For Ever, O LORD, Thy Word is Settled
Psalm 119:89-96
Some of you have noticed that I read this text from a very old Bible. I found it among my grandmother’s possessions after her death. It is the First Revision of the King James Bible which was done in 1762. As the King James Bible was revised again to its modern spelling in 1768, this Bible was printed during this six-year period. This means that it is over 250 years old. When this Bible was printed, John Wesley was in the middle of his long ministry. The American Revolution had not yet happened. So this Bible has been able to provide aid and comfort for the entire history of the United States.
This Bible contains the family record of one branch of my family back to 1741, this Bible was first owned by the sheriff of Newport, (dramatic pause: This sermon is being preached near Newport, Tennessee ) Rhode Island. This information is helpful in reconstructing the family genealogy and provides a window into my past. It shows that some of my ancestors were Quakers and that they moved from Rhode Island to Philadelphia. It shows that they became members of the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia. Betsy Ross, who created the first flag for the United States was also a member there. The Bible also shows that General Nathaniel Greene, “The Fighting Quaker” was a distant uncle. Unfortunately, it also shows that I am related to Benedict Arnold as well. It shows that after the Revolution that part of the family removed to Nova Scotia in Canada. The Quakers became divided whether they should fight in the Revolution. Some did, and some did not. Those who did not support the Revolution left for British Canada after the War. Another branch through General Greene removed and founded Greene County, Tennessee, (Greene County is the next county over from where I am delivering this sermon)
I normally would not talk about my family, I am called to proclaim Christ and not myself, but seeing that this is also July 4th, it serves to remind us of our common American heritage and the struggles that the people of America endured in the founding of this nation. This Bible also has a bookmark in it which reads “Our Leader Has Fallen”, dated April of 1865 which remembers the assassination of Abraham Lincoln who in the Gettysburg Address my saying whether the American experiment in democracy “could long endure.” The North and the South struggled for what American democracy meant. The Quakers were adamantly opposed to slavery, so they could find comfort and instruction in God’s word. The Bible was ready to offer the truth and comfort of God Himself in this most disastrous war.
Besides this, the Bible contains some other interesting inserts. One of these is a clip from an 1837 paper with stock prices, livestock that is. It contains an 1872 report card for an ancestor. Strangely, it contains hundreds of pressed leaves. I guess the weight of the book itself aided in the preservation of these leaves.
I know that this has been a very long introduction on my part, but we will now see how it connects to the passage from the 119th Psalm. The 119th Psalm is the longest Psalm by far as well as being the longest chapter in the Bible. It is close to the very middle of the Old and New Testaments as well. The very length of this psalm was oddly used by schoolchildren back in the day when a student would recite a psalm at the beginning of the school day. Because most children would find reading such a psalm a burden, they would choose the very short psalm such as the 117th Psalm instead. But on test day, things were different. The length of the psalm itself would put off the judgment, called an exam. This is quite ironic, as the 119th Psalm is all about learning and meditating upon the word of God. The length of the psalm was also used by those about to suffer the death penalty. They were permitted for the priest to have a psalm recited before their execution. One prisoner, expecting a pardon from the king requested it be read before his execution. The pardon came at about verse 100, which saved his life, for the moment. Hopefully, the prisoner was prepared when the Greater King sums him before the throne.
The 119th Psalm is what is called an “acrostic psalm.” It is broken up into 22 sections of eight verses each, one section for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In each of these sections, every verse in that section begins with the same letter. In the section we read this morning, each of the verses begins with the Hebrew letter, “Lamed.” One can see the hard word that the psalmist did to arrange the psalm in this matter. This would provide an aid to memorization, something that a psalm of this length might be difficult.
“For ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven.” These words stand at the head of this block of Scripture. We are then reminded of God’s creation in the second half of verse 90. We know that God spoke all creation into existence. This means that God is older than creation itself. We read in the book of Hebrews that the universe is sustained by His powerful word. So we see here that the Word of God is the foundation of the universe itself. It abides, as the psalm reminds us unto all generations. We as Christians also believe that not only was Creation framed by the Word of God and sustained by “the word of His power,” we also believe that this same Lord has redeemed us who believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. So we have a foundation to our faith which will continue for ever. The Scripture is there to sustain us in good times and bad. It is there in times of all crises, whether they be global, national, regional or personal. The term for God’s sustenance is “providence.” Providence, Rhode Island, is named for this sustenance of God. My ancestors fled to Rhode Island for religious liberty. Roger Williams, who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay colony for his “heretical” beliefs almost starved before he found refuge with the Narraganset Indians and founded, Providence.
We sang a song this morning from the time period when this copy of the Scriptures was printed. “How firm a Foundation, ye saints of the Lord.” This hymn very nicely parallels the text this morning. First of all, it says “ye saints of the LORD.” Verse 89 of the Psalm interjects “O LORD.” LORD in all caps is used to translate “YAHWEH” in the Old Testament. This name is a special revelation to Israel. YAHWEH is the only God. It is futile to put one’s trust in any other god, or in the ideas and devices of men. It is a covenantal name for God. In the New Testament, Jesus is equated to Yahweh. As the Son of God, He is YAHWEH. He is the Lord of the eternal covenant. It is important for us to realize that even though the providence of God can be applied generally as God’s grace is given in some degree to all creation and humanity, (Common Grace), there are aspects of the promises of Scripture that are only available to believers in Jesus Christ. So if we are to enjoy the permanent aspects of God’s providence, we must believe in Jesus.
The hymn reminds us of this special providence where it reminds us that this foundation is laid up for us “in His excellent Word.” Not even if all hell endeavors to shake us, we shall be held up by His omnipotent hand.” The last verse of the hymn ends with “I will never, no never, no never forsake.” This is a quote from Hebrews 13:5. In English, we are not supposed to use double negatives, although we use them in common speech. If I were to say “I ain’t going no how” we should understand that I really mean it when I say I am not going. It used to drive my grandmother crazy when I used double negatives, and especially when I used “ain’t.” She went to Mt. Holyoke female seminary, which was finishing school for cultured women of means and learned Latin. She would always try to correct my poor English with Latin. “If you only knew Latin, you would not make this mistake.” This response just egged me on to continue using “bad” English. But the New Testament was written in Greek and not Latin. The verse does not contain just a double negative. It actually uses FIVE negatives. It is hard to translate this emphatic statement that God will not forsake us with the force it deserves. But this hymn manages to bring out the full force of the fivefold negative. We can have absolute confidence in God’s Word.
The psalm reminds us that God’s faithfulness extends to all generations. Scripture condemns us all as liars but reminds us of the truth of God. This faithfulness extends to us as well. No matter what trials we are presently enduring, we who believe on Jesus know that these problems will work themselves out for His glory and our eternal good. We might not understand fully why we have to endure such things, but as another song, “I Don’t Know About Tomorrow” reminds us that we know who holds our hands. Jeremiah in the Book of Lamentations which is one of the saddest books in Scripture has at its center the words: “Great is Thy Faithfulness” of which another hymn has been inspired. Even though Jerusalem had been burnt and the people exiled to Babylon, the LORD remained faithful. Jeremiah’s loud cries of anguish are comforted by the words “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
The unknown writer of the 119th Psalm also knew difficult times. But He also knew where his comfort came. It came by studying and remembering the precepts and teachings of the LORD. He know that he would not perish ultimately. He is, of course, long dead as far as this life is concerned. But he put his trust in the everlasting LORD. His testimony of faith lives long after him. We know that when the final chapter is written of this age that we will meet him in heaven.
We have discovered that perilous times are not just for our generation as though these trials were new. People have enjoyed better times as well as these bad times. As we look at America today, we ponder on this 4th of July whether our country is at its end. There are many here who want to abolish our nation. They want to scrap the American Experiment. What they want to replace it with is frankly not very promising. A worldview which excludes God at its center is headed for certain disaster. We have also had to suffer through lockdowns because of COVID-19. People we know have suffered from the disease, and all have suffered from the collateral issues of loneliness; isolation; job loss; not being able to visit our loved one’s in the nursing homes and hospitals; and other symptoms of a troubled culture. I cannot tell you whether this nation will long survive the assault, But I would like to remind you of another July 4th. This was July 4th, 1863. From July 1st to July 3rd, 1863, the nation’s fate hung in the balance at Gettysburg. Two armies met on “that great battlefield of war.” The battle could have turned either way. Draft riots were also going on in New York City at the same time. But the battle ended with Union victory after the failure of Pickett’s Charge. The nation “so conceived and so dedicated” survived. The nation would eventually be reunited.
I cannot tell you how our Gettysburg will turn out. We may not survive this test, this time. We don’t know when the 119th Psalm was written, whether it was before the Babylonian exile or later. But Israel and Judah suffered catastrophe were were taken into exile. If it was post-exilic, we remember that the Romans destroyed Jerusalem again in 70AD and removed the survivors as captive. If the psalmists faith was ultimately in the survival of his earthly nation, his faith would have been sorely shaken. This is why we must put our hope in the coming of the New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven. It is not made with perishable human hands. This hope shall never disappoint us. Out true 4th of July came when Jesus died on a cross for our sins. All the “freedom” granted us by the government of men pales in comparison. The one whom Jesus has set free has been eternally set free. No enemy, foreign, domestic, or satanic can separate us from the love of God which is demonstrated in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins, He has promised to return. We who have believed on Jesus shall reign eternally in heaven with Him. Let this be our hope and surety.
The Scripture reminds us again in Hebrews, who in turn quotes the prophet Haggai, that at the end of times, God is going to once again shake not just the earth, but heaven itself. Hebrews adds that this means that that which cannot be shaken shall remain. This is why the promises of God’s eternal Word and its promises must be the solid ground under his feet.
God calls everyone, everywhere to repent and believe the Good News about Jesus. So if you who are reading this sermon online from another nation and not America, the promised foundation of God’s Word is equally true for you as well. Whether we call ourselves Americans or Britons, French, Chinese, Nigerians, or hail from some other nation, we must not put our ultimate trust in human rights but in God’s providence. Especially important is to put our trust in Jesus Christ. Common grace provides some benefits as far as existence in this world is concerned, But the days of common grace are coming to an end. We need this special grace which is forever and cannot be abolished by the will of man and the fiats of dictators. We must prepare for that day. Let us turn from that which displeases us and instead emulate Christ. Let us not look to the past of present as much as we look to our glorious future. Let Christian freedom ring. Let the music that swells our breeze be that of Christ and not just the words and promises of men who perish. Let the freedom that rings be that of our Christian hope. As the song “America” says “Our father’s God to thee, author of liberty” let us take refuge in the one who gives us the true freedom which is independent of our circumstances we find ourselves in. It ends with “Great God our King.” The God of hope is not an earthly king like George III from which the American colonies separated from on July 4th, 1776. Our hope is not ultimately in people like George Washington or one of our Founding Fathers. Our hope is not in the Emancipation Proclamation either. It is in the God and King and our Savior Jesus Christ.
So, my prayer this morning is that “Long may our land be bright.” The Constitution is a great achievement of human rights. As far as I am concerned, there is no earthly equal. I believe Benjamin Franklin said: A Constitution: IF you can keep it.” It is not a perfect document, though. A long and bloody Civil War and numerous amendments testify to this. But the ability to amend and right wrongs is indeed the greatest strength of the Constitution. It is a human covenant, originally under God (generally speaking). It is only as good as the good faith of the people of the United States to abide by it. It also requires unity of the people. We are now engaged in another civil war, thankfully at this point a mostly bloodless one. So I do pray as the Lord commands for our leaders in government and for the people of this nation. May we agree together with: “protect us by Thy might.” If you are from another nation and reading this, I pray for your nation also. May it reflect the highest principles of justice and grace.
May the United States abide “for ever.” I say this in the same sense that those from Great Britain sing “God save the Queen” to the same tune we sing “My Country tis of Thee.” Queen Elizabeth has indeed reigned over her nation for longer than most of us have been alive. She was coronated by George Frederick Handel’s Coronation Anthem “Zadok the Priest.” This anthem states “May He live forever.” This anthem was put to Handel’s tune during the reign of George II. We might at first mistake the masculine “he” as referring to the forever reign of George II. But it refers to a greater King than George II and a greater Queen than Elizabeth II. Only Jesus shall reign for ever. I pray for the good health of Queen Elizabeth. She has reigned a long time. But her end is drawing nearer every day. King Jesus and not Solomon is the one to whom this anthem’s text taken from Scripture refers. So let us pray for justice, peace, goodwill, and grace for all nations this morning.
We begin a new chapter here at this church this morning. We enter into a new covenantal relationship with each other. May the Lord bless our ministry and the work of our hands. We shall have good times. We shall also go through trials together. But we have a firm foundation for our future. I don’t know where things go from here, but I know that the Lord will guide us if we will listen to Him Amen.
Hymns for the service
America
Great is Thy Faithfulness
How Firm a Foundation
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
