Good to be here tonight. As always,
a blessing from the Lord to be able to gather with the Lord's
people. The name of tonight's message is The Trees of the Lord. The Trees of the Lord. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
104. Psalm 104. And this psalm speaks
of our great God. And oh, oh, how great our God
is, beloved. He is so great. We cannot comprehend
the greatness of our God, beloved. We can't even begin to really
comprehend. We get a little glimpse from
the scriptures, and as the Holy Spirit illuminates to us the
scriptures, we see the greatness of God, and it fills our heart
with joy. And, oh my, it's wonderful. Psalm 104, Psalm 104. And as
we study the Scriptures and as we see the greatness of God,
we proclaim along with Jonah that salvation is of the Lord.
It's of the Lord. It's all His. As we sang, we're
complete in Him. We're complete in Christ, Jesus
our Lord. Look at the first verse of this
psalm. We'll be looking at verses 1
to 19 tonight. 16 will be where we'll really
be keying on. Look at the first verse, though.
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very,
very great. Thou art clothed with honor and
majesty. So this psalm opens, if you see
there, and closes. Look at the last verse. It says
again, bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. Hallelujah.
So it begins with a blessing of the Lord. and giving thanks
and praise to Him, and it ends with the psalmist praising our
great God as well. And the keynote of this psalm
is brought forth, and may we who are the people of God bless
our mighty God. Bless Him. Bless Him for the
wondrous things that He's done. Bless the Lord who is clothed
in majesty. He's clothed with honor and majesty. And He is great, and as the psalmist
says, greatly to be praised. Greatly. He alone is worthy of
all the praise. He alone. And He will not share
His glory with anyone. With anyone. Now on this world,
people praise men who have done things or accomplishments, but
think of what our Lord has done. He's created this world just
by speaking it all into existence. He sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. He is so far above us, beloved. Again, his greatness, we get
but a little glimpse of it, a little bit. And when we when we read
these scriptures and the Holy Spirit illuminates them, we're
filled with joy because this is our God. This is the one who
keeps us. This is the one who has saved
us. And the psalmist says here, thou
art very great. And our God is clothed with honor
and majesty. Honor and majesty. He's so far
above everything. And that's our God. That's our
God, beloved. And again, he is greatly to be
praised. His greatness is unsearchable. It really is. It's absolutely
unsearchable. You can't plumb the greatness
of God. You can't find the depths of the greatness of God. What we see cannot even contain
him. He's so great. He's so great, beloved. And it
is he who made heaven and earth, again, by the word of his great
power. Just by a word of his power. And I ask you this, is there
anything too hard for the Lord to do? When you run into someone
and they say, well, you don't know what kind of sinner I am.
Well, I know how great my God is. He's the great I am. He's the great I am. And He's
greatly to be praised. And He saves all who come to
Him. All who come to Him by faith.
And that faith is given to us by God. So salvation's of the
Lord, isn't it? And we praise his greatness.
He's clothed with majesty and power. Again, he alone is due
the praise and glory of his people. And the psalmist here, by the
grace of God, calls the infinite Jehovah, note this, bless the
Lord, O my soul, O Lord, my God. Look at that. The psalmist, by
the grace of God, calls Jehovah my God. That's what every believer
does. By the grace of God, we call
the God of the Bible, we call Jehovah my God. He's my God. He's my king. Is he yours? He's my savior. He's my redeemer. And I can only say that by the
grace of God. Is it so with you? Is it so with you? Oh, praise
his name. Praise his name for his greatness.
For his greatness. The psalmist, again, by the grace
of God, calls the infinite Jehovah, remember, the self-existent one,
my God. And at the same time, he's prostate
in amazement at the divine greatness of our God. In reverent awe of
who he is. Remember, the fear that we have
is not a slavish fear, it's a reverent fear of the greatness of our
God, the greatness of who he is. And he cries out, thou art very
great, very great. Remember this, that God was great
in eternity past, God is still great today, and God will be
great If you want to call it eternity
future, eternity's eternity, eternity future. He's always
been great. And nothing has diminished his
greatness, nothing at all. And no one, he needs no counselors. He is the great king, the great
sovereign overall. And David, or the psalmist pens,
he is my God. He's my God, by the grace of
God. And the declaration, beloved,
of Jehovah's greatness is a natural conclusion. When one surveys
the universe, when one surveys the works of his hands, for the
born-again believer, the only thing we can say is he's so great.
That's the logical conclusion. for us as believers. He's so
great, I can't even explain to you his greatness. It's beyond
comprehension, but he gives his people, oh, he gives us a little
glimpse, doesn't he? And we just are in awe, just
in awe of his greatness. And take note, the wonder expressed
does not refer to the creation. You know, people today, they
worship the creation, don't they? But take note that the psalmist,
who's a born-again believer, take note that the wonder that
he expresses here is not in reference to the creation. It's in reference
to the creator. It's in reference to the creator. We look at creation and we say,
oh my, look at this world, look at this universe, look at all
this. It's nothing in comparison to the creator. What does it
do? It manifests His glory, beloved.
And just like He's great, His glory is great. His majesty is
great. His honor is great. And He is
greatly to be praised. So the psalmist here says, thou
art very great. Let's read verses two to 10 now. Look at this. Look at who's doing
all the work. Look at what he does. Who covers
thyself with light as with a garment. Who stretches out the heavens
like a curtain. Remember, he does all this by
his almighty power and his will. Who layeth the beams of his chambers
in the waters. Who maketh the clouds as his
chariot. Who walketh upon the wings of
the wind. Who maketh his angels spirits,
his ministers a flaming fire. Who laid the foundations of the
earth. that it should not be removed
forever. Thou cover'st it with the deep
as with a garment. The waters stood above the mountains. The waters are like a garment
on earth. He did it all. Thou cover'st
it as a deep with a garment. The waters stood above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they fled. They fled at his rebuke. Oh my, the voice of thy thunder,
they hasten away. They go up to the mountains,
they go down by the valleys into the place which thou hast founded
for them. Thou hast set a bound that they
may not pass over. I remember reading one of the
old timers, I think it was Hawker, and he said the ocean has a boundary
it cannot pass. They cannot pass. He set a boundary. He set a boundary. That they
may not pass over. That they turn not again to cover
the earth. Look at that. It won't flood
the earth again. He sendeth the springs into the
valleys, which run among the hills. So we see in these verses
some of the many beautiful descriptions of the various works of God in
creation. And I don't need to comment on
these very much. They speak for themselves, don't they? They
speak of his greatness, beloved. They speak of who he is. They
speak of his almighty power. And we see that this almighty
power is exercised in creation. Do you know that it's the same
almighty power that's exercised in creation is the same power
that's exercised when we're born again? It's God's power, isn't
it? It's God's power. The same power
that rose Christ from the grave raises us from our dead estate,
beloved. This is the God of the Bible,
and he is great, and he is greatly to be praised. Greatly to be
praised. And we looked at this morning
the power of God unto salvation, right? That we're regenerated
by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. That we're given faith
to believe on Him. So the foundation stone which
God had laid in Zion is sure. It's a sure foundation stone.
And His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah says this. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion. I lay in Zion. God does this.
a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation. That's what Christ is. If you are saved by the grace
of God, you are saved by the one who is a sure foundation.
And remember, we're built up in temple unto the Lord, aren't
we? We're living stones, we who are his people. But our foundation
is Christ, the same foundation that the apostles had, because
it's the foundation that God has laid. And it's a sure foundation,
beloved. You can hang your eternal soul
on that foundation. It's the only sure foundation.
And God's people from ages past hung their souls on this one
tried, precious cornerstone, the sure foundation, and his
name is the Lord Jesus Christ. And the scripture says this,
that he's a tried stone, the precious cornerstone, the sure
foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. God's people
flee to him. Flee to him. And the foundation
for the church, the foundation that the church is built upon,
is that foundation which God has laid, and it's the Lord Jesus
Christ, and it cannot be altered. It cannot be moved. Our foundation,
which is Christ, cannot be altered or moved. Isn't that wonderful? Because we're like this, up and
down, aren't we? He's just your foundation, a
solid foundation. A tried stone, a precious cornerstone. And all the waters of sin and
hell and the breakings of the great deep of iniquity in this
world cannot remove that foundation. Though the mountains depart,
the hills be removed, the word of the Lord and salvation in
that word through Christ, the cornerstone, the sure foundation
which the church is built upon cannot be moved. And the church
stands firm. And sure, forever, not based
upon us, but based upon the foundation stone. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah
54 says this, in verse 10, for the mountains shall depart and
the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from
thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. Sayeth
the Lord that hath mercy on thee. Oh, what a Redeemer. What a Savior is Jesus Christ
our Lord. Listen to that. My kindness shall
not depart from thee. God's kindness will never depart
from the believer. Never. Because it comes to us
in Christ. And then it says, neither shall
the covenant of my peace be removed. That's good news, isn't it? That's
good news. We are bought with a price. We're
purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Our sins are forgiven. Past, present, and future. And
the scripture says that that promise cannot be removed because
it's in Christ who is, what are all the promises of God? Yea
and amen in him. Yea and amen in Christ. It's
wonderful. It's good news for sinners. This
comforts my soul. And I'm sure it does yours, too,
who believe. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. The Lord stands sure and forever.
Now let's read verses 11 to 15. Again, look what the Lord does
by his mercy. They give drink to every beast
of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst.
This is talking about the waters that's at his command. But it's
all again by his almighty power. By them shall the fowls of the
earth have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
He watereth the, now this is the Lord who does this. He watereth
the hills from his chambers. The earth is satisfied with the
fruit of thy works. He causes the grass to grow for
the cattle, and the herb for the service of men, that he may
bring forth food out of the earth. And wine that maketh glad the
heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread
which strengthens strengthens man's heart. So in verses 11
to 15 here, we see the beautiful provision that God has made for
his creatures. In animal life, rising from beast
to man. In verse 11, it starts, they
give drink to every beast. In verse 15, it says, in the
glad heart of man, he provides for everyone and everything. The beast of the field, the fowl
of the earth, the fowl of the air are all fed by his bounty,
beloved. All fed by his bounty. Our almighty God opens his hands
and satisfies the desires of every living creature. And he gives the fowl of the
air their habitation and they sing among the branches, he gives
water Water and the earth, what does the earth do as a result
of water that comes down? Well, the earth brings forth
its bounty, all because he gives the increase. All because he
gives the increase. And it's God who causes the grass
to grow for the cattle to eat. We see that in verse 14. Look, it is He who gives the
increase in our gardens, as our great God causes the herb to
grow, vegetables and such for the service of man. He may bring forth food out of
the earth. This is all done by our great
God and by His almighty power. And think of this, He has the
rain that does this, to fall on both the just and the unjust. He brings fruit to the table
of the just and the unjust. It all comes from him. You ever
think of that? Everything. Everything comes
from him. Comes from the hand of our almighty
God. Wine is given to man, and oil, and bread, and this again
all comes from our great God's hands. Now think of this in the
spiritual sense. Beloved, think of how these mercies
are distinguishing mercies. Distinguishing mercies, the wine
of the gospel, the oil of grace, and the light of God's countenance
shining upon the soul, and Jesus who is the bread of life. that
his people might indeed be strengthened and live forever. We feast upon
him through his word, don't we? And we're strengthened. We're
strengthened. It gives the heart of the believer,
the heart and soul of the believer great strength when we hear of
the greatness of our God. Because we know it's he who sustains
us. We know it's he who takes care of us. He watches over us.
He who provides for us. It all comes from his hand, beloved,
according to his will and purpose. Are not these things glorious
when we consider the gospel and how it is provided for us by
the almighty hand of God? It's provided for us by the hand
of God almighty and it comes to us by his power, in power,
for we who believe. We don't just hear with these
ears. We don't just see with these
eyes. No, we're given here in ears to hear the shepherd's voice
and see in eyes to look upon Christ. And that all comes from
the hand of God, beloved. And it's marvelous in our sight.
Marvelous in our sight. So we see there the providence of God in providing
for His creation. Now let's read verses 16 to 19. Look at this. The trees of the
Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted. Where the birds make their nest,
as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. The high hills
are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies. He appointed moon for seasons,
and the sun knoweth his going down. Again, here in these verses,
the psalmist brings forth the providence and sovereignty of
our great God. of our great God. Let's consider
verse 16 here. It says, the trees of the Lord
are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted.
Now the cedar tree is among one of the most beautiful of trees.
They can be quite majestic. They can be quite majestic in
appearance. They can tower and structure
and they can have an enormous girth if left to grow. And they're native in Palestine.
They're native in Palestine. And we see here in the scripture
that they are fitly called the trees of the Lord's planting
for no human hand is fixed upon them. And at the time when the psalmist
is penning this, they were trees planted by the Lord. Man didn't plant them. They were
growing in the mountains. And therefore, it must be God
who waters them. And despite their exposed position,
they are evergreen and always fragrant. And they never shed
their leaves. And from every branch and spine,
a sweet aroma comes out to these cedars of Lebanon. And it says here in the scriptures
that the trees of the Lord are full of sap. And sap is sweetly scented. The
smell of Lebanon is most delightful, they say. The smell of the cedars
of Lebanon is most delightful. And they are one of the noblest
trees there amongst the trees of the forest during the writing
of this psalm. Turn, if you would, Psalm 92,
just a few psalms over. Psalm 92. Look at this. The Lord's people,
it's brought forth here, they're like the cedars of Lebanon. Psalm 92, look at verses... Psalm 92, verses 12 and 13, look
at this. The righteous shall flourish
like the palm tree. What's a palm tree do? It goes
straight up, right? Straight up. He shall grow like
a cedar in Lebanon. The same ones that were spoken
over there in Psalm 104. Those that be planted in the
house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. Now let's consider verse 16 in
light of those two scriptures over there. Look at this. The
trees of the Lord are full of sap. The cedars of Lebanon, which
he had planted. We see here the first and what
I like us to consider is how the Lord's people are like the
cedars of Lebanon. We see that over there in Psalm
92. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall
grow like a cedar in Lebanon. And again, our text, the trees
of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which
he hath planted. The likeness between God's people
and these trees is, one of them is ownership and possession.
Ownership and possession. These cedars are called here
the trees of the Lord in verse 16 of our text. The trees of
the Lord. Now we know that our Lord owns
everything visible and invisible. They're all his, but let us consider
how the church of God is his peculiar property. A people of his choosing. Trees which are planted by him. Trees which are planted by him.
Remember our great savior and redeemer, he purchased us with
his own precious blood and we are by his creation, we're his,
but we're also his by choice and by purchase, beloved. We're
not just his by creation. We're his by purchase and by
choice. Choice first and then purchase. And we're the plant of the Lord,
beloved. And do you know we're sealed
by the Holy Spirit of God? God's people are sealed by the
Holy Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of promise. Turn, if you
would, to Ephesians chapter one. And this seal that's mentioned
here in the book of Ephesians is in reference to when they
used to send cargo in the ship. And they would put a mark on
the cargo so that people would know which shipping boxes were
theirs. So if Brother John, Brother Dan,
Brother Chet, Brother Neil, if you all were putting products
upon this ship, you would have your own seal that they were
marked with. So that you'd know, because some of the containers
will be the same. So you would have a seal put upon these to
make, to show that they were your property. They're your property. So when they unload the ship,
they put all your stuff here, John. They put all Dan's stuff
here. They put all Neil's stuff here and all Chet's stuff here.
Because you all own them. And these boxes, again, were
identified by a business mark. Therefore, identifying each of
you as the rightful owners. This is the same way that sealed
is used, being sealed by the Holy Spirit is used in the book
of Ephesians. Look at Ephesians 1, we'll start
in verse 3, read to verse 14. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And remember, this is the same
God that we're reading of his greatness in the book of Psalms. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. That's a remarkable
verse there. Chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame. Oh
my, it gets even better though. having predestinated us into
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will. My, and then Paul breaks out
in exultation to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption
through his blood. the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery
of his will according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed
in himself. He purposed all this in eternity,
all in eternity, that in the dispensation of the fullness
of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ.
both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in him,
in whom we have obtained an inheritance, so we've obtained an inheritance
in Christ, being predestined according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
in Christ, in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after
that ye believed ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
That's not mine. My oh my. Which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of
his glory. So God's people are the particular
or peculiar property, we're the property of God, we're His. We're
His. His mark, one commentator says,
is on them. Is on them. And we're bought
with a price, beloved. We're purchased. We're property
that's being purchased. And how were we purchased? By
the precious blood of Christ. By the precious blood of Christ. And we see in this text here
too, we see here in this text in verse 16, we see that we're planted by
Him. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon
which He hath planted. He planted them. He planted them. We're His workmanship,
the Lord. Created in Christ Jesus. The
Lord's portion is His people. And the Lord has planted these
cedars. Trees of His planting. And we saw this morning all by
His almighty power. All by His almighty power. If
there's any beauty in us, any blossom in us, any promise of
fruit, any shadow or shelter for our fellows, it is the Lord's
doing. It's all His doing. Mine. And it's marvelous in our eyes
If we are members of Christ's Church through faith in Him, it was His Spirit that planted
us upon the hills of God. Let's go back again to Psalm
92 and just read that real quick. Look at this, and these verses
here in 12 and 13 are in contrast to the verses in 7 and 8. Actually, let's read verses 7
and 8 first. He talks about the wicked who
spring up like grass, spring up like grass, which all the
workers of iniquity do and flourish, but they'll be destroyed forever. Look at Psalm 92 verses 7 and
8. When the wicked spring up as
grass and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is
that they shall be destroyed forever. But thou, Lord, art most high
forevermore. And then look at verses 12 and
13 again. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that he planted
in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God. The righteous shall flourish
like a palm tree whose growth may not be so rapid but whose
endurance for centuries is in fine contrast with the grass
which is growing and mowed down. And when we see a palm tree standing
in all its strength upward in one bold column and growing amid
the dearth and drought of the desert, because remember, they
would see palm trees in the desert at an oasis. Oh my, what a picture we have
of God's people. And we aim only in glory and
in the Lord, don't we? Only in glory and in the Lord.
And independent of outward circumstances, by divine grace, we are made
to live and thrive where we're planted. We are made to live
and thrive where we're planted. Where other things may perish,
we are made to live and thrive. And that text over there in Psalm
92 not only tells us what the righteous is, but what he shall
be. The good man shall flourish,
and flourish after the noblest man, or he shall grow like a
cedar in Lebanon. Spurges brings forth about the
cedars of Lebanon. Another noble and long-lived
tree, speaking of the cedars of Lebanon. As the days of a
tree are the days of my people, saith the Lord. On the summit
of the mountain, unsheltered from the blast, the cedar waves
its mighty branches. But grass, which makes hay for
oxen, is good enough for the emblem of the unregenerate. But
cedars, which build the temple of the Lord, are none too excellent
to set forth the heirs of heaven. So what a contrast. The psalmist
brings forth over there in Psalm 92. And let's look at verse 16
again. We can clearly see that we are
in the workmanship of the Lord. We're the workmanship of the
Lord. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon,
which he hath planted. He hath planted. We see here
in the text that The trees are called the trees of the Lord.
These are the ones that grew upon the mountains. Unowned by
man. They are trees of God's planting.
And note it says here they're full of sap. They're full of
sap. Well supplied. Richly watered. By the hand of our great God.
By the hand of our great God. And they become as the cedars,
full of resin. flowing with life and green all
the year round. In the cedars of Lebanon, which
he had planted, they grow where no man ever planted them. For ages they were unobserved,
untouched by man, and too gigantic for man to prune. What would
the psalmist say of some of the trees in Yosemite? What would the psalmist say of
the great redwoods in the redwood forest. Oh my, I've seen those trees. I've seen those trees. They will
leave you in awe. Tell you a little funny story
with that. Donny Bell came and preached for us one time. Came
and preached for us and we took him up to what's called Crater
Lake, it's a big old lake Mountaintop blew off and went back down in
the water. And here's Donnie Bell. He goes
over to one of them big old cedar trees. And these cedars are huge.
And he puts his arms around them. And he's only a quarter way around. He says, look, I'm a tree hugger.
Oh my. That's Donnie for you. But what he was saying is that
these trees are so massive. He goes, the people back home
would not even believe these trees, would not even believe
how big these trees are. They're huge, beloved. And then
when you go into the redwoods, there's trees that carve, there's
one they carved a hole in that a car can drive through. They're
that massive, the girth of these trees. And they say they've been
around for, since the flood. Well, we say that because they
don't believe that. They say they're even older, but we know
that. They grew after the flood. And
they are massive. And when you, I remember when
Vicki and I would go there and you look at these trees and you
think, how great is our God? How, look, we don't even have
to go out there. We can just go and look at our
lakes here. There's nothing like that in
the world. We go to Michigan, and we look,
and we're just in awe. There's nothing like these lakes.
They're like inland oceans, beloved. And we watch them freighters
come through there. And next thing you know, they're
further out. And they're just this little wee blip on the water. And think of how great those
lakes are. They're called the Great Lakes, right? They're called
the Great Lakes for a reason. But think of how great our God
is. Who formed those and made those.
Oh my. He is great, beloved. He is worthy
to be praised. So what would the psalmist say
if he saw some of these other trees in the world? Oh my. Think upon this. We see here in this psalm what
we've looked at so far, the all-sufficient care of our great God. Of our
great God. And we see it for His people
in this verse, because we're the plant and of the Lord. And
the only way we grow is in grace. by the power of the Holy Spirit
of God. And oh my, rest assured that
the people of God who live by faith upon the Lord alone shall
be equally well sustained. He sustains his people, don't
they? Doesn't he? He sustains his people. God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, he sustains their,
they sustain the elect of God. Turn, if you would, to the scripture
that Brother John read this morning, Philippians chapter four. There's
one verse I want us to look at there in closing. And I will
read that, and I'll just say a few things on this verse. In
light of the trees of the Lord are full of sap, full of sap. Beloved, we are full of the joy
of the Holy Spirit of God, aren't we? We might not always manifest
it outwards, Because when we're going through trials and tribulations,
but oh, what joy we have, what peace we have. We who are God's
people have the peace that passes all understanding, don't we?
Keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Look at this scripture. Brother
John read that portion this morning, but one of the verses in verse
19, we clearly see that our all-sufficient Savior supplies all. Look at
verse 19. But my God, again, look what
Paul calls our God. The same as the psalmist, my
God. My God. He's my God. Is he yours? Oh, he's my God. By grace, he's my God. I pray
it'll be so for you if you do not know him. But my God shall
supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. Beloved of God, we who are the
people of God, we know that we're planted by the grace of God,
we're trees planted by the grace of God, and we owe all that we
have to the Lord. All that we have to our Lord.
And he who is our Heavenly Father cares for us and watches over
us. and sustains us in times of trouble,
in times of trial, in times of tribulation, in times of sorrow,
in times of joy, in times in the mountains, in times in the
valley. He ever sustains us. We are sustained by our great
God. Not only has he planted us, but
he sustains us and causes us to grow, beloved. And he supplies
all our needs. Note that verse. Let's read that verse again.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. Note what it says there and what
it doesn't say. It says here that God supplies
all our needs. It doesn't say he supplies all
our wants. As we often ask and miss, beloved. This verse destroys health, wealth,
prosperity gospel, the false gospel of health, wealth, prosperity,
which says just name it and claim it. No. No, God supplies all
my need. Doesn't always give me what I
want, because what I want isn't always good for me. But all praise
his mighty name, he always gives us what we need. Paul here brings forth very clearly,
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, remember too, that God's
promises are not as some man's promises. No, beloved of God,
all God's promises are yea and amen in Christ. Yea and amen
in Christ. We have pardon and grace, how?
In and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Note what the verse says,
but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. By Christ Jesus. We have pardon
and grace in and through and through the Lord Jesus Christ,
grace that covers all our sins by the shed blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We have justifying righteousness
before God in and through Christ alone. And it is God who supplies
all our needs very clearly in this verse. If we're planted
by the Lord, which we are, then all our growth and him sustaining
us is by him, by his almighty hand, by his almighty hand. And it is God who supplies all
our need according to His, look at this, according to His riches
and glory. According to His greatness, beloved. According to His greatness. The riches of His grace. is rich not only in the perfections
of his nature, which are inconceivable and incommunicable. We cannot, we can't conceive
the greatness of our God and we can't even communicate properly
the greatness of our God, but we just tell what we know, don't
we? We tell what we know. But he's rich also in the works
of his hands of creation and providence. We saw that tonight
in the psalm. And this whole earth, beloved,
is full of His riches. Full of His riches. Full of His
glory. Manifests the glory of our great
God. And according to these riches
of His goodness, He supplies the wants of all His creatures,
as we saw earlier in Psalm 104. But He's also rich in grace and
mercy, which we see here in Philippians chapter 4. And it is all according to the riches
of His grace. He supplies the spiritual wants
of His people. He supplies the spiritual wants
of His people. And He does it according to the
riches of His grace. The riches that He has. He gives them to us abundantly
in and through Christ Jesus alone. Our great God does this for us.
And take note in Philippians chapter 4, 19, he does this by
Christ Jesus. By Christ Jesus, through him.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. Has he not supplied all our spiritual
needs? He has in Christ, doesn't he?
Why? Because he's the one mediator
between God and man. So truly, the people of God our
trees of righteousness, planted, sustained, and supplied by our
great God. Praise His mighty name.