If you would be turned to Psalm
40. Maybe a few here tonight. The
singing always impresses me. It's been on my heart today.
We'll have a new song to sing, won't we? Psalm 40. David was led by the Holy Spirit
to write the Psalms. He was called the Sweet Psalmist
of Israel. He wrote the church's hymn book.
He was the Lord's anointed. The Lord said, I have found him,
a man after my own heart, and he shall fulfill my will. The
Lord found David. David wasn't doing a wonderful
job in finding the Lord. The Lord found him. He anointed
him. He made him after his own heart.
David was a great man and he was used greatly, but he had
troubles and he had sorrows. He was a child of God, but he
had that old man still with him, warring against his flesh. And
I'm so thankful that the Lord, His wisdom allows us to see these
saints of old, the things that they go through. That's a comfort
to me. It's a comfort to know that they
hurt the way that I hurt. That they had unbelief like I
do. They fell daily like I do. And I'm thankful that they had
a sovereign Savior like I do. They were preserved just like
I'm being preserved. Just like you're being preserved.
I want to listen to what David has to say. Do you? That man's
been through some things. The Lord's taught him some things.
Anointed him. I want to hear what David was led to write.
Psalm 40 is a messianic psalm. It means it's about the Messiah.
It's about Christ. Let's look at verse 6 through
8. Only our Master could speak these words. Psalm 40, verse
6. Sacrifice and offerings thou
didst not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened. The
Hebrew word there for open is digged. That's whenever they
would bore the ear of a willing, loving bond slave. He said, you
bore my ear. I love you. I want to serve you.
Burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Now here's the great offering.
Then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my
God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. This is Christ speaking. Paul
tells us that in Hebrews 10. Let's turn over there. Hebrews
chapter 10. Hebrews 10 verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offerings thou wouldst not,
but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Abel gave a sacrifice, didn't
he? The Lord didn't have pleasure
in that sacrifice of Abel's. He had pleasure and Abel trusted
Christ. What that sacrifice represented. Like you read earlier, Cass,
those offerings don't mean anything to the Lord. Is He going to eat
those bullets? Is the cattle on a thousand hills are mine?
If I was hungry, I wouldn't ask you. Those sacrifices didn't
mean anything. It's what the sacrifices pictured at the top. There in verse 7, Then said I,
Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me. What
book is that? It's these scriptures. Yes, that's
true. It's the book of Providence,
the decrees that the Lord laid before the foundation of the
world. It's in the Lamb's book of life. The only one, Christ
is the only one worthy to open that book, able to open that
book. It's written in that book. To do thy will, O God. Verse
8, above when he said sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings
and offering for sin, thou wouldest not. neither has pleasure therein,
which are offered by the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. By the which will, because of
that, because of his will, we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. That's who Psalm 40 is about.
It's our Lord. fact or text. Psalm 40 is a messianic
psalm. It's Christ speaking, but it's
also a psalm of David. It's for David. It applies to
David. That means it applies to us. It's our psalm too. And I'd like to look at that
tonight. First, I want us to see in these first four verses,
this is Christ speaking. This is a song of Christ. And
after that, I want us to see that it's our song too. It's
a song we sing. Psalm 40 and 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
a 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, praise unto our God, Many shall see 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." First I want us to see there
in verse 1, this is a Psalm of Christ. It says, He was waiting
patiently. I waited patiently for the Lord.
Why is it so hard for us to wait on the Lord? I struggle with that. Do you struggle
with that? I'm impatient. I want things done right, and
I want it done right now. I want it done quick. But here, Christ
sets an example for us. It says there in verse 1, He
waited patiently for the Lord. Our Savior endured years of sorrow
and suffering from the cradle to the cross, and a man has had
many sorrows acquainted with grief. He waited and endured patiently
and willingly on the Father's purpose to come to pass. He didn't
give in to temptation as we do. Satan tempted Him in the garden,
didn't he? He tempted our Lord Jesus. He said, if you're hungry,
take these stones and turn them into bread. He tempted Him. He said, do you want men to worship
you? I'll give you all the kingdoms
you can see. He took Him up high so all the land you can see.
He was offering what was already His, but He was tempted nonetheless. So cast yourself off this high
pinnacle. See if angels catch you. Prove
to people who you are. Tempt His Godhead, His Lordship. Christ waited patiently. He was
expecting His Father's will to be performed. Someone wrote many years ago,
Our Master waited patiently 33 and a half years. and suffering
and sorrows, knowing that God was in absolute control, that
He designed all things and decrees all things, and He does it according
to His will. It says there, He heard my cry.
He inclined unto me. Christ said at Lazarus' tomb,
He said, Father, I know you hear me. You always hear me, but I'm
going to say it out loud so these people standing around me can
hear you answer me. So they know that I've talked
to you." Our Savior cried, it is finished. The Lord heard that,
didn't He? How do we know He heard Him?
He raised Him from that tomb. Brought Him out of it. It was
complete. Work was done. Race was over. You fought a good
fight. You've run a good race. Come
home. Brought Him out of the tomb. He said it brought Him
up out of the pit. These pits in the Old Testament
was a big hole in the ground. It wasn't anything fancy. Those men would go and they'd
dig real deep holes, deep until they got down past the clay.
Ground water started coming in. They would take these prisoners
and push them in the hole. And that was it. That's all they
did. They left them to die. And it took a while. They were
down in the bottom of those pits for days and days. Imagine how
filthy that pit was. They didn't take them out of
there for bathroom breaks. They were down in there in that
Clay. They couldn't stand up. Every time they tried to stand
on their own, they fell. Slippery and nasty. It'd take
a while. And then after that long while, it'd be a horrible
death with it. Petrifying. Disgusting. Christ came from
glory. He was with the Father. And He
came to this earth. He was surrounded by sin and
dwelt among us. Dwelt among men. It was the opposite
to everything he was. Opposite to his majesty, opposite
to his holiness, and opposite to his nature. He came down to
a miry pit, didn't he? Look over in verse 12, Psalm
40. It says, For innumerable evils
have compassed me about. Mine iniquities have taken a
hold of me. He didn't have any iniquity. What took a hold of
our iniquity? His elect's iniquity. That's
what he was bearing. So that I'm not able to look up, they
are more than the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart's failing."
Christ came in this horrible pit of sin, this pit of humanity,
this earth that's a pit, and He satisfied God's law. He brought
His children, bought His children with His blood. He purchased
us. And then He was raised from that
pit of corruption to glory. It says, they are setting my
feet on the rock. Verse 2. Christ, the Almighty
God, was raised from that tomb after being forsaken from the
Father. God turned His back on God. He was separated from the
Father. And He satisfied it. He satisfied
those iniquities of me, of you, all of His people. And He raised
them. And he set him at the right hand
of God. He said, I'll make your enemies your footstool. Every
knee will bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord.
That's a good rock to set on for him, isn't it? He's deserving.
It says here, I'll establish, he established my goings. In
his life as the God-man, Christ performed the will of his Father.
He said, I didn't come to do my will. I came to perform the
Father's will. He already had the goings set. They were established. He said, I've come to fulfill
it. I've come to do what my Father sent me to do, His will. John
6 says, For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will,
but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will, which hath sent me, that all which He's given me I should
lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day. Romans said
we're predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. We're
going to be made like Him. He said, this is the Father's
will. I'm going to come to this earth, and every one that you
gave me, I ain't going to lose any of them. No man will snatch
them out of my hand, and I'm going to raise them up at the
last day. It says there in verse 3, and he
hath put a new song in my mouth. Even there is italicized, so
you won't do any harm to the text if you take it out. He hath
put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God. Turn over to Psalm
22, called the Psalm of the Cross. The song that Christ had was
praise to the Father. Psalm 22. Our Savior came to this earth. He
waited patiently on the Lord. His cry was heard. He was brought
out of that terrible pit. His steps were ordered. And he's
set on the rock of the throne. His goings are established. And
he's got a new song in his heart. Psalm 22, 16. For dogs have compassed
me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierce my hands and my feet.
I may tell all my bones. They look and stare upon me.
They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture.
But be not thou far from me, O Lord, Oh my strength, ask thee
to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword,
my darling, that's your darling son, my darling from the power
of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth,
for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorn. What is
he saying? Verse 22, Psalm 22-22. I will
declare thy name unto my brethren. in the midst of the congregation
will I praise Thee." What is He going to say to us? Ye that
fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye seed of Jacob, glorify
Him and fear Him. All ye the seed of Israel. He
accomplished it. He brings that to us, sends His
Spirit to us to comfort us, give us life, quicken us, and puts
His song in our heart too. What's His reward for doing that?
Christ is going to get a reward for that warning. Turn back to
our text, Psalm 40. It says there in verse 3, Many shall
see, and shall fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Many, many
will be made like Him. In Genesis 22 it says, In the
blessing that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying
I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand
which is upon the seashore." We're talking about this Sunday.
You know how many grains of sand are just on the beach down here?
You can't count them. That's all the seashores combined.
That's how many we made like Him. All that's in the Father's
hand. They said, well, you talk about
a handful of people being saved with His hand. a big hand. Jeremiah
33 says, as the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the
sands of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David,
my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. The Lord is
going to multiply that seed and He's going to use those Levites,
those servants. They're still part of Israel.
They just had a different job. Come to preach to them. Many
will be conformed to His image and they're going to see Him
They're going to fear Him, they're going to honor Him, and then
they're going to trust Him. It says there in verse 4, Blessed
is he that trusts. That word trust has confidence.
Where does my confidence lie? Is it my confidence in me? My
abilities? Is it my confidence in my experience?
Something I've learned or something I've figured out? Blessed is
he that trusts. Blessed is he that doesn't respect
the proud. Blessed is he that doesn't turn
to lies. Jesus the Lord trusted the Father. He was no respecter of persons.
He didn't care who it was that came to him, if it was rich or
poor. We saw that Sunday. That was one of the great accusations. He was a friend of publicans
and sinners. That pleases me. He did not turn to lies. Christ
didn't preach a false gospel. He preached Christ. He didn't
come preaching do. He came to preach done. And because
of that, He's blessed. All the glory is His. We can
see that just in these first four verses, this is a psalm
of Christ. It's about Him. And that comforts
me. And I learned something from
Him. My worries start to go away. I stop looking to me and start
looking to Him, what He's accomplished, not what I need to accomplish.
That's comforting. But just like David that wrote
this psalm for David, concerning David, it's a psalm concerning
me. We'll look back at verse 1. We'll look at this as a psalm
of the believer. It says, waited patiently. I waited patiently for the Lord.
Why should we wait patiently on the Lord? We should wait on Him because
of who He is. Because of His wisdom and because
of His power. That's why we ought to wait on
Him. Because He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure. He made the covenant. He's my
wisdom. I should wait on Him to fulfill
that covenant, shouldn't I? And that's not just in me, but
in my brethren, those that He calls out. Our brethren down
in Guyana, that Brother Daniel was preaching to, here we should
wait patiently for those brethren to be called out, shouldn't we?
Be added as Lord sees fit. Christ lived for me. He bought
me. He was raised from the grave. And if the Spirit has made this
known in my heart, made it known to trust His faith, trust Christ's
righteousness, Trust Christ's ability. I should wait with confidence
that through His wisdom and for His glory, I'll be safeguarded
to the end. He'll keep me to the end. And
through all things, I should wait on Him. I should wait on
Him while I'm waiting. It says there, He heard my cry. Have you cried to the Lord for
mercy? Have you begged Him? If you truly have, He's heard
you. How do we know? How do I know
the Lord heard me? It's the comfort that's given. That great comforter
comes. What's that comfort? Comfort
in knowing that when the Father looks at me, all He sees is His
Son. I have been given His perfection. His robe of righteousness has
been put on me. Not mine. Not my filthy rags.
His perfect robe. The elect are made to be conformed
to Christ. We're not made to be conformed
to better images of ourself. I'm not made a better Kevin,
a more perfect Kevin. I'm made to be like Him. New
creature, isn't it? It's a lot different than this
one. It says there, it brought me up from the pit. Christ brings
His sheep from that pit of sin. Brother Henry Mahan said there's
a three-fold pit. We're in the pit of sin, and
that's what our nature truly is, what we were born into. There's
no place to stand in our sin. It's slippery. Every time we
try to stand up, we fall down. There's no standing. Secondly,
it's a pit of self-righteousness. We didn't even know we were in
that pit, and we were proud that our clothes were so clean down
in that mud and that waste. We were in denial of our sin.
We made God a liar. I'm not perfect, but I ain't
that bad. God said all flesh is grass.
We drink iniquity like water. If I say, well, I ain't that
bad or I'm not totally horrible, I'm telling God he's a liar.
That's strong. Thirdly, it's a pit of confusion.
I claim to be and convince myself I was a child of God because
of who my parents were. because of who my pastor was,
where I was born. I had a pride of grace. I'd lied
to myself, lied to those around me. I dressed like a prince. I talked like a prince. I acted
like a prince. But I wasn't a child of the king.
Not yet. I was with those servants. I was no different than a servant.
That's what most people in religion today say. Well, if they look
like a Christian and talk like a Christian, act like a Christian,
they must be Christians. Princes are not made, they are
born. We don't become. If I could elect
to be a prince, I'd take that boy's place that's leaving a
few thousand miles away. Hello, Grandma. I'd go jump right
in his spot. He was born there. I was born
to the Lord. He bought us, made us sons through
that spirit of adoption. Made us whole. Gave us a new
heart. Gave us life. How do you do that? Bring us
out of that pit. It says there, He set my feet on the rock. What's
our foundation? What's my footing set on? Christ
my rock. Turn over to Psalm 62. Psalm 62 and verse 5. My soul
wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him. He only
is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved in God, my salvation. God is in God is my salvation
and my glory, the rock of my strength and my refuge. is in
God. Trust in Him at all times. Ye
people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. That's who our rock is. That's
who we stand on. My legs may shake, but my feet
will never move. My mind may run, but my feet
will never move. My arms may grow weak, but my
feet will never move. My heart wanders, But my feet
will never move. You know the reason my feet won't
ever move? Christ doesn't move. He said I'm God and I change
not. Thankfully it doesn't depend
on me. It says there He established my goings. Sovereign God of Providence has
ordered all things in the lives of men. He orders all things
and lives of flies and those birds on the hillsides and the
goats and the bugs and everything else. But He orders the lives
of men. He gave me the parents that I
have. He gave me the experiences that I have growing up. He gave me the blessing of sitting
underneath the gospel. A faithful pastor to tell me.
He gave me a heart to follow Christ. He gave me brethren that
have the same life in them that I do. He's established my goings. I didn't pick all that. You've
been told that several times. If you plan how this congregation
would have worked out and how the church would have been set
up here and all that, you couldn't have planned it any better. Nobody
could have. Why? He established your goings. And He gave me a new song. What
song do God's elect sing? His redeemed, blood-bought children. What are they saying? Turn over
to Revelation chapter 5. Revelation 5 and verse 6. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent
forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And
he had taken the book, the four beasts, and the four and twenty
elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps,
and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the
saints." Revelation 5 verse 9, And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof.
Why? For what cause? For thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every
kindred and tongue and people and nation. Does the Lord save
everyone around the world out of every nation? He does. He can. What does that mean? We are all saved the same way.
It doesn't matter if it's in Africa, in Guyana, here, in Canada,
wherever, Russia. The Lord saves every one of us
throughout time the same way. That lamb was slain. His blood
satisfied the Lord. That's our song. Worthy is the
Lamb. He did it all. It says there in our text that many
shall see, shall fear, and shall trust. Have you seen the salvation
of the Lord? Do you honor Him for what He's
done in you? Do you trust Him to keep you?
If so, then verse 4 says, blessed is he that trusts. Blessed is the man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn
aside the lies. Trust the Lord. Put all your
trust in Him for all things. Don't respect the proud sinner
that contributes to Christ's glory with his works. Don't trust
in those things, those proud people. I did something. And
don't turn to a lie. Paul wrote this, "...so we are
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren,
stand fast." Stand fast. Keep your feet from moving from
that rock. Trust Him. Don't respect proud men and women.
Don't give them a time of day. Don't worry about what they have
to say. Don't turn to a lie. Stand fast. That's what Paul
is saying. When it talks about turning from a lie, we'll turn
over to Psalm 11. Psalm 11 verse 1 says, put I my trust." That's what
someone had said to David. He says, How say ye to my soul?
Why do you tell my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? For lo, the wicked bend their
bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may
privately shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations
be destroyed, if we lose our rock, If we lose Christ, if we
turn to something else, to a lie, that other gospel that is no
gospel, what can the righteous do? We cannot flee from Christ
to men's mountains, those mountains of work, those mountains that
the law came from. No matter who it is, no matter
what comes, we must stand on Christ our Rock. We can't be
shaken. We've got to trust Him. and not
flee as those little birds, like a little tiny bird flying for
the hills. Turn over to Nehemiah. You wouldn't think these two
go well together, but they do. Nehemiah, you got the Chronicles,
Ezra, Nehemiah, then Esther, and Job. Halfway between the
Chronicles and Job. Nehemiah chapter 6. Nehemiah
was there when the walls of Jerusalem were falling and he wept. He
cried. And God sent him to rebuild the
walls around the city. Sent him to lay the foundations
of those walls. Put the walls up and set the
gates. That was his job. Nehemiah 6
verse 1. It says, Now it came to pass
when Sambalet, and Tobiah, and Geshem, the Arabian, and the
rest of our enemies heard that I had builted the wall, and that
there was no breach left therein, though at the time I had not
set the doors upon the gates." Everything on that wall around
Jerusalem was done. He just had to hang the gates
on it. Verse 2, "...then that Sambalet and Geshem sent unto
me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages
in the plain of Ono, But they thought to do me mischief." Henry
used to say, if someone's going to take you away from the work
that the Lord gave you to the fields of Ono, you say, Oh no!
On to Ono. Verse 3 says, And I sent messengers
unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot
come down. Why should the work cease whilst
I leave and come down to you? Why should the work that the
Lord put in my hands stop and come down to chat with you fellows?
I'm not wasting my time for that. The Lord gave me something to
do here. Verse 4, Yet they sent unto me four times after this
sort. We will be pursued greatly by
Satan and his armies for preaching this gospel, for believing this
gospel. And multiple, multiple times
they're going to try to turn our affections to those lies,
take us off that rock. And I answered them after the
same manner. Then said Samboleth his servant
unto me in like manner the fifth time, with an open letter in
his hand, wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen,
and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel.
For which cause thou buildest the wall? that thou mayest be
their king according to these words and that thou hast also
appointed prophets to preach of thee in Jerusalem saying there's
a king in Judah and now shall it be reported to the king according
to these words we're going to tell on you come on come now
therefore and let us take counsel together say Nehemiah wanted
a following he wanted to be made king they were questioning his
motives He's preaching the message to build up Himself and His followings,
what they're claiming. He wants to get people under
Him. Verse 8 says, Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no
such things done as thou sayest, but thou faintest them out of
thine own heart. For they all made us afraid,
saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that
it be done not. They were praying that their
hands would get weakened. They wouldn't accomplish this.
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands, Afterward, I came into
the house of Shemia, the son of Delilah, the son of Mehedabel,
who was shut up. Shemia had locked himself in
the temple. And he said, let us meet together in the house
of God within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the
temple, for they will come to slay thee. Yea, in the night
they will come to slay thee. He said, we'll go hide in the
temple. And we'll lock the doors and we can talk about Christ
all you want. We can talk about grace all you want. Talk about
anything you want to talk about. We can be good Calvins inside
of this, talk Calvinism inside of this
temple, as long as we keep the doors shut. They're going to
kill you. We're going to hide. Verse 11 says, and I said, such
a man as I flee, Who's that man? What's such a
man? Is it such a man as I flee? A man God saved from that pit? We serve the Lord because of
what He's done for us. He's done so much great and wonderful
works for me. Should I flee from Him? Such
a man as me? And who is there that being as
I am would go into the temple to save His life? If someone
was like me, the Lord had saved them from themselves. Would they flee too? And he says
there, I will not go in. I will not flee. Verse 12 says,
And lo, I perceived that God had not sent him, but that he
pronounced this prophecy against me, for Tobiah and Samblet had
hired him. He was a hired man. Therefore
was he hired that I should be afraid, do so, and sin, that
they might have matter for an evil report, that they might
reproach me. My God, think upon Tobiah and
Samuel according to these their works, and on the prophetess
Nodiah, and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear."
He didn't turn. He didn't flee from the Lord.
What happened? Verse 15, So the wall was finished. He didn't flee as that little
bird to those mountains, did he? He didn't go hide in darkness. He stayed looking to the Lord.
This congregation will stay looking to the Lord. We will not flee,
not turn to the mountains. Why? The Lord's our trust. That's where my confidence is.
If I had confidence in me or in you, I have reason to worry.
If I have confidence in Him, I have nothing to be afraid of.
Just wait. Wait on the Lord. You won't be
disappointed. You won't be ashamed in that
day, will you? I hope that's a blessing for
you. Let's pray together. Father, you've found us in that
deep, miry pit, waiting to die. How thankful
we are For Your glory, You pulled us out of there. Establish us
on that rock, Lord. Keep our feet firmly planted
on Christ. Keep us looking to Him. Keep
us trusting Him. Keep us waiting on Him. It's
the only hope we have, Lord. We trust You to do it. You've
made a covenant with us through Your Son. He's fulfilled it. He's satisfied it. Don't let
us look to ourselves to satisfy you. Let us lean on Him. Keep our brethren everywhere,
Lord, as you promised you will. Hold them. Keep them firmly planted. Keep them waiting patiently till
the end. Keep our hearts, Lord. Keep us through this week so
we can gather again. Don't let us get discouraged.
Don't let us be afraid and flee like those birds to the mountains.
Don't let us turn to ourselves. Keep us on that solid rock. It's
in Christ's name that we ask it. Amen.