A Servant of Scripture
Psalm 119:121-128
June 21, 2020
Private Harry Cole was a
private in the British Army that was retreating to Dunkirk in 1940. He penned a letter to his mother and family during the retreat, but his regiment was overrun by the Germans and he never made it to Dunkirk and did not make it across the channel. Three days after he wrote the letter he was killed in action — and his letter was never mailed.
Cole’s letter was part of a large number of pieces of mail that were abandoned and picked up by a German soldier who took them home and stored him in his attic for nearly 30 years. In 1968 those letters were sent back to England, and again they sat in storage, as many of the addressees had also died or moved. Harry Cole’s letter was never delivered — until a few weeks ago when Cole’s two surviving brothers were found and the letter was delivered to them. In his letter he included this line: “Don’t worry if you have to wait a long while for a letter or card sometimes Mother, as we can’t always write for days at a time, also there is delay in getting it away.” I guess you could call 80 years a delay.
You have to read or hear that story and think about the family and all the things they wondered about their son and brother — what would he have said to them and what was he thinking those days? And how would their lives have changed if they’d heard from him?
While mail is sometimes delayed, aren’t you glad that God’s Word hasn’t been delayed and we don’t have to wonder what He is thinking and what He has said? We have the possibility of transformed lives because we have His Word in our hands. Psalm 119 is a familiar passage that affirms the effectiveness of the Word of God. Today we continue our semi-annual series on this psalm and in today’s stanza, (vv. 121-128), the psalmist particularly emphasizes that we are servants to that Word (vv. 122, 124, 125). We find that —
As God’s servants, we are faithful to God’s Word.
In this passage, we see four ways we are faithful to God as servants of His Word. What does it mean to be a servant of God and His Word?
- God’s Servant Seeks God’s Protection in God’s Word (vv. 121-122)
- God’s Servant Longs for God’s Grace in God’s Word (vv. 123-124)
- God’s Servant Learns God’s Counsel in God’s Word (vv. 125-126)
- God’s Servant Loves God’s Commands in God’s Word (vv. 127-128)
Download the rest of this sermon on Psalm 119:121-128.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.
Words of Grace 