The Word of God in the Heart of Man: Trials and Three Prayers God Loves to Anwers - Psalm 119:17-24 (Psalms 119:17-24)

1:22Well, Psalm 119, if it were a stage play, I would say that. Oliph and Beth, that's the first two stanzas, the first 16 verses, serve as the opening scene to this drama, if you will. And the opening scene is the psalmist in his prayer room. It's a scene of prayer. The psalmist desires to be blessed by God, and he desires to be blameless because he knows in being blameless, he will be blessed. That that is the road, that is the path of the blessed, if you will. That blessed journey is one of blamelessness before God.

2:08But the psalmist also confesses in this prayer room of his, in this opening scene, he confesses his dependence upon God to make it happen. In other words, he's saying, I can't be blameless unless you make me blameless and keep me blameless. And upon that basis, he makes this resolution to keep God's word. But in these first couple of stanzas, we're introduced to the first enemy of this psalm. There is a danger. There is a danger that this psalmist has encountered. And that danger is upon the inside. It's from within. An enemy that is lurking on the inside. And that enemy, or enemies, is Human weakness, human frailness, and a heart disposition to wander or wander away from the Word of God and the God of the Word. That's the enemy within.

3:16Are you familiar with it? A tendency to wander away from God. Well, this is the opening scene. Man praying in his prayer chamber. But it is also not just about the psalmist. It's a window into the heart of man. It's a window into the heart of you and me. And everyone who is a born-again believer, it's a window into that internal personal structure, struggle, and awareness of the enemy that's within. God's Word comes. We understand the road of the blessed, and we want to be blessed, and we want to walk in His ways because He has awakened something in us.

4:01Yet we are all too familiar with the weakness and proneness within our own hearts to wander away from Him. And so we cry out for His help, and then we're able to make that resolution only to fall back again on that prayer of dependence. Help me. So there is a desire to do what is right, but there is a weakness to carry it out. And therefore, that That results in a holy dependence. And this, my friends, is what walking with God in life is like. Holy dependence. This is what walking with the creation walking with his God or her God through life.

4:47This is the blessed journey. Then we can come to this third stanza, the gimel, the third letter in the alphabet. And we can think of this as the second scene. And this one, another set of enemies is introduced. Who are they? Well, in verse 21, they're described as the arrogant, the proud ones. In verse 23, they are described as the princes. That is, the leaders, the heads of states, maybe members of the royal family, rulers, dignitaries, chiefs. And how do they feel about the psalmist is given to us in verse 22. They reproach him and they hold him in content, in contempt. They despise him.

5:44And so, and what they are doing in this scene, like in verse 24, they sit and they talk against the psalmist. They are conspiring to bring him down. So you can think of this gimel stanza as. Another scene with maybe several sets. There's the scene of a stateroom with high-ranking officials talking and sitting about the psalmist, discussing how to bring him down. Maybe it's a scene of a lavish banquet for dignitaries, or maybe it's in the private homes, but there's multiple scenes where all of these officials and heads of states are sitting and talking and conspiring together on how to bring the psalmist down.

6:32You can picture a council chamber, a legislative session. But the emphasis, there's many of them, and there's the one psalmist. Many set to bring him down. So the first two stanzas introduced us to the enemy within. This stanza we'll be looking at today introduces us to the enemy from without or the enemy on the outside. The psalmist has already made a pledge to purity to be blameless. Is he going to make good on his promise? Will anything shake this psalmist loose from his commitment, from his desire and his resolution to be blameless before God? Will his downfall be the enemy without, from without, or the enemy within, or a combination of both? Both. That's the scene. And it's in this context of feeling the persecuting sting of his adversaries that the psalmist cries out to God. This is one big prayer to God.

7:49You see, trials come in many shapes and forms, don't they? And we certainly will have ours. The psalmist had his. And it's very instructive as we look into his life. It's instructive for us to look at what he does not say or what he does not pray for. And it's even more instructive and even fascinating for what he does pray for. If you'll notice, he does not cry out for revenge. He does not call down curses upon his enemy, though they seek to curse and bring him down. His thoughts go in a different direction. They go inward and they go upward instead of going outward.

8:32And it's in this moment of his life that he gives us three valid prayers that are valid for all seasons of life, for all situations of life, especially times of persecution and trials that come about because of the word. So no matter what trial you may be going through, it is important for you to know how to lift up prayers that God loves to answer. Three prayers that God loves to answer. Very practical prayers, three life-changing prayers, three prayers that you can offer, and be sure that God will answer because he loves to answer these prayers. So there's three of them this morning. I want to look at it. Three prayers that God loves to answer. First one, we'll just start walking our way through it. Deal bountifully with your servant. Verse 17. Right there, deal bountifully with your servant that I may live and keep your word. This prayer is very straightforward. Deal bountifully. That is, show abundant favor towards me. Overflow with favor towards me.

9:44Deal generously, kindly. Interesting, it's an imperative. The psalmist is really standing there, taking some ground and being very direct, though he is very humble in his prayer. He is very direct. God, you deal bountifully with me. You must. It's like he's telling God what to do. You must deal bountifully with me. Look how he looks at himself as a servant. Deal bountifully with your servant. A servant is a person of lower rank, a person lower in authority, a dependent person. A servant is dependent upon his master.

10:27Deal bountifully with your master. Here, servant. I am in a place of vulnerability. I am totally dependent upon your good will and your abundant favor towards me. Deal bountifully with your servant, so that, so that I may live. Isn't that interesting? Live. He prays for life. I don't know what the psalmist is going on in here, but I think certainly in context, he is feeling the threat of his life, his biological life. And he is praying to God to spare him. But he's not just praying for mere biological life, though I certainly think it's included. But he's praying for life. He wants to experience life under God's overflowing favor. Isn't that where you want to be?

11:25Don't you want to experience life under the overflowing favor of God? It can be yours. This is what the psalmist wants. He wants this favor. He wants to live and he wants to live well. And he defines what living well looks like. He goes on, that I might live and keep your word. To live well is to live in the manner of God's ways. That is the definition of living well. It's a very different prayer. God, deal bountifully with me. So that I may go and do exactly what I want to do. That's not the prayer at all, and nor is that God dealing bountifully with you.

12:10Now, God, what is necessary is to live well, is to live in God's ways, to keep his word. In fact, you get this, the more I probe into this, the more I am fascinated with this psalmist's understanding of the word. He really does meditate on the word. He really does meditate upon the Torah. He does meditate upon the prophets and the writings. He does meditate because so much of what he says rings from passages in the scriptures that he would have had. In Deuteronomy 30, 15, just before the Israelites are going to go into the land, Moses speaks these words. He says, See, I have set before you life and prosperity and death and adversity. Verse 16, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways. There is life, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, that you may live and multiply, that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. And he goes on in verse 9, so choose life in order that you may live. He is making a connection. Life is in keeping his commandments, his statutes, his judgments. The very thing that the psalmist, you keep coming over and over. He is very familiar with this. He's also very familiar with other passages such as Amos, chapter 5, verse 4, seek me that you may live. Verse 6, seek the Lord that you may live. Verse 14, seek good and not evil, that you may live.

13:58You see, the difference between life and death is a spiritual difference. It's not a biological one, as the Greek philosophers would propound. No, life is union with the eternal God. That's what life is. And it just so happens that eternal life is a byproduct of that union because he's eternal. And if you're going to be joined with him, guess what? You have to take on an eternal dimension, right? You have to take on eternity. If you're going to have a relationship with the eternal God, you yourself must have, as a foundation, eternal life.

14:46So, what God is offering in passages like Deuteronomy, he's offering full life, the blessed life, the life of eternity. It is sin against God's Holy love that separates you from God. It's not physical death, that doesn't separate us from God. It's sin that separates you from God. That's the biblical view of life. Physical death doesn't separate you. Sin does. Therefore, choose life by walking in His ways. See, life is not about sinning against God and men. Life is not about going around sinning. That's not living.

15:37I remember the time when that first awakened in my mind. Ah, God has put me on this life. He's given me life. He's put me on this world, not so I could sin against man and sin against God and squander it away. But He has given me life that I might walk in His ways. And when that hit me, ah, I was born anew. Ah. You see, have you ever sinned against someone you love? You ever lied to, cheated, or betrayed some trust? This is not what life is about. That's not living. I remember the painful prayer of an unfaithful woman who had gone to a conference and had entered into an adulterous affair. Against her husband. She boarded a plane to go back home. And all the, while she was on the plane and she was returning, she was praying that God would bring the plane down and crash it.

16:42Friend, that ain't living. Sin is not life. So, what the psalmist is saying is, he basically boils it down to this: Now that I have committed myself to your word, deal with me in such a way so that I can live and keep your word. I have devoted myself to your word. Now you deal bountifully with me so that I can keep your word and go through this life with you, not alienated from you. So his prayer is for life. His prayer is for abundant life. Give me the abundant life of knowing, understanding, and keeping your word.

17:27See, trials and adversity are going to come in many shapes and sizes. And whatever comes your way, you need to know that there is such thing as an abundant life, even in the midst of great trials and even great adversity. God loves to answer this prayer. I'm going to give you three reasons why God loves to answer this prayer. Number one, it's a humble prayer. God loves humble prayers. The servant here, or the psalmist here, sees himself as a servant.

18:01And if you have been redeemed by him, you are too. The question is: Are you a good servant? Are you growing in your ability to serve him better? Do you have a desire to serve him well? But there's something wonderful in the tone of verse 17. He's very direct. It's like he's sitting there giving God an imperative command: you must deal bountifully with me. At the same time, he's saying, I am your servant. Deal bountifully. It is necessary as your servant that you deal bountifully with me.

18:38You see, even a servant has a claim on his master. And the psalmist exercises that. In order for me to do your will, you must deal bountifully with me. I cannot live and keep your commandments unless you first deal bountifully with me. God loves to answer prayer because it's a humble prayer. Second reason God loves to answer such prayers is that its purpose is to honor God and not self. He wants to keep God's word, not squander God's blessing on his fleshly appetite. He wants to keep God's word. Third thing, third reason why God loves to answer this prayer is that this is what God really desires to give.

19:34What fascinates me as I probe deeper into this psalmist's life, he knew the God of the Word. And then, when you come to the New Testament, where the God of the Word has been incarnated and is walking among us, many of the same personality traits come out. Remember, in John 10:10, Jesus said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. God loves to give the abundant life. And here comes the incarnate word, the God of the Bible, taking upon himself flesh and walking among us. And we see this very same characteristic. I have come. In fact, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He says, in the very same context, I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.

20:37So Psalm 17, verse 17, he says, Deal bountifully with your servant, so that I may live and keep your word. Such is a valid prayer for any season of life. My question is: Are you bold enough to pray it? Because God is bold enough to give it. And if you will. Sincerely ask him. He will sincerely give it. Second prayer. Second prayer. That's the first prayer that God loves to answer. Second, open my eyes that I may see. Verse 18. Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law. Word for open is to uncover or unveil, reveal, that is, make known. And again, it's that imperative command: you must open my eyes. And the expression, open my eyes, is an expression to illuminate. God, give me, increase my spiritual perception. That's the expression here, that I may behold, give me, increase my spiritual perception so that I can have ability to grasp wonderful things from your law. Wondrous things, those principles, those works, those truths, all that that emanates from your law.

22:04So his goal is he wants to understand God's self-revelation. He wants to understand God's directions for his life. And in verse 19, he continues this thing. Look at verse, he says, open my eyes in verse 18 that I may behold wonderful things from your law. Verse 19, I am a stranger in the earth. Do not hide your commandments from me. So here he regards himself as a stranger. Literally, a foreigner. I am a foreigner in the land. So I think this guy is in some sort of exile. Verse 54, if you look over there, speaks again, Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. This psalmist understands exile and a long period of exile. He's a stranger. He regards himself as a person who does not belong in the land where he is at.

23:01That's all of us. Yes, that's all of us. And although he is a stranger in the land, he doesn't want to be a stranger to God's commandments. It's one thing for us to be a stranger in the land. It's another thing to be estranged from God. Look back at verse 19. I am a stranger in the land. Do not hide your commandments from me. Do not hide them from me. Do not hide your rules of conduct for life from me. I want to see them. I want to understand them so that I can keep them. Open my eyes that I may see them. So don't hide them from me. Kind of a redundancy, right? It doesn't do any good to have eyes opened if God's going to hide the truth from you, right?

23:45And so he's saying, do not hide. I want to know them. Let me know. Let me know your ways. Let me understand them so that I can keep them. And in the process of knowing your ways and keeping your ways, I will know you, the God of the Bible. I'll give you three reasons why God loves to answer this prayer. Number one, it's a humble prayer. Sound familiar? He regards himself as a stranger. Before, he regarded himself as a servant, and as a servant, he needs God to deal bountifully with him. As a stranger, he needs God to give him refuge. So the humble psalmist is seeking refuge in God by embracing God's ways. There is refuge in God's Word, no matter what situation is going on around you. There is a comfort, there is a heart satisfaction, a resting point.

24:42Even if the world opposes, your soul can be satisfied there. But we are strangers upon the earth. That's true if you're in Christ. Hebrews 11:9 speaks about the faithful, and specifically Abraham. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and builder is God. So this is us, strangers. And whoever you are or wherever you live, it's important for you to understand that you are a transient occupant upon this earth. No more. We're all transient occupants upon this land. Consider God's words to even Israel. You remember when they're about to go into the land, God institutes these laws about the redemption of the land. This is what the whole book of Ruth is all about, the redeeming of the land. And he says this in Leviticus 25, 23.

25:55The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine. For you are but aliens and sojourners with me. Even the great nation of Israel, as they were going into the land, were to see themselves as sojourners with God and that the land was his. So it's a humble prayer. He sees himself as a stranger. Second reason God loves to answer this prayer is its purpose is to honor God and not self. Sound familiar, just like the first one.

26:29But the third reason is what God really desires to give. God desires to open your eyes that you may see the wonderful things in his law. That's why he wrote it down there. That's why he gave it in the first place. But again, we see this personified. We see this desire personified in Christ himself. You remember on Matthew 20, chapter 20, as Jesus is going up from Jericho up to. Jerusalem, about to be crucified. They go through this town called Jericho, and as they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Verse 29. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David. The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us. And Jesus stopped and called them and said, What do you want me to do for you? And they said to him, Lord, we want our eyes to be opened. Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

27:48Now, if Jesus was moved with compassion for physical sight, how much more do you expect him to be moved with compassion for spiritual insight? God loves to answer this prayer. Are you bold enough to sincerely pray it? That God will open your eyes and show you great things in his word so that you may obey them, so that you may put them into practice. Are you ready for that kind of relationship with your Creator? Call upon him. God loves to answer this prayer.

28:31So, two prayers. So far, deal bountifully with your servant. Open my eyes that I may see. Both imperative, both strong. Then we come to these center verses in the Psalm, verses 20 and 21. And I just want to read them to you. My soul is crushed with longing after your ordinances all the time. You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from your commandments. And in these two verses, the psalmist and his enemies are contrasted. They're compared and contrasted by the way they regard God's word. Two very different levels of respect: the psalmist and his enemies. Remember the scenes: there's the one psalmist, the many enemies, the many conspirators.

29:22So, what verse 20 does, it's that culminating expression of what the psalmist has said so far. And verse 21 prepares us for what's going to come in the rest of the psalm. It's typical of a psalm. The emphasis is right in the center point. It's called a chiastic structure. So, everything leads up to Psalm 20, outlining and underscoring the intense desire that the psalmist has for the word of God. And then 21, contrasts that with the intense disregard and suppression that the enemies of the psalmist have for God's word. Look at verse 20. The longing of his heart is described in terms of a pressing burden. My soul is crushed with longing after your ordinances all the time.

30:09I have this pressing burden to know your will and to do your will, and it has literally broken me in pieces. Very strong language. And I think there are times we experience such pressing longings. Sometimes it's the wife or her husband who's at war, or a parent for the well-being of his child, or the athlete for the prize, or you just go on down the road, or a young person for success in life, old person, whatever.

30:42But sometimes these longings can just grip the mind and become so strong and overpowering that they literally become like a weight, a crushing burden. Such was this pressing longing that the psalmist had for the word. The psalmist regards God's word as something very valuable, extremely valuable. It grips his heart. He longs for it. He longs for God to deal bountifully with him, to open his eyes, to understand, so that he can understand and obey God's word. And notice, look back at verse 20, this is a constant longing. It's all the time. It's steady. It's not sporadic. It's habitual. It's a constant theme.

31:27Friends, this is the disposition of the great. Men and women of the earth, a longing for God's word, God's ways. And then in verse 21, you have a very hard right turn, a very different kind of people. And they are described as the arrogant. You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from your commandments. Two descriptions. Here's the arrogant. They stand in stark contrast to the Psalm. There are two descriptions. First of all, they are described as those who are currently under a curse.

32:06The wording is very graphic, literally bound by a curse. It's like constrains them. They are under curse, bound, like by a chain or imprisoned. They are under a curse. This is the arrogant, under a curse. They are also described as those who characteristically wander away or purposefully grow astray from God's commandments. Very different from the psalmist. You see him longing, longing for God's ways, for God's commandments. And then you see this other category, the arrogant, who are characteristically going, disregarding, and suppressing. The question is, where are you?

32:54How do you see yourself? Do you characteristically long for God's? God's word, does that describe you? Or do you characteristically wander away from it? Who are you? Are you the arrogant? And if I'm one of my little kids, you raise kids, you've probably experienced this before. If one of my kids totally disregards something I say, it really kind of irritates you, doesn't it? Right? If I give you plain instruction, a little kid, I don't even have to listen to that. I'm going to go off and do something else. Like, who do you think you are, young man or a young lady? Right?

33:38Not that that's ever happened in my home, but I'm sure it's happened in some of your homes. But that is the nature of those who go astray. Who do you think you are? God rebukes the arrogant. If this is you characteristically wandering astray, this is the title that the Bible gives you. You are the arrogant. You take the ranks up there with Cain, with Pharaoh, with Nebuchadnezzar, with Haman, Herod. Just go on their own. That's where you are categorized. I love this expression, the arrogant. An arrogant person has an inflated view of himself. Okay, we get that. But I love the graphic here. It's literally an inflated person or a proud person is boiling over with themselves. Okay? Boiling. Over with themselves. I mean, this is, maybe we could start a new expression. Oh, quit boiling over with yourself, you know, or something like that. That'd be kind of an expression. But the arrogant regards God's Word very different. That's the point. They're so into themselves that they disregard, suppress, and move on.

34:55But as a result, God regards the arrogant very differently than he does the humble. They regard God's word very different, so God regards them very differently. Isaiah 13:11 says this, Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. It will come to an end. And so the psalmist understands this. I understand God. I understand his disposition towards the arrogant. I've seen it. I've seen it in Scripture. I've probably had witnessed it with his own eyes. And so that makes way for his next request. And that brings us to his third prayer, which really comes to his current situation. Look at verse 22. Third prayer, take away reproach and contempt from me. The whole prayer, I'll just read the whole thing, verses 22 through 24. Take away reproach and contempt from me, for I observe your testimonies. Even though princes sit and talk against me, your servant meditates me. On your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight. They are my counselors. So here's his prayer: take away. That is, roll away.

36:11He uses language that is very familiar to Joshua chapter 10, when the five kings that fled from Joshua, they hid into a cave, and Joshua ordered large stones to be rolled in front of the entrance of the cave to seal them in. And here the psalmist is using language that's descriptive of this event. Yet he's not talking about literal stones, he's talking about the burdens that are placed upon him by his enemies. His enemies, the arrogant, verse 21, the princes of verse 23, they are one and the same group. And what they are doing and what they have done is they have heaped reproach and contempt upon the psalmist through all of their sitting sessions and talking sessions. They love to sit and talk. That's what they do in verse 23. And notice, against me at the end of the first line of 23, their sitting sessions and their talking sessions are against the psalmist.

37:13And what they heap upon him is reproach. That is dishonor, scorn, disgrace, reviling, probably even open taunts or ridicule. He's going through something very severe. Probably something that our Lord experienced. Only our Lord experienced it to a much more significant degree. Word for reproach and contempt. There's contempt, which communicates intense dislike. You know what? Proverbs, by the way, contempt. You can be sure where there is contempt, wickedness is there in arm's length. They come together as a pair. Proverbs 18:3 says, When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes.

38:05And usually that contempt and wickedness speak out, as the psalmist says in chapter 31, 18, let the lying lips be mute, which speak arrogantly against the righteous with pride and contempt. Wickedness, contempt go together, and they speak against the righteous. Very consistent pattern. But the psalmist goes on to, it says, take away this reproach and contempt from me. Very good prayer. And there's three reasons why the psalmist gives in justifying his request. Look in verse 22.

38:48For I observe your testimonies, or I keep your testimonies. This is what the psalm has been about so far. In verse 2, verse 4, verse 8, verse 9, this desire to keep his testimonies. Testimonies. So take away reproach and contempt from me because I keep your testimonies. Verse 23, because your servant meditates on your statutes. Verse 24, because your testimonies are my delight. He gives these three reasons. He meditates. He doesn't disregard their talking about him while he's meditating on God's word.

39:30So what this psalmist is saying is: remove reproach and contempt from me, specifically that which is a result of my obedience and love of your word. There's a certain kind of contempt and reproach that comes about because of being obedient to the word. The psalmist isn't saying, look, if I've wronged somebody, remove, and somebody has just cause against me, then remove that contempt or reproach from me. No, he's not going that direction at all. In fact, he's saying, if I am in error, deal bountifully with me and open my eyes. Otherwise, roll away the reproach and contempt from me. That is his prayer. I am being reproached and held in hostility because of my commitment to your word. Remove such reproach. And contempt from me.

40:32And it's an imperative. Again, you must do this. You see, a work of grace has taken place in the psalmist's heart. He doesn't repay evil for evil. He doesn't respond in kind. He looks within, and then he looks to God. Let me give you, again, three reasons why God loves to answer this prayer. First of all, it's a humble prayer, just like the others. Again, verse 23, he views himself as a servant. Again, second reason God loves to answer, its purpose is to honor God and not himself.

41:12And the third, it's what God really desires to give. God desires to take away the reproach and contempt of his people that is brought on by obeying his word. This is what God has done historically. In Joshua 5:9, then the Lord said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. As Israel's going into the land, he's saying, You know what? I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt. And you remember what had just happened in a couple verses before in chapter 2, where Rahab said, The Lord your God, He is God in heaven and the God on earth. We see that, we understand it, and our hearts have melted because of you. We see you for who you really are.

42:10So God has removed the reproach of his people historically. He promises to do it again in the future permanently. In Isaiah 25:8, God says this: He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and he will remove the reproach of his people from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. Period. And then we certainly see this psalmist, it's almost like this psalmist walked with Christ. He knew the God of the Word so well that then, when that word became incarnate, you almost get the feeling that he had sat and talked with Jesus and understood the things that Jesus taught, things that he appreciated. You remember in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says this: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the humble, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Psalmist knew this half a millennium before.

43:18Verse 6: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Psalmist longed for this long before these words were spoken. Spoken. Verse 8: Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God. The psalmist was aware of this. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.

43:56Christ is going to remove the reproach of his people. In fact, this is one of the things that is very much on his mind. In John 17, when he prays for his people, he prays for his disciples, those that had followed him on the earth. He prays for them, and then his heart is in anguish because he knows he has set his disciples on collision course with the world. And then he also knows about us who are sitting here today, who are going to believe in Christ because of the apostolic testimony. And they too are going to be on a collision course, or we too are going to be on collision course with the world. And then he offers this prayer for us. In verse 20, he says, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, speaking of his disciples, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have. Given me, I have given to them. You get that? The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that, and here's the big reason for his prayer, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you have loved me.

45:27Christ's prayer for his disciples, for us here today, is that the reproach will be rolled away and that the world will not only understand that Christ is the Lord, but that God Himself loves us as much as He loves His Christ. So, when you pray, take away reproach and contempt from me, you're praying a very biblical prayer that strikes at the very heart of God and the desires that He wants to give His people. But like the Psalmist, we need to make sure that it's not our own sin that's caused the reproach, right? Or that we've wronged somebody. But even in such instances, we are to pray, God, deal bountifully with me so that I may keep your word, that I may make things right.

46:21Three prayers that God loves to answer. Pray them. No matter what season or situation, You're going through, pray for things that God loves to give. And here they are. Deal bountifully with your servant. Open my eyes that I may see. Take away reproach and contempt from me. I want to close. I want to go back and look at that very last line of verse 24. Your testimonies are also my delight. They are my counselors. Very interesting phrase. Your testimonies are my delight.

47:05My literally, the men of my counsel. Think about that. Your testimonies are the men of my counsel. Now go back. What an image. On the one hand, you remember, you've got the psalmist alone, right? And you've got this other scene with all of these counselors conspiring to bring him down, heads of state, some of the brilliant minds, thinking about how they're going to bring this psalmist down. And here's the psalmist in his prayer room alone. Or so it seems. And yet he says, Your word, your statutes, your ordinances, your commandments, your testimonies, they are the men of my counsel. I have in my council chamber far more superior counselors than all the wisdom of the earth. And the wealth of the earth. A very stark contrast.

48:08The psalmist has an army of the most brilliant and knowledgeable counselors that have ever or could ever array a monarch. So, no matter who you are, no matter what you're going through, there is an army of God's counselors, and they are embarrassingly superior to the wisdom of men. And you know what? They all point to one individual: the incarnate word, the God of the Word, who has come and walked among us. So, the exhortation to us today: do you know him?

48:52Choose life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the depth of our soul that it touches. Father, now we ask by your Spirit that you would awaken, strengthen, and guide our prayers as we close our time with you in Jesus' name.