The Supremacy of God’s Word

Berean Baptist on January 1, 2018

Psalm 119

 

The 119th Psalm which is rightly called “The Ode to the Word.” Here are 176 verses of the psalmist’s praise for the Holy Scriptures which are the source of life for the Christian. Peter said we are born again by the Word of God, which shows the indispensable nature of God’s perfect revelation. The Holy Spirit uses the truth to speak to the heart and with the Word He regenerates to make us new creatures in Christ.

Upon conversion, the Word does not stop its powerful influences. It also sanctifies us (John 17:17) which means it perfects us in the holiness of God. Throughout our Christian lives, we can never depart from its usefulness for without it we have no means to discover how we can be pleasing to God. The Word declares Christ who is the Son of God, and is the model of God’s expectation for every son of God. It is the revelation of precepts by which we are given understanding of all false ways (119:104).

All roads to successful, victorious Christian living run through the scriptures. There we find all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). The psalmist makes this same point repeatedly. Each section begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet which is God’s way of showing us His word is A-Z of divine revelation. Everything that can be said in English must be said with 26 letters from A-Z. Our Bible is God’s complete revelation so that everything God has to say to the human race is contained in these 66 books we call the canon of scripture. There are no other revelations that will be given. There is no outside source that will discover to us anything more God wants us to know. Paul wrote that scripture is able to furnish unto all good works, so there is no area that needs further elucidation to increase our understanding of Him and make the servant of God complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Bible’s internal claim holds great significance. It at once dismisses the doctrines of cults that are claimed authoritative by their extraneous revelations. When groups like the Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses knock on your door with a claim they have another testament, another communication from God, you can dismiss them at once without further investigation. They are deemed deceivers by this criterion alone. Likewise, those who seem to be more orthodox can be turned away. Pentecostals must be rejected because they seek more revelation through tongues, dreams, and visions. Roman Catholicism must be rejected because the traditions of their church are claimed to be as authoritative as scripture. One thing is abundantly clear about this psalm—the psalmist has no patience for anything considered more valuable than scripture. He finds in it all he needs.

As I write this article, there is a knock at my door. The Jehovah Witnesses are peddling their literature. To them I say verse 29: “Remove from me the way of lying.” I say to them verse 95: “The wicked have waited for me to destroy me.” I say to them verse 115: “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.” And finally I say verses 118 and 119: “Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.”

I advise you to love the Holy Bible as the psalmist loved it. Feast on it every day. It has the power to change you and make you righteous. Let nothing come between you and the Word. To do so is to let something come between you and God.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Wickedness in High Places

Berean Baptist on September 26, 2016

Psalm 58 is another of the psalms in which David had difficult dealings with Saul. In this case, his anger is kindled against the leaders in Israel who either stood by silently or agreed with Saul when David was wrongfully accused. The idea in the psalm is that judgment had been perverted and these leaders had turned their backs on their responsibility as judges to uphold truth. They were dishonest and deceitful in their dealings.

This, of course, is not at all uncommon in the hierarchy of government. Who among us is not often angry at the inequities of our rulers? It is a sad commentary on American politics when the Congress of the United States regularly hovers around less than 20% approval ratings. Most believe Congress is a band of thieves that are more concerned about their job security and their pocketbooks than they are about the constituents they serve. Whatever it takes to get elected, they will do. If this means perverting justice, so be it.

In the third verse, David reveals the source of the corruption. “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” The source is natural depravity. We come into the world with a sinful nature, and we speak lies with the first breath we take. It is no wonder politicians have perfected the art of lying—they’ve had all their lives to practice! Some have stated the depravity of politicians this way: Question, “How do you know a politician is lying?” Answer, “He opens his mouth.” This is an old joke, but it is certainly biblical. However, this truth is not confined to politicians. All of us are this way. We all have inherent sinful corruption, which is the reason we so desperately need a Saviour. The person who is wicked from the womb has also perfected the art of sin as he daily rehearses his art form.

Yet out of this abject sinfulness of our nature, and our will, and our practice, we are told sinners can elevate themselves and they can do better. The lies of the toothy grinned preacher who teaches such things is no better than the lies of the politician with all his broken promises.

Man is a woefully depraved creature who must be handled by God. The righteous Judge will always deal righteously, so He will remove these sinners from their haughty perches and bring them before His own tribunal. There, perfect justice is served. Verse 10 is strikingly vindictive in its assessment of this: “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.” This does not sound much like the “Christian” attitude of love and tolerance. Accordingly, we must remember that in the present time we are not to rejoice in the eternal punishment of the wicked. However, when the Lord comes in glory, we will see the perfect justice of God at work and regard His judgment against the reprobate as a merciful act towards His own people.

There are many that disagree with David’s call for justice. People who sympathize with criminals more than with their victims really have a problem with this. They are freakishly concerned that a criminal must not suffer one ounce of pain in his execution rather than commiserating with a victim that may have been cruelly tortured. This is the world turned upside down according to godly justice. As one commentator stated, “It is sickly sentimentality and a wicked weakness that has more sympathy with the corrupt oppressors than with the anger of God.”

The real issue here is weak Christianity, or absent Christianity, that does not understand the exalted holiness of God in contradistinction to the utterly debased condition of man. I think David had it right. The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart, and he certainly had his finger on God’s pulse in this matter.

Pastor V. Mark Smith