Peter Barnes | Psalm 119:9-16
SERMON NOTES
Purity Through God’s Word
Psalm 119:9-16; 2 Tim. 3:10-17
Psalm 119 is an acrostic, with each of the 22 stanzas beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from aleph to taw. This second stanza begins with beth. William Wilberforce, Henry Martyn, and David Livingstone knew the whole Psalm off by heart.
1. We need to know God’s Word.
– vv.9,11; see Gen.8:21
– 2 Tim.3:15; Matt.4:3-4, 6-7, 9-10; Col.3:16a
– Ps.119:12, 15; Jer. 15:16
2. We need to make use of God’s Word.
– vv.10-11; see Prov.2:10-12; 5:1-6; 6:6-11; biblical wisdom is applied and practical wisdom, not abstract philosophy
3. We ought to rejoice in God’s Word.
– vv.12-16; his mind, his speech, and his feelings are all engaged.
– Calvin: ‘As wealth attracts to itself the hearts of mankind, so I have taken more exquisite delight in the progress which I make in the doctrine of godliness, than if I abounded in all manner of riches.’