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(Psalm 119:25-32)
I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
Weve seen that Gods Law
Shows us the way to blessing,
Mainly, by showing us how to purify our hearts
And live lives more pleasing to God;
But it also brings persecution,
When you obey it and others see that you do
Dont forget this too is a blessing.
Jesus said, 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; for in
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:10-
12).
B. Preview.
This evening,
Lets consider that the kind of resolve
The psalmist speaks of here
To seek to know Gods will
And how it applies,
That we might do it with all our heart
Brings another consequence
That on the surface may seem bad like persecution
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But is actually good
And that is conviction:
A conviction that leads to renewal.
The more you see the holiness of God in His Law,
The more you will see your own sin,
And the more you will also see
How much you stand in need of personal revival.
Well look at this section as we did last week:
Through a series of questions and answers.
II. Sermon.
A. First, what effect should the Law of God have on you as you seek to
understand it?
It should humble you and drive you to the Lord in prayer.
The psalmist writes, My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your
word (v. 25).
His response was humility,
My soul cleaves to the dust,
By which he either means
That it humbled him to the ground,
Or that it shows him
That by the Laws standard
He should be dead.
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Here we see what Paul meant in 2 Cor. 3:6,
For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The Law can only condemn us,
It can only kill us
As we saw in Pilgrims Progress
In the case of Faithful:
Moses who represents the Law
Came up behind him as swift as the wind
And knocked him to the ground.
When Faithful asked for mercy,
Moses said he didnt know how to show mercy
And would have finished him,
If the Lord hadnt come by
And told Moses to leave him alone.
Thats what the Law would do to you,
If not for the Lords mercy.
But remember, that isnt the Laws fault
The problem is your sin!
The Law is holy, righteous and good
Theres nothing wrong with it.
The Law requires perfection
Perfect love
But we cant love perfectly
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So it condemns us (Rom. 7).
Even though we know
The Lord has forgiven us in Christ
So that the Law cant condemn us
It still serves as a constant reminder
Of what we really deserve
But for the grace of God death!
But even that is meant to be a blessing to us.
As the Westminster Assembly also points out:
Although true believers [are] not under the law as a covenant of works, to be [by
it] justified or condemned; yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in
that, as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs
and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of
their nature, hearts, and lives; so as, examining themselves [by it], they may
come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin; together
with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of His
obedience. It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in
that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins
deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although
freed from the curse [thereof] threatened in the law. The promises of it, in like
manner, show them Gods [approval] of obedience, and what blessings they may
expect upon the performance thereof, although not as due to them by the law as
a covenant of works: so as a mans doing good, and refraining from evil
because the law encourages to the one, and deters from the other, is no evidence
of his being under the law, and not under grace (19.6).
The more clearly you see what God wants,
The more clearly you will see your sin,
And the better you will understand
What you really deserve
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But for the grace of God,
And thats a humbling thing,
Which is a good thing.
Sometimes we can react in just the opposite way:
If thats how studying the Law makes me feel,
Then Ill just stop studying it,
So Ill feel better about myself.
Is that the right response? No.
The right response is that of the psalmist
Lord, my soul cleaves to the dust,
And so revive me according to Your Word.
Lord, forgive me,
And renew in my heart
The desire to follow you
With an even greater zeal.
This is why the Lord wants us to study
And meditate on His Law in the first place
That we might know our sins,
That it might humble us,
And that it might drive us to Him in prayer
For the power to keep it.
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B. Second, what else should you do when the Lord reveals your sin?
You should confess it to Him.
The psalmist writes, I have told of my ways, and You have answered me (v. 26).
Its true that when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
All your sins are forgiven
Past, present and future
But its also true
That if you are forgiven,
You will continually confess your sins
As you become aware of them,
And He will continually wash them away.
John writes, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:10).
If you die without confessing a particular sin
Will you miss heaven?
No. If any of your sins are forgiven, they all are.
Forgiveness, as we saw this morning in Hebrews,
Is a one-time event for the believer.
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Heb.
10:14).
Your confession isnt what pardons you,
Jesus death on the cross does.
Your confessing is simply the evidence
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That He has forgiven you.
Knowing that He has blotted out
All of your sins through faith in Christ,
You should pray from the heart out of thankfulness
That He would teach you His statutes more clearly
That He would help you to understand them,
And meditate on them
Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will
meditate on Your wonders (vv. 26-27)
So that you might be convicted and humbled more fully,
That you might confess your sins more wholeheartedly,
And walk in His ways more closely
Being convicted, humbled and confessing your sins
Shouldnt drive you from the Lord,
But to the Lord that He might strengthen you
When He does,
Thats what it means to be revived!
C. Third, but is it enough to be humbled to the point of confession?
Is there anything else the Lord wants from you?
Yes, He wants you to repent/obey.
The psalmist prays, My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to
Your word (v. 28).
He knows hes not being faithful
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And it causes him a great deal of distress,
And so he prays that the Lord would strengthen him
To keep His commandments.
If you know something, but dont do it,
It only makes you more culpable/blamable.
Thats why the psalmist was humbled and grieved in the first place:
Because he didnt keep the commandments as he should.
He was also humbled
Because thats what he wanted to do,
But couldnt.
When you want something badly
And you cant seem to get it,
Its disappointing.
When you hunger and thirst after righteousness
And cant seem to achieve it,
It grieves you.
And so he prayed for strength to turn around
That the Lord would help him overcome his disobedience
And help him obey:
Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Your law (v. 29).
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He did this
Because this was what he really wanted,
This was his greatest desire:
I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me (v. 30).
This is the kind of heart
The Lord wants you to have
When you come to His Word.
He doesnt want you to come
Looking for loopholes
How you can do what you really want to do
And still convince yourself
That youre doing His will.
He wants you to come
With a submissive heart,
To listen,
To learn,
To do,
Whatever He calls you to do.
He wants you to have the heart of a Samuel
Who said to the Lord when He called him,
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening (1 Sam. 3:9).
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He wants you to have the kind of heart
That will hold fast to His ways
No matter what you might have to give up,
No matter how others might respond to you,
Even if the whole world turns against you:
Like that of the martyrs
Who would rather be eaten by lions
Than offer incense to Caesar
And say he is lord;
Or like that of Athanasius
Who stood for the truth
Sometimes against the whole church
The psalmist did this
In the hope that in the end
He would not be ashamed
Because he stood up
For what the Lord wanted.
The psalmist prays, I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame!
(v. 31).
This is what it means to be revived!
D. Finally, what can you expect from the Lord when you pray for this?
You can expect Him to hear and give you what you ask,
Because this is the kind of request He loves to answer.
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I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart (v.
32).
The psalmist believed this
He knew the Lord would enable him
Not only to walk in His ways,
But to run in them;
That He would revive his heart
That He would give him a greater love and zeal,
A greater desire to honor Him.
He will also do the same for you,
If you seek Him for the same.
If you are willing to humble your soul before Him,
And confess your sins,
If youre willing to seek better to understand His ways,
So that you might repent and obey,
If this is what your heart desires more than anything else,
To walk in His ways
In other words,
If you really want to follow His Son,
And be made more like Him
Then He will grant you that grace
He will enlarge your heart,
Give you a greater love and zeal,
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Not just to walk,
But to run in His ways.
What can you do
To begin this process?
Do what the psalmist did:
Read the Law of God
And pray that the Lord
Would help you to see
What you need to see.
James says the Law is like a mirror
That reveals whats in your heart.
Look into that mirror,
See what youre really like,
And then seek the Lord for His grace
To turn from your sins
And to run in His ways;
Thats what personal revival is all about. Amen.
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