BLESSED BY ASSURANCE OF, RELIANCE UPON, THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD
Everybody needs someone or something they can “rely on” in times of stress or distress. Bill Withers expressed it in the popular song, “Lean on Me”:
“Lean on me, when you’re not strong, I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on; for it won’t be long ‘til I myself am going to need somebody to lean on.”
“Religion”, it has been said, “is reliance” which is to say: Whoever or whatever a person, or a group of persons, “rely on” for meeting their deepest needs becomes their religion. Problem is: Too many folks choose to rely on that which is temporal and material rather than that which is permanent and spiritual.
Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I’d live to see the day when self-worship self-absorption would become such that younger folks would talk about marrying themselves.
Think I’m kidding? At first I thought it was a joke - “fake news” - but soon I learned that the not so bright idea of “marrying oneself” has taken at least one college campus by storm.
Neither did I ever think I’d live to see the day when same-sex marriage would become the law of the land. In both instances, some folks decided to rely on themselves for a definition of marriage that suited their own selfish desire for identification and actualization.
As children of God, we have been given His Word to rely on for guiding us along the paths of life; and our goal in life must be to please Him in all that we do. Our Lord has set the standards by which we are to live in His Word.
Living in a world in which ethics and morality are left up to the personal preferences of the individual, such as the “marry myself” syndrome or the same-sex marriage sin, there is that temptation to fall for such haphazard ways of doing things which throws our society into chaos and puts us at odds with each other.
Getting it right in God’s sight has got to be the godly person’s aim - IF we are to please God in all that we do. That which is right in God’s sight is what we must think of as “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Infallible Truth, revealed by the Lord God . . . personified in the person of God’s Son Jesus Christ . . . passed on to us by divinely inspired spokespersons for God, is consistent across all times, cultures and peoples of all nations.
“Alternate truth”, presented from time to time by self-appointed prophets who claim to have received a “new revelation” but is inconsistent with that which we have had from the beginning, should in no way be considered Infallible Truth.
The Word of God, revealed to God’s servants and recorded in the original Bible, is divine truth. As we conclude our study of this 119th psalm, we claim and proclaim our reliance on the truth of God’s Holy Word – Psalm 119:153-160 . . .
We rely on the truth of God’s Word for salvation. Three aspects of salvation concerned the psalmist. Regarding each aspect, he pled with God to intervene in his situation. Have you ever felt the need for divine intervention in your situation?
As we begin another year, perhaps you feel the need to be reassured that everything is going to be alright. You want to be certain that if push comes to shove God will indeed rescue you . . . redeem you . . . revive you. A model you can follow:
David appealed to the Lord’s compassion, asking God to consider his need and to do something about it. Rescue me!
He argues his case based on his devotion to, and his determination never to forget, God’s Word. “After all,” he reasoned, “it’s not me but the wicked that reject your commandments and make up their own rules as they go”.
David appealed to the Lord’s advocacy. “Plead my cause. Redeem me!” We all need an advocate from time to time. Who better to stand by our side than the Lord? How better to keep the Lord close to you than meditating on His Word? Get into the Word, stay in the Word, abide in the Word, let His Word abide in you.
David appealed to the Lord’s mercy. “Great are Thy mercies, O Lord.”
How grateful we are that God in His mercy loved us and sent His Son to die for our sins - to rescue and redeem us.
Yet, at one time or another, we may have gotten a little too far away from God, and we cried out to the Lord, as did David, “Revive me!”
See how personal all of this was with David. He was worried about David. He was in desperate need of God’s help, as if to shout to the Lord, “Not my brother, nor my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer! It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer!” Pray that prayer!
Now - this important and pertinent question: “Who took on himself the role of advocate on behalf of Christians?” Yes, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ! As John put it:
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the righteous One.” (1 John 2:1) And as the writer of Hebrews admonishes each of us:
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Throughout this year and the rest of your days on this earth, please do not hesitate to take your concerns and your burdens to the Lord in prayer.
Throughout this 20th strophe of the 119th Psalm, David majors on the theme “the kind of life that only God can give”.
His pleas to the Lord God - to rescue, to redeem, to revive - speak of this servant’s desire to experience true life based on God’s love for him and his love for the Lord his God.
David’s love for God was so strong that he literally felt disgusted by those who rejected God’s Word . . . who cast their lot with the wicked . . . whose evil acts toward others proved they despised the Lord God – and the people of God.
Disgust is a strong emotion; but do you ever feel disgusted by the atrocities carried out by evil-minded folks who seek to divide rather than bring together . . . destroy rather than build up . . . sow bad seeds rather than seeds of kindness?
David sought to inspire all people to meditate upon God’s Word and to show the lovingkindness that God in His faithful love has shown to all people. What a difference it would make for peace on earth if all people did just that!
Lovingkindness is far from that self-seeking and self-serving that we have talked about, but rather is “other” motivated - desiring what is best for another.
This “love” concept presented by David in this 119th Psalm is “echoed” by the Apostle Paul in the great love chapter - I Corinthians 13:4-7:
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; love does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Love is the theme of God’s Word! We love the Word of God, yes; we love the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, yes; we are devoted to God’s Word, yes! Yet, we love because God the Father and God the Son first loved us! The Bible tells me so! Jesus showed me so! Now I know so!
We love the Word not in the sense that we worship a book; we love the Word because the Word points us to the Author of salvation and sanctification.
In Him, the author and finisher of our faith, we place our trust. In Him we entrust our care and keeping all the days of our lives. Unto Him we commit our souls for eternity! Unto Him be honor and glory - now and forevermore! Amen.
