All right, thank you. Good singing,
good playing. We looked at Psalm 84 a couple
of weeks ago. You may remember that. How amiable
are thy tabernacles. I don't know if you remember
that or not, but I was blessed by it and reading on I got the
psalm eighty five I thought, hey I want us to look at that
together. I got the psalm eighty six and I thought, hey I'd like
to look at that. But we only do one at a time.
So psalm eighty five is our text. And though verse ten sticks out.
And that's a verse that many of you have heard quoted often
and even preached from. I'll never forget a man preaching
from that when I was a young believer. A great blessing to
me, but we're going to look at the whole song and the message
is entitled. The Lord has. The Lord will and
the Lord shall. He noticed that while reading
there. Now, the Lord David is a writer, we believe. And he's
just recounting what the Lord has done for his people, for
Jacob, for that is Israel before him. the people before him, what
all the Lord has done. And then he talks about what
he believes according to God's promise he will do. And then
he, in certainty and assurance, he said, the Lord shall, what
the Lord shall do for his people. So this is written to all of
the sons of Jacob. Lord, verse one, thou hast been
favorable unto thy land. That is, shown favor. The Lord
has shown favor to his people, great favor. That's what grace
means. It means highly favored, being
favored, getting what you don't deserve. And the Lord has been
favorable unto his people by choosing them, by electing them.
Now, God is no respecter of persons. You know that. God is no respecter
of persons. But he does choose people. And
that's according to the good pleasure of his own will. And
Psalm 5 verse 12 says, With favor will he compass them. With favor. Those he chooses, he makes his
favorites. And he compasses them as his
favorites. Do you have any favorites? Well,
sure you do. Sure you do. You go out to the
schoolyard when your children are little, There's some favorites
out there. They're your own and you show
them favor. You'd be good to all the children
as much as lies within you. But you have your faith. And
so does God. But it doesn't lie. It's not
because of us. Not because of that. But it's
his choice of us. The Lord has. Look at this. The
Lord has brought and This is making his people his favorite.
The Jews are who David is talking about. And were they better than
the Egyptians? Now, we've clearly seen that,
haven't we, in Exodus. But the Lord made them his favorites. So he showed them favor while
he did not spare the Egyptians. And the same can be said of us,
can it? We're no different. the people
of this world, but the Lord has been faithful, has he not? And the Lord has brought back,
the Lord has brought back the captivity of Jacob. Israel was
all the time getting taken captive, weren't they? They were captive
many times, in Egypt, Babylon, and so on and so forth. But the
Lord continually would bring them back, and is that not us? And the Lord leads captivity
captive. That is, those of us who were
captives to Satan and now captives to Christ, captivated by him. Verse two, thou hast forgiven
the iniquity of thy people. He has. He's forgiven the iniquity
of his people, his people. Scripture says, all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. That's what iniquity is.
Iniquity, you break the word down. means unequal in equities
and means you're not equal to what God requires of us. We're weighed in the balances,
scripture says, and found wanting. Well, God has forgiven the inequity
of his people. How? In case something happens
to us in the next thirty seconds, I'm going to tell you. I was
going to wait until I got to verse ten. Because verse ten
is the answer to all of it. How we know God has, and will,
and shall. But I'm going to tell you in
case something happens, OK? The bomb may drop. Jesus Christ got
on the scales. We're lighter than the dust of
the balance of scripture. We don't we don't even measure
up. Here's God's law. It's heavy. It's weighty. And
we step on the scales and we don't even don't even like dust. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ stepped
on the scale. And we're equal. We've not come
short of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. We've met the glory
of God. He is the equity of God. God just hasn't forgiven. He
has forgiven our inequity. But Christ's people. His people. Do you notice that? He has forgiven
the iniquity of thy people. Thy people. His people. He has,
it says, covered all their sin. You don't need to wonder why
there's a sealer right there. That means just stop and think
about that. It's covered all their sin. I don't know your
past. You don't know all of my past.
I know who does. And it says he covered. It's like it doesn't
exist. It will not be brought up again.
The iniquity scripture says of Israel shall be sought. It will
not be found. God has cast their sins behind
his back. Separated them, their sins from them as far as the
east is from the west. But here it says covered. Under
what? The only thing God all see and
I can't see through. Like, yes. Go ahead, try. Blood. Blood. That'll answer any question I
ask you. He's covered all. What does that mean? Well, my
past sin, not all. Past, present, and future. Thank God for the blood. Now,
just stop and think about that. Thou hast, verse 3, he has, taken
away all thy wrath, all thy wrath, the wrath of God, contrary to
what modern man thinks. The world is not under the love
of God. That is every human being. In that same chapter everyone
quotes, John 3, the very last verse in that chapter concludes
with this, He that believeth not the Son, the wrath of God
abideth on him. The wrath of God. Well, there
was a time when we didn't believe the Son of God. There was a time
we didn't care. Did the wrath of God abide upon
us? Well, now we're still sinners. Scripture says God is angry with
the wicked every day. Well, here it says God has taken
away all his wrath. For who? His people. That's who
he's talking about. How? Once again, in case something
happens. The wrath of God was poured out
on his son. The Lord Jesus Christ. He bore
the wrath of God on behalf of his people. And there is none
left. The rod of God's justice broke on his back. Read on. Thou
hast turned thyself on the fierceness of thine anger. He turned himself
on the fierceness. I love this Psalm 103. My favorite
Psalm. He hath not dealt with us after
our sin. The Lord just has not dealt with
his people according to their sin. nor rewarded us according
to our iniquity. We didn't get what was coming
to us. Christ did. Christ did. But it's
not for our sakes, but for Christ's sake that he did this. Christ
crucified. And yet, does God get angry with
his people? Does he? Let me just ask you,
do you get angry with your children? Of course you do. You don't pour out your wrath
on them. You don't punish them in the strict sense of the word
punish do you? That doesn't apply to God's people.
He doesn't punish them, he chastens them. As Brother Sonicker clearly
pointed out to us, the word chasten means teach. Most of the time
his lessons are very hard lessons, but that's the only kind you'll
learn, aren't you? But do you grow angry with your
children? do you? If they weren't your children,
he'd cast them out, wouldn't he? He'd go angry with them,
and so does the Lord with us. See, we provoke him to anger.
Sure we do. And we feel that anger. We wouldn't
be his children if we did not feel our father's anger, right? I remember distinctly when I
was not in my dad's, sorry to say, good favor. I was always
under his favor. But when I was out of sorts with him, He wasn't
out of sorts with me. I was the cause. 100% of the
time, I was the cause. I provoked him to anger by my
rebellion and so forth. And I remember him being angry
at me, and I felt awful the whole time until that was cleared up.
Until that was cleared up. Well, so are the people of God,
and they say this is the prayer of God's people. Verse four,
turn us. The reason God grows angry, he
says, I've called and you refused. You have not hearkened unto me,
and so forth. Why should you be smitten? You rebelled only
more and more, and so forth. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way. We're headed the other
way, and the scriptures plainly tell us to turn. We won't turn. But that's in God's purpose to
make us feel our rebellion. That makes His mercy and grace
so much sweeter. And they cry. Like Psalm 106,
107. Then they cried after they rebelled
against it. Well, turn back. Psalm 106. Turn
there quickly. I jotted down a few of these
verses. I love this. Psalm 106. See,
here's the cause of God's anger. Psalm 106, you have it? Verse
4, Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearest unto
thy people. O visit me with thy salvation. Verse 6, We have sinned with
our father. We've done everything the Israelites
did. Worse. We know more than they did. Don't
we? Hindsight is 20-20. We have it. Don't we? We have
hindsight. They were to look to a Christ
who had not yet come. He's already come. They didn't
have a Bible written. It's been written. We've sinned
with our fathers, haven't we? We've committed iniquity. We've
done wickedly. Verse 7, Our fathers understood
not thy wonders in Egypt. We do, don't we? Our sin is great. They remembered
not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea.
Look at verse twenty-four down to verse twenty-four. Yea, they
despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word. What about
us? Verse twenty-nine, they provoked
him to anger with their inventions. Verse forty-three, many times
did he deliver them, but they provoked him and were brought
low for their iniquity. Nevertheless, look at this, nevertheless
he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry and he
remembered for them his covenant and repented that is turned himself
according to the multitude of his mercy. So we cry Lord we
see how you turn time and time again. You could have poured
out your anger your wrath but you turn from that. Turn us now turn us read on in
our text Psalm eighty five turn us oh God of our salvation salvation
belong to our God He's the God of our salvation. Cause thine
anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us forever?
Will you draw out thine anger to all generations? Will my children
suffer because of my sin? Verse 6, Wilt thou not revive
us again? Wilt thou not revive us again?
Job one time said, Oh, that I were as in months past. Ever been there? If you're an
older believer, you have, and you will. All believers will
get to a point where they say that with Job. Revive us again. I hope I could say, in the midst
of the years. In the midst of the years. That
thy people, verse 6, may rejoice in thee. Show us thy mercy, O
Lord. Show us thy mercy and grant us
thy salvation. Salvation must be granted. A king grants favor. If they're
his to grant, he can withhold them or he can grant them. Salvation
must be granted. But I'll let you in on something. Every single person who asks
for mercy and salvation, the Lord makes it. God is rich, the
Scripture says, in mercy to all who call on him, and in mercy
and in Psalm 86. Verse 7, I grant us thy salvation. Verse 8, I will hear what God
the Lord will speak. David just prayed, and he says,
I'll hear what the Lord will speak, because he will answer.
God will answer his people. He always has. Well, here's what he'll say.
He will speak peace unto his people. David just asked the Lord to
turn us, cause his anger to cease. David asked the Lord to revive
us. You notice he's praying not just
for himself. Us. The Lord delights to grant
the prayer of an intercessor. Grant us thy salvation, and revive
us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee. Show us thy
mercy, grant us thy salvation. Well, what will the Lord say
in answer to all of that? He'll speak peace. He'll speak
peace to his people. His people. His elect. Notice how he keeps saying that.
To his people. His elect. The object of his mercy. Those
who call on him for that mercy, those who call upon him in truth,
he will speak peace to his mercy, to his saints, to his people,
and to his saints. They're one and the same. They're one and the same. But
look at this. Let them not turn again to vomit. Learn from it. Don't go back
to the vomit like the dog for the sow to wallow in her mind.
You know, that's how you know someone is in the faith. How
you know someone is in the faith is if they die in the faith.
And how you know someone has been saved from sin is they don't
live in sin. Like I said, the dog returns
to the vomit and the sow to the wallow in its mire. The Lord
warned everyone he healed, didn't he? The woman caught in the act
of adultery. That's my favorite passage from
it. The woman was caught in the act
and brought in and cast at his feet. And the Lord stooped down. Oh, he forgave her iniquity. He covered her sin. He took away
his wrath. He turned himself from his anger
against her sin. He was a God of herself. But
he said unto her, as she was about to leave, do you remember
what he said? He said, Woman, where am I that thine accuser?
Doth no man accuse thee? She said, No man, Lord. He said,
Neither do I. Freely forgiven. And then what
did he say? Go and sin no more. Don't do it again. The Lord warned
another time, lest the worst come upon you, the worst thing
come upon you. And he said, the woman at the
well, what about the woman at the well who was living in an
adulterous situation with a man she was not married to? Do you
think she went back to that man? So, he said, let them not return
to their father. Don't do it. Consider what it
took to put it away, the blood of Christ. Surely, verse 9, without
a doubt, his salvation is near them that fear him. Nigh them
that fear him. Who fears the Lord? It's those who fear not fearing
him. It's those who fear not worshiping
him. It's those who fear missing Christ.
It's those who fear sinning against him. It's not fear in the consequences. It's fear in the law. There's
a big difference. It's a saving difference. It's
not fear in the consequences like Cain. Cain said, My punishment
is greater than I can bear. David said, My sin is ever more. You see the difference? My punishment
is what I deserve. That's what David said. But my
sin, the fact that I did this against love and mercy and grace
and against the Father who told me better. So don't do it again. Surely his salvation is near
them that fear him. Why? What's this all about? Why
does the Lord do all this? That glory may dwell in our land. That's what this little flock
is all about. The glory of the Lord. That's why we meet every
time we meet. to show forth his glory. That's
why I preach. I hope it's for his glory. That's
why you come to worship the Lord and his glory, to glorify the
Lord. May Ichabod never be written
on this door. You know what Ichabod means?
The glory of God. Because once it has, once we
quit meeting for the glory of God, this is not about the glory
of God. God himself will write it over
the door. and either close these doors
or take away its candle. My, my. Why, though? Here's the question.
All right, God has been favorable. He's been favorable to us. He's
shown us great faith. He's brought back for us from
captivity. He's forgiven all our iniquity.
He's covered all our sin. He's taken away all His wrath.
He's turned from his anger. And God will grant salvation,
grant mercy. God will speak peace to his people. Why? Why has he done all this? Because a meeting took place. A meeting took place long before
this world began. A covenant. And may I use this? Four persons met. You say, how
come there were three? Well, according to this, four.
Verse 10. Verse 10 says, mercy and truth
are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Mercy and truth. Notice what
comes first. Mercy. That's man's greatest
need. And may I use these four things as emblems of person? Mercy. Before the world began,
mercy stepped forward and said, man will fall into the depths
of depravity if in God's chosen. And mercy said, man needs me. I propose forgiveness. I propose
that we show mercy. and grant forgiveness to some
of these fallen creatures. Then truth steps up. Truth steps
up and says, no, my justice must be honored. God's Word must be
fulfilled every jot and jittle of it. God's Word has been broken
on every hand. We cannot show mercy at the expense
of God's truth. The soul that sinneth must surely
know. Well, righteousness stepped forth.
Righteousness said, I concur with truth that man that is born
of woman is unclean. From birth, his imagination is
nothing but evil continually. How can he be clean who is born
of woman? How can man be just with God?
God is holy. God is righteous. And he demands
that man be so. How can it be? I desire with
mercy to show leniency, but it cannot be at the expense of truth
and righteousness. And in peace, that's it. Peace
says, I desire to be reconciled to man. I desire to be reconciled
to him. He needs it. Well, they all met. They all met and they talked. And here's the answer. Somebody
comes walking out. Emmanuel. And mercy and truth shake hands. There's our answer. And righteousness
and peace kiss each other. There's our answer. There's our
answer. They unite in Jesus Christ Emmanuel. Mercy and truth meet righteousness
and peace kiss and they all say it is done. It will and shall
be done. It has it will and shall be done. Jesus Christ is the reason God
has been favorable to us with chosen in him. Jesus Christ is
the reason God will because he promised all the And Jesus Christ is a reason
that God shall, because God, Christ said, I am the children
that he has given me, shall be with me. So, look at this, verse
11, it all has its fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. Truth
sprang out of the earth. Christ said that as a man, said,
I am the truth. Truth sprang out of the earth.
Righteousness shall look down from heaven. Christ said, You're
from below, I'm from above. Well, he came down from above.
Righteousness came down. Truth and righteousness in one
person meet. Yea, the Lord shall give that
which is good, ultimately, above all else. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the goodness of God. Isn't that what God said to Moses?
I'll make all my goodness. Moses said, show me your glory.
He said, all right, I'll make my goodness pass before you. He did, didn't he? John said,
there he is, the Lamb of God, the goodness of God, the mercy,
truth, life, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, love,
goodness, personified. And the Lord Jesus Christ. And
all that was proved at Calvary. and at his resurrection, the
sure promises of David, mercies of David, were fulfilled in Christ.
And the Lord will yield, the land shall yield her increase,
because what God has started, he will perfect. It'll grow.
What God has planted, he'll dung it, he'll prune it, and it'll
be perfected. That was concern of that. Because,
and here we go again, righteousness, verse thirteen, shall go before
him. That's, again, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is ever before
the Lord God, pleading his blood and his righteousness as ours,
and shall set us in the way of his steps. He puts us in the
way, in Christ's way. The steps of a good man, that
is, those in Christ, are ordered by the Lord. And as a father, thank you so
much. to the next country. It speaks
so clearly of the war we need to fight. Peace and truth. Grace and favor, wonder, salvation,
mercy, grace, love, and happiness. Let us believe in the war we
need to fight. Grace, mercy, and truth that together defines peace
and truth and love. Thank you, Lord. Let's go with
that. Wonder, salvation, and love.