Let's take our Bibles and turn
to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter three. Proverbs chapter three. The passage this morning is a marvelous passage of Scripture,
which they all are. But what makes it marvelous is
when the Lord gives you some light on it, and you see it,
and you realize something of what's said. This passage this morning is a revelation of the everlasting covenant And it is the revelation of the
conversation of that everlasting covenant that took place between
God Almighty and Himself. God speaking with God, setting forth the blessing of
the foundation of our salvation. Last week we looked at a passage
of Scripture, and it was in that particular passage, it was the
Lord speaking to His people, telling them how it shall be
when they die. That's a precious thing to have
the Master tell us this is the way that it's going to be. That just settles your heart
and you say, Lord, truly, where's the sting of death? Where's the
victory of the grave? Swallowed up. Now, this morning, This is a
conversation. And I'm not saying that this
is the depth or the fullness. I would never be so foolish as
to set forth that this is the completeness or the fullness
of this passage of Scripture. But understand something. There's a conversation going
on between verses 27 and verse 35. And it's God speaking. It's the Lord speaking to Himself. And then in the latter parts,
the Lord speaking to His people. God speaking to God. Stop and realize for a second
that the Spirit of God would be pleased to allow us this morning to enter in to a
conversation that everlastingly, eternally took
place. I mean, it's impossible for me
to even Perceive, I mean, when you say a conversation, Neil,
that took place, it implies it started somewhere. This conversation
never started. The latter part. Of verse 32. I'm in Proverbs
3. And the latter part of verse
32 says this, but his secret is with the righteous. His secret. I had to know. What, Lord, does that word mean? The secret. Here it is. The established foundation. I thought this is going to be
good. This is going to be good. The secret of the Lord. His secret
is with the righteous. His intimate counsel. Lord, what do you have to say? What do you have to say to your
people? Psalm 25, verse 14 says, The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and listen, and
He will show them His covenant. The secret of the Lord. The established
foundation of the Lord. is with them that fear Him, that
respect Him, that honor Him. And He will show them His covenant. There's a confidential intimacy and fellowship between
the Lord and His people. Between the people of God Between
those that He's everlastingly loved and called out of darkness
and taught and settled, they do hear His voice. They do. You that believe, you've already
heard it this morning. You're thinking to yourself, He has
told me that He's going to tell me something. And I want to hear
what it is. I do. 1 Corinthians 2 says, But we speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory. God Almighty
ordained that we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a hidden
wisdom. We're going to preach the Gospel,
and to the world it's going to be foolishness. But to us that believe, it's
the wisdom and it's the power of God. And we hear these secret
revelations of truth. God Almighty has purposed to
show His people. And He's going to teach them
of their security in Christ. He's going to teach them of their
righteousness Who is Christ? He's going to teach them of His
graciousness and His compassion toward them all found in Christ. It's a secret. It's a secret. It's a secret. Remember, the
apostles asked, why do you talk to us in parables? Because it's
given unto you to know. Unto them it's not given. knowing that the Lord is surely
going to show His people His secret covenant. I want us to consider this passage
of Scripture. And I'll ask you even now as
I tell myself, Lord, would you speak to me?
Lord, please bless this word to my heart. Cause me truly to
hear. I want to hear. to the words, listen to the heart,
listen to the secret. The secret, His secret is with
the righteous. Listen to the words of our great God and Savior when
the Lord Jesus Christ said, I do the will of Him that sent me. My meat, my food, my sustenance
is to do the will of Him that sent me. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world as God's servant. The servant, the angel of the
covenant, the messenger, the deliverer. of the covenant of
Almighty God to show mercy to His people. Listen to this conversation
as the Lord God of Heaven, the Father, speaks to the Son, the
only begotten Son, and gives unto Him, reveals unto Him, His
will of which the Lord says, I come to do Thy will, O God. Do you want to know what the
Father told Him? Here it is. Verse 27, withhold not good from
them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand
to do it. Now hear the words of our Father,
our Heavenly Father. Speak to His only begotten Son
in the commission of this everlasting covenant
of which David wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit of
God the words, this is all my salvation. He made with me an
everlasting covenant in all things. Listen to the words of the Father.
Speak to the Son in the commission in Him coming into this world.
The Word was made flesh, which you just read, Mark. And we beheld
His glory. Listen to the words of the Father
telling His Son concerning His people, concerning those that
He has everlastingly loved. Withhold not good from them to
whom it is due. If you look in your margin there,
that word right there by There is a 1 right there about them
to whom it is due in the Cambridge. It means the owners thereof. Withhold not good from the owners
thereof, those to whom it is due. Almighty God everlastingly loved
His people, the church, the elect. That love was given freely. without any merit found whatsoever
in the recipients of that love. There was nothing in us that
deserved the love of God. But Almighty God chose to show
mercy. He chose to set His affection. Because it has pleased Him. That's
what the writer of Ephesians of the church at Ephesus said. They were by His sovereign choice. He made them His neighbors, near
ones. That's what it means, neighbors. Those made near to Him through
and by the Lord Jesus Christ, the surety of the sheep. And the Father beheld the absolute
surety. The Lamb Himself slain from before
the foundation of the world for all that God had given Him to
redeem. The Father saw Him and first
trusted in Him. Now, for the secret of His will,
for the redemption of His loved ones to be accomplished, the
Lord Jesus Christ had to come into this world. and absolutely
fulfill the law of God that they had broken. God's law, God's
Word, God's command, God's precepts had been desecrated. And for
all that the Father chose to show mercy to, Christ must come
into this world and must for them be their representative
and live for them, and they in Him. As He walked, they walked. As He died being made sin, made
the guiltiness of, He was made sin. He came into this world and He fulfilled. James 2.8,
listen to this. If you fulfill the royal law, that is the law upon which all
law is built, if you fulfill the royal law according to the
scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, you do well. You love your neighbor as you
love yourself. The Lord had said in Matthew
5, 17, Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. He didn't come to loose his people's
obligation to the law. He fulfilled it for them. The
law of God is good. Don't ever think disrespectfully
of God's law. That's an expression of God Himself.
what we could not do because of the weakness of the flesh,
the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled as our representative. Knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ
covenanted with the Father and with the Spirit of God in that
everlasting covenant to show mercy to His elect, hear again the secret as it is
revealed by the Spirit of God. Here it is. His secret is with
the righteous. God is going to tell you something.
His secret. Withhold not good. My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Listen
as He tells the precious only begotten Son of God, don't withhold
good from them to whom it's due." You say, to whom it's due? Don't withhold good from the
owners. The owners The Lord will not withhold good
to them to whom it is due. Lord, on what ground? On what
ground? I can tell you for a fact, it's
not on ours. It's not on anything, not by
works of righteousness that we've done. but according to the purpose
and will of Almighty God to give them eternal life. Christ, who
paid their debt and made their debt His debt, mine iniquities, He said, have
taken hold upon Me. And He paid what they owed, made
sin, Don't speak lightly of that. Don't try to sidestep it. He hath made him sin, who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
You say, well, he wasn't really made sin. Well, if he wasn't
made sin, then you weren't made righteous in him. It goes both
ways. Well, He just sort of, sort of,
well, you just sort of. When He put away my guilt and He gave and imputed to me
His righteousness, all that Almighty God purposed
to give, when He said, I give unto them eternal life, And He
does this according to His will, according to His justice. He said, withhold not good from
them to whom it is due. When it is in the power of thine
hand to do it, what God purposes to give is the possession of the recipient.
Do you remember that? woman that the issue of blood
ought to be of good comfort. You think this was just wordiness? You think this is just semantics?
You think this is, thy faith hath made thee whole. She could sit there and say,
well, Lord, really it wasn't mine. I was really in thy faith. That which is given by Almighty
God is the gift of Almighty God to His people, and it's theirs. You that possess eternal life
in Christ, that's your life. I give unto them eternal life. Deuteronomy 29, 29, The secret
things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are
revealed belong unto us. to our children that we may do
all the words. I want you to turn with me to
1 John 5.20. 1 John 5.20. 1 John 5.20 says, And we know
that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that
we may know Him that is true. And we are in Him that is true,
even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. We know that the Son of God has
come and has given us an understanding. Given. The reward that is due. have given us the reward that
is due. You go and you work for a man
and he's going to give you ten bucks an hour. And you work eight
hours. That man owes you eighty bucks. It's the reward that is due. But you and I have never done
anything. that would deserve the reward of God, but our Savior
has for us. And that which He has accomplished
for us, a righteousness that will answer to God's law, has
been given us, imputed to us by the grace of Almighty God.
And God says this, withhold not good from them to whom it is
due." Lord, can it be that You would give unto me life eternal because it pleased You to do
so? And that I have absolutely nothing
to glory in save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Lord, is that
the way it is? That is exactly the way it is. All honor and glory and praise
is unto Him. You and me and ourselves are
nothing, Scripture says, grasshoppers. 1 Corinthians 3.21 says, Therefore
let no man glory in men. For all things are yours, whether
Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death,
or things present or things to come. All are yours, and you
are Christ's, and Christ is God's. Oh, the indescribable glory that
Almighty God would have mercy upon such as we are. What is man? You talk about grace. Withhold not good. from them
to whom is due what it is in the power of thine hand." The
Lord said, All power is given unto me, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Hear the words
of the Father as He reveals unto the Son the revelation of His
will. What is thy will? I come to do
thy will. What is thy will, Father? Withhold
not good from them to whom it is due. I've given it to them.
I've given it to them in you, and I look to you to fulfill
it. Listen to the secret of His will.
Verse 28, Say not unto thy neighbor, Go and come again, and tomorrow
I will give when thou hast it by thee. Here is the words of the Father
continuing to speak to the Son. Say not unto thy neighbor thy
near ones made so by the grace of God. Don't say to them that I have
given you. Go and come again and tomorrow
I will give. If one by the grace of God, by
the constraining power of God's Spirit, draws one unto the Savior? What did the Lord say concerning
that act? John 6, verse 37, All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out. He will never say unto those
near ones, those neighbors, go and come again. And tomorrow
I will go. Now, tomorrow is not the day
of salvation. Today is. He that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast him out. I will never say to him, I'll
come back tomorrow. Come back. Lord, I don't want
to come back tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes. There is
no tomorrow. There's no tomorrow. You say,
well, yeah, there is. No, it isn't. Because tomorrow,
then it'd be tomorrow. Today, today. He's ever ready
to show mercy. Now, don't say unto thy neighbor,
go and come again, and tomorrow I'll give when thou hast it by
thee. Life is Christ right now, right
now, right now, right now. Don't shun Him. He will never shun His people. Listen to these words, the secret,
verse 29. Devise not evil against thy neighbor.
See if he dwelleth securely by thee. All the security forever is founded
upon Him who is our hiding place. Having been placed in Christ,
chosen in Christ, Considered in Christ, who shall harm or
lay any charge to God's elect? Divide not evil against thy neighbor,
seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Psalm 91, 9 and 10 says,
Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge even the most
high thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. These words that are promised
to the Lord Jesus are ours by our association with Him. That
is the secret counsel of Almighty God. Now listen to the secret
of God's will for us toward each other. Verse 30, Strive not with a man
without cause, if he hath done thee no harm. Do you know what the heart of
that verse is right there? Trust Him who orders our steps. Someone may disagree with me, may tell me they disagree with
me. But don't strive with a man without
a cause if he's done thee no harm. Since the Lord providentially
works all things according to the counsel of His own will,
He is the first cause of our paths to cross with others. Don't
strive with others without a cause. If He's done
thee no harm. When Abraham and Lot were there,
their herdsmen were striving with each other. Remember that? Abraham got Lot off to the side,
and he said, Listen, we're brethren. Let's don't have this. You take whatever you want, and
I'll take what's left. That's meekness. That's bowing
to the will of Almighty God. Listen, strive not with a man
without cause. You're not going to deviate on
the gospel. There is a cause there. But without cause, the Lord sends all these things
according to His will and purpose. Envy, verse 31 and 32, and be
thou not the oppressor and choose none of His ways. For the froward
is abomination to the Lord, but His secret is with the righteous. Psalm 37, 1 and 2 says, fret
not thyself because because of evildoers, neither be thou envious
against the workers of iniquity. For they soon will be cut down
like the grass and wither as the green herb." You know, the
apparent prosperity of the wicked has often been the view of the
righteous. We live in a world that appears as though that sometimes is unfair in our
foolish way of thinking. Things appear as though that
some obviously possess no chastisement, no trials. To cause those to cast themselves
upon the mercy of God, men by nature, they go through this
world and you think, Why are these things not happening
to him? I mean, you know, the saddest
thing in the world is to watch men go through this world with
absolutely no respect of God, no fear of God. They just. They just every once in a while,
just. Like a token, like they just like you throw a crumb to
a. bird or something like that.
That's their attitude toward the Master. And just things seem to be so
wonderful and happy-go-lucky. Don't envy them. Don't envy the
oppressor, the man of violence. None of his ways. The Lord often
leaves men in a false sense of security. And they're but a heartbeat
from eternity. I told you what Brother Henry
said one time. Those that oppose you, that despise
the Gospel that you believe, the Christ that you love, mock
you, have no heart for the Lord Jesus, Pray for them. Pray for them. Pray for them. God will show mercy. That's all
you can do. You can pray for them. Encourage
them to come. But if Almighty God leaves them
to themselves, this is the best they're going
to have. And we don't say that lightly.
We say it with a sad, heart. Don't envy them and choose none
of their ways, a way of evil, especially the evil ways of His
so-called righteousness before God. For the froward is abomination
to the Lord. You know, though it may appear
that God's blessing is upon those that or in a continual way of
contrariness before God, the Scripture reveals that the froward
is disgusting to the Lord. That men claim what they will.
All that refuse to bow to Christ and die in that rebellion disgust
God. And then lastly, the secret of
God's attitude toward men. We looked at the secret of God's
will toward His people, the secret of God's revealed will for His
people toward other men, and then now the secret of God's
attitude toward men. Verse 33 to 35, the curse of
the Lord is in the house of the wicked. But he blesseth the habitation
of the just. The curse of the Lord is in the
house of the wicked. What curse is that? What do you
mean, the curse of the Lord? Galatians 3.10 says this, For
as many as are of the works of the law, that is, trying to establish
a righteousness by the keeping of it yourself, That's what it
means. We said this, there is nothing
bad that you ever can say about God's law. The problem is not
the law of God. The problem is us. The weakness
of the flesh. But for as many as are of the
works of the law, trying to establish a righteousness are under the
curse, for it's written, Cursed is everyone that contends with
not. in all things which are written in the book of the law
to do them." All that are looking to the law,
to their ability to keep it for justification before God, are
under the condemnation of that law. The wicked left to his own evil
thoughts. They feel themselves. able to
reconcile their soul back to God by their own ability and
their own works. You just start thinking about
things that you think have been acts of obedience before God. And man at his best state, I've
often thought about that, at his best state, think of the
best that you can possibly think of for a man. in his attempts
of obeying God. Man in his best state is altogether
vanity, wickedness. In his best state, in his most
sincere state, trying hardest to read the Scriptures or to
pray or to be faithful. Man in his best state. I keep going back in my mind
to the Scripture that I read here last Tuesday night, remember,
if left to us, if left up to us, we would have all tried to
have gotten out of the boat. The only reason that we're still
in Christ, God Almighty cut the ropes of our rebellion, would
not let them come to fruition. That's the reason. What do we
have to glory in? But he blesseth the habitation
of the just, the righteous in Christ. He blesses them. The curse of the Lord is in the
house of the wicked, but he blesseth and blesseth and blesseth, continually
blesses the habitation of the just. How? How does he bless continually? Galatians 3.13 says, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for
us. That's a blessing that never
ends, never shall end. Surely he scorneth, verse 34,
the scorners, but giveth grace to the lowly. Surely he mocks. This is God's attitude. God mocks those that mock Him. God mocks those that mock Him. The scorners, the mockers. But
He giveth grace unto the lowly, the poor, the humble, those made
to know something of themselves. Galatians 6, 7 says this, Be
not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever man soweth, that shall
he also reap. But he that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And lastly, the
wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion
of fools. Those made wise unto salvation
by the regenerating grace of God shall inherit glory. That word glory means honor,
abundance, dignity, and splendor. But shame, that is disgrace and
dishonor, shall be the promotion, the lifting up. fools, the foolish. God's going to lift them up in
judgment, show them to be what they are. You know, man by nature lifts
himself up in pride, but God's going to lift him up in shame. But those that God Almighty humbles
before Him shall inherit life everlasting. Oh, the mercy and grace of God
that would bring us aside for just a moment and talk to us and tell us, I
have a secret for you. I've got something for you. This is my secret to the righteous. This is the revelation of my
will. before the foundation of the world in an everlasting covenant. This is the revelation of my
will to the only begotten Son, my servant, my beloved, in whom
I am well pleased. This is my revelation. Don't
withhold any good from them to whom it is due when it is in
the power of thy hand to give it." And it is in the power of
His hand to give it. Here is the secret of God. as
He speaks to His people, telling them in the treatment of others,
don't strive. Don't strive. If at all possible,
live peaceably with all men. If it's possible. And here's
my revelation, my secret, toward the wicked and toward the just. These are the secrets of God. because it's given unto you to
know the mystery, to know the secrets of Almighty God. To them,
it's not given. Can you imagine that we would
come together this morning to hear the secret of God revealed?
And that which we say is, Lord, thank You. Thank You that You'd
reveal Your heart to us and to tell us once again of Your mercy
and grace in Christ. For it is in His name we pray,
Amen. Let's stand together.