Your Faithfulness Endures

Music playing. This year has served as a clear reminder that we live in a world filled with uncertainty. Life is constantly changing. But today on Truth for Life Weekend, Alistair Begg affirms that God's word and his faithfulness endure forever. So what exactly does that mean for us?

Let's find out. Here's Alistair. Psalm 119 and verse 89. Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations.

You have established the earth and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Amen. It seems appropriate that on a morning like this, marking as it does something of a new beginning for us as a church, that we would take our stand, as it were, along with the psalmist here in this section of Psalm 119, declaring, forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations. I think you would agree that at times like this, at moments of transition, it is important not to be launching into something that we have never known, but rather affirming things that we must never forget. And this section of eight verses affords us that opportunity.

I want to take it in two halves, because there are two halves. In the first four verses, the reality of God, and in the second four verses, the security of the believer. First of all, the reality of God. What the psalmist is making perfectly clear is that there is a direct link between the authority of God's word, fixed in the heavens, and the creation and the preservation of all that God has done in the world.

So, the psalmist is declaring the inseparable link between God's word and God's world. People ask all the time, well, where did we get our world from? Why do we have these galaxies? Why are they as they are?

And of course, all kinds of answers are given throughout the years. When we turn to the Bible, we realize that the Bible is perfectly clear and straightforward, that God has created the heavens and the earth, that he directs all things according to his purpose, he sustains things by the power of his might, and all on account of his word. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

And there was nothing made that has been made except that it was made by him, and so on. The Bible is full of this. And the word of God, the Bible says, is unerringly true.

It is unfailingly relevant. And it is incapable of being overturned by those who are skeptical and those who are insolent. No matter the protestations, no matter the pushback of those who are unbelieving, the word of God remains fixed in the heavens. Now, do you believe that this morning, you see? That's the real question. Do you believe it in a way that impacts your life, impacts your business?

Does it impact my marriage, my parenting, my singleness, my disappointments, my failures, my regrets, my unfulfilled dreams? What does it really matter? That the word of God is fixed in the heavens. Secondly, he says, and God's faithfulness endures to all generations. Well, does it matter that his truth endures to all generations?

Yeah. Psalm 71. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. You have been, he says, from my youth, my teacher, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. I can affirm that.

Many of you can, too, can't you? They put us in that Sunday school and said, Don't come out until I come and pick you up. And we endured it. And they dragged us into the service and said, Sit still. And we endured it. And then he sent us to another Bible class, and we endured it. And then to another thing, and we endured it.

And here we are, enjoying it, because we endured it. From my youth you have taught me. So to my old age and to my gray hairs, don't let me go until I tell another generation that your word is fixed in the heavens and that your faithfulness extends generation after generation. The promises of God are without recall. And notice, thirdly, that God's creation is established, and everything works according to his plan and to his purpose.

Everything works according to his plan and his purpose. We've gone very accustomed, haven't we, to the weather channel. Maybe you are, you know, a weather channel people, so I don't want to be unkind. But it's like, you know, we're in charge of the universe here. We're the weather channel.

And they use phraseology that reinforces all kinds of godless notions. Let's see what Mother Nature has for us this morning. What?

Who's she? Or they say things like, nature knows. I've got to tell you something. Nature knows nothing. When it comes to rational knowledge, nature is incapable of knowing. God who created created nature.

God knows. And all that he has created within the framework of nature, the psalmist says, runs according to his plans. That's why in Genesis we have this great affirmation. While the earth remains—and it will remain as long as he determines, until he puts a new heaven and a new earth in place. That's our confidence as believers.

Where do you get that from? The Word of God is fixed in heaven. As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, you'll be able to plant and reap. Cold and heat, the earth will be warm, the earth will be cold. Summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

Promise. From whom? From the Creator, whose word is fixed in heaven, and whose faithfulness extends to all generations. I mean, why, when you put your head on the pillow at night, do you believe that the sun will rise tomorrow morning? Why does the moon come up? Answer.

Because there is order, there is cohesion, there is structure in the universe. From where? From the God who made it. He created it. His word produced it. His faithfulness sustains it. And all these things serve as his servants.

It's quite magnificent, actually, and it's something that, again, we want to affirm. The earth endures according to God's decree. Everything that exists in the world serves his plans. The ordinances of God are the reason for the very continued existence of creation. Why does creation still exist?

Why did it exist in the first instance? The psalmist says, you need to know this. And even in our rebellious world, men and women of science and of learning and of thinking still are left with an impenetrable mystery until they, we, bow down and acknowledge what the Bible says. Hebrews begins, he upholds the universe by the word of his power. In Colossians, speaking of the majesty of Jesus, in him all things hold together.

Spurgeon says, no atom escapes his rule and no world avoids his government. You say, well, that is all sort of out there and beyond us. How does it really relate to things in the here and now? What about the poet here? What about the psalmist? What about the one who's singing this song?

How does it impact him? Well, look at what he says. Your word is fixed. Your faithfulness endures.

You've established the earth. It's by your appointment that all these things are still in place, because all these things are your servants. And then he says, you know, if this hadn't been true, and if I hadn't fastened myself to your law, if I wasn't paying attention to what you have made known of yourself, then I would have perished in my affliction. Now, if you allow your eyes just to go across your page or down your page, you will see that the psalmist was not always having the best of days. And in verse 82, he says, my eyes long for your promise. I ask, when will you comfort me? And he says, for I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, shriveled up, dried out, set aside, apparently useless.

That's his prevailing experience. And he says, it is in that context that I would have perished if your word, if your law, had not been my delight. Elsewhere, you remember the psalmist says, it was good for me to be afflicted. He says, because I was a proud beast.

I was just going on my own way. But it was when affliction came that I realized I needed you. That's true in many a testimony, isn't it? That people have come to the Bible and have come to Jesus, and they've been brought there not actually as a result of some great appeal to that which will be wonderful and satisfying as much as it has been out of a deep sense of alienation and of grief. The reality of God leads, as this verse points, to the security of the believer. And so in the second section, again beginning with forever, he says, forever, I will never forget your precepts. Because the world rests on the Word forever, the believer says to himself, well, if I pay attention to God's Word, then this is the place of my safety. And so look at his declaration, I will never forget your precepts.

I'm going to keep doing this forever and ever. What he's really saying is, in the words of the song we sang, that the Word of God has been light in his darkness and has been hope for his hopelessness. And he has responded to the precepts of God by doing what the precepts call him to do. That is, to cast himself upon God's mercy, to believe in God's promises, the promises which, as an Old Testament believer, eventually found their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We look back to that, he looked forward to that. But the precepts did not save in themselves. The testimony spoke of these things, but they led them to Christ. When we studied the Ten Commandments years ago, one of the things we said was that the law of God is not a ladder up which we climb to gain acceptance with God as if we could, but rather it is, in the first instance, the mirror.

It's a mirror showing us that we are actually in the wrong, that the precepts confront us with these things. And so the psalmist is saying, not, I've been a wonderfully good person and I've kept all your laws, but notice what he says, I'm not going to forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. In other words, his confidence rests in the covenant promise of God. It rests in the grace and redemption that, by heeding the precepts, he has been led to.

The grace of the Redeemer, who brought his people out of Egypt and promises to come and fulfill all of his promises. So you see, when the Ten Commandments take hold of a life, unless we are actually using them as a mechanism to try and make ourselves acceptable to God as a form of duty, we may then, in Christ, enjoy them as a delight. As a delight. So it's delightful.

Well, what's delightful? Well, the first commandment is what? You shall have no other gods before me. Is that number one?

I think it is. So in a world that is full of little gods, the believer in the living God delights to rest in God alone. In a world of idolatry, the believer hates the notion of idolatry. In a world of familial chaos, the believer says, I really am happy to honor my father and my mother. In a world of immorality, the believer says, it is a delight to obey your precepts, they give me life, they keep me on track. In a world of acquisitive materialism, the believer says, it is a delight to me to discover that as I pay attention to your precepts, as the Spirit of God enables me, I'm freed from a covetous heart. That's what he's saying. And that's why it is so wonderfully compelling.

Look at how he goes on. Not only I will never forget your precepts, but I am yours. I am yours. You see, the promise of God from the beginning was, I will be your God, and you will be my people. That's his covenant.

A covenant which finds its fulfillment ultimately in Jesus. Psalm 118, in that lovely little section that we've pointed out to one another before, where the psalmist says, All the nations surrounded me, and in the name of the Lord I cut them off. This is verse 11 of Psalm 118. They surrounded me like bees. They went out like a fire among thorns. In the name of the Lord I cut them off.

And then here we go. I was pushed hard so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

I think many of us can identify with that, can't we? You might want to make a note of it. You might need it before the week is out.

Maybe by Tuesday you'll go looking for it when you're pushed hard and falling. And you're going to say what the psalmist says here, Lord, I am yours. Save me. Save me from myself. Save me from my evil propensities. Save me from going down that broad road that leads to destruction. Keep me on the narrow way. How does God do this?

Not by magic. He does it purposefully. He does it by his word, a word that is fixed in heaven, a word of his faithfulness.

Now we have to finish, so you'll notice he then goes on to say, not only I will never forget your precepts, I am yours, but then he also says, I consider your testimonies. In which context? In the context of the wicked lying in wait to destroy me. You say, that's a very graphic picture.

Well, it is, really. If you look back at verse 85, he says, the insolent have dug pitfalls for me. They don't live according to your law. Now, you know that when you go back out into the community, you're not going to look for a fight. You're not trying to foist something on people. You're just going to live your life.

But if you're prepared to say to somebody in the course of conversation when they start on the weather channel and you say, you know, I'm not really sure about that mother nature thing and nature knows. You know, I was reading my Bible the other day and it actually says that the word of God is fixed in heaven, that he has appointed all things according to his purpose and they serve his will. Your friend says, oh, dear, oh, dear, I'm sorry about you. It's such a shame. What a mess you are.

And then you'll notice that when you got out for coffee and you come back, they're all talking to each other. Oh, you can't believe it. You should have heard what she said. Geez, I thought she was a scientist.

She's an idiot. She said that the thing and so and so. And you come back in and say, oh! What were they doing? They were digging a pit for you. They were conspiring against you.

Now, here's what to do. Take a leaf out of the psalmist's book. The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, I'll get them. The wicked revile me, I'll revile them. No, the wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. In other words, my focus is not on those who seek to undermine me on account of my commitment to you. I'm not going to be preoccupied by that.

I'm not going to retaliate to that. I'm going to trust in your testimonies. And finally, he says, I've actually seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. I have seen a limit to all perfection. Think about it in the world of politics. Think about it in dynasties. Think about it in science. Think about it in mathematical theory. Think about it anywhere you want to think about it, and you will be convinced of what the psalmist says. There is actually a limit to all perfection.

We sang about it. Everything will fade. Everything will fade. The heavens and the earth will pass away. But you will remain.

Yes, you will remain faithful. You see, this is not some arm's length theological exercise. This, I say to you again, embeds itself at every part of our lives. Your commandment is exceedingly broad. It is comprehensive. It covers everything. It takes in the great sweep of humanity, all of our faults and our foibles, all of our longings and fears and so on. It's all covered by your word.

That's really what he's saying. So, that's it. Here we are. It's the first morning in a new place. I'm glad it's over, because now it's not the new place anymore. One more service, and it's like old hat.

And good. I'm good with that. But it doesn't matter where we go. As long as we have life and breath, the eldership of this church, the leadership of this church, is committed to the nurturing of your lives on the basis of the fact that God is really God, that his word is really true, that his faithfulness will extend beyond you and the generations that follow you, that all that happens and unfolds in the world is under his providential rule, and therefore, when your enemies dig a pit for your feet, when you're crushed by your own sense of depression and inadequacy, it is to God's word you look, because in his word he then makes himself known by the Holy Spirit. Luther, when he commented on this, said as follows, I have covenanted with God that he should not send me visions or dreams or even angels. I am content with this one gift of the Scriptures, which abundantly teaches and supplies all that is necessary both for this life and the one which is to come. Do you believe that? Are you going to live in the light of it?

Are you going to tell your children about it and educate them accordingly? Well, some compelling and convicting questions from Alistair Begg on Truth for Life weekend. Alistair returns in just a minute to close with prayer, so please keep listening. Well, today's message is a reminder that the Bible is a book like no other.

It truly is a gift. But understanding how all the stories in Scripture flow together can be confusing. The Bible doesn't always follow a straight-line path, and this can make it a challenge for us to grasp the timing of certain events. That's why we're excited to offer a new book called God's Bible Timeline, the Big Book of Biblical History. This is a colorful, brightly illustrated book that explains biblical history through 18 different timelines. These illustrations make the timelines easy to follow, and the charts and the maps and the pictures will help the story of the Bible come to life for you. God's Bible Timeline is a book that your whole family will enjoy.

You can find out more, even see some sample pages when you go to our website. Visit truthforlife.org. By the way, if you enjoy the convenience of on-demand listening using Amazon's Alexa or the Google Home device, did you know you can use them to hear Truth for Life?

Simply ask Alexa to play Truth for Life, or if you use Google Home, ask Google to listen to the Truth for Life broadcast. It's a great way to hear Alistair on your own schedule. Now here's Alistair to close with prayer. Lord, our confidence is in your Word and in your Son and in your faithfulness. Come, Lord, to our lives as individuals and meet us afresh today, we pray, as we live out in the mainstream of everyday life in an increasingly confused culture and in some cases an antagonistic world. May the love of Jesus fill us as the waters fill the sea, him exalting and self-abasing, because this really is victory. And may we rest in your faithfulness, for we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Bob Lapine. Hope you'll be back next weekend as we begin a series called The Christian Family and learn the goal of a healthy biblical marriage. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.