The Word Of God

Psalm 119:89-96 89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. 91 By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. 94 I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts. 95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. 96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. (ESV)

Before parliament, in Bill C-6, the Canadian Federal Justice Minister has put forward a bill to ban conversion therapy defined broadly as “a practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour”. Christian groups who have considered the bill, like the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, warn that this could potentially criminalize religious instruction, parental guidance and supportive services for individuals wishing to order their sexual lives in accordance with their religious conscience, faith identity and personal convictions based on the word of God. (https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Resources/Government/2020/Bill-C-6-to-Ban-Conversion-Therapy)

Psalm 119 praises God for his Word, the Bible, because God has given us the Bible and it is only through the Bible that we can come to know who God is and how to praise him (Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 107–150: An Expositional Commentary (p. 970). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.). “Here we have set forth in inexhaustible fullness what the word of God is to (us) and how (we are) to behave in relation to it.” (Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms, 243.). This psalm praises God for His Word, the Bible, because God has given us the Bible and it is only through the Bible that we can come to know who God is and how to praise Him. (Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 107–150: An Expositional Commentary (p. 970). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)

The challenge is that statistically, every day, 66 percent of those who identify as evangelical Christians are looking at Facebook, 39 percent are looking at YouTube, and 32 percent are opening their Bibles. That’s a problem, because what we take in will shape our perspective. If our daily intake is news and gossip, it will most likely result in a perspective of fear or hopelessness, then we will retreat. The solution to this problem is the scriptures. Containing 66 books written over a 1,500-year span, supernaturally inspired through 40 writers from every walk of life: kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, and scholars, it will shape our thoughts and direct our lives from fear to hope.(ttps://harvest.org/resources/devotion/always-the-same?utm_campaign=Daily%20Devotion&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=116037028&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9FldXs4VKrJ7meKaNMN9jGpiMAlBIKItnzMp-nBwdlhaoCSVkvh6Vrhq86SZg4xDvoGKSF2foWkShlhtYpN3QENbLY2A&utm_content=116037028&utm_source=hs_email)

Showing how the Word of God is complete for all our thoughts, words and deeds, Psalm 119 shows how Scripture is 1) Permanent (Psalm 119:89-91), 2) Precious (Psalm 119:92-93), 3) Preserving (Psalm 119:94-95) and 4) Perfect (Psalm 119:96)

The Word of God is complete for all our thoughts, words and deeds, because it is:

1) Permanent (Psalm 119:89-91)

Psalm 119:89-91 89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. 91 By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. (ESV)

Jesus clearly taught the everlasting nature of God’s Word. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, in what is some of his most extensive teaching on the Scriptures, in Matt. 5:17–18 Jesus said: “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (ESV). Martin Luther once wrote of God’s Word, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me. The Bible is not antique or modern. It is eternal.” (Quoted by Joel R. Beeke and Ray B. Lanning, “The Transforming Power of Scripture,” in Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible, ed. Don Kistler (Morgan, Pa.: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1995), 331–32.).

Please turn to Matthew 24

This stanza concentrates on the enduring nature of God’s word. The Psalmist praises God for the permanence of His word in the opening statement that: “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens”. Regardless of what else may change in all the universe, God’s Word remains firm (1 Pe 1:25). Like the heavens, it continually attests God’s unfailing power and unchanging care (Ps 89:2) (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 383). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.). Because of its perfect author, precise inscription, and permanent habitation, the Word of God is unsurpassable, undeniable, and unchangeable (Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1151). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).