Psalm chapter 25. The scripture says in Psalm 25,
verse 1, unto thee O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in Thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not
mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on Thee
be ashamed. Let them be ashamed which transgress
without cause. Show me Thy ways. O Lord, teach
me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach
me. For Thou art the God of my salvation. On Thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Thy tender
mercies and Thy loving kindnesses, for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth,
nor my transgressions. According to thy mercy, remember
thou me for thy goodness' sake. O Lord." If I had a title for the message,
I would entitle this, The Believer's Prayer. A Believer's Prayer. Now this psalm of David was most
likely written in his old age or when he fled from Absalom.
But really we don't know. We don't know for a reason. The
Spirit of God does not give us the place or the time of this
psalm, I believe, for a very specific reason. Because no matter
when it was written, We see by the Holy Spirit that
this prayer and meditation of David is the prayer and meditation
of His people in every generation. This is a prayer and meditation
of His people in every generation. Now, the Holy Spirit tells us
this, that David was in trouble. He was in trouble. Now believer,
is that not familiar to you? You who are believers in Christ,
I know it is. David was surrounded by his enemies. You read that in verse 2. He says, let not mine
enemies triumph over me. David was in need of guidance. He says this in verse 5. He said,
lead me in thy truth and teach me. He needed instruction. What
believer in Christ does not need guidance from our God? Instruction
in truth. We all need that. In verse 11,
he says, for thy name's sake pardon my iniquity. What believer
in Christ does not need pardon for iniquity? He was in great trouble. And
not only outward trouble, but inward trouble. Look at verse
17. The troubles of my heart are
enlarged. David was not only surrounded
outside, but inside. His troubles were not only outward
troubles, but inward troubles. Is not the trouble of your heart
always seem to be enlarged? I'll tell you what, you tell
your spiritual troubles to somebody who don't know Christ and they
don't have any clue. They're like, what in the world
are you troubled about? I don't understand. Only true
believers understand this. They're troubled within. And
listen, David was one who needed to be kept. Look at verse 20,
keep my soul and deliver me. Now, what believer does not cry
to God and say, keep my soul? We recognize this, if we are
to continue in the faith, we must be kept. You see, this prayer
of David truly transcends time. It goes throughout all generations
and God speaks to us through the prayer of His saint. And
we can say, that's my prayer. That's my prayer. That's not
just David's prayer. It's mine. In every generation,
this is true. This applies to the saints of
God in this present evil world. We who are born again of the
Spirit of God. We who have heard and believed
on Christ alone. This applies to us. We have received
the gospel of Christ, which to this world is foolishness. We have received the gospel of
Christ, but to this world it's foolishness. And to those that
perish, to those ignorant, legalist, freewill worksmongers, this gospel
of God's free grace that we have received is utter nonsense. To them, it is ignorance. To
us, it is the power of God unto salvation. To everyone that believeth. But I'll tell you this, believer,
as they are blind, were we not too blind? Would grace excel us above men? It shouldn't. The worst kind
of pride is not pride of face, pride of race, but it is pride
of grace. We too were blind and dead, unable
and unwilling to come to God, receive the things of God. And
those things which God freely gives only to His elect people,
we have received. Paul says this gospel of Christ
that we have received and that he has preached, he says in 1
Corinthians 2 that this gospel of God is a mystery. Mystery. hidden wisdom of God,
ordained before the world was to our glory, which no one knew,
which no man can know except the Spirit of God reveal it to
him. And so as I'm studying this prayer
of David, I'm considering this that, you know, I could have
no part in this prayer, I could have no understanding of this
prayer had God not given me grace to receive His gospel. This prayer
as well as all of the Word of God would be a mystery to me.
It would not be my experience. You see, this prayer is my experience.
Because of the grace of God given to me to know the mystery of
the Gospel, and we've received it of the free and sovereign
grace by the Holy Spirit through faith. And I'll tell you this, we know We know the things of God that
are freely given to us. Don't you know the things of
God that are freely given to you? Christ was freely given
to you, wasn't He? He was freely given for you.
His blood was freely given for you. He is ascended and is glorified
freely for you, so that you might be received of Him. He's given
you pardon, forgiveness, regeneration. We know the things that we were
freely given. But how is it that we knew these
things? How is it that we've come to
know these things? Was it not because we were taught
of the Spirit? You bet. The only way you're
ever going to understand this is if the Spirit of God comes
and teaches you these things. if He comes and reveals these
things. True religion is not education,
it's revelation. That's it. The only hope for
you is that God reveal it to you. That's it. The only hope
for me is that God were to teach me. But how do we learn these
things? How do we as believers grow in
these things? Paul said comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. That's how. Spiritual with spiritual. Believe in the Word of God. This
book. It's got a leather binding. It's made out of trees. They
cut trees. And so it's a physical book,
isn't it? But to us, it is not just a physical
book. It is a spiritual book. This
is a truly spiritual book. It's spiritual. The Word of God
is spiritual to the souls of men. It speaks to the souls of
men. Dividing of sunder. It's sharper
than any two-edged sword. Dividing of sunder of joints
and marrow, discerning the hearts, the intents of men. You see,
it deals with the inner man. It just doesn't deal with the
outside. Religion deals with the outside.
True religion speaks to the heart of men. To the heart. And as we live in this world,
believer, we cannot know the truth except we be taught of
God. You know, I believe one of the
worst things in the world is an unteachable believer. Have you reached such a level
as to you cannot be taught anymore? I know, believe me, that no believer
has ever not fought that. Or even that flesh bubbling up
in the heart has said that in our own minds. But we can always know more of
the grace of God in Christ. We can always learn more. Believers
in Christ, the Word of God is the source then of all faith
and practice. This book is the source of all
faith and practice for us. From this book alone is the standard
of all truth, for it speaks to us of Jesus Christ from cover
to cover. This book testifies and witnesses
to the heart of every chosen, redeemed, and regenerated child
of God. This Word speaks. This Word speaks
to us. Therefore, as we read of David's
foes, we read of David's troubles, We read of David's prayers. This is not something that happened
only in history, but rather because it is spiritual. It is happening
even now in our hearts. This book was not just written
for David, but rather for all of God's elect. Because this
is the experience of every believer in Christ. The experience of
his saints in the past, or the experience of his saints in the
present. Therefore we read of David's
troubles as woes, even so do we read of our own experience
of grace and need of Christ. Now listen, all men have experiences.
I spoke with a guy that seemed to have no knowledge of Christ
whatsoever. And yet he said he made a profession of faith when
he was young, his brother made a profession of faith when he
was young, his brother died not even having any interest in Christ.
And so he said, well, I'll tell you, you know, Lord, just give
me a sign that my brother's okay. And you know, a beam of light
came down out of the sky onto the hood of his car, and he said,
oh, now I know. Now I know. What was his source
of faith and practice? It was a beam of light coming
on his hood. His experience. His experience. He trusted in it. Matter of fact,
he formed his own doctrine based on his experience. Believers
in Christ, we do have experience, but we never base our doctrine
on our experience. But rather we take our experience
and we check it with the book. We take our experience and this
is the source of our faith and practice. And we take every experience
and we check it with the book. We must never base our doctrine
on our experience, but only on the Word of God and reject any
experience that is not fully founded upon the Word of God. It's because a man is surrounded
by enemies. Now look, David was surrounded
by enemies. Just because a man has an experience of being surrounded
by enemies does not make him a child of God. Just because a man has many troubles,
because man is plagued with sickness and griefs and pains, like David,
doesn't make him a man like David. Just because he's confused and
lost, because he doesn't know where to go, that doesn't prove
anything regarding his salvation. Why? These things, these troubles
are common to all men. Sickness is common to all men.
Pain is common to all men. Trouble, enemies are common to
all men. And so therefore, physical calamities
are no sign of man's spiritual condition. You remember when
the Lord Jesus Christ was told about those Galileans who were
slaughtered by Pilate. These Galileans, they were rebels. They were traitors. They went
up against the Roman government and Pilate killed them. And they
wanted to see what Jesus would say about that and so they told
him and he said, Do you suppose that these men were the greatest
sinners? He said, No. They weren't the greatest sinners.
But except you repent and believe, you shall likewise perish. He's told of 18 people, the Tower
of Siloam fell on them. You suppose those were wicked
men because they had great calamity? No. But except you repent, you
shall likewise perish. So you may be in trouble today.
You may be in pain. You may have sorrow and sickness. But your suffering is no proof
of your acceptance with God. And except you repent and believe
the gospel, you shall likewise perish. The earthly troubles
of the believer. What does the earthly troubles
of a believer do? It causes us to look spiritually. It causes us to look at our sin. And as we look at our sin, it
drives us to God. You see what the reason for trouble
is for the believer is not just for trouble's sake. It is rather
to convict and confess our sins and run to God. That's what trouble
is all about. Our troubles in the flesh are
not earthly, are they? Believer, is that so with you?
Your troubles in the flesh are not earthly. They're spiritual. What did Paul say? We wrestle
not with flesh and blood. This morning, Brother Scott,
your mother fell and broke her hip. We'll pray that God be gracious. to her and to you. But you know
what this is? It's not a physical problem.
With you, it will turn inward. And you will turn to God. You see what troubles do now
for a believer? Causes us to fly to God. That's what it does
for the believer. We wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities and powers, rulers of darkness
and high places. Our troubles are not carnal,
but spiritual. And we then are to compare our
troubles, take our troubles then to the Word of God for remedy. You got troubles? Where will
you go to find the remedy? Where will you go? The believer
will go to this book. Here. This is where we go. Why? Because this Word speaks. This
Word is living. And so then what is you believer
that are in trouble? This morning you're in trouble.
What's your remedy? What did our brother David do?
Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Prayer. Prayer is a remedy. Prayer. See, He did not seek
the help of men, nor did He trust anyone else to help but Jehovah. David needed to be sustained
in his trouble. He needed to be undergirded with
strength. He needed to be surrounded and
taken into the refuge of God. Therefore, he did not look to
man, he did not look to self, he looked only to the One that
could help, Jehovah, God. Turn to God. Prayer is the means
that God has given His children to obtain help. Now, prayer's
a mystery. Listen, prayer is a mystery. God has already determined what
He's going to do. It's unchangeable. It's immutable. Prayer does not change God. That's a lie. Does not change
God's mind. But rather, God has chosen this
means of humility. That's what prayer is. It's an
act of humility. It's an understanding that we
absolutely control nothing. That everything belongs into
the hands of the sovereign God and we are suing for sovereign
mercy. That's what we're doing. somebody was uh... one time believer
was dying and his daughter came up to one of the preacher of
the gospel and she said brother would you please pray to heal
my father now I'll tell you what that I will because I love the person
I desire that they not be in sorrow but really what would
be better for the man So I don't even know what to pray, as I
ought to. I'm in a strait. This man would
go and be with Christ, which is far better? Or should I ask
that he be brought back into this world and full of suffering
and die? I don't know. I'm just, prayer is a mystery
to me. I don't know. But whatever the Lord puts on
His people's hearts, we pray for it, and you should. I mean,
what has the Lord denied His people in prayer? Has He denied
you to ask anything? No. Ask! Ask! In faith, knowing this, thy will
be done. Not my will, but thy will be
done. That's the heart of a true believer.
He cries out to Jehovah, who is the rock of our salvation.
You see, the soul of the believer always flies to God as a hunted
bird to its nest. When the storms rage and our
little vessel is tossed, the believer makes straight for the
only harbor of refuge for our souls, Jehovah. Jehovah, our
God. Believer, have you not been to
this refuge many times before? That's why we know, that's why
we fly so quickly to it. Because it is the only safe refuge. Believer in troubles, our troubles
differ from the worldlings. When a worldling is in trouble,
his anchor is in the world. The worldling in trouble, his
anchor is in his own works. But our anchor for our souls
is lodged in the immutable, unchangeable grace and love of God in Christ. Therefore, we run to Jehovah.
We run to Jehovah in the sacred trinity of His persons. Now,
why do we do this? Because it was the Father who
chose us. The only reason we run to God
at all or have any faith in Christ is because of the sovereign election
of our Father, who chose us and loved us before the world was.
We run to Jehovah our God because in Christ the Son is all our
redemption, all our sanctification, all our wisdom, and all our righteousness. We run to Jehovah because only
the Holy Spirit is the one who gave us life and faith. Therefore,
we flee to the Lord because He saved us. And we know this, that
salvation is of the Lord. If there's any hope for us, it's
in God. We flee to God because He is
our hope. See, David was not concerned
as religious men about the position of the body, but rather his soul. Prayer is an act of the heart,
not the body. A lot of people, they think prayer
is, well, you kneel 27 times, you make this sign, you do that
sign, you do this, you do that, and then God hears you because
of all those things you did. No. It has nothing to do with
the body. I can be praying when I'm driving,
I can be praying when I'm in bed, I can be praying in the
chair, I can be praying on my knees, I can be praying on my
face. It doesn't matter what my body
is in. It matters where my soul is. David said, Unto thee, O
Lord, I lift up my... What? Soul. Prayer is a soul
action. It's a matter of the heart. I
lift up my soul. David said, I lift up my soul.
In other words, he didn't expect anybody else to do it. You remember Simon Magnus, that
false believer? He said to Peter, after Peter
told him, he said, you're yet in your sins. You know what he
said? Pray for me. You know why he said that? So
he can go on in his sins. How many false people say, well,
you just pray for me? They don't want your prayer.
They don't care about prayers. They want you to maybe lift them
up to God so they can have a lucky charm or something. But we who believe in Christ,
we don't desire others to pray for us. You know what? I need to be in the presence
of God myself. If you pray for me, that's good.
I need your prayers. I like them. But I know this. I must myself enter into the
presence of God. I must I do not desire someone
else to enjoy the benefits of God's presence and mercy for
me, but seeing Jesus by His one offering has forever put away
my sins by His blood, therefore I can freely lift up my own soul
in before the presence of God." Isn't that what God said to come? Paul said in Romans chapter 5, He said, therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand. You know what? When
a believer lifts up his heart, he lifts up his soul in assurance
of this. that by Christ I'm accepted.
Otherwise, I wouldn't lift up my soul to God, would you? Would
you want your soul to be before the presence of an almighty,
holy, just God, except it be cleansed by Christ? No. But we
can and do in our trouble lift up our own soul, knowing Christ
has put away our sins. Believer, let us learn then to
be instant in prayer. Wouldn't that be a good, isn't
that a good exhortation? Instant in prayer. Don't wait for a more convenient
season to pray. Don't wait till everything gets
better. You know why? It ain't getting better. It just
ain't getting better. If you're thinking this thing
is going to just somehow get better, It ain't gonna just get
better. Be instant in prayer. Be bold
to approach unto God by Christ. Listen. Go to Song of Solomon. Go to Song of Solomon. Chapter 2. I know, believer,
at times you don't feel as though the Lord would receive you. Is that not right? At times you
think, well, I don't feel like praying. You know, really, if
you don't feel like praying, that's most likely you need to
pray the most. When you don't feel like it.
But sometimes we're so covered with our filth and our sin and
our guilt, that we expect God not to desire to hear our prayers. Song of Solomon 2, verse 14.
Listen to the words of Christ. He says to you, my dove, that art in the clefts of the
rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance. Let me hear thy voice. For sweet is thy voice, and thy
countenance is beautiful. Do you hear what God said to
you? Did you not hear what God said
to you? Your voice is sweet. I love to hear your voice. I
love to see your presence. I love to see it. Why? Because
you are in His presence in the very image of His Son. Does God not delight to hear
His Son? I tell you He does. Then He most
definitely delights to hear you who are in His Son. You in Christ
come to thy God, for in Christ God is well pleased with you. Come and lift up your soul to
God by the blood of Christ, for you are to Him a sweet-smelling
savor. But you may say, my soul is too
low, my sin is too great, my foes are too mighty, my griefs
are too painful. Surely He'll cut me off. Spurgeon
said this, I like this, We seem to be at most times more like
burrowing moles than soaring eagles. Is that not so? We seem like to be digging into
the ground trying to hide ourselves, rather than soaring our souls
into the presence of God. Yet, listen, you have this assurance. that you may boldly enter into
the presence of God, believer. You may boldly, instantly appear
into His presence and be well received. Believer, it is... Is it not our need? Do we not
have a need for prayer? Yes. Who then do we pray to? Only Jehovah. Let us then cast off all earthly
reason, forsake all earthly ties, and by faith fly to Him. Fly to Him. Let not your heart
be stayed or satisfied except to be heard at the throne of
grace. Secondly, David gives us a more
personal name to Jehovah. After he flies to Jehovah, his
God, and lifts up his soul before God in Christ, it is then we
see him say this. Go back to your text. He says,
Oh my God, I trust in Thee. What good does it for a man to
know God is a God of election, that God has chosen a people,
that Christ has redeemed those people, and the Spirit calls
those people? What good is that to know except
you experience it yourself? How many dead Calvinists are
there in this generation? who know the doctrines, but they
themselves have not experienced the grace of God and the power
of the Holy Spirit, to say, that is my God. My God. My God. Therefore, I proclaim the name
of my God. Behold, my God is God. You know
that? My God is God. And there is no
other God besides my God. You got that? That's the heart
of every true believer in Christ. There is no God but my God. And all other gods are liars.
I had someone call me this week and tried to... automatically know these people
are and i i should hang up don't really uh... do anything but
she tried to tell me about uh... is jehovah's witness say and
i just simply ask your question is christ god simple then your god is not my god that's it very simple Your God
is not my God. My God is in the heavens, and
my God hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. That's my God.
My God is sovereign. Is your God sovereign? If you're
a believer in Christ, you know He is. My God is sovereign. My God is omnipotent in strength,
glorious in majesty. He rules, controls, and decrees
all things after the counsel of His own will. That's my God.
My God is purposed to save His elect people before the foundation
of the world. My God has put us in Christ and
made Him to be our surety for a covenant of grace and salvation.
My God, Jesus Christ, the Son, obtained for us righteousness
by His faith. and by His blood He forever purged
our sins and satisfied the justice of God and sat down on the right
hand of God the Father. That's my God. My God. My God, who died, is risen again
and is seated on the glorious right hand of the Father, ever
living to make intercession for His people, and now has sent
His Holy Spirit into the world to save and quicken His people
to life and faith. That is my God. God, my God,
that's my God. Is that your God? It's the God
of David, my God. And I know this God is my God
even because I trust Him. David said, my God, I trust Thee. Any God who is not sovereign,
whose will can be thwarted and whose purpose can be crushed,
is not God. And surely He is not a God that
can be trusted. But my God can be trusted. Since my God is sovereign and
controls all things, my God most definitely can be trusted. Believer,
behold thy God. trust in Him. Faith is the cable
that ties us to the shores of heaven. Therefore let us draw
on faith and so by drawing we draw nearer to our God. Do we not understand that this
is the reason God gives the storms of life to us? The trials and
troubles in order to prove our faith. Not to himself, but to
ourselves. The trial of your faith being
much more precious than gold. It proves the anchor. It proves
the chain of our faith. What does that song say? When the strong tides lift and
the cables strain, will your anchor drift or firm remain? We have an anchor. My God, we
have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while
the billows roll, fastened to the rock which cannot move, grounded
firm and deep in the love of God, the grace of God. Surely, if your faith is of your
own making, it would be moved, wouldn't it? Listen, I would
have stopped believing in God a long time ago if my faith were
not of God. If my faith were not a gift of
God, I surely would have quit. Why is it you continue? Why is
it in your troubles, believer, you still cry out to your God?
Why? Because you've been given true,
saving faith. You've been given faith by God.
Our faith is of God and therefore our faith is in God and not in
our faith. Therefore when we cry to our
God it is in faith and by faith in Christ we draw near to God. So then the winds and waves of
God are meant to prove our faith in Christ. So we cry to my God. We trust in Him. And He says,
let me not be ashamed. Let me not be ashamed. Let not
mine enemies triumph over me. The reason of David's cry was
his enemies. Believer, do you have enemies?
If you don't, You're deceived. If you think that you're without
enemies, you are deceived. This past week we are preparing
for leaving this building. We're getting close to where
we're going to sell this building and move off. Do you not realize
that all of the naysayers will start coming in? All of the people
will start bringing doubts and fears upon us. The enemies of our soul will
try to discourage us in the work and the ministry that God has
set to try to distract us from the cause and purpose of our
being here, which is to preach the gospel. Our enemies are real, friends,
and they will assault us in every front, in every measure, both
without and within. Therefore, we cry unto our God,
let me not be ashamed, but rather let my enemies be
ashamed. Let mine enemies be ashamed.
Listen, believer, you shall not be ashamed. You shall not be
ashamed because Christ has forever put away your sin. You know,
when we feel the guilt of our sin, doesn't it bring us shame?
We are ashamed. But only by coming to God through
Christ we cannot be ashamed, because our sins have been forever
put away. We will not be confounded. Therefore, our prayer, let in
our prayer, let us who are in Christ not be ashamed, but rather
confess with great zeal the gospel of our Lord and Savior. Isn't
that what we're here for? We're selling a building. We're
not here for real estate. We're not in the real estate
business, are we? What are we here for? And wherever we move,
what are we there for? We're there to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Let us not be ashamed of the
gospel of Christ. Let us proclaim it, confess it,
support it in every possible way. Because our enemies are
real. We who are saints of God, We
shall not be ashamed or disgraced before our God, even because
our Savior will never be ashamed of us. How can we ever be ashamed of
Him? Listen, sinner, there is no excuse
for you not to trust in God. There's no reason for anybody
to not trust in Christ. He has fulfilled all prophecy
and Scripture. He has proved Himself to be God
manifest in the flesh. He suffered under the wrath of
God. He ascended to heaven. Listen, if you will not believe
on Christ, you will be ashamed. You will be ashamed. Yea, let none that wait on thee
be ashamed. Do you realize that? That none
of those that Christ died for will be ashamed. Not one. But let them that transgress
without a cause be ashamed. Those who will not come to Christ.
You will one day be ashamed. Now, lastly, David prayed for
direction. I'm not going to be able to get
through this, but look at this in verse 4. He said, Show me
thy ways, and teach me thy paths. Now, believer, we know that the
way is Jesus Christ, the way singular. For I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man comes to God but by me.
But David here, he uses this in the plural. He said, Thy ways
and thy paths. This, I believe, is speaking
of the divine providence of God. Teach me your ways. How do you
deal with your people in providence? Because I'll tell you, I need
some teaching on that. Don't you? Even though it's the
same. It's the same ways over and over
again. Yet I forget. I soon forget. how God deals
with His people in this world. Listen, God's ways, His providence
is set from eternity. It's straight. Like the wheel
within a wheel, it never turns to the right or to the left.
It's going straight. In the eyes of God, His divine
providence is straight. It will not be deterred or moved
in any way. But in our eyes, it's not straight,
is it? It seems crooked. Really, it's
our vision that's the problem. It's not the providence of God.
We see God's providence as shifting, turning, moving. Lord, teach me Thy ways and Thy
paths. Then lead me in thy truth. Lord,
show me how you deal with your people in providence according
to scripture, and then lead me to the truth, Christ. So no matter how God deals with
you in providence, this is what stays the same, the truth, Christ. So no matter where God shifts
you in providence, we still have only one person to look to, Christ. Christ. Christ. So Lord, no matter
where you lead me, where you move me, lead me to Christ, the
truth. No matter what you do with me
in providence, teach me to look to Christ. For the just shall
live how? By faith. By faith. Teach me that truth. Four, thou
art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Believer, as we pray, Lord, Jehovah,
to thee I lift up my soul, only by faith in Christ. Oh my God,
I trust you. I trust you. Though I'm surrounded
by enemies, I trust you. Let me not be ashamed or confounded
as I am in thy Son. I will not be ashamed, nor will
any of your elect be ashamed of you. Those who will not believe
will be ashamed, but not us. Lord, I don't always understand
what's going on in your paths and ways, but teach me to trust
in Christ no matter what. Now, does not the prayer of David
speak to you? You bet it does. Why? It's spiritual. It's spiritual. Word of God is
spiritual and it speaks to the heart of believers. And what's
so what's a remedy? Troubles? What's a remedy? Prayer. Study. Faith in Christ. May God bless this to your hearts.