In case you're not already there,
turn to Psalm 119 with me. Psalm 119. I do hope you're receiving some
benefit from these studies. Our Lord asked the most serious
and important and revealing two-part question. In Matthew
18, verse 26, he asked, What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world
and lose his own soul? Or, he said, what shall a man
give in exchange for his soul? It gets a little more in-depth
and personal. The first answer to that first
part should be obvious. A man, though he gained the whole
world, though he were rich in houses and land, he would lose his soul. He's
lost everything. He's lost himself. Yet the second answer, second
question, second part of that question, what would a man give
in exchange for his soul? That's a little more difficult
for some to answer because it's obvious that some people are
exchanging their souls right now. Some people are neglecting. When we talk about exchanging
your soul, what would you give in exchange for your soul? When
you neglect your soul, when we neglect or disregard it, when
people pretend they don't have a soul for various things, for
family, for job, fame, for fortune, for pleasure, whatever it may
be, that's what they're giving in exchange for their very soul. But a child of God, if really
pressed for an answer, for a heartfelt answer to this question, a child
of God. A true, a genuine believer, if really asked, what would you
give in exchange for your soul? A child of God would say, oh, nothing. Nothing. And a child of God would say
with David, Lord, there's none on earth I desire but you. Right? There's none on earth I desire
beside thee. And this is what he says in Psalm 119, verse 57,
Lord, thou art my portion. Thou art my portion. Turn quickly back to Psalm 16
with me. Psalm 16. Lord, you are the one
I desire. Whom have I in heaven but thee?
Whom have I in heaven but thee? There's really nothing to know
what I desire and look forward to seeing in heaven but thee,
but God, but Christ. Like old Brother Ed Hale's song,
you know, I know I'll see Moses and Elijah, old Daniel and Samson
I'll see, but I won't have much time to talk to those fellows.
I'm looking for the one that died for me. I'll be looking
for scars up in heaven, and there's only one that's got them. Lord,
you're my portion. Whom have I in heaven but thee,
and there's none on earth I desire beside thee. That's a twofold
desire for the future and for the present. The Lord is the
portion, verse 5, Psalm 16. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup. In another place he said it runs
over. Thou maintainest my lot. He said the Lord is my portion
and the lions have fallen under me in pleasant places. Oh, Abraham
found that out, didn't he? And Olot got what appeared to
be the best end of the deal. And the Lord came to him, Genesis
15, and said, Abraham, you get me. He found out later on he
got the best part, didn't he? The lions have fallen unto me
in pleasant places, since the Lord is my portion. Yea, I've
got a goodly heritage. What an inheritance! I'll bless
the Lord. I'll bless the Lord for himself. Thou art my portion, O Lord,
Thou art my portion." The true believer finds in God all he
really wants and craves. Yes, he does. That's not just
real pies talk, that's true. A true believer, he's tried the
water of the world and it leaves him thirsty. I just took a drink
of that and I'm still thirsty. It won't meet your need. You've
got to keep drinking it. And so it's the same with every
substance or every fleeting pleasure of this world, right? It's water
of this world, and some of us have taken long droughts of it,
and it just does not fill us up, does it? It just won't meet
the need. The third, we've tried the pleasures
of this world, and they just won't last. It's like sand, isn't
it? A child playing with sand, sifting
through the finger. Oh, what joy! Oh, look at the
beautiful sand. Oh, it's gone. The believer has tried to get
peace and enjoyment and contentment out of this world, only to have
it all painfully rinsed from him. Whatever it may be, a shiny
new car, a new house, it'll flood. A car, it'll break down. A child,
it'll rebel. It will scream and cry at two
in the morning. Yet the small tokens of God's
love, the small little bit of glimpses or tokens of God's love
that we feel in this life, you wouldn't trade anything for it.
Just little glimpses of God's glory like you may have gotten
this morning, you wouldn't trade anything for it. Short but sweet
senses of God's presence. Couldn't take anything for it.
No matter how short, how fleeting, he wouldn't take anything for
it. Wouldn't take anything for it. I sat in my study a few days
ago and listened to a message on tape by a fellow, and I thought,
this is the greatest message I've ever heard in my entire
life. Sitting there in my chair, holding a worship service with
a man on a tape recorder. just, just, just thrilling. You know, I thought, this is
heaven. The Lord's going to just transport me right now. I'm just
going to go right up. I wouldn't take any, I wouldn't
take anything for it. It's gone, and I need it again. I need another
one. But I wouldn't take anything for that. The child of God has
set all his affection on God, and he's unwilling, she's unwilling
to trade that knowledge, that relationship for anything or
anyone else. Thou art my portion, O Lord,
thou art my portion. And I must add, the child of
God will not trade. I just said that, but let me
emphasize it. The child of God will not trade. anything or anyone for that relationship
with his Lord. No, he won't. If pressed to make
a decision between, he will not trade. I know I've told you this
before, but let me tell you this story again. I knew a man, well,
this man is still a faithful member of the church, a believer. He's years ago. Thirty-five years
ago, he was a young man married and had a small boy who bore
his own name, Junior. His firstborn, well-beloved son. He was a believer. His wife wasn't. And he was totally devoted to,
committed to, in love with Christ and his gospel. and always was
faithful in attendance, loved it, loved to hear and worship,
and was always there, faithful, faithful steward of the grace
of God. And one day, one Sunday morning, his wife had all she
could take of his religion. And he was about to go out the
door to go to worship services, and she literally spread eagle
in front of that door. and said, if you leave this house,
if you leave me now and go to church, I'll not be here when
you get back. And neither will your boy. And he said to her, he said, you know, I don't have
to go to church. all the time. I go because I
want to. I don't have to go." But he said, this morning, I
have to go. You've drawn a line in the sand.
You've forced me to make a choice between you and my God. And he
literally, he physically had to force her out of the way with
her begging and crying and screaming. And he went, and he came home,
and he did not see his son for thirty-five years. Thou art my portion. Do you know
how many nights the man spent weeping in pain and agony? What got him
through that? How did he remain faithful? The
Lord is my portion. Though my mother and father forsake
me, the Lord will take me up. That's what we read back there
in Psalm 27, wasn't it? Oh, my. Thou art my portion,
O Lord. He is my Father. He is my Mother. He is my Husband. He is my brother,
my elder brother. He is my family. He said, Thou art my portion,
O Lord, I have said that I would keep thy word. I have said that
I would keep thy word. When God becomes our utmost desires
and pleasant portion, we delight to keep his commandments. That's our will, that's our want,
that's our desire. They're not grievous, they're
not hard. They're a pleasure. We can't keep them perfectly,
much to our own pain and sorrow and shame-facedness, but when
God is our portion, then the Word of God, his commandments,
become our meat and drink indeed. The child of God, now listen,
this is true, the child of God has a holy God-given determination
to keep God's words. His desire is God's will and
God's ways in every respect. If that be not so, within the
heart of someone who calls himself a believer, they are deceived. The child of God has a holy,
God-given determination to keep God's words, his His desire is
God's will and God's way. Can you say that? Can you give
a resounding yes? That's the way I feel about it. He said in verse 58, I entreated
thy favor with my whole heart. I entreated, I begged, I pleaded,
I sought after, I seek your favor with my whole heart. Favor being
grace. Grace. Favor. And it's unmerited,
John. You don't earn it, you don't
deserve it, you're unworthy of it, but you sure do need it,
don't you? You need his favor, you need
his grace, you need to be accepted in the Beloved. There's nothing
we can do or say that will cause God to show favor to us, but
everything Christ does and said causes God to show favor unto
us. Yet, through means, through this holy determination I talked
about, the only way to obtain God's favor is with a whole heart
and sincerity. Christ said it. He said you cannot
serve two masters. You cannot serve, seek, or love
God and mammon, God and self. You can't do it. He talked about
the friendship with this world being the enmity with God. He
talked in James about a double-minded man, that is, a man with a heart
for this and a heart for that. He can't be. The Lord is a jealous
God. He'll not share his glory nor
your affection with anything or anybody else. That's idolatry.
And David realizes that, and he says, I'll entreat your favor.
I need your grace, your mercy, your love to me, but I'll do
it with all my heart. I'm going to show you, Lord.
By your grace, I'm going to show you that I am serious about this.
And he said that in Jeremiah, you'll seek me and find me when
you search for me. How? With a whole heart. A whole heart. We looked before
at how many times David spoke of the heart, and a whole heart
at that, not a half of one. We've seen and experienced half-hearted
love from people. It doesn't mean much, does it?
It doesn't amount to a hill of beans. So if we desire that,
the Holy God demands it. And like that article by John
Flavel in our bulletin this morning, Keeping the Heart. And I had
to add that the thing that we should give the most diligence
to and make sure of is that our heart is set on Christ. Heart,
faith in Christ. Heart, faith in Christ. Wholehearted
faith. He says, I have entreated thy
favor with my whole heart. In other words, let me spiritualize
a little bit. I need the grace I believe in, I trust in, the
gospel of God's grace with a whole, with a pure heart. In other words,
I trust Christ and Christ alone. I don't want to add anything
to Christ. I don't want to mix anything
with pure grace. That's the way I want it. That's
the way I want it. You better believe it, buddy.
I want pure grace. I don't want any law. I don't
want to deal with God in any respect to the law. I want grace.
One hundred percent pure, unmixed grace. Is that what you want?
That's what I want. Unmixed. Wholehearted faith in
Christ. Unmixed with myself. Anything
that we have done, not by works of righteousness that we have
done, O Lord, no, no, but according to your mercy, your grace, you've
saved her. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us. I want wholehearted dependence and trust and commitment to Christ.
And he said, favor. He said, I am treated thy favor
with my whole heart. My margin, does your margin have
a number beside favor? It says that the Hebrew word
is face. I am treated or sought your face,
your presence, with my whole heart. And once again, alluding
back to Flavel's article. He used that illustration of
Judah and Benjamin, of Joseph saying, You cannot see my face
unless you bring Benjamin with you. And remember, he used that
in reference to our heart. He said, God won't have you unless
you've got a whole heart. My son, give me thine heart.
Come with a whole heart. You'll not see his face unless
you come wholeheartedly in sincerity. God's Spirit and they that worship
him shall worship him in spirit and in truth." That means sincerity. Sincerity from the heart. He says, Be merciful unto me.
Be merciful unto me according to thy word, according to Christ. the incarnate Word, God's mercy
is found in Christ. Turn over to Psalm 33 with me
real quick. Psalm 33. God is merciful unto
us according to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. That's where
the mercy of God is found. No place else but in Christ the
Word. Psalm 33, look at verse 18, "'Behold,
the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that
hope in his mercy.'" Where is the mercy of Christ to be hoped
for and found in Christ? To deliver their soul from death
and to keep them alive in famine. How are we kept alive? Because
he lives, we live. What is our bread in time of
famine? Christ the bread. Our soul waited for the Lord.
Who is the Lord? Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He
is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in
him, because we have trusted in his holy name. What holy name?
The Lord Jesus Christ. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon
us according as we hope in Christ. So, be merciful unto me according
to Christ. That's the principal meaning
of that verse, verse 58, back there. Be merciful unto me according
to your word. And he's saying here, be merciful
unto me, O Lord, just like you said you would in the Word. That
you'd be merciful unto all them that come unto God by Christ.
You said you would. And I dare not come any other
way. I come through Christ. Lord, I come pleading the blood,
the person, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, would you
show mercy to me? I know I don't deserve it, but
you said it. That's what I was talking about
last time, about suing God for mercy. That's how you do it.
You bring evidences. You bring arguments. And the
only argument you've got is an advocate. Lord, you said it.
I'm pleading your promise. According to your word, you're
true to your word. You never go back on your word.
That's not presumption. That's not arrogance. That's
just pleading the veracity of the truth and the integrity of
God. God delights in that. Yeah, I
did say that, didn't I? Oh, yes, I will. I'm always true
to my word. You come through Christ and I'll
do it for you. All blessings of God are found according to
God's Word. Let me read to you briefly. I
went through this Psalm 119 and just picked out that word, according
to thy Word, that phrase. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to your Word.
Cleansing is found according to not only Christ the Word,
the written word. My soul cleaves under the dust,
quicken me according to your word. Quickening. Life is found
in Christ the word and rules for this life. Practical instructions
on how to live. The ways of godliness are found
in this book. My soul melts for heaviness, would you strengthen
thou me according unto thy word's strength?" He's my strength.
Christ is my strength. And all strength and answers
and help and instruction and ability is found according to
thy resort to this. Let your mercies come unto me,
O Lord, even thy salvation according to your word." Salvation is according
to Christ, according to Christ, and saving, keeping, help, courage,
strength, comfort, keeping salvation through this world. Keep us from
fainting. Keep us from falling. It's down
right here. You've dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, according to your word. Good dealings are found in Christ.
God deals well with people, doesn't he, through Christ? And he deals
well with us. If he ever speaks to us through
this book, we find that he's dealt so well with us. He spoke
to me. Sometimes, Nancy, he speaks to
you, doesn't he? And you say, oh, God condescended. to speak to this woman who's
nothing. He's dealt with us at times through
his Word. He says, your merciful kindness
is for my comfort, according to your Word. There's comfort
in Christ, in Christ alone. There's comfort in this book,
in the written Word. It's the only place you're going
to find it. Uphold me, according unto your Word. We are upheld,
we are kept by Christ. He said, I'll never leave you
nor forsake you. And we're upheld according as we resort to this
word. Keep his commandment. He said,
Hear my voice according unto your lovingkindness. O Lord,
quicken me according to thy judgment. God hears us according to Christ. Hear my voice according to your
word. God hears us in Christ. And we hear God. And God hears
from us when we pray, when we look, when we read through, when
we study, when we seek him according to his word. Pray scripture to
God. He'll hear you. Plead my cause
and deliver me, quicken me according to thy word. Plead my cause.
according to your word. Our cause is pled by Christ. Romans 8 talks about the Holy
Spirit going to God, interceding for us with groanings, with strong
cryings, groanings that cannot be uttered. And we plead with
God according to this word. Let my cry come near before thee,
O Lord, give me understanding according to thy word." The only
place you're going to find any true understanding, or that is
wisdom, is found in Christ, who is wisdom itself. And the place
what is able to make you wise unto salvation is this book right
here, your scripture. Those are just a few verses,
according to thy word, according to thy word. You go through sometimes
and look at that. And David says, Be merciful according
to thy word, verse 59. Look at it, I like this verse.
He said, I thought on my ways. Lord, I thought, there's times
when you make me sit down and Sometimes you'll sit me down, make me to lie down under the
green pastures of your Word, leave me beside still water.
Sometimes you'll make me be still and know that you're God and
think on my own ways, ponder, meditate, look back over my life,
ponder my own heart, and I'm ashamed. I thought on
my ways and I'm real ashamed. I thought on my ways and I hate
my ways. I thought on my ways and I abhor myself and I repent
in sackcloth and ashes. I thought on my ways and I realize
I'm a man of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. I thought on my ways and I remember
and I realize that I'm constantly out of the way. I thought on
my ways and realized that there's always a ways that seems right
unto me, and it's always the wrong one. I thought on my ways,
so this is what I decided. I turned my feet unto thy testimony.
I thought on my ways, which was exactly 180 degrees the other
way from God, so what I do by your grace and mercy? I turn
my feet your way. I had to look to Christ. I turned
and looked to Christ. turn from self to the Savior,
from sin to the Son of God. I thought upon the way that I
was headed. You brought me to myself like
that prodigal son, and after you arrested my mind and my heart
by your Holy Spirit, after coming to myself, I turned to the living
God. I turned my feet unto thy testimonies,
and the testimony of God, this is the record. This is eternal
life in Christ. I turn my feet to the gospel
of Christ. My only hope. My only hope. I run to Christ for mercy. Verse
6, he said, and I didn't wait around. I made haste. I was in a hurry. When God finally
arrested me, I became a man in a hurry. A man in a hurry. It may be no
tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation.
Didn't he say that several times? He said, if you'll hear his voice,
harden not your heart today. Didn't he? There may be no tomorrow. There's such an urgency about
this thing of preaching. There may be no tomorrow. I look around here, and there
were four people that were here this morning. that I'm very concerned
about the state of their soul. More than that, but there were
four people I know of, and none of them are here right now. There may not be another message,
right? There may not be another message.
This morning's maybe in the latter. I preach as one who may never
preach again. At least that's the way I want
to preach. I preach as a dying man to dying men. I want to preach,
like Martin Luther said, as though Jesus Christ died yesterday,
arose from the grave today, and is coming back tomorrow with
such urgency and such fervor and such reality and sincerity
because it's true. It's true. And I made haste. And like my pastor warned or
told us one time, never forget that. He said, you know, most
people, most people don't linger too long under the sound of the
gospel. When God's going to save somebody, he generally saves
them pretty quickly after they've been under the sound of the gospel.
Most people don't sit under the gospel for a long time because
many people become gospel-hardened. Many people, if not most people,
who sit under the sound of the gospel for any length of time
and tarry and refuse to believe for whatever reason, whatever
they're waiting on, they may be waiting for a long, long time. Most people, I found this to
be so, when God's dealing with somebody But they make haste. They make haste. I know that's
not a steadfast rule, but David said, If a man ever sees his
self, his desperate condition, he won't have to decide whether
or not to believe Christ or not. he or she. And I tell everybody in here,
young and old, if you've seen the slightest glimpse of your
heart, if you've seen the slightest need in your heart of Christ,
believe him. Now, now, don't wait around for
a feeling. Tomorrow you won't have it. Feelings
don't have anything to do with it anyway. Don't wait around
for evidences. My soul, cry out for help now. Believe Christ now." He said,
Lord, I made haste and I didn't delay to keep your commandment,
that commandment which says, God commandeth every man and
every word to repent. Okay, I repent. I have made haste. Delayed not
to keep, God commandeth everyone, everywhere, every man, to repent.
Okay, Lord, I forgive, I'm a sinner. Would you have mercy on me, please?
I repent. Right? God says, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Doesn't ask, does he? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Okay! I believe. Would you help my
unbelief? I don't feel sinful enough, but
I believe. You said it, I'm doing it. Right? Make case. Don't wait on a feeling, like
I said, or ordinances or evidences or Whatever, believe Christ now,
before it's everlastingly too late. It's not scare tactics,
it's just truth. It's truth. It doesn't have anything
to do with our feelings, doesn't have anything to do with our
evidences, doesn't have anything to do with our works. It has
everything to do with Christ. Do you believe him? Do you believe
his claim? Do you believe who he is? Do
you believe what he says about you? Then believe it. Trust him. Confess
him. and get ready to experience some
joy, and some pain, and some more doubts and some more fears.
But at least you'll be obedient to your conscience and obedient
to the Word of God, and he'll bless that with sweet tokens
and evidences of his Holy Spirit. He'll bear witness with your
own spirit that you're a child of his. Not until you believe
him, though. Verse 61, he says, The bands
of the wicked have robbed me. The bands of the wicked have
robbed me." I thought of so many things here. Sin, Satan, self,
the world has robbed me. I've been robbed. Do you know
it? This old son of Adam has been
robbed. Adam robbed me. Terry Adam robbed us, didn't
he? What we could have had. for what
we do have restored to us. Our Father Adam robbed us of
life, life with God. real living. I've been robbed. The world, sin, robs me daily
of enjoyment of God. Sin robs me daily of life, abundant
life. I can't even see God. Thyself,
my flesh, robs me. It's blinded me. I can't see
like I ought to see. I'm blind. I'm groping in the
dark. Sin has made me deaf. I can't hear his voice. I walk
out in the woods, and the trees clap to God. The birds sing. The rain sings showers of blessing,
and sometimes I don't hear it. I'm deaf. I'm blind, deaf, dumb,
haught and lame. I've been robbed of my senses. Right? By sin, by self, by faith. I've been robbed. Lord, the bands
of the wicked. The wicked one has robbed me,
but bless God you've made me not to forget your law." He said
he'd written his word on her heart. Bless God he's put in
the heart remembrances there. I said that right? Remembrances. He said, I've written my word
on your heart. My conscience, he arouses by
his word. By God's Spirit he brings to
memory, by the Holy Spirit he reminds me, brings to remembrance
all things that Christ said at just the opportune time, just
when I needed him most, just when I thought it was all when
I was a donor. I'm ready to halt, David said,
just when I needed him most. Jesus was near to comfort and
cheer. You feel like a man crawling
through the wilderness, like that man on the commercial going
through the desert, you know, really needing a drink. Not strolls
now. A drink of life-giving water
from the fountain of life. And you crawl through the wick.
John, you've been gone a long time. It's a dry, hot, dusty, thirsty
land out there. You need a good cold draft, don't
you? good cold drought of water, Christ. Need to hear it. Need
to hear Him. And the gospel and the preachers
of it are the Lord's remembrances. Bring back to mind who you are,
who Christ is, what you have in Christ. And sometimes, look
at this, boy, I like this. Sometimes God in grace just won't
leave a man alone. He won't leave him alone. He
won't let him sleep the sleep of death, like the pilgrim, like
the Christian and his companion. He won't let them sleep in the
enchanted ground of this world. He won't let them sleep. He won't
let them go without trouble. If they fall asleep, they'd get
to liking this place, he said. They'd just want to sleep here
forever. He won't let them sleep as do others. But he'll arouse
them, sometimes at midnight, verse 62. At midnight, he said,
I will rise to give thanks unto thee. Folks, I am reminded of where
I used to be about fifteen, twenty years ago at midnight, on Sunday, Saturday, Friday,
Monday, Sunday through Monday, Sunday through Saturday at midnight. I remember where I used to be
and where I want to be at midnight. It's amazing grace that God would
wake me up at midnight to think about Him, think about His Word.
My soul, my, my. I rise at midnight to give thanks,
to give thanks, just to give thanks. Have you ever been awakened?
Have you ever been awakened like that? It doesn't come very often,
but you have been. At times you've been awakened.
And he'd just been struck with a feeling, a sense of God's goodness
to him. And you just think, you know.
Or before you go to bed, you lay there on your bed. Commune
with thine heart upon thy bed, he said. Laying there thinking
Oh, he's good to me. What a good God we have. I'm
in the habit of going in and looking at the face of my little
darling daughter at night before I turn in. I go in there and
I stand over her and just look at her and I just,
oh my soul, what a good God I am. Do you do that? Boy, sure you
do. What a good God! Oh, that man
would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful
works to the children of men. By God's grace, he's enabled
me to praise him. Not like I want to, not like
I ought to, but he has put a song within my heart, like he You know, if God never does another
thing for us, as long as we live, He's already done more than enough.
And we ought to still, from this point on, if He never gives us
another thing, we ought to still, from this point on, praise Him
for what He's done thus far. Right? And our chief cause for praise
ought to be this. He said, I'll arise at midnight
to give thanks unto thee because of your righteous judgments. Because there's no condemnation
in Christ. Because I have righteousness,
justification, acceptance in the Beloved, I am saved in Christ. Would to God that he would give
me a heart full of praise, more praise for Christ than anything
else. Because he is the one thing needful. He is the joy and rejoicing
of my heart. I should beg. He's going to be
my song of songs in heaven. And may God give us a heart right
now to thank Him and praise Him for Christ. This is the letter
that you get out of early and mature believers. This is the
letter that you get out of when you come to pray. Oh, Lord, thank
you for Christ. Thank you for Christ. Oh, thank
you for the bread. Thank you for my home. Thank
you for this. But thank you for Christ. If I didn't have any
bread, if I didn't have any home, thank you for Christ. Because
I have all. And he started this out by saying
that, didn't he? You're my portion. What a portion. What a portion. And here's another
cause for rejoicing. Boy, I've got a blessing out
of this, too. Verse 63, I am a companion of
all them that fear thee. I've got the greatest family
on earth. I've got the greatest family.
The Rockefellers, they can have one another. The Kennedys, boy,
what a sorry bunch. They think they've got an aristocracy. I don't even know their names.
Prince Charles, what's their last name? I forget. But they
think they've got royal blood. We're sons of God. We're sons,
brothers. I'm looking in the faces of queens.
Queens. Nancy Hudson, my soul. What a privilege to know you. My soul. You feel the same way?
What a privilege, born into a royal family by God's grace, salt of
the earth, brothers, sisters, friends, companions of God's
people. I bless God in heaven for Charles
Ross. I know you do, Barbara, but I
do too. Thank God for crossing my path
with that man. Why? Why do I feel that way?
Why do we have these? Because, Charles, you fear the
same God that I do, don't you? He said, I'm a companion of all
them that fear thee. Charles is heading the same place.
Charles has got the same goals that I've got. Charles has got
the same likes that I've got, same loves. I'm a companion of
all them that fear thee. I'm not a companion of them that
don't. I'm just not. No way. I'll be a friend, a help
if at all possible. I'll be nice and I'll be amiable
and helpful, a servant to all men. But I'm not a companion,
a bosom buddy. I like to rub shoulders with.
I like to go down to the service station and just rub greasy shoulders
with old Henry. Because I hope, you know, I see
in him, I see in these people, I see the image of Christ, and
I hope it burns off on me. All right? I see something that
I like, that I love, yea, in God's, and it's Christ in God's
people. And that's what, that's who I
want to be around. Go up to the junkyard and retire. I'm a companion of all them that
fear thee, of them that keep thy precepts. Those that love
the same Lord, those that love the same gospel, those that have
the same faith, same hope, same destination, they that are not
for us are against us. They that gather not with us
scattereth abroad. We've got the same ends, same
goals, same pursuits, one Lord, one faith. or in this thing together. Did you notice that? You may
have noticed that in Ephesians 2 when we were reading that.
Five times, Charles, he used the word together. Raised us
up together. Made us sit together in heavenly
places. Together, together. Five times,
together. I got to thinking about what
a glorious thing this thing of real togetherness is. Together,
together. And old David here, after pondering
God's goodness to him, thanking God for his mercy and delivering
him from his present evil world and his companions, and then
causing him to be acquainted with such beautiful people. Salt of the earth, I'm telling
you what. I don't mean to unduly brag on you people, but I really
esteem you higher than myself, my soul. And I thank God daily
for putting me here with you. I really do." And David thought
the same thing, because God caused him to become acquainted with
such wonderful companions, such wonderful people. He just exclaims
all of a sudden, Oh, Lord, the whole earth is full of your glory.
your mercy. Everything around me, everything
you've brought to pass in my life, mercy. Mercy is anew every
morning. Mercy. Look at my house. Look
at my—I got a job. Look at that open cabinet. Look
at all the food. Look at my children. Look at my buddies. Look at our
church. Look at Christ. The whole earth
is full of His mercy. to us. The earth is standing,
it exists. The mercy of God is toward his
people, toward his people. It's all for us. It's all for his people, for
the elect's sake. The whole earth is full of mercy
for God's people. Judgment upon unbelievers. And David said, Everywhere I
look, I see God's mercy to me. And then he says, he ends it
up by saying, Lord, teach me thy statutes. Teach
me. That's what we sung a moment
ago. Teach me your way, O Lord. Teach
me. Teach me. Teach me. Teach me.
I want to be a student. I want to be a little child.
I want to heed the Word. I want to do the Word. Teach
me thy way, teach me thy will, teach me thy word, teach me thy
gospel, teach me your Christ. Teach me, teach me to love my
brethren, teach me to serve, teach me to work, teach me. I want to be a student and never
graduate from the school of Christ. Teach me. Send your Holy Spirit
who will lead me and guide me and instruct me and teach me.
all my life long, until I'm prepared, until you take me in to be with
you finally. Teach me. Don't ever leave me
in myself. Don't ever leave me in my own
thoughts, my own way, my own will. Don't ever leave me. Right?
Oh, my. Make me a vessel of mercy fitted
for the Master's use. Teach me. Oh, Lord, teach me. I am your child. Teach me, Lord. I want to be like my daddy. Don't you? I want to be, when
I grow up, I want to be just like my daddy. I want to be just
like Christ when I grow up. If I ever grow up, I don't feel
like I ever will. Do you? I want to grow up in
Christ in all things. It's going to take the teachings
of the Holy Spirit. Well, stand with me. I hope the
Lord will bless you.