Go with me, if you would, back
to Psalm 57. Psalm 57. At all times and in all circumstances,
There is a Psalm that fits the heart's condition of every believer
at all times, under all circumstances. When we get into a certain place,
sometimes there's nowhere else to go but the Psalms. The Psalms are our voice when
we don't have one. The Psalms are our cry when we
don't even have strength to cry. The Psalms are our words when
we just can't find any. This right here is the heart
of every child of God on paper. This was David's heart's cry. This is my heart's cry. And I believe this is your heart's
cry. David said in verse 1 be merciful unto me. Oh God Be merciful
unto me for my soul trusteth in thee Yea in the shadow of
thy wings will I make my refuge? Until these calamities be overpassed
Does that not speak for us? Does that not speak for us? Lord, I just want to curl up
under the protection and the shadow of thy wing until all
this is over. I'd just like to stay right there.
Could I just sit here? Could I just sit here until all
this is over? Look with me at Psalm 91. Psalm 91 says, he that dwelleth
in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is
my refuge and my fortress. My God in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings
shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield
and buckler. That's all we want. That's all
we want. We just sang, Jesus, lover of
my soul, let me to thy bosom fly. That's all we want. While
the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is not, hide
me, O my Savior, hide, till the storms of life are past. Safe into the haven, guide, just
guide me right into the haven. Oh, receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none. I'm hanging my helpless soul
on thee. Leave, oh, leave me not alone. Still support and comfort me. All my trust on thee is stayed. All my help from thee I bring. Cover my defenseless head with
the shadow of thy wing. Thou, oh Christ, art all I want. More than all in thee I find. Raise the fallen. Cheer the faint,
heal the sick, and lead the blind. Just and holy is thy name. I am all unrighteousness. False and full of sin I am. Thou art full of truth and grace. Plenteous grace with thee is
found. Grace to cover all my sin. Let
the healing streams abound that's that's only one thing that's
the blood of healing Make and keep me pure within thou of life
the fountain art Freely, let me take of thee spring thou up
within my heart rise to all eternity Is that cry on your behalf? Does that speak for you that
speaks for me I That speaks for me. That speaks for all of God's
people. We all cry with David back in
our text. Go with me back over to Psalm
57. We all cry with him in verse
1. Be merciful unto me, O God. Be merciful unto me. This is the number one thing
I need. I need mercy. I need mercy, and
I need a double portion of it. Be merciful unto me, oh God,
be merciful unto me. Mercy, mercy. My sin is so great. My sin is so great. But David
said, my soul trusteth in thee. All of my hope of all forgiveness
is in you. All of my hope is in you. All my hope is in you. If you look back at Psalm 51,
turn back a page to Psalm 51. David said, have mercy upon me,
oh God. According to thy loving-kindness
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions Wash me throughly from mine iniquity. What does he wash us in? his
blood Wash me in your blood wash me throughly from mine iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin and For I acknowledge my transgressions
and my sin is ever before me against thee, thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. But he said in verse seven, if
you will purge me with hyssop, I'll be clean. I'll be clean. Wash me and I'll be whiter than
snow. That's mercy. That's what mercy
is We don't deserve mercy But David cried for mercy and God
gave him mercy Now David did cry Psalm 57 personally he did
cry it from his own heart and He meant what he said, he was
crying it on his own behalf. But Psalm 57 is also the cry
of our Lord purging us from those sins. It's his cry to his father
in the very moment that he was being merciful to us. It's the
cry from the grave of our sin, the grave that we were supposed
to endure. Back in Psalm 57, listen to the voice of our Lord
crying to his father, bearing the punishment of our sin. He
said in verse one, be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto
me, for my soul trusteth in thee. Yea, in the shadow of thy wings
will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpassed, all
the sin that you and I have committed, all the calamities of our sin
being laid on him. Verse two, he said, I will cry
unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for
me. He shall send from heaven and
save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up.
God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among
lions, roaring lions, and I lie even among them that are set
on fire. I'm laying here amongst men who
are set on fire. Even the sons of men whose teeth
are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou
exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the
earth. They have prepared a net for
my steps. My soul is bowed down. They have
digged a pit before me into the midst whereof they are fallen
themselves. My heart is fixed, oh God, my
heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise. Can you imagine in that very
moment? He said, this is what I'll do in this very moment.
I will sing and give praise. Now watch verse eight. He said,
awake up my glory. Awake, psaltery and harp. I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among
the people. I will sing unto thee among the
nations, for thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth
unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above
the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the
earth. That was the accomplishment of
mercy. That was the accomplishment of
mercy I love that song a ransom was found love paid the price
on calvary's mound Judgment was met the law satisfied and mercy
was born When a ransom was found that is him paying the price
of mercy and after he accomplished that After he accomplished that
victory over the grave and overseeing he did awake and He did arise
and he was exalted high above all things high above the heavens
high above all the earth and knowing that Allows a believer
to now sit there and rest under the shadow of his wings Now that
he's seated on his throne, high and lifted up, God's people sit
there trusting in everything he's accomplished, knowing that
he's our refuge until all the calamities of this life are overpassed. All of these calamities that
keep coming, all these calamities that keep coming. Now, this is
what I'd like for us to enter into for just a moment in verse
two. In verse two, he said, I will
cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things
for me. That was the cry of our Lord
on behalf of his people. And that's the cry of his people.
The very cry, because God was merciful to us in his own blood. and has safely taken us to himself
because of everything he has done, I will cry unto God most
high, unto God that performeth all things for me. Now here is
some comfort for recipients of mercy. As we all sit here together,
all right, here we sit together, all who have received mercy,
As we all sit here together under the shadow of his wing, trusting
him concerning all things. Here we sit under the shadow
of his wing, trusting him, trusting him, trusting him for all things. As we watch and live through
all of these calamities of life, that are taking place in all
things. Let's remember these things concerning all things. I have some scriptures that I
believe will help us to just sit a little more still, sit
a little more comfortably. Here are some things to remember
about all things. The first one is in Hebrews chapter
one. Go with me over there to Hebrews
chapter one. Hebrews 1 verse 1 says God who
at sundry times and in divers manners Spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by son Whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also
he made the worlds Who being the brightness of his glory?
and the express image of his person and upholding all things
by the word of his power. Our Lord and our God is upholding
all things by the word of his power. He is upholding all things
by the word of His power. All of heaven is being upheld
by the word of His power. All of the heavens are being
upheld. All the stars and the... It's
all being upheld by the word of His power. This world is being
upheld. And it continues day after day.
It rotates one more time. By the word of his power, his
covenant, his covenant of mercy is being upheld by the word of
his power. And you are being upheld by the
word of his power. David said, although my house
be not so with God, although it seems like everything is falling
apart, He hath made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in
all things, and sure, it's sure, because it's being upheld by
the word of his power. All things have been delivered
into his hand, and he is in his father's hand, and that's a safe
place to be. That's a safe place to be God's
people are in a safe place They're in a safe. It doesn't matter
what's going on around them. They're in a safe place So no
matter what calamities are going on around us Let's sit right
here safely under the shadow of his wings trusting that all
things everything is being upheld by the word of his power. All right, now turn with me to
Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one, verse
16 says, For by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him. And he is before
all things and by him all things consist. And he is the head of
the body, the church who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. Preeminence means that he might
be first. That he might be the highest
that he might receive all the glory for it all the glory for
it Romans 11 36 it says of him Through him and to him are all
things To whom be glory forever Amen It's all to him of him through
him to him. I To him be glory forever. Amen Ephesians 1 says he works
all things after the counsel of his own will he's before all
things and by him all things Consist that he might have the
preeminence that he might have the glory In all things would
you want anything to happen? If he did not receive the glory
in it If the glory was taken from him Every calamity in life that happens
happens for his glory every calamity in life It happens for His glory. All things redound to the glory
of God. All things. Every single thing. Everything gives Him glory. Everything
gives Him glory. Everything praises Him. All right,
now turn with me to Romans 8. Knowing this, I believe most
of you know what we're about to read. Knowing this does not
make calamities less painful. Knowing this does not make calamities
easier. It just helps us to sit still.
Under the shadow of his wing trusting patiently in his purpose
trusting his purpose Romans 8 verse 28 says we know that all things
Work together for good everything is somehow a part of his great
work of good and to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. In everything
that happens, in everything that happens, knowing this doesn't make it
easier. Knowing this doesn't make it less painful. And I'm
speaking to myself at the moment. In everything that happens, no
matter what the reaction of the flesh is, no matter how it appears
to the flesh, the spirit in a child of God can always trust, always,
always, and can always wait patiently to see the good come from it. Everything that happens A child
of God can always sit under the shadow of his wings and wait
to watch good come from it. For every soul who is called,
the called according to his purpose. If we could see God's purpose
in it, if we honestly could see God's purpose in it, if we could
just see God's purpose in it, we would not undo one calamity
that has taken place. We wouldn't. We wouldn't undo
one situation that brought sorrow. We wouldn't undo one situation
that brought pain, not one. Joseph told his brethren, you
meant it for evil, God meant it for good. He saw God's purpose
in it, saw his purpose. Everything that God does results
in good and God does everything. All things are being upheld by
the word of his power. He is before all things and by
him all things consist that in all things he might have the
preeminence. And according to his purpose, all things work
together for good. Now turn with me to Mark chapter
seven. Here's another way of saying
that. Mark chapter seven. Everything that we perceive to
be a calamity in life Looking back on it This is what we'll
say every time once we turn around and look back on it. This is
what we'll say every time Verse 37 says they were beyond measure
astonished saying He hath done all things well He's done all
things well. Not only did it turn out to be
good, everything turns out to be good. Not only did it turn
out to be good, it could not have turned out any better. Could not have turned out any
better. Not only will we say that throughout
all eternity, We'll say that on this earth. We'll say that
right here on this earth as soon as we get far away from a Calamity
so we can turn around and look back on it just far enough to
turn around and see the big picture Every single time right here
on this earth God's people will say he hath done all things. Well all things all things worked
out to the salvation of his people and All things worked out to
the glory of the Lord. All things worked out for the
furtherance of the gospel. All things work together for
good. He's done all things well. I have one more for us to consider.
Go back to our text. Psalm 57. Verse two says, I will cry unto
God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me. Not only has he performed for
us everything that we could not perform for ourselves, not only did he do the work that
we could not do, that that saving work of mercy But along with
that truth 2nd Corinthians 4 says all things are for your sakes
All things are for your sake not only has he performed all
things for us He has performed all things for us All things for his people Colossians
one said, we just read it. He said, everything is by him
and it's for him. Everything is for him. And if
we are in him, everything is for us in him. In Christ, because of Christ,
everything that happens on this earth is for God's people. Every single thing that happens
on this earth Everything that he has prepared in heaven He's
prepared it for his own people. He prepared it for them If you and I are his children
then he has prepared all things for us All things thank God not
against us Not against us God before us and in the blood and
in the mercy of Christ God is for us And we say with David these are
our Responding words right along with David Lord because of your
mercy We trust in you Sitting right here under the shadow of
your wing This will be our refuge until all the calamities of this
life be over passed How thankful we are to be under his wing How
thankful we are under his wings I am safely abiding though the
night deepens and tempests are wild Still I can trust him. I know he will keep me He has
redeemed me and I'm his child under his wings. Let's all sing
that let's stand together 269