Go with me if you would back
to Psalm 40. Our text tonight makes me say
amen. It's one verse. And when I read this one verse,
I thought, amen. Amen. All of God's people will
say amen to this. They'll say it in their heart. I can envision, I was thinking
about Michael the archangel declaring this in glory and all the host
of heaven crying amen. Amen. Look at the end of verse
16. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually the Lord be magnified. Amen. The whole verse says let
all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such
as love thy salvation, say continually, the Lord be magnified. Sometimes the only response that
seems appropriate to me is amen. Amen. It's all through the word,
isn't it? Amen. Look with me at First Chronicles
16. 1st Chronicles 16 verse 1 tells us that this is
when they brought the ark of God back to Israel. It says,
So they brought the ark of God and set it in the midst of the
tent that David had pitched for it. and they offered burnt sacrifices
and peace offerings before God. Verse 7 says, Then on that day
David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand
of Asaph and his brethren. David was so overjoyed, they
brought the ark back into Israel, and he was so overjoyed, his
heart was just so overflowing, he started writing a song. And
he delivered this song, this psalm to the chief musician,
and it was declared to all the people, all of these verses that
follow, this is the psalm. And he ended the psalm by saying
in verse 31, Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth. Let the sea
roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the fields rejoice, and all
that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood
sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge
the earth. O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever, and say ye,
Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver
us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to Thy holy name
and glory in Thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. Period. And all the people said, Amen. And praised the Lord. I love
that. This is one of my favorites. Go to Nehemiah chapter eight.
It's two books before Job. Nehemiah 8, verse 1, it says,
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the
street that was before the water gate. And they spake unto Ezra
the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the
Lord had commanded to Israel. All the people gathered together
and they asked Ezra, Would you please go get the scripture and
bring it and read it to us? And Ezra the priest brought the
law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all
that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh
month. And he read therein before the
street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday
for six hours, before the men and the women and those that
could understand. And the ears of all the people
were attentive unto the book of the law. You know those moments
when the Lord lays hold of us and He makes us attentive to
His Word? That's a glorious moment, isn't
it? Can you imagine for six hours the Spirit of the Lord laid hold
of those people and they were locked on to the reading of the
Word of God? Verse 4 says, And Ezra the scribe
stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose.
And beside him stood Mattathiah, and Shema, and Ananiah, and Uriah,
and Hilkiah, and Maasaiah on his right hand, and on his left
hand, Paddaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashem, and
Hashbodanah, Zechariah, and Meshulam. And Ezra opened the book in the
sight of all the people, for he was above all the people.
And when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed
the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen. Amen. With lifting up their hands,
and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their
faces to the ground. All through the Psalms, all through
the prophets, all through the New Testament, all through the
ages, and all through eternity. God's people cry, Amen. Amen. And that's what we say
to Psalm 40 verse 16, isn't it? Go back over there to Psalm 40. Verse 16 says, let all those
that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love
thy salvation, say continually, the Lord be magnified. Now for the enjoyment of it,
let's break this verse down and enter into each line, each line
of what is being said right here. It says, let all those that seek
Thee. That's a very particular group
of people. That sounds like the masses,
but that's actually a very particular group of people. Let all those
that seek Thee. I fear that too many people are
seeking heaven. That's what I fear. I fear too
many people seek heaven rather than him. I fear that too many people are
seeking a city. Isn't that what people want?
Too many people are seeking a city rather than a savior. They are seeking golden streets. And they are seeking gates made
out of solid pearls. And they are seeking a mansion
with no mortgage on it. And do you know that all those
that seek heaven will not receive heaven? All those who seek heaven will
not receive heaven. All those who are seeking a blessing will not receive a blessing. The reason is because Christ
is heaven. Christ is heaven. Heaven is not
a place. Heaven is a person. If Christ
is not there, it's not heaven. And wherever He is, that's heaven. Christ is heaven. He is the unsearchable
riches. He is the pearl of great All of the blessings are in Him. And I fear that not many people
realize that. To have Him is to have it all. He that has the Son has it all.
He that has not the Son has nothing. Nothing. But until God quickens
a sinner, and reveals that to a sinner and causes a sinner
to see Christ to be all. People see this man, Jesus. They think he came from heaven,
but still they think he started. They don't know him to be the
eternal I am. They don't realize he was in
the burning bush, speaking to Moses. He is the one who spoke
the world into existence. He is the one who created man
with His hands. And they see this man Jesus,
and they see that He came, and they see that He did some good
things, and who doesn't like a good man? Especially a man
who died for His cause, was committed to His cause, and laid down his
life for His cause. He had a good cause. He was trying
to help people. And we really ought to not let
his life be wasted. We need to remember what he did. Most people believe he's the
one who can show us how to get to heaven. Until God reveals to a sinner
that Christ is all. I mean, Christ is all. That sinner will not and that
sinner cannot seek Him. That sinner cannot see Christ. He's blind. He cannot hear Christ. He's deaf. He cannot have a heart
for Christ. He's dead. But this is what David
said, and this is what all of God's people say. If you'll look
with me at Psalm 27, Psalm 27 verse 8, He said, When
thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy
face, Lord, will I seek. When you revealed yourself to
me, and called me by your grace, and caused me to see you for
who you truly are. I let everything else go. I let
it all go. And I said, I must have you.
I must have you. Thy face, Lord, will I seek. All these other things mean nothing.
They mean nothing. David said, all of God's people
say, if I can just be with you, if I can just be with you, then
I'll be in heaven. Go with me back to Psalm 40 verse 16. It says, let all those
that seek thee. Rejoice and be glad in thee. Not the world. Not the things of the world.
Not the life that we live in the world. Does it ever strike
you that we never really truly can rejoice and be glad in the
things of this world? We think, when is it going to
let up? When is it going to get a little easier? This world will disappoint us
every time. Every time. This world will bring
sorrow and pain and emptiness and disappointment. We spend
our lives putting so much effort and so much stock into this world. Knowing that it's going to disappoint
us every time. We're so concerned with the end
of this life that's not even promised to us. Tomorrow is not
promised to us. Eternity before God is promised
to us. That's a sure thing. And oh that we were wise. It's
all going to go away. Nothing will last. This world
is going to disappoint us. Everything that we work for dissolves. It all rots. It all breaks. It all dies. But in spite of
the fact that God's people are in the world, and all of these
things are happening around them, and all of these things are happening
to them, never will they not be able to rejoice and be glad
in their Lord. It doesn't matter how bad it
is in the world, God's people can always rejoice and be glad
in their Lord. Always. It may be horrible conditions
in the world, but it sure is wonderful in Him. The fullness
that's in Him. It's empty in the world, but
oh, the fullness that's in Him. The success that is in Him. The satisfaction and the accomplishment. The health that is in Him. Are you sick? Oh, the health
that is in him. Just wait until eternity comes. Well, you're going to experience
health, wealth and happiness. Life reward from all his labor. We may never we honestly may
never be able to rejoice in anything else. but we will forever be
able to rejoice in him. Verse 16 says, let all those
that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love
thy salvation, not my salvation, not the salvation that I earn,
Not the salvation that I decide to have. That doesn't even work in physical
matters. If you can save yourself, then
you don't need to be saved. If you're in a situation and
you have the ability to save yourself, you don't need to be
saved. If you get thrown overboard,
but you can swim, you don't need to be saved. And in physical matters, you
don't decide to be saved. It's not up to you. It's not
your choice, especially in spiritual matters. Salvation that is secured by
my doing is no salvation at all with God, none. Let all those who love the salvation
that is secured by His doing. His doing. Let such as love thy
salvation. What is His salvation? What was His doing? It's right
here in Psalm 40. David penned this Psalm, but
these are the words of Christ. He said in verse six, sacrifice
and offering thou didst not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened, burnt
offering and sin offering hast thou not required. The Lord Jesus
Christ is saying to his father, you whispered into my ear. I
know you told me. that it would take more than
the blood of bulls and goats to redeem men from their sins.
They've been sacrificing and sacrificing and sacrificing.
It is not possible for a man to do anything to redeem himself
back to God. So, verse 7, Christ said, Then
said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of
me. What is the entire Bible about? Him. It's all about Him. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me, I delight to do thy will. That's the gospel. He delighted to do the will of
his Father. I delight to do thy will, O my
God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. I will come and I'll do for our
people what they can't do for themselves. Verse 9, I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation. Lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness
within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy loving
kindness and thy truth from the great congregation." That is
the life that he lived and the ministry that he gave to his
people on this earth. I came and revealed God's salvation. I revealed the righteousness
that God provides. I did not hide it from them. And now here's the sacrifice
of that life. The sacrifice he gave for his
people. He entered into the Garden of Gethsemane. And all that sin was pressed
into his body, the sin of his people was pressed into his body.
And he said in verse 11, withhold not thou thy tender mercies from
me, O Lord. Let thy loving kindness and thy
truth continually preserve me, for innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me. He said, these sins that have
compassed me about, they're mine. And he said, I'm not able to
look up. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I'm not able to look up. They are more than
the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart faileth me. He died. Because of that sin, that payment
for sin, he died. He caused his own heart to fail
him. He gave up the ghost. And they pulled his sacrificed
body down from the cross and they laid him in a grave. And
from the grave he cried in verse 13, Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver
me. O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded
together that seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be driven
backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate
for a reward of their shame that say unto me, ah-ha, ah-ha. Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, the Lord be magnified. But I am poor and
needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and
my deliverer. Make no tarrying, O my God. That's amazing to see our Lord
in that light, isn't it? That light of suffering, that
light of He made Himself to be weak for us. He took our weakness
upon Himself. Did the Father deliver Him? He
said, Lord, deliver me, help me. I'm poor and needy. He said in Psalm 22, I'm a worm. He said that for me. He said, you're my help and my
deliverer, make no tearing. Did his father deliver him? Verse
1 says, I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto
me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of
an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a
rock, and established my goings, and he hath put a new song in
my mouth, even praise unto our God, many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn
aside to lies, Many, O Lord, by God, are thy wonderful works
which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward,
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. If I would declare
and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Do we not
thank God for his salvation? Job said, Deliver him from going
down into the pit. I found a ransom. And that ransom
was Christ went into the pit for us. And the Lord brought
him out, delivered him out, and he cries on all of the behalf
of his people. your glory to us, your works
to us, your goodness to us. It's more than can be numbered.
It's more than I could possibly declare. Verse 16 says, let all
those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such
as love thy salvation say every now and then. Let such as love thy salvation
say when it's convenient. Let such as love thy salvation
say when things are going good. When things are going the way
that I think they ought to go. Look at Psalm 34. Psalm 34 verse
1 says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. Continually, let such as love
thy salvation say continually. Continually. Back in Psalm 40. Verse 16, let such as love thy
salvation say continually, Thee Lord, that means God, Thee Sovereign,
Thee Ruler, Thee King. I mean the King of Kings. The
Lord be magnified. Here is the definition of the
word magnified. It means extolled, glorified,
praised, blessed, reverenced, worshiped, and adored. Let Him be all of those things.
And I knew what all those words meant, but one, I didn't know
what extolled meant. So I looked that word up, and
I'm so glad I did. It means praised enthusiastically. To go into raptures about. To praise to the skies. To heap praises on. to gush over, to throw bouquets
at. Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, the Lord be magnified. And he is magnified. He is magnified. We're gonna
close the message with these three things. Turn with me to
Psalm 138. Psalm 138 verse 2 says, I will worship toward thy holy
temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness And for thy
truth, for thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy name. His Word is magnified. It is to be reverenced. It's
to be worshipped. It's to be adored, it's to be
extolled because He magnified it. He has magnified His Word. I had someone tell me recently
that another man told him that we really didn't need the Word
of God anymore, we have these other It is to be reverenced. It is to be worshipped. It is
to be extolled. It is to be magnified. He has
magnified it. He's magnified His Word. Alright,
now turn with me to Acts 19. Acts 19 verse 17. And this was known to all the
Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus, and fear fell on
them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." His
name is magnified. God the Father has given Him
a name which is above every name. And at the hearing of that name,
every soul in glory is going to cry, Amen. There is no other
name given among men whereby we must be saved. Therefore his
name, and we need to remember this as we say his name, his
name is to be reverenced. His name is to be worshipped. His name is to be adored. His name is to be extolled. And the reason is because God
the Father has magnified it. Highly exalted and magnified
it. His Word is magnified. His name
is magnified. And turn with me to Philippians
chapter 1. Philippians 1 verse 20, According
to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall
be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also
Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life
or by death. He Himself is magnified. He is to be glorified and praised
and blessed above everything else. Worshipped above everything
else. Everything else that is. Our
text said, Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad
in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, the Lord be magnified. Amen. All right, let's
all stand together.