Author: abc
Last saved by: Haverland

REMEMBER YOUR WORD

Text: Psalm 119:49-56
Readings: Psalm 98; John 14:15-27
Theme: In a time of suffering the psalmist remembered God’s word and found comfort.
Purpose: To encourage you to remember God’s word in times of suffering in order to find comfort.

Some of you will be in the habit of memorizing passages of the Bible. Those of you who are doing this will know that this requires constant revision and repetition. And the more verses and passages you memorize the more you need to keep revising and trying to remember.

That really describes the whole life of a Christian. We are always learning (or should be) and the more we learn the more there is to remember. When you have been a Christian for a long time there are still new truths to learn, but there is even more to remember; so we need regular reminding of what we have been taught.

The word “remember” is repeated three times in this section of this psalm; each time it translates the same Hebrew word. In a time of suffering the psalmist remembered God’s word and found comfort. That is the theme of this section of the psalm. 

We will see how:
1. He reflected on his situation
2. He remembered God’s word
3. He responded to God’s word

1. HE REFLECTED ON HIS SITUATION
He was in a situation of suffering. He mentioned that in verse 50. And in the next verse he explained why he was suffering: “The arrogant mock me without restraint.”

The arrogant were unbelievers. They were proud and insolent. They thought they knew everything and had a superior attitude. 

They mocked him. And they did that “without restraint”. The Hebrew word used here is also translated as “utterly” (vs 43 NASB). They didn’t hold back. They went all out. Their derision was full on. They utterly derided him.

This happens today. Christians are derided for being “old-fashioned, behind the times, and out-of-date.” The arrogant look at our views about God’s creation of the world and regard us as being ignorant and unthinking. They also mock us for being too serious, too pious, or too hard-working. In many workplaces Christians are ridiculed for being party-poopers, for not joining their mates at the bar, for not laughing at their dirty jokes, for not enjoying all their frivolous and immoral activities. 
“The arrogant mock us without restraint.”

In verse 53 he described this situation a little further: “Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law.” 

Again these are unbelievers, the wicked. They had forsaken God’s law. They ignored his commands, rejected his precepts, despised his word, and disobeyed his statutes. They did their own thing, went their own way, followed their own desires. 

They lived in the ancient world, and we live in a postmodern world, but there is nothing new under the sun. Today also people have forsaken God’s law. There is no agreement about truth, no moral foundation, no absolute standard; instead every person decides their own truth, they make up their own laws, they follow their own path, they do what is right in their own eyes. They have forsaken God’s law. 

Notice how the psalmist reacted to this. He wrote; “Indignation grips me because of the wicked….” We talk about a person getting “hot under the collar” about something. That conveys the sense of “indignation”. The Hebrew word is only used three times in the Old Testament and it referred to a blasting or scorching wind known as the simoon. Other translations use the word “burning”, or “hot indignation”. It grieved him to see what was going on around him; that God and his laws were despised and disobeyed. It deeply disturbed him to think about their position before God and their future punishment. 

We need more of this today. We live in an age of “tolerance” and “acceptance”. This thinking of the age affects us. We too are becoming very tolerant and accepting. 
We see and hear so much evil and sin and lawlessness that we become desensitized to it; we have become numb, immune to it; sin does not shock us or disturb us as it used to or as it should. 

We can learn from the attitude of the psalmist; “Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law.” 

The great Reformed Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote a wonderful commentary of the Psalms called “The Treasury of David”. Listen to him as he described the response of the psalmist: “He was astonished at their wickedness, stunned by their presumption, alarmed by the expectation of their sudden overthrow, amazed by the terror of their certain doom… Oh that we were all more distressed as we think of the portion of the ungodly in the lake of fire.” (The Treasury of David, Vol 3, Ps 119:53)

These were the reflections of the psalmist on his situation. 

2. In this situation HE REMEMBERED GOD’S WORD.

He opened this section by asking God to remember it to him. Verse 49: “Remember your word to your servant.” He did not doubt God’s memory; he did not think God had forgotten. 
Rather this is a prayer, a request, a plea.

He prayed this because the initiative always lay with the Lord. God has to reveal himself to us, he has to make himself known. He does that through the work of his Spirit. The Holy Spirit has recorded the revelation of God in the Bible and then he enlightens our minds so we can understand it, he reminds us of it. 

God had spoken many words and made many promises. The psalmist did not ask for more revelation but rather that God would apply to him what he has said. He did not ask or for further promises but that God would fulfill his word. “Remember your word to your servant.” (vs 49)

Then in verse 52 he continued with this theme of remembering; “I remember your ancient laws, O Lord.”

God’s law is “ancient”. Today that is not a compliment. If you describe someone as “ancient” you are not flattering them! Yet for this man it was a compliment to God’s Word. God’s laws arise out of his character and they are unchanging and they are the foundation of all truth. It is eternal because he is eternal; it is forever because he is forever.

The psalmist said he would “remember” it. 

Some of you are students at school or at university or at polytech. When you go into a test or an exam you will try to remember your subject. But you can only remember what you have heard and read and studied. 

That is also true for us and God’s Word. 
Grace Theological College in Auckland has a course on biblical theology. The lecturer of that course requires his students to read the whole Bible. He assigns that because many Christians have never read it all through. 

In 2006 there was a Church Life Survey taken in Australia. 60% of those going to church never read their Bible or read it only occasionally.

What about you? Are you one of those 60%? Or are you seeking to remember God’s laws? Do you know the Scriptures well enough to be able to remember them? Are you reading the Bible, and studying it? Are you meditating on God’s word and trying to commit it to memory? 

In verse 55 he used the word “remember” once more; “In the night I remember your name.”

He not only wanted to remember God’s Word, but also the Lord himself, his person and character.
That must be true for us too. Reading the Bible and remembering God’s Word is not the final goal – the ultimate goal is to know God.

We have the privilege of knowing him through the Lord Jesus. God has spoken to us most fully and completely in his Son. (Heb 1:2) Jesus came to make the Father known, to reveal him, to explain him, to speak his words. Jesus could say, “He who has seen me has seen my Father.” (John 14:9) 

The psalmist did not know the Lord Jesus as we know him, but he did know something of him, because Moses, and the psalms, and the prophets all spoke about him. (Luke 24:44) He resolved that he would remember God’s name and meditate on him. 

He did that at night. Not only at night, but also at night, in his bed, he thought about the Lord. 

Here is a lesson for us. Sometimes you lie awake at night and you can’t sleep; you are anxious and worried. That is the time to remember the name of the Lord, to think about God and his word, to remind yourself that Jesus is always with you. Jesus assured his disciples; “Peace I leave with you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) 
Will you remember God’s name in the night and look for and pray for the peace Jesus promised?

The Psalmist reflected on his situation of suffering, and remembered God’s Word. Thirdly,
3. HE RESPONDED TO GOD’S WORD, and he did so in four ways. 

First, he responded with hope.  The promises of God’s word gave him hope. Verse 49; “Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.” This is why the Bible was written; that through “the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom 15:4) That hope is still future; “Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Rom 8:24f). That hope is centered in the return of Christ. 
Secondly, he gained comfort. 
He described this in verses 50 and 52…

I trust you have had this experience too. Perhaps you were feeling sad, or lonely, or discouraged. Then you read the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit used that to bring you comfort.
Or you were listening to the Bible being read in worship and the Holy Spirit impressed a passage on your mind – it gave you peace.
Or you heard a sermon and through it the Lord brought you consolation. 

An older member in one of our churches saw a Bible reading plan produced by the Bible Society for reading the whole Bible. She was in her early 80’s but she decided to do this and read through the Bible from beginning to end. When she had finished she started again. She said that her regular reading of the Scriptures helped her to be content and brought her comfort. 
Are you reading your Bible systematically and regularly? Is it bringing you comfort? 

Again that comfort is focused on Christ. “Just as the sufferings of Christ flow over in our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” (2 Cor 1:5) 

He responded with hope, with comfort, and thirdly, with joy. Verse 54 – “Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.” 

The psalmist pictured his life as a journey. He knew he was a pilgrim, passing through, on his way to his eternal home. In verse 19 he acknowledged he was “a stranger on earth.” But as he traveled he sang; “Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.” 

Singing is an expression of joy. Children, if you hear your mother singing around the house you know she is happy, and if she hears you singing she knows you are happy!

God’s people sing songs of joy to the Lord because we are happy! We thank and praise God for his good laws, for his just decrees, for his right judgments, for his wonderful salvation in Christ. 

Psalm 98 opens by calling us to “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.” Are you singing to the Lord in response to his marvelous deeds? Do you do that at home as a family? Do you sing joyfully to the Lord in worship? Are the decrees of the Lord the theme of your song in your pilgrimage though life?

The psalmist responded to the Lord with hope, with comfort, with joy and, finally, with obedience. 

In verses 55 and 56 he declared; “…I will keep your law… I obey your precepts.” 

This is one of the great themes of this entire psalm and it is the real test of remembering God’s word and loving him - to obey the Lord and follow his law. 
Jesus said; “If you love me you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) 
This is the path to peace and happiness. Spurgeon wrote; “A thousand priceless blessings…come to us in the way of obedience.”

We have considered the general situation of the psalmist and how he was mocked by the arrogant and how he felt hot indignation because they had forsaken God’s law.
We saw how he remembered God’s ancient laws and his name. He read God’s word and recalled it to mind. 
And he responded to it. 

How are you responding to God?
Are you remembering his word?
Are you putting your hope in him?
Are you finding comfort in the Scriptures?
Are God’s decrees the theme of your song?
Are you obeying his commands and rejoicing in a “thousand priceless blessings”?

Amen.