Well, we're going to be reading Psalm 19. Psalm 19. The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words. Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterance is to the end of the world. In them he has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens and its circuit to the other end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts 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. They are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Who can discern his errors, acquit me of hidden faults? Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins. Let them not rule over me, then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. In this psalm, David speaks of the two ways that God has revealed himself. He's revealed himself in his creation, which is also called general revelation, and he has revealed himself more specifically in his word, also called divine or special revelation. So general revelation we see in verses one through six. So David speaks of God's magnificent creation, especially focusing on the heavens and their expanse. And now we're not sure at what point David wrote this psalm, but we know that he was more than likely recalling his time as a shepherd when he was in the fields leading his sheep and pondering the attributes of God, of his great shepherd, as he was revealed in creation. David acknowledges that the vast expanse of creation is daily and continually telling and declaring God's existence and supremacy. And the Apostle Paul gives a concise summary of these verses in Romans 1.20. Turn there real quick. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. So Paul declares that through his great act of creation, God has revealed himself to us and he has told us of his self-existence, in the beginning, God, Genesis 1.1. His omnipotence, I am God Almighty, walk before me and be thou perfect, Genesis 17.1. His eternality, I am that I am, Exodus 3.14. His supreme divinity, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me, Isaiah 46.9. and his sovereign authority over all things. Even from eternity, I am he, and there is none who can deliver out of my hands. I act, and who can reverse it? That's from Isaiah 43, 13. Barnes, in his commentary, says, God's power was called forth at creation. He showed his omnipotence and gave, by that one great act, eternal demonstration that he was almighty, and we may survey the proof of that as clearly as if we had seen the operation of his hand. The proof is not weakened because we do not see the process of creation consistently going on. It is rather augmented by the fact that he sustains all things and controls continually the vast masses of matter in the material world." And the Cambridge Bible comments, All creation is a revelation of God, but the heavens in their vastness, splendor, order, and mystery are the most impressive reflection of his greatness and majesty. The simplest observer can read the message. And although general revelation gives clear evidence of the existence, the majesty, and the authority of God, and it renders mankind without excuse for not seeking him, it does not give a clear account of God's gracious plan of salvation. It does not tell of the incarnation, the life, the death, and the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, or of all the essential truths of salvation and eternal life. So God gave us a special revelation of himself, his written word, the scripture. John MacArthur commenting on Psalm 19 says, having extolled the vast glory of creation and the marvelous ways it reveals the truth about God, he turns now to scripture and says the written word of God is more pure, more powerful, more permanent, more effectual, more telling, more reliable, and more glorious than all the countless wonders written across the universe. That is the word of God. Now for the bulk of the study we're going to be concentrating in verses 7 through 9. Because that's where, as John MacArthur puts it, it's the most concise and direct treatment of the sufficiency of scripture in all the word of God. And as I've been studying through this, I have to agree. It really just, as we go through, you'll see. Now, MacArthur also mentions that Psalm 119 is parallel to Psalm 19. As a matter of fact, you can kind of say that Psalm 19 is a condensation of Psalm 119. And I do highly recommend, if you have time this afternoon, read through both of those psalms. They're just, they will draw your heart to God. They truly will. It will not be a waste of time at all. I spent one afternoon just reading through that and I'm gonna do that again. All right, so now I'm gonna also be borrowing Pastor MacArthur's outline for this study. So verses seven through nine covers the sufficiency of scripture. Verses 10 through 13 covers the value of scripture. And then verse 14 is the commitment to scripture. So, sufficiency of scripture. I just wanna read. 7 through 9 again very quickly. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts 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. They are righteous altogether. And in these three couplets, we have the names of scripture given, law, testimony, precepts, commandments, fear, and judgments. We have the characteristics of scripture, perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true. And the benefits of scripture, restores the soul, makes the simple wise, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eye, and endures forever, and is altogether righteous. And I want to note briefly also that each of these, the law, testimony, they all say, of the Lord, of the Lord, testimony of the Lord, precepts of the Lord, commandments of the Lord. And this is to show that, to leave no doubt, that the source and the authority of these words are from God. God is the source of all scripture. It is his testimony of himself and what he requires of us, and it is therefore sufficient to meet all of our spiritual needs. So 7a, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The Hebrew word for law is Torah. And for the Orthodox Jew, it would refer to the five books of Moses called the Pentateuch. But throughout scripture, the word is used to denote the entire known canon of scripture. In Luke 24 44 Christ says, these are my words which I spoke to you while I was with you while I was still with you and all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. So Jesus in this text is he's referring to the entire Old Testament canon. And then in Joshua 1 verse 8, when Joshua speaks of this book of the law, Joshua is referring not only to Leviticus and Deuteronomy, but to all the scripture that existed in his time, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, including the book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible. And in Psalm 119, the word law is used repeatedly as representing the whole canon of scripture. And so we go to 119 and just go through a couple of them very quickly. So verse 119, verse 1, how blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. In verse 18, open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law. Verse 29, remove the false way from me and graciously grant me your law. And then verse 34, give me understanding that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. And you can continue. There's so many more throughout that psalm. It is just showing the representation of the whole canon of scripture. And then, of course, in 2 Timothy 3, 16, It tells us that all scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine or divine teaching, for reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. And the King James Version reads, may be complete, thoroughly furnished for every good work. So God's Word is his divine instruction book for our lives. It teaches us what we ought to believe in regard to who God is, what we are in relation to God, what is our responsibility as creatures of God, and as new creatures in Christ, how we are to live our lives before him. And this law is perfect, meaning it's whole, it's complete, it's comprehensive, faultless, sound, lacking nothing, all sufficient. You're going to hear that word a lot today. It's all sufficient. Steve Lawrence of the Ligonier Ministries defines sufficient as a more than adequate supply of something, more than enough of what is required to meet one's needs. There's a surplus such that nothing needs to be added. Now, of course, scripture doesn't tell us everything that can be known in this world. It doesn't tell us what the square root of pi is, but it is the perfect and sufficient source of everything that we need to know about God, about his glory, faith, life, and the way of salvation. Again, quoting Steve Lawrence, we have everything that we need to know in the written word of God for matters of salvation and for matters of living the Christian life. Well, what is the benefit of this perfect law? It is able to restore or convert the soul. The Hebrew word translated restoring or converting, depending on which translation you have, is the word shuv. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correctly, but it's S-H-U-V, and it means to turn back or return. And this is what happens to the soul in salvation. It's converted from a life of sin, a life for living for itself, to a life lived for God and to God. It is restored to a right relationship with the Almighty God, and a relationship that's even better than what Adam had. Adam's relationship with God was mutable, and he fell. But the soul that is converted by the power of the Holy Spirit, applying the scriptures to the heart through faith, can never lose that salvation. Never. For me, The word of God that was instrumental in my salvation was Romans 8.1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I had made a profession of faith when I was a young child, and I grew up, I went to church, I read my Bible, I prayed, and it wasn't until in my teen years that I came to know the doctrines of faith, of grace, and I went to a biblical church, and year after year, I realized more and more that no, I'm not really a Christian. I mean, I like going to church, and I like reading the Bible, but my heart was not for God. And so I resigned from the church, but I knew two things. I knew that if I died, I was going to go to hell, and I didn't want to go to hell. And I knew that I needed to be under the word of God to be saved. So I went to church. And one Sunday, the pastor was preaching on the freedom of the will or the lack thereof where it comes to salvation. And I remember going home that night. and throwing myself on the mercy of God, because I knew there was nothing I could do. And I kept praying to God, save me, give me repentance, forgive me. And I remember I heard this words. It was in my voice. It said, repent and believe, and you will be saved. I repented. I believed, because the Lord God had saved me. And now that verse is my favorite verse in all the scripture, because it says, therefore, there is now no condemnation for Celia Camp, who is in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. The word of God can convert the soul. It's the perfect law, and it is the only power that can bring about this life-changing soul transformation. In 1 Peter 1, 23, it says, for you have been born again, not of perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. In Roman 10, 17, so faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. and Luke 16, 31. But he said to him, and this is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man said, send Lazarus back. And so if somebody rises from the dead, they'll believe. Abraham said, no. If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead. So think about that. Even if somebody were to rise up from the grave, that doesn't make it, that's not enough power to save a soul. It is the word of God. No man-made stories, no human philosophy, no human cleverness or persuasion, not even a miracle has the power to save a spiritually dead soul. The word of God alone is the only sufficient means and power to meet the soul's greatest need, salvation from sin and death and restoration and reconciliation to God. 7b the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple and the Webster dictionary defines testimony as the declaration of a witness and when you think about a witness you think about a courtroom and somebody who's going to testify and of course you're hoping they're going to be honest and tell the truth well the testimony of the Lord is his divine witness of himself who he is and what he is and he is holy. So this is a true word. It is the sure word. John 5 39 says you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is these that testifies of me. The scripture is all about Christ. Romans 22 20 he who testifies to these things of course this is Christ says yes I am coming quickly. And then in verses 18 and 19 he gives warning not to add or subtract anything from those words because they are his words. Now, in Christ's testimony, it's sure. Again, as we said, it is sure because it is from the word of God himself. It's honest. is trustworthy, it's unwavering, it's immovable and reliable. In 2 Peter chapter 1, Peter speaks about being a witness to the transfiguration of Christ and hearing the voice of God giving approbation of his son. But Peter says in verse 19, so we have the prophetic word made more sure. And quoting my dear Pastor Mark Little, he said a couple of Sundays ago, we have the inscripturated word. We have the scriptures. And it's valuable because it's written down. We're not working off of oral tradition passed down through the centuries and then it gets changed. We have that which was put into writing, preserved in that writing, so that we have something certain, something sure. something we can hang our hats on. The single best preserved ancient document in the world is what we have. Well, the benefit of this testimony is that it makes the simple wise. The word simple in this context means someone who's unlearned, undiscerning, inexperienced, ignorant, or naive. And the word wise means to be skilled in the art of godly living. It means to be skilled in the art of godly living accomplished by the knowledge and application of the word of God. And again John MacArthur says, the wisdom in view here has nothing to do with intelligence quotients or academic degrees. It has everything to do with truth, honor, virtue, and the fruit of the spirit. Indeed, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." That's from Proverbs 9-10. The scripture has life-giving, life-changing power needed to revive a spiritually dead soul and to make the simple wise. And I was thinking about ways in how the word of God has helped me to be wiser in my, in how I live. And I was telling this to Jane and Tara the other day, I'm not a morning person. I don't like getting up in the morning, but I have to get up and have to go to work. And I need that time. to prepare my heart. I need that time to be with God. And so a lot of times when that alarm goes off and I'm tempted to just hit the snooze button, I think of the verse, go to the ant you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. Just simply thinking about that, like, hey, I'm up. And it gets me up. And another thing, and this is, I'm not a very, well, OK. Taking care of the house. I need to grow in that. That's true. But one verse that really helps me a lot is Proverbs 14.1. The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down. So I know a lot of those times, like, do I have to do the dishes again? I just did them yesterday. Do I have to do the laundry, clearing the floor? The wise woman builds her house. She doesn't destroy it. She's not, don't be a fool and tear it down. Another thing that I thought of, and I've been meditating on this a lot because of the way things are in this world. all the craziness that's going on. We have the transgender and abortion. Our economy seems to be tanking. We have all these different things that are going on. And they say, well, how do I live in a world? How do I live wisely in a world like this? What do I do? Well, two verses or two passages come to mind a lot. That's Psalm 2. I always think, why are the nations in an uproar and the people imagine a vain thing? Because it is vain. They're trying to destroy the word of God. They're trying to litigate evil and legislate evil. I guess they're trying to make null the word of God, but it's not. And the Lord is laughing. I think about that in that verse. It says, the Lord laughs. He's sitting on his throne. He's laughing. And then also Psalm 37, and turn to that one. This one has truly been a great help for me. and making me understand how to live wisely in an evil world. That very first words, do not fret. Don't get all in a knot. Do not fret because of evil doers. Be not envious toward wrongdoers. Then go down to verse 3, trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Verse 4, delight yourselves in the Lord. Verse five, commit your way to the Lord. Verse seven, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. And again, do not fret. Then back in verse eight it says again, do not fret. I think the Lord kind of knows that we are weak and we are worrisome creatures. He tells us time and again, do not fret. And then I'm gonna just put a couple words again and again it says in here about inheriting the land it says those who wait for the Lord they will inherit land verse 9 verse 9 but the humble will inherit I'm sorry verse 11 the humble will inherit the land verse 18 the Lord knows that the days of the blameless and their inheritance will be forever verse 22 for those blessed by him will inherit the land that's the testimony of God he said those who trust in him they will inherit the land And so when I hear that testimony, I know it is sure. It is a sure testimony, and I know how to live to a godly life before God. That meditation, that's another one I suggest you meditate on. It's just been a real help in how to live in an evil and perverse world that we are living in now, and to get ourselves a heart of wisdom. Now, verse 8a, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Precepts, or in some translations it says statutes, denotes principles for instructions. Synonyms are things like mandates or commands. So they are divine principles given by God to direct and guide us in all aspects of godly living, in our motives and our desires, our convictions, our character, and our speech and our behavior. And these precepts are right, meaning they're true, they're correct, and they're inerrant. The Hebrew word means straight. It's undeviating. It's a straight path. So that's the Word of God. It's a true, clear path which shows the right way to go. In Isaiah 30, verse 21, it says, your ears will hear a word behind you. This is the way. Walk in it, whenever you turn to the right or left. And I like that imagery. It's like you're walking on a path, and you're about to go the wrong way, but it says, no, no, no. This is the way. And that's what the Word of God does. It shows us the way to go. And as a result of having a straight path, of having divine principles to guide us, is that our hearts rejoice. When we know we're going in the right direction, when we know we're listening to the word of God, we can rejoice in that. And the example I have was this week was a very horrible week at work. It was terrible. And Monday was the worst day. And I remember coming home, and Tara could testify because she saw me after work. I was not in the right mind. I really was not. And I went to the Lord, and I was thinking about things. I was really frustrated with what was going on with work. It was overwhelming. And then I thought about the precepts of God. I thought about, well, what is work? Well, work is a creation ordinance. It's something that is good. It's God created it before the fall. He gave Adam. He put Adam in the garden. He said, you have to work. And then I thought about the other verses. Whatever we do, do all to the glory of God. And when you're working, don't do it to please man. Do it to please God. And thinking about those things, it really gave me a peace. It gave me a focus. And it did rejoice my heart to know that doing what I'm supposed to be doing, even though it may be hard, I can have joy. And it does rejoice your heart when you do follow the word of God. So following the word of God and depending on it, applying its principles in our daily living brings great joy to the heart because we know where we're going. I mean, if you're, let's say, taking a hike and you're on a path and all of a sudden you don't know which way to go, it seems like the path ends. I mean, that would get you scared. But if you see the clear path and you know where you're going, that rejoices your heart. And we know that we're being pleasing to God when we follow his path and when we listen to his precepts. And in the end, the final end, we will have eternal salvation. We will be in heaven forever with Christ. Now, the path, again, as I said, it's not always easy. But following it, even in the difficult times, can still bring joy to the heart. And I thought of the prophet Jeremiah, who I haven't really done an in-depth study about him. That's one of the things I want to do. But I really believe Jeremiah was probably the most abused of the prophets. He just, they really did him bad. But in Jeremiah 15, 16, he says, your words were found and I ate them. And your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart. For I have been called by your name, O Lord God of hosts. I love that imagery. I mean, that's what we need to do. We need to eat the word of God. eat it, it's like digested, it nourishes us, it helps us, and because we're called by his name. And our Savior himself tells us in John 15 11, these things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full. That's what the word of God is written for. I think that he even gave us this revelation, but so that we would have joy and our joy will be made full, made full in Christ. Verse 8b, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Now, commandment means rule or decree. And here it denotes divine authority, what God requires of us. Quoting John MacArthur, the expression underscores the Bible's inerrant authority. It is not a book of recommendations or suggestions. It's not a collection of thought-provoking proposals or helpful but optional advice. Its precepts are binding commandments from the sovereign king of the universe whose authority extends to every minuscule detail of our lives. Deuteronomy 533 says, you shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you that you may live and that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess. It's what the Lord your God has commanded you, but there's the benefits of it. You may live and it may be well with you. Well, this commandment of the Lord is pure. In some translations it says clear. It's meaning it's transparent, it's lucid, it's not confusing or mysterious. Now, there are some passages in the Bible, as Peter says, that are hard to understand. But in general, the word of God is clear. All the truths that we need to know for salvation, for godliness, are abundantly clear and understandable. We think of verses, this one's very familiar, Psalm 119, 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet. and a light to my path. And then Psalm 119, 130, and I love this one. The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. And again, you see the parallel there with Psalm 119 and 19. It really gives understanding. Because the commandment is pure, it's clean, it's clear, it's understandable, it enlightens the eye. It's like a flashlight. When you're in the dark, you turn it on and you can see everything. It enlightens the eye. It gives light in the darkness. It gives understanding and clarity to the mind. And again, it only does this for the mind and the soul that has been converted by the word of God. The natural man does not understand this. It says in 1 Corinthians 2 14, a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised. I know I have three sons, and by the grace of God, two of them are walking in the Lord. But I still have one that doesn't know the Lord. And when I have opportunity to speak to him, and I always bring him the word of God, and I'm reading him the scripture that, to me, because of the grace of God, it's clear. It's like, it's right there. Can't you see it? But he can't see it. You know, the word. I say this all the time, he's blind, he's really blind. But the word of God in the soul that has been changed, that has been converted, it gives light. How many times have you read through a scripture that maybe you've read years ago and you see something new, you see something, you get more understanding because the word gives light. This is such a precious book. I don't know why we're not always in it. And I love this one. It says, 2 Corinthians 3.16, whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. That is such a beautiful description. It is. It's like, think about your own conversion, how you were before. And when the Lord saved you, and you see and you read the scripture, it's like, this is all new. And even every single day as you're reading through and year by year, I know one thing, when I had years ago I read through Leviticus and I read it and I kind of understand it, but recently I read it through it again and I could see the different things, the different types of Christ in it, which I had not seen before because as you grow in Christ and as you continue to study the word, he continues to enlighten your eyes and his commandments continue to enlighten your eyes. Now, I want you to notice also the progression of the passage. So we started out that the word of God gives life to the spiritually dead soul. It then imparts wisdom to the spiritual newborn. It guides it on a straight path and gives strong, clear light to that path. I mean, that is so much that we have from the word of God. Isn't that sufficient? But yet, there's more. That's what I love about it. There's more. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Fear, meaning reverential awe of God that invokes worship of God. This kind of fear, again, is only found in the believer who is awakened by scripture to the truth of who God is. It's divine worship. Jeremiah 32 40 says, I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn them away, well I will not turn away from them to do them good and I will put the fear of me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me. And then Psalm 119 38, establish your word to your servant as that which produces reverence for you. So now the word of God teaches us not only who to worship because it says there in Jeremiah that I will put the fear of me in their hearts but also how to worship. In John 4 24 it says God is spirit and we must worship him in spirit and in truth. We worship God from a renewed heart and we worship in accordance with the inerrant truth found in his holy scriptures and I tell you, I really was looking forward to this weekend because we're spending the whole weekend worshiping God. And I love Sundays especially. Here at our church, we have Sunday school. It's nine o'clock. We have a morning worship at 10. We have the fellowship meal afterwards. We have prayer, and then we are back under worshiping God. And it's a whole day spent Worshipping God I mean as best we can because we still have essential creatures as best we can we could really give ourselves to just worshiping and hearing the Word of God and having the Word of God expounded to us and It just brings that worship it you hear the the words of who he is. He is God Almighty. He is holy. He's he's a Loving God. He's a merciful God and you just your heart worships him and I love Sundays. It really is, to me, it's like a taste of heaven, what we'll be doing in heaven. And the fear of the Lord is clean. It's absent of any impurity, filthiness, defilement, or imperfection. There's not the slightest taint of evil in it. And remember, again, in this context, we're talking of the fear of the Lord as referring to the scripture. So the scripture is completely absent of any impurity. It is clear. It is perfect. Psalm 12.6 says, the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. And I thought about that image of, you know, you get the silver and it has the dross and everything on it. And like I said, they have to refine it seven times. So it goes through the fire one time, it goes, oh, we've got to keep going, get all the dross and all of the impurities out of it. But the word of God never had any impurities or any dross to begin with. It's absolutely, perfectly, completely pure. And therefore, it endures forever. Mark 13.31, heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will not pass away." And then I think this is just the eminent verse right here. Psalm 119.89. Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in the heavens. It is settled. There's no changing it. And this is one of the clearest texts regarding the inerrancy of scripture. It is perfect, it is pure, it's unchanging and eternal. It needs no refining, no updating, no alteration, no amendments or anything else. It is eternally relevant and sufficient to meet the needs of our souls. Nine B, the judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. Now judgments means verdicts or ordinances or authoritative orders. MacArthur says, the judgments of the Lord are his divine verdicts on everything that pertains to life and godliness. God is the lawgiver and the judge of all the earth. He is the one who grants rights and privileges. He is a holy God, so all his judgments are true and right. They are true, there is nothing false or erroneous in them. Some synonyms for true are factual, correct, genuine, real, unaffected, unvarnished, perfect. How many things in this world can we say is true? not a lot, this is. The Word of God, His judgments are reliable, they're trustworthy, and therefore they're relevant and applicable. Because his judgments are true, they are comprehensively right. It is not just that some of the scripture or only some of the books of the Bible or only the words of Christ in red that are true and right. All the words and every word of God is altogether, it is completely, comprehensively, perfectly, everlastingly true and righteous. Nothing needs to be added and nothing must be taken away or rejected. Psalm 119 and 160 says, the sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous ordinances is everlasting. And Christ prays to his father in John 17 17, sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. And then we are warned again in Revelation 20, 18 not to add or take anything away. It says, I testify to everyone who hears the word of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are written in his book. And think about that. This is the word of God. This is the word of the almighty God. And how do we, as fallen creatures, have the audacity to think that we can add something to it? Or, well, we don't really need to listen to that. It just amazes me how some people preach things like that, that, oh, well, that's not important. No. Every single word is truth. And we need it all. So summarizing the sufficiency of scripture, The Word of God provides divine instruction, which is perfect and able to redeem the soul, the law of the Lord. It provides a divine witness, which is sure and able to produce godly wisdom, the testimony of the Lord. It gives divine principles that guide us on the right path, causing us to have joy in the journey, the precepts of the Lord. It contains divine decrees which are pure and clear and gives understanding and light to the dark things that are hard to comprehend, the commandments of the Lord. It evokes divine worship to God from a renewed heart that will worship him forever, the fear of the Lord, and it pronounces God's divine verdicts which are completely, unerringly, and eternally true and right. John MacArthur says, that word in the life of an individual, energized by the Spirit of God, brings about consummate sufficiency. To believe anything less is to strike a blow at the integrity of the living God. And nobody wants to do that. We know, as the people of God, we know that we don't want to do that. This word is sufficient. I can't say it enough. This is definitely our food. We need to eat this. And so let's talk about the value of scripture from verses 10 through 13. 10a, they are more desirable than gold. Yes, than much fine gold. So the word of God provides the greatest possession. In it, we have everything we need for salvation and every issue of life. Think about Ephesians chapter one where it says we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. God's word is more valuable than all the riches of this world because his word is perfect and it's eternal. more valuable than gold. Also, it's sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. So the word of God provides the greatest pleasure. As the hymn writer says, sweet the moments, rich in blessing, which before the cross I spend, life and health and peace possessing from the sinner's dying friend. I love that hymn. It is sweeter. In Psalm 1-2, it says, the blessed man is the one who delights in the law of the Lord. Delight means to desire and to find pleasure in something. And in his law, he meditates day and night. That is the greatest pleasure. That is the greatest joy that we can have. The greatest enrichment is found in the study and the meditation of God's word. Verse 11a, moreover, by them your servant is warned. So we have the greatest protection in the word of God. It is a source of protection against sin and temptation and spiritual ignorance. It gives us all those things. It gives us the weapons to fight against temptation and sin, and it gives us wisdom. It rebukes, it exhorts, and it commands us. We hide it in our hearts so that we may not sin. And Psalm 119 says, then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all your commandments. So it gives us warning. And in keeping them, there is great reward. So we receive the greatest profit when we keep the words of God's word. We receive so many blessings in this life. through our relationship with Christ Jesus and salvation. We have peace, we have joy, we have guidance, we have comfort, we have fellowship, we have all of those things. But our greatest reward, our ultimate reward, will be life eternal in glorified bodies where we will worship God our Savior perfectly. And I can't wait for that day. Then, verses 12 through 13, who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins and let them not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. The word of God causes the greatest purification. As David looks into the word of God and he contemplates its comprehensive sufficiency, its inestimable value, his heart cries out for purification and for cleansing. We've done that, though time and time again I've come and I've heard the word of God and it's like, Lord, cleanse me from my sin, forgive me of my sins, help me to live more for you, to think more on you. It does, it causes you to want to be cleansed. I think of David when he was told, when Nathan came to him and said, you are the man, he didn't try to flub or anything. No, right away he went to God. He wants to be cleansed. So he cries out, David, ask God to show him his hidden faults. And those are the ones that are unknown to him. They're unplanned. They're unseen. They're unnoticed. We don't know the depths of our own heart. And he also prays for cleansing from presumptuous sins. Those are the ones we know about, the ones when we're rebellious and we, you know, well, I could do this and, you know, he'll forgive me later. I mean, I've honestly said that. Pray to God for forgiveness. Well, this is the same thing that David prays. He wants to be pure in heart. He wants to be acquitted of great transgression. Well, MacArthur says that this term, great transgression, denotes rebellion. It denotes a turning away from the dominion of God in the realms of grace. And David says, no, that is not what I want. And David repeats the sentiments of this prayer in Psalm 139, 23, and 24. And we all know this one. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. And that's the prayer of my heart. For years I thought I was saved and I was deceived, and my prayer is, Lord, don't let me be deceived. Show me my sin, turn me to Christ, and let me live for you. And then the last verse is the commitment to scripture. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. David's response to all of this is a prayer of commitment to the word of God and to God of the word. His cry is, oh Lord, let my words and my speech, my thoughts, my behavior, my meditations, let them be acceptable to you because they are in accordance with your word. Let us, like David, be committed to God's word. Let us be like Jeremiah and eat God's word and find joy and pleasure in it. Let us be like Job who treasured it more than his necessary food. And I want to close with a last quote from Pastor MacArthur and giving a summary of the sufficiency of scripture. Scripture is eternally true, always applicable, and perfectly sufficient to meet all our spiritual needs. Contrary to what many people think today, the Bible does not need to be supplemented with new revelations. It does not need to be reinterpreted to accommodate the latest scientific theories. It does not need to be corrected to harmonize with whatever psychotherapy is currently popular. It certainly does not need to be edited to make it conform to postmodern notions about morality and relativism. All these things will come and go, but the word of the Lord endures forever as unchanged and as unchanging as the God who gave it to us. The word of God is sufficient. Let us pray. Dear Lord God, thank you for your infallible, your inerrant, your sufficient word. Make us like the Bereans who searched your word daily. Let it be our meditation day and night. Help us to delight in it, depend on it, apply it daily, and share it with others. And Lord God, in all of this, may your name be glorified. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen.