Now today we'll be looking at
Psalm 4. I'd like you to turn over to
Psalm 4. I was planning on preaching on
another text this weekend when I received a text from Brother
Matt, or actually I sent him a text about a scripture that
I had received through the week and then he sent me back a verse
in Psalm 4 which proceeded to start a text conversation rejoicing
in the wonderful scriptures that we were reading and being in
amazement at the truth that was presented in this short psalm.
I like what Brother Matt said, eight verses of gold. And that's
what this is. This psalm is eight verses of
gold. Wonderful. Now you may have read
it before and been blessed by it, just as I have been before
too. But when the Holy Spirit puts a message on a preacher's
heart, we get blessed just as much as you do through the scriptures.
As the Holy Spirit ministers to my heart as a sheep of God.
And it's wondrous, isn't it? It's wondrous that the Lord can
take the words that a man stands up and preaches and proclaims,
and by the power of God the Holy Spirit, we can receive a blessing
while others' ears may be closed. And think of this. Pray for those
whose ears are closed because it's God who's closed their ears.
It's God who's closed their ears to the preaching of the gospel.
Now, as a believer, If that's happened to us, we need a lot
of introspection, don't we? We need to get on our face and
beg God for mercy. In this psalm, in this psalm
are wonderful truths that are scattered throughout this psalm.
We'll look at the first four verses today, and then we'll
look at the last four verses tonight. And this is a short
psalm, only eight verses long. But as I said, it has wonderful
gems of truth scattered throughout it. Let's look at Psalm 4. The
heading to the psalm says, to the chief musician on Negainoth,
a psalm of David. The chief musician on Negainoth
is the leader of that part of the temple choir which played
on stringed instruments. It was he who was the chief musician
and he who played on the stringed instruments. So we know that
therefore from the inscription about the psalm that this was
a psalm that was used in temple worship. Robert Hawker brings
forth that the Greek and Latin fathers imagined that all the
Psalms which bear this inscription refer to the Messiah. I like
that. It refers to Christ. We know
that there's 150 Messianic Psalms, don't we? We know they all point
to our great God and King because He is the temple leader. He is
the High Priest. He is ultimately the one that
we sing praises to and that we worship and give glory to. Now
we see also that it is the Psalm of David that says to the chief
physician on Naganoth, the Psalm of David. Now David had many
trials and tribulations, didn't he, during his life. He faced
enemies within his court and he faced enemies without his
court. So he was a man who had experienced great joy, great
joy. And he was also a man who experienced
great sadness and heartbreak. Think of that. His own son turned
against him and his counselors turned with him. How heartbroken
would David be to have that occur? So again, David is a man who's
experienced great joy and great sorrow. But all through it, the
Lord is his stay. The Lord is the one who's kept
him. Now, wounds from a brother in
the Lord or family or friends usually cut deeper than any other
wound. We all know this, we've experienced
it, but through all these times, God is the shield and protector
of his people, isn't he? He's the one who is ever our
shield, and he is the one who is ever our protector. So with
that in mind, let's read this wonderful psalm penned by David,
and remember, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. Let's
read this psalm. Hear me when I call, O God, of
my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged me when I
was in distress. Have mercy upon me and hear my
prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will
ye turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity
and seek after leasing? Selah. We know Selah is a pause.
Just pause. Think about it. But know that
the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself. And that's
the name of the message today is set apart. Look at that. But
know that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself.
The Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe and sin
not. Commune with your own heart upon
your bed. and be still, Selah, again, pause,
reflect over what's being said. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness
and put your trust in the Lord. There'll be many that say, who
will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light
of thy countenance upon us. Thou has put gladness in my heart
more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou, Lord, only
makest me dwell in safety. So we see here, beloved of God,
that David begins this psalm with a prayerful cry. A prayerful
cry unto our great God and King, who is sovereign over all things.
And he is pleading to the one who his trust is in. And he says,
hear me, hear me when I call you, O God of my righteousness. In verse 1. Now we know that
each different name of God in the Bible highlights one aspect
of His character. There is only one God, but He
is called different names in the Scriptures. Jehovah, I Am,
and one of these names is Elohim, which the Hebrew word is defined
as the Mighty One, the Supreme One. Now see this in verse 1
where it says, Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness, David
is saying, hear me when I call, O Elohim of my righteousness. Hear me when I call, O Mighty
One. Hear me when I call, O Supreme
One. This is what Elohim means. And
that word for God in Hebrew there is Elohim. Elohim. So David is
praying to our great God and he calls Him Elohim. Do you know
in the scriptures in Genesis, 1.1, it says, in the beginning
Elohim created the heaven and the earth. The Supreme One, the
Mighty One, created the heavens and the earth. And it's also
plural in the Hebrew, which has direct reference to the Trinity,
beloved. And you know that this title
of God, Elohim, is used over 2700 times in the Old Testament.
Again, the word means Supreme One or Mighty One. So let's read
verse 1 with that word in there again. Hear me when I call, O
Elohim, O Supreme One, O Mighty One, God of my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged me when I
was in distress. Have mercy upon me and hear my
prayer. David knows that our God, Elohim,
is supremely just. and that he is the assertor of
all justice. The scriptures proclaim, do they
not, shall not the judge of the earth do right? The strength
of the innocent in the face of calamity or oppression lies in
the appeal to the eternal source of righteousness for the believer,
who is our great God and King. David cries out in his distress
to the Supreme One. That's who I cry out to. And
if you're a believer, that's who you cry out to in distress,
isn't it? The Mighty One, Elohim, the Supreme One, who created
all things by the Word of His power. Let's look at verse 1
again. Hear me when I call, O Elohim,
O Supreme One, O Mighty One, God of my righteousness. Thou
has enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me
and hear my prayer. Now see that phrase there, O
God of my righteousness? This is the only place in the
Holy Scriptures where that exact phrase is used. This is the only
place in the Scriptures where the God of my righteousness is
used. The only place where this exact
statement occurs. This wonderful name, this wonderful
title of our great God, by which our Lord is addressed, is not
used in any other part of Scripture. It means that God is the author.
God is the witness, God is the maintainer, God is the judge
of my righteousness. That's what it means. That's
what it means. Therefore, as Paul said, who
can bring a charge to God's elect? We're justified by God. We're
justified by Elohim, the Great One. Man can say what they will,
but the believer is justified in the eyes of God. In the eyes
of God, beloved. It's wonderful. That's a truth
that we can just hold on to and cling on to, isn't it, beloved?
Oh my, God's my judge. And if you're a believer, God's
your judge. God's my righteousness. Is he
yours? David cries out, O Elohim, God of my righteousness, praise
be to God. You see, beloved, the Old Testament
saints, the Old Testament saints have the same righteousness which
the New Testament saints have. And by the preaching of the gospel,
the righteousness of God is revealed. The righteousness of God is revealed
through the preaching of the gospel by the Holy Spirit of
God. How do we know that? Well, turn
if you would to Romans 1. We'll read verses 16 and 17.
What a blessing the born-again, blood-washed child of God, the
believer in Christ, has to know that God hears our prayers. What
a blessing. And to know that God is the God
of my righteousness. What a blessing. Because we've
been shown who we are. We've been shown what we are
before our Holy God, before Elohim, remember? The Supreme One. No
one to trifle with. Right? Oh my. It's Elohim who
hears our prayers and to know that Christ who is God, He's
God in the flesh, is our righteousness. What mercy! So we know then from
Christ being our righteousness that David is crying out to Elohim,
which is Christ. Because he says, Elohim, my righteousness. Well, who's our righteousness?
The Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the Old Testament saints
cry out to Christ just like we do, beloved. Just like we do.
And look what Paul pens again by inspiration of the Holy Spirit
of God here in Romans 1. This is wonderful. Romans 1,
verses 16 and 17. And remember, he penned these
words by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. Paul's not ashamed. He's not
ashamed to preach and proclaim the gospel. And this is what
we gospel preachers do. We stand up and we preach and
proclaim the gospel. And God takes those words and
uses them as he wills. As Brother Drew says, we stand
up, we preach and we proclaim and we get out of the way. We
let God do whatever he's pleased to do with that word. For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God, the dynamite of God unto salvation to everyone that believe
it. Do you believe? Has God granted
you faith to believe? I pray he will. Oh, I pray he
will. to the Jew first and also to
the Greek, there we see the unity within the body of Christ. For
therein, look at this, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live
by faith. Well, who's our faith in? The
God of our righteousness, isn't it? Christ, who is our righteousness,
beloved. And beloved of God, the gospel
of Christ reveals what? The righteousness of God, the
righteousness of Elohim, the Supreme One, the Mighty One.
And He is a just God, beloved. We know in Romans 3 He's a just
God and the justifier of them that believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. If we would seek salvation or life with God, His righteousness
must first be found. And then we know from the scriptures
that blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
right? That's the people of God. And how do we hunger and thirst
after righteousness? And how are we fed? By the Holy
Spirit of God through the preaching of the gospel over and over and
over again. God's sheep rejoice when the
gospel is preached. Beloved, if we would seek life
with God, His righteousness must first be found, as I said earlier,
because He is Elohim, the Holy One, the Just One, the Righteous
One. And in order to be loved by God,
in order for us to be loved by God, or accepted by God, and
justified before God, we must be in Christ. And beloved, we
were in Christ from before the foundation of the world. And
you know we must become righteous, right? in order for us to stand
in the presence of Elohim. I love that name. We're going
to use that. Elohim. In order to stand in the presence of the
Mighty One of God, in order to stand in His presence, we must
be made righteous. Now marvel at that. Sinners,
from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet, filled with
pride, sinful, to be made righteous. Well, that's impossible for us,
right? But praise God, That which is impossible with man is possible
with God. We know we cannot obtain salvation
but through the gospel of Christ on our own, but through the gospel
of Christ and in Christ Therein is the righteousness of God revealed.
This righteousness, which is Christ, is not known nor understood
by the light of nature, but it must be revealed to us. Otherwise
we'll be groping in the dark, beloved. And righteousness is
secured by Christ, and it's received by faith. And that faith is a
gift of God, we know, which comes to us from the Holy Spirit of
God and from faith to faith. It means from one degree of faith
to another. We grow in the grace and knowledge
and truth of Christ. And we don't want religious fruit
inspectors, do we? Those of us who have been in
religion before have met these religious fruit inspectors who
look at you with pharisaical words and minds and say things
about you that they shouldn't say. But your relationship with
God, your relationship with your King, and the growth that you
have in Christ is something that's being wrought by God, not by
man. Not by man. Not at all. Not at
all. Not at all. God knows us, doesn't
He? God is our judge. and righteousness
is secured by Christ and it is received by faith. And through
the receiving of the righteousness of Christ, And as we grow in
the grace and knowledge of Christ, our faith in Him grows, doesn't
it? Our faith in Elohim and our trust
in our rest in Elohim becomes greater and greater and greater. And no one else can perceive
that but us. I'm asking you right now, do
you trust God more now than when the Lord first saved you? Are
you trusting God more now than year ago? Is he the joy and strength
of your heart now more than he was a year ago? Do you rejoice
when you hear the gospel preached to know that we are sinners?
And see that's what else is increases. That's something else that increases
each time we hear the gospel preached and proclaimed. His
knowledge of our own sinfulness. A knowledge that I'm no better
than anybody else. Matter of fact, I'm probably
worse. And that's what it means to examine yourself if you're
in the faith. That's what that means. To look
inside. And when we see the horrendousness
of our own sin, and when we see the grace and the mercy of our
great God, Oh, how we rejoice. I remember talking to a dear
sister not long ago on the phone, just rejoicing with her in Christ.
And she's going through a lot right now. She's going through
a lot. Talked to her about two weeks ago. My, she's going through
a lot. But her hope and her stay is
Christ Jesus our Lord. And she's looking right to Him
amidst all that's going on. She keeps rejoicing in Him. And
she said, isn't it wonderful when we can get on the phone
like this, and we can talk about our Savior, and we can just rejoice
in what He's done for us. And I, what do you say? All I
said was, Amen, sister. And it was a great blessing to
me to have the privilege of being able to speak to her about that.
But our righteousness is secured by Christ, beloved, and it's
received by faith. And when we are clothed in the
righteousness of Christ, we have a clearer view of our sin and
our unworthiness, don't we? We have a very clear picture
of our sin and our unworthiness. Let's read verse 1 again, and
notice the latter part of this verse. Hear me when I call, O
Elohim, O Supreme One, Almighty One, of my righteousness. Thou
has enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me
and hear my prayer. Now David takes his petition
before Elohim. He does not seek the face of
other men, but he goes to our great God. Why? Because it's
Elohim who has delivered him in the past. It's Elohim who
has delivered him from situations that he has found himself in.
And he brings that fact very clearly here before us when he
says, Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy
upon me and hear my prayer. So let us imitate David's wisdom
here, beloved of God. We who are the born again, blood
washed people of God, let us imitate David's wisdom here and
let us not take our situations to the petty court of human opinion,
but to our superior court, the king's bench, the king's bench.
the king's bench of heaven, one commentator said, to Elohim,
who is our shield and our protector, our great city of refuge. Now let's read verse two. O ye
sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How
long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing Sila? Take
note in this verse, we are led from the closet of prayer in
verse one, into the field of battle, into the field of conflict,
and see the courage of the man of God here before us. He is
a man who is strengthened and upheld by God and God alone,
before his enemies, which are great men of power. One commentator
brings forth that the Hebrew words translated sons of men
is that these, it's one word in the Hebrew, and it brings
forth that these are men of great power. These are men of the world
in great power, But David believes them to be foolish before men.
And he chides them, beloved, as though they were but children.
And notice what he brings forth here. He says they love vanity
and they seek after leasing. And then he says, see law. Now,
vanity and leasing, there is lying, vain conceits and wicked
fabrications. One commentator said, a little
of such drink is too much. Why do they feel the need to
continued to indulge in it, had they not been long enough upon
the watch for his stumbling. My, did these men mean to laugh
their souls into hell, and to go on with their laughter until
swift vengeance shall come upon them, and turn their merriment
into howling? And note, beloved of God, In
the contemplation of their perverse ways and their vain and lying
pursuits, the psalmist psalmly pauses and inserts sila. Just pause and think about these
things. Be still before God. Don't say anything. Don't think
anything. Just be still before God and meditate upon the truths
presented in verses one and two. My, and surely we too may stop
a while and pause and meditate upon this deep seated madness
of the wicked and their continuance in evil. and their sure destruction. We may learn to admire that grace
has made us to differ, beloved, and may we learn that. May we
learn to admire that it's the distinguishing grace of God in
Christ that has made us to differ, that has taught us to love the
truth. It has taught us to love the
gospel. It has taught us to love God's people. My oh my. And what
else has it taught us? It's taught us to hunger and
seek after righteousness, hasn't it? After Christ. His one dear
brother I talked to about fourth this week, his dad always told
him to never forget where he came from. And we as believers
are never to forget that it is Elohim who has had mercy upon
us. It is Elohim who took us out
of the pit of sin that we were in. And it is Elohim who has
made us to differ from the wicked ones who hate Him by their actions
and by their words. Now let's consider verse 3. Oh,
look at this. This is the verse where I got
the name of the message from. Set apart. But know that the
Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself. The Lord
will hear when I call unto him. The first words there, but know,
is a rebuke for those spoken of in verse 2. And also instruction
to the people of God by the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit
is going to have David bring forth a wonderful truth in this
verse, that God's people are set apart. And again, but know,
states that this is a fact, but know that the Lord has set apart
him that is godly for himself, the Lord will hear when I call
unto him. So but know is also, again, setting
forth that what is going to be said in this sentence is a fact,
a truth that is not up for debate, beloved. God has set apart his
people. Elohim has set apart his people. His people, that is godly for
himself, the scripture said. See the word godly there? In
the Hebrew, it means saint, to be holy in the Hebrew. Isn't
that amazing? Turn, if you would, to 2 Thessalonians
2 and also put your finger in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse
2. I'll read our text in verse 3
again. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly
a saint, one who's holy, for himself. The Lord will hear when
I call unto him. So one may ask, how are the people
of God made holy? How are sinners by birth, nature,
and choice, how are they made holy? Well, we know we can't
make ourselves holy. That's evident through the scripture,
isn't it? Very, very evident through the
scriptures. How can sinners be called saints? Well, look at this answer in
2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and 14. And let this sink deep
into your soul, beloved. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you. That's Elohim, isn't it? That's
not Elohim in the Greek, but that's the same God, that's Elohim.
For you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, let that sink in, you
are beloved of the Lord. Because God, again, that's Elohim
too, not in the Greek, but that's Elohim it's speaking of, hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Sanctification of the
Spirit, we're made holy in Christ, beloved. Whereunto he called
you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now go over to 1 Corinthians
1. And we'll look at verses 2 and 3. So we are sanctified in Christ,
made holy in Christ. We know that from 1 Corinthians
1, verses 29 and 30. We know that. But look at this.
This is written to God's people. This is written to God's saints
at Corinth. And know this, that we are only
holy in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are only called
saints in Christ. This is what the scriptures plainly
declare, and we see it here. Look at 1 Corinthians 1, verses
2 and 3. Under the church of God, which
is at Corinth, at a distinct place, just like the churches
here in Alma, by God's sovereign decree, beloved, to them that
are sanctified, made holy, in Christ Jesus. Look at this. Remember
one of the definitions for the godly in the Old Testament there
was a saint? Look at this. Oh my goodness.
Called to be saints with all that in every place call upon
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord both theirs and ours. Grace
be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. Do you know that a saint of God
is not someone who has been made a saint by any man. A saint of
God is one who has been made a saint by our great God. And we see there in 1 Corinthians
1.2 that God's people are called to be saints. It's God who makes
his people saints. It's God who makes his people
holy. And he does it in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here
in Psalm 4 again, where it says, but know that the Lord has set
him apart that is godly for himself. The Lord will hear when I call
unto him, verse 3. The two instances of the word
Lord here in the Hebrew is Jehovah, Jehovah. So we've seen that David
in verse 1 calls out to Elohim and now we see that another title
of our great God being brought forth and David says to those
who love vanity and seek after leasing in verse two, David says
to them in verse three, but know that Jehovah has set apart him
that is godly for himself. Jehovah will hear when I call
unto him. Jehovah will hear me. By the
grace of God, Jehovah will hear me. So the two instances that
the word Lord is used in this verse are both the Hebrew word
Jehovah, which means the self-existent one or the eternal one. And David,
we see at the end of this verse, knows that by the grace of God,
Jehovah hears him. Jehovah hears me. Doesn't matter
what men say. Doesn't matter what these men
who seek after lease say. Jehovah hears me. He hears me
when I cry to him. What sweet assurance for the
believer that prayer will prevail with our great God then. And
this is one of the best comforts, the saying of God in this cloudy,
dark world which we live our lives in. Some days are very
cloudy. Some days it's raining so hard
you can't see. But other days it's beautiful
sunshine, isn't it? And we know that in the cloudy
days and the wet rainy days of our lives, the days of sorrow
and sadness, and in the sunny days, the days of great joy,
peace, we know from the scripture that the Lord will hear when
I call unto him. He hears me. Now let us consider the fact
that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. Let's
read verse 3 again. But know that the Lord has set
apart him that is godly for himself. The Lord will hear when I call
unto Him. Now some will rail against this
truth that is set here before us in Scripture. Though they
be told again and again and again, this bitter truth to them of
God's electing grace, which is what we see right here, is nothing
but their flesh railing against the truth of God that is brought
forth in Scripture. Whether it be in the Old Testament,
where God chose Israel and left all His other nations where they
were, which was a picture of God choosing the church out of
the world. Or whether you bring up Ephesians
1.4 where the Scriptures declare that the believer is chosen before
the foundation of the world. And many other Scriptures that
fact up because our God is a sovereign God. He's in full control. Unsaved
people and religious people will still rail against the truth
of this wonderful doctrine presented before us in this verse. We clearly
see here but forth before us the fact that the godly, the
chosen ones of Christ, and know this too, that we are only godly
in Christ. Outside of Christ we are not
godly at all. That it's only the fact of God's
distinguishing grace which has separated us set us apart, the
scripture says, and separated us from among men. Beloved, think
of this. Let this just sink into your
soul this week. We are set apart in eternity in Christ by God
the Father. We are set apart when we were
wandering sheep in this world and had no care for our Savior
when we were dead in trespasses and sins. We were set apart then,
beloved. And we are set apart by the miracle
the life-giving miracle of the new birth, being born again by
the Holy Spirit of God, and we are granted faith to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and granted repentance and faith
before our great God. And how does that occur? All
by Elohim's great power. All by Jehovah's great power. Never forget, the Holy Spirit
of God is Jehovah and Elohim too. Father, the Son, and the
Spirit are all one. We are set apart. Think of this
too. I like to think about this. We
are set apart by a great God to spend eternity with Him in
glory. We wait, don't we, eagerly for
when the Lord will take us home. And you know what? All the fact
of us being set apart in eternity, set apart when we were wandering
in this world, set apart when Christ died on the cross for
us, set apart by the miracle of the life-giving power of God
the Holy Spirit in regenerating us from our dead state, and all
the fact of being set apart by our great God to spend eternity
with Him in glory is all according to the good pleasure of His will
as a wanderer. And election is a doctrine in
which unrenewed men, unregenerated men, religious or not, they cannot
endure it. But nevertheless, it's a great
and glorious doctrine for we who are God's people. Again,
it's a doctrine which is proved in Scripture and one which should
comfort the tempted and tried believer in Christ. Election
is the complete guarantee of salvation. And we clearly see
that it is He who chose us for Himself in this verse. So surely
hear our prayers then. The Lord's elect shall not be
condemned, neither shall their cry be unheard. Now we know that
David was king by divine decree, wasn't he? He was put in that
position of authority by divine decree. And we are the Lord's
people in the same manner, beloved. Let us tell our enemies to their
faces that they fight against God. They fight against God.
They fight against His providence, and they seek to overthrow our
souls. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. And beloved, let this wonderful
truth here set before us, that when you're in prayer before
our great God, our mighty God, the fact that you've been set
apart by God as His own peculiar treasure. And this should give
you courage. God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night
unto Him. Oh, He will. And let's look at
verse 4 now. Beloved, since He chose us, He
cannot but choose to hear us. Let's read verse 4. It says,
Stand in awe, and sin not. Commune with your own heart upon
your bed, and be still. Selah. Now, stand in awe there.
Look at that. That literally means to tremble
with fear. With fear in the presence of God. Now we know as believers
that this is a reverent fear for the believer, isn't it? It's
not a slavish fear. We don't have to fear judgment.
But beloved, when you're speaking to God, remember you're speaking
to Elohim. That's what this is put in here
for. Stand in awe. Stand in awe at the fact of who
you're speaking to. Elohim, the mighty one. Tremble
with fear, reverent fear, when you do this. Oh my. Tremble with fear before God
and think of this. It is God who has engaged himself,
David is saying, in my cause and will be an adversary to my
adversaries. And we can see there, stand in
awe and sin not. Tremble before our great God
and sin not. Unfortunately, there are many
that sin and tremble not. They reverse the text before
us, don't they? They sin and they don't tremble
before God. Were we not in that state at
one time? We all were, weren't we? In our natural state. We
did headlong sin, we didn't tremble before God at all. Unless, you
know, somebody close to us passed away or some one of the young
people that we might have been with suddenly died and we said,
oh, he's gone before his time. No, he died at the ordained time
of God. And those are warnings to us,
beloved, of our own mortality, of our own mortality. Stand in
awe. Spurgeon brings forth that if
there is not a mixture of prayer with our hope and our confidence,
it's like meat without salt. It will grow corrupt and prosperous
in sunny weather. So if there's not a mixture of
prayer with our hope and our trust in Christ, then it's like
rotten flesh. Oh, may God put the fear of God
that reverent fear in our hearts when we consider the mercy and
the forgiveness we have received in and through Christ Jesus our
Lord. And when we consider who He is, Psalm 130 verse 3, if
thou mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? Now mark, that is
where we should be introspective, isn't it? Joe Terrell told me
one night he woke up in his bed and that verse was burning in
his mind, if thou, if thou, Jehovah should markest iniquities. Oh,
Jehovah! Who shall stand? Well, no one. If the Lord marked your iniquity
and marked mine, beloved, we would never stand. But praise
be to God. The great Lamb of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ, died in our room and placed on Calvary's cross,
didn't he? And you know what? All who look to him by God-given
faith shall be saved. The question is, are you looking
to Christ? Oh, I pray God would make it
so. I pray God would make it so. Listen to this quote by Spurgeon,
this is why we need to be well acquainted with the word of God.
That if ever we are left alone, we may be good companions to
ourselves. Commune with your heart upon
the bed and be still, which we see. Touch that babble. Hush
the babble of our minds. And he goes on to say, let God
speak. Get to your bed, away from the noise of the streets
and the roll of the traffic. Commune with your own heart upon
your bed and be still. Hearts disturbs them. There must
be something very rotten in the state of man's life who loves
not some sense of solitude, he says. Some of us are less alone
when we are alone and most at home when we count ourselves
abroad. Commune with your own heart upon
your bed and be still. Stand in awe and sin not. Commune with your own heart upon
your bed and be still. So we see as believers that we
are to be still before the Lord. We are to commune with our own
hearts, beloved, this scripture brings forth. So let us consider
in closing the words here written in verse 3 of Psalm 130. Let's
turn there. I mentioned these words before.
Psalm 130. Let's turn there. And we see
that these words here in verses 3 and 4, the first verse is a
verse of great self-examination. But the truth of the second verse
just It fills us with awe. Psalm 130, verse 3 and 4. If thou shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, who shall stand? So we are to commune with our
own hearts and say, Lord, if you were to mark iniquities,
I'd never be able to stand. I'm so sinful. And if we're honest,
that's what we're saying about ourselves, isn't it? You won't
be pointing out other people's sins and faults. You'll be looking
at yourself and burying yourself before God, won't you? O Lord,
O Lord, Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand?
But look at the next verse, this is wonderful. But there is forgiveness
with thee. Oh, oh, so we're to commune on
our bed with our hearts and say, O Lord, thou marked iniquity,
none of us would stand. And in the balm of verse four,
beloved, but there is forgiveness with thee. Praise your mighty
name, Lord Jesus. There is forgiveness with thee
that thou mayest be what? Feared. Let this truth just flood
your soul, beloved. Meditate on this truth this week.
There is forgiveness with thee. There is forgiveness. There is
forgiveness with Elohim. Free, full, sovereign pardon. It is in the hand of the great
King all through the Lord Jesus Christ and by His perfect atoning
sacrifice on Calvary's cross in the place of His people. Remember,
it's His prerogative. We had nothing to do with it.
We're just receivers of the grace and mercy. It's His prerogative
to set us apart. It is His prerogative to forgive
us of all our sins. And Beloved, He delights to do
it. He delights to do it. Why? Because His nature is mercy. Because He's provided a sacrifice
for sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is only
begotten Son. Therefore, forgiveness is with
Him through Christ. And all that come to Christ confess
in their sins. Now, none fear the Lord like
those who have experienced His forgiving love. If you have tasted
that God is merciful, then you will be merciful to others, won't
you? If you have tasted God's forgiveness to you, then you
will be quick to forgive others. What does gratitude for that
pardon that God gives produce in His people? Well, it produces
far more fear and reverence of God than all the terror which
is inspired by punishment. If the Lord were to execute justice
upon all, there would be none left to fear Him. There'd be
no one left. If He was to execute His judgment
upon all and not have mercy on anyone, there'd be no one left.
There'd be no one left to fear Him. And if all were under an
apprehension of His certain wrath, despair would harden them against
fearing Him. And it is God's grace, beloved,
and God's grace alone which has set its people apart, and it's
God's grace which leads the way to a holy regard of God in the
fear of grieving Him. The last thing we want to do
is grieve the Lord as God's people. To God be the glory, great things
He has done. Amen and amen. Heavenly Father,
oh, we thank You for Your mercy. Oh, as we read that Scripture,
if You should mark iniquity, who should stand, Lord? There'd
be no one left. And we who are Your people know
the truth. But we marvel in verse three
of this wonderful psalm, that it is you, by your own prerogative,
by your own will and choice, that has set apart the godly.
And again, we are only godly in thee, oh Lord, oh my, that
you have set us apart for yourself. Lord, we praise your name for
your scriptures. We pray that we'll be able to meet tonight,
Lord, and worship and adore you as we continue reading through
this wonderful psalm in Jesus' name.