I'm amazed when I began to think at the
blessing of Almighty God. I truly am thankful. I'm thankful for this pastor
who's been here all these years. He is the pastor. But I tell you what I'm thankful
for. I'm thankful for God's faithfulness that keeps His people. That's what I'm thankful for,
that He would keep us by His grace and mercy. By His promise, He keeps us. Turn with me to the book of Psalm
chapter 31. I would like to Look at the first
verse, Psalm 31. David, under the inspiration
of the Spirit of God, says this. I want you to just stop before
we even read it. Just stop and ask. as I do myself. Lord, I don't
want to just read words. I don't want this to be words
only. Let this come to me in power.
Give me, grant me, bestow upon me a heart of bleakness and to
rest in it. Let these words be my words. was a man. He was a man. He was a man born just like me,
just like you. These words that he wrote, these
words are the words of Almighty God. These are not David's words.
David may have penned them, but these words were written under
the inspiration of God's Spirit. I want to believe this. O Lord, who I put my trust, let
me never be ashamed. Deliver me in Thy righteousness."
David was a man that knew something of trials, trials within, trials
without. Scripture says that David was
a man after God's own heart. As a young boy, young lad, young
shepherd, he faced fierce animals and defended the sheep that he
tended. David was a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He found himself standing one
day against a giant. The giant's name was Goliath.
That giant opposed the army of the living God, David, just a
young man. Scripture says he picked up five
stones and put them in his little pouch
there. He walked out and took one of those rocks and put it
in that sling and just buried it in the forehead of that giant. As a dad, he knew something of
family struggles and the pain of rebellion within his own household. And the reason for that was because,
as a king, he took another man's wife and had her husband killed. God sent a prophet to reprove him. He informed him
that God had said that the sword would never depart from his house. It never did. David, with a heart made tender
toward the God that he had offended, He did something by God's grace.
He repented, and he heard the blessed words of God through
a prophet, and he said this. Now, listen, the most blessed
words that God Almighty could ever send. That prophet told
him, The Lord has put away your sins. God put away your sin. He did
that in a substitute. He did that in the Savior. Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord, hath put away your sin. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute, charge with sin. That's a blessed man. Men, women talk about being blessed
of God. I'll tell you blessings. Here's
the blessing of the Lord. God's put away your guilt. But he told him, he said, the
child born to Bathsheba is going to die. And the Lord struck that
child, Scripture says, and that he was very sick. David fasted and besought God
for the child and prayed, ìLord, if it be your will, if
you be pleased.î But on the seventh day, the child died, and David,
upon hearing of the childís death, he got up, washed up, changed
his clothes, anointed himself, and he came to the house of the
Lord and he worshiped God. God's providence, the Lord's
will. And David did the same thing
that Job did upon hearing of God's providence concerning his
land and possessions and children. That's what he did. God foolishly. He didn't attribute
folly to the Lord. I had an acquaintance, I guess you'd say.
I guess I could call him a friend, but not that close. About a year
ago, he had a family member pass away. I found out about it, and
I thought I'd call him, just to try to encourage him, you
know. And the first thing out of his
mouth was this. I thought God was a God of love.
Well, if He's a God of love, why did He let my family member
die? And I told him, I said, listen,
I said, that which God does is right. It's the Lord. Let him do what
seems to him to be good. And after just a moment, I knew
we're not going anywhere with this. Here we find the sweet psalmist
of Israel voicing the heart of God's people. David knew something
of struggle. He knew something of trials.
He knew something about tribulation. He'd been there. Say, well, you
know, you really don't know what to say. If you've never been
there, if you don't know what it feels like, if you don't know
what it feels like to be in trouble, if you don't know what it feels
like to have some trials and tribulation, you can say all
day long, I know how you feel. No, you don't. No, you do not. You don't know what it feels
like. This man knew something about trouble. It's good, he
said, that I've been afflicted. It's good. You've dealt well
with me. In Thee, in Thee, O Lord, do
I put my trust. Here is a word of confidence. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people,
saith the Lord in thee, O Lord." Not in my faith. Man by nature
says he's going to trust in his faith. Well, I believe, you know.
I was nine years old and I gave my heart to Jesus. I remember
I walked down the aisle in thee, O Lord. Not in myself. not in my heart,
which is deceitful above all things." You know, I read that
Scripture. The heart is desperately with
it. And it's deceitful above everything. There's nothing that is as deceitful
as the natural heart. It will tell you, you're okay. Don't worry about it. Everything's
fine. God loves you. He's got a great
plan for you. The heart, the natural heart,
the natural mind, the natural man. In thee, O Lord, do I trust,
not in my works of self-righteousness, not in others, who will surely let me down,
but in thee, in thee, in thee." Brother Scott just quoted that
scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ says, I
am thee. That's one. I am thee way. I
am thee truth. I am thee life. No man comes
to the Father but by me. In thee, O Lord. Turn with me
to Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6. Trust. I looked that word up. It means to believe in the reliability. Trust in the Lord. Trust who? in the Lord at all times, trust
in the Lord, in affliction, in temptation. When you question
His providence, why did this thing happen to me? Why am I
going through this? Why is this happening? Something
must be wrong. Trust in the Lord. That command
is impossible to perform apart from a new heart, a new mind,
a new birth, which is of God. No man can come unless the Father
which hath sent me draw him. No man can. No man can. It has to do with ability. No
man can come. Man, by nature, says, I can.
The Scripture says, no, you can't. Trust in the Lord. Trust in Him. For acceptance in Him. Accepted. That's what he read. In the Beloved. Accepted. Men speak of accepting
the Lord Jesus Christ. Accept Him. That's not what Scripture talks
about. The Scripture does not say you accept Him. The Scripture
says we are accepted in Him, His people, believers, those
that He's granted faith, those that He's granted hope, new heart,
new life, new birth. They're accepted in Him, those
for whom He died, those for whom He paid the penalty. Those for
whom He was made to be sin accepted His righteousness, imputed, charged
to His people for justification before God, His blood for pardon,
His power for protection, for preservation, eternal life, trust
in the Lord Listen to this, with all thine heart. I thought about that, and immediately
when I read it, I thought to myself, you know, I began to
realize something of my frailty, of my failing. That right there,
all thine heart, I looked that up too. It means this. Sincerely. Sincerely. Turn with me to John
21. I want you to read something
here. Sincerely, trust in the Lord with all of your heart. This is a passage of scripture
that deals with a man that had just. Greatly disappointed himself. I know John 21. Look in verse 16. John 21, 16. The Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's start in 15. When
they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter. Now, you know. You
know what had just happened, just a few days before. Simon Peter was warming himself
by fire three times. The Lord had told him. He said,
before the cock crows, that rooster crows twice, you're going to
deny me three times. Now, here is the sovereign God
speaking and telling this man just what's going to happen.
What did Peter say? Not me. Not me. I'll never deny you. I'll never
let you down. You can count on me. Everybody
else, they'll run, turn tail. They'll run. They'll forget you.
Not me. I'm faithful." Before that rooster crowed the
second time, Peter had denied the Lord three
times. Did you know Him? I don't know
Him. I think your speech betrays you. I know who you are. No, I don't know Him. You were with Him. I saw you
with Him. I don't know Him. I don't know Him. I don't know
Him. And that rooster crowed the second
time. And in one of the Gospels, it says when that rooster crowed
the second time, Peter, turned and as they led the Lord away,
it said the Lord looked at him. Can you imagine how that man's
heart sunk? He just looked at him. He just looked. And I thought
to myself, oh my, you talk about being able to
enter in. Three days later or so, the Lord
is with some of the disciples on this seashore. Verse 15 of
John 21. So when they had dined, Jesus
saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. And he saith unto him, Feed my
sheep. He saith unto him the third time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Now think about this. How
many times did Peter deny the Lord? Three times. What did the Lord do to you?
How many times did he ask you? Three times, Simon. He loved
me, and Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time,
Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou
knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, Feed my
sheep. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. I'm going to tell you, you that
believe, you love him. You love him. Do you see anything
within, as Paul said, O wretched man that I am? Those things that
I would, I do not. Things that I wouldn't, those
I do. O wretched man that I am! am, who shall deliver me from
the body of this dead." Do you love me, Peter? Lord,
you know all things. You know I do. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, that not the
rich man Glory in his wealth, wise man, glory in his wisdom. In all thy ways, in all the course
of his life, in the road that Almighty God has determined,
predestinating grace, in all thy ways, in the way that he
has chosen, he has performed, Acknowledge Him, that is, know
Him. Worship Him in it. See Him in
it. Strive to have Him in view. In
all thy ways, know Him. The way that Almighty God has
purposed that you shall go is the way you are going to go. after the counsel of His will. Strive not to take a step without
His order, without His wisdom, His word, His counsel. And by a heart made willing,
thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. By His grace I bow. I bow to his sovereign will and
providence, and he shall direct thy path." Jeremiah 10.23 says,
O Lord, I know, I know that the way of man is not in himself.
It is not in man that walketh to direct his step. Is there
anyone here that would be so foolish as to think that you
are the governor of your own destiny? that you have the ability
and wisdom and power. Think about this. If we were
to all have the ability, we're going to choose the way we're
going to go. Can you imagine the chaos man
left to himself? Man talks about his own free
will. You don't have a free will. You're dead. You don't have the
ability to choose. You're spiritually deaf, spiritually
blind. Back in Psalm 31, in thee, David
said, in thee do I put my trust. In thee, in thee. I was watching
television the other day and there was an advertisement for
the stock market. And this is the catchphrase.
Man said, I believe in the market and I believe in me. Well, if God is pleased to deliver
you from that thought, you are a blessed person. I believe in
me. David said, in thee, in thee
do I put my trust. He is almighty God. We are dust. Psalm 40, 22, it is He that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are
as grasshoppers. He is sovereign. In thee do I
put my trust. Sovereign, Almighty God. Daniel 4.35, it says, All the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest
thou? Sovereign indeed do I put my
trust. Genesis 1-1 says, In the beginning
God created. He's sovereign in creation. He is sovereign in salvation. John, the Gospel of John, in
chapter 1, verse 11, says, He came unto His own, and His own
received Him not. But as many as received Him,
It was evident then. Let me just add that part. To
them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name, which were born not of blood. Now,
you know, this is amazing to me. Man can stand up and say
that men have the right to choose the free will. And I've always said this, and
I know the answer. These things are spiritually
discerned. They're not carnally discerned. You'd think, you'd
say, well, if you can read words and understand that you would
be able to read this and free will would just go out of the
window. You'd never bring that up again.
You read, listen to this, which were born not of blood, just
because I be a believer, by God's grace does not mean that my children
are believers. You're not born believers just
by nature. Your daddy and momma's a believer,
therefore you're a believer, not of blood nor of the will
of the flesh. I may desire my children's salvation,
your salvation. I may long that you be converted
and come to Him and see Him. But I don't have the ability
to do that, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the
flesh, nor the will of man. You don't have the ability to
make yourself converted, to create life. I don't have the ability
to make myself a new person, but of God, which were born not
of blood, nor the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. In thee, O God, O Lord, sovereign
God, God who is sovereign in creation, sovereign in salvation,
sovereign in providence. Psalm chapter 135 and verse 6. Says this, verse 5, Psalm 135,
5, For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above
all gods whatsoever the Lord pleased. That did he in heaven,
and in earth, in the seas, and all the deep places. He's sovereign
in providence. Who is this, the disciples said,
when the Lord stood up and rebuked the winds? Who is this that even
the winds obey him? Can you imagine? Almighty God,
David said, in thee, in thee. Can you imagine a safer haven? In thee do I put my trust. Can
you imagine more security? Can you imagine a better place
than in Thee? He is immutable. If He has ever
loved His people, He has always loved His people. He has loved
them with an everlasting love. Psalm 100 verse 5 says, His mercy
ceases not, for it is everlasting. Lord, if you have ever purposed
to have mercy on me. You'll always have mercy. In
thee do I put my trust." If he changed, he'd not be God. I change not. I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Can you imagine? Would there
be in me, that is, in my flesh, could I find reason for God Almighty
to at a time just say, OK, enough. That's it. I'm done with you. That's the way I do. That's the
way I do, folks, you know. All right. That's it. I've gone
all I'm going to go. I've tried all I'm going to try.
It's over. Forget it. Done deal. I gave you a chance. I thought
I could depend on you. You let me down. In thee, O Lord,
immutable, unchangeable, the hymn says, Change and decay in
all around I see. O thou who changest not, abide
with me. Lord, don't leave me to myself. Are we not thankful for his immutability? In thee, O Lord, he is holy. In thee, sacred, hallowed. When our Lord was speaking to
his disciples, he said, when you pray, pray this way. Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. That's what that word means.
Holy, holy, hallowed is your name. He is of purer eyes than to behold
iniquity. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
made to be sin, when the guilt of all of God's
elect was placed upon him, Almighty God dealt with all of
his elect in a substitute, their covenant head. He is holy. He swears by his holiness. Psalm 110, verse 3, we quoted this a moment
ago. I want you to look at it. Psalm
110, verse 3, Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power, look at this, in the beauties of holiness. From the womb of
the morning thou hast the due of thy youth. Thy people, by
a new heart, willing. in the beauties of His holiness,
willing, willing to obey Him now, where before they weren't. This is what they said, I'll
not have that man rule over me. Willingly in love with Him. You think Peter loved Him because
he wanted to? Sure he wanted to. Lord, You
know I love You. Do you call upon Him even now,
because you want to, willingly to obey Him? Without laws and threats, the
love of Christ constrains us. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust. In the day of His power, our
people are willing. That's how the gospel comes to
God's people. Pleases Him. I don't know how
many times I heard the gospel here, but one day, one day, Paul
says, when he pleased God, when he pleased Him, to reveal His
Son in me. A resting power. That's what
happens. Saul of Tarsus, and that's what
happens to every one of God's elect when he pleases Him, he
rests. O Lord, come to me." God's holiness is manifested
in His works. He's holy in law, in His justice. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust. And He's faithful. In Thee do
I put my trust. In Thee. Is there anybody that you know,
that you've grown up with? A lot of you folks are from around
here. You've known family members, you know. Is there anybody you'd
rest your soul on, Glenn, that you know of? I mean, many of us were family,
family. You'd think, my family would
never let me down. Well, there's only one problem,
well, two, really. Number one, they will let you
down. But the reason is, is they don't
have the ability. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust. You're faithful. Faithful. Never forgets, never fails, never
falters, never forfeits His Word. In His Word, He's faithful. Has Almighty God not faithfully
described man's ruin in the fall? Has He faithfully been truthful? The sole of the foot to the head,
there is no soundness, no wholesomeness in it but sores, putrefied sores. Faithfully He has made known
His judgment of sin. Is there anyone that will stand
before him and say, ìYou were not faithful to tell me.î Oh
yes, heís faithful. Ezekiel 18 verse 4 says, ìThe
soul that sinneth.î The soul that sinneth. Does that exclude
anybody? It shall die. Iíll tell you what
my hope is. that when Christ was crucified,
Paul says, I was crucified with him. I died in him, the soul
that sinned. As he faithfully warned us that
he is a consuming fire and that he will by no means clear the
guilty, he is faithful. But in his faithfulness to show
mercy and preserve his people by the Lord Jesus Christ, By
the Beloved Son, by His everlasting covenant in Christ, He set forth
His Son to be a propitiation, a satisfaction for our sins. He's faithful, faithful. He's
just, just God and a Savior. He's faithful, He's faithful.
He's faithful in preserving His people, able to keep them from
falling. Faithful to do us good. And whatsoever lot we find ourselves,
be faithful. Faithful to His Word, faithful
to His covenant, faithful to His promise. David said in Psalm 119, verse
75, I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right and that
Thou in faithfulness has afflicted me. Faithfulness. You say, that
doesn't sound right. It's right. In faithfulness. He has faithfully glorified Himself
and the salvation of His people. Faithful is He which calleth
you who also will do it. He's gracious, merciful, long-suffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth. David said, In thee, O
Lord, in thee, in thee, God, sovereign God, immutable God,
holy God, just God, merciful God, gracious God. In thee do I put my trust." He
said, let me never be ashamed. Let me never be defeated is what
that word means, ashamed. Hebrews 13, 5, listen to this,
I will never leave you, I'll never let up." What does he say? I'll never let up. I'll never
let go. I'll never. I'll never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. That means let you remain over.
I'll never leave you back. I was watching one of those war
movies the other day, and there were some soldiers that were
down. They'd been killed. And the commander said, we're
not going to leave any of them back. We're going back. We don't
leave any American soldiers back. We're going back. He says, I'll
never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll
never let you remain over. He's faithful. This is who David says, I put
my trust in, in thee, O Lord. Let me never be shamed. Let me
never be confounded. Let me never be disappointed
and frustrated in my hope in You. Psalm 25, verse 2 says, Oh my
God, I trust in Thee. Let me not be ashamed and let
not my enemies triumph over me in Thee. Deliver me, last phrase
there in that first verse, deliver me in Thy righteousness. Almighty God's people, they want Him to be honored in
their salvation. They pray for His deliverance,
but only in God's glory being set forth. Deliver me in Thy
righteousness. Deliver me by the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's my hope. My Savior, Him, that righteousness
which has been charged to me, that righteousness alone by which
I am accepted in the beloved. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust, my trust, I put my trust. You, Lord, are alone reliable. You alone. In Thee. Can you imagine
if Almighty God has given a man, a woman, a heart to be able to say that? Truthfully,
from the heart. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust. It's what He says. All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me." Now, trust me. Now, believe me. It comes. It
comes to life. It comes to me. All that the
Father giveth me, who's going to come? All that the Father
has given Him. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And those that come to me, He
that cometh to me, I will in no wise, no way, no possibility. I will in no wise. I will in
no wise. I will in no wise. Yeah, but
what if I find or see in myself? What if I see? I will in no wise
cast him out. In thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust. Our Father, this morning we're so thankful
that you give us a time to be able to just come together and
be here. Lord, thank you that you would,
by your goodness and mercy and grace, that you would establish
a place in this town. where you would
allow, permit, grant the blessed message of your Son
to be proclaimed. We pray that this Word, knowing
that it shall, it will accomplish the purpose for which it was
sent. Forgive us, we pray, what we failed you. For Christ's sake,
we ask these things. Right. Okay.