If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in Psalms 107. The 107th Psalm. And I'm gonna
begin reading the last verse. So Psalms 107, verse 43. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things,
even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Now, that's my title, Paul, who
so is wise. Let me tell you this. John Bunyan
wrote this. The fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom. And they that lack the beginning
have neither middle or end. And that's also true. But I gotta
start with verse 43, whoso is wise. First and foremost, let's
get this out of the way because it's more important than anything
else I'll say today. Jesus Christ is wisdom. Jesus
Christ is wise, okay? He is the wise, if you wanna
put it that way. Job wrote of him, wrote of the
Lord. In Job 12 and 13, he wrote this. With him is, and I like that,
is wisdom and strength. He hath counsel and understanding. Now listen folks, it's nowhere
else. He has all wisdom. He has all
but strength. He has all counsel and he has
all understanding. And any wisdom, strength, counsel,
understanding we have come from God. Come from God. All his words
are righteousness. All his words are plain to him
that understands. Proverbs 8, 14 says this, counsel
is mine. These are the words of the Lord.
Counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. Understand,
the Lord Jesus Christ is counsel and is wisdom. He is strength. He's all. He's all. Where it
says, whoso is wise, the only ones that are wise are those
that have been made wise or given wisdom by the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes from God. It comes from
God. Oh, I'm gonna say something.
Wisdom is better, it'll tell you in Proverbs 8. Wisdom is
better than rubies. Wisdom is better than silver
and gold. Oh my. And there is no wisdom
without Jesus Christ. None. Oh. Because here's the understanding.
And this is the understanding of every believer. You may not
have it first, but he'll come to it. I can tell you this right
now. The wisdom of men is not the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14 puts
it this way. But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him. Neither, and here's the thing,
people don't want to understand. They don't like it. Neither can
he. Can he know them? Because they're
spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath
known the mind of the Lord? Now that's a great question.
Paul gives us the answer, folks. He, what? Who hath known the
mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the
mind of Christ as believers. That's those that are called
out by Jesus Christ to himself. Now, that doesn't mean we have
his mind. The word means understanding.
We've been given an understanding. Why? The natural man cannot. Cannot. That's a statement of
inability. And we were all there at one
time. But thank God, thank the Lord
Jesus Christ, I am no longer there. Oh my. Believers have been given the
understanding of Christ. How? Spiritually. Spiritually. It's a spiritual
thing to know of Jesus Christ. To know the truth of Jesus Christ. To know the words of the Father
to the Son through the Holy Spirit. It's a spiritual thing. Christ
has promised that the Holy Spirit would take the things of His
and show them to you. Wait a minute. He does right
here, right in this book, right in this book. These are the words
of Christ from beginning to end. When it said in the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth, I'm gonna tell you, Christ
did that, folks. Christ did that. And when he
divided the light from the darkness, separated the light and the darkness,
Christ did that. And when you get to the last
chapter in Revelations and he says, the lamb is the light thereof. Oh my. It's light from beginning
to end and that light is Jesus Christ. Christ promised to take
the things of himself and show them to the believer. What are
we to do? Well, scripture tells us we're
to read. We're to study, we're to think,
we're to pray, and we're to ponder on the word of God. Study to
show thyself approved, not study to make yourself approved, study
to show it. Charles Spurgeon said, study
the word so that your faith may not stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God. Because Jesus Christ is the wisdom
of God. Jesus Christ is the power of
God. And God has made him, Jesus Christ,
made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. This whoso is wise, that's us. in Christ, and in Christ
alone, but it is us. And what are we to do? Who observes
these things? Who so is wise and will observe
these things? I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. The world cannot. They're not able. They're not
able. The wise observe these things,
and we'll get into these things in a little bit. Now understand,
Jesus Christ observes all things. But it says the wise observe
these things because it is given to them. It is given to believers
to observe some things. Now you understand, if our gospel
be hid, it's hid to them that are blinded. It's hid to the
lost whose minds are blinded. If you know Jesus Christ, you're
no longer lost. You're no longer lost. And I'm
gonna tell you something, if Jesus Christ has come to you,
you are no longer blind. Oh my. And it says where it says
observe these things, I looked at it, the root word in the Hebrew
is to hedge about. To guard. To preserve and protect. These things. And that's what
we're to do. To attend to, to pay attention
to, to perceive. And I'm gonna go ahead and just
say this. I am so tired of the statement
blind faith. You understand? That's what the
world thinks we have. That's what the world thinks
believers have. It's a blind faith. And I've
heard some preachers use it. Listen folks, the one thing that
faith is not, now the faith of God's elect, the faith that he
had made, the author and finisher of faith, his faith is not blind. That's the one thing it's not.
Oh my. Believers see and perceive and
observe things which the world cannot. How do I know that? Christ told
us. Christ told us. Himself. Luke
10 and verse 21. And here it is. In that hour,
Jesus rejoiced in spirit. This made him happy. in spirit,
and he said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that
thou hast hid these things from who? The wise and the prudent,
the worldly wise and the worldly prudent, and hath revealed them
unto babes. Now why would he do something
like that? Even so, Father, for it seemed
good in thy sight. You understand? This would not
be considered good in the world's sight. Oh, you want everybody
to know, you want everybody to see. God doesn't. You understand? Our God is in
the heavens. He's done whatsoever he hath
pleased. This pleased God. It don't please the world. Let
me go further. It don't please religion. They think everybody ought to
get a fair shake. No, no, no, I don't want a fair shake. I
don't know about you folks, but I don't want a fair shake. I
want grace. I want mercy. I want his love. I don't deserve
any of it. And I wouldn't have chose any
of it. It had been up to me. Jesus Christ told his disciples,
you didn't choose me. I chose you, that's right. I like it when God chooses. Without
it, I'm gone. Without it, I'm damned. Oh my,
what does it say? Psalms 34 verse eight. Oh, taste
and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. You wanna know why that man's
blessed? Because he's gotta be blessed by God before he'll ever
trust in him. That's the truth of it. But what'd he say? Taste
and see. See. Listen, folks. We have been given eyes to see,
ears to hear, and a heart to understand. In Proverbs it tells
us the hearing eye, or the hearing ear, excuse me, and the seeing
eye, the Lord's made both of them. And it's the Lord that
circumcises both heart and ears. Oh my. Taste and see that the
Lord is good. Which leads me into what are
these things to be observed? Where he tells us, whoso is wise
and will observe these things. Well, what are these things?
These things I'm gonna do in Psalms 107. I'm gonna try and
be quick with this. But we'll see how it goes. Verse
one, I'm gonna tell you something, folks. The first thing you wanna
see, the first thing you will see is that God is good. God is good. Now, granted, I'm
gonna tell you something, and this is something the world may
not quite grasp hold of. If you can see that God is good,
you're gonna see that you are not. But, oh give thanks unto the
Lord, for he is good. God is good. God is good. Perfectly good. Absolutely good. For his mercy endureth forever. Oh man, I like that. That's the
kind of mercy I need. That's the kind of loving kindness. I need. I've loved thee with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
have I drawn thee. Drawn thee. Oh, that's good stuff. I'm gonna tell you something.
All his works, all of God's works, are yea and amen. Because all
of his works are perfect. Now, I know you'll get the question,
I've had the question, why do good things happen to bad people?
Well, hey, there are no good people. If you know God's good,
you're gonna know there's not good people. There's none good. No, not one. There's none that
understandeth. There's none, what? That seeketh
after God. Oh, my. Matter of fact, Christ
said it himself to a young man. Why callest thou me good? There's
none good but God, but God. Oh my, the Lord is good. And
I'm gonna tell you something, what we perceive to be bad things
are what God has done in his pleasure from the throne. I'm gonna tell you something,
you're not gonna understand everything. but know this, God is good. Oh my. And if you're a believer,
you got even more hope than that. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them that are the what? Called
according to his purpose. Oh my. Psalms 145 and verse nine
says the Lord is good, to all, and his tender mercies are over
all his works. What did he say? Taste and see,
what? What? The Lord is good, and he
is, and greatly to be praised, give thanks. Verse two, second
thing to be observed. The Lord redeems. The Lord redeemed. Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the
enemy. Let me tell you something. God's
people belong to God. He bought them, our Lord Jesus
Christ bought them with his own blood. He owns us. He is the Redeemer. Isaiah 47 verse four put it this
way. As for our Redeemer, the Lord
of hosts is his name. The Holy One of Israel. The Holy One of Israel. Jesus
Christ is the Redeemer. He is our Redeemer and he is
the one, the one, what? in whom we have redemption through
his blood. The forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace. Oh my. Jesus Christ, the Holy
One of Israel, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Son of God,
manifest in the flesh. what has redeemed us through
his blood. By his grace, by his grace. Then we'll look at verse three.
And gathered them out of the lands from the east and from
the west and from the north and from the south. Man, that's something. That sort of sounds like those
people's gonna sit down in the kingdom with Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob, and they're gonna come from the east and the west
and the north and the south. That's everywhere, folks. There
ain't no more directions than east, west, north, and south.
That's all the directions there are. And what? He gathers them. Oh, I like that. Oh, my. old and young, male and female,
bond and free. Ephesians 1 and 10 puts it this
way. That in the dispensation of the
fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ. Both which are in heaven and
which are in earth, even in Him. Oh my. Walter, you quoted this this
morning on the TV. Because Paul quotes Isaiah. One of the boldest, boldest statements
of all. And one of the most gracious
scriptures ever. But Isaias is very bold and saith,
I was found of them that sought me, what? I was made manifest unto them
that asked not after me. There's none that seeketh after
God. Paul knew exactly what he was saying. I'm found of them that sought
me not. What? I was, and here's what,
I was made manifest, made known unto them that asked not after
me. I've told people I wasn't looking
for God when he found me. That's the truth. And if you believe Christ, I'm
gonna tell you something, down deep, you're gonna know he found
you first. You're gonna know it. You may
not wanna admit it, because our pride is something that has to
be dealt with sometimes. We gotta beat it down, and sometimes
God has to beat it down for you. but this is the truth of God.
He makes himself known to those that weren't looking for him.
Isn't that bold? Yeah, that's gospel bold right
there. That's gospel, that's good news. That's good news. If Christ has been made known
to you, you only see him because he found you. Why? He gathers. He gathers. Oh, I like that.
Verse six. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
He's our deliverer. The Lord is our deliverer. And so all Israel shall be saved. Romans 11, verse 26. as it is
written. There shall come out of Zion
the Deliverer. That's Jesus Christ. The Deliverer, and he shall turn
away ungodliness from Jacob. Now he didn't say he was gonna
turn Jacob away from ungodliness, he turned ungodliness away from
Jacob. Because Jacob can't do it, and neither can you. And
you understand, he said Jacob, not Israel. Oh my. I need ungodliness turned away
from me. He's the deliverer. Verse seven. And he led them
forth. And he led them forth. But by
the right way. When Jesus Christ leads, it's
the right way. That's just a fact. That they
may go to a city of habitation. What is it? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, but he leadeth
me. Beside the still waters. He leadeth
me to green pastures. He restores my soul. I'm gonna
tell you something. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. And what'd he say? I lead, they
follow. They follow me. Oh my. Verse nine. Blessed is the man,
oh wait a minute. For he satisfieth the longing
soul and what? filleth the hungry soul with
goodness, with goodness. Excuse me. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causest to approach unto
thee. that he may dwell in thy courts,
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of
the holy temple. Jesus Christ satisfies. And this
is the beautiful thing. He's not only satisfied us, which
is nothing, he satisfied the Father. You can look at that every which
way you want. Jesus Christ satisfies his offering,
his sacrifice of his blood for our redemption was accepted by
the Father. He satisfied the Father's justice. Sin was punished. Blood was shed. His blood was shed for our sins
on that tree And our sins were in his body on that tree. And God is satisfied with the
offering, the sacrifice of the son. And yes, but we're satisfied
with the goodness of Christ. Oh my. Verse 13. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. The Lord Jesus Christ saves. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Luke 19 verse 10, for the Son
of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He was talking to his disciples
and he told them it was easier for a camel to pass through the
eye of the needle than for a rich man to be saved. And they cried
out, they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves,
who then can be saved? Christ told them, Christ told
them. And Jesus looking upon them saith,
with men it is impossible. You mean salvation is impossible
with men. Yes, that's exactly what he meant,
because that's what he said. But not with God. For with God all things are possible. Jesus Christ saves. Jesus Christ
saves. It is the Lord who saves. That
great statement. Salvation is of, from, because
of the Lord. Oh my. The Lord Jesus Christ,
he saves. He saves. Now the last one here
I'm just gonna give you is in verse 38. He blesseth them also. I like that. He blesseth them
also so that they are multiplied greatly and suffereth not their
cattle to decrease. Praise God from whom all blessings
flow. His people. Believers are blessed. And I'll tell you this, whether
they know it or not, certainly whether they feel it or not,
that's the truth. You understand? When we say,
and I read, all things work together for good to them that love God,
what we actually mean by that is all things work together for
good to them that love God. to them that God has bestowed
his love upon. You may not know it. You may
not get it. Now, the nice thing about it,
sometimes I get it later. You understand? Something happens,
I'm not happy with it, but later on, I get to thinking about it
and said, you know, that was actually a good thing for me.
It's good to have been afflicted, okay? But while you're being
afflicted, you're afflicted. And that's not pleasant. No chastening
for the moment is pleasurable. It's grievous. But afterward,
oh, there's the whole point right there. That's the whole definition
of chastening. Chastening is not just punishment.
God's gonna get you for that. No, no, chastening is punishment
with correction. You get to see, you know, I shouldn't
have been there to start with. I shouldn't have been doing that
to start with. And God help me, don't let me
do that again. Chastening yields the peaceable
fruit of righteousness. Or it's not God's chastening.
It's just the consequences of your own sin. Oh, but he's in
charge of that too. and all things work together
for good. Oh well. He blesses his people. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, the two greatest
words in the Bible, in Christ. In Christ. We have all blessings. Believers have all blessings
in Christ, whether we know it or not. And then this last statement.
Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall
understand, what? The loving kindness of the Lord. Believers understand a little
bit. Loving kindness, loving kindness. Because let me tell you something,
folks. The Lord's loving kindness His mercy is forever. You see
in verse one, where it says, oh give thanks to the Lord for
he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. That word mercy is the
exact same Hebrew word as loving kindness here in verse 43. His
mercy is loving kindness. His loving kindness is mercy. Therefore, in loving kindness,
have I drawn thee. Oh, you understand folks, if
he draws thee, he'll never push you away. His loving kindness
is forever. His mercy is forever. Oh my. Understand, who the Lord loves, he is good
to them. Not just he is good, he's good
to them. To them. He redeems them, he
gathers them, he delivers them, he leads them, he satisfies them,
he saves them. He heals them. And he blesses
them. He blesses them. Oh my. And you understand, folks, the
redeemed not only get to observe this, folks, they get to observe
it, they get to see it. They get to perceive it. But
here, let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. We get to talk about it. We are
to talk about him. We are to tell others about him.
We're to tell each other about him. Oh my. Who is wise, whoso is wise, Jesus
Christ is wisdom and is wise. And those in Christ know Christ
Jesus. The wisdom of God. and the power
of God. And those in Christ understand
the mercy, the loving kindness of the Lord. They've been given
to know the things of the Spirit of God. You understand, the world
doesn't know. The world cannot know, period. That's what it says. The world
cannot know. But I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. The scripture are clear. God does all these things for
his people. God always has done these things
for his people, and God shall always do. Because you understand,
God doesn't change his mind about his people. I am the Lord, I
change not. What else? Because I change not,
he changes not. You sons of Jacob are not consumed. Because right now, in myself
and you, in yourself, you deserve to be consumed. I deserve to
be consumed. Oh my, you understand? But the
Lord has pushed ungodliness away from me. and away from you. How? In Christ. In Christ. What? He is made unto
us godliness and righteousness. When God looks at his people,
he sees his son, he don't see you. Oh, that's good news. That's good news. He redeems. He gathers, he delivers, he leads,
he's satisfied, he saves, he blesses. And I'm gonna tell you
something, folks. The glorious thing about this,
there's a lot of stuff here in Psalms 107. I'm barely skimming the surface.
But I'm gonna tell you something, folks. This ain't all there is.
This is one Psalm out of 150. And Psalms is one book out of
66. And I'm gonna tell you something,
even with this whole book from beginning to end, the half has
never yet been told of Jesus Christ. Oh my. It barely scratches the
surface, and our understanding of it is so limited. But you
understand, everything about God is good, Here's the other
thing, everything about God is glorious. He is glorified in the saving
of his people through his son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my. John Newton wrote this, that
song Walter read, that's why I sent it to him, in him. In him, in Christ, a holiness
complete. Light and perfection shine. And wisdom, grace, and glory
meet a Savior all divine. He is our Lord and our Savior. And he has done it all. for his
people, and we reap the benefits. We're given the benefits, we
don't even have to reap them. We're given the benefits of his life, his death, his resurrection,
and his acceptance before the Father. And he ever liveth to
make intercession for us, for us. I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. Whoso is wise sees him. Yeah, believes him. I'm gonna
tell you something. If you see him, you'll believe
him. People say, I don't believe that.
Yep, you ain't seen it. And I'm not asking you to be
blind of faith. I'm telling you, look to Christ. Look to Christ. If you're heavy
and laden, come to Christ. If you fear, come to Christ. Oh, he can give you rest for
your soul. He's good. Heavenly Father, thank
you, Lord, for all the blessings, the freedom we have in our Lord
Jesus Christ. freedom from sin, freedom from
the law, freedom from religion, Lord, in you. Our Lord, Father, you've given
us all things in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Be with Paul
and Walter as they come to preach your word. Be with others where
they stand to proclaim forth the good news that Jesus Christ
is Lord. to the glory of the Father. In Christ's name we pray, amen.