All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Psalm 34. Psalm 34. I remember something
Brother Henry said one time. You may have read it yourself,
heard him say it. He was talking about the blessing
of growing older. And I remember one of the things
that he said that really hit me. He said, the older we get
in the Lord, the more opportunities we have to behold the mercy of
God's sustaining grace. You see it, behold it. David, man that penned this psalm, He said in verses six to eight,
and I plan to go back and make some comments on the first five
verses, but six to eight, he said concerning himself, he
said, this man, this poor man, this poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The
angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them. O taste, and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. Man, the scripture says, Job
14.1, that is born of woman. That's all of us, all of us.
Man is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble. You know, it just takes a few
years to grasp hold of that, a little bit more, doesn't it?
Man is born of woman. I've made mention of that quite
a few times lately. It just seems like it just becomes
more and more real to me. Job 14.22, concerning that man
that's born of woman. Scripture says, but his flesh
upon him shall have pain. and his soul within him shall
mourn. Now, you know, when we're younger,
we read that and we say, yeah, I believe that. Oh yeah, amen,
amen. Buddy, I'm gonna tell you something.
When you start going through it a little bit, you start saying,
you know what? I believe that there's a whole lot of truth
in that. It's just, you know. Many of us today are, we're suffering
some pain and some trouble. trials in this body and concerns
that are very real. They're real. Going through some
things that are personal, real personal things. And while we
behold these troubles, we're reminded that we have one
that we call upon for help. We call upon Him, we call upon
Him. I'm telling you, the older we
get, the older we get, the more we realize we're frail creatures
of dust. David, Scripture says, I want
you to hold your place right there, but turn to 1 Samuel 21.
1 Samuel chapter 21. This was something that David
went through David feared for his life, 1 Samuel 21. I wanna
read verses 10 to 15. The scripture says, 1 Samuel
21, verse 10, David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul
and went to Achish, king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said
unto him, David, the king of the land, did they not sing one
to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands
and David his ten thousands? David laid up these words in
his heart and was sore afraid of Achish, the king of Gath. And he, that is David, changed
his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their
hands, and scrabbled on the door. He made marks on it, is what
he did. Scratched on his door, he's acting
like a madman, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then
said Achish unto his servants, Lo, you see this man is mad. Wherefore then have you brought
him to me? Have I need of mad men that ye
have brought this man to play the mad man in my presence? Shall
this fellow come into my house? This man. Now, if you look in
my Bible right here at the beginning of Psalm 34, Psalm of David when he changed
his behavior before Abimelech who drove him away and he departed. David was in a state of utter
fear for his life. Now wait a minute, you're talking
about David that slew the lion, David that slew Goliath, David
the mighty king that's This strong man had these guards with him. The guards had told him one time
when this man was throwing rocks at him, cussed him. One of his
mighty men said, you want me to take his head off? David said,
no, leave him alone. The Lord sent him. The Lord sent
him. The Lord sent him and told him, he said, you go curse David.
He said, you just leave him. David, the scripture says, pin
this according to these words here, right just before I started
in that first verse in 34, this is when he wrote this. This is
when he was before this king, this mighty man, this man that
was loved of God, chosen of God, feared God, and he was afraid
of this king. And this is what David wrote,
and I wanna say this, let's just be real careful. Whenever a believer,
and we all go through some things that are fearful and trying,
I mean, this body's frail, and we get to thinking sometimes,
we go through some things, and that's what we get to do, we
get to thinking. Well, what if? Well, what if? What if this?
What if? Let's be very, very careful not
to judge every reaction of a believer that he makes bearing a burden
of God's trials. You don't know what he's going
through. You just, you think you do. You think, you know,
I'll tell you what I'd do. This is what I'd have done. Well,
I'll tell you what David did. David was fearful. David was
fearful. fearful of this king. And he
pretended like he was mad. He started slobbering and scratching
on the door and acting like a madman. And why'd he do that? He was scared. He was scared. But the scriptures declare that
after that incident, David penned these words right here. after
the Lord allowed him to go through that trouble, that trial, that
tribulation of that king. He was afraid of Achish. What
he was going to do? We always think we're so strong,
we're so mighty, we're so able and capable, and this, that,
and the other. I'm gonna tell you something.
If the Lord puts us in a situation, takes his hand off of us just
a little bit, and lets us see himself, see what we really are,
we're gonna find out we're not as tough as we think we are.
We're not as bad. These are the words. I'll start
in verse one. Here's what David said. After
he went through that trial, that king he thought was gonna kill
him, David said in verse one, I will bless the Lord at all
times. I will bless the Lord at all
times. I will adore on bended knee at
all times. I'm gonna praise him. I'm going
to magnify him. I'm going to bless the Lord. I want you to look at Ephesians,
hold your place right there, and turn to Ephesians 5.20. Now
we're exhorted to do something here. Ephesians 5.20. Ephesians
5.20, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Giving thanks always
for all things, whatever we go through. David, David penned
these words after he found himself in a situation that scared him
to death. Spitting and slobbering and scratching. acting crazy
and stuff like that. How can a man, how can a man,
I'll tell you what, again, you let us be in a situation where
all of a sudden we find out that we're not mighty. David said, I will bless the
Lord at all times. I will bless him at all times,
at all times. How many times have we considered
that? Give thanks. This is the will
of God in Christ Jesus. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. Oh, let's remember. Let's remember, number one, who
sent the trouble? Who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will? Who? Aren't we so prone to forget
how quickly I forget, we're frail creatures of dust. We think ourselves
to be something when we're nothing. David said, I'm gonna ascribe
honor, praise, and glory unto him who is God, who spoke all
of this into existence and sustains it by the word of his power,
who orders everything, everything. orders everything. I cannot wrap
my head around that. I just, I began, I tried to grasp
hold of this. And I will, I mean, down to the
minute thing, a gnat gets on me. Brush him off. Why that, why? I don't know why. But there's nothing outside the
control of Almighty God. It's providence. David is here
expressing with his mouth what's in his heart. I will bless the
Lord at all times. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof
and be glad. My soul, my heart, my being,
that new man, I'm going to boast in the Lord. not in men, not
in my works, my self-righteousness. I'm going to make my boast in
the capital L, capital O, capital R, capital T. I'm going to make
my boast in God Almighty. Oh, I've been made to see my
need of Him. I think about where he was when
he penned this. I wonder how many times he thought
over that incident where that king just standing in that room
and David started, you know, again, just slobbering. Oh, how man can be brought down.
It's humility. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. the humble, the weak, the afflicted. I'm telling you, if you wanna
learn something, Lord, teach me to, whatever you're getting
ready to say, get ready. He just might do it. Lord, teach
me to love you more. Or doesn't that sound so sanctimonious? Lord, let me be a mighty warrior
for you. Lord, let me fight the good fight. Lord, teach us. Lord, teach us
all. He gonna show us what we are.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall
hear thereof and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together. I read that today, oh magnify,
ascribe greatness unto the Lord, magnify the Lord with me. Doesn't
it just rejoice your heart when you find another believer, somebody
that, I'm not talking about somebody just wanting to go to church,
you know, let's go to, you know, they're having a rally over here
at the church or something like, no, let's magnify. Let's ascribe greatness unto
the Lord. Would you do that with me? When
you talk to another believer, doesn't your heart just burn?
You say, Lord, I'm so thankful for your goodness and mercy.
Here, David has been made to see something of the sustaining
grace of God. God sustained him. How did he
sustain him? He allowed David to do what he
did. He allowed him to do it. And
that king said, get this man out of here. Get him away from
me. David said, God preserve me.
God preserve me. Show me what I am by nature. Preserve me in safety. Oh, as we're assembling together
tonight. Let us be joined together. Lord,
join us together in worship unto you. Lord, let us behold you.
Lord, when we sing tonight, singing that song a minute ago, We Have
an Anchor, and I was trying to grab hold of that song, We Have
an Anchor. Boy, you know, these words just
roll off. I've sung that song. Yeah, I know that song. We have an anchor, an anchor
of our soul. Lord, teach me when I sing, when
I speak to others, when I pray. Lord, teach me, help me to magnify
you. Teach me, show me what I am.
Like I said, he will, he will. David said in verse four, I sought
the Lord. I looked that word up right there.
I sought the Lord. It means in prayer. It means
in prayer. I sought the Lord in prayer. I sought the Lord and he heard
me and delivered me from all my fears. Remember where he was. He was
slobbering. And what does he say the Lord
did? I sought the Lord and he heard me. He heard me. While
I was scared, while I was slobbering, while I was scratching on the
doors, and while I was just acting a madman, the Lord heard me and
delivered me. Oh, he wasn't a verbal. He said, I sought the Lord. It's
a silent in the heart. His praise shall continually
be, he said, in my mouth. The Lord teaches us something
about prayer. I know we learn, little children,
we're taught these little prayers and we recite them and
it's just a verbal. But I'm telling you when you'll
pray, I'll tell you when you'll pray, when God shows you something
of yourself, When God shows you the weakness of what you are,
you just let him touch you. David was fearful for his life,
and he cried unto the Lord. Boy, when everything's going
good, sometimes it's easy to forget, ain't it? It's so easy. Scripture says in verse five,
they looked unto him, and were lightened, they were
cheerful. They looked unto the Lord and
they were cheerful, lightened their faces, they weren't ashamed. Those that were worshiping with
him. Oh, how gracious and merciful
is our Lord. And then it says in verse, This
is where I was going to just make a few comments. This is
what I'm really going to say something. He said this poor
man. He wasn't it wasn't, you know. I'll tell you what you you people
out there. No, he said no, this one right
here, this man. This poor man. This this poor
man. Cried. And here's the comfort,
and the Lord heard him. You know, isn't it a blessing
to truly be given faith to believe that God hears? This poor man cried and the Lord
heard him and saved him out of his troubles. There's a lot of
times We don't even know what the Lord has kept us from. We're
oblivious to how many times during the day you think you're going
down the road driving, and you either drive to town or you drive
cross country, you drive somewhere, you do something, you go somewhere,
and you don't even give it a second thought that the Lord has kept
you that day. But when the Lord puts you in
a situation where all of a sudden it's real, Lord, I need you and
I need you now. Lord, help me like Peter when
he was sinking. Lord, save me. I'll perish. This poor man, not necessarily
poor in money, but this sinner made to admit what he is by nature. I'm a poor man, I'm a poor man. Blessed are the poor in spirit. That's what the Lord said. Blessed
are the poor in spirit. There's the kingdom of God, blessed. What a blessing to be made to
see how feeble spiritually. You're just weak. You say, I
just don't, I just don't say how. But for the grace of God,
God put up with somebody like me. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
That's what the Lord said in Matthew 5.3. What a blessing it is to know
how poor we really are. You know what the problem with
the natural man is? He's proud and arrogant and haughty. He's lifted up. He sees himself,
he's done something for God, he thinks. I gave my heart to
the Lord. I gave this, but you talk to
a believer, one that the Lord has taught something of himself.
And this is what that man is going to say about himself. This
poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his
trouble. This is the confession of a sinner,
a true sinner made to see himself in need This is God's people,
needy, needy. They're just so thankful that
they can go somewhere and hear somebody stand up and tell them
what God has to say about themselves. They're appreciative. I've told you before, I remember
saying this so many times. It hit me so hard one day when
I was living in Louisiana. I had somebody in my family.
And he had gone somewhere where he could hear the gospel. One
day he said, I'm telling you, I'll never go back to that place.
I told you that. I'll never. He told me I was
a sinner. That's the way he said it. I
thought, oh my. He was religious. Oh, he had
a list of names of people he'd led to the Lord and made professions
of faith and had all kinds of, you know, Bibles and inscriptions
and stuff like that underlined in his Bible. But he wasn't a
sinner. I'm not a sinner. I'm not a sinner. Oh, this man cried unto the Lord. He cried unto the Lord. And he
said, the Lord heard me. And he saved me. He saved me.
That's a joyful thing. David said, this is what it did
for me. This is what it did for me. John 6, 37, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. He'll come to me. Come to the baptismal pool. He
won't come to the you know, to the mourner's bench. He comes to me. How does a man come? He comes in his heart. That's
the only way I can tell you. He comes in his heart. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to
me, I will in no wise cast him out. Man by nature, you know
who man by nature? comes to, the Lord says, all
that the Father giveth me comes to me. You know who a man comes
to that the Lord has not regenerated? He comes to himself. He comes
to himself. I, I gave, I prayed, I, I. It says in verse seven, the angel
of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth
them. whether the Holy Spirit here
refers to a created angel, whether it's the angel of the covenant. I know the scripture speaks of
the ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who
are heirs of salvation, but I can tell you this, the angel of the
Lord, the angel of the covenant encampeth round about them. Is
that not comforting? to know the angel of the Lord
himself, personally, the angel himself, the Lord himself, the
Lord Jesus, the angel of salvation, the captain of our salvation. The Lord has promised, I will
never leave you, I will never forsake you, he'll never sidestep
his glory, his people, his purpose, his will, are kept daily. And lastly, David was moved to
say this in verse eight, and I'll stop with this. And he says
this, and this is the desire of a believer. Oh, taste. Oh, taste. Savor with me. Won't you savor
this with me? Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in Him. Oh, taste and see that the capital
L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that Jehovah is good. The Father. that chose us in
Christ before the foundation of the world. He's good. Lord, there's nothing in me that
deserves you setting your affection on me, but the thought that you
would set your affection on me before the foundation of the
world, and I can truthfully say for myself, there's people in
my, in my family, people that I've known, people I went to
school with, people that, that I think, but for the grace of
God, I'd be doing the same thing they are. I think, oh, taste and see that the Lord,
the Lord Jesus, the one who bore the guilt of his people, The
one who was made sin, the one that laid down his life, took
all the guilt of all those that had been given the Lord Jesus
Christ in electing grace before the foundation of the world when
there was nothing else. He knew his people. He loved
his people. And in time, he came down and
bore their guilt. I hear that, we've heard it so
many times, I'm just afraid sometimes I hear it too lightly. And then the Lord, the Spirit
of God, He's good. The Father's good, the Son's
good, the Spirit is good. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. You want to know a man that's
truly blessed? That's a man that's got a lot
of money, he's got health, he's a man that's, you know, he's
got a lot of influence. I tell you a man that's blessed
is a man that puts his trust in the Lord. Because this life's
fleeting, it's going fast. Fast, fast. You want to know
what a blessing is? Is to be able to give him the
heart to trust him. to trust Him, to lean on Him,
cry out to Him. I called unto the Lord, He heard
me, saved me. That's a blessed man. I pray
that God blesses to our hearts for Christ's sake.