I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Psalms chapter
39. Psalms 39. I would like to look at the first
eight verses of Psalm 39. But before we do, let's have
a word of prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
this evening for this blessed time to meet together to hear the gospel of God's grace. We pray that you would cause
us to be mindful of the absolute necessity of hearing. Father, I pray that you'd bless
the Word to our understanding May Christ be honored, your people
edified. Forgive us where we failed you
for Christ's sake. Amen. Psalm 39. The introduction right up above
in my Bible, I'll just read this, yours may say something like
this, but it says, to the chief musician, even to Juduthun, a
psalm of David. The Spirit of God moved upon
this man David, the king, and inspired him to write a psalm,
a song. It's a song. And it's a song
that's to be sung in the congregation of God's people giving praise
and thanksgiving unto the Lord. Now what did the Spirit of God
inspire David to write? I want us to consider the first
eight verses of this God-inspired psalm, this psalm. And may the Spirit of God bless
it." Now remember, they would sing this. We're just going to
look, we're going to look at the words and realize this was
a song of praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord. David 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." You know, there's times when
we say, or men will say, I will. And it's a bad thing. Satan said,
I will exalt myself. I will be like the Most High.
I will. Man by nature thinks that he
has a free And when you say free will, now remember what you're
saying. You're saying that it's bound by nothing. No bounds to
it. It's free. It's free. Man is
born dead in trespasses and sins. Man is sinner. He's a sinner. But here in this song written
by David, he says something that he aspires to do. Desires to do. I will take heed
to my ways that I sin not with my tongue. Now in this song,
the Spirit of God has given us instruction. Take heed. Now listen, all of us. Take heed. What you say. Be careful. It's a good thing
to resolve to be honorable before God and before others. It's a good thing. I will take
heed. I don't want to dishonor the
Lord. I don't want to do that. I want
to be careful. David said, I'm going to 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." You know the Scripture. Turn
to James 3. Scripture's got a lot to say
about the tongue and the misuse of it. James chapter 3. Look at James 3, 1 to 10. My brethren, be not many masters,
knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. Don't
aspire to be a teacher. Because you're going to receive
the greater condemnation, actually in my margin here it says judgment. What it's saying is this, you're
going to be held to a higher standard. Higher standard. That's just, you know, I am a
sinner saved by the grace of God. But when I stand in this
pulpit to speak, I'm held to a higher standard. You know what
I'm saying? Bob Coffey told me one time,
I told you this, he said, He said, preachers are in a fishbowl.
That's what James is talking about. My brethren, be not many
masters. No, we shall receive the greater
condemnation. For in many things we offend all. And he's talking
about everybody. If any man offend not in word,
the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole
body. Behold, we put bits in a horse's
mouth that they may obey us. We turn about their whole body.
Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and
are driven of fierce winds yet, are they turned about with a
very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth, even so
the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold
how great a matter a little fire kindleth." You just take a match,
just a little match. You can burn a city down with
a little match, one match. You let that fire get out of
control. You let the wind catch it. Let it get ahead of you and
try to get ahead of it then. And the tongue, verse 6, is a
fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members
that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course
of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beast,
of birds, of serpents, of things in the sea is tamed, and hath
been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of
deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even
the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after
the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth
blessing and cursing my brethren, These things ought not so to
be. Turn back to James 1.26. James
1.26. If any man among you seem to
be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his
own heart, this man's religion is vain. It's empty. It's nothing. Nothing. Loose tongue. Remember what Brother Henry said,
you know, before you say something. I'm talking to all of us now.
Here's a song inspired by the Spirit of God. And David said,
I'm going to take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue.
I'm going to keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is
before me. Before we say something, is it
true? Is it kind and is it necessary?
He said, I'm going to keep my mouth with a bridle while the
wicked is before me. A believer can be around another
believer and can just be himself, be himself. He can be free, he
can speak, he can just be himself around a believer. But around
an unbeliever, this is what David is talking about, I will keep
my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. Be careful. around unbelievers. Don't let
the liberty that you have be a stumbling block. I'll tell
you what they're going to do. They're going to take your freedom
and they're going to mock you. They may not do it to your face,
but they will behind your back. They're going to mock you. They're
going to mock the God we love. They're going to mock the gospel
that we preach. David and Bathsheba came together. David thought nobody's going
to know. Had her husband killed. Thought everything was hidden.
Everything's fine. Husband's dead, I can marry her.
And Nathan said, you've caused the enemies of God to blaspheme.
The Lord put away David's sin, but the sword never left his
house. Be cautious. Be careful. Be careful. I will
take heed. I want to be careful. I want to be careful. Pray that
the Spirit of God muzzle our mouth. That's what my margin
says. I will keep my mouth muzzled
for my mouth. Second verse of this song. David
said, I was done with silence. I held my peace, even from good,
and my sorrow was stirred. He said, I've seen the effect
of too much talking, too much loose talking. And I'm telling
you, there's nothing that grieves you more, grieves a believer
more, than to think back on something he said and just say, you know
what? I wish I wouldn't have said that. If I could take that back, I
can't. I can't. I was dumb with silence. Even from good, he said I'd resolve,
I wasn't going to say anything. If I can't say something, and
it'd be profitable. Best thing for me to do, it seems
like I put a bad twist on everything. I'm just going to be quiet. You
know, the Scripture said in Ecclesiastes 3.7, there's a time to keep silence,
time to speak, and wisdom is exhibited in both of them. David said, I'm going to take
heed to my ways and keep a watch on my mouth. I purposed to be
quiet. He desired This for God's honor
and the good of God's people and for Himself. But the longer
he meditated in silence, the more the fire of his zeal for
God's honor grew. Look at verse 3. My heart was
hot within me while I was musing. The fire burned. Then spake I
with my tongue." I made up my mind, I'm not going to say anything. Jeremiah had made basically that
same statement, didn't he? He said, I'm not going to say
anything. I'm just not going to say anything.
Every time I turn around, it just seems like people are mocking
what I'm preaching, mocking God, mocking the truth, mocking the
right way. I'm just not going to say anything. I'm just not
going to say anything. That's it, I'm just not going to talk
anymore. But he said his word was in my bones like fire and
I couldn't refrain, I couldn't. Here David has come to a point
musing on the things of honoring the Lord and being faithful,
faithful, my heart was hot within me while I was musing the fire
burned. Then spake I with my tongue."
And God taught him something. He taught him when to speak and
what to speak and to whom he should speak. Here's the safest, safest place. You want to say something? Look
at verse 4. Lord, make me to know mine end
and the measure of my days, what it is that I may know, how frail
I am, what wisdom, what grace, what mercy is exhibited here,
how wonderful it would be for this sinner right here, the next
time I have something that just, you know, Burdened me. Let me
talk to him first. The Lord said, I told you a place
there. The Lord gave us some good instruction
on prayer. Prayer, Matthew 6, 5 and 6. Matthew
6, 5 and 6. And when thou prayest, and believers
do, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, For they love
to pray, standing in the synagogues, in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward." What they're doing, they're going to do it to be
seen of men, draw attention to themselves. Look at me, listen
to me, listen how good I pray. Listen with what piety I speak. He said, don't be like that.
Don't be like that. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray
to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly." When we pray, just tell the Lord
what He has laid upon your heart. If you have a burden, tell Him,
tell Him. Lord, I'm struggling. Help me. David said, Lord, make
me to know my end. Make me to know the measure of
my days and what it is that I may know how frail I am. Make me
to know the shortness of this life. Now just stop. Just stop for a minute. Just
realize something. We're just here for a minute.
We're here for a minute. It's just a few short days at
best. Make me to know that these days
will soon be over and that my life is measured by you as a
time to be born, a time to die. Make me to know how frail I am. My margin says what time I have
here. Let me have a good understanding
of my frailty. In my consideration and my attitude
toward you, Galatians, I'll just read this for you, Galatians
6.1 says this, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which
are spiritual, restore such in one in the spirit of meekness,
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. How frail we
all are. We're all a frail, frail, frail
creature. Back in Psalms 39, he said, Behold,
thou hast made my days as a hand-breath. Mine age, my generation is as
nothing before thee. Barely every man in his best
state is altogether vanity. Selah. Just muse on that. You've made my days as a hand-breath. One writer said that's four fingers
wide. One of them said it's just the
span of the hand here. Whatever it is, we have two of
them ever before our eyes to remind us. You've got two hands
right here. Every once in a while, just look
down at your hand. That's how long you've got. That's
how long you've got. Thou hast made my days as a handbreadth,
and in light of eternity, my generation, There have been generations,
generations. We read about the creation. We read about Noah and Adam and
Moses and all the prophets and stuff. All those generations,
that's just a thought. They're gone. In glory with the
Lord, those that knew Him were His. David says, my generation, It's nothing. We're just here.
We're just passing through. This is going to be over so quickly.
All of a sudden we'll wake up in eternity. My days, just a
hand breath. My generation, nothing. Barely
every man at his best state. At his best state. Not his worst,
his best. is altogether empty, just vanity. Consider whatever you think would
be man's best effort, best thought, best speech, best. It's so filled
with pride, arrogance, emptiness. Verse 6, Surely every man walketh
in a vain show. By nature, you know what we're
doing. This is like a carnival. It's like a pageant. We're trying to pretend to make
people think that we're something, that we're not. You know, you
get a parade and people get all together, the clowns and you
get these, you know, they've got all of their regalia. Somebody's
sitting up on a float and she's pretending to be a queen. She's
not a queen. She's a pretender. Every man walketh in a vain show,
just trying to make them think that this maggot is something
other than what it is. They are disquieted in vain.
They are fretting, disquieted, upheaval, just fuming and fretting
about stuff that doesn't even matter. He heapeth up riches and knoweth
not who shall gather them. We get all of our things in order,
we get our will and stuff like that. When you're dead and gone,
you don't know who got it. You don't. Now, all in the midst
of this pretend world, lying promises, may the Lord grant
us just like we are right now, just for a few minutes, can we
have just some quiet time of fellowship? Just to be able to
be together. Last weekend we went over to
We stayed at David and Teresa Edmondson's house. Gabe and Hannah
and the girls were there. They had a little bonfire that
night and we was all sitting around. John Davis was there
and he was playing his banjo. and they were playing his guitar,
and everybody was just sitting around talking. I thought, you
know what, this is so wonderful, just to be able to sit here with
God's people, not trying to impress anybody, just be here. Just,
Lord, grant me some rest for my soul. I'm just here a little
while. I'm not going to be here very
long. I know that. I mean, 70 years, 80 years, and it's just
full of sorrow, Worried. Lord, help me. Look at verse 7. And now Lord,
what wait I for? Now here's a man that's just
been made honest. Here's a believer. I'm going
to ask myself this. You ask yourself this. What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? What
is truly My attitude toward these things. What is my attitude,
really? I know by nature I'm just walking
around in a vain show. I'm trying to make you think
that I'm something. You know, I know Marvin would never do
that. Well, why don't you ask my mama? Now that's a fact. She'd be honest with you. She'd
try to cover for me, I know, but I'm going to tell you something.
I know something of what I am and she does too. What wait I for? Lord, You know
my frame. Lord, what am I consumed with? This fleeting world and its empty
promises? No. No. No. By the grace of God, it's not.
He says, My hope is in Thee. And He'd say that with some resolve.
My hope is in the Lord. My hope is built on nothing less
than the blood of Christ. My righteousness is His imputed
righteousness. My hope is in Thee. Lord, You're
my life. I know that. Lord, I didn't save
myself. I didn't call myself. I didn't
elect myself. I didn't redeem myself. I didn't
regenerate myself. And I can't keep myself. Lord,
You are my hope. My hope is in Thee. You've eternally
loved me. You've put me. in the Lord Jesus
Christ. My hope, my expectation is in
thee. Last verse, deliver me from all
my transgressions. Make me not the reproach of the
foolish. Lord, let me not harp on these
sorrows and these transgressions. Deliver me from all my transgressions. I know I have them. Paul the
Apostle said Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners.
He said, of whom I'm chief. And he wasn't just saying that.
He meant it. The Spirit of God moved on him
to write that. He said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Deliver
me from all my transgressions, if the Lord marked iniquity,
Who could stand? Who could stand? Would you like
to stand before God on the best prayer that you've ever prayed?
Deliver me from all my transgressions. Make me not the reproach of the
foolish. Keep me from foolish speaking,
foolish impatience and affliction. Keep me. Let not the foolish
mock or find reason to mock in me. Keep me from that. What wait I for? What am I waiting
for? Lord, my hope is in You. Lord,
I'm just in a pilgrimage. I'm just a sojourner here. I'm
just here for that long. That long. And I don't know how
much time has already gone. I've been here a while. How much
time is left? I don't know. of whatever's left. Lord, let me walk respectfully
before You, for Christ's sake.