We were blessed yesterday to
meet with some folks up in south Georgia, and we met in an old building that was built in 1854. And as I looked at those beams and posts
in that building as they were I had been there for all those
years, 175 years, right around that anyway, something like that,
not quite, 150 I guess. But I looked at the grain in
those posts and It was so tight that you could,
it was about the thickness of a thick sheet of paper. And I
don't know how many, I didn't stop to count how many you could
actually count in there, but I'm sure that that tree that
that thing had been cut out of was likely two or three hundred
years old. Maybe older than that, I don't
know. But the thought came to me, what a glorious thing that
the Lord had those trees planted at some point in time, some bird
maybe took the thing or the wind blew the seed from the pine cone
and planted it and that tree grew up over all those years. And it's one purpose. as it grew
there was to one day be cut down and put in that building where
it presently stands. Now that thing could burn up
tomorrow because it being fat lighted it wouldn't take much
probably to burn the whole place down because that's all it was
as you looked around. But you know the Lord He brings to pass the, you know,
the patience of the Lord is an amazing thing. Now, we're always
impatient. We want something to happen right
now and we want to get it. But, you know, that tree grew
year after year after year out in the middle of the woods. Maybe
it might have been an Indian or two came by and looked at
it or whatever. Maybe not. I mean, I don't know.
It might have been nothing but a deer and a squirrel or whatever
that ever even saw that tree until the day came that that
was cut down and somebody sawed it up and put it into that building. In order that the Lord might
provide for children a place to me now
we know that uh... god not in temple made with hands
uh... he didn't need houses in which
to be worshipped but he has provided in his mercy places of comfort
from the wind and the rain and the elements uh... where his
children might gather together and worship him And it is amazing to me as I
think of all those things like that. And as I thought about
that place, and there wasn't a thing in that building that
I saw anyway that men could look at and glory in. I mean, it was
just a plain old house. There wasn't anything special
particularly about it. to pause and think of the number
of times that men had stood in that place and preached the everlasting
gospel of Jesus Christ and men had worshipped the Lord in spirit
and truth in that place. And you know, when the Lord is
finished with something, He's done with it. And the things
of this earth don't last forever. And one day that building, if
the Lord tarries long enough, one day that building will go
back to the dust. I don't know how long it'll stand,
of course it's been there for a long time, might be there for
another 150 years if the Lord waits that long. But at some
point in time, it, like all things, like all men, like all churches,
like all things that we see with our eyes, it's going to pass
away. and it's not going to be anymore. But the Lord will have
accomplished exactly with all of those things that He brings
to pass, His purpose. It can't be overturned. And that's a glorious thought
as we think of the fact that He is a God of mercy and kindness
to those that call upon His name. And why would a man ever call
upon His name except that He showed mercy? You see, a lot
of people think that God shows mercy because they call upon
his name, but actually, they call upon his name because he's
shown them mercy. And what a glorious thing that
he does. Still, even in the present hour,
calls men to call upon him, and he is quick to answer. We're
looking at Psalm 59. Psalm 59. to the chief musician, Altusheath,
Mctham of David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house, to
kill him." Now, that was when, I remember his wife, Michael,
who actually became his enemy, I
guess, in a measure. She mocked him when he worshiped
the Lord, but nonetheless, she warned him that Saul was out
to kill him, because they had set a watch around the house,
and so she warned him to flee away. And so this is the occasion
of the writing of this psalm. When Saul sent, they watched
the house to kill him. Deliver me from mine enemies,
O my God. Defend me from them that rise
up against me. Deliver me from the workers of
iniquity and save me from bloody or bloodthirsty men. For lo,
they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty are gathered against
me, not for my transgression nor for my sins, O Lord. They
run. and prepare themselves without
my fault. Awake to help me and behold.
Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake
to visit all the heathen. Be not merciful to any wicked
transgressors. Selah. They return at evening,
they make a noise like a dog, and go around about the city.
Behold, they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips,
for who say they doth hear? But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh
at them. Thou shalt have all the heathen
in derision. Because of his strength will
I wait upon thee, for God is my defense. The God of my mercy
shall prevent me or precede me. God shall let me see my desire
upon mine enemies. Slay them not, lest my people
forget. Scatter them by thy power and
bring them down, O Lord, our shield. For the sin of their
mouth and the words of their lips, let them even be taken
in their pride. And for cursing and lying, which
they speak, consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not
be, and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends
of the earth. Selah. And at evening let them
return and let them make a noise like a dog and go round about
the city. Let them wander up and down for
meat and grudge if they be not satisfied. But I will sing of
thy power, yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning.
For there has been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will
I sing, for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy. Now David, of course being the
penman of this psalm, and as we see the occasion of it, he
could not know completely what it was he even spoke about. Because
these are, as we keep saying, these are the prayers of Christ.
And though David had a measure of understanding of the things
that he was saying, these could not be technically his words
because otherwise David would have spoken a fault to him, would
he not? There's only one who could say
the things that are said here in truth, that being the Lord. As He said, not for my sin they
run and prepare themselves, not for my fault a way can help me.
Now whatever happens to us in this life may not be specifically
on account of our sin in the sense that, say we're driving
a nail and we miss the nail and hit our finger with a hammer.
And sometimes I thought, well how come that happened to me? And we think of it like, well,
we did something and it caused that to happen, you see. But
there may not be a specific thing that you did that caused that
hammer to hit you, but you can be sure of this, that the hammer
hit your finger on the account of sin. Because had there been
no sin, there would have been no hurt. There would have been
no heartache. There would have been no trouble.
But it is because of sin that the ground of the earth was cursed.
And then the brambles and the thickets of things came upon
the sons of men on the account of sin, not the specific sin
that you may have committed at that time. And so it is often
a foolish thing when we think, well, what did I do? What we
should say is, Lord, I only got what I deserved. Because it's
like I heard a fellow say one time that a boy ought to be whipped
every day by his daddy. Because if the daddy don't know
what it's for, the son does. And you know, isn't that the
truth? I mean, whatever happens to us, can we say, well, we didn't
deserve that? I mean, it doesn't make a difference
what happens. I don't care if you're out in the middle of nowhere
in the middle of the night and the wheel runs off the car and
nobody's there to help you. You can only give God thanks
that he didn't kill you at that time. Because according to, it's
according to the mercies of God, The prophet said, Thy mercies
are new every morning, lest we should be consumed. And so it
is the mercy of God that's demonstrated. And we ought to really, when
things befall us, be reminded that we didn't get what we really
deserve, even as bad as something might be. And so it is. So, David, or I believe this
is the Lord in David's prayer, and of course David had enemies
and he desired to be delivered from them, but consider that
the Lord bearing the sin, even of David, and bearing the heartache,
and he was tempted in all points like as we are, and the fears
of men came upon him just like they came upon us, and he desired
deliverance. I mean, he wouldn't be a man
if he didn't desire deliverance. from those things that beset
him. Because see, we're made to recognize
the things that beset us because we're given desires and we're
given those things that make us happy. And when we're deprived
of those things, then we're crying out for deliverance. He said,
deliver me from mine enemies, O God. Defend me from them that
rise up against me. And there's never been a man
on the earth who has been opposed at every turn more than the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now I'm sure that Donald Trump
thinks that he's been persecuted more than any other person, and
I will have to say it has just been an amazing thing from the
get-go, you know, at that kind of stuff that's went on against
him. I know he must think that the
whole world's against him, but the Lord has a purpose in that.
And keep in mind that the Lord doesn't put any but the basest
of men in positions of power, according to what he showed in
Abrakanazer. And so, you know, we can be sure
that whoever is in office is about the sorriest one that the
Lord could put. uh... because that's what he
said now you know that that doesn't change the fact that there's
other wicked men trying to overturn nonetheless that's all that's
a bunch of stuff that that uh... we're thankful that the lord
turns the heart of the king with his every will whoever it is
it doesn't make any difference who it is saddam hussein or that
guy over there in turkey or whatever he can't do a thing in the world
but exactly what the Lord has set out for him to do. Now he
may strut and crow and carry on like he's doing a big thing,
but he's just going right down the road that the Lord would
have him to go. And what a glorious thing it is, but nonetheless,
while that is true, and the Lord Jesus Christ of all men on the
earth was acquainted, was he not, with the purpose of Almighty
God. He knew what the purpose of Almighty
God was because he thought it not robbery to be equal with
God. So he knew those things. But yet as a man, he was beset
by those very things which he ordained to come to pass. According to the determinant
counsel and foreknowledge of God, he said, you have taken
him by wicked hands and have slain the Son of God. Now you did that, but it was
ordained of God. But He, being in the midst of
that, and all of that trouble, when He prayed, He prayed, Lord,
deliver me. And why did He pray, Lord, deliver
me? Was He praying, Lord, deliver me for His sake? No, He was praying,
deliver me for His people's sake. See, this is our prayer in Christ. Christ prayed this prayer for
us. Deliver me from mine enemies, O God. Defend me from them that
rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of
iniquity and save me from bloodthirsty men. The world is full of bloodthirsty
men. And there's nothing that keeps
any of us from being bloodthirsty men except the grace of God.
And when we look around and we see the terrible things that
men do to other men, we ought to be reminded of that. You know,
that's just the Lord demonstrating what men would be when he removes
his restraints from them in every case. For lo, they lie in wait
for my soul. The mighty are gathered against
me, not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord. Now he
could honestly pray that good enough. He said, it's not my
sin, it's not me personally, but it's for my people. It is
on the account of sin, but not mine. He said, they lay in wait
to kill me, not for my transgression, but because I am the Redeemer.
I'm the one sent from God. They run and prepare themselves
without my fault or apart from my fault. Await to help me and
behold. And is this not really in the
essence of that which he cried out on the cross? My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? I mean, was he not calling out
to God? Oh God, deliver me. But yet the Lord in his purpose,
He was in a forsaken state at that moment and point in time.
Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake
to visit all the heathen. Be not merciful to any wicked
transgressors. Selah. Now that's a little different
than What we hear from a lot of folks, they say, well, the
Lord would never pray. This has got to be David praying
that, but I'm telling you this is the Lord Jesus Christ, because
He will destroy His enemies. The Lord will have them in the
region. He says, so in this same passage
of Scripture, Thou therefore awake to visit all the heathen,
Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. The soul that
sinneth shall die. The way of transgressors is hard. I mean, the Lord has promised
judgment, certain judgment, on those that despise the law of
God. That's what a transgressor is.
I mean, it's one thing to break the law of God, but it's another
thing to be a transgressor of it. That is, those who have no
regard to it. Those who don't have any concern
for it. Those who despise it. Be not merciful to them. They
return at evening, they make a noise like a dog and go around
about the city. He said, here's how they are,
they're howling like dogs. You ever live near somebody or
had dogs of your own that just carried on and howled and barked
and whatnot all night long and you wanted to just go out there
and kill them. Because they wouldn't shut up. You cannot get a dog
that's howling at the moon to shut up. I mean, they're going
to do it. They make a noise like a dog.
They go round about the city. They're constantly figuring out
ways they can destroy the sons of God. Behold, they belch out
with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, for
who say they doth hear? In other words, they don't care
who hears. They're saying, you know, we
don't care if God hears us. We're just going to go forth
and do what we want to do. Now, in this political thing,
one thing that I'm struck with is that, you know, both sides
in this deal is claiming that God, you know, oh, we're just
trying to serve the Lord here, you know. I mean, it's amazing
to me how they can invoke the Lord when they want people to
think that they're really trying to do the right thing. But that's
the way it is. You know a man that will make
a mockery or will, when it suits him, use the name of God, You
know, it's amazing, isn't it, that some of the same ones that
they don't want God to be mentioned anywhere, yet they want to make
out like they're serving God. I mean, I don't get it. I mean,
you know, I get confused about it sometimes. But a man who will
invoke the name of God to support something he's doing simply because
he wants to build himself up in the eyes of men, that's an
awful thing and the children of god must never be identified
in such a fashion as that if you've got to go around and boast
about how much you serve the lord in order for men to know
that you serve the lord then you're going down the wrong path
the lord never told us to go about trumpeting being the servants
of god the pharisees did, did they not? I mean, they wanted
people to know. They said, well, what good is
it to, you know, be all devoted to the Lord and everything if
we do all this stuff in secret and nobody ever knows that we
pray? What would be the point in that? I mean, so they went
and they had people went before them and said, the Pharisees
are coming, they're praying, you know, oh, these holy men
of God. And they wanted men to know that. They wanted to advertise
it, that it was so. They belt out with their mouth,
swords are in their lips. Who doth hear? But thou, O Lord,
shall laugh at them. The Lord shall laugh. He shall
have the heathen in derision. He'll mock, the scripture says,
when their fear cometh. And their fear shall come upon
them when they are brought face to face with him who knows the
end from the beginning. They will fear. Men may say,
well, I'm not afraid of anything. Well, you will be. You may not
think so, but the day will come when fear shall grip your heart
and there'll be no remedy for it. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh
at them, thou shalt have the heathen in derision. Because
of his strength will I wait upon thee, for God is my defense. What a glorious defender He is
for His people. He is our defense. He is that
one who fights for us, meets our need. He's our stronghold. The God
of my mercy shall precede me. God shall let me see my desire
upon my enemies. The Lord will indeed. calls the
manifestation of His judgment to be seen. He is appointed unto men once
to die, and after this the judgment. There is going to be a time,
if you want to call it a time, whatever you want to call it,
but there is coming a day when all men, both small and great,
according to what Scripture says, shall stand before the Lord.
And we shall see the judgment of God upon his enemies. It's
gonna be made manifest. The God of my mercy, he shall
precede us. What a glorious thing. He said
he would take his sheep into his right hand and he would put
the goats on the left. He will make a separation. His
mercy shall prevent me or go before me Now listen to what
he says here. God shall let me see my desire
upon mine enemies. Slay them not, lest my people
forget. Now keep this in mind, that the
hand of the Lord is not shortened, say, by many or by few. And he
doesn't have to destroy the wicked in the present time in order
for the people of God to see his hand of mercy. And that's
what he says here, "...slay them not, lest my people forget, but
rather scatter them by thy power." In other words, we don't have
to see blood and guts in order to know that the Lord has destroyed
the wicked. but rather by the fact that they
are scattered. That is, that they have no power,
that they're not able to destroy the people of God. The Lord said
he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail
against it. And it doesn't make any difference
what men do. They cannot overcome the purpose
of God to call his people out of there. I mean, you look at
a totalitarian regime like China, And I haven't been to China,
I can't say this first hand, but I can, and even North Korea. There are believers in North
Korea. They're not in the big cathedrals
and stuff, you know, out here in the open, but there God has
a people that He's called out in those places. And they're
seeking the Lord. And there's nothing that the
government can do about it. You know, people get to worrying
all about, oh, what's the government, what can they do? I mean, one
of these presidential candidates, he's proposing that the Lord,
or that the government, take away tax-exempt status for any
church that doesn't support gay rights or all that kind of stuff,
you know. And some people get all worried
about that. I think it'd be the best thing
that ever happened. I mean, you know what in the world? Why do
we care what the government does? I mean, isn't that the main difference?
I mean, are we going to, are the people of God going to be,
going to say, well, we need to start, be careful what we say. We don't want to preach the word
of God because, I mean, we might lose our tax-exempt status. Well,
who cares? You know, what difference does
that make? I mean, that's not the consideration for the people
of God. Slay them, lest my people forget.
Scatter them by thy power and bring them down, O Lord, our
shield. Demonstrate to the people of
God thy power, which won't be in necessarily the destruction
of those who would pass such laws to try to hamper the preaching
of the Word of God, but it will be in the fact that they cannot
do anything to prevent it. That's the glorious thing. You
know, in the days when John Bunyan was going about in England preaching,
and he was a nonconformist, that is, he wasn't a member of the
Church of England, and he went preaching what he preached, And
he got thrown in jail several times. And he would be at the
window of his cell preaching. And the crowds would gather up
out there and he'd be preaching. They finally said, well, man,
there's more people coming to listen to him here than would
be if he was out of jail. See, the gates of hell can't
prevail against the kingdom of God. God will scatter the enemies.
He doesn't have to destroy them. He doesn't have to make everything.
People think that, man, everything be right if we could just get
back like it was in the old days when everybody was following
the Lord and all that. Well, people ain't ever always
been following the Lord. There's been a time when religion
was much more ingrained in society, perhaps, than it is now. But
the people of God have always been the people of God, and there's
always been people who sought to worship the Lord in spirit
and truth in spite of all the other stuff that goes on in the
name of serving the Lord. The Lord doesn't have to destroy
them, but He just keeps on doing what He's doing. For the sin
of their mouth and the words of their lips, let them even
be taken in their pride, and for cursing and lying which they
speak. Consume them in wrath, consume
them that they may not be. Now that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ came to do. He led captivity captive. He
gave gifts unto men, that is, unto his people. And he has triumphed
openly over the enemies of the gospel. Whether it appears that
way or not, but yet it is the desire, it is his desire to see
them consumed, to see them destroyed, that they may not be. That they
may not be. You see, through the ages to
come, there won't be any opposition to the things of God. among men. All rebellion is put down. Let them know that God ruleth
in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Is this not the ultimate
triumph of the gospel? That the Lord teaches even us
that He is the ruler over all things? Let them know that God ruleth
in Jacob to the ends of the earth. What a glorious thing it is when
a man is brought to that place, the enemies of God. See, we were
enemies in our minds by wicked works, but He has shown mercy
to us. What a glorious thing! Now, that's
the demonstration, is it not, of His triumph when He brings
sinners to call upon His name? What a more glorious thing! I
mean, would we rather see folks cast into hell and destroyed,
or would we rather see them brought down to their knees to cry out
unto God? I mean that's the place, that's
why the Lord sent men into the earth to preach the gospel. That
he might call his own out. Even those who appear to be enemies,
but yet according to the mercy of God. You know the mercy of
God is far exceeds, far exceeds the Fire and brimstone of God. He saved sinners. And were it
not so, how would we ever be saved? But he shall consume. those who
are appointed unto that end, that they may not be. And let
them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth.
And at evening, let them return and let them make a noise like
a dog and go around about the city. Now, remember he was saying,
oh, this is the way the wicked are. He says, bring us to the
place where we don't care if they go about the city. bark
like a dog. I mean they howl all night. It
doesn't make any difference to us because we know that we will
be satisfied in thee. Let them wander up and down for
meat and grudge if they be not satisfied. That is, let them
fight for their food. Let them be consumed as they
consume one another. But it's not going to have any
effect on us. But I will sing of thy power,
yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou
hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Now
this is the place that the Lord would bring his people. In the
midst of all this, the judgment that he brings on the wicked
and the mercy that he shows to those whom he loves, is to bring
them to the place where they say, I will sing of thy power. Yea, I will sing aloud of thy
mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defense and my refuge
in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will
I sing, for God is my defense and the God of my mercy. Now, he began by praying, deliver
me. And he ends by rejoicing that
the Lord is his deliverer. He is our defense. And such is
the place that the Lord brings His people. Now, a man can't come there on his
own. He can't cause himself to believe
that the Lord is his defense. But yet, that's the only defense
he has. And it is that which The truth of God comes to let
men know that God is pleased to deliver his people. He is
a deliverer and he'll deliver any that call upon his name. Never be a man who desires to
be delivered from his sin who shall be left therein. He said, call upon me in the
day of our trouble. And He will answer. He is a God
of mercy and kindness to all that call upon His name. And
if anybody should doubt that, then all they would need to do
would be to look to a crucified Christ. That One who has given
us this memorial to remember His death until He comes again.
because he died for sinners. I mean, what other purpose would
his death have been for? It wasn't for his own sin. And
death cannot be visited upon one who is without sin. The only
soul that can die is a sinner. The soul that sinneth shall die,
but Christ Jesus, being not a sinner, died. So he could not have died
to death for his own sin. He couldn't have died because
he was without sin, the scripture says. So who did he die for? He died for those that had sin.
Because the scripture says he became sin for us. And that's
what we remember when we remember his death. Not just the fact
that he was a good man that gave himself and died one day, but
that he took away our sin. And that's what's encaptured
here in remembering his death. We don't remember his death just
to remember his death. We remember his death because
in his death he took away our sin. What a glorious thing. And this supper, this memorial
is given to the sons of God. What qualifications does a man
have to have to come here? I don't know of but one, and
that is to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners, and that you desire to remember
Him even as you desire to be remembered by Him. When we do
this, we take these things, He said, do this till I come again. And he said he would come again
to receive that which was his. May the Lord give us a mind and
heart to remember what this represents. This doesn't have anything to
do with the church. It doesn't have anything to do with being
baptized. It doesn't have anything to do
with anything except the death of Christ. He died for sinners,
and this is the testimony of it right here. He said, except
you eat my bread, eat my flesh, and drink my blood, you have
no part in the kingdom of God. Because to partake of this is
to confess that you believe these things to be true. May the Lord
help us.