Psalm 119. When we come to the last part in this Psalm 119, I hope, truly hope you profit from this, at least partially as much as I
have. through this Psalm 119. Two things. Number one, I've seen clearly how that Christ
is the subject of all Scripture. And scope, that is the aim, the
goal, the end, the purpose of it all. I've seen that very clearly. I've seen Christ's very words
fulfilled. It says, all things must be fulfilled
in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
him. And I've seen, we've seen together,
I believe, how that these could be the very words of Christ himself
at various times. Another place Christ It says
of Christ that he opened the Scriptures, opened their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures. And I am amazed at this, but I say it
with confidence and it humbles me. But we've seen something. I believe we've gotten in on
something that very few people have. And that we have an understanding
of these scriptures, not, we know in part, prophesy or preach
in part. Yet, it's a much bigger part
than most people have. It's understanding that the revelation
of Christ we've seen in the scriptures has been marvelous, wonderful.
The scripture says, Christ said, they are they which testify of
me. that testify of me, and the spirit
of prophecy, or the spirit of all of God's scriptures. The
spirit and the testimony of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is Jesus Christ. So if we don't see Christ in
the Scripture, whatever else we may see, and I've told you
this, that in my studies and searches through the old writers,
that oftentimes, most of the time, through this study anyway,
that they failed to bring Christ out very clearly. And whatever
else you may see in the scriptures, if you don't see the person and
work of Christ, or at least God's work of salvation in and through
Christ, you haven't understood the true meaning of the word. Well, the second thing I've seen
through the study of this psalm, like Matthew Henry's father said,
a study of this psalm will cause you to fall in love with the
rest of God's Word and to see the importance of God's Word.
The second thing I've seen is that true worshipers, like Christ said, to the lady,
the woman at the well, true worshipers worship the Father, worship God
in spirit and truth. For that is from the heart, or
with all the heart, all the heart, with a true man, with a true
and all-consuming desire, diligently using the means that God has
commanded and God has provided. Now, I would not discourage anyone
at all. The purpose of this message tonight,
I believe, is to encourage all of us. But let me say this from
the outset. I just don't believe there's
such a thing as someone being a true child of God or a seeker
of God who does not have God foremost in his or her
thoughts and desire, and does not use, at least somewhat use,
the means that God has given to find Him, to seek Him. Over
and over in this Psalm 119, over and over, turn all the way
back to the start, back to the very first part of Psalm 119.
over and over in this longest of Psalms, David clearly speaks
of Christ. And David sincerely and fervently
speaks of his own heartfelt desires and love for God. Love must express
itself. It must. That's one of the characteristics
of love. Love must express itself. And David, over and over through
this psalm, speaks of his own heartfelt desires for God and
his love for God and His Word. Paul expressed it. When Paul
said to the Galatians, he said, Paul was talking about his love
to the Galatians. And he said in one verse, he
said, You see how long a letter I've written to you with my own
hand. You remember that? In other words, he was so taken
up with and concerned with the people at Galatia that he wrote
a long letter, although it was laborious to him with his eyesight
and his physical afflictions and so forth. He wrote a long
letter. And David, I believe, could say
the same thing here in this psalm. He could say, I'm serious about
this thing of knowing and worshiping God. You see how long a psalm?
that I've written here concerning my pouring out my heart to God. Look at some of these things.
Browse through here, back through here again. Verse 2, these things
concerning heartfelt desires. Blessed are they that keep his
testimonies, his gospel, and that seek him with the whole
heart. Verse 7, I will praise thee with uprightness of heart
or sincerity of heart. Verse 10, With my whole heart
have I sought thee, O let me not wander. Verse 11, Thy word
have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Verse 18, Would you open mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous
things out of your law? My soul breaketh for the longing
that it hath unto thy judgments, O your word. Verse twenty-four. All your testimonies are my delight.
Verse twenty-nine. O remove from me the way of lying,
grant me your law graciously. Verse thirty-two. I will run
the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart. Verse
thirty-six. Incline my heart Under your testimonies,
not to covetousness. Verse 38, Establish thy word
unto thy servant. Verse 47, And I will delight
myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. Verse 58, I am
treated thy favor with my whole heart. Be merciful unto me according
to your word. Verse 62, At midnight, If this
is what it takes, at midnight I'll rise to give thanks unto
thee. Verse seventy-two. The law of your mouth is better
unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Verse eighty-two. Mine eyes fail for thy word. When will you comfort me? Verse
one-oh-three. How sweet are thy words! Unto my tail sweeter than honey
to my mouth. Verse 113, I hate name thoughts,
but thy law do I love. Verse 129, thy testimonies are
wonderful, therefore doth my soul cleave to them, keep them.
Verse 135, rivers of water run down my eyes because they don't
keep your law. And on and on and on and on.
He's pouring out His heart. pouring out his heart. And now
here in the end of this psalm, in the conclusion, David pours
out his heart three ways. He pours out his heart in confession.
He pours out his heart in prayer. And then this old one writer
wrote, he pours out his heart in protestation or profession,
blurting out what he believes, what he feels. And David doesn't
leave anything out here, confessing to his God. He pleads, he reveals
his worst fears, his greatest desires, he confesses his sins,
and he confesses his need above all else. And like David, like David, when all is said
and done, after it's all over, In the end of our lives, when
we lay on our deathbed even, we're going to have to say, like
David did in this 176th verse, I've gone astray. Aren't we? The last verse, he says,
I've gone astray, like a lost sheep. When it's all said and done,
when we come down to our deathbed, we're still going to have to
say the same thing then as we said in the beginning, Lord,
save me or I perish. Right? Save me or I perish. The very
first verse says, Blessed are the undefiled in the way who
walk in the law of the Lord. And they are. But David ends
up by saying, I've gone astray. Is that you, Henry Sowers? That's
me. Oh, blessed are they that walk
in the law, the undefiled in the way, who believe Christ,
who walk in the law and the word of the Lord, walk by faith in
Christ. But I've gone astray. I've gone astray. Job asked this
question, of all questions, years before. He said, I know it's
of a truth. I know that God is holy, righteous, just, and will
by no means clear the guilty, that man must be holy, and because
God is holy, man must be righteous to be accepted. But he says,
how? I wish more people would ask
this question. I know it's of a truth, but how can man be just
with God? Because the Scripture says, how
can he be clean that is born of a woman, that he should be
righteous? Behold, God doesn't put his trust
in his saints. Even the heavens are not clean
in his sight. How much more filthy and abominable
is man, particularly this man, who drinks iniquity like water,
like an alcoholic? And the Scripture says, and David
said in another place, Psalm 130, Lord, if thou shouldest
mark iniquities, I'm a goner. Right? Who and who will stand? If the Lord marks one, Terry,
if He marks the last one, laying on my deathbed, I'm a goner. Right? So the thing I need in the end
for my salvation, for my comfort, my assurance, my well-being,
is the same thing I need in the beginning. The Lord has saved
me. All right, Perry. Verse 169,
Let my cry come near before thee. There's that word cry again.
David is not reading the prayer. Is he, Nancy? He's not reading
a prayer. A Latin liturgy. Keep crying. He says this over and over again.
Let my cry come near you. David wants to be heard. David
doesn't just want to pray. David doesn't just want to pray. David wants to be heard. There's
a difference. We go through the motions so
much this time. I go through the motions, put yourself in
my place. I have to pray all the time,
publicly. I don't always feel like it,
but I've got to do it anyway. The Lord grants liberty sometimes for
the people's sake. Sometimes he doesn't. I don't
feel like it. At any rate, I get tired of going
through the motions of prayer. How about you? I get tired of
it. I'd like to really know this spirit of supplication. Let my
cry come near before thee. Oh, it seems like so much of
the time, like David said, the heavens are brass. Why? Because my heart's hard. And
God won't hear you except from the heart. Let my cry come near
before thee, O Lord. Hear me. I want to be heard,
O Lord. Give me understanding. Oh, I
know the doctrine. I know enough of the doctrine.
I want an understanding of thy work. Give me an understanding
of Christ that I might know Him. Do you understand? Let me ask
you this. We've been hearing this gospel
for a long time, some of us. Do you understand the gospel
of Christ? Do you know who God is? Oh, if we did. If we did, we'd
worship Him. Do we know who we are before
this Holy God? Oh, if we did, it wouldn't a
day go by that we didn't cry out. Do we know who Christ is,
that He is our only hope? our only hope. Do we know who He is and what
He did, if we did, if we really believe, or at least if we believe
with our whole heart that Christ actually died in our place for
you? Oh, you'd love Him, wouldn't
you? Huh? Would you hesitate to say anything in His behalf? Do you understand how God saves
sinners? Or are we yet without understanding? Every man, woman, boy and girl
needs to cry out with David, give me understanding. John Newton
said it later in life, didn't he? As an old man, David's not
a young man here. I believe he's an older man here.
And he's crying out. He's been walking with the Lord
since he was a lad, 15 years old, 17 years old. Man after
God's own heart. And here in the end, his later
years, Henry, 60, 65. I don't know how old he was. Older man. He says, give me understanding. I feel like so much of the time,
and I act like so much of the time, I don't have any sense.
You feel that way? Give me an understanding. Hear
me. Give me an understanding of Your
Word. Don't let me just quote it. Let me understand it. Verse 170, Hear me, O Lord, let
my supplication come before Thee. A supplicant. What a supplicant
is. A supplicant is a beggar. A beggar. That's all we'll ever
be is beggars before the King. You know what? Christ marveled
at one woman's faith. Do you remember that woman that
came to Christ and said, Heal my son? Christ said, I have not
come but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The first
time he didn't even answer her. She kept coming up. He said,
I have not come but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
It's not fit to give the children's bread and meat to dogs. That would have turned away the
best Christian, wouldn't it? Dogs? But she said, oh, it's
true, Lord. I'm a dog. I just want a few
crumbs. Oh, woman, he said, great! I have not found faith like this,
not anywhere in Israel. Poor dear faith, so be it, I
tell you. That's great faith. Crumbs. If we ever rise above
that, supplicants, let my supplication come before Thee, my beggings,
my pleadings. Hear me, O Lord. See, He still
wanted to be heard. Let my supplication come before
Thee. Let Your Holy Spirit, He said
in Romans 8, make intercession for me. Deliver me according
to Thy Word. Deliver me. I need help. Hear me, O Lord. I'm not just
playing church here, I want to know the true and living God. And I need some answers. I've
got some problems in this life and I need some real answers.
I'm a real sinner who's faced with real problems in a really
sinful and wicked, hard, cruel world and I need some real answers. Would you give them to me? I
need help. I need help. And most of all, I find within
my members another law of warring. There's a war going on, and I
can't seem to win it, win this battle. I win a few battles,
it seems like, but the war goes on. About the time I think I've
gotten the faith that's gotten me the victory, something greater
rises up and seems to. Lord, the evil, this battle between
Good and evil, as it were, it seems like the evil's getting
upper hand. I need help. I need deliverance. He's not saying here either,
I need my bills, I've got outstanding debts. I never hear David mention money.
The house payment or his car broke down, do you? The chair
broke down, Lord. I never hear that. Deliver me.
Not from temporal difficulties. Oh, it's fine to pray for that,
but that's not our greatest need, is it? Temporal difficulties,
we're going to have those as long as we live on this earth.
We've heaped ourselves riches where moth is going to corrupt
them. This is the best suit I've got, buddy, and it's a good one.
I'm thankful for it. Somebody bought it for me. Fine
suit. A hundred percent wool. That didn't, it wasn't cheap.
But in a few years, it's going to be gone. I've already got
it growing. It's a little tight right now.
But mauls, you know, we've heaped ourselves sayings, riches that
mauls corrupt. And thieves break through and
steal. You know, the more we have, the more we fear somebody's
going to steal it. Right? The better the car, the more
we fear something's going to happen to it. And rust is going to corrupt
it. Rust. Our cars, what have you. Lord,
I need deliverance, not from these things. This is going to
happen. I need deliverance. Look down
in verse 174. I need salvation. I've longed for salvation. Verse
175. I've got a soul problem here.
Let my soul live. Verse 176. He said, I'm lost. I've gone astray. I need you
to bring me back. Now, there. Now, there's a man
who realizes his need. Not to these hucksters on TV.
Man, they're throwing people. Ah, boys. Man, they're so far
from it. They're so far from the Kingdom
of God. My, there ain't nobody seeking
the Kingdom of God. At least I don't see many. And like I said, in the end,
when it's all said and done, we're going to still be praying
for the same thing we did at the first. Lord, save me. Right? Save me. Do you ever pray that,
John, Jesus? Do you think the Lord has revealed
Christ and His gospel to you? I believe He has. Do you believe? Don't you still pray, Lord, save
me? Huh? Do you ever quit praying that?
Aren't there times when you get down and dirty and think, I'm
not saved? Or at least, Lord, if I—Lord,
decide this doubtful case for me, like Newton said. Well, tis
a point I long to know. Often it gives me anxious thoughts.
Do I love the Lord or no? It seems like I don't. Do I love
Him or not? Would you decide this doubtful
case for me? And if I haven't loved you before,
let me begin today, John, see. Deliver me. I need deliverance. Lord, save me or I perish. Deliver
me, look at this, according to Your Word. I'm not going to keep
you long tonight. Try to stay with me here. This
may be a help. Verse 170 says, Deliver me according
to your word. And this is the only place we're
going to find deliverance in the promises of God, right? Not
go to the priest. He's not going to be able to
tell you you're saved. There's only one priest that's going
to be able to tell you you're saved. David said it, didn't he? Lord, you say unto my soul, I
am thy salvation. There was a time, Henry, when
a preacher down the road told you you were saved, and you weren't
worried about it. I don't want a man to tell me. I want Christ
to tell me. Why? Because who can forgive
sins but God? Right? Who can save but God? So God's going to have to be
the one to tell me this. Deliver me, and this is the only
place you're going to find peace and rest and comfort for your
soul. I don't want to give comfort when you don't need comfort,
when you need, when I need, when we need. I don't want to give
comfort. when a man needs rebuke. I don't want to give rebuke when
a man needs comfort. You see, so this is all in the
hands of the Lord. I don't know. The Lord does. And David says,
deliver me according to your word, that word which says this
is a faithful saying. Lord, would you let me enter
into this? This is a faithful saying. It's worthy of all acceptation.
Would you let me accept it, receive it, I mean, down in the innermost
depths of my being, that Christ Jesus came into the world of
safe centers, even the chief. Chief? Now, Terry, I'm the chief,
buddy. Why are you shaking your head?
Yeah, I'm the chief, but you feel the same way, don't you?
You need it. I want that to apply to me, don't
you? Chief, Lord, you said so. He said, You came to save sinners,
or deliver me, save me. I'm the chief. That word which
says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden. Lord, I'm a laboring man. I'm heavy laden. My sins are
ever before me. My sins and iniquity have gone
over my head. My wounds stink. They're corrupt. My foolishness. Oh, Lord. He said, Come. Here I am. He said, I'll give
you rest. Here I am. I need rest. I need
rest as only you can give it. Lord, I want to come, yet I feel
like most of the time I'm going. So you see, Barbara, most of
the time I don't know whether I'm coming or going. The Lord says, Come! And I say, Here
I am, but the next day I feel like I'm going. Do you? One day
I say, Here I am. I feel like I've got him around
the neck. I'll never leave you. Forsake, he said. The next day,
you feel like you're running the other direction. You don't
know whether you're coming or going. Lord, deliver me. Deliver me. Verse 171, My lips
shall utter praise when thou hast taught me thy statutes. My lips shall utter praise when
you have taught me Maybe I could really worship God if he would
give me more of his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's called the
teacher of God. Christ said when he's come, he'll
bring all things to remembrance that I've said. He'll teach it.
It says he'll teach us in all things and bring to remembrance
whatsoever Christ said. Maybe if I—and then maybe, according
to God's Word. Well, sure. He says, How much
more shall the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask it? Maybe I ought to be asking Him a little more for
the Holy Spirit, to teach me. Teach me. We'll never grow beyond
this. We'll never get beyond being
students. Right? Like we saw this morning. Oh, we know it's such little,
so we just see so dimly. David said, When? My lips shall
utter praise. When? when you've taught me. When? When God has taught me
thy statutes. When He's taught me. I want the
Lord to teach me, not a man. I don't want to be catechized
by a man. I want the Lord Himself to instruct me and then to give
me understanding according to His Word. Lord, I feel as if
I'm ever learning, though, and never coming to the knowledge
of the truth. Don't you? Do you ever feel that way? I
feel like I'm ever learning. and never come into a knowledge,
a firm, fixed, grounded, settled, assured, persuaded knowledge
of Jesus Christ and a strong belief in Him. I'm ever learning. We hear something new or we read
and study about Him every week, don't we? Ever learning, aren't
we? We're not going to know Him, even as I've been known. And Lord, if you would just indelibly
print the Word of God upon the tables of my heart, put the Word
in my heart, and in my mouth will speak. This is the only
time we're going to speak, people. Verse 172, it says, My tongue
shall speak of thy word. My lips shall utter praise, and
my tongue will speak of thy word when God puts it in our heart.
Head knowledge won't make you bold. Head knowledge won't make you
bold. It'll make you fearful and clam up in front of men. But a heart love will make you
zealous. And that's what I need, Lord.
When You've taught me, when You've really taught me, my tongue shall
speak of Thy Word. The man of the Buddha says, sir,
all God's words speak of Christ, our righteousness. And that's
all I want to speak about, too. And don't let me get, Lord, don't
let me get off here on a tangent. When this fellow asked me why
we meet on Sunday instead of Saturday, this fellow asked me
over here why we take wine. Don't let me get off on that. Let me speak of thy righteousness. Let me tell that man. his greatest
need, that he know and understand Jehovah Sidkenu, that he needs
the Lord to be his righteousness, Christ our only hope, Christ
our Lord. And Lord, don't just teach me,
touch me. Verse 173, let your hand help
me, touch me, help me, reach down. We sing that song, don't
we? When he reached down for me. Lord, when I sing that song,
let me feel it. Let me feel it, that you reach
down for me, way down for me. Reach down your almighty hand
again for me and pull me out of the pit of corruption that
I dig for myself and that the wicked have dug for me and that
I fall right into again. This old wicked world with all
its temptations, I fall right into. See, I'm like a fly in
this world's flypaper. How about you? I get stuck. Lord, deliver me. Deliver me. Help me. Reach down your hand
and pluck this old fly out again. Why? I've chosen your precepts. Let your hand help me. I've chosen
thy precepts. It may not always appear that
way, but it Most of the time it appears like we've chosen
the world instead of God, doesn't it? Huh? Yeah, it does. Most of the time it appears like
we've chosen the world instead of Him. And now here's the fact
of the matter is, like we said this morning, it is not that
I did choose thee. Lord, that could never be. Because
if you had not first chosen me, I would never have chosen thee. When he did show me my need of
Christ, I chose Christ. Did you? I'm sure he did. We chose him because he first
chose us. But we do choose him. We do choose him. Now, let me
illustrate this thing. He said, Lord, I have chosen
thy priesthood. It's like a glass of water. I'm thirsty right now. Preaching has made me thirsty.
So my hand reaches down, and here's water. And I take it. Boy, that met my need. That met my thirst. Now, is there
any merit in me reaching down and getting that water? I mean,
can I brag to you all? Well, I was thirsty. Did you
see that, Henry? Did you see what I just did? Something, aren't
I? I'm talented. It's the water. It's the water that gets all
the praise, right? The water gets all the praise,
and drinking water, there's no merit in that. And we looked
at that this morning, Revelation 22, 17, whosoever will, let him
take of the water of life. But it says right before that,
turn over there real fast, so that we won't be ignorant of
this, so that the Lord will teach us about this whosoever will
business, OK? Let's turn over there, so we
won't be ignorant, somebody asked. Revelation 22, 17. Now, in order
to take the water of life, what do you got to be? In order for
a man to want to drink water, what's he got to be? That's exactly
right. You don't want this water like
I do, Terry. You're not as thirsty as I am. I can't get enough of
it. I'm thirsty right now. The Spirit
of the living God causes a thirst. There's no merit in thirst. We
don't even create that. There's no merit in taking the
water of life or willing or choosing the water of life. There's no
merit in that. God has to give that, right? Faith is a gift.
Where's the merit? Where's the glory belong? Where's all the praise and what
do we need to be talking about? The water, right? Not the one
who, not the will. And here, look at it, verse 17.
Well, look at verse sixteen first. You've got to see who he's writing
to. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these
things in the churches. You see that, don't you, Henry?
Why don't other people see that, huh? Testify unto in the churches. Whose church? Saved people, bride
of Christ, believers everywhere, right? Huh? Yeah, in the church.
Church is the body of Christ. You're not in the church unless
you're a saved person. He's talking to saved people here, right?
All right? Let's go on. I am the Root, and
I've spoken to the churches. I am the Root and the offspring
of David, the Bride and Morning Star. This is Christ talking
to His Bride. And the Spirit, capital S, Holy
Spirit, and the Bride, that is the church in heaven, say, Come.
Come. And let him that heareth say,
Come. You see that? That was the Holy
Spirit effectually calling. his people, talking to them,
speaking to them through the word, through Christ the word,
saying, come, and the church, the bride, exhorting and endeavoring
to keep the unity of the spirit, striving together for this faith,
come, come, and let him that heareth say, come, come, and
let him that is athirst. See, you've got to be thirsty. Let him that is athirst come,
and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." You
see how that is qualified there? The whosoever will is whosoever
the Spirit says to it, whosoever the bride says. He that heareth
the shepherd's voice, right? Let him that heareth. Who hears?
My sheep. Someone's going to hear my voice,
right? And he that is athirst, Who creates the thirst? Holy
Spirit. Whosoever of these people that
will take the water of life freely. It's out there. It's here. Right
now. Serving up water. The gospel. And we can take it
freely. Whosoever will in here, let him take the water of life
freely. Just drink. There's no merit. No merit in
the will at all. God has to make us willing. But
I'm still choosing. I am still choosing to this day.
Still choosing. It's not a one-time decision.
Back to the text. Not a one-time decision or a
choice, but it's a heart desire and a lifelong pursuit. But there
is a choice here, and the Lord God puts that within us. I have chosen by precepts because
you chose me to choose them. Verse 174, I long for your salvation. I have longed for thy salvation
because God long before elected me, now I long for his salvation. Because the long suffering of
the Lord is salvation, therefore now I long for the salvation
of the Lord. But I do, I long for it. I long. You know what it is to
long for something? I don't know if any of you ladies
Were you married when you were in the service, Henry? You weren't
married yet. Any of your men were overseas
off to war for an extended period of time? Your wives were waiting
at home for you? They longed for their husband,
didn't they? Oh, they longed. Have you ever
been without your mate for any length of time? They longed. And you can't even describe it.
You just have to feel it, don't you? Longed for. Oh, they longed. How long? How long is it going
to be? And David says, you ought to long for this salvation. Now,
Nancy, God saved me. There's a sense in which God
saved me before time ever began. I have been delivered. Why? Through
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God Almighty. And I am being
delivered right now. There's a sense in which when
Christ came and paid those debts on the cross and went back and
poured that blood on the mercy seat, I'm as good as I'm saved. As sure for heaven as if I was
already there. But I am being saved right now. And I will yet
be delivered someday. And I'm not going to be happy
and satisfied, like David, until I awake with his likeness. John somehow or another, I know
what he says. And he can't lie. He said, I'll
never leave you, nor forsake you. I just believe I'm going
to leave him. I explain it. Only a believer can feel that
paradox, right? And if he's got a hold of me,
I'm not going anywhere. I know that. And sometimes I
take such comfort and strength in that. Other times I think,
I'm leaving. Lord, you're letting go of me,
aren't you? And it's exactly what I do. Lord,
save me! I'm going down for the last time,
you know, like once, twice. This is it! My hand's showing. waters have
gone over my head." And He brings you back out again. Seven times. What is that, Proverbs 14? A
righteous man will fall seven times, yet the Lord delivers
him out of them all. I believe the Lord lets us get
like that just so He'll keep us calling, right? I long for this salvation. I
long for it. I have a desire to depart and
to be with the Lord. Do you? Go stronger every day. I want
more than anything to win Christ, be found in Him, that I might
know Him. I mean really know Him. Who are
we talking with today, son? Know Him. Know Him. Nothing thrills my soul, nor
fulfills my desire, nor makes me really and truly happy. except
Christ and His gospel. I mean that. And it doesn't make
me happy nearly as often as I'd like for it to. But it's the
only thing that ever really, all that thrills, the song says,
all that thrills my soul is Jesus Christ. There was a time when
I got a thrill out of a sports car. And I still like them. I
still admire them and so forth. looked at one yesterday and said,
hey, that's pretty and all that. I'm not going to go buy one. I like it. I'm thankful for our
house and love it, but something's going wrong all the time. And
it really doesn't. We derive pleasure from it, but
it really doesn't thrill me. But there's times when it's gospel.
There's times when it's Word. Like John Newton said, oh, if
the Lord would, a prison would a palace prove if the Lord would
dwell with me there. There have been times when, I'm
telling you, I felt like Enos. I'm ready. Leave the door open
in my study because I have to walk on out, walk on up. It thrills me. Nothing thrills me like it either.
I'll tell you what. And he says, Let my soul live.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee. Let me live. Let me live. I know it isn't
me letting God do anything. It's not me letting God do anything,
but it's all according to His sovereign will and purpose. So
I must always appeal to His will to let me. Let me. Let my soul live. And it shall
praise Thee. Let Thy judgments come before
Thee. Let my judgments help me, that
is. Let them help me. Let Your Word be my stay and
my comfort, my meat and my drink. May I desire the sincere milk
of the Word and grow thereby. May I grow in grace, really grow,
like our brother prayed, really grow in grace. and in the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, five more minutes here. This is a wonderful verse. Lord, it's the last verse here. I've gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek me. Seek your servant. Lord, I've
gone astray like a lost sheep. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful
he put that as the last verse in Psalm 119. Aren't you? What
if he'd have put the first verse as the last verse? Blessed are
the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord.
If that had been the last verse, I'd have said, Amen, that's right,
but I've gone out of the way. Oh, we like sheep have gone astray.
Aren't you thankful, Terry, you put that in the last verse? He
left us with this thought, that even David, a man after God's
own heart, says in the end, I've gone astray. Seek me. Seek me. And this is a true mark of a
true child of God, as opposed to a hypocrite. The true child
of God says, my sins are ever before me, and the worst sin
of all. is unbelief and idolatry. It can be like the sister sins. Unbelief and idolatry. Idolatry
is unbelief. That's what it is. Covetousness,
going after other gods. Unbelief, not believing God's
everything. Christ is all. You go after other
things. The first words of warning were to the church at Ephesus
there in Revelation. The church of Ephesus, God said,
I've got something against you. first thing he said, well, you
left your first love. You left. And that's what I have to say
about myself. Time and time again, Lord, I've
gone astray. I've gone astray time and time
again. That song, one of my favorite
songs is, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the
God I love. Oh, Peter, don't you, aren't
you glad He gave that, aren't you glad he gave that story right
before Christ went to the cross, huh? Peter, I'll never leave
you. Everybody else will. And he meant that. From the depths
of his heart, Lord, I love you and I'm never going to leave
you. And I said that myself. Ah, these people are unbelievers.
Not me. How could I leave it? Boy, wouldn't
he? Cock didn't crow three times
before he heard it. twice before he, once before
he denied him Christ. Aren't you glad he put that in
there, huh? Peter came crawling back. The Lord said to him, go
tell my disciples, I've risen from the dead. Be sure and tell
Peter. Be sure and tell Peter. He's
mighty low. He's lower than a snake's belly,
as Don would say, right now. I'm prone to wander, Lord, I
feel. This is the nature of a sheep. Gone astray like a lost sheep.
The Lord, I'm so glad God uses the type of sheep in reference
to His people. Aren't you? Oh, He's wise in His choice of
words, isn't He? He uses sheep as a type of His
children. Why? Because sheep are helpless. That's fine with me. I know it. I know it beyond a shadow of
a doubt. I'm helpless. Oh, my soul. Helpless. Sheep are stupid. Yeah, they are. That's about
as gross a word as I can use. It's basically stupid. It's about
the worst word you can be called, too, to call somebody stupid
or dumb. You know that? It's about the hardest thing
you can say to somebody. It really hurts people's But
that's me. That's me. I'm stupid. You know? I feel like I've learned
some things in time. Then I fall right out. I'm just
a stupid idiot. Or as Don Bell would say, an
idiot. You ever heard him say that? Idiot. I hope he hears
this tape. He doesn't know how to say idiot. I'm a stupid idiot. I am. Sheep are stupid. Dumb
animals. Dumb. Oh, that little fella come
right out. Some fellas are going to come
out there and skin them alive. Isn't it? They'll come out and
just skin them. Nah, they don't even run, do
they? Sheep, there's a sheep, Christ,
was led as a sheep before shears his dung. Sheep are prone to
stray, too. That's one real characteristic
of sheep. They got their nose down, you
know, looking for greener pasture. Sheep are always looking for
greener pasture. A good shepherd has put them right where they
need to be. And if he doesn't fence them in, they'll just,
they'll look for other pastures, won't they? Just as sure as shooting,
sure as sheep are shooting, they'll look for greener pasture and
roll over the hill back until they just, until a wolf gets
them, or until they fall in a pit, until they're lost, and finally
until the shepherd comes and gets them. Right? They don't
ever—sheep don't ever look for a shepherd. No, you'll never
find that anywhere. Sheep don't look—it's not the
nature of sheep. They don't look for a shepherd. They wander aimlessly
until lost, until that shepherd finally seeks them, finally seeks
them. And like I said, keep saying
it, we have to begin again where we started. This is where you
start. It's the starting point. of every
sinner. Lord, I'm a stupid, sinful, ignorant
fool. I'm silly. Lord, I've got my
life, myself in a mess. Lord, I'm going to perish. I'm
lost. I've wandered. I'm in the dark. A sheep gets lost several different
ways. Lost my desire for God. You ever
lost your desire for God? Sure you have. Lost your desire
for God? Lost sight of God? Lost desire
for His Word? Lord, how could I? At times when
it's so sweet to my tongue, it's like honey. And then there's
times when I don't even desire it. How can that be except I'm
a stupid sheep? Huh? Lost desire or love for
His people? You ever been out that way? Out
of sorts with God's people. Sheep get out of sorts with one
another. Start nipping at one another. Lord, I've lost the
desire to pray. You've been there. Lord, I've
lost the desire to read. Lord, I've lost the desire to
worship. Seek me. Because it doesn't look like
I'm going to be seeking you. It doesn't look like I'm coming
back. Seek me. You have to come right back to
where you started in ability. Seek me. I've gone astray, and
I don't forget your commandment." This is good right here. I don't
forget your commandment. David, this is that protestation,
as Pharaoh would say. Blessed protestation. I don't forget. This is a blessed
evidence of the child of God. This right here. We cannot keep
God's commandments perfectly. And we stray away from God, but
we don't forget him completely. Why is that? God won't let us. He won't let us. Blessed assurance
that no matter how far a child of God strays, God will bring
to remembrance all things that he said, the former things of
old. and cause that straying prodigal
to come to himself and realize, I've been a fool. You know, two
characteristics of God's people? They're slump-shouldered and
flat-headed. Slump-shouldered and flat-headed.
Because somebody says, they ask you a question, you say, I don't
know. I don't know. And when they tell you the answer,
you say, Why didn't I think of that? So stupid. I'm so stupid. Lord, bring to remembrance. Well,
I knew that. I knew that. Come to yourself. Why did I put that in there?
I'm going to have to edit that thing. Oh, my. Because I'm stupid,
and that's why. I'm not polished very much, am
I? But, Lord, you're going to have to bring remembrance to
things of old. Cause this stray and prodigal to desire the Father's
house again. Cause this wandering pilgrim
to cry out with Job, O, that I were as in months past. Seek
me, O Lord. I am your servant. I am your
servant. And I don't forget because you
haven't forgotten me. That's the only reason. Because
you put this word in my heart, Christ in me, by hope of glory,
and thank God You haven't left me completely. I felt like you
had, but you haven't. You brought these saints back
to mind, back to remembering. Your commandments, your words,
your Christ. I am thine, O Lord, the singer. 314. I have heard your voice,
and it told of love divine. But I long to rise in the arms
of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Three-fourteenth. Fan will sing a verse or so of
this and close it. I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard
Thy voice told thy love to me. But I long to rise in the arms
of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me nearer, nearer,
blessed Lord, to the cross. Let me just read the second one,
and we'll sing the fourth one together. Consecrate me now to
thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine. That's what
it's going to tell you. Let my soul look up with a steadfast
hope, and my will be lost in thine. Sing the last verse and
we'll go on. There are depths of love that
I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea. There are heights
of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with Thee. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed
Lord, Nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious place.