Give Me Life According to Your Word

1. Read: Psalm 119:153-160.

2. About the Text:

1) Psalm 119 is all about the wonderful word of God!

2) This section of Psalm 119 is about God giving us life through His word.

3) Three times in this section, the Psalmist cries out, “Give Me Life” or “Revive Me!”

4) Let’s examine the Psalm as we think about God giving us life through His word.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. The Psalmist asks God to consider his affliction.

1) From physical distress, sickness, pain?

2) From external persecutors (see v.157)?

3) God sees our troubles and knows our trials.

4) Remember Hagar (Genesis 16:13)?

2. He proclaims to God that he does not forget God’s law.

1) He knows that God remembers those who remember Him.

2) If we will draw near to God; He will draw near to us.

3) “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8).

3. He asks God to plead his cause and redeem him.

1) We need God to do what we cannot – “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

2) Redemption comes in many forms.

4. Life comes from the word/promises of God.

1) “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

2) “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).

1. The wicked do not have assurance of salvation.

1) Their expectation is only condemnation.

2) “but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek” (Romans 2:8-9).

2. They do not seek God’s word.

1) They do not seek it because they do not listen to it.

2) Romans 10:17 – “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

3. God’s mercy, however, is great toward the faithful.

1) “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4).

2) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

4. Life comes by observing God’s judgments.

1) John 8:31-32 – “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.””

2) John 20:30-31 – “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name”

1. The righteous will have many persecutors and adversaries.

1) “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

2) “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

2. These will not move him from God’s testimonies.

1) He will be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10).

2) He will keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

3. He regards the faithless/treacherous with disgust/revulsion – “Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104).

4. The faithless do not keep God’s commands.

1) “Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand”” (Psalm 94:7).

2) “Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16).

1. The righteous will love God’s precepts.

1) Loving God’s word is the only way to be authentic.

2) God’s word has the message for what it means to be truly human.

3) “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).

2. Life comes from God’s steadfast love/everlasting kindness.

1) God reciprocates our love for Him by giving us life.

2) Knowing we are loved produces authenticity.

3) “nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

3. The sum of God’s word is truth.

1) We can only be authentic when we recognize the wholeness of God’s word.

2) Jesus did: Matthew 4:4 – “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

4. Everyone of God’s righteous rules will last forever.

1) Jesus words will not pass away – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

2) They are fulfilled in Jesus eternally – “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

1. Give me life / Revive me! – It comes from God’s word!

1) When we have affliction.

2) When we need assurance.

3) When we are being aggravated.

4) When we want authenticity.

2. Invitation