The word of God in the heart (Quality: Very good)

[0:00] As the Lord helps me, I would like to direct your attention to some thoughts found in Psalm 119, and my text is verse 11.

[0:12] Psalm 119, and verse 11. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.

[0:24] Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Oh, what a divine truth is found here in this statement.

[0:40] And certainly, friends, we know that the hiding of the word which was found in the psalmist's heart, that which was applied by God to the Holy Spirit, and it had a living, a real effect upon his life.

[0:57] Certainly, when we read the 119th Psalm, and many of the other psalms, we have to say that David certainly had a love to God's word. And if one has a love to God's word, friends, that is a sign of divine life.

[1:14] And if one does not find a love and attraction to the word of God, I mean a spiritual attraction, we may well question whether the marriage of that person knows anything of divine life and the soul.

[1:29] In fact, friends, it can't be. For the very nature of life and the soul will go to the fountain of life. And we can never separate the Lord Jesus Christ or the whole of the Trinity, as far as that goes, friends, from the authority of God's word.

[1:48] How we find David again and again in Psalm 119 speaks how the word of God was used and blessed to his soul. When he was in trials, when he was in doubt, when he was in temptation, when he was in affliction, when he felt the chastening hand of God upon him, how he immediately again and again refers to the authority of God's word.

[2:16] In the times of affliction, in the hand of God laying sorely upon him, it was then that he found the revelation of truth made over to him.

[2:30] Oh, how true we have to say, like the experience of Hezekiah, that it is by these things men live. That is by trials, but yet by the word of God.

[2:44] And it is a mercy, friend, if you find in your own soul that you're never satisfied in your own soul's experience except when the Lord speaks to you through His word.

[2:57] Now we find that the psalmist in our text says, Thy word have I hidden mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. The text actually, friends, lays before us very simply in three parts.

[3:14] First of all, he makes reference to the word. Thy word. Secondly, he speaks about that word being hid in his heart.

[3:27] And lastly, he speaks about the effect of it. That is, that I might not sin against thee. In other words, we have the best thing.

[3:41] I happened to see this by one writer. He divided it into three thoughts. The best thing, the best place, and the best purpose. Then if the Lord helps us, let us meditate upon these three thoughts.

[3:57] Thy word. Isn't it a mercy, friends, that God hath given His word? How have we received our Bible or the word of God?

[4:10] And always remember, friends, that the Lord always speaks through His word. The Lord will always accompany the blessings of which He gives to the living soul with His word.

[4:26] That is, spiritual blessing. I realize sometimes there can be a sweetness and there can be a direction. But do keep this in mind, friends, that God never directs contrary to His word.

[4:41] Oh, how sad to hear. Some might say, well, I feel I must do this or do that. And some would say, well, do you feel the direction of the Lord?

[4:52] They might incline to say so. But if it's contrary to the word of the Lord, friends, then it is not the direction of the Lord. Even when it comes to our own salvation.

[5:07] It is the word of God, friends, of which is going to be applied with might and power to the soul. If our experience, that is, I'm speaking about our saving experience, is contrary to the word of God, friends, then it's not a saving experience.

[5:26] If one is saved by his own will, it's contrary to God's word. We may fear that he's not saved at all. But if he is experimentally saved by grace and grace alone, then he has the authority of God's word to support him.

[5:48] And if we are in measure of divine life, friends, we have divine faith within us. And faith can never rest anything short but the word of God.

[6:02] We find out again and again in the experience of the psalmist. Speak, Lord, that is, speak through thy word. Lest I be like unto those that go down into the pit.

[6:15] Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation, and it is through the authority of God's word. Now the great question is, how did we come about to this word?

[6:27] Well, we read in the New Testament that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. In other words, those men of old, those godly men, who the writers of our precious Bible wrote as they were taught and inspired by God the Holy Spirit.

[6:46] It was spirit breathed within them. Moses there, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit there, began to write of the story of Genesis and Exodus and so forth.

[7:01] He traced out to the experiences of God's people in all those portions of scripture. And there God, by his Holy Spirit, and his might and power hath preserved this divine truth even to this very day.

[7:17] And then we might look even to the epistles. Well, let us look first there into the prophets, to the words of the psalmist. Whether David wrote some psalms which never found themselves into the canon of scripture, it is very likely.

[7:34] But they never intended to be found. Not that we would say they were not fully inspired, but we know what we have here, friends, is the inspiration of truth. And so David, by the inspiration of God to the Holy Spirit, and again to the preservation of an almighty God, hath given us on record these truths.

[7:57] Turn to the epistles and turn to the gospels. Many had set forth to write something of the life of Christ. But God to the Holy Spirit seemed fit there to record into the hearts and the minds of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John, that of which they did write.

[8:16] And it is blessedly preserved even to this day. Look to the epistles, how Paul wrote the doctrines of the church, the blessed precepts of the gospel, there to be our guide and our direction.

[8:31] What a mercy to be able to look by through the word of God ourselves and point out to this portion or that portion, and to recall how that the Lord blessed this portion or that portion to my own soul, how that was proven to be my guide, how that preserved me from turning aside, how that sealed the truth to my own soul, how that brought me into a living concern, quickened me, or how it taught me and directed me into my pathway, providentially and spiritually, and how it was the application of this text or that verse, of which was the means of helping me to walk in obedience before the Lord.

[9:17] Now we see that this word, then, is the inspiration of truth. And as Paul writes there, I believe it is in Timothy, that it is all by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

[9:46] Now we know, friends, that God hath never inclined any man from the days of the Apostle John, whom we may believe was one of the last writers to the word of God.

[10:01] The Holy Spirit hath never inclined any man since to write and to add to the canon of scriptures. There in and in itself, friends, is a divine truth.

[10:11] Two thousand years now almost, and there's nothing to be added and nothing shall be added. Nothing new shall be added as far as doctrines or teaching.

[10:22] Everything is complete. But isn't it a mercy now that to this same word, or it is a truth, I ought to put it that way, that to this same word which was divinely inspired, now also is that same word which must be divinely inspired into our own heart and to our own conscience.

[10:44] What a mercy to be able to say, Thy word, Lord. Thy word. That revelation of truth which reveals Thee and of which hath been applied to my own heart and to my own conscience.

[10:58] It is Thy word. Oh, when we think, friends, this is the word of God, how we ought to then respect it, reverend it, and regard it.

[11:09] How it ought to be our daily companion. How that we ought not to want to depart from it. How that we might not let its pages, as it were, lay shut without opening it.

[11:23] How we ought to realize that when we read it, to ask the Lord to give us light, wisdom, and understanding. I realize, I know in my own soul, there's times when I pick up the Bible and it seems to be a dead letter.

[11:38] Now, the dead letter, friends, ought never to be applied to the word of God, but rather to ourselves. I know some people take an exception in this particular statement, and I think they're correct.

[11:52] Someone said we ought never to call it a dead letter, but I understand what is meant by those who do. They find it to be dead. But the deadness isn't self.

[12:03] The word is life. It is the spirit breathing of it. Oh, then how we ought to give heed to it. How it ought to have first place in our life, in our conduct.

[12:16] And I will put it this way. If one is lost for eternity, does it not lay at his own door? To you who might be honest with your own soul here at this morning hour, and would honestly admit before the Lord that you feel you are destitute of divine life, does the fault lie at the hand of God or at your own door?

[12:43] What has it done to you with that thought of being unconcerned and without life and without hope in this world? Has it driven you to the fountain of life that is the word of God?

[12:55] Has it driven you in prayer and brought searchings of soul? You know, it's solemn. The neglect of God's word. The ignorance. And I believe we all have to mourn over it.

[13:09] Oh, that the acknowledgement of it, friends, might bring the confession of our sin in a turning of our heart and of our mind yet once again to thy word. Now David speaks of it and he says, Thy word have I hid in my heart.

[13:27] Oh, there's a vast difference, friends, between hiding the word of God in our heart and in our head. I know there are some who can speak of the doctrines of grace and particular truths in the word of God possibly far exceed that of my ability.

[13:45] For on me sometimes we're amazed at their knowledge of scriptures. There are those who have quoted large sections and I've even heard of a man who's quote can quote the whole of the New Testament.

[13:57] But friends, if the word of God has never gone any further than that, then he's destitute of divine life. David says, Thy word, that is the word of God, that word which was breathed by the Holy Spirit.

[14:14] And oh, friends, this is a grace. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that is in the very place of affection. Oh, friends, let us be very aware that we do not only have the doctrines in our mind and are able to contend for them by some knowledgeable approach to them.

[14:43] But, friends, when the word of God is hid in our heart, there's a place of affection. How David speaks about the word of God, how he loved it.

[14:55] And they actually, friends, the same word which is said here to be hid is the same word of which Job refers there in chapter 23, where he says, I have esteemed thy word, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

[15:19] The word esteem is actually the same in the original Hebrew as the word hid. And if you'll notice there in the marginal reading in the 23rd chapter of Job, actually, the marginal reading means hid or laid up.

[15:36] In other words, the psalmist says, thy word, that is the word of God which was spiritually breathed, have I hid, have I esteemed, have I laid up into my own conscience.

[15:51] Oh, friends, there's the place where it's got to be. I realize of self, friends, we can't. I know full well. But yet, friends, let us see that by reading, looking at this text and meditating upon it that we might realize how short we have come and that we might beg the God of all grace to come with the breathings of his Holy Spirit and hide and lay up into our heart and our soul and that we might esteem the words of his mouth more than our necessary food.

[16:28] David again and again in this psalm records how he found it to be sweet to him, sweeter than the honeycomb. Now, when we look upon this word as hid, friends, we certainly know and we know that he means that he didn't hide it as it were something under the bushel or like the man whose talent he hid in the earth.

[16:54] No, friends, it is a hiding which took an effect. Again, we read that the psalmist says there that he hath not hid the word thy righteousness within my heart, but in other words, he goes on to say that I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation.

[17:15] In other words, if the word of God is hidden to our own soul, it'll bring forth fruit. I believe we're all very well acquainted there with the parable of the sower and there certainly is a divine truth found there.

[17:30] There was the seed which went forth. There were four types of ground and only one, friends, can really be found, said to that in something like the words of our text that it was hid.

[17:43] The first we know fell upon the stony ground or upon the pathway. The fowls of the air quickly picked it up and carried it away.

[17:54] Nevertheless, it was the word of God. It was good seed. Nothing wrong with the seed. But there was the wrong in the heart. There was not the receiving heart.

[18:06] There was no giving heed, no giving regard. Solemn, isn't it? The next one, we know that there was way there who heard the earth, who heard the word, which is the rocky ground or the stony ground.

[18:21] There was a measure of the receiving of the truth. When I think of it, friends, how solemn. There was the receiving of it for a while. Even the receiving of it with joy.

[18:34] Now this is searching. And I'm going to admit, friends, in my early days that searched me out when I once lost the comfort and the joy of that surly experience.

[18:46] What a mercy when the Lord come and revived and shined upon his work. Then the other was with the thorny ground. Now the word seemed to have been received by both for a period of time.

[19:01] But it wasn't long with pleasures, persecution, trials, and trouble. the word was crowded out. What actually, friends, the very trials and troubles and persecution should have brought out the truth of the word.

[19:18] Certainly we see that the hiding of the word of God there in the 8th of Romans, that in the midst of persecution, troubles, and sorrows, and all of that of which Paul mentions there at the end of the 8th chapter, it all turned for their good.

[19:31] It was sanctified to their own souls good. But yet we find there but that on the good ground are they that in an honest and a good heart having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.

[19:50] There is hiding God's word. Oh, a place found in the heart. Oh, have you hid some of portions of God's word in your heart?

[20:00] I realize those early portions of which we do hide in the measure in our heart, friends, which may seem a bit strange, is a knowledge of ourself as sinners.

[20:13] Because there the word of the Lord doth begin, doesn't it? When we speak about the word here in the words of our text, friends, it incorporates the whole of the revelation of truth.

[20:27] When the psalmist here speaks about the law, the testimonies, the precepts, the statutes, commandments, judgments, and his ways, they're all much the same meaning.

[20:40] I don't believe we can make much difference. It means the whole of the revealed will of truth. Definitely, there's times when the psalmist has, without a doubt, a particular line of truth when he says, oh, how love I thy law.

[20:58] Oh, there I believe he's pointing to the law of the gospel. And certainly there is something in the living soul which loves the law of the gospel, doesn't it?

[21:09] That Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. But there will be a hiding of the word of God, a consciousness of your sin. That is, in that part, we would say the decalogue.

[21:21] But to the word of truth, the word of revelation, the word of promise, the word of hope.

[21:34] As he says, remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope. Isn't it a mercy to find in your bosom there some deep-seated word of promise that the Lord gave you and you can't forget it?

[21:50] And especially in those early days, you begin to wonder, what is it? Under this occasion or that occasion, that word came with such power.

[22:01] It was the means of that word which drew me from this world or stopped me in my wild and foolish career or gave me time to think. It wasn't just a normal thing.

[22:13] It was something special. And especially in those early days, friends, we don't know what to do with it. What does it mean? But what a mercy when we come to the Lord with that word which is hidden in our soul and says, Lord, what mean it then?

[22:29] Was it the word from thee? Oh, what a mercy to have a word deeply within our own soul which hath admonished us. Because remember, friends, we don't only take the promises, but we take the admonishments, the warnings, the teachings, the whole of the revealed word of truth.

[22:52] I'm not saying that David here knew the whole of the revealed will of truth, because certainly when we read in this particular psalm how he begs the Lord again for a further revelation.

[23:04] But when the Lord brings a word and puts it into our soul and gives us a love to it, oh, friends, then we want more, don't we? We want the Lord to speak again.

[23:19] Oh, we go through the experience like Gideon, who when he had received some token, even then he went to the Lord and said, but Lord, once more, speak again.

[23:34] Oh, we do not want to presume. And the nature of life in the soul is this, friends, they don't want to presume upon one or two words, but they want to the Lord to speak again and again.

[23:46] Now the psalmist says, thy word have I hid, that is, in the place of my affection. Why did so many of the disciples depart from the Lord Jesus Christ and his pilgrimage here to ponder the face of the earth?

[24:05] Because he says plainly that they did not love the word. They claimed to be Abraham's seed. And he said, if he were truly of the faithfulness of Abraham and of his divine seed, you would have loved my teaching.

[24:22] Was it not the verity nature of that word which penetrated into the hearts of the eleven apostles, of which made them abide with Christ? Friend, it is a mercy, even though we may wander here and there in our thoughts and yet in our being, to find something within us which draws us back to the truth.

[24:45] Even though the truth sometimes cuts us and so sometimes it hurts us, yet to find what that is the truth. I realize we live in a solemn day and we could only wish we could see some more power of God's word going forth.

[25:06] But you read in those old men of old, sometimes, when they went to hear men like Huntington and others who were very searching and very cutting in their ministry and cut across all of the religions of the flesh and how some would go to hear them and with utter disgust leave the doors and said they would never return because they were ripped and torn of all fleshly religion of their own.

[25:32] Then finally how the Lord worked affectionately in their own soul and they had to go back though they were stripped and though they were insulted as they thought by the man's ministry yet they realized there was something old to have searchings of heart that there find within your own soul the hidden word of truth.

[25:56] Oh, truth is a glorious thing. It is that of which you will preserve us, keep us, guide us. Thy word have I hid. This is the inspired word, the word of God.

[26:10] That is the receiving of it by living faith. Thy word have I hid. Now what is the effect? Oh, friend, we find there was one word in the words of our text which is a solemn word and it is the word sin.

[26:30] and I no doubt have I remember telling the little ones when I used to teach in the classes and so would it bear again repeating.

[26:42] When I was a comparatively young person in my early teens, I remember going to a Bible class and the instructor there went to the chalkboard and he put to the word I or the letter I and he asked us what it is and it is I and the man says yes, that's you and I he says we, that's I and on each side of that letter he put one side he put an S and the other side he put an M and he says where are we now?

[27:12] Right in the middle of sin. Friends, it made quite an impression upon me. It touched me. I thought what a truth. There we are in the middle of sin.

[27:26] Now sin friends become a reality to the psalmist. And he was brought to realize that sin was that which made a separation between him and God. Now sin is a hideous thing.

[27:41] And the psalmist knew himself to be a sinner. And when one is brought to recognize himself as a sinner friends he recognizes there's a separation between him and God.

[27:53] That separation is felt and it is known why? Because sin. Sin is something which lives in the bosom. And it is a disease.

[28:05] It is something of which becomes distasteful and hideous to the mind of a child of God. Oh, is sin something friends which grieves you? even though you find yourselves constantly falling under its power and its dominion and under its condemnation and its curse.

[28:24] Yet is there something about sin which is a great grief to you? We find here then it was a grief to the psalmist. And by his own might and by his own fire and by his own will he could not break the power of sin.

[28:41] And we will say maybe there was some sins. which naturally friends we might realize are wrong. And we break off. But if it's never broken out by the true love of the truth and the hiding of God's word in our heart friends still it is only of the flesh.

[29:02] Then we will more or less rejoice in the fact that we have accomplished this particular worldly pleasure or that particular sin. I realize friends there are souls who can be highly admired because of their natural outward walk.

[29:18] How that they have abstained from the things of this world. And yet friends I'm fear that some of them might have never known of divine life in the soul.

[29:30] But friends where the word of God is hid that does something that is a preservative. it is that of which that I might not sin against thee.

[29:46] Oh friends the fear of God and the work of God and the soul and a love to the truth and a love to the word and the embracing of the word of God by faith will have an effect friend.

[30:01] Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. I believe the best way to really bring forth this meaning of this last portion of our text is to bring out some illustrations in God's word.

[30:20] And I believe the one that without a doubt stands most in our own mind is in the case of Abraham. Abraham was found in the land of the Ur of the Chaldeans.

[30:32] His parents were idolaters worshipping idols. I don't know if Abraham did but yet friends we know the sufficiency of the blood of Christ and of the power of the work of grace within the soul.

[30:46] It will draw. But anyways the Lord came unto Abraham and says get ye out. Oh what a word. That word without a doubt friends was laid into the heart of Abraham and he got out from his kindred and from his father's house and he went into a land or went out not knowing where he was to go.

[31:08] Oh when the word of the Lord comes frenzied his faith. Abraham said I must follow. Oh the dictates of the word of God in our heart will bring us into places sometimes we don't know where but we know the Lord hath directed us to do so.

[31:27] The Lord gave him a promise of the land as well as of a seed and he never gave him a foot of ground to call his own and even there he had not a child that he could say was of his own seed.

[31:41] Well I haven't time to go into the whole story of Abraham but friends we're going to notice in that really illustration of Abraham something of the nature of thy word have I hidden mine heart that I might not sin against thee.

[31:59] Oh I realize friends there was that going into Hagar and so forth but nevertheless we have the authority of God's word in the New Testament that when Abraham received the promise he staggered not through unbelief.

[32:17] Unbelief is a sin and I know we have it that is a child of God by nature we all have it but even a child of God has it but sometimes does our unbelief become sin to us.

[32:30] Do we sometimes look to the word which the Lord hath said and we are reproved and we admonish ourselves because of our unbelief. Oh friends that word of promise which was given there to Abraham which he hid in his heart in the might spite of all the trials and temptations friends he stood firm.

[32:54] He did not sin against the Lord with unbelief. He did not bring the question of God's word into the word of God into question. He did not cast it aside.

[33:06] He couldn't. But even in the middle even when he had the son and when he was called upon to sacrifice him there upon Mount Moriah he went early in the morning knowing that if he did God could even from those ashes raise him up.

[33:25] Oh that's faith. Why friends because Abraham had hid the word of God in his heart that I might not sin against thee.

[33:38] Certainly we know the case of Jacob and how that the Lord says to Jacob I will never leave thee nor forsake thee and how that he would perform the things of which he was promised him.

[33:52] I realize Jacob went and tried to live without the word but when the Lord once puts the word of God into the heart and hides it there it's going to come out.

[34:04] I would trust there was a period of about twenty years that Jacob well he didn't quite forget the word but there was not much room for it was there until he came face to face with danger face to face with fear and then he began as it were draw out that bosom which was hidden the word of God and he says Lord thou hast said oh friend have you come with this very word before the Lord now I realize it is a mercy when we have the applied word of God to our soul but I do believe there's time when we can in truth and in sincerity come with God's word and plead it before him with a sense of ourself as a sinner and then come before the Lord and says but Lord thy word hath said though

[35:04] I cannot say that hath been applied with might and power to my own conscience but coming upon the authority of thy word thou hast said him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out thou hast said that thou hast come into this world to save sinners you may not think that that truth is hidden your soul but it is there's a divine truth friends in our soul when God quickens them into divine life of which we'll plead to the word let us take another illustration there and maybe I didn't finish Jacob but Jacob drew out of his bosom that divine truth Lord thou hast said unto me I am walking in thy path I am walking in the way which thou hast told me to walk in oh to wrestle with the word of God with something which hath been hidden I believe Joseph is another man who knows what it is to have the word of God hidden in his soul oh remember they were all men and women subject to like passions as we are but they were kept and oh may it be that our constant prayer might be Lord keep me

[36:24] I see the inclinations of my heart towards sin towards those things which are displeasing in thy sight but may thy word keep me by thy divine power and then when that day when Jacob excuse me when Joseph had that temptation laid before him he says how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God oh it can be said of Joseph thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee oh sin is something of which ought to be always distasteful and repugnant to us if we are in possession of grace and have known something of the work of God in our own soul and have had times of sweetness and liberty and are able to trace how the Lord was with us and guided us but then through our neglect through our backsliding through cases of lethargy friends sin makes a separation even between not eternally but sin makes a separation between the comfort of

[37:37] God's word in ourselves and therefore friends we need to return to the Lord once again with confessions of sin oh that that sin might not make and keep us dark and deadness in the soul I often fear when you read of some of those in old times because of some certain sin or something they have done brought much seasons of darkness maybe unbelief oh that they might we might be kept by the power of God's word it was the word that kept Joseph alive as it were we can go on and speak about Caleb in fact it was the speaking of Caleb in our prayer meeting last week Monday which more or less directed my mind to this text you remember Caleb was one of those faithful men and then finally when he came into the land of Canaan after a period of forty some years he turns to

[38:40] Joshua and he says the Lord hath kept me these forty years kept him in faith kept him in strength kept that hope alive and then he looks to that mountain where the giants and the chariots of horses were of which the whole of the Israelites one feared and dare not approach he says unto Joshua give me that mountain why because the word of God was hid in his soul hid in his very heart and he looked not at the nature of unbelief and the impossibilities but said it shall be done and he would not let sin rule and dominate in his heart but rather that the power of God's word might rule within him oh this is what we need don't we the word of God to dwell within us with all might and power Paul says that it might dwell within us richly he makes some statements there in the book of

[39:48] Colossians where he says that to the word of God excuse me that to the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord that's what we need the word of Christ to dwell in all of our heart richly teaching us that true wisdom and wisdom and understanding thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee yes against thee oh do you realize there may be sins sometimes friends against our fellow person and they ought to be confessed and taken care of because they are equally sinful in the sight of God but oh if we could really realize our sins even against our fellow man are also against him well then if they are then friends what about all of our sins sins against thee it was God whom he did not want to sin against and then we can think of

[41:05] Moses as well how he pled before the Lord upon the authority of God's word when he seemed to the Lord was angry with Israel what about Nehemiah so did not I because of the fear of God in other words in the case of Abraham the word of God was that of which kept him from unbelief the word of God which was hidden to the heart of Nehemiah kept him from covetousness not making seeking to make himself rich it was the word of God which was hidden to the heart of Peter friends which kept him from despondency think of David Peter and his sin he denied his Lord he cursed he swore one could hardly imagine such terrible state of such a godly man to fall into they were not to imitate him and not to hide behind their sins friends but therefore an admonishment like one of our hymn writers says behold

[42:13] Peter boasting was or come at length in other words let us not boast then but then to that terrible sin and you remember Christ looked upon Peter and then we read this and Peter remembered the word which the Lord spake unto him and Peter went out and he wept bitterly oh friend this is what Judas did not have the word was not hid into the heart of Judas his affection but when Peter recognized his sin and the word which Christ said unto him it brought out solemn repentance of his sin oh does the word of God admonish you at times and it brings forth repentance it ought to it will and also friends it brought a prayer he remembered

[43:17] I wonder if it brought to his mind also the word which the Lord says Peter I have prayed for thee and he thought of the intercessory prayers of Christ in times past I realize all of this must have been brought into great question when Christ died those were miserable days for Peter without a doubt oh friends what searchings of souls some of these men have had in the word of God of which I believe we have to say were quite born to none of us have gone through the trial of Job none of us have gone through the trial of Peter and the apostles at that day as I believe it was the most darkest day the church ever experienced that is the living church upon the face of the earth when Christ lay in the tomb for three days I believe all hope as they said was dashed to pieces how could they pray how could they look oh friends what a mercy to have the word of God dwelling in your heart by faith the preservation of sin also thy word have I hid in mine heart that

[44:30] I might not sin against thee has been the means friends of keeping many of turning aside into air how the Lord Jesus again and again admonished the disciples of false prophets ronious teachings and then to be able to turn to the word of God and says thus accept the word and it puts the end to air an end to evil an end to temptation an end to our enemies look at Christ when he was harassed by Satan I know he was God but friends remember he was truly man and therefore coming in the flesh he was subject to these temptations but friends what did Jesus do he resorted to the word of God thy word have I hid in mine heart says Christ that I might not sin against God my father and he rebuked the Satan by the very authority of God's word it is written it is written oh what a mercy to have a foundation for our hope a foundation for our religion a foundation for our faith settled a foundation for our love settled upon the authority of God's word friends we could go on and on and on speak of illustrations but oh may it be that this portion might be our portion that it would be by the word of God which hath been hidden in our heart now one friend says well I haven't got it hidden let's not come with that foolishness remember there is the authority of

[46:11] God's word which stands on mold we will be judged by the word of God if we remain unbelieving oh friends let us realize the word of God standeth sure it is the one authority which he speaks by may we know what it is to have received the truth by faith planted in our soul and have found it to be the preservation of sin against displeasure against God thy word have I hidden mine heart that I might not sin against thee there I leave it amen shall we then conclude our service by the singing of hymn number 31 hymn number 31 form of words though e'er so sound can never save a soul the Holy Ghost must give the wound and make the wounded whole must make give the wound and make the wounded whole hymn number 31 a form of words the words of sound can never save the soul the

[47:54] Holy Ghost must give the wound and make the wounded roll the potty lack shall give the truth no comfort there I see till I am told by God the mouth that he has chosen me sinners I read are justified by fighting in Jesus blood but when beneath that blood and mine if then it does be good we persevere distribute and holy the

[49:14] God if I pray to your Jahren when you With human righteousness I own God and love divine Lord Jesus, my heart makes down Let all His merits rise As Christ is God I've been above And for His people came

[50:14] Since I have prayed near Him as Son And He has been my friend Let sinners black as hell by Christ I saved I know the well For I His mercy have not missed And I am black as hell Thus Christians glorify the Lord If Spirit joins with us

[51:19] In bearing witness to His word Without its saving heart May the grace of the Savior And the love of the Father And the communion of the Holy Ghost Rest upon all Now and forevermore Amen?" Oh, God God bless your Lord.

[52:16] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[52:33] Amen.