Alright, brethren, Psalm 129,
another song of degrees. I've told you often in these
psalms of degrees, they sang these as they were going up from
their homes, going up to Jerusalem to worship three times in the
year. And this song we come to gives us some lessons in affliction. That's our subject, lessons in
affliction. And what I'm going to do here
is I'm just going to read the psalm and make a few comments,
go through it, and then I want to give you five things the Lord
teaches us through affliction. I'll show you five things. And
the preeminent thing I want to show you, the preeminent thing
we learn in affliction is found in verse four. The Lord is righteous. That's the preeminent thing the
Lord's teaching us. In everything He works for us
and in us, in our lives, in this world, He's teaching us the Lord
is righteous. Now, anybody that describes the
life of a believer and the life of God's saints together in the
church of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we journey through this world
together, assembling week in and week out, and that's what
we're doing. We're passing through this wilderness
on our way to heavenly Jerusalem, just like they were going up
to earthly Jerusalem. And anybody that says that the
life of God's children is not a life of affliction in this
world, they're being untruthful. You may know that's not so. It
is a life of affliction. And when affliction, we're talking
about affliction from the enemies of God, from those that hate
the gospel of Christ. Look here, verse 1. Many a time
have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say. Many a time have they afflicted
me from my youth. No people in this world have
ever been persecuted like Israel. Now think about this. You take
the Jews from the time God formed them as a nation through Abraham
being the first one. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all of
them suffered affliction from men. And then when Israel was
formed as a nation, they came into slavery in Egypt and the
Egyptians afflicted them. When the Lord delivered them
out of Egypt, the Amalekites afflicted them as soon as they
got out. And then the Philistines, and
then the Assyrians, and the Babylonians, and a whole bunch of different
ones in between there. And then the Romans. Israel is, the Jews are the most
afflicted people in this world. But don't ever forget this. The hatred of that people is
not simply because their name was Israel and they're called
the Jews. The hatred of men of that people is because of man's
hatred against God. God formed the nation Israel. Now I'm not talking about this
nation over here. I'm talking about the scriptural Israel.
God formed that nation. And not everybody in that nation
was Israel. Not everybody in that nation
was Israel. Paul said in Romans 2, a true Jew is one that's been
born again. God's created him a new heart,
circumcised him in the heart. They were the ones that the world
hated. The others in Israel that were natural were afflicted just
because of their being joined to the ones that
were really born of God. You know, when our Lord walked
this earth, He was afflicted by Pharisees. They were Israel. But they were natural men. And
they afflicted our Lord Jesus when He walked this earth. Natural
Israel right now even afflicts spiritual Israel. Men who are natural Jews afflict
those who are true Jews spiritually. And men who claim to be Christ
God's true people. It doesn't have to be major affliction
from the world. Affliction means to be in straits.
It means to be distressed. It means to be narrow, simply
to be despised and rejected. Usually nowadays it's with the
tongue. Why are God's saints afflicted by men of this world?
Turn with me to John 15. Our Lord tells us plainly, John
15, John said, the Lord said, John
recorded it, the Lord said in John 15, 18, if the world hate
you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the
world would love his own. Now get that, if you're praised
by this world, and you're accepted by this world, and you're promoted
by this world, and you're one with this world, then you're
of this world. That's what our Lord said. If
you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because
you are not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you. He said, remember the word that
I said to you, the servant's not greater than his Lord. If
they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they've
kept my saying, they will keep yours also. See, you're not of
the world, not because of anything in us. It's not anything us that
makes us not be of this world. We're not of the world because
in eternity, God the Father chose his people in the Lord Jesus.
Hebrew means from beyond. We're from beyond. God chose
His people and formed His spiritual Israel and His purpose in Christ
before He even made the world. You're not of the world. And
you're not of the world because Christ came and called you out
of the world and united you with Him in regenerating grace. And
he did all this by grace alone. Look at John 17, 14. This is
what the Lord said in his high priestly prayer. I've given them
thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they're not
of the world, even as I'm not of the world. The God-man's not
of this world. He's the Son of God and He came
down and took flesh and dwelt in this world and finished the
work the Father gave Him to do and then He went back to glory. Our Savior's not of this world.
When you're born of Adam, all you are is of this world. All
you are is fleshly. But when you're born again, you're
born from above. You're born by the Spirit of
God, born from above. And there's a new man created,
a spiritual man is created that's not of this world. Nothing about
this world had anything to do with creating a new man in you.
The Lord did it. We're born from above. And so,
what did Paul say in Galatians 4.28? He said, now we brethren,
as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then, he that
was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit,
even so it is now. Now you think about this. Isaac
didn't persecute Ishmael. God select that he's regenerated
and given a new heart. They're not persecuting the Muslims.
That's who Ishmael is. But the Muslims are persecuting
God's people. And so it is with men of this
world. God's people aren't the ones trying to condemn the world. Our gospel does, and that's why
they hate us. Our message declares sinners
to be sinners, and Christ alone to be the Savior, apart from
any works in us, and that's why they hate us. But it's not God's
people attacking men of this world. We're not even brethren. We're not attacking our brethren.
We're not going around trying to find reason to afflict our
brethren. As then, he that was born after
the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit. Even
so it is now. But here's what's also true of
Christ's church. And this is true of each member
in particular. Look at verse 2. Many a time have they afflicted
me from my youth, This is what the church can say, Israel can
say this, yet they have not prevailed against me. Many times the enemies
have afflicted the church but not one time have they prevailed. You think about all that history
we see in the scriptures of Israel and how many times they were
afflicted and not one time did the enemy prevail to destroy
Israel. Concerning Egypt's affliction
in Israel, Exodus 1.12 says, The more the Egyptians afflicted
them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved
because of the children of Israel. Whenever the Lord first formed
the church, and they were persecuted, and they were scattered about,
and you know what happened? They went everywhere preaching
the gospel, and the gospel spread, and they multiplied, and they
grew. And for you personally, when we're afflicted, the Lord
is multiplying you spiritually. The Lord's teaching us spiritually
through the affliction. Remember now, God's sovereign.
He rules everything. If affliction comes to pass and
you are afflicted, God did it, and He's doing it for your good.
He's growing you, and He's growing His church collectively through
it. Now the reason no enemy prevails against the church or against
any individual saint is because of our oneness with Christ. That's
why. Look here at the next verse,
verse 3. The flowers plowed upon my back, they made long their
furrows, the Lord is righteous, he hath cut us under the cords
of the wicked." Now again, we see this psalm applies preeminently
to Christ. Israel is Christ's name. That's
his name. He can say they afflicted me
from my youth. He gave his name to Jacob. That's
how come Jacob's name was Israel. He came and wrestled him, regenerated
him, and gave him his name. That's what he did for you when
he called you. He gave you his name. That's why you're Israel.
That's Christ's name. This is preeminently a psalm
speaking where Christ is speaking. When the Son of God took flesh,
his enemies afflicted him. There was no room for Mary and
Joseph in the inn. The king of glory who created
heaven and earth was born in a cow stable as a man. And then
Herod tried to kill him right as soon as he was born, ordering
all the babies be slain. The scribes and Pharisees and
the Sadducees, they were natural Israel, but they hated true Israel. And they afflicted him from the
very beginning of his ministry. And then at last, they took out
their hatred on his back and scourged him. the flowers plowed
upon my back, they made long their furrows. You know what
we see in that? We see the enmity of every sinner's
heart by nature in what sinners did to the Lord Jesus. And not
only that, we see what our sinful flesh is. Before we knew him,
before he gave us, created a new man in us, all we were was enmity
against God. That's all we were. And those
sinners meant it for evil, When afflicting our Savior, man only
did what God our Savior determined before to be done. He gave Himself
into their hands. He said in Isaiah 50 verse 6,
I gave my back to the spiders, and to my cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting. They couldn't have done anything without Him. When
they came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said,
I am, and they fell backwards. A huge band of soldiers. He was
in control. He gave his back to the smiters. Why did the Son of God take flesh?
Why did he give himself to the enemies? Verse 4, the Lord is
righteous. That's why. He came to manifest,
the Lord is righteous. He came down to manifest, the
Lord is righteous. That's the reason for the cross.
God is righteous. God's going to manifest His righteousness
and He did it at Calvary's cross. He's just and justified because
Christ gave Himself in the place of His people. Christ manifests
the righteousness of God. That's the preeminent purpose
of the cross. He satisfied that justice of God for His people
because God is righteous. And then He returned to glory.
He conquered the world. He conquered sin. He conquered
death. He conquered hell. He won the
victory, and He won it for His people. For every elect child
of God, Christ won the victory. He said, I've overcome the world,
and that's your peace. He's overcome the world, and
He's ruling the world. On the cross, by justifying His
elect, Christ defeated all our enemies. Look at the end of verse
4. He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked, He cut asunder
the cords of the wicked. That's what Christ accomplished.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God
that justifies. That's God in human flesh. Who
is He that condemneth? It's Christ that died. Rather,
he's risen again and even at the right hand of God who's making
intercession for it. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, shall distress,
shall persecution, shall this affliction separate us? Famine
or nakedness or peril or sword? We're like sheep counting for
the slaughter. No, in all these things we're
more than conquerors to Christ that loved us. He cut the bands
of the wicked asunder. Now, when men of this world afflict
us, what are some things our Lord is teaching us through this
affliction? What's He teaching us through
affliction? I want to give you five things very briefly. First
of all, using men to afflict us, the affliction of enemies.
Our Heavenly Father is showing us His immutable love in chastening
us. when men afflict us, persecute
you, cause you all kinds of affliction. Our Father is showing us that
His love never changes toward His people, and you see it in
that the Lord is using men to chasten you, to correct you,
because our Lord is righteous. He's making you see your sin,
He's making you see the Lord is righteous. Jeremiah speaks
for the whole church. and includes himself. This is
what he said. Lamentations 118, the Lord is righteous for I've
rebelled against His commandment. Here I pray you all people and
behold my sorrow. My virgins and my young men are
gone into captivity. That's why God permitted Babylon
to come and take them into captivity, was to chasten those that were
truly His and teach them and bring them to confess their sin
and to know the Lord is righteous in everything He's doing. While
unregenerate, when afflicted, that's not what we did. We blamed
second causes. You know, if this hadn't happened,
that hadn't happened, the other thing hadn't happened, and what
else would we do? We blamed others. It was always
somebody's fault. Where did we get that from? What
did Adam do when God came and found him in the trees? The woman
you gave me. She gave me to eat. That's the
only reason I did it. But now, when you're afflicted,
God's going to sanctify it to your heart. He's going to teach
you. He's not trying to teach you,
He's going to teach you. And He sanctifies it to your
heart in that inner man and the child of God is going to be made
to know this is of God my Father. Because He loves me, He sent
in His affliction for my good. God's child is going to be made
to know that. When our substitute was afflicted by men, men that
hated him, men that were in the wrong, men that were totally
unjust and yet calling on God and claiming they were doing
this for the glory of God, he didn't blame second causes. He
knew it was of his father. And he said in Lamentations 112,
is it nothing to you or all you that pass by, behold and see
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto
me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
Whether we've sinned outwardly, usually we have. Whether we did
it deliberately, usually we have, like David did. when the Lord's
chasing him, or be it the sin of our inner man? Because we know sin's mixed with
everything we do. We can say, no matter what the
affliction is, at some point in it, whether you sin outwardly,
deliberately, or whether it's just the sin of your inner man,
at some point in it, the Lord's gonna bring you to see the Lord's
righteous, and I'm the sinner. This is far less than I really
deserve. People say that. I had a man
say that to me this week. He said, I said, it turned out
to be a beautiful day, didn't it? And he said, better than
we deserve. But the Lord brings his child
to see, even when it's so bad, that you're just beat down by
the affliction and have no strength in you, it's far better than
we deserve in ourselves. And he brings you to see the
Lord's righteous. And he brings you to say this,
I mean, if you sin outwardly and it's something that you needed
to be chastened for out there, or if the Lord's just teaching
you and reminding you of what you are, When you're afflicted,
you're going to go to the Lord and you're going to say what
David said, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done
this evil in thy sight. That thou mightest be justified
when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. Whether we've sinned outwardly,
deliberately or not, whether we defended ourselves for a season
like Job did. Job tried to defend himself that
he hadn't sinned. Eventually, God's gonna bring
us to behold the Lord, our righteousness. He's gonna strengthen you inwardly
and make you see this is of the Lord, and you're gonna see the
Lord is righteous, and as you see Him, you're gonna do what
Job did. I've heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear, but now might I see it thee wherefore I pour myself
and repent in dust and ashes. I'm telling you, brethren, that's
what the Lord does in every affliction we suffer. He makes us see our
sin. He makes us to own the fact the
Lord's righteous. What you've done for me, Lord,
has been righteous. You did it for me because you
are righteous. And you're the only righteousness
I have. I'm the sinner. And that makes you love righteousness.
And that makes you want to serve Him and endeavor to please the
Lord in everything you do because He's making us more and more
to love what's right. Alright, here's secondly. In
affliction, God shows us He's righteous by His unchanging grace to us
and by His unchanging faithfulness to us. Go to Psalm 34 and 19. I want you to see this. Psalm
34 and 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Look here.
Psalm 34 and 19. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. You see, you've got to be taught
that first lesson first. I'm a sinner. No matter what
men are saying against me, they haven't even scratched the surface
of what I am. That's where God brings you.
Stop defending yourself. Stop speaking of your righteousness
and on the fact, Lord, this is for me, this is good for me to
be afflicted, to learn what I am, and remember what I am, and remember
you're righteous. You gotta be brought there first.
And then, as you see your sin, and you see the Lord is righteous
and holy and just, and He's yet gracious to you, and faithful
to deliver you, that's when you see the Lord's righteous. He's
righteous. Why is He righteous to be gracious
to you and righteous to deliver you? How do you see that He's
righteous in that? Because when you see your sin,
then you remember, this is by grace. I didn't merit this, this
is by grace. He delivered me out of the hand
of the affliction by grace. He did it because He's faithful.
He did it because Christ cut asunder the band of wickedness
on the cross. For me, for all who's elect.
So God's not afflicting His people in anger. He afflicts His people
in love. And Christ will always help His
child and He'll never let the enemy prevail over us. Psalm
118.13 says this. Psalm 118.13. You can hear in Psalm 118.13,
Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped
me. That's what God's child is going
to be brought to say every time. And by this, we're seeing the
Lord's immutable in righteousness. His righteousness never wavers.
He is righteous to be gracious to us because Christ really and
truly made us righteous and justified His people. He's righteous to
be faithful to you and deliver you because Christ really made
us righteous. He cut the bands of sunder, the
bands of the wicked. God's grace and His mercy is
everlasting toward His people. And He's just to love you and
just to be merciful and just to be righteous because Christ
Jesus the Lord made us perfectly righteous in Him and paid all
our sin debt and justified His people. And so God's faithfulness,
by His faithfulness, He'll never fail to deliver His children.
They have not prevailed against Me, they sang. And that's what
you're gonna sing. The Lord is righteous. He cut
us under the cords of the wickedness. Christ justified us, Christ purchased
us, and Christ is gonna have us. And He won't lose one. And
you can mark that down. You can mark that down. That's
what the Lord's gonna teach us. See why are these afflictions
necessary? Everything that comes to pass
in our life, brethren, is absolutely necessary. Debbie, you got sick. That's absolutely necessary.
I've been afflicted. I've had some terrible trials
come about in my life. Every one of them were absolutely
necessary to teach me these lessons right here. Here's the third
thing. Through affliction, God gives
us a deeper appreciation of what our Savior suffered to redeem
us, to make us righteous. That's when you're going to really
appreciate what Christ suffered, when you suffer a little affliction.
Our Savior said, I've read it to you, but He said in Lamentations
1.12, Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? It's something
to God's child. It is something to God's child.
This thing's not a light thing to us. What Christ suffered for
us, He said, Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto
my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted
me in the day of his fierce anger. By the Spirit of God teaching
you, it's something to you that you
know Christ. It's something to you that you
behold and see Him. The Spirit of God has made you
behold His righteousness in Christ crucified in your place. So it's
something to you. Now, when we suffer, our affliction
is heavy to us because we're weak. We are weak as water in
our flesh. So affliction is heavy to us,
but when you see it in light of what Christ suffered, That's
what lightens our affliction, is Him bringing you into this
communion and saying to you, behold and see if there's any
suffering like my suffering, any affliction like my affliction.
And He makes you really, you take the things you suffer, whatever
it is, affliction, persecution, distress, famine, whatever, you
take whatever trial you're in, and you start looking at Christ
and what He suffered. And you start thinking about
how much more Christ suffered. And remember, He did that for
His people. He was doing that. He didn't
have to do that. He had no sin. He's doing that
for God His Father to manifest His righteousness and fulfill
His purpose and save His people. And He's doing it for His people.
He suffered that for us. And these afflictions, as the
Lord sanctifies that to you, you begin to see and have a greater
appreciation for what Christ suffered. It's deeper to you
and it's more meaningful to you. He says to you in your heart,
is it nothing to you? See, behold, is there any sorrow
like my sorrow? And He'll use the things we suffer
to turn us to Him to see and understand a little better what
He suffered for us. You ever feel like you've been
forsaken of God? You ever feel like you're in
darkness? That's a good place to be. It's not pleasant, but
it's a good place to be when the Lord makes you to turn and
remember how Christ was forsaken in darkness for His child and
remain perfectly faithful to God. When we're despised and rejected
of men, we learn a little better how much more and the love of
Christ to undergo being despised and rejected of men for us. Child
of God, whatever you suffer, you look to Christ, and you think
how He suffered in our room instead, infinitely more than whatever
we suffer. Every infirmity we have, our Lord was touched with
it, yet without sin. It'll attach your heart deeper
to Christ. It will and it will make you more thankful for His
willingness to lay down His life for you. It will make you more
willing to lay down your life for your brethren. It will make
you rejoice in mercy rather than judgment. It sure will. And it will make the affliction
lighter. It will make the affliction lighter when you consider what
He bore. Fourthly, By affliction, He makes
us more dependent on our Savior at all times. That's the whole purpose of it
is to bring you to be more dependent upon Him, to cast all your care
on Him. He won't lose one of His redeemed.
We believe Him to save us. That's what faith is. It's believing
Him to save us from us, first of all, and from every enemy.
Look back at Psalm 124. Here's where He brings you, right
here. He brings you to confess this right here. This is the
faith He gives you to say, If it had not been the Lord who
was on our side, now may Israel say, If it had not been the Lord
who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they
had swallowed us up quick when their wrath was kindled against
us. But look at verse 6. Blessed be the Lord who hath
not given us his prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as
a bird out of the snare of the fowler. The snare is broken and
we are escaped. Christ learned obedience by the
things which he suffered. What was his obedience that he
learned? What do you see him doing? He cried unto Him that
was able to save him from death. He reverenced the Lord. He sanctified
the Lord. He saw Him as higher and more
holy and more powerful and more able to save than any of His
enemies were able to destroy. And so He cried unto Him that
was able to save. He learned that through suffering. And He's teaching us the same
obedience by the things we suffer. Peter learned it. Peter said,
cast all your care on Him for He cares for you. Affliction
teaches us how weak we are in ourselves. That's number one.
We're always going to try to fix it. We're always going to
try to get out of it. And we're going to try to defend
ourselves. We shouldn't do those things. That's as sinful as what
those men blame you for, for immoral sin. Not trusting the
Lord to save you is as much sin as anything else. But you're going to be brought
to see this. The devil would swallow you up quick. The enemies
of the cross would swallow you up quick. Anybody that comes
against you would swallow you up quick because you're weak.
And I am too. If it had not been the Lord that
was on our side, when men rose up against us, they would have
swallowed us up quick. We're not sufficient to think
anything as of ourselves, Paul said. Nothing. Our sufficiency
is of God. That means at all times, at every
moment, in all things, we are not sufficient of ourselves for
anything. Christ said, without me you can
do nothing. Our sufficiency is God, but it's going to take affliction
and God bringing you to that place where you see you really
and truly can't save yourself. That's when you'll cease from
man, you being the first man you cease from. And I'm telling
you something, this is so now, God does this. I'm not just speaking
theory here. I'm telling you God works this
in affliction. He makes you see you're helpless. And He makes you call on Him
and turn to Him and trust Him. Psalm 31 15, My times are in
thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of mine
enemies, from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon
thy servant. Save me for thy mercy's sake.
This is what we need. We need his face to shine in
our heart. That's how he teaches us all this. That's how he makes
us look to him. That's how he strengthens us.
It's his light that does it. And you know, my times are in
your hand. That's what you call out. Blessed be the Lord who
has not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our souls escaped
as a bird of the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken
and we escaped. He didn't say our flesh escaped. Our soul escaped. Now most times He'll deliver
you out and your body and soul will escape. But there's a lot
of people you read in Hebrews 11. He didn't deliver their flesh,
but He delivered their soul. And that's what's important.
Lastly, by affliction he teaches us to judge righteous judgment.
That's what he's teaching us, to judge righteous judgment.
And you do that by casting all your care on Christ. You do that
by trusting the righteous judge, knowing he will avenge his enemies
and trust them to him. Look here. Here's our intercessor's
prayer to God concerning all the enemies of His people. Verse
5. Let them all be confounded and turn back at hate's eye,
and let them be as grass upon the housetops which withers before
it groweth up, wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor
he that bindeth sheaves his bosom, neither do they which go by say,
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, and we bless you in the
name of the Lord. That's what... Remember when Boaz came to those that
were reaping in the field. He said that, bless you in the
name of the Lord. And they said back to him, Lord
bless you. He said, not these. Men who make
themselves. Now listen to what I'm saying.
And don't you ever make this mistake. And God give you grace
not to ever make it. Men who make themselves the enemies
of Christ's church make themselves the enemies of Christ. and they
sign their own death sentence. A thousand times I've seen men
rise up against the Lord's people, and they're going to do this,
and they're going to do that, and they're going to do all these
mighty things, and before long, they're like withered grass.
How come? Isaiah 40 verse 6 said, All flesh
is grass, all the good things thereof, as the flower of the
field, the grass wither, the flower fadeth. Because the Spirit
of the Lord bloweth upon it, surely the people is grass. All the Lord has to do is blow
up on them. They had grass on their rooftops
and before it would sprout up but it was just a little thin
layer of dirt so there wasn't no root system there. And that
grass would spring up on their rooftops and as soon as the sun
came out it just scorched it and the grass withered. And it
wasn't good for anything. The Lord didn't gather it up
and use it for anything. You couldn't gather it into sheaves
and reap it for anything. And the Lord said that's what
the enemies of Christ and His church, that's what they end
up being. Good for nothing. The Lord is righteous, though
He says to His children, vengeance is mine, I'll repay. Vengeance
is mine. Here's what He says to you, child
of God. Look at Isaiah 26. Isaiah 26. This is vital to remember,
because you and me don't want to do this. We want to, oh, we're
sinful. We want to repay. I said, you
know what I said back to them? That's what we like to say. They
said this, but you know what I said? Oh, we like to repay. But look here, Isaiah 26.20. This is what He says to you to
do. Come, my people, come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,
shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself, as it were, for a little
moment, till the indignation be overpassed. See, you've got
a stronghold. Let me show you Psalm 31. You've
got a stronghold to run to. What's the stronghold you have
to run to? What's this, where's these little
chambers you run into and wait till the indignation be overpaid?
Psalm 31, 19. Oh, how great is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast
wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men.
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride
of man. Thou shalt keep them secretly
in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Look at verse 23. O love the Lord, all ye His saints,
for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the
proud doer. Be of good courage, and He shall
strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. You see
that? This is what we learn in affliction. He's the secret pavilion. He's hiding you in the secret
of His presence. The secret of His presence. The
enemy can't see that. The enemy don't even know that.
But He makes you know it in your heart. And He's got you. And
you're surrounded. And He's going to protect you
and preserve you. That's just a few lessons. We could go on
and on and on. That's just a few lessons that
He'll teach you in affliction. I pray God bless it to your heart.
Next time you come into any affliction of any kind, the Lord will bring
these things to your remembrance. And you just look to Christ.
Father, we thank You for this Word. Thank You for the affliction. Thank You for every trouble we
face, Lord. You're ruling it, and You're
doing it to make us see You're righteous. You're making us,
doing it to make us see we are weak, nothing but sinners in
ourselves. You're making us see your faithfulness,
your grace, your mercy, your love is everlasting. Knows no
change because you're righteous. Making us see that you're righteous
in everything you do for us. Christ has justified us and you're
righteous in all that you do for us, Lord. Keep us remembering
this and keep us just trusting You and waiting on You in every
affliction. We pray this in Christ's name.
Amen. All right, Brother Greg.