If you would open your Bibles
with me to Psalm 40. Psalm 40. I want to remember
our brother Eric. He's preaching in Wintersburg
this morning, and he'll be preaching Wednesday night at Todd's Road
Grace Church. I want to remember him as he preaches and travels.
I heard yesterday from Deb Sparks, and Novi went in for another
throat stretching, I think dilation, I think is what they call it,
and she didn't need it. They're done with that, and Deb's so
happy, she can't really stand it, so thankful for that. All right, Psalm 40. I waited
patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my
cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the
miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in
my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it in fear,
and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn
aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are thy
wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which
are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering
thou didst not desire, Mine ears hast thou opened. Burnt offering
and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, lo, I
come in the volume of the book. It is written of me. I delight
to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart.
I've preached righteousness in the great congregation. Lo, I've
not refrained my lips. O Lord, thou knowest. I've not
hid thy righteousness within my heart. I've declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation. I've not concealed thy loving
kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Withhold
not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord. Let thy loving kindness
and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have
compassed me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I'm not able to look up. There are more than
the hairs of mine head Therefore, my heart faileth me. Be pleased,
O Lord, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul
to destroy it. Let them be driven backward and
put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for reward
of their shame that say unto me, aha, aha. Let all those that
seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy
salvation say continually, the Lord be magnified. But I am poor
and needy. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me.
Thou art my help and my deliverer. Make no tarry, O my God. All right, let's stand together.
Shawn leads us in singing our call to worship. As on the cross of Christ I thought,
it seemed I heard one cry. Is all this nothing in your eyes? Is not such suffering greater
than that which you've seen before? And was there ever any man who
grieved or suffered more? And what I saw I cannot fully
tell. It seemed within his very bones
there raged the fire of I asked the men what crimes could
you have done? That God, Jehovah, struck you
down and left you all alone. His answer cut my heart like
steel and left me void of breath. Tis for your sins this pain I
feel, for you I go to death. All before my father's throne
could find no place to hide. This is the way God can be just,
and you be justified. Jehovah's mercies never fail,
each morning they are new. Great is His faithfulness and
love, therefore we're not consumed. Jehovah God, in Christ the Son,
shall all my portion be. My soul shall therefore wait
for Him and live eternally. OK, if you would now turn your
hymnal to song number 283. 283, Yesterday, Today, Forever. O how sweet the glorious message
simple faith may claim! Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same! Still he loves to save the sinful,
heal the sick and lame, cheer the mourner, call the tempest's
glory to his name. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name! Glory to His name! Glory to His name! All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name! He who pardoned erring Peter
never needs thou fear. He who came to faithless Thomas
all thy doubt will clear. He who left the loved disciple
on his bosom rest Bids thee still with love as tenderly upon His
breast. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name! Glory to His name! ? Glory to his name ? All may
change but Jesus never ? Glory to his name ? He who amid the
raging billows ? Rocked upon the sea ? Still can hush our
wildest tempers ? As on Galilee Who wept and prayed in anguish
in Gethsemane, Drinks with us each cup of trembling in anguish. Day to day, forever Jesus is
the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name! As of old He walked to amaze
us with them to abide. So through all life's way He
walketh ever near our side. Soon again shall we behold Him,
Hey, Son, Lord, the day. But who's will still be this
same Jesus as He went away? Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to His name. The pastors ask us to read from
the Psalm chapter 13. How long will thou forget me,
O Lord, forever? How long will thou hide thy face
from me? How long shall I take counsel
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall
my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord,
my God. Listen my eyes, lest I sleep
the sleep of death. Lest my enemy say I have prevailed
against him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But
I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart, shall rejoice in thy
salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because
he has dealt bountiful with me. Let's pray. We thank you, Lord, this morning
for your word. It's been a blessing as always.
You have given unto us this place in which we have to come and
hear. And as we had preached to us this morning, Lord, to
hear your gospel, Oh, how precious is these words in which we have
preached to us, Lord, each and every time. We enter into your
place of worship. These are words of eternal life.
And what a blessing that is, Lord. These words are the only
way and the only means in which we can truly know him. Know the one in whom has died.
No other means is there, but by this gospel can we know the
person, the Savior, our Lord. So we thank you, Lord. Oh, let
us not take for granted this gospel in which you have been
so gracious to give in our generation, for this is truly a precious,
precious gift. And we pray these things, Lord,
not only for ourselves, but we pray these things for all men.
We pray these things especially for our loved ones, Lord, each
and every one of them. We want them to know these things,
Lord, give them this understanding, this knowing gospel. Let them know these things, Lord.
We pray also, Lord, for those in whom are going through the
sickness, the heartaches, the troubles, those in whom are suffering
these infirmities, the afflictions of these fleshly bodies, and
these trials and tribulations of this world. We pray, Lord,
we pray your mercies. The mercies of your grace be
upon them. The mercies of your Son, our Savior, be upon them,
Lord, each and every one of them. Healing, Lord, if it be your
mercy and your will. All these things we ask, we ask
these things in Christ's name and for Christ's sake only. Amen. You still have your Bibles open
there, Psalm 13. Just hold them open. That's going to be our
text this morning. I asked Brother Gary to read
that passage for us. And he said, there's a lot in
that Psalm. We'll see if I can't wring a little bit out of it
for us today. I've titled the message, How
Long, O Lord? As I've told you before, whenever
we read the Psalms, we should read the Psalm first as the words
of Christ, the son of David. He's the one that's speaking.
That's the primary meaning of every Psalm. The Psalms are no
different than the rest of the scriptures. The primary meaning
of every verse of scripture is to show us Christ. and redemption
in him. So we should read the psalm first
as the words of Christ. But we should also read these
psalms as the words of David, the words of Moses. They were
the writers of most of the psalms. These are their words. The Holy
Spirit inspired them to write them, but they're their words.
And the words in our text this morning, these are the words
and the feelings of David. This is something that David
really went through. This really happened to David.
And he really did feel this way. But they're also the words of
the Savior, aren't they? So first I want us to look at
these words as the words of Christ the Savior. And it's my prayer
that seeing these things as the words of Christ will draw our
hearts to him, to trust him. Now the question that the Savior
is asking is how long? How long? Well, the short answer
is this, as long as it takes. First, how long? As long as it
takes to put away the sin of God's people. Verse one, he says,
how long will thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will
thou hide thy face from me? The Savior asked his Father,
how long, O Lord? How long will you forget me? How long are you gonna hide your
face from me so I can't see you? Now, we know this, that the father
never forgot his son, did he? Now, at Calvary, I'm sure it
felt that way, but it wasn't so. The father didn't forget
the son, but the father did certainly hide his face from the son for
a time, didn't he? The father hid his face. He hid
his loving, gracious presence from his son when his son was
made sin. When Christ was made sin, the
father couldn't look on him because the father's holy. He can't look
on sin. And that was the greatest sufferings
that the Savior endured when the father withdrew his presence,
his gracious, loving presence from him. He gave him his presence
of justice and judgment, didn't he? And holy wrath against sin,
but he withdrew his loving, gracious presence from his son. When Christ
was made sin for his people, Now there's business to be done.
He became the sin sacrifice. This is what he came for, to
be the sacrifice for sin. And at that time, business is
being done between the father and the son. The redemption of
God's elect is being accomplished. And the father poured out his
unmitigated wrath upon his son. The father gave his son absolutely
everything. that sin deserves without a drop,
without a hint, without a whisper of mercy, because that's what
sin deserves. The father didn't hold anything
back just because the sacrifice was his son. He gave his son
everything sin deserves. And the Savior is letting us
know how much he truly suffered at that time. How long, oh Lord. You know that the Savior cried
from the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And
that let us know the depth of his suffering. And you notice
the Savior didn't cry out to his father. He was talking to
his disciples before he went to the cross. He said, I go to
my father and your father. Here, he doesn't say father,
father, why have you forsaken me? He cried to God the judge. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? The father took away his loving
presence from his son and gave him all the judgment that sin
deserves. Well, how long? How long did
the father hide his face from his son? Well, as long as it
took to put the sin of his people away, and then the suffering
of the Savior was over. But as long as it took to put
sin away. Number two, how long? How long? as long as it takes to satisfy
God's justice. Verse two, he says, how long
shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Now the Savior
sorrowed. Oh, he sorrowed. He suffered
in body and soul until justice was satisfied, the debt was paid.
And the tool that the father was pleased to use to put his
son to death were the Jews. The Jews and the Romans, they
got together. I was reading this week, and I just saw it again,
how when Christ was going through this mock trial before he went
to the cross to be crucified, before that happened, Herod and
Pilate were not friends. They just were not friends at
all. They became friends around this issue of putting Christ
to death. The Jews and the Romans, they did it together. And that
enemy, now they're the enemies of Christ. They're the scribes,
the Pharisees, those self-righteous folks. That enemy, it looked
like they were prevailing for a while, didn't it? When the
Savior gave up the ghost and died, and they took a dead body
down from the tree, put him in a sepulcher and rolled the stone
in front of the opening of that thing, it looked like the enemy
prevailed. How pleased with themselves do
you imagine the scribes and Pharisees were when they went from crucifying
the Lord of Glory to go observe the Passover. Oh, you know, they
were smug and so self-satisfied, it looked like they'd prevailed. But you know, they should have
known better. These men knew the Scriptures. These enemies
of Christ did everything the Old Testament Scriptures foretold
that they would do. It looks like they just followed
the script. given in the Old Testament of
what they're supposed to do next. And they did, and I know they
did what their wicked hearts desired to do. But when they
did it, whose purpose did they accomplish? Wasn't theirs, was
it? It was God's. See, they seemed
to profit for a while. But when the sacrifice of Christ
was complete, they profited no more. They couldn't profit in
their religion. The Lord destroyed it. He began
destroying it the moment Christ gave up the ghost. When Christ
gave up the ghost on Calvary's Hill, what happened down there
in the temple? The veil in the temple was torn
from top to bottom. Now, to the Jew, that's a big
deal. That high priest went behind
that veil once every year, not without blood. To sprinkle that,
the blood of atonement on the mercy seat. I mean, nobody could
go in there. If you try to go in there, you're
gonna die. They're gonna drag you out by
your feet. I mean, you're gonna die instantly. And when the priest
went in there, he went with the blood. He went following the
rules of worship that the father gave him to do. But they're still
mighty worried. Is he doing everything right?
If he does something wrong, God's gonna strike him down. We're
not gonna have an atonement. They listened for those bells on the
bottom of his robe to see is he still moving around, you know?
And now, the veil's torn in two. You can just look right in there.
You can just go right in there. God showed that the way to worship
God now, through the priesthood of Aaron, was done. You didn't
need that priest to go to the Holy of Holies for you anymore.
You could go yourself into the very presence of God. As long
as you came, plead in the blood of Christ. You didn't need that
priest. Come yourself. Come to Christ. Come straight into his presence. When that veil was torn in two,
the priests and the Pharisees, they had no more control over
the people anymore. You know, they used to use that
religion to control people. Well, they couldn't control them
anymore. They didn't need them. They were unnecessary. And just
to make sure that this whole religious economy was done, in
a few years, you know what the Lord did? He sent a Roman army
in there to level that place. And everything in the temple
was gone. Never, as far as I know, nobody ever heard from again.
Now the Lord has cast off the Jews as a nation, as a nation. The Lord's still saving Jews.
He's merciful to them just like he is to us Gentiles. But as
a nation, the Lord is done with the Jews. He's done with dealing
with them as a national people, as a picture of spiritual history.
2 Corinthians 3 tells us the Lord's blinded their hearts so
they cannot see. The Lord made their religion.
They still go through a lot of these religious ceremonies and
these things, but he's made their religion a trap. It keeps them
from seeing, all their works of religion, their ceremonies
of religion, it keeps them from seeing Christ. It's a trap. But
the point of all that is this. How long did the enemy prosper?
As long as God purposed for them, until they accomplished his purpose.
Then he's done with them. When they did the job that God
had for them to do, Justice was satisfied. They crucified the
Lord of glory. The job's done. The sacrifice
is offered. There's no more sacrifice for
sin. Now God's done with them. And he cast them off and they
never prospered again. All right, thirdly, how long? How long, the Savior says, are
you going to forget me? How long am I going to suffer
like this? Until the appointed time of Christ's resurrection.
Verse three, he says, consider and hear me, O Lord, my God.
Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Don't let
me sleep the sleep of death. Raise me from the dead. Now,
the Savior always knew he would suffer and die. He always knew
that. He told his disciples before
he went to Jerusalem, he said, we're going to go to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man is to be betrayed. He's going to be crucified. Scribes
and the Pharisees, and the third day I'll rise again. He already
knew what was gonna happen there when he went to Jerusalem. He
told them he would suffer and die. That's why the Lord was
ever born in the flesh in the first place. He was born to die
as a sacrifice, as a sinless sacrifice for his people. Do
you know why the Lord knew what was gonna happen in Jerusalem
when he got there? Because he already knew those scribes and
Pharisees were gonna accomplish his will. See, he was going there
to accomplish his will and his purpose. He knew he'd suffer
and die, but he also knew he'd rise again the third day. Isn't
it amazing? The Lord suffered and died, and
the Lord told him, I'm going to suffer and die, and the third
day I'll rise again. Doesn't it just amaze you? And I'm not
just talking about the disciples. Now, this is our nature, too.
The Lord said, I'm going to suffer and die. I'm going to rise again
the third day. Well, he suffered. And he died, and they're all
hiding out, afraid the same thing's gonna happen to them. And three
days after the Lord died, the women come and said, you know,
the Lord's raised from the dead. And they didn't believe, like
they'd never heard of this before, you know. The Lord knew he would
rise again the third day. There's never any doubt. You
know why he knew he'd rise again the third day? He knew his sacrifice
would be accepted. He knew the sin of his people
was gonna be put away by his precious blood. And once sin
is gone, he has to be raised from the dead. Once sin is gone,
he can't stay dead, because sin's what causes death. Where there's
no sin, there must be life. That's why the Savior knew he'd
be raised from the dead. He knew the appointed time of
his resurrection, and he's going to suffer until God's appointed,
predetermined time for him to be raised from the dead arrived.
That's how long. until God's time. All right, number four, how long?
How long? Until it's time for mercy. Verse
five says, but I've trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice
in thy salvation. Christ suffered, oh, he suffered. Just unimaginable, we can't even
express it, this suffering of body and soul. He suffered until
justice was satisfied. He suffered until sin was put
away. But now that sin is gone, now
that justice is satisfied, God can show mercy to sinners. And
then he can be right in doing it. He can be right because of
what Christ has done. See, the Savior suffered on the
cross in hope, in hope. And that word hope, it doesn't
mean like, well, I mean, I hope it's not gonna snow tomorrow.
No, I mean, I don't know if it is. I hope it, no, it's an expectation. The Savior suffered in expectation
of mercy for his people. Now, you know why he expected
mercy for his people? Because the Father promised him
he would. You suffer and die to put away the sin of my people.
These people that I chose to save, you suffer and die to put
their sin away. I'll have mercy on them. He suffered
expecting his people would receive mercy from the Father. And he
knew that they would because he knew his sin, his death was
their death. There's no reason for them to
be condemned anymore. He put their sin away. Once the blood of Christ put
the sin of God's elect away, There's no reason that the Father
would ever condemn them. They were already condemned in
Christ. Once sin is gone, and justice is satisfied, wrath has
been poured out on the substitute, what's left in the Father now?
Nothing but mercy. Nothing but mercy. So how long
are the saviors gonna suffer until the time for mercy arrives? And then fifthly, how long? Well, until the glory of Christ
is revealed. In verse six, he says, I will
sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Now God's greatest glory is seen
at Calvary. Everything about God, everything
God does, everything God purposes, it's all glorious, isn't it? But God's greatest glory is seen
in that awful, bloody scene at Calvary. At Calvary, all of God's
attributes are glorified at once. When Christ died, God's justice
was glorified, wasn't it? You never have to doubt that
God's just. He killed even his own son for
sin. God's justice is glorified in
that. And at the same time, when Christ died, God's mercy was
also glorified. God killed his own son so that
he could have mercy on a people he determined to save. Now I'm
telling you, that's glorious, that God determined to have mercy,
to show mercy on sinners, and in order to do it, he put his
son to death to do it. glorifies God's mercy, doesn't
it? Makes it all the more glorious. When Christ died, God's holiness
was glorified. My God, my God, why is thou forsaken
me? That glorifies God's holiness.
God won't even look on even his own son when his son's been made
sin because God's holy. And at the same time, when Christ
died, God's love for sinners was glorified too. How can a
holy God love a sinner like you and me? Look what God did to
his son so he could love sinners and bring sinners in his presence.
The death of Christ glorified God's love, didn't it? Christ did not die as a pathetic,
helpless victim that you should feel sorry for. I hear people
in false religion trying to get you to feel sorry for poor Jesus
and, you know, won't you trust him because you feel sorry for
him. No, you don't trust him because you feel sorry for him.
You trust him because he's the sovereign, successful savior
who put away the sin of his people. His death was a victory, not
a defeat. You don't feel sorry for him.
He's on the throne. Christ died to glorify his father
and enable his father to be merciful to sinners in justice. He suffered. Oh, how he suffered.
But in the end, he said, the Lord has dealt bountifully with
me. Oh, he's dealt bountifully with my people. The people that
I love, the people that I willingly went to suffer and die for, the
Lord's dealt bountifully with them. He's given them the riches
of his mercy. He's given them eternal life.
Oh, how he's dealt bountifully with his people because of the
success of Christ's sacrifice. Now, you remember when the Savior
told his disciples, if I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw
all unto me. I'll draw all my people unto
me. If the Lord ever gives us a vision
of Christ by faith, him lifted up and what he accomplished in
his death, we'll believe him. I promise you we'll believe him.
And we'll sing his praises. He suffered that for me? Oh,
we'll sing his praises. We see how that Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures. We'll sing his praises. So how
long, how long must the Savior suffer? Well, it's until his
sorrow is turned to singing. That's how long. All right, that's
the words of the Savior. Doesn't that thrill your heart?
Don't you see, this is how God accomplished the salvation of
his people. This is the Savior who can be trusted. But as Brother
Henry told us so often, the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament
scriptures, are bifocal. These are also the words of David.
And these are the words of every believer. David's just speaking
for us all here. Because whenever we suffer, one
of the first questions we always ask is, how long? Isn't that
right? I mean, we don't have to suffer
for very long at all before we start asking, how long? How long
is this going to go on? How long am I going to endure
this? Well, the answer is simple. As
long as it takes. As long as it takes. It won't
be forever. It won't be forever. It'll be
as long as it takes. Number one, how long? How long
are we going to suffer? Until God's purpose is accomplished.
Just like our Savior, he suffered until God's purpose of redemption
was accomplished, didn't he? The Savior suffered until sin
was put away, justice was satisfied, and now God can rightly show
mercy to his people. The Savior suffered until God's
purpose was accomplished. Well, the same thing is true
for all of his children. Our trials are gonna last until
God's purpose for us is accomplished. That's how long. See, the Lord
has a purpose in everything that he does. God's purpose in sending
trials to his children is to teach us, is to teach us, is
to teach us to trust him, is to teach us more about him, is
to increase our faith in Christ. And our trial will last until
we learn more of the faithfulness of our God so that we trust him
more. Trials are sent to teach us.
to teach us our own weakness, so we'll trust his strength.
Trials, you know, anytime you put something under pressure,
it reveals its real character, doesn't it? Trials reveal that
sinful nature that's so alive and well in us, so that we're
reminded to trust Christ, to trust him as our only righteousness. Trials reveal how quickly we
would become unfaithful if God didn't stop us from it. Trials
will reveal just how quickly we'd cut and run so that we learn
to trust His faithfulness. Salvation's not my faithfulness,
it's not your faithfulness, it's His faithfulness. And I know
when we're in a time of trial, it feels like, it feels like,
The Lord's left us alone, doesn't it? It feels like he's abandoned
us. Now he hasn't. He'll never leave
nor forsake his people. He never takes his eye off of
his people. He always sees us, even when we don't see him. But
it feels that way, doesn't it? It feels like the Lord's punishing
us. It feels like he's deserted us. And that's why David asked,
how long? Lord, how long will you hide
your face from me? That's the worst part of the
trial. I don't care what trial it is. If it's whatever it is,
the worst part of it for a child of God is I don't feel like I
can see the face of the Savior. He's hiding his face from me.
That's the worst part of any trial. David asked that here. Look over at Psalm 69. He says
this repeatedly in the Psalms. Oh, don't hide your face from
me. Lord, don't hide, reveal your face. Don't hide from me.
It's the worst part of every trial. Psalm 69, verse 17. And hide not thy face from thy
servant, for I'm in trouble. Hear me speedily. How long, Lord?
Hear me speedily. Make haste to help me. Draw nigh
unto my soul and redeem it. Deliver me because of mine enemies. Oh, this is David's. Great plea,
don't hide your face from me. Our brother John Newton understood
the very same thing. See, I told you these are the
words of every believer. Newton wrote these great words.
How tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer I
see. Sweet prospects, sweet birds,
and sweet flowers have all lost their sweetness to me. The midsummer
sun shines but dim. The fields strive in vain to
look gay. There's just no pleasure in anything
when I can't see his face, when I don't have his presence. Newton
said, oh, Lord, if indeed I am thine, if thou art my son and
my song, say, why do I languish in pine? And why are my winters
so long? This is so long. Lord, how long?
Newton's asking the same thing David asked him. How long? Lord,
how long will you hide your face from me? Look at Isaiah chapter
54. Now the Lord does hide his face.
Now he never deserts his people, but he does hide his face for
a time. And I'll tell you why he does it. So that we learn
more of his faithfulness. So we learn more of the sweetness
of his goodness. And so that we'll trust him more.
That's why he does it. That's what he tells us here
in Isaiah 54 verse seven. For a small moment have I forsaken
thee. How long? A small moment. Doesn't
seem like it at the time, but a small moment have I forsaken
thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little
wrath, I hid my face from thee for a moment. How long? A moment. But with everlasting, unending
kindness, will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. The Lord hides his face just
for a moment. That's how long it'll be, just
for a moment, so that we learn how sweet God's mercy and how
sweet his kindness, how sweet his presence really is, so that
we'll trust him even more, so that we learn he is my all. All right, number two, how long? How long will this trial endure,
the suffering of it endure, Well, it's until I learn where true
comfort is found so that I'm able, maybe someday, to help
comfort somebody else. Look at 2 Corinthians 1. Before I read this, you think
of all the trials and the sufferings that the Apostle Paul endured
for the gospel's sake. And then listen to what he says
about them. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 3. Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the
comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as
the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted,
we suffer this trial. You know why? It's for your consolation
and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same suffering,
which we also suffer. Or whether we be comforted, it's
for your good, for your consolation and your salvation. And this is just a fact of the
matter. Trials soften our hearts. They do. They soften our hearts
toward others who are hurting. If God never sent us trials to
soften us, we'd be so hard. I mean, we'd be as hard as steel. We wouldn't understand when somebody
else is suffering. We'll think, what's wrong with
you? Why are you moping around? Why are you acting all, you know?
The Lord sends us trials to soften our hearts toward others when
they're suffering. After we endure a trial, And the Lord comforts
our heart in it. Afterward, when somebody else
is suffering the same thing, we can go to them and say, I
understand. I understand where you're at. We can tell them how the Lord
comforted us. You just watch and see in your
own experience if this is not true. When the Lord sends you
a trial, who is it that calls you? Who is it that comes to
you and really understands? Who really wants to know, how
are you feeling? What's going on? What can I do to help? Who
is it? It's somebody that's already endured the very same thing.
That's who it is. See, when the Lord comforts us,
now we can tell others from experience, the Lord's able to comfort you.
Even in the midst of the fire. Even if he doesn't turn the fire
down, he can still comfort you. I know he can, I've experienced
it, and I pray the same for you. We can tell folks by experience.
I know what it feels like. But the Lord's faithful. He hadn't
forgot you. He hadn't turned away from you.
And we can't take away the hurt. But I understand where you're
at. And we can sit and cry together. Sometimes it's good just to have
somebody to sit and cry with you, isn't it? Job's friends were
the best friends when they kept their mouth shut. Their problem
was they started opening their mouth. But as long as they kept their
mouth shut and just cried with him, they were good friends,
weren't they? The Lord's got to soften our hearts so we know
what it feels like, so we can comfort others. See, it's for
your sake. These things don't just happen
to us individually. It's for your sake, for the sake
of others. All right, back in our text,
Psalm 13, how long? How long will I suffer this?
How long will this go on? Until we learn the glory of the
Savior's presence. Verse five says, but I've trusted
in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy
salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because
he hath dealt bountifully with me. Now David began this psalm
sorrowing, and the more he thought about the Savior, he ended up
Singing, didn't he? Just a few short verses. He went
from sorrowing to singing. You know why? That's because
in the midst of whatever trial this is that David's going through,
the Lord taught him something. The Lord taught David the preciousness
of the Lord's presence. He taught him. You know, John Chapman said this
years ago. I've never, never have forgot
it. That when Lord sends a trial,
the best thing that we could pray is Lord, teach me or don't
pray. Lord, take away the trial. Lord,
teach me, teach me, teach me the preciousness of your presence. Newton understood that too. Newton,
who wrote how tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer
I see. Newton, who wrote, Lord, if indeed
I am thine, if you're my son and my song, why do I languish
in pine and why are my winters so long? Newton understood the
heartache of trial, didn't he? He understood it. He understood
the heartache of not feeling the Lord's presence. But like
I said, that, as long as it takes. That's how long that's gonna
endure, as long as it takes. But it won't be forever. Because
Newton also wrote this. Oh, but when I'm happy with him,
December's as pleasant as May. The Lord don't have to make December
change to May for me to be happy. No, I can be happy in December
as long as I'm with him. See what he's saying? His name
yields the richest perfume. It's sweeter than music, his
voice. His presence disperses my gloom. and makes all within
me rejoice. The Lord doesn't have to take
the gloom away. All he's gotta do is show up. All he's gotta
do is give me his presence. Oh, I should worry always, doesn't
I? Have nothing to wish or to fear.
No mortal so happy as I. My summer would last all the
year. I'd feel like it's summer even in January. Here's it. Content with beholding his face.
I all to his pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. While blessed with the sense
of his love, a palace, a toy would appear. In prisons would
palaces prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. You know
what he's saying? I'd rather be in prison and have
the presence of Christ than be in a palace without it. Salvation's a person in it. You can't say, well, I'll hang
on to my right doctrine and my orthodoxy and stuff. I'd rather
have that and be in prison. Can't say that. But if I know
him, if I know him, I'd rather have him and be in prison than
be somewhere else without him. See, Newton learned that having
the presence of Christ is better than being free from the trial. I don't reckon you'll believe
that so until you experience it. But he's right. There's something
so glorious, so precious to the heart of a
believer. that the heat of the trial is
not turned down, but you have comfort and joy, and you can
truthfully say the Lord has dealt bountifully with me because he's
comforted your heart with his presence. There's nothing better. That being said, I don't want
to have the next trial, but it's still so. It's still so. See,
trials teach us that. Those trials teach us and constantly
remind us I need the presence of the Savior more than anything.
That's what I need. So how long? How long? Well, until in the Lord's time,
He turns our sorrow into singing. If the Lord's died for your sin,
He'll turn your sorrow into singing eventually. I promise you He
will. Now, I tell you this all the time. Look to Christ. Look to Him. Trust Him, depend
upon Him. Depend upon Him for the salvation
of your soul. Depend upon Him for your righteousness. Depend upon Him for your justification. Depend upon Him to forgive your
sin. Look to Him and never stop looking to Him. Look to Him for
your salvation. Depend upon Him for your salvation.
And look to Him for the comfort of your soul. Look to Him and
never look away. If Lord sends me a trial, teaches
me that, it's been good for me, hasn't it? It's been good. All
right, let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word. How we thank you that you've given us some glimpse
of the suffering of the Savior, so that we know he suffered until
the sin of his people was put away. How thankful we are. Oh, how thankful we are. And
Father, we're thankful that you've promised to comfort the hearts
of your people. I know that you can and you will
deliver. You're able to deliver. We know
that. But Father, until such time as
you're pleased to deliver, we pray for comfort for the hearts
of your people. That you give them a special
portion of your presence and do what only you can do. to comfort
their hearts in the midst of the valley. Father, these things
we ask for your glory. Oh, how we pray that in this
dark, dark day that you reveal to us your glory, the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's in his name. For his sake,
we pray. Amen. All right, Sean, come lead
us in the closing hymn, if you will. If you would, turn in your hymnals
to song number 199, 199, and stand as we sing Christ Receiveth
Sinful Men. Sinners Jesus will receive, Sound
this word of grace to all, Who the heavenly pathway leave, All
who linger, all who fall, Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men,
Make the message clear and plain. Christ receiveth sinful men. Come and He will give you rest. Trust Him for His word is plain. He will take the sinful lust. Christ receiveth sinful men. Sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the message clear and plain. Christ receiveth sinful men. Now my heart condemns me not. He who cleansed me from all spot,
satisfied its last demand, saying it o'er and o'er again, Christ
received the sinful man. Make the message clear and plain,
Christ receiveth sinful men. Christ, receive us, sinful men,
even me with all my sin. Purge from every spot and stain,
heaven within I enter in. Sing it o'er and o'er again. Make the message clear and plain,
Christ, receive a sentiment.