Let's open our Bibles again to
Psalm 28. The title of the message is A
Cry Heard. Every child of God knows well
the time where you brought to the place where you cry to the
Lord. And you must be heard. Well,
I'd like my cry to be heard when you David's cry here before the
end of this psalm is heard. And I want us to look at that
and see if there's something we can learn so that when we
cry, our cry might be heard of the Lord. I want us to see four
things about a cry heard. David begins this psalm crying
out to the Lord in great need. Here's the first thing we see
in a cry that's heard. There's going to be begging before
we're heard. Before we're ever heard, the
Lord's going to make us cry to Him. There's no cry can be answered
unless unless it's heard first. So verse one, under thee will
I cry, O Lord, my rock, be not silent to me, lest if thou be
silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear
the voice of my supplications when I cry into thee, when I
lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. Now this word cry, It
has something to do with something like accosting someone. It's
just waylaying someone and not letting go. David's crying to
the Lord in great need. He's not going to let go. He's
not going to quit crying until the Lord helps him. He's crying
out of great need. Now, who knows? We don't know
when this psalm was written. We don't know what caused this
great need that David is in at this time. It could have been
his own sin. It could have been sickness of
body, weakness of mind, it could have been weakness of faith,
trouble from his family, trouble from the nation. David was well
acquainted with troubles and trials, wasn't he? So who knows
what it was that caused this particular crime. But in all
those times of trouble and trial, you know what David learned?
He learned to call upon the Lord. And here he's calling earnestly. He says that he's lifting up
his hands toward the holy oracle. He's lifting up his hands. What
he means is toward the holy of holies. David's asking to be
heard, not because of the way he's holding his hands. He's
asking to be heard from where he's looking. He's asking to
be heard because of the sacrifice of Christ. It's pictured in that
holy of holies, not because there's anything good in him, but because
of the sacrifice of Christ, because of the blood sprinkled upon the
mercy seat. Now, David says he's he's he's
lifted up his hands here. Let me give you a word on that.
This does not mean that if we lift up our hands as we're praying,
that the Lord is more likely to hear us than if we just got
our hands folded or, you know, steal some way. I tell you what
this means. God hears the prayer that comes
from a heart that's empty, that's empty of righteousness, it's
empty of goodness, a heart that is in need because it's empty.
The Lord answers the prayer of the beggar that lifts up his
empty heart to the Lord to be filled. The Lord hears the prayer
of a beggar who lifts up an empty hand to the Lord. It's the empty
hand that he fills, the empty heart that he fills. God's not
going to be impressed with our religious posture, you know.
But I tell you what, God will never turn away an empty beggar,
a mercy beggar who's begging The Lord heard the prayer of
the publican in the temple. He prayed, didn't he? The Lord
said, that man went down to his house justified. The Lord heard
his prayer. The Lord had mercy on that man. I'm confident that
man did not lift up his hands. He wouldn't so much as lift up
his eyes. So it's not our physical posture that the Lord hears and
respects. It's the empty heart, the empty
hand, the posture of a beggar. David says, now, Lord, hear this
beggar's cry. But you notice what else he says?
Lord, hear me. But Lord, let me hear you. Lord, speak to my heart. Don't
be silent to me. Speak Christ to my heart. Speak
comfort to my heart by telling me about mercy and grace in Christ. Speak comfort to my heart by
telling me again of that sacrifice that's pictured in the Holy of
Holies. Tell me again how I'm complete in Christ. Don't let
me be like those people who go down to the pit of hell. Those
are people who never heard from God. Lord, don't be silent to
me. I'm begging you, speak to my
heart. I venture a guess that's why you're all here tonight to
hear from the Lord. We're all here with that one
desire. Lord, speak to my heart. Speak to us. Well, how does the
Lord speak to his people? He speaks to his people through
the word. And he especially speaks to his people through the preaching
of the word. This is the gospel we preach.
This is the gospel by which the Lord speaks to the hearts of
his people. It's the gospel of substitution and satisfaction. Father made his son sin for his
people. And as Christ suffered for that
sin, he suffered for it in justice. The father turned his back upon
his son. He withdrew his presence from
his son. He withdrew his love, his loving
presence, his comforting presence, his strengthening presence. And
at that time, the Savior cried, didn't he? My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? I thirst, he cried. But the father
would not hear him until all that sin had been put away. While
he was suffering for sin, the father wouldn't hear him until
sin was gone. You know why the father did that
to his son? Because God's holy. God cannot even look upon sin.
He must punish sin, and He did so, even when it was found upon
His beloved Son. But here's the other side of
that coin. Since the Father is holy, He won't be silent to His
people. He was already silent to our
substitute. He's not going to be silent to His people. He's
not going to take out His anger upon His people. He already took
out His anger against our sin upon our substitute, so that
God said, There's no more fury left in him, not for the sin
of his people. It's been poured out upon his
son. The father was silent to his son. So then in justice,
he can hear the cries of his people. And he does. The father
always hears the cries of his people. And you might wonder
this from your experience. There's not a, I venture to say
there's not a person, I promise you, there's not a child of God
who will not say this. How often is it that it seems
like the Lord doesn't hear my cry? How often is it that the
heavens seem like brass and no matter how I pray, it seems like
God's not hearing me? Well, let me tell you this. God
always hears the cry of His child. Now, He may not answer for a
time, but He hears. He knows. Well, why would the
Lord wait before He answers the cry of a hurting child? Well,
you know, it's never to punish us. It's always to bless us. Always. The Lord waits to answer
so that we'll learn to depend on Him more completely. He waits
to answer so that we'll honor Him by calling more loudly. He
waits to answer so that we'll honor Him by knocking more earnestly
because I need him. He does that so that when he
answers, we'll be all the more blessed by learning to depend
upon him. And in all your pain and your
sorrows and your difficulties, let me encourage you, don't ever
quit calling upon the Lord. You just keep calling to him.
Our Lord taught us to do that, to keep calling, to keep begging,
even when He doesn't answer at first. The Lord gave a whole
parable about the widow woman and the unjust judge, and He
said this is the reason for the parable, to teach us that men
ought always to pray and not to faint, to not quit calling
to Him. That poor Syrophoenician woman,
her daughter was grievously vexed to the devil, and she came crying
to the Lord for mercy. She came to the right person
with the right cry, with the right attitude, an empty heart,
an empty hand. And the Lord didn't answer her
word, did he? Now he heard her. He just didn't
answer her at first, did he? And she kept begging. She kept
calling. And eventually, in his time,
when faith in Christ and dependence upon Christ had been revealed,
the Lord had mercy upon her. And he answered her. Now he waited
a while, but he heard her the whole time. It was never his
purpose to let that woman, that empty beggar, go away empty.
No, he was always going to fill her. But dependence upon the
Lord and faith in Christ was going to be revealed first. I've told you before, you all
attending here have heard about our two little Yorkie dogs. We've got the most annoying dog
in this world, Brutus. And he barks to go outside. You
let him outside. In about 16 seconds, he's back
barking at the door to get in. And he has this real high-pitched,
annoying yip. And it's like a metronome, just
every five seconds until you let him in. Well, he was with
Holly and Doug. And this dog, he loves Doug. He just wallows him to death,
you know. And Doug was watching a ball game. Brutus wanted out,
so he let Brutus out, and in a minute here he's barking, you
know. And Doug thought, I'm waiting him out. I'm just going to wait. He's going to get tired of barking
before I get up out of this chair. And after about 40 minutes, he
drove Doug insane. And he got up every five seconds
for 40 minutes. He said, you just could have
set your watch by it. If I'm a needy dog, I believe
I'll cry. and I'll keep crying to the Master
answers." That is the point of this whole story. If you're in
great need, I don't need to tell you how to call upon the Lord
or what to do or how to hold your hands. If you're in great
need, you know how to call. You keep calling on the Lord,
He'll answer. In due time, He will answer. David prays that
the Lord hear him, that the Lord speak to him, And he prays unto
the Lord to support him. He said, Lord, you're my rock.
Support me. The Lord's our rock. You can
cry to this rock. You'll be helped. Our rock is
not like their rock. Now their rock, their idol, he
got ears, but he can't hear. He got feet, but he can't walk.
He's got hands, but he can't do anything. Our rock's not like
their rock. Our rock's able to help. And
he's willing to help his people. He loves to help his people.
Our rock was smitten so his people would have the water of life.
Our rock is the cleft where we can hide from God's wrath against
our sin. Our rock gives us shade and comfort
in a dry and barren land. Our rock is the altar where the
sacrifice for sin is offered and where that sacrifice is accepted
by God. Our rock is our foundation. Everything
we have is Everything we believe is built upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our rock is the strength of our
salvation. This is what David's saying,
Lord build me up upon the foundation of Christ the solid rock. Put
me in Christ. Put me on Him. And I'll be helped. I'll be sustained. So that's
the first thing in a cry heard. It's a cry for mercy. Begging
for mercy. The second thing we see in a
cry that's heard is this. a cry for justice. Verse three,
draw me not away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity,
which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.
Give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness
of their endeavors. Give them after the work of their
hands, render to them their dessert because they regard not the works
of the Lord or the operation of his hands. He shall destroy
them and not build them up. And here, David, It says, give
them according to their deeds, the wicked. I can tell you what
this is not teaching, because this is the first thing that
comes to our mind. This is not teaching us that we ought to
pray and ask the Lord to get revenge upon people who are mean
to us and our enemies who mistreat us and so forth. I know that's
not what that's teaching because of what the Lord taught his disciples.
How did the Lord teach us to pray? He told us pray for our
enemies. He didn't say go out there and
seek revenge on them. No, he said pray for your enemies.
Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do
good to them that hate you. Pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you. So this is not teaching us we
should pray and ask the Lord to take vengeance on those people
who have been mean to us. What this is teaching us is that
we should pray that in all things Christ be magnified. in all things. Let him be magnified. Let him
be magnified in the salvation of sinners, even my enemies. Let the Lord Christ be magnified
in that. And at the end of time, let Christ
be magnified in the damnation of those who refused to bow to
him and refused to believe to him. Now, we can pray that way
as long as we're careful not to pray that the Lord damn people
who are mean to us, because that's not what this is teaching. Really,
what's happening here is this is Christ speaking. This is Christ
speaking through David. You know, people talk about the
Messianic Psalms. Well, that's all of them. Every psalm is Christ. Every
psalm is Christ speaking. And this is Christ speaking here.
Christ the Savior prays and asks His Father for justice for everyone,
for His people and for His enemies. Christ prays for justice for
His people. because he satisfied justice
for them. He's made his people righteous
by giving them his obedience to the law. He's cleansed them
from all their sin by the blood of his sacrifice. He's made his
people perfect. So he's asking his father, give
my people justice. Give them what I've earned for
them. Give them eternal life. Don't let my people be damned
with the wicked because I've made them holy. I've given them
a new and perfect heart where there's no sin, there's no mischief,
there's no guile. Give them justice. Give them
eternal life. But he also asked justice for
his enemies. And his enemies are those that refuse to believe
on him. Now notice here, he doesn't ask that the wicked be damned
because God didn't elect them. He doesn't say that, does he?
No, he asks that the wicked be given just exactly what they've
earned. Give them their just deserves.
God will never damn anybody because He didn't choose to save them.
Never. Whenever God damns someone, it's always giving them just
exactly what they've earned. They'll be damned because of
what they have done, not because of anything God did. David says
in verse 4, give them according to their deeds. Give them after
the work of their hands. Give them just what they've earned.
Just like a good employer does on Friday afternoon. I mean,
he goes around giving out paychecks. That's what you've earned. That's
what he's asking. Give them just exactly what they've
earned by their deeds, the works of their hand. And then they'll
be damned because of who they are. Not because of who God is,
but because of who they are. David says, give them according
to the wickedness of their endeavors, their endeavors, what they desire
to do. God counts us guilty even when
we desire sin. If for some reason we can't act
on it, but just the heart desire of it. God counts us guilty for
that. God will damn people because
of who they are. Because they're unholy. Because
their motions, their desires, their deeds, their motives, everything
about them is unholy and God will give them just what their
sin deserves. And then they'll be damned thirdly, because they
refuse to believe on Christ. They regard not the works of
the Lord, nor the operation of his hands. Now a believer, he's
built upon Christ the solid rock. But the unbeliever, he does not
believe Christ. He does not regard the works
of Christ. He doesn't want Christ. He doesn't regard the works of
the Lord. He doesn't regard the obedience of Christ as anything
special. He doesn't think it's something
that he needs because he thinks his best would be good enough.
So instead of building them up upon Christ, the Lord's going
to destroy them by crushing them, by breaking them on Christ. Because
they rejected Christ, the only foundation. Nothing else can
be built. They don't have a foundation.
See, this is justice for the unbeliever. If we perish, It's
going to be our own fault. We got nobody to blame but ourselves.
We can't blame God. It's not something God did. It's
not anything about the character of God. It's all our fault. And
that applies to everyone. Now, people often wonder, and
I've heard this question many times. Well, I know I've heard
this gospel, but what about all those people who've never heard
the gospel like I have? What about them? Well, you know,
I can't fully explain that. I really can't. You'll just have
to take that up with the Lord if you dare. Somehow I suspect
when we see him, that's not what the question we'll be asking
him, but we'll have to take that up with the Lord because that's
his business. But I do know what God said in his word about this.
God said he's revealed himself to them. He's revealed himself
to them in creation. He's revealed himself to them
in providence. He's put it in their own conscience. Their conscience
tells them there's a God. and they won't walk in the light
God's given them. They don't use the light that
God's giving them to seek the Lord. So whatever it does, whatever
God does with those people, I promise you it's going to be just and
it will be right. But I tell you what our main
concern would be, you know, a lot of times when people ask that
question, what about people out there in the world never heard
the gospel? It's just a way to object to the gospel. I tell
you what our main concern should be. Huh? I don't know about other
folks, but we have heard the gospel preached by them. Now
we have. We have heard the Savior plainly
preached. We've had the Word of God opened
to us and expounded to us and taught to us. I don't know about
everybody else, but I know this. If I don't bow, if I don't come
to Christ begging for mercy and God damns me, He'll be right
in doing it. He'll be absolutely right. If
we perish, it's going to be our own fault. But if we're saved,
it's all because of the work of Christ. That's all because
of who God is, because God's gracious, because God's forgiving,
because God found a ransom to deliver their soul from going
down to the pit. I found a ransom. I provided a ransom for us. It'll
all be because of his mercy, his power, his love for his people.
That brings me to the third thing about this cry that's heard.
It's a cry of praise. Now, while David was crying to
the Lord out of his great need, something happened. Something
changed. Did you notice that when we were reading this to
open the service? David's heart went from being swallowed up
in pain and sorrow and worry, and suddenly his heart's overflowing
with praise. The Lord not only heard David's
cry, but the Lord answered him by speaking to his heart. And
when the Lord spoke to David's heart, his heart began to praise. Spurgeon made this statement.
He said, those who pray well will soon praise well. I believe
he's right. David praises the Lord because
the Lord heard his cry. Look at verse six. Blessed be
the Lord because he had heard the voice of my supplication. That should cause us to praise
the Lord. The Lord should be praised because in order to hear
you and me, When we cry, just the cry of a maggot, how far
down does the Lord have to condescend to hear you and me? You ought
to be praised for doing that, shouldn't he? That magnifies
the pity that the Lord has for sinners. I'll tell you what else
it does. It gives us the confidence to keep crying because we've
seen his pity for sinners. Then David praises the Lord because
the Lord is his strength. Verse 7, the Lord is my strength
and my shield." Now remember, David prayed that the Lord be
his rock, the Lord be his strength. And you know how the Lord answered
him? By showing David Christ our strength. He showed David
the rock and that gave him such confidence. David said, I trusted
in the Lord. He said, my heart trusted in
him and I am helped. I trusted in the Lord and I wasn't
disappointed. I trusted in the Lord. He comforted
me, strengthened me. See, faith in Christ gives us
confidence to keep crying to Him because of who He is. No
matter how much worry and sorrow and pain and need that I want
to unload upon the Lord, He's strong enough to bear it. He's
the eternal rock. And you know, the Lord gave more
than He asked for, didn't He? He almost always does. He gives
us more than what we ask for. David asked for strength. And
the Lord gave him strength. He also showed him protection.
He gave him a shield. The Lord showed David Christ
our shield, Christ our strength. He's our shield from every danger. That gives us confidence to keep
calling on him because we need him. Then David praises the Lord
because the Lord stooped way down to help him. He says in
verse 7, Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted
in him and I'm helped. Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices,
and with my song will I praise him." The Lord heard the cry
of this poor, helpless beggar, and then he helped him. That
magnifies the grace of God. You know, the Lord will not help
those who help themselves. He won't. But the Lord will help
those who cannot help themselves. because the Lord's gracious,
because he's plenteous in mercy for helpless sinners. And if
you're a helpless sinner, that gives you reason to keep crying
to the Lord. That makes David break out in
song. His song just comes from a heart
that's overflowing, just greatly rejoicing in the Lord. Y'all
enjoy listening to talented singers, but the best music comes from
the heart, somebody that's experienced and knows what they're singing.
I don't usually watch these shows, but Janet's mom likes to watch
this, The Voice I think it's called. We were visiting one
time, she wanted to watch The Voice. So she and I were sitting
here watching The Voice. And this kid, 12, 13 years old,
got the voice of a full grown man. Just amazing voice. Comes out and sings this song
about this girl breaking up with him. I looked at that phone.
I said, what's that kid know about love and heartbreak and
all these things, you know? He's got a great voice, but there's
something missing. Well, I enjoy listening to a
talented singer sing songs of grace. I can enjoy that. But you know what I love? I love
to hear someone who's got heart love for the Savior. I love to
hear someone sing who knows and trust and need the one they're
singing about. That song moves the heart of
a child of God. That's the song David's singing
right here. It's a song that comes from a
heart that knows the Lord, that trusts him, that needs him and
makes him sing. Then David praises the Lord for
salvation in Christ, verse 8. The Lord is their strength, and
He is the saving strength of His anointed. David cried. He said, Lord, hear my cry. And
the Lord showed him Christ. He showed him the strength of
salvation. You know, salvation in Christ
is so sure. It gives us a good hope through
grace. It gives us a good hope because
of who He is. Salvation isn't conditioned upon
or dependent upon something that we do to get it or we got to
do to keep it. Nobody can ever rest in that. There's no rest,
there's no strength in that, because it's just as strong as
I am, and I'm weak as I can be, and every man is. But a believer
has a good hope, a sure hope, if Christ is the strength of
our salvation. If He is our salvation. If our
salvation is Christ. You know, I was going to say
if our salvation depends entirely upon Christ. But better yet,
if Christ is our salvation. And that salvation can't be lost
because He, who He is, His character, His perfection, the perfection
of His righteousness, the perfection of His blood, shed as a sacrifice
for His people, who He is, is the strength of our salvation.
That's what makes it where He can't be lost. It's no wonder
David praises Him. That's the thing about a cry
that's heard, is praise. But here's the fourth thing we
see in a cry that's heard. It's a plea for others. Verse
9. Save thy people and bless thine
inheritance. Feed them also and lift them
up forever. No one who really knows the Lord
can ever pray selfishly. Wasn't it Samuel that said, God
forbid that I'd sin against the Lord. It's a sin against the
Lord, he said, if I cease to pray for you. A cry that's going
to be heard has got to include a plea for others. David started
out crying, Lord, hear me. Lord, answer me. Lord, help me.
But now he's praying for others. The Lord helped him. The Lord
is so gracious to him. He said, Lord, save your people. Save your people. And he's not
saying save everybody in the whole wide world. He's not saying
Christ died for everybody. No, he's saying, Lord, save your
people. Save the people that you chose. Save the people that
Christ died for. Save those people that are your
inheritance. Lord, use the gospel here. This
is my prayer every day. Lord, use the gospel as preached
here to save your people. Now, by no means does this mean
that we should not pray for our loved ones because we well, I
know I'll just pray for the Lord's people and oh, no, no, we pray
for our loved ones. We pray for our children. We
pray for our loved ones that don't know the Lord and we should. Job did. We should. But in doing that, we're not
praying against the Lord's will. Our prayer is take them because
you not because I love them because you love them. Wash them in your
blood and the blood of your son. Give them faith in Christ. Lord,
save them so that you get all the glory. Now, that cry will
always be heard. God will save everyone if he
get all the glory and save everyone. So David prays, Lord, save your
people. That cry is going to be heard. God's going to save
his people. I promise you that. Then David prays, Lord, be the
shepherd of your people. When he talks there about feed
them, he's talking about the shepherd, the shepherd who rules
over the sheep, the shepherd who takes care of the sheep and
feeds the sheep. Lord, feed your people. Feed
your people with your word, just like a shepherd takes his sheep
to the green pastures to feed. Lord, be the shepherd that feeds
your people. Bless your servant as he preaches
so that your people are fed, so they're taught, so they're
edified, so their hearts are comforted. Lord, carry your people. Like that shepherd comes, he
finds the weak and injured land. He doesn't break the land for
being weak. He doesn't break the land for being injured. No,
he picks it up and he carries it. Lord, carry your people.
We're too weak to take a step by ourselves. Lord, protect your
people. Like the shepherd protects his
sheep from the wolves. Protect us from the wolves. We're
defenseless. Lord, you be the shepherd and
protect us. Lord, bring your people home. Don't leave us to
our devices, but be like that shepherd who left the 99 in the
wilderness and went looking for that one sheep that was lost.
And he searched until he found it. And when he found it, he
didn't say, you dumb sheep, what are you doing out here? Look
where I found you. Look what I had to do to come
here and find you. Look at the trouble I had to go to. When
he found that one sheep that was lost, he picked it up, held
it in his bosom, took it back to the fold where there's one
shepherd, where there's one fold. And he says, rejoice with me.
I found my sheep that was lost. Lord, be the shepherd of your
people. Lastly, David prays, Lord, lift your people up. Lift
them up. Lord, lift them from death to
life. Find those that have the weak
knees, the feeble knees, the hands that are hanging down.
Lift them up. Lord, lift your people up out
of the dunghill and set them among princes. Lift up the hearts
of your people, the hearts that's broken, the heart that's trodden
down with grief and pain. Lift them up by comforting them
with your presence. Lift up their hearts out of that
darkness and worry and fear. Lift up their hearts to praise
you. Lift up your people from sorrow
to joy, from mourning to rejoicing. Lift them up. Lift up your people
from this world. If we cry like that, the Lord's
going to hear that prayer and He'll grant it every time. That
is a cry that's heard. I hope that'll be a blessing
to us all. Let's bow together in prayer. Lord, we thank you for this time
that you've given to us, where you'd speak to us through your
word and give us a time to gather together out of this world and
come for a time of refreshing, to behold Christ our Savior,
to rejoice in him, to have our hearts thrilled to hear again
of His love and His mercy and grace and pity for His people,
for His forgiveness of sin, for His righteousness, His obedience
that makes us righteous, for His blood that cleanses us from
all sin. Father, we pray with our brother
David that you lift your people up. Father, cause your gospel
to take root in our heart that we would look to Christ. Father,
speak to our hearts. Speak to the hearts of your people.
If you speak to us, our hearts will begin to praise, be filled
with song. Lift them up, Father. Lift up
your people that are weak and weary and worn out from this
difficult journey here below. Lift them up to the heights of
glory in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's in His precious name we
pray and give thanks.