I never heard that song. We were
at our first Bible conference that we'd ever went to at Rescue
Baptist Church and a dear brother named Mike Loveless sang that
song. I'd never heard it before. And it's just so precious and
it's still precious today. Thank you, Sister Kathy. It's
still glory be to our God. It's still a wonderful song,
isn't it? It just speaks to our hearts. And God's people marvel
that he included me in salvation's plan. Turn, if you would, to
Psalm 36. Psalm 36. Psalm 36. The name of the message
is Divine Excellence. The Divine Excellence. Psalm
36. Let's read the whole psalm right
off the bat here. The transgression of the wicked
saith within my heart that there is no fear of God before his
eyes. For he flatter himself in his
own eyes until his iniquity be found to be hateful. Words of
his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He hath left off to be wise and
to do good. He devises mischief upon his
bed, and setteth himself in a way that is not good. He abhorreth
not evil. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the
heavens, and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Thy
righteousness is like the great mountains. Thy judgments are
a great deep. O Lord, thou preservest men and
beasts. How excellent is thy lovingkindness,
O God! Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly
satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make
them drink of rivers of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain
of life. In thy light shall we see light.
O, continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee. and
thy righteousness to the upright and hard, but not the foot of
pride come against me, not the hand of the wicked remove me.
There are the workers of iniquity fallen. They are cast down and
they shall not be able to rise. We see here in this psalm first
description of the wicked men in verses one to four. Then we
see in the description of Jehovah's goodness and mercy to his people,
and we know that comes to God's people only through the Lord
Jesus Christ, and that is found in verses 5 and 9. And then we
look at the prayer, the prayer of the blood-washed believer,
born again the Saint of God, which we will see in verses 10
to 12. Let's first look at the first
four verses with this first point in mind here before us. In Scripture
we have here before us a description of the wicked man. The transgression of the wicked
saith within my heart that there is no fear of God before his
eyes. For he flattereth himself in
his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity
and deceit. He hath left off to be wise and
to do good. He devises mischief, I think,
cooks up all kinds of things in his mind against people, even
against the people of God. He setteth himself up in a way
that is not good, he abhorreth not evil. So right here before us, we see
man's depravity on full display. Remember what was written of
natural man. The state of natural man before
the flood. Turn if you would to Genesis
chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. And this is
still the same today, beloved. Genesis chapter 6, verses 5 to
8. And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great. in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,
verse five. Let's read that again. And God
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Note right there. And this is
true for God's people and for the unsaved. God knows everything
we think and say, whether it be good or bad. He knows everything. No one gets away with nothing.
Our thoughts are laid bare before him. Absolutely bare before him. And it repented the Lord that
he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy men from whom I've created from
the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing
and the fowls of the air, for it repented me that I made them.
And then look at verse eight. And this is true of every one
of God's blood-bought people. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. What a wonderful verse. But Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We looked at that this
morning in Sunday school about the grace of God. And the believer
has found grace in the eyes of God. So we see from that scripture
there that there's nothing new under the sun. Nothing new under
the sun. This is the description of natural
man. And even in our text here we have a description of the
wicked. The wicked do not fear God. Note in verse 2 of Psalm
36 that they flatter themselves. They flatter themselves. And
also take note that the wicked speak in an ungodly manner. We
see that in verse 3. The words of his mouth are iniquity
and deceit. He had left off to be wise and
to do good. Oh my. Also take note in verse four,
the wicked devise mischief and set themselves to do and to act
wickedly. And at the end of verse four,
the wicked love wickedness. Or they love sin. They love sin. He devises mischief upon his
bed, he setteth himself in a way that is not good, he abhorreth
not evil. So let's break down these verses
and see if this is not true of natural man. The first point
is there's no fear of God before his eyes. No fear of God. Now we see that in natural man.
We see that in the wicked. The wicked possess no reverential
fear of God. I know, because I was there.
And I'm a sinner but saved by the grace of God right now, but
I remember. Do you remember your natural
state, you who are a born-again believer? We didn't fear things,
did we? No. But now the believer in Christ
has a reverential fear of God and awe of who he is. It's not
a slavish fear, it's a fear of awe in reverence of who our holy
God is. Natural man doesn't have that.
Doesn't have that. Over in Psalm 119, 161, the scripture
declared this of the believer. It declares that our hearts stand
in awe of God. It says this, princes have persecuted
me without a cause, but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
We stand in awe of the word of God. We stand in awe, we who
believe in who God is. He's a holy and righteous God.
We stand in awe. And then we stand in awe, as
our dear sister sang, we stand in awe that He included us in
salvation's plan. So there's no fear of God with
a wicked man, no dread or terror. But I'll tell you this, when
they stand before the holy God, there will be fear. There will
be fear. If they stand before Him in their
own righteousness, they will fear Him dreadfully when His
wrath is poured out upon them. Note in verse 2, the wicked flatter
themselves in their own eyes. They flatter themselves. They
have no fear of God, and they have self-flattery. Self-promotion. Only think about themselves.
And then they flatter themselves in their wickedness. They flatter
themselves in who they are. They overestimate themselves.
They're self-deceiving. And what will that eventually
do? That'll lead to their eternal doom. Left in that state. Then note in verse two, until
his iniquity be found to be hateful. The wicked man flatters himself.
He says, well, I'm not that bad. I'm not that bad. Surely I'm
not that bad. I'm not as bad as that guy over
there, that guy who's in prison. No, not at all. That's what the
wicked say. They flatter themselves. But scripture says, be sure your
sin will find you out. It will. It'll find you out. Note in verse 3, the words of
his mouth are iniquity and deceit. Turn if you would to Romans chapter
3. Romans chapter 3. And we see the truth of this
being brought forth over there in Romans chapter 3, when Paul
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit pens these words. Romans chapter
3 verses 13 to 18. Their throat is an open sepulcher,
and with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of Asp
is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery
are in their ways. And the ways of peace they have
not known, they have no peace at all. No peace. That's one thing that Vicki and
I've talked about before, is how the peace that we have now
in Christ Jesus, our Lord, is it so for you who are a blood
bought child of God? Oh, what peace the believer has
in Christ. But we had no peace before and the wicked have no
peace. No peace at all. In the way of peace they have
not known, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Let's
go back to Psalm 36 and note in verse 4. He devises mischief
upon his bed. The scriptures declare the wicked
in the book of Proverbs chapter 4 verse 16. For they sleep not,
except they have done mischief. And their sleep is taken away,
unless they cause some to fall. Verse 4 continues, he said of
himself in a way that is not good. He is deliberate in his
wickedness. He's deliberate in rejecting
Christ. He rejects the one who is the
only way of salvation. Who is the only rest for sinners.
And the wicked man is deliberate in choosing instead of the way
of of Christ chooses the way of the ungodly. And that way
leads to destruction. For the Lord knoweth the way
of righteousness, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Verse 4 closes with, He abhorreth not evil. On the contrary, those
who leave the path of righteousness walk in the ways of darkness,
and they will rejoice to do evil, and delight in the forwardness
of the wicked. I know this to be true, and I know you who are
born again, but saying to God, no, this would be true because
that was our natural state, wasn't it? That's where God found me. So with you. So this before us is a very clear
picture of the natural state of man. Never forget, beloved
of God, beloved of God. Never forget where the Lord saved
you, where you were when the Lord saved you. Never forget
the pit that the Lord took you out of. Never, ever, ever forget
that. Because it's all by the mercy
and grace of God. Because we were just like everyone
else before the Lord saved us. And even now, after we're saved,
we're but saved sinners, aren't we? We still struggle with sin. Constantly. Constantly. Now take note here of the beautiful
transition that the psalmist brings forth here before us.
From the corruption of man to have us contemplate the mercy
and faithfulness of our great God. Usually in scripture, you
always see the bad news and then the good news. Well, look at
this. Look at the transition here before
us. And what a contrast we see here. The contrast here before
us is not between the wicked and the righteous, but between
the wicked and Jehovah. So there we had set before us
the state of natural man. And now we have set before us
a wonderful description of the Lord, the wonderful description
of Jehovah, our God. We see in verse five that his
faithfulness is spoken. We see His mercy spoken of. We
see a description of His righteousness in verse 6. And His judgments
in verse 6. And we see how He also preserves
both man and beast. And how He is precious to the
believer. And how His loving kindness is bought forth in verse
7. And also His trustworthiness.
And in verse 8 we see His ability to satisfy and please the souls
of His people. And in verse 9 we see that He
is the life and the light of His people. And we who are His
blood-bought people, we who are born again, we know this to be
true. We know this is true only in and through Christ Jesus our
Lord. Let's read verses 5 to 9. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the
heavens, and Thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Thy
righteousness is like the great mountain. Thy judgments are a
great deep. O Lord, thou preservest man and
beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness,
O God. Therefore the children of man
put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly
satisfied with the fatness of thy house. And thou shalt make
them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the
fountain of life. It's nowhere else. It's nowhere
else. In thy light shall we see light. So note, the psalmist begins
with Jehovah's mercy. He begins with Jehovah's mercy
and his faithfulness to his people. And remember, we were in the
same state of wickedness as those spoken of before the Lord saved
us, before we were born again. We were in the same state of
the wicked in verses 1 to 4. And we are receivers of the grace
of God, receivers of the mercy of God in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now the Hebrew word here for
mercy is defined as goodness, kindness, faithfulness. Thy mercy,
O Lord, is in the heavens. Goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
And all this God has shown to His people in and through Christ.
And Psalm 59 so beautifully brings that out. Turn, if you would,
over to Psalm 59. Brings this forth as the psalmist
pens these words. And I ask, is this not the cry
of your heart before God? Look at Psalm 59, verses 16 and
17, in light of the mercy of God. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in
the heavens. Look at this in 59, 16 and 17.
But I will sing of thy power, and God's people, we sing of
the power of God. Yea, I will sing aloud of thy
mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defense and refuge
in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will
I sing, for God is my defense and the God of my mercy. Oh,
what mercy God has had on His people in and through Christ.
And then over in Ephesians chapter 2, we read this in Sunday School,
and I'll read it again. In Ephesians chapter 2, verses
1-7, And you, Hathi-Quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins. And remember, Paul's writing to believers in Christ. And he's
writing of their state before their salvation. And you, and
you Hathi-Quickened, you're born again. who were dead in trespasses
and sins. Now a dead man can't do anything,
can they? They lack ability to do anything. That was our natural
state. Where in times past ye walked
according to the course of the world, according to the prince
of the power of the air and the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversations
in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. You couldn't tell one of God's
elect before he was saved from the wicked. Not at all. But God, who is rich in what? Mercy. Oh, the mercy of God in
Christ. God is absolutely rich in mercy,
beloved. But God who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us. How long has he
loved us? From eternity. from eternity in Christ. Even
when we were dead and sins hath quickened us together, we're
born again with Christ by grace, ye are saved. Not by any work
she done, but only by grace. And hath raised us up together
and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. So the
mercy that's spoken of back here in Psalm 36, verse 5, Thy mercy,
O Lord, is in the heavens. Oh, Jehovah's mercy to His people
is plenteous, isn't it? It's super abounding, this mercy
and this grace. It's everlasting. To everlasting
upon them that fear Him. And as the heavens surround and
encompass the earth, so Jehovah's mercy and loving kindness Surrounds
His people. Think of that. Think of that.
You who are the blood-bought people of God. His mercy encompasses
you. Surrounds you. Protects you. His loving kindness. Next, the
psalmist brings forth in this psalm the faithfulness of God.
Look at Psalm 36, verse 5. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the
heavens, and Thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Jehovah's
faithfulness is His immutable faithfulness as He fulfills every
promise He has ever made to His people. And we know that all
the promises of God are what? Yea and Amen in Christ, don't
we? Oh, He's faithful, beloved. His
faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Turn, if you would, to
1 Kings 8. And let's read what Solomon...
He's addressing the nation of Israel and marvel at how These
words speak of God's faithfulness to us in and through Christ Jesus
our Lord. 1 Kings 8, verses 56 and 57. Oh, God is so faithful to his
people through Christ. Look at verse 56 and 57. Blessed
be the Lord that hath given rest unto his people. Who's our rest?
Who's our rest, beloved? The Lord Jesus Christ. He's given
rest unto His people Israel according to all that He promised. And
again, all the promises of God and Christ are yea and amen.
There hath not failed one word of all His good promise. Not
one. He's not failed once. Which He promised by the hand
of Moses His servant. The Lord our God be with us.
As He was with our fathers, let Him not leave us nor forsake
us. Wonderful. There hath not failed
one word of all His good promises. Promise, not one. Our God is
faithful, ever faithful. Hath not God given rest to His
people? Do we not have a rest in Christ?
Yes. He's our Sabbath, isn't He? He's
our rest. Has not God fulfilled all that
He has promised to us in and through Christ? All that we need,
and all that was promised to the believer, the believer has
in Christ. And look at verse 57 there in
1 Kings 8, 57. The Lord our God be with us as
He was with our fathers. Let Him not leave us nor forsake
us. Now others may leave us. Others
may forsake us. But God will never leave us nor
forsake us. Ever. Ever. Never. And He's faithful. Fear not, then, you who are the
born-again, beloved child of God. God's faithfulness is higher
than all your needs. Higher than all your needs. Sometimes
our needs or a trial seems like a mountain, doesn't it? Sometimes
things come in our lives, and they seem like a mountain we
think how am I ever gonna? How am I how am I going to do
this? God's faithfulness to you beloved is higher than all your
needs Let's look at verse 6 in Psalm 36 thy righteousness is
like the great mountains thy judgments are a great deep O
Lord thou preservest men and beasts and Jehovah's righteousness is compared
with the mountains which have been produced by the almighty
power of God. Think of this. The mountains
in this world are a natural emblem of God's majesty and power. They proclaim the power of God
right there before us. These great lakes that are so
close to us, beloved. Huge bodies of water. They proclaim
the power and majesty of our great God. Jehovah's righteousness is here
spoken of, is the righteousness of God by which He justifies
sinners, which may be said to be as mountains of God. It is
spoken of in this way because of the dignity of His person.
The fact that it is God who has wrought out our righteousness.
And the believer has a clear manifestation of the righteousness
of God in the Gospel. It is visible to the believer. Because of the majesty of it.
The immovableness of it. And the duration of it. Think
of this and how the believer is clothed in the perfect righteousness
of Christ. God's righteousness is like ancient
mountains, beloved. In the everlasting hills, it's
immovable. In what mercy the believer has
obtained in Christ. Note also in our text, thy judgments
are great and deep. It says, thy righteousness is
like great mountains, thy judgments are great and deep. God's holy
law, weather and blessing, That which is right, or in condemning
that which is wrong, are a great deep. His providential dealings
with man are past finding out. Past finding out. Shall not the
judge of the earth do right? He does whatever he pleases.
Whatever he pleases. The oceans are a great deep.
They're unfathomable. And so are His judgments, so
are His judgments. And also note, He preserves man
and beast. He preserves man and beast. Every single human in every single
beast is in the hands of the Lord. And our days are numbered. Our days are numbered. And He knows the numbers of our
days. We have no idea. But our days are in His hands
and it is appointed unto men once to die and after this the
judgment. Now the thoughts of these wonderful
subjects make the psalmist birth forth in rapture. How excellent, or how precious,
how valuable is Thy lovingkindness. Look at verse 7. How excellent
is Thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. How excellent is
Thy lovingkindness, O God! Have you ever contemplated the
lovingkindness of God towards you? The mercy that God has given
you? Sometimes we take things for
granted, don't we? God's still merciful to us, isn't he? Still
merciful to us. Oh, the loving kindness of God.
The Hebrew word here translated loving kindness is the same as
what's used in verse 10, which is translated mercy in verse
5. How precious, how excellent is
the loving kindness of our great God. Because its value surpasses
all earthly wealth and riches. To know that the loving kindness
of God is set upon me as a believer, is worth more than any wealth,
anything in this world. Is it so for you? Oh, to have the privilege to
gather together as the saints of God when so many others have
no care for the gospel, no care for the things of God, and yet
God brings us together to hear the gospel of God's grace? What
a privilege. What an honor. My. It's all according to God's loving
kindness towards us. Verse 7 concludes, Therefore
the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy
wings. Here before us is brought forth the only refuge for sinners. Jehovah's loving kindness and
mercy. And who are they manifested in? The Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord Jesus Christ. Who came here to this world. Who came here to this world to
save His people from their sins. To save those who are wicked.
Like the first four verses. That's why He came. I thank God
that He came and saved me. Oh, He came to this world to
save His people from their sins. To save us from the wrath of
God. And how we deserve that wrath,
don't we? Wouldn't take us long to start
counting things to figure out why we deserve that. But God
has had mercy on us in Christ. Mercy on us in Christ. And refuge
is only found in Christ. He's the only refuge for sinners. He shall cover thee with His
feathers, and His wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be
thy shield and buckler. Psalm 91, verse 4. He is a shield
to His people. You know what he shields us from?
The wrath and judgment of God. Oh my. There is therefore now
what? No condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Why? Because
the Lord paid it all in our place. For with thee is the fountain
of life. Thy light shall we see light. Look at verses 8 and 9. They
shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house.
And thou shalt make them drink with the river of thy pleasures.
For with thee, and that's God, is the fountain of life. In thy
light shall we see light. Take note, beloved of God, of the riches and greatness of
these promises here before us. Observe how sure and certain
they are. You know, they're all found all
founded in Jehovah the Father, all founded in the Son, and all
found in the Holy Ghost. They shall be abundantly satisfied
with the fatness of thy house." The fatness or fullness which
the occupants of this house are abundantly satisfied with is
Christ. Because it speaks of God's people.
He's our bread of life. He's the believer's honey. He's
the milk for our growth. Turn if you would to 1st Peter
chapter 2. 1st Peter chapter 2. Look at the instruction that
Peter brings forth here. And again, this is written to
believers. This is written to believers. 1st Peter chapter 2 verses 1
to 3. Wherefore laying aside all malice,
evil intent in your heart, whether it be towards one another or
towards the unsaved. This is instruction from the
Word of God. Wherefore, lay aside all malice, evil speaking of
one another, and all guile, and hypocrisies, that's being fake, and envies, being jealous, In all evil speakings, speak
an evil of one another. Look at this. As newborn babes
desire the sincere milk of the word, that she may grow thereby,
if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. So if you've
tasted that the Lord is gracious, desire the word of God. Desire
Christ. Put aside malice. Put aside guile, put aside hypocrisies,
put aside envies, put aside evil speakings. How do we do that?
By looking to Christ. By not looking at one another,
but looking to Christ. You look at me, you're gonna
find fault. I look at you, I'm gonna find fault, right? We will,
because we're sinners, aren't we? But love covers a multitude
of sin, doesn't it, beloved? Multitude of sin. Oh my. And if you tasted that the Lord
is gracious, it's wonderful. Desire the sincere milk of the
word, desire the things of Christ. And Christ is our Passover lamb,
isn't he? We're saved by the shedding of
his precious blood for the remission of all our sins. Our Lord said
this, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins. Over back in our psalm,
they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house.
That's Christ. The fatness of the house is Christ
and Christ alone. He's the only one who we can
be satisfied in. The believer in Christ is only
satisfied with Christ. This is why we desire to only
hear the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why we desire to
hear Christ in Him crucified proclaimed. Because He's our
Savior, He's our Redeemer. Look at our text back in Psalm
36, it continues, Thou shalt make them drink of the river
of Thy pleasures. God the Father is the river of
life, full, plenteous, unceasing. Psalm 46.4 says, There is a river,
the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy
place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God the Son is this
river of life. as he is the fountain of living
waters to his people. Song of Solomon says this of
him, a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams
from Lebanon. The Holy Spirit is also this
river of life, because Scripture says in Isaiah 44, verses 3 and
4, For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods
upon the dry ground, and oh, how we were dry ground, beloved!
I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy
offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows
by the water courses. So the river of God's pleasures
is the pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is a river whose
streams shall make glad the city of God. It is a river of Jehovah's
pleasure, of His everlasting love and His sovereign grace.
And it comes to us, beloved, all in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at verse 9. For with thee
is the fountain of life, In thy light shall we see light. Oh,
there's only life from Jehovah. From Jehovah springs the fountain
of living waters. And this is to be true both of
natural life and of spiritual life. Scripture declares this, for
the Father raises up the dead and quickeneth them, even so
the Son quickeneth whom He will. And who is the Son? Well, the
Son is the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the flesh, and
life only comes from Him. Eternal life. So God is the author
of life natural and life spiritually. Christ is the divine light. Look,
it says, in thy light shall we see light. Well, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the divine light that this is speaking of. We who have been born again by
the Holy Spirit of God, we see He who is the light. And what
happens when we see Christ? We behold our own wickedness,
don't we? We see His holiness and we see our wickedness. And
we marvel that His grace and His love has been set upon us. We behold our wickedness that
was set forth before us in verses 1 to 4. And then we see the goodness
of God and the mercy of God which comes to us through Christ Jesus
our Lord. And the believer delights, don't
they? They delight in the goodness of Jehovah. Scripture declares
this. For God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. It's He who has commanded the
light to shine out of darkness. And what darkness we were in.
Verses 1 to 4 brought that out real clear, didn't they? Now let's consider the last three
verses as the prayer of the blood-washed born-again believer. O continue
thy loving kindness unto them that know thee, and thy righteousness
to the upright in heart. Let not thy foot of pride come
against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. There
are the workers of iniquity fallen, and they are cast down, and shall
not be able to rise. Note what's brought forth here
before us in verse 10. We see the blood-washed saint
of God praying for God's continuing loving-kindness and righteousness
to the saints. O continue Thy loving-kindness
unto them that know Thee, and Thy righteousness to the upright
in heart. Well, Christ is Jehovah's loving-kindness, isn't He? He's
the one that we are showing mercy in and through. And those who
know Him, we know that He alone is our righteousness. He alone
is our righteousness. It is He who has made us upright
in heart or justified us before God. We're sinners still, but
yet the believers justified before God. Isn't that amazing? That's absolutely amazing. It's
all by the work of Christ. And note the saying of God's
people for the prayers of God. Note the prayers of God's people
for everlasting protection from what? From pride and from the
wicked. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not
the hand of the wicked remove me. What did John the Baptist say?
He must increase, and I must decrease. The eye of faith has one object.
One object. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ,
one object, one person we look to. Look at verse 12, they are the
workers of iniquity fall and they are cast down and shall
not be able to rise. The one we look to is already
victorious over the wicked. He's the victorious one, he's
not waiting to rule, he's not waiting to reign, he rules and
reigns right now. And he is victorious right now. He's a victorious king. He's
victorious over all his foes. All his foes. God's people rejoice
in that, don't we? We rejoice. Glory to our great
God. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
for Your goodness and mercy and grace. We pray that You would
be glorified and magnified in our thoughts this week. Oh
Lord, be with us as we go through this week. May we remember the
things that we've seen here today. May we remember the glorious
things that are spoken of thee through the scriptures. Oh, how
great you are. How broad is thy loving kindness
towards thy people. And may we marvel in the fact
that we are clothed in thy righteousness. Lord, we thank thee. We praise
your name for having mercy upon us. We come before thy throne
and oh, Lord, you are a king upon the throne. who rules and
reigns in majesty. And we bow before thee, acknowledging
that thou art the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Glory
to your name, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Just a
quick note