Psalm chapter 36 and tonight
we'll be looking at verse 10. Psalm chapter 36 and verse 10. The title of the message tonight
is the believers prayer. The believers prayer. Psalm chapter
36 and verse 10 says. All continue. By loving kindness
unto them that know they. and thy righteousness to the
upright in heart." The believer's prayer. Now, if you'll notice,
this is the third message that I've preached from this psalm
in the last three services. I have been highly blessed by
this psalm. I have never preached completely
from here. But this has been a blessing
for these last times, and I pray that tonight would be a blessing
as well. If you remember, in verses 1 through 7, we saw the
believer's identity. David says, the transgression
of the wicked saith within my heart. In other words, David
identified with the old nature. He identified that his nature
was as wicked as the others. Even as others, his nature was
created, was born into sin. And he also recognized that he
had another nature, a new nature. And this was mentioned in verses
5 through 7 when he talks of the mercy of God, the faithfulness
of God, the righteousness of God, and the judgments of God,
and the love of God. These things only the new nature
can identify with. Only these things can the new
nature understand and believe concerning Christ and His righteousness. So these things are true that
we have a dual nature. John says this, if any man say
he has not sinned, he made God a liar and the word is not in
him. 1 John 1, verse 10. And also in 1 John 5, verse 18,
he says, Whosoever is born of God sinneth not. So what is he
saying? He's saying that old nature,
we confess that that old nature is full of sin and the new nature
is that nature that sinneth not. It's created after God. And the
second thing we saw was verses 8 and 9. We saw the believer's contentment. That the believer is only content
in Christ. We are only satisfied with Christ. He is the only thing that satisfies
our souls because He alone satisfied God in our behalf. And we saw this at the gospel
of Christ. flows from God. He is the fountainhead
of all grace and mercy. God is the fountainhead. And
we are satisfied to know that our salvation was something not
born in time, but in eternity. Our salvation was something that
God did for us in eternity and His gospel has flowed to us like
a river that never is quenched. The more we take of that river,
the more He fills. In this, therefore, we are content
and rest in Christ to believe on Him for all our righteousness.
And now in verse 10, the psalmist is brought to prayer. Oh, continue
thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee and thy righteousness
upon the upright in heart. Friends, the gospel of God's
grace that flows from the Spirit of God will always, always bring
a man to prayer. Always. It'll bring a man down
to his knees before God. The gospel always abases man
and exalts God. If you are hearing a gospel that
exalts man and abases God, it is not the gospel. The gospel
always puts man in his place before God and always exalts
God where he is. It always does that. It will
reveal to us that salvation is something given by the grace
of God. And if this gospel is revealed
to us, we will have no confidence in the flesh. We have none. The
flesh, the arm of flesh, the scripture says, will fail. It
will fail. The arm of the Lord is strong. It will hold us. We have confidence
only in grace given to us, salvation given, not in the flesh. It was
therefore the grace of God that saved us and it must be therefore
the grace of God that keeps us in this salvation. God does not
give us salvation and then expect us to finish it by no means. The Scripture says in Philippians
1, 6, being confident. Paul was confident of this one
thing. He said, being confident of this
very thing. that he that hath begun a good
work in you shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Not only is Jesus Christ the
author, the sum, and the object of our faith, but He is also
the finisher, the completer of our faith, the sustainer of our
faith. Let me ask you, if you are a
believer in Christ, why is it you have not fallen away? Why
is it tonight that you have faith in Christ? It is because the Lord Jesus
Christ sustains our faith. Faith is a gift of God. It is
not of works, lest any man should boast. I'll tell you, in this walk,
we do at times become weary in the battle. I think the worst deception that
a believer could be under is that everything's okay. That
everything around you is going well. And that's when I begin
to worry. When everything seems to be going
well. Why? Because I know I'm in the midst
of a battle. I'm in the midst of a struggle.
Believers are looked at as soldiers in the Scripture. Because we
are in the midst of a battle. And I'll tell you, sometimes
we become weary. Our faith becomes low. be either because of our own
sins or because of sins of others. And I'll tell you, to every believer,
sin is an abhorred thing. Is sin abhorred to you? Is that
something that abhors you? Is that something that gets to
you? I'm not talking about the sin of other people. I'm talking
about our sin. Doesn't that get to you? Isn't the old nature like a corpse
hanging on, dragging on your back as you walk through life? It is. And I'll tell you, we
can become weary. We can become faint. Even the
strongest of believers can become faint and lax in the things of
God. Many times we're brought low
to see no evidence of God's love. Have you been there? To where
you see no evidence in the circumstances around you? You see no evidence
of God's mercy or love around you. I was studying the book of Habakkuk
today. And that man Habakkuk, he said he was confused. The
Chaldeans had come in and and and destroyed his nation, the
nation of God's people. And he said, how can you let
this happen? How can you let evil come in and and destroy
the righteous? The only reason we don't speak
like that is because we maybe not out loud, but I'm sure we
speak that way in our hearts. We don't see any circumstances
as to God's love or mercy around us. And therefore, we cry out. He
cried out. Habakkuk cried out to God. And
he said, I'm going to wait for His answer. And friends, every
believer who has been warned, who has been wearied in the battle,
cries out to God for mercy when they see nothing. And what do
they cry? Here's the believer's prayer.
Continue. Continue thy loving kindness. Oh, continue thy righteousness. This should be our prayer in
the midst of all circumstances. Oh, Lord, continue. You know,
I know this, God will continue. But I know this also, God will
be inquired of it. All continue. Now I've got four
questions tonight, four questions for us concerning this text of
Scripture. First of all, the first question
is this. Is the continuance then of God's
loving kindness based on our love for him? When we pray that
old continue, that loving kindness is are we basing that on our
loving kindness to him? All continue thy righteousness.
The second question, is the righteousness of God continued based on our
merit? Third, why does the psalmist
pray to continue by loving kindness and righteousness? If God's love
and kindness never cease, why is he saying continue? And number
four, to whom are these promises of love and righteousness given? First of all, is the continuance
of God's love based on our love to Him? No. That's very simple. No, never. No, never. No, never is God's
love to you based on your love to Him. Praise God. Praise God
that's so. God's love is eternal love. John says this, God is love. We love, but I'll tell you, our
love is so marred up and so horrific in comparison to God's love because
our love is fickle. Our love changes. I could love
you and you could hurt me and then I could cease to love you.
God can't do that. God doesn't do that because God's
love is eternal, immutable, unchangeable love. Love is not necessarily
what God does, but it is who He is. It is the essence of His
person. And for God to change love, He
would have to change Himself. This love is from eternity. If
you're a believer in Christ, you say, oh, continue thy lovingkindness. Not because of my love, but because
of your eternal love for me. Because you, before the foundation
of the world, loved me, elected me according to your grace. Does not the Scripture say in
Jeremiah 31 and verse 3, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love? An everlasting love. It was His love that was the basis of all election. It was His love that chose a people for Himself. It was His love that put those
people in Christ to be their surety from the foundation of
the world, so that the Scripture says He is as a lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. And He was that lamb slain in
love for His own sheep. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And friends,
that love for them was always from eternity. It was from eternity
that God loved them. And number two, God's love was
not only in eternity, but it was also manifest in time by
the giving of His Son. John 3, 16. For God so loved. God so loved the world. that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life." God sent Jesus Christ, His only
true eternal Son. He was made of a woman, made
under the law, For what purpose? To redeem them
that were under the law. He in love sent His Son. Who was more precious than His
Son? In whom more did God delight
and love than His own Son? And yet He sent Him. To be the propitiation,
the mercy seat, the atonement, the redemption of our sins. This was what God from all eternity
in love predestinated. That His elect be His sons. Ephesians chapter 1. And verse
four. Ephesians one, verse four, flip
over there with me. Read it together. So I want us
to notice a couple of words here in regards to God's love. Let's begin in verse three, blessed
be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ,
according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him, in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. Those words, in love, fit better
with verse 5 because it deals with adoption. And adoption deals
with love. In love, having predestinated
us. The election of God was a sovereign
choice of God. But the predestination of God
was the arrangement of all things to make the salvation of His
people sure. When He predestinated us, He
predestinated us to be His sons. And in that predestination, He
worked all things out according to His purpose as to how we would
be saved, as to when we would be saved. He worked all that
out. When? Way back yonder, in eternity,
He worked that out. He did all things. to make our
salvation sure. This predestination of all things
was in love and for the good of His people. God in love by the beloved Christ has accomplished
all that God required for His people. He brought in an everlasting
righteousness by His obedience and by His death an eternal redemption,
an eternal atonement for His people. Therefore, all that the Father
chose and all that the Son redeemed shall be and must be born again
according to His eternal love. If He chose them, Christ redeemed
them, He will come in time and save them. That is a fact. That is a sure thing. A sure
thing. I'll tell you what, if there
was no assurance that God would save His own, what in the world
are we doing preaching? I preach because I know this.
God will save His people from their sins. I know that. Why? He's already purposed it. He's
already accomplished it. Shall He not do it? He will.
He will. They must be born again. They
shall be and they must be. Jesus said to Nicodemus, you
must be born again. And He was. We read of Nicodemus
giving up all that he had. He came into Pilate and begged
the body of Pilate with Joseph of Arimathea. And after that
history, tradition tells us he lost everything in service to
Christ. Why? He was born again. Friends,
being born again is not an option. It's not a decision. It is a
necessity. If you are not born again, you
shall not see the Kingdom of God. That's what Christ said. But because God in love has appointed
all things for the salvation of His elect, He will in providence
move all things for the salvation of His people in their time of
love. You remember that woman at the
well? Jesus said this, I must needs go through Samaria. Now
let me ask you, what would move the Son of God to must needs
do anything? What would He need to must do
anything? Because He had one of His sheep
there at a well that He must meet. And I'll tell you this,
God must meet His people at their appointed time. And He shall.
He shall. And He'll move all things to
be there. He'll be there. And you know
what? He won't be late. He won't be late. He'll be right on time. He's not on our schedule. God's
clock and our clock are not the same. God saves His people in
His time. And it's not for us to question God. God does whatsoever He pleases. And if He pleases to save, He
will. And if He pleases to pass by,
He will. That's sovereignty, friends.
We worship a sovereign God. But praise God that He has set
His love on some. I don't know who they are. I
don't know where they are. I don't know what time He'll
meet them. I know He will. I know He will. And even so it was with us who
believe on Christ. We were in our nature, even as
others, dead in sins, full of sin, but in the time that God
appointed, His Spirit regenerated us, grace surprised us, and God
saved us. Therefore, we know that we love
God. Because he first loved us. You see, God's love, I can pray
this, God continue to love me. Not based on my amount of love
for you, but based on your love. Oh, continue thy loving kindness. Praise God, it's not based on
us. The scripture says, but God commended
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners. Christ died. And we trust. We trust. In him. And we love him because
the Holy Ghost has shed abroad the love of God in our hearts,
that's why. We can say, continue thy loving
kindness. Why? Because God promised it,
God accomplished it, and God brought it to us. Shall he not
continue it? He will. He has done this for us because
of his sovereign love and has manifested through his gospel. And there's question number two.
I'm going to have to hurry a little faster now. I didn't think I'd
get through with this anyway, but let's see. Second of all,
is God's righteousness given to us based on our merit? The answer, again, is an emphatic,
absolute no. The righteousness of God does
not come by our merit, but comes only by the gracious love of
God through Christ. In Daniel chapter 9, it's one
of my favorite passages of scripture, it says, O Lord, He is talking
about righteousness. Oh Lord, righteousness belongeth
unto Thee. Which one of us had any righteousness? Can any one of us call righteousness
our own by our own making, by our own merit? Can we bring up
any righteousness? Absolutely not. Righteousness
belongs to God. It's His. Why? He's righteous. Just as much as He is love, He
is righteousness. It belongs to Him. It is His
person, His essence. It's who He is. God's love toward
us was not based on our love, nor was His righteousness imputed
or imparted to us based on what we would do or who we are. The righteousness of God's elect
is of the grace of God by Jesus Christ. And everyone whom God
has loved from eternity, He has also imputed righteousness to
them in eternity. God loved His own so much, the
scripture says, that He would not impute their sins to them. 2 Corinthians. Go to 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Look at verse 19. To wit, that God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses to them, and hath committed unto us the word
of reconciliation. You see, God was not willing
to impute our sins to us. Is that not great love? That's
great love. When was He not willing to do
that? The same time He loved us. In eternity, He was not willing
to do it. But He was willing to do this,
to impute our sins to His Son. And take His righteousness and
give it to us. Now that's a wonderful exchange. That's a wonderful exchange.
He took our sins. And satisfied justice. On his
son, the scripture says, for he had made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. And when our time of love came,
that righteousness was manifest to us. You see that righteousness
and love that God had for us? When that time of love comes
and the Spirit of God moves on us, regenerates our soul, it's
then we receive what God has already had for us. He's already
had love for us. And faith, all it does is receive
what God has. Christ already accomplished our
righteousness. And faith just receives that. And faith is not even something
we have. It's a gift of God. And therefore, righteousness
is imputed to us. The divine nature is imparted
to us. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 4
says we are partakers of the divine nature. God Himself dwells in this frame
of clay. He dwells in this mortal body
with me. With me. And I have His righteousness
imputed and imparted to me. Not based on my righteousness
at all. So I can say this. O Lord, continue
thy righteousness. Continue thy righteousness. Now
then, thirdly, if the psalmist says continue the loving kindness
and righteousness, if they never cease, how should we say continue
to give us these things? Well, this word continue, it
means to draw out. That's what it means. David is
here praying in our text, he says, O Lord, continue to manifest
thy love and thy righteousness to me." Let me continually draw
from that fountain source concerning thy love and thy righteousness.
This continue is a word that means, it's a metaphor taken
from vessels of wine. You put a big vessel of wine
there, you see it's one vessel, but you draw many cups from that
one vessel. It's also a metaphor of a woman
that's nursing. If she is full of milk for the
child, the child doesn't just partake one time of the milk,
but is continually coming back to the same source over and over
to be nourished. And that's what this prayer is.
It is asking, Oh Lord, help me, give me grace to continue to
draw from the well of your mercy. From the well of your love. from
the well of your righteousness. Friends, where else will we find
peace? If you don't draw from that well, where are you going
to find peace? In all these circumstances that you can't see the love of
God, you can't see these things around us. It's dark. How are you going to draw comfort
in that time? Oh Lord, continue Thy love to
me. Thy righteousness imputed and
imparted to me." So I don't have to look to myself. I don't have
to look at these things around here. I trust You. I believe
in You. Therefore, our prayer is always
to be a reflection of the promises. God promised to give you His
love. God promised to give you His righteousness. And you know
what? We have a right then to pray
for it. All of our prayers should reflect promises. You know that?
It should reflect the promises of God. That's how I know I'm
going to have what I asked for, is if I pray God's promises. And God says this, Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem.
that her warfare has been accomplished. That she has received double.
For all her sins. Is that not wonderful? And number four, to whom are
these promises given only to those who know him? Look back
at your text. It says, Go continue, die loving
kindness to them that know thee. Continue that righteousness to
the upright in heart. Friend, there are many religious
people who think they know God. John, chapter eight, those Pharisees
said, we know God, he's our father. And Jesus said, you don't know
God. If you knew God, then would you love me? For I proceeded
forth from God. He said, you are of your father,
the devil. Some people think they know God. Friend, does it not go against
all works religion of our day to say that God is not the Father
of all men? That goes against the religion
of our day, doesn't it? That's exactly what the Scripture
says. God is not the Father of all men. Why? Because all men don't know who
He is. Only those who know who He is.
He is their Father. And they love Christ. How can you know the Father unless
you know Christ? Who is He? Christ is the God-Man. He is
the only one that is God manifest in the flesh. He is the only one that has come
to do the will of the Father and to magnify the law and obedience
and die for sins, the sins of His people. Friends, He came
to save His people from their sins. And He was successful. Friends, if you don't know a
successful Savior, you have no idea who the Father is. If a
man does not know a successful Savior, he does not know the
Father. If Jesus Christ is a failure,
if He did not die for all of the sins of all of His people,
He is a failure and we're here in vain. But Christ did die for
all of the sins of all of His people. He did save all of His
people from their sins. The Scripture says He shall not
fail and He shall not be discouraged. And everyone that knows that
Christ knows the Father. We know the Father. And we know
the Father, we know His lovingkindness. And second of all, the upright
in heart, who is that? That's a man that God has given
his Holy Spirit to. To us who have experienced the
new birth of the Holy Spirit, God has given us his righteousness. We have no hope. We have no self-righteousness,
but we lean totally on the righteousness of Christ. Absolutely, completely
and utterly for the salvation of our souls. And we pray, O Lord, continue
to let me draw from thy love. Who here knows the measure of
God's love? Who knows the measure of Christ's
righteousness? I've not found an end to it. I want to know more. I want to know His love for me. I want to know His righteousness
that's given to me so that I may love Him more. so that I may serve Him more. I pray that God bless this to your
heart. Let's stand and we'll be dismissed in prayer.