Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Time would fail us to tell of
the mighty deeds done by David in the power of the Lord, as
he slew bears, lions, and even an uncircumcised Philistine giant,
who dared to besmirch the honor of the God of Israel. This is
the same man who wrote the majority of the Psalms, the one who said,
I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house
of the Lord. And also, for a day in thy courts
is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God than to dwell in tents of wickedness.
The Lord himself testified that David was a man after his own
heart. Who could ever doubt David's sincerity or question his integrity
as a man of God? Was he not even of the same sort
of pedigree that Paul confessed was his own when he said, though
I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more. Circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel of
the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the
law of Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting
the church. touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless.
Who could forget the righteousness of Job, who did not so much as
sin with his lips before the Lord? Yet Job was brought low
before the Lord, and ultimately stripped of any confidence he
might ever have had in himself, and taught his utter barrenness
in the presence of the living God. So also was Peter, whose
bravery in faith was legendary among the disciples, stripped
of all confidence in himself when the words of Christ rang
in his ears as the dawn broke and the cock crowed. Paul was
delivered to the exact same place on the road to Damascus. David
is brought face to face with his own traitorous wickedness
in his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and his subsequent
murder of her husband Uriah. The Lord then sent the prophet
Nathan to thunder out the chilling indictment, Thou art the man.
I don't know exactly how long it took, but shortly afterwards
David was moved to pen the words of the 51st Psalm. Therein he
captured the experience that every one of God's little children
must in time become acquainted with. All of those who have ever
undergone the hard work of the Holy Ghost are stripped, or are
presently being stripped, of any confidence that they could
possibly have in themselves. The universal knowledge of all
of those who have been by the operation of His grace brought
out of darkness and into the light is that His imputed righteousness
alone is the only basis upon which they might have confidence
to approach the throne of God and find a place of acceptance
there. On the one hand, we can say with the apostle, we have
no confidence in the flesh. Yet his work in us makes us quite
aware that the same flesh under whose dominion we were born is
still determined to assert and reestablish its place of dominion.
The only power that can keep it at bay is the work of him
who has begun a good work in us and has promised to perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. He is pleased to teach us how
weak we are, and how devilish our flesh is by reminding us
of sin's presence, and how prone we are to its siren call apart
from His grace. Yet there is no shortage of preachers
in the present age, or in the past for that matter, who tell
men that they have within themselves the power not to sin. Bookstores
are filled with books whose message is that of instructing men how
to overcome sin and live a victorious life. Some even tell us that
they have achieved it. Yet those whom the Holy Ghost
instructs agree with the Apostle John when he said, If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. They are convinced that an outward conformity to a moral
law or some religious code, however ancient or firmly established,
is not a place that a man can rest and find comfort. Job, a
man whom God called righteous compared to men, was yet brought
to a place where he said, Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in
dust and ashes. David discovered the wickedness
of his own heart and was made to confess thou desire's truth
in the inward parts. The Hebrew word, which is translated
inward parts, is very interesting. It literally means an overlaying
or that which is covered. I am reminded here that all of
the righteousness which the children of God have before the Father
is that in which they are covered or hidden by the righteousness
of Christ. Our only acceptance before the Lord is the imputed
righteousness of Christ. All other expectations of acceptance
are but refuse before him. The Spirit teaches the children
of God the same thing as Paul testified. Yea, doubtless, and
I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things and do count them but done, that I may win Christ
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith. What is your righteousness? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.