Good evening. Let's open tonight's service
with hymn number six from our hardback hymnal, hardback hymnal
number six, Come Thou Almighty King, number six. Let's all stand
together. ? Come Thou Almighty King ? ? Help
us Thy name to sing ? ? Help us to praise ? ? Father all glorious
? ? Lord all victorious ? ? Come and reign over us ? ? Ancient
of days ? ? Come thou incarnate word ? ? Heard on thy mighty
sword ? ? Our prayer attend ? ? Come and thy people blessed ? ? And
live thy word's success ? ? Spirit of holiness, I praise thee ? Come Holy Comforter Thy sacred
witness bear In this glad hour Thou who almighty art Now rule
in every heart And ne'er from us depart Spirit of power ? To
the great one in three ? Eternal praises be ? Hence evermore ?
His sovereign majesty ? May we in glory sing ? And to eternity
love and adore Please be seated. Good evening. Would you like
to turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4? 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. We will begin reading in verse 14. we believe that Jesus died and
rose again. Even so, them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with the shout and with the voice of the archangel
That's the voice of Christ. And with the trump of God and
the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord. Wherefore. Comfort. One another. With these words. When the. Unbeliever thinks of
death, he thinks of it as a negative subject. The believer thinks
of it as great comfort. This book closes with, Come,
Lord Jesus, even now, come. Look what he says in the next
chapter. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have
no need that I read unto you, for you yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night. For
when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they
shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. For
you are all the children of light and the children of the day.
We are not of the night nor of the darkness. Therefore, let
us not sleep as others do. But let us watch and be sober. What a blessing it is to have
a sober mind about the reality of death and the hope of eternal
life. What a blessing it is for young
people. You know, the young people are thinking, well, yeah, you
old folks can think about dying all you want. Well, what a blessing
it is for young people to think soberly about death and for the
Lord to give them hope so that they not sorrow like other men
sorrow. That's going to be the subject
tonight from Psalm 39. I pray the Lord to bless it.
So let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
how we hope that you would be pleased now in this hour to comfort
our hearts to enable us to rest all our hope on thy dear son,
on his accomplished work, and on the hope of knowing that we
shall be caught up together with him in the air, and so shall
we ever be with thee. Lord, that you would increase
our faith, forgive us, Lord, for the sin that doth so easily
beset each of us. Lord, we confess to you that
We're so drawn to the things of this world and caused to forget
and not think soberly and not be mindful of those things which
are eternal. We pray in this hour that you
would, that you would exhort us, encourage us, rebuke us,
and enable us to find comfort in Christ. For it's in his name
we pray. Amen. Let's all stand together once
again. We'll sing hymn number 326. 326. ["326"] More about Jesus would I know. More of His grace to others show. More of His saving fullness see. More of His love who died for
me. More, more about Jesus. More, more about Jesus, more
of His saving fullness see, more of His love who died for me. ? More about Jesus let me learn
? ? More of his holy will discern ? ? Spirit of God my teacher
be ? ? Showing the things of Christ to me ? ? More, more about
Jesus ? ? More, more about Jesus ? ? More of his saving fullness
see ? More of his love who died for me ? More about Jesus in
his word ? Holding communion with my Lord ? Hearing his voice
in every line ? Making each faithful savior mine. More, more about
Jesus. More, more about Jesus. More of His saving fullness see. More of His love who died for
me. More about Jesus on his throne
Riches and glory all his own More of his kingdom sure increase
More of his coming Prince of Peace More, more about Jesus
More, more about Jesus. More of His saving fullness see. More of His love who died for
me. Please be seated. Mitch? Mitch? I think most of you all have
met our friend from Montana, Mitch. been a real blessing to
have him here with us this week. I remembered that Mitch, before
the Lord converted him, played drums in a country and western
band. And we're not going to do that
tonight. But he has written some hymns. And I asked him if he
would please sing one of those hymns for us tonight. So he's
going to do that now. Mitch, you come on up here, brother. When I was in California years
ago, they introduced me as Montana Mitch. He's a mountain man. And
this is about as good as it gets. He cuts firewood. He, you know,
he ice fishes. He, you know, and they have these
preconceived notions what a mountain man is. And then you go, well,
man, it isn't what I expected. But I was a musician years ago,
and I don't comfortably sing music, mainly because I did it for the
glory of myself. But in the sovereignty of God,
He has used that talent, I guess as you can say, that He gave
this poor sinner. The first song that I ever wrote is right from the scriptures.
And the song is Wretched Man That I Am. I used to play guitar. I don't play guitar much, so
I don't have any musical accompaniment, but we'll just give her a go
here. Before I was brought forth I
was conceived in sin A seed of Adam's race And so depraved within
I come from the womb speaking lies With the prince of this
world as my guide For I did not know That old wretched man that
I am Oh, wretched man that I am, running away from him. Oh, the deep, dark bowels of
hell I chose to wallow in. Like a hog that runs to the mire,
as a flame that enjoys the fire. For I did not know that old wretched
man that I am. By the mercy of the Lord, this
stone heart was turned to flesh. Now the battles that rage within
cause me much deep distress. What I will to do I do not. And to this low estate I was
brought. Oh, and now I can see that old
wretched man that I am. Old wretched man that I am. Lord, please take hold of me. Oh, the deep, dark bowels of
hell still try to swallow me. Many tangled web I did weave,
and to the dust my flesh always cleaves, knowing deep in my soul
that old wretched man that I am. Now the good news that I hear
is that Jesus died for me. My sins laid on his back as he
hung at Calvary. All who come to him, he won't
leave. ? By the grace of God I believe
? And now I understand that old wretched man that I am ? Old
wretched man that I am ? Chose from eternity ? And the deep
dark bowels of hell ? Cannot take hold of me Complete in Him I now stand Mediated
at God's right hand And it's only in Him There's this new
righteous man that I am This new righteous man that I am Redeemed
and justified and to stand firm on his word when I am sorely
tried. His righteous robe I shall wear
for I'll meet my Lord in the air and finally say goodbye to
this old wretched man that I am. And it's only in him Jesus Christ,
the only name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be
saved. And it's only in him, there's this new righteous man,
that I am. Thank you, Mitch. what a day that'll be. We leave
that old wretched man behind. And in that place there should
be nothing but righteousness. Will you open your Bibles with
me to Psalm 39 please? I stand before you as a dying
man preaching to dying men about the God-man who died that
we might have eternal life. That's our only hope. Everything
else in this world is wasting away. This world as we saw Sunday
is a cursed world. There's no hope in this world. Oh, but there's hope in Christ.
And though we are in the world, The Lord makes us so that we're
not of the world. And we're able to see ourselves
for what we are. We're able to see God for who
he is. We're able to have some understanding as to how it is
that God is pleased to save sinners through the perfect work of his
son. And we know that this book's
all about Christ. And when the psalmist, when David
prays in Psalm 39 and he said, I said, I will take heed to my
ways that I sin not with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle
while the wicked is before me. Now the Lord Jesus Christ went
to the slaughter as a lamb and opened not his mouth. He was silent for six hours the
Lord Jesus Christ hung on Calvary's cross. The scripture teaches
us that he was crucified the third hour, that's nine o'clock
in the morning, that by the sixth hour, which was noon, the sky
had turned black and the father had forsaken him. He hung there
for three more hours. And at the ninth hour, which
is the hour of the evening sacrifice, Also, the hour when the Passover
lamb was to be slain on exactly the ninth hour, the Lord Jesus
Christ bowed his mighty head and said, it is finished. It's
finished. Father into thy hands, I commend
my spirit. The veil was rent and everything
that God required for the salvation of his people was accomplished.
Six hours, the Lord Jesus Christ hung on Calvary's cross And in
those six hours, we only have a few seconds of words that he
spoke. How long would it have taken
for the Lord to say, Father, forgive them for they know not
what they do? Aren't you glad? You remember
when the Lord prayed for Peter or when the Lord told Peter,
he said, Peter, before the cock crows, you're going to deny me
three times, but be of good comfort. I've prayed for you that your
faith fail not. That's what he prayed for Peter
for, and that's what he prays for every one of his children.
Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. They
don't know what they... But that's just one of the seven statements
that our Lord made during those six hours. The second thing that
he said was to that thief on the cross today. Today, you shall be with me in
paradise." What hope, what assurance. Here this murderous thief was
getting what he deserved and yet the Lord was pleased to make
himself known to him and give him the hope that he would be
with Christ in paradise that very day. How long would that
have taken? A few seconds for him to say
that? And then for the Lord to look down at his fleshly mother,
Mary, and say to her, woman, behold thy son, looking over
to John, and saying to John, behold thy mother, providing
for his mother and the needs, the physical needs that she would
have in this world. How long would that have taken?
Just a few seconds for him to say that. And then fourthly,
when he cried, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, which is to be translated,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? They didn't know
what he was saying. He was speaking in Hebrew and
in Aramaic, but he was quoting from Psalm 22, wasn't he? My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? They said, maybe he's calling
for Elijah to come help him, give him something. And no, no,
he was talking to his father. He was doing business with his
father and he was fulfilling all prophecy when he made that
cry towards his father, letting us know that God had made him
who knew no sin to be sin for us and that the fathers eyes
were too pure to look upon sin. Did God stop loving his son?
No. No. But when Christ became sin
on Calvary's cross, the father was unable to look at him. He
was forced by his holy nature to forsake his only son who had
become the sins of his people. We're not moved by that as we
ought to be. Because we can go moments, hours,
sometimes days, if the Lord allows us, without having real fellowship
with God. Doesn't seem to bother us too
much, does it? The Lord Jesus Christ had had perfect fellowship
with the Father for all eternity. What that forsaking actually
meant is beyond our ability to fully comprehend, but we know,
we know. that we look upon him whom we
have pierced and mourn after him as one mourns after his only
begotten son, that that's what was necessary in order for that's
the cup that he had to drink from, isn't it? When he said,
my God, if there's any, my father, if there be any way this cup
can pass from me, it was the cup of sin, the cup of sin. And he drank damnation dry right
down to the bitter dregs of all the sins of all of his people
to satisfy God's justice. How long would it have taken
for him to quote that one verse out of Psalm 22? Just a moment. And then for him to say, we have
it translated in our Bibles, it is finished, but in fact,
what the Lord spoke was one word when he said to Telestai, it's
paid in full, it's finished, it's over, everything required
for your salvation I've provided. And then for him to say, Father,
into Thy hands I commend my spirit." Those seven brief, the Lord Jesus
Christ trusting His Father to keep His part of the covenant,
believing that His Father was going to be faithful because
He was faithful. So for six hours, the Lord took just a few seconds
to make those seven brief statements I thought about this. Six, that's
the number of man, isn't it? In the scriptures, man was created
on the sixth day, and 666 is the number of man, and it's as
close to the number of seven as you can get without being
there. And everything in the Bible that speaks of six is speaking
of man, and that's what the Lord, that's what the God-man did during
those six hours. He died as a man for men, for
his people. but then those seven statements
that he makes. The number seven is the number
of completion and the number of perfection. And the Lord Jesus
Christ is saying to us, in all seven of those statements, everything
that God requires, I've done for you. That one cry that he made, Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani, they didn't understand what he was saying.
And that was in fulfillment to this. I will take heed to my
ways that I sin not with my mouth. I will keep my mouth with a bridle
while the wicked is before me. The wicked were standing there.
They were wagging their heads. They were saying he saved others.
Let him save himself. Let's see if the angels will
come and deliver him. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
say a word to them. He spoke those seven brief statements
in a few seconds over a period of six hours for us. But he didn't speak to the wicked.
He didn't speak to them. God's still speaking to his children.
He doesn't speak to the reprobate. And then he says in verse two,
I was dumb with silence. I held my peace even from good
and my sorrow was stirred. Why was the Lord Jesus Christ
silent on Calvary's cross? I can think of at least three
reasons. Number one, as the sinner's substitute. From what we saw
in Psalm 38 last Wednesday night, there's no soundness in my flesh
because of thine anger, neither is there any rest in my bones.
because of my sin, God made him sin who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God as the sin bearer, as the
sinner's substitute. He owned our sins as his own
and the reason why he's silent, because he's guilty. He's guilty,
he's got no defense. He's taking our guilt as his
own. You stand before a judge and a court of law, you've got
no defense for the crime that's being charged to you. You gotta
be silent. What are you gonna say? You gonna
make excuses? I was dumb with silence. He had no defense, bearing our
sins in his body upon that tree. He was guilty before the court
of God's law. Do you see the quote in the bulletin
last Sunday? I like that. Scott McMahon's gonna be here,
by the way, next week. And he and Christine are hoping
to move here. Pray for them. They'll be here
Sunday. They'll be here this Sunday.
But Scott made this statement to me. He said, you know, all
this talk about being found, you know, our legal system is
set up that the presumption of innocence that A person is innocent
until proven guilty and the law has to prove them guilty. And
there's only one place and the Lord Jesus Christ was innocent
until he stood owning our sins as his own before the court of
God's law and the law said guilty. The law saw the sin and the law
said guilty so he was innocent before proven guilty. But you
know the opposite is true with us. The only place a man is guilty
before proven innocent is when a sinner stands before the court
of God's law. We're guilty until proven innocent. And we're proven innocent when
the Lord Jesus Christ, who was innocent, became guilty for us,
bore our blame, put away our sin. Guilty until proven innocent. Oh, that's what I want. See,
the world says The unbeliever says, I'm innocent and I'm going
to prove my innocence. No, Lord, we're guilty. You're
going to have to prove my innocence. I was dumb with silence. Why
was the Lord Jesus Christ silent? Number one, because he was guilty.
Before the court of God's law, bearing our sins, he had no defense. Secondly, because he was a willing
substitute. No man took his life from him.
He laid his life down willingly. He entered into that covenant
of grace with the father before time ever began, willingly said,
father, I'll redeem them. This was an agreement when the
Lord Jesus Christ struck hands with the father as our surety,
he agreed to lay down his life for his sheep willingly. So why would a willing sacrifice
have any objections to say? He made those seven brief statements
to tell us a lot about what he was doing. We could preach a
message or two on each one of those statements, couldn't we?
Very easily. But he didn't speak to the wicked.
He didn't speak that when he did say something, they didn't
understand what he was talking about. Why? Because he went to a lamb,
he went to the slaughter as a lamb and opened not his mouth. Number
one, because he was guilty. Number two, because he was willing. There were no objections in his
heart. No objections. And he quoted
that verse from Psalm 22 in order to say that everything written
in Psalm 22 is about me. It's all about me. He wasn't
crying out out of objection to what was happening to him. And thirdly, the reason why the
Lord Jesus Christ was silent on Calvary's cross is because
he was fulfilling all prophecy. Everything the Lord Jesus Christ
did was to fulfill that which was prophesied about him. And
it was prophesied that he would be as a lamb before his shearers,
opening not his mouth, laying down his life willingly for his
sheep. So how could he open his mouth? And here he is, I was
dumb with silence. I held my peace even from good. And my sorrow was stirred. Oh, just because the Lord Jesus
Christ didn't speak audibly during those six hours, we've already
seen in studying the Psalms the things that were stirring in
his heart during that time, don't we? He wasn't silent in his heart
towards the father. You know, I read an article that
someone wrote that there was an elder brother on his deathbed
and barely had the strength to speak or to think even. And another brother asked him,
you know, How was he doing? And he said, well, when I have
the strength to think, I try to think about Christ. And when
I don't, I take comfort in knowing that he's thinking about me.
Isn't that the way it is? We may lose our minds before
the Lord takes us home, but he's not going to forget about his
children. Not going to forget about them. I was dumb with silence. I held my peace even from good.
My sorrow was stirred in my heart. And while my heart was hot within
me, while I was musing, the fire burned. Then spake I with my
tongue." Now I think that's a reference to when the Lord Jesus Christ
cried out in those final moments of his life, before he said it
is finished, before he gave up the ghost, when he cried from
Psalm 22, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He felt
the full burden of the fiery wrath of God's judgment on Calvary's
cross. The fire burned within him. We
don't know what that means. We don't know what it means.
But we know that he did it. He did it for his people. And
this Psalm is prophesying what he would do and what he would
say and then he says in verse 4, Lord make me to know mine end. What was the end of the Lord
Jesus Christ? Why was he doing all of this? Well I can think of four things.
Number one to satisfy the demands of God's holy justice. Satisfaction. That was his end. To know that
he was pleasing the Father by his perfect obedience, laying
down his life suffering, obedient even unto death. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
12. What was the end of Christ. Why was he doing this? He said,
Lord, make me to know mine end and the breath of my days. Look at Hebrews chapter 11. You would think that after Hebrews
chapter 11 that the Lord would say, now, consider all those
faithful saints of the Old Testament and be like them. I mean, they're glorious testimony
about these saints of the Old Testament and some of the things
they suffered and how faithful they were. Why is the Lord giving
us these things? We used to study these characters
as examples to follow. That's not why Hebrews 11 is
there. Hebrews 11 is there is to say their trust, they were
trusting the same one you're to trust. They were following
the same one you're to follow. Don't follow Abraham. Don't follow
all these, these, Sarah and all the saints that, you know, there's
a whole lot left out in Hebrews chapter 11 about what they really
went through in their lives. When you read the Old Testament
stories of their lives, we see a lot, you don't follow after
Abraham and, and, and tell Pharaoh twice that your wife is not your
wife so that he can take her into his family? No. No. You're going to follow after
Sarah and laugh at God when he says you're going to have a child
at 90 years old? No. The Lord's telling us that
these Old Testament believers are just like you. They needed
to have one to look to. That's why he says, wherefore,
verse 1, seeing that we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the
sin that doth so easily beset us. What is the sin that said
that? I used to think, well, you know,
one person's got this sin, another person's got that sin. There's
one sin that doth so easily beset every one of us, and all of our
other sins come out of that sin. It's the sin of unbelief. That's
it. It's not believing God. We're
all like that father who cried, Lord, I believe help thou mine
unbelief. And every problem that we have stems from unbelief.
And so the Lord is saying, they had unbelief problems too. They
had the same sin that doth so easily beset every one of us.
Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Abel? Looking unto Jacob? Looking unto
Abraham? No. Looking unto Jesus, the author
He's the originator. He's the one who entered into
a covenant with his father before time ever began and agreed to
be the surety and the redeemer of God's elect. The originator,
the author, and the finisher. He's the one who will keep us
from falling and present us faultless before the throne of God. Peter,
I pray that your faith fail not. No child of God's faith will
fail. Why? Because what the Lord started,
He's going to finish. He's the author and the finisher. So we're
looking unto Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right
hand of God. For consider Him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be
wearied and faint in your mind. You've not yet resisted unto
blood striving against sin. So go back with me now to our
text in Psalm 39. The Lord Jesus Christ says to
the father, and these are the things that he's saying in his
heart during those six hours, why he's not having lapse of
memory. He's not like that old saint
that I just used the illustration of who's on his bed who's not
even able to think. Well, his mind is sharp. He's
thinking clearly about the things of God. He's being silent. He's
not saying much, but his heart is stirred within him and these
are the things that he's thinking. Make me to know mine end. Remind
me, Father, why it is I'm doing this. And the number one reason was
satisfaction. The Lord Jesus Christ was making
an offer to His Father to satisfy the demands of God's law, obedient
even unto death, even the death of the cross. To satisfy God's
demand for holy justice, putting away sin and paying the penalty
that God required in order for that sin to be justified. Put away. So satisfaction is
one of the reasons for the end of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
when he prays to the Father and says, Father, Father, make me
to know mine end, make me to know mine end. Don't you know
that the Father comforted his heart during those hours saying,
you're satisfying, you're satisfying. I see the travail of your soul
and I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied with what you're
doing. And the Lord Jesus Christ took
great comfort in knowing that he was satisfying his father.
And the satisfaction that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
on Calvary's cross is the believer's end. It is the believer's end. Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11,
I know the thoughts that I have toward you. Thoughts of peace
and not of evil. You have peace with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ. To bring you, I love that word
bring, to bring you. I'm gonna bring you to your expected
end. Lord, make me to know my end.
My end is to stand before a holy God, knowing that he is satisfied
with me. Satisfied. No condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus. No charge. The law has been silenced. It cannot bring up any charge
against one of God's elect. Who shall condemn one of God's
elect? It's God that justifies. Secondly, when the Lord Jesus
Christ is praying to his father on the cross and saying, Lord,
make me to know mine end, the father is saying to him, I cannot
allow my holy one to see corruption. When you bow your mighty head
and you take your last breath, trusting me, I'm going to do
what I promised to do. I'm going to raise you from the
dead. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was his end.
What is the end of this? We think of death as being the
end. Death is not the end. It's just
the beginning. It's just the beginning. He's
the firstborn among many brethren. As the Lord Jesus Christ was
raised from the dead, so we'll be raised with him. But Paul
said that I might know the power of his resurrection. When Christ
was raised, we were raised with him. And that's his end. And that's
our end. Our end is knowing that when
they put this body in the grave, when they bury it, it's not going to stay there. They which are dead shall be
made alive. When the Lord Jesus Christ, raised
from the dead, Well, when he gave up the ghost on Calvary's
cross, scripture says in Jerusalem, many of the graves were broken
open and some of the Old Testament saints were seen walking around.
Walking around. There they were. What was the end of Christ? Satisfying
the Father. Defeating death. Oh, death, where
is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is thy victory?
Sting of death is sin. The end of sin is the law. Thanks
be to God. The Lord Jesus Christ satisfied
the law. There's no more condemnation.
There's no fear of eternal separation from God. Death is just an entrance
into glory, isn't it? So the resurrection is our end,
just as it was for the Lord Jesus Christ. What else was when he
says, Lord, make me to know mine end. And that ought to be our,
Lord, make me to know mine end. In the midst of all the trials
and troubles that we have in this life, what a comfort it
is, what a blessing it is to be able to look to the end, know
that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. We know the
end of the story, don't we? and you know you it's uh... it's a weak illustration i know
that but you you watch a sporting event you get all anxious because
your team's losing but you you it's a it's a recorded game you
already know who won don't you and you can say that's alright
they're going to get past this we're alright well that's about
how trivial some of the troubles are that we have compared to
eternal life isn't it these light afflictions the scripture speaks
of them as cannot be compared to the glory that shall be revealed
in you." Now that was the end of the Lord Jesus Christ to be
glorified. He knew that God was going to give him a name that
was above every name and that he was going to be seated at
the right hand of the majesty on high. We just read that in
Hebrews chapter 12 and that's clear all the way through the
scriptures, isn't it? And he says to us, that's your end too. Glorification. Glorification. satisfaction, justification,
resurrection, glorification. And all those whom God foreknew,
He did predestinate to be conformed to His Son. And everyone that
He predestinated, He called. He called. And everyone that
He called, He justified. And everyone that He justified,
He glorified. We are in Christ, in the heavenlies,
right now. Right now. When the scriptures
speak of being glorified, it's a past tense thing. When the
Lord Jesus Christ ascended back into glory, He went as the head
of His church. Scripture teaches that. We are in the heavenlies, in
Christ Jesus, right now, already glorified. There's our hope. There's our comfort. Let this
world hang their hopes and put their comfort and their peace
in temporal circumstances. Oh no, we're looking beyond that.
Lord, make me to know mine end. Make me to know mine end. And
the end of the Lord Jesus Christ was full redemption. Full redemption. In other words, when the Lord
Jesus Christ is praying in his heart to the Father and he says,
Father, make me to know my end, my heart stirred within me. I
haven't spoken before the wicked. You've put up, you've held my
speech. The Lord make me to know my end.
Here's your end, son. Here's your end. You're going
to justify everyone that you're dying for. I'm going to be satisfied. I'm going to raise you from the
dead and set you back into your rightful place of glory with
all those that you have fully redeemed. The full redemption
price for your bride is being paid by your shed blood. Not
one sin and not one sheep will be left behind. Don't you know that when the
father comforts his son on Calvary's cross with those truths that
he's comforted. If you're comforted and I'm comforted
by these things, how much more was he comforted? Make me know mine end and the
measure of my days. What it is, what it is, what is it? Oh, it's just a, it's a vapor,
isn't it? Read Ecclesiastes. Solomon had
everything this world had to offer. And he indulged himself
in the pleasures of women, wine, and wealth beyond anything that
you and I can possibly imagine. And he came to this conclusion.
Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. All is vanity. There's nothing here of any substance
There's nothing to satisfy the soul. And that's what the Lord's
saying and that's what every one of His children, Lord, make
me to know mine end and the measure of my days, what it is that I
may know, that I may know, not just speculate, not just think,
not just, well, you know, it may be this way. No, Lord, I
need to know how frail I am. Why are we comforted in knowing
how frail we are? You know, the truth is that everything
else in that look, look, look, read, read the rest of this.
Behold, thou has made my days as a hand breath. How wide your
hand? Not very wide. I measured mine
today. I thought, what's a hand breath?
Nine and a half inches. That's a hand breath. Not very
long. Not very wide. That's, that's
our, that's our life. Just brief here for a moment. Then we're gone. 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. Now, we know
who the best man was, and we know that he emptied himself
and became of no reputation, and that the best thing that
you and I have ever done is vanity before God. vanity. There's no substance to it. There's
no salvation in it. The Lord Jesus Christ had to
be made nothing in order for us to be made something. Surely every man walketh in a
vain show. Surely, surely They are disquieted
in vain. Now let me ask you this, why
are you comforted in hearing that? It's because when you forget
that, you get bound up in it, don't you? And when you're reminded
of what the truth is, you find great comfort in putting your
rest in Christ. You see, when God says, every
man walketh in a vain show, And when the scripture says that
they all are disquieted in vain, he's talking about believers
and unbelievers. The difference is that the unbeliever
doesn't know it. He doesn't know that he can't
produce any righteousness. He doesn't know that this world
is nothing but vanity. He's investing everything he's
got in this world. All his hope is in this world.
we're drawn away to the things of this world but when God says
surely, surely every single one of you walk in a vain show and every single one of you are troubled over nothing and the child of God says that's
me, that's me Thank you, Lord. I need to be reminded of that.
There's my comfort. My comfort is realizing how I
have nothing outside of Christ. I'm just like the rest of the
world, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. There's really not much
difference, is there? Now, I'm not suggesting that
a believer ought to indulge themselves in all the evil pleasures of
this world, but I'm just saying that the outward appearance of
a believer's life is, you know, people talk about, well, I want
people to see Jesus in me. They didn't see Jesus in Jesus.
They're not going to see him in you. Our outward lives are
not, I mean, there's a lot of outwardly moral people in this
life, in this world. I could say I'm sure there's
a whole lot of folks that live better lives than I do that don't
know Christ. So what's the difference? The
difference is that I know I'm disquieted in Bain. The difference
is that I know I walk in a Bain show and that this world is vanity.
And the only reason I know that is because I've seen Christ. I've seen the truth. I've seen
the one and the only one who has substance and life in himself. He makes us to differ, doesn't
he? He makes us to differ. Look at the last part of verse
6. He heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them. I
can't tell you how many Some of us have lived a few years
and we watch people, they spend their whole lives accumulating
resources, don't they? Planning on these big retirements
and then they retire and often times, they're gone just like
that. Young people die just like that. And even if the Lord allows you
to live and enjoy your retirement for a few years, what is it?
What is it? It's a vain show, isn't it? There's
no substance to it. You enjoy it for a little while
and then it's gone. Lord, I need something more than
this. And now, Lord, what wait I for? If all of life is a vain show
and I'm going to heap up all these things and I'm going to
die and somebody's going to take them over and they'll probably
waste them away, How many children we've seen waste their inheritance
from their hard-working parents? What's my hope? My hope is in
Thee. My hope is in Thee, to see Thee
as Thy heart and be made like You. Lord, my hope's not in this
world. It's not in this world. The child of God right now saying,
pastor, thank you. I need to hear that again. I
need to hear that. It's so easy for me to lose sight
of the truth. I'm so prone to wander. I'm so
prone to leave the God I love. I'm so prone to get caught up
in the things of this world and to lust after the things that
the Gentiles lust after. Lord, thank you. Thank you. And how many times
in the scriptures we're reminded of this? Over and over and over
again, aren't we? Deliver me from all my transgressions. Make me not the reproach of the
foolish. Lord, don't let me have the same hope that the unbeliever
has. I was dumb. I opened not my mouth. Because thou didst it. Now there's
the reason. There's the reason why the Lord
Jesus Christ didn't open his mouth. Because everything that
was happening to him, God was doing it. The Romans weren't
doing it. The Jews weren't doing it. You
and I weren't doing it. It pleased the Father to bruise
him. God the Father was afflicting
him with all that suffering. with all that judgment. And for
him to open his mouth would be to object to his father. And
he says here, I was dumb and I opened not my mouth because
thou didst it. Now, child of God, let me ask
you this. I know we murmur, we complain, we get disquieted in
vain. But when God speaks to your heart
and says to you, You know, you know that all things work together
for good for them that love God and those that are called according
to His purpose. You know I'm on my throne. You know I'm in
control of all these circumstances. You know that the armies of heaven
and all the inhabitants of the earth are doing according to
my will and my purpose. You know that, don't you? And
the child of God says, yes, Lord, I do. Thank you. That's my comfort. In the midst of all my troubles,
that's my comfort. And what you do is right. How can I speak against God? How can I accuse God of wrongdoing? I was dumb. I opened not my mouth. because thou didst it. Our merciful heavenly Father,
forgive us for being disguided in vain. Forgive us, Lord, for
our unbelief. Forgive us for forgetting the
end that you've ordained and purposed for us. Lord, we pray. With the Lord Jesus Christ, make
us to know our end. And the number of our days. Lord calls us to know. At the
end. Of our Lord's work of redemption. Was accomplishing your purpose,
saving your people. Glorifying himself. Satisfying your law. Lord, our
hope is in knowing that one day one day the graves gonna give
up. We're going to be. Brought into
thy presence. Lord, give us the hope of that.
We ask it in Christ name. Amen. Number 15, let's stand together. It is finished, Jesus cried. Then he bowed his head and died. Died for sins but not his own. And redemption's work was done. Justice then was satisfied, God's
elect are justified, Righteousness our Lord brought in, And removed
His people's sin. Sin and death and hell subdued
by the power of Christ's blood, grace to sinners now is given,
pardon, holiness, and heaven. It is finished, can it be? that Christ's blood was shed
for me. Yes, I know He died for me, for
by grace I now believe. Pleading Christ atoning blood,
kneeling at the throne of God. Gone my guilt, my sin is gone. It is