Turn to the Word of God once more, Psalm 119 and verse 33. Psalm 119, verse 33. Those of you who come to the prayer meeting, there's not many of you. We've been studying this portion of the Word of God for a few weeks while I've been taking the prayer and Bible study. I just want to draw your attention particularly to the verse, 34. Let's hear God's word once more. Psalm 119, verse 33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of my statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law. Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments, for therein do I delight, incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way. Establish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach, which I fear, for thy judgments are good. Behold, I've longed after thy precepts. Quicken me in thy righteousness. Last to be sung, verse three, Robert Robinson. He writes, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart. I would take and seal it, seal it from my courts above. Roger was telling me at the beginning of the service that Robert Robinson, who wrote this hymn, was a bit of a rascal as a young man, into violence and other such criminality. And yet God touched him and saved him. And he became eventually a pastor of a church, not sure where. But over a period of time, he lost that first love. And he wandered. He was prone to wander. And he left the God of his first love. And one day, in the providence of God, he was on a train, engaged in conversation with a lady. And she was saying, what a blessing this particular hymn was. And he did all in his power to divert this lady's conversation away from this hymn. And in the end, he said to his lady, dear lady, I am the composer of this hymn, and I'll give a thousand words to come back to the truth and knowledge of these things. Prone to wander, Lord, I fear it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart. Oh, take and seal it. Seal it, my courts above. His problem was a problem of the heart. He had a divided heart. I don't know where he ended his life, the circumstances, but it struck me that these are hard issues, issues of the heart. And David, the psalmist of Psalm 119, speaks of such issues. And so in this particular stanza, he asks that God will bless him. Each verse begins with a plea to the Lord. Verse one, teach me. It's a fundamental basic. Teach me, O Lord, the way of my statutes. And once you have taught me, verse 34, give me understanding. We cannot understand God's word, you know that. We're dull. We're spiritually dead. This book is alive. But to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, it's a dead book, it's a dead word. It doesn't matter how many translations or new versions of the Bible we have, you still won't understand it because it's spiritual. It's spiritually discerned. So the psalmist says, give me understanding. Teach me what you teach me. Give me a spiritual understanding to understand it. Basic, isn't it? That's why God has given us pastors and teachers, to teach us, to give us understanding. And he says again in verse 34, and I shall keep thy law. That's the Torah, the commandments, the book of Deuteronomy. Oh, we hate the book of Deuteronomy, don't we? It's full of law. Where's the grace in the book of Deuteronomy? There's plenty there, friends. There's plenty of grace in the law of God. Give me understanding, I shall keep thy law, yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. There is the answer. And I shall keep thy law, yea, I shall. It's emphatic. I shall observe it with my whole heart. Verse 35, make me to go in the path of thy commandments. Guide me, lead me. It's a well-trod path, as I said to the Brethren the other Thursday evening. It's a way that is set. It's there, you tread the path. It's a narrow path, it's not a broad way. We are to be those who are imitators of those who have gone before us. They have trodden the path. And I shall reserve it with my whole heart. The commandments wherein do I delight. Incline my heart. You see, again, he's speaking of the heart, heart issues, the heart, the seat of his emotions. We speak of the heart in a romantic, silly, sloppy way, don't we? But for the ancients, the heart was the seat of all their emotion. And he says, incline my heart unto my testimonies. What are his testimonies? The law, God's testimonies about himself, and not to covetousness, not to things of this world. This is our problem. Your eyes are distracted by the things of this world. We live in a society which is obsessed with things, gadgets, particularly electronic gadgets. You've got to have the latest iPhone. Incline my eyes from beholding vanity, empty, idle things. And quicken thou me, and thou will establish my words unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear. This is what the church of Christ needs today. Christians who are established upon the word of God. So when the storms come, we're not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine or every emotion. We're solid, we're rooted, we're grounded like the tree there in Psalm 1, whose roots go down and drop all the moisture and the goodness and the nutrients. But the tree is strong and can resist the battles that the world throws at it. He says, turn away my reproach, which I fear, for thy judgments are good. Is that your testimony? Your judgments are good? And then, behold, I have longed after thy precepts, quicken me in thy righteousness. So David is instructing himself. He's pleading the Lord to give him, to teach him, to make him, to turn him, to establish him in the word of God. Is that your prayer, Christian friend, tonight? Is that your prayer for this coming week? That God would teach me and give me understanding that I may walk in his ways. As Bush was saying this morning, in a sense he was saying what the psalmist is saying, it's a question of the heart. See, the point is this, it's not enough to keep God's law, we must keep it with the whole heart. God requires your heart. Not just a part of it, he wants the whole of it. And we must give him the whole heart. The seed of our affections. What is your heart set on tonight, friend? Where is your heart set? Maybe something exciting in the coming week. You set your heart upon something. You're not fine, those things you set heart upon disappoint you. I do. You have great expectations, then you meet the event, then the reality is far short. But with God, when we come to his word, we can have expectations which are never disappointed, because it's the word of God. It's not enough for you to come to this chapel Sunday by Sunday, thinking all is well in my heart. to sit in your chair. As Bush was saying this morning, it's not enough. It's not enough. External profession is nothing. Outward acts do not count. I'll give you some examples from the scriptures. Look at Judas Iscariot. There's a man who walked with the Lord three years. a man who was in charge of the purse, a man who saw the miracles and heard the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet he was a devil. You said, what a blessed man he was. Indeed he was. To hear the words of Jesus, to follow in his footsteps, what greater thing can a man experience than to walk with Jesus, and yet he was a devil. When he took the sop of bread, we're told, and it was dark. What a dark night that was. He went and betrayed the eternal Son of God. And you would have thought he was a good, upright Christian man. How about an Anais or an Axe? He's a good man, and his wife's a good woman. Look at them. They've sold that land, that property, and they're giving it to the poor. Wow. Give him a pat on the back. That's really encouraging, isn't it? No. He kept some back. He had the pretense here at the outward exterior of being a big-hearted Christian. But we're told that Satan entered his heart. Satan entered his heart. And Simon Magnus, another one in Acts, he was baptized. Oh, he's a good Christian. He's gone through the world. He's made his profession of faith. All is well with Simon. But no, we're told again that Satan entered his heart. So our profession is not a sign that we are believers. They look good, they said the right things, they did the right things, but their hearts were not right with God. Examine your heart tonight, friends, in the light of scripture. As the Spirit probes into the recesses of our hearts, what does he see? As he puts that spotlight upon our heart attitude, What does he find? Does he find a heart that is like the Pharisee? Says all his prayers, says all the right things, goes to the right places, keeps all the feasts, and yet his heart is not right that we've got. My friends, the Lord looks at the heart. Jehovah asks this question. When I read this the other evening, I was quite challenged. Is my heart right as my heart is with thy heart? Is your heart right as my heart is with your heart? How do you answer that question? We find that in 2 Kings 10, 15. And the one who was asked that question said, I pray that you would say it also. It is. My heart is as your heart. Your people are my people. Your ways are my ways. You see, God dwells in the heart. It's the heart where God dwells. God does not dwell in the tongue, what we say. doesn't dwell in the brain, in what we think, in what we understand. We have an understanding, an intellectual ascent to the word of God, to the ways of God. God doesn't dwell there, these things are important, but it's the heart. This is where he dwells. It's the heart. He dwelleth in our hearts by faith, says Ephesians 3, 17. By faith. If Christ does not reign in your heart, Satan will have it. A bit harsh, but true. If Christ does not reign in the heart, Satan will have it. Will you? Friend, have you given your heart to God to be saved? Or have you given it to the devil to be damned? Consider the reasons why we should love God, why we should give God our heart. Consider what a friend we have in Jesus. You know that wonderful hymn. What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. You'll find no greater, no faithful friend as in Jesus. Don't look to your friends to be with you in days of crisis and trouble. Some will, but the majority will flee. particularly when the world is against you. And if, dare I say, even when Christians are against you, your fine friends will flee and have nothing to do with you. Consider the friendship of God. We say that so lightly, the friendship with God. What a blessing it is to know God as our Father, Jesus as an older brother, Jesus as Savior, Jesus is the comforter. Consider him. Just for that reason is enough to give our hearts. But consider the blessings received, the blessings you received this past week, the blessings you received this very day. Count your blessings one by one. There are numerous, you just cannot count your blessings. There's so many of them. God has kept you. God has provided for you. God has been with you. Consider blessings received internally, peace with God. Externally, we have a fellowship of people of God. Doesn't matter what tribe or tongue they are. There's a fellowship, there's a bond between a Christian. Think of the temple blessings. Think of the eternal blessings that we have and we give our heart to God. Consider what he's given to us. He gave his son. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Consider that the son didn't say to the father, you want me to go down there? To that cesspit? Holy, undefiled, to that place of sin and corruption? Didn't say that, did he? Eternal Son of God, he came to seek and to save that which was lost. He gave his son and his son freely gave himself. Consider this, his gospel. He gave us his gospel. He's given us the opportunity to hear his gospel once again tonight. That's a blessing. Don't knock it. Don't think, oh, it's Sunday evening. I've got to go to church. Christians are like this tonight. We are becoming a rarity in our nation, in our county. we meet on the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day. It's the Lord's Day, morning and evening, the Lord's Day. Why are people falling away? Because their heart is divided. We are blessed with his spirit, the spirit of truth. The spirit will lead us and guide us. The spirit who will surround us with his love, will give us understanding of the word of God. The blessing that Christ is to us. He's given us his word to enlighten us and the spirit to guide us. These are all the benefits that we have from the gospel. And the psalmist says, what should I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? What should you render unto the Lord for the benefits toward you? Psalm 116, 12, ask that very pertinent question. The Lord himself has told you. The Lord himself has told you in Proverbs 23, 26. My son, give me your heart. My son, give me your heart. And if you're honest, that's all we can give him. poor, miserable, wretched sinners as we are. That's all we can offer. Not that he needs it, he doesn't need it, but grace extended towards us asks for it. Give me thine heart. In verse 34 in Psalm 119, He speaks of the whole heart, wholehearted. He speaks often of the heart. Verse 36, incline my heart unto my testimonies. David is a wholehearted Christian, yet he knows the difficulties of the Christian life, Christian experience. He knows that he's prone to wander, to leave his first love. And so he's determined, he has a determination to give his whole heart. I shall reserve it with my whole heart. He that gives only part of the heart gives God nothing. Remember Pharaoh and the children of Israel wanted to leave to go off for sacrifice in the desert. Pharaoh says to them, Yeah, you can go, you can go, but you leave your children and you leave your flocks in Egypt because you knew this was the way to bring them back again. They would have been divided. Their heart would have been divided between God and her flocks and her children. So Pharaoh sets this snare before them. Leave them. And as you leave them, you will come back for them, because that's where your heart and affection is. When we are not holy and solely for God, God will be jostled out at the last. Do you know that? If you're not wholly given to God, if there's some affection, some sin, some beloved sin, but it's not crucified, Christ will be eased out. You know this from experience. You've got Christian friends who walked well. And they've experienced some bad experience in churches. I'm sorry that churches do that to us. And they lose their first love. Their heart is divided. I can name names tonight of brothers and sisters who walked well. have been hurt, have a walk no longer, backslidden. Pray for the backsliders that we know. Pray for the backsliders. We have a wonderful example of this in their reading from the New Testament this evening in Mark chapter 6. A well-known narrative, John the Baptist is been preaching. He's arrested. Herod has imprisoned him. And John the Baptist, he's a wholehearted man. He's going to tell it as it is. For Herod, in verse 17, chapter 6, for Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison. For Herod's sake, his brothers, Philip's wife, for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, it's not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. True. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him and would have killed him, but she could not. And let me read these interesting words. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and unholy, and observed him. And when he heard him, he did many things and heard him gladly. He's keen for the gospel. He's keen to hear what John has to say. And he has conversations with him. He warms to John. But there's this problem in the background. John has spoken the truth. You cannot have her. You cannot marry your brother's wife. Therefore Herodias has this vendetta against John. What happens? He throws a party. He makes promises. He's a drunken stupor probably, and the damsel dances before him, and she pleases him and those who are gathered together. Verse 23, and he swore unto her, whatsoever thou shalt ask me, I will give it thee unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth and said unto her mother, what shall I ask? And she said, the head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king and asked, saying, I will that you'll give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. Verse 26, we read, and the king was exceeding sorry. There is a man half-hearted. He has a desire to know the truth, but he has a desire to please his wife and to save face before those who are gathered with him. And he brought his head in the charger and gave it to the damsel. And he went and beheaded him in prison. You see, Herodias drew him back into Satan's snare. To see the subtlety of it, he was half-hearted. But if we, as the psalmist and others, wholehearted, We have that protection, we have that desire, we have that longing to please God, to walk in his ways, to be faithful. That's what God calls us to be. Herod was drawn back. Psalmist is drawn into the love and embrace of his God. So the challenge for me tonight and for you is, Let us believe in God with all the heart. Let us see him as all sufficient for every purpose and mode of our life. He is fully sufficient and able. Let us with the psalmist, again, the psalmist, as all scriptures, is quite remarkable. He prays so many prayers in Psalm 119 for our encouragement and for our blessing. He's full-hearted, I shall observe it with my whole heart, verse 34. Then he says, let's seek God as sufficient for our daily needs. And that's found in verse 57, the first we ever read tonight. Thou art my portion, O Lord. I said, I will keep thy words. David is saying that, God, you are my portion. You are my all in all. You're all that I need. And for the Jews, particularly they were, as the land was divided, the sons of Levi received no land. Their portion was the Lord. This is what David prays. Thou art my portion, O Lord. And that's what his desire was, to have a greater portion of the Lord. As Christians, we're just putting around on the surface, at the edges of this vast, glorious sea of knowledge and grace. And David wants to know more of it. He wants to delight. in the word of God, make me to go in thy path, verse 35 of Psalm 19, make me to go in the path of thy commandments, for therein do I delight. And as he delights, he cleaves to God alone, in verse 25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust, quicken thou me according to thy word. What he's saying there is, my soul is bonded, as you would with super glue. He wants to cleave to his God, as Jacob did, as he wrestled with God there by the river. So a challenge for you and for I tonight is, are we cleaving? Are we hanging on to God? Are we seeking to serve him with a godly obedience? And then finally he says, quicken me, quicken me. Do you feel like you need to be quickened? Do you feel dull and sleepy? Do you feel like you need to be enlivened? Verse 50, this is my comfort in my affliction, for I would have quickened me. He prays that, again in verse 25, my soul cleave unto thus, quicken thou me according to thy word. He's praying for revival, friends. He's praying that God will revive his flagging spirit as he's walked the Christian walk. As some of you, as I, become tired and weary, gonna go to the prayer meeting tonight, it's Thursday, once again, you need quickening. We need reviving. not only as individuals, but as a church. The church of Jesus Christ in Sussex needs to be quickened, needs to be revived. You lost your first love, you need quickening. This is my comfort, he says, in my affliction, for I would have quickened me. And Satan would say, yes, you've been hurt, I understand that, and yes, It's fair, it's only right that you stay away. I used to think this way at times. When we left another church, we came here. I didn't come to the prayer meeting. I didn't need the grief. I didn't need the trouble. But God quickens us in the path of righteousness to do what is right, to stand up so that the neighbors think, That's Thursday night. There's only two cars there tonight. Not many there, is there? What sort of testimony is that to Gordon Road? We need the quickening of the spirit. We have bi-monthly prayer meetings for revival. I don't see many of you there, to be honest. You need quickening. We need quickening. Friends, these are hard truths. The truth's to my own heart. This is my comfort in my affliction, and I have been afflicted. For thy word hath quickened me. Let's seek the Lord to quicken us and to revive us. Amen. 690. Final praise 690. O for a heart to praise my God, a heart from sin set free. 690 Oh, for a heart in praise, my God, A heart from sin set free, A heart that always reveals my love, So freely shed for me. ♪ The heart is mine, what shall this be? ♪ ♪ Thy praise redeemeth the world ♪ ♪ Where only Christ is heard to speak ♪ ♪ Where Jesus prayed alone ♪ ♪ A humble dove in contrite heart ♪ ♪ Behaving true and clean ♪ ♪ Which neither light nor death can part ♪ ♪ Of him that dwells within ♪ Her heart in every thought renewed, and full of love divine. Perfect and bright, and beautiful and pure, our helping Lord of night. ♪ Thy nature gracious, holy, kind ♪ ♪ Done with these paths above ♪ ♪ Christ, thy new name upon my heart ♪ Only Father, we pray that you would renew our hearts, that you would quicken us in the cause of truth, that we may live to your praise and to your glory. Now the Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance, upon thee and give thee peace. Amen.