do you know that God's word compels us to live in obedience, to walk in holiness, to live righteously? But I like this. Look what it says. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. I think God's word stirs us. A great benefit of God's word is this. It stirs us to fear the Lord. You know, the more you get into God's word, the more you fear him. The more you realize his judgments against sin. It talks about judgments coming up here. But the more you read the Bible, the more you learn about God, the more you learn about His character, the more you learn about how He feels about sin. Amen? And the more we get to know Him, the more we learn of Him, the more fear we're going to have. Now, I'm not talking about some unhealthy fear that I'm afraid. No, I'm talking about a fear that motivates you to pay attention to God, to think of him often, to make sure you're doing what pleases him. You're concerned about your decisions that you please God. That's the fear of the Lord walking in the fear of the Lord. It's really keeping him in your mind and his priorities before you at all times. Ah, you know, it's hard to get through this, isn't it? God's word in verse nine, and I think we'll have to stop there, is true and righteous, letter F, true and righteous. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous all together. Think about being true and righteous. They are just and fair at the same time. This again, judgment, when you think of God's judgments, this is what God deems to be right or wrong. It's really another term for His law. This reflects His holy character. And He is the very embodiment of truth and righteousness. That's God. They are true and righteous. And when you think of judgments, judgments refer to the decisions of a judge. Ultimately, God is the judge. Amen? And How many times you go to the Bible and you read clearly what judgment did God give to a situation? What did God say about Cain? What did God say about Achan? What did God say about the guy Collecting sticks on the Sabbath day, you know, there's some heavy judgments God did What about core and all the rebels? What did God say about that? What did God say about unbelief Even to Moses When he didn't glorify God Instead of speaking, he struck the rock. What was God's judgment there? Do you see that when we put it all together, brethren, we see God passing judgment on individuals, on nations. He also gives rewards. He also rebukes. And all of this, the punishments of God, everything that we see, helps us to understand what pleases Him. And ultimately, brethren, we learn this, we are accountable to God. Amen. The fear of the Lord is clean and enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous all together. He will ultimately judge us. And Jesus said, the word that I have spoken shall judge you in the last day. John 12, 48, God's words. So brethren, we need to live according to God's word. Amen. All right, we're gonna stop there and I'll have to see what I can do next. But I do have the last part of this and I think it may all fit together. Verses 10 to 14 and we may be able to finish it up next time. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, tonight, as we think about everything we're learning about your special revelation to us in the Bible, Father, help us to pay attention. Help us to