Go with me back to Psalm 63. Psalm 63. David is the one who
wrote this psalm. He's the one who penned This
Psalm, it says just under the title, a Psalm of David. David was the son of his father,
Jesse, the stem and offspring of Jesse. He was the shepherd
of his father's sheep. He was the slayer of Goliath. The deliverer of the army of
Israel, the deliverer of the people of Israel through slaying
Goliath. He was the anointed one of God.
Don't you love that story of whenever they came to anoint one of Jesse's sons and they
brought in the oldest and the biggest. Not him. Well, what about the next one?
Surely it's the next one. No, not him. Is there anybody left? Well, we got one boy out in the
field watching sheep. Bring him in. Spirit of God said,
he's the one. The anointed one. God said that
he was a man after God's own heart. That's an amazing thing
to say, isn't it? That is an amazing thing to say.
There are so many amazing things like when God said, Abraham is
my friend. I say that about people and you
mean it. You mean it. God meant it. He said, Abraham is my friend. And he said, David is a man after
my own heart. That is amazing. Spiritually
speaking, David represents Christ who is referred to as the son
of David. But physically speaking, this
is what I want us to get a hold of for just a minute. Physically
speaking, David was a sinner just like you and me. Just like every other man and
woman on this earth. David wrote this. You know, we're
drawn to the Psalms because we need them so often. We just need them so often. And
David penned this at the time of his life when he was the king.
He was the king of Israel. Verse 11 tells us that. Speaking
of himself, he said, but the king, lowercase K. So he wrote this while he was
the king, but even though he was the king, he was running
for his life. He was the king. And he was running
for his life. And that's something that I want
us to really understand. We'll enter into more so to what
he's saying here if we understand the condition he was in when
he wrote it. Just under the title again, it says a Psalm of David
when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Spurgeon said this
was probably written while David was fleeing from his son Absalom.
So he's out in the wilderness. He's in hiding. And he's longing
to go worship God. He's longing to go worship God,
his soul hurts to just go gather with the saints in the house
of the Lord. He feels so spiritually parched
and thirsty for the living God. And he's crying out to God in
prayer, saying, even though I am physically hindered from publicly
bowing before you in the sanctuary, in the fellowship of your saints,
even though I'm physically hindered, he said, my heart bows before
you right now, right here, right now. Verse one, he said, oh God,
thou art my God. Early will I seek thee, my soul
thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and
thirsty land where no water is. living water. My soul is in a
place where there's no water, no spiritual water, no water
of the word, no refreshment here, no comfort, no satisfaction. I feel lost. I feel alone. I feel dried up. I had a really
honest message with you last Wednesday night. And, you know, every now and
then I'll do that, but it doesn't mean that's the only times I
feel that. And all of God's people feel that and no one is is exempt
from it. This is David. None of us have ever been in
that physical condition, not that I know of, none of us have
ever. You know, had to go out into
hiding and fear for our life being taken from us and been
physically separated from the house of the Lord and worship
and fellowship. None of us have endured that,
but all of us understand that spiritually. All of us understand
that spiritually if we belong to him. There have been times
when all of us have found ourselves to be out in the wilderness of
sin and self. The wilderness of the flesh,
the wilderness of the world. The world is a wilderness. Spiritually separated from the
house and the worship and the fellowship of God, spiritually
separated. And it's miserable. I'll just
tell you, I'm talking from experience. I hope you don't know what I'm
talking about. I hope you say I don't ever. I've never experienced
that. But if you belong to him, you
will. You will. And you do. And, you
know, sometimes we're physically sitting right here in the pew.
Sometimes we're physically standing right here behind the pulpit.
But we're spiritually separated. Can anybody enter into that? The wilderness is right here.
This is the wilderness. Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel
it. So prone. Isn't that what the
Apostle Paul was talking about in Romans 7? He was saying, Oh,
wretched man that I am. What's the matter with me? What's
the matter with me? Why do I find my flesh constantly
running to trying to stay and live in the wilderness? That's
why Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners. I'm the chief of
sinners. He knew what it felt like to
spiritually be right there, the chief of sinners, we do too.
All of us have found ourselves and we will find ourselves again
in this dry and thirsty land, this wilderness of spiritual
separation. And when we do, when that realization
comes to us again, and we realize, look where I am again, look where
I found myself again. Lost, just so lost again. When the realization of that
parched thirst, that dryness, that separation of communion,
when that comes to us again, what should we do? What should
we do? We should do the only thing we
can do. The only thing. We should do
the same thing David did. Cry out to God for help. Cry
out to God for help. He said, I'm coming to you about
this. He said, I'm going to seek help
from the only place that I can find help. I believe, I believe
I'm telling you correctly on this. I honestly believe every
time I have gone to my Lord in deep, sincere need, begging him
for help, I believe he's helped me. I believe every time I have
felt so far from him and so separated from him and I've gone to him
and said, Lord, I believe he's helped me. I believe he has everything
I don't believe he's turned me away one time. Lord, I'm coming to you. Verse one, he said, oh God, thou
art my God, early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for thee in
a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Thee, I'm coming
to you. I'm coming to you. Go to Christ. Go to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If he's made you able, He's made you alive, if he's quickened
you and you've heard his call, come unto me and I'll give you
rest. Go to him. Verse two, David said, well,
verse one, he said, I will seek thee, my soul thirsteth for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where
no water is. to see thy power and thy glory,
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. He said, Would you
please show me again? I really I would like to stop
the message. All right. We're going to have
a pause for just a minute. I want to encourage every person
here. To say to the Lord from your
heart, would you please show me these things again? I mean,
show me these things again. Would you show me again what
you showed me before? What a thing to ask God. Would
you show me your power again? I know it. I've heard of it. Would you show
it to me again? Would you show me your glory
again? Would you let me see you now
like you've allowed me to see you before? Revive me right now in the midst
of my years. Lord, revive me. Revive me. Help me. Well, here's the good
news for David. Here's the good news for all
of us. I want to very strongly encourage us to remember this
and do this. When the realization of that
state comes, cry out to God for help. What a blessed congregation
we would be if we cried out to God for help. Lord, help me. When the realization of that
state comes, cry out to him for help. Let's literally do that.
Let's ask him to restore the communion. Let's ask him to revive us. Revive me, Lord, please revive
me. Let's ask him to send a flood
of the water of his word and refresh us and comfort us and
satisfy us with the presence of his spirit. Lord, let your
spirit be here. Our Lord said, you ask, you'll
receive. Do you remember, those of you who know the Lord, those
of you who've really heard the gospel and seen Christ in the
scripture, you remember whenever your soul first got a hold of
the gospel message? You remember that? You remember
when you had to go to your pastor and say, I believe the Lord has
revealed Christ to me. You remember that? I remember
that moment. I'm not saying that I, you know, I have this exact
moment in time when I was saved. I don't know if I don't know
if that's when I was. I was saved, you know. 20 years
before that or after that. But I do know I remember a moment
when the Lord really started dealing with me, and it's kind
of like these pages came alive. Do you know what I'm talking
about? They came alive. I mean, the characters in these
pages, it was 3D. And look, if you've never had
that experience, don't feel bad. Not everybody. That's how it
was for me. I read Psalm 27 like it was the
first time I'd ever read Psalm 27 every time I read it. Wouldn't
you like to experience that again? Lord, revive me again. Revive me again. Let your word
burn within me. Let your spirit burn within me. Let my heart for Christ burn
within me. Those two on the road to Emmaus,
oh, they were just so sad. They were just so sad. And the
Lord showed up with them, and he said, what are y'all talking
about? And they said, what in the world do you mean? Where
have you been? What rock have you been hiding
under? Don't you know that they crucified the one who we thought
was going to redeem us? We thought he was our redeemer,
and they crucified him, and he died. And Jesus Christ started preaching
to them, where two or three are gathered in my name, two on the
road to Emmaus. And Jesus Christ walked up and
he said, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And he went on and he went on.
Let me tell you about Abraham. Abraham was my friend. Abraham
is my friend. All the things, he just preached
the gospel to them. That's all he did, the things
concerning himself. And all of a sudden, they knew
he broke bread. This is my body broken for you. And they knew who he was, and
he vanished out of their sight. And they said, oh, did not our
heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way? Wouldn't
you like to experience that? If you haven't, wouldn't you
like to experience that? Wouldn't you love to love hearing
the gospel? You all know what I'm talking
about. Lord, don't let us grow cold. I mean, cold would be better
than lukewarm. Lukewarm is when you just don't
care. Whatever, yes, no. Oh, wouldn't you love for Christ
to really revive us? The Spirit of God to really revive. Listen, ask him. Ask him. We have not because we ask not. Ask him to send a flood to this
dry and thirsty land. I know you're just as dry as
I am. I know you are. I know you are. I know human nature and you're
just like me. Oh, holy ghost, revival comes
from thee. Send a revival. Start the work
in me. You know, we're always praying,
you know, Lord, do do a work out there. Do a work out there.
Do a work in here. Do a work right in here. He said,
if you ask, you'll receive. That's his promise. That is his
promise to us. In Ezekiel 36, he told of all
these glorious things that he would do for his people after
they asked me. That's what he said. After they
asked me, he said, I will yet for this be inquired of by the
house of Israel to do it for him. And then he said, after
they asked me, I'm going to increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock
of Jerusalem in her solemn feast, so shall the waste cities be
filled with flocks. Flocks of men, they shall know
that I am the Lord. He said, just ask me. If he has
made us alive, okay, he gets the credit, he gets the glory,
he's the author, he's the doer, he's the beginning. If he's done
it, if he's made us able, if he's quickened us, ask him. Ask him. Turn with me to Isaiah
35. Isaiah 35, verse three. Strengthen ye the weak hands
and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful
heart, be strong, fear not, behold, your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. You
say that, you strengthen the weak hands, you confirm the feeble
knees, you say that. Verse 5, then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as in heart, and the tongue of
the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert. In the parched ground
shall become a pool, in the thirsty land springs of water, in the
habitation of dragons where each lay shall be grass with reeds
and rushes, and in highways shall be there in a way, and it shall
be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over
it, but it shall be for those the wayfaring men, though fools
shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any
ravenous beast shall go up thereon. It shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord
shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy
upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. He said, you just
strengthen my weak, feeble people who are dying of thirst out in
the wilderness. You tell them, behold your God. Look to your God. Tell them to
cry out to their God and wait for him to come save them. Wait
for him to come help them. And he said in verse 10, the
ransom of the Lord will return and come to Zion with songs,
everlasting joy. That's the help David found.
That's the help that all of us will find. True help. It is true help for God's people. Go back to our text, Psalm 63. Verse one, it says, oh God, thou
art my God, early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where
no water is. To see thy power and thy glory
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving
kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus
will I bless thee while I live. I will lift up my hands in thy
name. He said because the condition,
because of the condition that I'm in, that's what I'm gonna
do. That's the only thing I can do.
I'm gonna seek you, I'm gonna praise you, I'm gonna bless you
by your grace. I will lift up my hands to you. And by your grace, I'm gonna
do that trusting that verse five, my soul shall be satisfied as
with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with
joyful lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee
in the night watches. Marrow and fatness. It's quite
the change from dry and thirsty, isn't it? Marrow and fatness. Again, he's talking about the
spiritual state. Rather than a communion and a
fellowship that's lean and parched, he said, my soul shall be filled
with health, marrow and fatness. What brings that marrow and fatness
to the child of God? Christ does. Seeing Christ does. Seeing his power, seeing his
glory, seeing his loving kindness. We see every bit of that on the
cross of Calvary. Lord, show me the cross again.
I was, you know, this morning it was Psalm 1 and we were talking
about the fact that the first time I talked with, you know,
so many afterwards about the first time we realized that was
Christ. Show me the cross again. Show me, let me get a hold of
that again. Let me see that again. That's
where we see the power of God. That's where we see the forgiveness
of God. That's where we see the love
and kindness of God. Verse seven, he said, because
thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will
I rejoice under your covering, under your protection and safety,
hiding in thee. Under the shadow of his wings,
that sounds like the best place to be. Verse eight, my soul followeth
hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me, but those that
seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the
earth. They shall fall by the sword, they shall be a portion
for foxes. But the king shall rejoice in
God, everyone that sweareth by him shall glory. but the mouth
of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Who seeks to destroy
my soul? My flesh does. My own flesh does. My feet do. My hands do. This old cold stony heart does. My mind does. Everything about
me wants to destroy this soul. Whose mouth speaks lies? Mine
does. My own flesh does. But David
said, you're my help. And that's where we all, that's
what we all, that's the resolve. You're my help. And I know that
you're gonna put away everything that is trying to take me down.
Everything that does not bring glory to you, you're gonna leave
it all In the dry and thirsty. Grave parts of the grave. And all that's going to be left
is the marrow and fatness that we have in Christ. And in that,
David said, I praise you, I bless you, I hope in you, I rejoice
in you. I'm not gonna read it, but I
was gonna turn and read Psalm 42. As the heart panteth after
the water brook, so panteth my soul after thee. Why art thou
cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God. Hope thou in
God. Look to him. Cry out to him. Keep us, Lord, O keep us, cleaving
to thyself and still believing till the hour of our receiving
promised joys from thee. I'm thine, O Lord, I've heard
thy voice and it told thy love to me, but I long to rise in
the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw
me nearer, nearer, nearer. to thy precious bleeding side.
I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Every hour I
need thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior.
I come to thee. Even me, even me. Let thy blessing
fall on me. Let's ask him. Let's ask him. Lord, before this conference,
let's ask him. This week, let's ask him. You're
gonna get six new voices. Ask him, Lord, bless me, feed
me, open my heart, and do it for everybody else here. All
right, amen.