Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone

[0:00] Well if we could this evening with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read in Hebrews chapter 4.

[0:19] Hebrews chapter 4 and if we take as our text the words of verses 12 and 13. Hebrews 4 and verse 12.

[0:55] I'd like us to begin a study this evening on the five principles of the Reformation.

[1:09] And these five principles, they emerged during the Reformation in the 16th century. And they summarise the theological convictions of the Reformers and they are to us the foundation of Christianity.

[1:25] And the reason I'd like us to consider these five Reformation principles is simply because on the 31st of October of this year, it will mark 500 years since the beginning of the Reformation.

[1:40] Because on the 31st of October 1517, the German reformer Martin Luther, he nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg in Germany.

[1:52] And those 95 theses, they highlighted specific perversions of the truth that were being taught and promoted by a corrupt Roman Catholic church.

[2:04] And as you would expect, when Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door, it sparked debate and controversy. But ultimately, what Luther did, it sparked the start of the Reformation.

[2:18] And so God willing, over the month of October, I'd like us to look at it as Reformation month. Where on the Lord's Day evenings, like tonight, we'll consider these five principles of the Reformation.

[2:29] And then as I mentioned on Wednesday evening, I'd like us to use Wednesday evening, the midweek meetings during the month of October, to consider some of the men who were influential during the Reformation.

[2:42] I'd like us to look at Martin Luther, he was influential, William Tyndale, John Calvin and then John Knox. But you know, we have to see that the intention of the Reformers, it wasn't division.

[2:55] Schism from the Roman Catholic Church wasn't on their agenda. It was only as a last resort. Because the desire of the Reformers was to reform the church from within.

[3:09] Hence the reason why they're called Reformers. The Reformers wanted to reform the church, and they wanted to reform it using these five principles of the Reformation.

[3:20] And of course, these five principles of the Reformation, they became known to us as the Reformation Solas. The Reformation Solas, they were five Latin phrases that portray to us the foundation of biblical Christianity.

[3:36] And the first, which we're considering this evening, is Sola Scriptura. Scripture alone. A principle which emphasizes that the Word of God is our highest authority.

[3:46] Then there is Sola Fide, we'll consider that, God willing, next week. Sola Fide, faith alone. A principle that teaches us that we can only be made righteous with God by faith in Jesus Christ.

[4:00] Then there's Sola Gratia, grace alone. We're saved by the grace of God alone, not by our works. Sola Christos, Christ alone. Jesus is the only saviour of sinners. And he is the king and head of his church.

[4:13] And then last of all, we have Sola Deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone. A principle that reminds us that our chief end in life is to live our lives for the glory of God.

[4:27] So there are the five Reformation Solas, the five principles of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura, scripture alone. Sola Fide, faith alone. Sola Gratia, grace alone.

[4:38] Sola Christos, Christ alone. And Sola Deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone. And so let's consider together this evening the Reformation Principle.

[4:48] Sola Scriptura, scripture alone. And I'd like us just to consider this Reformation Principle under three headings. Three headings with the letter R.

[5:01] Revelation, regulation and renovation. Revelation, regulation and renovation. So look first of all at Revelation.

[5:15] Revelation. Read again at verse 12. What it says there, For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

[5:35] You know, when the writer to the Hebrews draws attention to the nature of God's word, he says that it's unique. Because he says that the word of God is living, it's active, it's sharp, it pierces, it discerns, and it reveals.

[5:51] And you know, in only two verses, these two verses that we're going to look at this evening, in only these two verses, the writer to the Hebrews makes very clear to us that there's no book quite like God's book.

[6:03] There's no word like the word of God. Because the word of God is unique. It's unrivaled. It's incomparable to anything else.

[6:15] As David says, it's perfect. It's perfect. That's what David was saying in Psalm 19. God's law is perfect. It's special.

[6:26] It's God's special revelation. And that's what the word of God is. It's God's special revelation. Because in the Bible, God has revealed himself.

[6:37] He has made himself known to us. And in making himself known to us, he wants to be known. And he wants us to know him. He wants us to have a relationship with him.

[6:50] God wants us to see and know how special he really is. He also wants us to see and know how special we are to him. But you know, what's remarkable is that the Bible is not the only place where God is revealed.

[7:05] This special revelation of God is not the only revelation of God. Because God has not only revealed himself through his word. He's also revealed himself through creation.

[7:16] And we refer to God's revelation of himself in creation. As we mentioned earlier, we call it his general revelation. And that's also what we were singing about at the beginning of Psalm 19.

[7:28] We were singing about God's general revelation. We were singing about the way in which God has made himself known to all of mankind. God has revealed himself generally.

[7:39] But what's interesting about Psalm 19 is that when David considered the vastness of God's creation, he saw it as God's voice to the whole world.

[7:51] Where every morning with a new sunrise and every evening with another sunset just like tonight, God is speaking. God is speaking through the creation of the moon and the vastness of the stars.

[8:02] And David says, Through it all, the heavens, they are declaring the glory of God. And the skies are proclaiming his handiwork. God is continuously speaking to us through his creation.

[8:17] In fact, David says that the creation is a sermon which is being proclaimed to the whole world. In which God, you could say, he is the preacher.

[8:30] And he's preaching about his power and his glory. He's preaching about his majesty and his beauty. And he's preaching it to us through everything we can see around us.

[8:43] And this sermon, it's being preached to us day after day and night after night. And it's being preached to the entire human race. And what's remarkable is that the sermon of God's creation, it's the longest sermon ever preached.

[8:58] Because the sermon, God's sermon of creation, it began way back at the beginning when God spoke into the darkness and said, Let there be light. And from that moment, the heavens, they began to declare the glory of God.

[9:12] And the skies began to proclaim his handiwork. And, you know, we are the audience of his sermon. And the content of this sermon that God is preaching to us is everything we see around us.

[9:38] From the brightness of the sun, to the shining of the moon, to the vastness of the stars, to the shape and the formation of all the hills, to the flow of all the rivers, to the power of the seas in a storm, to all the different species of animals, mammals, birds, insects, right down to the crying of a little baby in our arms.

[9:56] David says, through it all, God is speaking to us. God is speaking to us. God is revealing himself to us. And God is proclaiming his glory and his power to us.

[10:10] And the wonder of this proclamation is that it's so loud that a spiritually deaf person can hear it. And it's so beautiful that a spiritually blind person can see it.

[10:21] My friend, the creation is the longest sermon ever preached. And it's preached day after day to us and night after night. And this sermon, it's not only preached and proclaimed until the end of time.

[10:35] It's preached and proclaimed in every location all over the world. David says there is no speech nor language to where God's voice cannot be heard or understood.

[10:45] Because this creation is speaking to every nation, every language, every tribe, every tongue. No one is exempt from God's general revelation. And because no one is exempt, we are without excuse.

[11:01] There's no excuse for not worshipping God as our creator. There's no excuse for not acknowledging that there is a God who stands behind all this creative order. Because the creation itself, it reminds us that our worship belongs to the God who made it all.

[11:18] My friend, because God has made himself known to everyone everywhere. Everyone everywhere is without excuse. And that's what the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans chapter 1.

[11:31] He says, And so my friend, no one has the excuse on the day of judgment to say that they didn't know that there is a God.

[11:52] Because God has made himself known. He has revealed himself to us since the beginning of time. And in making himself known, God desires that we would know him.

[12:05] He wants us to know him. But in order to know God more personally and more intimately, in order for us to have a relationship with God, he has given to us this special revelation.

[12:21] We've been given the word of God so that we will know how to have a relationship with God. Because the truth is, if we didn't have the Bible, if we didn't have God's special revelation of himself, then we wouldn't know how to have a relationship with him.

[12:40] We wouldn't know how to fulfil our chief end. Because, as we mentioned this morning and this week, we know ourselves. The first catechism, man's chief end. The reason we have been created.

[12:52] Our purpose in life, it's to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. But because of our sinful nature and our natural inclination towards sin and towards self and towards idolatry, you know, we would never seek God or enjoy him by our own initiative.

[13:12] Without God ever making it known to us, we would never think that we have been created to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. And without God revealing it to us, we would never know how to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

[13:29] With our fallen sinful nature, we couldn't possibly know it for ourselves. We needed God to make himself known. And that's what he did.

[13:40] He has made himself known to us. He has revealed himself. He gave to us his special revelation. The special revelation of himself in the Bible. The word of God.

[13:53] And you know, that's why question two in the shorter catechism, it follows on very closely to question one. Question two asks, what rule has God given to direct us on how we may glorify and enjoy him?

[14:05] And the answer the catechism emphasizes is that the only way we can know how to glorify and enjoy God, the only way we can know how to have a relationship with God is through his word.

[14:20] The catechism says the word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, it's the only rule to direct us on how we may glorify God and enjoy him.

[14:31] And you know, the wonder of God's special revelation is that God not only reveals to us who he is. In the Bible, God also reveals to us who we are.

[14:48] Because he reveals to us that as our creator, he created us perfectly. We see that in Genesis 1 and 2. But God also reveals to us in this special revelation that as our redeemer, we are now in ruin because of our sin.

[15:06] Genesis 3. We are in ruin because of our sin. And we need a remedy in the form of our redeemer. We need the word of God to be revealed to us in Persian.

[15:20] And you know, when you read through the Bible and you come to John's gospel, John tells us in his account of Jesus Christ, he says that Jesus, he is the word of God.

[15:30] He is the special revelation of God. He is the only begotten of the Father. He is the one who became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the special revelation of God in Persian.

[15:44] And that was John Calvin, one of the other reformers. He said, Jesus, the incarnate word cannot be separated from the written word. The Bible is part of his coming into the world.

[15:59] Jesus comes clothed with his gospel. If you want to hear the voice of Jesus, read the Bible. Because Jesus is the word of God.

[16:10] Jesus is God's special revelation. And every time we hear that special revelation being read or sung or preached, Jesus is speaking to us.

[16:23] And Jesus, he's calling us to come to him and enjoy a relationship with God through him. My friend, every time we hear God's word being read or sung or preached, Jesus is speaking to us.

[16:40] But if Jesus is speaking to us, it begs the question, are we listening to what he's saying? Are we listening to the voice of Jesus?

[16:54] Are we listening to God's special revelation? But you know, if scripture is God's special revelation and it's the only rule to direct us, then that scripture must also exercise a large amount of regulation.

[17:09] And that's what I'd like us to consider secondly. Because we see that scripture alone is God's revelation. But secondly, we see that scripture is God's way of regulation. Regulation.

[17:23] Read these verses again. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

[17:37] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. As we said earlier, God's special revelation has not only revealed to us who God is, it has also revealed to us who we are.

[17:57] And that's what these verses in the letter to the Hebrews emphasize to us. They emphasize that the word of God, it pierces us, and it discerns us, and it even uncovers us.

[18:11] And is that not often the case when you read your Bible? You go to read your Bible, but more often than not, it's the Bible that's reading you. And the Bible is speaking to you.

[18:24] The Bible is piercing you, and the Bible is discerning you, and the Bible is uncovering you, and the Bible is challenging you. It's not you reading the Bible, it's actually the Bible reading you. And the more you read the Bible, the more you realize that this Bible knows me better than I know myself.

[18:44] And because this Bible knows our heart better than we know our own heart, this Bible has to be our supreme authority. Because we can't trust our own heart to direct us.

[18:58] We can't trust the opinions of others to show us the way. We can't trust tradition to lead us. We can't even trust dreams and visions to direct us and guide us.

[19:09] We can only trust the special revelation of God to be the regulator in our lives. And you know, that's where the Roman Catholic Church went wrong.

[19:20] They sought direction and guidance and leading from church traditions and church councils and from the word of the Pope. And what's sad is that they placed, and they still place, all these opinions of men far above the authority of Scripture.

[19:37] They put the revelation of men above the revelation of God. And that's what the reformers took exception to. In fact, when Martin Luther was being interrogated by the Roman Catholic Church in the Diet of Worms in 1521, he declared to them that he would not recant his 95 Theses because his conscience was captive to the word of God.

[20:05] And Luther said to the church council in front of all of them, he said, Luther put the revelation of God above the revelation of man.

[20:37] And that's the way it should be. And that was also the same that was true for the Scottish reformers. The Scottish reformers, many years later, about 40 years later, they were writing the Scots Confession in 1560 under the leadership of John Knox.

[20:58] And they were holding to the same principle, the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, scripture alone. And if you read the Scots Confession, if you get a hold of one of them, in the preface to the Scots Confession, the Scottish reformers, they inserted this plea to all who would read their doctrinal statement, which they had written.

[21:18] And they said, they say in the preface to the Confession, they say if any chapter or any sentence within the Confession is contrary to God's word, they're to let them know.

[21:32] And the reformers promised that whatever doctrine was questioned or whatever sentence that they had written was said to be unscriptural, they would either take it out or show them from the Bible that the doctrine was scriptural after all.

[21:48] And the plea in the Scots Confession, it was to emphasize that they didn't take their role lightly and that they had such a high view of God's word that everything in the Confession of Faith had to conform to scripture.

[22:03] Because the Scottish reformers knew that scripture was the basis for all their doctrine. And everything that they had, it was to be measured in light of God's word. All their theology, all their teaching, all their preaching, how they worshipped, it had to be regulated by God's word.

[22:20] Because for them and for us, the word of God was to be the only rule to direct them. And so my friend, scripture alone must be the ultimate authority for our faith and for our practice.

[22:36] Scripture alone is to be our standard. And everything else in our lives and everything else we do is to be subject to that standard.

[22:48] And you know, that's why we often call the Bible the canon of scripture. We call it the canon, the Bible is the canon of scripture. It's a closed canon. And we call it the canon because the word, well, the Greek word for canon is the word read.

[23:04] And a read was a measuring line. It was used to measure things. And so the canon of scripture, in that sense, it's to be used to measure everything against it.

[23:16] The canon of scripture is to be our measuring line. It's to be a regulator. Everything we do is to be regulated by scripture. Because scripture alone is to be the benchmark.

[23:27] Scripture alone is the standard. Scripture alone is the measuring line. And we're to measure everything we hear and everything we read and everything that we do, we're to measure it against scripture alone.

[23:41] Because scripture alone is to be the judge of all our opinions. Scripture alone is to lead us in all our experience. Scripture alone is to teach us all our doctrine. My friend, all our opinions, they must conform to the book.

[23:55] All our doctrine must conform to the book. All our experience must conform to the book. The way we govern church must conform to the book. The way we worship must conform to the book.

[24:06] And even the way we live our lives, it must conform to the book. Scripture alone is our standard. It is to be our final authority.

[24:18] Not tradition. Not our opinions. Not what we want. Not what we think is right. Not what the minister thinks. Not what the elders say. No, it's scripture alone.

[24:29] Scripture alone. My friend, the Bible that we are to read and the Bible that is to read us, it must be this infallible, inerrant and inspired word of God.

[24:43] We're not to read any other Bible. And we're not to have any other Bible read us. And you know, we're certainly not to read the Bible like Thomas Jefferson did.

[24:56] Do you know Thomas Jefferson, he was the third president of the United States. But he was also one of the most famous men who resisted the truth of scripture.

[25:07] In fact, Thomas Jefferson thought that the Bible was full of error. He didn't believe in the miracles of Jesus. He didn't believe in the virgin birth or the resurrection or the ascension of Jesus. He didn't believe in a literal heaven or hell.

[25:20] He thought that Jesus was nothing more than a good man with a good philosophy for life. And because of this, Thomas Jefferson took his razor and he cut the parts of the Bible that he liked.

[25:33] And he took it out and he stuck it into a notebook. And he just left behind all the bits that he didn't like. And Thomas Jefferson's work of this cut and paste Bible, it was published.

[25:46] It's called the Jefferson Bible. But you know, the reality is, many of us can act like Thomas Jefferson without ever taking a razor to the pages of scripture.

[25:58] Because we can ignore the parts of the Bible that we think are maybe no longer relevant and not fit for a 21st century Christian. We can think that what was true in the past, it's not so true anymore.

[26:11] We can think that we can maybe pull things out and put things in and focus on parts that we like and ignore the bits that we don't really like or we don't want to be told about.

[26:22] But in the end, we're just reading our Bible like Thomas Jefferson. And if we read our Bible like Thomas Jefferson, our Bible will never read us the way it's meant to.

[26:33] My friend, if we read God's special revelation without any regulation, then it will never have the effect of renovation.

[26:48] And that's what I'd like us to consider lastly. We've seen scripture alone is God's revelation. We've seen that scripture alone is to be God's way of regulation. But last of all, I want us to see that scripture alone is God's method of renovation.

[27:04] It's God's method of renovation. We were told here in these verses, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

[27:22] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. And you know, if we were to read verse 12 in its original language, we would see that the first word in that verse is the word living.

[27:40] Verse 12 would read living, the word of God. Living the word of God active. And it's written like this because the writer to the Hebrews, he wanted to stress to his readers that God's word is not dead.

[27:56] It's alive. And it's not simply a word that records the events of the past. It's not this historical document. It's not like a historical book that just records what happened about Jesus and the children of Israel.

[28:08] It's not a word for yesterday, he's saying. It's a word for today. And in this passage, as we read, the word today is crucial.

[28:20] Because in this passage, the writer to the Hebrews, as we've read, he's warning against unbelief. He says in verse 13 of, verse 12 of chapter 3, Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God.

[28:39] And he's stressing to us in this passage the importance of listening to God's word and responding in faith. But in order to emphasize the urgency of this warning, the writer to the Hebrews, he draws attention to the Bible's use of the word today.

[28:57] And quoting the words of Psalm 95, twice, in chapter 3 and in chapter 4, he writes, Today if you hear my voice, or hear his voice, do not harden your heart.

[29:11] Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. And by then saying that the word of God is living, he's stressing that God is speaking to us today.

[29:23] He's not speaking to us yesterday. God is speaking to us through his living word today, tonight, now. And he's saying if we hear his voice, we're not to harden our heart.

[29:39] Because God's word, God's voice to us, it's not only living, he says it's also active. When God is speaking to us, he's working in us.

[29:51] He's working. It's having an effect upon us. And you know, that's what the writer to the Hebrews is stressing to us. That when we read God's word, it's not only reading us, it's also renovating us.

[30:05] It's also renovating us. It's changing us and transforming us. If we're putting our trust in Jesus. Because when God's word comes to us, it comes to broken people with broken lives.

[30:23] And yet, when it comes to us, its purpose is not only to read us, but also to renovate us. My friend, as we listen to God's word being read, or sung, or preached, God is actively working in our lives to renovate us and to conform us to the image of God's son.

[30:42] And this is what's so beautiful about what's been sent here. That because the word of God is living and active, God is always piercing us. And God is always exposing us.

[30:56] But as we know, and as we've come to discover, God actively works in our lives for our good. Because when the Lord wounds us with his word, he does so in order to heal us.

[31:11] And that's the illustration that's been used here in verse 12. The word of God, it's described as sharper than a two-edged or a double-edged sword. But when we think of a sword, we think of a soldier.

[31:25] And a soldier can do a lot of damage and cause a lot of harm with a sword. But if you'll allow me to modernise the illustration and say that when we think of the word of God, well, we should not only view it as the soldier with a sword, but view it as a surgeon with a scalpel.

[31:47] See this word as a surgeon with a scalpel. Because the thing about a surgeon with a scalpel is that the surgeon, he cuts with precision. He knows where to cut.

[31:59] He knows how deep to cut. He knows at what angle to cut. All because he knows what he's looking for. And of course, no one likes undergoing surgery.

[32:10] But everyone knows that when there is a problem, surgery is necessary for healing. And you know, that's what God is like with his word.

[32:22] He's like a surgeon with a scalpel piercing to the division of soul and spirit. And his cut, it's with such precision that he's able to get right between the joints and the marrow.

[32:37] He's able to penetrate deep into the thoughts and intentions of our heart. He's able to get right into the recesses of our heart that nobody else knows about.

[32:49] But we have to see that his purpose of wounding us, it's not to harm us, but to heal us. And if we trust the great physician with our life, then we will let him work in our heart.

[33:06] If we trust the great physician, we will let him work. And we will respond to his work. In our heart. My friend, we're not to resist the living and active work of the great physician because he's in the business of renovation.

[33:23] He's in the business of shaping our lives and conforming our lives into the image of Jesus. And you know, with the scalpel of God's word in his hand, the Lord is able to do anything.

[33:38] There's the amazing thing about it. The Lord is able to do anything. And David reminded us of that in Psalm 19. He said in Psalm 19 about God's special revelation, he said, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

[33:53] The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

[34:04] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous all together. In other words, David was saying that the word of God is sufficient.

[34:14] It's sufficient to bring about renovation and transformation in our lives. It's sufficient, as David said, to convert the soul.

[34:26] It's sufficient to make wise the simple. It's sufficient to rejoice the heart. It's sufficient to enlighten the eyes, to endure forever and to be altogether righteous.

[34:37] The word of God, he's saying, it's living and it's active and it's sufficient to bring about renovation and transformation in our lives. It's able to do it if we hear God's voice and listen to him and do not harden our heart to it.

[35:02] And you know, that's why Paul said to young Timothy, I always take encouragement by what Paul says to young Timothy. Paul said to young Timothy as a preacher of God's word, he reminded him, all scripture, it has been given by inspiration of God and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness.

[35:27] Why? That the man of God may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work. And because God's word, he said, is able to bring about renovation and transformation in our lives.

[35:41] Paul went on to say to young Timothy, preach the word. Preach God's word, he says, and be ready with it in season and out of season. And use it, he says, use God's word to convince people, to rebuke people, to exhort people, and you're to do it with all long-suffering and with teaching.

[36:03] my friend, God is speaking to us tonight through his word and we are to respond to what he's saying because his desire is for renovation.

[36:19] His desire is to make us more like Jesus. And you know, we are to adopt this reformation principle of sola scriptura in our lives because scripture alone, it's God's revelation.

[36:34] God has made himself known to us. Scripture alone is God's regulation. He wants us to live our lives for his glory. And scripture alone is God's method of renovation.

[36:47] He wants to make us like Jesus as we listen to his voice day after day. But maybe you're asking tonight, how do I know that God's word is living and active in my life?

[37:04] Well, we know that God does all things according to the scriptures. That's what Paul said about the death of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15. He says that Jesus died according to the scriptures.

[37:15] He was buried according to the scriptures. He rose again according to the scriptures. God does all things according to the scripture. Because it's his revelation.

[37:28] And that means the scriptures can be trusted. God's word can be trusted. And if God's word can be trusted, then every exhortation to seek the Lord, every plea to come to Christ for forgiveness, every promise of his presence, every assurance of his comfort, every word of hope, for the future.

[37:54] It's all there written in God's word. And it can be trusted. And because it's written in God's word, and every time you open the Bible, God is speaking.

[38:08] You have to see that God has written his word and that God is speaking to you personally. He's speaking to you personally.

[38:20] personally. Every time you hear it, he's speaking to you personally. There was the evangelist Billy Graham who once said that the Bible is God's love letter to us.

[38:33] Because God has made himself known to us in love. He's revealed himself to us because he loves us. And he has made himself known so that we can know him and respond to him in love.

[38:51] How do you know that God is speaking to you? His word can be trusted. He's speaking to you personally. And so what are we to do?

[39:03] We are to take God at his word. And we are to live according to that word by faith. So my friend, take God at his word and respond in faith to what he's saying to you.

[39:23] Because as the psalmist says, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart but respond in faith.

[39:37] So sola scriptura scripture alone. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to thee this evening for thy word.

[39:53] That it is the revelation of thyself and that it is the revelation to us of thy son Jesus. And that each and every one of us in here this evening that we would be enabled to see the beauty of Jesus in thy word.

[40:08] That we would see him in all his glory and in all his beauty. That he is the son of man who came to seek and to save the lost. And that Lord as he speaks to us through his word this evening, O that we would not harden our heart to it but that we would be able to confess that my beloved is mine and I am his.

[40:30] That we would close in with Jesus not hardening our heart any longer but confessing that without thee I can do nothing. But with thee I know that all things are possible.

[40:42] Bless thy truth to us then we pray. May it truly speak to us and find and find lodgment in our heart. Go before us in the week that lies ahead or a week that is unknown to us and we see it so often that things in our life that they take the unexpected turns but help us to trust the God who speaks to us day by day in his word assuring us of his presence that he will never leave us and that he will never forsake us.

[41:10] Cleanse us then we pray and go before us for we ask it in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing the words of Psalm 119.

[41:27] Psalm 119 we're singing from the beginning down to the verse marked 6. Psalm 119 that's page 399 and I'm sure I've mentioned this before that Psalm 119 it's a psalm which is all about God's word.

[41:52] The psalmist mentions God's word in almost every verse because he has a high view of scripture and he sees that God's word is relevant for every area of our lives.

[42:04] This is how he begins his psalm. He says blessed are they that undefiled and straight are in the way who in the Lord's most holy law do walk and do not stray. Blessed are they who to observe his statutes are inclined and who do seek the living God with their whole heart and mind.

[42:23] We'll sing down to the verse marked 6 of Psalm 119 to God's word. God's praise. Amen. Blessed are they that undefiled and straight are in the way who in the Lord's most holy law to walk and do not stay.

[42:59] Blessed are they who do observe His statutes are inclined and good to see the living flock with level heart and mind.

[43:27] I did his wish to walk and live through no iniquity.

[43:42] Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy presence carefully.

[43:53] O that Thy statutes to observe The wounds my wish die had, then shall I not be shamed when I thy presence all respect.

[44:25] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.