%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%>
50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
51 The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.
52 I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.
53 Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
55 I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.
56 This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
• The Perspective Of David
• Though he made mistakes, David in general loved the law of God above
all else and always sought to obey His will.
• Yet, he impresses us not as someone deprived, but as one whose life
was greatly enriched as a result of his relationship with the Lord.
• It is this type of relationship that should be desirous for us to achieve.
• Notice some things which David realized.
• A Servant Mentality
• David considered himself a servant of the Lord—to many this might
seem like a curse instead of a blessing, but we need to understand that everyone
is a servant to someone or something: Romans 6:16-18
• Those who live in sin are servants or slaves of Satan: John 8:34, 2
Peter 2:18-19
• But Jesus offers us true freedom: John 8:36.
• However, just as in our nation we can have real freedom only when we
submit to the law, so can we have true freedom in Christ only when we submit
ourselves to His law as His servants:
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
• Hope
• David understood that his hope was based upon a knowledge of God’s
word, and the same thing is true for us: Colossians 1:3-5
• However, the people in this unbelieving world live and die without this
wonderful hope:
Ephesians 2:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 4:13
• While our hope involves something in the future, it has present benefits
because it gives us the strength to persevere or endure whatever trials and
tribulations come our way in life and thus provides stability: Romans 8:18,
24-25;
Hebrews 6:17-20
• Comfort
• The Biblical idea of comfort is support and encouragement as well as
consolation; the people of this world try to find comfort in money, power, pleasure,
fame, immorality, alcohol, drugs, and other such things, yet none of them really
satisfy, so where can we find true comfort? Romans 15:4
• When we face the deepest sorrows of life, this world has very little
comfort to offer, but Christians can find comfort: 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18
• Thus, whenever we need comfort, we’ll find that the only real
source for it is God, and it comes through knowing Him, serving Him, and hoping
in Him:
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
• Indignation
• The English Standard Version reads “Hot indignation”—the
idea of a “heated” response to anything based on religious conviction
seems distasteful to our “politically correct” age, but we must
understand there are some things that God hates: Proverbs 6:16-19, Romans 1:18
• Therefore, those who truly love and fear the Lord will also hate that
which is evil: Psalm 97:10 & 119:104, Proverbs 8:13
• And the New Testament teaches Christians the same thing: Romans 12:9.
This “hot indignation” against wickedness is in fact a blessing,
because if we don’t hate and oppose evil, then we’re just giving
it more room to grow and flourish.
• While we must be careful never to let our indignation lead us into sinful
actions, we must love God’s truth enough to defend it and stand against
anything which opposes it.
• Joy
• Our songs are an expression of our joy:
James 5:13
• Thus, our blessings which come from serving God will give us something
to sing about, and in turn this joy will provide spiritual strength:
Nehemiah 8:9-10
• More than mere “happiness” of the world that depends on
outward circumstances, this joy is an inner disposition resulting from having
a right relationship with our Creator that sustains us even in the midst of
suffering and trials:
Philippians 4:4
• God’s name
• The idea of one’s “name” is more than just the title
by which he’s known, but represents who and what he is: Proverbs 22:1
• Thus, remembering God’s name is more than just superstitiously
chanting the name of God like some kind of mantra—it’s accepting
and following everything His name stands for:
2 Chronicles 7:14
• Therefore, having God’s name, which is the result of doing His
will, is an important blessing because it identifies us with Him: Revelation
3:12
• Conclusion
• Remember that David said, “This has become mine, because I kept
Your precepts.”
• And these same blessings can be ours if we keep God’s precepts
given to us through the revelation of His Son, Jesus Christ.
• We must realize we have more blessings than we can count when we are
faithful.
• Are you faithful?
By Carey Scott
Return to the Sermon Outlines page
Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /