I will never forget thy precepts. (Quality: Very good)

[0:00] As the Lord may help, I will again direct your attention to the 119th Psalm, verses 92 and 93.

[0:12] Psalm 119, verses 92 and 93. Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

[0:27] I will never forget thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me. Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

[0:45] I will never forget thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me. Our morning discourse was confined to the 92nd verse.

[1:01] We shall not go over this verse again, but with the help of God come directly to the 93rd verse. I will never forget thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me.

[1:21] What a statement the psalmist makes here. I shall never forget thy precepts. If this is to be true, it means that the precepts of the Lord had been brought into his soul in such circumstances that caused an indelible imprint to be fixed in his heart, in his mind, in his memory.

[1:55] Now, can we, on our part, say, I will never forget thy precepts?

[2:09] Passages from the Word of God that have guided our ways, that have instructed us in the way that we should go.

[2:23] We find in the 28th chapter of Isaiah that the leadings of God's people are a little by little.

[2:41] Not all at once, but we are continually receiving instruction. Who shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make it to understand doctrine?

[2:56] Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, and there a little.

[3:20] And then, we read this, that the word of the Lord was unto them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, of instruction, here a little, and there a little, of helps, by the way, that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

[3:58] Now, there's a great deal in the description, of the pathway, of God's children here. It is not always going forward, although we would like to think so.

[4:16] But sometimes, there is a falling backward, and sometimes, there is a being broken, and sometimes, there is a being ensnared, and sometimes, there is a being, a being taken, taken captive.

[4:36] But, it is all to be discovered, in the precept upon precept, the line upon line, the here a little, and there a little.

[4:48] In recalling, evidently, the past, the psalmist here says, I will never forget, thy precepts.

[5:05] With memories like ours, of which we may, sometimes echo, the words of the hymn, my memory bad, but what is sad, can't folly still pertain, yet the psalmist says, I, will never forget, thy precepts.

[5:31] Now, with the help of God, we may look at, a few of these precepts, which might have come, into our lives, that, are never to be forgotten, on occasions.

[5:53] Solemn, are the precepts, of God, they are, such, declarations of truth, that affect our ways.

[6:06] if we consider, the statutes of the Lord, then, we may regard those, as laws, which, are set, by way, of which, we may, have revealed to us, wrongdoing.

[6:32] but, the precepts, we would look at, has affecting, our lives.

[6:46] Shall we then, be in a position, this evening, to say, I shall never forget, thy precepts, which have affected, my life. I shall never forget, the word of the Lord, which has affected, my life.

[7:07] A passage, of the scripture, which has affected, the lives of some, is this, the soul, that sineth, it shall die. it's not in the statute book, it's a precept, a declaration of truth, a warning, what an effect, it has had upon some.

[7:35] And upon those, that it has had an effect, such will certainly say, I shall never forget, that precept. because, it showed to me, my present danger, it warned me, of the, of eternity.

[7:57] Yea, it warned me, of impending doom. It warned me, that if I carried on, as I was doing, and going, the end would be, utter destruction.

[8:13] Oh, I shall never, forget, that precept, that brought me, to a halt, that stopped me, in my course, that caused me, to cry unto God.

[8:29] A still, small voice, spoke to Elijah, what doest thou here? I shall never, forget thy precept.

[8:40] That spoke to me, in such simple terms, words, what doest thou here? You know, Elijah, on that occasion, he said, I'm jealous, I'm jealous, for the Lord's honour.

[9:01] But, all his jealousy, did not, persuade God, to say, Elijah, you're in your right place. The Lord, spoke to Elijah, and told him, what to do, and, where he should go.

[9:26] And indeed, he went. You see, he has fled, so strong, the day before, when he stood upon, Mount Carmel, and said, if, if the Lord be God, let him be God, why hark, she between, between, her two opinions.

[9:50] But, at the voice, of Jezebel, where she threatened, to make him, as one of the prophets, of Baal, he realised, that he was, no better, than his fathers.

[10:05] He couldn't, throw a stone. He was, as weak as water. What he was, he was, by the grace of God. And so, he came, to this cave, and lodged there, and behold, the word of the Lord, came unto him, and he said unto him, what doest thou here, Elijah?

[10:30] He said, I have been very jealous, for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel, have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, slain thy prophets, with a sword, and I, even I only, have left, and they seek my life, to take it, away.

[10:55] Surely, Elijah, never forgot the occasion, when, this, precept, the word from the Lord, came to him, what doest thou here?

[11:09] And his strong inference, was that you shouldn't be here. And he said, go forth, and stand upon the mount, before the Lord, and behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind, rent the mountains, and break in pieces, the rocks, before the Lord, but the Lord, was not in the wind, and after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord, was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord, was not in the fire, and after the fire, a still small voice, the effect, of certain things, may, indeed, pass away, such things, as here, terrible as they were, at the time, yet, over a period, they lose, their intensity, but, the still small voice, entered into his heart, the strong wind, the, earthquake, and the fire, did not enter, into his heart, they were, elements, moving round about, circumstances, that might fill us, with fear, and we might, indeed, recollect, such occasions, but, there was a, still small voice, and that was, a precept, that Elijah, would never forget, what doest thou here,

[13:00] Elijah, Elijah, thought his work, was finished, he thought he'd come, to the end, of all things, why did God, say unto him, what doest thou here, because, there was further work, for Elijah to do, and the Lord, said unto him, go, return on thy way, to the wilderness, of Damascus, and when thou comest, anoint Hazael, to be king over Syria, and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint, to be king over Israel, and Elijah, the son of Shapheth, of Abel, Meholah, shalt thou anoint, to be prophet, in thy stead, I shall never forget, thy precepts, we might well say, in connection, with Elijah, have we been at a point, where, we were ready, to give up, where we were ready, to say, let me die, let me die, the pressures, are too great, the situation, is too severe,

[14:10] I can stand no more, and God says, what doest thou here, there's work, still to be done, and Elijah, was compelled, to return, I shall never forget, thy precepts, can we find, something in our own lives, along these lines, I remember, an occasion, in my life, when, I was driven, to distraction, and so powerful, were the temptations, of Satan, that, his whispering, in my ear, was just about this, you couldn't be worse, in hell, if you were there, and, since it was said, to me, on a few occasions,

[15:13] I began to believe it, and what a turmoil, arose, in my heart, how much distress, earthquakes, fire, the wind, rending the rocks, in pieces, seemed to be, falling round, about me, and as this continued, during that day, so, I was led, to a certain place, where I knew, that under general, circumstances, there was much traffic, and I could, easily have just, walked along the road, and across the road, and that would be the end, being rushed, to the pit of despair, nearby, and almost, this, I proceeded to do, and having got, part way, across the road, and nothing, had knocked me down, I began to wonder, and looking both ways, to my astonishment, there was no traffic, on either side, the yards apart, what an escape, but, could I say, that that was, a precept, there was certainly, the wind, there was certainly, the earthquake, there was certainly, the fire, there was certainly, the brimstone, as it were, hanging over my head, and so,

[16:46] I proceeded home, and I remember it, so well, a precept, that I shall never forget, it is to be found, that in the book of Job, which, falling on my knees, with the Bible open, open before me, my eyes, fell upon, these words, O, that I might have my request, and that God, would grant me, the thing, that I long for, even that it would, please God, to destroy me, that he would, let loose his hand, upon me, and cut me off, then, should I have comfort, yea, I would harden myself, in sorrow, let him not spare, for I have not concealed, the words, of the Holy One, words of the scripture, a precept, that with the psalmist,

[17:56] I shall never forget, but, we cannot stay, on the negative side, because you must surely ask, how is one delivered, from going down, into the pit, the next morning, as I proceeded, to my place of business, these words dropped, sweetly upon my spirit, not in the scripture, but, supported by the scripture, it is, he in trouble, bears the up, and it was a precept, about God, that he bore, a person up, underneath, of the everlasting arms, and my burden, was gone, I was as a bird, let loose, but it was a precept, I shall never forget, no doubt, you will have a precept, but you will never forget, when God, wrought, a great deliverance, and caused you, to rejoice, in God, who hath done, such great things, for you, for with them, thou hast quickened me, in the first place, referring to, the portions,

[19:22] I've mentioned already, the soul, that sineth it, shall die, was it not, a quickening word, was it not, a word, which, caused us, to, be concerned, about our future state, it may have been, a different word, in your case, but, oh, it may be, a precept, that you'll never forget, because, it quickened, with them, thou hast quickened me, we need, the continual work, of the quickening, spirit of God, we seem, as it were, to, begin to, lose power, and we need, to be revived, quickening, has this meaning, the church, speaks of it, with anticipation, will not thou, revive us again, that thy people, may rejoice in thee, reviving, quickening, we have it, used in that sense, in, this, same psalm, somewhere, quicken me, as psalmist, needed that quickening,

[20:44] I will never, forget thy precepts, but then, what about, the precepts, that, brings us nigh, that speaks unto us, from the ends, of the earth, saying, look unto me, and be ye saved, for I am God, God, and there is none else, none can save, out of this manner, what a blessing, and a mercy, for us to know, God's great salvation, when we are, brought to the point, in our feelings, that nothing, can save us, if the Lord, no grace, will grant, I must lie down, and die, do you remember, the precept, the passage, of the scripture, that brought, your attention, to your, lost state, but then, directed your attention, to a precious, and glorious, savior, oh look unto me, what an invitation, all the ends, of the earth, you see, generally speaking, we are not, referred to, by individual,

[22:17] Christian names, or surnames, in the scripture, because that, would be very restrictive, but, we are described, as characters, and therefore, when this word, is heard, all the ends, of the earth, how we may, respond, and say, now that is, my character, that is where, I am, at the ends, of the earth, ready to fall, off the edge, and to drop, I don't know where, I will never, forget, my precepts, that, raised a hope, in my soul, that, drew me, to Jesus Christ, and then, we may, perhaps say, I shall never, forget, thy precepts, behold, the Lamb of God, that, taketh away, the sin of the world, is it a precept, is it a word, from God, that we can, never forget, when, we saw, the blessed Lamb of God, led forth to be slain,

[23:36] John the Baptist, saw him, as the Lamb of God, but when he baptized him, do we see him, as the Lamb of God, offered, offered, on Calvary, as an acceptable sacrifice, behold, the Lamb of God, it caused, the two of John's disciples, to follow the Lord, to follow the Lamb, has it caused, has there been that, that has caused us, to follow the Lamb, follow the Lamb, through the waters, of baptism, follow the Lamb, in the fullness, of the, and intent, and meaning, of, that baptism, the baptism, of fire, which came upon, the Lord of life, and glory, eventually, in all its intensity, as, he was upon Calvary,

[24:42] I shall never forget, I will never forget, thy precepts, this one, before, with them, thou hast quickened me, the Lamb of God, revived my spirit, the Lamb of God, gave me hope, the Lamb of God, produced in my soul, a love, because, it seemed to speak to, to me in these terms, who loved me, and gave himself, for me, I shall never, oh, I will never forget, that precept, that showed to me, the Lamb of God, that quickened my spirit, that revived my drooping heart, that lifted me up, when I was cast down, and could in no wise, lift myself up, and then, I shall never forget, thy precepts, the one, that spoke to me, of the fruit, of a suffering saviour, and that made, the testimony, of the Lord, so valid,

[26:00] I will cast, all thy sins, into the depths, of the sea, and will remember them, no more forever, or, as we have it, again, I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins, return unto me, for I have redeemed thee, such, a precept, a word from God, affecting our ways, affecting our lives, I will, I will never forget, thy precept, that quickened my spirit, and brought pardon, into my soul, and showed to me, that, pardon, was for the vilest, of sinners, for the wretched cases, come ye sinners, poor and wretched, pardon, is for the worst, of sinners, and I shall never forget, the precept, that conveyed it to me, and that brought, the life of God, into my soul, that gave me, not only a living hope, but a lively hope, that enabled me, to offer, a living, and a lively sacrifice, of thanksgiving,

[27:37] I shall never, I will never forget, thy precepts, for, with them, thou hast quickened me, and then, there is this precept, which God speaks, to his children, from time to time, I am only mentioning, one here and there, if I do not mention yours, do not be discouraged, because, the intent is the same, if the word quickened you, if the word revived your spirit, if the word strengthened your hope, if the word, energized your faith, if the word, enlarged your heart, in love and affection, to your Lord Jesus Christ, then, will it not be, whatever that passage, of scripture was, a precept, that you will never forget, we may think, of, the occasion, when, the Lord spoke, ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go, and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, what a reviving, will this have upon our spirits, now some may say,

[29:15] I, have had such occasions, but I do forget them, well, now what shall we say, what shall we say to that, we turn our attention, to the gospel according to John, and there we find, in the 14th chapter, that the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you, and will not this be an occasion, that, you will never forget, when God rebuked you, for fearing that you would not remember, what the Lord had done, we have here, the assurance, of the comfort of the Holy Ghost, the assurance, that the Father will send him, that he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you, now, how suddenly, the Holy Ghost may come to his temple, are we sitting desolate, does all our religion, appear to have fled away, do we seem to be bound up in carnality, and then,

[30:59] I shall never forget, that precept, that in my desolation, and well nigh destruction, hopelessness, Jesus sent his spirit, to revive me, to lift me up, to put life within, to raise hope suddenly, yet, when I look again, toward, thy holy temple, I'm sure, it was such an occasion, that Jonah, never forgot, his very spirit, was revived, though he was in the depths of the sea, though, billows and waves went over him, yet, there was hope, revived in his spirit, despite all his rebellion, despite all his willing, willfulness, of going away from God, yet, even that extent of wickedness, could not destroy, could not destroy, the hope, that was in his soul, because he was born again, oh,

[32:16] I shall never forget, I will never forget, the precept, that gave me hope, when I was at the end, when I said, I'm filled with rebellion, and I intend to continue so, God does not allow his people, to continue, in an evil course, there is a set time, to favor Zion, there is a set time, to command deliverances, for Israel, there is a set time, when, it will be said to, our arch enemy, enough, enough, God is only to speak, one word you know, to the devil, and he can move, no further, enough, maybe, that will be an occasion, where, that you will never forget, when your spirit, was revived, condemned, covered with guilt, as,

[33:27] Joshua the high priest was, in the prophecy of Zechariah, and Satan, standing at, your right hand, to resist you, we find, that the Lord, said unto Satan, oh, a precept, that I shall never forget, when I could not speak, but the Lord, said unto Satan, the Lord, rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord, that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee, is not this, a brand, plucked out of the fire, to hear, these words, spoken about you, as the Lord himself, takes up your case, before Satan, sometimes, we have no words to say, Satan is very, crafty, and, can say sufficient, to give us, the feeling, of guilt, mingle, sufficient truth, with lies, to make it creditable, but, it is the Lord, which speaks to Satan,

[34:55] I shall never, I will never forget, thy precepts, when as a silent person, the Lord, spoke to Satan, and said, is not this, a brand, plucked out of the fire, and therefore, now since this is so, thou canst have, no dominion, over this soul, no dominion, over this sinner, clothed as he is, in filthy garments, yet, Satan, avaunt, stand off ye foes, in vain ye rail, in vain oppose, your counsel claim, no more of strud, he is mine, I bought him, with, my blood, sinner, a precept, you'll never forget, sinner, thou standst in me, complete, though they accuse thee,

[36:04] I acquit, I, bore for thee, the avenging iron, and pluck thee, burning, from the fire, there is a looking on, sometimes, while the, the Lord does, wondrously, if, Satan, fixes upon us, guilt, if God, fixes upon us, guilt, then, we may be done, as we, we spoke last week, last Lord's Day, I was done, I open not my mouth, because thou didst it, but we do read this, a blessed, a revelation, or an instruction, so to speak, to our Lord, and Savior, open thou thy mouth, to the dumb, and the Lord, opened, his mouth, in respect, to this poor dumb, high priest,

[37:10] Joshua, do you think, that Joshua, would forget, that occasion, I will never forget, that precept, that quickened me, that revived my spirit, that cheered my hope, that enlarged my heart, that humbled me, before God, especially, as this was, but the beginning, and, we read, of what the Lord said, to, to Joshua, he answered, and spake, unto those, that stood, before him, saying, take away, the filthy garments, from him, and unto him, he said, behold, I have caused, that thine iniquity, to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee, with change of raiment, what God says, he performs, forever, forever, we read this morning, from this psalm, forever, oh Lord, thy word, is settled, in heaven, there is no going back, and I said, let them set a fair mitre, upon his head, so they set a fair mitre, upon his head, and clothed him, with garments, and the angel, of the Lord, stood by, now that was, a wonderful experience, words, of the scripture, precepts, of the almighty, never to be forgotten, which quickened, and revived, the dejected, the spirit of Joshua, but this was not the end, the angel, of the Lord, protested unto Joshua, saying, thus saith the Lord, of hosts, if thou would walk, in my ways, and if thou, will keep, my charge, then, thou shalt also, judge my house, and shalt also, keep my courts, and I will give thee, places to walk, among those, that stand, by, now we must, not, and cannot, leave, this subject,

[39:33] I will never forget, thy precepts, without our, making some reference, to, the ways, that are cast up, for the people of God, there are ordinances, to be attended to, you know, sometimes, I fear, that, the ordinances, of God's house, are, lightly esteemed, by some, well now, God knows the heart, I believe, I mentioned, this morning, that we, can so easily, misjudge, by appearances, nevertheless, it will not, do us any harm, to consider, the application, of, the precepts, of God's house, as to whether, we esteem them, or whether, we despise them, now you know, there's nothing in between, there's nothing in between, if we esteem them, then that means, we love them, and if we love them, then surely, the time must come, when we must put those, feelings, into action,

[41:10] I've already referred, to the Lord Jesus Christ, being, baptized, in Jordan, John was filled, with the glory of God, surely he had seen, the Lamb of God, have you seen, the Lamb of God, has this precept, been impressed, upon your soul, in a never to be forgotten, manner, behold the Lamb of God, has your spirit, been quickened, has your love, been raised up to him, then, there is this, precept, being laid aside, being left, later in life, some other, more convenient time, well, if the precept, is not performed, we shall not be able, to say, in that connection,

[42:12] I will never forget it, you know, there are those people, that, have been, graciously moved, to follow the Lord, in the ordinance, of believers, baptism, who could say, I will never forget, thy precepts, one, that I will remember, passing through this, ordinance, some thirty years ago now, he said to me afterwards, blessed, that's all he could say, blessed, that's all he wanted to say, blessed, blessed, and you'll never forget, that day, I shall, I will never forget, thy precepts, his soul, through, walking in the way, of God's precepts, was, nourished, was, filled with joy, was quickened, was full of liveliness, and then, we may well consider, the Lord's supper also, as after ye do this, ye do show forth, the Lord's death, till he come, we find, so often, many of the Lord's children, greatly disturbed, and often saddened, saddened, because, they, are at the Lord's table, with a hardness of heart, when, they would have a softness of heart, but can we say,

[44:03] I shall never, or I will never, forget the precept, do this, in remembrance of me, on one occasion, or perhaps on two occasions, over a long period of years, because, my very soul, was quickened, my heart, was filled, with, confusion, and,