Alright, turn with me, if you
would, back to Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. I don't want to look at this
story. I read this story to you concerning
this deaf man that they brought to the Lord, and it's a wonderful
story. But I don't want to look at this story this morning. I want us to just consider one
line in it. Just one line. A brother quoted
this line to me Wednesday night, and I have not been able to get
this out of my mind since. It's in the middle of verse 37,
and it says, He hath done all things well. He hath done all things well. That is speaking of Christ, our
God. That's who they were speaking
of. That's who we are speaking of. Christ, our God. Christ, our sovereign. Christ
our King, Christ the Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He hath done all things well. That's a line to ponder, isn't
it? That's a line to ponder and really dwell on. Oh, may the
Lord bless us today. May the Lord truly speak to our
hearts today. May we truly get a hold of this. He hath done all things well.
I want us to consider three things together. Three things. I pray this will reach our hearts. I pray it will. Number one, he
hath done. That's number one. He hath done. He is the one who hath done." He hath done. The second thing is, all things, all things, whatever it is, whatever
it is, whatever has been done, He hath done all things Well, that's the third thing. Well, everything that he has
done, he has done it well. He's done it well. This is the
basis of our salvation. This truly is. This is the basis
of our salvation. This is the basis of our hope. We have a hope. It's what keeps
us going. It's what keeps us looking. It's
what keeps us trusting. It's what keeps us from fainting
and falling. We have a hope. And this is the
basis of all of our hope. This is our message. This is
the gospel and it starts right here. He hath done. That's where the whole gospel
starts. He hath done. Not what we have done. That's
what God saves from. That's what God calls men out
of and away from. Not what we have done, but what
He hath done. It's His work, not ours. It's His doing, not ours. And this is our comfort. This
is our confidence. This is our absolute confidence.
He hath done. That's a believer's confidence. He hath done. Look with me at Psalm 115. Psalm
115, verse three. David said, But our God is in
the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. This is where
he said in verse 1, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, nothing
unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy
truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, where is now their God? Kind of like I told you the other
night when that man so cruelly said to Brother Henry when his
son died, where was your God when your son died? That's what
he's saying. Why would they say, where is
your God now? You see what's happened? Where's
your God now? David said, our God's in the
heavens and bless God. He's done whatever he's been
pleased to do. That's what he did in creation.
That's what he did in salvation. Whatever he pleased, whatever
he pleased, it pleased the father to choose a sinful people to
save. And he did it. That's the glory of it, is He
did it. We say, well, it pleased the Father to do that, and the
glory of it is He did it. It pleased the Father to choose
a sinful people to save, and He did it. It pleased the Son. This is what it pleased Christ
the Son to do. It pleased Him to give Himself. That's what He wanted to do.
It pleased Him to give His life and give His body and give His
blood in order to actually save those sinful people from their
sins. And He did it. That's what He
wanted to do, and He did it. It pleased the Lord to bruise
Christ in the place of those sinful people, in the stead of.
It pleased the Father to bruise His own Son in the stead of,
and He did it. It pleased the Father to make
Christ who knew no sin. It pleased Him to make Christ
to be sin for His people, that His people might be made the
righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He did it.
That's what he did. Verse three says, our God is
in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Now that's comfort, isn't it?
That is so much comfort. That is our confidence. That
is absolute control. And that absolute control is
in the hand of our sovereign God Almighty. And that is wonderful. Turn with me over to Psalm 135. Psalm 135, verse six, it says,
whatsoever the Lord pleased, That did He in heaven and in
earth, in the seas, and all deep places. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He everywhere. Everywhere. He did it in heaven, And nobody has a problem understanding
that whatever is done in heaven, God is doing it and controlling
it. But for some reason, it's so
hard to understand that down here, even for us believers,
just so hard. But in the same way that it is
in heaven, so it is on earth. Whatsoever the Lord please, that
did He in heaven, that did He in earth, that's what He did
in the seas and all deep places. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ
said. He said, I am Alpha and Omega. I start the work and I finish
the work. He said, I work and none can
let me. He said, I kill, I make alive,
I wound and I heal. That's what he said. He said,
acknowledge me in all these things. He said, I form the light and
I create darkness. I make peace and I create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. I the Lord do all these things.
In Acts chapter 4, when Peter was preaching to the very ones
who crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, you only did,
now did they do some things and make some decisions and all that?
Sure they did. But he said, you only did what He predetermined
for you to do. That's all. That's all what he
predetermined to be done. He hath done. That's what he
was saying. He hath done. He did it. Nebuchadnezzar. That king of
Babylon, he got a little too focused on himself, like we're
all so prone to do in this flesh, and he started looking around
Babylon, and this is what he said, I have done. Looking around
all that great city, everything, he said, I did this. This is
what I did. And the Lord, you know the story
of it, the Lord brought him down, and He taught him some things,
and then He raised him back up. The Lord brings down, thank God
the Lord brings back up. And the Lord brought him back
up and then this is what Nebuchadnezzar said after that, he said, I was
wrong. And don't we all say that? Anytime
we get into our flesh and then God sets us right again, I'll
be the first to say I'm wrong and you're right. I acknowledge
my transgressions, my sin, that's what every child of God says
when they see You're in control. You're the sovereign one. But
that's what Nebuchadnezzar said. I was wrong. I haven't done anything. I haven't done anything. He said,
he hath done. This was his words. Nebuchadnezzar
said, his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from
generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth. according to his
will, in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What
are you doing? Nobody can say that. He hath done. He hath done. That's our comfort. Whether we understand it or not,
that's where we rest. That's where peace comes. That's
where we sit down when we say, He hath done. He hath done. If we want to have a correct
view of all things concerning us, here it is. He hath done." Our text went
on to say, all things, all things. He hath done all things. Everyone, and I'm speaking from
firsthand experience. I'm not accusing, I'm confessing. Everyone is willing to acknowledge
Him in the good things. You let even a musician win a
Grammy, and he'll get up there and say, I want to thank God
first. He did this. Everyone is willing to acknowledge
Him in the good things. When great things are happening,
great things, it's so easy to say the Lord hath done this for
us. Look at all the great things
He hath done for us. So easy for the flesh to say
that. But the greater honor to Him, and this is so, The greater
honor to Him and the greater glory to Him and the greater
comfort to us is when we as His people know
and acknowledge His hand in even the things that appear to the
flesh to be bad things. Bad things. Oh, look at the bad
things that are happening to us, which we heard and was reminded
of last Wednesday night, that all things work together for
good, but that's how the flesh perceives it to be. But oh, the honor, the glory,
the beauty of when God puts a word of praise and a heart of praise
in His own child, for His absolute goodness and sovereignty in all
things, no matter what's done. And I want to show you a few
examples of that beautiful Word, that beautiful heart, that beautiful
honor, okay? Turn with me, if you would, to
2 Samuel 16. 2 Samuel chapter 16. You know this story. We've read
it before. We've quoted it many times. This
is the story of David traveling with his soldiers and this man
Shimei coming out to curse David. They were kind of traveling in
a valley and Shimei's up on the hill following them. And he's
cursing down at David and it says he's casting stones and
he's throwing dust at him. And one of David's soldiers asked
David, he said, you want me to go up there and take his head
off? And this is how David responded. This was his response. 2 Samuel
16, verse 10. And the king said, and he's speaking
to this soldier, these soldiers who were there with him, what
have I to do with you, you sons of Zariah? So let him curse. Because the Lord hath said unto
him, curse David. Who shall then say, wherefore
hast thou done so? What good is it in going up and
saying, why are you doing this? David said, leave him alone.
The Lord has done this. The Lord has done this. The Lord
told him to curse me. Is that not comforting? The Lord
is doing this. David went on to say, it could
be that the Lord means good to me through this. It could be
that the Lord's about to bring about great good to me through
this. Leave Him alone. Let the Lord
do what He's doing. David told them, this moment
is in the sovereign hand of the Lord our God. Trust Him in it. Just trust Him in it. He hath
done. He hath done all these things. He did it. Turn with me over
to Job chapter 1. We know this story so well. Everything
that happened to Job is just indescribable things. I don't
know if any other believer on earth has ever endured the trials
and the troubles Providence that Job did. These
were just unimaginable things that happened to him. And it
says in verse 20, Job chapter 1 verse 20, after all these things
happened to him, it says, then Job arose and rent his mantle
and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped. And said, naked came I out of
my mother's womb, And naked shall I return thither the Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away." The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away. Job said the Lord did this. He
hath done this. No matter how bad this seems,
No matter how much sorrow I'm in, do you think Job sorrowed
over the loss of his family? I mean, his possessions, that
would be sad enough, but oh, can you imagine? Do you think
Job was in utter sorrow and depression? Sure he was. You think he was
experiencing pain like he'd never known? Sure he was. But God in His goodness allowed
that man the ability to, in spite of that, worship Him. And He
allowed him to say, the Lord has done this. No matter how
bad it seems, no matter how chaotic it seems, the Lord has done this. He got news upon news upon what? What? One right after the next.
It just kept coming and kept coming. And He said, the Lord has done
it. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Like Eli said, it
is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good. Look with me
if you would at Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs 16 verse 1, it says,
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the
tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean
in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth the spirits." The Lord
knows what's in there. "...commit thy works unto the
Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." And watch verse
4. It says, the Lord hath made all
things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. That means everything is in His
hands. Everything. He leaves nothing
up to chance. Thank God. Thank God, everything
is according to His purpose. Chapter 21 says, even the king's
heart, the earthly rulers in charge, even the king's heart
is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of water, He turneth
it whithersoever He will. Everything. that has ever been
done, He has done it. Everything that happens, He's
the doer of it. He hath done all things. He hath done all things. And
thank God, to the praise of His glory, He hath done all things
well. He's done all things well. That
word well means completely, to the fullest, excellently. He's done all things excellently. It means rightly, with no room
for blame. It means honorably. He hath done all things well. All things well. Turn with me
over to Psalm 34. Psalm 34 verse 1 says, I will bless the Lord at all
times." Boy, we say that by the grace of God, don't we? Sinners
like us, that is only by the grace of God. But at all times,
during all things, David said, I will bless the Lord at all
times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof
and be glad." Verse 3, he said, Oh, magnify the Lord with me
and let us exalt his name together. Verse 7 says, The angel of the
Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and he delivereth
them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. Oh, that's a blessed man. Verse
19 says, Many are the afflictions of the righteous. And they are,
aren't they? They are. Many are the afflictions
of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
He'll deliver us temporarily out of them all until He finally
delivers us eternally out from all of them. Verse 20 says, He
keepeth all His bones, not one of them is broken. Evil shall
slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
But verse 22 says, The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants, and
none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate. David said,
the Lord has redeemed His people, and He's redeemed them well,
completely, rightly. So he said, let's magnify Him
for that. Let's magnify Him for that. Psalm
139 verse 14 says, Marvelous are thy works, and that my soul
knoweth right well. Oh, how perfectly you've done
it all. How perfectly. Turn with me to this one, Isaiah
44. I love this. Isaiah 44. Isaiah 44, verse 21. It says,
Remember these, O Jacob and Israel, for thou art my servant, I have
formed thee, Thou art my servant, O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten
of me. I have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins. Return unto
me, for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord
hath done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the
earth, break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every
tree therein." Right here, he said, for the Lord hath redeemed
Jacob and glorified himself in Israel. He has redeemed his people and
glorified himself in the process. received all the glory in the
process. The Apostle Paul said, he has
saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. That's what
he did. Our response is glory to God
in the highest. Glory to God. We were there in
Job just a moment ago. Don't turn back. But Job's ending
comment to everything that happened to him after all that was done
and after he said, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
This is what he said. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Can you imagine saying that in
a moment of trial like that? Well, God's people do, don't
they? God gives them a heart. He gives
them a spirit and causes them to say and mean it, blessed be
the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
He has done all things well. You think that's how Job thought
things were going to go that day when he woke up? No. But he knew, he knew in his heart,
he's done all things well. In closing, I want to read two
things to you. The first one is a hymn from
the old Gadsby hymnal. Some of you may know about that
hymnal. And anyway, this is one of the
songs in that hymnal. It says, come saints and sing
in sweet accord. with solemn pleasure tell the
covenant made with David's Lord. In all things it was ordered
well. This covenant stood ere time
began that God with man might dwell. Eternal wisdom drew the
plan in all things it was ordered well. This covenant, O believer,
stands thy rising fears to quell, sealed by the surety's bleeding
hands. In all things it was ordered
well. T'was made with the Lord Jesus
for His bride before the sinner fell, "'Twas signed and sealed
and ratified, "'in all things it was ordered well. "'When rolling
worlds depart on fire "'and thousands sink to hell, "'this covenant
shall the saints admire, "'in all things it was ordered well.
"'In glory soon with Christ their King, "'His saints shall surely
dwell. And this blessed covenant ever
saying in all things, it was ordered well. Concerning the
eternal security and the eternal salvation of God's people, let's
rest in this right here. Let's just rest in this right
here. Christ Jesus, our Lord. He hath done all things well.
Concerning salvation, concerning eternity, He hath done all things
well. His oath, His covenant, His blood
has well accomplished all things that needed to be accomplished
for us. And we're secure in Him. We're
secure. We're secure. Let's remember
that. Now, the second thing I want
to read to you is concerning every moment that you and I will
face right here in this life on earth from now till the moment
we make it to our eternal security, till the moment we enter into
glory. A man named William Cowper or Cooper, he wrote this hymn. God moves in a mysterious way. his wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. He creates
the storm and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds
of never failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works
his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
take. The clouds you so much dread
are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence,
he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err
and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter, and
he will make it plain." In the end, Every single child
of God, everyone, every one of us, every true believer on the
Lord Jesus Christ will have the privilege of saying with absolute
confidence, he hath done all things well. Every child of God
will have that privilege. He and she will have the privilege
of saying with absolute confidence, He hath done all things well. That's going to be the cry of
the saints for all eternity. That's going to be our cry for
all eternity. If we enjoy saying that now,
the Lord's going to allow us to enjoy saying that for all
eternity. He hath done all things well. Amen. Amen. Now, I will close
us and dismiss us with a word of prayer. And then the Lord
willing, we'll meet back together again at six o'clock p.m.