Psalm 101 today. I was thinking there as Brother
Al was speaking of Balaam. Balaam was a man that came to
recognize that man's free will was not worth a whole lot. He confessed of the absolute
sovereignty of God. But the difference between what
Balaam confessed and what true faith and love for Christ expresses
is, Balaam knew that God's will would be done in the earth as
well as the heavens. Just like the devil himself knows
that to be a fact, as he's seen it demonstrated time and time
again, but he did not love it. And that was the thing about
Balaam. I mean, he knew that he couldn't bless or he couldn't
curse Israel, but he didn't love the fact that he couldn't curse
Israel. He wanted to curse Israel. He
had within his heart to curse Israel, but he couldn't do any
different. And such is, you know, just because a man says he believes
God's sovereign doesn't mean a whole lot. But if he loves
the fact that God's sovereign, that means something. Because
only the Lord can cause a man to delight in the will of God
being done in the earth. Because that's what the Lord
told us to pray, was it not? Thy will be done in the earth
as it is in the heavens. That's the desire of the people
of God, is to see the will of God done. And so that's one of
the elements of a false prophet is not so much that he might
not say the things that those who speak the truth say, but
that he does not desire. That's what the scripture says,
they receive not a love of the truth. that they might be saved. It wasn't that they didn't receive
the truth. It wasn't that they didn't know what the truth was.
See, just knowing the truth is not of any use whatsoever. We desire that the Lord will
give us a love for the truth, because therein is found the
work of the Spirit of God in the hearts of His people. Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power. You know, all
men are gonna be willing. I mean, Judas was willing to
do what he did, was he not? I mean, all men are willing to
do what... Everything man does, he does because he wills to do
it. A man can't say, well, I didn't mean to do it. Well, he might
not have done it if he'd have thought about it long enough.
He might have done different, but he did do what he did because
he wanted to do it. He willed to do it at the moment
in time in which He did. And only by the grace of God
can He cause us to love the way of God and to delight in His
will. Now in Psalm 101, this is a Psalm
of David. And it says, I will sing of mercy
and judgment. Unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in
a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me?
I will walk within mine house with a perfect heart. I will
set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them
that turn aside. It shall not cleave to me. A
froward heart shall depart from me. I will not know a wicked
person. Whoso privily slandereth his
neighbor, him will I cut off. Him that hath an high look and
a proud heart will I not suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful
of the land that they may dwell with me. He that walketh in In
a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall
not dwell within my house. He that telleth lies shall not
tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the
wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from
the city of the Lord. Now, no doubt David, speaks here
of his own experience in a measure, and in his understanding, he
speaks of his own experience. But yet, again, as I believe
all of the Psalms, these are indeed, this is descriptive of
Christ. These are the words of Christ
as he speaks as that perfect man, because in him really is
all of these things met, and none of them are not complete
in their fulfillment. Any time that a man should come
and say the things that are said in this psalm, he has to equivocate
a little bit, and he has to do so in a measured way. He can't say that wholeheartedly,
because we know, if we know anything about our own heart, that there's
many things said in this psalm that wouldn't apply to us completely.
Now, as Paul said, these things we desire to do because the Spirit
of God puts in it, but we find within our heart that which we
don't do, even though we do desire to do it. A desire to do the
will of God is a good thing. I hope to have a desire to do
the will of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ not
only had a will and a desire to do the will of God, but he
did the will of God. And so that is the place to which
the Lord has called us and to which we aspire, but only Christ
has ever done that. That is, done the will of God
perfectly, done the will of God completely without any equivocation. Now when you look at the life
of Jesus Christ, you don't have to say but, because all the things
that Christ did, He did completely and fully and perfectly. And
so He begins by saying, I will sing of mercy and judgment unto
thee, O Lord, will I sing. Now you know those two things,
seem not to necessarily coincide with one another, but yet they
are met together in Christ, mercy and judgment. Because you know,
when a man comes to the place of judgment, he desires mercy,
but judgment, the place of judgment is not a place of mercy. There's
no mercy in the law. There's no mercy in the judgment
of God. But the mercy, there is mercy
with the Lord as we read in the Scripture. Otherwise we would
have no hope whatsoever. But the Lord doesn't lay aside
His judgment in order to show mercy, but He fulfills the judgment
in order that the judgment might be true as well as the mercy. Because the mercy is that which
moved Christ to come into the world to die in our behalf. But brethren, it is the judgment
of God that causes that which Christ has done to be applied
to us. Because you see, in mercy the
Lord chose us. In mercy the Lord saved us. but in His judgment is the basis
upon which we stand with Him. See, this isn't done on whim.
Jesus Christ paid the price for the sins of His people, and the
judgment of God demands that if those sins be paid for, then
those whose sins are paid for must go free, because there's
nothing that the law has that can condemn them. That's why
Paul said, there's therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ. See, there's none. There cannot
be any. Why? Because Christ has satisfied
that. So I will sing of mercy. I will
sing of mercy, but I will also sing of judgment. And as we come
this morning to remember the Lord's death until He comes again,
we remember mercy and judgment. Because we see both demonstrated
here. Judgment upon the Son of God,
but mercy to the children of God. Oh, what a glorious thing. unto thee, O Lord, will I sing."
Now, who has designed such a thing? Who could have thought up such
a thing? I mean, there's nothing that seems more, I guess, out
of place or ridiculous to the men of this world than the cross
of Jesus Christ. That's why Paul said this is
an offense unto the world. You know, men want to have something
that they can bring before God. They want to present something
to God, just like Cain. He wanted to present something
to God. He wanted God to see what he
had done with the labor of his hands. But there is nothing,
nothing in my hand I bring, as the top lady said in the psalm.
simply to Thy cross I cling, naked come to Thee for dress,
helpless look to Thee for grace, foul I to the fountain fly, wash
me, Savior, or I die. But we will sing unto Thee, O
Lord, because He alone is the one who provides these things.
I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when wilt
thou come unto me? I will walk within mine house
with a perfect heart. And who else but Christ? Could
indeed do that or has done that. He said, I'll behave myself wisely. Oh, how foolish we are. See,
nothing that Christ ever did you could say was foolish. But
we look at our own life, I look at the things I've done and attempted
in my life and I think how foolish. What silliness has gripped my
mind? Why on earth would I do that? It's like a moth that flies around
a candle. And he just flies and gets a
little closer all the time until he gets too close. And the fire
burns his wings off and then he crashes to the earth. And
that's the way that men are by nature. We're silly, we're foolish. We have no perfect way before
the Lord. But the Lord said, I will behave
myself perfectly or wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when wilt
thou come unto me? Now we would foolishly say, oh
Lord, when will you come and visit us? Why should he? But
the Lord Jesus Christ, when he said, my God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? I mean, he had a, in that sense,
he had the right to say that, did he not? Because he had walked
perfectly before the Lord. Yet he understood that willingly
he gave himself up to this. And yet the anguish of it was
no less than that of a man who had no fault before God. And he cried out, oh God, why
hast thou forsaken me? I've walked perfectly before
thee. But yet, because of the fact
that he took upon himself our sin, and he understood the weight
of that sin in our behalf. And he knew he was forsaken,
even as we would be, if it was not that he had done so in our
behalf. Oh, when wilt thou come to me?
Because you see, that's his desire, is to come unto the Lord and
the Lord to come unto him, to visit him, to fellowship with
him. I will walk within my house with
a perfect heart. You know, that's the mark of
the truth of God being put within a man's when he walks within
his house with a perfect heart. Because you know, when nobody
sees us, when we're out of the glaring lights of other men looking
upon us, what is it that we, what is in our secret thoughts?
In those things wherein men with prying eyes do not see. The Lord
Jesus Christ, neither was guile found in his mouth. There was
no deceit within him. What you see is what you get.
Now that's not always true with us, is it? I mean, how often
we put on a front for somebody else to see. And we want somebody
to look on us, not as we are, but as we want them to think
that we are. That's what religion is, you
see. It is that which men adopt because they want men to see
them in that light. They're religious men. They're
good men. They're upright men. That's how men like to be seen,
is it not? The Lord Jesus Christ, He said,
I walk within my house with a perfect heart. There won't be any shadow
of turning with me. I will set no wicked thing before
mine eyes. I hate the work of them that
turn aside, it shall not cleave unto me. Those that turn back,
the Lord said if a man puts his hand to the plow and looking
back, he is not fit for the kingdom of God. That is turning aside,
that he doesn't have singleness of purpose. But he's looking
to the right and to the left. Now anybody that's ever plowed
knows what that means. that if you put your hand to
the plow and you start looking back, pretty soon you're going
to be out of the row. I mean, you know, you can go
by a field where somebody that wasn't paying attention to what
they're doing was, and the rows will be crooked. But you know,
when a man's eye is single, then the row will be straight. When
he has one object in view and he goes to that object, and he
doesn't go to the right or doesn't go to the left, And so the Lord
said that I hate the work of them that turn aside, that is,
that turn away, that do not perfectly walk in the way of the Lord.
He said, it shall not cleave to me, that is, that's not the
way that I am. Now, oh, that's our desire, is
it not? But the Lord Jesus Christ is
that example who set forth the fact that he did not turn to
the right or to the left, but the scripture says that for the
joy that was set before him. In other words, he had that object
in view, the redemption of his people. That's why He went to
the cross, was in order to pay the price for their sin and for
the joy. You see, He endured the cross. The cross was not a good thing
in so far as what men understand to be. He didn't enjoy the cross. The scripture says He endured
the shame. He endured the cross. It was
a thing that was painful and the anguish and heartache of
being separated from God because of the fact that he was hung
on a tree. What does the scripture say? Cursed is everyone that
hangs on a tree. And that's the place that he
was in our behalf. But for the joy that was set
before him because that thing was set out there and his mind
and heart was not turned aside. A froward heart shall depart
from me, I will not know a wicked person. Now, froward heart, froward
is a word we don't use much, but it means perfect. I mean,
it means perverted. It means that which is not pure. And he says, a froward heart
shall depart from me. See, a man who has no desire
for purity is not going to cling unto Christ. I mean, when a man
is seeking out the wickedness of this world, he's not seeking
out Christ. If Christ is not set before him, his mind is not set upon those
things that Christ has spoken of here. A froward heart shall
depart from me. He says, I won't know a wicked
person. I'll put them out of my sight.
Now we think of that for a moment. And the fact that the scripture
says that the Pharisees, the thing that they spoke evil of
Christ was, they said, well he's the friend of sinners and publicans. They said, this man companieth
with sinners and publicans. But you see, when the scripture
says that the Lord says, I will not know a wicked person, it
means He would not love them in the sense that He would embrace
their wickedness. The Lord didn't embrace the wickedness
of the woman taken in adultery that was brought before Him.
He didn't know her in that sense, but He loved her. So the Lord loves a people that
are less than perfect, but he will not know a wicked person
that is a person who thinks themselves to be righteous. See, that's
what a wicked person is before Almighty God, is not a person
who has sin, but is a person who thinks he does not have sin.
See, that's the greatest wickedness that a man can ever express before
Almighty God is to come as the Pharisee did, Lord, I thank Thee
that I'm not as other men. I'm not like this old publican
over here. You see, the Lord didn't know him, but the old
publican that just cried out, oh God, be merciful to me, a
sinner, the Lord did know him, did he not? So what is wickedness
before God? Wickedness before God is not
the things that men in their morality often count as being
wicked, but it is in the regard that a man has unto himself before
Almighty God. If a man thinks himself to be
righteous, then that man is wicked, and the Lord will not. know the
wicked. He will not embrace the wicked.
Why did he accompany with publicans and sinners? Because they knew
themselves to be wicked. I mean, when he met Zacchaeus
on the road and Zacchaeus was up in the tree, why did Zacchaeus
get up in the tree? Because he wanted to see Christ.
Because he knew that he needed something that Christ had. He
didn't know what it was. But the Lord met with him. The
Lord knew Zacchaeus. I don't know if he'd ever met
Zacchaeus, but he said, Zacchaeus! Zacchaeus probably said, well,
how did he know who I was? He said, Zacchaeus, you come
down, for I'm going to your house today. Oh, the Lord doesn't know
the wicked, but He does know sinners, does He not? He said
He came to save sinners. That's a glorious thing. Whoso
privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off. Him that
hath a high look and a proud heart will I not suffer." Again,
that's exactly the same thing that we spoke of there. I mean,
the man with a proud heart, he will not have any time for him.
Pride goeth before a fall. Holy Spirit before destruction.
Because the Lord will not have anything to do with the man who's
proud. Proud Luke, he said he hated.
It was one of the seven things he said that he hated. Who so
slandereth his neighbor? Speaks evil of them. You ever
done that? Oh, how easy it is. to find ourselves
speaking evil of our neighbor even without even thinking about
it. Just by nature. I mean, if our neighbor, you
know, doesn't do something that we think he ought to have done,
and we think in our minds some evil thought toward him, Lord
said he'd cut off such people as that. How are we going to
ever stand before him? I tell you, we couldn't. were
it not that he is that one who has not slandered his neighbor
or thought evil of those. He alone is that one who gives
us a place of standing. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful
of the land, and that they may dwell with me. He that walketh
in a perfect way, he shall serve me. Now, you know, there's only
one way that a man can walk in a perfect way. and that's to
be found in Christ, who walked in a perfect way. And yet the
Lord says here, my eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land.
Are you the faithful? I mean, when you look in the
mirror every morning and you see yourself, say, Matty, I'm
faithful. No, dear brethren, the faithful are those that look
in the mirror every morning and lament the fact that they're
not faithful. Because you see, the world will
never understand this, that those whom the Lord calls and sends
His Spirit to convince them of sin, righteousness, and judgment,
they can't find any of these things within themselves. I mean,
when you look at the Scripture and you see what the Lord demands,
a clean heart and a pure mind, The man has not lifted up his
soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. And when you see that that's
the ones that's going to enter into the presence of the Lord,
and you look at yourself and you say, oh my, woe is me. I can't enter into the presence
of the Lord. But you see, that's not the faithful.
The faithful are not those that go around and think that they
have done all these things, and oh Lord, we're going to serve
you today. And be faithful. No, it's that they know themselves
to be without these things, and their faith has found a resting
place, not in device or creed. It is in the blood of Jesus Christ. You see, therein is our faith. See, faith's not an activity.
People think about faith as being an activity, and there is a measure
in which we can speak of faith as an activity. But faith is
not what somebody does. Faith is that wherein a man relies. See, Christ is our faith. He's that one upon whom we believe. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. He didn't just say, I have believed. He said, Christ is my faith. He is that one upon whom all
my hopes are built. We come here this morning to
remember death until He comes again. Why? Because that is our
faith. We don't have anything else.
I mean, we certainly, when we look at ourselves, we despair
of ever entering into the presence of God. But when we see this,
our faith, is made plain to us, because Christ is our faith. So his eyes shall be upon the
faithful of the land. You see, he sees his people.
You know how A father or mother looks on their child and they
just see them. Everybody's child is a special
child. They're probably going to find
the cure to cancer before they're 20 and they're going to do all
great things. A mother or father looks at his
child and they just see all the wonder. of what they are. Well, that's how Christ sees
His children. He's pleased with His children.
He loves His children. And He says, My children are
faithful because He causes them to be faithful. He causes them
to trust Him. Oh, what a glorious thing. Mine
eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell
with me. What did he say to his disciples?
He says, I'm going away to prepare a place for you, that where I
am, there ye may be also. He delights to dwell with his
people. Christ hath a garden walled around,
chosen and made peculiar ground. a little spot enclosed by grace
out of the world's wide wilderness. That's the place where Christ
is pleased to dwell. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful,
that they may dwell with me. He that worketh deceit shall
not dwell within my house. He that telleth lies shall not
tarry in my sight. You see, the kingdom of God's
about truth. It's not about putting on. The
Pharisees, they like to put on. I mean, if you'd have looked
at the Pharisees or you looked at the publicans and the harlots
and all of these other people out here, and you said, well,
which is the kingdom of God made up of? You said, the Pharisees. I mean, you know, all these religious
people that's going to church every Sunday and doing all these
things, great and mighty works. I mean, those are the righteous
people, are they not? Isn't that what the religions
of the world tell us? These are the good folks. I mean,
these are the folks that's, you know, right in there with the
Lord. Not so. if it be not founded
in truth? Because you see, the Lord desired
truth where? In the inward parts. He said to the woman at the well,
she said, well, which is the best place to worship? Is it
the Baptist church or is it the Methodist church? The Lord said,
woman, you don't know what you're talking about. He said, neither
here nor there. He said, but God would have men
to worship him in spirit and truth. And that's how he causes
his people to worship him, in truth. And the Lord said, he
that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house. There's
nothing that you can fake before God. You can fool me, but you
can't fool God. He knows that we're in fact,
when you read over here, In the book of the Revelation, and I
believe it's around chapter 21, it says, all liars shall be cast
out into the lake of fire. Now, there's not a person in
this room that's not told a lie. You probably told one today.
Of some kind or another, if you didn't lie to somebody else,
you lied to yourself about something. And all liars, He said, shall
be cast away from Him. But grace, thanks be unto God
for His grace, that His grace covers our sin. And He does not
look on those that trust Him as being liars. Why? Because
He's the way, the truth, and the life. And if we'd be found
in Him, dear brethren, we're not a liar because He's the truth. Everything else outside of Him
is not the truth. So, you know, those are the ones
who are cast out of His presence as those who are not found in
the truth. They are liars. Any man who says that you can
arrive at the throne of God through any other means than through
Christ, he is a liar. He is a deceiver. It doesn't
make any difference how good it sounds, how much it makes
a man in the flesh feel like he's accomplished something.
Without Christ, all shall perish. They shall not tarry in his sight.
I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may
cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. The Lord
will make a separation between the sheep and the goats. And
He will cut off the wicked. He comes in flaming fire, taking
vengeance on them that know not God. How can a man know God? He can't. There's only one way in which
the Lord has been pleased to reveal Himself unto men. He walked
among us. as a man born of a woman clothed
in the likeness of sinful flesh. He walked among us. His name
is Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. He is our hope. He is our hope, our expectation. He's the truth which we seek. And any man who stands in any
other thing that he may call the truth and not stand in Christ,
he's a liar and the truth is not in him. May the Lord help
us.