The Blessed Way - Psalm 119 (Psalms 119)

0:46And it's pretty much right smack in the middle of Scripture. This last week, I had the privilege of celebrating my parents' 59th wedding anniversary with them. Simple lunch, but it was a celebration nonetheless. 59 years of marriage together. And you know something? As I reflected on that, I thought, you know, who you marry determines a lot of what course you're going to go down in life. Who you marry is a very significant factor in the kind of world you're going to see. And experience. In fact, I was told at seminary that the single most important thing that will define your ministry is the person you marry. Probably second to that is which seminary you go to, or something like that.

1:47But the person you marry is really going to drive a whole lot of what you're going to see and experience in life. As I reflect upon marriage, I think about this psalmist right here. I could entitle this psalm The Memoirs of a Person Married to God's Word. Or I could put a title on it, The Soul's Journey Through Life, Wedded to God's Word. It's an account of the inward struggles and joys of somebody who is connected, who is wedded to God's Word.

2:28One person, one reverend, said this back in the 1600s: this psalm shines and shows itself among the rest, a star in the firmament of the Psalms, of the first and greatest magnitude. Another, at about the same time, said this, this psalm is called the Alphabet of Divine Love, the Paradise of the Doctrines, the Storehouse of the Holy Spirit, the school of truth. The deep mystery of the scriptures, where the whole moral discipline of all the virtues shine brightly. This psalm burns with the meridian heat of its full brightness and is wholly resplendent with moral loveliness. Augustine said something to the effect of this that the more I seem to understand the psalm, the more depth it appears to have to such a degree that I can't even plumb its depth.

3:31Spurgeon said this, many superficial readers have imagined that it harps upon one string and abounds in pious repetitions and redundancies. But this arises from the shallowness of the reader's own mind. Those who have studied this divine hymn and carefully noted each line of it are amazed at the variety and profundity of the thought. The psalmist never repeats himself, for if the same sentiment recurs in its place, it is placed in a fresh connection and so exhibits another interesting shade of meaning. The more one studies it, the fresher it becomes. Again and again we have cried while studying it, O the depths. Yet these depths are hidden beneath apparent simplicity. As Augustine has well and wisely said, and this makes the Exposition all the more difficult. Its obscurity is hidden beneath a veil of light, and only those who discover it are thorough and earnest, not only to look on the word, but like the angels, look into the word.

4:50A psalm that has impacted many through the ages. Someone just told me this morning that Billy Graham's mother had memorized this psalm early in her life. William Wilberforce, you'll remember him, the British statesman who was the one largely responsible for ending the slave trade throughout the British Empire. In 1877, he wrote in his diary, in the midst of great political turmoil, what a great comfort the reciting of Psalm 119 was to him. Henry Martin, the pioneer missionary to India, memorized this psalm and was greatly impacted by its content. David Livingston, the pioneer missionary to Africa, as a nine-year-old, memorized Psalm 119 and was rewarded with a Bible from his Sunday school teacher after he had recited it by heart. Many more profound psalms. What is its theme? Well, this theme is very simply and straightforward: the Word of God. The Word of God. 22 stanzas, eight lines each, corresponding to the Hebrew alphabet. It's an acrostic poem. That is, the first eight lines all begin with the letter Oliph.

6:18And the second eight lines begin with the letter Beth, right through the Hebrew alphabet. It would be like if to do a poem like this today in English, we would start, the first lines, everything would start with the letter A, and then the second stanza, every line in it would start with the letter B, and so on. 26 stanzas, if you did it in English. Well, here it's done in 22. Franz Delich said it like this. In our German version, it has the appropriate inscription, the Christians' golden ABCs of the praise, love, power, and use of the Word of God. It's 176 verses, as I mentioned. And of those 176 verses, 171 times the Word of God is directly mentioned.

7:11The Masoretes said that the Word of God is mentioned in every single verse except for one. So whether it's one or five, you get the picture. Every line is about the Word of God, or just about. But the. There are ten rich, or eight to ten very rich synonyms used to describe the word here. It gives us, it's a treasury chest full of descriptions of what the word is. It is referred to as his law, his testimonies, precepts, statutes, his commandments, judgments, promises, decrees, ordinances. And we'll encounter each one. Each one has a shade of meaning that I look forward to just bringing out and becoming thoroughly saturated with what is this that we hold in our hands and contemplate and meditate upon in our hearts. Well, the theme is the Word of God, but it's not merely about some abstract knowledge of it. The psalmist sought the word not just so that he could know about it, but he sought it for the purpose of obeying it, for keeping it, for walking in his light. And you can just see that throughout. And verse 2: How blessed are those who observe his testimony? You have ordained your precepts that we should keep them diligently. Oh, that my ways be established, to keep and on through, to keep, to observe, to obey, to walk in. That's why he wants to know God's Word. It doesn't do any good to know God's Word if you don't want to keep it. It. This psalmist wants to know it. Tell me more. Let me understand more that I might keep it, that I might obey it.

9:10And as the opening stanza, the opening line says, How blessed are those whose way is blameless? How blessed, how thoroughly satisfied in life those will be whose way is blameless to keep it. And at times throughout the psalm, there is intense prayer, there is unhinged praise, and there is great distress. There is abundant satisfaction, and there is tremendous resolve and declarations of resolve to obey the word. And yet, sometimes in the very same line, there is the cries of utter dependence upon God to bring about that heartfelt resolve. You see, the psalmist resolving, I want to obey, and then crying out, God, help me, obey.

10:11It gives us a deep look into the soul and the struggles of one who desperately wants to obey God's Word, one who is married to God's Word. It's simply a masterpiece about the perfections of God's Word. And the happiness, the joy, the blessedness of those who obey it. Well, the big question is: who wrote it? Who wrote it? It's anonymous. It doesn't come to us with a heading that tells us who wrote it. Been many suggestions throughout the years. There's a suggestion that maybe Hezekiah wrote it, or maybe an anonymous author during the Persian period wrote it, or maybe an anonymous author during the Maccabean period.

11:03I think these have troubles for a number of reasons. Some of the more substantial suggestions: David, perhaps, during his flight from Saul, Ezra, or one of his disciples, according to Jewish tradition, or even Daniel. The setting of this psalm sets it in some of those post-Babylonian exilic psalms. So it would argue probably more in the direction of Ezra, perhaps, or Daniel, because of the time frame. We don't know for sure. And any investigation into who the author is must rely heavily upon the psalm itself, its internal evidence, what it says about itself.

11:53And I have an opinion. I have an opinion. But first, a question. Is asked, how old was this author? Was he young or was he old? Look at verse 9. There are those who point to the fact that they think he was young. Verse 9, how can a young man keep his way pure? In verse 99, he says, I have more insight than all my teachers. In 100, I have more, I have understand more than the age, the aged, because I observe your precepts. So that would indicate that perhaps he's younger. And yet, in 84, some argue that this argues for him to be old. In 84, it says, How many are the days of your servant? Well, one thing's for sure: just by reading the psalm and immersing yourself into it, you come away very quickly, understanding this didn't happen in one setting. This psalm spanned some time, months, weeks, years, or even decades.

13:07Many others that the psalm is composed over time, and that certain stanzas or groups of stanzas could have been written during different periods of the psalmist's life. And this may explain why so many young and old find so much rich application from this psalm. This was written by a Person with life experience, a life of experience, of obeying God's Word throughout various episodes in his life. So, who do I think the best candidate is? Well, I'll base my answer upon two assumptions. Number one, if I can assume that the psalmist is someone in Scripture, that is, that the person who wrote this psalm is somebody we can identify in Scripture. He's not some anonymous author out there or something, but just using Scripture alone, if I can assume that the Psalmist is someone in Scripture, and number two, if I can assume that there's enough historical information recorded in Scripture to link this Psalm to that person, two assumptions. Person's here, and there's enough information in the Scripture to link him, then I think there is one answer that rises above the rest, and that is Daniel. I think Daniel. If my assumptions are incorrect, then I believe Daniel's life is an excellent illustration of whatever this psalmist went through. So, whether it's Daniel actually writing it, or whether we use Daniel as an illustration to its contents, I think we need to be thinking about Daniel as we go through this.

14:57So, drawing heavily Upon the internal details of the Psalm itself and the historical information recorded in the book of Daniel, I want to give you seven reasons why I think Daniel is a good candidate to be the author. But as I do, I want you to see seven characteristics of a person who is truly sanctified by God's Word. I want you to see seven characteristics of a person who is truly sanctified by God's Word so that you will be such a person. Reason number one.

15:36Reason number one why I believe Daniel could very well have written this psalm. It's because the psalmist was a stranger and a pilgrim on earth, and so was Daniel. Look at verse 19 of Psalm 119. And we're going to go back and forth. So just put your thumb in both places. We'll jump between Daniel and Psalm 119. Verse 19, the psalmist says, I am a stranger on earth. And in verse 54, he says, Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. He was a stranger upon earth. Daniel was such a stranger, such a foreigner.

16:20In Daniel 1:1, I'll just read this to you. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar. King of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his God. Those of you who know history, biblical history, there were three deportations when the Babylonians came and finally destroyed Jerusalem. First happened in 605, and that's when Daniel and some of his friends were taken over to Babylon. The second was in 598, and that's when Ezekiel went over. And then the final, when the temple was destroyed, happened in 586. So here Daniel has been taken to Babylon. And then verse 3 of Daniel 1. Then the king ordered Ashvanaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court. And he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years. At the end of which they were to enter the king's personal service. So, what did Nebuchadnezzar do?

18:08He took all the princes and the nobles that had come from Jerusalem. He got the ones who were the smartest, the best-looking, and had the best social skills. And these he wanted to train and indoctrinate so that they would enter into the king of Babylon's service, probably certainly in handling some of the Jews and beyond. But the whole purpose was for them to serve the king. And in verse 6, now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them. And to Daniel, he assigned the name Beltashazzar. To Hananiah, Shadrach. And to Mishael, Meshach. And to Azariah, Abendigo. Daniel's name literally meant my judge is God. His name was changed to Bel's Prince. Hananiah literally means graciousness of Jehovah became Shadrach under the command of Aku, the moon god. Mishael, his name meant who is like God, was changed to Meshach, who is like Aku. Azariah, his name meant Jehovah helps, and his name was changed to Abendigo. Which means a servant of Nebo. So, how would you like to have your name changed? You know, if you had a wonderful name, like who is like God, to who is like Aku, you know, you get the, that's what happened. So, here's the situation: you have a captive people in a foreign land, and the pressure was forget your God and pledge allegiance to the ways and worship of the Babylonians. The whole brainwashing school: forget your God, pledge allegiance to the ways and worship of the Babylonians. Now, we face similar pressures on us. We face pressures similarly, don't we? All around us, the culture, forget the God of the Bible, forget him, serve the God of this age, or the God of popular consent. A characteristic, and I think the thing that's very important to remember: it wasn't the fact that Daniel was just, or the psalmist was just picked up and put into a foreign land that made him a foreigner. He's talking about he is married to the word of God, and because of this, this is what makes him a stranger in the earth. He was a literal stranger, but also a pilgrim because of God's word. So, a person who's truly sanctified by God's word, number one, is a stranger and pilgrim on the earth. If you are sanctified by God's word, You can be sure that you're going to begin more and more to view yourself as a stranger because you do not serve the God of this world. Well, there's a second reason why I believe Daniel is a good candidate to have been the author. The psalmist in Psalm 119, if you go back there, purposed in his youth to keep his way pure, and so did Daniel. Flip back to Psalm 119, verse 9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word. With all of my heart I have sought you. Do not let me wander from your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart that I might not sin against you.

21:50That's the psalmist. If you flip back to Daniel 1:8, after all this brainwashing effects took place, attempts, verse 8, but Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine with which he drank. So he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself with the king's food. Now, that's pretty bold. King's being gracious to you, saying, Here, here's the food. He says, I can't eat it, it will defile me. It's interesting because Daniel accepted the education.

22:30He accepted the name change. But why wouldn't he change? Why wouldn't he accept the food? Well, because it violated dietary restrictions that were applicable to Daniel and his friends. In other words, it violated God's word. He could go with the name, he could go with the education, but he couldn't go with the food because it violated God's law. He drew the line where the scripture drew the line. He said, I treasure your word. I will keep your commandments. Help me keep your commandments. You can imagine the world that he's in and why he would cry out for help.

23:16And so they put them through the test. You know the story. And after this test, verse 17: As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom. Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Then, at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all, not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king's personal service. And as for every matter of wisdom, And understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and the conjurers who were in his realm. The question is, what happened to all these other princes and nobles? You only hear about four.

24:16I think you can read between the lines and come away with a pretty good understanding. They compromised the faith, but not these four. You know, if you do not purpose to keep your way pure according to God's word, guess what? You won't. Daniel purposed to not defile himself by disobeying God's word. So a person who is truly sanctified by God's word is a stranger and pilgrim on the earth, but he also purposes to keep his or her way pure.

24:52That's a person who has been sanctified. A person truly sanctified purposes to keep his or her way pure. Well, there's a third reason why I believe Daniel is a good candidate to be the author. The psalmist was not ashamed of God's word before kings, and neither was Daniel. Psalm 119:46, the psalmist says, I will also speak of your testimonies before kings, and I shall not be ashamed. You remember Daniel 45. He spoke before kings all the time. If you turn to Daniel 4, you remember the context, what's going on there. Nebuchadnezzar has this dream about this great tree, and the tree gets cut down, and Nebuchadnezzar gets all concerned about it. What's this about? So he calls Daniel in to interpret it. And so Daniel interprets this dream to him. Chapter 4 and verse 20. Daniel says, The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached the sky and was visible to all the earth. And he goes on, It is you, O king. You have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth. In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, Chop down the tree and destroy it, yet leave the stump with its roots on the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him. And this is what Daniel says before the king. It says, This is the interpretation, O king. You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field, and you will be given grass to eat like cattle, and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever he wishes.

27:08And then he says in verse 27, Therefore, O king, break away now from your sins. Not ashamed of his word, is he? By doing righteousness. You're a sinner, king. Break away from that sin, from your sins, and do righteous. And break away from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity. The psalmist was not ashamed of God's word before kings, and neither was Daniel. We're going to go through life, our daily routine, and we're going to encounter those situations where we're going to be tempted to be ashamed of God's word. It may be before superiors, it may be before peers, and it may even be before inferiors. But a person who is sanctified by God's word is not ashamed of God's word.

28:10A person who is truly sanctified by God's word is not ashamed of God's word. Fourth reason why I believe Daniel is a good candidate. The psalmist loved God's Word more than worldly wealth, and guess what? So did Daniel. So if we look back at the end. At Psalm 119 and verse 14, the psalmist says, I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much in all riches. Can you say this about yourself? This is the love affair that this man has with God's word. Incline my heart to your testimonies in verse 36 and not to dishonest gain. In verse 72, he says, The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. And he says in 127, therefore I love your commandments above gold, yes, than fine gold.

29:13The word was precious to the psalmist. And as you study Daniel's life, you realize the word was precious to him. You remember chapter 5 of Daniel, there's this feast with Belshazzar. He's got this feast going on, and he calls in, brings in all the golden vessels from the temple that were taken by his father Nebuchadnezzar, brought in the golden cups from the temple, and they started filling them with wine and started praising the gods of gold and silver. And then this hand started writing on the wall.

29:55You remember the account? So Belshazzar is all. Worried. Daniel, because no one can interpret it for him. And then Daniel in verse 16, Belshazzar says to Daniel, I personally have heard about you that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now, if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom. Now, if this had been Balaam, you know, Balaam would have been all over this, right? You know, a lot of other characters in the Bible, a Gehazi, he'd have been all over this, right? Well, this is what Daniel says in verse 17: Keep your gifts for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. And he goes on and says, Your heart, your dad, his heart was lifted up. Well, we are oftentimes tempted to let our love for money, our love for other things get in the way of the word of God. It isn't precious to us. Sometimes we're tempted to sell it off for something else. Sometimes it's those little thefts.

31:23Or sometimes we steal on small levels and on large levels. But all of it is a concept. Compromise of God's Word. The question is: Do you love God's Word more than wealth? Well, the psalmist did. And a person who is truly sanctified by God's Word will also love God's Word more than worldly wealth. So, number four, a person who is truly sanctified by God's Word loves God's Word more than worldly wealth. I'm hoping I'm describing you, and if not, maybe you can identify with the psalmist and say, Lord, I want to be like this. Help me, Lord, become like this, and according to your ways, and only because of your ways will I ever become like this. May your word become more and more precious to me. I'm depending upon you, Lord.

32:27Well, let's move on. The fifth reason that I believe that Daniel's a good candidate is that the psalmist was reproached by high-ranking officials, and so was Daniel. And if you look at back in Psalm 119, this is a constant recurring theme throughout the Psalm. Verse 23, even though princes sit and talk against me, your servant meditates on your statutes. Verse 51, the arrogant utterly deride me, yet I do not turn aside from Your law. Verse 69, the arrogant have forged a lie against me, but with all my heart I will observe your precepts. In verse 78, may the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie, but I shall meditate on your precepts. Verse 85, the arrogant have dug pits for me. They have persecuted me with a lie. Help me. They almost destroyed me on earth, but as for me, I did not forsake your precepts. Verse 95, the wicked wait for me to destroy me. Verse 110, the wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not gone astray from your precepts.

33:50161. Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. Remember in Daniel chapter 6, right after Belshazzar was killed and Darius took over the kingdom. In verse 1, it seemed good, chapter 6, it seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom. So you got this new conqueror. Here's Darius. He comes in and the whole kingdom, he puts 120 satraps over them. And over those hundred satisfaction, 120 satraps, he put three commissioners, in whom Daniel was one of them, that these satraps might be accountable to them and that the king might not suffer loss. Then in verse 3, and then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and the satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. A little bit of professional jealousy going on here. You've got 120 satraps and you've got three commissioners, and then one commissioner seems to be rising above them all, and that is Daniel. And so then you get a little of this professional jealousy going on here. And in verse 4 of Daniel 6, then the commissioners and the satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs. But they couldn't find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inso much as he was faithful and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God. In other words, the only way we're going to find fault with Daniel is if we can connect him to the word, to the word of his God. And so they set out to bring him down by Daniel's love for the word. And in verse 6, these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: King Darius, live forever. All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any God or man besides you, O king, for thirty days shall be cast into the lion's den. Now, O king, establish the injunction and assign the document so it may not be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which may not be revoked. Therefore, King Darius signed the document, that is the injunction.

36:44So it was the psalmist's commitment to the Word of God that gave rise to reproach. It was Daniel's commitment to the Word of God that was the occasion to give rise to reproach. You know, and there are going to be times when, because you choose obedience to God's Word, when you choose to believe, when you choose to order your life in conformance with the Word of God, that you will be reproached. And this brings up a fifth aspect or characteristic of a person who's truly sanctified by God's Word, and that is such a person experiences reproach. Because of the word. Well, there is a sixth reason why I believe Daniel is a good candidate. The psalmist was a praying man. So was Daniel.

37:46Psalm 119, 147, I rise before the dawn and cry for help. 148, my eyes anticipate the night watches that I may meditate on your word. 164, seven times a day I praise you because of your righteous ordinances. 173, let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. And as you go through, you begin to notice that the psalmist prayed out of need at times, desperate need, and sometimes he prayed out of gratitude, and sometimes he prayed out of pure joy.

38:29And what happened to Daniel 6? You know the story the lions did. We're there, right? Verse 10 of chapter 6, when Daniel knew that the document was signed, what did he do? Stop praying? No. He entered his house and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. And you know the episode. You know the story. thrown into the lion's den because of that. And Darius comes in verse 20, was your God able to save you? And in verse 21, Daniel says, O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth, and they have not harmed me, insomuch as I was found innocent before him and also toward you, O King. I have committed no crime.

39:28And you remember how this whole psalm opens up? How blessed are those whose way is blameless. It's like he held to the Lord's precepts and God honored him. How blessed. Could you imagine how satisfied of a moment that was for Daniel? And what a true picture it is. You may not rejoice as the world rejoices in following his commands, but there will be a tremendous true satisfaction and happiness in life. Many people don't know how to follow happiness. They go at it in many different ways. The psalmist here is laying out before us, this is the path of happiness. Knowing your Creator and walking in his ways.

40:22Well, sixth characteristic of a person who is truly sanctified by God's Word is that they will be devoted. To prayer. A person who is truly sanctified by God's Word is devoted to prayer. Well, there's a seventh reason why I believe Daniel is a good candidate to have written this psalm. See, the psalmist saw an end of all human perfection, and so did Daniel. Sounds kind of strange. Look at verse 96 of Psalm 119. The psalmist says, This, I have seen a limit to all perfection. Your commandment is exceedingly broad. And what the psalmist is doing here is he is making a comparison between the earthly and the temporal and the heavenly and the eternal.

41:16The word for limit is literally dead end. He's saying, I have seen a dead end to all perfection. And the word perfection here relates to all the things of this world that mankind esteems, whether it's worldly wisdom, whether it's wealth, whether it's power, or the glory of great kingdoms. He's saying, I have seen the dead end of such perfection. He's saying that things of earth reach their zenith and then they fade. That's the idea. I have seen the end, the dead end of human perfection.

42:00But God's Word is forever. All human and earthly perfections have their limit. Everything has its limit. But the Word of God is forever, exceedingly broad. Why? Because it's a window into eternity. It's a window into eternity. So it itself pictures the eternal, and it itself is eternal. If you think about Daniel, he had seen the end of Jerusalem's Solomonic glory. He had also seen the end of Babylon's glory. He saw the limitations of the magicians, the conjurers, the leaders, and even kings. He saw the end of it all.

42:48He saw the dead end of it. Yet, through God's word, Daniel knew of the everlasting kingdom, and he knew that God's word would never fail. It would come about. Everything that was said, because God's word itself is eternal, because it's a window into eternity. So, what matters is the eternal over the temporal. And a person who is truly sanctified by God's word is going to do just that: value the eternal over the temporal. That's what matters. Day by day, we make decisions day by day, and we choose between the eternal and the temporal. You're going to go after what is here today and gone tomorrow, or invest in that which is eternal. I was really blessed this last week as we have started to bring together the steep hollow property and clean it up and do some things over there. I was really blessed because last week, a mission trip, a First Baptist church, got canceled. And somehow I got in contact with them and they needed a project. They said, Do you have anything? Yes, I do. You can come clean a church that deeply needs it. And so I know many of you all were there three days in a row, just a whirlwind of work that got done. And I was sitting there talking to some of the kids just before we got started. And one of the things I wanted to impress upon them is much of kingdom activity is the mundane, the day-to-day, mundane things. They're not all, all of our, in fact, I would say the majority of even great movements of God throughout history, time in history, much of them have been characterized by day-to-day, mundane activities of people who. Value the word of God and value its proclamation and value, it being spread broad and being spread deep, planted deep, these who give themselves to that in mundane ways, these people demonstrate their value over eternal, over the temporal. So, seven characteristics. We could add some more.

45:29But if after all of this, you're not convinced that Daniel wrote, I can say this, I'm not sure either, but he's a good candidate. But one thing we can be sure: the Holy Spirit wrote it. And I think, if nothing else, as we go through this psalm, think Daniel. Think Daniel, because he's an excellent illustration. So, why am I even going through this whole study? Well, as the psalmist longed for the word, so we are to long for the incarnate word. And what I want this to be is a way to prepare us for where we're going to go next. We're going to look at the Gospel of John and John's writings, and he spends his time and his emphasis upon the incarnate word. And I think as we look at this psalmist and his love and his union with Written word.

46:33I think it'll prepare us well for a love of the incarnate word. You know, if you do not treasure the whispers of God's Spirit through His written word, you're not going to treasure the perfect personification of His Spirit manifested in His Son. And if you seek to silence and suppress the Word of God in your life now because you find it inconvenient, troublesome, or maybe even intrusive, what will you do with the Incarnate Word when He is revealed in blazing glory?

47:11Revelation 6:16 answers the question. They said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us and hide from us the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? You see, if you will not get to know God through the whispers, you're going to get to know him through his blazing glory. It'll frighten you, in other words.

47:43But the beauty is, you can know him. You can know him now. You can know him through his word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this vast. Vast amount of scripture dealing with the word of God in the soul of man. And Father, we just ask now that you would use this time as we venture down this study, drawing us closer and through those struggles and turmoils of life with your word. And Father, we just ask you to bless, bless our time, bless this body. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.