The Psalms in Sermons

The Psalmists lived in a difficult and alien world of religious skepticism. Society was profane. There were lots of prevailing dangers, due to certain wicked people who lived in wait to oppress or destroy others. Our society today is not too different from the days of the Psalmists.

Those of us who will do anything purposeful in our Christian faith must first make it a serious and deliberate choice, as David did. He resolved to observe and keep God's law with his whole heart. He was determined to teach and keep His statutes to the end, steadfastly. He was prepared not merely to walk, but to run in the path of God's commandments willingly, believing that his heart or soul would be ultimately free (Psalm 119:32-34).

Happy is the man who will choose the way of truth -- the way of serious godliness which is indeed the way of divine truth. It is a choice that is founded on the principles of truth, which are the only ways to happiness. Christians must choose to walk on this path, not because we know no other way, but because we know no better way. There is no other good or safer way on earth.

God's Word is the lamp to our feet which shines light to our paths (Psalm 119: 105). When darkness settles down all around us, the Word of the Lord serves as a flaming torch; it reveals the true, correct and better way to life everlasting. We can see and also experience the real picture or nature of our divine paths through this dark world. The Scriptures will teach us how to identify God's way and how to walk in it. Happy is the man who personally appropriates God's Word, and judiciously uses it as his comfort and counselor, a real lamp to his own feet. David guided his own steps by it and saw the difficulties of his road by the beams of God's light.

Those who are still walking outside of Christ are treading on different and dangerous paths of indecision about the ultimate truth. These paths of ignorance, pain, suspense and discomfort on earth will ultimately lead to eternal remorse.

Those who have chosen the way of truth should have a constant regard for the Word of God and His will. They should adhere to it faithfully as an unshaken resolution. They should be stuck to it at all times, through all trials.

We should be steady Christians because we are not Christians by chance. We should fervently pray to be acceptable in God's eyes, so that we can faithfully run in the way of His commands.

The more He gives us protection, success and comfort, the more He expects us to be duty conscious and diligent. Those who are bound for heaven should make haste to redeem the time. They should take the pain to go about their business with divine wisdom, carefulness and with cheerfulness. They should carry out their duties with readiness, steadfastness and pleasant attitudes. They must lay aside every weight in order to bear testimony to the truth. They should indeed throwaway every unnecessary encumbrance of sin to disentangle themselves. Then they will be able to run with extraordinary zeal, confidence, patience and endurance, to complete the race set before them (Hebrews 12:1-2).

We must depend on God to overcome and excel. By so doing, He will enlarge our hearts and minds with wit and divine wisdom. God gave such to Solomon exceptionally. He gave him much understanding and breadth of mind like the sand of the seashore. His wisdom out-excelled the wisdom of all the people of the east and the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol, because he sought God (1 Kings 4:29-31 ). His wisdom was more than his glory and his wealth. This is called largeness of heart, for the heart is often fit for the spiritual and intellectual powers.

Solomon had a gift of knowledge and utterance from God. This wisdom could not be compared with that of Chaldea and Egypt, the nations that were famous for learning. Solomon was greater in scholarship over and above the Greek scholars of his day. He applied his wisdom well because he was in tune with God. The fruits of his wisdom were peace, security and prosperity for his nation. Our countries have the potential of becoming ideal role models --what a nation can become --if its citizens are united in faith and obedience to God.

The Lord will establish and expand His agape love in our hearts. He will put gladness and happiness in us that words cannot explain. The joy of God will transcend our fears and frustrations in times of sorrow. We will be encouraged to continue to keep His statutes to the end. We will endeavor in our struggles to keep His law through the enablement of the Holy Spirit, with all our hearts and with spiritual might. God Himself will be our teacher, like in the day of old, when He instructed His prophets, wise men, priests, etc. We should strive to ask for His divine counsel --because none teaches like Him (Job 34:22).

We need unique lessons from God, such as how to teach or apply the Scriptures to our multifarious situations. We must pray for divine knowledge to govern our very lives. Sometimes we miss our paths or lose the way of our duties. We find ourselves in doubtful and critical circumstances because of straying away. We indeed need the necessary intellectual powers and spiritual faculties to comprehend God's teachings.

The Psalmists had an earnest desire to make God's law the governing principle of their conduct. The Torah was their Old Testament law in its widest sense. They sought divine revelations through it as it helped to guide their lives. In addition, God used His prophets as instruments to exhort the people. The term "Torah" simply means "teaching" or "revelations", derived from the content of the Law of Moses and God's Spirit. It can be referred to as Pentateuch. It contains particular precepts or instructions of God for His responsible overseers or shepherds. These are people who attended to the things of God. Israel was to engrave or inscribe God's law on their foreheads or door posts, as Moses put it:

Now this is the instruction, the laws, and the precepts which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you that you might do them in the land to which you go to possess. ...Fear the Lord your God, you and your son, and your son's son, and keep all the statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life and that your days may be prolonged. (Deuteronomy 6: 1-2)

There can be indeed liberty in obeying God's precepts in the largeness of mind, as we encounter great visions and use the wisdom of God. When we find ourselves in threatening situations, Scripture and the Spirit of God occupies our potentialities, not necessarily to escape from the problems, but sometimes to face the plots of men with divine courage. These were the experiences and expressions of the Psalmists.

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