The Psalmist Teaches His Readers What to Ask God For

[0:00] But let's turn to our reading for this evening, and Edward is preaching and continuing his series in Psalm 119. So do turn your Bibles to Psalm 119 and to verse 145.

[0:16] Psalm 119 and verse 145. The psalmist writes, With my whole heart I cry, answer me, O Lord.

[0:40] I will keep your statutes. I call to you, save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help.

[0:52] I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. Hear my voice according to your steadfast love.

[1:07] O Lord, according to your justice, give me life. They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose. They are far from your law.

[1:18] But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.

[1:34] Amen. May the Lord bless his word to us this evening. Well, good evening, friends.

[1:47] Very good to see you all here. Let's turn to Psalm 119 again, if you have your Bible in front of you. And as you know, our section begins at verse 145 tonight.

[2:04] And my title for this evening is this. The psalmist teaches his readers what to ask God for. Now, throughout this long psalm, this wonderful psalm, the author is teaching us, the readers, how to pray.

[2:21] In fact, the whole psalm from start to finish is an example of prayer. Apart from the opening three verses, which are statements, every verse in the psalm has the word you or yours or your in it.

[2:36] Every verse is personally addressed to God. It's all prayer. But the psalm is far from comfortable. The whole of this psalm has a sense of battling and buffeting about it.

[2:49] It's not a tranquil psalm. And its author is not a tranquil man. He's engaged in warfare. And it's good for us to read him because he alerts us to the kind of warfare that we ourselves need to be engaged in if we're to live an authentic Christian life.

[3:06] So if any person this evening, either here at Kelvin Grove or perhaps at home watching on the screen, if anyone here is feeling thoroughly relaxed, thoroughly at peace with himself and with the world, feeling as if he's sitting in a hot tub on a calm summer's evening under a Mediterranean sky, the psalmist is going to turn a jet hose of cold water on that person.

[3:30] Because once we see what the psalmist is really saying in this psalm, once we see what he's really asking God for, we will feel the force of the jet hose and we'll quickly forget the hot tub.

[3:43] Just look at the sense of tension and difficulty that he expresses in his prayers in the very first few verses, reading from the top, from verse 145. With my whole heart, everything I am, with my whole heart, I cry, answer me, O Lord.

[4:00] In other words, there's something that you can give to me which I don't yet have. Please supply me with it. Verse 146, I call to you, save me. That is just like the cry of a drowning man.

[4:15] 147, I rise before dawn and cry for help. Now, you don't get up at three or four in the morning to voice your needs, unless your needs are really pressing.

[4:26] Then verse 148, my eyes are awake before the watches of the night. That means about 11 o'clock in the evening. I don't know about you, but the heads, my head, I guess the heads of most of us are hitting the pillow at that time.

[4:41] But not our psalmist. He's thinking about God and about God's promises at both ends of the night, before the night watches and again before dawn. He is not a tranquil, easygoing believer who smiles and pats his tummy and says, all is well in this best possible of all worlds.

[5:01] Look at verse 149. Hear my voice. Give me life. So do you pick up his tone? This is not hot tub Christianity. It's not armchair Christianity.

[5:13] It's not deck chair Christianity. These are the words of a man who is painfully conscious of his needs. But he knows who to turn to. He knows the only place he can turn.

[5:25] Not to his friends. Not to his colleagues at work. Not to his wife. Not to his doctor. Not to the state. But to God. He knows that only God can supply him with the things that he's asking for.

[5:39] And he's teaching us here to ask for the same sort of things. And that's why this psalm is here in the Bible. To teach us the realities of the believer's life. And in particular, to teach us how to pray.

[5:53] So let's turn more closely to the passage. I'm only going to deal with verses 145 to 148 tonight. But I want us to see two ways in which the psalmist is showing us what to ask God for.

[6:07] Here's the first. He prays for grace to help him to be obedient to God's words. Grace to help him to be obedient.

[6:18] Now I've already pointed out the first half of verse 145. And the first half of verse 146. Answer me. 145. I call to you. Save me.

[6:29] In 146. But what is he asking God for in those two verses? The answer is. He's asking for the ability. The strength.

[6:40] To keep and observe. God's statutes and testimonies. Verse 145. I will keep your statutes. If you answer my cry. That's the implication. And verse 146.

[6:52] I will observe your testimonies. If you will but save me. But without your help. I cannot do it. So in these two verses. He's not saying. In a self-confident.

[7:03] Self-assured way. I'm going to keep your statutes Lord. I'm going to observe your testimonies. As if it were as easy to do that. As to fall off a log. No. It's because he finds it so hard to be obedient.

[7:17] That he begs the Lord to help him. To be obedient. Now we're bound to ask. Why does this godly man. Find it so hard. To obey.

[7:27] So hard. That he cries out for help. Like a man in extreme danger. We might think of God's commandments. The ten commandments. We might say. Is it not easy.

[7:38] Or at least fairly easy. To obey the ten commandments. I mean just think of the lovely view of life. That the commandments open out before us. Just imagine a society.

[7:49] Where the ten commandments are kept. A society where there's no violence. No murder. No stealing. No stealing of identity or money. You can leave your front door unlocked all night.

[8:01] No adultery. Just think of it. Happy. Faithful. Joyful marriages. All the way from John O'Groats to Land's End. No lying. No fraud.

[8:14] No scams. Everybody trusting each other's words. One of the great marks of our society today. Is that we can't trust anybody. We have to sign papers. Don't we? Produce our identity.

[8:25] All that sort of stuff. But think of a society. Where people trust each other's word. No jealous coveting of other people's possessions. And advantages. Such a blissful prospect of happiness.

[8:37] And peace. Throughout the world. You would think it would be a no brainer. You'd think it would be sweet. Obvious. And irresistible. To follow such an attractive plan.

[8:48] For human happiness. But our godly psalmist. Finds obedience so hard at times. That he cries out to God for help. Almost in a spirit of desperation.

[8:59] Look again at verse 146. I call to you. Save me. Now when he says save me. He's not asking there to be saved. In the eternal sense.

[9:11] He's asking to be saved. Here and now. From his own powerful sinful tendencies. The second half of verse 146. Explains what he means by save me. He's not saying.

[9:23] Save me from the eternal judgment. Or from the wrath of God. He's saying save me now in this life. So that I may observe your testimonies. Save me from myself.

[9:33] From the lurking rottweilers. Which are chained up in my heart. And straining to break free. And cause damage. He is very conscious. Of the power of temptation. Now it is possible of course.

[9:47] To develop a morbid preoccupation. With one's own inner corruptions. That has certainly been the character. Of some groups of Christians in the past. But in these modern days.

[9:59] I think the pendulum. Has perhaps swung too far. In the opposite direction. And many Christians look superficially. At their hearts. And brush off the challenge. To face up to what really goes on.

[10:11] Deep inside us. Our psalmist could not possibly have said. What he says in verse 146. Unless he were deeply acquainted. With the inner landscape.

[10:21] Of his own sinfulness. Now there are parts of the Bible. Which open us up. Like a tin opener. Opening a can of something. Unpleasant. For example.

[10:33] Perhaps you turn with me. To Romans chapter 7. At this point. The book of Romans. Romans. It's the sixth book. In the New Testament. It follows the gospels. And the acts of the apostles.

[10:45] Romans chapter 7. Now this is a very searching passage. But it ends most encouragingly. So don't despair. I want us to pick it up. At verse 15. Romans 7.15.

[10:56] This is autobiographical writing. And in it. Paul is being very frank. With his readers. Verse 15. I do not understand.

[11:07] My own actions. For I do not do what I want. But I do the very thing. I hate. Now what is he recognizing there? He is recognizing.

[11:18] A deep inner conflict. Almost as though he has. Two personalities within himself. And these two personalities. Are at war with each other.

[11:30] And he openly confesses to us. At the beginning of verse 15. That he simply doesn't understand. This problem. I don't understand my actions. Why am I like this? The implication is.

[11:42] I ought to be pure. And loving. And godly. From the top of my head. To the soles of my feet. But I'm not. And I know it. And I can't understand myself. Why am I like this?

[11:53] Let me read on. And as I read. Try to feel the almost unbearable tension. That Paul is expressing. Verse 16. Now if I do.

[12:04] What I do not want. I agree with the law. The ten commandments and so on. That it's good. So now it is no longer I who do it. But sin.

[12:15] That dwells within me. For I know that nothing good. Dwells in me. That is in my flesh. For I have the desire. To do what is right. But not the ability.

[12:25] To carry it out. For I do not do the good I want. But the evil I do not want. Is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want.

[12:36] It is no longer I who do it. In other words. The godly I. But sin. That dwells within me. Now you can see here. How he's defining.

[12:46] Or describing. Two warring elements. Within himself. On the one hand. It is I. On the other hand. It is. Sin that dwells within me. Look again at verses 16 and 17.

[13:00] I do not do what I. Sorry. I do what I do not want. Yes. I agree that God's law. Is pure. And right. And good. It's the law after all. That defines sinful behavior.

[13:11] And godly behavior. So verse 17. These things that I keep on doing. Which I don't want to do. Who is doing them. It's no longer I.

[13:22] It is sin that dwells within me. And you'll see he repeats that phrase. Almost word for word. At the end of verse 20. Not I. But sin that dwells within me.

[13:34] And then look at verse 18. For an utterly humbling analysis of human nature. I know that nothing good dwells in me. That is in my flesh.

[13:46] So sin dwells within him. And nothing good dwells in his flesh. Which means his natural self. His self untouched by the grace of God.

[13:58] It's a devastating piece of self-examination. Isn't it? Are we willing to accept. That what was true of Paul. Is true of ourselves. Think of when Paul wrote these words.

[14:11] He wrote them in about 57 AD. Now he'd been a Christian. He'd become a Christian. Only a year or two. After Jesus' ascension into heaven. In about 31 or 32.

[14:23] So Paul had been a Christian. For about 25 years. When he wrote these words. He'd been on the road for a long time. We might be forgiven for thinking. That after 25 years of Christian leadership.

[14:35] And preaching. He should have been morally. A bit more squeaky clean. Now in truth. He had made great progress. In personal growth. In self-discipline. And godliness.

[14:46] But he knew. That in the words of verse 18. Nothing good dwells in me. That is. In my flesh. It's a very strong thing to say. Theologians sometimes speak of.

[15:00] What they call the doctrine of total depravity. You've perhaps come across that phrase. The doctrine of total depravity. It sounds very depressing. But what they mean by that phrase. Is not that everything we do.

[15:11] Is as bad as it possibly could be. But rather that everything we do. Even the best and noblest things. Are not untainted by sin. In other words.

[15:22] Nothing we do. Is completely pure. There are elements. Of self-centeredness. And many other. Unpleasant motivations. Even in our most loving deeds and words.

[15:33] Now this is what Paul is recognizing. And this is what makes him cry out. In verse 24. Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death. And when he speaks of this body of death.

[15:46] He's not just referring. To the mortality of his body. He's thinking of his whole human self. His body. Mind. And abilities. As being inhabited by moral corruption.

[15:57] Now I said a moment ago. That this passage has a good ending. And there it is. In verse 25. Paul has just said. Who will deliver me from this.

[16:08] Death filled entity. That is myself. Well he goes on. There is a deliverer. There is a savior. Thanks be to God. There is deliverance. Through Jesus Christ.

[16:19] Our Lord. But when does that deliverance come? When does it happen? Not this side of the grave. Our bodies and minds and personalities.

[16:31] Will always be corrupted by indwelling sin. Until the end of our lives. Now it is gloriously possible. By the grace of God. To make great progress.

[16:42] The New Testament teaches us. A great deal. About how to grow in godliness. To grow in love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness.

[16:53] Gentleness. And self-control. But if we think. That the sin. That dwells within us. Will ever disappear from us. In this world. We're living in a cloud.

[17:04] Cuckoo land. Of self-deception. The roots of sin. That are in our hearts. Are impossible. To pull out. They're rather like the roots. Of an invasive weed.

[17:15] In the garden. Some of you. I'm sure. Are gardeners. And you'll be. You'll know what I mean. By invasive weeds. We in our garden. At home. Have two particular types. Of weed. That we simply. Cannot get rid of.

[17:26] Ground elder. And Japanese knotweed. There are various. Nooks and crannies. In our garden. Where these nasty invaders. Are fixed fast. Now you can do. What you like with them.

[17:36] You can pull out. The plant. Which is above the surface. Of the ground. You can put heavy doses. Of weed killer on it. Which does dampen. Their enthusiasm. For a few months. You can flame them.

[17:48] With a fire breather. You can take a spade. And dig right down. And pull out. A great deal of root. But you never get. All the root out. Little bits of root. Tear away. And lie there.

[17:58] A foot below ground. And then. The plant reappears. In all its glory. In the spring. These things. Are ineradicable. And so. Is indwelling sin. Let me give one example.

[18:11] Let's take the sin of pride. It's a kind of universal thing. Isn't it? The slogan of pride. Really is. I am better. Than you. So I put myself up.

[18:22] In order to put you down. In my thinking. I may not say it. But that's what pride really is. I'm better than you. It comes out in all sorts. Of different ways. I'm more intelligent.

[18:32] Than you. My family. Has a longer. And nobler. History. Than yours. I went to a better school. Than you did. I live in a nicer.

[18:43] Area. Than you do. I'm more talented. Than you are. Here's one. For the young men. I've got more muscular. Power in my body. Than you have.

[18:54] And I'm more manly. Than you are. Because I have a hairy chest. And your chest. Is as bald. As a pound of lard. Come on boys. A hairy chest. Does not demonstrate.

[19:05] Manliness. It only shows. That your grandfather. Was a gorilla. Here's one for the girls. You're dressed up nice. In looking in the mirror. And my body. Is more pleasing.

[19:17] To the eye. Than the body. Of my friend. Esmeralda. Whom I love. Very much. I turn to the mirror. I see the structure. Of my face. Classical beauty.

[19:27] And the angle. Of the cheekbones. Right profile. Very satisfying. Good. Left profile. Even better. Conceivably. If that's possible. Esmeralda's face.

[19:39] Bit of a splodge. I wouldn't say that to her. Of course. But I might think it. Okay. That's enough. Enough instances. Of how we might think. Proud thoughts. Now let's say.

[19:49] That one day. You become. Powerfully conscious. Of your pride. This happens to us. We become. Powerfully conscious. Of it. We keep thinking. Thoughts of this kind.

[20:00] And we feel ashamed. Because we know. How wrong they are. In God's sight. They prevent us. From thinking lovingly. About other people. They're deeply. Self-centered. They diminish us.

[20:11] As human beings. And we know it. So we say to ourselves. I'll stop this. Ungodly pride. Once and for all. I'm a Christian. After all. It's horrible. I'll get rid of it.

[20:21] In one fell swoop. So you pray. You ask the Lord. To clean this. Foul pride. Right out of you. And perhaps. Initially.

[20:31] You do improve. But then. Sometime later. You start thinking. All those proud thoughts. Again. You've tried to pull. The weed out. But you find. That the roots of it.

[20:42] Remain. You can subdue it. But you can't eradicate it. Isn't this what Paul was. Agonizing about. Here in Romans 7. I keep on doing.

[20:53] The things that I hate. The things I know are wrong. I don't want to do them. But I do do them. It's sin. That dwells within me. I wish I could show it the door.

[21:03] It's an unwelcome lodger. But I know it's there. Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me. From this body. Of death. Death. Now it would be wrong.

[21:15] To think of Romans 7. As a low point. In Paul's experience. It's not a low point. At all. It's a point. Of great realism. And it's very helpful.

[21:25] To us. Because it explains. Our own inner conflict. With sin. And temptation. But it's not everything. That Paul has to say. About the battle. With sin. Paul teaches.

[21:37] Not least in Romans chapter 8. That the Holy Spirit. Takes up residence. In our hearts. When we become Christians. He is the welcome lodger. Whereas indwelling sin.

[21:48] Is the unwelcome lodger. But the fact that. Both of them. Are in our hearts together. Explains the conflict. But it's not a conflict. Between two equal powers.

[22:01] The Holy Spirit. Is willing. And powerfully able. To subdue. Increasingly. The power and grip. Of sin within us. This is why Christians. Grow in Christ likeness.

[22:12] It really does happen. The Holy Spirit. Using the words. Inspired by himself. The words of the Bible. Reconstructs our thinking. And our very emotions.

[22:23] He rebuilds us from within. We're not fighting a losing battle. Quite the opposite. But there will always be. A battle. And our psalmist. To turn back to verse 146.

[22:36] In the psalm. He is showing us. How seriously. We need to engage in the battle. His prayer here. Is an example. For us to follow. It's urgent.

[22:46] And pressing. He says to God. I call to you. Save me. So that by your grace. At work in my heart. I may be able to observe. Your testimonies. Now he wouldn't.

[22:57] He couldn't cry out like that. If he wasn't aware. Of how tough the battle. To be obedient. Really is. So let's learn from these verses. Both the toughness of the battle.

[23:08] And the way to pray. Urgently about it. So there's the first thing. The psalmist teaches us. To pray. For grace. To help us. To be obedient. To God's words.

[23:19] We need to grow. In godliness. And God in his grace. Will answer. Those prayers. Now secondly. The psalmist.

[23:29] Prays for grace. To help him. To think. Deeply. And trustingly. About God's. Promises. If you were with us. This morning. You'll remember that Paul.

[23:40] In his sermon. Was showing us. From Joshua chapter one. How important. God's promises were. To Joshua. And his contemporaries. And here in Psalm 119. The psalmist.

[23:50] Is showing us. How to make the best use. Of God's promises. Let's look at verses 147. And 148. Again. Verse 147.

[24:01] He rises. Early in the morning. And cries for help. And what shapes his prayers. Well he tells us. In the second half. Of the verse. He puts his hope. In God's words.

[24:13] The words. God has spoken to him. He's a bit more explicit. In the next verse. Here he's wide awake. Verse 148. Late into the evening. Before the watchmen.

[24:24] Start doing their rounds. On the city walls. But why is he awake so late? Well he tells us. That I may meditate. On your promise. Now this trusting.

[24:36] Or hoping in God's words. And meditating. On God's promises. It's a key element. In Christian prayer. Let me remind you.

[24:47] Of something I said last week. Because if we can get this. Firmly fixed in our minds. It will help us. A great deal. The gospel. Looks both to the past. And to the future.

[24:59] It is good news. Of events that have happened. In the past. And it's a promise. Of events that will certainly happen. In the future. Now the good news.

[25:10] Of past events. Is that Christ died. For our sins. And rose again. From the dead. His death on the cross. Means. That for all believers. Our sins have been dealt with.

[25:21] Punished. Finished with. Forgiven. Jesus has borne the punishment. For our sins fully. In our place. And his resurrection. Means. That he has decisively.

[25:32] Broken the power of death. So not only he. But all who trust him. And belong to him. Will live forever. In the new creation. So that's the good news.

[25:42] Of these past events. And what they mean for us. But the gospel is all also. A promise of future events. And two in particular. First. That Christ will return.

[25:55] In power and glory. And second. When he returns. He will take all who belong to him. Both those who have died. And those who are still alive on earth.

[26:05] To be with him. To reign over the new world. Alongside him. His return is promised. And our new life. Our eternal life. In the resurrection. Is promised as well.

[26:17] So the gospel. Is good news of past events. And it's a promise. Of glorious. Future events. Now back to our psalmist. In verse 147.

[26:28] He says. I hope in your words. Your words. Are holding out to me. A firm prospect. On which you are inviting me. To stake my hopes.

[26:40] And then verse 148. I'm keeping awake. Late into the evening. In order to meditate. On your promise. You've promised me. Various things. These things are so wonderful.

[26:53] That I want to savor them. I want to turn them. Over and over in my mind. Meditate upon them. Until I have grasped them. Deeply. Now the psalmist here.

[27:04] Doesn't spell out. What he understands. God to have promised him. But he's teaching us. An aspect of prayer. Which is hugely valuable to us. And that is the importance. Of meditating on God's promise.

[27:17] Taking time. To think long and hard. About what God. Has promised. And if this. Old Testament writer. Doesn't tell us. The content. Of God's promise.

[27:28] To him. We New Testament folk. We know very clearly. What God has promised us. So friends. Let me just read you now. For the next minute or two.

[27:38] A selection of God's promises. Which are made. In the New Testament. To all Christian believers. First. Let's have some words of Jesus. In John's gospel. Chapter six.

[27:49] Jesus says. Everyone who looks on the son of God. And believes in him. Shall have eternal life. And I will raise him up. On the last day. That is a promise.

[28:01] The believer is promised. Eternal life. And resurrection. On the last day. The strength. Of a promise. Rests. On the integrity. Of the one who makes it.

[28:14] Here's another one. From John's gospel. Chapter 11. This is the story. The account. Of the raising of Lazarus. From the dead. You remember the situation. Jesus has. Some good friends.

[28:25] Lazarus. And his two sisters. Mary and Martha. Lazarus has died. And Jesus has gone. To visit them. In order to raise Lazarus. From the dead. But he says to Martha. The sister.

[28:36] Just before he raises. Lazarus from the grave. He says to her. I am the resurrection. And the life. Whoever believes in me. Though he die.

[28:46] Yet shall he live. And everyone who lives. And believes in me. Shall never. Die. Friends. Stick that in your pipe.

[28:57] And smoke it. Isn't that a wonderful promise. For God to give to us. The believer. Although we have to die. Initially. In our bodies of flesh and blood. We shall never die.

[29:08] Because the believer. Will be raised. To eternal life. The one who lives. And believes in me. Shall never. Die. There are many promises.

[29:20] Of eternal life. Given to us. In the New Testament. Given to Christians. But there are also promises. About the world. Let me give you two. Paul writes this. In Romans chapter four.

[29:31] He speaks of the promise. Given to Abraham. And his offspring. That includes all Christians. The promise to Abraham. And his offspring. That he Abraham.

[29:41] Would be the heir. Of the world. The world. Is our inheritance. Jesus says the same thing. In Matthew chapter five. Blessed are the meek.

[29:53] For they shall inherit. The earth. The promise is made. To every Christian. That the very earth. When it is transformed. In the new creation. Will be our inheritance.

[30:04] And we shall be ruling over it. Sharing that rule. With Jesus himself. So eternal life. Is promised us. The world. Is promised. As our inheritance.

[30:16] The new creation itself. Is promised to us. Peter the apostle. Writes this. In his second letter. But according to God's. Promise. We are waiting for new heavens.

[30:27] And a new earth. In which righteousness dwells. We're also promised. That in the world to come. There will be a total absence. Of everything sinful.

[30:37] And harmful. The book of Revelation. Chapter 21. John the apostle. John the apostle. Is writing. About the new Jerusalem. The great city of God. Coming down. Prepared like a bride.

[30:49] Adorned for her husband. And he says this. About every person. Who belongs to Christ. God himself. Will be with them. As their God. He will wipe away. Every tear.

[31:00] From their eyes. And death. Shall be no more. Neither shall there be. Mourning. Nor crying. Nor pain. Any more. For the former things. Have passed away.

[31:12] The former things. That is death. Tears. Mourning. And pain. They belong to the old order. To this present world. But they have no place. In the world to come. Now friends.

[31:25] There's something we must get hold of. Very clearly. If we do understand these promises. Properly. These promises of. Eternal life. Inheritance. In the world to come.

[31:35] And the ending of death. Pain and tears. They are not promises. That apply to our existence. In this world. Now. Jesus does give us a promise.

[31:46] About our life. In this world. And it's very clear. He says to his apostles. In John chapter 16. And by implication. To all of us. In this world. You will have tribulation.

[32:00] We need to understand. This distinction. Between this world. And the world to come. These great promises. Apply. To the world to come. This world.

[32:11] Is a place. Characterized by death. Tears. Mourning. And pain. When Jesus healed the sick. And raised the dead. He was giving us. A foretaste. Of the world to come.

[32:22] In all its glory. He was demonstrating. That in his person. Lie the powers. Of the new age. He is the resurrection. And the life. But as long as. We're still in these bodies.

[32:34] And living in this world. We are subject. To decline. To decline. And decay. And death. So if I wake up tomorrow morning. With a pain. And I go to the doctor.

[32:44] And the doctor sends me to the hospital. And I receive a diagnosis. Of terminal illness. I must prepare myself. To die. It's what the word terminal means. And in my final weeks.

[32:56] Of life. I must follow our psalmist. In verse 148. And meditate with joy. And happy anticipation. On God's promise for the future. Beyond my death.

[33:08] We mustn't imagine. That the glorious promises. For the future. Apply to life. In this crumbling ruin. Of a world. Resurrection. Is for the world to come. Not for this world.

[33:21] Next time you go to a funeral. This kind of funeral. That has the coffin. And the dead body. There in the building. With you. If you were to approach the coffin. And say in a loud voice.

[33:31] To the body within. I command you. In the name of Jesus Christ. Rise up. You would be very embarrassed. And your companions. Would be traumatized. And shocked. You would have made a big mistake.

[33:43] By imagining. That the promises. That apply to the world to come. Apply to the old order. Our psalmist. Is teaching us here. To make a practice.

[33:54] Of meditating. On the glorious promises. Of God. For the future. The reliability. Of a promise. Depends on the integrity. Of the one who makes it.

[34:06] God is the source. Of all integrity. Therefore. We can trust him. And as we learn. To contemplate these promises. Frequently. It will strengthen.

[34:17] Our minds. And hearts. And understanding. And faith. It will strengthen. Our mental health. We shall become. Less troubled. Less anxious. When things go wrong.

[34:27] With our physical health. Or our circumstances. So for example. If next year. 2021. Were to prove to be. A bad year. For you. A year in which.

[34:38] All sorts of. Difficult things happen. A dear old auntie dies. A tree falls on your house. You lose your job. Your beloved cat. Is run over. Your flock of chickens.

[34:49] Goes down with avian flu. And your neighbor. Starts taunting you. For being a Christian. It will be a real comfort. To know. That Jesus has said. In this world.

[35:00] You will have. Tribulation. The great promises. Are for the future. So let's learn. To meditate. On these great promises. Frequently.

[35:10] You could start. This very night. Turn the clock. Forward a few hours. Maybe it's ten. Or half past ten. You're sitting. In your kitchen. Quietly. With a cup of hot chocolate. The house is quiet.

[35:22] Lord you say. What have you promised me? Eternal life. A resurrection. Body. A place with your people. In the new world.

[35:33] The death of death. The abolition. Of pain and tears. The return of Jesus. The final defeat. Of sin and Satan. The glorious appearance. Of the new Jerusalem.

[35:44] All these promises. Are for the world to come. Why not take a little time. Over the next day or two. To write down. As many promises. As you can.

[35:55] From the new testament. Put them in a little notebook. Turn the pages often. Think about them. They are God's. Sure and certain provision. For the eternal future.

[36:06] Of his people. Verse 148. My eyes are awake. Before the watches of the night. That I may meditate.

[36:17] On your promise. That meditation. Is a source of great strength. To the church. Well let's bow our heads.

[36:29] And we'll pray. God our father. You have prepared.

[36:41] For those who love you. Such good things. As past man's understanding. Pour into our hearts. Such love towards you. That we loving you.

[36:53] Above all things. May finally obtain. Your promises. Which exceed. All that we can desire. We ask it.

[37:03] Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Amen.

[37:35] Amen.