Address—C. Hendricks
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Psalm 19.
We had in Romans one the two because's the.
First was.
Why the wrath of God was revealed?
Because God had given a testimony and creation.
And then through his word, and we have those two things in this Psalm.
Psalm 19 The heavens declare the glory of God and.
And the firmament showeth his handiwork.
Day on today uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He said a Tabernacle for the Son.
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strongman to run a race is going forth, is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. There you have converting the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple.
As we read this, it reminds us of 119th Psalm where you have all of these words used to describe the word of God. First it's the law of the Lord, then it's the testimony of the Lord, then it's in verse 8 the statutes of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart, and then in verse eight, again the commandment of the Lord is pure.
Enlightening the eyes.
Verse 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. All of these.
Descriptions of the the testimony that God has given to us the word of God. We are indeed a rich people.
We have God's word. My brother was speaking about one Bible put on a shelf collecting dust. Never opened, never looked at. That's pretty much the way it was in my family before I was saved.
Just a Bible to put your hand on when you swore to something.
And not to be opened and read. And that's too bad because that's the way it is with so many today.
This book is not known to them. We know it. We have the inestimable privilege of of having not just one Bible, but maybe many in our homes. Bible in every room, so that wherever we go, we can, we can find it and turn to it.
Have you ever noticed if you come to a place and on the table next to the chair where you sit down, there is a Bible and there's a newspaper?
Which will you, Pope, pick up?
1St.
Most of the time.
He's going to tell us.
She says the Bible. Good girl.
But I'm afraid she's right. It's the way it should be, but I'm afraid it's often not that way.
A little child shall lead thee.
Just saw an example of it.
She had the right answer.
The Word of God is pure. It is precious. It enlightens the eyes, it gives understanding to the simple.
It shows us the path wherein we should walk. It answers all the questions that we have in life.
It does. It really does. Where should I live? Where should I work?
You say, well, that's not answered in the Bible. Well, not directly.
But there are precepts in it.
To guide us and to keep us from making some serious mistakes.
For instance, settling way too far away from meeting if I can settle more closely.
Those are mistakes we may make because after all, the job that's farther away pays more.
And I was refreshed by a brother that.
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Took a much lower paying job so that he could be where he felt the Lord would have him to be. That's to be our guide, not circumstances. Oh, the Lord will guide us by circumstances sometimes, but this is the book that guides us if we knew His mind and if we were so familiar with this book.
We would be kept beloved from many a mistake which we make.
Kept in the path, the meek will he guide. In judgment, the meek will he teach his way.
The one who is the meek and lowly 1.
Invited us to follow him.
It's not a popular path.
It's not.
The majority path.
It's a path of rejection.
A path that he has marked out.
A path that he tried.
And we learned that path as we read this book.
More to be desired verse 10.
Are they than gold?
There will be some of us.
Many, maybe many of us, when we get home to glory, if we have a regret, we'll say, oh, what? I didn't spend more time.
This book.
Learning his mind, becoming better acquainted with himself.
So that I could walk hand in hand with him.
A little while left is here.
More to be desired, are they than gold? Yeah, than much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey.
And the honeycomb. Is there anything sweeter than honey?
Word of God.
Moreover, by them, as thy servant warned.
Many warnings in scripture.
Many. We need them.
Danger. Stay out close door, don't go in it. One has fallen into some sin. It's because he's gone through many stop signs or many stoplights in his life.
You don't just all of a sudden fall into these things.
But you've taken a step, another step, another step, which if we were acquainted with this book and heeded its precepts.
We would be kept from it.
By the word of thy mouth, that I kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
Moreover, by them, as thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward.
I guarantee you if you keep His word, if you follow his word, if you do it as we've had before us.
You'll never say I'm sorry I did it.
You'll never say that.
Great reward.
Who can understand his errors? And so on. Now one more passage and then we'll propose.
Ecclesiastes 12.
Ecclesiastes 12.
We had before us in Romans, in Psalm 19, and again here.
The creation here it's the creator.
And the word.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.
While the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them, There are many Gray hairs tonight, this afternoon, amongst this.
And oh, how quickly they come upon us.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.
Think of him, the one that gives you life and breath in all things.
The one in whose very breath your hair his hand is.
You. Your breath is in his hand.
While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened.
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Nor the clouds return after the rain.
These are all things experienced by old age creeping on of of feebleness. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, we see some like this keepers of the house are trembling.
Can't hold their hands steady anymore.
And the strong men shall bow themselves.
The grinders shall cease false teeth.
They are few.
And those lookout of the windows be darkened.
Glasses.
Some of the glasses don't help.
I don't see well anymore.
And the doors shall be shut in the streets.
And the sound of the grinding is low.
And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird sleep.
Is not easy.
And all the daughters of music shall be brought low the hearing.
Goes.
And when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fear shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish.
Gray hairs and the grasshoppers shall be a burden.
I've heard several interpretations of that.
The smallest thing.
Something that you might stumble over.
Now you young ones don't know what that is.
But some of us know what that is.
Everything is a problem. Takes me 3 hours to do what I used to do in 15 minutes.
Some of us can relate to that.
Desire shall fail.
Because man goeth to his long home.
And the mourners go about the streets.
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, death comes in.
And we pass on. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit shall return unto God, who gave it vanity.
Of vanities all is vanity, saith the preacher.
And moreover, what should we do then if this is what's ahead of us and we can't avoid it?
You can't avoid it.
The Lord may come and rescue you from it, but otherwise you will get old.
Moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yeah, he gave good heed and sought out and said in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. And what did he do during the time that he he had the strength to to do it?
You're young, so many young people here. Now is the time to gather up these precious fragments, these precious truths.
Do it. Don't wait till you get older. Don't wait till these first verses of Ecclesiastes 12 apply to you. It's too late.
Too late then.
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words do that.
And that which was written was upright. Even words of truth. Find them out, store them up.
The words of the wise are as God stirs you on to action.
It prides you, it says this is the way going that way and it keeps you from going in the wrong way.
The words of the wiser is goats, and you can use them to guide someone. That's your friend.
You see them going astray and you use the goat. No, that's wrong. That's not the way. Go this way.
I'm going to correct this. I'm going to correct it by the new translation a little bit and the collections of them.
The collections of the words of the wise Collect them.
Are as nails fastened in you can hang something on it.
Come in, you take your coat off. You hang it on the nail.
Collections of them as nails fastened in a nail fastened in a sure place.
They're given from 1 shepherd. One shepherd has given us.
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These words of the wise.
Further, by these my son be admonished of making many books. There is no end in much study.
Is the weariness of the flesh.
Those of us that have gone through college know what that means.
Collect the words of the wise. Collect those things that are given from that one shepherd.
And let them be that which you can hang your hand upon.
And lift yourself up, should it be necessary, and go to others on in the path that he's marked out for us in these dark days.