Thank you, Ben. Psalm 131. Psalm 131. Now, we saw Psalm 130 and the
depths the Lord brings His child into and then delivers us out
of those depths, makes us know how He's forgiven us our sins.
And as we experience that, He puts fear in our heart. He does
for us what we see here in Psalm 131. He creates this heart in
His people through many depths and delivering us out of the
depths many times again and again. This is how He grows us. And this is true growth in grace
right here, these three things. You start with the first one,
and then the second one, and then the third one. This is growth
right here. First of all is a humble heart. That is of the Lord. A Lord alone
can create a humble heart in his child. And he says, verse
one, My heart is not haughty, nor
mine eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in
things too high for me. Humility is the, that's the foundation
grace right here, humility, to be brought down. There's an old
lyric that says, humility, that low, sweet root. from which all
heavenly virtues shoot. That's the foundation, humility,
to be brought down low. And then with humility, God produces
quietness of heart, contentment of heart, a settled heart, resignation
to God's will. He said in verse 2, surely I
have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of
his mother. My soul is even as a weaned child. And then accompanied with humility
and with quietness of heart is hope in the heart, hope in the
Lord. Verse three, let Israel hope
in the Lord from henceforth and forever. God gives us hope in
the Lord Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We hope in the Lord. So our subject
here is humble and content in hope. Now isn't that what you
want? You want to be humble and content
in hope. in hope, hoping in the Lord. Let's look at these three. That's
the heart God gives, and that's the heart he grows, humble and
content in hope. Let's see now, first of all,
humility of heart. He begins here and he says, Lord,
my heart is not haughty. That's a new spirit. That's a
new heart. That's a heart only the Lord
can give. First of all, to be able to know
him and own him as Lord. He's not Jesus to his child. He's Lord. He's Jehovah. He's God. He's Lord. I didn't
even call my daddy by his first name. I called him by a name
that made him know I understood my relation to him. Christ is
my Lord and I'm his servant. He's the Lord. He's the master.
He's God. He's Jehovah. That's a new spirit. To be humble is to be made low,
is to be made low, to bring low. These are just some definitions
that Strong's gives, or the Greek Concordance gives, is to reduce
to a plane, like when the ground is tilled, when the ground is
leveled. to abase, to take a lower rank or place below others who
are honored or rewarded, is to bring down one's soul from pride,
to have a modest opinion of oneself, to behave in an unassuming manner,
listen to this one, to be devoid of all haughtiness. Lord, my
heart is not haughty. Humility, true humility that
God gives in the new heart does not have high thoughts of self. Humility doesn't have high thoughts
of self, not high thoughts of any righteousness worked out
by ourselves. The believer doesn't see ourselves
as having worked out righteousness. You have a desire to do what's
right, and I trust do what is right, but we don't go around
seeing ourselves as being righteous in ourselves. Not a high, haughty
thought of self in any righteousness worked of ourselves. Not even
high thoughts of any holiness of ourselves. not high thoughts
of wisdom. Knowledge puffeth up. Without
the Spirit of God, knowledge puffeth up. A man will start
out, and he hears the gospel, and he's got big old tears, and
he just seems humble, and the more he learns, and the more
he learns, the prouder he gets, the prouder he gets. Next thing
you know, he's telling the pastor what to do. I never have yet
gotten to the point where I feel like I could tell my pastor what
he should do. The Lord gives you that love
in your heart, that humility of heart, and it doesn't puff
up, not when it's the love of God, not when it's the knowledge
God gives. You don't have a haughty opinion of your strength of yourself. When you experience Psalm 130
enough, and the Lord brings you down, you know, I don't have
strength. I don't have it. You find that
out. The Lord's the only strength
you have. To have a humble heart truly is to be poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
And that's what it is. It's to be poor in spirit, dependent
on the Lord to be all and to provide all. And then the heart
affects your eyes. The heart affects how you look
at others, and what you think of others, and what you set your
eye upon. He said, no man's eyes lofty.
You know, that proud Pharisee, he stood and played with himself,
and he looked about, and he found that publican. And he exalted
himself over that publican. His eyes were lofty. But that
humble publican, he wouldn't even lift his eyes up to heaven.
He smote on his breast and begged, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Humility of heart's gonna affect
the eye. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks,
and out of the heart, the eye. It has a great effect on the
eye. The Lord said, who so privily slandereth his neighbor, him
will I cut off. Him that hath an high look and
a proud heart will not I suffer. But of that publican, the Lord
said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other, for everyone that exalteth himself should
be abased, and he that humbleth himself should be exalted. And
the humility of heart affects our actions. He said in verse
one, neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things
too high for me. You know, we come into this world
and by nature we strive for great things. We have this proud ambition. And this verse teaches us, brethren,
that striving for great things of this world, things too high
for us, whether it be in knowledge or whether it be things beyond
our capabilities and just wanting more, more, more, more. He's
telling us that having that spirit rather than being content with
where the Lord's put you and with what the Lord's given you
and gifted you with, that comes from a heart of pride. This is
a humble heart. I don't exercise myself in great
matters or in things too high for me. In pride, you know, a
sinful man considers humiliation to be a negative. Pride considers to be humiliated,
to be a humiliation, to be a negative. That's how we were redeemed.
That's how we were saved. That's how God's elect were saved. The Son of God humbled himself. Philippians 2, 5, let this mind
be in you which was also in Jesus Christ. He's equal with God. Thought it not robbery to be
equal with God. He's God of every God, the Son of God. And yet
he made himself of no reputation. Isn't that just contrary to us
by nature? He made himself of no reputation. He took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. That highly exalted
God, that's what humility does. That's why man is proud man,
proud sinner, so objects so much to humility because humility,
true humility exalts God. Because true humility is trusting
the Lord God for everything. That's what Christ did when he
humbled himself. trusted God for everything, wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, given him a name above every
name. Acts 8.33 says, In his humiliation
his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation?
For his life was taken from the earth. His whole life was his
humiliation. And especially when it came time
to go to the cross, that was his humiliation. He humbled himself. He's the perfection of humility. His perfect humility and his
perfect humility. He took the place of his people.
He was willing that his judgment be taken away. He was willing
that he'd be unjustly judged, willing that the sin of his people
be laid on him and God justly judge him in place of his people.
It was unjust judgment from the world. But what our father did
in laying our sin on him and then poured out wrath on him,
that was just judgment. He willingly submitted to that
in humility. and He delivered us from the
curse of the law by that. You see, we're saved by humility.
We're saved by... God hates pride. He hates pride. But He speaks preeminently of
His Son when He says this right here, to this man where I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth
at my word, has preeminently our Savior, the Lord Jesus. That's
who that preeminently speaks of. The Lord Jesus said, he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. Listen to this. I love this. Listen to this. Zechariah 9.9
says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee! Lowly and riding on an ass's
coat. That's not how you expect, that's
not how the world. looks for their king to come,
lowly. But that's our king. That's our
king. Doing that, he highly exalted
God, and God has also highly exalted him, giving him a name
above every name. He accomplished redemption. He
justified us and made us righteous, and God gave him a seat at his
right hand, highly exalted him, gave him a name above every name.
All power in heaven and earth and all deep places is his. And
one day every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going
to confess that He is the Lord Jesus Christ to the praise and
glory of the Father. Everyone will. The Apostle Peter
learned humility. I want to show you something
here before I get to what Peter said. Look here at Psalm 138. Look
at Psalm 138, verse 6. Though the Lord be high, Psalm
138, verse 6. Though the Lord be high, yet
hath he respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knoweth afar
off. Peter learned that. He learned
that. Lord, I won't deny you. Mmm,
what was that? Pride. That was pride. That's all it was. I won't deny
you. These over here, they will. I
love you more than they do, Lord. But after the Lord taught him
and humbled him, brought him to the place where David was
brought here in our song, Peter said this, all of you be subject
one to another and be clothed with humility. God resisteth
the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you
in due time. That's what pride is, wanting
to exalt ourselves in our time. Humility submits under God's
mighty hand that he may exalt you in due time. casting all
your care upon Him, for He careth for you. This is what He said
after He said to this man, will I look? And when He's given you
a humble heart, He regards you. He'll commune with you when you
have a lowly heart and a humble heart. But He says this to you.
He said, hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His
word. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my
name's sake, said, let the Lord be glorified. But he shall appear
to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. You just wait on the
Lord. Submit unto His mighty hand, cast all your care on Him,
and know He careth for you. That's what humility, really,
really, truly, at the end of the day, that's what it is. It's
submitting to whatever He brings to pass, casting it all upon
Him, and knowing He's caring for me. He's caring for me. Now
the next thing here is quietness of heart. You see how one leads
to the other? The only way we're going to have
quietness of heart and contentment of heart is when the heart's
been humbled to submit to God's hand and what God does. So the
next thing is quietness of heart. Verse 2. Surely I have behaved
and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother.
My soul is even as a weaned child. You know, this weaning, weaning
us from things of this life, it's entirely of God. A child
doesn't wean itself. And you and me wouldn't wean
ourselves. We wouldn't let go of the things that we value so
much in this life if God didn't wean us from them. He does that. When a child's being weaned,
really it experiences its first real disappointment and its first
real grief when it's being weaned. When it's being weaned. A mother
wrote this. A mother wrote this. Let me read
this to you. The weaned child has for the
first time become conscious of grief. The piteous longing for
the sweet nourishment of his life, the broken sob of disappointment,
mark the trouble of his innocent heart. It's not so much the bodily
suffering. He has felt that pain before
and cried while it lasted, but now his joy and comfort are taken
away. And he knows not why, but when
he's weaned, When it's accomplished, his head is once more laid upon
his mother's bosom, then he trusts and loves and rests. But he has learned the first
lesson of humility. He's cast down and clings with
fond helplessness to his one friend." That's a pretty good
description of what it's like for a child to be winged. And
that's the picture here. When you read there at the end,
my soul is even as a weaned child, you could read it this way. As
the weaned child, my soul lies upon Thee, O Lord. You know,
you take a child that's weaned, and now it's no longer struggling
and striving with the mother to try to breastfeed, but now
it'll just lay upon the mother's breast and be content and happy
to lay there. That's what it is when you have
quietness of heart. quietness of heart. The Lord
chastens us with disappointments, taking things from us just like
when a child is weaned. He's chastening. He's going to
take from us everything that comes between us and Him. If
it comes between us and Him, He'll take it away. And we fret
and we cry because, like a child, we're attached to that thing,
whatever it is, person, things, whatever it is. But He gives
us something far better. The Lord gives us Himself. He
gives us the riches of Christ. He gives us peace in our heart,
knowing what He's done for us is what's the best thing for
us. And He draws you nearer to Him.
You know, as He weans us, what is it that makes you, what is
it that's chastening about it? What is it that makes you cry
and fret when the Lord takes, gives you some sad disappointment,
takes something from you, makes the things of this life become
less appealing to you? What is it really? It's the pride
of heart. You don't want to not have your
way. You don't want to have something that you have your heart set
on. You don't want to have it taken
away. And we cry like a child. But the Lord gives more grace
in the new heart. He gives you grace in the new
heart. When Peter said, he resists the
proud, but he gives grace to the humble, both of those are
happening in you who believe. He's resisting your old proud
man, and He's giving you grace in the new man. He's drawn us
near to Him in spirit, and He always brings us to stop crying
and weeping over whatever it is He took from us, the disappointment
of the thing He removed from us. He makes us content with
Christ. He really does that. He makes
you content to have the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes you behold
Him more and more. He draws you nearer and nearer.
We sing it. We want to be drawn nearer and
nearer to the Lord. He does it. It's painful how
He does it. Because to draw us nearer to
Christ almost entirely is going to necessitate Him taking from
us something that's coming between us and Christ. But just like
that weaned child lays content on its mother's breast, He brings
you to rest entirely upon the Lord Jesus and be content that
you have Him. Because when you have Him, you
really have all. That's not just something we
say, brethren. That's so. Our Lord is really everything.
He's everything. He's our Creator. He's why this
world was created. He's everything to His child.
He's all our salvation. He's everything we need to be
accepted of God. This is what He said. He said,
let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with
such things as you have for He has said, I will never leave
thee nor forsake thee. That's where contentment and
quietness of heart really comes from. You know, when trouble
comes, you're going to be shaken, you're going to be at first,
you know, it's just how it is. That's how we are. But the more
the Lord works is, the more He makes you know, I'm with you
and I'll never leave you. That's where contentment rests.
The Lord's with you. He'll never leave you. He'll
never forsake you. That's how Paul, what about Paul to say,
he said, I've learned in whatsoever ever state I am, therewith to
be content. How'd he learn that? That long list of stripes he
bore and shipwreck and all the troubles and the thorn in the
flesh and the Lord taking his brethren from him, and taking
his freedom from him, and all the things the Lord took from
Paul. And yet the Lord was teaching him, I'm with you, I'm never
leaving you, I'm never forsaking you. That's how he learned it.
I learned, whatsoever state I am, therewith be content. He said,
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound. You
know, we think of contentment as learning how to be abased,
and that's a great part of contentment, but it's also learning how to
abound. Abounding is just as much trouble,
that's just as dangerous to us as being abased is. When you're abased, it's not
fretting over what you don't have because you have Christ.
And when you're abound, it's not getting attached and setting
your heart on those things you do have because you know Christ
is your need. He said, I'm in all things everywhere,
I'm instructed to be full and to be hungry. And that's at all
times. We used to be full. If you're abased, full having
Christ. And if you're bound, you're thirsty
for Christ, hungry for Christ. I can do all things. Most people
put the emphasis right there, I can do all things. No, the
emphasis is I can do all things to Christ who strengthens me. That's the only way. Godliness
with contentment's great gain. Godliness is, you read Paul's
definition of godliness. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. seen of angels, justified in
the Spirit, received up in the glory, is Christ. And when you
have Christ, and you know He's formed in your heart, and you
have a heart that loves Him, and loves every word from His
mouth, you have Godliness with contentment. That's great gain.
He said, for you brought nothing in this world, and it's certain
you're going to take nothing out. This is so, this is even in religion,
brethren. There's politics in religion,
there's envy and strife. I'm talking about amongst true
brethren, and it's so sad, but that's because of our flesh.
But we're not, the more and more I'm just, I'm content to minister
to you, because the Lord, he gave me the privilege to serve
you and minister to you. If he sends me somewhere to preach,
fine. But conferences and all of that. One more, I just want to minister
to you. And I pray He gives us a heart.
I pray He gives you a heart to be here. Thursday nights are
a little harder to preach. Because not as many people are
here. I want to see everybody here on Thursday just like they're
here on Sunday. What's the difference? Huh? It's Christ preaching to us each
time. But just to be content with what
the Lord's given you, where He's put you, that's great gain. We
didn't bring anything in this world. We're taking nothing out
of this world. But Christ, it's saying, you come into this world,
if you gain all the things you could gain in this world, and
you part this life without Christ, it was all for nothing. You gained
nothing. You missed what the whole point
of this life's about. But if you went through this
life and you didn't have hardly anything that this world considers
a successful life, but you have Christ, you're the victor. You have the
one thing needful. That's why it says, when you
have food and raiment, let us be content therewith. They that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish
and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil. Don't you see
that? Don't you see that everywhere you look? You know, we ask, why
is government doing this? And why, you know, why is businesses
doing this? And why is the community doing
this? And why are men and women doing this? There's not really
one reason. The Lord is pretty, he covers
it all, don't it? The love of money is the root
of all evil. While some coveted after, they've
erred from the faith and pierced themselves through many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things." That's so of every
one of his people, not just the preacher, every one of his people,
including the preacher. Flee these things. Follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. It's
not so with pride. Pride's never satisfied. Pride
wants to have more, more, more, get more, get more, and if anything's
taken away, pride cries with discontent. But having Christ,
you have all. Be content with such things as
you have. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. That's the quietness of heart.
That's what gives you quietness of heart. The Lord gives you
this childlike spirit so that whatever he brings to pass, and
this is what you know, you know it's all of his hand. Whatever comes to pass in your
life, it's of his hand. This trouble with the insurance. I want to fret over that. But
it's the Lord doing. It's all coming to pass exactly
as He purposed, right on time, just like at the time He appointed.
Right on time at the time He appointed. And so it brings you
to say, it's the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth Him good. And again, brethren, that's how
we were saved. It was by the Lord Jesus Christ
submitting to the Father's will, being content with the Father's
will. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, O my Father, if
this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it, thy will
be done. And it's His Spirit, it's the
Spirit of our Lord within us that brings you to say that very
thing. Settles you down like a weaned
child and say, Lord, This is you. This is your doing. Do whatever
seems good. Do your will, Lord. When you
have that heart, that is what quietness of heart, contentment
really is. Knowing, Lord, whatever your
will is, that's what I want. Whatever your will is. Here's
the last thing. humility, and then with that
comes quietness of heart, and with that is hope in the Lord.
Hope in the Lord. Verse 3, let Israel hope in the
Lord from henceforth and forever. I'm not going to say much on
hope because we looked at it quite a bit last time. But it's
humility, and then with humility comes his quietness, and the
Lord grows us more in the hope in the Lord. Let Israel hope
in the Lord. And again, see here, he's telling
his brethren there, Sidney. He's saying, let Israel hope
in the Lord. You say it to yourself, and you say it to your brethren.
The hope of God's saints is the Lord himself. Not anything in
this world gives us hope. Nothing. Everything in this world
is changing, constantly changing, and perishing. Every bit of it.
You don't even have to touch it. My dad's got some old, my
dad I don't guess ever sold a vehicle. And in the field, out back, he's
got about every vehicle he owned. He got a 57 flatbed Ford out
there, and he's got a 68 step side Chevy out there. He
got a 1978 Ford out there, F-150, big 38 inch tires on it. Got
a Pontiac out there. Ever got two or three three wheelers
out there? And I've watched some things
through the years just disintegrate into the dirt. Just rust into
the dirt. Trees growing up through them.
You don't even have to touch it. Everything in this life is
perishing. Perishing things of clay. That's
what we are. Perishing. The moment you take
your first breath, you started dying. You started dying. Our hope's in the Lord who changes
not. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. He doesn't change. His gifts
and His calling are without repentance. He never takes them back. What
He purposed in eternity, He brings to pass. And there's no changing
it. There's no variableness with
Him. There's no changing with Him whatsoever. He's the same
yesterday, today, and forever. That's why we hope in Him. Sure,
hope and hope, listen, hope maketh not ashamed. You won't ever be
ashamed for hoping in the Lord. Hope maketh not ashamed, why?
Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given to us. You're not gonna ever stop hoping
in the Lord. If he's ever made you hope in
him, truly hope in him, you will never stop. You'll never stop. Why? Not because of you, but
because the Spirit of the Lord will keep you hoping in the Lord,
and He'll never disappoint you for hoping in Him. Never. You
do it from henceforth, even forever. When you're in the depths, he's
gonna make you hope in the Lord. And he's gonna keep this spirit
in your heart, the spirit of hoping in him in your heart.
Paul said, now abideth. That means it abideth forever,
as long as we're in this life. Faith, hope, charity. They abide because the spirit
of the Lord's gonna keep them in your heart. And he's gonna
keep shedding abroad that love of God in your heart. And so
here's what you're gonna keep doing. We, through the spirit,
Wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. We're looking for a
person who is our righteousness and we're waiting on him. and
we're doing it by faith, seeing what no carnal eye can see, we
see by faith, and we hope in the Lord. Our anchor enters into
within the veil. The forerunner's already gone
there, and he told us, I've gone to prepare a place for you, and
when he said it's finished, he prepared it. He's there now,
and he's coming to get us, and he's gonna bring us there with
him, and we're gonna be like him, we're gonna see him as he
is, we're gonna know him fully, and we're gonna be learning of
him for all eternity. Brethren, you continually think
upon the greatness of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Think on Him all the time. He
provided perfect righteousness in Himself. He is that perfect
righteousness. He provided us whatever we need
in this life and He'll continue to do it. And He's with us and
He'll never leave us. That's what He promised. And
He is our hope of eternal salvation. That's what humility of heart. I'm not looking for something
great and grand to do. Lord, I'm just submitted to You. Think on me lowly. Lord, I'm submitted to You. Cast
all my care on You. And in quietness, I'm content
knowing you'll never leave me, you'll never forsake me. And
my hope's in you, Lord. Oh, that's a good place to be,
brethren. The more you go through these
steps, the more He delivers you. That's what He's gonna keep doing
for us. Keep growing us in that right there, more and more. All
right, Brother Greg.