Psalm 13. It begins in verse 1 to the chief
musician, a psalm of David. Now many look upon this psalm
as strictly a psalm of David and therefore they complain about
David that he was or they criticized David say he was complaining
against God that He was thinking that God could forget one of
his children and various things Well indeed God was used of the
David was used of the Holy Spirit to pin this psalm But there's
a greater than David here that speaking this psalm is the heart
supplication of Christ our King as he suffered on the cursed
tree and There's nothing irreverent here, there's nothing unfaithful
in what is said here. It's actually just the opposite.
In this psalm, we see the holy obedience of Christ toward His
God and His Father, even as He endured justice for His people. Let's read it together. Psalm
13, 1 through 6. How long wilt thou forget me,
O Lord? Forever. How long wilt thou hide
thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily, or all the day? How long shall mine enemy be
exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord,
my God. Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. Lest mine enemies say I have
prevailed against him, and those that trouble me rejoice when
I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy
salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because
he hath dealt bountifully with me. That's our title. He hath dealt bountifully with
me. We're going to look, first of
all, go through this psalm and see Christ's faithfulness to
the Father. And then we're going to go through
the psalm and see Christ's faithfulness to His redeemed child. Psalm
13, verse 1, it begins, How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord?
Forever, how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? Whenever the
Lord made Christ sin for that elect people that He had given
to His Son before the world began, when He was made sin for them,
in divine justice, the Lord hid His face from Christ. Justice demanded that. In Matthew
27, 45, it tells us that from the sixth hour, there was darkness
over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour,
Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,
that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I want you to try to imagine
those three agonizing hours there on that cross. I want you to
put yourself there for a moment and try to think about those
three longest hours in history on that cross. Try to imagine
the agony of his heart when he said, how long will thou hide
thy face from me? The hiding of the face means
the hiding of his presence. It means the removal of his countenance,
of his comforting presence. Before the world began, if you
will turn to Leviticus 16, before the world was made and God gave
that elect people to Christ, Christ entered into a covenant
to be the surety for His people. And one of the things He agreed
to do in that surety for His people was to become the scapegoat
of God's people. Now here is the type, this is
just the shadow, this is just the picture to give us some idea
of what Christ actually expressly endured when He went to the cross. Leviticus 16 verse 21. He says, And Aaron shall lay
both his hands upon the head of the live goat. Aaron is that
high priest we talked about in the first hour. Christ is the
high priest. And he, just as Aaron laid his
hands upon the head of the live goat, it says here, and confess
over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all
their transgressions, and all their sins, putting them upon
the head of the goat. Christ our high priest willingly
submitted himself to take all of the iniquities and all of
the transgressions and all of the sins of his people from every
age, from every generation from the beginning to the end to have
all their sins laid upon Him. And verse 21 says, And they shall
send Him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. He's the fit man. Christ is the
fit man. He was the one who proved Himself
spotless and harmless and holy and undefiled to be able to take
those sins upon Himself. He's the spotless Lamb. And the
goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land
not inhabited. And he shall let go the goat
in the wilderness. The prophet Daniel said, after
three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for
himself. Christ knew no sin. He, in obedience
to the Father, He was willingly submitting to bear the sins of
His people in His own body on the tree. And in justice, because
God is just and because He was made the sin of His people, He
was made to be the guilty one in place of all His people, in
justice, God cut him off out of the land of the living. He
said, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. God
continues to make us to know that because He wants us to know
this. Christ knew no sin. He did no sin. But He wants us
also to understand that it was for our sin. It was our sin that
He was made to be. It was the sin of His people
that He was made to be. He was cut off out of the land
of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken
So there on that cross God justly hid his face from our substitute What a contrast While he walked
this earth the whole time he walked this earth. He was the
delight of his father the whole time leading up to this moment
when he walked this earth. Peter described it this way.
They were in that mount of transfiguration and he saw Moses and Elisha and
they were talking with Christ about the death he should accomplish. That's what they were talking
about. What he was going to accomplish by that death. And there came
this light and he was transfigured before them and they He bowed
down and Peter wanted to build a tabernacle for all three of
them. And there came a voice from heaven.
And Peter said this. He described it this way. He
received from God the Father honor and glory. When there came
such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. What a contrast. Now he's made
a curse for all his people over all time. And for three hours,
God turned his face from him and wouldn't even behold him.
The question he asked here is how long? Forever? Forever? Do you know what the answer to
that is? Yes. For eternity. For all eternity. Because to be forgotten forever
for all eternity, that is what justice demanded holy God to
do for those people for whom He was made sin. Turn over to
1 Corinthians chapter 6 and look at verse 9. 1 Corinthians 6 and
verse 9. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 9. Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither
fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God. But look at this next word. And
such were some of you. But you are watched You are washed,
but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus and by the Holy Spirit of God. How could that
be? How could that be? Because since the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God, since the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God, since justice demands
that they be cut off and separated from the kingdom of God. It meant
when Christ took the sin of the unrighteous from all his elect,
from every age, and he took that all upon himself there in those
three hours upon that cross, he had to be cut off into that
separation that we owe to justice. So he was cut off from the kingdom
of God, from the presence of God. He was cut off. And I don't know what's more
amazing about that. I don't know if it's more amazing
that the eternity that had to be paid could be swallowed up
in three hours because of the one who was suffering, because
he's God eternal. He could swallow up that eternity
of separation in three hours on that cross because He's eternal
God. I don't know what's more amazing,
that or the fact that He was made that shame and that separation
and bore that sorrow for wretched sinners like us. I don't know
which one's more amazing. Look at Psalm 13, 2. He said, how long shall I take
counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? You know,
on the cross, Christ was alone. We sometimes think we're alone,
you know. On the cross, Christ was alone,
preeminently alone on the cross. God did not remove his strengthening
presence from him. but he removed his comforting
presence from him. He had no one to comfort him
while he hung on the cross. There was none to help him. His
disciples forsook him and fled. His heart was filled with...
Who else was he going to take counsel with? He says, how long
shall I take counsel in my soul? There was no one else for him
to take counsel with. There was none to help. And there
was nothing but sorrow that filled his heart the whole day long. Only sorrow. Look at verse two
again at the end. He says, how long? He says, how long shall my enemy
be exalted over me? This must have been agonizing.
Here He has come to crush Satan's head. Here He has come to defeat
all the powers and principalities and authorities and rulers of
darkness. Here He has come to defeat them. And yet Satan and
the falling angels were raging against Him, raging over Him. Powers and principalities and
spiritual wickedness in high places was triumphing over Him
in all that was taking place on that cross. Wicked hands and
wicked tongues of wicked men. Psalm 22, 7 says, All they that
see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They
shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver
him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in Him. Look at
Psalm 13, 3. Consider and hear me, O Lord
my God. Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. lest mine enemy say I have prevailed
against him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I'm moved. Consider and hear me, O Lord
my God. Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. Lest my enemies say I have prevailed
against them, and those that trouble me rejoice when I move.
This gives some understanding of how crushing this bruising
weight truly was upon our substitute, and how truly Wretched and and just weighty
this thing was of being separated from God there on that cross
He said, you know when he walked this earth, he said no man takes
my life from me. I lay it down of myself He had
the power Unlike anybody else to give up the ghost at the time
appointed He could do that. You can't do that. I can't do
that He had the power to do that. Not just the power to go to the
cross and give his life, but the power to actually give it
up, to give up the ghost at his command. He had the power to
do that. But his prayer here is for strength. To light mine
eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Now, take out the italicized
words, and let's read this again. Consider and hear me, O Lord
my God. Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep
the death. Lest I sleep the death. This
is something I've been looking at quite a bit lately, and I've
talked to you about it quite a bit lately. But in that separation
on the cross, Christ was bearing the second death, what Scripture
calls the second death. He was bearing separation of
final judgment, that sinners will bear that come to God without
Christ. They will be separated from God.
After they've died physically, they'll go to judgment. Then
they'll be separated into that death that never dies. That's
the wages of sin. That's the death that is the
wages of sin. That separation from God. That's
a living death. That's a death that has to be
paid alive for eternity. But in order for justice to be
satisfied, when Christ is bearing the sin of His people on the
tree there, and God has separated Himself from Him, Christ had
to bear that death alive. He had to be alive when He bore
that death. He couldn't sleep. The word sleep
would mean He couldn't give up the ghost. He couldn't lay down
His life until He had made the death die. And so, otherwise
his enemy would prevail against him and all those that were troubling
him would rejoice when he was moved to do that and they would
say, we've triumphed over him. And so he prays here, verse three,
consider, hear me, oh Lord my God, lighten mine eyes, lest
I sleep the death. Lest my enemies say I've prevailed
against him. And those that trouble me rejoice
when I'm moved. But look at this next verse,
verse 5. But, but, I have trusted in thy
mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy
salvation. There he is. Christ our wisdom. We want to consider ourselves
smart. Consider ourselves having some understanding of things.
Listen to this, Christ our mercy seat, Christ our propitiation,
Christ our mercy, whose own blood was being shed right there at
that time that God might be just to show mercy to us and to justify
us, trusted in the Father's mercy while He was doing it. Our great
Savior, our salvation, this One who is our salvation, while He's
sitting there bearing our sins in His body on the tree, and
God is justly pouring out this eternal separation, this wrath
of justice upon Him, and He's bearing it for His people. While
our salvation is doing that, in His heart, He is depending
upon the salvation of God. is salvation. This is the amazing
God we serve right here. This is the amazing God that
we serve right here. Christ is manifesting the righteousness
of God. Here Christ is made sin, declaring
God just and the justifier, made sin so that God's just to pour
out justice on Christ in our stead. And so that God is just
in justifying his people from our sins. Everything that's transpiring
there is legal, it's lawful, it's righteous, it's just. And
it's to accomplish the justifying of his people. And at the same
time, Christ is manifesting how that he's not only our justifier,
but he himself is our righteousness and our sanctification. while he's made sin, and while
he's justly bearing separation to satisfy justice, Christ remains
holy and faithful within, depending entirely upon his God, even when
his God won't answer, even when his God has turned his face from
him, even when the one who was always delighted with him has
turned a frowning back upon him and will have nothing to do with
him. Have you noticed throughout the Psalm though, He keeps saying,
Oh Lord. He keeps owning Him as His Lord. He keeps saying, My God. He keeps
saying, I have trusted in Thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice
in Thy salvation. He's trusting the word of the
Father, because the word of the Father back there in eternity
was, when the work's finished, when you've justified my people,
when you've borne away their sin to a land not inhabited,
when you've been cut off, when you've made it so that I'll remember
their sins no more and justice is satisfied, I'll raise you
to the throne of glory and I'll give you all these children for
whom you've laid down your life. and I'll be your God and your
Father and delight in you for all eternity and all these brethren
are gathered around the throne in whom you delight and you can
hold them up as trophies of your grace and we'll be one in one."
And for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He endured it, despising the
shame. There he is, hanging there, cut
off. Because this work of declaring
the righteousness of God and of making His people the righteousness
of God required Christ to be obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. I've been hearing some folks
say lately that how Christ justified His people
made us righteous is through death. It's obedience and death. Don't separate them. Don't get
one without the other. It's obedience and death. That obedience was unto death. And it was unto the death of
the cross. It was throughout the death of the cross. It was
a death on that cross, but it was obedience on that cross too.
On that cross, Christ was bearing that living death. He did not
give up the ghost until an inner physical death, until He said,
it is finished. until he said all things are
now accomplished. He didn't. Physical death was
the final trumpet. That was the blast. That was
the clarion blow saying the living death is accomplished. Wages
of sin have been paid and there's no more sin offering anymore. It was obedience to go to that
cross, no doubt about it. It was obedience to be made a
curse and bear that living death, no doubt about that. But even
as he bore that death on the cross, Christ had to remain the
obedient servant. He had to never waver from holy,
faithful, heart obedience, trusting the word of his God and his Father,
even in separation. And he was obedient. unto death,
even the death of the cross. Look over at John 19. This is
one of the most amazing, remarkable scriptures to me. John 19. Look down at verse 28. Now he's nearing the end right
here of that suffering, that living death. In John 19, 28,
read this one verse and listen to this. After this, Jesus knowing
that all things were now accomplished. Now watch this next word. That
the scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. All right, even under this supreme
suffering, even at this point being cut off in this shame and
separation, his thoughts were on fulfilling the will of his
father. It was not his own will. It wasn't
his own wants. It wasn't his own need for which
he cried and said, I thirst. He didn't say, it doesn't say
there, because he was thirsty, he said, I thirst. That's not
why he said it. But it tells us the obedience
of his heart. He said that the Scripture might
be fulfilled. He said, I thirst. Not even His
last request was because of His will. He said, I came not to
do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And even
the last request was to do the will of His Father. You remember
when He was tempted in the wilderness and Satan said, make these stones
turn into bread. Remember that? You're hungry,
make these stones turn into bread. And He said, man doesn't live
by bread alone. but by every word of God." That's
how man lives, by every word of God. He said in another place,
my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. They said,
eat something, eat something. And He said, I have meat to eat,
you know not what. He said, my meat is to do the
will of Him that sent me. So right there when He says,
I thirst, it was not that He might be ministered to. It was
not that physical water. It was not that bread alone He
was asking for. His meat, His life, His life
and the life of all His people, even the life of His deity and
the life of God, depended upon not one jot or one tittle of
God's Word remaining unfulfilled. but that all the law of God be
magnified and honored so that the scripture might be fulfilled,
he said, I thirst. He said not one little dot's
gonna pass from it. And even in this we see faith.
Because the scripture from where that was written, the prophet
from where that was written said, they gave me gall for my meat
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. So Christ is
not going to be the one who's given himself the vinegar and
the water to drink. He's trusting the Father to remove
His restraining hand off those wicked hands that had no compassion
on our suffering Savior whatsoever, so that they'll come and they'll
bring Him the vinegar to drink, so that that Scripture will be
fulfilled. He's trusting the Father to do that. Would you
trust the Father? We constantly asked the Father
to put his hands upon the enemy and keep him from doing us harm. Christ said, I thirst. And it
was all the same for him to say, Father, if you will, take the
hands off these men and let them do more to me so the scripture
will be fulfilled. Look at verse 29, John 19, 29,
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled the
sponge with vinegar, and put it upon his sip, and put it to
his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he
said, It is finished. And he bowed his head, and he
slept. He gave up the ghost. But he
only did it after the death was conquered. After the death was
done and he had condemned sin in the flesh. He only did it
after everything that was written was fulfilled. Now back to Psalm 13. Back to
Psalm 13. Now, I showed you Hebrews 5 this
morning, who said, in the days of his flesh, when he offered
up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears unto
him that was able to save him from death, he was heard in that
he feared. He was heard for his piety, for
his holy obedience, for his continuing, unwavering faithfulness even
when he was cut off from the Father. There He was on the cross. We just looked at Him, strong
crying prayers and strong crying supplications right there on
the cross. Now back in our text, the song changes. The next verse,
all things have been accomplished. It is finished. He's given up
the ghost and we turn to the note of victory and triumph and
delight right here. Psalm 13, 6. I will sing unto
the Lord. because he hath dealt bountifully
with me." He was heard. The smile of God
shined through the clouds and the clouds rolled back and it
was the dawn of a whole new day. The veil rent in the temple from
top to bottom declaring that the new and living way into the
holiest of holies was made. The rocks rent and those that
were in the graves came out of the rocks, came out of the graves.
Our triumphant Savior came forth three days later and He came
forth singing with delight, He hath dealt bountifully with me. You mean when He was on that
cross and He was suffering that death and He was cut off and
He was totally denied in Himself of His Father and His brethren
and everybody, you mean God was dealing bountifully with Him
during that time? Yes, He was. Because Christ,
being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say,
not of this building, neither by the blood of bulls and goats,
but by His own blood has entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. That's the joy that was
set before Him. That's what He wanted. That's
the only thing He wanted. But this man, after he'd offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, from hence sat down on the right
hand of the throne of God from henceforth expecting till his
enemies be made his footstool. That's what he wanted forever
because he's perfected forever them that are sanctified. That's
what he was doing the whole work for. That's what he wanted. And
the only way to get it was to Go through that death, that separation,
to be the forerunner, to go through it for His people, and to walk
it dry, so that when His people go through it, death will have
no claim on them. Now, brethren, let's look at
this second part. He calls us to take up our cross
and follow Him. And He showed us right here how
to do it. God the Father called His Son to suffer the cross for
us. And as He did it, He did so believing
on God His Father. Now the work of redemption is
finished. It's done. It's a conflict. He's become
the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him. Our
Redeemer, when He calls us to trust Him, when He gives us life
to see Him and know Him and believe Him, He calls on us to trust
Him. He calls on us to believe that
His cross work is finished, whereby He's made us holy and righteous
with the Father. He calls on us to believe that
all our sins are purged. that there's no more work for
us to do, to turn from our vain, deceitful, dead works and to
rest in Him, and delight in Him, and no more put our hand to the
work to try to redeem ourselves, but to believe on Him. That's
what He calls us to. And he calls us now to give ourselves
together, join together with our brethren and minister to
the saints, minister to one another, love one another. And the way
that we love one another and minister to one another is in
uniting together to make sure that the gospel continues in
the place where he's gathered us together. We can minister
to each other by going to one another's house and helping one
another and doing those things and we should and we do that.
But the chief way we're going to minister to one another, the
chief way we're going to love one another is making sure the
gospel is continually being preached in our midst, Brethren. That's
how we're going to love this neighborhood. That's how we're
going to love this town. That's how we're going to love
this state right here. And this part of the country up here is
by having the gospel go forth in this place. That's how we're
going to do it. And He's put us all together to do that, brethren. Now, we're going to bear a cross
to do it. We're going to bear a cross to
do it. And the cross we're going to bear is going to come from
believing on Him. The cross we're going to bear
is going to come from the fact that we're not trying to do humanitarian
missions all over the world, and we're not trying to feed
everybody all over the world. We are trying to feed them, but
we're trying to feed them the gospel. We're trying to feed
them the truth. We're trying to feed them the
living bread. We're trying to feed them the bread that they
cannot do without, lest they perish. That's what we're trying
to feed them. We are trying to clothe them. We're trying to
clothe them with the everlasting robe of His righteousness by
preaching this gospel and waiting on Him to robe them in His righteousness.
We are trying to robe them and clothe them. But we're going
to suffer because the world hates God and it hates Christ. We're
going to suffer because we're called on to endure this cross,
suffer it for His name's sake. And our enemies, this is what
He said, this is what our cross is going to be. Our enemies will
become those of our own households. When a father, a mother, husband,
a wife, son or daughter reject Christ and despise the gospel.
We're going to have to bear that. We're going to have to suffer
that. Our cross is going to be when your best friend betrays
you and goes away and rejects you because of this Redeemer.
He don't want to have anything to do with it. It's going to
be when you're unjustly charged and punished at school or at
work because of the gospel you believe. Oh, they wouldn't do
it now in a way that would make them seem like the bigots they
are, but how they'll do it is just, you won't get the promotion
or what have you or this or that. But there may come a day again
where they actually hang us up and burn us. It wouldn't surprise
me. When brethren give you their
word, tell you what they think you should do contrary to the
scripture, I mean brethren, dear loved ones, and it's rejecting
the truth, it's not the truth, and you have to reject their
word for God's word, that's going to be a cross to bear. When you're
tempted to save your life, when you're tempted to just give in
and do that which would make it easier to bear and make it
easier on you, that's a cross we got to bear. But like as the
Father called Christ to suffer His cross trusting the Father,
our Redeemer calls us to bear our suffering believing on Him.
That's the only way we can. So in Psalm 13 1, when you're
suffering and it seems like he's forgotten you, like he said there,
instead of asking how long, remember this, because he's been cut off
in separation from the Father and purged all our sins, he told
us, I will not forget you. I've engraven you upon the palms
of my hands. Your walls are continually before
me. In Psalm 13 too, when you begin
to take counsel in your own soul and you start finding sorrow
in your heart, isn't that the first thing we do? As soon as
we come into this suffering, the first thing we do, we start
looking at second causes, third causes, any other causes except
for the cause. And we start trying to find some
kind of counsel in our heart to justify us or to condemn somebody
else or make something else to give us some kind of ease in
our heart over the whole ordeal. Well, he had to take counsel
in his heart because he was alone when he suffered. But brethren,
remember that because he suffered with none to help, you always
have one to help. Always. Instead of taking counsel
in your own soul, flee to the Counselor. He's the Counselor. He's the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father. He's our Great High Priest who
ever lives to make intercession for us. Go to Him in all the
suffering. Find mercy and grace to help
in time of need. Verse 2, He said, when the enemy
is exalted over you, He said, how long will my enemies be exalted
over you? He gave us right here one of
the greatest things to plead at His throne of grace when He
said that. Our Savior did. This is something wonderful to
plead at His throne of grace. Go to His throne of grace and
say, Lord, lest my enemies say I've prevailed against Him. Lest
my enemies say I've prevailed against Christ. I've snatched
away one of His sheep. I've got one of them. Lord, when
I'm moved, He's going to rejoice over me, lighten my eyes lest
I perish. And while that lion's roaring
and He's trying to make you tremble and turn and go away from Him,
Christ comes in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and
He says, who's laying something to the charge of one of mine
elect? This is Christ who's died. I've given my life for Him. And
He makes us to know in all these things, though we're like sheep
kind of for the slaughter, though we're weak and helpless and unable
to save ourselves, He lets us know that we're more than conquerors
through Him that loved us. Psalm 13, 5, there He says, lighten
my eyes, lighten my eyes. He said there, but I've trusted
in your mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy
salvation. When your eyes can't see for
the darkness, Trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Just trust Him. That's what faith is. It's the
evidence of things not seen. Trust Him. Look away from self,
look away from the suffering, and remember Christ's heart rejoiced
in God's mercy and God's salvation. When He hung there, He looked
away from Himself and from everything going on and said, I've rejoiced
in your mercy and your salvation. And you know who God's mercy
and God's salvation is to us, believer? Christ Jesus the Lord. He's God's mercy and God's salvation
to us. Let patience have her perfect
work, though. Wait on His time. Wait on His time. Christ is going
to prove that the suffering was the best thing we could have
went through, the best thing that ever could have happened
to us. But we got to wait and trust Him, and then we're going
to see it. We'll see it. There's no trial, there's no
distress, there's no anguish of spirit that our gracious Redeemer
calls us to pass through that He's not already passed through
and conquered for us. The thing that sustained our
Savior when He suffered on the cross was looking to His God
and His Father. He trusted that though for now
the cross must be borne, in the end His mercy and salvation would
be great. So when we suffer, look to Christ. Believe Christ. Obey Christ,
just like Christ obeyed the Father. He's done everything. He's done
all the hard work. He's done everything that you
and I can never do. And He gives us life, and He
gives us the faith, and He sustains that faith, and strengthens that
faith, and comforts us, and suckers us, and gives us mercy and grace,
so that we can believe Him. And believing on Him, that ought
to be the easy part. Just trust him. When you, I used
this before, but when you're taking a trip somewhere, I remember
those days when I was in the backseat of the car with my father
and my mother, always just driving them nuts. I was back there just
driving them up the wall. And now I'm the one in the front
seat getting driven up the wall. And I think, man, it'd be nice
just to jump in that back seat and not have a care in the world.
Just ride. And not even worry about the
directions or where the fuel tank is or who's going to pay
for the gas, who's going to keep the air in the tire, nothing.
You just sit back there and ride. That's what faith is. Just fall
in his arms and ride. He's taking us home. That's what
he says. He purged our sin, made us the
righteousness of God in Him. It's not the feelings that are
the cause of true joy. It's our Savior, the object of
our faith. So when you eat this broken bread,
you drink this wine, remember this. The unrighteous shall never
inherit the kingdom of God, never, never. But because he suffered
in our place, His words to those who trust Him is this, and such
were some of you, but you're washed, but you're sanctified,
but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by
the Spirit of our Lord. Do you see the price He had to
pay to say that to us, to declare that to us in our heart? We can
sing unto the Lord. You know why? Because He hath
dealt bountifully with me. Can't you? And through every
trial when we come out of it, you know what we can do? We can
sing unto the Lord and say, He has dealt bountifully with me.
And one day in glory we're going to join together in a perfect
voice and we're going to sing unto the Lord. That word sing
also means behold. In another place it's translated
behold. I will behold the Lord. I will sing unto the Lord. And
this is to be our song. He hath dealt bountifully with
me. Amen.