“Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.”- Psalm 119:89-96
Statements like this…“Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.” are hard for us to get our heads around since everything in this world changes…nothing stays the same from our limited perspective. But here David is reminding himself and us where the strength of his faith comes from… a Word that never changes…never has and never will…just like the God who created is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
We have learned to live with change even to the point of acquiescence saying “it is what it is.” With this attitude we struggle to live thinking nothing can be depended upon and yet God has told us throughout His Word and especially in this Psalm that He never changes so consequently His Word never changes and it can be depended upon by us, because of God’s faithfulness which endures throughout all generations. He has not changed from the moment He created Adam and Eve and He will never change. Nothing man can do will ever change that. Just like man cannot change how the world functions so God’s Word cannot really be changed. By God’s appointment…and God’s appointment alone… all things are… and all things are His servants to promote His own glory.
David knows from where his strength comes to endure affliction, sufferings, temptations… “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.” God’s Word alone is his security…his assurance…and his strength in times of hardship and trouble. It is this Word alone that gives to him life, in that, when he is assured of God’s presence…God’s ruling…God’s faithfulness…God’s graciousness…God’s steadfast love (all confirmed in the Word of God) he KNOWS he is alive, willing and able to take on whatever the day presents. And at the same time he is also acknowledging from whom his very life came from. Once he walked in darkness and was dead in sin and now he is alive and all of that is also confirmed in God’s Word…His precepts.
I absolutely love this next phrase, “I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.” Here is the king of all Israel declaring his allegiance to and dependence upon God, his Creator, Redeemer and KING. How often do we find ourselves declaring allegiance for a political party or a State or a country? When was the last time that you declared publically your allegiance to the God who is…that is unchanging…and who’s Word never changes. All the other things we pledge allegiance to will one day cease to exist but not our God, who is forever the same.
One last thing this morning. Look and understand what David is saying in these last 2 verses, “The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.” When the world seems to be coming unglued…when the “bad guys” seem to be winning…when everything seems to be stacked against you…David says, take comfort in God’s Word as he does. God’s testimonies and His commandment are greater than any scheme of the enemy and that brings him comfort.
So, today, lets renew our pledge and our confession in an ever changing world to stand with a NEVER CHANGING God and Savior…“I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.”
God Bless y’all today.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
