I pray God will enable me to
preach and enable you to hear with that kind of urgency tonight. Give me Christ or else I die.
I'm going to die right now, right now, unless you give me Christ.
That's so good. Let's look again at Psalm 61.
I've titled the message tonight, Lead Me to Christ. That's what
David says at the end of verse 2. He says, lead me to the rock
that is higher than I. I want us to look at that and
consider that this evening and see what he's really telling
us there or asking the Lord to do is lead me to Christ. David
begins this psalm in trouble. He says in verse 1, hear my cry,
O God, attend unto my prayer. Verse 2, David said that his
heart is overwhelmed. He's in trouble. So he does the
only thing he can do. He cries out to God in prayer.
And you know, when we're in trouble, and I'm talking about when we're
in trouble, it's not good enough for us to just go through the
motions of prayer. You know, that's what the Pharisees
do. You know, they go through the motions of prayer. They pray
thus with themselves, the Lord said. But when we're in time
of real trouble, we can't say, You know, I feel real good about
myself. I can go to bed now or I can start my day now or whatever,
because I met my obligation and said my prayers. Tell you what, there's a big
difference between saying your prayers and praying. Big difference
isn't there? And when we're sincerely praying,
we're like David here, we need God to hear us. That's why we
cry out to Him. We cry out to Him for mercy.
We cry out to Him for grace. We cry out to Him for help. Because
I'm in trouble. I need God to hear my prayer. If you look over in Jeremiah
chapter 33, here is comfort for the troubled heart. We find ourselves
in trouble like David was here. Here's comfort. God tells His
people to cry to Him. Verse 1, Jeremiah 33. Moreover,
the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while
he was yet shut up in the court of prison. Now, Jeremiah's in
trouble. He's shut up in the court of prison. Saying, thus
saith the Lord, the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it to establish
it. The Lord's his name. Call unto me, and I will answer
thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest
not. The Lord tells his people. Cry
unto me. When you're in trouble, cry unto
me, and I'll hear you. You know, you parents, you remember
your babies were little, and they'd start to cry. And there's
times that cry just goes clear through you. They've cried so
much, they've cried so much, and just, oh, this baby ought
to be quiet. Our father never, never, He says,
you cry to me. You cry. I'll answer. Your cry
will never be weary to your father. The Lord's ear is not heavy that
he cannot hear the cries of his people. And when he hears, he'll
help. He'll cry. He'll save those that
cry out to him. Look over at the back of page
here, Psalm 55. There's no doubt about it. Psalm
55 verse 16. David says, as for me, I will
call upon God and the Lord shall save me. He shall. Evening and
morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and He shall hear
my voice. No doubt about it, is there?
So cry to Him. Look at Psalm 86. Psalm 86 and
verse 7. In the day of my trouble, I will
call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. I know you will, because
you promised to. When we call, the Father will
answer. Over another page, Psalm 91,
verse 15. He should call upon me, and I
will answer him. I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him. I will. Now you might be
wondering, okay, well that, That's David. He's talking there about
his people. How do I know that's me? How do I know the Lord will
answer me? It's a fair question, isn't it? Look at Romans chapter 10. Romans 10 verse 11. For the scripture saith, whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there's no difference
between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now there's comfort
for the troubled heart. Are you a whosoever? Are you
somebody in trouble? Just anybody in trouble? Are
you just a whosoever? Who needs Christ? Who needs mercy? Who needs grace? Are you a whosoever
that can cry out to God, God give me Christ or else I die?
Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord like that shall be saved. I have comfort for the troubled
heart. And I give you some more comfort here for the troubled,
beaten, battered heart. No matter where we are, God always
hears the cries of his children. He says in verse two, from the
end of the earth will I cry unto thee. From the end of the earth. The Lord reigns over the whole
earth. John Chapman said one time, God
reigns everywhere there's a where. Wherever you are, God reigns
over it. So not only can the Lord hear
the cries of his people, no matter where they are, he can hear the
cries of their people, but he rules over wherever they happen
to be. So he can hear them and he can
deliver them because he rules over where they are. That's a
pretty good combination. The ability to hear and the sovereign
power to say. That ought to encourage us to
call upon the Lord. If we're in trouble, call on
the Lord. And David has a specific desire
that he's crying for here. He says, Lord, lead me to Christ. Lead me to the rock that's higher
than I. Now, I'm just making an assumption
here, but I would assume that everybody here tonight would
say, I'd like God to lead me to Christ. I'd like him to lead
me to that rock higher than I. Well, you ought to know this.
The Lord will lead all of his people to Christ. He'll lead
them to that rock higher than them, but he's going to use a
variety of means to do it. Sometimes he comes as the shepherd
who tenderly, carefully, watchfully leads his sheep. And there are
other times that he sends trials and troubles and storms and suffering
that drive us to Christ. But one way or another, he's
going to bring us to Christ. And the means that he uses is
up to him. But no matter the circumstances,
God always hears his people and he never leads them wrong. Never. The Lord always leads his people
to one place. His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the rest of this Psalm, David shows us three ways that the
Lord leads his people to Christ. Number one, the Lord leads his
people to Christ, the rock, the rock of safety, the rock of comfort,
the rock of salvation. He says in verse two, from the
end of the earth, while I cry into thee, when my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that's higher than I. For thou has been a shelter
for me in a strong tower from the enemy. Now Christ is the
rock that's higher than I. He's higher than I. I can't climb
to him. I can't get to him on my own.
So Lord, you're gonna have to lead me. Lead me to him. When my heart is filled with
fear because of the enemy, the enemy's strong, the enemy's surrounding
me, I'm in the midst of the enemy. Lord, lead me to Christ, the
rock higher than I, so I can be safe hiding in him. where
I'm afraid of the fierceness and power of the enemies that
are out there who are enemies against God, enemies against
His people. Lord, lead me to Christ, the rock higher than
I and higher than them. Higher than them too. You know,
there's always safety on the high ground. That's what a military
person, they always want the high ground, especially if it's
a rocky area because it's hard to climb up there and get them.
Well, Christ is the high ground. He's the believer's high rock.
He's our strong tower from the enemy. Our God is higher in power. He's higher in intelligence.
He's higher than character in whatever enemy it is we got.
No enemy can touch His people while they're hiding in Christ.
We're safe in Him. So Lord, lead me to Christ. Lead
me to Him. Then when I'm afraid of all the
different kinds of evil in this world, I'm afraid it's going
to destroy me. Watch the news. They'll scare you half to death,
won't they? There's evil out there everywhere, going to destroy
this earth. I mean, this, you know, it's
either going to burn it up or it's going to flood it or, I mean,
I can't tell what it's going to do. Is everything going to
burn up in a fire or is it all going to melt, you know, and
the earth be flooded? I don't know, but they sure make
it sound like you're scared of either one. Something's going
to destroy me. Lead me to the rock higher than
I. Look at Psalm 91. Psalm 91 verse 5, thou should
not be afraid for the terror by night or the arrow that flyeth
by day. Now he's not going to, he doesn't
say there's no terror by night. He doesn't say there's no arrow
flying by day. He said, you have to be afraid of it. You have
to be afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness or the
destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, 10,000 at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of
the wicked. Now, how do I know that's true? How is I'm going
to see all this destruction, but it won't come nigh me? Verse
nine, because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the most high thy habitation. There's no evil before thee,
neither should any plague come nigh thy dwelling, for he shall
give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot.
against a stone. Oh, lead me to the rock that's
higher than I. If I'm hiding in him, I'm safe,
aren't I? Then I'm afraid of Satan. Satan's
the accuser of the brethren. I'm afraid he could come before
God and accuse me like he did Job. If Job didn't stand a chance,
I don't either. I'm afraid of that. Well, Lord,
lead me to the rock that's higher than I. Lead me to Christ. Look
at Isaiah chapter 14. Lead me to Christ. Hide me in
Him. Because I know this. I am safe from Satan if I'm hiding
in Christ. He already tried once to attack
Christ, our high tower. And Isaiah 14 tells us how it
turned out for him. Verse 12. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground, which did this week in the nations? For thou said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation, the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the cloud. I will be like the most high."
See, he already made this attempt. He already made this attempt
to attack our high tower. Verse 15, yet thou shalt be brought
down to hell to the sides of the pit. He already tried to
attack our high tower once. So I don't have to worry about
it. If I'm hiding in Christ, the rock that's higher than I. Now, all those enemies that we
just mentioned are enemies that are without us. But I tell you
the enemy that I am terrified of. The enemy within. I am terrified of my sin. I'm terrified of my sin nature.
I'm terrified of that old nature. That old heart is going to overwhelm
me. I'm afraid that heart is just
going to overwhelm me. Lord, lead me to Christ, the
rock higher than I. Psalm 21. I'm afraid of my sin. Verse 7, Psalm 21, For the king
trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High, he
shall not be moved." The mercy of our rock is always greater
than our sin. The power of the blood of Christ
is always greater than our sin. He's forgiven the sin of his
people. He paid the debt in full. So
lead me to Christ, the rock higher than I, and my heart will be
comforted in his mercy. where I'm so weary from the journey
that I just, I don't feel I can go on. I feel like I can't take
another step. Not only can I make, not make
it another hour, I feel like I can't make it another minute.
I just, I'm going to be overwhelmed. Lord, lead me to Christ, the
rock higher than I, and I'll have peace for my soul. Isaiah
chapter 32. You might tell from these scriptures
I'm turning to, if you go home, get out your concordance or turn
on your, it's faster if you've got a concordance on your computer,
and start looking up a rock, you're going to get a lot of
references for a message. This is what I've done. So Isaiah
32, verse one. Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment, and a man shall
be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest,
as rivers of water in a dry place, A man shall be as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land." Oh, the power of our rock is
greater than the power of any storm. He's stronger than the
storm. Now lead me to Him and hide me
in Him. The shade that He provides, and
this is a great rock. It produces a big amount of shade,
and it's always greater than the heat of the storm. So hide
in Him. Lord, lead me to Christ. And then when I fear, I become
afraid, full of doubts and fears. And I think, maybe you're not
like me, but this crosses my mind from time to time. Can this
gospel really be true? I mean, really, can it really
be so that Almighty God would send His Son to die for the likes
of me? Can that really be so? I don't
know. I hear these people in false
religion talking. Is Christ really the way of salvation? Yes, He is. If you look at 1
Samuel chapter 2, lead me to the rock that's higher than I.
Here's a description of Him. 1 Samuel chapter 2. And Hannah prayed. And she said,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord. Mine horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in
thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord,
for there is none beside thee. Neither is there any rock like
our God. There's not another one like
him. Now listen to what he's like. Talk no more exceeding
proudly. Let not arrogance come out of
your mouth. For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions
are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are
broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They
that were full have hired out themselves for bread, and they
that were hungry ceased. So that the barren hath born
seven, and she that hath many children is wax feeble. The Lord
our rock, he killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the
grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, maketh
rich, he bringeth low and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out
of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set
them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory
for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has set
the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his
saints and the wicked shall be silent in darkness for by strength
shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces. Out of heaven shall he thunder
upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth and he
shall give strength unto his king and exalt the horn of his
anointed. Oh, lead me to that rock. Lead me to him. If I can get
a glimpse of him by faith, I'm going to have assurance, aren't
you? I'm going to have assurance of salvation. I'm going to have
assurance of faith because of who he is. Lead me to him. And then when my soul hungers
and thirsts after righteousness, and I hunger after righteousness,
I thirst for it, because I don't have any in me by nature. Lord,
lead me to Christ, the rock higher than I. Lead me to Christ, who's
the smitten rock. You know, the Apostle Paul said
that smitten rock that followed Israel in the wilderness was
Christ. Now lead me to Him. That rock. smitten in the wilderness. Our
nephew Gavin had that in his lesson Sunday and was telling
Janet about it Sunday evening, how Moses smoked that rock and
water came out. And she asked him how many times
he's supposed to strike that rock. He said, just once. Just
once. Moses smoked that rock and out
flowed water to quench the thirst of three million thirsty people
and all their animals. And you know that's a picture
of Christ. He was smitten one time. The rod of God's justice
smote him one time, one time. And out flowed blood and water
to cleanse and sanctify, to justify and sanctify a number no man
can number with one sacrifice. That's all it took. Wayne, that's
what you read in the study. It just took one sacrifice. Just
one smiting of that rod and out flowed blood and water to justify
God's people. And you remember Moses' problem
was he got angry. He smoked a rock twice. God said,
I told you not to do that. I told you to speak to the man.
The rock's been smitten. Do we understand that? Christ
has been smitten. The rod of God's justice has
been smitten. Now speak to him. Cry out to
Him. God, lead me to the rock that's
higher than I. Cleanse me in that blood and
water so I don't hunger and thirst for righteousness ever again.
Then lead me to Christ, the rock higher than I. Put me on Him. Let all my salvation be built
on Christ, the solid rock. Let it all be built on Christ,
that chief cornerstone. Let the foundation of all my
faith be in Him. Let me find all the salvation
for my soul in him. See, there's no trouble. There's
no trouble in heaven, earth or hell that can take that salvation
away. That's built on Christ. Oh, lead
me to that rock that's higher than I. He's the shelter that
protects somebody like me. All right, second, the Lord leads
his people to Christ, the rock of salvation. Verse four in our
text. I will abide in thy tabernacle
forever. I will trust in the covert of
thy wings. Now the tabernacle in the wilderness,
and we've gone through this in our lessons and children have
gone through it in Bible school, that tabernacle in the wilderness
is a picture of Christ. Every detail, there's not one
detail of that tabernacle that's not a picture of Christ. There's
no detail that's insignificant. Every stitch, every color, Every
material, the gold, the silver, the wood, the linen, all of it,
pictures the Lord Jesus Christ, the God man, who at the time
the tabernacle stood, was coming. Coming for the salvation of his
people. So this is what David's saying, Lord, lead me to Christ.
Lead me, the tabernacle was the place God said, I'll meet with
you in mercy. I'll meet with you in salvation
here. Lord, lead me to Christ. He is
the place that God meets with men in mercy and grace. Lead
me to Christ. Lead me to Christ, the great
high priest. He's not like Aaron's sons who served in the tabernacle. Their sacrifices never did put
away sin. Don't lead me to an earthly priest. Lead me to Christ,
the great high priest, who offered the sacrifice that does put sin
away. Then lead me to Christ, our altar. The writer of the
Hebrew said, we have an altar. And we don't have one down here.
We don't have one out there in the building. We're not cutting
up animals in pieces and burning their bodies. We don't have an
altar like that. But every believer has an altar. Christ is our altar. He is the place that the sacrifice
for sin was made once and for all, that perfected his people
forever. Lead me to him. That's the sacrifice I need.
Lord, lead me to Christ who cleanses his people from all of their
sin. That's what pictured in that brazen labor that was in
the courtyard. or lead me to Christ, I might be cleansed.
Lead me to Christ, the light of the world. I'm in darkness. I can't see anything. I can't
understand anything spiritual. So lead me to Christ, the light
of the world. If you'll show me Him and His
light, now I can see. Oh! Christ is how God saves sinners
and is still just and is still God. Christ is how God can save
a sinner like me and still be holy. That's what was pictured
in the golden candlestick. Lead me to Christ. Lead me to
Christ, the bread of life, as pictured by the showbread on
the table. Lead me to Christ who makes intercession for his
people, intercession that's always heard, intercession that the
Father always accepts, as pictured by that golden altar of incense.
But now, here's the crowning glory, the crowning jewel of
the tabernacle. And this is what David's talking
about here. the mercy seat or lead me to the mercy seat. Lead me to Christ, the propitiation. Lead me to Christ whose blood
atones for my sin and makes me accepted in God's presence. And
that's what David's talking about. He's talking about the mercy
seat. When he talks about making his refuge or trusting, he's
talking about making his refuge in the covert of thy wings, the
covert of the wings that those cherubim, they were made over
top of that mercy seat, and their wings stretched out over top
of it, and there was shadow created by those wings stretched out
over the mercy seat. And under those wings, on that
mercy seat, that's where the blood of the sacrifice was offered.
They went out there to the brazen altar, and they offered that
sacrifice for sin, the burnt offering. They took the blood
from that animal, and they brought the blood into the Holy of Holies
before that mercy seat. And the high priest sprinkled
the blood on the mercy seat. And David said, right there is
where I want to hide. Right there, right in the middle
of the mercy seat. Because this is where the sacrifice
is offered. This is the blood that God accepts. So I'm afraid of God's judgment
against my sin. This is what I desire. Lord,
lead me to Christ, the mercy seat. Lead me to Christ, the
propitiation for our sin. Lead me to a place where you've
got a preacher who'll tell me about the blood of Christ, the
blood that was shed to atone for the sin of his people. And
Lord, let me see by faith his blood sprinkled on me, on my
heart that makes me accept it. Put me under the blood. If I'm
hiding on a mercy seat, blood's going to be sprinkled on me.
That's what David's saying. Put me where the blood of Christ
can be sprinkled on me. Now that's where we'll find comfort
for ourselves. We'll find comfort for our soul there. Jonah, Jonah
been down there in the belly of that great fish for three
days. He didn't know what end was up. He had no idea where
he was. But Jonah said, I'm looking to
the holy place. I'm looking to that mercy seat
where the blood sprinkled. I got no idea. He couldn't look
towards where it was. I mean, you see these fellows
over in the east, they all bow down, you know, in whatever direction
it is, towards Mecca or whatever. He had no idea what direction
Jerusalem was. This was a look of faith. He
said, in faith, I'm looking to Christ. Heed my hope of deliverance. Heed my hope of salvation. The
moment he looked, he was delivered. Well, the same thing applies
to you and me. If we would find salvation for our soul, we've
got to come to the same place. We've got to look to the same
place. Look to Christ, our mercy seat. Christ, the propitiation
for our sin. You don't have to turn here,
you know it very well. 1 John chapter 2. When we're afraid of our sin, afraid
of God's judgment against our sin, the apostle says, little
children, these things I write unto you that you should not.
And if any man sin, you know that is when any man sin, here's
our comfort. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation. He
is the mercy seat for our sins. And not for ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world. Well, lead me to Him. Lead me
to Him. Let me hide under His blood that
I might be accepted of the Father. If you lead me to Him, if I can
just see His sacrifice, my heart be comforted. Then thirdly, the
Lord leads his people to Christ, the just God and a savior. Now,
in order for a sinner to be saved, you know, most people don't know
this. Most, almost no religious people know this. In order for
a sinner to be saved, that sinner must have mercy and grace. They
must have mercy. They must have grace that will
satisfy the character of the sinner, his character of sin.
He needs mercy and grace. He's got to have mercy and grace
to satisfy his character, to satisfy his need. But in order
for God to show mercy and grace to sinners, there's got to be
justice. There's got to be righteousness.
There's got to be holiness that satisfies the character of God,
that satisfies his need for holiness and righteousness and perfection.
That's what the psalmist is talking about in verse seven. He shall
abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth. which may preserve him." Now
this is why I'm saying true salvation requires both mercy and truth. But mercy and truth are at the
complete opposite of the spectrum. They're opposite of each other,
aren't they? Mercy is God not punishing me for my sin, not
giving me what I deserve. And truth is God giving my sin
exactly what it deserves. Now how can those two things
How can mercy and grace ever dwell in the same place? If mercy
is God not giving me justice for my sin, and truth is God
giving my sin absolute justice, how can those two things ever
dwell together? One place, one person, only in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ enables God to show mercy
to sinners. He bore all the punishment that
their sin deserved. The sacrifice of Christ satisfied
God's justice. He poured out all of His wrath,
all of His justice on the sin of His people, on the person
of Christ, our sacrifice. God's justice is all poured out.
It's fully satisfied. So now, God shows mercy because
our sin, or He shows mercy in truth because our sin's already
been punished in the person of our substitute. That's how God
can be just and justified. That's how he can be just and
still justify sinners is by punishing Christ our substitute for the
sin of his people. Now mercy and truth can only
be found together in Christ. Now come to him. Come to him.
Ask God to lead you to him. The Apostle John said the Lord
Jesus is full of grace and truth. Now I know we're talking about
mercy and truth, but wherever there's grace, there's mercy. They're
interchangeable. The Lord Jesus is full of grace
and truth, full of mercy and truth. They're both all found
together in Him in one place. So that the psalmist said in
Psalm 85 that righteousness and peace have kissed. They've met
together in peace in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I need
mercy and I need truth to be saved. Well, mercy and truth
are only found in the Lord Jesus Christ So lead me to him so I
can have a just God and a Savior. A salvation that's not done in
truth is no salvation. A holy God is eventually going
to cast it away. So lead me to the just God and
a Savior. Mercy and truth in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And verse 5 shows us the righteousness
of Christ that gives salvation in truth. True righteousness
here, verse 5. For thou, O God, hast heard my
vows. Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy
name. Now this can only be the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking here. The only person who ever kept
his vow to God was the Lord Jesus. He obeyed God perfectly. He did
exactly what he promised God he would do. He worked out a
perfect obedience that he would give to his people to make them
righteous. And his heritage is an inheritance. His heritage are the people that
God the Father gave him to save. And those people are saved in
truth, in justice, because Christ, by his obedience for them, made
them righteous, made them perfectly righteous. Just like Adam made
the people he represented unholy by his disobedience, just as
truly Christ made his people righteous by his obedience for
them. So it's just for God to accept.
See, this is a just salvation. It's just for God to accept them,
because Christ made those people righteous. And I can tell you
how you can identify those people. You can recognize them. They
fear Christ. They reference Him. They worship
Him. Their desire is, lead me to Christ. Lead me to that rock
that's higher than I, so I can hear more of Him. Verse 6, he
says, Thou wilt prolong the king's life, and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. Now again, this can only be talking
about Christ. Peter told us David died. His
tomb remains with us to this day. He never came out of the
tomb. Not yet he hasn't. Christ died. He died as a sacrifice
for the sin of his people. But unlike David, he didn't stay
dead. He came out of the tomb. He rose again and he ever lives
making intercession for his people. He ever lives pleading His sacrifice
for the remission of sins for His people. That's why the Father
always accepts it. He's always pleading the perfect
sacrifice. Now, since Christ died for the
sins of those people, they're going to have eternal life. Since
Christ died for them, they'll never die. They'll live forever
because Christ lives forever. And He lives forever, and His
people live forever for this reason. His sacrifice was perfect,
and the Father accepted it. The sacrifice of Christ put away
all of the sin charged to him. He was made sin and his sacrifice
put away all that sin. I know that so. His resurrection
is the proof of it. The Apostle Paul said he died
for our sins and was raised again for our justification. He was
raised again as the evidence. His sacrifice justified his people. Made him without sin. Well then
of course they'll have eternal life, everlasting life. There's
no reason for them to die. Christ put their sin away. I
need that. Lord, lead me to him. Lead me
to him. Don't let justification be a
doctrine in my head. Make justification a person.
Christ our righteousness and lead me to him. Let my heart
be comforted. I told you that Christ has a
heritage or an inheritance. It's the people that the Father
gave Him. But you know, His people have an inheritance too. They
have an inheritance because they're joint heirs with Christ. Look
at 1 Peter 1. Like Christ, our Savior, the
inheritance of His people is an eternal inheritance. Peter
describes it to us here. 1 Peter 1. Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, living hope, by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance. It's incorruptible,
it's undefiled, it fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you. You are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Oh, that's the inheritance of
God's people. Now, lead me to Christ. Lord, lead me to Him.
Oh, that I might have that inheritance, that I might have eternal life
in Him. Lead me to Christ. But now, come
full circle. Remember, David started this
psalm. He was in deep trouble, wasn't
he? He was crying to God. So you remember this. When you
suffer trouble and trial, our prayer is, Lord, keep leading
me to Christ. Still in 1 Peter 1 there, look
at verse 6. wherein ye greatly rejoice." Oh, we greatly rejoice
in this salvation. We greatly rejoice in this inheritance. We greatly rejoice. Though now,
for a season, if need be, you're in heaviness through manifold
temptation, and they're tough, that the trial of your faith
be much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with a fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, ye love. In whom though now you seem not,
yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,
receiving the end, the goal of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls. When you suffer trouble and trial,
just keep crying out to God, Lord, lead me to Christ. Lead
me to the rock that's higher than I, because I know I'm going
to receive the end, the goal of my faith. I'm going to receive
that salvation in Him. So keep leading me to Him. Now
you know it's good for us. David told us it's good for us
to worship. It's good for us to sing his praises. So let's
end here back in our text, Psalm 61, verse 8. Let's end with this. Lord, lead me to Christ so I
can worship him and praise him as I ought. David, he began in
great trouble, crying out to God, hear my prayer. My heart's
about to overwhelm me. And he ends up singing. He says
in verse 8, so I will sing praise unto thy name forever that I
may daily perform my vows. Oh, Lord, lead me to Christ.
If you lead me to him, I'll worship him. I'll praise him. Let's bow
together in prayer. Father, how we thank you for
your word. How we thank you for your word
that if we tried, we couldn't make it relevant to our day.
But how your word is so precious and relevant to the right now,
present, everyday need to the heart of your people. And we
cry with the prophet of old, Lord, lead us to Christ. Lead
us to the rock that's higher than I, that we might find safety
and protection and comfort for our souls in Him. Lord, lead
us to Christ, a true Savior who puts away the sin of His people
in both truth and mercy. Lord, lead us to Him. Give us
a sight of faith, of our Lord Jesus Christ, cause us to remain
faithful to him, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. It's in his precious name we
pray and give thanks.