Alright, if you take your Bibles
now and turn back with me to Psalm 126. Psalm 126. I have
entitled this message, Past Deliverance and Hope of Present Deliverance. Past Deliverance and the Hope
of Present Deliverance. The psalm here begins with this,
a song of degrees. Now we know that the song of
degrees are intended for the worshipers of God during the
nation of Israel's time. They were to go twice a year
to Jerusalem. And as they traveled, these songs
are the songs of degrees. As they went up to Jerusalem,
as they went up to worship, they would sing these songs. And this
one, This one is the seventh song of degree. And since it
is a seventh step of progression to worship God, we might find
that this is a very special song, a very special song, a song of
great truth, of great comfort for God's saints who are in dark
providence. Those who are under great distress. Those who are under the guilt
and shame of their sin. This psalm was written for you. For you. I've got three things
here that I want us to see this morning in this psalm. First
of all, a remembrance of past deliverance. That's found in
verse 1. Look at this. When. In other
words, they are remembering back when. When the Lord turned again
our captivity, we were like them that dreamed. Now the second
thing is this, hope of present deliverance. Look at verse 4
and see now their present state. They are again in captivity. He said they're praying turn
what? Again. Our captivity. You turned our captivity before,
And now we are again captive. Turn again, our captive. They're hoping for present deliverance. And the last thing I want you
to see is the deliverer in verse 6. This is the grounds and hope
of all past and present deliverance. He. This is speaking of Christ. We're going to see this in a
minute. that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seeds, shall
doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing his cheese with him."
Now, let's see this first thing, the remembrance of our past deliverance. Scripture says, when the Lord
turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that
dreamed. Now this pilgrimage, these pilgriming
children were in trouble. They were burdened. By their
travels they were given this psalm then to stir up their memory. You know, it is good for us to
stir up remembrances of the things that God has done. If you want
hope of present deliverance, the way that that works is you
must first remember your past deliverance. Your past deliverance. So they were compelled by the
Holy Spirit to look back at their times of darkness. Their times
of darkness. In order to remember our deliverance,
we must first remember we were what? Captives. Only ones who
are delivered are captives. Turn again our what? Captivity. We are brought to remember our
captivity. They were to remember that they
were kept in chains and made slaves by godless men. They were
to remember their powerlessness to deliver themselves. But now
in remembering the darkness and the chains, God would not leave
them there. Nor does He leave us there. Though that memory was painful,
they should look immediately then to the deliverance of God. Remember when, in other words
they're saying this, remember when the Lord turned our captivity.
You remember that? They're encouraging each other
by this. Remember how Israel was delivered of Egypt with a
strong hand? A mighty hand? They were delivered
by two things. They were delivered by blood
and by water. Isn't that right? They were delivered
by the blood of the Lamb and by the Red Sea. Can't help but think what flowed
out of Christ when He was crucified. Both blood and water. They were
the same judgment that night in Egypt. Remember, went over
all of Egypt. But those who had the blood,
those who had the blood of the Passover were delivered. And remember that they passed
through the Red Sea, all of them, right? The Egyptians were in
the Red Sea and the Israelites were in the Red Sea. But listen,
only one group of people were delivered that day. Israelites,
the same sea Israel passed through was the same sea that Pharaoh
died in. This surely was intended of the
Holy Spirit to cause us as believers in Christ to remember our great
deliverance. To remember our captivity, that
we were under the bondage of sin. We were under the dominion
of Satan. And so then let us stir up our
minds to recall our great captivity. Remember it. Isaiah says this, remember the
pit from whence you were digged. And then what? The rock from
whence you were used. Both the pit and the rock. Remember
them. We were in bondage to sin. In
2 Timothy 2 and verse 25, Paul is talking to this preacher and
he says, preach the gospel, listen, in meekness. Now why do we do
this? Why do we not point our finger
down at senators and just, why? Because we're the same. Meekness
means evenness. Look, there ain't no difference
between us by nature. Not one bit. You can't look down on anybody. When you preach the gospel, you
can't look down on anybody. Matter of fact, you were lower
than anybody. That's why God put you in the pulpit, because
you were lower than anybody. Can't look down on anybody. Preach
it in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves. Now listen,
if you're lost this morning, you know you oppose yourself.
You oppose salvation. You oppose this deliverance.
We preach this way peradventure God will give repentance and
acknowledging the truth that they may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his
will. This was true of all of us, wasn't
it? We were ensnared by the devil. You know why? You were dead.
Imagine a fish floating downstream. How easy is the current carrying
the fish? That's how easily Satan sifted
all of us. We just floated along with it.
It was our nature. It was our nature. We were held
captive by Him at His will and by nature all we could do was
sin because all we are is sin. In fact, in our captivity we
loved our chains and we could not break free nor did we want
to. Why do you think people believe, by nature, believe free will
religion? Because they don't want to be saved. Obviously it's
got to be will. They don't want to. Now why don't
you want to? Because you can't. It's your
nature. You can't free yourself. We loved
our sins and we hated God. We were by nature's children
of wrath even as others. Haters of God even as others. But I want the Lord to stir our
minds and hearts to remember the grace of God. The grace of
God that while we were in captivity, God saved us. While we were in
captivity, remember, He did not wait for us to come to Him. You could not come to Him. Jesus
said, You will not come to Me that you might have life. Why?
Because they cannot come to Him. So God doesn't wait for men to
come to Him. He comes to us. He came to us. Remember that. It was God who
in justice sentenced us to death in Adam. Did He not? Wherefore
is by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.
So death passed upon all men for all have sinned. Cause of your bondage is simple.
By one man sin entered into the world, and that bondage was passed
on to you And me, and our children, and our children's children,
it is passed on from Adam, far away forth. But listen, God,
even before their sin, even before sin, I want you to see this.
God purposed your deliverance. Just like Israel. Before their
captivity in Egypt, God had already purposed their deliverance. Matter
of fact, He told Abraham, their father, He said to this to Abraham,
Your children shall be in bondage 400 years. He gave a specific time. He says,
I know they're going into bondage, I'm going to put them there.
But I will deliver them. He already purposed this. So remember now the chains of
our depravity and see that Christ was purposed of God to purchase
our freedom, to free us from the snare of sin and the dominion
of Satan. Now behold then how Jesus Christ
was sent to be our Passover lamb. Just as God already purposed
that they have this Passover, He gave it to him. He gave it
to him. And Christ is our Passover. The
Word who was with God. The Word who was God. Was purposed
of God. Purposed of God. To save us from
our sins. It was the grace of the Father
who chose us and gave us to His Son. It was the divine wisdom
and purpose of God that Jesus should be responsible for our
salvation. Jesus Christ. I like that in
1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. It's probably one of the most simplistic passages of Scripture
that gives the whole Gospel in it. He says, you. But of God are you in Christ
Jesus. This morning, if you've been
freed from captivity, why? Because God purposed that you
should be in Christ Jesus. God gave you to Christ. God,
in a covenant of mercy, gave us to Christ. And Christ agreed
to be responsible for our salvation. Ephesians chapter 1, according
as God has chosen us in Christ, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him.
In love, predestinating us under the adoption of sons by Jesus
Christ. It was always to be by Jesus
Christ. who of God, Paul says in 1st
chapter 1 verse 30, who of God is made unto us. Who made Christ
to be your wisdom? Who made Christ to be your redemption,
your sanctification, your righteousness? Who made Him to be those things
for you? God the Father in love for you purposed your deliverance
and Jesus Christ agreed to be your deliverer. Second of all, this deliverance
was not only purposed, it was purchased. It was purchased. Behold, that Jesus Christ is
our Passover Lamb. The Word of God was with... John says this, the Word in the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. And then he says this, the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. God the Son was made flesh. He was made one with our nature
for this purpose, that He should be our High Priest. You know,
in every religion there's always a priest. In every religion. You know why? Somebody to stand
between them and their God. In the nation of Israel there
was always a priest in the early parts before the law. Every man
of the household, every head of the household, he was the
priest. He was the one offering sacrifices. But he made it clearer
in the law that God ordained priests. Go to Hebrews chapter
5. Hebrews chapter 5. In verse 1 it says, For every
high priest who is taken from among men is ordained for men
in things pertaining to God, that he might offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sins, who can have compassion on the ignorance
and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself is also
compassed with infirmities, and by reason thereof he ought as
for the people so also for himself to offer for sins. No man taketh
this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as
was Aaron. Listen, so also Christ glorified
not himself to be made an high priest, but that he said unto
him, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. There's
a deity. And he saith in another place, Thou art a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. who in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers and supplication with strong
crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death,
and He was heard in that He feared. Though He were a Son, yet learned
He obedience by the things He suffered, and being made perfect."
Now listen, that's important. I want you to understand, Christ
by His sufferings was not, He was not imperfect before His
sufferings. That's not what it's saying.
In other words, that has the idea of being finished. When
Christ said it is finished, as a matter of fact, that's the
same word. Perfected. It is perfected. He's talking
about being the perfect Savior. Jesus Christ was made an High
Priest of God, taken from among men, ordained to offer a sacrifice
for sin. And He did offer a sacrifice.
He offered the sacrifice of Himself. And listen, when He had offered
that sacrifice, He had become the perfect Savior. In this,
He had completed the work. He had completed the work. Being
made perfect, He became the author of what? What did He become the
author of? Eternal Salvation. Eternal salvation. As our representative, when God
ordained him to be our High Priest, when God ordained him to be our
Savior, he came into this world as a representative man and he
obtained something. He got something. By his righteousness
and blood, he got something. He got this. Eternal salvation. He finished eternal salvation.
What God purposed in eternity, Christ finished! He finished
it. It's done. He accomplished it. Look at Hebrews chapter 9 and
verse 12. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but His own blood He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained what? Eternal redemption. Eternal salvation. Eternal redemption. How did He
do that? Chapter 10 and verse 12. It says, but this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, what did he
do? He sat down. He sat down. He was finished.
It was done. He sat down forever at the right
hand of God, henceforth expecting, expecting till his enemies be
made at his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. You see, He'd done this by the
offering of Himself. God purposed your salvation,
your deliverance. And Jesus Christ Himself accomplished
and paid the redemption price. And look at chapter 13 and verse
20. Chapter 13 and verse 20. It says, Now the God of peace... Now what Christ bought? He bought
peace. He bought peace. That night in
Israel, when God in justice came over that land, He came over
all that land. What stopped Him from coming
into the house and killing the Israelites? It was the blood. He looked at the blood and it
said this, already paid. And He went to the next. Already
paid. See, God's holy. He can't demand
twice payment for sin. Isn't that a wonderful attribute
of God, the holiness? We're just saying, holy? I'm
so thankful God is holy. Men hate the holiness of God.
They despise it. I love it. Because a holy God
cannot demand twice payment for sin. He can't. He's holy. He's just. You cannot
punish the innocent. That's what Christ made His people.
Innocent. Jesus did this. And look at this
in verse 20, the God of peace that brought again. From the
dead, our Lord Jesus Christ, how do we know that Jesus was
successful in our deliverance? God raised him from the dead.
He says there are no more sin. The reason that men stay dead
is because of sin. But there was no more sin. And
God said the grave can't hold him. And he raised him from the
dead. that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant. You know, it was all
based on a covenant. All this was based on an everlasting
covenant. He obtained eternal salvation.
He obtained eternal redemption. By the offering of Himself, He
has perfected forever them that are sanctified, all according
to this, an eternal covenant that God made. And Christ said,
I'll do it. And He did it. He did it. The covenant, this salvation,
friends, was costly. In the Passover, take that spotless
lamb and kill it in the midst of the congregation and put the
blood on the doorpost and the lintel. When I pass by, when
I see what? The blood. Not when I see your
faithfulness to put the blood on the door. Not when I see your
faith, I'll pass by. He said, when I see the blood.
Our salvation is totally dependent on that blood. Was it sufficient
for God? Why is it not sufficient for
us? Why do we still think we have somewhat to offer? It's
done. Deliverance is done. And the
manifestation of this was when they went through the Red Sea.
Remember when the Lord turned against our captivity, how it
was by blood? Remember that? He purposed it,
and then He did it. There was another picture in
the Red Sea, isn't it? They were standing between, the
Red Sea was before them, Pharaoh was pursuing, and God made separation. You remember He put that cloud
between Pharaoh and Israel. To them it was darkness, to Israel
it was light. Is this gospel to you? Is it
darkness or is it light? I'm not telling you who believe
anything new. I see some of you like going
this. You know why? You already know this. It's light to you. To others it's darkness. How
could these idiots be doing this? What do they believe in this
for? It's darkness to them. And you remember God, that sea
was in front of them. See, the sea in Scripture pictures
often the justice of God. The wrath of God. The vengeance
of God. And you know what? God parted
the sea. That's exactly what Christ did.
He parted the justice of God so that when Israel walked through,
they walked through on what? How was the ground? It was hard. It was dry. It was as a rock. They walked through on solid
ground. This morning we are walking to Zion by faith. I'm telling
you, you stand on a firm foundation. Jesus' blood is a firm foundation
to stand on. And you know what? Not one drop
of that water touched them. Even so, not one drop of God's
vengeance will fall on your head. It all fell on Christ. He is
our refuge. What stopped the water from falling
on them? It was Christ! He was their refuge! I got a picture on my piano. It's a picture of a lighthouse,
a big strong brick lighthouse. And this guy's standing in the
doorway and he's looking out and he's got his hands in his
pocket like nothing's wrong. He's standing inside this lighthouse,
there's nothing wrong. Looking out. And behind him,
and behind the lighthouse is this huge wave The tsunami had
come in and it just blasted the lighthouse. Now how could he
stand there so calm? Because the lighthouse endured
the tsunami. He was saved because he had a
refuge. So then all that were in Christ,
I want you to see this, The wrath of God beat on the Son of God. The wrath of God fell on the
Son of God. And He endured the wrath of God
in the stead of His people. And everyone that was in Christ
is safe. Just like Rahab the harlot, remember,
she was in the house with the scarlet thread. And you know
every other house on that wall fell? Except hers? So it is with
Christ. Everyone who is in Christ shall
not fail. They shall not fail, they shall
not be touched with the justice of God. This salvation, this
deliverance, friend, was costly, but it cost you nothing. What if you give everything you've
got for this? What did you buy? Did you buy this salvation? If
you gave your life, did that contribute anything to this?
Not one bit. Jesus paid it all. A. L. L. All. It was costly. It cost Him. But God was not
willing to impute your sin to you. That's why you're delivered.
You're delivered because God was not willing to impute your
sin to you. But listen, this salvation and deliverance, listen,
it was not only purposed of God, it was not only purchased of
God, but this salvation was actually executed. It was experienced. This deliverance of Israel, this
deliverance that God purposed and Christ purchased was unknown
to us when we came into this world. We didn't think we needed it.
We thought we were okay. I don't need Him. My life is
perfect. I'm good. In truth, though we were captives,
the price had already been paid. Our deliverance that was purposed
of God before the world began had been purchased. I've showed
you this many times in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 2. One of my favorites. I love this
because it describes it so vividly. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse
8. It's 1 Timothy. That's why it
didn't work. 2 Timothy chapter, I'm sorry, chapter
1, in verse 8. He said, Therefore be not ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner. But be
thou partakers of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who hath saved us. And then what? Called us. He first saved us. Then he called us with an effectual
calling, a holy calling. What's a holy calling? Isn't
holiness perfect? A perfect calling. I call sinners
all the time to repentance. But listen, I can't make it effectual. Only God makes it effectual.
He gives a holy calling. What's the purpose? Not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. I think a good illustration of
our experience is that in Ezekiel 16, you have that bastard child. He said, thy mother was an Amorite,
thy father was an Hittite. In other words, you were a bastard.
You were a heathen bastard. You just weren't a bastard. You
were just a heathen bastard. And they, even your own parents,
despised you and loathed you so much that they threw you out
from the womb. They didn't even bother to clean
you up. There you were, polluted in your own blood. No eye pitied
you. No one washed you. You fed on
the navel cord of your own dead sins. You were unwashed, unloved,
unpitied by the law of God. But then God said, when I pass
by, when I pass by, I saw thee polluted in thine own blood.
When thou wast in thy blood, I said unto thee, Live! Yea,
I said unto thee, When thou wast in thy blood, live. When did
God save you? When you got better? God wait
for you to clean yourself off? He said, I ain't saving a pathetic
bastard like that. Not until he cleans himself up.
What hope would that child have? He wouldn't have any hope at
all. God said, when you were in Your hands, when you despised
Me, when you hated Me, when you would not come to Me, then I
said, live. And not only did He say it, He
fulfilled it. He did something about it. Listen
to what He said. He said, I caused thee to multiply
and blood as a field. In other words, you were a barren
bastard and He said, I caused you to multiply. What else is
living but multiplying? Has to do with plants. If an
apple tree don't produce apples, what good is it? If you say you're living but
you don't breathe, what good is that word? It doesn't mean
anything. God said, I gave you life! I gave you fruit! The fruit
of the Spirit! Love, joy, peace, meekness, temperance. He said, when I passed by thee,
behold, thy time was a time of love, and I spread my skirt to
cover thy nakedness. Oh, what did He do? He took the
robe of Christ's righteousness and covered your nakedness. He
covered you with His righteousness. Oh, what's that hymn we like
to... I don't think we sing it because I can't find a tune for
it. Thy holy garments on, I am as
holy as the Holy One. He made us righteous. And then He said, Yea, I swear
unto thee. I made a covenant with thee.
What did He give you? He gave you a covenant. He said,
I swear. I have purpose to save you. I save you. Listen, I am saving
you and I shall save you. That's a covenant He gives every
one of His people. He said, I washed thee thoroughly.
I washed the blood, thy blood, away from thee. I anointed thee
with oil. I clothed thee with broader work,
shod thy with badger skin, girded thee with fine linen, I covered
thee with silk. You know what He gave me? He
gave me a new nature. He didn't just make me righteous in a judicial
sense. I am. I am righteous in a judicial
sense. The law of God can say nothing
against me. In fact, the law of God demands
my freedom. That's how perfect Christ's work
was. He demands my freedom. Yet He gave me a holy nature. A new nature. And then He gave
me the oil of the Spirit. He said, I deck thee with ornaments
and bracelets, and put a chain on thy neck, I put a jewel in
thy forehead. You know what this is? He's saying, I've made you
kings and priests unto our God. That's Scripture, and I believe
it's Psalm 113. I've got it written
down there. Yeah, Psalm 113, verse 7 and
8. I think he said, I've taken the
poor out of the dust. and the beggar out of the dunghill,
and made them princes, made them sons of God. Now listen, when
you experience this, how did you feel? When you first remember,
we're talking about remembrance now, when He turned our captivity,
how did you feel? The scripture says, we felt like
them that dreamed. Is this real? How can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Son of God? How can it be? Died He for me who caused His
pain? For me who Him to death pursued? Amazing love. How can it be that Thou, my God,
should die for me? We were like them that dreamed.
It was altogether peace Joy! Sunshine and roses! Then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue was singing. All our soul was set to praise
Him. Do you remember that? Do you remember when you were
first converted? You may not remember a time,
but maybe a season. There was a season that God came
and you were new. You didn't know anything, but
you knew this. Either the world changed or I
changed, but something changed. I knew this. I was nothing and
Christ was everything. My affection was turned to Him. All I wanted was Him. Give me
Jesus. You can have the world, but give
me Christ. He was my joy. He was my peace. He was my love. He was my beloved. He was everything. So much so, listen, go back to
your text. So much so that the heathens
said the Lord had done great things for them. Look at that. Look what the Lord did for them.
He delivered them from Egypt. Look at them. They didn't like
it, but they knew something was different. So it is with us.
And you know what our testimony was? Yes. Look at that. Look
back at your text. The heathen said the Lord did
great things. What did we say? We said this, the Lord hath done
great things for us. That's my testimony. What was
your testimony? Well, you know, God did some
good things and I exercised my will. You know, God did great
things, but I did great things too. Is that what you said? It's not
what I said. I said the Lord had done great
things for me. That's our testimony. The Lord
had done great things for us. Now then, I got this, and I never
hardly get past this first part. It's just a dead gum wonder for
me. I don't think I want to leave
it. But it's necessary for you that I do. This remembrance of God's past
deliverance is our only hope of present deliverance. It's our only hope of present
deliverance. Look back at your text now. Look at their present
situation. They've looked back. They see
God purposed it. They see God purchased it. They
see God executed their deliverance in the past. But now something
has happened. Look, they're captive again.
He said, turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the
south. I told you to remember what the
experience of our salvation was. Did that last? How long did that experience
of joy and peace last? I know this. When I was a believer,
I thought everything would be, like I said, sunshines and roses.
I thought it was all downhill from here. Now I'm a child of
God. I know Christ is my Savior. I
know that the God who rules all things is for me and nothing
is against me. Is that your experience? Is that
how it appears to be? That's how it really is, friends.
That's true. That's right. He is for you. All things are for your good.
But in your experience, do you feel that way? No. Often we feel captive again. Paul said, I would do good. When I would do good, what's
still there? Evil is present with me. For
how to do that which is good I find not, O wretched man that
I am. This is our experience daily. The old man of sin did not just
go away. He just didn't give up. He didn't surrender. Remember, he is still in revolt.
Satan is still in rebellion and cruelty, seeks whom he may devour. The world is now set against
you. It's not for you. The world is
against you. They seek to draw you away from
Christ. What do you think your family
is that's lost? Do you think they're for you? Your lost family, do you think
they're for you? Why do you suppose everything
they have that they want you to do is always either on Sunday
or Wednesday? Why? You got a reason? You know
why? They want to draw you away. They want to pull on your heart
strings and say, Oh, we're family. No, they're not. This is your
family. This is your family right here.
I told Rick this this morning and I mean it. I left my family
for you. And I'm glad to do it. You're
more my family than any of my flesh. Any of my fleshly family. Why? Because Christ is our King.
And the world is always seeking to draw you away from Christ. That's not your experience. That's
mine. The things of this world are
against you. Therefore, God's word did not stop with our gladness
and victory, but goes on to comfort us in our present sorrows." Our
present sorrows. Turn again our captivity. This is showing our present captivity. I want to tell you this because
it's important. Any believer is prone to any
sin except forfeiting Christ. Do you realize that? That you and
I are prone to every sin except blaspheming the Holy Ghost, which
is reprobate. That's the only sin you're not
capable of because you are kept. Not that it's not possible for
you to do it except this. You are kept by the power of
God. That's the only reason you don't apostate. The only reason
believers don't apostate, they're kept. But every other sin is
in the game. Think of God's people, how He
declares them to be in Scripture. Alright, do you suppose that
Lot ever thought he would end up the way he did? Here's a man that God blessed
with the Gospel. There was only one that we know
about that had it. Abraham was the only one that
had the Word of God. And Lord got so caught up in
his cows that he left. Money. He separated himself from
the Gospel. Are we capable of separating
ourselves from the Gospel? You bet we are. Be careful. Not only that, he lived among
homosexuals for decades. You ever think he'd live in a
homosexual community? He did. You know what vexed his
soul? He didn't move. Matter of fact,
God delivered him. That one time those kings came
in and took Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham came in and delivered
him. Where'd Lot go? He said, man, I'm done with that
people now. Nope. Went right back. And when God
delivered him the last time by those angels, remember this,
where did you find Lot next? Committing incest with his own
daughters. And yet the Scripture says this
about him. Just Lot. This is the captivity we are
prone to, sin. Paul says, I am so under sin. We should be very careful concerning
these things. Sin is dangerous. Sin can corrupt
the purest among us. Sin is in us all and if allowed
to grow, it will destroy us. I'm talking about those who have
been freed by God. I'm not talking about the world.
I'm talking about the church. How often have we left our first
love? This is why Peter said this.
He said in 1 Peter 5, be sober. Be vigilant. Because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
You know why he said that? Because he himself experienced
that. Our Lord Jesus told him that.
He said Satan had desire to sift his wheat. Did he stop him? Did Christ stop Satan from sifting
him his wheat? Nope. What was Peter's only hope? But I have prayed for you. I have prayed for you. In a moment we feel ourselves
strong, surely then we're about to fall. Therefore, what are
we to pray in such a time of captivity? Turn again our captivity. I know this, we feel as though
God has would surely abandon us. Seeing what great things
He's done for us and seeing what great sin we've committed. Oftentimes
we feel this. David said this, are you gone
forever? Will you not come and deliver
us? How do you know He's going to deliver you? How do you know?
Listen, because He promises, look at this, Return again our
captivity as the streams of the south." This is a picture of
it. The streams of the south, they
would flow from the north down to the south into a dry desert
area. Every season, there would be
this dry desert area. At certain times, this river
would overflow and come down into the south. And then it would
be a beautiful garden. He said, this is what we're praying.
Lord, do that. Take this cold, dead, barren
heart and make it fruitful again. Turn again our captivity. Here's
His promise. They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. He swears, I'll do it. I'll do
it. Lastly, how do you know? How
do you know? Look at the last verse. This
is how you know all of this is true. He that goeth forth weepeth
bearing precious seed." Now I'm going to give you something here
to do in the Psalms. Every time you read a Psalm,
I want you to look at the pronouns and how they switch. How they
switch. Because it's very important.
Every word of this is important. Look at this. In the beginning,
when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like
them that dreamed. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter. They, the heathens, said the
Lord had done great things. And what did we say? The Lord
had done great things for who? Us. Turn again. Our captivity. They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. Now then, it's singular pronoun. He. Not our. Not we. He. This is all the hope
of this text. Do you ever have hope of deliverance?
Here it is. He. He that goeth forth weeping. Who is that? Who is the man of
sorrows, acquainted with grief? Who is it that we hid ourselves
from Him, despised Him? He who bore the wrath of God. He who bore our sins in His own
body, weeping, as it were, great drops of blood. He that goeth
forth weeping, bearing what? Precious seed, bearing His people. What's going to happen? What
do you suppose would happen? It says this, shall without a
doubt come again. with rejoicing, bringing
His shoes. The whole hope of our present
and future deliverance is Christ. It is His weeping, not ours. How often do you feel that you've
not wept enough? You haven't. Just, that's honest. Our weeping, it doesn't last
long. And it's not enough. My hope
is His weeping. My hope is His sorrow. My hope
is His blood. My hope is His righteousness.
And this is true. He will come again and deliver
us. When? When He comes. Whenever that is. It may be in
this life and it may not be. But you can bet we do. We bank everything on it. He
will doubtless, without a doubt, come again and save us. He will
turn again our captivity. How do you know? Because He's
already done it. Past deliverance is always hope
for present and future deliverance. I pray that God give you such
grace. If you're in that moment of captivity, that moment of
distress, Ask God for deliverance, trusting in what He's already
done. And if He had done the greatest,
how do you not suppose He'll do the least? If it's good for
you, He'll do it. Let's stand and be dismissed
in prayer. Our gracious Father in Heaven,
dismiss us with your blessing. Pour out your Spirit. Stir our
remembrance of your deliverance. Give us hope in our present darkness. I pray that you would forgive
us our sins and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness. O Father,
I pray the arms of Christ would wrap around our hearts and souls.
We would feel his presence and give thanks and praise for it.