Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 62. Psalms,
chapter 62. This psalm is set forth to be
a psalm of David, and certainly it is. as David
is found to be in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, just like
every other believer. But as we read this psalm, there's
something that we absolutely know and need to be reminded
of. These are truly the words of
the Lord Jesus Christ. As we look at this blessed psalm,
I want to look at all 12 verses. But as we look at this psalm,
you're going to see where David can absolutely be speaking and
the Lord can be speaking as the Lord is set forth here as the
God-man mediator. He who absolutely walked by faith. The Lord Himself, we need to
remember that, totally God, totally man, establishing the righteousness
of His people. So the Lord is found to say things
here that truly can only be said as a man trusting God, waiting
upon Him. And so when we see these overlaps,
realize that these words are truly, all scripture speaks of
Christ. You know that. But these are
also the words of God's people as they're found in Him. This
is truly our desire. Now He always says these words
perfectly. And we say them with a desire
to say them, but also we're going to find that there is a nature
about every believer that sinneth not. And so this beautiful psalm
is a psalm of hope and blessedness to God's people. So let's listen
to what the Lord has got to say concerning Himself and says only
as his people speak, as they are found in him. Verse one,
truly. Now if you have a marginal reading,
you might notice in the margin, that word truly right there is
interpreted, only. Truly, only. My soul waiteth
upon God. From him cometh my salvation. Here is in the essence of His
being, here's the Lord Jesus Christ speaking. And He's speaking
in His own merit. He's speaking of Him who is the
faithful witness. Truly, only, my soul waketh. You know, waiting. And that word
waiteth right there again, you may have a marginal interpretation
there, silent. My soul only, my soul is only
silent, quiet, confident upon God. What does that mean? I'm
not arguing with Him. I'm not disputing, I'm not murmuring
against Him. I truly wait on God. Now, that waiting on the Lord. The Lord Jesus said it perfectly. He's the one that did only always
those things that pleased the Father. But a believer also says
it, as I said a moment ago, in that new man. That new man that
is found to be in the same body with that old man. And let me
tell you what that old man's doing. He's not waiting on God,
I can tell you that. His carnal mind is enmity against
God. But here's the Lord Jesus Christ
waiting, perfect, only waiting upon the Lord. You know, we're
commanded to wait on the Lord. And we do, we do. Oh, the struggle,
the struggle. Do you know the reason? You want to know the reason that
a believer struggles? It's because now there is a new
man there. You know, before, the Lord called us out of darkness. There wasn't any struggle as
far as obedience and love toward the Lord. There was no... In
our minds, we're at peace with God. I mean, everybody goes to
heaven. Really, I mean, you go to a funeral,
they're always in a better place. I mean, always. What funeral
have you ever gone to and a preacher got up and said, well, we know
this one's in hell? I mean, you don't say that. But when the
Lord's pleased to come to one of His own and regenerate and
give a new life, now there's a struggle. Now there's a battle
that's going on. So here's David, as he's found
in Christ, and the Lord Jesus, perfectly, truly, only my soul. My soul is only silent upon God. I think of the Lord Jesus Christ
as our federal head, and I know, I know, He walked before God
perfectly, with perfect faith. He walked by faith. He was a man. He was made under
the law, made of a woman. He had the obligation. He obligated
himself. to be obedient to the law. And
someone says, well, yeah, but he really wasn't. No, no, no.
He was the man, Christ Jesus. And the Father gave the witness
of Him. This is my beloved Son, whom
I'm well pleased. He obeyed God. So here the Spirit
of God moved upon David to speak of the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the blessing of the grace of God's people being found
in Him. Truly my soul waiteth upon God,
from Him cometh my salvation. Now, the Spirit directed David
to pen that truth, from Him cometh my deliverance, my salvation. He is my victory. He is my hope. That hope that
truly David desired and longed for and loved. He knew that from
Him was his deliverance and safety. But oh, that struggle that David
and every believer has. I said, why? Because of that
old man. Paul said this, he versed him
under the inspiration of God's Spirit, Romans 7, 18. I know
that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to
will is present with me. There's a new man there, a new
will. The will is present with me.
Oh, but how to perform that which is good I find not. I've read
that verse of scripture so many times, but you know me, I'll
look at a word and for a second I'm thinking, now what did I,
I looked that up before. I know it means something. But
how to perform, I looked it up. Here's what it means. To accomplish
or achieve having gone through the fight. That's what it means. But how to perform, how to achieve
what my will desires. I see it, I know it, I desire
to be faithful, but oh, the battle of doing it, absolutely doing
it. So, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the only one that could truly say, truly, only, my soul is
silent upon God. From Him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock, and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be greatly moved. He is my only rock of foundation. He's my only salvation. He's
my only defense. That word only right there, that
can only be said by the Lord Jesus Christ. Only rock. Why? Because you and I have everything
else that we find to fall back on. We fall back on. We've got things and mess and
stuff. No believer would ever of himself
say, he is my only rock. He is my only salvation. That word only means He's my
only refuge, He's my only deliverance, He's my only safety. He rested
in the Father only. Our great Savior, the priest
did that which we cannot do. I need for Him to do for me what
I can't do. I want God to be my only rock. I want to be able to say, He's
my only salvation. I want to be able to say, I don't
look to anything else or anybody else. I want to be able to say
that He is my refuge. I want to be able to say that,
but I can't. I can't say it of myself. Only
in Him. David said, I shall not be greatly
moved. Now, I'll tell you this, there's
the voice of a believer speaking. I shall not be greatly moved. Proverbs 24 16 says this. Proverbs 24 16 says this. A just man falleth
seven times and riseth up again. But the wicked shall fall in
the mischief. A just man falls. He's found
in calamities. And they're so fast, and they're
so numerous, and they're so often. But the Scripture says He's going
to get up. He's going to get up. He will get up. And David
confessed, knowing his union in the Lord Jesus Christ, being
kept by the power of God. He said, I shall not be greatly
moved. But only the Lord Himself could
say truthfully, I shall not be greatly moved. David said it,
he said this, I'm going to fall. I'll fall. But the Lord has promised
me He's not going to leave me down. He's going to pick me up,
He'll lift me up. I won't be greatly moved. I'm
going to fall into calamities. But the Lord Jesus Christ said
this, I shall not be greatly moved. I hope I'm making a point. There's a difference in what
I'm saying. David's saying, I won't go far. I won't go far. I'm gonna fall, but I won't go
far. The Lord said, I won't go far. I won't even go far. I won't even be moved. And he
reiterated that in verse six, the latter part of verse six.
I shall not be moved. He didn't deviate at all. The
scripture says, concerning him, he was despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He bore our griefs
and carried our sorrows. He was smitten of God. He was
afflicted, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. And
in all of his sufferings and sorrows, his righteous soul waited
upon God. And he never questioned. He was
silent. The Lord was his salvation and
his defense. He was not moved from his meat
to do the will of Him that sent me. And then the Spirit of God
moved upon David to pen a question that again could only be asked
truthfully by the Lord Himself. Verses 3 and 4, it's a question
that reveals the attitude and the eternal end of those who
are the enemies of God. Only the Lord could ask this
question, found in verse three and four. How long will you imagine
mischief against a man? You shall be slain, all of you. As a bowing wall shall you be
and as a tottering fence. That which has no foundation
is what it is. Just built it up, didn't put a foot or down
footings or anything like that. And here's what He said concerning
those that will leave this world trusting in themselves. They
only consult to cast Him down from His excellency. They delight
in lies. They bless with their mouth,
but they curse inwardly. And then the Spirit of God moves
upon David to write that word, Selah. What He says is, stop
right here and think about what God just said. Think about what
He said. Who could know the imagination
and the thoughts of men concerning their mischief. Who knows that? Who knows the mind of men but
God? Who can know the assaults? Who
can know the attacks against a man? But not just a man. The man. The man. Who could know this mischief
against him, the man of God's delight, God's choosing, man
that has eternally stood as the surety and salvation of his people. How long will you imagine mischief
against a man? You know, as I was going over
my notes this morning, I began to think, what is the greatest mischief
that man by nature tries to accomplish against God. What's the greatest
mischief? Somebody says, well, you know,
the Lord, man can't get to Him, the Lord's in heaven, and what
mischief? What's the greatest mischief?
I'll tell you what it is. Man thinking that he's got a free
will. Man thinking that he has a free will. Whenever man thinks
that, he's putting himself or trying to put himself, thinking
he's putting himself in the place of God. That was the mind of
Satan when the Lord told those Pharisees, you are of your father,
the devil. What did Satan say? Isaiah 14,
14, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like
the most high. The Lord by His Spirit spoke
through Jonah and said this, salvation is of the Lord. What does man say? Salvation
is by my free will. What is the greatest point of
mischief against the Lord Himself? Man thinking that salvation is
by his will. What did the Lord say is going
to happen? You shall be slain, all of you. As a bowing wall
shall you be, as a tottering fence, you're going to perish. You leave this world, they'll
stand before God pleading their works, and the Lord will say,
depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew you in grace and
mercy. They only consult to cast Him down. That's when man expresses, even
in his heart, thinking, I am the source of my salvation. God
offered it to me, I'm going to give Him the credit for that. Seriously, that's what they're
thinking. God graciously offered it to me. But I'm the one. I'm
the one that accepted it. I'm the one that made the choice. He left it up to me and I'm the
one that decided. They only consult to cast Him
down from His excellency. That's what the Lord is saying. And what's their real joy? They
delight in lies. Do you know until the Lord calls
a man or woman out of darkness, They don't know that they're
believing a lie. Before the Lord revealed Himself
to me, I thought I was believing the truth. I truly did. Didn't you? I thought I was believing
the truth. I thought that salvation was
an offer. I thought that the Lord wants
to save everybody. That He died. I couldn't figure
out exactly. Well, He died on the cross. I
know that. He died on the cross and He shed His blood. And I
was told that that made salvation possible. That he's paid for
the debt, he's paid the debt, but I've got to accept it. Really,
then the blood of Christ didn't really accomplish anything unless
I let it accomplish something. You see how, what are they doing? They consult to cast him down,
and they delight in lies, and they bless with their mouth,
but they curse inwardly. Do you know I don't ever remember,
before the Lord revealed Himself to me, I don't ever remember
doing anything other than speaking what I thought was respectfully
of the Lord. I blessed the Lord. I called Him the Lord. I used words like grace and salvation. With their mouth, the Lord said,
they honor Him. But in their heart, they despised
Him. That's what they do. They bless
with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. But do they know they're
cursing? No. They don't. Why? Because the heart's deceitful. A carnal heart will lie to you. My heart will lie to me. And I don't know it until the
Lord gives me a new heart. Then all of a sudden I'm realizing,
and you cannot convince a believer. You cannot convince a believer. Because God's given him a new
heart and God keeps him. You cannot convince a believer
to go back to the old way. They're kept by the power of
God. Aren't you glad for that? And the Lord said, now you muse
on that. You muse on that. You consider what's been said.
And then the Spirit of God moved upon David to pen these blessed
words. It's like he's speaking to himself. Now listen how a believer talks
to himself. My soul, wait thou only upon God, for
my expectation is from Him. Now you that know Him, I'm going
to tell you something. This is what you think. This
is how you think. Marvin, that new man that God's
created, you be silent. Only upon God. A believer can
muse within himself the truth of this. And he knows that only
the Lord has actually done it. Oh, that the righteousness that's
been established by the Lord Jesus Christ would be imputed
to me and God would give me a new heart and there's a new man there
that this is what he wants. That's what I want. I want to
be silent. I want to wait. I don't want
to murmur. I don't want to complain before
God. I want my expectation, my hope,
my hope of life is from Him. He only is my rock. He's my only
foundation. He's my salvation. He's my defense. I shall not be moved. In God
is my salvation. and my glory, the rock of my
strength, my refuge is in God. Now, David said something in
verse 7 under the inspiration of God's Spirit for our benefit
that he had not previously said. He used in verse 7 a word, salvation. God is my salvation. Now you know he used the word
salvation in verse 1, verse 2, and verse 6. Look at verse 1.
Truly my soul waiteth upon God, from Him cometh my salvation.
Verse 2, He only is my rock and my salvation. Verse 6, He only
is my rock and my salvation. And every time He used the word
salvation in 1, 2, and 6, that word means deliverance. Deliverance. In verse 7, it's written It's the same word, but it's
not the same word. It's a different word. The word
salvation in verse 7 is this. Liberty. He is my deliverance. But I tell you what. He's made
me free. He's freed me. John 8.32 says
you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. He is my deliverance, and He
is my liberty. Having heard the gospel, and
had that gospel powerfully and affectionately born to our hearts
from above, God's people are taught something. They're taught
that by God's Spirit, in regenerating grace, they have been freed from
the penalty and the curse penalty of sin and the curse of the law. What is the curse of the law?
Death. The wages of sin is death. But in Christ, He who has delivered
me has freed me from the penalty of sin by the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're free from the power of
sin. What does that mean? It doesn't
have dominion over us anymore. What do you mean by that? It
means that we don't walk by law. That's what it means. Well, if
I don't obey the law, then I'm not going to be... I've got to
keep the Ten Commandments and stuff. Let me tell you something.
There's not one in here that's ever kept one of the commandments.
You've never kept it. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart and all thy soul, and you might as well
stop. We've never done that. You shall not kill. The Lord
said if you hate a brother, you murdered him. We've never done
that. We've never obeyed. There's not one. But we're free
from the power of sin as the law is our covenant. The law
is not our covenant. We're under a covenant of God's
grace and God's mercy. There's no curse for God's people
because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being
made a curse for us. Let me tell you something else.
It kind of goes along with what I just said, but I jotted this
down a minute ago. We're free from the bondage of
trying to work to establish righteousness before God. Free from that. I can't tell
you, I've mentioned this before, but I mean the reason I want
to mention it before, because I used to think of this so many
times, it would go through my mind. Before the Lord was pleased
to reveal Christ in me. I would try to think back on
when I made, you know, when I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior.
That's terminology that, you know, why don't you accept Jesus
as your personal Savior? And how many times did I go back
and think, I can't remember if I was truly, truly sincere. I can't remember if I just did
it or if I just said it. I can't remember what my mindset
was. And I'm telling you, that would
bug me, Don. It would just, oh, I would just,
oh, I don't think. What? Oh. Alright, here's what,
I'm going to do it again. I'm going to do it again, and
this time I'm going to mean it. I'm going to mean it. I mean
it. I'm going to mean it. And I've got to get as sincere
as I possibly can. You say, well Marvin, that's
kind of stupid. It wasn't stupid to me. I mean, this was reality
to me. I mean, I read those scriptures. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. And I read that and I thought,
now when you believe, you've got to really, really believe.
You've got to mean it. You've got to mean it. And I
thought, what if I didn't mean it enough? And so I'd do it again. Until the next time. And there
was never any peace. But to be free, he is my liberty. That salvation is by the grace
of God. And what is demanded of God was
accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. And He moved on the Apostle
Paul to tell me about the struggles that I'll have. You ask a believer
right now. What do you believe? I believe
this. I believe that salvation is of the Lord and I am a sinner
before God. And I'm telling you, if God marked
iniquity, I'd be in hell. If He charged me with what I
do by nature, I know I ain't gonna make it. But by the grace
of God, I am what I am. And Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. David was moved to say, in God
is my liberty, and He's my glory. What does that mean? That means
I'm going to boast in Him. He is my boast. He's my personal hope, and my
peace, and my comfort, because I don't have any in me. He's the rock of my strength
and my refuge is in Him. And in verse 8, while I looked
at that verse again this morning, I thought I could preach the
whole message. This whole chapter summed up
to me in that verse 8 right there. Here's what it says. Trust in
Him at all times. What does that mean? That means
don't trust yourself. That's what it means. Trust in
Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him.
What does that mean? Tell him the burden of your heart.
Lord, I'm so weak, I'm so frail, I'm so sorry. Oh Lord, have mercy. God is a refuge for us, not my
free will decision. And then the Lord moved on David
to say, now you tell him to think on that for a few more minutes.
Just rest in there. The Lord orders the steps of
his people. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
His ways are not our ways. And everything that He sends
us is for our good and His glory. So we behold His will in us,
in His providential dealings with us. And if you want to know
the will of the Lord, consider what He brings to pass. If you
want to know what God's will, what is the will of the Lord?
Whatever God brings to pass, that is the will of the Lord.
Well, I feel as though it doesn't matter what we feel. I think
if you want to know the will of the Lord, He'll give you comfort
in your heart, but if you want to know His will, He worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. So if you want
to know, trust Him. That's what David said. Trust
in Him at all times. And you pour out your heart before
Him. God is our refuge. God is our
hiding place. You tell Him the burden of your
heart and you wait on the Lord. Verse 9. Surely men of low degree
are vanity. Men of high degree are a lie.
To be laid in the balance, they're altogether lighter than vanity.
He just told us, trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Trust
in Him at all times. Because if you trust anybody
else, they're going to fail you. That's what He said. Men of low
degree, men of high degree, and this men of low degree, that's
how we see them. You know, men of low degree,
those that just don't attain as much, well, if the Lord does
according to his good pleasure. Gives somebody a few extra things
in this life and they appear to be men of higher degree. That's
what it is. Low degree, high degree. Those
that are high degree, they know better than those of low degree.
Those men of high degree, what does the scripture say about
them? They're a lie. They're just a lie. They're just
deceitful. How many times have you ever
found this? You get yourself in a pinch and
say, well, you know what? I know a guy. I know a guy. I can get this handled. I'll get this taken care of.
What does the scripture say? You trust in the Lord. You pour
out your heart to Him. God is a refuge. And everybody
else can't be trusted. That's exactly what it's saying.
I'll tell you how much they're worth. I'll tell you what the
Spirit of God says they're worth as far as trusting in them. He
said to be laid in the balance, they're altogether lighter than nothing. They're lighter
than nothing. In fact, I looked that up right
there and it says, Chuck, you put something in a balance and
normally it goes down when there's weight. It's to go up. The balance don't even go down
when you put them in their worth. It goes up. That's a strange
way, but you understand it. Don't trust in men. Don't trust in yourself. Trust
in the Lord. Verse 10, trust not in oppression,
and become not vain in robbery. If riches increase, set not your
heart upon them. Don't trust in your supposed
strength or the strength of others that are just like you, because
they don't have anything either. They don't have anything to support
you. Don't think yourself to be able. to oppress men and elevate
yourself at the expense of others. Don't become vain in robbery.
Robbery of any kind. You say, well, I've never robbed
anybody. How many times have we robbed somebody of their character? Those who trust in robbery. Robbery of any kind. Character. I don't mean with a gun. Don't trust in your supposed
ability to be able to elevate yourself at the expense of someone
else. And then the Spirit of God moved
upon David to say, and if riches increase, set not your heart
upon them. Mr. Harker, one of the writers
said this, riches in an honorable way. I mean, I know that this
man by nature is going to rob others for his own good. If I
can get away with it and rob you a little bit of your time
or rob you a little bit of your efforts or something like that
and make you feel as though, you know, if you're going to
charge me for it, you're wrong in me. A man's worth of his hire. Don't rob of anything. But even
if riches, that's a dishonorable way, but if riches increase in
an honorable way, not in oppression or robbery, The Lord moved on
David to say, don't set your heart or don't trust them. What
if a man gained the whole world and lost his soul? He's trusted in emptiness is
all he's done. Riches, they're going to perish.
Going to be like that man that found himself, he had so much
money, he didn't have enough place to put all of his stuff
in barns, so he decided, I'm going to tear them down and I'm
going to build me more barns. And the Lord said, thou fool,
this night Thy soul shall be required of thee, then whose
things shall these be? David in closing wrote in 11
and 12, God has spoken once. That is concerning trusting only
in the Lord and waiting only on the Lord. God has spoken once. It means God has spoken once
and for all. You don't have to say it again.
God has spoken once. Twice have I heard this. What
does that mean? It means that I need to hear
it more than once. I need to hear this over and
over again. How many times is a believer
pleased to hear what God has said once and for all? He wants to hear it over and
over and over again. But what has the Lord said? What has He said? God has spoken
once, twice have I heard it, twice have I heard this. Now
you tell me what God said one time that I need to hear over
and over and over again. Here it is. That power, strength,
belongeth unto God. How much do I have? None. None. None. I have no strength. I have no
ability. God has said that one time. He
said it in this book. Somebody said, well, no, He said
it more than once because I read it more than once. God said it
one time. Right here, in this book. He said it one time in the person
of His Son. One time. But we need to hear
it over and over and over. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth
mercy, without renderers to every man according to his work. All power belongs to God. That's what the Lord said in
Matthew 28, 18. Go ye into all the world, preach
the gospel. of every creature, all power is given unto me. In John 17 2, the scripture says,
the Father has given the Son power over all flesh that He
should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given
Him. That means that God Himself is ordering everything over everybody
for the salvation of His elect. God's all power belongeth unto
Him. Oh, but concerning Him who's
all powerful, He's a just God. He's just. He's a powerful God. But also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth
mercy. For thou renderest to every man
according to his work. Every man that stands before
God, leaves this world standing before God, trusting in his own
work. That's what I mentioned a while
ago. The Lord is going to render unto that man exactly what that
man wanted. That man wanted God to judge
him. I prophesied your name. I cast
out devils in your name. I've done many marvelous works
in your name. Now I want you to judge me on
my works. And the Lord said, I'm going
to render unto you exactly according to your works. And he's going
to say, depart from me. I never knew you. But on the
other hand, if a man's work is found to be a good work of faith,
1 Thessalonians 1, a labor of love and a patience of hope in
the Lord Jesus Christ, If that man, that woman by the grace
of God has been made willing in the day of God's power to
cast himself upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, putting
no confidence in his flesh, calling upon the Lord, Lord have mercy
on me, a work of faith. The Lord is going to render unto
that man according to his work, that work of faith that God gave
him out of that new heart. Salvations of the Lord. Trust
only in the Lord. I pray that God bless it to our
hearts for His glory and our good. Amen.
About Marvin Stalnaker
Marvin Stalnaker is pastor of Katy Baptist Church of Fairmont, WV. He can be contacted by mail at P.O. Box 185,
Farmington, WV 26571, by church telephone: (681) 758-4021
by cell phone: (615) 405-7069 or by email at marvindstalnaker@gmail.com.
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