I'd like to read the first five
verses, Psalm 86. Bow down thine ear, O Lord. Hear
me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am holy. O thou my God, save thy servant
that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord,
for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant,
for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art
good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them
that call upon thee. Let's pray. Our father this evening, we ask
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, would you bless this
word to our hearts? Would you help us to hear, help
us to worship? We pray Lord for Brother Henry
and we're thankful for your mercy, your good pleasure, Bring him
through, Lord, this hip surgery. Pray for Doris and ask you to
have mercy. Pray for those in our midst,
Lord, that are sick, those in our circles, Lord, that are sick. Have mercy. I ask you now, bless
the word to our understanding and to the glory and praise of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Tonight we've gathered together,
this is a night that we meet together to partake of the Lord's
Supper. A blessed ordinance that was
given by the Lord to the church on the very night in which the
Lord was betrayed. Now the scripture says on that
night, He took bread, He took cup, wine, He gave thanks and
after he had given thanks, he told his disciples that this
is my body, this is symbolic of my body that is broken for
you. He told his disciples and we
read that scripture every time we have the Lord's Supper, this
do in remembrance of me. Now, I know from the words of
our Lord that his body was broken for his people. I know that he
died for his elect. I know that he gave his life
for the church. But this is what I want to know.
I've asked this question before and I ask it again because I
continually need to be reassured. of my position, my state before
the Lord, was his body broken for me. I know that his people have a
good hope. I know. But do I have a good
hope? That's my question. I need that
question answered afresh by the Spirit of God to me. So I want to read and just look
at these five verses for just a minute. Five statements, five
reasons of David's assurance of a good hope in Christ. He began his request in that
first verse and he asked the Lord Bow down thine ear, O Lord,
and hear me. Lord, in pity, in pity, will
you incline your ear and regard my prayer? Now here's my question
to me, and you that know him, I'm going to ask you to ask yourself,
Do I truly desire for the Lord to bow down his ear? Lord, would
you come close and hear my petition? I don't have the ability to exalt
myself unto you. Lord, would you consider and
regard in mercy my request, a request that I admit that I have no ability
to express as I should. Do I truly desire for the Lord
to give his ear unto me? Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden
fruit. I know what they did. The scripture
says they hid themselves. They didn't want to have anything
to do with God. They wanted to get away from Him, be out of
His sight, out of His presence. But something about a believer
that desires for the Lord to be near. Lord, I need to know. that you'll bow down your ear. Lord, you who have humbled yourself
in Christ, would you hear me? I know that David's not merely
appealing to the omniscience of Jehovah to hear. He's casting
himself upon, if you look at that L-O-R-D, all capital letters,
he's appealing to Jehovah. Bow down your ear unto me, Father. Holy Son, Holy Spirit, and consider
my weakness. I know the Lord knows and He
hears all things. I know that. He said every idle
word that a man utters gonna be brought up in the day of judgment.
Thanks be unto God for those idle words that I've spoken that
are under the blood because I've got more than my share. Bow down
thine ear Oh Lord, Lord you who chose me, Lord you who chose
to show me compassion and mercy, you who redeemed me from my sins
and effectually called me by your grace and taught me by your
Holy Spirit, incline your ear to me in particular. Now this
is what every believer desires. Will you give me your ear? I want, I need, I need to talk
to you. I need to commune with you. Lord,
my heart's desire is for you to hear the pleading of my heart. Then David gave the reason why. And here again, I'll just ask
you, just consider yourself, will God bow His ear for me? Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear
me, for, because I am poor and needy. I'm doubly a son of poverty. David knew something about his
spiritual need. Now David was a rich man. He
had a lot of stuff. He was, David, materially, earthly
materially, had wealth, wealth untold. I mean, we looked last
Sunday, you know that $225,000, 225,000 pounds, 112 and a half
tons of gold? David, that was David's, that
belonged to David. David gave that. He was a wealthy man. But David knew something and
was readily admitting himself to be spiritually poor before
God. Myself, I'm bankrupt, I'm afflicted,
and I'm needy. I'm destitute of any ability
to do anything about it. Now that's the heart of a believer. I cannot. Lord, would you bow
down your ear because I am poor spiritually. I don't have any
merit in myself. I know that. I don't have any
ability to lift myself up by my own bootstraps. Lord, incline
your ear and grant my petition. Lord, would you hear me for Christ's
sake? Now this is the one that's got
a good hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. One that the Lord has
laid down His life for. One that's been given a heart
to know something of Himself and to know He's without ability
and strength to do anything spiritually profitable. And He dares not
assume any other thing, any other way. He just doesn't think. A believer knows something. He
admits it in his heart. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Theirs is the kingdom of God. And then here's another request
that David had. Verse 2. Preserve my soul. Lord, would you hedge me about
and keep me safe? from my enemies, the enemies
of my soul. Would you guard and protect and
secure me as an object of your mercy? And then he gives the
reason for that request. Preserve my soul, that part of
me that will never die. That part of me that is eternal,
it's everlasting. Preserve my soul, for I am holy. Now, you know, you look at that
passage, that scripture right there, and you think, I need
to know what he's saying. Because I know something of my
spiritual depravity, I know my, obviously David's not claiming
his own merit. But what he's asking the Lord
to hear him for or what basis he's asking for the Lord is because
of the Lord's revealed mercy to him. He said, Lord, if I'm asking, and I'm asking
because I'm yours in electing grace, Lord, if I am as you've
revealed me to be before you, chosen in Christ, redeemed by
His blood, and regenerated by His Spirit, and robed in His
righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and you've set me apart in electing
grace to display the exceeding riches of your glory and grace
in Christ, then Lord, in Him, I'm holy. I'm an object of your mercy.
Lord, and I'm asking you preserve my soul for I'm holy, totally,
by your grace, by your good pleasure. And Lord, being one that you
chose to show mercy, would you bow down thine ear and hear me? David appeals. to his God. This again, this is a believer. He says in verse two, thou art
my God. You are the one that I trust
only. For my salvation, O thou my God,
save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Now here's the right
relationship. And this is the relationship
that a believer recognizes. You're my God, and I'm your servant. I'm your bondservant. By grace,
you give me a heart, Lord, that desires only to serve you. You're
the Lord. And these are the ones that the
Lord does bow down his ear to hear. David said, would you bow
down your ear for me? David knew him as God. Mighty
God. Man by nature of trusting himself,
his will, his decision, his works, but God's people cast themselves
upon the Lord, their God. And then David, thirdly, appeals
to the Lord's mercy. Be merciful unto me, O Lord. You know, a believer is one that
knows. that he needs God's mercy continually. There's not a time, there's not
a time, there's not a moment that we don't need the mercy
of God. That God to see the blood and
pass over us because we continually sin. There's not a moment that
we're not sinning. A believer is an amazing creation. He's got a new nature that sinneth
not. He's got an old nature that doesn't
do anything but sin. And he knows it. He cries unto
the Lord, Be merciful unto me, O Lord. And then listen to this. for or because I cry unto thee
daily. Lord, would you show mercy to
me because I never stop asking for it. I cry unto thee daily. God's people come to the Lord
with a spirit of importunity. That is, they're persistent. They're persistent. Now, humanly
speaking, those that have a spirit of importunity are often looked
upon as being annoying. They're annoying. You know, you
start asking somebody the same thing over and over and over
and you'll end up saying, you know what, you're becoming annoying
to me. You know, don't you have Anything
else to say? Hold your place right there.
Turn with me to Luke 11. Luke 11. Luke 11, verse 5. Scripture says, He said unto
them, Which of you shall have a friend which shall go unto
him at midnight? And saying to him, Friend, lend
me three loaves. You know, I read that and I thought,
midnight. You know. What time is it? Midnight. Yeah? Can I have three loaves
of bread? At midnight? For a friend of mine and his
journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within shall answer
and say, trouble me not, the door is now shut, my children
are with me in bed, I cannot rise and get thee. It's midnight,
it's the middle of the night. I say unto you, though he will
not rise and give him, because he is his friend, Yet because
of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Now that's annoying. That's annoying. You call somebody in the middle
of the night, it better be important. You're not calling to chitchat.
That's what the Lord's saying. I'm in bed, my kid's in bed,
it's the middle of the night, but because he wouldn't stop. And I say unto you, ask, and
it shall be given you. Seek, and you find. Knock, and
it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asketh, there's
that ETH on the end of it. He that ask, and ask, and ask,
receiveth, and receiveth, and receiveth. He that seeketh, findeth. To him that knocketh, it shall
be opened. The Lord promised. cometh. He that comes and comes
and comes unto me, comes for life, comes for peace, comes
for comfort, safety. He that comes casting all of
his care upon and I will in no wise, I will never, no never,
no never cast him out. Now you imagine that. No possibility
of being rejected To anyone that comes to the Lord for deliverance,
you come in a spirit of importunity and you cry over and over and
over. Let me ask you this. How many
times do you find yourself asking the Lord the same thing? Your prayers. Are they not basically
the same prayers? The same words. Lord, would you have mercy? You have
mercy on David, Margaret, Mitch, Dan. My mind. Lord, have mercy on
this church. Lord, would you forgive us? Thank you, thank you for, you
know, asking the same things, those things that are brought
to our minds. I read these great prayers, the Spirit of God moved
upon these men, I think. I don't ever see myself praying
like that. Same like the things I ask for, I ask for over and
over and over. Be merciful unto me, O Lord,
for I cry unto thee daily. I tell you, if one's found truly
needing to cry unto the Lord, hungering to cry unto the Lord
daily, the same things, that's one that the Lord is pleased
to bow down his ear and hear. And then David asked fourthly,
Verse 4, he asked the Lord, rejoice the soul of thy servant. Lord,
make the soul of your servant to be glad. Lord, I need to be
reminded of my reason to be glad. I'm just honest with you. How
often have I found myself I'm up here preaching on God's electing
grace. And do you know how easily those
words come out of my mouth? That Almighty God would be pleased
to choose me from before the foundation of the world in Christ. That I should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. Now let me tell you the sad part. I find myself being so insensitive
to what I know is so. You that know him, is it that
way with you too? That's what John Newton asked.
Is it like you? Do you find yourself, when we
talk about the Lord said, I lay down my life for the sheep, and
I think to myself, Lord, why am I not just taken up in just
total ecstasy and just unbelievable joy and rejoicing, and why am
I not like that? Why this dull and lifeless frame? David said, Rejoice, the soul
of thy servant. Rejoice. Lord, make me glad. Lord, gladden my soul. Help me
to hear. Brighten me up. And here's the
reason. For, because unto Thee, O Lord,
do I lift up my soul. Rejoice, the soul Lord, because
all else disappoints. Everything else, Lord, will leave
me without any hope whatsoever. Lord, you're the one I love because
you first loved me. Lord, cause me to remember. Lord, I'm so sorry. Rejoice the
soul of thy servant. Every believer will say, How
can I be so insensitive to him? How? How can I be that? Lord, help me. Bow down, thine
ear. And then lastly, he says, for
thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy
unto all them that call upon thee. Lord, I call. Lord, you're good. You're good
to give me that which I don't deserve mercy. If I would just take just the
attitude of this message right here, my attitude toward the
Lord for all that He's done for me, if I'd take that attitude
and just consider it as I'm standing right here, you know what I think? Lord, you're so good. and ready to take that which
I have just done in my attitude. Not maybe what I've said, the
words that I've said, I know they're so. I'm talking about
my attitude. Lord, thank you that you would
forgive one such as I. Thank you. Lord, you're plenteous
in mercy. Lord, there's no end to your
mercy. Our lack of goodness is exhibited
in the slowness of our attitude to forgive, and the Lord is so
ready to forgive, ready to forget. Lord, did you take the way I
am, and for Christ's sake, the blood that you see, that I don't
have enough sense, enough to be thankful for as I ought? Thankful,
but not as I ought to be. And Lord, you'd put this behind
your back. You'd cast this into the sea of your forgetfulness,
Lord. You're God. I don't know how
that, but you said you will remember my sins no more. Lord, that you
will not impute my iniquity to me. You charge this. Plenteous
in mercy, all that mercy that flows forth to those that he's
everlastingly loved. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer,
hear my request, and attend the voice of my supplications. He
says in verse six, O may we ask the Lord tonight, do we want
the Lord? Lord, would you bow down your
ear, and Lord, hear my prayer, and forgive us for Christ's sake. And Lord, even now, as we partake
of the Lord's Supper, Lord, we're commanded to do this in remembrance
of you. Lord, would you cause us to remember? We don't even have the ability
to do that, as we ought. But Lord, if you'll give us,
grant us a remembrance, and forgive our thankfulness that needs to
be repented of, bow down to your ear for the sake of your Son.
and help us to worship even as we eat and drink of these precious
elements for Christ's sake. Amen. All right.