Psalm 27. The name of the message is, My Light,
Salvation, and Strength. My Light, Salvation, and Strength. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When
the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to
eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should
acamp against me, my heart shall not fear. A war should rise against
me, and this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, That will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble,
he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle,
he shall hide me. He shall set me up upon a rock. Now shall my head be lifted up
above my enemies round about me. Therefore will I offer in
His tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, yea, I will
sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with
my voice. Have mercy also upon me and answer
me. When Thou saidst, Seek ye my
face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me.
Put not thy servant away in anger. Hast thou been my help? Leave
me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father
and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach
me thy way, O Lord. and lead me in a plain path because
of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the
will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against
me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait
on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Now natural man, natural man
likes to boast in himself. Natural man likes to boast in
himself. He likes to tell you all about
what he has done and what he's doing, usually to magnify himself
before others. This is a natural state that
we have all come into this world in. But the Christian is one
who no longer boasts in himself. The Christian is one who no longer
boasts in themselves. They boast in another. As they have had revealed to
them, one who is far superior in all ways. And they have had
shown to them their sinfulness, and his holiness, and his righteousness,
and his perfection, compared to our imperfection. Now we struggle,
we still struggle, even as saved, born again, blood-washed believers,
we still struggle with self. We who are the redeemed of the
Lord. But the Christians boast where we used to boast in ourselves,
now we boast in Christ. Now we boast of the things that
Christ has done. who he is, the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man,
God incarnate in the flesh. And this we see is a Psalm of
David. The date of this psalm is unknown,
but one can judge from the matter of the text that the writer was
pursued by his enemies. Look at verses three and four.
Though an host should a camp against me, my heart shall not
fear. Though war should rise against me, in this will I be
confident. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in his temple. We see that the psalmist at this
time was shut out of the house of the Lord, again in verse 4.
And he was subject to slander. Look at verse 12. No doubt this
is similar to the time when Doeg the Edomite spoke against David
to Saul. But here in this psalm, we see
a song of cheerful hope, a song of boasting in the Lord while
in times of trial. And we who are the redeemed of
the Lord can sing this with David because we've learned to lean
upon the almighty arm of God at all times, at all times, whether
it be trials, whether it be times of quietness. We'll look at the first six verses
of the psalm tonight, where we see that the believer's only
hope is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. He alone is our
refuge. He alone is our strength. He
alone is the rock of our salvation. And therefore we can conclude
that He alone is our all in all. And He is the only one we can
truly boast in. He's the only one we can truly
boast in. Look at verse 1, Psalm of David.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Whom shall I be afraid? Now note right away we see the
relation of the illumination by the Holy Spirit of giving
us light to see Christ in salvation. We see the need of light if man
would be saved. Christ must be revealed. God
who is light must give light or we sit in darkness. God who
is light must give light, or we sit in darkness. And here
before us in our text, we see a personal interest, don't we?
By the psalmist. The Lord is my light. He's not saying it's his son's
light, or his other children's light. He says, the Lord's my
light. And my salvation. And my strength. This is what
the believer says. We can't save anyone. We can't
even save ourselves, can we? But we who are redeemed of the
Lord can say along with David, Lord, the Lord is my salvation. He's my light. He's my strength. So we see a personal interest
here. the soul that is resting in Christ
is assured of these precious truths. Assured of these precious
truths. And therefore, that one who is
resting and trusting in the Lord, and the Lord being, we know,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord our salvation, the soul trusting in Him boasts,
boasts not in anything in themselves, say, but boasts in the one who
is their salvation, the Lord. The Lord is my light. Can you
say this? Can you say this? Oh, I pray
that God would make it so if you can't. Because this is what
he's done for every blood-washed believer. He's made it so for
us. And the believer cries, the Lord
is my light and my salvation. But what is the strength of my
light? My light, here it says. The psalmist
has been born again by the Holy Spirit of God and thus cries
out, my light. As one commentator said in the
New Birth, divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation.
Now light is something that makes vision possible or illuminates. Jehovah is the true and absolute
light. For God is light and in Him is
no darkness at all, 1 John 1.5. And we who are the redeemed of
the Lord were at one time in darkness. But we've been given
light, haven't we? We've been given light. And you
know that we could not even see our own darkness when we were
in it? We thought we were fine. We didn't think we were in darkness. Oh, we didn't long for the Lord
Jesus Christ at that time. In our natural state, there was
no salvation in what we did or by our works. We were dead in
trespasses and sins and in darkness. Now let us note that this is
God's work. How do we know that? Because
it says in the scripture, the Lord is my light. This is God's
work. The Lord is my salvation. This
is God's work. The Lord is the strength of my
life. Again, it's God's work. We did not make him our light. And the scriptures declare here,
he is the believer's light. It is he who has translated us
from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son.
It's his work. He's done this. And the work of salvation is
the Lord's work, not ours. And the saint acknowledges not
only that Jehovah has given light to him, but also that Jehovah
is my light. Not only has he given me light,
he is my light. He is my light. Turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians
4, verses 1 to 6. And we see this is very clear
here, that this is God who has demanded the light to shine out
of darkness in the believers' hearts. Look at 2 Corinthians
4, verses 1 to 6. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not. The believers
received mercy. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 1. But
have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness, nor a handle on the word of God deceitfully, but
by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost. There was a time when the
gospel was hid to me. Was it so with you? No, he's revealed it. He's revealed
Christ to me. In whom, look at this, in whom
the God of the world had blinded the minds of them which believed
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, there it is,
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants, for
Jesus' sake. For God, look at this marvelous
scripture, for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
that's happened in every believer's life. God has 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. The Lord Jesus Christ has been
revealed to us. And the believer cries, the Lord
is my light. And he is my salvation. And he
is my strength. And notice there, for God who
commanded the light, that tells us right there, God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, He's the author and finisher
of our faith, beloved. Brother John, when the Lord saved
you, he commanded the light to shine. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. He's the author of that. Oh my,
it thrills our hearts. And what can we conclude from
that? Well, we can conclude what Jonah said, salvation is of the
Lord. Therefore, the believer cries
out with David, the Lord is my life and my salvation and the
strength of my life. Now, think of this. He's my light
because he became my light by his will. By his will and by his purpose. Now, let us think of this, which
was purposed in Christ in the eternity past. So we cry out,
the Lord is my light, my salvation, and the strength of my life,
and this was all purposed by God in eternity. My, oh my. And for the believer in Christ,
God is our light, because all our real illumination to the
mind, the conscience, and the heart is from Him, is from Him. And think of this, too, about
being called From darkness to light, light always scatters
darkness. Always, always scatters the darkness. You flip a light switch on, it's
not going to be dark anymore. That light is going to burst
forth. And the darkness is gone. Oh, my. Think of that when you
get up in the middle of night. Sometimes we get up in the middle
of night, the light's off. We're bumping into things, right? You turn
that light on, you can see it. Oh, my. And that's so true, right? When the Lord becomes our light,
we see ourselves in a whole new picture, don't we? And we see
God in a whole new light too, don't we? We see God for who
He is now. Oh my. And that's why we bow
down before Him. And we cry out with David, He's
my light, my salvation, the strength of my life. And as we draw near to God, who
is the light through the study of His words, the mists of clouds
of selfishness and self-love are driven away. Are driven away. And all things stand out clear
and distinct as they really are. There's a revelation of who we
are. Guilty, sinners, vile sinners. And there's a revelation of who
God is. Oh, righteous. Sovereign, pure holiness, pure
righteousness, far above us. And praise God,
we see God as our Savior as we look to the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is our God and our Savior. Now note, the psalmist here also
boldly proclaims that the Lord is my salvation. The Lord is
my light and my salvation. And the psalmist is boldly boasting
in the one who alone is his salvation. And is this not what we do as
believers? We cry out, the Lord is my salvation. God, the Lord is our salvation. David proclaims that God is his
salvation. And we who by faith have laid
hold upon Christ. We have all covenant blessings
of God. In Christ, who is our salvation,
and we can cry with David. The Lord. Is my light in my salvation? Is my light in my salvation? And then look at the sheer fact
of the argument drawn from what comes next in the form of a question.
Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I fear? The power
of darkness, powers of darkness are not to be feared. for the
Lord, our light, has defeated them. And he has all power. The law
and justice of God are not to be feared for the believer because our Lord has satisfied
them in our place. The wrath of God is not to be
feared because Christ has appeased that for his people by his sacrifice. upon Calvary's cross and by the
shedding of his blood. Death is not to be feared for
the believer, because the Lord has risen from the grave, and
we who are redeemed will one day rise from the grave too. We know when we die, to be absent
from the Lord is to be, to be absent from, yeah, from the Lord,
or from here, oh my, I messed that up bad, didn't I? To be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We know
that, don't we? But one day, our bodies will
be raised, too. Oh, my. Oh, my. Whom shall we fear? No one. Now, we do. We fear because we're
humans, and we struggle in this body of flesh, and we battle
the flesh. But David brings this forth before
us. Whom shall I fear? Shall I fear economic things
that are going on in the world? No, I'm aware of them, but shall
I fear them? No. No. Who should we really fear? The
Lord. The Lord. And God gives the believer
a reverent fear for our God. A reverent fear for who He is.
Whom shall we fear? Any man or anything else? No. because the Lord is our light
and our salvation. And now we see in our text, He
alone is our strength. The Lord is my light and my salvation,
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life, of whom shall I be afraid? Now note, David does not bring
attention to his own strength, but he confesses here his own
weakness. He confesses his own weakness.
Now, he's a powerful man. He was a king and no doubt he
had some physical strength. But he gives all the glory to
God. He boasts in God. He professes
his own weakness. And he professes that God, the
Lord, is the strength. Jehovah, the self-existent one,
is the strength of his life. Again, he professes his own weakness.
Turn, if you would, to Psalm 62. David no longer relies upon
the arm of the flesh, beloved. He no longer relies upon the
arm of the flesh. His rest, his strength, is one
of real power. The omnipotent I am. The great
I am. That is who is his strength.
The Lord. Look at Psalm 62 verses 2 and
then verses 6 and 7. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be greatly moved. Then look at verse six. He only
is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. He is my defense. I shall not be moved in. God
is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength and my
refuge is in God. God is his strength. God is his
refuge. And this is what he's saying
in Psalm 27. The Lord is the strength of my life. Now, the
believer has one hope, don't we? We have one hope, and that's
Christ. Outside of Christ, we are lost,
hopeless, defenseless, and we have no strength. And that's
why gospel preachers preach against self-righteousness. That's why
we preach against self-righteousness. Because in yourself, you have
no strength to save yourself. I have no strength to save myself.
Oh, but Christ is my salvation. The believer cries, the Lord
is my salvation. And the believer cries with David,
the Lord is the strength of my life. Now let us consider this
in this verse. Look at this. The Lord is my
light and my salvation. The Lord is the strength of my
life. We have a threefold cord right
here before us, beloved, which cannot be broken. A threefold cord right here before
us which cannot be broken. The Lord is my light. And my salvation. The Lord is the strength of my
life. There's a threefold cord, beloved. Oh my. It cannot be broken. My the Lord the self-existent
one is my light the Lord the self-existent one is my salvation
The Lord the self-existent one is the strength of my life This
is the one we boast in beloved because we are weak. I We can't
help ourselves, we can't save ourselves, but praise be to God,
he who has all power and all might is the one who has saved
us. As I said, this is a threefold
cord which cannot be broken, never, never. And verse one concludes, in light
of all that, verse one concludes again, of whom shall I be afraid? So David had struggles just like
you and I. He's reminding himself, I need not to fear in this situation.
Of whom shall I be afraid? Now this bold question looks
into the future as well as the present, doesn't it? Whom shall
I be afraid of now and whom shall I be afraid of in the future?
I need to remind myself constantly. David is bringing forth The fact that it is the Lord
himself who is his salvation, who is
his light, who is the strength of his life. And think of this
in light of this, if God be for us, who can be against us? If God be for us, who can be
against us? Now, family members may turn
on us, right? Some of us here have had family members turn
on us. It happens, doesn't it? And it's hard. It's not easy. Friends, people we know, if God be for us, who can be against
us? Oh, what comfort this can bring
a believer. What comfort this can bring us.
What peace this can bring us. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the believer's complete and only refuge, isn't he? He's our only
refuge. He's our only hope. We don't have any hope outside
of him. But oh, if you're one of the redeemed and you can say
this, the Lord is my life. The Lord is my salvation. The
Lord is the strength of my life. We're so blessed. We are blessed beyond words,
beloved. Mercy, what mercy we see here. Let's consider verses two and
three. When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes come upon
me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. So David looks back
to a time when his enemies have come upon him and they've been
defeated, which would give him strength and hope. Should a whole
host encamp against him? Look at verse three, though,
when hosts should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. The war should rise against me,
in this will I be confident. Now these are wicked men, enemies
and foes of the people of God, who hate God's people and will
do all they can to cause them distress and afflict them. Such
enemies David had many. David had many, and those came
upon him or approached against him. They drew near to make war
with him. The word signifies they attacked
him in a hostile manner. Their hope was to destroy him.
Their hope was to destroy him, but David has peace amidst the
conflict. David has hope amidst the conflict. In verse one, the Lord is his
light and salvation, strength. So his confidence is not in himself,
beloved. His confidence is in the Lord. Christian peace is exhibited
by David in our text, and it's displayed in the confident endurance
of affliction by which he is sustained by divine help. He's
sustained by divine. We who are redeemed can say it's
so because we've lived that, haven't we? There's things that
would have crushed us. But the Lord sustains us and
keeps us, and it's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. David's
sustained by divine help. Remember, too, in our study in
1 Peter, faith is strengthened by trials. It's strengthened
by trials. Why? Because they drive us away
from ourselves to Christ. Because the first place we usually
go is, well, I'm gonna try to figure this out. But see, these things drive us
from ourself to Christ, to Christ. Look at verse four. One thing
have I desired of the Lord that I seek after, that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold
the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Now note
the wondrous change in the believer. The one who had no desire for
the Lord in their natural states now desires the Lord and seeks
after him. Is it so with you? I know it's
so with me. What a wondrous change the Holy
Spirit writes in a believer. Because I know we who are redeemed
of the Lord can look back and say, I had no desire for the
Lord. I had no desire for the things of the Lord. I had no
desire for His Word. I had no desire for His people. One thing that I have desired
of the Lord that I will seek after that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty
of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Beloved, David desires communion
with the Lord in his temple, to be with God's people and to
worship, worship God. I ask you who are the redeemed
of the Lord. Is this not your heart state? We desire to be with God's people. We desire to hear the gospel
preached and proclaimed. Now look at this too. It's one
thing to desire something. It's another to both desire and
seek. One thing have I desired of the
Lord that I will seek after. David's hunger and thirsting
out the righteousness below. So it's one thing to desire something,
but to seek after it. To put the desire into action
is what we see here. And let us note how different
is the desire of the saints from the world. They have no care
of the gospel. They have no care of gathering
together and hearing the word of God preached. But the believer desires and
seeks after these things. Happy is the man who has found
what David means by one thing. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. Christ is the one thing the believer
desires. When we gather together, we desire
to hear about Christ, don't we? We desire to hear about our God
who saved us. We don't need 50 ways to be a
better Christian. That stuff's just garbage. Tell me about Christ. Tell me
about Him. Tell me about what He's done.
Tell me how He died upon Calvary's cross to pay the price for all
my sins which I could never pay for. Tell me how He redeemed
me with His precious blood, beloved. Tell me how He was raised for
my justification. Rejoice with me, beloved of God.
It's marvelous. Tell me of His great incarnation,
how God Himself became a man Tell me about Christ. He's who
I desire. And if the Lord Jehovah is indeed
our light and salvation, then this one thing will also be the
one thing needful. The grand desire of your soul. Just as it is to David. Look what David brings forth
here, to behold the beauty of the Lord. Look at this in verse
four. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord. Oh, I want to see him. I want to see him through his
word preached. Oh, I want to talk to the saints
about him. And the one who has been given
eyes to see the beauty of the Lord, the beauty of the King
of glory, they will feel their heart captivated with no one
but Him. With no one but Him. To contemplate
the glory, grace, wisdom, love, and faithfulness in God the Father.
is manifested most in the redemption of His people by His dear Son.
Oh, it fills our heart with wonder and with love to behold the glories
of Christ, His person, the infinite beauties in Him, and the infinite
riches in His salvation, which He has purchased with His own
precious blood. which has been given to the believer
in Him. The fact that we have all spiritual
blessings in Christ. It's beautiful to the believer
to behold the love and grace and condescension of God, the
Holy Spirit, who gives life to bore dead sinners, regenerating
us when we were dead in trespasses and sins. We see the beauty,
the beauty of the Lord. And this is what we desire. And
whoever has been given eyes to see Jehovah in His threefold
character of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the three in one,
will find in Christ, they will have a heart which has the same
influence upon it as David here proclaims, to desire this one
thing. To desire this one thing. And
this one thing only is the sum total of all happiness. that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Now let us consider verses
5 and 6. For in the time of trouble he
shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me. He shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted
up above mine enemies round about me. Therefore will I offer in
his tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing praises unto
the Lord. Look at verse 5. For in the time
of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of
his tabernacle shall he hide me. He shall set me up upon a
rock. All who are in the Lord Jesus
Christ, all his people, are safe. Safe in calm times and safe in
times of trial. Safe in times of trouble. God's
sheep, beloved, and I want this to burn into our hearts. God's
sheep are eternally secure in Him. In Him. Because the believer is hid in
Christ. Turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 3. The believer is hid in Christ, who is our life. Colossians
chapter 3. Colossians 3, verses 3 and 4. Oh, He hides us in Christ. God
hides us in Christ, who is God incarnate in the flesh. He alone
is our rock. Look at Colossians 3, verses
3 and 4. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory.
Now, as far as the world is concerned with its riches and honor and
temporary glory, and remember, it's all temporary, the things
of the world, fame and pleasure and relationships. As far as
the world is concerned, you're dead. The believer's dead. Our new life Our real life and
interest is with Christ in God. We are hid with Christ, which
denotes the secrecy of it. The natural man does not understand
it, beloved. We who are redeemed just... When
we're around family members who aren't saved, they don't understand. They don't understand. They sometimes
wonder, why aren't you the same person you used to be? Because
I'm a new creature in Christ. I have new desires now. My desire
is Christ and Christ alone. Natural man does not understand
that we're hid with Christ. And this also, it denotes the
secrecy of it. The natural man does not know
it. Cannot understand it. And it also denotes, this little
beloved, the safety. The safety of it. Hidden Christ. Hidden the one who is my salvation.
hidden the One who is my light. No wonder David penned that.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And the more we are aware of
our union with Christ, the more our minds are set upon Him, the
less interest we have in this world and its passing vanities.
and the more we desire to be with Him. Look at verse 5 now
again. In our text, Psalm 27, verse
5. For in the time of trouble He
shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret of His tabernacle
He shall hide me, He shall set me up upon a rock. Beloved, this
rock is Christ. This rock is Christ. 1 Corinthians 10.4 says this, And
did all drink the same spiritual rock, for they drank of that
spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.
1 Corinthians 10.4. And in turn, if you would, Psalm
61, verses 2-4. Beloved, no one established upon
the rock by Jehovah will ever perish. And that rock is Christ. And this is why I want us to...
We are eternally secure in Christ. It's incredible. It's absolutely
incredible. Look at Psalm 61, verses 2 to
4. From the end of the earth will
I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. David went through some
things, didn't he? To pen these words, when my heart
is overwhelmed. Oh, how often we find our heart
overwhelmed, beloved. Lead me to the rock that is higher
than I. For Thou hast been a shelter
for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Thy
tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of
Thy wings. Look what He pens. I will abide in Thy tabernacle
forever. Safe in the rock which is Christ's
beloved. Safe. He set us upon a rock,
beloved. And that rock is Christ. That
rock is Christ, beloved. Let's go back to our Psalms,
Psalm 27, and look at verse 6. And let us consider verse 6,
where we see David praising God for the wonderful truths that
he spoke of earlier in the Psalm. He's proclaimed, he boasted,
and we only boast in the Lord. When I say boasting, I don't
mean we're all self-righteous and proud. We just boast in the
Lord. He's my light. He's my salvation. He's the strength
of my life. I'm nothing without Him. Nothing
without Him. Look at verse 6 here. my head
be lifted up above mine enemies round about me. Therefore will
I offer in this tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, yea, I will
sing praises unto the Lord. David has proclaimed this wondrous
salvation in the Lord. He's proclaimed that the Lord
is his light and his strength, his salvation. He's considered
how his enemies are defeated time and time again. He's proclaimed
that he is hidden in Christ, hid by God in times of trouble,
which shows us again preserving grace, beloved, preserving grace
for hidden Christ Jesus our Lord. He's considered that he's set
upon a rock, and we know that that rock is Christ. That rock
is Christ. And now his heart and mouth is
full of praises to his great God and King. who is His salvation,
to the one who is His light, to the one who is the strength
of His light. His mouth is full of praises
for Him, full of praises for Him. And these are some of the
blessed effects of the knowledge and enjoyment of the Lord, knowing
that He is my light, knowing that He is my salvation, knowing
that He is my strength. We'll fill the blood-bought saint
of God with praise, with praise, and we will be lifted up above
our enemies, and we will sing praises unto the Lord." Or sing
praises unto Him. And David sings praises to God,
knowing that God will give him victory over his enemies. Turn,
if you would, to Numbers chapter 10, knowing that God will give
victory over his enemies. Even though he is surrounded
by them, he will offer sacrifices of joy to God for his deliverance. This means shouting. Sacrifices
of joy means shouting, beloved. Shouting for joy. Such as trumpets,
which are sounded in Numbers 10 at various times. Shouting
like a trumpet. And this is spoken of over in
Numbers chapter 10. Verse 10, in reference to offering
sacrifices of joy is found in verse 10, but let's look at verses
one, and we'll read all the way to 10. And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, make thee two trumpets of silver, of a whole
piece shalt thou make them, that thou mayest use them for the
calling of the assembly, for the journeying of the camps.
And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall
assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of
the congregation. And if they blow but with one
trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of
Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. When ye blow an alarm,
then the camps that lie in the east part shall go forward. When
ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie in the
south shall take their journey, and they shall blow an alarm
for their journeys. But when the congregation is to be gathered
together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with trumpets, and
they shall be for you in ordinance forever throughout your generations. And if you go to war in the land
against the enemy that oppresses you, then you shall blow an alarm
with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord
your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. And verse
10, also in the day of gladness. which is a reference, we know
that the sacrifices of joy were to be like trumpets, beloved,
were to trumpet with joy and praise our great God and what
he's done. Also on the day of your gladness
and in your psalm days, in the beginning of your months, you
shall blow with trumpets over your burnt offerings and over
the sacrifices of your peace offerings, that they may be to
you for a memorial before your God. I am the Lord, your God. And so in our text, in verse
six, it says, and now shall mine head be lifted up over mine enemies
round about me. Therefore, I offer in his tabernacle
sacrifices of joy. Oh, our praise is mighty. Sounding
like a trumpet, I will sing, yea, I will sing praise unto
the Lord. Oh, my. So let us close, considering
that the believer will sing praises to our great God and King, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now shall mine head be lifted
up above mine enemies round about me. Therefore, will I offer in
this tabernacle sacrifices of joy? Oh, my, I will sing. Yeah, I will sing praises unto
the Lord. Look at this. I will sing. Yeah,
I will sing praises unto the Lord. The language This is language
which comes from a full heart. A heart full of praise and a
heart full of joy for the great things which the Lord hath done.
David is not contented with merely saying, I'll sing. No, beloved. He says, I will sing. Yay, I
will sing. Praise is unto you. He repeats the idea. He dwells
upon it with a heart overflowing with gratitude. He gives utterance
to his inward joy, beloved. He gives utterance to his inward
joy. He sings praises unto the Lord,
who is his light. He sings praises unto the Lord,
who is his salvation. He sings praises unto the Lord,
who is the strength of his life. He gives utterance to his inward
joy. And is this not the language
of a thankful, redeemed heart? It's so, isn't it? It's so. So, beloved, let us leave this
place tonight knowing that God lifts up his people above our
enemies. Therefore, we are ought to exalt
him and praise his mighty name for his mercy and goodness to
us in Christ. And the fact that he always causes
us to triumph in Christ, I'll close with the scripture, Second
Corinthians two fourteen, it says now, thanks be unto God. which always causes us to triumph
in Christ and make it manifest the Savior of His knowledge by
us in every place. Now, thanks be unto God, which
always causes us to triumph in Christ. Gracious Heavenly Father,
we thank Thee for this wonderful psalm. And we who are redeemed,
we who are the blood-bought saints of God, know that there was a
time when we had no care for thee, or for your word, or for
your people. But now, O Lord, O now, we cry
out with David, you are my light, you are my salvation, and you
alone are the strength of my life. Lord, we thank Thee for
showing us mercy, for granting us faith to believe. And we pray
that You would use these messages for Your glory and Your honor,
and that You would draw in Your lost sheep with them. Glory to
Your name, Lord Jesus. And we pray all these things
in Your name. Amen.