Psalms 119:89

The godly man looks beyond his trials. He sees that God's Word is "settled in the heavens." It is beyond the reach of man, so nothing that happens on earth affects it.

Now the soul sees another side of the word: the word before God in heaven itself. There it is settled for ever. There, where He is, it stays what it is — God's settled and declared purpose. But God has acted out of heaven, though His purpose is settled in it. He is faithful. He holds to what He is and to what He has said, through all the changing generations of men. So when we have His word, we can count on it as surely as on what is in heaven. It does not change, any more than God Himself.

In the heavens above, His word stands firm for ever. The stars that roll in their circuits show it, no doubt, and so do the sun and the moon that keep their ordered path. The earth, too, is established... fixed and lasting. There they all remain, servants of God, each in its own sphere. Everything holds steady, though it all looks open to change. Everywhere it shows the mark of a governing hand.

Man is the same always and everywhere. His history is a blotted one, from beginning to end. But what a relief and comfort it is to know and remember that God is ever the same. His word abides. It is "settled for ever in heaven." It was hidden in the side of the ark of the covenant and kept there intact, in spite of all the grievous sin and folly of the people. This gives sweet rest to the heart, at all times, in the face of human failure.

He will stand behind every word He has put on record, for He has magnified His word above all His name. The Scriptures are an unshakable rock. The winds may blow their hardest. Threatening voices may join the fury of the storm. We can always say with confidence, "Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens."

He was from heaven and of heaven, yet He found nothing in Scripture that did not reveal God. For Him, God had inspired all Scripture; its source was heavenly, not earthly... His complete submission to the written Word, and His oneness with it, marked Him as heavenly. He lived by the heavenly Book. For Him it was, "Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens." He, the living Word, lived as Man by the written Word.

The spirit of obedience is the great moral safeguard against every scheme and every trap of the enemy. The enemy may shift his ground. He may change his tactics. He may use different agents. But obedience to the plain and simple Word of God keeps the soul safe from all his wicked schemes and crafty tricks. The devil can do nothing with a man who is completely ruled by the Word of God.