Let's open our Bibles back to
Psalm 37. Begin reading in verse 39 of
Psalm 37. But the salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time
of trouble. David wrote this psalm in his
old age. If you look back in verse 25,
he says, I've been young and now I'm old. This particular
portion of Scripture, I'm confident David wrote this out of experience. It was written out of the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. It has the same meaning. It rings just as true as when
Jeremiah, when he spoke it, back when Jonah spoke it. Remember,
Jonah said salvation is of the Lord. It's the same message throughout
the entire scripture. Salvation, deliverance, is of
the Lord. It's of Him. It's completely
of Him. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. I was thinking about this. The
other day I was over at Dale and Jackie's house. Jackie had
made Dale a bowl of tomato soup. Took it in to him, I think with
a grilled cheese or maybe some crackers or something. Dale held
that up and he just took a sip of it. And he said, oh mom. He
said, I hope the last bite is as good as the first. And I pray
that's true of God's Word today. Salvation to the Lord. If that's
the first time we hear that, or if it's the last time we hear
it, I hope it's ever so sweet to us. Never, never, never grow
old of it. The salvation of the righteous. It's of the Lord. These nine
words, these nine words, I believe they're the heart of the Gospel.
of God's free and sovereign grace to sinners. Brother Henry wrote
this in one of his commentaries. He said the banquet of mercy
is served by one host, the Lord Jesus Christ. He prepared the
feast. He invited the guests. He made
them willing to come and sit down. And he clothes each one
of them in the perfect robe of righteousness. The salvation
of every believer, every last one of them, is completely and
entirely of the Lord. This gospel message, it's for
the young and old alike. In my Bible, I've got this written.
I don't know who said it, but I've got this written. These
are words to live by. Consider what John wrote. He
said, this is the testimony. God has given us eternal life.
And this life, it's in his son. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And these words, the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Words to live by, and they're
words to die by. Consider what Simeon said. When
he saw the Lord Jesus Christ, took him up in his arms, what
did he say? He said, let thy servant depart
in peace. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which you prepared, which you prepared, a light to the Gentiles
and the glory of thy people Israel. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. Look back in verse 38 of our
text. Transgressors. The transgressors
shall be destroyed together. The end of the wicked shall be
cut off. Transgressors. Rebellious sinners. Those guilty of sin, they shall
be cut off. They shall perish. The end of
the sinful man is death. Does that sound familiar? The
wages of sin is death. I hope I've got your attention
this morning. I hope I've got your attention
this morning. You know, I would ask this. Is anyone here sitting
there like that self-righteous Pharisee, thinking, you may be
talking to somebody in the room, but you're not talking to me. I may be a sinner, but I'm not
that bad, right? Remember what that Pharisee...
Turn over to Luke 18. Luke chapter 18. Look at verse 11 of Luke 18. We read here that the Pharisee
stood and he prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee. I thank Thee that I'm not as
other men. I'm thankful that I'm not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in
the week and I give tithes of all that I possess. Outwardly,
outwardly, anyone who looked at this man's outward appearance
would have thought this was a pretty good fellow. But if we read on,
is this the man that went down to his house justified? No. It was that publican. It was
that publican that couldn't raise his eyes, let alone raise his
head. He went down to his house justified. Look at verse 13 and
14. The publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote
upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I
tell you, these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
He said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other. Everyone that is exalted himself
shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Thank God that God saves sinners. When Adam fell, we all fell. Sinners by nature, sinners by
choice, sinners by practice. And it's not just, it's not just
what we do. Sin is what we are. It's what
we are. It's that wicked, corrupt, sinful
heart that every one of us has by nature. Every one of us is
born with it. And we read here, transgressors
shall be destroyed together. The end of the wicked. shall
be cut off." Again, I hope I've got all of us' attention. Look
back at verse 38, or verse 39. But, we love that word, don't
we? But, the salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. I've got, quickly, five points
I pray the Lord would reveal to us this morning on this statement,
this blessed truth, this that's our hope, the salvation of the
righteous is of the Lord. First, and I'll warn you ahead
of time, this one's a little bit lengthy, okay? Don't think
all five of them are going to be this long, all right? You'll
get home in time for the Super Bowl. It's sound doctrine, okay? The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. This is sound doctrine. In Revelation
13, 8, we read that the Lord Jesus Christ was the lamb slain
before the foundation of the earth. Almighty God planned and
purposed salvation and the redemption of his people in Christ before
there was ever a sinner, before the foundation of the world,
from the beginning. And listen. Here's for great comfort, what
he planned and what he purposed, he accomplished. He did it. Turn
to Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46, beginning with verse
nine. Remember the former things of
old. For I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there's
none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying
my counsel shall stand, I'll do all my pleasure. Calling a
ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel
from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it. I'll bring it to pass. I've purposed
it, I'll also do it. I've spoken it, I'll bring it
to pass. I've purposed it, I'll also do
it. Almighty God made the Lord Jesus
Christ our surety. I represented the federal head
of an elect people. All these people were given to
him to redeem. Redeemed from sin, and bring
the glory. In Adam, we died. In Christ,
we're made alive. In Adam, we were made sinners.
In Christ, we're made righteous. In Adam, we were separated from
God. In Christ, we're brought to Him,
each and every one of His people. 1 Peter 3.18, For Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, but just for the unjust, that
He might do what? That He might bring us to God. He might bring His people to
God. Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. And this work, this work of salvation,
it's His work. It's completely His work. The
salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Almighty God. God the Father made Him, made
the Lord Jesus Christ be sin for us, who knew no sin, that
we might be made the very righteousness of God in Him. On the cross, there on the cross,
He suffered and died for the sins of His people. He was made sin for us. And by one offering, He hath
perfected forever men that are sanctified. than that He set
apart. Now, false religion. False religion
says God's done all this. God's done all this. Now, it's
in your hands, sinner. It's up to you. It's up to you
to accept it. It's up to you to make the first
step. It's up to you to do any number of these things. Summertime,
me and the boys, we mow a cemetery. out in the country, out back
of Chesapeake. And there's, I'm not counting
them, I'm estimating, but there's probably 500, there's probably
500 graves there. Let me ask you, if I stood up while we were out
there mowing or when we finished mowing, and I said, maybe I even
shout, Anyone who wants to live, anyone who wants life, just come
forward. Can you imagine what kind of
reaction that would draw from people that were driving by?
What kind of idiot stands in the middle of the cemetery and
asks folks to come forward? What would happen? What would
happen to those people in the grave? Nothing. Right? Nothing. Because a dead
man A dead man can't hear. A dead man can't make a decision. A dead man can't take the first
step. A dead man can't do nothing. And I'm not trying to be cute.
A dead man can't do nothing. Yet, all across this country,
around this world, that's what men stand in pulpits and try
to do. Try to convince dead men that
they can do something. Only God can give life. Only
God can give life. Only God can quicken the spirit.
And we read that His people, His people are made willing in
the day of His power. Salvation. The salvation of the
righteous, it's of the Lord. It's all of Him. Second, it's
a necessary fact. It's a necessary fact that salvation,
the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. It must be so. It must be so. It's a necessary
fact and it must be so or there is no salvation. There's no salvation
apart from Christ. God's word declares there's no
other name. No other name given among men
whereby we must be saved. Consider the children of Israel.
They're at the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his army were approaching.
The children of Israel, we read that they were sore afraid. They
were sore afraid. And they cried out. They said,
were there not enough graves in Egypt? Were there not enough
graves in Egypt that we just died there? We're going to die here in the
wilderness. And Moses, Moses spoke to the people. He spoke
peace to the people. He said this, he said, fear not. Oh, fear not. Isn't that our
message today? Fear not. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Stand still.
Don't move out. Don't do anything. Stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. See the salvation of the
Lord, which he will show you. He will show to you this day
the salvation of the righteous. It's of the Lord. It's a necessary,
it's a necessary fact. Only he can save. Remember what
the, remember what that leper said? Lord, you will, you can
make it right. You have the power, you have
the ability, you have the right. Only you can save. Turn with
me to Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. beginning with verse 10. Verse
10. Be it known unto you all, all
the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you've crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by
him does this man stand before you whole. This is the stone
which was set at naught of you builders, which has become the
head of the corner. Neither. Neither is there salvation
in any other. For there is none other name
given among men whereby we must be saved." The salvation of the
righteous, it's of the Lord. My third point, what a sweet
consolation. What a sweet consolation that
salvation is of the Lord. If it's of anybody else, I have
no hope. If it's of anybody else, I'm
lost. We read that our best works,
the best that we can muster up, are filthy rags in the sight
of Almighty God. We read of Naaman. You know,
Naaman was a great man. It's written in God's Word. Naaman
was a great man. Naaman was an honorable man. Naaman was a mighty man. Naaman
was obviously a wealth man. He took that gold. He had some
influence. He took a letter from the king. All that. None of those things
could help Naaman. Naaman was a leper. Naaman was
a leper. That little maid that served
Naaman's wife, she said, would the Lord my God be with the prophet
that's in Israel, he'd recover. Not because of his greatness,
not because of his wealth, not because of his might, not because
of any of those things. If God were with him, if God
were with him, he would recover. She knew something about that
sweet consolation, didn't she? Thinking back to Simeon. Remember
who Simeon? He was waiting for the consolation
of Israel. What sweet consolation. Turn to John 10. We read this back in our Sunday
school class this morning. John 10. What sweet consolation. The salvation
of the righteous is of the Lord. Look at verse 27. He said, My sheep hear My voice.
I know them. They follow Me. And I give unto
them eternal life. They shall never perish. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of My hand. I think this is the
first time The Lord Jesus Christ, He said, no man will pluck them
out of my hand. And then read on. My Father, which gave them
to me, He's greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them
out of the Father's hand. Now that's secure, isn't it?
It's that sweet consolation. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. Four. It's a reason for humility. A reason for humility. There's
no room for pride. We see throughout the Scriptures.
Naaman had to be brought down, didn't he? Naaman had to be brought
down. David said this, he said, the
Lord preserveth the simple. I was brought low. He helped
me. He helped me. Nebuchadnezzar,
he said, I'll praise and extol and honor the king of heaven.
All whose works are truth and those that walk in pride, he's
able to abase. It's a reason for great humility.
You know, there's no there's no reason for pride. There's
no reason for arrogance when it's when it's his, when it's
his work. Paul writing to the church at
Rome, he said if Abraham were justified by his works, he'd
have reason to glory. But not before God. Not before
God. Who maketh thee? Who maketh thee
to differ one from another? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? And if you received it, why are
you bragging? Why are you bragging about it?
Why are you bragging about it? Why are you glorying in it? It's
a reason for great humility. God's people don't earn their
righteousness. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. It's a fifth. And then fifth. Fifth. This statement. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. It's a reason for great comfort
and for great hope. Let's turn back to the Scripture
there. Look at verses 39 and 40 of our
text. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. He is their strength in a time
of trouble. You know, that right there goes
against the health and wealth and happiness religion of our
day, doesn't it? He's their strength in time of
trouble. God's people have trouble. Listen, He's their strength.
He's their strength. And the Lord shall help them
and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the
wicked and save them because they trust in Him. He's their strength. The Lord
Jesus Christ, He's their strength. He's their strength in time of
trouble. We read that the Lord shall help them. The Lord shall
deliver them, shall deliver them from the wicked. He shall save
them. It's a comforting word and they
trust in Him. God's people trust in Him. They
rest in Him. I think this is illustrated over,
and I want you to turn with one more scripture. Turn over to
Acts 27. Strength in time of trouble.
He'll help them. He'll deliver them. He'll save
them. And they trust in Him. Here we see the account. I'm
not going to read this. Take time today. This is Acts
27. I love this passage of Scripture,
but just a few things here. Paul's on that voyage to Rome,
okay? And it's revealed to Paul that
this ship's going to be destroyed, okay? Look at verse 20. It says, when neither sun nor
stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay on us, all
hope, all hope that we should be saved
was taken away. That's a desperate condition,
isn't it? All hope was taken away that we should be saved.
But look down at verse 22. Paul's got something to say to
them. He says, I exhort you, be of
good cheer. Be of good cheer. For there shall
be no loss of any man's life among you but the ship. The ship's
going to perish, but you're going to be saved. You're going to
be delivered. Where did Paul get that confidence?
Look at verse 23. There stood by me this night
the angel of God. This God of whom I am, whose
I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul. You must be brought
before Caesar. You must be. And, Lo, God hath
given thee all them that sell with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be
of good cheer. I believe God. I believe God. What are we reading in that text?
His people trust in Him. He says, I believe God. that
it shall be even as I've been told, even as I've been told,
even as men told me. And we read on here and Paul
tells him, Paul tells him, he said, you must abide in the ship. You must abide in the ship. And
some of the men tried to slide down one of the ropes when they
were dropping anchor, Paul warned them. Except you abide in the
ship. You can't be saved. You must
abide in the ship. Salvation is of the Lord. You
must abide in Him. Rest in Him. Trust in Him. And
if you read on down, I just want to get verse 38, that Eden, they
cast those things out of the ship. Okay? Those things that
they were relying on, those things that they were holding on to,
cast them aside. Truly rest in Him. Things in
this world that we clutch real tight eventually, we'll turn
loose of them. We'll turn loose of them. Look
down in verse 43. This ship, they run it into the
shore. The waves start beating on the
ship. In the soldier's council, verse 42, the soldier's council
was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and
escape. Are they going to kill any of
these prisoners? What did Paul tell them? Paul said, not one
of them is going to be lost. Not one. And that word escape
there, that's the word we typically use when we talk about escaping,
fleeing, running, getting away. Let's read on. But the centurion
willing to save Paul kept them from their purpose and commanded
that they which could swim should cast themselves into the sea
and get to the land. The rest, some on boards, some
on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass. So it
came to pass. Just as it was told, just as
it was promised, not one of you is going to lose your life here.
It came to pass that they escaped all safe to land. That word escape,
that's a different word, okay? That's a different word than
the word escape up in verse 42. This word escape, listen to what
it means. It means to rescue. It means to preserve. It means to make thoroughly whole. It
means to save completely. saved every last one of them. Whatever that number was, I think
it was 276 of them, every last one of them escaped, safe to
land, just as they'd been promised, just as they'd been promised.
Turn back to our text. Verse 39, with the salvation of the righteous, It's of the Lord. It's of the
Lord. He is their strength in the time
of trouble. The Lord shall help them. He
shall deliver them. He shall deliver them from the
wicked and save them because they trust in Him. Isn't that
good news? Isn't that something we can lay
our head down at night, knowing this, the salvation of the righteous.