All right, take your Bibles one
more time and turn with me to the book of Psalms chapter 18,
Psalm 18. I'd like to just read verses
43 to 46, Psalm 18. Thou hast delivered me from the
strivings of the people. Thou hast made me the head of
the heathen. A people whom I have not known
shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they
shall obey me. The strangers shall submit themselves
unto me. The strangers shall fade away
and be afraid out of their close places. The Lord liveth. Blessed be my rock. And let the
God of my salvation be exalted. I've entitled this message, Salvation
Secure. The older I get, the more I read
concerning of salvation. I realize that
while the world and its religious practices of works, gimmicks,
games, trying to appeal to man's flesh, I'm more and more convinced
it just gives men a false security. The Lord has taught His people,
His elect, God's got a people, an elect, Jew and Gentiles, that
they're going to be called unto Him and they're going to be called
through the preaching of the gospel. Now, you know, when I
make a statement like that, it's like I always need to clarify
it because I want to hear it and I want you to hear it, the
gospel. Remember this, the gospel. It's
not an offer. The gospel is not an offer. The
gospel is the declaration from these scriptures of what God
Almighty has eternally purposed to do and has done and is doing
in the salvation of His elect. God has a people and He's going
to save them. He's going to save them. They're
going to save them from themselves. He's going to be sure. Now, for
a moment, I want us to look at the biblical declaration of how
God saves His people. And I realize, I think of that
passage so many times, Paul says, to say the same things unto you,
to me is not grievous. He said, for you it's safe. Because
let me tell you what's gonna happen. All of us are gonna stand
before God. We're all gonna stand before
God. And do you know there's gonna be one thing that matters?
What think ye of Christ? That's it. That's it. What think
ye of Christ? Was he somebody that was offered
to men, you know, for them to decide, you know, I don't know. I'm not really... Or was He declared to be, and
revealed to my heart to be, the sovereign Savior of sinners? That came into this world and
lived for Him and died for Him, put away their guilt by His blood,
robed them in His righteousness, kept them by His power, saved
them by grace, and gave them faith to believe it. Now which
is it? It's one way or the other. Either He's a helpless, You know,
somebody that's wanting to do something or else he's God. Now, what is it? What think you
of Christ? So I want us to look for a minute here in Psalm 18
that declares who God is. Who is God? And I want us to
see the faithfulness of God to save his people from their sins. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world. I'll just read this to you. It's
in John chapter 6. He came into this world to do
something. He came into this world to do
something. John 6, 38 to 40. This is what the scripture says
He came into this world to do. He said, verse 38, for I came
down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him
that sent me." Well, I know why he came. He came to do the will
of the Father. Okay. What's the will of the
Father? Well, the Lord says, and this,
verse 39, this is the Father's will which has sent me, that
of all which he hath given me, Now, you know what I just read?
That God the Father has given him somebody. He's given him
somebody. Now, the world can refute, you
know, refute election and choosing and selecting. The Scripture
says, this is the Father's will that of all which He's given
me, I should lose nothing. You know what that means? That
means that all that the father gave him, Dick, he's not going
to lose any of them. He's not going to lose any of
them. But I should raise it up again at the last day. You know
what that means? In the last day, everyone that the father
gave the son The Son is going to save and He's going to raise
them up on the last day, and they're gonna be raised in power
and majesty according to God's will and God's purpose. That's
what it means. And this, verse 40, is the will of Him that sent
me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on Him
may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the last
day. Now that, He came into this world
on purpose. He came up in this world to do
that which the Father sent Him to do. Now, while this whole
world makes salvation to be unsure, and you can only just look with
me for just a few minutes and just think on what I'm saying
here. If salvation is based on whether
or not a man A man makes a decision. You know, I heard Brother Henry
Mahan say one time, he said, you know, if you believe that
salvation is according to man's will and man's choice and man's
free will, if you believe that, don't pray to God anymore. you
think is wanting to save everybody. That's what the Lord wants to
save everybody. So don't pray to him. He's already
declared what his will is. He won't save everybody if that's
what you think, which is not what scripture says. But he said
pray to the ones that's trying to make the decision. Pray to
them. They're the ones that's going to make the decision one
way or the other. Just pray to them instead. If salvation is
left in their hands, go to them. Don't go to the Lord. You're
wasting your time. See how foolish that sounds?
This world's religion makes salvation to be based totally on what a
man does. And here's the problem. Man's
dead. False religion makes no sense
whatsoever. It makes no sense. It's just
foolish. It's a deception. It's a lie. It's a lie. There's no hope in
it. There's no security in it. That is not salvation according
to this book. That's not. God's salvation is
sure. The will of the Lord is going
to be done. Almighty God has declared in
Revelation that the Lamb's book of life was written when? You know that. Before the foundation
of the world. Every name that's ever been written
in Christ was written before the foundation of the world.
They're all written in His book. And you know what the will of
the Lord is? Will the Father sent the Son into the world,
and every one that He gave Him, every one that He'd given me,
I should lose none of them. And guess how many He's gonna
lose? None of them. He's gonna save them all. And
He's gonna save them through the preaching of this gospel
right here, the truth that honors God and doesn't honor men. And
so here's, I got some hope. I got some hope. Somebody said,
well, you know, You don't seem to see any activity or something
like that? Well, I'm gonna leave that up
to the Lord. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm
gonna preach the same gospel. I'm gonna keep proclaiming the
same message, because I can tell you for a fact, God's gonna save
his people. Now, I want us to just look at
the biblical salvation. What happens when God is pleased
to save a sinner? Psalm 18. Verse 43, 44, the scripture
says, thou has delivered me from the strivings of the people.
Now, you know, if you look at the beginning
of this, psalm at the top, verse 18, it says, you may have a little
description, it says, the servant of the Lord, this is a psalm
of David, servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words
of this psalm in the day that the Lord delivered him from the
hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and it goes
on. And without a doubt, I'm convinced
that this psalm, humanly speaking, was penned according to God's
deliverance of David, regular king David, the man, and deliverance
from his enemies, and it speaks of God's deliverance and God's
mercy to him. But now, you know and I know,
according to the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the two
men on the road to Emmaus, of whom do these scriptures speak?
The Lord said, beginning with Moses, all the scriptures. He's spoken to them of those
things concerning himself. So really, who is this book about?
The Lord Jesus. So when we consider these verses
as they relate to the Lord Jesus Christ and the glorious conversion,
salvation of His people, Jew and Gentile, according to God's
will, Then these verses are going to be that which excites the
heart and makes it to be one of thanksgiving and to giving
honor and praise unto him that's worthy. Now, you know, thou has
delivered me from the strivings. Now, listen who's talking, who's
praying. This is the obedient servant
of Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ. As God, he's God, Almighty, never
relinquished it, but he humbled himself, made himself of no reputation. Here he is praying as the God-man,
mediator. Amazing truth. Thou has delivered
me from the strivings, from the contention, and the controversy
of the people. But not just any people. He holds
your place. If you want to turn to 2 Samuel
22, this is also recorded. These words are recorded in 2
Samuel 22. It says in Psalm 18, 43, Thou
hast delivered me from the strivings of the people. In 2 Samuel 22,
verse 44, Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people.
My people. What a distinction. All of God's
people are born in this world just like everybody else. God's
got a people and they're people that's been given unto Him the
Lord. We've established that. that God's got a people given
unto the Son, a people that He's gonna save. And I want you to
look, hold your place in Psalm again, and turn over to John
17. These people, the Lord's people, you've delivered me from
the strivings of my people, people that were born into this world,
How were they born? Well, hold your place. If you're
over in John 17, let me just read this to you. How were they
born? Well, in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, it says, proclaiming,
writing this letter to the church at Ephesus, and you have equipped
them who were dead in trespasses and sin, wherein in time past
you walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom we also, we all had
our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others. So how are God's people born?
They're born wrathful toward God just like everybody else.
They're no different than one of God's elect and one left to
themselves. God's got a people, but I'll
tell you how they're born. But what does the Scripture say
concerning those that are born? The Lord's people, they're His
elect, but they're born in rebellion against Him. What does He do
for them? Well, here's what He says in John chapter 17 in verse
9. Well, I'll tell you what I'll
do. Let me just read verses 6 to 9. John 17, I've manifested thy
name unto the man which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, thou gavest them me, they've kept thy word. Now they
have known that all things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee.
I've given unto them the words which thou gavest me. Now you
notice how distinctly he's speaking concerning these. I've given
unto them. The words which thou gavest me,
they've received them. They've known surely that I came
out from thee. They have believed that thou
didst send me. I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine." So somebody
said, well, the Lord prays for everybody, not according to the
word of the Lord. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, I pray for those that thou hast given me. So I know
this, the Lord, he prays for his people that were given him. Those that were born into this
world, rebels against him. But what happens? The Lord said
you've delivered me from the strivings of people. The Spirit of God is going to
come to those that God has given Him, and the Spirit of God is
going to conquer them, powerfully. He is going to deliver the elect
of God from their striving against the Lord, from the domination,
power of sin over them. Now that old man is going to
still be there. They're gonna struggle with that old man, but
I'm telling you, sin doesn't have dominion over them anymore. You've delivered me from the
strivings. What happens in the day of God
power, Psalm 110.3, God makes them willing. You know why a man, woman, won't
bow to Christ? You know why they won't? They
won't do it. They don't want to. I just don't want to. But if Almighty God comes in
power, takes that stony heart out and gives them a heart of
flesh, breathes in them the breath of life, you know what they do?
They want to come now. You want to know why I want to
go home with my wife? I want to. That's why I go. I
want to. That's why. That's why I do it.
I want to. So here's the scripture declares. Verse 43 in Psalm 18. Thou hast delivered me from the
strivings of the people. Thou hast made me the head of
the heathen. A people whom I have not known
shall serve me. Thou hast made me the head of
the heathen. Now, you know what? Colossians
1.18 says he is the head of the body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead. that in all things
he might have the preeminence. Christ is the head of the body
of his people, the church. He's the representative head
and surety from all eternity. He stood for them, answered for
them before God. He's the reigning head who governs
the body as their king. He loves them, has compassion
on them, and He's the providing head by whom every need for the
good of His own is supplied. My God shall supply all your
need. He's the head, He's the head.
The latter part of verse 43, A people
whom I have not known shall serve me. That's not that the Lord
Never knew him at all, he knows all things, but he's always known
his people, but according to his everlasting covenant. People
that were strangers to him, is what he's talking about. He knew
them, he knew who they were. Ephesians chapter 2, again, speaking
of even God's elect, they were being strangers. Listen to Ephesians
2. verses 11 to 16. Wherefore remember
that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh who were called
uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in
the flesh made by hands, that at that time you were without
Christ. without him in knowledge, without
him in regeneration, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in this world, but now in Christ, you who sometimes
were far off or made nigh by the blood of Christ." And this
is what the Lord says. Thou has delivered me from the
strivings of my people. You delivered me from that. And
then he says in verse 44 of Psalm 18, as soon as they hear of me,
they shall obey me. As soon as they hear of me, they
shall obey me. Now let me tell you something
that I do know for a fact. As soon as they elect of God,
hear of him in power. with new ears through the preaching
of the gospel, they shall obey. I know that for a fact. I know
that there is an obedience in the day of God's power when the
shepherd speaks, my sheep hear my voice. I know them, they follow
me. God speaks and they hear. They're
regenerated by grace, they hear by faith that has been imparted
to them. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the word of God. The thief on the cross heard
the Lord speaking. He was just like the other one.
The one that called on the Lord, he was just like the other one.
They were both railing on him. when the Spirit of God obviously
gave that repentant thief a heart, a new heart, regenerate him.
Right there, he did something. He called on the Lord. Lord,
when you enter into your kingdom, would you remember me today? Today you'll be with me. Cried
out for mercy. What a blessing. Matthew 13,
16 says, but blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears
for they hear. With that power, that word that's
quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, there is
obedience. That is a fact. And we know that. That's a fact. But that's not what this scripture
says. Scripture says in verse 44, As
soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me. The strangers
shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade
away and be afraid out of their close places. While that scripture, while the
scripture I know, speaks of the surety of God's salvation for
his people, they're going to hear. This passage of scripture, and
believe me when I say this, I checked it to make sure, because what
I'm about to say is going to be, you know, when you hear what
I'm about to say, you're going to say, hmm, check it out. As soon as they hear of me, they
shall obey me. The strangers shall submit themselves
unto me. Now, the strangers. Here in verse
44, just look with me, I'm going to wrap this up. As soon as they
hear of me, they shall obey me, the strangers. Now the strangers
right there, it is referred to as meaning a foreigner, or heathendom
is actually the word. And that word is from another
word, which means to scrutinize, to be acquainted, to disregard,
to ignore. Verse 44, where verse 43 is speaking
about the surety of God Almighty delivering from the strivings
of the people, His people, against Him and saving Him, there's something
said in verse 44 that is a dire warning to men to be careful. Be careful what you hear. Be
careful what you hear. The scripture says, as soon as
they hear of me, these strangers, and you may have a margin in
your Bible as soon as they, verse 44, it says, as soon as they
hear, it says, at the hearing of the ear, And it says that
these strangers, verse 12, sons of the strangers, and they shall
submit. And here's where it gave real
indication of what's being said right here. That they should
submit themselves. The marginal reading is yield
feigned obedience. Insincere obedience. Pretending
obedience. Let me tell you what's being
said right here. Many people hear, and they hear with a natural
ear. Job 42 verse five and six gave
great light to me on this. Job said, I've heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear. Well, that's what this marginal
said right here. I've heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear. I looked this up. the hearsay knowledge of God.
Hearsay. This is what a lot say, this
is what they say about him. Not knowing him in a true and
heavenly revealed sense. Job said, I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore,
I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. The Lord has
declared in verse 43, thou has delivered me from the strivings
of the people, my people, Thou hast made me the head of the
heathen, a people whom I've not known shall serve me." That's
a... God's going to save his people. But there's a lot of hearing
about God that's just hearsay hearing. That's what this is
saying. Check it out. What's it say? Let me show you
what happens to them. These strangers, as soon as they
hear, they shall obey. I'll make a comment on that.
Look at verse 45, the strangers. Here again, same word, same exact
word in verse 44. The strangers shall fade away. What does that mean? What do
you think it means? They're going to fade away. But
I thought that God keeps His people of power and grace. He
does. He does. God's not going to lose
any of His elect. But these people that hear and
give feigned obedience, they hear of God's judgment, they
hear of justice, and the natural man hears and he gives an insincere
allegiance to Christ. That's what's happening. I'm
going to have to do religion. I'm going to have to get back
in church or something. I'm going to get me a Bible and get me
a cross and put it around my neck and I'm going to have this
and the other. But when the spiritual eye is
opened and God is seen in His true light, this is what Job
says, I heard of you by the hearing of the ear. A lot of people hear
about God. and about Jesus. Let me ask you something, whenever
you hear with just the hearing of the ear, the natural hearing
of the ear, and God hasn't done something for a man, a woman,
what do they do? They're going to get religious
and they're going to get feigned, insincere. That's why the marginal
reading is correct. It's a feigned obedience That natural ear hears about
sin and everything, and it's going to make a move, but it's
not sincere. God's going to have to do something
for His people. The strangers, verse 45, they
shall fade away. Here again, look it up. What
are they going to do? It means they're going to wilt, they're
going to fall away, and they're going to fail. and be afraid out of their close
places. Those who possess a pretended
allegiance, like that Pharisee over in Acts, the book of Acts. Luke, I'm sorry. Went up in the
temple to pray. He said, God, oh, I'm so thankful
that I'm not as other men are. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not
a fornicator. I give all, you know, trusted
in himself that he was righteous. And God said, this man went to
his house not justified. As publican, cried out, God be
merciful to me, a sinner. I don't have anything to say
to you. I have nothing to offer to you. I'm asking you to have
mercy on me. That man went down justified. Feigned allegiance
is what that's talking about. They shall obey me. When it says
obey, but again, they shall obey me, but they obey me with feigned
allegiance. Because if it was true, I can
tell you this, 45 wouldn't be talking about God's people. These
strangers that fade away, fall away, fail. Almighty God. gonna stand before
Him and everyone that stands before Him in their carnal mind,
with their carnal works and free will, they're gonna find out
that their close place, their place of refuge, what they hoped
in. But I thought, but they told
me, that preacher told me, he told me if I do this, this, and
this, I'd be saved, I'm saved. Well, if it's not according to
this book, he lied to you. He lied to you. Well, they can't
all be liars. No, they're not all liars. But
they're all liars that don't agree with this book. I can tell
you that. That's a fact. And then David,
under the inspiration of God's Spirit, declared what every believer
says. Verse 46, the Lord liveth. Oh,
and blessed be my rock. Let the God of my salvation be
exalted. Not my will, not my works, not
my choice. I got one hope. I got one hope. That God Almighty has mercy on
this sinner. I have nothing in which to brag,
boast, say Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I'm going to read
those four verses again and we're going to stop. Thou hast delivered
me from the strivings of the people. Thou hast made me the
head of the heathen, of people whom I have not known shall serve
me. As soon as they hear of me, they
shall obey me. The strangers shall submit themselves
unto me." And again, with that feigned obedience, that just
pretended, you know. The strangers shall fade away
and be afraid Out of their close places, the Lord liveth. And blessed be my rock, and let
the God of my salvation be exalted. May God bless these words to
our hearts, for Christ's sake. Amen.