This evening we have a very interesting
psalm, Psalm 61. And as I usually do, I look through
these verses and try to figure out a good title. A good title
that might cause us to remember this psalm maybe a little more
closely. And when I read through this
psalm, We've looked at this psalm more than once. About four years
ago, I think we looked at it. But two things that caught my
attention immediately when I read through this again, verse two,
lead me to the rock. Doesn't that just leap out on
the page at you? Lead me to the rock, that rock
that's higher than I. Lead me to that rock. And then
the other, Verse that caught my attention
is verse seven. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy. Fix mercy. Ordain mercy and truth that may
preserve me. We need preserve, don't we? So
the title of the message may be Preserved by Mercy and Truth. We know from Proverbs 16, it
says, by mercy and truth, iniquity is purged. By the fear of the
Lord, men depart from evil. And then we've studied Psalm
85 many times where it says, mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. And we know
that's happened at the cross. We're reconciled unto God. Or
we could use this title found in verse two, lead me to the
rock. I'm probably going to use that
as a title. Lead me to the rock. Lead me to that rock. Don't lead
me to myself. I'll go astray. I'll go astray,
but put me on the rock. Fasten me to the rock. That rock
is higher, the most high God. And we know that is our Lord
Jesus Christ. He's the most high God. Now this
psalm is short, eight verses, but it's so sweet, so sweet. With the blessedness of gospel
promises of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Most think
this psalm was given to David like Psalm 63 that we looked
at last week when David was on the run for his life. His father-in-law was after him,
his own son Absalom tried to kick him out of the kingdom,
force him off the throne, and David's on the run for his life. His heart is full of sorrow. He says, I'm overwhelmed with
grief, which led him to cry for deliverance. Trouble, cry for
deliverance. Trouble from the hand of the
Lord is a blessed thing. Trouble from the hand of the
Lord is a blessed thing, especially when it drives us to the Lord. And that's what trials do in
a believer's life. When trials come from the hand
of our loving father, it drives us to him, not away from him. It drives us to him, to him. Look, just up the page there
in Psalm 60, verse 11 and 12, give us help from trouble, For
vain is the help of a man. Give us help from trouble. Through
God we shall do valiantly. For he it is that shall tread
down our enemies. Lord, we need help. We need help. Trials, when they come from the
hand of the Lord, are a blessing unto us. A blessing unto us. Look at Psalm 59, verse 16 and
17. 59. Verse 16 and 17, 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. Trouble, man that's born of woman
is few days and full of trouble. We all know about trouble, don't
we? Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing, for God is my defense
and the God of my mercy. I like that statement. He's the
God of my mercy. God delights to show mercy to
us, doesn't he? For Christ's sake, and in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at verse one. Hear my
prayer, O God. Because he is the living God,
he hears our prayer. He hears our cry. Because he's
the living God and the true God, because he is a covenant God,
he's a covenant God of covenant mercies, he hears the cry of
his children. Attend unto my prayer. And that's
what prayer is. It's a cry of the heart. It's
not a formal thing. We say this, we say this, we
say this. It's just a cry of the heart.
The Lord hears the cry of our heart. David was a man of prayer,
a man after God's own heart. So was every believer. We have
seen similar statements before. Look back at Psalm 54. David
often asked, Lord, hear my prayer. Psalm 54, look at verse one and
two. Save me, O God, by thy name,
and judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God. Give ear
to the words of my mouth. Hear my cry, O Lord. Aren't you
glad he's the living God, the covenant God, that is able to
hear our cry? Look at Psalm 55. Psalm 55, verse
one. Give ear to my prayer, O God.
Hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me and hear me. I
mourn in my complaint and make a noise unto God. It's a good
thing to call upon the Lord. Look at Psalm 57. Verse one,
be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul
trusteth in thee, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge
until all these calamities are overpassed. I will cry unto God
most high, I will cry unto God, he's the most high God, unto
God that performeth all things for me. Paul writes to the Philippians
and says, rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice.
And then he said, let your request be made known unto God. Do you
have a need? Do you have a trouble? Do you
have a heartache and a sorrow? Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Take your burden to the Lord and leave them there. Cast your burden upon Him. Our
gracious Lord is not hardened against the cries of His children.
Our prayers are never spent in vain when we cry unto him for
grace to help in our time of need. Didn't our Lord say, all
you who are laboring and heavy laden, come unto me and rest? Rest in him. Didn't our Lord
say this? that he was tempted and tested
and tried in all points like as we are yet without sin. And
then he said, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our
time of need. Where else and to whom else can
we go but to the Lord to find grace to help. in time of need. You need help? I do. I'm a poor
sinner. I'm poor and needy. Remember,
we've seen that statement many times. I'm poor and needy, yet
the Lord thinks upon us. To whom else can we go to find
grace to help in our time of need? Where else can a sinner
cry for mercy but unto the Lord, who is able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by him? Paul gives the Thessalonians
these inspired instruction. Rejoice evermore, pray without
ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And then you remember in
Luke 18, where the Lord gave us that parable of the two men
who went to the temple to pray. The publican and the Pharisee,
and our Lord said in Luke 18, he said, men ought always to
pray. I remember reading years ago
about someone saying to a believer, prayer is like breathing, necessary. It's necessary. We live in, as
believers, we live in a constant state of, Lord, have mercy on
me, the sinner. Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner. We never graduate above that,
do we? Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. So hear my cry, oh
God, attend unto my prayer. He will. He hears our cry. And then look what he says in
verse two. From the end of the earth, Wherever I am in this
earth, the farthest, remotest places of the earth, wherever
we go, the Lord is there. The Lord is there. From the end
of the earth will I cry unto thee. Wherever we go, the Lord
is with us. The Lord is there. He's ever
present, isn't he? From the end of the earth will
I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed,
it's overwhelmed, Lead me, lead me to that rock. Here's another
reference that we've looked at before. Find Psalm 143. I think it's Psalm 143. Psalm
143. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. That's Psalm
139. Now look at Psalm 143. Verse one, hear my prayer, O
Lord, give ear to my supplication. In thy faithfulness, answer me,
and in thy righteousness, answer me. Enter not into judgment with
thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted
my soul, he hath smitten my life down to the ground. He hath made
me to dwell in darkness, as those have been long dead. Therefore
is my spirit overwhelmed within me, my heart. is desolate. I remember the days of old. I
meditate and muse on the works of thy hands. I stretch forth
my hand unto thee, my soul thirsteth after thee in the thirsty land.
My spirit is overwhelmed within me. When I consider my enemies, sin, Satan, death, judgment, my heart's overwhelmed. Lead
me to Christ. Lead me to the Lord Jesus Christ. Even when David was cast out
of Jerusalem, he wasn't cast away from the presence of God,
was he? There's no place so remote, no distance too great, but that
we have access to the mercy seat of God in Christ. For our God
is everywhere present. When John was cast out on the
Isle of Patmos, Who was there with John? That's
the Lord Jesus Christ. He had that special revelation
given to him there on that island, that Alcatraz, in his day. But here's David's request and
here's our request. Lord, lead me. Lead me. Lead me. Be my shepherd and lead
me. Where does our God lead us? Unto the rock. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the rock, the rock. Look, it's one page over, Psalm
62, Psalm 62. Look at verse six, Psalm 62. He only is my rock. You remember
this is the only Psalm. He only is my rock, my salvation,
my defense. I shall not be moved. And God
is my salvation, my glory, the rock of my strength. And my refuge
is in God. Trust in him at all times, ye
people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. He's our rock. Rock of ages. Rock of ages. Remember he told
Peter upon this rock, I'll build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. That rock is Christ, isn't it?
You remember the Lord gave this parable on the Sermon on the
Mount. Don't turn, let me just read it to you. Matthew 7. Therefore,
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, Matthew 7, 24, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man which buildeth his house
upon a rock. The rain descended, and the floods
came, and the wind blew, and it beat upon the house, and it
did not fall. Why? It was on the rock. It was
on the rock. Everyone that heareth these sayings
of mine and doeth them not shall be likened to a foolish man which
buildeth his house upon the sand. The rain descended and the floods
came and the wind blew and it beat upon the house and it fell.
Great was the fall. It wasn't on the rock. The sand
of creature merit will not stand in a storm of God's wrath, but
standing on that rock, sheltered in that rock, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the rock that never fails. When my heart is overwhelmed
with a sense of sin, weakness, burden, of guilt, lead me to
Christ, who is my pardon, my redemption for all my sin. He's
my righteousness, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses
us from all our sin. When my heart is overwhelmed
and weakened with affliction of providence, lead me to Christ,
our comfort in a time of storm. When my heart is overwhelmed
with pride and unbelief, lead me to Christ, the faithful great
high priest who ever lived to intercede for us. God the Holy
Spirit always leads us to the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Holy
Spirit never leads us to trust ourselves for anything. We always
look to Christ for all, for all of salvation. The Holy Spirit
of God never leads believers back to the law for comfort or
sanctification. The Holy Spirit leads us to Christ
for justification and sanctification we have in
Christ Jesus. Look at verse three. Thou has been a shelter for me,
a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy, the accuser
of the brethren, We're going to study in 1 John chapter 2
that we overcome the enemies by the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Overcome through the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou has been my shelter. He's
a shelter in the time of storm. For me, He's my shelter. He's
my strong tower from the enemy. Now, I've jotted down this reference
here, Psalm 18. Turn back over there. Psalm 18. Thou has been my shelter, my
strong tower, than the enemy, and it's forever. Look at Psalm
18, verse 1. I will love thee, O Lord, my
strength. And this sums it all up right
here. The Lord is my rock. He's my fortress. He's my deliverer. He's my God. He's my strength
and whom I'll trust. He's my buckler. He's the horn
or the power of my salvation. He's my high tower. I'll call
upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, so shall be saved
from my enemies. That sums it all up, doesn't
it? Christ is all and in all. He's everything. Everything. He's the Alpha and the Omega
of our salvation. Isaiah, like David, only found
one refuge, one shelter, one strong tower for salvation, and
that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's find Isaiah 32. Isaiah
32. We did a complete study through
the book of Isaiah. The old timers used to call it
the gospel according to Isaiah. Isaiah 32. Look at verse one. Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. A man shall
be a hiding place from the wind. This is the God-man. A cover from a tempest, rivers
of water in a dry place. a shadow of a great rock in a
weary land. Isaiah's hope, David's hope,
Jeremiah's hope, the apostle Paul, John, Peter, all their
hope was in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Christ alone, alone. Proverbs 18 said, the name of
the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and
they're safe. They're safe. Verse four. I will
abide. I will, I will. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of God's power. I will abide in thy tabernacle
forever. What is that tabernacle? It's
Christ. Christ our tabernacle. Turn back to Psalm 27. You remember
this one? Psalm 27. Psalm 27. One thing, verse four. One thing,
one thing needful. One thing needful, one thing
have I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in his temple, for
in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion, in the
secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me and set me upon the
rock. What is that tabernacle? It's
Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we desire, to dwell
with the blessed Savior forever. I will abide, I will abide, and
that word there, abide, can mean rest, can mean dwell, continually
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ to provide all things for us
in salvation. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory through the Lord Jesus
Christ. I will abide, I will rest in
Christ. I will dwell with him." And then
he says, I will trust. I will trust. And notice the
marginal reference on the word trust there, you see it number
eight. The marginal reference is, My refuge. He's my refuge. Shelter in a
time of storm. I will abide in thy tabernacle.
I will trust. I will make him my refuge. He's
a covering. I will trust in the covering
of his wings. I will trust. He is my refuge. You remember those we studied
before, those cities of refuge? I think there were six of those
cities of refuge. And when you were in trouble,
you ran into one of those cities of refuge that God established,
and the manslayer, the avenger of blood, could not touch that
man inside that city of refuge. That's Christ. That's Christ. We run to him and we're safe.
We're safe in him. I will trust or take my refuge
in the covering of thy wings upon the mercy seat. in the Lord
Jesus Christ. I've got it jotted down here.
Psalm 91. Look there. Psalm 91 verse 1. Psalm 91 verse 1. He that dwelleth
in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. I will save the Lord. He is my
refuge and my fortress in My God, in him I'll trust. Surely
he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from
the noisome pestilence he shall cover thee with his feathers.
Under his wing shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield
and buckler. He's everything. It's all the
way through the Psalm, isn't it? It's all the way through
all 66 books of the Bible, from Genesis to the Revelation. It's all about Christ. He's our
refuge. He's our righteousness. He's
our hiding place. He's our Savior and He's all
of our salvation. Look at verse 5. For thou, O God, hast heard me. He says in verse 1, hear my cry. And then he says, Lord, you've
heard me. He has confidence, doesn't he?
Confidence in him. Hear my cry. And then he says,
oh God, thou hast heard my vows. You've heard my cry. You've heard
my prayer. Thou hast given me the heritage
of those that fear thy name. We have an inheritance in Christ,
don't we? Thou hast heard my prayers. What
great mercy on the Lord's part to take any notice such faithless,
sinful creatures as we are yet in covenant love. He does. He
does do that. God committed his love toward
us. We studied that, didn't we, Sunday? Sunday. But God committed
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. Thou hast
given the heritage unto those that fear thy name. He's given
us an eternal inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ. We've
been made heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Don't turn, let me just read these to you, you're familiar
with these. But in the book of Colossians, I'll give the reference
to those who listen on Sermon Audio. This year, I looked this
up. This year on Sermon Audio, we've
been on Sermon Audio for 20 years, 20 years. This ministry was the first ministry
among the Sovereign Grace churches that started putting up sermons
on Sermon Audio. Everybody else started doing
that after we had such success putting up Pastor Mahan's sermons,
and everybody else followed in. But the Lord has given us a great
blessing through the Sermon Audio ministry, and we're so thankful
for it, so thankful for it. I'm going to read talking about
our internal inheritance that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ
in Colossians chapter 1. It says, giving thanks unto the
Father, verse 12, who had made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saint in light. Many people listen to our sermon
audio sermons, 1.8 million sermons downloaded all over the
world. We have a worldwide ministry. Did you know that? We have a
worldwide ministry. We're on the radio. That radio
is streamed live on the internet, goes all over the world. When
the Lord said, go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature, that's what we're doing. That's what we're doing.
So sermons go all over the world. and people listened to the gospel
that we're preaching. Give thanks unto the Father which
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of a saint
in light who had delivered us from the power of darkness and
translated us in the kingdom of God their son. We studied
this and read this recently from Ephesians 1 in whom also we have
an inheritance We were obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will that we should be to the praise of
His glory who first trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have
an internal inheritance in our blessed Savior, don't we? Heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ. Peter calls it, you remember,
incorruptible and undefiled, that faith is not a way that's
reserved for you in heaven. We have an eternal inheritance.
We're just passing through this life. Oh, it gets much better
than this. Some of those commercials on
TV, they used to say, it doesn't get any better than this. Oh,
yes, it does for the believer. We're looking for a city like
Abraham whose builder and maker is God. We have an eternal inheritance.
The heritage of those that fear thy name. Those who reverence
his name. Those who reverence his name.
What is this fear of the Lord? We fear and reverence the Lord
and we reverence the Lord so much that we fear trusting anything
else but Christ. We fear his name. God's given
him a name which is above every name. His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Verse six, thou wilt prolong
the king's life. David reigned as the anointed
of God. You remember that little shepherd
boy? When Samuel came down to the house of Jesse, David's father,
he looked at all them seven boys, and God said, nope, nope, nope. Do you have any left? I got one
little runt. He's out there in the field.
You're not interested in him. His name's David. Go get him.
Go get him. And David came before Samuel
and Jesse, and the Lord spoke to his heart, said, that's the
man right there. That's my anointed. But even David had many heartache
and trial, he's overwhelmed, yet God put him on the throne
of Israel for 40 years. He reigned. He reigned for 40
years. And he reigns with Christ eternally
now in glory. David is with the Lord Jesus
Christ. You think about that. He's with the greater David that
will prolong the king's life. He gave him 40 years to reign
in Israel. but he reigns eternally with
the Lord Jesus Christ, seated in the heavenlies. And that's
true of every believer. He's made us kings and priests
unto our God. You're looking at a king. You're
looking at a priest. In Christ, he's made us so. It
says that in Revelation 1. His years, many generations,
generation after generation, he gives us eternal life we have
in Christ. He shall abide, verse 7. He shall
abide before God forever. Forever. He doesn't save us temporarily. He saves us with an everlasting
salvation, doesn't he? He shall abide before God forever. Now you think about that. Abide
before God who is holy forever. How holy must you be to stand
before God and abide in his presence? How holy you gotta be? As holy
as God. Well, preacher, I can't be holy. You're right, you can't. In Christ,
he presents us what? Holy, unblameable, unapprovable
in God's sight. He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy. This is ordained mercy. You know
what that is? That's sovereign mercy. That's
sovereign mercy. Turn over to Psalm 62 again. Let me show you something here.
Look at verse 11 and 12. Psalm 62. God has spoken once. You see verse 11? God has spoken
once, twice, have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth
mercy. For thou rendest to every man
according to his work power and mercy. What is that? That's sovereign
mercy. That's sovereign grace. He will
have mercy on whom he will have mercy. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy. Prepare mercy
in truth. Mercy in truth. God is gonna
show mercy to vile, wretched sinner, not at the expense of
truth. God's gonna honor His law, His
justice in truth, and He's gonna show mercy because the Lord Jesus
Christ satisfied God's law and justice for us, brought in everlasting
righteousness for us, which may preserve Him. We're preserved
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're kept by the power. He gives
His sheep. He gives His sheep, what is that? He gives His sheep temporary
amnesty as long as they hold out. Thank God it's not so. He gives us eternal life and
we shall never perish. No man can pluck them out of
His hand or my Father's hand, which may preserve us. We're
preserved in Christ. We're kept by the power of God.
So, he says in verse 8, so I sing praise unto Him. I sing praise
unto Him. I sing praise unto Him. Constantly, not only in this
world, but that which is to come. I like what that one old Irish
woman said. She said, the Lord has saved me by
His grace, and He'll never hear the end of it. who will praise
him forever, worthy of the lamb that was slain, to receive all
glory, honor, power, and blessings, both now and forever. For the
blessing before mentioned, for hearing his prayers, giving glorious
inheritance, giving us and preparing mercy and truth, giving us life
and salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, What are we going to
do? We're going to sing praise unto
thy name forever and ever and ever, that I may daily perform
my vow unto the Lord. What is that? Believing the gospel.
Believing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Confessing Christ
as all and in all. In Him goes all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and in Him we stand complete You remember
in Psalm 115, David said, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy name, give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. Amen.