True Worship in a Fallen World - Psalm 119:105-112 (Psalms 119:105-112)

4:36And it's in the midst of all this going on, as we see in this noon stanza, that we see a man who worships God, who worships God, who truly worships God, even in the midst of some very difficult circumstances. And so I want to look at his life. I want to look at these verses, and I want you to see five characteristics of a person who truly worships God. And I want to do so that you will be such a person. I want you to see five characteristics of a person who truly worships God so that you will be just such a person.

5:13First, a person who truly worships God commits to walk in his ways. A person who truly worships God commits to walk in his way. Look at verse 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn, and I will confirm it, that I will keep your righteous ordinances. The word for lamp, maybe a little clay oil lamp, is used as a lantern to be set in a lantern to be able to see the ground. The idea of a lamp to the feet is to illumine that which is right in front of your feet. I think a modern equivalent might be a flashlight, something that's aimed at what debris, what rocks. What is in the path? What could cause stumbling? As you already know, that the psalmist has their traps laid for him. There are some arrogant, wicked men, perhaps counselors, perhaps princes, and even leaders that are wanting to bring him down. And so they have set traps for him. So the word of God served as this flashlight, as this lamp that would guide his steps. Look at the second part of that. And a light to my path. The word for a light is more of a torch, a torch that you can actually hold up and actually see what's ahead, see the path. So that you can make a distinction between the lamp that would show you your next step and a torch that would give you a view of the boundaries of the path ahead. Maybe not too far in the dark, but far enough to see the path and the boundaries. And the path is a reference to the way through life. You see, a believer's journey through life is like traveling a path through pitch black, through pitch black terrain with all of its cliffs and stumbling hazards and traps and even snakes or any other thing on the road. You want to see what's ahead. And God's word gives that heavenly light upon such a dark road.

7:30It gives us truth for moral choices. It gives us theologically rich insights into the nature of God and can answer some of the greatest perplexities of life. So the gift of God is, the gift of God's grace is a brilliantly lit pathway. That's what he gives us in his word. Lamp to our feet, a light to our path. Look at the next verse. God's word, I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep your righteous ordinances. You see, God's word illumines the path of a darkened world. So what should we do with it? If this is God's word, it gives you a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. What should you do with it? Walk in it. Walk in it. And that's what the psalmist is saying. I love your word. I love the light it gives. And so I have sworn that I will keep it. I will use it for what it is intended to do.

8:32You see, the word is a lamp for those who want to obey it. But for those, many do not want the light. They don't like the light that it gives. I remember back in my cycling days, this is back when I was going to be the world's greatest cyclist that ever lived, right? I can remember one thing that I liked to do. And this is going to sound really odd because it was. But I like to, on moonlit nights, I don't know if you saw the moon come up last night, just a beautiful, beautiful big moon. And when it's a clear night, you can see a lot in the dark. One of my favorite things to do, and what I would do, is I would get on my bike way after dark, and I didn't have any lights or any reflectors on it, and I'd go out for like a 30-mile bike ride or something like that or more. In the moonlight, I'd go to these country roads, and I would just ride. And I loved it because the night, you could see enough. And I would ride, and I just loved being out there. But you know, I learned something that I had to ride in the middle of the street because I couldn't see the little stones. It wasn't that much light, and so there was a hazard of wrecking. And I had this memory of a vehicle one time that didn't have its lights on. And I was incensed as I was out there riding. I'm like, wait a minute, you're going to kill somebody. What are you doing out here without any lights on? I thought, maybe he's doing the same thing I am.

10:08And then on an occasion, I can remember this truck that obviously didn't see me just whizzed right by me. And I don't know if they saw me. And I realized, it hit me. This is not smart. This is not smart at all. But that's the way some of us live, right? We don't want the light. We don't want to walk in it. We don't like the path that it illumines. And so the Word of God is, it blinds them. They have no place for it. But for those who want to commit their way to the Lord, the Word becomes this heavenly grace that just lights the path.

10:55And then God gives more light and more light. That's the beauty of His Word. And so He says, I have sworn and I will confirm it. I mean, that's a vocal oath. Certainly it was an oath in the heart. But you get the sense when you, this is, I have taken an oath, a solemn promise. Remember the wedding vows at Scott and Elizabeth's wedding? I don't know if they're here, but anyway, we saw, they're here, they're here. You remember those solemn vows, right? Those solemn vows. This is what the Psalm, I have made my solemn, I've taken a solemn oath, and I will confirm it, that I will keep your righteous ordinances. I will keep them. And that's that word like Adam was to tend the garden. I will tend to your righteous, I will keep them. I have made this, and this is what I'm going to do. A modern expression of that, like, I have sworn and I will confirm it, would probably say, I am bound and determined. I have bound my heart and my mind, and I am determined to carry out. That I am going to live according to your standards.

12:04You see, true worship begins with the commitment to God's ways and at the heart level, not this phony commitment of external religiousism, if that's a word it is now, right? But at the heart level, not a phony commitment to mere externals of religion. You know, if you are committed to your own natural ways, you are going to be at odds with God. And you're certainly not going to worship Him. One who's going to worship Him is going to be committed to His ways. If you're committed to oppose God, I can guarantee you you're not going to worship Him. You're not the kind of worshiper He seeks. But a worshiper of God begins by paying attention to what He says, a commitment to God's words.

12:57You know, if you're committed to your own ways, and if you profess to worship Him, but underneath that, you are committed to your own ways, you're a hypocrite. And boy, did Jesus call this out in His day. You see, the sin of the Pharisees in Jesus' day was disregard for the scriptures, disregard for what they said, even though they had this incredible tradition and they had this incredible appearance of really caring what the Word of God said. Really, what happened is they started listening more to the traditions and the philosophies of man rather than God's word. But at the heart of it, Jesus makes it very clear: you don't understand the scriptures because you do not accept its light. Because if you did accept their light, you would know who I am.

13:48And oftentimes, that's what we do. We buy into the philosophies of this world or we commit ourselves to things that just disregard God's word. But worship begins with a commitment to Him, a worship, a commitment to walk in His ways. Jesus said it well, verse John 14:15, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And that's the beginning of true worship. Second, a person who truly worships God relies upon His grace, relies upon His grace. Look at verse 107. I am exceedingly afflicted. Revive me, O Lord, according to your word. He relies upon His grace for strength. And there's three specific areas that a person who truly worships God will rely upon His grace. Three areas. And the first is grace for strength. Grace for strength. I am exceedingly afflicted. Revive me according to your word. The word for afflicted is bowed low. That's that word. We've seen this three. Out. It's humiliated. I am humbled. I am in the ground. In verse 25, you remember where it says, my soul cleaves to the dust. That's the picture of I am down in the dust. I am humiliated to the point that I am at one with the dust. And he uses this word afflicted five times, or he has used this word five times. This is the sixth time. But this is the first time he uses the word exceedingly. I am exceedingly, abundantly, severely afflicted. That's the idea.

15:38I am bowed low. It doesn't really say why he was exceedingly afflicted, although as we've worked through this, it may be that those persecutors had reached a point of bringing him down. There's something that is driving him, something that is harassing him, that is weighing him down, but it doesn't give us the reason expressly. So we know that it can apply to many situations here. Some possible reasons, perhaps it was the persecutors, as I've already said. Perhaps it was personal failure. I mean, that'll humble a person, right? Perhaps it was a personal loss, or any number of these. We don't know. There's a number of ways that we get to this. Point, this low point in life. And the point isn't how you get to the low point, but what you do when you get to that severely, exceeding, exceedingly afflicted stage, that humiliation, that humiliated state in life.

16:46It's not how you get there, it's how you get out. And he says, This, revive me, revive me. That's the imperative. Make me live. Make me live. It's that same thing. Breathe in me. Breathe life into me. In Genesis 2, 7, it's that picture of God breathing life into the man that he formed out of the dust. Breathe life into me. Pick me up. Give me the strength to go on. That's what the psalmist is praying for. And he says, according to your word, according to your word. That is, and here the sense of the word is used to carry a promise. According to your gracious promises that you have spoken.

17:34You have promised. Remember, psalmists certainly would have been aware of Isaiah 66:2 that says, This is the one I look. My hand has made everything. All these things have come into being, but this is the one I look to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at my word. Look upon me, Lord. This is what the psalmist is saying. Look upon me, revive me. I know you're the God who looks at those like me who in this humble situation.

18:08But the point of this is that in order for us to be true worshipers of God, he must give us the strength to do so. It doesn't come from us. The grace to even worship him, the grace for strength to even worship him is a gift from God. So we rely, so a person who truly worships God relies upon his grace, relies upon his grace for strength, but also relies upon his grace for grace. Look at verse 108. Oh, accept the free will offerings of my mouth. Word for grace, favor, or accept. Please have favor. Please have favor upon my offerings. Accept. Oh, accept. Please be favorable. Please accept with delight. Let what I bring before you. Let these free will offerings that I bring to you make you smile. May you love them.

19:12We rely upon his grace for grace. Grace for favor. I love this word, free will offerings. It speaks of, it's in the, actually, it's in the place of emphasis in the sentence. It's actually, the free will offerings is actually what's at the beginning. Of the sentence. That's what starts with the El, with the Lamed. Free will offerings. And it hearkens back to those Old Testament offerings. You remember the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus 35, 29? And those Israelites, all the men and women whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a free will offering to the Lord. You know how the tabernacle got made or was made from people who gave freely. It wasn't a taxation. It wasn't a compulsion. It was out of the heart. And God, throughout scriptures, speaks about this. In Deuteronomy 16:10, bring a tribute as you celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Bring a free will offering. Whatever's on your heart, according to how God has blessed you, you bless Him back of the free will.

20:31Deuteronomy 23:23, it speaks about a free will vows, free will vows, voluntarily, voluntary vows. And certainly that's what this psalmist is saying here. Speaking about the voluntary words of his mouth. He volunteered the commitment, he volunteered the praise. He volunteered everything that came out of him. It was a volunteering to God. And let me tell you, there's something. Most beautiful about free will offerings. It really touched the heart of God. You know, I got a letter from our Vietnamese friend. Many of you may remember her. I got this from Christmas again. She gave us another offering. Now, for those of you who don't know her, some 45 years ago or so, she stayed in our shelter across the street as a little Vietnamese refugee girl. She was very appreciative, and she now works, she's lived in the community all these years. She works over at, I believe, Sabiza Food Services over at Texas AM. Not a high-paying job, but you know, every year she sends us money at Christmas, again, thanking us for her time in the shelter. Every year. Every year. Wilton, I don't know, as far back as you can remember, right?

22:15Long time. A long time. 40 years. 40 years. Every year, just the remembrance of the kindness shown to her. And so she wants, every year it comes and she says, thank you again. Thank you again for welcome me into this country and welcome me into this place and welcoming my family. Thank you. That is a free will offering. No strings attached. And it's beautiful. It's beautiful. Out of my mouth, out of my mouth, he says, accept the free will offerings of my mouth. So a person who truly worships God relies upon his grace for strength, for grace, and finally for instruction. Look back at 108. And he says, This, accept the free will offerings of my mouth, and teach me your ordinances. Second part, and teach me your ordinances, grace for instruction. You know, Samuel, 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel says, Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. Jeremiah 7:21, thus says the Lord of hosts, I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices, but this is what I commanded them: obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people, and you will walk. In the way which I have commanded you. Hosea 6:6, for I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. You know, if we're going to walk in his ways and he loves obedience better than sacrifice, guess what? We're dependent upon him to teach us. We cannot know his ways unless he opens our eyes and opens our hearts so that we can know his ordinances, his instructions. So the psalmist is swearing, God, I will keep your ordinances. In verse 106, I will keep your ordinances. But now he's saying, teach me your ordinances. He's dependent. We're dependent. If we're going to worship him, we rely upon his grace to instruct us. You know, the difference between a good company and a bad company, and I learned this my corporate years in America. A good company operates on the assumption that it needs to teach and empower its employees to carry out the tasks expected of them, right? As you go to work for a company, look for those companies that recognize they have a role in teaching and equipping you to be able to carry out the very tasks that they call you to do. A poor company, on the other hand, operates on the assumption that new hires possess all that is needed to perform. I want this task done. Don't know how to do it. That's why I'm hiring you. Go get it done.

25:28See, God. God is good. He understands that we cannot truly worship him unless he gives us the spiritual vitality to do it and he gives us the spiritual instruction to do it. God's a good, good boss. So in humbling times, we are to rely upon his grace, grace for strength, grace for grace, and grace for instruction. So a person who truly worships God commits to walk in his ways. Number two, relies upon his grace. And number three, a person who truly worships God lives by principle rather than instinct. Lives by principle rather than instinct. Look back at verse 109 and 110. My life is continually in my hand, yet I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not gone astray from your precepts. In verse 109, there is this image of a dangerous feat. My life is continually in my hand. And when he's talking about my life, he's saying, my physical existence on earth, I am constantly taking in my hand. And that's a Hebrew idiom. It's kind of a.

26:47He's saying, it's like he's saying, I'm constantly exposing myself to danger. That's what I'm doing. I've taken my life in my own hand. In fact, Jonathan, when he was Defending David before Saul. Saul wanted to kill David. And in 1 Samuel 19:5, Jonathan is saying, Look, he's basically saying, Dad, you shouldn't go kill this guy because he took his life in his own hand when he took on Goliath. In other words, he's not unfaithful to you because he took on Goliath. He took his life in his own hand. He lived that close to danger.

27:26A picture of this, I remember my childhood. Again, you're going to wonder, man, how did I ever make it to the 21st century? But this was another one of those episodes. We had this bridge in my hometown called Peggy Sioux Bridge, and it was a pipeline that went across a canyon. And I don't know, there may have been 150 feet drop. I mean, it was way up there. And it was a little suspension bridge that, and it was connected by wires and expand this whole thing. And a little pipeline with a little walking catwalk right on top of it. And we like to go out and walk across this thing. But it got worse one day. One day I had a friend out there, a couple of us were, or a few of us were out there, and one of them said to another one, why don't you go stand out there on that wire? Now, there's a little wire connecting to the big wire that goes, that holds up this whole bridge. So my friend's like, okay. And he goes out there, and I don't know how he got out there on this little wire, but then he. Got out there and he was standing on this big wire.

28:34And I remember getting afraid. I'm like, that's dumb. You need to, I don't know how you're going to get back, but you've got to get back. Well, by God's grace, he lived, and I lived. And now my kids carry some of these genes, so I don't know if they're hopefully they will learn to, by God's grace, make it through some of these things. But that's what taking your life in your own hands looks like. A dangerous feat. And what this psalmist was doing is he's saying, I continually take my life in my own hand. And the implication is, because of your word. Throughout the psalm, it was his adherence to the word that was causing the grief, that was causing the pain and putting his life in jeopardy.

29:25And he says, yet, I do not forget your law. You see, the natural instinct, when the world is coming against you, when there's danger because of the word, you know what the natural instinct to do is compromise, fall away, like the seed that fell on stony ground, that grew up for a little while, and then persecution came and it withered away. Compromise and drift is natural instinct when you're threatened because of the word. And yet he says, I do not forget your law. I'm not going to be a man who lives by instinct. I'm going to be a man who lives on the principle of your word. And that's where true worship is. A person who says, I will live on this word. I will live according to principle rather than gut instinct.

30:22He says, I do not forget your law. Your law is more important. He loved principle above his life. You know, popular culture does the opposite. Popular culture exalts life above principle. The comforts, the cares, the concerns of this life are more important than principle. But the man and the woman who worships God will live by principle rather than instinct. Well, in verse 110, we move from the image of a dangerous feet to the image of a hunting trimp. The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I have not gone astray from your precepts. Now, here comes the wicked again. Here are these foes. This is the repeating enemy that keeps surfacing in this song.

31:17The word for snare is literally a bird trap. In Proverbs 7:23, in Ecclesiastes 9:12, it's a bird trap. And probably a little net, a little base with a couple of nets, and it It was carefully laid, like a net, a trap they have laid. That is, they have carefully set. And if you look at this verse, it's really interesting to look at the contrast between the preoccupations of the wicked with the psalmist. The wicked are preoccupied with trapping, with setting a trap, with plotting, with scheming. Their ideas, they're preoccupied with bringing the righteous down, to kill him or to get him to compromise, to change, to get off the path that God has him on. And there's just something that drives these wicked crazy about the psalmist. They want to bring him down and they want him to leave the path. They cannot just live and let live. It's kind of like Cain and Abel. When you look at Cain and Abel, it's like, Cain, why did you kill Abel? What was it that drove you mad? All he did was offer a wonderful sacrifice. Why would that cause you to want to kill him? There's something in man that the children of wickedness, those who have been blinded by the God of this age, are not content with the righteous and their testimony. They're much like their master, Jesus in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil. He sought to turn Jesus. Away through slandering God and through opposition and by tempting him. But the whole thing was about getting him to go off of the path that God had for him. But in contrast to this plotting and scheming, you see, the psalmist, he's preoccupied with seeking and understanding and keeping God's ways. Verse 110, look at that. Yet I have not gone astray from your precepts. The word for astray is to go off course. It speaks of a lost and wandering donkey in Exodus 23, 4, or a staggering drunk in Isaiah 28, 7. The psalmist doesn't get lost and lose his way, despite the fact that people want to bring him down. And he doesn't start thinking, okay, well, maybe I should change my thoughts here. Maybe I should, okay, kind of lose the path that I was on and kind of like, okay, because I've got these people over here, they want to bring me down. So if I start listening to them and try to start... No, he doesn't get lost. He doesn't become intoxicated by fear of those who ridicule God's ways, but he keeps his focus on his next stamp, that lamp, next step, and the path, that light that God has for him. He's interested in his next step and the path that God has before him. You see, true worshipers of God love principle more than life. So a person who truly worships God commits to walk in his ways, relies on his words. Upon his grace and live by principle rather than instinct. And number four, a person who truly worships God takes joy in the inheritance he gives, takes joy in the inheritance that God gives. Look at verse 111. I have inherited your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. The word for, or the phrase I have inherited, literally means I have taken possession. It's the idea of, in reference to land, the possessing of the land, in Exodus 23, 30 and 32, 13, and in Isaiah 53, 13, God says, but he who takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. So there are those who inherit what God gives, and that is his word, his testimony. There are some who inherit the wind, Proverbs 11, 29, and foolishness. There are some who inherit falsehood, who prefer the lies, to listen to lies. They don't like the truth, so they prefer the lie. And so that is exactly what they inherit.

35:46But there are some, like this psalmist, who inherited God's testimonies. Your sworn testimonies, your testimonies about the truths. The physical and the spiritual universe. That is my inheritance. And I take joy in that you have given me your testimonies. It's like God saying, remember that word for testimony? The word for word is testimonies, God's sworn testimonies. It's like when we have God's word, He said, This is God's sworn testimony about the realities of the universe, physical and spiritual. And these are the inheritance of His people forever. Your testimonies forever. I have inherited them, and they are the joy of my heart. The joy. And the word for joy comes from Sassoon, Hebrew word. And I remember a bottle of shampoo. Did anybody ever have a shampoo called Sassoon? Vidal Sassoon. I think it may have come from the Hebrew, okay? But the idea is jubilation or joy. And I guess that would be a fitting name for a shampoo. My hair, joy, you know, right?

37:11So they probably don't use one of our core members over here as a with a with a flat flat top as the icon for their commercials. No, they use someone with a joy bouncing, right? Well, that's the idea here: the jubilation of my heart, your testimony. Are the joy. They revive me. They give me strength. I love them. And he says, I take them as my inheritance with great joy. Thank you, God, for giving them to me. They are my possession. You remember in Numbers 14, 24, it speaks about Caleb. He was one of those that went into the land, and the rest of them, he and Joshua said, yeah, we can take the land. And the others, like, no, we can't. But God says about Caleb, he says, but my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me full, I will bring him into the land. He had a different spirit.

38:20He looked at God's inheritance and took it and took possession of it. That's what the psalmist is saying. You have given me your words. I don't have anything else. The psalmist is in exile somewhere. He's out of the land. And yet he's saying, I have your words. These are my inheritance. This is my inheritance and the joy of my heart. So a person who truly worships God, commits to walking in his ways, relies upon his grace, lives by principle rather than instinct, takes joy in the inheritance he gives. And five, seeks to be. A doer of God's word. He seeks to be a doer of God's word. Look at verse 112. I have inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever, even to the end. From the joy of his heart, in verse 111, to the inclination of his heart. Do you see how it's like the words became the joy, his inheritance was the joy of his heart, and now it is the inclination of his heart. The word for inclined means to pitch a tent. As Abram, in Genesis 12, 8, he pitched his tent or to camp out. You can think about inclined, to camp out. The word is also used to describe Moses stretching out his staff. So think about that in the thought of a heart, a heart that I have pitched, I have camped out upon your statute. This is my territory, or I have stretched my heart to perform your statutes. The word is also used to, is translated as to turn away. Remember Solomon, he turned his heart away because of all the many foreign women that he loved, and he began to worship their gods. And in 1 Kings 11, 9, it says the Lord was very angry with Solomon because he was turned away from the Lord.

40:28He pitched his camp someplace else. He inclined his heart. He extended his heart in a different direction instead of turning to God. You can turn your heart away from God or you can turn your heart to God. And this Solomon turned or he inclined his heart to observe God's words forever to the end. He's like, this is the definition of my life. This is who I am forever to the end. Inclined to be a doer of your word. Not just a hear, but to really do it. You see, what you incline your heart to do will define everything about you.

41:09What you incline your heart to do is going to define everything about you. I think about a motorboat on a lake. Think about a boat on a lake. As it speeds across, it leaves a wake behind it. You know, the waves that come out and ripple out. Well, the direction of the boat and the speed of the boat will determine the waves that are left behind. And what you incline your heart towards will define the legacy that you leave behind.

41:45What is the inclination of your heart? Well, a true worshiper seeks to be a doer of God's word, inclines his heart to God's word. Closing, I want to read to you a verse, John chapter 4, 23. You're very familiar with it. You remember the woman of Samaria Jesus went through. She was at the well. Question about worship came up, and Jesus says this in chapter 4 and verse 23. But an hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For such people, the Father seeks to be his worshipers.

42:33Isn't that interesting? God is actively looking even now, this moment, for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. A person who truly worships God, worships God, commits to walk in his ways, relies upon his grace to do so, lives by principle rather than instinct, takes joy in the inheritance that God gives, and seeks to be a doer of God's word. Let us also endeavor to be true worshipers. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for the clarity that you give us in your word, for the light that it is, the lamp that you boil life down to such simplicity, Father, that we are to hear, understand, and obey. And Father, we just thank you for your word, and we. We know that we cannot become a true worshiper except by your grace. And so we ask you, you see our deficiencies. You see what's lacking. You see what needs to be changed. And Father, we rely upon you. We can confess to you today that we want to worship you. And Father, for those here who do not know you, we ask that you would awaken that even right now. Father, that they would hear your voice calling them, saying, Come and follow me. Father, because you give us this word in order to draw us to you.

44:07We, Father, we thank you that the inheritance that is so great is that the person who has your word has you. And so, Father, we thank you for the relationship. We thank you for the relationship that you have given to us through your word. Help us worship you. In Jesus' name, amen.