All the power, all the glory, I will trust in his name, amen. Well, good morning. Happy New Year, everybody. It's a new year and we have no announcements, so I don't know if that will hold, but if you would stand again in honor of reading God's word. Psalm 19. Psalm 19, this is God's word. To the choir master, a Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the ends of the heaven, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving 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. And the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from my hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you speak, that you speak in creation, that you speak in your word. that you speak in your son, Jesus Christ. Will you speak to us again this morning from your word? Will you apply it to our hearts and our minds and our lives? Lord, we ask these things in your precious name of Jesus. Amen. Please be seated. On Thanksgiving morning this year, or I guess I have to say last year, just a few months ago, I had to work early. So I got up, took a shower, and got ready, walked out the door a little bit groggy because I'm more of a night person than a morning person. And a few steps out the door, I literally dropped my bags and stared at the sky. Straight in front of me, just over the top of my car, I saw basically this. This photo is pretty much what I was looking at that morning, except instead of the barn, you'd have to imagine my car. But here in the lower left, we've got Canis Major. the Big Dog constellation with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Over here is Orion, you can see these three stars right in a row make his belt and then up here is his upper torso with Betelgeuse, the red giant star up here at his shoulder. And then down here is his lower torso and his sword right here in the middle with the really cool Nebula M42 right down here. And then over here you can see the V. of Taurus, the bull with the bright red Aldebaran as his eye, and then up here the Pleiades, the seven sisters, the seven stars tightly grouped, a really tight star cluster. Now this isn't meant to be an astronomy lesson, but hopefully you're getting just a little sense of the majesty of the sky above your head. And that's just a small swath of sky that I was looking at. I was getting cold and I had to get to work, so I had to leave. I would have loved to have spent a lot of time looking around. But all these amazing things point to an amazing Creator Psalm David is a psalm or excuse me. Psalm 19 is the psalm of David Sung by the people of Israel and having been a shepherd David would have spent plenty of time under the sky Plenty of days under the hot Sun plenty of nights under the stars and he had seen the sky in all conditions he would have seen that section of sky himself and And he would have contemplated the stars and the sun many times. And knowing God, he knows that they reflect the glory of God. God has his innate glory. demonstrated by the approachable light in which he lives, which no man can see and survive, but God's glory is also reflected in his creation by what he has made, and we can see that in the sky. According to C.S. Lewis, Psalm 19 is the greatest poem in the Psalms and one of the greatest lyrics the world now this psalm breaks down it pretty cleanly into three sections verses 1 through 6 the revelation of God in the heavens verses 7 through 9 the revelation of God in his word verses 10 through 14 the proper response to God's revelation in his word so again verse 1 the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaim his handiwork and Day-to-day pours out speech, and night-to-night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. There's a paradox in there, but without words, without language across borders and into every corner of the globe, the message goes. August Thulock says this, although all preachers on earth should grow silent and every human mouth cease from publishing the glory of God, the heavens above will never cease to declare and to proclaim his majesty and glory. They are forever preaching, for like an unbroken chain, their message is delivered from day to day and from night to night. The point is that everything in the sky is sending a message. Day and night, the message goes out. It goes out into all the earth, and it pours out. James Montgomery Boyce says, the image is literally of a gushing spring bringing forth copious amounts of sweet, refreshing waters of revelation. And what is the message gushing forth? That God is glorious. that he loves beauty, he loves precision, that he is an artist, that he is immense, that he is powerful, that's just to name a few. There are 10,000 visible stars, but that's only a fraction of the stars that we know of. Scientists estimate there are 200 billion trillion stars. That's 200 sextillion. Two with 26 zeros. I think that's right. I'll have to refer to my math guy, John Lawless. But that number is beyond our comprehension. Genesis 1-6, or excuse me, 1-16 says in what has to be the most understated sentence in all of literature, and he made the stars also. Like he was making a sandwich. Like it was nothing. But he spoke 200 sextillion stars into existence by the power of his word. And he knows each one's name. I can't keep track of my six kids' names, but he knows every one of them. And he maintains 200 sextillion stars. Isaiah 40, 26 says this, lift up your eyes on high and see who created these. He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. What about the distances involved in our known universe? Alex mentioned last week the Webb Space Telescope and how we're seeing farther and farther into the universe. Scientists have found a galaxy candidate that is 13.5 billion light years away, the farthest object ever observed by man. We can't think, can't even possibly imagine how far away that is. And we tend to think that things that are huge are out of control, disordered, like the sea. or the forest, or the desert, but not the universe, I could tell you when the sunset is tonight. Well, actually, I'd have to pull out my phone to tell you when the sunset would be, but if I looked at my phone, I could tell you when the sunset is. I could tell you when the next full moon is. I could tell you when Jupiter is gonna cross the horizon 30 years from now. And that's because the universe is ordered and completely under God's control. It runs with the precision of a Swiss watch. The sunrise, the sunset, the lunar calendars, the seasons all point to the incredible intricacies and precision of our creator. Jeremiah 33, God talks of his faithfulness to his covenant people in terms of the regularity of the sunrise and the sunset. He is constant in sending of the sun and he is constant in his covenant. There's not one rogue star in the universe. They go where he tells them. Speaking of stars obeying God, David turns next to the sun. In them, he has sent a tent set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its courts with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. Obviously, the star of the daytime sky is the sun. It warms the earth. It lights the sky. Without the sun, life on earth would cease. Photosynthesis makes the plants grow, the plants eat the animals, the people eat the animals and the plants. The Sun causes the land to heat up, to cause weather, the hydrologic cycle. I won't go into all the ways that the Sun brings life to the Earth or the Goldilocks way in which it's just the right distance and the tilt of the Earth is just right. But the sun is amazing. And that's David's understanding is in contrast to the Near East religions where the sun is a god or the king of gods. David knows that the sun is God's creation. The son is in David's mind under the control of God. And with poetic language, David describes the son as following the path given to him by God with joy and with enthusiasm. It's running a race, following a track laid out by the creator. Morrison says this, it is impossible to direct even a cursory glance to the greater and lesser lights which rule by day and night, without being compelled to think with reverential awe at the incomprehensible being who kindles up all their fires, directed all their courses, and impresses upon them all the laws which contribute alike to the order, beauty, and happiness of the universe. The proper response to the revelation of God in the sky, on the earth, In all of creation is worship and thankfulness, but the unbeliever will not worship. They will not give thanks. Romans 1.18 says this, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that he has made, so they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. The message is clear, those who fail to heed the message or without excuse. John Piper says that nature does not whisper, it shouts and it shouts continually. How about you? Maybe you're here this morning and you fancy yourself as an atheist or an agnostic. Look up to the heavens and tell me who created all this. It is the Lord God Almighty. The heavens declare the glory of God Let's turn now to the second section, the revelation of God in his word. Let me quickly remind you that revelation of God in creation was never enough. Some people have claimed that that's all we need. But it wasn't enough even before the fall. Adam and Eve needed the instruction of God. He told them what to do. We needed that, what is called special revelation, the revelation of his word. And even more so now after the fall where we are infected by sin, we can't see things properly. And just as the sun brings physical life to the world, his word brings life to all those who hear it. John MacArthur calls this section God's word on his word, and I'm indebted to him on his thoughts in this section. We'll see in these three verses six statements, six parallel lines of thought, all describing and exalting the excellencies of scripture. We'll see six names or titles for God's word. We'll see six characteristics or attributes of the scripture, and we'll see six effects of the word of God on the believer. Six titles, six characteristics, and six effects. Or if you like, six nouns, six adjectives, and six verbs. That's if you're a school teacher. Note that each of the titles includes the phrase of the Lord. David uses the covenant name of God, Yahweh. This is the God of Israel. He used El, the generic or creator name of God in verse one, but here is the personal. the saving, the redeeming covenant name of God. And every line says, of the Lord, of the Lord, of the Lord. Six times he says it. This is not a human book. He says it six times in case you were to not understand where the book comes from. All scripture is breathed out by God, 2 Timothy 3.16. It's why we stand when we read the Bible publicly to remind us that this is the Lord that we are hearing from. It's in our name, Littleton Bible Chapel. It's the basis for everything we do, everything we teach, hopefully. We want to revere and to honor and obey what the Lord says. Verse seven, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. Now law can mean the Ten Commandments in its smallest or most granular form. It could mean the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. But he uses the word Torah here, which means all of scripture, the whole Bible. It carries the idea of divine instruction. The Bible is God's instruction manual, the way to live in the world. It is the will of God revealed. And the word perfect here means without flaw or error, certainly, but it carries with it the idea of comprehensiveness, completeness. It covers everything that is needed. 2 Peter 1 says he grants us all things for life and godliness. The ESV translation says reviving the soul. Others use converting the soul or restoring the soul. But it's more than just getting a cool drink on a hot day. It makes the dead alive. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God who is rich in mercy has made us alive in Christ. So you could say that not all revivings are conversions, but all conversions are reviving. The word is able to regenerate a person. The agent is the Holy Spirit, but the word is the means. Paul said to Timothy, Second Timothy 3.15, from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. This includes not only salvation but sanctification. It is able to make you more and more like Christ. It has the sense of transforming or remaking the inner person, the soul. We could paraphrase it as this, the word is comprehensive enough to totally transform the inner person. Second statement, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Here scripture is seen as testimony, a self-disclosure of God, the witness statement of God regarding himself and mankind. It is the divine witness of who he is, What he will do and what he requires of us. It is sure you can trust it. It won't fail. It won't be wrong with everything crumbling around you. Isn't it nice that scripture is sure? Second Peter one is a fascinating portion of scripture. He says, we have been eyewitnesses of Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. We saw his resplendent glory. We heard the testimony of the father. We saw the Holy Spirit, a light on him. But when he talks about scripture, he says, we have a more sure word. It's more fully confirmed. Some say the message is completely reliable. It's more sure than his eyewitness account. We live in a world of photos and video evidence, and we think that is sure. But the testimony of God in the scriptures is more sure, more true, more dependable. It makes the simple wise. The word for simple here is an open door. The simple person lets anything in, and everything falls out. They're undiscerning. We need to guard our minds and our hearts, what we see and take in. There's no value in exposing yourself to lies and untruth and perversion. Wisdom to a Hebrew is not synonymous with education. It's not a matter of diplomas or advanced degrees or credentials. Wisdom is skillful living. It's a practical skill of navigating life in our world and it comes from the scriptures. Most of the wise, many of the wisest people I know are not highly educated. In fact, the inverse is true. Some of the most educated people I know are the most unwise, the most foolish. So the word of God is sure and it makes those who follow it skillful at holy living. Verse eight, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Some translations say statutes. This is the idea of scripture as doctrine, divine doctrines that are principles for behavior, not mere suggestions or nice ideas. Those doctrines are right, they are correct. They lead to the proper end. Psalm 119 says, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. This says that the Word is the path, the right path. If you're gonna climb Mount Elbert, you gotta get on the right path. You can't just pick any path. It's gotta be the right path. The Word puts us on the right path. And they rejoice the heart, they bring joy. In our society, we tend to think of people who follow the rules as squares or sourpusses or killjoys, but those who obey God's word have joy, not just temporary happiness, but joy beyond when the circumstances are hard. Luke 11, 28, Jesus says, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Jesus said over and over again, I have come to do the will of my Father. Isaiah 40 says of the Messiah that he delighted to do the Father's will. How about some doctrines which might give you joy? The perseverance of the saints, the doctrine of justification, the doctrine of eternal security, How about the resurrection of the dead, the sovereignty of God, the new heaven and the new earth? Those ought to give you lasting joy if you think on those doctrines. The doctrine of the Lord is the right path to lasting joy. The commandment of the Lord is pure, second statement of verse eight. The commandment carries the idea of scripture as divine mandate or divine dictates. They are binding and authoritative, not optional. They're God's demands upon mankind. Disobedience brings judgment and punishment and obedience brings reward and blessing. Those commands are pure. It has the sense here of clear or transparent as of a lens. You don't wanna be driving around with a dirty windshield. There's no impurity, there's no distortion. It provides a clear way to see the world and everything in it. It gives us a new lens by which to see our lives. Many today would say that, sure, the Bible is God's word, but we don't know what it means. And you're presumptuous if you say you do know what it means. But the Bible says the opposite. It says it is clear, it's understandable. It doesn't require a special level of learning or ability. It's clear and it enlightens our eyes. How many times did Jesus say to the Pharisees, have you not read? Have you not read? He expected them to have read and understood. The word is clear and we are responsible for it. Now, it's true that we need the Holy Spirit to make the scripture clear, but if you are a believer, you have the Holy Spirit. You can understand the Bible. He makes it clear to us. 1 Corinthians 2.14. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. Think of that. We understand the world as it really is. We understand the word. Now the word gives light to the eyes, it says. I've always had good eyesight, but now in my 50s, I noticed that I need more light to read, and when I'm tired, I need glasses. The word brings us light. Scripture gives you the light to see things clearly. Verse nine, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The fear of the Lord is a synonym for worship. The scripture is our worship manual. The Bible guides us in and causes us to worship. The scripture leads us to worship. Worship that is clean, unsullied, unalloyed, no imperfections or impurities. And because it is clean, it endures forever. It is eternal. Isaiah 40, verse seven, the grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Psalm 119, 89, for oh Lord, excuse me, forever, oh Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. So many people think that the Bible is antiquated, not applicable to modern life, needs to be updated. But it is always relevant, always applicable, always profitable, always good, and it lasts forever. Last one, the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. I don't like to complain about the ESV. It's a good translation, but here it's not great. Rules is really judgment. Thank you. Judgments, God's adjudication of things. The alternate reading of just decrees is okay, or I suppose rulings would be okay, but the idea of judgments or verdicts, what God pronounces as guilty or innocent, good or evil. That's a better sense of the word that they've translated as rules here. It's like case law, past examples of God's decisions. God's decisions about right and wrong are true. They are true. They are correct. We live in a world where people say things like, you have your truth and I'll have mine. But that simply isn't true. What God says is true. What he says is right. He is the measure of truth and error. And truth is essential. It's the way things really are. In a world that's increasingly devoid of truth, we need God's word. Jesus said to the father, your word is truth. And if that truth is completely righteous, not only are God's judgments righteous in and of themselves, but they produce comprehensive righteousness in those who follow him. So the judgments of the Lord are true and lead to comprehensive righteousness. Let's just review here these six titles, six attributes, and six effects. The titles, law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, or just decrees. the attributes perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and the effects reviving the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, enduring forever, and righteous altogether. That word stands in a world of lies and half-truths and darkness, shifting meanings. Every word is up for grabs what it means, but the word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true. That's what God thinks of his word. What do we think of it? We're just past Christmas, so I'll give you a Christmas story. When I was about 15 or 16 years old, my grandparents gave me an electric razor for Christmas, a Norelco three-head shaver. Now, it was a nice gift, but because of the hardness of my heart, And the thickness of my skull, I pretty much despised that gift. And by I mean despised, I mean I was indifferent. I didn't care. I'm sure I said thank you, but I didn't care about the gift. Now this was a fine gift, useful, given in love, given in consideration. But that's not what I wanted, so I didn't care. I didn't value it as I should have. A gift given in love for my benefit and something that I needed. Now, I wonder if we don't do the same thing in regards to scripture and neglect and not understand how precious the gift of the scriptures are. Last point, the right response to God's revelation. What is the right response to God's revelation in his word? I've got four. Number one, put a premium on the word and time in it. Verse 10 says this, more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold. Throughout history, gold has been a precious commodity, a sign of wealth, a keeper of value. David was a massively wealthy man, but to David, scripture was more desirable than gold, more desirable than much wealth. Do we think of the world that way? More desirable than wealth? Judas sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver, and I think many men trade time and the word for making more money. Colossians 3, 1 and 2 say, set your heart on things above. Set your mind on things above, because we have been raised with Christ. Calvin says, we don't properly esteem the word unless we prefer it to everything else. We need to put a premium on what really matters to seek the Lord by reading his word. He says, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Now this was before granular sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Honey was the sweetest thing that was known. But David finds God's word sweet of the honey, a treat, a delight, something that you want more of. His word is better than all the fleeting enjoyment of earthly pleasures. How often we trade time and the word for entertainment or amusement. God's word is to be highly esteemed by his people. It needs to be a priority. So put a premium on the word and time in it. Number two, obey his commands and hold on to his promises. Verse 11 says, moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. We need warnings for dangers that we can't appreciate. When you're a kid, you don't understand how much a car running you over would hurt. We need warnings for sins which we're susceptible to. We all have things which we are weaknesses, things which we are susceptible to. We need warnings for dangers that are too far in the future for us to understand. The consequences are too far removed. We need warnings for those. The opposite is true. If we keep the Lord's command, there's great reward, a clean conscience, a good testimony, eternal reward. Spurgeon said this, saints may be losers for a time, but they shall be glorious gainers in the long run. And even now a quiet conscience is in itself no slender reward for obedience. This is much more to be prized than the temporary wealth or pleasures of this world. We have a great hope that he is coming and that we will live with him forever. Number two, we need to obey his commands and hold on to his promises. Right response number three, humbly pray for the Lord's help to understand and to do his word. Verse 12, who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. David knows that he sins in ways that he isn't even conscious of. He's asking the Lord and the word to do their work, to expose and lay bare even those sins which he is not aware of and those faults that no one see. We need to keep short accounts to confess our sins. That's why I love the Lord's table. It forces us to deal with our sin. Sin is so deceitful, isn't it? Verse 13, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Here David addresses willful sins, outright rebellion. I know it's wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway. He asked the Lord to keep him from sinning willfully. He understands that willful disobedience will lead to dominion. How quickly a seared conscious Conscience leads to enslavement and how quickly sin works to keep us sinning over and over and over again in enslavement Romans 7 18 says this for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. I For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now, if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin that dwells in me. In claiming he would be innocent of great transgression, David isn't claiming sinless perfection. He was trusting the Lord for his provision in the sacrifices which prefigured Christ's death. Sometimes we think that we don't need to pray. But Spurgeon said this, will you just note that this prayer was the prayer of a saint, the prayer of a holy man of God. Did David need to pray this? Did the man after God's own heart need to cry, keep back thy servant? Yes, he did. The elders often pray for one another that the Lord would keep us from sin. We pray for you as well, that the Lord would keep us all from sin, keep us from sin's dominion. We must humbly pray for the Lord's help to understand the word and to do the word. And let me take a brief pause here before we finish up. In a few minutes, we're gonna celebrate the Lord's table. And we invite all those who have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ to join us in remembrance and thankfulness to the one who took away our sins. But if you haven't come to Christ, then I would ask two things of you. One, that you let the bread and the cup pass by you. They are for believers and they won't do anything for you. And second, why haven't you come to Christ? Today is a good day. for that. The psalm is all about God speaking. God is speaking to you in his creation. In his creation says, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there's none like me. He is speaking to you in his scriptures. In his scriptures he says, I am holy. and you are not. And because you have sinned and rebelled against me, I must punish you. He says the wages of sin is death. But thankfully, that's not God's final word. Hebrews 1.1 says, in the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. Literally, he has spoken in his son. He has spoken most clearly and resoundingly in his son. He is speaking to you this morning, and it is a message of grace, a message of forgiveness through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our theme verse for the Lord's Supper today tells us that Jesus made purifications and sat down excuse me, made purifications for sin and then sat down at the right hand of the Father, which is simply saying that when a priest's work is done, he sits down. That's all that means. God is speaking, and in his Son, God says that you can be reconciled to God through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Do you hear the Lord speaking this morning? Come to him, come to Christ, Back to Psalm 19, which ends with this wonderful verse. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. This is the aspiration of all the saints over all the centuries, that their words and thoughts would be pleasing to the Lord. We love him and we want to please him. This last line, again, David uses Yahweh, the covenant name of God, oh Lord. He recognizes that God is his refuge and protection, his rock. It could also be translated as strength. The Lord is both our protection and strength, so I don't think it matters significantly which way we take it, but most importantly and lastly, he is our redeemer. The one who bought us with a price. This last line is a wonderful statement of David's dependence upon the Lord. Now, New Year's is a time when many people are making resolutions. I'm sure you know this. You can pick up a magazine, find on the internet, top goals, top resolutions for 2023. Athletes set their goals before each season. You might be doing the same for your 2023. Pardon me. I'm not gonna tell you what your resolution or goals for 2023 should be. It's not my place. But I would say that you couldn't set a better goal for this moment, for this year, for your lifetime, than for the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart to be pleasing to the Lord. That's David's aspiration. That's our aspiration. But how do we do that? How do we accomplish that? And that's right response number four to the revelation of God's word. Read it, meditate on it, and talk about it. Turn with me to one final scripture, Joshua 1.7. Joshua 1.7. Joshua 1.7. Only be strong and very courageous. being careful to do according to the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous? Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. You want a great 2023? You want to have a great life? Want your words and your thoughts to be pleasing to the Lord? Then read the word. Think about the word. Talk about the word. That's how you do it. Going back a number of years, the elders have used the occasion of the new year to exhort and encourage our church to read the Bible in a consistent and deep way, and I hope that I've been able to do that this morning. That's the call from Psalm 19. That's a challenge for all of us. Read the word. Think about the word, talk about the word, because it's better than gold and it's sweeter than honey. Let's pray. Father, we praise and thank you for what we see in the sky, for what we see in all of creation. We thank you for that. We thank you for your word. We thank you for what you have given us in your word. Will you help us to put a premium on your scripture, to put a premium on reading your word? Will you help us to obey your commands and to hold on to your promises, to look forward to your soon return? Will you help us to pray diligently that you would help us understand and do what you have called us to do? And will you help us to read and meditate and talk about your word? We ask all these things in your son's precious and holy name. Amen.