Morning. First day of May. We're another step, another day
closer to eternity. Closer to being with our King.
So today, our text will be found in Psalm 3. It was wonderful
to be able to sing the psalm this morning, too. I thought
that was a real blessing. Psalm chapter 3. God our rescuer. God our rescuer. Psalm chapter 3. This is a psalm
of David when he fled from Absalom, his son. Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against
me. Many there be which say of my
soul, there is no help for him in God, Selah. But thou, O Lord,
art a shield for me, my glory in the lifter of mine head. I
cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy
hill Siloam. I laid me down and slept. I awakened,
for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands
of people that have set themselves against me round about. Rise, O Lord, Save me, O my God,
for Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou
hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth
unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Selah. What a song. There's not
one of us here who don't go through trials and afflictions. Not one
of us here. And every trial and affliction
for each one of us is different. And they're hard. And they're
real. And here David is fleeing from
his son Absalom. His own son. And he sings. Lord, how are they..."
And remember, this is a song. "...Lord, how they are increased
that trouble me. Many are they that rise up against
me." Turn, if you would, to 2 Samuel 16. Many commentators point to
the Scripture in 2 Samuel as the time of this occurrence.
2 Samuel 16, verses 5-12. And when King David came to Barim,
behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of
Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah. He came forth
and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David.
Now, David's already fleeing Absalom. And he cast stones at David,
and at all the servants of King David, and all the people, and
all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And
thus said Shimei, when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody
man, and thou man of Beliel, The Lord hath returned upon thee
all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast
reigned. And the Lord hath delivered the
kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son. Could you imagine how
David felt? Already? And here's this man
cursing him. And behold, thou art taken in
thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. And here's one of David's generals. Then said Abzai, the son of Zerah,
unto the king, why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king? Let me go over, I pray thee,
and take off his head. There's a loyal friend. Oh my. And the king said, what have
I to do with you, ye son of Zaira? So let him curse, because the
lord hath said unto him, curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore
hast thou done so? And David said to Abshide and
to all his servants, Behold, my son which cometh forth out
of my bowels, seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamite
do it? Let him alone, and let him curse,
for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will
look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me
good for his cursing this day. So this is the scene. And David
pens this psalm. Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my
soul, there is no help for him in God, Selah. Now think on these
words, beloved. He's referring to our great King. He's referring to our great King.
Referring to the persecutions that our great king went through. Many were increased against him.
Turn if you would to Matthew chapter 12. Many were increased
against him. Many troubled him. Many rose
up against him. Look at Matthew 12 verse 14.
The Pharisees were against him. Matthew 12, verse 14. Then the Pharisees went out and
held a council against him, how they might destroy him. How they might destroy him. They
hated him. And then look at Matthew 27. The who's who of the religious
world was against Him. And the people were against Him
also. They cried out, crucify Him.
Matthew 27, verses 23 to 25. And remember our text in our
psalm. Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against
Me. Many there be would say of My soul, there's no help for
him in God. Look at Matthew 27, verses 23-25. And the governor said, Why, what
evil hath he done? But they cried out the more,
saying, Let him be crucified. He's sinless. But they hate him. Many are increased, his enemies
are increased against him. When Pilate saw that he could
prevail on nothing, but rather atonement was made, he took water
and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent
of the blood of this just person. Oh, the just one. The just one. Christ is the just one. See ye
to it. Then answered all the people
and said, His blood be on us and on our children. Many were raised up. Look a little
further down in verse 27 to 31. The Roman soldiers were against
Him as they prepared Him for His crucifixion. And remember this, beloved. Our
Lord was silent. He was silent as a lamb led to
the slaughter. Matthew 27, verses 27-31. Then the soldiers of the governor
took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto Him the whole
band of soldiers. Now, Roman soldiers, I've read
several books on Roman soldiers. They were hard men. They enlisted
for 40 or 50 years. They were trained killers. Hard
men. And they stripped Him and put
on Him a scarlet robe. Look at verse 28. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, smashed it on his head. They put it upon his head and
a reed in his right hand and bowed the knee before him and
mocked him saying, Hell, King of the Jews. And he was silent. And they spit upon him. And they
took the reed and smote him on the head. There it is. And after that they had mocked
him They mocked Him and He didn't say a word. He's the suffering substitute.
And after that they had mocked Him, they took off the robe off
Him and put His own lamb on Him and led Him away to crucify Him.
Do we not see how our Lord's enemies are multiplied against
Him? and then a little further down
in the chapter. And remember this, He's innocent,
beloved. And He did not say a word. He's as a lamb being led to the
slaughter. What love Christ has for His
people. And at the cross, those who were
against Him tossed words like barbs upon our great King. Our great King, the sinless One,
dying for sinners, hanging on the cross. And look what they
cry out in 39-43. And they that pass by revealed
Him, wagging their heads and saying, Thou that destroyest
the temple and buildings in three days, save Thyself. They're mocking
our great King. If thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross." Now, he could have destroyed them with
a word. He could have destroyed them
with a word. He could have called down 10,000 angels. He didn't say a word. Likewise, also the chief priests
mocking him. with the scribes and elders said,
He saved others. Himself He cannot save. And little
do they know, He is saving His people from their sins right
at that moment. He's dying for sinners. He's dying for we who
believe. He is saving. He's saving His
people from their sins. He saved others. Himself He cannot
save. If He be the King of Israel,
let Him come down now from the cross and we will believe Him. He trusted in God. Let Him deliver
him now, if you will have Him. For He said, I am the Son of
God. And He is the Son of God. And He must die upon the cross. He must. He must. He's redeeming His people
from their sins. And these godless men are railing
upon Him. And the humbling thought is if
we were there, we would have done the same thing. In our natural state before the
Lord saved us. Oh, what grace. What grace and
mercy here before us. It cannot be measured. The just one dying for the unjust. being railed upon, and spit upon,
and beaten, and having his face set like
a flint. He must die upon the cross. And look at verse 2 of our text
in Psalm. Many there be would say of my
soul, there's no help for him in God. We just saw that in our
text, didn't we? That we just read in Matthew.
They were saying, Well, He trusted in God. Let Him deliver him now,
if He will have him. Oh, what mercy, beloved. What
mercy. What grace. What love is manifested
at the cross. Psalm 85, verses 10 and 11 says
this, and this is about the cross, mercy and truth are met together.
Mercy and truth are meant together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. We have righteousness through
Christ and we have peace with God through Christ. And it's
only at Calvary's cross and because of what he's done for us. Truth
shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look
down from heaven. So David had his foes increased
and our Lord had his foes increased also. And let us think on this. When
people rise up against us, because it happens, it happens. In our afflictions, or when afflictions
come our way, the Lord Jesus Christ watches over
us. And He knows everything we're going through. Everything. And He will not forget His people.
He will not forget His people. Ever. Look at our text in verses 3
and 4. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory, and
the lifter of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my
voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. Where does a believer look for
comfort and strength? Only to Christ. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. We look and we
depend upon our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord is a shield. He's
a shield. We've all seen shows where the
soldiers have a shield. It's both a defensive tool and
it can be used to push enemies away. But what does it do? It stops
the blows of the enemy that continuously come, right? Whether it be in
afflictions or trials. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
shield, beloved. He's our shield. He's our defense. And we take refuge in Him. The same as the manslayer, he's
running to that city of refuge, right? And behind him is the
avenger of the blood and he gets in that city of refuge and he's
safe. He's shielded. Oh my. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
believer's shield. And he declares this here before
us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. Behold thou, O
Lord, art a shield for me. And that's what the believer
cries. A shield for me. He's also our glory, isn't he? There was a time when we gloried
in ourselves and our doings, but we don't do that anymore
as believers. We who believe, we glory in the Lord. We glory
in what He's done. He's our hope. He's our all in
all. He's our protector and our support
in times of trouble and in times of resting. And what does this do? When we
think about the Lord being our shield, and being our glory and
lifter up of our heads, it fills us with great joy, doesn't it?
And peace, no matter what comes. Now think of this in light of
our text, too. Here, David, his own son is turned
against him. His own son. Oh, but he looks to God. He looks to God. Jehovah, the Father, was a shield
to Christ, too. In his infancy, from Harold's
rage and fury, and afterward from the insults of the Pharisees,
he was the Lord's shield all along. They attempted to take his life
many times, but they couldn't. And our Lord Jesus Christ, in
His triumph over death and hell, in the grave, trusted God. Acts 2.36 says this, Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
this same Jesus, whom he crucified, both Lord and Christ. God has
done this. God is the believer's shield.
He's the believer's glory. He's the lifter up of our heads
all throughout our journey in this world of wilderness and
woe, which it is. We have many tears and many sorrows,
but we also have joy and hope. See, He's unchanging. And for the believer, And the longer you walk, the
older we get, the more truth we know of these verses. The
more we do. Because we see His hand in it. All the time. All the time. Look at our next
verse. I laid me down and slept. I awakened,
for the Lord sustained me. David, in the midst of all the
trials and afflictions that he was going through, was able to
keep his eyes upon Christ, keep his eyes upon God. And the Lord
sustained him. David was able to pillow his
head at night, knowing that the Lord watched over him, and knowing
that the Lord was in control. Is it not the same for us? We
see stuff going on all over the world, don't we? If I wasn't saved, I'd be going
crazy. But I know who's in control. I know that everything is working
according to his eternal purpose. He's sovereign. Now, do we get a little concerned
about what's going on? Yeah, we see things and we're
shocked sometimes at some of the things we see. But I can repose and rest and
put my head down at night knowing that, well, my Lord's in control. He's in full control. He's our protector. And I ask you, elect of God,
has He not sustained you? Just think in your life. Think
of since the Lord saved you. Think of different things that
have come up. Has the Lord not sustained you and kept you going? Others may have fallen to the
side or who knows, but has the Lord not sustained you and kept
you? Oh, what a great God. Left to ourselves, we're gone.
But oh, the Lord keeps His people. He sustains His people through
every affliction and through every trial. And one day we'll be in His presence and
it'll be amazing. Now put these words here in Psalm.
Put these words here in Psalm 3.5. I laid me down and slept,
and I awakened, for the Lord sustained me. These words point
to Christ, too, and the death and resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to John 11,
and I'll read Daniel 12. In Scripture, death is often
expressed by sleep in the Scripture. John chapter 11, and I'll read
Daniel 12 too, which says, And many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting contempt. Well, there goes universalism,
eh? Folks that say everyone's going
to be saved, that verse just does away with all that. But
look at John 11, verses 11, and this is a New Testament example
of that, 11 to 14. These things said he, and after
that he had saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.
But I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples,
Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Halibate, Jesus spake of his
death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking a rest
and sleep. Then Jesus said unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead. Lazarus is dead. Now think of
this, the Lord Jesus Christ freely and willingly, freely and willingly
gave his life for his people. Freely and willingly. He knew. He must redeem His people from
their sins. John 19 says this, And after
this Joseph of Arthamea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly
for fear of the Jews bought Pilate, Besought Pilate that he might
take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He
came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came
also Nicodemus, verse 39 of chapter 19, which at the first came to
Jesus by night and bought a mixture of Marath and alloys, about a
hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus
and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner
of Jews is to bury. So he died. and he was buried
in the tomb. John Gale says this, His resurrection
from the dead being expressed by an awakening through the Lord's
sustaining power shows that it was by the power of God, even
the exceeding greatness of His power. He was raised for our
justification. And is it not so that we who
believe That God sustains us, as I said, through all our trials
and all our temptations. The Lord gives His saints grace,
peace, and strength. And look at our text in verse
5 again, it says, For the Lord sustained me. Now there's a lot of people in
religion that are trying to sustain themselves or gain merit and
favor with God, right? It's worthless. Now, that's not saying that we
shouldn't desire to live, Brother John and I were talking about
that the other day, that we shouldn't desire to live a holy life, because
we do. Donny Bell asked me a question a long time ago. And we were
talking about how folks say that, about living a holy life, which
we desire that, we want to do that, right? And Donny Bell asked
me a question one time and he said, Wayne, Do you sin more
than you want to? What's the immediate answer?
Yeah. We don't desire to live a sinful life. We desire to please
God. But we know that it's the Lord
who sustains us in this world. I can't sustain myself. He gives
me even the breath to breathe. Every breath. Think of this too.
Vicki and I were talking about this week. Even those who curse
God, He gives them the breath to breathe. Every single breath
that we breathe comes from the Lord. It's incredible. He sustains
us. And look at our scripture. For
the Lord sustaineth me. The Lord sustains. The Lord's
done this. He's the one who's done this.
And no doubt for a believer, he's going to do it again, and
again, and again, and again, and again, right? And he continuously
does it. He continuously sustains us.
Well, how can we be so confident of this? John Gill says this,
experience breatheth confidence. Experience breatheth confidence. We look back and see how the
Lord has sustained us in our lives, even before we were saved. even before we were saved. And we see how He sustained us
in our walk with Him. In experience, breatheth confidence. And our confidence is only in
Him. Only in Him. The Lord sustained me. He did
it. He did it. I'd destroy myself,
it was up to me. But He sustains us. He sustains us in what joy and
comfort this brings God's people. Whatever comes our way, He sustains
us. He sustains us. He sustains us
with the precious promise of this for every believer. I'll
never leave you nor forsake you. Never. That's the Lord of glory. Whatever thing we go through,
I'll never leave you, nor forsake you. Never. And there's some hard trials
we go through. There's some hard things. But
the Lord is merciful. Merciful. And think of what David's
going through. His own son has turned against him. I can't even
imagine what that's like. He says, the Lord sustains me.
The Lord supports His people. How does He do it? Through the
reading and preaching of His Word. It gives us strength, doesn't
it? The Gospel preach, it gives us
strength and hope as we look to Christ. We see that David
and others have went through the very same thing that we're
going through. And what did they do? They looked to Christ. And if we all got together and
we talked about our struggles and we talked about the trials
and tribulations that we go through, it would amaze us how much we
all go through the same thing. We'd be just amazed. It's incredible. And the Lord
sustains us through it all. God upholds His people. He sustains
His people with the right hand of His righteousness, the Lord
Jesus Christ. So our confidence is not in what
we do. Our confidence is in what He
has done. And the very fact that He sustains His people. The total
opposite of how I used to be before I was saved. Because I
was trusting in myself. before I got into religion, and
even more so when I got into religion. Because then I was
trying to do it all on my own. So God shows you that our works
are like filthy rags. We must put our confidence and
our trust in Christ and Him alone because He is the one who sustains
us. Look at our text too in verses
6 and 7. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that
have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord, save
me, O my God, for Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone.
Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Verse 6, I will
not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves
against me round about. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
chapter 50. Now David did not underestimate his enemies, did
he? The number of them, or the wisdom of them, because they
were cunning. They were cunning enemies. They
plotted against Him. What did they do to our Lord?
They plotted against our great King, didn't they? They plotted
against Him. But He does not fear them. And
the Scripture says that they have set themselves against Him.
Yet He does not tremble before them, but He looks them in the
face, ready for battle. knowing that the Lord is his
strength and the Lord will sustain him. What a picture we have in
David of our great King. Isaiah 50, verses 5-9. What a picture we have of David
here. What a picture we have of our
great King, the Lord Jesus Christ. His enemies were crafty and cunning,
and His enemies were set against Him. But He set His face like
a flint, right? He set His face like a flint. Which means it's like steel,
unbending. Must. Remember, they're all mocking
Him. Not saying a word. Not saying a word. Look at Isaiah
50, verses 5-9. The Lord God hath opened mine
ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave
my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off
my hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting, for the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall
I not be confounded, therefore have I set my face like a flint,
like steel, unbending. And that's what our king did. Even what we saw before in Matthew,
unbending. They're mocking him. They're
spitting in his face. They're beating him. He's unbending. He set his face like a flint.
He knows he must die upon the cross to redeem his people from
all their sins. Must. Set his face like a flint. And I know that I shall not be
ashamed. He is near that justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is
mine adversary? Let him come near to me. And
think of our text. I will not be afraid of ten thousands
of people that have set themselves against me round about. Behold, the Lord God will help
me. Who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all shall wax old
as a garment. The moth shall eat the moth.
And as I said, our Lord, He was set like a flint. Look at verse 7 in our text. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my
God, for Thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone.
Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. David here cries
out in prayer to the Lord. And his only hope is in God. Is it not so with you and I who
believe? He is our only hope. Our confidence
is in Christ and Him alone. He is our shield and our defender,
and only He can scatter our enemies. Only He can. 2 Kings 6, verses
15-17 says this, And when the servant of the man of God was
risen early and gone forth, behold, and host and camped the city.
Actually, let's turn there. Let's turn there. 2 Kings 6,
verse 15. Our great God protects His people.
He protects His people. And he goes forth in battle for
us. Remember Joshua? And he had the
Christophany appearance, the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ,
and he was the captain of the Lord's house. Oh, our King goes
before us in battle. This is why David said, I'll
not be afraid of ten thousands of people that set themselves
against me round about. Look at 2 Kings 6, verse 15-17. And when the servant of the man
of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, a host encompassed
the city, both with horses and chariots. They're surrounded.
And the servant said unto them, Alas, my master, how shall we
do? It looked hopeless, didn't it? And he answered, Fear not,
for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And here their eyes are going
to be opened to the Lord's army all around them. And Elijah prayed
and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.
And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw,
and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire around about Elijah. And commentators say this was
the angels of God. Ready to go to battle. Oh, our
Lord God protects His people, beloved. He protects His people. He goes forth in battle for us. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my
God, for Thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone.
Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Foes come against
God's people and He just It takes them, they just disappear. Look at verse 8. Here we have
the closing of the psalm, but this is the substance of what
we believe. The sum and the substance of
what we believe. Look at this wonderful verse.
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Can it be any plainer? It belongs to the Lord. Salvation
belongs unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people,
Selah." We looked in Sunday School, as Brother John mentioned, about
the blessings. All the blessings we have are
in Christ. We looked at it a couple of weeks ago. They're all in
Christ. And here it says very plainly, this is the sum and
substance of what we believe as grace believers right here.
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. It's all His doing. And it's scriptural. Folks hate
it though, don't they? And we as believers, we rejoice
in this. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. It's all His doing. He's the
author and He's the finisher. It belongs unto Him. It's all His doing. And what
did we look at earlier in the Psalm? He sustains us, doesn't
He? He sustains it. Salvation belongs to the Lord,
and He sustains it. Now some will say, salvation
belongs to the free will of man. And if not to man's merit, then
at least to his will, they say, right? That's a quote from Spurgeon.
He even got it back then. We'll have none of that, will
we? None of that. None of that. Because what does
the Scripture right here before us declare? Salvation belongeth
unto the Lord. Unto the Lord. It's all in Him. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
1. I've got to bring this out. I brought this out in Sunday
school. You know, people pop off all the time about man's
will and man's free will. But man's will is bound to his
nature. I looked at that this morning.
And those of you who have heard this, I think it's worth repeating.
Man's will is bound to his nature. So if man has a dead nature,
all he's going to do is incline to sin all the time. But if he
has a new nature, he hates sin. So the will is bound to the nature.
But there is only one will in this whole universe that's free. There's only one free will in
this universe, and it belongs to God. Look at verse 5. Actually, let's read from 3 to
5. 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 has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. And look at this next verse.
Heaven predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. The free will of God. He can
do whatever He pleases. Whatever He pleases. See, our
will is bound to our nature. He can do whatever He pleases.
Whatever He pleases. And He's holy and just. And this is the God of our salvation.
This is the One who Scripture declares salvation belongeth
unto the Lord, unto Him. From first to last. It is God
that chooses His people. It is God who calls His people. It's God who regenerates His
people. It's God who saves His people.
It's God who redeems His people. It's God who justifies His people.
It's God who sanctifies His people. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. It's all His doing. What a mighty
God. What a mighty God. It's God who
keeps us, who are saved by His power. And none of it is of man. or neither by man. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God. But of God that showeth
mercy. God that showeth mercy. God must
teach us. He must show us. Because our
own self-righteousness will never permit us to learn this. He must
regenerate us. We must be born again. And He
must teach us this. And when God brings a sinner
to Christ, He is showing his other helplessness, his other
hopelessness. Hopelessness we have in ourselves. God brings us, like Brother Scott
Richardson used to say, to an end of ourselves. To an end of
ourselves. We're shut in to Christ. We have
nowhere else to go but to Him. And Jonah 2.9 reinforces what
we see here where scripture says salvation belongs unto the Lord
in our text. And Jonah 2.9 says this, but
I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I
will pray, I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. You see, if
we go to hell, it's all us. If we go to heaven, it's all
Him. Man's fully responsible for his
sin. What does God have to do for a man to go to hell? Just
leave him alone. That's why we say, we're so thankful
that God's had mercy upon us, that God's had grace upon us,
that God saved us, because salvation belongs unto the Lord. And then
the psalm ends with this statement, Thy blessing is upon thy people.
Right? Think of this too, right before
us in this text, right here. We see God's distinguishing grace. Thy blessing is upon Thy people.
It's not upon everyone. But it is upon Thy people. Thy
people. The blessings of God are upon
His people, and they're all in Christ. They're all in Christ.
They're nowhere else. They're all in Him. Here's a question for you to
ask yourself, beloved of God. Here's a question for us who
are saved to ask ourselves. Who maketh you to differ from
another? Who maketh you to differ from
another? There may be someone sitting
in the pew who the Lord has saved and passed by someone else who
was sitting right beside him. Who made you to differ from another? And in the Greek that's who distinguished
you. The word differ is distinguished. Who distinguished you from another
who believed? Only God. Only God. Think of this too. There's people
in our lives who the Lord's not saved. And God's showing us grace. Why? Because it pleased God. because
it pleased God. And it was according to the good
pleasure of His will. Ephesians 1.5. Now this brings
great joy to the believer, because we know we're no different than
anyone else, other than the distinguishing grace of God in Christ. That's
it. That's it. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. It's all according to His good pleasure. And it's all to
the praise of the glory of His grace. He gets all the glory. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. May we who believe marvel at
God's love to us. Marvel at it. It's divine, discriminating,
distinguishing, eternal, infinite, immutable love. And it's all found in Christ.
All in Him. And if Christ is not your Savior,
may God grant you faith to believe. Oh, may He grant you faith to
believe. And may you one day be able to
rejoice with we who believe. with we sinners. And that's all
we are. Saved sinners. And we rejoice. We rejoice that we're saved by
the grace of God alone in Christ. Oh, may God grant you faith to
believe. May you flee to Christ. He's the only hope for sinners.
He's the only hope for sinners. Rise, my soul, adore and wonder. Ask, O wise, such love to me. Grace hath put me in the number
of the Saviour's family. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Eternal thanks to Thee. To God
be the glory.