Let The Word Transform You

Transcript

If I haven’t met you, welcome to Trinity Church. My name is Greg Taylor. I’m one of the pastors here, and I have the great privilege to get to preach from Psalm 19 this morning. We’re in a series right now we’re calling, The Word of God and the People of God. And so we’re in that first half of the series right now talking about the Scripture. This morning we’re going to be looking at the transformative power of the Scripture. And we’re going to look at that primarily through Psalm 19, verses 7 to 11. So if you have a Bible, please open that up to Psalm 19. I’m going to read verses 7 to 11. If you don’t have a Bible, there should be one in the seat in front of you or diagonally to you. Those little pew Bibles there, the text will be found on page 426.

I’m going to ask you to please stand for the reading of the Word of God as you are able. Hear now God’s Word to you.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward

— Psalm 19

(ESV)

. This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Join me in prayer before we dig into this morning.

The Coupon Book

Our Father and our God, oh how we need Your Word and how we need its transformative power and its benefits in our lives. I pray that You would help me to explain this well this morning and that it will make sense to Your people here this morning. God I pray You will send the Holy Spirit to give us ears to hear so that we may walk away from this text with a renewed vigor to be in Your Word with greater consistency. And by that we would reap the rewards that You have promised us. And we commit this to You in the name of Jesus our Savior and our Lord, Amen. For the past few years there’s a little girl in our neighborhood that goes around selling these really thick coupon books. It’s called the Payback Book. I don’t know if any of you have seen these.

And there must be three or four hundred coupons inside this thing. And there’s everything from oil changes to pizza restaurants to carpet cleaners. There’s one in there for Parkrose Hardware. And these books are $20 and the little girl is really convincing. She does a really good job selling these to raise money for her school. So for the past two years I’ve purchased one of these books. And I think to myself when I buy it, yeah, I’ll use some of these coupons, you know. I’ll at least make back my $20, right? But they expire after a year. And I just leave that book sitting somewhere on a shelf. I don’t open it. I don’t take advantage of the benefits and the money I could have saved in there. And I think that there are times that we as Christians can have a tendency to forget the

spiritual benefits, the life benefits that are promised to us in God’s Word. We leave it sitting on a shelf. If we will be consistent in the Word and let it help us and warn us and encourage us, it will ultimately transform us. This morning in our text, which was written by King David, in this psalm, the section we’re going to look at, verses 7 to 11, he uses six pairs of qualities and benefits that are found in the Word of God. And these are offered to the person who will just read and apply and live by it. But before we dig into the six things, I want us to go backwards just a bit and set the context of this psalm. So look back at verse 1 with me. David writes, the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.

David is saying that just a glimpse into the sky declares to us God’s glory, His creation. The mere fact that the sun rises every morning and sets every evening screams to humanity that we are living in the presence of a great and mighty God. This first section of the psalm, which I’m not going to dig into this morning, but lays out the context for us is what theologians refer to as general revelation. Bonson defines it as the doctrine that God reveals Himself to mankind in nature. Now God’s revelation in nature doesn’t show people the way of salvation, nor does it reveal His attributes or His Trinitarian nature, but it shows us very clearly that God exists, that He is powerful, and that all human beings owe their very existence to Him. We are responsible to Him. And Paul expanded on this when he wrote to the Romans in chapter 1.

He said, for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. The they is all of us. It is all humans. Now as we look at verses 7 to 11 of this psalm, we’re going to see a different doctrine revealed. It is what theologians call special revelation, and this is defined as the teaching about God and His Word that He has given to us through the prophets, the apostles, and it is contained in our Bibles. Listen to what Martin Lloyd-Jones says about special revelation. He says, we find in the Bible special revelation that has a very distinct and definite object, which is to reveal to us the character of God, the nature of God, especially His saving

Perfect Word, Perfect Benefits

grace. That is the thing about which we are concerned, how to know God and to be loved by Him and to be blessed by Him. It can be said of this section in Psalm 19, verses 7 to 11, that it’s telling us that the Word of God brings God’s truth to us with the power and promise to transform us into godly living. Now this morning, we’re going to look at the six synonyms for the Word of God, followed by these six pairs of qualities and benefits that it promises. And David writes this with a series of six nouns, the synonyms, six adjectives that describe the qualities, and then finally a series of verbs and one adverb that describe the benefits. I’ve broken this down for us this morning into three sections. We’ll see the first section is the perfection of God’s Word.

The second section will be the purity of God’s Word. And then lastly, we’ll look at the pricelessness of God’s Word. So let’s start with the first section, the perfection of God’s Word. Look with me at verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. Well, David begins by referring to God’s Word as the law of the Lord. And this could be a reference to the entire body of the Word of God. It could be one specific book. It could mean one specific law. But the most important thing that David is saying here is that it is without blemish. It is perfect. And what benefit do we get from the perfect law? David says that it revives the soul. The word here for revive means that it is restorative. It is able to bring back from a position of decay. Think about that.

Every person is born under sin, is a sinner, needs to have their heart and their soul restored. And ultimately, this is what the message of God’s Word is pointing to, the saving work of the Lord Jesus. Now let’s look at the second part of this first pair. Look at the second half of verse 7 with me. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Now here it’s called, the Word of God is called the testimony of the Lord. And you should think of this as God revealing truth as opposed to everything else that is out there which is false and filled with iniquity. This would have especially resonated with the people to whom David wrote this psalm, many of them being involved in paganism and living around pagan peoples, because the gods in whom the pagans believed, there was no surety about them.

They were often viewed as capricious and apt to quickly change their minds. They would move the marker or change the rules however they wanted. So the fact that the testimony of the Lord is sure should resonate even with us, especially as we live in a world, we live in a culture that is full of lies and counterfeits are many. I think many of us today have become unsure about what it is we can trust. What is actually sure, what isn’t? You can know that God and His testimonies are in every way true and trustworthy and sure. So what do these sure testimonies do for the one who will abide in them? Well, they will make us wise. And oh, that we would have more wisdom in our world, and there is a lot of knowledge out there. There’s a lot of smart people out there, but not enough wise people, not enough wisdom.

Someone has said that wisdom is the right application of knowledge, especially as it relates to the knowledge both of God and of God’s Word. God even tells us this in Jeremiah 9. God says, let him who boasts, boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. And you say this morning for yourself that you know God. Wisdom is the ability to correctly judge and to follow the best course of action based on knowledge and understanding. This is what is being offered to us from the Word of God. Listen to this, what Paul told Timothy, who grew up with the Scriptures. Paul says, but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the

sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. So here we see in verse 7 that God’s Word is referred to as the Law and the Testimonies. They are both perfect and have a perfecting quality to them which are able to give us true wisdom and to be restorative to our souls. Let’s look now at the second section, the purity of God’s Word. Look at the first half of verse 8 with me. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Precepts is a way of describing the Word of God as providing us specific and reliable direction for our lives. And these precepts are said to rejoice the heart. Remember, heart in this context is the inner person. It is who you are as God sees you. It’s the part of you that makes decisions and choices.

I would imagine some of you have had times in your life when you’ve hit a rough patch. You’ve been in some sort of difficulty or grief. And after time spent in God’s Word and with God in His Word, you have been brought back to a place of rejoicing despite your difficult circumstances. That’s the context here. That’s what this is telling us. It’s that our suffering hearts can be renewed. Paul told the Romans in chapter 7, he said, I delight in the law of God in my inner being. There is a sense in which God’s Word feeds our souls. It can rejoice our hearts. Look at the second half of verse 8. David says the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The word for commandment here is a very similar word to the word used that gets translated as precept, but this actually points more toward God’s commission for His people, His

charge to us. And these commandments are said to bring enlightening to the eyes. This literally means that God’s Word can bring a person from spiritual death and blindness to life and sight. Listen to what John Calvin said about this. He said, people with all their acuteness are blind and always wander in darkness until they turn their eyes to the light of heavenly doctrine, whence it follows that none are truly wise but those who take God for their conductor and guide, following the path which He points out to them and who are diligently seeking after the peace which He offers and presents by His Word. So we see this beautiful purity of God’s Word in precept and in commandment so that we can know the right direction to go in life, so that we can have spiritual eyes to see and to know the truth and even to find joy in the midst of our difficulties.

Priceless Beyond Gold

Let’s look now at our last section, the pricelessness of God’s Word. Look with me at verse 9, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. So here we see that the fear of the Lord is used synonymously with the Word of God. This is because of the effect that the scriptures are able to produce in a person who responds to them in godly reverence and fear. It’s what Kidner calls a worshiping submission. I love that. It’s a worshiping submission. Deuteronomy puts this into perspective, just how important God’s Word was for the Israelites. And we would do good to listen to this and to heed this as well and to put this into very real and practical ways in our own lives. It’s a little long but I’m going to read this from Deuteronomy 4 starting in verse 6. Moses writes, keep them and do them for that will be your wisdom and your understanding

in the sight of the peoples who when they hear all these statutes will say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon Him? And what great nation is there? It has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today. Only take care and keep your soul diligently lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and to your children’s children. How on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb the Lord said to me, gather the people to me that I may let them hear my words so that they may learn to fear me

all the days that they live on the earth and that they may teach their children so. What a blessing that we have guidance to give to our children and it is a great blessing that we don’t have to guess about how it is that we should live because God has clearly given us His sure word. His fear of the Lord is said to be clean. This is to be taken in a moral sense. It is morally clean, the word of God. And what is the benefit that it brings? It endures forever. Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away. Most of you probably know this famous Isaiah text from 40. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. And it’s interesting that Peter quotes this Isaiah verse and connects to it the gospel.

Listen to what Peter writes. He says but the word of the Lord remains forever, quoting Isaiah 40, and he says and this word is the good news that was preached to you. So God’s word is enduring. It will come to pass just as He said that it would. And if we think about it, there are not many things like this. Nothing lasts like the word of God. It has been preserved for us and it will endure forever. Let’s look at the second synonym for the word of God in this section. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Some of your translations might translate rules there as the just decrees of the Lord. This is a way of saying that it is God and God alone who determines what is right and what is wrong for His creatures and for His creation. One commentator says that rules is a legal term, which as a description of God’s word

implies that this instructive guide to life is God’s own statement of what is appropriate in human conduct. Now, if you think about that, this is why it’s so ridiculous when people try to stand over the word of God and decide for themselves what they will and won’t follow, what they think is and isn’t true. People will trade the truth for a relative truth that fits the way that they want to live or to go along with the crowd. But as a contrast to that, we can know that God’s word is absolute truth. It is unchanging and it is grounded in who God is and what God has done. Harkening back to verse 1, His creation, God is powerful. He alone gets to decide what is and isn’t right, what is and isn’t legal, what is and isn’t good. Now in verse 10, I want you to look with me at 10.

Now we see this representation of the pricelessness of God’s word. David says, more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. They is referring to these six synonyms he’s just used for the word of God, portraying it as authoritative and binding. And gold has always been sought after by people. It’s been coveted because of its great value. There’s a whole series on TLC, where these guys they just do nothing but they go and they dig the earth in Alaska to get gold. I want you to think about honey for a minute. We have some honey folks, Christian, we have some, Josh, a couple of our brothers here do honey. Honey was an incredible delicacy in David’s day. I think about honey. It’s just amazing, it’s sweetness.

But David says that gold and honey do not compare with the value of the word of God. Listen to this, one of the commentators writes this and this is amazing. He says, this whole and complete word of God that is reliable and trustworthy, that provides undeviating guidance to life and that is consistent and altogether righteous in its demands is a precious resource for humans who are struggling to know how to live appropriately in a difficult world. That about sums the whole thing up here. So if you are struggling to know how to live, you need not. God has given you His design for life and godliness in the Scriptures. Listen to how David concludes our section this morning in verse 11. He says, moreover, by them, that’s the synonyms for the word of God again, is your servant warned in keeping them there is great reward.

Well, what is it that God’s word is warning us from? Well, it’s warning us from the dangers of sin and the lies of the world and the devil. A lot of quotes in this sermon because there were so many, they were so good, I’m not going to leave them out. I hope you like this one. John Bunyan said, this book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book. Listen again to the benefits found in the word of God. It revives the soul, makes a person wise. It rejoices the heart. It enlightens the eyes. It points to what is true and righteous. It endures forever, and it is absolutely priceless. Word of God brings God’s truth to us with the power and promise to transform us into godly living. So let me close this morning with some application and ask you a couple of questions.

Building on the Rock

Would you be able to say that the Scriptures are priceless to you? Are you taking advantage of the benefits found in God’s word? Or are you like me, leaving your coupon book in the closet and never taking advantage of the benefits there? Because if so, you are actually neglecting to your own detriment what God’s word is offering. In Luke 6, Jesus concludes His sermon on the plain with a call to action. And He tells us very clearly that we are to build our lives on His word by putting His word into practice. He says, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like. He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.

And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. Friends, if any of you this morning are here and you are missing the mark in this area, just start today by seeking to live by God’s true and pure and authoritative word. Maybe you need to just start small. Start by reading a psalm or part of a psalm. Add to that some verses in the gospels. Read some of Paul’s letters. It isn’t a contest. It doesn’t have to be a checklist. It isn’t how long you read or how much you read, but it is that you are consistently

in God’s word and not just reading it, but seeking to live by it, seeking to apply it in your life. When you hear something or you read something that convicts you, stop. Stop. Tell God, God, I need help fixing this. I am sinning in this area, God. I repent. I confess this to you. Help me. He already knows. Let me encourage you to let God’s word revive you. Remember at the very beginning in verse 7, David said, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. One of the newer translations, the CSB translates reviving the soul, renewing one’s life, meaning the restoration or strength or vitality. I frequently find myself needing my soul to be revived. David surely did find God and his word to be a soul-reviving exercise. He writes about it all through the Psalms, especially in Psalm 119. I’ve cherry-picked a few that I want to read for you this morning.

Listen to these. My soul cleaves to the dust, revive me according to your word. My soul weeps because of grief, strengthen me according to your word. I am exceedingly afflicted, revive me, O Lord, according to your word. Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness, revive me, O Lord, according to your ordinances. In this last one, your testimonies are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart. Whether you have grief or you’re in the midst of affliction of some kind, troubles, problems, remember that God’s word has a soul-reviving effect. It can and it should be the joy of your heart. Open it and meditate on it and seek to live by it. And again, let me encourage you just for small consistencies if you’re missing in this area. If you happen to be here this morning and you have not yet come to be a follower of

Jesus Christ, there is a sense in which you need your soul revived. Listen to what Peter said to a group of new Christians. He said, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God. It is the Bible that gives us the saving message of the gospel, the good news of forgiveness of sins and eternal life Jesus alone offers. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the gospel. He said, I remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved. If you hold fast to the word I preach to you, unless you believed in vain, for I delivered

to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. Death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to anyone who will believe in him. And if that’s you this morning and you need Christ, let me encourage you to acknowledge your sin before God, who is holy, and turn away from the current path that you are walking and turn toward Jesus. Pray and ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you and to be your Savior. I want you to know that you are always welcome to come after the service and speak with anyone you’ve seen up here this morning. We would love to have a conversation with you about what it means to become a Christian.

And friends, remember this morning that God has given us this wonderful blessing to have the written word of God in our hands to read and to meditate upon and to hear preached and to hear taught and to be studied. I’ll close this morning with a quote from Charles Spurgeon who said this about our verses. He said, the revelation of God in the scriptures is always speaking to people. Let them turn to it whenever they may. It has a message for them at all seasons. It doesn’t matter whether you’re at your highest point or your lowest point or somewhere in between, which is probably where most of us reside. God’s word has a message for you. So take God at his word. When he says that his word will transform you, seek God through his word to revive your soul, to make you wise, and let it rejoice your heart.

Brighten your eyes, warn you from the lies of the world and the devil, and may you remember that in keeping his word, there is great reward. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you that you have given us your word. We have learned this morning that it is true, it is authoritative. You offer us great benefits if we will live by it. God help us to do that very thing. Please God, will you meet each of us where we are in this area of our Christian walk? Grow our love for you and your word as individuals and as a church. And God this morning, if there is anyone here who’s not yet a believer in your son Jesus, we ask please will you save them. We thank you that you have saved us God. We thank you again for your word. We love you.

We praise you. Thank you and we commit all this and ask all this in the name of Jesus, our great Lord and Savior. Amen.