Psalm 37. I've got a difficult question for you, a problem here
that the Psalms seem to present There's no problem in song. The
problem is in our understanding of it. But throughout this 37th
Psalm, as in many other parts of God's Word, we hear references
to people called the godly, and then we hear about the wicked.
We hear talk about good people, and then evil people. How do we explain these references
like that, about good people and righteous people and godly
people, when the Bible says in Romans 3 and Psalm 14, that there's
none righteous, no, not one. That there's none that understandeth,
that there's none that seeketh after God, that they're all gone
out of the way. They're together become unprofitable. There's none that do it. No not. How do you. Explain that. If you examine your own heart
your own life honestly. You can say that that's almost
certainly true. Be honest with yourself you know
it's so. But look here in Psalm 37, look
at verse 17. The arms of the wicked shall
be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. Verse 18, the
Lord knows the days of the upright. Verse 21, the wicked borrows
and pays not again, but the righteous shows mercy. He's talking about
some people here. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. Turn back to Psalm 18. Psalm
18. Has this psalm ever puzzled you?
Psalm 18. And this is just one psalm among
many, Psalm 18, that David, the psalmist, speaks in this manner.
David is the one that wrote this psalm, no doubt about it. He
wrote as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. But David is the
one that wrote this song. And he wrote it after the Lord
delivered him from his enemies and after the Lord delivered
him from Saul. Now, do you remember how David
two or three times behaved himself very virtuously? Do you remember
how David could have killed Saul and didn't? He said, I can't
slay the Lord's anointing, the Lord's King. And he behaved himself
so well, so virtuously. He did do what was right, David
did. And he did write this psalm.
But look at it, verse 19. David says, He brought me forth
also in the large place. He delivered me because he delighted
in me. The Lord rewarded me, verse 20,
according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of
my hands, hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways
of the Lord, have not wickedly departed from my God. All his
judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes
from me." In another place, he says, my sins are ever before
me. Well go on, he says in verse twenty-three, I was upright before
him, I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed
me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of
my hands in his eyesight. Because with the merciful, with
the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful, and with an upright
man thou wilt show thyself upright, with a pure thou wilt show thyself
pure, with a forward thou wilt show thyself forward. How do you explain that in the
light of Psalm 14? He said, there's none righteous.
David said, and the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness. Well, as they said, they're not
filthy rags. But David said, and the Lord recompensed me for
the cleanness of my hand. How are we to understand this,
huh? Well, the answer is, the only
way we can understand and explain any part of God's Spiritually. First of all, spiritually. 1
Corinthians 2, 14-16 says this, The things of God are spiritually
discerned or understood. Now listen. The things of God
are spiritually understood, and he that is spiritual, or that
has spiritual understanding, and is led spiritually. He discerns all things. He understands
all things in the Scripture, relatively. He understands all
things spiritually. Yet he himself is discerned or
judged or understood of no man. For who—listen to this—who hath
known the mind of the Lord? Who can figure out the Word of
God, the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, or that
is, understand God and The things of God, the word of God, but
Paul says, but we, we have the mind of, what am I saying? Christ. All right. So to properly understand any
portion of God's word, any portion of scripture, it must first of
all be spiritually understood. God is spirit. You remember when
Christ said, my words are spirit. and life spirit and God's spirit. Now. God's word is spiritually
understood and God's Holy Spirit. Who teaches us. He's the great
teacher, the Holy Spirit. He teaches he enlightened. He
opens our understanding of the word. What is the Holy Spirit
teach us? What is his principle? Object
in teaching all of God's people. Christ, right? He takes the things
of Christ and shows them unto you. The scripture says the law,
even the law is a schoolmaster, the path to Christ. The prophets,
the psalms, the psalms, Psalm 18, the psalms bear witness of
and speak of the Lord Jesus Christ first and foremost and principally. So we must first and foremost
look at every single verse that we look at as it relates to Christ. Right? Right. You don't look at it with a natural
eye. The natural man receiveth not, can't understand. The things
of God, the natural man cannot understand them by the human
intellect or reasoning or wisdom. Can't do it. They're spiritually
understood and spiritually catalyst in the light of as it relates
to Christ. All right? Okay. Now let's look at Psalm 18 again.
Look at Psalm 18 verse 19. Now let's read this in the light
of Christ and see what it says. He brought me forth also into
a large place. That's talking about Christ.
He's lifted. He said, if the Son of Man be
lifted up, I'll draw all men to a large place. Terry set Him
on the throne of the universe. That's a large place. He gave
Him a name above every name, a large place. Head, Lord, Ruler,
a large place. The largest, the highest. He
delivered me, that is, God wouldn't suffer His Holy One to seek corruption,
because why? He delighted in me. The Father
loves me. The Father loves me because I
do his will. Verse 20, the Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness. That's not talking about David,
is it? That's talking about the son
of David. Son of David. Remember, David said in Psalm
14, he's not righteous, but one. One righteous man. according
to the cleanness of my hands." He said that a couple of times
in the song. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? Well, he that has clean hands. The only one man
I know of that had clean hands, that never performed any sin,
that's Christ. So God rewarded him according
to his righteousness, according to the cleanness of his hands.
He recompensed him. Christ said, I have kept the
ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God.
All his judgments, his word, his His works, his glory, the
Father's business were always before him, Christ said. I must
always be about my Father's business. And I didn't put away his statutes
from me. No, I fulfilled every jot and
tittle of it, Christ said. I was upright before him. I kept
myself from mine iniquity or any iniquity. Therefore hath
the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness. Who's that
talking about? David? No, Christ. According
to the cleanness of my hands and his eyes, that we're the
merciful. Who's truly merciful? Christ. He's the mercy of God.
And only in Christ do we find the mercy of God. And with an
upright man, he'll show himself upright. We saw the holiness
and the righteousness of God in the holy and righteous Christ,
didn't we? And we're upright and made righteous in him. Well,
you just go on and on, couldn't you? So to properly understand
any portion of scripture, you've got to look at it in a spiritual
sense, as it applies to Christ first. Now, here's the mystery
of this thing, this great mystery of godliness, this thing that
puzzles us and that we're in the dark about. And I can't rightly
explain. I've come up with a little illustration
here. It may suffice, it may not. If
I am God's child, if I'm a son of God, I'm called his elect. You remember Psalm, Isaiah 42,
he says, Behold, mine elect. Mine elect? Well, I'm the elect.
If I'm his chosen, God has exalted one chosen among us. That's me.
I've been exalted. I've been chosen. I'm well beloved. I'm loved through the Father.
If I'm a believer, Christ is in me, and the Spirit of God
dwells in me, and I'm called by the Scriptures a new creature. There's a new man within me,
which John said cannot sin. Now, I have a hard time with
that, don't you? A new man that cannot sin. The
key to that passage is because his seed remains in him. The
seed of Christ. Let me go on. But this new man
is created in holiness and righteousness, and God delights in him. God
accepts this new man and rewards that new man along with his works
and his ways. That's called an imparted righteousness. a new man, a new creature. How
do you explain that? I can't explain this. It's a
mystery. Paul said this. Here's the paradox. Paul said, I live unto God. Paul
said, I'm living unto God. He said, yet not I. It's not
me. I live unto God, but it's not
me. Yet not I, but Christ which liveth
in me. Paul said, the life I now live
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God. Have I thoroughly confused you?
There's this paradox. Now listen to me. This is a mystery. It's a mystery. That's what he talked about in
1 Timothy 3, 16. I'm dead, yet I'm alive in the
God. I'm good, yet I'm evil. I'm just, yet I'm altogether
unjust. I'm dead, I'm dead, like that
song sung, God doesn't hold me accountable. Yet he does. I'm
responsible for my actions. Somebody like to take over from
here. I am dead. I've been killed,
judged, and dead, and no longer guilty before God, yet I'm responsible
for every one of my actions. I'm holy and good, yet can take
no credit for any goodness in me. This is a paradox. Let me give
you this illustration. You say, where in the world are
you at Psalm 37? I'll get to it. I'll get to it. Here's an illustration. Now,
some of our ladies, a whole, seem like a A virus has gone
through and some of our ladies, the virus is water. Some of our
ladies are pregnant. Pregnant. I'm going to use that
word, don't be embarrassed by it. It's a glorious word. Several
of our ladies are pregnant right now, expecting children. Now
let me give you some illustration, use this pregnancy in light of
child of God. In the early stages of pregnancy,
a woman looks pretty much unchanged. She looks pretty much the way
she did before. Except, I believe that I can
see a little glow. I remember, I don't know if this
is just the joy and the happiness, but I really do. I really think
you can see a little glow, at least in their attitude. They've
taken on a whole new attitude and all, a little glow in their
eyes, a little glint in their eye. But it's not much of a change
right at first. But there's a little something
there, a little something there. And as time passes, She becomes
more and more pregnant, more and more. But you know what? She's just as pregnant at nine
weeks as she is at nine months. I mean, if there's a life in
her, she's pregnant. The word means full of life.
It's an old Puritan term. It's a glorious term. They used
to talk about the gospel as being the pregnant gospel. It means
full of life. The gospel is the word of life.
It's full. The gospel is full, is pregnant
with life. And a woman, as she goes along,
she becomes more and more pregnant, literally, more and more full
of life. That baby is growing, the woman
is growing, much to her distress at times. She's pregnant pregnant until finally one day,
one day, when her time is come. At that time, at the appointed
time, when she's to give birth to that child, she labors, she
goes through travail and pain, she thinks she's dying. Right? She wants to die. Cut off my
head, do anything. She thinks she's dying, but she's
about to live. I mean, just as soon as that's
over, she's going to rejoice with joy unspeakable. What pain, she's going to say,
for joy that a child is born. Right, ladies? Those of you who've
had it? You were hurting a while ago, weren't you? What? Huh?
When? Look. Joy. She thinks she's dying at the
time, but in a moment she's going to live in this newness of life. Okay? Did you see that? That's
the believer. Christ in you. It's called the
incorruptible seed within us. Now, at first, there's no real,
dramatic, perceptible change. Now, let's face it, it's a gradual
process most of the time. It really is. We still retain
much of these earthly clothing, and so is grave clothes, don't
we, John? And right at first, right at
first, there's not a great discernible change. But nevertheless, that
person is pregnant, alive unto God, this incorruptible seed,
the seed of the Son of God, which cannot corrupt. Right? That must live, that must come
forth in the newness of life. And that person, as they grow
as they feast upon the milk and so forth, that the body of Christ,
they live upon the body of Christ, the bread, the wine, the blood,
the body of Christ. They grow more and more pregnant
with Christ, more full of Christ, more like Christ. All right? He is life, until the day of
death. And now they think they're dying. They're laying on the deathbed.
They think they're going to die, but no, they're about to see
us. They're about to burst forth
from the womb of this world, from this body, a new creature
in Christ Jesus. We let it ripen on earth. When?
Where? What? The scripture says, The
former things shall not be remembered, nor come to mind. No pain, no
tears, no sorrow. And that person who died, yet
they'll soon burst forth a new creature, a new creation, the
image of Christ. And like the woman, now listen
to this, that woman who is very pregnant, she feels at the time
that she's very ugly. Don't you ladies? When you get
real big and pregnant, you feel ugly. You feel yourself to be
ugly. You see no beauty in yourself.
And that's the way it is with those that are most pregnant
with Christ. Those are the most mature in the faith. They don't
see any beauty about themselves. They feel like they're ugly.
And as time goes by, the burden even gets more and more heavy
to them, until they're weighed down and go about groaning all
the time. You see that perfect correlation
there? See that, Barbara? It's a beautiful picture. Burdened
over your sin, longing to get rid of it. What? I tell you what, Barbara. What's your name? Margaret. I think a pregnant woman's beautiful.
I really do. And the more pregnant, the more
beautiful. You know why? Because they're full of life.
This is the greatest blessing known to a woman. Ask a woman
who has a husband who can't. So never, never think of yourself
as ugly. Think of yourself blessed by
God Almighty. Right? Full of life. Pregnant. Beautiful. Full of life. And the believer, the believer
is the same way. The more low and humble and meek
and abased in his own eyes, the more beautiful and more Christlike
that person becomes. Not to the world, but beauties
in the eyes that behold it, right? Those who behold Christ in it.
All right, I'm going to get to Psalm 37. So the believer is
in Christ, and Christ is in him. But they're one and the same
person. Yet it's Christ's glory and honor and life that's responsible
for everything new in that person, everything. All right, now look at verse
23. Let's begin here. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. Who's good? None good but Christ. Well, those considered good in
Christ, those that have Christ in them, are good people, good
people. And that's the only way you can
consider anybody good. Christ said there's none good.
Why do you call me good? There's none good but God. But
if I'm a child of God, I'm good, not in myself, but as Christ
in me. Okay? I'm justified by God. His steps are ordered by the
Lord. All things truly work together
for good to God's people. God has mapped out and directed
all of his children's lives. He's provided for their education.
He's provided for their marriage. He's betrothed them. He's provided
for their burial and their resurrection. He's provided all things necessary
for this life and for godliness for the life to come. He's mapped
it all out like a faithful parent would for their children, planned
way ahead. And he'll bring it to pass. It's
in his power. And it says here, God delights
in them. He delights in his way. God sees
a new baby boy. like Christ, or girl, like Christ. He delights in it. He delights
in Christ in you. A new little girl looks like
Christ. Isn't she cute? Yet on the other hand, too, on
the other side, we delight in Christ who is the way. We delight
in His way. His way. God's way. Christ who
is the way, we delight in him. And God delights in Christ in
us. That's the only sense in which
this can be said, that God delights in us. Not in us, but in Christ
in us. You follow me? You're not losing
me, are you? Okay. Now, though he fall, it sounds
certain that you're going to fall. Well, it is. Babies fall,
don't they? Babies don't come out running
a race. They come out and they stumble and they fall and they
get hurt and they cry. And though he fall, oh, he won't
be utterly cast down. No way. Just like a child that's
well loved of the parent, they won't let him stay down for long.
They won't let him stay long, but a strong fatherly hand reaches
down and picks that little baby up and comforts and encourages
and soothes. the cry and the mother kisses,
that healing balm and the mother's kisses, you know, take away all
pain, skin, knees, and so forth. And though we fall, we won't
be utterly cast down. I was reading, I've been reading
through the psalm, over in Psalm 42 and 43, he says it three times,
I'm cast down. Why are you cast down, O my soul?
Why are you cast down? Hope in God. kind Heavenly Father
who will reach down and pick you up. For the Lord upholdeth
him with his hand." What's the hand of God, the right hand of
God? Who is that? The right arm of
the Lord, Christ. We're upheld by him. Verse 25,
David said, I've been young and now am old, yet have I not seen
the righteous forsaken? Ever? Ever. Why is that, David? because the righteous one made
them righteous, and because the righteous one said, I'll never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. That's why it's impossible for
God to lie. And that's what God said. They'll
never be forsaken. Nor has seed-begging bread never
seen a child of God go without the gospel for any length of
time. That won't do it. Even in the time of famine. Scripture
speaks over and over about in the time of famine that we'll
be feasting on fat things, wine on the leaves, bread in the time
of famine. They that seek the Lord shall
never want any good things, Psalm 34 says. And it's also true of
our material existence, our children. None of our children have gone
hungry. That's quite evident. Just look at little Brittany's
cheeks. None of our baby, we got fat babies, healthy, never
seen God's feet begging bread. Verse 26, he's ever, why? Because he's ever merciful. You
have a margin? Does it say there in your margin,
all today? He's all today merciful. He's
merciful all day long. Scripture says his mercies are
new every morning and afternoon and evening and night and the
next morning. All day long he's merciful, and he lendeth. That
is, he giveth, and giveth, and giveth, and giveth, and gives
them all, doesn't he? He gives more grace. He's gracious,
and he gives more grace. And he lendeth. And his seed
is blessed. His seed is blessed. That's Christ's
seed. That's Christ the seed of God.
He's blessed, and we're blessed in him, because Christ is in
us. Literally, the children of godly parents, the children of
believers, are generally blessed children, aren't they? Oh my,
you know God, do you remember how many times God said, I'm
the God of Abraham? Isaac, Jacob, Moses, didn't he? He included Abraham's posterity
in all that, didn't he? Wendy and Kevin, you just don't
know how blessed you are. You just don't realize it right
now. I hope you do, maybe you do.
But to have the parents that you have, who love Christ and
are seated right now in the sound of the gospel, and have you seated
here, you're blessed. You're seed, Ed, is blessed,
aren't they? And to be in a place like this
where they can come hear about the seed, that's the blessing
of all blessings. My, my, they're not down at some
foolish church that all they care about is their body count
and taking them on some summer vacation or whatever, where they
never hear a word about Christ. You see, he's blessed. Man, now
look at this. In light of God's mercy, he said
he's merciful all day long, in light of God giving and giving
and giving and giving, in light of God blessing his people, These
are ample motives for verse 27, aren't they? Ample motives to
depart from evil. Right? This is our motive. This should be our reason. He
says, depart from evil. Not a request. He said, as your
Father is perfect, be ye perfect. As I am holy, be ye holy. He
said, depart from evil. But I can't. We'll do it anyway.
Depart from evil and do good. Be merciful, giving, loving,
compassionate, kind, tender, as God, for Christ's sake, has
been that way with you. That's the motive. That can be
the only motive and reason for service and for obedience. As
God, for Christ's sake, has been that way with you. We just read
it. Let this mind be in you. Right? If there be any consolation,
any bowels of mercy, any bowels of mercy, let this mind be in
you, just like Christ. If Christ is in you, you know,
look at it. He says, and you will dwell forevermore.
See that? Depart from evil and do good
and dwell forevermore. Unmistakable proof, just positive
proof and evidence. Don't get the cart before the
horse here. The only reason—that's the reason I started this message
out like I did, because of difficult verses like this. The only reason
we depart from evil and do good is because Christ in us, his
seed, cannot sin, and any goodness in us, any holiness in us, is
from that new creature. It's not us, yet not I, remember? The life that I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith in the Son of God. I live unto God,
yet not I, but Christ that liveth in me dwelleth in me. Yet the
command is there, the responsibility is there. He says depart from
evil and do good and dwell forevermore. I've heard people say things
like this. People say Christians ought to
love one another. They do. Ain't no ought to about
it. like a little child, but they
do. They do. Christians ought to give. They
do. And what I know does. Christians
ought to forgive. They do. Christians ought to
be merciful. They are. Christians ought to
love one another. They do. They do. They do. The Lord loveth for, look at
that, see the for? For the Lord loveth judgment,
justice, truth, right things. The judge of all the earth, who
does right, loves what's right. God loves what is right. He loveth
righteousness. He hates iniquity, unjustices,
evil, sin, anything that's not right. And just like God, the
child of God says, I esteem all your precepts concerning all
things to be, what? Right. And therefore, I hate
every false way. And that's the reason David said
over and over about himself, I hate the sin that's within
me. It's not right. God loves right, and so do his
children. They esteem his precepts right,
and they want what is right, and they want to be right. and
do right and act right. Right? Right. All right. And they're preserved. God loves judgment and forsakes
not his saints. They're preserved forever. The
sea of the wicked shall be cut off. They're preserved forever. You have preservation and perseverance
right there. Preservation of the saints by
God and perseverance of the saints. You have both right there. The righteous shall inherit the
land and dwell therein forever. A lady asked me last week, what
does it mean the meat shall inherit the earth? Well, it's certainly
not talking about this earth. What do we want with this earth?
Over and over we're warned in the scriptures not to love the
world, the things of the world. Over and over we're told in the
scriptures we haven't here, no continuing city. Strangers and
pilgrims are passing through, we're not taking up with this
world, kind of like me going on vacation, going to Florida. I'm not going to stop off in
Atlanta and be taken up with all the civic issues down there.
I'm not going to walk a picket line with all the work. I'm not
concerned about Atlanta. I'm going to Florida. And I'm
not so much concerned about this world. It's dying, it's decaying,
it's going to burn up. I'm going to Canaan. A new land. I look for a land, a city whose
builder and maker is God. I have here no continuing city.
Just passing through. And that's the land I want to
inherit. I'm looking for a new earth, a new heaven, a new earth
where I can dwell as righteous. This place just something ain't
right about this place, is it? Ain't right. Or is everything
right about that place? That's where I want to go. I'll
be satisfied when I awake. in that place, with his likeness,
and to dwell in the house of the Lord forevermore, inquiring
his temple? How about you? Huh? Verse 30. The mouth of the righteous
speaketh wisdom. The mouth of the righteous speaketh
wisdom, and his tongue talks of judgment. What do we speak
of? What is this? What's wisdom?
Wisdom of this world? Didn't Paul say that? We don't
speak in the wisdom that the world teaches. We speak of Christ. Didn't David
say this? He said, the mouth of the righteous
speaketh wisdom. Didn't David say this in Psalm
71 and other places? He said, I'll make mention of
thy righteousness and thine only. Thine only. And they speak wisely. A man that speaks that way speaks
wisely, doesn't he? And a man that speaks about his
righteousness speaks very foolishly indeed, right? Christ is made
unto us with wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
And the godly, God's people, they speak wholesomely, justly,
virtuously, profitably, in a very practical sense. Why? Verse thirty-one,
because the law of God is in his heart. The word of God dwells
in them. That's what Hebrews eight, we're
going to look at that Sunday. The law of God is written on
the heart. And they all know his word. They have it written
on their heart. And that word teaches, admonishes,
approves, corrects, instructs, leads, guides, restrains. And
true spiritual guidance and walking in the Spirit is listening to
and reacting to the Word of God that dwells in us. That's true
spiritual guidance. And shall not slide. The law
of his God is in his heart, and none of his steps shall slide.
Not like the wicked. Scripture says that their spirit
will slide in due time. It's coming. That's what he was
saying all through Psalm 37 there. There are times coming. There
are times coming. But we won't fall completely,
forever, as the wicked. No? Why not? Because our feet
are planted, established, set in cement. You're not going to
slide when you've got your feet set fast in rock, are you? Sit on the rock, Christ Jesus.
Look at verse 32 and 33. They watch the righteous, though,
and they seek to slay him. But the Lord won't leave him
in his hand. The Lord won't leave that man to the wolves, the sheep
to the wolves. No, no. And he won't condemn
him when he's judged, when they bring out all sorts of slander
and accusations. The Lord said, no, no. Vengeance
is mine. I'll repay, saith the Lord. Verse
34. So just wait on the Lord. If
you've been wronged or whatever, You're discouraged and downcast
and downtrodden and anxious. Just wait on the Lord, verse
34. Wait on the Lord. Wait. Don't
take matters into your own hand, or you'll blow it. You'll blow
it. But, look at this, keep his way,
or that is, cling to Christ's the way. Didn't Christ say, those
that keep my word, they're the ones that love me? He that keepeth
Christ, he that looks to and waits upon and clings to and
trusts in Christ, he'll be exalted to inherit the
land, that new land. And when the wicked are cut off,
they'll see it. They'll see it. You'll see. Just wait and see. You'll see. Now, I especially
need to know that, like I say on Sunday morning, in light of
all these false prophets. I mean, the ratio of false prophets
to true is about like Elijah and the prophets of Baal, 851.
That's about it. There are more. There's more than that now, isn't
there? And I especially need to know
this. in light of all these false prophets. But you're going to
see, you're going to see, the Lord's laughing. He's laughing.
He's going to laugh at them. He's going to mock when their
fear comes. And verse 35, I've seen the wicked in great power,
David said, spreading himself like a green bay tree, getting
fat and sassy and mocking God. You see him, don't you? Yet he
passed away. Where's old Howard? What was
his name? A multi-millionaire? Howard Hughes? Where is he? Dead. Where's Sigmund Freud? Where's
Charles Darwin? Where are all these mockers and
scoffers? They all died, don't they? They
all died, passed away. No, he was not. Yeah, I sought
him, but he could not be found. But, look at this. Now listen
to this. You mark the perfect man. Now who's perfect? And now we start this thing out?
Huh? Who's perfect? Those that are
in Christ. You mark the perfect man, and
behold upright. Who's upright? Those that have
that seed that's in them. The seed of Christ. The end of
that man now is peace. Peace. Peace. Why? Because Christ
said, My peace I give unto you. Not as the world give it. My
people, they can't take that away. Not even on your dying
day. Let me read you something here.
Here's some dying words. You mark the perfect, you watch.
My dad preached a sermon one time entitled, I Watched a Believer
Die. Some of us have seen believers
pass away. We've seen several, haven't we?
Some of you have seen believers pass away, and it's a blessed
thing. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of this thing. It's a passing away. It's the
look on the face of a woman when she sees that child coming. Listen to these words of unbelievers,
dying words of unbelievers. Listen to them, the horror. Queen
Elizabeth, a former Queen Elizabeth, on her dying bed, she said, all
my possessions I would give for one more moment of time." Another
man said, I'm suffering the pangs of the damned. Another man said,
I would gladly give thirty thousand pounds to have it proven that
there's no hell. Another man said, I'm abandoned
by God and man, I'm going to hell. Oh Christ, oh Jesus Christ,
I'm going to hell. Another man said, when I lived
I provided for everything but death. Now I must die and I'm
unprovided to die. Listen to this, until this moment
I thought there was neither God nor hell. Now I know and feel
that both. are true, and I'm doomed to perdition
by the just judgment of the Almighty." But Mark, the perfect man. Now
listen to the words of a dying believer. Martin Luther, on his
deathbed, said, Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation. God is the Lord by whom we escape
death. John Knox, He said, live in Christ,
the last word, live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh
need not fear death. Richard Baxter on his deathbed
said, I have pain, there's no argument against sin, but I have
peace, I have peace. Listen to this man who was burned
at the stake, as he was being burned at the stake, he said,
Blessed be the time that I was ever born for this day. He said
to his fellow martyrs beside him, we shall not lose our lives
in this fire, but we're changing them for a better. We're changing
coals for pearls. Listen to this man who was about
to have his head cut off. He said, if I had ten heads,
I'd give them all for Christ. Mark, the perfect man. Behold,
the upright, the end of that man is peace. Peace. Say, I don't have that
peace. You dying? If you're in Christ,
you'll have it. Today you're dying. All righty,
verse 38. The transgressors shall be destroyed
together. The end of the wicked shall be
cut off, but the salvation of the righteous, the imputed righteous. is of the Lord, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. You ever heard that before? Salvation
of the righteous is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time
of trouble. And the Lord shall help them
and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the
wicked and save them. Why? Because they were good little
boys and girls? No, they are good, but only in
Christ. But they are saved and delivered
and helped by the Deliverer, by the Savior, by the Helper,
because they trust in him. Brother Rick read Psalm 34 not
too long ago. The last verse says, The Lord
redeems the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in
him shall be desolate, left alone, found guilty, without a home. I hope that was a blessing to
you. I don't think it came out like
it came to me in the study. We thank you for the song, for
your word, we thank you for the sweet songs of Israel, we thank
you for that David, led and walked upon this earth, man of your
own heart and of youth, and pressed upon his heart and his mind,
his soul, and his life, the writing of Christ, the life of Jesus. You bring forth such a beautiful
picture of Christ. Lord, we ask you that you would
make us just like Christ, that you would call us people, men,
women, if you don't mind. And we would have the mind of
Christ, the heart of God. Lord, grant. All of our springs
are in this. Everything. Christ's name is referred to. It is there.