Now I consider it a very special
honor and privilege to be permitted to speak for you this morning
in the place of your pastor. Brother Paul is recovering from
an ankle injury. And we know this, there are no
accidents with God. We call them disappointments,
but all of them are His special appointments. And we'll wait
to see how that works out. His appointments, not disappointments. I want you to open your Bible
this morning to the book of Job. Chapter 14 of the Book of Job. Job is said to be, and I suppose
it's true, the Book of Job is said to be the oldest book in
the Word of God. Written long before Moses and
the apostles and the prophets, the Book of Job. And in this fourteenth chapter
of Job, Job tells us a great deal about ourselves. We'll talk
about that first. Job deals plainly and truthfully
concerning us and ourselves and our sins and our needs. And then
Job asked God four awesome questions. Awesome, powerful, important
questions. So let's deal with these two
things this morning. First of all, what Job says about
us. Look at chapter 14. He says, man that is born of
woman. Man is born of a woman. All of
us are. All of us are born of a woman,
and that which is born of flesh is flesh. And flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God. No man in the flesh can please
God. He's born of woman. is flesh. That which is born of woman is
born of the flesh, and therefore is flesh. And David, in Psalm
51, sums it up this way, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, in
sin, in flesh. My mother conceived me. And then
in Psalm 58, he said this, the wicked, all of us, human beings,
born of a woman, the wicked are strained from the womb. It begins right then. The wicked
are strained from God, from the womb, and all speak lies. Man is born of woman, he's flesh. born in iniquity, speaking lies. Then the next word says this,
man that is born of woman is a few days. He's a few days. James put it
this way, listen, whereas you know, you know not
what shall be tomorrow, what is your life? What is your life? It is but a vapor. It appears
for a little time, and then it vanishes away. What is your life? Just a vapor. Turn with me to
Psalm 90. I want you to read this scripture.
Psalm chapter 90, beginning with verse 9. Psalm 90, beginning
with verse 9. David says in Psalm 90 verse
9, For all our days are passed away in thy wrath. We spend our
years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescoring
years and ten. And if by reason of strength
they be fourscoring, yet is their strength labor and sorrow for
it is soon cut off and we fly away. And we fly away. One of the hymn writers wrote
this, time like an ever rolling stream, bares all its sons away. They fly, forgotten as a dream,
dies at the close of the day. and swift to its close ebbs out
my little day. Earth's joys grow dim, earth's
pleasures fade away. Change and decay all around me
I see. But oh, now that change is not,
abide with me." Man's born of a woman. He's flesh, born in
iniquity. He's a few days. And look at
the next line. And he's full of trouble. Full
of trouble. Born in sin and trouble go together. Where you have born in sin, you
have trouble. And you have trouble because
we're born in sin. Turn to Genesis 3. And the Lord
sets that forth immediately in the very opening chapters of
the book of Genesis. In Genesis chapter 3, verse 17,
I want you to look at it carefully. And unto Adam, Genesis 3, 17,
unto Adam God said, Behold, you have hearkened unto the voice
of your wife, and you've eaten of the tree of which I commanded
thee, saving, thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground
for your sake. in sorrow, in sorrow shalt thou
eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee. And thou shalt eat the herb of
the field, and in the sweat of your face shalt thou eat bread
till thou return to the ground. For out of it were thou taken,
for dost thou and thou shalt return." The apostle said, exhort one
another to continue in the faith of God, for we must, all of us,
we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Man, born of woman, he's a few
days, a few days, just of April. And he's full of trouble, sorrow
and trouble, heartache, sweat and tears, till he dies and goes
back to the dust. Now look at the next line. He cometh forth like a flower
and is cut down. Man comes forth from the womb
as a flower and cut down. And he fleeth also as a shadow
and continueth not. I want you to open your Bibles
now to Isaiah 40, and let me read the scripture in reference
to this flower. Man cometh forth as a flower,
a flower in the field, and continueth not. He fleeth as a shadow. Look at Isaiah chapter 40, verse
6. Isaiah 40, verse 6. The voice cried, the voice said,
cry. And I said, well, what shall
I cry? You cry this, all flesh is grass. And all the goodliness
thereof is as the flower of the field. All of it. The grass withers, the flower
fadeth, because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely
the people is grass. And the grass withered, and the
flower faded, But the Word of God shall endure forever. Us, we're vapor that fade away. God's Word stands forever. Now why did both Job and Isaiah
compare our life in the flesh as a flower to a flower? Why
is a flower like our flesh? Well, number one, The flower
comes from the ground. All flowers come from the ground,
where they're born, where they came. And that's where we came
from. That's where Adam came from. God created Adam out of
the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life,
and he became a living soul. So we are like a flower. We come from the ground. And
secondly, like a flower, man comes from another flower. You have these perennial flowers,
they just keep coming up, but they come from another flower.
And when you go plant your seed, you plant the seed of another
flower. And we came from our mothers and fathers. In other
words, the scripture says, Adam knew Eve, and she brought forth
a son, and called his name Cain, the murderer. Adam knew Eve and
she gave a son. That son came from another son
who was falling in sin. That's where we came from. Man is like a flower in this
sense. Life is like a flower. A child
is born beautiful. I just saw two down there. Kathy's baby and And a baby. Beautiful. I was beautiful one time. Some of you older ones were too.
That's the way we're born. We're born beautiful. I've never
seen an ugly baby. To me, they're just beautiful.
They're so cuddly and warm and tender. They're so precious to
us. And that's the way we came. We're
like a flower. We bud, and then we bloom, and
then we start the downward trail. We wither and die. Man's like a flower. It thrives through the field.
It withers. It dies. Well, why is man like
a... The Word of God compares us to
a shadow A shadow. What's a shadow like? Well, a
shadow is really an empty thing. A shadow is really nothing. And
that's what we are by nature. No substance. Born of the dust,
we go back to the dust. And they tell me, after you've
been in the dust so long and the worms eat this flesh, there's
nothing left. Nothing. And a shadow is nothing. That's what the scripture says
about, and God looks at all the inhabitants of the earth as nothing,
nothing, grasshoppers. And a shadow never lasts. It
never lasts. It's here for a moment, it's
gone. Turn to Job chapter eight. Job the eighth chapter. Listen
to this. Job the eighth chapter, verse nine. Job chapter 8 verse 9, For we,
that's us, born of woman, a few days full of trouble, come forth
like a shadow. We are but of yesterday, we know
nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow. And then the third thing, a shadow
is nothing. It's here for a very little time
and then it's gone. And a shadow leaves no mark when
it's gone. Men, they leave names on their
buildings and all these books and things like that. It's not
gone. It's forgotten. I'll show you another scripture,
Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verse 14. Psalm 103 verse 14. Listen to this. Psalm 103 verse 14. For He, God, remembers our frame. God remembers. No, He knoweth
our frame. He remembers it with us. As for
man, his days are as grass. As a flower of the field, he
perisheth, and the wind passeth over it, and it's gone. And the
place thereof shall know him no more." No more. Now, that's what Job said about
us. Just a few days. And just full
of heartache and sorrow and tears and pain and anguish. And then he fades away. Flies
away, he said. And he remembered no more. Now,
in the light of these two verses, Job asked four powerful, powerful,
awesome questions. Just powerful. in the light of
what we are, what we are. And Job asked these questions. Now let's look at the first three. And Job said, Dost thou open
thine eyes upon such a woman? He just described us, born of
a woman, born in sin, born in iniquity, full of trouble, a
few days, comes forth like a flower and is gone. And do you open
your eyes upon such a woman? Does God care anything about
such a one, such a person? This is what Job is asking. Listen,
Lord of Heaven, Lord of Earth, Almighty God, do you look upon
such a one? Open your eyes upon such flesh,
so frail and sinful and sorrowful and short-lived, weeds of the
pasture. soon to be cut down and returned
to the dust. Do you look upon, think upon,
care anything about this mess? Well, the question is not, does
God, He's not asking, does God see us? He sees everything. You
just preached that on the radio this morning, that Almighty God,
so wonderful God. and in Him we live and move and
have our being. So He sees everybody. He knows all things. But here's
what Job's asking. Does God look upon, does God
Almighty have any regard for, does God Almighty have any interest
in these creatures of flesh? Does He care? Is He concerned? Psalm 8. You've got to turn to
this and read it. Psalm chapter 8. Is God Almighty
mindful of us? We just described that. Job just
described us in terrible terms. Is God mindful of us? Look at
Psalm 8, verses 3 and 4. When I consider thy heaven the
work of thy fingers, the moon, the stars which thou hast ordained. What is man? What is man that
thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou
hast bested him? For you made him a little lower
than the angels, and has crowned him with honor and glory. Is
God mindful? What does the word mindful mean?
I'll tell you what it means. To mindful, be mindful of someone
or something is to mark it so as to be remembered. If I'm,
you know, we ignore most things, but there's some things I'm mindful
of. And if I'm mindful of that, I
mark it. I take an interest in it. I mark
it so as to remember it, to keep it in mind. Being mindful, God
being mindful of us, is for God to think upon us, to think upon
us and regard us. That's what the thief on the
cross asked. In his wretchedness, in his pitiful
state and condition, in his dying state, he said, Lord! Would you remember? Would you
be mindful? Would you regard vain when you
come anew? Can you? Is God Almighty mindful
of this sort of woman? Let me read you another scripture. Psalm 111. Psalm 111. Verse 2 through 5. Is God, is
He mindful? Does He look upon such a one
with any kind of favor or compassion or love? Listen. Psalm 111, verse
2. The works of the Lord are great. He made this earth and He made
this man. The works of the Lord are great.
sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. God's work
is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endureth forever. He hath made His wonderful works
to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. He hath given me unto them that
fear Him. He will ever be What's the word? Mindful of His cover. Mindful of His cover. Turn to Psalm 115, just over
one page, verse 11. Psalm 115, verse 11. You that fear the Lord, trust
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The Lord hath been mindful of
us. He will bless us. He will bless
the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless them that fear the Lord. Now those people, God
is mindful. He'll remember His covenant.
God is mindful. What is the undeniable proof? that God is mindful of us. The undeniable proof. I tell
you. Turn to Galatians chapter four
and you'll see it right here. The undeniable, the undeniable
proof that God Almighty is mindful of someone, of somebody. Galatians
chapter four, verse four. Galatians four, verse four. But
when the fullness of the time was come. God sent forth His
woman, His son, made of a woman. God sent forth His son, our Lord
Jesus Christ, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption
of the Son of Man. Yes, God is mindful of those
whom He saves. He abhors them. Look at Ephesians
2. Is God mindful of us? Here's
the undeniable proof. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. Listen. But God, who's rich in
mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
what we were, dead in sins, He hath quickened us together with
Christ by grace are you saved. and hath raised us up, and made
us sit together in heaven and places in Christ Jesus our Lord,
that in the ages to come, being mindful of his covenant, mindful
of his son's sacrifice, mindful of those whom he saved, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus our Lord. All right, back to Job chapter
fourteen. Second question. Second question. Doth thou look with favor upon
such worms of the dust? Yes, he's mindful of his covenant. And then this question is asked
in verse three. Job fourteen, verse three. Here's
the second question. Bringest thou me into judgment
with thee? Job's gone to this, explaining
to us what we are, and yet God looks with favor and is mindful
of us. Well, are you going to bring
me into judgment with you? Are you going to bring me into
judgment with you? Are we going to have a trial
and decide my faith in your presence, God? This worm of the dust is
going to stand before God and his fate's going to be decided.
You going to bring me into judgment with you? I hear a lot of talk
about judgment. I used to get letters from a
friend of mine out in Oregon named Jim. And Jim was an old
retired Greyhound bus driver, drove millions of miles. learned the gospel and fell in
love with the Lord Jesus Christ, and we became friends, and we
wrote back and forth. But he had one thing on his mind
all the time. Oh, he said, Brother May, I'm such a sinner. I'm such
a sinner. I just can't believe that I'm
going to one of these days be brought into judgment before
God. And God's going to decide my faith when I've been what
I was so long, so long, and been a Christian such a short time.
What's it going to work? What am I going to do? I worry
about the judgment. Everybody talks about the judgment.
I read about the general judgment, and the judgment of nations,
and the judgment of Israel, and the judgment of Christians, and
the judgment about reward. I read about all these judgments.
But yet, Job said, are you going to bring me into judgment with
you? Turn to Psalm chapter 1. I do know this about judgment.
I do know this. You can write this down. About
judgment. Verse 4, Psalm 1, verse 4 and
5. The ungodly are not so. They're
like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the
ungodly, the unbeliever, shall not stand in the judgment. He
shall not stand in the judgment. And sinners are not going to
stand in the congregation of life. They're not going to stand
in the judgment. They're not going to stand before God in
a judgment to decide their fate. Their fate is decided. John Gill wrote this about judgment
and about Job. He said this, Job was no match
for God. That's the reason Job's asking
that question. You going to bring me into judgment with you? Job
was no match for God. Job was a frail, weak, mortal
creature. God's not a man as Job was. that God and Job should appear
together at the judgment? That God and Job should appear
together at the judgment in matters pertaining to judgment and righteousness
and truth? That God and Job should stand
together on the foot of strict justice? It never be. It cannot be. For if our Lord
should mark iniquity, Who can stand? Who can stand? But there's forgiveness
to be. There's forgiveness. And here's
the verse I want you to read. Psalm chapter 143. Psalm 143
verse 1 and 2. This is my prayer, and I know
it's the prayer of everybody here who loves Christ and loves
His Word, and knows about the awesome character of our God.
Psalm 143, verse 1, Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplication. In Thy faithfulness answer me
in Thy righteousness, and do not enter into judgment with
thy servant. For in your sight no man living
shall ever be justified, right or down, right or down, right
or down. There is therefore now no judgment
to them whom Christ is. And Job asked, you going to bring
me into judgment with you? Am I going to stand before your
tribunal of righteousness and strictness and justice? It's
not possible. It's not possible. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Turn to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Oh, what
a joy it is to know that there is no judgment for believers. There is no judgment for believers. Is not. Cannot be. If God should
regard iniquity and think about iniquity of any shape, form,
and fashion, no man stands. Now look at Colossians 1 verse
20. Colossians 1 verse 20. And having
made peace through the blood of his cross by Christ to reconcile
all things unto By Christ I say, whether they be things in earth
or things in heaven. And you, born a woman, few days,
full of trouble, come forth like a flower. You that were sometimes
alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works, hath he now
reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present
you, how? To present you, how? Holy, unblameable,
unreprovable, where? In His sight, at His throne,
in His presence, in His judgment. Christ is going to present you
and me, holy, unblameable, unreprovable, in His sight. and to present you faultless,
not in judgment, faultless, that for the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy is the only wise God our Savior, the majesty,
dominion, power both now and forever." I read a journal of
an old theologian years ago. And as I read his journal, he
never seemed to have any peace. He never seemed to have any assurance,
any confidence in Christ. And then I discovered his problem. I discovered his problem. As I read and as he wrote, he
began every paragraph with I. He said, I felt my burden. And
he worked that over a good bit. He said, I grieved over my sins
and he worked those over again. He said, I tried to read, tried
to pray, tried to find peace and couldn't find it. I understand.
I'm such a great sinner. Will I ever have peace? No. I tell you what, you don't start
the sinners with I, you start it with he. Isaiah wrote the whole book of
Isaiah. When he saw the glory of God,
he wrote it about He. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was on Him. By His stripes we
are healed. Oh, we are like sheep that have
fallen astray. We turned everyone to His own
way, and the Lord had laid on Him iniquity. There she be, not in her eyes. You bought a woman. Your days are short. You're full of trouble. And you're just a flower. Like
the old dandelion, you know, But He, His Word endures forever. My, my. All right, here's the
third question. The third question in Job 14. These are awesome questions.
Here's the thing. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? That's what we are. Born a woman,
we're unclean. shaping iniquity. So who's going
to bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing? Job and his
friends asked this over and over. Just let me quote it. Job said,
I know it's so of a truth, but how can man be just with nothing? How can you bring a clean thing
out of an unclean? How can a clean thing be made
into an unclean thing. An unclean thing be made into
a clean thing. Job 15, he said, What is man
that he should be clean? Behold, God puts no trust in
his saints. The heavens are clean in God's
sight. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? No. Can the leper change his spots?
No. Neither can you and I do good
and cleanliness out of evil. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? Job answers, nobody. Isn't that
what he said? Nobody. The preacher, that says not one.
I know that's nobody, isn't it? Nobody. But somebody I know can. With God, all things are possible.
Who can bring a clean thing? Born of woman, few days, full
of trouble, just a rotten weed. He can bring out of an unclean
something clean. God can. There's nothing God
can't do. My arm is not sharp that I can't
say B. My ear is not heavy that I can't
say B. Yet I can't heal. William J. came into John Newton's
study. Brother Paul and I have been
standing right in that spot, right in John Newton's study. Next door to William Capital.
Remember, Paul, we went over there. One day, this is 300 years
ago, 250 years ago. William J. came into John Newton's
study. He said, Brother Newton, good
news. Brother Smith, down in Bath County,
has been converted." And Newton said, that's wonderful. That's
wonderful. And William J. replied, Mr. Newton, now that God has saved
that old man, I'll never despair of anybody else. And Newton replied,
Mr. J., I've never despaired of anybody
since God saved me. John Newton was his top man.
He was the old slave trader, worthless, no good. You remember that. God can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean. Whereupon he is able to save
to the uttermost them that come to God by him. Well, how, how can he bring that
clean they have and unclean? How? How? You know, David, David
asked, turn to Psalm 51. David asked that very thing here
in Psalm 51 about this, this cleanliness, this, make God,
God clean. God clean. Making God clean.
Pure of the whole thing. Psalm 51 verse, verse, verse
six. Verse 5, 5, 6, and 7. Let's go
on. Psalm 51, 5, 6, and 7. Behold,
I was shapen in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me. Behold, God, You desire truth
in the inward parts. In the hidden parts You shall
make me to know wisdom. So purge me, purge me, purge
me with thistle, and I'll be clean. Wash me, I'll be whiter
than the snow. That's the way it's done. Purge
me with hyssop, and I'll be clean. Wash me. You can bring an unclean
thing. A clean thing, I have an unclean
thing. What's hyssop? The first time the word hyssop
is used in the Bible, it's found in Exodus 12. Let's look at it. Exodus 12. Exodus 12, chapter
12, verse 21. Exodus 12 verse 21. Exodus 12 verse 21. Hyssop was
a little plant. It's a little plant that the
high priest would take and dip in the sacrificial blood. When the lamb was slain, when
the sacrifice was slain, he'd dip that hyssop into the blood
and put it on the mercy seat. Moses took hyssop and dipped
it in the blood in the land of Egypt when God delivered Israelite
from Egypt. He dipped the blood, the hyssop
in blood and touched with the side post and the lintel
and God said, I see the blood pass over you. Now watch this
in Exodus 12 verse 21. Then Moses called for the elders
of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take a lamb according
to your families and kill the Passover. And you take a bunch
of thistle, dip it in the blood that's in the basin, and strike
it on the lintel and the two side posts that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out
at the door of the house until the morning. For the Lord will
pass through the smited Egyptian, and when I see the blood upon
the little on the side post, the Lord will pass over that
door and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your house
and smite you. That's the way we make the blood
of Christ sprinkle on the high. And God brings that unclean out
of the unclean, that which is wholesome and pure and beautiful. That's the way sin is put away. You can't put away by praying,
by baptizing and walking in the aisle, making a confession. Sin is put away by seeing Christ,
believing on Christ, resting in Christ, trusting in Christ. Look into him, look to the Lamb
of God, and be clean. Here's the last question, Job
14. The last question, Job 14, verse 4. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? Not one. who can bring a clean
thing. Seeing man's days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee, thou hast supported
his bounds, he cannot pass. Turn from him, that he may rest,
till he shall accomplish as a hireling his day. There's hope of a tree
if it be cut down, that it'll sprout again, and that the tender
branch there will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old
in the earth, and the stalk thereof die in the ground, yet through
the scent of water it may bud, and bring forth boughs like a
plant. But man dies, he wasteth away,
man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As waters from the
sea and the floods decayeth and dryeth up. So man lies down and
rises not till the heavens be no more. They shall not awake
or be raised out of their sleep. Oh, that thou wouldest hide me
in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me a secret until thy wrath
be passed, and that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember
me, be mindful of me, Now here's the fourth question. If a man
dies, shall he live again? Shall he live again? And Job
answers that question right here. If a man dies, shall he live
again? All the days of my appointed
time will I wait till my change comes, and thou shalt call. I love that scripture where the
Lord Jesus stood by the grave of that dead man. A rotten dead man. His sister
said, he stinks. But our Lord stood by the grave
of that hopeless, helpless dead man. And he called his name. He said, Lazarus! And somebody said if he hadn't
called his name, all the dead would have come forward and called
his name. And that's what Job said. You
call, you come. Lazarus, come forward, and I'll
answer. That answers the question. I'll
answer. He's going to call. And we're
going to answer. Everyone. My sheep hear my voice.
I give them eternal life. They'll never perish. Nobody's
going to pluck them out of my hand. Because, look, thou will
have a desire to the work of thy hands. We are His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus. And God's gonna have what He
worked for. Christ is gonna have what He
died for. Christ is gonna have the righteousness that He provided
for us. He said, you will have a desire. You'll have a desire of pleasure.
to the work of your hands, where His workmanship created in Christ
Jesus, and He's going to have that pleasure. Paul said, I'm
confident, I'm confident this one day, He that hath begun a
good work in you shall perform it to the day of Jesus Christ. Verse sixteen, Thou number'st
my steps. Did you know that? The steps
of a good man are ordered for the Lord. All my steps are ordained
of God. He numbers my days. He knows
the hires in my head. He knows my down-sitting, my
up-rising. He knows my thoughts are far
off. He knows all about me and still loves me in Christ. You number my steps. Here's one
more question. Do you watch over my sins? Do
you remember them? What about what I've done and
said? What about that? Paul answers that question in
Hebrews 10. I'll quit. Hebrews chapter 10. Our Lord answers that question
right here in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 16. This is the covenant that I will
make with them after those days, says the Lord. I put my law in
their hearts and in their minds, well, I write them, and their
sins and their iniquities. I remember no more. That answers it, doesn't it?
I remember them. There's no judgment to them anymore. Our Father, we thank you for
your Word. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but thy Word shall never pass away. Not one jot, not one tittle
shall pass from the Word of God, till all be fulfilled. We thank
you for this very special, blessed, passionate description of Job. Lord, we are born of woman and
we are few, few days and we're full of trouble, heartache, sin. We're just like a flower of the
field, a weed that withers and dies and be no more. But Lord,
you're mindful of us. You're mindful of us. Set your
love upon us. Gave your Son to die on the cross
for our sins. And by His grace and mercy, you
brought this, made this unclean thing a clean thing. You brought
from that which is unclean, that which is perfectly spotless and
holy in our sight. And one of these days, you'll
call, and we'll answer, and we'll go to be with thee. So many of
our loved ones have already taken that trip. Stand in thy presence,
await our coming, and we rejoice in the great promise of thy word. I'll be satisfied when I wait
with his likeness. In Christ's name we pray, amen.