Psalm 119 with Terry Redd. I appreciate your prayers. It's
tough enough one time. The Lord has been so very, very,
very good to all of us. I was thinking about that, and
brother Terry was praying and thanking God for our children
and all. And I looked at this congregation,
and I look around, and I see people who are, generally speaking,
very healthy. Good physical health. Mostly happy. have children, just fine and
healthy children. When you consider you ladies
like Jenny that work in these prenatal units and so forth,
you see what all could go wrong, see what all This world is full
of all of the heartaches and sorrows and pain. I was talking
to Brother Donny Bell again recently, about that young couple, members
of his church there, their little daughter, about six months old
now, or maybe a little older. Still on a ventilator. We're so very blessed, I tell
you. So very blessed. We have our
aches and pains, don't we Henry? You do, anyway, right now, but
that can be expected. These bodies are dying, buddy.
Sixty years old, ain't got much time left. You can expect it.
Brother William there, had a weak, weak heart. It can be expected. These bodies are dying, but generally
speaking, we got an awful, awful lot to be thankful for. abundantly blessed us, and so
gracious to us, truly our cups run over with blessings, a run
over with God's bounty. Yet there is a bounty, there
is a bounty, a treasure A bounty in the storehouses of
our brother, elder brother Joseph. He has them. Something we need. Something that we're so desperately
deprived of by nature. Something that we should hunger
and thirst for. And he's got it. It's a bounty
we need. We can never get enough of it.
And we need bountiful supplies of it. that is, we need a lot
of it because of the way we are. Look at verse 17 with me. He
says, with thy servant that I may live. Barbara's not here. Maybe she'll
hear her name over the intercom. Barbara and I were talking this
morning about how we'd so much like to live with that life that
Christ talked about that's more abundant. I mean real life. The life of God. Spiritual life. Godliness. You know what godliness
is? It's being like God. And I would so much to be like
the God-man, Christ. I want to be Christ-like. That's what godliness is, being
Christ-like. It's a biblical word. It's not
just a characteristic, either. Godliness is not just characteristics.
Godliness has something to do with your union with Christ.
It has something to do with your relationship with Christ. In
other words, the more you're around somebody, the more you
get to be like them. Right? How do you get to be like
Christ? The more you're with Him. The
more you study Him. The closer you walk with Him.
Turn back to Psalm 13 with me. Psalm 13. Deal bountifully with
thy servant that I may live. Deal bountifully with me. Now
here's the bounty we need desperately because of our sinful condition. Psalm 13 verse 5, he says, the
same writer, David says, I've trusted in thy mercy. Oh, we need a bountiful supply
of God's mercy. Why? Because we're the chief
of sinners. We're religious sinners. That's
the worst kind, you know? Anybody that could sin against
perfect love is an ungrateful, vile wretch. You understand me? Anybody that could take for granted
these wonderful things that we hear about, that are gifts, that
are revelations, that God has revealed to you, things that
were hidden, Nancy, we were talking about. Anybody that'd take those
for granted is the most vile wretch on the earth. What do
we need? We need all the mercy God can spare. My heart shall rejoice in thy
salvation. What's the one thing we have
a need of? Salvation. I will sing, he says, unto the
Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. I've been plenteous
in mercy. Mercy, saving mercy. Keeping
mercy. Sustaining grace. Constraining grace. We need a lot of it. If you know
anything about yourself, you know you need a lot of it. Deal
bountifully with me, that I may live. And the Lord has dealt
bountifully with me. His mercies are new every morning.
The Lord is merciful and gracious. Slow to anger, and the scripture
says, And as I said, all that see their
real needs, their spiritual needs, that is, everybody who feels
their sinfulness before this holy God and see their need of
God's forgiveness, you see your daily need of it. Not just the
one-time things, not just you make a profession of faith and
everything's okay. No, you get worse in your own
estimation. You get worse as you go along.
And you see how you need mercy now more than ever. You need
more mercy. You need daily mercy. Every morning,
just as soon as you wake up in the morning. After an all night
of thinking and dreaming vile thoughts. We can't even control
our, even our dreams are vile. We need mercy. Why are our dreams
vile? Ever thought about that? I mean, this is our subconscious,
they talk about. This is our involuntary self,
if you will. Something we have no control
over. Well, doesn't that prove depravity? Huh? If anything would
prove our utter depravity, our dreams do, don't they? Something
we absolutely do not willfully do, but yet we're full of. That's the reason his mercies
are more When I wake up, God in mercy says, I'm sparing you.
Daily grace. He says deal bountifully with
me. Why? Because I need a lot of bountifully. Lord, open up the storehouses
of heaven and pour them out on me. Me, even me. Let some mercy
drops fall on me. And because we're so far from
Him, we need Him to deal bountifully with us in the grace and knowledge
and grace of Christ that we may live, that we may really enjoy
and commune with our God. That's true living. That's true
living. That's what Barbara was talking
to me about earlier. We live. We spend our time, our
energy, our efforts, our thoughts, our sweat, our blood, our griefs,
our worries, our thinking on this world. decaying, rotting,
dying, foolish, sinful world. We spend most of ourselves on
this world, and very little really living with God. We want to know
someday what it is to really live. We're walking dead, man. You know what? We're walking
dead, man. Our eyes are so blind, so dull. Our ears are so deaf
to God. Do God even live in the flesh?
We're so bound to this earth, like the gravity of this earth
that pulls us We live in a, we've got a body,
like carrying around a dead man's body. It stinks, it smells, it's
a heavy laden burden to us. And we've got inside of us, a
believer's got within his heart and his soul, a evil that longs
to soar, to fly into the face of God Almighty, and really lift
us. We're like a cave star, you know. A believer's like a cave
star. It's a body. That's the reason
Paul said, I have a desire to depart. I want to fly. on the wings of a snow white
dove. That I might live. I want to
live. I'd like to know something about
what it is to eat and drink and whatever I do, do to the glory
of God Almighty. Wouldn't you? I'd like to know
something about the blessedness of what these passages are talking
about. This joy unspeakable. Wouldn't
you? Oh boy, and it takes His grace.
It takes a lot of it too. A lot of it because we're such
miserable, wretched, deprived creatures. It takes a lot of
it. So weak. And He says here that I may keep
your word. God's got to deal bountifully
with us that we can just keep His word. Why? Fowls of the air
are coming. This stony ground, you know,
it'll just bounce off of it. Unless God deals bountifully
with us, unless God in a super abounding mercy to us, opens
these hearts just a little bit. It's so hard. So hard. Message we heard this morning.
We'll be quickly forgotten. We need another fresh A large
dose of grace, don't we? Just the time we've spent this
afternoon in idleness and worthlessness. That we may keep his word. That
we may apply this to Christ. That we may trust Christ. You
know, it's the hardest thing in the... The hardest thing for
a human being to do is just trust Christ. You know? It's the hardest
thing for us to do. And we've heard the gospel over
and over again. The hardest thing there is, just rest in Christ.
Believe Him. Stand strong in faith in Christ. And we need His grace. In the
midst of this wicked and perverse generation, we're just like Lot.
Believers are just like Lot. Vexed. Don't you get vexed, John? Before you go to work? Aren't
you vexed? out there in the factories. Ellen,
get vaxxed with the conversation of the wicked, don't you? Oh,
sting, your ears sting, your heart pains when you hear people
take your Lord's name and that. In the midst of this wicked and
perverse generation, we need grace, don't we? To keep us,
or else we'll turn, we'll turn from Him and become just like
Him. Why? It's within us. It's within us. And in the midst
of this religious foolishness that goes on, it makes me want
to quit. I'll be perfectly honest with you. We got this little
handful here tonight, 20, 25 people or so, I don't know. I
tell you what, when I see all of this religious shenanigans
and all this showboating and all of this ridiculous, all this,
the world! We live in a religious so far from God. Well does Isaiah
the prophet prophesy this people, all the majority of this people
draws nigh to me with their lips. Jesus is on every tongue, isn't
he? There's a preacher in every pulpit that's using these words,
but their hearts are so far from worshiping the true and living
God, and it makes me not want to have anything to do with any
of that. I need grace. Everybody I run
into is a Christian out there. Everybody you talk to, ain't
nobody needin' mercy and grace. Everybody's all fixed up. And
it makes me just wanna keep my mouth shut, just keep to myself,
become a hermit. How's it you? Sure it does. Everybody
you talk to doesn't, it seems to fall on deaf ears. I need
grace, personally, though, to keep His Word, to keep me lookin'
into it. They're talkin' about the Word,
the written Word. I need His grace now more than
ever to resort to the book and the book only. Because there's so many, we were
talking about it, interpreters out there. So many other voices
out there, aren't there? Voices without signification,
but they're voices, there's a lot of them. I need his grace more
than anything to just keep to the book. I need it. I'm talking
about me, pastor, preacher here. I need his grace to stay right
there, and to keep from, I didn't mean to go into this so much,
but to keep from going out on a tangent, to keep from resorting
to things that might bring in crowds. You know, I get discouraged,
I really get discouraged when I see our people not even attending,
much less not having many visitors, and so it makes you want to resort
to whatever you can. I want to see things I do. But not unless God makes
it happen. And the only way God's gonna
make it happen is just what I'm doing right now, preaching the
word. Preaching the gospel verse by verse, line upon line. So
I need the grace to keep to the word. It's my only help. It's
our only help. And I keep saying this over and
over. If we don't get to the next verse,
this is fine. I keep saying this over and over again. This is
all God's God threat. It's all He has for us. There's no answers anywhere.
There's no peace. There's no comfort. There's no
joy. There's no happiness. There's
no strength. There's no assurance. There's
no encouragement. There's no answers. Anywhere
when we struggle when we don't have answers when we struggle.
We're so worried and fretful and and Torn apart and not knowing
what to do and where to go. Why is that? Why is that? Because
we do not avail ourselves of the answer. It's called the word
of the living God. How many words are in the word? How many of them have we hid
in our heart? As I said, this song will either
shame us or warn us, or both. Thy word have I hid in my heart,
that I might not sin against it. All right, verse 18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may
behold wondrous things out of thy love. Open my eyes. Open my eyes. These eyes that
are blinded by this world. It's soap bubble beauty. You
know? The flower of the field. The
leaf. The beautiful leaf. You know,
we look out, we admire the beauty of this world right now, don't
we? The fall color and all is so beautiful, so wonderful. You
wait about two weeks, it'll look like death. Won't it? The leaf
withers and fades. The flower fades. The beauty
of this world passes. But we got our eyes so glued
on it, don't we? These eyes that are dull and sleepy. Opened eyes. These eyes that are full of sin. Oh Lord, I can't make a covenant
with my eyes. I wish you'd make a covenant
with my eyes. You know, right there's a good vow, Terry. Lord,
you make a covenant with my eyes that I should not look upon these
forbidden things. I can't do it, I've tried. I've
made covenants with my eyes. Hundred thousand of them. And
you, Henry, ain't gonna do that no more. It doesn't take ten
minutes. Lord, you make a covenant with
my eyes. Open mine eyes. These eyes that are dim with
age, ladies. Age dims your eyes. I mean, everything
about your person, age dims it. You become listless and tired
and unable to think like you would like to think, don't you?
Violent as a result of that surgery and all, you feel like you've
lost some of your thinking processes and all. Open mine eyes, open
mine eyes, that I might behold wondrous things in thy law, out
of thy law. And open mine ears, open my ears,
open my eyes. Lord, make me spiritually sensible. As I said this morning, can you
say with blind Bartimaeus, when the Lord asked him, what is it
that you desire? Can you say with blind Bartimaeus
in all sincerity, I'm blind. That I may see. I want to see God in Christ.
Wondrous things out of thy law. Turn with me to Psalm 72. And
if the Lord will open your eyes, you're going to see some wondrous
things. Right here. Right before your very eyes.
Wondrous things out of the law of the Lord. The word of the
Lord. Wondrous things that only those who have an eye to Christ
can see. Psalm 72, verse 17. His name shall endure or be forever."
Who is he talking about? Christ. His name shall be continued
as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in him. All nations, yea, a people, a
tribe, out of every kindred, nation, tongue, under earth,
all nations shall call him the blessed one. Blessed be the Lord
God, the God of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our God.
Blessed God, who only does doeth wondrous things. And blessed
be His glorious name forever. Let the earth, the whole earth,
be filled with His glory. And David says, Amen and Amen. So be it, so be it, the prayers
of David. Look over at Psalm 86 with me. There's some more wondrous things.
Wondrous things, Psalm 86. Look at, well, let's start at
the beginning there. Let's just read this. It's a
prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O Lord. Hear
me. For I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul. For I am, the
word is, one whom thou favorest. Holy. I'm in Christ. O thou, my God, saved thy servant
that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord,
for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant,
for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Thou, Lord, art good,
ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy unto all them that call
upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer. Attend to the voice of my supplication. In the day of my trouble I will
call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there
is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither are there any works like
unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made
shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify
thy name, for thou art great and doest wondrous things. Thou
art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord. I will walk in thy truth. Unite
my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my
God, with all my heart. I will glorify thy name forevermore,
for great, great is thy mercy toward me. You've delivered my
soul from the lowest hell. Wondrous things of God's character. Look back at the text. Wondrous
things of God's character. Who God is. What he's like. Open
mine eyes to the whole beast thing. Who God is. What he's
really like. God's providence. Now I tell you, if we had eyes
to see, Jeanette, if we had eyes to see what the Lord is doing
for us, If we had eyes to see how the
Lord is providing everything for us, like that servant of
Elijah, if the Lord would only open our eyes and see that those
that be for us are more than those that be against us. Oh, we wouldn't worry a bit.
If only we could see the Lord's providence. If only we could
especially see God's Son, as seen in this book, The Law of
God. Verse 19, he says, I'm a stranger.
I'm a stranger in the earth. Oh, hide not thy commandments
from me. I'm a stranger. I'm a pilgrim.
I'm a sojourner. I don't have much in common with
the people of this world. You'll read through the song.
You'll see. Your heart... Oh, David. David
was the man after your heart, too, isn't he? Over and over,
he said, deliver me from the ungodly man. Oh, how I hate doing
that. Oh, Lord, the wicked. They're
playing snares for me. People I work with, people...
Oh, Lord, deliver me. I'm a stranger. I feel like a
stranger, a fish on dry land, don't you? The people of this
world, the only thing you've got in common with them is sin.
Isn't it? The only thing that appeals to
you in this world is sin. You feel so alone at times, don't
you? Do you? Oh, yeah, you do. You feel so alone, out of place,
so out of place, so sick of it all. Sick of it all. Vicky, sick
of it, aren't you? They sick of love. Can you say
that with Solomon? I'm sick of love. You're sitting
there at work all day and been around those God-hating people. Oh, I'd sure like to see one
of God's people walk up back now. Sure would like to hear
some good news from a far country. That boy. And this is the reason We need
a friend that sticks closer than a brother. I tell you, this is
the reason you best be close to Christ. Because when you're
out there in the world, you're not going to have a friend. You're
not going to have anybody to resort to, anybody to have any
fellowship with. You better have a friend that
sticks closer than a brother. You better. And I tell you what,
this is the reason we need each other. Look at verse 63 with me. Verse 63. He says, I'm a companion
of all them that fear Thee. You and my buddies are? Ah boy, you wouldn't have believed
who my former cronies were. I mean, the all scouring of the
earth, scum of the earth. Fellas I used to hang around
with. Where I ought to be. Some of
them are dead. Stabbed. Killed in fights. You know who my buddies are now?
People I used to think were square. Square. Old fashioned. Companions of all them that fear
thee. That's who I'm a companion to.
That's who my friends are. Them that keep thy precepts.
Look at verse 74. I like this. They that fear thee,
they'll be glad when they see me. It's the reason I can't,
for the life of me, I cannot understand our coldness toward
one another. I cannot contain myself when
I see you all. And I know there's nothing lovely
about you. That's the reason it's such a
miracle. God's grace. There's nothing lovely about
us, is there? There's nothing in us that we should... There's
no beauty about us that we should be desired, is there? But Henry,
I get a big kick out of seeing you. When I pull up to his station.
Carefully get the car and drive before I run up and give him
a hug. I mean that. I'm not trying to sound pious
to you folks. I'm glad to see you. And I hope you feel the same
way about me. They that fear thee will be glad when they see
me. Those that fear God in the true sense of that passage, those
that fear God will be glad when they see Christ. When they really
see Christ as their savior, as their mediator, as their substitute,
as their representative, they'll sure be glad when they see Christ. Those that fear God, holy God,
Well, but I'm a stranger in the earth. That's the reason he,
Lord, I need, don't hide your commandments from me. Oh, don't
keep your word a secret to me. Oh, open my eyes and my heart
and open your book. Open my eyes, my heart, open
up my affection, open your book to me. Where we gonna go? Lord, don't hide your word from
me. Where am I gonna go? Oh Lord, make Christ clear to
me. Make Christ clear to me. Hide
not Christ from me. If the gospel be hid, don't let
it be hid from me. It's hid from them that are lost. If the gospel be hid, don't let
it be hid from me. Oh Lord. Look at this. My soul breaketh for the longing
that it hath under thy judgments at all times. My soul breaketh.
My heart, my soul, my inner being breaketh. Do you know anything
about this? My soul breaks, my heart breaks
for the longing that it hath under thy judgments at all times. I sat there after reading this,
it just made me want to hang my head. And I sat there and
pondered this verse for the longest time. Like I said, I don't just grab
books and start writing things down, but I say, Lord, speak
to me. I just open the Bible and sit
there, and Lord, speak to me. If you'll say something to me,
touch my heart with it, then I'll write it down, hoping that
it'll touch yours. But I sat there and pondered
this for the longest time, and I just, for the life of me, I
just could not, my soul breaking, I just could not really enter
into that. At all times, Listen to this. So I read this fellow
here, and you just can't improve upon this. I'm going to read
verbatim what he said. I don't even know who it is. That doesn't matter. He says,
now listen, listen very carefully, please. See if you can't say
this within yourself. The longing This longing to find
out and follow these hidden wonders, or these wonders things. To David
it was almost unbearable, this longing. This longing continued
with David, it says at all times, in every season that is. Most of us here, yes, live in
fine homes with nice automobiles, money in the bank and so forth.
We're rich. The prosperity can't make you forget the thing you
really want most. It doesn't satisfy, does it?
Prosperity can't make you forget it. Adversity couldn't quench
it. Oh, that just heightens it. In
sickness or health, in happiness or sadness, In company or alone,
nothing overcame that longing for David. In company or alone.
Have you ever been this way? I've been around people, even
you people. I've been in your presence or whatever and come
over and I've been so I've had something in my mind, in my heart,
something I'm particularly over here studying or whatever, and
you're talking to me. Somebody called me on the phone,
and I feel like a shell. I feel like I'm just saying,
yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, all right. I want
to get back to where I was studying, what was foremost in my heart
and my mind, even in company. or alone. Nothing can overcome
that longing. And listen, the wonders that,
now listen to this, listen to me, listen to me. The rarest
things, the rarest things were so wonderful. They were so rare
for what they were still so hidden. They were so rare for what they
were still so hidden. To see a little of the beauty
of the Lord is to get to know, listen, to see a little of the
beauty of the Lord is to get to know how much there is we
don't see. And it just makes you want more.
You have a desire for more than ever. He who pursues, he who
pursues diligently the wonders of the word of the Lord, will
never rest. That longing will remain as long
as he's in the earth. And only when he shall be like
Christ, only when he shall see him as he is, only when he awakes
with the likeness of Christ, will that disciple, that true
believer say, I've got enough. I'm finally full. I know all that sounded so, but
do you feel that way a little bit in your heart? Can you feel
a little degree of that in you? A little bit? My soul breaketh
for the longing that hath unto thy judgments at all times. Thou
hast rebuked, listen we'll go on hurriedly, thou hast rebuked
the proud. that are cursed, which do err
from thy commandments." You know, pride is a rebuke from God, and
the world is under that rebuke. The world is full of pride, full
of pride. Pride, you know what pride is?
Pride is God leaving a man alone. If God doesn't speak to a man,
if God doesn't reveal himself to a man, if God leaves a man
alone, John, he'll be full of pride, you know? That's exactly
it. He'll fall into the condemnation
of the devil. That's what pride is, the condemnation
of the devil. The devil and his ministers,
who are clothed as angels of light, want you to feel real
good about yourself. They want you to feel special.
They want you to feel like God needs you. That's the condemnation. That's the rebuke of God Almighty. That's the forsaking of God.
That's allowing one to fall. A curse, and it's a curse. Pride
goes before the fall. We get tired. I admit now. Are
you with me? I stay down. It seems like I
stay down all the time. I stay beaten and whipped and
broken. I get tired of that. I really
do. I want to feel some peace. I want to feel
some comfort and some joy. I want to feel some assurance
and all that. Most of the time I feel real
damned, don't you? Real broken. Just real broken
in the dust. Broken before the Lord because
of my sin. It's a good thing. It's a good
thing. Because we'll be lifted up with pride in a minute. In
a minute. That's the gift of God. Why? Because we're so prone to pride.
So full of pride by nature. God hath purposed it to stain
the pride of all glory. Now if you're going to get any
pride in you, God's going to stain you. God's going to rebuke
you. And I don't want that. I don't want that. But to meek,
to humble, to contrite, he says he'll be nearer. Just when I
need thee most is all I'm saying. Oh boy, and all who are proud
in any way are proud because verse 21 says they err from God's
commandment. They disregard, they don't believe
God's word. That's the reason they're proud.
The word of God will rebuke and correct and admonish and break
a person, humble a person if they really look into it. All
right, go on, verse 22. Remove from me the reproach and
contempt removed from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept
thy testimony." Boy, I looked at this a long time too. I can say this about this verse,
keep me from being a reproach unto God. Keep me from being
contemptible to God, because I am. That's my nature. I'm contemptible. Surely I must be contemptible,
despicable to God. John, how about you? Surely,
keep me from being that way. I want to be a sweet-smelling
Savior to God, like Christ. I want to be Christ-like. And
deliver me from the reproaches of contemptible men, for I believe
your gospel. I've kept your testimonies concerning
Christ. Boy, this will shame you. I really don't think we can really
enter into this like David was saying. I just don't think there's hardly
anybody in here who has... Well, you've not yet resisted
under blood, striving against sin, have you? Ain't nobody in
there in danger of being murdered, are they? For the gospel's sake.
Huh? Anybody in here lost their job
for the gospel's sake? Anybody in here lost anything
for the gospel's sake? I don't think we can enter into
this unless we've experienced something of true persecution
for the gospel's sake. We're pretty much cowards is
what we are. Because there's nothing worse
than being hated and despised for your stand for the truth.
There's nothing. David knew something about that.
David was persecuted and pursued on every hand. David knew something
about that. Christ knew more. Christ was
a man of sorrow. This is the reason, if we knew
something about that, we'd be sorrowful people. Christ was a man of sorrows acquainted
with grief. Why? Would that make you sorrowful
or what? Huh? Would that turn your laughter
to mourning? If you didn't have a friend on
the face of the earth? Just because you believe God?
Moses! Those millions of Jews. They
were wanting to turn on him at every hand. What? He was just
listening to God. Just delivering God's message.
Even finally his bosom buddy Aaron turned on him. His sister
Miriam. His brother and his sister turned
on him. Everybody. Elijah, I'm alone. I'm alone. Just because I've
kept thy testimony. Like I said, David knew something
about this Christ more. And you know what I want? You
know what I want? Polly, you know what I want? I want the
Lord to make me a reproach for His namesake. You know why? If I was a reproach for Christ's
sake, that means I'd love Christ more than anybody else. I wouldn't
esteem my life. I wouldn't hold my life dear.
I wouldn't care what people thought about me. I'd be so taken up
with Christ. You know? Nobody wants to be hated. I don't
want to be hated by people. I want men to speak well of me.
But Christ said, what reason do you have for men to speak
well of you? Didn't he? I want to be so enamored with and taken
up with Christ that men won't speak well of me. That's not
how it goes. I know men that people hate to
get around because they'll confront them with the gospel. Let's see
if they face them. Let's confront them with the
gospel. I want to hang my head in shame.
But I tell you what, you know who this all speaks of? You know who's talking here?
Christ. From verse 19 on, specifically,
particularly, Christ is doing the talking here. You're talking
about a stranger in the earth, verse 19. A stranger in the earth. You're talking about an alien,
Nancy. Christ was an alien, wasn't he?
He said, I'm a stranger in the earth. Verse 20, my soul breaks
for the longing that it has to thy commandments. Oh, heathen
only thoughts of the will and the mind and the pleasure of
God. Love, perfect, pure, holy, spotless thoughts. And in the
midst of all this, it'd be like casting my daughter. It'd be like casting my six-year-old
daughter down into the depths of Harlem.
Amidst all the perversion and the drug addicts and the scum. What would it do to her little
mind? Huh? What would it do to her sensitive
little spirit? That's Christ on this earth.
That's Christ. And we hadn't hardly got an ounce
of sensitivity to it, do we? That's the reason Paul says it's
a shame, it's even a shame to speak of those things which they
do in private. I was talking to Rick the other
day. If we were really sensitive, if we were really zealous for
the glory of God and sensitive to this thing called sin, we
were watching a movie. As soon as the man took our Lord's
name in vain, we'd turn it off. And we had no control when we
were out in the world. We got control over that thing there
in front of us. Yeah, we'd go right on, insensitive. Pay for
it! Pay money! Oh boy, but Christ said my soul
breaketh. Breaketh. And that the thoughts
of going to that cross and being made sin. I mean he was in the
midst of it, he was subjected to it, he was exposed to sin
while he was on this planet. You can't even think about it.
You can't even describe it. But when Christ was going to
the cross, He was looking forward to being, I mean, He was thinking
about being made it. Actually, it filled Him up. Coming
into his thought, you know, these things a little bit, we can enter
into a little bit when these vile, wicked thoughts, when we
curse God. Like, I think it was Gurnall
said, Satan whispered in the back of his ear, cursing, actual
cursing. You ever actually thought of
some perverse, profane thought concerning God even? Have you
ever done that? Come on, anybody. Well, Gernald did, and I have. And he said, you didn't know
if Satan was saved if you were saved. And it just pains me. How could I think that? It's
bad enough to think sinful thoughts, but to blaspheme God? Have you anybody? I hope you
don't. I hope you don't. But Christ
was faced with the thoughts of being made a sinner. A sinner. My soul breaketh, he
said. Thou hast rebuked the proud that
are cursed that do err from thy commandments. Remove from me
reproach and contempt. He's the only one that can say
this. I've kept your testimony. He's the only one who can say
that anyway. I've kept him. Listen to this. Princes also
did sit and speak against me. That reminds me of old Herod
and Pontius Pilate, you know. Fat and sassy princes. Rulers. Don't you know, he said, don't
you know I have power? Had probably a guy, had all sorts
of concubines. filthy, vile, wretched Roman
ruler with a son of God, that holy, spotless son of God standing
before him. He said, don't you know I've
got power to crucify you or not, huh? Asking him his silly little
questions, examining him, the judge of the universe. Princess
did sit and speak against me. He said while I sat there meditating
on the glory of God Almighty And this vile viper spewed out
his wretched venom at me while I was meditating on God. What do you think about that? Didn't
meditate and not statues. The word statue there is appointment.
Christ could have successfully... John with a word, he could have
brought that man to his knees, couldn't he? With a word, he
could have just spoken. found wisdom that just boggled
that peanut brain's mind, wouldn't it? He'd have just been turned
into a vegetable not knowing what to say, at a loss for words,
wouldn't he? He could have successfully defended himself, vindicated
himself, answered himself, all the false charges, but you know
what he was thinking about? He didn't have time to answer
these foolish charges, these fools. He was meditating, setting
his mind, his faith upon this eternal covenant. I'm telling
you, the gospel is setting his mind upon saving
a people without number, by going through this horrible and the
deep things of God, had his mind on deep things. He didn't have
time to even answer this child. had his mind set on the statutes,
his appointments, his eternal covenant, everything he was to
say, everything he was to do. All the fulfillment of the law,
every jot and tittle running through his infinite mind and
soul, thinking about it. I've got to do this because it
behooves me to fulfill all righteousness. I've got to say this. He had
more important things to think about. I tell you, it's deep in it.
It's more, it's more than just some martyrhood. It's an eternal,
it's the reason these words are, they're not just doctrinal terms,
a covenant. Divine, eternal agreement with
Christ the Father and the Son, or Christ the Son, God the Father. Ah, boy. Thy testimonies, verse 24, and
I'll quit. Thy testimonies are my delight, my delight, and my counselor,
the gospel of Christ. I got a confession to make. I
wish we had time to let everybody, one of you, I don't take any
stock in these testimonies. Because most of the time it's
uh... They go through a lot as a drunkard and this and that
and the other, you know, they're bragging on how sinful they used
to be. I this, I that, but I tell you what, I wish we had time,
everybody could come up here, I really do. And just tell, just
open up your heart and tell us what you, what you think about
Christ, what Christ means to you. I really believe I can say this
with all my heart, that there's nothing on the top side of this
earth that gives me more joy than the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I really can say this with all my heart, that there's
no place on the planet of earth I would rather be than sitting
right here with you people, looking into this book. I can really
say this with all my heart, I never enjoy myself ever like I do when
God visits with us a little bit and opens this book up to us.
I can say that from the depths of my heart. Can you say that?
I hope so. I delight in it. Thy testimonies
are my delight, my affection. My affection is set. And not
because of me, Charles. It isn't because I set my affection
on it. It's because God set his affection
on me, and then in turn turned my affection on him. I love him
because he first loved me. That's where glory is due, but
yet I do love him. Peter said that, Lord you know,
but you know I do, that I love you. Because you're the one that
put it all there. What love I have, what sincerity
I have, what faith I have, you gave it to me. But I do love
you. Know you're not your own self?
Mary, do you know? Know you're not your own self?
I delight in, I delight in Christ, and he is my counselor. He is
my counselor. Call his name wonderful. All
I need to know is found in the Son of God, in God's Word, and
in the Word of His Son. All direction, all corrections,
all reproofs, all rebukes, all exhortations, all encouragements,
all instructions in life, in righteousness are found in God's
Holy Word, and it all speaks. of God's Holy Word, of His Holy
Son, of Christ, who is all and in all, because He is the wonderful
Counselor. He is the wondrous things that
we are to behold. Isn't it? The times when we get
to the greatest places, when we behold the wonderful one,
wondrous when we see Christ. When we see a fresh, like the
Son of David, when we see a fresh picture we've never seen before,
our eyes have been opened to behold the Son, sunlight. Having Christ as my Lord, my
Master, my Savior, my Friend, my all in all, I'll never go
astray. Thy word have I hid in my heart. Deal bountifully with our servant
that I may live. and keep thy word. Open thou
mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,
thy book." Okay, here it is.