mentioned something here something
I've thought about for two years and I was talking to Donnie about
it a lot when he stayed with me talked to Paul because he's
doing it now been doing it for a while but I'd like to go to
one service on Sunday morning instead of two services I wrote
down four reasons why one we can retain only so much and then
we can concentrate on one message and then I have to prepare I
only have to prepare one message and meditate on one message.
This morning I was going from Psalm 39 to Exodus 9 back and
forth, back and forth, back and forth. And the fourth reason
is my youth is gone. My youth is gone. I don't have
the mental capacity I don't know that I ever had it. I don't have
the mental capacity to go back and forth back and forth and
bring two messages and I really do believe I mean here's the
core of the church right here you know we're not young anymore
and and of course Sidney and all them are going off to college
and I think if we just concentrate on one message I believe this
this is not something I just came up with I've been thinking
about it for couple years and me and Paul talked about it.
He's gone, but one man seen Donnie's done it for years. He said his
men came to him and told him that that's just too much too
much. You try to do two messages back to back and he and I was
talking about what it takes to switch your mind and your thoughts
from one to the other. And I'm really bringing two messages
in the mornings, what I'm doing. You know, to me, the Bible lesson
and the first service, the second service are the same to me. It's
just a few other people come in on the second service, but
now they're going to have to come in on the first service.
And I'd like to start it at 1030. We start at 1030 and I really believe that that's
the way to do it. I do. Henry told me to do that
back when I was a pastor at Hurricane Road. He suggested to me to do
that. But I think that's a good, you
know, let's start next Sunday and we'll meet at 1030, all right? I believe that's the way to go.
I do, I really do. All right. See, this is why we
have to do this because I've got the second message out. Now
I've got to find where I put the first message. Okay, here it is. Psalm 39. I titled this, The Heart and
Cry of a Godly Man. This is the heart and cry, this
is the very inner workings of a child of God, an experienced
believer. Here, this is an experienced
believer. It s a Psalm of David. We know that David, as it is
said in the Scriptures in 1 Samuel 13, 14, God said He was going
to find a man after His own heart Not that he didn't know who this
man was, it was David. Saul was not a man after God's
own heart, Saul was a man after his own glory. But we know that
David represents the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, My meat is
to do the will of Him that sent me. And so David is a representation
of the Lord Jesus Christ in that manner. In Acts 13.22 it speaks
of David being a man after God's own heart, and THIS is the way
God described him. This is the way God described
him. You see, this title does not speak to perfection, but
it speaks to direction. David's heart was directed toward
God. And I would to God that this
could be said of all of us. If it can be said of one man,
can it not be said of another man? And by God's grace, let
me be that other man. Lord, give me a heart that's
after your heart to know the heart of God. to be in communion and fellowship
with the heart of God. David sought God's will, he longed
for God's presence, and he treasured God's Word. Now apply that to
the Lord Jesus Christ. He sought God's will. thy will
be done not my will he said but thy will be done he longed for
God's presence he always the Lord Jesus Christ always sought
the presence of God continually and he treasured God's word even
though he is God's word but he treasured the written word of
God you know whenever he was tried in the wilderness what
did he what did he do after every temptation those three temptations
what did he do it is written It is written. He never went
outside of the Word of God. Every time he answered Satan,
he answered him with the Word of God. What a lesson for us! And David was a man who was very
active, as our Lord was. I thought about our disciples,
His disciples. I thought about His disciples,
our brothers, put it that way, our brothers, His disciples.
I thought I bet he wore them out. You reckon that they were
at the end of a day, they were tired. You remember that group,
the multitude that followed him and he fed the 5,000 and he said,
the Lord said, I have compassion on him. I have no doubt that he, they
were tired at the end of the day. They were tired because
our Lord was very active. He never sat around. He was never
idle. He was always about, he said,
I must be about my father's business. And that was from the time he
woke up to the time he went to sleep. He was about his father's
business. And there was no just leisure
time laying around and nothing to do. Very active. And David
was very active. And because he was very active
in the Word of God, in the things of God, he suffered affliction. A lot of affliction came from
that. David was fully engaged in the purposes of God. He battled
the enemies of God. He led the kingdom of God. He
endured hardships. because of his relationship to
God, and he did. He wasn't indifferent, nor was
he passive. He was a participant in God's
providence and God's glory. That was the life of David. That's
the life of a man after God's own heart. And David had strong
feelings You can read that in the Psalms. He was a man of strong
passions. Just reading it in the Psalms,
you can tell that. David loved deeply. His friendships
with Jonathan and Mephibosheth revealed how loyal he was. You know, God's people are loyal
to each other, aren't we? We're loyal to each other. We're
loyal to Christ. We're loyal to one another. We look after
one another. And we pray for one another,
we love one another, we love one another deeply, deeply. When our brothers and sisters
are hurt, we hurt, don't we? We feel it, not like they feel
it when they're going through a trial, but we feel it, the
body of Christ feels it. You feel for your brothers and
sisters, you love your brothers and sisters. David's life was
marked by heartfelt worship. And that's how our lives are
marked by heartfelt worship. If our heart's not in this, this
is not worship, is it? This is not worship if our heart's
not in it. We have to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Not in ceremonies and not in
hypocrisy, but in spirit and in truth. And out of the heart,
we worship God. And David was a man who believed
God. He believed God. Despite his
trials, David believed God. His faith was not circumstantial,
someone said, it was foundational. It was foundational. God entrusted David with the
Messianic Psalms. which prophetically voiced the
sufferings and the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ, God gave
that to David. God spake through David. The
Spirit of Christ spake through David, the Psalms, which speak
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the context of this
Psalm, and I know I'm like a rock skipping across the top of the
water right now, I know that, but I'm just And that's what
I'm going to do with Exodus 9 this morning. I'm going to give a
brief, well I better not say brief, but I'm going to give
an overview of Exodus 9. And then next week I'm going
to bring a message on He That Feared and He That Feared Not. You'll see that when we get to
Exodus 9. But here's the context of this
Psalm. It has to do with CONFLICT and REPENTANCE. CONFLICT AND
CONTRITION. FAITH, CONFLICT, AND CONTRITION. I started the title at this,
HOW TO SPEAK, HOW TO WAIT, AND HOW TO HOPE. That's a good title,
isn't it? Because you'll see that in this
Psalm. Go home and read it because I can't go in real depth with
30 minutes, I can't do that. That's another reason I wanted
to not do this because I feel like I'm in a rush because of
the Second Service. and I don't like to feel that
way when I'm preaching the Word of God. But here's the context
of the psalm. This psalm was written in a time
when David was in deep personal struggle. I don't know what it
was, but he was in deep trouble. He says, My sorrow was stirred
in verse 2. He said, Teach me how frail I
am in verse 4. And he said, Deliver me from
all my transgressions in verse 8. These verses show what turmoil
was going on in his soul. There's a warfare that's going
on in us continually. In the heart of a believer, there's
a continual warfare going on. Yet amid sorrows, the Lord Jesus
Christ, through David, teaches us what faith looks like under
pressure. This is what faith looks like
when God puts you in a hard way. This is what it looks like. How
to speak, how to wait, and how to hope. We might want to title
it that. How to speak, how to wait, and
how to hope. First of all, verses 1 through
2, David said, I will take heed to my ways THAT I SIN NOT WITH
MY TONGUE, I WILL KEEP MY MOUTH WITH A BRIDLE. And that word
bridle means a muzzle, put a muzzle on it. Put a muzzle on it. Isn't that good advice? When
the unbeliever is around, put a muzzle on your tongue that
you don't speak in such a way that brings reproach on Christ.
You know, in another place, David said, put a guard on my tongue. Put a watch on my tongue. Because
I don't want to bring reproach on Christ by my conversation. I sure don't want to stand here
as a pastor. And I know I've done it. And
I know I've done it. Everyone else has done it. But
I don't want to stand here and preach the grace of God and then
go out and my language and my conversation denies the very
message I'm preaching. There's wisdom in this. There's
real wisdom in this. David speaks to himself and that's
a good thing to do. That's really a good thing to
do. You don't have to speak out loud. But you can speak to yourself. You know, you speak out loud
and people are going to think you're crazy, but we ought to speak often to
ourselves and meditate upon ourselves. David said, My soul, why art
thou cast down? Hope thou in God. That's speaking
to yourself. When you feel yourself irritated,
when you feel yourself cast down, ask yourself, Why? Why am I cast
down? Is this not of God? Are not all
things of God? Then hope thou in God because
He's going to bring this to a conclusion. And He's going to bring it to
a conclusion in a manner that glorifies Him and edifies me
and builds me up. That's how we grow in grace and
in knowledge of Christ. Not just by reading but by experience. God pushed us through these trials
and we experience what we read. That's how growth happens. And
so David says he's going to put a watch
on his tongue. I'm not going to speak in the presence of believers
or unbelievers, I mean, and bring reproach on God. Because listen,
when you're under trials, when you're under affliction, you
know the best way to handle that? And I'm speaking to myself. You
know the best way to handle that? Be still and know that I'm God. Be still. And I know this from
experience, be still. Because you're gonna say something
you're gonna regret. You're gonna say something that
you wish you hadn't said. And the best thing to do is be
still. Just be still and know that God is God. That's the best
thing to do. And David resolves here not to
sin with his tongue, especially when he's among unbelievers. And then David shows us here,
he says in verse 2, I was done with silence, I held my peace,
even from good, and my sorrow was stirred. He said, I'm just
not going to say anything right now. Because first of all, do
I really know what to say? in this situation? I really don't.
But he shows us here his inner struggle and his heart. He shows us his heart. He says,
My heart was hot within me while I was musing, meditating upon
God, upon the situation, upon the ungodly. He said, I was musing
and the fire burned. Then I spake with my tongue. Though silent outwardly, David's
heart burned within him. And then he finally gave way
to speaking. But you know what he did when
he finally gave way to speaking? He spoke to God. He spoke to
God. His silence gave way to supplication. When we finally do speak, the
first one to speak to is God, to speak to the Lord. A believing
heart, I know this, a believing heart cannot remain silent, it
cannot remain still, it must cry, but let that cry be to God. Let that communion be to God. And when He does, He gives us
a three-fold prayer in verse 4. And this is so wise and it's
under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. I know this, all true
prayer is under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He moves
us to pray. True prayer is moved by the Holy
Spirit. He moves us to pray for these
things. And listen to this, Make me to know mine end. Make me to know mine end. Teach
me to know my end in Christ. It's not how I'm going to die
or the way I'm going to die. You know, the way I'm going to
die, the time I'm going to die. That's not what he's talking about.
Make me to know my end in Christ. I've said this so many times.
We have a good future. And we ought to meditate and
our minds and our hearts should be upon that future that we have
coming in Christ. I was talking to Jeremy the other
day, he called me, and somehow we got talking about judgment.
I don't remember how we got talking about judgment, but I said to
him, I said, it's hard to grasp that in a little while, None
of this is going to exist. It's going to be gone. I said,
it's hard to grasp this earth all being dissolved. I said,
that's hard to grasp. I believe it. I believe it, but
I can't grasp it. It's just so beyond my ability
to grasp, but I can believe it by God's grace. In a little while,
all this is gonna be gone. It's gonna be gone. And so he
says, make me to know my end in Christ is what he's talking
about. And then secondly, he says this,
and the measure of my days, make me to know the measure of my
days. Help me to live Help me to live in the consciousness
of the brevity of my life. You know, if I were to die right
now, if the doctor was to tell me, and I was gonna die here
shortly, you know what I would think would be one of my first
thoughts, is how fast it all went. You know, my dad passed away,
my mother passed away, and it's both almost 92. But when it came
time to pass away, it was like, it's gone by so fast. And it
went by so fast for us kids. It's like, it's over. You know,
there's something, there's a real serious thought when you're looking
at your parents there and you're like, it's over on this earth. Our relationship is over. And it went by so fast. It's
wise for believers. Now I know unbelievers find this
depressing. But we don't. You don't find
truth depressing, do you? You don't find it depressing.
Here's the truth. My life is a vapor, just a puff
of smoke. That's all it is. In fact, the
whole life of the universe, when it's finally over, is just a
breath. It's so short. Compared to eternity, you know
Methuselah lived 900 years, but he's gone Those 900 years I bet
if you could ask Methuselah at the end of 900 years he would
say woo that went by quick Those 900 years went by fast our life
goes by so fast We ought to keep that in front of us. I You know,
when you really face, when you really face, and I'm trying to
think how to say this, but when you really face, as a believer
now, as believers, when you really face your mortality and your
eternity in Christ, then you can finally start to live. You
can finally start to live when you quit being afraid of dying.
When you stop being afraid to die, now you can live. I'm not going to die. Christ
said he that believes in me is never going to die. My body is,
but I'm going to get a new body. Boy, I'm thankful for that. Then
he said to teach me and to know how frail I am. How frail I am. Peggy got sick
with COVID and couldn't be here during the conference. A germ
you couldn't even see laid you down. Brenda, the fainting goat back
there, fell over in the yard and had to go to the hospital.
Frail, our body's so frail. I had to do that, Brenda. You
ought to see the stuff she sends me. Oh, one of the greatest thing God
has ever taught me is how frail I am. When I was a young man,
I thought I was, I thought I was something, I really did. Thought
I was tough, thought I was something. I'm nothing, and I'm not tough
at all. A little microscopic germ can
lay me down, can lay the strongest man down. Oh, to know how frail I am. Let
my weakness lead to humility. Now this is so good. Let our
weaknesses not lead us to complain. You know, we do that when we
get older. We complain about our bodies
and our aches and our pains. We complain about them, I know
that. But let our weaknesses lead us to humility. Let them lead us to patience
and a greater dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what
our weaknesses ought to do for us. They ought to make us stronger
in Christ. Not more complaining, but more
praise. And our weaknesses actually help
us to set our heart on things above. They do. And then he shows
us the vanity in verses 5 and 6. The vanity of humanity. The vanity of humanity is what
I can put on those two verses. He says, Behold, thou hast made
my days as a hand-breath, and mine ages as nothing before thee. Verily, every man at his best
state is altogether vanity. When is a man at his best state? When he's reading the Word of
God? When he's praying? Here, you know, without Christ,
this is altogether vanity, what we're doing. Without Christ,
it's altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a
vain show. And it is over in the margin a vain
image. Surely they are disquieted in
vain, even that'll be forgotten. He heapeth up riches and knoweth
not who shall gather them. David reflects here on the gravity
and the emptiness of life, this earthly life he is talking about.
He is talking about this earthly life. It is just a hand-breath,
it is nothing before God, and every man at his best state is
altogether vanity. And this vanity is seen in three
ways. It is seen in a vain show. It
is like actors in a parade. It is just a vain show. You see
a parade? It is a vain show. That is what it is. And then
secondly, the vanity of even grief. He said, even that'll
be forgotten in time. And then the fleeting possessions
that we have. He man heaps up riches for another
to enjoy. That's what Solomon said one
time. He said how do I know that all this stuff that I have paraphrasing
all this stuff that I have done all this stuff that I have How
do I know I'm not gonna leave it to a fool? Well, eventually
you will Eventually you will You know,
businesses have been in generations, sometimes for generations, and
then there'll be one generation that's so removed from the struggle
of starting that business that they just run through it and
they waste it. Sooner or later, a fool will
come along and blow it all, sooner or later. And then verse 7 though,
He gives here the hope of the righteous. After surveying the
futility of earthly life, David asks this, after he looks over
the span of life and this earthly life, he says in verse 7, And
now, Lord, what wait I for? What am I waiting for? You know what I'm waiting for?
And he says, My hope is in Thee. You're the one I'm waiting for.
All of this is vain. David was a king. He's saying
even a power without Christ is vain. A position without Christ
is vain. Everything without Christ is
vain. It's vanity. It's vanity. David's confidence
was in God's mercy, God's redemption in Christ, and God's sustaining
grace in this life. That's David's confidence. That's
every believer's confidence. And then he gives us a prayer
for deliverance in verses eight and nine. Deliver me from all
my transgressions. Boy, I read that, and I read
that, and I read that. That's exactly what I want. Lord,
deliver me from all my transgressions. My transgressions did not stop
almost 50 years ago when I heard the gospel and believed the gospel.
My transgressions didn't stop. I still transgress. And you do
too. And I ask God, just like David
here, Lord deliver me. Deliver me from all my transgressions. I need that. I need that. David pleads for mercy. Deliver
me from sin. Keep me from impatience under
trial. Let not the wicked mock me, even
in affliction. And David recognizes God's hand.
and he waits for God's deliverance. That's grace. That's grace. When you recognize God's hand
in your life and in your trials and you wait for Him to deliver
you. That's growing in grace and in
knowledge of Christ is when we finally learn to quit complaining
and be still and know that God is God. And then here, last of all, verses
11 through 13, we see God's discipline in our
dependence on Him. In verse 11, When thou with rebukest
this correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume
away like a moth, surely every man is vanity. Hear my prayer,
O Lord, and give ear unto my cry. Hold not thy peace at my
tears. He was under some real strain,
whatever it was here, for I'm a stranger with thee. That is,
I'm a stranger on this earth. And I'm a stranger on this earth,
but I'm yours. I'm yours. And a sojourner, I'm a pilgrim,
as all my fathers were. Oh, spare me that I may recover
strength before I go hence and be no more. You know, He's praying
for relief. We do pray when there are trials,
we do pray that the Lord will bring it to a close and He will,
you know, give us relief. If you've ever been under a severe
trial, you pray for relief. You pray for the patience, the
grace, and in His time that He'll give relief. God's CORRECTION STRIPS US OF
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BRINGS US TO REPENTANCE. That's what
it does for the believer. For the unbeliever, we'll see
this in Exodus 9, it hardens the heart. TRIALS HARDEN THE
HEART, BUT FOR THE BELIEVER IT BRINGS THEM TO REPENTANCE. IT
BRINGS THEM TO CHRIST. IT HUMBLES US AND MAKES US HUNGER
FOR TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND COMPELS US TO CONTINUALLY
SEEK REFUGE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. And here's the conclusion
of the whole matter. David was a man of fierce devotion. He was a man of deep feelings.
He was a man of faith in Christ. He sinned, suffered, repented,
and rejoiced. That was David's life. And this
psalm teaches us how to walk with God in sorrow. Now listen,
this is good. It teaches us how to walk with
God in sorrow, how to hope in Him through weakness, and how
to pray with honesty and reverence at the same time.