Psalm 119: 89-96, Everlasting, Eternal, Enduring
Introduction: Verses 89-96 are the 12th of the psalmist’s original 22 divisions in “Psalm
119.” Remember that each section has 8 lines, each beginning with the same letter of the
Hebrew alphabet, so this week, we’re at the twelfth letter ‫ ל‬Lamedh. The poet continues
the theme of the significance of God’s Word in our lives.
I. Verses 89-91 and 96: “Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it
endures. 91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you…96 To all perfection I
see a limit, but your commands are boundless.”
A. The God who was before creation, who spoke the earth into existence, who exists
outside the restraints of time speaks words that are also not limited by time.
B. Absolutely everything else we know fades, changes, or ceases to exist, but not
God and His Word. This is one of the greatest arguments to trust Him: “The
grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever”
(Isaiah 40:8). Everything else you may choose to put your trust in is limited and
will someday shrivel. Everything. Only the things of God reside outside of those
limitations.
II. Verses 92-94: “92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my
affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.
94 Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts.”
A. Once we understand that His Word is eternal, firm, continuing, and enduring,
then we no longer treat it like a list of rules; instead, it becomes a delight,
salvation, and preservation of life.
B. Oh, God, help us to honestly claim never to “forget your precepts” because they
make their way deeply into our hearts and become part of who we are rather than
just words that we read.
C. It is through His Word that we learn to cry out like the psalmist, “Save me, for I
am yours!” Through His eternal Word we learn that we’re in an eternal hand, one
that is strong enough to save us from anything or anyone, and one who claims us
as His own.
D. As we seek out God’s precepts, we learn the truth about who sought whom; as
Martin Luther explains, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs
after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me… A simple layman armed with
Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a cardinal without it.” If we’re armed
with His Word, we never doubt whose we are.
III. Verse 95 “The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes.”
A. Our enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Peter tells us to “Be alert
and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8).
B. How do we stay alert and sober-minded? The psalmist knew the answer; he
wasn’t naïve about the seriousness of his danger. He knew the wicked were
waiting to destroy him; he was alert and sober-minded because of the rest of the
verse that follows the but: His mighty weapon was to ponder God’s Word as a
defense of the enemy’s attacks.
C. Folks, if we’re not consistently in God’s Word, we are greatly weakened in the
battles! Please note that I’m not talking about knowing the facts represented in the
Bible; you can know the facts about a person and never love that person. When we
get to know God in His Word, and we fall in love with Him, our enemy cannot
stand against the sword we swing!
D. My prayer for each of you, then, is that you,
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind
, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”
(Eph 6:11-18).
Amen and Amen!