Okay, go back with me to Luke
chapter 6, blessed words of our blessed Lord, who began this
sermon to his people saying, blessed, blessed, blessed are
the highly favored, happy, should be happy. Happy are they that
hunger and thirst after the gospel, happy are those that weep over
their sins, they'll laugh. They're going to laugh because
of the forgiveness of sin. Blessed are you, happy are you,
and men shall hate you. He just said that. They shall
hate you. And verse 26, woe is unto you
when men speak well of you. They did that to their fathers,
did their fathers to the false prophets. Now, we're going to
look at Simon Peter, what he says in a moment. But he says,
people should behold our good conversation and works and glorify
our God, and we should not be hated for our own meanness. But now, he said, if you're hated
for Christ's sake, for the gospel's sake, that's wonderful. That's
wonderful. And if we're more outspoken about
the truth, we will be. Our Lord promised that. And then
verse 27, this is where we left off. But I say unto you, they're
going to hate you. But he says, I say unto you,
love your enemies. Do good to them that hate you.
I need this desperately. I need to learn this. The theme,
perhaps, of what he's saying is found in verses 35 and 36.
This is a summary. of all that he's just said. Love
your enemy. Do good. Lend. Hope him for nothing
again. Your reward shall be great. Verse
35. You'll be children of the highest. These are God's people. He's
kind to the unthankful and the evil. Be ye therefore merciful
as your Father also is merciful. So this is a theme of what he's
saying, and I entitled it Love, Kindness, and Mercy. I need to
learn more about that. He says in verse 27, love your
enemies. Verse 28, bless them that curse
you. Pray for them that despise you. Verse 29, the one that smites
you on the cheek, turn to the other. He that taketh away your
cloak, forbid it not. Take thy coat also. Give to every
man that asketh you. Be kind and merciful. That is
our Heavenly Father, isn't it? That's what he says. He is merciful
and even kind to the unthankful and to the evil. He is kind and
merciful to those that never give him one word of thanks.
That's something that if he's that way, how should we be? All right, verse 27 is where
we begin. I say unto you, which here, let's
stop right there. Remember, he's talking to his
disciples. But his disciples are really the only ones who've
been given ears to hear. That's what he said to them.
Blessed are your ears, they hear. He said many have ears to hear,
but they don't hear. And Isaiah, our Lord even told
Isaiah, go and shut their ears. Blind their eyes, harden their
heart. But how blessed we are if we hear this. But we need
to do more than just hear it. We need to heed it. Our Lord
one time said to his disciples, let these sayings sink down deep
into your ears. I love that song. It says, write
these on the table of my heart. So you that hear, the Lord said,
I say unto you which hear, you which hear, listen to this. This is our Lord Jesus Christ
speaking who is wisdom personified. He is wisdom personified. Everything he says is wisdom. It's not just good advice. It's the only way. It's the truth. It's life. Like Peter once said,
we're going to look at it in a minute. He will see many good
days and good life. Listen. Listen, our Lord said
in Isaiah 55, Here and your soul shall live. Listen to what wisdom
says. He stands and cries, O men, I
call my voices to the sons of men. Oh, he's simple. Understand
wisdom. He fools. Be of an understanding
heart. Here I will speak of excellent
things. The opening of my lips shall
be right things. My mouth shall speak truth. Oh,
how many voices there are today. Very little truth, mostly lies. And people love to have it so.
But to you that hear, who want to hear the truth, who want to
hear, listen, he said. I'm speaking to you, he said.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There's nothing
forward or perverse in them. No ulterior motive. It's all
for our good. And I love this, they're all
plain to him that understand it. And write to them that find
knowledge. That's Proverbs 8, you know that.
Listen to this. Now therefore hearken unto me,
O ye children. Blessed are they that keep my
ways. Hear instruction, hear. Be wise,
refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth
me. People listen to So many voices
today, and few people listen to the voice of the Son of God. That's who I want to hear, don't
you? So that's who he's speaking to, those that have been given
ears to hear. I say unto you which hear. All
right, first thing. Love your enemies. Do good to them which hate you. Love your enemies. Love them. Do good to them. Do
good to them. 1 Peter, all right, let's go
over there. 1 Peter chapter 2. Simon Peter was standing there
when the Lord was saying, or sitting, he was probably sitting
like the multitude was on the mountain that day. Do you reckon
he ever got tired of sitting and hearing the Lord speak? Oh,
my. Would you have loved to have
heard his voice? I mean, his literal voice. Someday we wish.
1 Peter 2, look at this, verse 20, what glory is it, 1 Peter
2, 20, what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults,
you take it patiently? You need to be buffeted. But when you do well and suffer
for it and take it patiently, this is acceptable to God. Even
here unto where you call, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example that you should follow His step, who did
no sin. We've done plenty of sin. He
did no sin, neither was Gaal found in his mouth, who when
he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously,
who his own self bare our sins in our sin in his own body on
the tree. You remember when he was silent
before Pilate? I love that. He opened, he spoke
not a word. Why? Because He's us. And He became guilty for us. He could have defended Himself
to that. He could have said, I'm innocent of all charges.
But He didn't. Why? Because He's us. I love that. He bore our sins in His body. Look at 1 Peter 3, verse 8. Finally, and this is what our
Lord is teaching. The apostles did, finally, be
all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren,
be pitiful, full pity, be courteous, that is, considerate of the other
person first. Isn't that our Lord? He thought nothing of the shame,
endured the cross. Not rendering evil for evil,
verse 9, or railing for railing, but contrary wise, blessing,
knowing that you're there until you're called, that you should
inherit a blessing. But he that will love life and
see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil. Solomon,
who was taught by our Lord long before Peter, he said, he that
keepeth his tongue, or his lips, keepeth his soul from troubles. James wrote a great deal about
it. Simon Peter, he learned our way. He was always speaking up. He wished he hadn't. Let us refrain,
verse 10, our lips, our tongue from evil, and our lips from
flicking guile. Let us just chew evil, avoid
it, do good, let him seek peace, and ensue it. The eyes of the
Lord are over the righteous. His ears are open unto their
prayer. But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. Look at verse 16. But if they
speak evil of you, if you have a good conscience and they speak
evil of you as of evildoers, they're going to be ashamed.
They falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. Better
if the will of God be so that you suffer for well-doing than
for evil-doing. For Christ also has once suffered
for sins, just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
Right there's the gospel in a word, in a line. So he tells us to love our enemies, do good to
them, but hate you. Chapter 4. On and on, Peter reminds
us of what he learned. Chapter 4, verse 8. Above all
things have fervent charity among yourselves. Charity shall cover
the multitude's sin. Hospitality. Verse 12. Beloved,
now here he is talking about this hatred and persecution for
the truth. Brethren, beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, so
some strange thing happen unto you. Rejoice inasmuch as you
are partakers of Christ's suffering. And when his glory shall be revealed,
you shall be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for
the name of Christ, happy, blessed." So that's what our Lord is saying
in it. Go back to Luke 6. Simon Peter
learned that well. Early on, he was a coward, remember? And he denied the Lord. And that
was good for him, wasn't it? Later, the Lord gave him another
opportunity. But he was thankful. And they
whipped them with an inch of their lives, Simon Peter and
others, James and John. They went home rejoicing that
they were able to suffer shame for his name. The Lord didn't leave them, didn't
deny Himself. You know, long before this, as
I said, the Lord taught Solomon, but He taught Moses. Remember John? John said, this
is no new commandment. Remember that? This is nothing
new. The Lord taught this to all the
children of Israel through Moses. Listen, Leviticus 19. Thou shalt
not hate thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt in no wise
rebuke thy neighbor. Verse 18 in Leviticus 19, Thou
shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of
thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord. Another place
he said, love the stranger. Why? Because the Lord said, you
are a stranger. And I took him in. So he taught
Moses, the same Lord Christ, the same yesterday, today, forever.
He taught Moses. He taught David. Listen to David
in Psalm. You can turn anywhere in a Psalm.
David learned this well, didn't he? Psalm 37, 73, 34. Listen
to that. I didn't find it. Psalm 34. This is what the Lord
taught David. He said, What man is he that
desires life and loveth Many days you may see good. Keep your
tongue from evil, your lips from speaking God. Depart from evil.
Do good. Seek peace and pursue it. The
eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. His ears are open
unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against
them that do evil. He said, I will pay. He rinses
his mouth. Don't you pay. You were quite
evil with good. That's what the Lord said. Listen
to Psalm 37. You know these verses. Trust
in the Lord and do good. Delight thyself in the Lord.
He'll give you the desire for your heart. Commit thy way unto
the Lord. Trust in Him. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently.
Cease from anger. Forsake wrath. Fret not thyself
in any wise to do evil. It's the Lord. The Lord did it. The Lord sent them. Enemies. So, in our text, he says, love
your enemy. Do good to them which hate you. Verse 28, bless them that curse
you. Luke 6, 28. Bless them that curse
you. Pray for them which despitefully
use you. Who knows? Who knows? The Lord might turn that person's
heart, your worst enemy, until they become your best friend.
Could that happen? Go to Acts chapter 9 with me.
Acts chapter 9. Here's an illustration of that.
Acts chapter 9. Bless them that curse you. Pray
for them which despitefully use you. Who knows? The Lord may
turn them. He turned us, didn't he? He said we were by nature children
of wrath, even as others, but God. Acts 9, verse 10, there
was a certain disciple of Damascus named Ananias. To him said the
Lord in a vision, Ananias? He said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
The Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which
is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one
called Saul of Tarsus. Behold, he prayeth. Verse 13,
Ananias said, No, he's a mean man. He hates us. He's going to have to kill us.
He doesn't hate you now. It wasn't you he hated down in
the house, it was me. And I broke down their enmity.
Now he's a whipped puppy. Oh, the Lord said, verse 15,
Go thy way. He's a chosen vessel unto me.
See, Saul wouldn't have been turned if he hadn't been chosen.
Saul didn't decide for Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ decided
for Saul. And he broke his proud heart, didn't he? He broke down
that enmity in him. Like he does in every child of
God. Maybe it's not so prominent in...
Mindy and I were talking about, and I made this statement, you
know, we all by nature hate God. That's what Romans 1 said. Romans
3, we're not thankful and so forth and so on. It doesn't really
manifest itself in some as others. And I know there are some, like
John the Baptist never did. He never did. But that's the goodness of God.
That's the restraining grace of God. That's the mercy of God.
If somebody grows up under the truth and never rejects it and
believes it, it's just not here yet, but it's here, but they
never reject it, praise the Lord. He gets all the glory for it.
Right? I think it's true about you. But he's a chosen vessel on the
man to bear my name. Ananias went in verse 16. Look
at this. I'll show him how great things
he must suffer. You see, not only given I thus
believe, but to suffer. Ananias went in, entered into
the house, put his hands on him and said, He didn't think he'd ever say
this. Brother Saul. I love being able
to say that to somebody that I believe the Lord has revealed
Himself to. Brother Saul. No sweeter words
to me. So, go back to Luke 6. Love your
enemy. Do good to them which hate you.
Bless them that curse you. Pray for them. Pray for them.
The Lord is able to save to the uttermost. Isn't He? You're looking at the prime example. I'm glad you didn't know me at
one point in my life. But the Lord did. And he broke
down that enmity and that pride. Not all of it, but it's still
happening. So bless them, pray for them.
Turn the other cheek, verse 29, unto him that smited thee on
the one cheek, offer the other Also, turn the other cheek. You know, it takes two to fight. Nobody's going to fight you if
you don't fight back. It's just wise counseling. Turn the other
cheek. Verse 29. For him that taketh
away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Forbid him
not. You know what we should say?
Well, the Lord gave it to him. And the Lord took it away. That
person didn't take it away. The Lord did. You remember what
happened to Job? You remember what all happened
to Job since the Sabaeans came down? Mean, mean enemies of God. And the Sabaeans came down and
just slaughtered all his cattle and all this and that. And then
the Chaldeans came. Job didn't blame any of them.
Did he? Job didn't say, I hate those
Chaldeans, I hate those Sabians, I hate those Moslems. He didn't
say that. He said the Lord did that. Didn't
he? The Lord gave. A tough way to
take it away, but the Lord's the one that did it. Didn't he?
The Lord said, I make peace, I create evil. I am the Lord.
I do all this stuff. I am the Lord. There is none
other. Eli didn't blame the Lord, did he? He said, it's the Lord.
Let Him do what seems good. And He always does good. Though
it seems like the worst thing that could happen to us at the
time, it's not. Because the Lord only does good
for His people. No evil befalls His people. None. None. Good, that's a good point. We'll
find out. Some day we're going to know.
And I quote this all the time. I never get tired of quoting
it. Old Brother Scott Richardson. He said, if you knew, if only
you knew what God knows, you'd order your life exactly like
He ordered it. You wouldn't change a thing.
And some day, sister, we're going to look back on it all. Thank
you for doing that. I thought it was the worst day
of my life, but thank you, Lord, for doing it. I see how it all
worked together. I see how it had to happen. It's all connected. And I would have changed it,
but thank you, Lord. Forgive me for not believing in you.
Cry. Who took it away? If your enemy
takes it away, who did it? We were down in Mexico one time.
You just don't leave anything out at all. They've got locks
and bars and everything. If you leave something out and
you turn your back, it's gone. But Walter, I was washing his
car, I think, for him, and I took the floor mats. And I said, no,
gringo, and I put the floor mats out there on the sidewalk to
dry, you know, and went in to get a towel and came back, and
they're gone. And you know, Walter, you know,
floor mats aren't cheap, and he wasn't happy, but he said,
he finally said, somebody must need a good set of floor mats. He sure had enough money to go
buy some oil. That's the way we ought to think about everything,
shouldn't it? Look at verse 30. Give to every
man that asketh of thee. Give to every man that asketh
thee. This is a short version of Matthew's
Gospel Sermon on the Mount. Listen to what our Lord says.
In Matthew 7, he said, ask and it shall be
given you. That's our heavenly father. He
said to us, give to every man that asketh you. Didn't he? And we said, every man. No questions
asked. All right, here's what he said.
Ask, you ask, it shall be given you. Seek, you'll find. Knock, it'll be open. Everyone
that asketh, receive. That's how just God is. That's
how good God is. That's how merciful God is. If
you ask, you're going to receive. He that seeketh, findeth. Him
that knocketh, open. What man is there of you who, if his son
asks for bread, will give him a stone? He asks for fish, will
give him a serpent? If you, being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father,
which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?
All things whatsoever he would that men should do to you, do
to them. Call it the golden rule. That's the next verse. I don't
know who coined that term, but it's okay. It's okay. It sure
is golden. And fit words are like apples
of gold and pitchers of silver. That's what the words of our
Lord are. That's true. This is a golden saying. That's
okay. I like that. Golden rule. So he says in our text here,
give to every man that asketh of thee. But he's a con man.
You know what he said? You ever been a con man? You
ever promised God something that you did not intend to keep? Huh? That's why I said don't
bow, bow, don't pay it. Anybody. I'll do better. Here, He giveth, He giveth. That James 1 where it says, If
any of you lack wisdom, let it ask of God who giveth liberally
and upbraideth not. He giveth more grace, He giveth
more grace. And we thank Him for it and we
abuse it. We don't use it properly and does He upbraid us and say,
I'm not giving you any more. You wasted what I gave you. Does
He ever do that? Never. But if I give him this money,
he'll just go out and buy liquor with it. Believe me, people. There's lots of people come over
here and ask for money. All the time. All the time. And
there are professionals. There are people that do that
professionally. Like in Roanoke, it's on the corner, it's a syndicate. There are. There really are.
One time a woman called and she said, What did she say? Is this Bethel
Baptist Church? I said, no, we're C. We're right
after the B's. She was going down the yellow
pages calling all the churches looking for money. Now, this
is simple. They're right before us. We're
next. Give to every man an asset. The
Lord will repay. One time, Somebody came, and
I knew, I just knew, what he was going to do with it. He had
that look about him, going to go buy, go to the liquor store.
I gave him something, okay, and he left. I got in my car, and
I followed him. He went in the grocery store,
and he came out with some groceries. I thought, good, good. You just
don't know. But our Lord said, give. Didn't
it? I'll repay. He that lendeth to
the poor, Proverbs said, lendeth to the Lord. And what do we have
we have not received him? Now, this obviously doesn't apply
to you, Catherine, that you're a lender. You have to have somebody
in good standing to lend to, don't you? But for us, everybody's
asking. Catherine wouldn't have a job
if she did that. But that's what he says, doesn't it? That's what
he says. That's what he does. That's what
he does. And it says in verse 30, Give
to every man, and of him that taketh away thy good, ask not
again. Take it away, ask not again. Verse 31, As you would that men
should do unto you, do ye also to them likewise. Do to them. Now this is not the
rule by which the world operates, is it? No, the world operates
on the principle, what's in it for me? It's all about me. That's
not our Lord's rule. He says, you're going to come
after me, you're going to have to deny yourself. You're going
to take up your cross, be hated for the truth, for the Christ,
for the gospel sake, even for good work, you're going to be
hated. And follow me, you're going to have to follow me. You're
going to be persecuted, maligned, spoken evil of. But all great
is your reward which is nothing. In fact, he said, I am thy exceeding
favor. Just following him is a reward nothing. Having your heart and your mind
and everything taken off of this perishing world, that's a good
thing. Show us what it is, the truth
of it. But the world doesn't operate
like this. Isaiah 26.10 says, You let favor be showed to the
wicked, he'll not learn righteousness. We just do it all over again.
You'll be alone just now. But not God's people. They need
to learn a lesson now. We do. We do. Alright, look at
our text again. Verse 32. If you love them which
love you, what thank have you? Sinners also love those that
love them. Do you notice that he's distinguishing between sinners
and his people? He's not calling them sinners
right now. They're his saints, they're his children. They're
sinners, all right, but he's not calling them that. And in
other places, it says sinners in Revelation, sinners shall
not stand in the congregation. The Psalms and the Revelation,
sinners won't be there. They used to be sinners. They
used to be sinners, but their sins were put away. Their sins
were put on Christ. Christ was made sin for them.
They're not sinners anymore. They're righteous, they're holy,
they're unblamable, unreprovable in God's sight. Why? Because
he said so. Because he did so. Because he
paid for them. Right here, he's calling everybody
else sinners. Notice that? Sinners do that. Love those that love them. If
you do good to them, which do good to you. Verse 33. What thank
have you? Sinners also do even the same.
You can take the worst person on earth You know, people love
them, they love them back. But now, verse 34, if you lend
to them that hope to receive, what thank have you? Sinners
lend to sinners to receive as much again. But now, love your
enemies. Do good. Lend, hoping for nothing
again. And your reward shall be great.
You shall be children of the highest. He's kind unto the unthankful,
unto the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as
your Father also is merciful. You'll be children of the highest.
Alright, is he telling us to do what he did not do? Alright, now I want you to look
at this. I want you to look at this now.
Go with me to, where do I start? We'll go to Colossians chapter
1. In all of this, Christ showed
us. He illustrated this in his crucifixion. Christ did all of these things.
Christ crucified. He did all of these things that
he told us to do. He said, pray for your enemy.
Love your enemies. Listen to this. You're in Colossians. You can turn anywhere. You can
turn anywhere in these pages. He said, love your enemies. Pray
for them that despitefully use you. Here's what Romans says. When you when you were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for who? Who did Christ
die for? Ungodly. Now, Scarcely for a
righteous man, one will die. Peradventure, a good man, some
would even dare to die. But God, Christ, commendeth His
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Love your enemies? That's exactly
what He did. Pray for them that despitefully
use you? He's hanging on that cross and
mocking him. And what's the first words out
of his mouth on that cross? The very first words out of his
mouth. And these are the words that
slew the enmity in me. Father, forgive. Didn't he do that? What I'm trying
to want to show us is no amount of striving to do these things
will make us do it. You can try all you want to,
to love. You can grit your teeth. You
can say, I want to do better. You can get, you can, you can
vow to do it and it won't work. One thing will motivate us. One thing will make us do these
things. Christ's crucifixion. One thing. When we see, that's the only
way we're going to love our enemies. When we see that he loved me. When I was his henchman. Turn
the other cheek. Is that what he did? Oh, brother. They blindfolded him. And they
wear black coats over there. And they hit him as hard as they
could. He could have called twelve legions
of angels. Don't you know the angels were...
If angels got mad, don't you know they're thinking, let us
wipe these Words out! No. Turn to Jesus. He did that. That's the only thing. Pray for
them that curse you. I have that written down. 2 Samuel 3-7 Shimei. David learned this lesson well.
Shimei. was a godless man, a God-hater,
hated David. He loved Saul and he hated David. And Chimei, one time, David and
his men were riding by and started cussing him and cussing him,
throwing rocks at King David and kicking dust on him. And
Abishai, David's right-hand man, said, let me go and take his
head off him. Read it for yourself, it's wonderful.
He said the Lord sent him to curse me. The Lord sent him to curse me. Did
the Lord deal with Shimei? He sure did. Solomon had his
head cut off. But David said the Lord sent
him. David knew, because of his transgressions, I deserve a good
cousin. I deserve a whole lot more than
that. This is light. This is a light affliction compared
to what I deserve, didn't it? Where did I have you turn? Colossians
1, okay. Colossians 1. I said you could
turn anywhere. Colossians 1, verse 21. Look
at this. Verse 20, having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked work, yet now hath he reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death, through an unspeakable,
terrible, painful, torturous death. He took what you deserve
to present you holy and unblameable and unapprovable in his sight.
That's the only thing that will motivate us to do what he said. If I, your Lord and Master, had
done this for you. Look at 1 John 4. Look at this. Oh, my brethren. And this, you
need to keep this chapter here in mind. in reference to John
3.16. John wrote that gospel, and this
goes well. This will tell you who Christ
died for, who God loved. Who's he writing to? 1 John. Who's he writing to? Remember,
we've been looking at that. God's people, little children. We're going to look at chapter
2, Sunday. Fathers, little children, young
men that know him. Brethren, beloved, and on and
on it goes. He's writing to God's people,
and he uses this pronoun, us, us, us. He talks about them,
the world, the world, the world, doesn't he? Us. All right, now
look at 1 John 4, verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God. Everyone that loveth is born
of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. In this was manifested love of
God toward us. Write that down right beside
John 3, 16. Because that God sent His only
begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. Herein
is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be this propitiation, bloody sacrifice for our sin. Brethren, beloved, if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one." You see that? So that's the only motive, that's
the only thing that will bring us about that. Without Him, we
can do nothing. But looking to Christ, we will
at least, we can learn this. pray for. And so he says, oh,
I had so many. He says in verse 35, he's kind. He's kind unto the unthankful,
he's kind. Don't you like, the word sounds
kind. Kind. Be kind one to another,
tender hearted. Love is kind. Don't you hate when you're unkind?
Our Lord is so kind. The word kind means gracious.
Easy means tender. I do want you to turn one more,
okay? I have 104 more. But Psalm 145 is the psalm of
His greatness. Psalm 145 is a psalm that could
be called the psalm of His greatness. Psalm 145. The Lord is kind. He's tender. It's easy to be
treated. Love is kind. God is love. Christ
is love. Oh, there's so many scriptures
that exhort us to be kind one to another, tender hearted. Husband,
love your wives in a kind manner as Christ loved. We tend to get put out with and
upset with and irritable and agitated. She's asking too much
of me. She's always asking things of
him. Yeah. How about us? Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme,
gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. Huh? Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
Isn't that right? Help me, help me, help me, help
me, help me, help me, help me. What do we do for him? Not much. Love your wives as
Christ loved the church. Someone asked the secret to longevity
of marriage, long marriage. Well, this is it. Husbands, love
your wives as Christ loved the church. Right? What's that? He was supposed
to be served. She's supposed to be his helpmate,
but what did he do? He's the one served her. At last, where
am I? Oh, Psalm 145. And this talks
about the Lord's greatness. Verse 3, Great is the Lord and
greatly to be praised. His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare
thy mighty act. I will speak of the glorious
honor of thy majesty, thy wondrous work. Men shall speak of the
might of thy terrible act. I will declare thy greatness.
They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,
and shall sing of thy righteousness." Now, here it is, the Lord's greatness.
The Lord is gracious. Here's His greatness. He's gracious. He's full of compassion. It means
He understands our frame. If we were more understanding
like our Lord, if we really did consider one another's frame,
we'd be more kind. If he was considered everybody's
friend, he'd be more kind. Here's his greatness. Here's
how great our God is. He's compassionate. He's full
of compassion. He looked over that. Don't mistake
love and compassion. Don't equate compassion with
love. There's no sense in which God loves every single human
being. No sense. But he's compassionate. And I
quoted Sunday that he takes no pleasure in the death of the
wicked. He's compassionate. It says he looked over that whole
multitude and had compassion on them. Didn't he? All of them. Slow of anger. Here's his greatness.
Verse 8. Slow of anger and of great mercy. How great is he? He's great in
mercy. The Lord's good to all. See that?
His tender mercies. or over all His works. Look down at verse 15. Oh, verse
14, this is a really cool song. But verse 14, the Lord upholdeth
all that fall, raiseth all that be bowed down. The eyes of all
wait upon Thee. Thou givest them their meaning
due season. It doesn't matter who it is, He gives it to them.
Thou openest Thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
Oh, the Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all
His works. The Lord is mine and all of them that call upon Him.
All that call upon Him in truth, truly, He'll fulfill the desire
of them that fear Him. He'll hear their cry. He'll save
them. The Lord preserves all of them that love Him. So David said, isn't God great? Isn't He great? So, our Lord says, our Lord said,
your Father is is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. They don't observe it. Now, he
doesn't have to be, but he is. That's just the way he is. Be,
therefore, merciful, as your Father also is merciful. The same word would be kind.
Okay, stand with me. Our Father in Heaven, thank You
for Your tender mercy. Thank You for Your goodness.
Thank You for Your grace. Thank You for Your kindness. Thank You, Lord. And Thy mercy
is higher than the heavens. Oh, Lord, we thank You. Words
are not sufficient to thank You. Thou art great. Great is the
Lord, and greatly to be prayed. You've made all Your goodness
pass forth in merciful and gracious He's forgiven all our iniquities,
healed all our diseases. Oh, Lord, bless the Lord. Oh,
my soul, all is within me. Bless His holy name. Thou art
worthy to be praised, for great is our Lord. The greatest thing
of all, Lord, the unspeakable gift, the greatest display of
Thy mercy and grace and kindness and love, sending Thy Son down
here to be a bloody sacrifice. And so we pray these things,
giving thanks in Christ's name. Amen.