Psalm 62, to the chief musician,
to Juduthon, a Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God,
from Him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation,
He is my defense, I shall not be greatly moved. How long will
ye imagine mischief against a man? Ye shall be slain, all of you,
as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. They
only consult to cast him down from his excellency. They delight
in lies, they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly,
say, La. My soul, wait thou only upon
God, for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my
salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. In God is my salvation and my
glory. The rock of my strength and my
refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, ye
people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah. Surely men of low degree
are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie. to be laid in the
balance. They are altogether lighter than
vanity. Trust not in oppression and become
not vain in robbery. If riches increase, set not your
heart upon them. God has spoken once, twice have
I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Also unto thee, O Lord,
belongeth mercy, for thou renderest to every man according to his
work. Now this of course continues
the prayers of Christ and David was the one who was given grace
to write them but those things that David wrote though he experienced
them himself Yet, the greater understanding that we have of
the Psalms is that these are those things which Christ Himself,
as He walked among men, as a man, taking upon Himself the likeness
of sinful flesh and for sin, did undertake. And there is no
temptation or trouble or place of anxiety or sorrow that has
ever come upon men that has not come upon the Lord Jesus Christ
as He walked among men. He was tempted in all points
like as we are yet without sin. Now what a glorious thing it
is when we read in the Scripture of the man who shall be able
to enter into the presence of God, he that hath clean hands
and a pure heart. Now some people look at their
self and they say, well that's me. They're not going to enter in.
Because there's only one man of whom it can be said, and of
whom the scripture plainly speaks, who had clean hands and a pure
heart. Who had not lifted up his soul
unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully. that is the Lord Jesus Christ
and so he is that one today to whom we look even as he as he
prayed as a man truly my soul waiteth upon God from him cometh
my salvation now him being God and walking among men humbling
himself his dependence was upon the Father. These things cannot adequately
be entered into an understanding of by men. Every time I read
a book or someone's thoughts on trying to explain the nuances
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I walk away more puzzled when
I'm finished reading it than I do to start, because these
things are not meant to be completely understood. I can't comprehend
it. It's too high for me. You know, how that Jesus Christ,
being God, a very God, who could say to Philip, when Philip said,
show us the Father, he could say, Philip, if I've been so
long time with you, and thou hast not known me, he that hath
seen me hath seen the Father. Now, that's beyond the comprehension
of men how that can be. It's beyond the comprehension
of men how that this One who made the earth with His hands,
spoke all things into being according to the good pleasure of His will,
could say, truly my soul waiteth upon God. But yet as a perfect
man He did. And that from the Lord cometh
His salvation. from His deliverance. He only
is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be greatly moved. When Satan came and tempted Him,
what did he do? He quoted to Him the Word of
God. He said, He is my defense. I
shall not be greatly moved. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God. And he is speaking to Satan who
he put in that place to tempt him. Now some people think Satan
just kind of come along, they kind of don't know where he came
from. Well, we know where he came from. He came from the hand
of God. God made him according to the
good pleasures of his will to perform his purpose. He's a wicked
creature. And the scripture says that he
shall be destroyed. And so indeed, he speaks to this
One whom He created and He said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be greatly moved and He was not. How long will you imagine mischief
against a man? And now, He speaks here He often spoke to the Pharisees
when he called them vipers. He said, You are of your father
the devil. He spoke to them plainly. How long will ye imagine mischief
against a man? You see from the very beginning
they said we've got to do something about this one here because he's
not like us. They knew he wasn't like them.
They said, we've got to do something about this. We've got to get
rid of him. Because if we let him keep going on, he's going
to mess up the whole thing for us. because they hated the way
of God in their heart, though they loved it to be seen of men. And such is the way of the religious
man, such is the way of our religious flesh. We love to be seen of
men. We like men to pat us on the
back and say, you're doing a good job, I was really, that was nice,
you know. Every preacher that ever preached
likes to have people come up and pat them on the back and
say, you did a good job. But the older I get, the more
I hate the thought of people coming
up to me and saying such a thing, because I know they ain't worth
a lick of truth in it. You know, just give glory to
God. I mean, if God blesses you, it
isn't because of somebody. It's because the Lord blessed
you. And only He's worthy of the praise. But he says, how long will you
imagine mischief against a man? What man? The Lord Jesus Christ. How long will you imagine this
mischief against me? What was their mischief? They
were deceitful and they were going about in many different
ways of deceit to entrap him. They thought they could. He said,
ye shall be slain, all of you. That's pretty plain. you shall
be slain. As a bowing wall shall you be.
Now Ed knows a little bit about a bowing wall. Sometimes, you
know, when you, and I'm not gonna get into his business or accuse
him of anything, but sometimes when you're laying bricks or
something, if the bricks are too wet or whatever, you're gonna
have a bowing wall. And what happens is, It won't
stand up there very long. It'll fall down. So you might
as well go ahead and take it down. He says to these men who
saw mischief against him, you're as a bowling ball. He says, you're
not going to stand. You're not going to finish the
building. It's going to fall down. There's a tottering fence.
You know, as a kid growing up, we used to have fences and cows
and hogs. I used to wonder, why on earth
can't we have a fence that'll keep the hogs in? Because we
had a bunch of tottering fences. They had old ladder posts, and
they'd last a long time, but after a while, right down at
the ground, they'd rot off, and it would become a tottering fence,
and an old bull hog or something, he'd come up there, and he'd
root up against it, and down it would go, and then the hog
was out. And so that, he said, that's how people are. He says
those that would come against the Lord, against the way of
God, against the people of God, he said, they're as a tottering
fence. Now there's only one thing you can do with a tottering fence.
And that's that you just got to redo it. I mean, you can't
fix it. You know, you got to just get
back up. You can stick something up there
and try to fix it, but after a while, it'll be back in the
same shape, a tottering fence. But that is the way of those
who would come against the Lord. They only consult to cast Him
down from His excellency. They hated the glory that was
in Jesus Christ because they hated the glory of God. See,
men love to go about their religious ways, but they don't like for
God just to get all the glory. They want to have some of it.
You know, they want to look at something they've done and say,
you know, oh, well, we did this. We sent these missionaries over
here, or we built this building to the glory of God. I mean,
we want something that men can see. Well, we had this, and we
had that, and we did this, and we did that. If you don't believe
it, you just look. You can see what we've done.
But you see, all of those things, while they may be good things,
I don't ever want you to think that I think that all these things
are necessarily evil. They're not evil. The things
that men do in the name of God are not evil per se unless they
do it with some thought to any glory being given to any but
Him who brought it to pass. You know, the excellency. You
consult to cast him down from his excellency. They delight
in lies, didn't they not? I mean, they paid witnesses to
come and testify of things that the Lord Jesus, they said that
he did, they said that he said. Things that he never did, things
that he never said. But they bore false witness against
him. They took delight in lies. They bless with their mouth,
they curse inwardly. They said one thing on the outside
because, you see, they feared the people. They didn't want
to just come right out at the beginning and curse this man
just like they didn't want to when the Lord asked them about
the baptism of John. They said, well, we can't tell
where the baptism of John comes from because they feared the
people. They knew that if they said, well, it comes from God,
then the Lord said, well, why didn't you believe him? They
knew that that would be the thing. And yet they wouldn't come out
and condemn him because they knew that the people liked John
and liked the things he was saying or believed he was a prophet
sent from God. But they curse him inside. They didn't care anymore about
any of these things. Their mind and soul was taken
up. And such is often. The way of
the religious flesh of man is that it makes an outward show,
but inside it doesn't have any desire after these things. My
soul wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. All that we expect, we expect
to receive from the Lord. If we have expectations of anything
else, then we've misplaced our expectations. If we expect the Lord to commend
us for something we've done, then we're sadly mistaken. Now
the scripture does say, the Lord will say, To his people, well
done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the
joy of the Lord. But you know what the children of God will
say? Well, Lord, when did we do anything worth doing? But
religious men, they'll say, well, Lord, when didn't we do these
things? We did all these things. He is our expectation. He only
is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. And God is my salvation and my
glory, the rock of my strength. And my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, ye
people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. That word refuge is used quite
a few times here. And a refuge is just a place
of hiding. It is a place, a covert from
the wind. It's a place where you can get
when the storm comes. And it is a place of covering. Surely men of low degree are
vanity. Everybody would agree with that,
wouldn't they? I'm all sorry, no counts. I mean, you know,
you see an old bum that's beside the road and he's got a sign
up, we'll work for food, and you know he won't work for food.
But he's out there and you think in your mind, well, that's sorry,
no count. And you say, surely men of such low degree, they're
just empty. There's nothing to them. Everybody
agrees with that. But then he says, in contrast,
that, and men of high degree are a lie. Because the men that
think they're any different than the bum that stands by the side
of the road, they're just fooling themselves. Men of high degree,
oh, I'd never be like that. Well, you wouldn't be unless
the Lord brought you to that place. But for the grace of God,
they're going to lie. I mean, who maketh thee differ
from another? The Lord alone. Men of high degree are a lie
to be laid in the balance. They are all together lighter
than vanity. All of them. He said put them all in a big
pot. Stir them up and they are all the same thing. You can put
them on this side of the balance or you can put them on that side
of the balance and they are always going to be lighter than air.
There is nothing to them. They have no basis. Men have
nothing in themselves which they can hold out before the God.
They're altogether lighter than vanity. Now, you remember Solomon
said, vanity of vanity is all is vanity. And I've often heard
men say, oh, well, you know, that was a very negative view.
Solomon thought negatively. You shouldn't think negatively.
Think positively. We hear that all the time. I
get sick of it sometimes. And I believe in thinking positively. I think you should think positively,
but I don't need people telling me that that's the key to my
problems, is to think positively. Because that's not the key to
your problems. Most men think far too positively than they
should. Oh, that the Lord would give
me a negative thoughts. cause them to see what they are
by nature. And then they would say, oh,
woe is me. And you know, when the old publican
was down there on his knees in the temple, he didn't need a
smiling preacher to come pat him on the back and say, son,
what you need is just to think more highly of yourself. No,
he needed somebody to tell him about the Lord. He needed the
mercy of God. See, he didn't need all of the
things that men could bring to him, he needed the only thing
that the Lord could bring to him. Trust not in oppression, and
become not vain in robbery, if riches increase, set not your
heart upon them. I thought a little about this. Trust not in oppression, and
become not vain in robbery. The concept of merchandise, that's
not a good word, the concept of, what am I thinking, what's the
term, I can't think of the term I'm thinking of, but anyway,
the business world, the way things go, is buy low and sell high. I mean, that's the whole, crux
of the matter. I mean anybody that's in business
that doesn't buy low and sell high will not be in business
very long. But there is a just weight and
balance and there's an unjust. And that's what he's talking
about here. And he says trust not in oppression. Don't let
your mind And your concept, and he's not speaking specifically
about business, but we're using this as an illustration. But
in business, don't be thinking about how you're gonna get the
better of somebody and you're gonna get the deal at their expense. Trust not in oppression. How
cheap can I get this guy to work for me? I know he needs to feed his family
and all that, but I want him to work for me just as cheap
as he can. Trust not in oppression. Don't let that be the thought
process that goes through your mind. If you have servants, then treat
them not as servants, but as your fellow man. Now what
Paul said, you know, and if you're a servant, don't be trying to
take advantage of your boss. You know, give him a full measure
of that which he's paying you to do. Don't be thinking of how
I can cut corners and still get my paycheck at the end of the
week. You know, it's amazing, you can find, there's a bunch
of people looking for a paycheck. But there's not a lot of people
looking to do something, really to earn that. Now, everybody
thinks they're worth more than they are, don't you? I mean,
well, you get to a point in life where you wonder, well, my goodness
alive, I don't want nobody to pay me what I'm worth. Because
you realize if they really paid you what you're worth, you'd
starve to death. But everybody has an inflated
view by nature of what their time is worth. And sometimes
people justify uh... taking advantage of their employer
because they feel like well he ain't paying me enough to start
with so if I take a little something here or there it's just kind
of evening the thing up but that's not that's of oppression that
become not vain in robbery you know I know that nobody in here
will go out and rob a bank more I don't think any of you is going
to go hold up a liquor store or the convenience store or anything
like that. But robbery is a mindset that
centers on oneself. And it's not averse to taking
advantage for its own self. Trust not. Don't become vain
in robbery. If riches increase, set not your
heart upon them. That's not the thing. See, our
riches are set not in this world, but in that world which is to
come. And we lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven where
moth does not corrupt and thieves don't break through and steal. But you know, the whole point
of that He's not really giving a business lesson there. He's
just pointing out what men are by nature and how we are because
every man, every man, just bent in the nature of men is looking
out for himself. You know, there's been books
written on how people need to love their self. I never met a man that didn't
love his self. I mean even people that don't
love their self as people would define that, they love their
self because they'll think about their own needs above the needs
of others. See, self-denial is not about
what you don't do, it's what you, it is, self-denial has to
do with the denying of that desire that's in the heart, not eating
an extra piece of cake, or something like that. It's selfishness. Kindness. Kindness involves self-denial. called kindness is not natural
to me. It is the gift of the Holy Ghost. I mean brethren if it were not
for the Spirit of God even at work in the carnal world this
would be an unlivable place because if people were left to be just
like they are without any restraint whatsoever we'd consume one another
pretty quick and only the strong would survive
God has spoken once, twice, if I heard this, that power belongeth
unto God. He said, God has spoken once. The Lord only needed to say this,
but this is so important that I heard it twice. Basically what
he said, he said, I've thought on this. Power belongeth unto God. Now
if a man is brought to that place, he doesn't have but one avenue
that he will pursue, and that is to fall on his face before
Almighty God. Power belongeth unto God. It
is when men think they have power, I've got power to do this, I
can do this, I can do that. I can seek the Lord when I get
ready. No, I'm not ready yet. Power
belongeth unto the Lord. And also unto the Lord belongeth
mercy. For thou renderest every man
according to his work. Now, I had mentioned this the
other day at Brother Curtis' funeral, that a lot of people, they think, well, man, that's
great. God's going to reward us according to our work. how
foolish is a man to think in such fashion? Because what if
the Lord did reward you according to your work? But yet the truth of the matter
is that according to the work of the law of God in the earth,
he will render to every man according to his work. But that's not a
good thing. Because that's really the reason
why the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross. of Calvary is because
justice demanded that every man be given exactly what he deserved. But the Lord Jesus Christ in
His mercy and kindness as the Redeemer of sinners did come
into the world to give to His people a work that is perfect. Because He imputed His righteousness
to us, even as He imputed our sin unto Himself. And He stands
as that One whose work is seen in the behalf of His people.
And He said that He would put the sheep on the right hand and
the goats on His left. And He would say to the sheep,
Enter thou into the joy of the Lord. But upon what work? If the Lord renders to every
man according to his work, what work do they have that would
give them a right to enter into the kingdom of God, only one?
He said, Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me
be with me. He said, as I am one with thee,
I am one with them. Oh, how great is the mercy of
God. To Him belongeth power, to Him
belongeth mercy. There's not one thing that a
man has within his hand that can force God, coerce God, or
make God do anything. But the blessed truth is this,
that mercy does belong to Him. And he said this, I will show
mercy. To whom I will show mercy. What
a glorious thing. Because brethren, if he wouldn't
show mercy, we'd all be in trouble. But he will show mercy. He does
show mercy. He even said, come unto me all
you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me. when my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light." Oh, what a glorious salvation there is in Jesus Christ,
the Savior of sinners. He's not out here trying to save
sinners. He's not hoping to save sinners,
but He saves sinners. And He manifests the salvation
of sinners by calling. That was the promise. He said,
the promise of God is unto you and as many as the Lord our God
shall call. And the Gentiles, when they heard
this, and as many as were ordained, they rejoiced, and as many as
were ordained to eternal life believed. How do you know if
a man's a child of God? Only one way. They believe. They trust Him. They fall on their faces and
cry out for mercy. And He's the Savior. Turn none
away. But He saves all that come unto
God by Him. What a glorious Savior He is.