Would you join me in the book
of Revelation chapter 15? Revelation chapter 15. I'd like to read verses 1 through
3, and then spend a few moments tonight on that verse 3. just and true are
thy ways. And I saw another sign in heaven,
great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues,
for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it
were a sea of glass mingled with fire. They that had gotten the
victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark,
and over the number of his name stand on the sea of glass, having
the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses,
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, great and
marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are
thy ways, thou King of saints. Just and true are thy ways. I'd like to spend a little time
tonight on that subject that's found in this Song of Moses,
the Song of the Lamb. Now there may have been generations
between the birth of Moses and the birth of Jesus in the manger,
but their song is identical. There is no difference. They
both sing of the victory of God. Moses' song at the Red Sea sang
of the victory of God, and the Lamb's song sings of the victory
of God. And we see the Lord in all his
victory, and his victory is due to the fact that he is just and
true. He's the only one that is just
and true in all his ways. Now we aspire to that, we would
delight in that, but we'll not see that until we're in his presence. We'll not know what it is to
be just and true in all our ways until then. We fight the flesh
every day, but he is just and true in all his ways. Not one
single circumstance could be left out without injury to the
one vast plan of Jehovah. So every incident and every circumstance
that has ever taken place fits perfectly into the plan of God.
Just and true are thy ways. Nothing. Now, if we took out
one of them, it would upset the apple cart. It would not fulfill
the purpose of God. And we do not know the purpose
of God in everything. We don't see how he sees things. But we do have this reminder.
You're the Lord God Almighty, and just and true are your ways,
and you are the King of the saints. So we have those constant reminders.
Turn with me, if you would, back to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter
32. Deuteronomy 32 is another song
of Moses. And in it, he does such a marvelous
job of praising God and also sharing in here the difference
between man and man's religion and God. And it is in this chapter
that we find their rock is not our rock. They have a rock, but
it's not our rock. There's a pebble rock, and we
have the rock of Gibraltar, if you please, the steady, firm
foundation rock in God. Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse
1, we read these words, give ear, O ye heavens, and I will
speak, and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine
shall drop as the rain. My speech shall distill as the
dew. Now Moses is sharing this, but
he's sharing the words of the Lord. My words, my speech shall
distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, as
the showers upon the grass, because I will publish the name of the
Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the rock. His
work is perfect. From this day forward is perfect
and from this day backward is perfect. And every day in between
is perfect. Just and true are thy works and
thy ways. Everything that God does. And
that's something that is hard for us as humans to just grab
a hold of. That just and true are all your
ways. Now, in this chapter, chapter
15, we have some warnings about the wrath of God. As we go through
chapter 15, we see some of the wrath of God poured out. As we
move through the remainder of this book, we're going to come
up to the final judgment of God. As it's recorded in the book
of Matthew, he'll separate the sheep from the goats. Here in
the book of Revelation, Everyone will stand before him, and everyone
that has ever lived will stand before him, and those without
Christ shall be cast into the lake of fire. He is preparing
us for that judgment when he says, just and true are all my
ways. Don't doubt me in this. Don't
ascribe that I'm doing wrong in this. Don't ever say that
God is unjust in anything that he does. When he came upon the
wicked kings in the Old Testament, we stand by side and say, hey,
that's great. When he overcame Jericho, hallelujah. When AI was finally overcome,
hallelujah. Victory is ours and the rest
of the cleanup of the Canaan land, hallelujah. How many people
met the judgment of God and we say, hallelujah. Well, in the
final analysis, when it's all said and done, God will judge
this world, and he will judge the quick and the dead, and he
will judge the quick, the living in Jesus Christ, and he will
judge the dead alone. And my ways are right, he says.
Just and true are my ways. He is preparing us. Now he's
preparing us for all the things that he's done in the past. When
we read them as we go through the word of God, let us say,
just and true are all your ways. I don't understand it. But when
we come to his judgment, Just and true are all your ways. Right
there in verse four of Deuteronomy 32, he is the rock, his work
is perfect, for all his ways are judgment. A God of truth
and without iniquity, just and right is he. So he sets the stage
for the rest of the chapter, but that is also the stage for
the rest of the book, the Bible. Just and true are all his ways,
everything that he does. We pull out one event that we
didn't particularly care for, and we have done an injustice
to God's divine purpose of grace for all time. So just and true
was that way also. Whatever he did is just and true. When the pending judgment, when
we see it, Brother Duane and I were talking today, we may
see that in America. We may see things worse off than
they are. We may see judgment against things that we hold dear. It's happened in the past. It's
happened in other countries. Oh, God, give me the grace to
say, just and true are your ways. I like my lifestyle. I like being
able to live where I want to live. I like going where I want
to go. I like being able to get on an airplane and fly where
I want to be. I enjoy that. But it may not always be that
in my lifetime. But just and true are your ways.
All of them. And if one is left out, it will
do an injustice to God's purpose of grace. So he's not going to
leave one out. They'll all come to pass and
just and true are all your ways. And as we find it, and as we
mentioned, when we find the pending judgment, let's keep in mind
when reading the remainder of this book, it's kind of like
Isaiah. I really enjoyed, I visited with
brother Wayne yesterday on the phone and he was talking about
Isaiah and We go through there, woe is you, woe is you, woe is
you, woe is you in chapter six, woe is me. See the Lord, then
we say, woe is me. I'm undone. That's what the Lord
does for us. We are undone when we see the
perfect one, the Lord Jesus. Just and true are thy ways. When reading the remainder of
this book, we got to keep in mind, and we dare not argue. We will not argue with God about
his will and his doings. That's one thing the church will
not do. It will not argue with God on this. Just and true are
thy ways. We dare not, we cannot, we will
not argue with God on what he does. Now, we may be bewildered, but we'll not argue with God.
If we argue with God, we're arguing with the Lord God Almighty. We're
arguing with the one who has set things in motion and will
not stop until all things are completed. And one that worketh
all things after the counsel of his will. And we're thankful
for it. For we know what happened when
man got to perform his will, the fall took place. And we see
the results of that to today. And God alone is able to overcome
and to counteract man when he got to perform his will. And
that's what redemption is. We will not argue with God about
his justice. His justice has been meted out
over time, circumstances. Just reading about, I wonder
what Ananias and Zephyrus daughters and sons said. Mom and dad went
to church and they came home dead. Justice was served. And a whole
bunch of people stood there in awe. We don't understand this,
but just and true are his ways. We just find this continuously
through the scripture. When Herod was eaten by worms,
I stand back and say, hallelujah, that guy didn't deserve to live
anyway. But when the apostles are slain
by the sword, we stand back and say, oh my, or Stephen stoned
to death. We say, oh my goodness. And they
lamented with great lamentation. And yet the word of God says,
just and true are all my ways. And the church will not argue
with God on these issues. We will not argue with God about
his justice, and we'll not argue with God about his truth. and
will not argue with God about his ways, for just and true are
all his ways. I wished I could understand completely
what it means to be just and true. I am so captivated about
what is not just and what is not true. I deal with that every
day. It is me that is unjust and me
that is untrue. But it is God that is perfectly
just, and it is God that is perfectly true in all things. And to understand
what those words perfectly mean is to understand God. And we'll
not do that in this life, and I wonder... It'll take eternity
for us to completely understand those in the life to come. Just
and true are all your ways. Justice and truth with no infringement,
no thought of evil. God did not, and that's one thing
the scriptures are playing with, God can not lie. Just and true are all his ways.
He can not lie. It is not in his capabilities
to lie. He doesn't, well, should I tell
the truth on this one when the lie will do better? Just and
true are all his ways. Now, I was thinking about this.
He was just in creating Satan. And he was true. And I just don't
understand it. just and true are all your ways.
In God's infinite wisdom and for the glory of the church and
for the glory of God, he created the great adversary. The Lord
Jesus Christ dealt with him through time. He dealt with him in his
own life, 40 days and 40 nights. Was he tempted of the devil?
And he did not succumb where Adam did in 30 seconds. Jesus Christ did not in 40 days,
and never did, and was able to deal with him scripture instead
of verbiage. And just and true are his ways.
He was just in permitting the fall. We just, I can't imagine
what it'd be like without the fall. Oh, a perpetual Garden
of Eden. just taking care of some fruit
trees. All of us would be vegetarians. And the lions and the wolves
and all the critters we'd walk up to and pet. They were Adam's
pets, he named them. The dinosaurs down to the smallest
critter. And the mosquitoes ate grass. They weren't bloodsuckers then.
Or he created them afterwards, I'm not sure. But there was just
none of that. And yet, God ordained and permitted
the fall, and just and true are all his ways. The glory of God
will be so prominent because of redemption, because of the
exercise of his grace, because he has been gracious to sinners. They will be trophies of his
grace and praise him for his grace for time and for eternity.
And just and true will be his ways, all ways. He was just in
choosing Abraham. He was just like the Muslims
over there. He wrapped a towel around his
head and lived in a tent. And we'd have all kinds of unkind
words to say about him if he lived today. He would be a Bedouin. He was a Bedouin. He worshiped
know not what. He worshipped odd things, the
stars, the heaven, and all sorts of things. He was out of sorts. We just not have any time for
him, just like we have no time for the Muslim religion. We have
no time for Abraham. And yet God was just in calling
him out of Ur. out of Babylon, out of the Tigris-Euphrates
River Valley, where our boys and girls are over there trying
to hold things together right now. Just and true were all his
ways in calling that camel jockey out of there. And he was just
and true in calling Israel They're the least of all tribes. And
given the opportunity, they voted against God on every hand. They murmured. What's that? They
voted against God. Gave him water from the rock.
They voted against him in 30 seconds. Gave him food from heaven,
manna, and they wish they were back under the taskmasters eating
their leeks and their melons. They voted against God. God said
they voted against me 10 times. as they wandered through the
Old Testament. There in a short time, they rebelled against me. They voted against me 10 times. We will not have this one rule
over us. They voted against his prophets.
They voted against his preachers. They voted against his kings.
They voted and voted against God. And yet God was just in
calling them. Just and true are his ways in
choosing Israel. And through the tribe of Judah,
He was just in calling his son. He's just in choosing the church. Look at the trophies. Trophies of grace. They're all like Saul of Tarsus. We don't read that much about
some of them. But he just exemplifies what
everyone that makes up the church was really like and is really
like. And it will continue to be. That's
the kind of people God saves. And he's just and true in hating
Esau. We dare not argue with God. Just
and true are all his ways, every way. I don't know the, I know
just a little bit about the feelings my mother and dad felt when they
lost my brother by drowning. But just and true are all his
ways. And my grandfather dying of a
stroke, but just and true are all his ways. And our daughter
in a serious wreck, just and true are all his ways. Nothing,
nothing is exempted from that statement that John was caused
to write here about the Lord God Almighty. Just and true are
all his ways. And when all the dead in this
world and dead in sin stand before him, and he pronounces eternal
judgment upon them. I was sent an article. And it
happened to be about hell. And I don't do a lot of reading
about hell. But this was the hell of hell. And I read it and I said, you
know, he's right. You know what the hell of hell
is? Eternity. Eternal judgment. Now, people that commit crimes,
they like to hear this. 20 years with the possibility of
parole in 10, there's always a little hope. Now, they don't
like to hear no possibility of parole. But when it comes to
this judgment, there will not be mercy of any kind. The worst part is the eternality
of it. There will be no parole. The world provides parole. They call it purgatory. You get
enough, and then you're set free. It's not in the book. And yet,
just and true are all His ways. Turn with me, if you would, here
in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 16. Revelation chapter
16. We will not and we cannot argue
with God about His way. Just and true are His way. His
way is justice. His way is truth. There is no
getting around it. And we will not argue with God.
We will not argue with His word. We will not argue with His truth.
In Revelation chapter 16, verses 5, 6, and 7, and I heard the
angel of the water say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which
art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged us.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou
hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. And I heard
another out of the altar say, even so, Lord God Almighty, true
and righteous are thy judgments. And when God judges, true and
righteous is his judgment. He does not judge outside of
those boundaries. He judges righteous judgment,
and he deals with the truth only, and he is able to know the hearts
of those he judges. That's one thing a judge can't
tell, but he knows the hearts. In the book of Revelation chapter
19, verse 2, Chapter 19 in verse 2, the word says, for true and
righteous are his judgments. For he hath judged the great
whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and
hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. I wonder
how many of our family will be judged in this judgment. Religion. God has been merciful to take
us out of religion and to show us Christ. But this judgment
will judge those who are near kin to us, who are friends of
ours. And yet, God said, my judgment
is true. It's unalterable. It changes
not. Just as secure as the church
is, is his word concerning judgment. And just and true are his ways.
God's people will only praise him for his justice and his truth. Now, we go back to the cross,
and we thank God that it's already been meted out. Justice and truth
was meted out at the cross. Jesus Christ, the righteous judge,
has already tasted death for every one of his children. He
has tasted the second death for every one of his children. What
God purposes here in the book of Revelation with regard to
death and hell, giving up and being cast into the lake of fire,
our Savior has already been there. He has already suffered eternal
death on the behalf of his people. In a short time, it was compressed
for him. Being God, he could do that.
He did not need to suffer for eternity. It was compressed. I don't know how they can put
300 messages on a little disc like this. All I know is they
compress it. And in some way, in God's eternal
everlasting purpose, he compressed eternity on his son in the space
of three hours. And he let it all go. And the
son said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? For that
space of three hours, all the compressed justice of God was
meted out that all that are without Christ will pay for for eternity.
Eternity. That's the hell of hell. Turn
with me back to the Psalms. I was looking at this tonight
and this afternoon and I thought, you know, I ought to highlight
every verse in the psalm that we use in reference to other
books. And I imagine by the end of our
studies, we'd have the psalms almost all yellow. We just go
there so often. I've just noticed it so much
since we've been looking at the psalms. Look with me in Psalm
105. Psalm 105. Psalm 105, excuse me, Psalm 100,
verse five. Psalm 100, verse five. For the Lord is good, his mercy
is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. Not one generation has not known
his truth. All generations have. And out
of every generation, he has called a people for himself. And out
of every generation, he has let some go. But just and true are
all his ways. He has been right in what he
has done. He is the Lord God Almighty, and he can make the
hard calls. He is not impressed. by anything that we're impressed
by. We just sometimes, we just want
somebody else to make the decision. But God is not withheld from
making the hard calls. He will do what is just and right
every time. And it was right to send his
son to the cross. And it was right to pour out
his righteous indignation and justice upon him. And in that,
he can spare his children from eternal death. But it just is
right for him to pour out his righteous indignation on all
those without Christ. And as we finish this book, as
we go through the remainder of these chapters, we're going to
be faced more and more with God's judgment upon this world and
upon people and the final judgment. And let's keep in mind these
passages. This is the song of Moses and
the lamb. And marvelous, marvelous are
thy works. Thou, Lord God Almighty, just
and right are thy ways, King of saints. Turn with me just
a little further, Psalm 145. Psalm 145 and verse 17. Again, we read how right God
is, how righteous he is, how holy he is, and how his word
stands the test. Nothing will overcome his word.
Nothing can stop his way, his purpose. We may want to take
out an event, but God will not. It is there, just like every,
I don't know about you, but I tore apart my grandfather's pocket
watch one time. There's a lot of little parts
in there and I had them all out. Well, guess what? They never
got put back together. But every one of them was important. It
made the pocket watch run. Every event is in the purpose
of God important. It looks seemingly unimportant
to us. But to God's way of doing His
will, it is absolutely essential, and it will not be removed, even
though it strikes close. It will not be changed. We never pray to change God's
will. We pray, oh God, make us conform. Make us conform to your will.
Make us happy with your will. Make us pleased with your will.
Make us to sit down with you at your will. Don't make us understand
it, because we won't. But make us to be pleased with
your will, settled with your will, and not argue with it. but to be at rest. You work all
things after the counsel of your own will. Psalm 145 and verse
17, it says, the Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all
his works. He just, he is at oneness. That word holy is oneness. He
has his own counsel and he will perform it. He is at oneness
with himself. Holy, holy. There's no God like this God. There's no God like the God,
the Lord God Almighty, and His ways reflect His Lord God Almightiness. His ways reflect just and true
are all my ways. We're dust in the balance at
times, but just and true are all His ways. He has his way
among all the fishes of the sea. I can't help but think of that
time that little fish came up there with a gold coin in his
mouth. Or a great fish was provided for Jonah. Or a donkey was provided
for Balaam. I wonder how many donkeys he
had to choose from, and that one God used to speak to him. But just and true are all your
ways. He come out with a crippled foot. That donkey laid down on
him, spoke to him. And all he wanted to do was curse
Israel and could not. Just and true are all your ways.
That list of Paul, the number of times he was beaten, the number
of times he was shipwrecked. But just and true are all your
ways. And he said this is just a slight
thing, just a small thing to endure. for the glory of God,
just a small thing, all right? It says, turn with me if you
would to the book of Hosea, Hosea chapter 14. As we look at this,
just and true are thy ways. Redemption is just the only way. It's God's way, and just and
true is His way. There's only redemption in one,
and it's no wonder the Lord Jesus said it's a narrow way. Most
people want to overlook it, argue with it, find fault with it,
everything else. We have every emotion of natural
man is against God's purpose of grace. I hate it. I despise it. I don't believe
it. It's a lie. Yet God said, just
and true are my ways. And the only way that we'll ever
recognize that is when he gives us the new birth. And we see
it just a bit as he has always seen it. And we'll not argue
with it. Hosea. Hosea chapter 14. Verse 9, who is wise? Hosea chapter 14 verse 9, who
is wise? And he shall understand these
things, prudent, and he shall know them. I'm sorry, I'm reading
this incorrectly. I'm making a statement out of
it and not a question. Who is the wise, and he shall
understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right, and just shall walk in
them. But the transgressors shall fall
therein, and the just shall walk in them. Now, I don't know how
God's people do that, but God's people walk therein. I'm thankful for God providing
that. Thankful for God providing us a way to walk therein. We don't know how to pray as
we ought, but he supplies that. We don't know how to walk, but
he takes care of it. We don't know how to admire him like we
should, but the Holy Spirit takes care of that for us. And just
and true are his ways. Finally, Jeremiah. Would you
turn with Jeremiah chapter 23? Jeremiah chapter 23. The song of Moses and the song
of the Lamb is great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints. Notice here in Jeremiah 23 and
verse 26. Excuse me, verse six. Jeremiah 23 and verse six. In
his days, Judah shall be saved. And we say hallelujah. In his days Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell in safety. And this is the name whereby
he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. right in all his ways. He is
just in all his ways. He is true in all his ways. His ways are past finding out,
but he's still just and true in all his ways. And so as we
move through the book and we come to those tremendously hard
statements of justice and judgment, judgment against our friends,
judgment against our neighbors, judgment against our family,
judgment against our loved ones. We will say, just and true are
thy ways, O King of Saints. You did what you had to do.