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[0:00] This is Psalm 19. Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God.

[0:12] ! The skies proclaim the work of His hands.! Day after day they pour forth speech.! Night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

[0:25] Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from His pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run His course.

[0:40] It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other. Nothing is hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

[0:55] The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

[1:07] The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

[1:18] By them is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

[1:28] Keep your servant also from willful sins. May they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent, of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

[1:45] Amen. Everyone in their own way is seeking the blessed life, the happy life, the good life.

[1:57] But without the grace of God, men seek it all in the wrong places and in the wrong ways. And so they keep coming up empty. But the gracious heart, the heart reborn, joined to Jesus Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, has found the blessing, the blessed life to be exactly where he least expected it to be.

[2:21] Indeed, in God's word, in God's laws. Yes, the Bible, the Bible, the book that most people treat as totally, totally irrelevant to their lives and is viewed as chains and shackles and things that only steal joy from them.

[2:40] But the natural mind is indeed enmity against God, and it shows that enmity against God by not submitting to his laws. And they neither will nor can until God does a supernatural work on their hearts and changes their disposition and gives them a taste for heavenly things.

[3:01] But in Christ, we find that these same commands and precepts that we once despised as misery are now the very source of our greatest delights.

[3:15] And that knowing and walking in the law of the Lord is the blessed life, the happy life, the good life. And so we were our own worst enemies, weren't we?

[3:28] And thank the Lord he came and saved us from ourselves, even when we didn't want to be saved from ourselves. Well, we're studying themes from Psalm 119.

[3:40] We're looking at this longest of chapters in the Bible and seeing what are the things that David is emphasizing. All throughout, he's praising God for his laws, his word.

[3:51] And we're out to discover why that is. Why was David found seven times a day praising the Lord for his righteous laws? Now, last week we saw that it was because that in this book, he says, I have found hope, that confident expectation of future good.

[4:09] And what we're going to see today is that God's word is a continual source of joyful delight. That's why David praised God for his word, the source of his joy and delight.

[4:25] So turn to Psalm 119 and hear David's repeated testimony of his joyful delight in God's word. The 119th Psalm.

[4:37] And we begin with his words in verse 14. Verse 14. 1-19-14.

[4:49] I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. Verse 16. I delight in your decrees.

[5:00] I will not neglect your word. Verse 72. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver or gold.

[5:13] Verse 111. Your statutes are my heritage forever. They are the joy of my heart.

[5:25] And then 162. I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.

[5:36] So God's word was to David his joyful delight. No wonder he praises God for it. So let's break this down under several points.

[5:47] First of all, we have a comparison. A comparison of joyful delight. David's joy in God's word is compared to something that is a well-known source of joy in the world then and still today.

[6:02] He compares his joy in the world to a person's joy in great riches. To a person's joy in thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

[6:14] To a heritage or an inheritance. And indeed to a great spoil. Do you remember the publishers clearing house sweet steaks?

[6:27] The prize patrol shows up at the door. They've got balloons and that big check. And they ring the doorbell. And surprise, you've won gobs of money for the rest of your life.

[6:41] I've never seen a sad winner. Have you? No, they may have been sad five seconds before the doorbell rang. But suddenly, it's joy.

[6:53] It's exhilaration. It's celebration. All joys. All smiles. Now, what do you know of that kind of joy in God's word?

[7:09] Is it like one rejoicing in great riches? Maybe you came to God's word burdened. Heavy hearted. Discouraged. Depressed.

[7:20] But then some truth of scripture flooded your soul. Gripped your heart. And filled you with great joy as one rejoices in great riches. Now, that's not always our experience in coming to God's word.

[7:36] Nor was it David's if you'll read the rest of the Psalms. But I trust you can say it is your experience, nonetheless. That you know something of this joyful delight in God's word.

[7:52] And it's because there you discover more and more of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians 3.8. Great riches. And they're all yours in Christ.

[8:05] Such that the truly rich man is the one who has the word of Christ dwelling in him richly. And the deeper you dig into this bottomless mine, the more jewels you find.

[8:18] And the more you find your joy is like that of receiving great riches. The joy of our salvation.

[8:31] The joy of our Savior. We're soon filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 1 Peter 1 and verse 8. But then look at verse 162.

[8:45] Not only does he compare to the joy to great riches. But here he says, I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. After the well-fought battle, to the victor goes the spoils of victory.

[9:00] So that wealth that they didn't have before suddenly becomes theirs in abundance. And it's again a great cause for great joy.

[9:11] Now David, the man of war, knows of which he speaks. He had tasted the joys of victory. He had divided the spoils with his men. And his joy in a promise of God was like that kind of joy, he tells us.

[9:30] And just think of it. David didn't have half the promises that we have. And yet he found his joy in a promise to be greater than the spoils of victory.

[9:44] What joy is yours when you find a promise that is perfectly suited to your need? So you're worried. You're fearful.

[9:56] And then you read, do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be panicked, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. Yea, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

[10:11] Joy. Like men receiving the spoils of victory. Well-worn promises that have never failed.

[10:22] They're all yes and amen to you who are in Christ. Signed, sealed, guaranteed in our Lord Jesus. And there are promises matching, there are promises in this book, matching every situation you can ever get yourself in, in this life.

[10:42] Are you rejoicing in the promises of God and his word? That's what caused David seven times a day to praise him for his righteous laws.

[10:52] Or then verse 111. He says, your statutes are my heritage forever. They are the joy of my heart.

[11:03] Now, heritage was an inheritance. And again, wealth, property, valuable things are often passed down in a will. They're given to you as an inheritance to enjoy, to live upon.

[11:17] And the joy of receiving such, David says, that's like my joy in God's word. The joy of my heart. It's not a surface joy. It's heart deep joy, he says, filling his soul.

[11:33] Is that how we regard God's book? An inheritance to live upon that causes great joy. So that's the first point. We see the comparison that's being made.

[11:45] David's joy in God's word compared to these various earthly riches. But we have, secondly, a greater joy. For though David makes these comparisons of his joyful delight in God's word with the way men rejoice in earthly wealth, he doesn't stop there.

[12:04] He goes a step further, and he says that he has an even greater joy because God's law is more precious than any financial wealth.

[12:15] Notice verse 72. David says, the law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver or gold.

[12:29] So a comparison. But they're not equal anymore. And now we see there's the greater joy. And so David puts the two joys into the balance.

[12:42] And here's the joys of thousands of pieces of silver and gold. And into the other side he puts the word of God. And it goes like that.

[12:54] More precious than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. Charles Bridges says, this is quite a testimony coming from one who had so much of earthly treasure and so little of God's word.

[13:13] And yet he says, this way outweighs in preciousness the wealth of this world. How he valued the word of God above gobs of gold and silver.

[13:27] Luther said, I wouldn't trade one page of my Bible for all the world. He said, it's precious, more precious than the whole world.

[13:38] And so David mentions this joy in God's word in the psalm that was read for us, Psalm 19. The first six verses talk about God's revelation of himself in creation.

[13:49] The heavens declare the glory of God. But then he comes to verse seven and he starts to talk about God's revelation of himself in scripture. And he says, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

[14:05] The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

[14:17] The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. They're more precious than gold and much pure gold.

[14:27] They're sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. And Jeremiah would agree. Your word was found and I did eat it and it became the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

[14:39] So, greater joy in God's word than the wealth that can be had in this world. And it's not difficult to see why God's word is more precious than great riches.

[14:55] First of all, you can't buy real joy with money. That's the devil's lie. It's everywhere seen in the rich and the famous. Just dig a little deeper behind that smile.

[15:07] And you find you can't buy joy with money. Yet, the Lord's precepts give joy to the heart.

[15:19] Nothing superficial. Heart joy. Deep joy. And then again, riches can suddenly sprout wings and fly away, Proverbs 23.5 says.

[15:30] A couple bad days in the stock market and your wealth can be greatly diminished. And then there's thieves who can break in and steal, hack into your wealth and fool you with scams.

[15:43] But the word of our God, the wealth we have here, stands forever. Forever settled in heaven. It's our heritage forever.

[15:54] Our inheritance forever. No one can take this from us. And then again, riches are worthless in the day of wrath. Oh, we put such a high stake upon their importance and preciousness.

[16:09] But they're worthless in the day of wrath. They can't deliver you from death. They can't deliver you from hell. Oh, but God's word points you to a savior who does deliver from the day of wrath.

[16:24] Even Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. So fading is the worldling's pleasure. All his boasted pomp and show.

[16:35] Solid joys and lasting treasure. None but Zion's children know. The joy that we find revealed in his word far exceeds that of the riches of earth.

[16:50] So. David was finding great joy in the word of God. Do you? Are you? Is that what keeps you coming back?

[17:03] To God's word. To God's word. Because there you find joy. And we gravitate toward things that we find pleasurable and priceless and joy filling.

[17:14] And if David found joy and delight in God's word when he only had a small Bible. How much more should we who have 66 books in our Bible all the more find great joy in this book?

[17:33] Does your reading of the Bible not leave you rejoicing like what we've read here? Not every time, but ever.

[17:45] Let me give you four helps. The first is don't rest contented with a lack of rejoicing in the word. Maybe you're in a rut where you're not expecting joy from his word anymore.

[17:57] You've had so many days where you haven't experienced real joy in the word that you don't even expect. You just start to expect that that's all you get from God's word. No, don't rest content.

[18:10] Have you grown satisfied with just a superficial reading without any joy? Just passing your eyes over the words. Unbothered by a lack of joy in God's word.

[18:23] No, no. Come to David and see his joy in it and realize something's wrong with my heart. I'm not experiencing what he's experiencing. And confess it to the Lord.

[18:35] It's not the way I want it, Lord. Here's the one place you can complain. And you complain about yourself. Lord, I confess my own cold heart not rejoicing at your word.

[18:46] Would you help me? Would you make me differ from what I am? And then do what David did over and over. We saw this earlier. His prayer in 119 is teach me, isn't it?

[18:57] Teach me. I want God as my teacher. I want him to so teach me this book that it will cause a joy likened unto great riches. Indeed, even beyond that of wealth.

[19:11] We need to... I say we because I have picked up this book and read it before praying. I need to realize unless the Spirit of God comes and teaches me, I will sit cold before this word.

[19:24] So I come each time. Holy Spirit, teach me. I must get back to my need and find my teacher and ask him to teach me. Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in your word.

[19:43] Things that will cause me to wonder with joy and awe at what you have done. That's the way the teacher teaches us.

[19:55] Don't be content. This is as much your privilege as it was David's. The Spirit taught him. The Spirit will teach you if you're a Christian. So ask him.

[20:06] And then secondly, don't spoil your spiritual appetite. Kids, there's such a thing as spoiling your appetite, isn't there? The reason mom won't give you cookies right before supper is because if you fill your tummy with cookies, you will not have an appetite for the healthy food she has to give you.

[20:24] And what's true of the physical realm is here true of the spiritual realm. If you set your mind and heart too much on earthly things, it will dull your appetite of your heart's joy in things spiritual.

[20:40] When you come to read the word of God. Jesus taught us this in the parable of the sword, didn't he? He said there are thorns that choke out the word.

[20:51] Choke the word from having its way with us, a response in us that it ought to have. And what are those thorns? Well, it's the earthly cares of life.

[21:03] Just all the stuff we've got to do. The cares of life. The deceitfulness of riches. The desire for other things. Thinking, I need more, I need more.

[21:13] And we get our eyes set on earthly things. And Jesus says that will grow like a weed and like thorns that choke out the word of God so that it doesn't have its effect upon us.

[21:26] And one of the effects is joy, delight. So a heart set on the world all day long may find it hard going to find joy when the real meat is set before you.

[21:41] Oh, but a heart that's been connecting with God throughout the day. Treasuring him will be more prepared to rejoice when you have the time to sit down.

[21:52] You take the time to sit down and to read his word. So set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

[22:03] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. And then third, don't forget to make use of the Psalms. They're there for that very reason.

[22:15] Pray them. Make use of them. Make them your own. You know, we quote the proverb, iron sharpens iron. And that's not only true of living people in our lives.

[22:26] Getting up close to a hot-hearted Christian will warm your heart. It's also true of the Old Testament saints like David. Get up close to David and feel his heart beating with joy for the Lord's word.

[22:41] And you'll find the warmth rising in your own heart. Take Psalm 103 and follow David through that Psalm. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

[22:52] All my inmost being. Praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your sins.

[23:05] Any joy in that? Past, present, future. Forgiven, blotted out, remembered no more. Praise the Lord. You can see His heart warming with joy in the Lord.

[23:18] Who forgives all your sins. Who heals all your diseases. Who redeems your life from the pit. And crowns you with love and compassion. Who satisfies your desires with good things.

[23:30] So that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Who never treats you as your sins deserve. Or repays you according to your iniquities. And on and on He goes. And pretty soon, His iron is sharpening your iron.

[23:43] And make use of the Psalms. To get greater joy in God's word. As you see David doing it. And you make it your own. Pray them. And then fourthly.

[23:55] Make sure that your intake of God's word. Whether reading it. Or hearing it preached. Or read here. Make sure it's a personal meeting with God Himself.

[24:07] You know, it's a sad thing. But I think it's true. That the most important person. Present with us right now. Is unseen.

[24:18] And we often miss Him. Because we only think about what is seen and heard. No, the most important person here today is the living God.

[24:29] And if we understand the word of God correctly. He is speaking to us whenever His word is read and preached. But if we lose something of that personal aspect.

[24:41] We lose the joy of His word. Look at verse 72 again. It says, The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousand pieces of silver or gold.

[24:57] The law from your mouth. You see, the word of God, the Bible, is not just an impersonal code of ethics. It's not a lifeless list of rules that we follow.

[25:08] It's not even here viewed as simply words on paper. No, it is words coming out of the mouth of God. That's up close and personal, isn't it?

[25:22] That's what Jesus said. Man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Wow, that makes a difference in how I read, in how I hear the word preached.

[25:37] God is here. God is speaking. This living God is having a meeting with me. He's speaking to me. You know, in Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 7, where the writer quotes Psalm 95.

[25:51] It says, The Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart. But He introduces that passage from Psalm 95, not as saying, The Holy Spirit said, But the Holy Spirit says, Present tense.

[26:13] Though it was written, Psalm 95, written 3,000 years ago, When that word is read, preached, God Almighty is saying it to you.

[26:26] And He's looking for a response, you see. And I think that personal aspect, if we lose that, we'll lose a lot of the joy that David had in his word. No, he came to the word of God as the law from your mouth.

[26:43] Your mouth. You see, the thing that made the word of God precious to David was the God of the word. It's God who is speaking.

[26:55] And that's why the word of God is so valuable and priceless and so full of joy to my heart. This personal communion with the living God is transformative.

[27:08] It's joy producing. Where do you meet Jesus Christ? You can travel to the Holy Land and He will not be there.

[27:19] But you open your Bible. And these are they that testify of Him. You meet Him here. You hear Him here.

[27:32] You hear the voice of your shepherd. And His voice is like music to us. We hear the voice of the one that laid down His life for us.

[27:43] And in His presence, there's fullness of joy. Look at verse 16 of Psalm 119. He says, I delight in your decrees.

[27:56] I will not neglect your word. Do you neglect the word? Do you have trouble staying consistent in your Bible reading?

[28:10] David here exposes the cause of neglect. A lack of delight in God's word. Because of a lack of delight in the God of the word.

[28:24] David calls God my exceeding great joy. In Psalm 43 and verse 5. God is His exceeding great joy. And therefore, His word is His joyful delight.

[28:38] Because it's His word. And He's my delight. So what comes out of His mouth is my delight. Where there is delight, there will be no neglect.

[28:51] That's what He says. I delight in your decrees. I will not neglect your word. Ever get a love letter? From someone who was the delight of your eyes?

[29:06] Did you say, I'm too tired to read it today? Maybe tomorrow. No, you tore it open the first opportunity you had. And you even re-read some portions of it over and over.

[29:19] And then you thought about it the rest of the week. Samuel Rutherford called the Bible the love letters of Jesus to His bride, the church.

[29:31] If you have no joyful delight in His word, I should wonder if you know the author. Because those who know Him love Him.

[29:44] And those who love Him rejoice to hear His voice. His word. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

[29:57] Have you ever heard of a covetous old miser forgetting where his riches are buried? No. Why not? No. Why not? Because they're His treasure.

[30:10] His precious. His love. And He often goes there and counts it again and again. His heart is in it.

[30:22] And it's that way with God's word. Do we love the author of it? Then we'll love the voice that comes from the one who authored it. I delight in your decrees. I will not neglect your word.

[30:36] So this joy in the word of God becomes a diagnostic tool concerning our heart and our relationship to the God of the word. Oh, may He make us, make Himself more and more our exceeding great joy.

[30:52] That His word would be a cause of great joy. That would bring us back to it more and more. I want to point out the fact that joy is not only found in knowing God's law, but in following God's law.

[31:09] It's true, there's many things here that just reading and knowing and feeding on will fill us with joy. But notice verse 14. David says, I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

[31:28] Rejoicing not just to know, but to do. There's a lot of people who may have some interest in knowing what does the Bible say. But true joy comes from doing the commands of Jesus.

[31:46] Believing the doctrines that He spoke. Rejoicing not just to know, but to do. You know, Jesus Himself said to His Father, I delight to do Your will, O my God.

[31:59] Your law is within my heart. Jesus delighted to do the will of God. And that's why He went to Calvary. That was the will of God for Him. He went there. With delight.

[32:12] In God's word. To do His will. To follow it. And so it is with His sheep. John 10, verse 27. My sheep listen to my voice.

[32:23] I know them and they follow me. They do more than listen. Doesn't that ring a bell with James? Be more than just a hearer of the word. But be a doer. The sheep of Christ are called His called, chosen, faithful followers who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

[32:42] Revelation 14, 4. You see, that was the thing that bugged us before we were Christians. Not just knowing God's law.

[32:53] Perhaps we were convicted a bit by knowing. But we didn't want to do them. You see. We would not submit. We would not put our life underneath and say, Okay, this book will regulate my life from now on.

[33:05] That was the rub. But now, with a renewed heart, our joy is found in following God's laws.

[33:17] I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. We read Psalm 19 and saw how the law of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart, more precious than gold and so on.

[33:36] And then it says this, By them is your servant warned, and in keeping them there's a great reward. You see, that's the joy. I find joy in walking in God's ways.

[33:47] I find that His commands are actually good. They're righteous. They're for my good. And they warn from ways of wickedness and keep me out of pitfalls that would lead me into trouble and destruction.

[34:02] I rejoice in walking in God's law. And I rejoice in walking in God's law because that's where I walk with the Lord.

[34:15] In the way, we walk with Him. He's the way, the truth, and the life. And in walking in His ways, we find great joy.

[34:27] You know, this is where we come back to where we began. Everyone's seeking the good life, the happy life, the blessed life. Look back at the very first verse of our chapter 119.

[34:42] It begins with a beatitude. 1.19, 1 and 2. Blessed, happy are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.

[34:57] Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their hearts. You see, true religion is always practical. It always works out in the life, in the walk, the habitual way of living.

[35:11] To walk in God's ways is to walk humbly with God. And those who do are blessed. The more holy, the more happy. And that's where, by the way, the whole book of Psalms begins, doesn't it?

[35:24] With the beatitude of blessedness. Happy is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful. But His delight is where?

[35:38] In the law of the Lord. And so on His law, He meditates day and night. It could be that we don't meditate as we ought upon the Word because it's not our delight.

[35:48] And it's, again, it's diagnostic. It's showing our heart problem. Do we delight to walk with this God who is our exceeding great joy?

[36:01] That's the mark of the blessed man, the blessed woman. He delights in the law of the Lord and He finds it leads him to a flourishing life.

[36:11] Whatever He does prospers. He's like a tree planted by the river of water. And so His life flourishes. And why should we be surprised that the Creator knows better than the devil how to fill us with joy and peace and flourishing life?

[36:32] He lays it out in His Word. Let me just close with some additional benefits of joyfully delighting in God's Word. God's Word is the key to rejoicing in the Lord always.

[36:48] We're all familiar with that command, aren't we? Philippians 4.4. And it is a command, as much a command as honor your father and mother. Rejoice in the Lord. How often?

[37:00] Always. And again I say rejoice. Twice in one verse. You see the emphasis that's coming in. This is a command. God's saying rejoice in the Lord always.

[37:12] Now that's hard when things are going bad. When things are difficult. That always is the thing that gives us trouble, isn't it?

[37:23] It's relatively easy to rejoice in the Lord when we're swimming in mercies and things are going well for us. But when we're chin deep in troubles, our rejoicing tends to sag.

[37:33] And we recently studied Habakkuk. Chapter 3, verse 17. Though the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines, and though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, and though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, what's all of this?

[37:53] Well, it's Old Testament prosperity. It's money in the bank when they counted wealth by crops and cattle. Things are not going well.

[38:06] None of that was happening for Habakkuk. And though that adversity is true, the command is still rejoice in the Lord always. It's not canceled. And so through those prosperities, nowhere in sight, Habakkuk nevertheless says, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

[38:27] I will be joyful in God my Savior. I don't need cattle and crops to rejoice in the Lord. There is everything in the Lord to keep me rejoicing.

[38:39] His names. Dozens and dozens and dozens of names of the Lord. There's enough there to cause you to rejoice.

[38:53] His attributes. His works. His ways. And where are they found, by the way? In this book that gives such joy to those who seek it and dig in it as for hidden treasures, riches, real riches.

[39:13] So what is there in here? What is there to be joyful about in the Lord, in God your Savior? Well, how about that His love is unfailing love in good times and bad?

[39:27] That He's with you in this trial and will never leave you. That He's for you and not against you. That He delights in the well-being of His servants. that He'll work all things together for your good.

[39:40] Even those that others work for evil, He will work for good. That He'll not let you be tempted beyond what you're able to bear, but with it will make a way of escape so you can stand up under it.

[39:52] That He's using these trials to strengthen your faith, to develop perseverance and character in you in due time that He's going to lift you up and in the meantime, He cares for you. He, the living God, cares for you.

[40:06] You, individually Christian. That He's preparing an eternity of pure joy unmixed with sorrow, grief, or pain.

[40:19] That the sufferings of this present life are not even worth comparing with the glories that shall be revealed in us. Now, where do you learn all these cheering truths? They found in God's Word.

[40:32] God's Word is our joy food. It fuels our joy in the Lord. So let's make good use of this Word.

[40:45] And then God's Word fuels our joy and secondly, it in turn fuels our strength because the joy of our Lord is your strength. Joyful delight is like adrenaline of the soul.

[41:00] It's like a power drink. It energizes obedience. It energizes Christ-like graces, the fruit of the Spirit. We see this in the Savior on Mount Calvary. He had strength to endure the cross and the scorn of it because of the joy set before Him.

[41:21] The joy of defeating the devil. The joy of finishing the work that the Father gave Him to do. The joy of bringing many sons and daughters to glory. It was the joy of the Lord that was His strength that enabled Him to endure to the end.

[41:38] And it's that same joy of the Lord that will strengthen you to go through your difficult trials and to glorify God in them. And the third benefit of joy is that a joyful Christian is a powerful witness in an unhappy world.

[41:51] It's a bright and convincing witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. David said, the Lord had lifted him out of a slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, and set His feet on the rock and gave him a firm place to stand.

[42:06] And He put a new song in my mouth. Joyful people sing. And David says, He's put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see it and fear and will turn to the Lord.

[42:20] There's something attractive about joyful people, don't you think? It's one of the reasons that the very congregating of God's people singing the praises of God is a witness. If you haven't noticed, have you noticed that the world is very unhappy?

[42:37] They're angry. They're bitter. They're sad. They're mad. They're depressed. The recent study that I read said that more people are now checking the box of not very happy than those who are very happy in our country.

[42:54] That's your opportunity, Christian. Seize it. Seize the day. Show that we have a Savior and so great salvation and the joy of the Lord is ours.

[43:08] just as stars stand out all the brighter, the darker the night, so a glad Christian stands out all the more in a sad, unhappy world.

[43:20] And just as the hopeless world should be able to look at us who, even in our trials, have hope and say, what's the reason for your hope?

[43:31] So, a sad world, an unhappy world, looking at the Christian and seeing their joy in the Lord should have reason to ask, what's the reason for your joy?

[43:44] And we'll have the opportunity to tell them about the very best thing that's ever happened to me. Coming to know Jesus Christ, whom to know is eternal life.

[43:55] well, these are the fruits then. The fruits of rejoicing and finding our joy in the Lord from His own word to us.

[44:10] You know, you could go from Genesis to Revelation and find examples of it. I mean, just in our Scripture reading today, we found reasons to rejoice in the Lord, didn't we? And wherever you look, Christian, you look back at your past or you look at your present or you look at your future, read what the Bible says about your past, about your present, about your future, and there's cause for joy.

[44:41] My sinful past is forgiven. All of it. Never again to be brought up against me. Remembered no more. It was punished at Calvary.

[44:53] Present? That Savior rose from the dead and He appears in heaven for me and is always making intercession for me right now, pleading mercy and graces for me before the Father.

[45:12] Future? You talk about my future. goodness and mercy all the days of my life and then the house of the Lord forever. Whichever way you look, you find in God's Word reasons for greater joy than what the world can ever find in things below.

[45:34] I just commend this Savior to you, whoever you are. You don't know the joy that you're missing out on and we want you to know it eternally. Let's take our hymnals and sing.

[45:47] We just want to sing of our Savior because that's where our joy is found in the Savior. It's 128. Take your hymnal and stand with me. Hail thou once despised of Jesus.

[45:59]  We'll look back and see what Jesus has done for us. We'll look and see Him interceding and we'll look that He's coming again. 128, the more familiar tune.