THE TIMELESS WORD OF GOD (Part 2)
Psalm 119 • Sermon • Submitted
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· 14 viewsA sermon building upon the doctrinal foundations of vs. 89-91, developing the idea of hope as it is based upon the timeless Word of God
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THE TIMELESS WORD OF GOD (Part 2)
THE TIMELESS WORD OF GOD (Part 2)
We began our examination of this section of Scripture by developing the doctrine of the timeless Word of God.
Like the wrench, the simple wrench will outlast all power tools, God’s Word outlasts all other helps to which the believer often turns.
It is timeless. Now, we established three points about this timeless Word of God last week: it is inerrant, eternal, and timeless.
On the basis of this view, we can now enter the more practical aspects of our study of this section. You see, like many aspects of life, understanding the things are helps understand why it matters.
For example, knowing that baking soda and vinegar have chemicals that cause a reaction, the sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid reacts to the carbon dioxide, water, and sodium acetate. Knowing this changes how you store these items. It prevents you from attempting to bake with them, to clean with them, and to play with them.
Knowing the Timeless Word of God, with all of its wonderful implications, creates wonderful benefits to the believer today.
So, what are the implications? What are the applications? What difference does the timeless Word of God make?
I see three:
I. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIFE-GIVING HOPE- 119:92-94
II. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS ESCHATOLOGICAL END- 119:95
III. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIMITLESS PERFECTION- 119:96
I. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIFE-GIVING HOPE- 119:92-94
I. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIFE-GIVING HOPE- 119:92-94
One of the most remarkable benefits of the timeless Word of God is that it gives life-giving hope! Transcending all times, the Word of God stands as a life-giving hope.
So many individuals have relied on the Word of God to endure difficult times. Think of the young wife who’s husband passed away unexpectedly. She clings to the strength of God in His Word. She daily flees to it to find strength to continue each day.
Think of the aged widower who is bereft of his wife of 52 years. He must now live in quiet, separated from the “wife of his youth,” and alone. But he is not alone, as he clings to God as revealed in His Word.
Or, consider the middle-aged man who recently lost his job. He does not know what he is going to do, but he knows that God is in control and will provide for his and his family’s needs. How? By the Word of God.
Think of the countless believers who have endured persecution, facing death at the hands of wicked men and women. Think of the early church who, at the behest of the blood thirsty crowd, were fed to wild beasts.
In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius writes,
“After this, the martyrdoms occurred in all varieties, like so many shapes and colors of flowers woven into one crown to offer the Father. Maturus, Sanctus, Blandina, and Attalus were taken to the beasts in a special publich exhibition. Marturus and Sanctus were again subjected to every torture in the amphitheater as if they had not suffered previously. Again they ran the gauntlet of whips, the mauling by beasts, and whatever the crazed mob demanded, and finally the iron chair, which roasted their bodies and clothed them with the stench.”— Eusebius “Ecclesiastical History,” 175
In his recording of the early church, Eusebius mentions individual after individual who was martyred. What inspired these early believers? What kept them going? The life giving message of the Scriptures!
The psalmist writes, “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” It was a delight to the psalmist! He loved God’s Word and eagerly studied it.
This delight is similar to when a young man falls in love with a young lady. They cannot be separated without the young man thinking of the young lady. When they are on the phone, he never wants to end their conversation. He delights in her!
How much more should the Word of God, this life-giving hope from the timeless Word of God be our delight!
Do you delight in the Word of God? Do you eagerly read it? Do you study it? Or, is it a bore to trudge through it?
It was on the basis of his delight in the Word that the psalmist had hope. Had he not delighted in it, he would have died.
We could put it another way: unless the Word of God had priority in his life, he would have perished.
The psalmist also goes on to write, “I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me.” It is through the Word of God that we receive life.
The Word of God brings life through salvation, as we learn from Romans 10:17. But we also know that God’s Word is our life. It is compared to bread and milk. It is a necessity. Why does he never forget God’s precepts? Because they give him life!
I cannot tell you how many times I was discouraged, defeated, and on the verge of giving up. And then the Lord would show me something powerful from His Word in my daily Scripture reading, giving me a new sense of life.
Think about 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
When you grasp the significance of each of those words, you have life. The psalmist also offers a prayer, requesting, “I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts!”
His request to God is based on his relationship to Him. And where do we learn about this relationship with God? How we obtain it? And the basis for our prayers for life-giving hope? From the timeless Word of God! It is bountiful treasure, a fountain of youth to the believer.
I. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIFE-GIVING HOPE- 119:92-94
II. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS ESCHATOLOGICAL END- 119:95
II. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS ESCHATOLOGICAL END- 119:95
Now, this word eschatological may be unfamiliar to you. It is from the Greek word εσχατος, meaning end. It is where we get the phrase end times. What I mean by this is that the Scriptures teach an ultimate end, a purpose for which all things exist. This is called the eschatological end, and the Scriptures, the timeless Word of God, tells us about such an end.
The psalmist acknowledges the enemy, stating, “The wicked wait for me to destroy me.” Now remember the context: the timeless Word of God and its implications for life. One part of the implication is that God will right all wrongs. All injustices that have not been covered by the blood of Christ will be brought to light and face His perfect ruling. Consider the last book of the Bible, Revelation, and the depiction the aged apostle gives of the end judgment, Revelation 20:11-15. (Orange Tab)
The timeless Word of God presents an eschatological hope, in which all sin is judged. Imagine the hope that the psalmist has in God, as he considers his enemies and the Word of God.
But the eschatological hope of the believer extends past the mere judgment of the wicked. It is the restoration of creation, as developed in Romans 8:18-23, not only of the heavens and the earth, but also of our bodies (cf., 1 John 3:2). Indeed, the last picture we have in the Bible is one filled with eschatological hope, displayed beautifully in the new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21:1-4; 22:1-5).
The eschatological hope we have is wonderful encouragement during periods of persecution.
I. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIFE-GIVING HOPE- 119:92-94
II. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS ESCHATOLOGICAL END- 119:95
III. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIMITLESS PERFECTION- 119:96
III. IT IS TIMELESS FOR ITS LIMITLESS PERFECTION- 119:96