Back to Psalm 25 now, Psalm 25. Entitled this message, A Psalm
for Seekers, A Psalm for Seekers, Sincere Seekers of the Lord and
His Truth. All right, look at it, verse
one. Let's jump right in. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift
up my soul. Unto thee. This is the cry of someone who
is appealing to God, not man, who's looking for answers from
God. Oh Lord, do I lift up my soul from the depths of his being,
from his heart? This is no casual seeker, no
part-time seeker. This is a man who is seeking
God and answers from God from his heart. He's got to know something,
or rather, someone. from the depths of his heart.
Oh, and he said, my soul. I lift up my soul. Now, our Lord
said, now, if you seek me, you'll find me when you search for me
with all your heart. There are few real seekers today. But there's the promise. Those
that do, they'll find. They'll be taught. Look at verse
2. Oh my God, my God. David's saying here, you are
my God. You're the creator. I'm the creature. That's why I'm appealing to you.
You're the judge of all the earth. I'm a subject. That's why I'm
appealing to you. You're my God. You've determined all things.
That's why I'm appealing to you. You're my God. I don't see how people can, or
why people bother believing or talking about a God who's not
God. He can't help anybody, this God
who's done all He can do, and now it's up to you. Why would
you even bother? What David says, now my God is in the heavens,
he's done whatever he pleases, and that's who David's appealing
to. My God, you're my God, and I need to know something. I'm lifting up my heart to you.
Do you reckon the Lord's going to answer him? My God, verse 2, I trust in thee. What does it mean to trust in
God? It means to believe God. God is God. Everything He says
is right. Everything He does is right.
And I'm going to repeat myself so many times here. Not myself. I'm going to repeat God. But
Moses said, Shall not the judge of the earth do right? Yes. Every
time. Every time and in every situation
concerning everything and everyone, he does what's right because
he's God. I trust in thee. That's what
David's saying. I trust that all you say is right
and all you do is good and right. I believe you're God. But now
he says, verse 2, let me not be ashamed. Let me not be ashamed of myself for not trusting you. Let me not be ashamed of you.
Let me not be ashamed of the truth before anyone, or apologize
for it, or act in such a manner as to deny it. You are my God. Let me act like Him. I trust
you. Don't let me be ashamed. Don't
let me bring you shame. I trust in you. He says, let
not mine enemies triumph over me. Enemies, oh, there are many
that surround me. I'm beset behind and before the
enemy. Enemies without and enemies within.
That's the worst one within. My own self, my own unbelief. Don't let it triumph over me.
Let me overcome. How? He that believeth, overcome."
Verse 3, "...Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed." Oh,
there's so much said in the Scriptures about waiting on the Lord. Can
you think of anything that's taught more in the Scriptures
than that right there? Wait. Let none that wait on thee
be ashamed. But none that wait on thee be
ashamed. That's an apt description of all of God's people. He's
God, so they have to wait. He's God. He's doing all things.
He's controlling all things. He's decreed all things. So they
just have to wait. And be still and know. Well,
don't let me. Let me be still and know that
you're God. Don't let me be ashamed. Well,
let me bring shame. Let none that wait on thee be
ashamed. I'll let them be ashamed that transgress without cause."
Now, what a description that is of this world that we live
in. It's got so much to say about God, all blasphemy, and so much to say against the
God that we preach, the truth. The world ought to be ashamed
of what it's saying about God. All it's saying about God, but
standard is no shame. There's no shame before their
faces. This thing is getting worse,
people. This thing is getting more and more blasphemous. The world ought to be ashamed
to take the name of God on their lips. And especially they do
it as they abuse his name, his character, his son, as they do
his gospel. They ought to be ashamed. They
do it without cause. Don't let me be ashamed. You
know, they make us feel ashamed for believing God. You know what? Believers declare that God, who
is God, and just declare what God has said in His Word and
the Word makes you feel ashamed for doing it. Don't let me be
ashamed. I'm just trying to say what God
said. We're just trying to honor God.
We're just trying to be true to God's Word. We're just trying
to bring all glory to God. Let the world be ashamed. They're
the ones bringing His glory down. They're the ones that are diminishing
the work of Christ, His Son. They're the ones that are making
nothing of Christ's love, of God's mercy, of God's grace.
They're the ones that are trodding underfoot the blood of the Son
of God. Don't let me be ashamed. Let them be ashamed. I'm not
ashamed. I am ashamed, Steve, that the
fact that I'm ashamed too often. They're the ones that ought to
be ashamed of what they're saying about God, what way they're abusing
this book. All we want to do, all believers
want to do is just say what God said. I remember one time a brother,
a preacher, just in an article in the newspaper, just quoted
the Word of God. Just quoted the Word of God.
He didn't interpret it. He didn't say anything about
it. He just quoted the Word of God. And somebody wrote a letter
to the editor and said, You're abusing God's Word. How could
you misuse God's Word like that? Instead, he didn't say anything.
He just quoted it. Let them be ashamed. Let me not be ashamed. Let none be ashamed that wait
on God. Now look at verse four. Verse
four. Show me thy ways, O Lord. Show me thy ways. Teach me thy
paths. Show me thy ways, and teach me
thy path." Now, God has said this over and over again, My
ways are not your ways. Didn't He? In Psalm 50, He says,
Thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thou said. He says
that to all mankind. You thought I was just like a
man. I'm not. God doesn't think like a man.
God doesn't act like a man. God doesn't react. God never
reacts. You know that? God's not like
a man. Things happen, then God reacts.
No, God never reacts. He never reacts. All things happen
because God has already acted, because God has already decreed. God's ways are not our ways.
God's ways is the opposite of man's ways. Write it down. Whatever way this
world is headed, whatever way that the majority of this world
is headed, is wrong. It's wrong. Our Lord said that. It's a broad road, a broad way,
and many go in. Whatever the world believes,
whatever the world is thinking, Whatever most people think about
God is wrong. Understand that? That's what
God said. Now, here's the true seeker of
God, like David, a man after God's own heart. He says, teach
me thy ways. I'm not interested in what the
Word of the I'm not interested in the way the world is going.
I don't want to know your way. I don't want to know your paths. God's ways are not our ways and
His paths. God's providence is mysterious.
God doesn't work like we, God doesn't do anything like we would
do it. God doesn't operate according
to reason. Our reason. God's ways are mysterious. Job said this, Job, Job, Job,
Job, Job. What did Job go through? Well,
Job said this, Can a man by searching find out God? No, he says, I'm
trying. Until God said, Sit down, Job,
and shut up. Now listen, and he taught him
about his ways. All his brethren sat around and
they all started trying to figure out God, didn't they? And God
said, fools they all are. Even you, Job. Now, if you'll
listen, I'll teach you. My ways are not your ways. I
don't do things the way you think I ought to do them. No, no, no,
no. God's not like a man. Listen
to the ways of God. Listen to the ways of God. Strange
they are. God says the way up is down. He said the abased will be exalted. He says you won't live till you
die. To die is to live, He said. He said to be poor is to be rich. He said to me, if you're totally
empty, you'll be full. He says if you know nothing,
if you say, I don't know anything, you'll know everything. He says if you'll be like a child,
you'll be mature. All God's ways. God's ways are
mysterious. Teach me. That's just not the
way I think. So teach me thy way. And thy
paths, God's paths, are unknown to us. We walk this way. And we walk over here, and this
happens, and that happens. Circumstances. How, what, how
is this going to? There's an old saying, all roads
lead to Rome. All the paths of God are in righteousness,
it seems. Everything God does concerning
his people, all the paths of every step they take, is going
to bring them to Jesus Christ. I don't understand. Just wait. You ever seen these mazes? You
look to see one of these mazes, you know, and you've got to start
and you've got to finish. Well, here we go. We run into
a rat's race. And if left up to us, we run
into a wall, don't we? And we go this way, we go that
way. But it's not left up to us. It seems like a roundabout way
to me. That's not the way I would have done it, but that's the
way God did it. And that path will lead. to his purpose in
bringing you to Christ. Count on it. He's God. Read on. He said, Now show me
your ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths. Verse 5, Meet. Lead me in thy truth. Lead me by thy truth, in thy
truth. Christ said, Thy word is truth. Lord, lead me. in thy word. Teach me." There are no answers. I mean no answers. This life,
nothing in it makes sense. And the only sense you can make
of anything is found from God's Word, God's truth. Lead me in thy truth. Lead me
to it. When I'm perplexed, lead me to
it. The truth will set you free from
worry, from fear and despondency. From the truth. Lead me in thy
truth. Lead me in thy truth. Look at this, I like this. Thou
art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Right here is the heart, the
soul, the key of this whole book. This is the rock style, this
is the core, this is the heart of all peace and comfort and
hope for a believer. Thou art the God of my salvation. So I'm just going to wait on
you all day long. This is at the bottom of the
truth. From the cradle to the grave, now God is a God of our
salvation. Our salvation belongeth to God. We're kept, we're upheld, we're
sustained, we're provided, we're led by the God of our salvation. So David said, I'm just going
to have to wait. I'm just going to have to wait. We must. We don't know what he's doing
at any given time. We don't know what he's doing.
And we don't know what tomorrow holds, do we? Except now we know
this. We know this. He said, God of
my salvation, David said, and on him I'm going to wait all
the day long. And I don't know what a day may
bring, and I don't know what's going on right now. I don't know
why he's doing what he's doing, but I know why he's doing it
all. Listen to it. Listen to Paul. Paul says, now,
he has made known this to me. Oh, it's the mystery. It's called
the mystery of his will. Now, here it is. In the fullness
of time, he's going to gather together in what? All things in Christ, both in
heaven and in earth, even in him. That's what she's all about. Now, I do know that, David said. Teach me that. Teach me that. He's my God, and his purpose
is to save me, and that's what this whole shooting match is
all about. Bring me to Christ and someday
present me, faultless, before his throne of glory with Christ. Today, tomorrow, the next day,
someday. That's what it's all about. For
the believer. For the seeker. So let me be
employed about that. Show me your path. Teach me thy
way. Lead me in thy truth. Now look at what David says our
greatest need is. Verse 6. Look at it. Remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies and thy lovingkindness. Oh, they've been ever of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions. According
to thy mercy, remember thou me for thy goodness sake, O Lord. Mercy, David says, is what I
need. Loving kindness, that's an Old
Testament word for grace. I need mercy. I need grace. I
need you to pardon me, he's saying. I need you to remember me, for
goodness sake. Oh, for goodness sake, I need
you to remember me. We're going to quit saying that
after this message is over. God willing, I'm going to quit
saying that. I've caught myself saying that. We're going to see
what this for goodness sake is. But mercy, grace, and pardon
is our greatest need. Oh, we need temporal things,
don't we? Yes, we need temporal things. But David said, give
us this day our daily bread. Give us today. But now, David
said, I mean, our Lord told us to pray this way. Give us this
day our daily bread. But he says, now here's what
you need to ask for. Forgive us. Forgive us. That's our greatest need. Forgive
us. Have mercy upon us. Give me grace, the grace of salvation,
the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Pardon me. Pardon me. Pardon me. Remember not the sins
of my youth. Pardon my youthful sins. Pardon
my present sins. And Lord, pardon my future sins.
According to your mercy. Remember thou me for thy goodness
sake." Now, who is God going to look on in mercy and grace
and pardon? Who is God going to have mercy
upon? Huh? It's for goodness sake. It's for his goodness sake. Do
you remember over there in Exodus 33 where God says, I'm going
to make all my goodness pass before you? I'm going to proclaim
the name of the Lord. Who's the goodness of God? For
His goodness sake, He has mercy upon us. His goodness, goodness,
good news, gospel. Christ is the goodness of God. You see, Christ is the mercy
of God. Christ is the pardon of God. Christ is the gospel of God.
Christ is all our forgiveness. Not found in us. The goodness
of God, God's going to have mercy on us for goodness sake. For
Christ's sake. For Jonathan's sake, David's
sake. Tell them, Ephubishop, I don't need you, you can't add
to me, but for Jonathan's sake, I'm going to have mercy on you.
And God says the same thing to us beggars and lame people sitting
at his table. I'm having mercy on you for goodness
sake. For Christ's sake. What do I
need with another beggar? Huh? The whole kingdom is full
of beggars. But now there's a Catholic. I'm
getting ahead of myself. But it's for Jonathan's sake,
it's for goodness sake, for Christ's sake, our greatest need. Now look at verse 8. Good and
upright is the Lord. Good and upright is the Lord. And he'll teach sinners into
what? But the best thing, you know,
we're talking about something's good, something's the best. God is good, yes, and the best
thing about our God, the goodness of God, is His mercy and His
grace. God's been good to me. Hasn't
the Lord been good to you? Huh? Could not everybody in here say,
Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that's within me, bless His holy
name. Forget not all his benefit. Don't do that. He daily loathes
me with benefit. Can't everybody in here say that?
How good God has been to us? Well, here's the greatest thing
about God's goodness, the best thing, is his mercy. His mercy. He's good. The best
thing about him is his mercy and his grace toward us, and
upright. upright, he's just and holy,
and it says he'll teach sinners in the way. He'll teach sinners the way. In the way. All the way. He'll put them in the way, he'll
teach them the way, and he'll teach them all the way. What
is this? What is the way? Show me thy
ways, O Lord, but now teach me thy way, O Lord, teach me thy
way." Well, he said, I'll teach sinners the way. This is only one way. You all think your way is the
only way. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Because our way
is Christ. Christ is the way. Christ said,
I am the way, the truth, the life. Only one way to the Father,
and that's for Christ to take you there and present you. Only
one way to be righteous, and that's for Christ to give you
his. Only one way to be accepted by
God, and that's for Christ to say, accept him. Only one way
to be forgiven, and that's for Christ to say, Father, forgive
him. Huh? Only one way for all your sins
to be forgotten by God is for Christ to say, they're under
the blood. Only one way to get to God, and
Christ said, I am the way. And who's he teach that to? Sinners. Sinners he'll teach, and do what? Not righteous. Christ said, I
didn't come to call the righteous. Well, I'll find a way, and find
it. I'll get there some way, go then. And there's a way that seems
right to me, but it's destruction. It may seem good to men. Oh,
he's walking the street. Oh, is he now? But sinners now, they don't even
know they're working. Do they, John? Thomas, Thomas
said it. Was it Thomas or Philip? Thomas,
yeah. Thomas said, Lord, we don't know
the way, show us the way. Christ was leaving. And he said, we don't know the
way, don't leave us, we don't even know which way to turn. Christ said, I'm the way. You don't know, you don't need
to know which way to turn. Because I'm going to carry you. You ain't even walking. I never put you down for one
moment. You don't need to know the way.
You just need to know that I am the way. And I've got you. And whatever way we go is the
right way. Because I know where we're going. And you're going to look back
and say, oh, he brought me in a red path, a good way. This is exactly the way I would
have done it. But until then, we're in darkness.
I don't know the way. Christ said, I'm the way. Trust
me. the sinners, he'll teach them. The meek, see that? The meek, verse 9. The meek will
he guide in judgment. The meek he'll teach his way.
The meek, that's the humble. Oh, it's my favorite verse in
Scripture. Everybody wants to be looked
at, don't they? Don't look at me. Look what I've done. Everybody
thinks God's going to take notice of me. Oh, look what I've done
for you. There's even going to be some people standing before
the judgment throne of God Almighty, Ed, and say, well, we've done
many wonderful works. And he's going to say, get out
of my sight. But to this man will I look,
he said. To this woman will I look. To
this young person will I look. He did it of all kinds. and of
a contrite heart, and trembleth at my word." I'm going to look,
I'm going to look to this man when I look on him with mercy,
with goodness. Ah, forgive me. Lord, forgive me
for not being more Touched by your word, huh? Forgive
me. He'll teach sinners. A meek will
he guide in the way. Proud, self-conceited, knowledgeable
people say, prove it and I'll believe it. Show me. Show me. But he hides these things from
the wise and prudent. And so they can't understand
the simplest of things. From the professor in the seminary
to the president in the throne. They don't understand. I don't
understand how God can be sovereign and manly. I do. I do. From construction workers,
dishwashers. They understand. Mechanics. They
can understand because God reveals it. To whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed, the Scripture says. God has revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. The meek he'll show. He'll teach
his way. His way. Christ. And they'll
see in Christ, oh, they'll see wisdom. Oh, they'll see wisdom. He'll teach them. Keep teaching
them every day. And he won't teach them the way
they think. You know, children, children, when have your children
ever come up to you and said, well, I'm glad you did that how
you did it. Steve, after you've smacked Joseph
Aaron, did he ever come up to you and say, well, I'm glad you
hit me nine times and really made it hurt? Have you ever done
that, Joseph? You said, boy, I tell you, that's
exactly the way I'd have done it. No way! No way! Why is he hitting me? And Dad says, this hurts me more
than it hurts you. And that son says, come on now.
That just isn't true. Yes, it is. But this is the only way, he
says. And so he teaches us. He keeps
teaching us. And it takes us a lifetime to
learn, however long it may be. Whether it's, you know, David
Brainerd died at 29 years. Oh, read some of David Brainerd.
I'm saying, twenty-nine years, David Brainard, he understood.
He understood. It might take the urging guy
to fifty-eight. Oh, he understood. But he teaches all our lives.
Lamech, will he teach his way? And here's what they learn, verse
ten. Here's one of the things they learn beyond the shadow
of a doubt. Oh, the paths of the Lord. All the paths of the Lord are
mercy. Do you remember what Brother
Barnard said? He died when he was sixty-nine.
That seems young to me now. That seems very young to me now. Barnard said this, he said, everything
this side of hell is mercy. And boy, that old man lived a
hard life. His wife hated him. Everybody hated him. He said that everything inside
of hell is mercy. And where he got that? He got
that from Psalm 25, verse 10. All the paths of the Lord are
mercy. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Scripture
says, mercy and truth. Now, look at this. If you're
seeking, look at this verse with me, okay? I hope the Lord will open this
up to us right now. This is a key verse, right in
the middle. You see, God hides nuggets, gold
nuggets are found down deep, and He's right in the middle. This is the key right here. There's
a word in here that'll open up all the scriptures. Right. You see it. Blessed are your
eyes. There's a word in here that'll open it all up. One word. Right smack in the middle. Right
smack in the middle. All the paths of the Lord are
mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant. and his testimony. Covenant. Covenant. All the paths of the
Lord, we're going to see, are mercy and truth, under such that
keep his covenant. His covenant, we sang it a while ago, didn't
we? His oath, his covenant, his blood. David said it when he lost his
son. He said, Although it be not so
with my help, yet God hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things, and assured. It's all my salvation. All my
salvation, John, is based on one word, covenant. And it's
not by coincidence, it begins with a C. Covenant. Ask the Phibishim. Let's ask that fellow sitting
up at David's table. Why are you here? Covenant. But surely you did something.
Covenant. How long are you going to stay?
Covenant. Surely he needs a covenant. See, God made a covenant before
the world began. Some don't like this. God's people,
this is their salvation. That God chose them before the
world began and gave them to Jesus Christ. who came here to
do everything to save them, and he did it. He saved them, went
back, and now seated on the throne is the head of the covenant,
making sure that everything concerning them is ordered and sure, and
comes to pass to fulfill that covenant. He said, All that the
Father gives me shall come to me, and I'm going to present
every one of them that are in that covenant of mine, that covenant
of grace. I'm going to present them to
the Father, all my children. Here they are. I'm the surety
of the everlasting covenant. I'm of the tribe of Judah, you
see. And they're going to make it
because of this covenant. Such a keep, that word keep there
doesn't mean do. You know what the word keep,
and we've seen this many times. The word keep doesn't mean that
I have a part in this covenant, that I'm supposed to keep part
of the covenant that God made in agreement with me, and He
keeps His part. Now, some woman had a license
plate the other day, and I wish they had outlawed those. But
it said, True to Him. True to Him. How are you now? That's not my hope. That's not
the hope of a sinner, a hopeless, helpless sinner. You know what
their hope is? The meek, the helpless, sinners? It's that he's going to be true
to me. Ah, covenant and his testimony,
his word, his covenant, his word, his promises. His covenant is
the person. His testimonies are his promises
fulfilled in that person. Got that? Taking notes? Take
this down. His covenant is a person. It's
all wrapped up in a person. What Christ agreed to do for
us. His testimonies, that means I testify, I testify, I testify. All that come to me by him, I'll
receive them. That's his promises, he said.
His covenant is a person, his testimonies are his promises.
And so to keep That means to hang on to, to hold on to, that
means to guard. Not willing to lose. Well, he'll teach them all the paths
of the Lord. Mercy and truth unto such as
keep his covenant. Now, look at verse, I've got
to hurry, verse 11. Now, here's the cry of a man
after God's own heart. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." But David, and I believe
David wrote this before his great sin with Bathsheba. David, you're
a man after God's own heart. You're Christ-like, David. You're
a good man. You're a righteous man, aren't
you, David? pardon my iniquity, it's great.
You see, great sinners need a great Savior. Great sinners need a
sovereign Savior. Great sinners need a salvation
that was determined before the world began and the end of it
was determined to. Great sinners, people that know
their sinners by birth, by choice, and by practice and all the ways,
they need a great Savior. They need a Jesus whose name
means that. They need a Christ whose name
means that. They need mercy that means that. They need salvation
that means that. Saved! Great sinners. Ask Mary Magdalene. Ask her. What kind of salvation do you
need, Mary? I need a great one. I'm a great
sinner. It's great, and to whom much
is forgiven, they'll love much. Verse 12, what man is he that
feareth the Lord? Here it is again. Those that
fear the Lord, him shall he teach in the way. Those that fear God,
the meek, the teachable, the true seeker, God will teach. Now look at this very closely.
He will teach in the way that he shall choose. Now, who shall
choose? He's not talking about us. He's
going to teach us in the way that God shall choose. Christ is the way, and we're
chosen in Him. But that every way He puts us
in and takes us is of His choosing. And this is what David said.
David said, in the end, David said, the lions have fallen unto
me in pleasant places. David said this, he said, You've
chosen thy inheritance for me. Do you read Scots? Well, there's
a statement that needs to be committed to memory. Not many things that men have
said over the years that bear repeating, but that does. And he's just paraphrasing Romans
8.28, really. But Scott said, if you knew what God knew, no,
he just knew. And no, you'd order your life
just exactly like God has ordered it. He knew. You believe that? David did. David said, You've chosen my
inheritance for me. All right, here's Abraham and
here's Lot. Okay? Here's Abraham and here's Lot.
Okay, y'all choose what, look out over the land. And y'all
choose. There's the well-watered plains
of Sodom. Oh, life will be good there. Oh, we'll all be just a valley. No trouble there, all well-watered,
flowing with milk and honey, peace, prosperity, riches, gain. Look at all this. Sodom. Oh,
I'll take Sodom, Lot said. Abraham, here's what you get.
You're going to wander in caves and mountains. And then when
you get to be an old man, an old, old man, you're going to
have one son. I'm going to take you up on a mountain and I'm
going to tell you to kill him. That's not the way I would choose
it. After it's over, John. After
Lot was just drug out of Sodom and that city was destroyed,
and God said to Abraham, I am not pushing you to get me forever. And you get your son back, too.
And you get to see your grandsons and your grandsons' sons. And
your seed will never depart before mine. My mercy will never depart
from you. Now choose, Abraham. What way will you go? I'll take
the mountains in a minute. Then I'll take the boy up there.
Is that the end that's going to bring? Yeah. Lead me in the way. Give me the
knife. I commit him to you. His soul, verse 13, says, shall
dwell at ease. And his seed shall inherit the
earth. Whose seed? Christ's seed shall inherit the
earth. People don't understand that
in Matthew 5, do they? The meat shall inherit the earth.
The meat shall inherit the earth. Why? Why, it's the wolves that
have this earth, isn't it? Huh? Isn't it the go-getters,
those that run roughshod over you, don't they have the earth?
Huh? Yeah, they do. is one who has foundations, foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. His seed will inherit the new
earth. No tears, no pain, no sin, no
sin. Read on. And a seeker of the
Lord is with them that fear him. He'll show them, there it is
again, his covenant. You see how many times it says
that? They fear him, that fear him,
that fear him. He'll show them. He's going to
teach them. Sinners that fear him, he'll show them his covenant. So David says in verse 15, Well,
my eyes are ever toward the Lord, ever toward the Lord. Old John
Newton said, When I look within, all is vain and black and wild. Can I be myself his child? But God said, no, look unto me.
When I look at him, I see mercy. I see grace. I see truth. I see
forgiveness of sin. I see all my hope. When I look
within and out this world, I see trouble. I see trial. I see pain. I see suffering. I see death.
Look to the covenant. Look to Christ. I see hope. I
see peace. I see an end, a sure end, a good
end. happily ever after him. Oh, mine eyes are ever toward
the Lord. He shall pluck my feet out of the net. I saw another—this
was a cute bumper sticker. It said, Oh, what a worldwide
web we weave. It's no coincidence that this
thing was named Web the Net. But this whole thing, God has
named this whole world and everything in it in the pursuit of it, a
web, a net that's gotten people tangled. It's a web of deceit. A web of deceit. A net. Riches, pleasure, happiness.
It's not here. It's not here. Why? Because Christ is not here. Why
do you look for Him? A living among the dead. He's
not here. While you look for happiness
and peace and hope and help here in all your comfort, it's not
here, except you're flexing on things of their worth. Christ
sits at the right hand of God. There is my peace. Oh, in the
world we have tribulation, but there is my peace forevermore.
At thy right hands are pleasures forevermore. So one thing, if
I desire them, that will I seek after, David said. Nine eyes are everywhere. Can't
find anything here. I look at it and I lay hold on
it, it's gone. Lay hold on the covenant. Keep
hold on that covenant. It's ordered. It's sure. It'll
never leave. Christ will never leave you.
Read on. Turn unto me, verse 16, and have mercy upon me. Turn
unto me and have mercy on me. Every single sinner that's ever
said this, Christ turned. Every single one. Listen to one
of them. Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. Bring him to me. Huh? Bring him to me. Little fellow
up a tree, looking, looking, looking, looking. Come down. I'm coming to your house. Turn unto me, have mercy on me. I am desolate, afflicted, the
troubles of my heart are enlarged. O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my
pain, and here is the worst pain of all my sins. Forgive all my
sins. I have and I will. I have not
only forgiven them, I have forgotten them," he says. The only thing
God cannot do is remember your sins. One of them was that. Forget all my sin. Verse 19,
consider mine enemies. Oh, there are many. There are
many. Even my friends will turn out
to be my enemies sometimes. They hate me with cruel hatred.
This world is cruel. Everything in it is cruel. It's cruel. It's cruel. All that
everything God does is right. It's right. It's right. It's
mercy. It's truth. Verse 20, oh, keep my soul and
deliver me. And here he comes right back
where he started. Don't let me be ashamed. Let me not be ashamed. I put my trust in thee." For those that wait on the Lord
now, he said, will never be put to shame. I put my trust in thee. Those
that trust the Lord, he said, they'll live forever. Verse 21,
let integrity and uprightness preserve me. What's integrity
and uprightness? Mine? Huh? Oh, no. Did David remain upright? Did David's integrity keep him?
What is it? It's God's word. It's God's goodness. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me. It's God's words, Dan. It's his
integrity and his uprightness, his word. Well, keep me upright,
I wait on thee. Oh, verse 22, redeem Israel,
O Lord, and all Israel. Yep, all Israel will be saved. Christ died for Israel, the Jews,
salvation of the Jews. What's that? Well, teach me. Circumcision of the heart. contrition
of the heart, weakness. Teach men by way. Sinners he'll
teach into what. All right, may the Lord make
it so with us. John, do we have another hymn
picked out? Number eight. Okay, come up and
lead us in that. Yeah, this is good. This is real
good. We haven't sung this before, I don't think. But the words are everything. It's
the message. And this is sung to the tune
of the doxology. Okay? Let's sing all four verses,
a short hymn. Let's sing it. All four verses.
Number eight. All people that on earth do dwell,
sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with fear, His
grace foretell. Come ye before Him and rejoice. Know that the Lord is God indeed. He did us make, we are His, so
He does us keep, and for His sheep He does us make. O enter then His gates with praise,
approach with joy His courtesans do. Praise God and let His name
await, for it is seemly so to do. O God, O Lord, our God is
good, His mercy is forever sure, His truth that all wants from
we too, And shall from late to break in due. I love you so so I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Thank you. There's not much I can say. Thank you. you.