Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Today we have read through Psalm 119 from start to finish.  And as you will note from the beginning of the Psalm it is a psalm without a title.  

And this would be appropriate for more than one reason.  
Psalm 119, all 176 verses of it, is, most definitely, the longest psalm.  
And yet, it may surprise you to know that even the sheer length of Psalm 119 has been of great benefit to some in history.  

And so, if he had not memorized this psalm, he would most likely have hung before the pardon arrived.  

But not only is Psalm 119 the longest psalm in terms of the number of verses, it has also been described as the longest, the deepest, the widest, and the highest psalm in terms of its grandeur and beauty.  
This great Psalm is a book in itself: instead of being one among many psalms, it is worthy to be set forth by itself as a poem of surpassing excellence.  Those who have never studied it may pronounce it commonplace, and complain of its repetitions; but to the thoughtful student it is like the great deep, full, so as never to be measured; and varied, so as never to weary the eye. Its depth is as great as its length; it is mystery, not set forth as mystery, but concealed beneath the simplest statements.”  
John Ruskin was another man who was taught by his mother to memorize Psalm 119.  Many years later he said, “It is strange that of all the pieces of the Bible which my mother taught me, that which cost me most to learn, and which was to my childish mind, chiefly repulsive—the 119th Psalm—has now become of all the most precious to me in its overflowing and glorious passion of love for the Law of God.”

Well, it is to be hoped that each of us has been able to catch a glimpse of this today as we have read through this psalm together.  But in order for us to see some of the ways in which this Psalm scales such heights and depths, we are going to focus our attention on the last 8 verses of Psalm 119; vv169-176.  

For the closing verses of Psalm 119 provide believers with lessons from the praying psalmist, lessons from the praising psalmist, lessons from the patient psalmist, and lessons from the pleading psalmist.  

Let’s begin then by learning lessons from the praying psalmist.

1.	He begins by saying, “May my cry come before you, O LORD,” and in v170, “May my supplication come before you.”  
a.	And essentially, the psalmist prays here for his prayer.  He prays to God asking God to hear his prayer!  
i.	It’s almost as though he brings the words of his prayer in an envelope and begs God to open it.  

b.	And he does this because he knows that his prayer, for all its seeming glory to our ears, is nothing more than the wailing cry of a little infant in the ears of God.  
i.	As words uttered by a sinner, in and of themselves, they are unworthy of being heard by the Holy one of heaven.  

c.	And yet, the psalmist knows also the truth of what he has already declared in Psalm 34: “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them.”  
i.	And even more than this, by faith, the psalmist knows the command that Jesus will later make regarding prayer in Luke 11:9, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  

d.	And so, the first lesson we may learn from the praying psalmist is that like him we too must bring our supplications before God.

2.	Now, as has already been mentioned, Psalm 119 is a psalm about God’s word.  
a.	Delight in God’s Word is the theme that guides every one of its 176 verses.  
i.	In fact, in at least 171 of its verses, explicit mention is made of God’s Word.  
1.	Through words like law, command, precept, statute, decree, ordinance, word, promise, testimony, and command, God’s Word is celebrated and praised from every possible angle.  

b.	And in these closing verses, the supplications that the psalmist makes each have to do with God’s Word in one respect or another.  In v169 he says, “Give me understanding according to your word.”  
i.	Now, congregation, as those who have just read through this psalm, would you say that the psalmist understands, loves, and obeys God’s Word?  
1.	I think we would all agree that the answer to that question is a resounding “yes!”  If we think of verses like v75, “I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous,” and v167, “I obey your statutes for I love them greatly,” it is clear that the Psalmist understands, loves, and obeys God’s Word.  

ii.	So it’s rather interesting then, isn’t it, that he says: “Give me understanding according to your word.”  At the conclusion of this stunning psalm celebrating the psalmist’s love for God’s word, he asks for understanding?  
1.	You know, I think there are very clear echoes in the psalmist’s request here with the request made by another in Mark 9.  There after asking Jesus to heal his son, a father was told by Jesus that “everything is possible for him who believes.”  And do you remember how the father responded to this statement of Jesus?  He said, “I believe, help me in my unbelief.”  

iii.	Well, the psalmist also believes.  The psalmist also understands.  But what the psalmist yearns for is a deeper belief and understanding; a deeper experience of belief and understanding.  	
1.	And He knows that this comes only from the combined work of God’s Word and Spirit.  
2.	That’s why he doesn’t just sit down and read the Bible, but instead asks God to grant understanding according to His word.  

c.	And this, brother and sisters, young people, and boys and girls, should be our prayer today, also.  Chief among our desires from 2010 should be the understanding that comes from God’s Word and Spirit.

These are lessons to be learned from the praying psalmist.  But let’s continue on now to learn the lessons of the praising psalmist in vv171-172; our second point.

1.	You know there are some who say that the church’s primary call is to the work of missions.  
a.	And it’s not hard to see why this claim is made, is it.  After all, Jesus said, “Go, therefore into all the world and make disciples of all the nations.”  
b.	The Bible makes it clear, however, that the church’s primary call is not to missions but to worship.  
i.	Mission exists where worship does not.  Mission exists so that man who currently does not worship, may begin to worship.  And this is because man was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.  It is the duty of every man, woman, and child to worship God.  
ii.	And it is this demand that we are to set before people as the work of missions.

2.	Well, what lessons about worship does the praising psalmist set before us in these verses?  
a.	Well, note firstly, that the worship that the psalmist desires is a life of praise.  
i.	He says, “May my lips overflow with praise … may my tongue sing of your word.”  
ii.	Like the hymn writer, his request is: “
1.	Is this your life congregation?  Is your life a life of praise?  
2.	Do you find yourself many times each day praising God for the sunset, or the finding of lost keys, or the gift of sight, or the thousand other things that His providence blesses you with each day?    

b.	
i.	You know, as you drive down the state highways of the South Island, you cross these bridges that have the most pathetic looking rivers underneath them that you could imagine.  A long bridge will travel over a dry stoney river bed that has the tiniest trickle of a river at one end or the other.  
ii.	Well, that’s not the life of praise that the psalmist desires!  
1.	He wants the overflowing life of praise that comes after the flood rains have descended!  
2.	He wants his life of overflowing praise to be the mighty torrent of the swollen river that cannot be contained by the river banks and bursts out upon the surrounding fields.  
3.	He wants the life of overflowing praise to be one of unbridled boldness that fearlessly praises God even in the presence of unbelievers.

c.	the flood rains that create such an overflowing life of praise is the Word of God.  We read, “May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.  May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.”  
i.	And the lesson here is that praise comes best and most overflowingly from those who devote themselves to the study of God’s Word.  
1.	I quoted to you earlier the words of the hymn “Fill thou my life.”  It’s a hymn written by Horatius Bonar.  Bonar was a man committed to the Calvinistic doctrines of grace.  He was theologically trained.  He served as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland.  And his devotion to God’s Word led him to pen this beautiful and enduring hymn of praise about the life of praise.  

d.	Brothers and Sisters, there are so many things that you can choose to put your time into in 2010.  You could take up the study of cooking, mechanics, computer science, stamp collecting, etc etc.  But none of these will empower you to a life of overflowing praise.  
i.	The study of God’s word will.  Memorizing God’s word will.  Meditating on God’s word will.  

This is a lesson we learn from the praising psalmist.  But we learn also from the patient psalmist in vv173-174; our third point.

The psalmist continues, “May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.  I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.”  

1.	In these verses, the psalmist speaks of his commitment to faith’s obedience.  He has chosen to serve the Lord.  He delights in the law of God.  And he, as a result of this, reveals to us that He is one who walks with God in living fellowship.  He knows that His sufficiency is in Jesus Christ.  
a.	And yet, his cry is the cry of all believers, How long, O Lord?  How long?  “I long for your salvation, O Lord.”  
i.	You see, he yearns to know the fullness of salvation.  
ii.	He yearns to be free from the turmoil of sin.  
iii.	He yearns to be free of the temptations of the devil.  
iv.	He yearns to walk with Jesus in unbroken communion.  
1.	And don’t you and I yearn for these same things, people of God?

b.	Well, in the book of Habbakuk, the prophet comes to the Lord with an inquiry.  He says, Lord, how long will this godlessness go on amongst your people?  Habakkuk’s hope is that God will raise up another David or another Josiah to bring godly reform.  And God answers Habakkuk by saying that He is going to bring judgment upon His people through the Babylonians.  Well, as you can imagine, this is not the answer that Habakkuk was hoping for.  And so, he comes to the Lord again seeking explanation.  He simply cannot understand why the Lord would do this.  And after he states his case, Habakkuk says, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost.  There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how He will answer my complaint.”  Habakkuk decides to be patient and to wait upon the Word of the Lord.  

c.	In the NT, James says, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.”  

d.	And Jude says, “Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”  

i.	Where may you read of the promise of the Lord’s coming?  In God’s Word.  
ii.	Where may you read about the love of God?  In God’s word.  
iii.	And where may you read of the mercy of Jesus Christ?  In God’s Word.  

e.	You see, brothers and sisters, the lesson that the patient psalmist sets before us in these verses is this: Those who truly long for salvation are those who truly love God’s Word.  
i.	For it is God’s Word that reveals a salvation worth longing for.

But lastly, in addition to the lessons of the praying, praising, and patient psalmist, we must also learn from the pleading psalmist.

He finishes this most majestic Psalm by saying, “Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.  I have strayed like a lost sheep.  Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.”

1.	It is unsurprising, really, that the psalmist ends this psalm in confession of sin.  
a.	After exploring the heights and the depths of the wonders of God’s glorious word, his concluding words are an acknowledgement of wrong doing: “I have strayed like a lost sheep.”  
i.	For first and foremost the Law of the Lord is a revealer of sin.  
1.	Even for the most practiced believer, every encounter with the Word of God should create within us a deeper and keener awareness of our utter sinfulness in the eyes of God.  
ii.	It is for this reason then that the psalmist who has examined himself against the holy standard of God’s law can only join the hymnwriter who said, “Not the labours of my hands can fulfill thy law’s demands; could my zeal no languor know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; Thou must save and Thou alone.”  

b.	And all this he confesses when he says, “I have strayed like a lost sheep.”
i.	Most of us, I assume, will have heard of the wonderful abilities of dogs to find their own way home.  You boys and girls will probably know of Lassie and other stories like it that tell tales of dogs traveling huge distances to get back home.  
ii.	Well, the shepherds amongst us might correct me on this score, but I am told that if you take a sheep from the front yard of your house to the back yard, it couldn’t find its way back to the front yard in a hundred years!  
1.	Direction and an attachment to home are not a sheep’s strongest points!  

c.	Well, this is the struggle of every Christian; like lost sheep, we constantly stray from home.
Isn’t it wonderful to know, then, that Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”
Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”  

Psalm 119 reveals to us the voice of Jesus.  He is the Word of God.  Is He your delight?   Amen.