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Sermon Notes for December 28, 2025

Psalm 119:81-112

The Certain Word in an Uncertain World

Pastor Jim Thomas

The Psalms: Songs of Revelation and Response

Five benefits we gain from studying the Psalms:

1. Stir the emotions
2. Inform the mind
3. Direct the will
4. Shape the imagination
5. Inspire Worship

Psalm 119:

• 176 verses
• 22 stanzas (one for each Hebrew letter)
• 8 lines per stanza
• An acrostic celebration of God’s Word

Kaph; vv. 81-88:

My soul languishes for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
My eyes fail with longing for Your word,
While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?

The arrogant have dug pits for me,
Men who are not in accord with Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful;
They have persecuted me with a lie; help me!
They almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I did not forsake Your precepts.
Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

Lamedh; vv. 89-96:

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.
They stand this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things are Your servants.
If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my affliction.

I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me.
I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked wait for me to destroy me;
I shall diligently consider Your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

Mem; vv. 97-104:

O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.

I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,
For You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.

Nun; vv. 105-112:

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
I have sworn and I will confirm it,
That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.
I am exceedingly afflicted;
Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.
O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, And teach me Your ordinances.

My life is continually in my hand,
Yet I do not forget Your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts.
I have inherited Your testimonies forever,
For they are the joy of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end.

“Christians increasingly live on a spiritual island; new and rival ways of life surround it in all directions and their tides come further up the beach every time.”
C.S. Lewis, Christian Reflections

Although Christianity has not diminished in truth, it has lost much of its cultural influence. As a result, believers are increasingly exposed to rival stories about reality. To navigate these turbulent waters and remain faithful, the church needs three essentials:

1. A biblically informed perspective on reality

2. Dynamic and passionate engagement with the living God

3. Deeper discipleship that develops into broader missional effectiveness

“The word of God is no mere label to attach to a book; it means God speaking.”
Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms

The Certainties of God’s Word Are:

• Comforting – Kaph
• Reviving – Lamedh
• Enlightening – Mem
• Guiding – Nun

“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“But if the biblical story is true, the kind of certainty proper to a human being will be one which rests on the fidelity of God, not upon the competence of the human knower. It will be a kind of certainty which is inseparable from gratitude and trust.”
Lesslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship

“There is a limitless breadth and freedom to the word of God in creating and sustaining the world, such that the one who walks in that word will dwell in a wide place and find the joy of a heart set free.”
Christopher Ash, The Psalms

“The word that directs both the structure of the universe and the processes of history is the same word that preserves and sustains the Lord’s servant. It does not save him out of a world still vexed by scoundrels, but it does save him in it.”
Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms