A Psalm Unto The Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about the goodness of the Lord?

The Bible emphasizes the goodness of the Lord, highlighting that it leads to repentance and drives us to seek Him. The goodness of the Lord is frequently mentioned in Scripture, particularly in Psalm 34 where David emphasizes his desire to bless and praise God for His goodness. In verse 4, David states, 'I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.' This reflects how recognizing God's goodness compels a believer to seek Him, repent, and trust in His ongoing mercy and love. Furthermore, God’s goodness assures us that He hears our cries and provides for our needs, as affirmed in verses like Romans 2:4, which states that 'the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.'

Q: How do we know God hears our prayers?

The Bible assures us that God hears the cries of the righteous and will deliver them from their troubles. Psalm 34 affirmatively states, 'The Lord hears the righteous and delivers them out of all their troubles' (verse 17). This is a profound assurance for believers, showing that no prayer is unheard when coming from a contrite heart. Just as David found refuge and deliverance, believers today can be confident that God listens attentively to their pleas. Additionally, in 1 Peter 3:12, it states, 'For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.' This reinforces that God is always aware of our needs and concerns, ready to respond according to His wisdom and timing.

Q: Why is praising the Lord important for Christians?

Praising the Lord is crucial as it acknowledges His sovereignty and goodness in all circumstances of life. Praising God is essential for Christians not only as an act of worship but also as a means of acknowledging His attributes and works in our lives. Psalm 34 begins with David declaring, 'I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth' (verse 1). This indicates that regardless of our situations—be it in prosperity or adversity—maintaining a posture of praise will protect us from murmuring and complaining. Furthermore, Ephesians 5:20 encourages believers to 'give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father.' This reinforces the idea that a lifestyle of praise culminates in trust and gratitude, thereby reflecting a true understanding of God's nature as a benign and sovereign deity.

Q: What does it mean to fear the Lord?

Fearing the Lord involves reverence and respect, leading to a life of obedience and trust. The fear of the Lord is a crucial concept within Scripture, often associated with wisdom and a righteous life. Proverbs 1:7 states, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,' which illustrates that proper respect and awe of God inform how we understand life and morality. In Psalm 34, David instructs in verse 9 to 'Oh, fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him.' When we fear the Lord, we recognize His holiness and majesty, prompting us to live righteously and pursue peace. This fear does not lead to dread but encourages a close relationship where we can trust in the Lord's providence and care.

Q: How does God deliver us from our troubles?

God delivers us from troubles through His grace and steadfast love, often in ways that we cannot foresee. Psalm 34:19 states, 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.' This passage emphasizes that while believers may experience numerous trials and tribulations, God's promise is to deliver us from each one. The basis of this deliverance lies in His character as our Redeemer. As the sermon pointed out, Christ’s sacrifice shows that He has delivered us from the greatest trouble, which is sin. Additionally, God's deliverance may come in various forms—spiritual, emotional, or physical—and often includes the assurance of His presence amidst our struggles. The New Testament echoes this with Romans 8:28, assuring believers that 'all things work together for good to them that love God.' Thus, our confidence in deliverance is rooted in God's faithful nature.

It's a good hymn, isn't it? All
right, I want you to open your Bibles to Psalm 34. Psalm 34, one verse. And this psalm has been on my
mind for a long time now. But after reading the whole psalm
over again, we need to look at all of these verses, all twenty-two
of these verses. The title of this message is
A Psalm Unto the Lord. A poetry set to music is what
it means. A psalm. A psalm is a psalm. A psalm unto the Lord. And His
name, as we read down through here, you'll notice His name
is in nearly every verse. Nearly. Many, many times. Now, if you're taking notes,
there's an easy way to remember this. This falls under five divisions
here. The first three verses describe
the worship of the Lord. The worship of the Lord. The
first three verses, and then verses four through ten, the
goodness of the Lord. And then verses eleven through
fourteen, the fear of the Lord. Then verses 15 and 16, the countenance
of the Lord. And then verses 17 through 22,
the salvation of the Lord. This is a psalm unto the Lord. Hope you're in the Lord-worshiping
business tonight. That's what this psalm is all
about. All right, let's look at the worship of the Lord, verses
1 through 3. I will bless the Lord at all
times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. I will bless the Lord at all
times. The psalmist says, I will. Now, we know His will will be
done, don't we? We recently read of a man who
said I will be king, right? Now the Lord won't honor and
won't allow a man to exercise that will. But here's an I will
that the Lord will bless. I will bless the Lord. He'll
bless that. He'll allow you to say that,
Joe. I will bless the Lord. And he will, he will let you.
At all times, he said, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. This is what Paul says in several
places. He said in Ephesians 5, giving
thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, in everything."
So the psalmist says, I will bless the Lord at all times,
at all times, whatever it may be, in prosperity or without,
in trial or in whatever, at all times. Bless and praise at all
times. And praise, if this be the case,
praise will limit murmuring and complaining. Praise will limit
your murmuring and complaining. Verse 2, My soul shall, now here's
another I will and I shall that the Lord will allow a man to
say. My soul shall boast, make her
boast in the Lord. The Lord will allow a man to
do some boasting. You know that? As long as it's
not of himself. He'll allow a woman to boast
as long as she boasts in the Lord. I will boast in the Lord,
David says. Where is boasting? Well, not
in the flesh, because in the flesh there is no good thing.
the works of the law, because by the deeds of the law no flesh
shall be justified. But to the true believer, boasting
is excluded. Pride I abase, for I am only
a sinner saved by God's grace. So we'll boast in the Lord. My
soul shall boast in the Lord. Read on. The humble shall hear
and be glad. Or that is the meek, the lowly,
the weak, the helpless. That's what humble means. They
shall hear of a king. David was king, and the king
said, I'm not going to boast of anything or anyone but the
Lord. And the humble, the meek, the
lowly, the nobodies, the nothings, they're going to hear of a king
boasting in the Lord, and they're going to be glad because they've
got the same They resort to the same place. Verse 3, O magnify
the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. That's why
we're here tonight, to exalt his name. And what we want to do, like
Isaiah said, is make mention Not only here, but whatever opportunity
is afforded us. Make mention that his name is
exalted. In a day, in a generation when
the name of God is blasphemed, when the name of God is brought
low, I don't even want to repeat the
usage of that name, how they use it. You know, they use the
name of the Lord. And God will not hold them guiltless.
He takes His name in vain. But we make mention here, by
His grace, we make mention that His name is exalted. His name
is not to be used except in reverence and fear and praise and worship
and exaltation. Never, believer, never. Take the name of God, any name
ever on your lips except it be in fear and reverence, respect
and worship. Never. I know you don't. All
right. Now, let's look at the goodness
of the Lord. All right. There's the worship of the Lord.
Verse 4, David says, I sought the Lord and he heard me. And it is the goodness of the
Lord that causes a man to seek Him, isn't it? The goodness of
the Lord that leads a man to seek Him, to call on Him, to
look unto Him, to trust Him, to repent, to believe. David says, I sought the Lord.
Why did you seek the Lord, David? Well, because He first sought
me. I called on the Lord. Why did you call on the Lord,
Joel? Because he first called me. I
love the Lord. Why do you love the Lord, John?
Because he first loved me. But I sought the Lord. I sought
the Lord, and only those that seek the Lord with all heart
will find it. And all who seek, they call upon
him. And it says, I sought the Lord,
and he heard me. He heard me and delivered me from all my
He heard me. I sought the Lord and He heard
me and delivered me from all my fears. I was afraid He might
not hear me, but He heard me. I was afraid He might not grant
me mercy again, but He did and endures forever. I was afraid
He might not forgive me. I didn't deserve it, but He did.
He's ready to forgive. He heard me. woman that was caught in the
act of adultery and brought to the Lord. You know the story.
And cast at his feet. And it says that the Lord stooped
down and wrote in the sand and while he was writing it says
the Pharisees were talking to him. He said, Master. And they kept talking to him.
And the scripture says he continued writing as though he heard them
not. He wasn't listening. Now they
were doing all the talking. Christ wasn't listening. But
this woman wasn't saying anything. Christ heard her. The cry of a broken heart. Surely
she was saying in her heart, Lord be merciful to me. And he
heard me. And he delivered me from all
my fear. He delivered me. Justified me
from all things which I could not be justified by the law of
Moses. Look unto him. Look unto him. Well, look at the next line.
That's what it says. They looked unto him and were
lightened. The margin says they flowed to
him. They looked at him and hadn't
had him. Or they looked unto him, and it says their faces
were not ashamed. They looked unto him, the humble. That's what he's talking about,
the brokenhearted, the meek, the lowly, the seeking, the sinner,
guilty sinners looked unto him. That's what he said, look unto
me and do your thing. They looked unto him and were
enlightened. Their countenance was cheered
and they were not ashamed. Their faces were not ashamed.
I have a pastor friend of mine
whose 17 or 18 year old daughter came to him one day broke down
crying and said, Daddy, I'm pregnant. Shamed to lift up her head, you
know. And he said, Honey, come over
here. Sit in my lap. Look at me. She looked up into
the face of one who was ready to forgive. He said, Honey, It's
all right. It's going to be okay. You've
come to the right person. We need to tell our children
the same thing, don't we? We need to tell them that no
matter what, no matter what happens, what may happen, that they've
come to us and there need not be a shame, ever. And that's
our God. Look into his face and what you'll
see is compassion. Nothing but compassion. What
you'll see is forgiveness. What you'll see is no condemnation. You will not be ashamed. You
will not be ashamed. Verse 6 says, And the Lord heard him, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. That poor man cried, and
the Lord heard him. The Lord was in the midst of
a loud multitude of people, and one poor sinner in rags cried
out, have mercy. And the Lord of glory stopped
everything he was doing. He heard him, and the Lord heard
him and saved him out of all his troubles. Saved him out of
all his troubles. So you see, this is a song unto
the Lord. The Lord heareth, the Lord delivereth, the Lord forgiveth,
the Lord saveth. Verse 7, the angel of the Lord
encampeth. The Lord encampeth round about
him that fear him, and delivereth. The Lord encampeth. round about
them. The word encampeth means dwelleth
or encircleth or guardeth. John, I could not remember what
verse or what passage it was that we were looking at not long
ago that spoke of the Lord watching over, being out there on guard,
non-watch. Do you remember that? I cannot. At any rate, it says the Lord
standeth guard, or that is, he encampeth Roundabout. Roundabout. Do you ever remember
going camping when you were young? Going camping and as you lay
in your sleeping bag at night and heard all of the sounds in
the dark, you know, what you thought was lions and tigers
and bears. Full of fear. Do you remember
that? Full of fear. All of the wild animals. And
then when you woke up in the morning, you realize you were
in your own backyard. You ever do that? You didn't want to get too far
away, did you? I want to camp out tonight, Dad,
in the backyard where you're close by. The Lord encampeth
round about. The scripture says, the psalm
says, Psalm 121, he never slumbers nor sleeps. The Lord entampeth
round about, and the Scripture says, the angel of the Lord.
He gives his angels charge over them. Your angel doth always behold
your heavenly Father's face. They that be with us are more
than they that are against us. All right, look at the verse
8. Here's the goodness of the Lord.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Have you tasted any
of the goodness of God? Oh, my. Just how good has He been to
you? We just stop and we just pause
for a little while and consider the abundant goodness of our
God from the cradle till now. We'd never open our mouths one
more time complaining. The goodness of God has far outweighed
any The matter of fact, the adverse,
he sent it for our good. Right? Didn't he say? And it's the height of unbelief
for us to complain. But didn't he say, all things
work together for what? Good. Did he say that, Roberta? He
said, Heaven and earth pass away, but not one word of mine. He
said, I am the truth, verily, verily, of the truth, of the
truth, I say unto you, all things. So what we're going to have to
do is praise, bless the Lord at all times. All things are good. Taste and see that the Lord is
good. Blessed is the man that trusts in Him, that trusts in
Him. If you wait and see, you'll see
that it is good. This was good. David said it
was, in Psalm 119, I think, verse 121 maybe, he said, It's good
for me that I've been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes.
wouldn't pay much attention to the Word. It wasn't for that,
whatever the affliction may be. All right, verse 9, Oh, fear
the Lord, ye his saints. There's no want to them that
fear him. Fear the Lord, ye his saints.
There's no want to them that fear him. No want, you'll lack
for nothing. Those disciples, after having
walked with the Lord for three and a half years, They'd never
worked a job. They'd never earned a dime. And they were still full of fears,
the wrong kind of fear, weren't they? And every now and then
they would, right after the Lord would miraculously provide something
for them, They'd question, they'd doubt, they'd fear not having
what they needed. And the Lord finally one day
said, in the end, He said to them, while I was with you, while
I was with you, He said, did you lack for anything? Ever miss a meal? Shoes wear
out? Clothes in rags? Anything get you? Anybody? Hurt
you? They said, No, Lord, nothing. We lack for nothing. Right? It's
been seventy-some years now for some of you. Sixty-some years now. Have you
lacked for anything? Huh? While I was with you, how
long was he with us? He said, from the cradle to the
grave, I'll carry you all the days of your life. One set of
footprints. Oh, fear the Lord. He said here
in verse 10, the young lions do lack and suffer hunger. A young lion, a one-year-old,
two-year-old, fierce, meat-eating king of the jungle. He said,
they may lack. They may suffer hunger. In a
time of drought, they may go with that. I mean, the king of
the jungle who can fend for himself. No, no, no, no. Psalm says, even
they get their meat from the Lord. All right, he says, but
the young lion, he may like, he may want, even though he seems
to be self-sufficient and independent. You can't provide anything. You
can't make one hair grow or one cubit to your statue. We can't
do anything. But he says, have you lacked
for anything? No. Isn't that proof? Jehovah Jireh,
the Lord will provide. They that seek the Lord shall
not want. If the Lord is your shepherd,
You shall not want. If you got a good shepherd, you
shall not want. Huh? O'Malley hadn't missed a meal
yet. Stan, come look at her. She's fat and she's sassy. And
because I'm a pretty good, what a horseman, I guess. But oh my,
the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leads me beside the still
waters, making me lie down in green pastures. Verse 10, And
they that seek the Lord shall not want any good. Verse 11,
Come, ye children, hearken unto me. I'll teach you the fear of
the Lord." Here's the third heading, the fear of the Lord. I want
to teach you, he said, what fearing the Lord really is. All right? Verse 12, what man or woman or
young person is he or she that desireth life? Do you desire
life? I mean eternal life. Do you desire
life more abundant? Now Peter quotes this, if you
may remember studying this, the desire for life and good days.
All right, what man or woman or young person is he or she
that desireth life? Do you? Well, you'll have it.
And love many days, that he may see good. All right, here's the
fear of the Lord. And this is the beginning of
wisdom, verse 13. Keep thy tongue from evil. Keep thy tongue from evil. What
is the first and worst evil of the tongue? I've already made mention of
it. I'll give you a hint. Why did the Israelites not go
in the Promised Land? Murmuring and complaint, which
is nothing more than unbelief. Murmuring and complaint. That's
number one. The worst evil of all is to keep
thy tongue in thy lips. Keep thy tongue from evil. from
evil unbelief, from evil murmuring and complaining. Keep your tongue
from self-righteous boasting. Keep your tongue from self-righteous
judgment, speaking evil of a brother. The Lord doesn't take kindly
to that. Keep your tongue from speaking guile, verse 13 says,
from speaking guile. All these things sound familiar? Same source, Peter and the apostles
got what they wrote from David. David got it from Moses. Moses got it from God. Keep your
tongue from speaking guile, your lips from speaking guile or lies
and deceit and hypocrisy. Verse 14, depart from evil and
do good. Depart from evil. What kind of
evil? Well, our Lord said, evil companions
corrupt good manners. The evil world, its thoughts
and its ways are not thoughts and ways of God. Its direction,
the way it's headed, is not toward God. It's the other way. So, depart from them. If you
look at David's son, Solomon, his writings all the way through,
Solomon warns, come out from among them. Don't,
my son, don't walk in the way of the wicked. Blessed is the
man who standeth not in the way of the ungodly, in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. That's the first
song. Well, the evil one, too. It's sad, isn't it, that we sometimes
yield to him, the evil one, and resist or grieve the Holy One,
isn't it? Isn't that sad? And it's to be
the other way around. He tells us, resist the devil
and he'll flee from you. Yield to the Spirit. Help me, Lord. Help me. Resist
Him. Help me yield. It says, depart
from evil. Do good. Be a do-gooder. I want
to be a do-gooder. There was a time when I would not have wanted someone
to call me a do-gooder, but now I do. You've heard me say this, a goody
two shoes. Where'd that come from? But it
may have come from the scriptures which said that he leads us in
paths of righteousness. That's what I want my shoes,
where I want my shoes to be. A goody two shoes. How about
you? Do good. Be a do-gooder. That's
what I want to be, regardless of what the world says. Verse 14, and seek peace. Pursue it. Seek peace. Fear of
the Lord. Now, David's teaching us what
the fear of the Lord is. Fear of the Lord will make a
man peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated,
a peacemaker. Scripture says, Blessed are the
peacemakers. David said that. He said, I'm
for peace. They're for war. Child of God's not a, not a,
what's the word, a brawler, but a peacemaker. Do you remember
that cruel man that the Lord says, the Lord told that parable
of the man who owed much and he was to give an account of
himself to his master and the master just frankly forgave him
all? And that man turned around and
went out and grabbed a fellow by the collar who owed him a
pittance and demanded and had him cast into jail for not paying. You remember that? Remember how
I said the Lord was angry with him? Angry. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Peace and pursuit, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
by them that make peace. You want peace with God? Be a peacemaker. Be a peacemaker. Be gentle. Now, right here is
the fourth division, verse 15, countenance of the Lord. The
eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. See there? The eyes of the Lord
are upon the righteous. Now, who's the righteous? Who is the righteous? You can
say, Who are? I say, Who is the righteous? He's called Jesus Christ the
righteous. Amen? See, we have an advocate
with the Father. Jesus Christ, the Righteous,
the Righteous One, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord our Righteousness,
the Righteous Branch, Jehovah Sidkenna, the Righteous. The
eyes of the Lord God are upon Him, and everybody that's in
Him, they're hid. And we're righteous. I think
it was Isaiah said, Say ye unto the righteous, it'll be well.
be well with the righteous. It shall be well. It is well
with my soul." Why? Because I'm accepted in the righteous
one, in the beloved. The eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and if we're righteous in Christ, His eyes are upon
us for good, for good. And His ears, look at this, here's
the countenance of the Lord, His ears are opening unto their
continually. I was talking to one of our ladies
who was going through a trial and said that, like David, she
felt like the, David said, the heavens were brass. Never. Never. You know what it says
here? Huh? Do you never hear, is there
ever a time when you don't hear your child? Huh? If your child is calling you,
is there ever a time you don't hear? Just because you don't answer
them doesn't mean you don't hear them, right? You hear them. Your
eyes are ever open. Like a mother, you know, one
of you mothers, if their baby down in the nursery right now
starts crying, I know one lady in here, if her baby is there,
I know one lady in here whose ears would immediately perk open. Right? Where the eyes of the
Lord, or the ears of the Lord, are open unto the cry of his
people. Never shut. And just because
he doesn't answer us immediately, doesn't mean he doesn't hear.
Huh? Doesn't mean. Not answering us is an answer.
It means he's not going to give us what we're asking right now,
doesn't it? Huh? Hannah, you do that sometimes. Daddy, would you? Would you hear me, Dad? I know
you're hard of hearing. Dad, did you hear me? I'm thinking. I'm thinking. See, the Lord is
immediately. The Lord knows. I mean, He's
wisdom. He doesn't have to stop and think,
but he knows the works of the Lord are known
unto him from the beginning. He knows what he's going to do
before you ask, OK? But if you ask me something,
I have to think about it. And when I don't answer you,
it doesn't mean I don't hear you. It means I might be thinking. But the next thing is counting
as the face of the Lord. Now, the eyes of the Lord are
upon the righteous. His ears are open unto the cry,
but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. The face of the Lord is against
them that do evil. He's going to cut them off, it's
said, the remembrance of them from the earth. We're going to
cry out, we cry out, the believers cry out, Lord remember me. And
he remembers us. He's going to cut off all remembrance
of them. He's going to say, I never knew
you. Who the evil? Well, unbelief. All right, look at the next line.
Here's the salvation of the Lord. Verse 17, the righteous cry and
the Lord heareth. Christ, the righteous, principally,
crieth the Lord, our High Priest, our Intercessor, our Mediator,
every time He cried. And when He cried, the Lord heard
Him. When He prayed, the Lord heard Him. And His people, in
Him, who are righteous, in Him, the Lord, they cried, and the
Lord heareth. And it says, And the Lord delivereth
them. Out of all their troubles. All their troubles. Maybe not
immediately. Why? Because it's good that they'd
be afflicted. But now here's the problem. We're
going to deliver them out of all their troubles. All their
troubles. Our biggest trouble, which He
delivers us from, is what? Sin. Sin. Now, praise be unto God, He hath
delivered. And he does deliver. And he will yet deliver. Salvation
is a done deal a doing deal and I will be done. He has delivered
us he is delivering us and he will yet deliver. Out of all
our trouble sin trouble we've been delivered from the penalty
of sin. And whether you believe it or
not, we've been delivered from the absolute reigning ruling
power of sin. Yes. You remember in our story
in 1 Kings where people said, remember when Nathan the prophet
came and said, Oh, Adonijah's down there reigning. Remember
that? When Bathsheba came to David,
the bride came to the king and said, Adonijah's reigning. You
said, Solomon will reign. But no, Abner is down there reigning
right now. No, he's not. Oh, no, he's not. I'm reigning. You said sin shall not have dominion
over me. It's reigning over me. Oh, no,
it's not. I'm reigning over you. I'm just turning you over a little
bit, so you come crying to me about this sin. Oh no, sin shall
not have dominion over you. If you didn't give it a thought,
then it had dominion over you, wouldn't it? Huh? If it didn't trouble you, then
it would have dominion over you. All right? The Lord delivereth
them out of all their troubles, sin, trouble, law, trouble. We're
in trouble with the law. You ever been in trouble with
the law? Oh my. You ever stood before
a judge? You remember that story of my father standing before
the judge? Huh? Guilty. Guilty. He knew it. Everybody knew it. Everybody but the judge. There's
nothing on the record. You remember that? Huh? Oh, I've
stood before a judge before. And it's awful feeling. Have
you? Anybody? Isn't it an awful feeling? Awful feeling. What if the judge
just said, why are you here? I don't find
anything in here. There's nothing in here. We got
in a lot of trouble, but the Lord delivered us out of all
our trouble. Took his shoe off. heard that
in world trouble I got troubles with this world you know I got
world trouble do you and the world's I'm in a world of trouble
aren't you he who is he that overcometh the world but he that
believeth look at the next line verse eighteen the Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart Lord's near the brokenhearted
overseeing, saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." That means
really broken. Not like Esau, or like Cain,
punishment greater than you can bear. No, not that. Not like
Esau, who feared losing the blessing. No, but he grieved over his,
a believer really grieves over their sin, themselves. Well,
the Lord's near them, save as such as be of a contrite heart,
forgive as such. Verse 19, many are the afflictions
of the righteous. Our Lord said you must through
much tribulation, many afflictions. The trial of your faith, Peter
said, many are the afflictions of the righteous. Why? Because
it weans us from the world. And it drives us to Christ. It
tells us we have here no continuing city. That's what trials do. They tell us we have here no
continuing city. It drives wedges in relationships. Why? To show us that they're
not our real family. You see? Many are the afflictions
of the righteous. Isn't that the very opposite
of what the religious world is saying today? They say, oh no,
if you believe Jesus, everything's all right. God afflicts the wicked. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. It's
the other way around. You see, God gives the world
a world. And for the most part, they're
full. But the waters of a full cup,
David said, are wrung out on his people. Why? that in the
world you should find nothing, and in Christ you should find
your all. See? And the Lord knows how to, who
to do what with. For the Lord delivereth them
out of them all. He keeps saying that, doesn't
He? He keeps saying that. How many
times does He have to tell us? Well, at least three times. All
delivereth them out of them all. They have no trial overtaking
you, but such is common to man. But the Lord will, with the trial,
make a way of escape, a way that you're able to bear it. All. All. You've gone through some
things that you felt like, I can't take it. I talked to a believer
up in the church in Ashland one time, and he said, as he was
going through something, he said, I can't take it anymore. I can't
take anymore, I said. Well, you have. And a week later
or so, he might have been thinking, I can't take anymore. A week later, I can't take it
anymore. And then it's over. And then
it passes. And you think, Well, I took all
he gave by his grace. He's true and he's true to his
promise. He'll not give us more than we're able to bear. All
right, read on. Salvation of the Lord, verse
20. I like this. He keepeth all his
bones. Not one of them is broken. And
why does he say this right in the middle of the psalm? You know this is a prophecy of
Christ, don't you? Christ on the cross, who is that
perfect sacrifice, of whom it is prophesied that not a bone
of him is to be broken. You remember how Christ was hanging
on a tree? And how they used to kill crucified
prisoners back then was they'd take a large iron bar and break
their legs so that they'd suffocate, so that they couldn't raise up,
you know, to take a breath on their feet. Well, it says that
the soldier came to the... Why did he go in this order?
But he came to the first one, broke his legs. Went over to
the third one, bypassed the middle one. Maybe it wasn't time yet.
Broke the legs of the third one and came to the man on the middle
cross, Christ. Saw he was dead already, so he
didn't break his legs. Why? Because Psalm 3420 says
so. You've got to be a perfect sacrifice.
But John, I bet you've never thought of it like this. His body was bruised. Christ
said, this is my... He was wounded and bruised for
our iniquity, yet not broken. Are we not the body of Christ?
He's the head, isn't it? Are we the body? All right. Though bruised by the fall, though
bruised by Satan, Satan, the prophecy says, shall bruise Christ's
heel, that is his lower part on the earth, his body. He bruises
us. Bruised by the fall, yet not
even a little toe will be broken. Not a little toe, not a bruised
ring. Smoking flax he won't quench, and a bruised reed he won't break,
nor a little toe. Are you a toe or an eye? It doesn't
matter. You'll not be broken, nor severed. Verse 21, evil shall slay the
wicked evil, the evil one, and he does, he has, he has religious
workers of iniquity captive, doesn't he? He has them captive. They do his will. They do his
will. And the openly vile, he has them
also. They that hate, renounce. They
that hate the righteous shall be desolate. They that hate the
righteous one, they that hate his imputed righteousness, they
that hate his people who are righteous, they'll be desolate. They'll be found guilty. They'll
be left alone someday. Now, here's the verse. I was going to do one verse,
Stan, tonight. This one right here. Got two minutes. Verse 22, here
it is. Here's the verse that's been
with me all week, and I hope it'll be with you. The Lord redeemeth
the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in him
shall be desolate or shall be guilty. The Lord redeemeth the
soul of his servants. That's why his name is called
what it's called. Jesus. Why? It means he shall save his
people. That's what it means. By himself
he purged our sins. The Lord redeemeth the soul of
his people, having obtained eternal redemption for us. The Lord redeemeth,
not trieth, redeemeth. Their God, their rock, might
not redeem. Our Lord redeems. Their Jesus
might not redeem. He might try. Our Lord redeems. That's what His name means, you
see. We make mention, Joe, that His name means Redeemer. Like
that four-year-old girl said when I asked, What is a Redeemer? And she said, One that redeems. Boy, theologians don't know that,
do they? that out of the mouths of babes and suckling dove has
ordained strength because of the enemy, the religious enemy.
That's our strength, isn't it? Isn't that our song? Isn't that
our salvation? The Lord redeemeth. Having obtained eternal redemption
for us. And none, no, N-O-N-E, no, not one, none,
not one, none, that trusted none of them. Who's the them here?
It says none of them. Well, who's them he's talking
about? All the way through here he's talking about the humble,
the broken, the meek, the lowly, the ashamed, the troubled, the
afflicted, the weak, the helpless, the righteous. None of them that
trust in him. Who's the them? Christ said,
I give unto them eternal life. Who's the them? Well, here it
is. This is a faithful sinner. And
it's worthy of all acceptation. All right, here's the them. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Yeah, them. Is that you? Is that your name?
Center. Don't you love that illustration
of old Spurgeon and said, I'm glad it didn't say Charles Spurgeon.
Aren't you glad it didn't say Joe Parks? Joe, I bet you. How many people named Joe in
the world? How many Parks are there? How many Joe Parks? There may be a billion, huh?
But it says Center. I know that's me. Don't you? It's none of them. None of them
shall that trust in him." What does trust mean? It means believe what he says.
What does he say? None of them trust in him. Shall be desolate. That's what
he said. He didn't say, now if you'll
quit your meanness from here on out and never sin again, I'll
None of them that trust in Him shall ever be desolate. Ever.
No, not one. Never left alone. Never found
guilty. And I know you're the same as
I am, that at times when you're feeling so sinful and so rotten
and so wretched, and you think, surely, Surely the Lord is going
to cast me out now. But no, look unto me. Crawl up like that
young girl into your father's lap, and look straight into his
face, and you'll not be ashamed. He'll deliver you. You'll find
compassion. None. None. I will in no wise,
no one, cast out ever for any reason. anyone, no matter how
vile or sinful, that trust in me." Why? Because he's trustworthy. Is this the manner of man? No. But this is our goal. All right,
let's stand. Our God, this is good news. This
is the gospel. Thou art the gospel. Good news
of full, free, effectual, final, eternal salvation for sinners. Our Lord, don't let us ever forget
your goodness. It ought to lead us to repentance. It ought to lead us to change.
Lord, deliver us from evil, the evil one. Set our feet in right
paths that do good. Follow that which is good. Deliver
us from murmuring and complaining. May we praise the Lord at all
times. May our lips utter thanksgiving
and praise continually. Oh Lord, but when we don't, forgive
us for Christ's sake. And we know you will because
you're faithful. Do we ever live to make intercession
for sinners? None, you say. And we take you
at your word. And none of them that trust in
you shall ever be desolate. We're going to hold you to and
hold to your word. This word for sinners. We're
not presumptuous, we just believe You are who You say You are. And so we trust in You, Lord.
Sinners though we be, we beg Your forgiveness and we know
we have it. In Christ's name we pray. I ask Your blessing
upon Your Word. Amen. You're dismissed.

A Psalm Unto The Lord

What does the Bible say about the goodness of the Lord?

How do we know God hears our prayers?

Why is praising the Lord important for Christians?

What does it mean to fear the Lord?

How does God deliver us from our troubles?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

A Psalm Unto The Lord

What does the Bible say about the goodness of the Lord?

How do we know God hears our prayers?

Why is praising the Lord important for Christians?

What does it mean to fear the Lord?

How does God deliver us from our troubles?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

More from Paul Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Paul Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book