The Word of God in the Heart of Man: God's Lovingkindness on Display - Psalm 119:41-48 (Psalms 119:41-48)

0:45So I will keep your law continually forever and ever. And I will walk at liberty, for I seek your precepts. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings, and shall not be ashamed. I shall delight in your commandments, which I love, and I shall lift up my hands to your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes. This past week read an article. The title of it was the U.S. Report Urges to End Conversion Therapy for LGBT youth. Let me read to you a portion of it. Less than a year after the Obama administration came out against so-called conversion therapy. For gay and lesbian youth, a new government report calls for the practice to be eliminated nationwide. No evidence supports the efficacy of such interventions to change sexual orientation or gender identity, and such interventions are potentially harmful, said the authors of the report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Efforts should be taken to end the practice of conversion therapy. And it goes on. It's already been banned in several states and looking at trying to bring a complete elimination of conversion therapies. Now, if you think about what that means, and I know this has been said before in many settings, but this is bold in the sense that it calls the Christian worldview harmful, causing mental abuse. That conversion, and it is aimed at those who would seek to convert or to speak about sin in the biblical context of sin and call for a biblical turning away from sin and embracing the Savior and leaving a lifestyle of friends. Such a worldview, according to this report, is harmful. Not just is it undesirable, it causes abuse.

3:00And what do you say to this? How do you respond to someone who comes to you and says, your worldview causes harm? That's the world we're moving into. Not just moving into incrementally, but we are moving into it rapidly. The cork has been pulled, the dike has been broken, and all kinds of ungodly rules, ungodly expectations, ungodly laws, depravity is going to rule and govern this society. And it's going to come down to the point of your worldview is harmful.

3:44How are you going to respond to that? Well, this is this exact situation that the psalmist found himself in. We've been looking at this psalmist. We have a journal, if you will, of the psalmist, a prayer journal, his prayers, his cries out to God. And he lives in a culture that is very hostile to the God of Scripture, to the teachings of Scripture. Nothing new under the sun. What we're going through, many have gone through many times before, stood faithfully through the ages. This is nothing new.

4:28And God, in every epoch, he has. Has raised up the faithful who will stand on his word, who will proclaim his word, and who he will use to impact his culture and make known who God is. And the one thing that God wants to be known for is his loyalty. God is a covenant-keeping God. He is faithful to his people, he is faithful to his word. And we're looking at this psalmist as he journeys through life in this foreign land where the culture is radically turned against him. In the first eight verses, he lays out that blessed life, the aleph stanza, verses one through eight, the blessed life is for the one who keeps God's statutes, his commandments, his testimonies. And in the second eight verses, the Bet stanza, he makes a commitment to personal purity.

5:28And then in the next three stanzas, the gimel, doleth, and hey, the next 24 verses, three threats come on the horizon that will threaten his commitment to personal purity. In the gimel stanza, it's the external hostility. It's the arrogant of verse 21. And the princes who sit and speak against him with the intention of bringing him down. In verse 23, it's the princes there. And then in the Daleth stanza, there is. This internal grief, this deep depression that has grabbed hold of him. Some loss, some circumstances that put him nearly to the point of death. And it's in those times that one can be tempted to abandon the road of purity, the road of God's ways, call into question God's goodness, and etc. And then in the next stanza, in the hay stanza, verses 33 through 40, he deals with the internal and external temptations. Whether it's external hostility or grief, deep grief, deep depression, or the temptations that you and I face every day, there are going to be some challenges to your walk with Christ.

6:48And then he begins to cry out for revival. In verse 25, he cries out. And then again in verse 40, revive me through your righteousness. And then he goes on, continuing in that thought, into our passage this morning. And look at this opening request in verse 41. May your loving kindness also come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your word. Notice the word also. He's looking back. Revive me and also may your loving kindness come to me. Revive me according to your righteousness or through your righteousness. In verse 40 and in verse 41, in addition to breathing new life into me, Me. Give me your covenant faithfulness. Give me your loving kindness. May that too come to me. The word for loving kindness is that word that evades translation in many ways. It's the word Hesed. It encapsulates so much. Sometimes it's translated as mercy. Give me your mercy. Sometimes it's compassion. Lord, I need your compassion. Lord, I need your covenant faithfulness. In the book of Hosea, it's loyal love. What does God desire? He wants your loyal love to him. That's what he wants. What Hosea wanted from Gomar. It's what God wants from you, a loyal love. Why? Because God is loyal and he will be known as such, the loyal God. And what he wants in response is covenant faithfulness, loyalty. So what the psalmist is saying here in his circumstance, which has now gone back to the external hostility, and that's going to dominate much of what's left, is he's dealing with these outside forces who want to bring him down because of his stance on the word of God. And that's what he's going to wrestle with. And we have the inside look, the prayer journal of one who has gone through a hostile culture. And he gives us a close-up look at what's going on in his heart. And what he is saying is, in addition to you reviving me, let your covenants begin to be. Covenant mercy come to me. Let your covenant faithfulness, your loyal love, your loving kindness come to me.

9:09Because I know about your loving kindness, Lord. I've read about it in the pages of Scripture. It is that which is most precious, your covenant loyalty, Lord. I've seen it at work on the pages of Scripture in foregone eras. God, you are faithful, and may that come to me. And specifically, look at the word salvation. May your loving kindness really also says your salvation. It pairs them together. Not your loving kindness and your salvation, but your loving kindness. Literally, the translation is also, let come to me your loving kindness, Yahweh, your salvation. Your loving kindness, your salvation. May it come to me.

10:04So the specific aspect that he is asking for this loving kindness, or the way he wants it to be manifested, is in salvation. Now, often we think of salvation as that great ultimate sense, right? That when God is going to finally do away with God's enemies once and for all, resurrect us in bodies that are glorified, that no longer can sin, no longer will walk away, or be prone. To wander, but one that will be perfected in holiness with him to where even death itself is separated from us, death dies.

10:40That's the ultimate sense of salvation. And certainly the author wants that. But the word salvation here also applies to general salvations that are needed day in and day out. Salvations from temporal circumstances. We pray it all the time, right? Many of you, many of you students, last week probably taking a test, you probably paid for some form of God's salvation, right? Get me through this temporal circumstance, right? Well, that's the idea. Salvation is deliverance from every class of spiritual or temporal difficulties or evil which you and I may be subjected. And in this particular situation, he is facing the reproachers, those who are scorning him, and he is asking for God's salvation, asking for God's loving kindness to come to him and be manifested to him by delivering him from these circumstances.

11:44Listen, the most important thing is God's loving kindness. And I want you to know that about God. He is loyal, he is faithful. And if there's one thing, From Genesis through Revelation, that is revealed about God is he is loyal to his people. He is loyal to his work, to his word. And there are benefits that come from God's loving kindness. And I want to spend our time this morning looking at those. But I want you to see two benefits of God's loving kindness. Two benefits of God's loving kindness this morning. The first benefit of God's loving kindness is a godly witness. The first benefit of God's loving kindness is a godly witness. Verse 42 and 43. But look back at verse 42 and notice the reason for his request. He asked in verse 41, may your loving kindness also come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your word. Verse 42, so I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in your word. So that salvation that he's asked for is deliverance, so that I will have an answer for him who reproaches me. I will be able to respond. That is, I will always be able to respond truthfully, graciously, boldly, and effectively in the spirit of your hased, in the spirit of your covenant faithfulness, I want my response to be. That's what he's saying. And notice there is. The one, the word for him who reproaches me, it's singular. For the one who is reproaching me, it's a participle, the one who's ongoing, taunting me, slandering me to my face. See the idea. So I will have an answer for this one who is standing before me, slandering me to my face, for my faithfulness, for my confidence in your word. Lord, deliver me by giving me a word that responds correctly and effectively.

14:01And look at the for I trust in your word. I trust in your word. Word for trust. It's that idea of a strong foundation. I have confidence in. I know it is true. I have chosen. I have placed my faith and trust. It's a settled foundation. I trust. I'm going to build my life upon what you have said. I trust in your word. And here I am, Lord. Here is somebody right in front of me slandering me, taunting me, scorning me, because I have trusted in your word. So deliver me. Give me a word in response. What the psalmist is praying for is a godly witness. Give me a witness. Give me a word that correctly, in the spirit of God's covenant faithfulness, responds to the reproach.

15:00There's a play on words. It's so that I will have a word for the one reproaching me because I trust in your word. So I'll have a word for him because I trust in your word. And the sense is, let my word reflect your word. Let my answer be your answer. So the psalmist was looking to God for deliverance, a deliverance specifically through a godly response to the attacks leveled against him. And such godly responses come from God's covenant faithfulness. We are dependent. Have you ever been in a circumstance where your faith is being challenged or somebody is mocking, ridiculed, demeaning you, or mocking the way you live or the worldview that you stand on? And you find yourself at a loss for words? You ever been there? I think we all have. I think the psalmist has been there and he's saying, I don't want to be there. I want to be able to respond effectively and boldly to the attacks leveled against me.

16:09But know this, that such godly wisdom doesn't come out of us, it comes from God Himself. And specifically, we want that manifestation of His loving kindness. He's not going to leave you abandoned. He's not going to abandon you. That's what He's raised you up for. That's why He's put you in that circumstance so that you. Will have a godly witness in such circumstances. You know, the best example of someone who had an answer for the ones reproaching him, or for the one reproaching him, was our Lord Jesus Christ. You remember in Matthew chapter 4, verse 3, here's the devil. If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Christ's word was the word.

17:03And goes on, verse 6: If you're the Son of God, throw yourself down. It is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Let our word be his word. And let's not resort to our own strength, but upon his covenant faithfulness, and he will be faithful. You know, simple confidence in God's word is a stabilizing force. God's word not only has the answer, but it is the answer. God's word on a subject should be our word on a subject.

17:40And listen, we can trust in God's word. And you know why we can trust in God's word? Because God stands behind his word. God is loyal to his word, and it's going to be shown. And the memory of humanity and the revelation of God to his creature will be, I am loyal. Even in the midst of your sin, I am loyal. God is a loyal God, and he is loyal to his people, and he is loyal to his word. And this knowledge of his loving kindness, his covenant faithfulness, is the anchor for us in times of assault and misery caused by those who reproach the very way we live.

18:26Notice the second request of the psalmist there in verse 43. And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I wait for your ordinances. Do not take utterly out of my mouth. It's a very graphic expression. Do not snatch. The same word is used as David is telling Saul, I have snatched the sheep out of the lion and the bear's mouth. That's the idea. I have snatched a lamb away from a lion and rescued it. And the idea here is the psalmist is saying, don't leave me in those circumstances where I have absolutely say that I'm totally baffled and cannot have a word. Don't let this happen to me.

19:10The psalmist sees this is a great tragedy. The silence or an inappropriate answer at a time when truth is most needed is a great tragedy. We need truth. We need an appropriate answer. And the word of truth, the word for truth is firmness, dependability. That's basically what it means. Something solid. The word of God's truth is firm, it's reliable, it's dependable, in contrast to the squishy and shaky and unstable foundations of man's speculations, philosophies, and vain religions.

19:55So he's saying, Do not take the word of truth out of my mouth. And in light of my reproaches, the psalmist is crying out, saying, or in the light of his reproaches, he's crying out, saying, God, do not leave me. Do not leave me in a situation where I cannot respond appropriately. Sounds like a reasonable prayer, right? I mean, day by day, we're going to be challenged for the word. We're going to be challenged for our faith. We're going to be challenged for the God we serve, the positions we hold, the things that he has said, and we're going to get in the middle of some situations where we are reproached and derided for it. You think God's not going to give you a response?

20:42But it doesn't come from us, it comes from him and a knowledge of his covenant faithfulness. You need his covenant faithfulness. This is a benefit, it's a godly witness. The truth is that everybody. Everybody needs truth. It's what every society needs. This is what you and I need. We need truth. This is what those who reproach you need. They need the truth. And this is what all those onlookers need: the truth. Sometimes you'll be placed in those circumstances where you're going to have to take a stand on God's Word. You're going to be reproached for it, not only for your sake, but for the sake of the one who reproaches you and for the many spectators that are watching the confrontation. You know why God raises us up? It's to put us on display. And through us, put His loving kindness on display.

21:44We need a gracious, truthful, effective response in our days, don't we? It needs to be bold. And it needs to be in the spirit of God's covenant loyalty. And if the word of God, if the word of truth is not found among God's people, it's not going to be found anywhere else. It's us that he raises up to let the nations know who he is. And there are going to be times of confrontation. He says, For I wait, 43, second part, it says, I wait for your ordinances. He's saying, I look forward to with the anticipation for the arrival of your judicial decisions, your ordinances. That is, your judgments of relief. I am looking forward to it. I know your judgment day is coming. It's the same. I wait. It's like what Noah did when he sent the dove out. He waited in anticipation for the dove to return. The same picture here is the psalmist saying, I wait for your judicial decisions. I'm waiting for your ordinances.

22:46Looks forward. There is coming a day of judgment. There is coming a day of settlement. And we are to look forward to that. When God, not just in the big picture, but in the little pictures, there's coming a day where he says, this is it. My judicial decision is made. And meanwhile, while the psalmist was waiting for God, the arrival of God's judicial decisions, he wants to speak to his generation, and especially those who despise the truth of God's word.

23:20So he says it. Kind of he'd put it all together, these three verses, you get one really compound request that I'd phrase something like this: May your loving kindness manifest itself to me always by giving me a proper response to those who hate me because of your word. Never let me be without a word of truth on my lips. Something you and I can pray for, right? It's what he's praying for. Nothing new under the sun. This is what God wants us praying for because this is what God wants to grant. If you understand his covenant faithfulness, there will be a book. Boldness, because God is going to prove himself loyal to you if you are in him. And if you are not in him, you can be in him today. Call upon his name, and you will come to experience the God who is faithful, faithful to remove your sin, and faithful to transform your life and cause you to start walking in a way of righteousness. Call upon him today. He is near. He is here.

24:33But think about it. The psalmist is saying here. He's saying, Look, Lord, in the past stanza, he's saying, I have pledged my covenant loyalty to you, even though I can't do it without your provision. He recognizes he's dependent, but he says, I ask for your covenant loyalty in return. Lord, I am going to be faithful to your word. Lord, you be faithful to me as I am being faithful to your word. And he's not being sacrilegious or disrespectful at all. He's saying, This is the way it is. I'm held up because of your word. I will purpose to be faithful to it. You will have to help me be faithful to it. And in response, God, you be faithful.

25:12It's that same sense of Peter writing to the persecuted and scattered churches of Asia Minor in 1 Peter 3:15. It says, Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you. Yet with gentleness and reverence. And keep a good conscience, so that in the thing which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

25:42Same spirit. So the first benefit of God's loving kindness is a godly witness. Second benefit of God's loving-kindness is a godly freedom. A godly freedom. The key word in this section is in verse 45. If you look at it, it's the word liberty. It's a word we often associate with freedom. But the word for liberty literally means spacious or broadness, wideness. Not something we might intuitively think of what freedom is. Freedom is space. In Exodus 3, 7 through 8, it's the contrast between the constraints of captivity in Egypt to a spacious land. In Exodus 3, verse 7, the Lord said, speaking to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land. There's the word, to a spacious land. A land with lots of room, elbow room, a place to grow, freedom to. Mature without affliction. I read it earlier in Isaiah 33, 21. It's the picture of the wide canals of a glorified Jerusalem. That's freedom, wideness. It's wideness as opposed to the constraints of slavery.

27:22You know, in Adam, going back to the garden, God's laws are not restrictive. We often, when you listen to the slanderer of our age, and he makes it seem like God's laws are restrictive. If you remember Adam, there was only one command, right? Basically, go do whatever you want. Just don't eat this one tree. What a wideness, righteousness, many paths. You can do whatever you want, so many opportunities, so broad, that's freedom. One way to sin. Of course, man saw that, and it drew him, and he crossed the line, and he became enslaved to it. And that nature then became what we know as humanity. Drawn to what we want, driven by the flesh. But that's not freedom. That's slavery. And that's exactly what you need to be saved from so that you can walk in that spaciousness. Tell my kids, kids, go do whatever you want. Just don't sin. Do whatever you want. Just don't sin. And since we live in a fallen world, I add the comment: be wise. Don't go do something stupid. You live in a fallen world. But that's God's law is freeing.

28:48It's man's restrictions or it's sin that is slavery. Well, this freedom, God grants a freedom to his people. And there are five characteristics of it that I want to go through real quickly as we keep going through this psalm. A godly freedom, five characteristics. The first characteristic of this freedom is a freedom of conscience, a freedom of conscience. It's a freedom to obey God's law rather than the dictates of man. Look at verse 44. So I will keep your law continually forever and ever. And it's the idea of keeping, tending, cultivating, like Adam in Genesis 2:15, or like Jacob tending a flock of sheep in Genesis 30 and 31. It's the idea of you have the idea to obey God. You have the freedom of conscience to obey God. His law, that is, his destructions, his directions, his guidelines, rather than those imposed upon you by man. Look back, continually and forever and ever. That is constantly imposed. Perpetually, always, and forever. God has granted you the freedom to obey Him without a pang of conscience.

30:12It's the idea of a continual offering, continually, forever. But this is why man, God made man, He made Him to be a delight on the earth continually and perpetually. And this is why He was grieved in Genesis 6, 5, and 6, when He saw that man's heart was only evil continually and always. And that's slavery, because man had become enslaved to His own sin, and this is what grieved God and moved Him to the point of judgment and ultimately salvation. You see, those who are in Christ are free to obey God rather than the dictates of the reproachers or the scoffers or those who deride, or those who call your worldview harmful. You have a freedom of conscience, and you are free to obey God. There's a second characteristic of this godly freedom that He gives. It's in verse 45, and it's what I call a freedom of pursuit, a freedom of pursuit. It's a freedom to pursue God's precepts. Look at verse 45. And I will walk at liberty, for I seek your precepts. And the idea of walk is to live my life. I will go through life at liberty in a spacious and broad way, because I I seek your precepts. Precepts are those rules of personal conduct that God expects of man. In other words, I will seek your rules of personal conduct for my life, not those that somebody wants to impose.

31:49Do not resort to the ways of man. That's the message of Amos 5. Seek me that you may live. In verse 4, verse 6, seek the Lord that you may live. Verse 6, seek the one who made the Pleiades and the Orion and changes deep darkness into morning, who also darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth. The Lord is his name. This is the one you are to resort to. That's the idea of seeking. You have a freedom to resort, to pursue this one.

32:30He has given you rules of personal conduct. Resort to those. You have free to pursue his precepts. See, there are no other rules that lead to personal freedom or true freedom. Today, liberty is the freedom to indulge, but that's not freedom according to Scripture. That's slavery. So, the third character. Characteristic of this godly freedom that he gives involves the freedom of speech, a freedom of speech. Look at verse 46. This is the freedom to speak God's testimony. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed.

33:18See, look what's happened to this psalmist. He had this reproacher saying, Lord, give me a word so I can speak to the one who is reproaching me for my faith in you. God, your covenant mercy, give me your covenant loyalty. And you know what? I will speak before kings about your testimonies. And it carries the idea of setting things in a row. Orderly proclamation: I will speak of your testimonies, your sworn testimonies, your sworn witness against man, judgments. I will speak of your judgments before the kings.

33:54I'll tell you a little funny story that I came across here. Just reading a point of the Jewish rabbis. The old Jewish rabbi says, ten measures of speech were given to mankind. Nine of them were carried off by the women. Of course, they had that before the days of ESPN and all the sports. I think they would revise their numbers greatly. But anyway, but the idea of speech, setting things in a row, I will set your testimonies in a row in an orderly manner before even kings.

34:30He doesn't want to just be inconspicuous or give unintelligible speech or just kind of slip on by. No, he's confronting the situation and he will speak and not be ashamed. Word for being ashamed is a spring that's drying up or maybe a plant that withers, we can compare. But the idea of being dried up, isn't that what happens? Oftentimes, we're in a situation and God's word is called on the table and all of a sudden we kind of almost cower, don't we? There's a sense of the spring is drying up from within us, right? And that comes out because we're ashamed of his word. The psalmist is saying, Look, you give me your covenant loyalty. If I know you're loyal to me, God, I will speak before kings, because you are the king of kings.

35:25You remember Daniel? Let me just read to you a couple of things about Daniel. You remember Daniel, right? I think it's a good possibility that he is the author of this psalm. But regardless, here's a great example of a man who was bold before kings. You remember Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 and verse 27? Listen to what he says. O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities, by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity. Now, there's somebody pretty bold before the king. The king, right? And do you know what happens?

36:04Listen to what Nebuchadnezzar then said later. But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can ward off his hand or say to him, What have you done? Now I praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven. That's Nebuchadnezzar's. Wouldn't have gotten there unless there had been a testimony of truth. Belshazzar, you remember Belshazzar? There he is in chapter 5 and verse 27. You have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.

36:58Darius, chapter 6, verse 22. I was found innocent before him and also toward you, O king, and have committed no crime. So Darius pulls Daniel out of the lion's den, and then he says, This, I make a decree that all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel, because he is the living God and enduring forever, and his kingdom is the one which will not be destroyed. And his dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who also has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

37:43You see, God uses the speech of his people to make himself known to others. Don't ever give up that speech. Don't ever give up that freedom. It's granted. You have the freedom to speak of God's testimonies, regardless of what happens on our. It's another freedom. Keep moving. Look at verse 47. This is the fourth freedom, fourth characteristic of a godly freedom, and that's the freedom of delight. That is a freedom to delight in God's commandments. Verse 47: I shall delight in your commandments, which I love. Word for delight is to take joy in, enjoy, take pleasure in your commandments, those decrees, the things that God has set up, your authoritative directions.

38:40Another word for commands, you can think of it as his insistent will. You are free to delight in God's insistent will for humanity because it is good, it is wise. You know, there are laws for fish, there are laws for birds, there are laws for plants, all these and the decrees of God. God, that he has made the commandments, he has put in order these things. There are also laws for mankind, and they are good, they are spacious, they are liberating.

39:19Look at he says, which I love, your commandments, which I love. I have great affection for, I care about. I am committed to them out of just sure delight. You have a freedom of delight. Don't let everybody cast a shadow on the God of the Bible or his words. They are delightsome, and you have a freedom to delight in them. This delight is further expressed in verse 48. Look at what he says, I shall lift up my hands to your commandments, which I love. Picture, I shall lift up my hands, and it's literally lift up my palms. It's not the idea of worship, it's the idea of need. I will lift up my hands. You don't worship the commandments, right? I will lift up my hands to your commandments. Give them to me. That's the idea. A delight. Pour them out. Keep pouring them out. Because I love them. Again, which I love. I care about. I will always care about forever. So do not feel ashamed of the Bible.

40:28You have a freedom to deliver. To delight in it. That's God-given. Freedom of delight. But there's another characteristic I want to mention. It's at the end of verse 48, the end of the stanza. I call this the freedom of occupation. Fifth characteristic of this godly freedom. There is the freedom of conscience, there is the freedom of pursuit, the freedom of speech, the freedom of delight. And what I call this freedom of occupation, it's the freedom to meditate upon God's statutes. Look at verse 48. And I will meditate upon your statutes. And the word for meditate is not just like what we'd think of silent meditation, but it involves speaking. It involves even singing or rehearsing. In Psalm 105 and 2, it's, oh, give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people. Sing to him. That's the idea. Meditate to him. But it's here, it's translated as singing. Sing to him, sing praises to him, speak of all his wonders. What he's talking about here is a meditation that spills over into speech and song. You know, you speak enthusiastically to speak enthusiastically about that which you love. I mean, that's what we do, right? We go around, we talk about things we love. If you know somebody who loves football and you're sitting across the table, you know it pretty quick because it comes out, right? When my kids were growing up, you know, there was the dinosaur era. I mean, every time we sat around and talked, you know, dinosaurs come up, you know, all kinds of things. Of dinosaurs. And we speak about that which we meditate, and then at times it comes out into speech. That's the idea here. We are to meditate upon his statutes. And his statutes. He uses the word for word here of that which refers to his inscribed word, that which is inscribed.

42:22Your statutes. That's the word for word here. You have a right, a freedom to meditate upon God's inscribed word. And one of the purposes of the church is to create occasions for and an atmosphere conducive to meditating upon God's word. That's what we're doing here this morning. That's what the church life is about, is we come together and we create those occasions for speaking about God's Word. And as we go here, in any of our fellowship times or Bible study times or preaching times or teaching times or Bible minimum, what are we doing? We're meditating upon God's Word and we have a freedom to do so.

43:06Until the very last Christian is left from earth, there's going to be some communication about God's Word. There's going to be some congregating and discussing because we love God's Word and we talk about it. We think about it and it spills over into speech. And so there's going to be a church, a collection of people. Who love God's Word. So, no matter what happens in society, the church must keep meditating upon the Word of God, or else society becomes good for nothing but to be trampled upon. If the salt loses its saltiness, what?

43:53Society's good for nothing but judgment. Well, suppose a person is in prison, a dungeon, shackled. And let's say the issue of pardoning is granted to him. How does he know he's pardoned? Does he know that the paper was signed? No, he doesn't know until what, that key comes in, opens up the door, and takes off the shackles and says, Here, go out. Let me tell you something: you have been given, God, if you are in Christ, there is a covenant loyalty. You are free.

44:37God has granted you a godly freedom, a freedom of conscience, a freedom of pursuit, a freedom of speech, a freedom of delight, and a freedom of occupation. That is the benefit of God's loving kindness. Knowledge of God's covenant loyalty does justice. That. If you know who he is, you are free. Who the Son sets free, you are what? Free indeed. Well, there are two benefits of God's loving kindness: a godly witness and a godly freedom. It's no wonder that David could say in Psalm 63:3, Your loving kindness is better than life.

45:27You know, we live in these times of growing hostility, but no matter how difficult they get, they will not exceed God's covenant faithfulness. The question is: what does God do with those He revives and then He commits His steadfast love to? Here's the psalmist: He revived Him and then He set His steadfast love upon Him. What does God do with these? I'll tell you, He puts them on display. He puts them on display. That's His program. He does this so that His loving kindness will be on display and so that the world will see His loving kindness. He does this for the benefit of the individual. You need to know His loving kindness, so you're going to have some moments where you need to be saved in a temporal sense, obviously, in an ultimate sense. There are going to be times, but He does it for your benefit and for the benefit of those. Around you. You see, God wants you to experience his loyal love for your benefit, but also for the world's benefit. And he puts us on display so that others will know that he is God. So I can say this: get ready, America. Get ready, church, for increasing darker times. The bottle, the cork has been pulled out, the dam has been broken.

46:57Get ready. Get ready for increasingly darker times. But I can also say in the same breath, get ready, America, for a generation of men and women, boys and girls, old and young, that God will put on display as a faithful witness, so that the world will know that he is a covenant-keeping God and faithful, faithful to his word and faithful to his people. And they will come. I pray that I am one of them, but I know that it is not within me. I need his covenant faithfulness. I need him to cause me to walk in his way. I pray that it'll be some of you here. I pray that it'll be this church.

47:40But it's not going to come from us, is it? It's going to come from his covenant faithfulness, his loyalty, his has said. So get ready for a new generation of Daniels. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I do give you thanks for your. Word. I thank you for your covenant faithfulness that no matter what happens on this landscape, no matter what happens in the chronicles of history, Father, one truth is going to rise above them all: that you are faithful. That you are loyal to your word, and that you are loyal to your people who stand on your word.

48:24And Father, we so many times are like that dried spring that withers or a withering plant. Father, oftentimes we are ashamed of this word, and we are caused by those who reproach us to shy away, to shrink back, to be afraid, to walk constrained. Father, but we know the truth. You have granted us freedom. You have granted us the ability to witness to you. Father, give us, be with us, cause us to walk in your way, cause us to love your way.

49:05Help us to choose your way to the end that we would experience your loving kindness and your salvation on a very personal level and that we would see the effect of it on a national level and then on a level of our friends. Father, come and take us. Residence and help us to know, trust, and love your loving kindness in Jesus' name. Amen.