Morning, everybody. Good to be
back with you. If you'd like to turn to Psalm
chapter four. Psalm four. Relatively short Psalm, only
eight verses. I want to begin by reading the
whole thing. Psalm chapter four, and just
pick up there in verse one. We know from the inspired title
that David wrote this, so these are the words of David. They're
also the words of Christ. Psalm 4, verse 1, David says,
hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged
me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me and hear my
prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will
you turn my glory into shame How long will you love vanity,
that's pride, and seek after desire after leasing lies? But know that the Lord hath set
apart him that is godly, sanctified is what it means, for himself. The Lord will hear when I call
unto him. And I find that interesting.
In verse one, he says, Lord, hear me when I call. And you
get down to verse three there, and this is his confidence. He
says, the Lord will hear me when I call. There's no doubt about
it. This prayer isn't going to the ceiling. The Lord is going
to hear me. He's promised, and he's always faithful to what
he promises. Verse four, he says, stand in
awe and sin not. Commune with your own heart upon
your bed and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness
and put your trust in the Lord. There may be many that say, who
will show us any good? And we say a lot nowadays. We
just can't seem to find any good around here. Everything looks
like it's in chaos and turmoil. I can't seem to find any good.
This is what David said. He said, Lord, lift up the light
of thy countenance upon us. If we just have your face, and
if we just have your favor, we will know that at all this, everything
we see, it's all good. if you just be favorable to us,
if we just have your grace, everything's good. Verse seven, thou hast
put gladness in my heart more than the time that their corn
and their wine increased. Now, this is what drew me to
this psalm, this verse eight, so I want you to pay attention
to this. David says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep
for thou, Lord, only. makest me dwell in safety. Now I'm not quite sure what's
going on in David's life when he writes Psalm 4. The inspired
title here doesn't tell us. But I've read about as many commentaries
as I can come across on it, and all the commentators tend to
agree that David wrote Psalm 4 about the same time he wrote
Psalm 3, one right after the other, in proximity of time.
And if that's the case, we know exactly what's going on with
David at this time. You can look at Psalm 3 and look
at the inspired heading there. It says, a Psalm of David when
he fled from Absalom, his son. That's what's going on when David
wrote Psalm 3, likely the same time period when he writes Psalm
4. And then there's plenty of parallels. There's plenty of
things that David says in Psalm 3 that he reiterates in Psalm
4. Look at Psalm 3 and look at verse
5. David says, I laid me down and slept, I awaked, for the
Lord sustained me. That's the exact same thing he's
saying in verse eight. He's saying, I laid down, I made myself vulnerable. I laid down unguarded, defenseless,
all alone. I just laid down completely unguarded
and vulnerable and defenseless. And you know what the Lord did?
He sustained me. He washed over me. He guarded
me. He led me through the night. And he raised me up the next
morning, not a scratch on me. He was faithful to do what he
said he was going to do, keep me all the way through the night.
He's saying the exact same thing in Psalm 3 there that he's saying
in Psalm 4. And if that's the case, that he writes this Psalm
4 at the same time he writes Psalm 3, we know what's going
on. He's fleeing from Absalom. What happened there? David's
firstborn son, Absalom, what did he do? He betrayed David.
He wanted to take David's throne. In very wicked and malicious
ways, he tried to emasculate his father. And he thrust him
out of the kingdom after he chased David out of his own kingdom.
And the whole time, this is his end state. He wants David dead.
He wants him dead so he can take his throne and take his kingship. And this would be terrible, absolutely
terrible, to have an enemy this cruel and this malicious. It
would be worse if they were a former friend, someone you trusted.
It would be even worse, it would be disastrous if they were your
kin, but if it's your own child. You imagine what David thought
as he's fleeing from Absalom, thinking about all the time he
spent holding his baby and playing with him, teaching him things,
all that, and David loved Absalom. He would say at the end of Absalom's
life, he goes, I gladly would have traded my life for his.
I can't imagine a worse situation, a worse trial than what David
is going through right now. His firstborn son wants him dead. These are terrible circumstances,
and yet, in the midst of all that, in the midst of all that
turmoil and trial, what does he say? He says, I'm gonna lay
down in peace and in sleep, in complete rest, and the Lord's
gonna take care of it. that Lord only are going to make
me to dwell in safety. The Lord's going to take care
of all this because he's in control. And there's a double meaning
here. This isn't just David talking about laying down that night
to go to sleep. And he's not sleeping in a king's
bed that night. Keep that in mind. He is down in a cave somewhere.
Rocks for a pillow. He's talking about something
greater than this, though. He's talking about the last time he closes his eyes.
He's talking about the day of his death. One day, I'm going
to lay me down for good. I'm going to shut these eyes
for good. I'm going to stop breathing for
good. The life that is in me, the animation that is in me is
going to leave me. I'm going to lay down for good. And David
says, here's how I'm going to do it, in peace, having peace
with God through my Lord Jesus Christ, and in rest. Not in chaos,
not in fear, not in worry, but in complete and utter rest, knowing
that Christ is going to deliver me to the other side. He's going
to present me before the Father blameless, and I'm going to be
fully accepted with God as he is accepted with God. Now, here's
my point to everything I've said up to this point. What David
has here this comfort, this peace, this confidence in the midst
of a great trial, in the midst of life in general, even the
day of his death. I want that. I want that same
peace, I want that same comfort, and I want that same confidence.
Now, why did David have this? Why did he have this peace and
this comfort and this confidence? It's real simple, very, very
simple. David knew God. First, he was
known of God. God knew him. God loved him.
He chose him before the world ever began. Christ was the surety
for that man. He called him out by his grace,
not just unto salvation. He called him to be the king.
He took him out from the sheep coat. He didn't offer David a
position as the king over all Israel. He says, I took you.
I took you out of the sheep coat, and I anointed you, and I made
you my king. This man was known of God. He
was loved of God. He had the blessing of God upon
him. And everybody who is known of God, they all, by the grace
of God, because he reveals himself to those people, do the exact
same thing. They come to a knowledge of who
God is, who Christ is. And you know what accompanies
that? peace and comfort and confidence. That's what accompanies that.
Now, the question is, it's this, who is David's God? Who is this
God from which David derives so much confidence and so much
comfort that he could say, I'm just going to lay down and everything's
going to be just fine? David tells us here. I want you
to look back in verse 3. David begins verse three, and
he says these two words, he says, but no. And I think that's strong
language. You don't see those two words
pop out anywhere else in this song. It's kind of like David
is saying, listen up. If you don't listen to anything
else I have to say, listen to this, but no, but no, what? What do I need to know, David?
What is this important information? Verse three, but know that the
Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself. Now here's the first thing we
need to know about David's God. Who is David's God? This one
that gave him so much confidence and so much comfort. He is a
God who sets apart. Now this is his manner of salvation,
and we're gonna talk about that here in a little while. That
word godly, he says, he has set apart him that is godly for himself. That actually means sanctified
one. He has set apart those that he chose, that he sanctified
for himself. And that word sanctification,
it's real simple. You know, all that means is this,
it's to take something common and ordinary and to set it apart
and to make it holy. That's exactly what that word
means. There's not another word in the scripture that better
defines the whole process of salvation than that word sanctification. How does God save? He's a God
who sets apart. He takes that which is common and ordinary
and worthless and sinful, and he sets it apart, and he makes
it to be what it was not before, holy and unblameable and unapprovable
before God. This is his manner of salvation.
He is the God who sets apart. We're going to talk more about
that here in a second. But it's bigger than that. It's bigger
than even that. This thing of him being the God
who sets apart, this speaks of his character and his totality.
This speaks of him being the sovereign and omnipotent creator. The one who has no bounds, who
has no limitations, who is completely and utterly independent. The
one who controls all things by the word of his power and simply
by his good purpose and will. This is what this speaks of.
And if you want to go back to the first time you ever read
of God setting apart anything, you know where you end up? Genesis
1. At the very beginning. When God
did what? He created. Now this splendor
we see around us, the complexity of this universe, the beauty
of this world, somebody made all this. And every man is born
with the intuitive knowledge that somebody, a man, a God-man,
made all this. All the intricacy of this universe
and this world, we try as men to get a grasp on it, and we
can barely scratch the surface. just groping in the dark. Someone
intelligently and purposefully made all this. You know what
his name is? His name is Jesus Christ. He made all this. That's
what John tells us. John 1 3 says, all things were
made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. There is a man, a God man who
made everything here. And according to David, this
is how he did it. This is David's commentary on
the creation. Psalm 33, verse 6. He says, by
the word of the Lord were the heavens made. The word was made
flesh, and he dwelt among us. How were the heavens made? Christ,
the word, he made them. Made, how did he do that? And
all the host divided them by the breath of his mouth. Somebody made all this, and how
did he do it? He willed, and he purposed, and
then he did this. By the breath of his mouth, everything
that is made was made. That's exactly what that's saying.
Folks, that's power. That's sovereignty. And he goes
on. He says, he gathereth the waters
of the sea as in heap. You ever go into a table, and
you got some crumbs, and you just sweep them together? You
get a little pile? That's what he's talking about. He gathered
the waters of the world, all the seas, and just gathered them
together. Just that simple. He layeth up in the depths in
storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For
he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. Who are we dealing with here?
We are dealing with an omnipotent sovereign, one who wills. and
purposes, and speaks, and it is, and it stands fast, and it
always does, every single time. That's who we're dealing with
here, this God who sets apart. And you go through Genesis 1-1,
it talks about him setting apart the creation. He set apart, he
separated the light from the darkness. He said, light, you're
special, you're different. Darkness, when light is around,
you will flee from the light. You two cannot coexist. Light,
whenever you are here. Darkness, you will flee. You
are different. You are special. You are set apart. God made a
difference. He separated the day from the night. He said,
day, you're different. Day, when you're here. Night,
you cannot be here. You're set apart. You're different.
I'm making a difference here. As long as the day is here, the
night must flee away. It cannot be here. Dry land,
the firmament. Water, you will go no further
than this. I'm making a difference. Dry
land is different. I've made a difference here. I've separated.
Water, you will not encroach upon this dry land any more than
I tell you you can. And to this very day, how much
does the water encroach on the dry land? As much as the Lord
tells it to, and not an inch or centimeter more. This is the
God we're dealing with, the omnipotent sovereign. That's how things
work down here. goodwill, it is a sovereign will, he wills
and purposes, and it is always done. That means every interaction,
everything we would call a happenstance, anything we see, anything we
do, it is all guided by this, the very purpose of God. Everything
is simply his goodwill and purpose coming about every single time,
and it cannot be anything but that. Somebody says, what about
the fall of man? At least that, right? That had
to happen outside the good purpose and will of God. That had to
have happened. This is how serious this issue
is. If it did, if the fall of man happened outside the purpose
and will of God, and God simply had to react to something he
didn't see coming, then he is not God. That's how serious this issue
is. If he can't see it coming, if he doesn't purpose it, there's
only one will. There's only one driving force.
And that is the purpose and the will of God. And if something
can happen outside his purpose and will that he has to react
to, he's not really sovereign. And that means he's not really
God. But he is really sovereign. And he really is God. And we
said this going into this. David has this confidence. He
has this peace. David is going to lay down his
own son seeking his head. He lays down in this cold cave,
rocks for a pillow. And what does he say? He says,
everything's great. I'm going to lay down in peace and in sleep,
and the Lord's going to sustain me. Why? Because he knew everything
that was happening was just the goodwill of his father taking
place at all times. You think of the way he dealt
with Saul. Saul wanted David dead. Just jealous of him, time
and time again tried to kill David. And the Lord gave David
all these opportunities to take Saul out. Plenty of times he
was delivered in David's hand. David could have just stuck a
sword into him anytime he wanted. And he never would. And Joab
and David's valiant men would be like, take him out. He wants
to kill you. The Lord's delivered you into
his hand. Just get rid of him. David says, I will not stretch
forth my hand against God's anointed. I won't do it. And time and time
again, he spared Saul's life. Why? Why would he do that? Because
David knew exactly who Saul was. He was an instrument of God,
nothing more. Yes, this man wants me dead,
this man wants to kill me, and all it is is the good purpose
and will of God for me. For me. Even though it hurts,
even though it's painful, even though it seems so devastating,
all Saul is doing is the good purpose and will of God toward
me. Don't lay a hand on him. I wouldn't
dare touch God's anointed. This is all good. This is all
for me. And he lays down in this cave because he knew God. He knew that he was God that
would never leave him or forsake him. He knew that He was the
God that was always doing everything for His eternal good, whether
He could see it or not. And He knew of Exodus chapter
11. You remember that story? This is what it says in Exodus
11 verse 7. It says, but against any of the
children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against
man or beast that ye may know how the Lord doth put a difference. That word difference is set apart.
It's the exact same one. He put a difference between the
Egyptians and Israel. David knew that. He says, not
a dog is going to wag his tongue at me in anger. Why? Because
I'm made different. Christ is my difference. I've
been made different. I've been set apart. Everything
is working to my good. So what am I going to do? I'm
going to lay down in this cave, and I'm going to sleep, and the
Lord's going to deliver me. He's always going to be faithful
one way or another. This also speaks of how he saves.
He is a God that sets apart. In every aspect of salvation,
it is him setting apart his people. What is election but him setting
apart? He loved the people. He chose a people. He took those
people. Where can I put these people?
Where is the one place of safety? They must be safe. He put them
in Christ. set him apart, put him in that
one place of safety. Christ is the surety for these
people. He goes to the cross, and what
does he do for these people? He bears the sins of his elect
people in his body, and he puts that sin away, and he makes these
people completely and utterly acceptable before God. What did
he do? He made a difference. God took
that which was common and ordinary, commonly and ordinarily sinful
and evil and God-hating and wayward. He took that which was common
and ordinary, And somebody made a difference for these people.
Christ made the difference. He made these people holy and
unblameable and unapprovable before the father. And then the
spirit in regeneration, he makes a difference. If you're a believer,
there is something new inside you that was not there before,
and it doesn't dwell on a natural man. There's love for God. There's believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's repentance from dead
works. You have something in you that does not exist naturally. A difference has been made. You're
different. The question is, who made the
difference? God made the difference. That's it. We were just common
and ordinary vessels, but Christ made the difference. This is
the God who saved this way, this saving by setting apart. Now,
what's the big question? I'm gonna ask it every time I
preach to you. What's the question we should ask? Have I been set
apart? Am I part of this number that
had been set apart? Because if I've been set apart,
if I am part of this great number whom God has set apart, this
is the case for me. This is Hebrews 10, 14. For by
one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Perfected, lacking nothing, completely
and utterly acceptable before God for how long? Forever. Forever, this is an unchangeable
state. Who? Them that are sanctified. Those God what? He set apart. Am I a part of that number? That's
a great question. Look up verse 1. Hear me when I call, O God of
my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged me when I
was in distress. Now, David knows something here. He wants to be heard by God,
and he knows he will. He's confident of this, by promise
and by experience, because he knows this. Who does the Lord
enlarge? What does it mean to enlarge?
To fill with grace. To expand boundaries. To give
unto liberally. Everything. Who does God enlarge? Who does he pour out his grace
to? Who are these people who have been set apart? Well, David
tells us right here, he enlarged me when I was in distress. There
are a bunch of distressed sinners. That's who Christ died for. That's
who the Father set apart. You know what that word distress
means? It means this, it means oppressed.
Oppressed in what way? David says this in Psalm 3.1,
speaking of his sin, he said, oh Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me? I'm oppressed by an enemy that
seems to increase every single day, that's my sin. How are they
increased daily, every single day? Not getting better, not
having more power over sin, not having less sinful lust and sinful
desires. No, no, no, it's the opposite,
it gets worse. every single day, how are they
increased that trouble me? And he says this, he says, many
are they that rise up against me. What can I say about my sin? Well, it's this, there are many
and there are only increase. My sin is ever before me, and
there is no hope of me stopping or me getting any better. I'm
a sinner. I'm oppressed by this thing of
sin. It's always getting worse, and I can't stop. I have violated
the holy law of God, and I can't quit. Oppressed in another way. What else are these people oppressed
by? The law of God? I think the best example of this
is when Pharaoh said, let them make bricks without straw. And
the taskmasters stand over them, make the bricks without the straw.
The Israelites said, we can't. You can't make bricks without
straw. We can't meet the demand. Make
the bricks. We can't meet the demand. Make
the bricks. We can't. We can't meet the demand. That's the law. I can't keep
it. It's impossible. I can't keep
the law. Nothing good comes from me. I
can't keep it in my heart. What does the law say? Guilty.
I still can't keep it. Still guilty. That's it. Who are these people that Christ
died for, that God set apart? They're a bunch of oppressed
sinners, oppressed by their sin, oppressed by the law of God that
they cannot keep. But these people, these ones
who are set apart, they all do the exact same thing by the grace
of God. You probably want to turn over
here, turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 22. In this story, David is a type
of Christ. You've probably seen this before, but I'll bring it
to the forefront of your memory. That word we've been looking
at is distressed. Who are these people who are set apart? They're
a bunch of distressed sinners. In this story, David is a great
type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen to what verse 2 says,
1 Samuel 22, verse 2. And everyone that was in, what? Distress. that oppression by
sin. Everyone that was in distress,
and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that was discontented,
hated themselves, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain
over them. Now, if you're a distressed sinner,
distressed by your sins, distressed by a law you cannot keep, this
is your command this very day. You come to the captain. You
come to Christ. You believe on him, you trust
him with every aspect of your salvation. It says right here,
they came to him and he became the captain for them. He did
not discriminate, not look at each one, whether you, not you.
No, all the distressed ones, all the ones who were in debt,
who couldn't come up with the goods, all the ones who were discontented,
they all came to him and he became captain over every single one
of them. What is a captain? It speaks
of a champion. One, to fight your battles for
you. We can't fight the battle. We can't win. Captain can. And
every distress center that comes to him begging mercy, he says
the exact same thing. I already fought the battle for
you. It's already over. You can look at this as a captain
on a ship. You're on a ship. Ship's going across the sea.
The waves start kicking up. The winds start kicking up. What
am I going to do? I can swim. I can try to paddle
and help. Or I can just trust that captain
at that wheel to get me to the other side. And we have the perfect
captain, this captain who cannot fail. This captain who is beyond
him, he cannot fail. It is impossible. And this is
your charge, if you are a distress center, to believe on this captain,
to trust this one who cannot fail. And by the grace of God,
everybody God set apart, they do just that. And if you're looking
to Christ right now for everything, understand that that's the very
evidence that you have been set apart by God. That's his manner
of salvation, is by setting apart, he set apart you. I think it's
interesting, he said in the previous verse, he gave the motivation
for why that the Lord would do this, why he would set apart
a people. This is what he said, he said,
the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. for himself. He gave the motivation
there. He has set apart a people, why? For himself. In what way? Number
one, for love's sake. If you're a believer, right?
If you're looking to Christ alone right now, you should understand
something. You've always been on the heart and mind of God
himself. You've always had the very love
of God upon you. You are part of this eternal
purpose and plan that you might be saved. Why? The Lord loved you and loved
you so much that he would not be without you. He will have
his family around his table. None are going to be lost. He
will have all of them. What did it cost him? It cost
him his firstborn. To have the entire family, he
had to give up the firstborn for a little while. His son,
his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, had to die, die for these
people, to be risen again. But he had to sacrifice his own
son to have the family, to have those he loved. He wouldn't be
without them. And Christ so loved his bride,
the church, his little brothers and sisters. He wouldn't be without
them. He says he did this for himself. Why? Because he loved
the church. He loves his bride. He loves his children so much.
I will not go any longer without them. They will be with me. They
will do it forever. I will have them. That's why
he did this, for love's sake. And here's another reason that
someone would appropriately worship God. I've said this to you before. The Lord has the angels. And
they all praise Him, they all worship Him. They sing, holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole earth is full
of His glory. They sing that song, but not
a one of them worship Him or praise Him from the standpoint
of one that has been personally redeemed by God. It's second-hand
information to them. God did not give himself for
them. When the angels fell, there was no redemption. There was
no redeemer for the angels. They stand back, and it's second-hand
information to them. But you and me, when we get to
glory, this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna worship God perfectly,
and we're gonna sing that song as ones firsthand who know the
only reason I am here is because God took on my form, paid for
my sin, died under his own wrath, satisfied his own law. He's the
reason I'm here. That's it. He did this for himself. in what way that the Godhead
would be glorified. It works something like this.
I think this is the best example I've ever heard. Let's say you've
got a sports player, right? And he is the fastest. He's the
strongest. He's the most talented. He reads the game better than
anybody else. He's unbeatable, right? And he goes through training
and stuff like that, and he just looks great. The scouts are just
raving about him. If he never takes the field, and he never
plays a game, and he never wins, and he never has the trophy handed
to him, and he's never hoisted on the shoulders of those around
him. What good was any of it? This thing of salvation, this
is the game. This is where Christ is on full
display in all his glory and all his wonderful attributes.
And everybody sees it's not secondhand knowledge that he is sovereign,
he is all powerful, and that his grace is eternal, and that
his love is for sinners. All that is theoretical information
until you get to that cross and you see him dying for his people. and the father raising him up
again because he did exactly what his father sent him to do.
That is the great glory of God. It's where everything is showcased
and Christ achieves his pinnacle of glory so that everybody sees
it. And one day everybody is going
to see it. We see it now, just a little, we see something of
the glory of Christ. One day, everybody's going to see it.
Everybody, every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going
to confess. And we're going to see him as
he really is. I got off topic there, so I'm
gonna have to come back. Now, David refers to his Lord in a very interesting
way. We were talking about the captain, right? These ones who
are distressed, they come to Christ and he becomes captain
over them. All these people, all these people, these distressed
ones, they have a name for their captain. And David identifies
that name. And Rex, you read it just a little
while ago. Go back and look at verse one. of your text, Psalm
chapter 4. It's what David says, he said,
hear me when I call, listen to this, O God of my righteousness. Now that is the only time in
scripture that the Lord is ever referred to in that way. The
only time you see that phrase pop up in scripture is right
here. How does he refer to his God, his captain, his Christ? He says, Oh God of my righteousness. David is saying a few things
there. He's saying, I actually am righteous. I actually meet
the demands of God. What is the demand of God? It's
very simple. It's righteousness. It's absolute perfection. It's
holiness, unchanged. That's what God demands, and
that's what God must have to look at man and say, well done,
my good and faithful servant. That's what the standard actually
is. But they're saying, I've met
the standard. You know how I met the standard? Because you are
the God of my righteousness. That righteousness that Christ
worked out, when he lived those 33 years, That really is the
history of every believer. And Rex read it just a minute
ago. I was gonna take you to those scriptures. I'm so happy
you did. What is the name that Christ is called by? This is
the name wherewith he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. What's the name of the church?
And this is the name by which she shall be called the Lord
our righteousness. When he read that, did you see
any difference in those names? There is not one character off. It is exactly the same name,
the Lord, our righteousness. This thing of Christ being the
righteousness of his people, this is not a forensic thing.
This is not a legal thing. This is not figures on a paper
being shifted from side to side. This is your history, believer. If you want to know what God
sees when he looks at you, you read Matthew and Mark and Luke
and John. That's your history. Everything
Christ has done, you've done because you are in him. You were set apart and you were
put in him. When he walked the paths of righteousness, he became
the God of my righteousness because I was in him. That means what
he did, That's what I did. That means I really do meet the
demand as he is. How is he? He's righteous, and
he's holy, and he's acceptable before God. As he is, so are
we when? In this world right now. That's how real it is. That's
how real we meet the demand in Christ. This issue of righteousness
This is where, at least in my opinion, where man's enmity becomes
so hot, or most fierce, against God. I hate this first, that
God actually does judge. He has the right to judge, He
has the power to judge, and He will judge. And it's a righteous
judgment. They hate a standard, which is
perfect righteousness. They hate the fact that by declaration
of this book, all my righteousnesses and all your righteousnesses,
they are as filthy rags. They cannot contribute. In fact,
all they are are sins and iniquities that must be atoned for. Nothing more. Men hate that. Now, David talks about this. Look at verse two of Psalm four.
He says, O ye sons of men, read these in the words of Christ.
How long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you
love vanity and seek after leasing or lies? Good question, how long? How long will you love your own
pride? How long will you seek after this lie? What's the lie? What's the lie that's been told
in every generation? It's been molested and turned around and
presented in different ways, but there's only one lie that's
been told from the very beginning, from the fall. What is that lie?
The lie is this. There is something you can do
that God can be pleased with. Even if you're terrible, you
at least have the ability to get better. There's something
you can conjure, muster from yourself that you can present
before God, and he will be pleased with it. That is the lie. This
is the lie that men chase after, the lie that men love. It didn't
take long, did it? Right after the fall, what did
Adam do? So he was naked, he was shameful before the Lord.
What did he try to do? He made a fig leaf apron, tried
to cover his shame before God. Tried to make his own righteousness,
right? Cover my shame, make me acceptable
before God. What did the Lord do? Called
him out, ripped those fig leaves off of him, and we had the first
death. He slew a man while he slew a lamb. He showed Adam,
this is the only way. This is the only way you can
be acceptable before me. Somebody has to die. My justice
demands that somebody has to die. And if you're to be covered,
Covered to where you can stand before me and I can have communion
with you and I can have friendship with you and I can accept you.
The only way you can be covered is if I cover you. And he took
those skins, that animal, and he covered them. Just one righteousness,
only one, the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. Somebody has
to die and you have to be covered, but the only way you'll be covered,
you, if I cover you. And it's not a covering that
just covers on the outside, it covers on the inside. It's real to where
there is no filth underneath of it. A little while after that,
his son stepped up to the plate. Cain came up to the altar. He
brought the fruit of the ground. He brought the best he could
come up with. He's a farmer. This is the best I've got. Under
Cain and his offering, God had not respect. Why? He brought
his best. What was the prescribed offering?
The slain lamb alone. God can't do anything with your
best. He cannot accept your best. Your
best is absolutely nothing before him. This is the lie that's been
perpetuated through the centuries. It's always changed and grouped
and morphed into something different, but the lie is always the same,
which is this. There's something you need to
do and there's something you can do to aid in your own salvation,
either in the beginning, the middle, or the end. Law and grace,
there's only two religions. And the Lord asked this question.
It's a rhetorical question. He says, how long? How long will
man seek after this? He wants to believe this lie.
He wants to just try to justify himself by his own works. How
long will he do this? And that's a good question, but
it's rhetorical because God never needs information. How long?
And he answers this to the very end of his days until he wakes
up in hell. That's how long the natural man
will seek after this lie. He wants his own pride. He seeks
after that vanity, he seeks after this lie. This is what he wants,
to justify himself before God. And he'll go to hell believing
this, unless, unless, how long? Unless the Lord intervenes. Unless
the Lord intervenes for that man, and he does work of grace
in that man, and he changes his heart and justifies him before
God, and if not, if he leaves that man to himself, for how
long? His entire life. Salvation is the intervention
of God for man. And he's right whatever he does.
I want us to understand that, this is the point I'm trying
to get to. If the Lord leaves a man alone and he does not intervene
for him, he leaves him to follow after his own pride, to seek
after that lie that's been told since the beginning. You can
justify yourself, there's something you can do. If he leaves him
alone to pursue that lie, he is simply leaving that man alone
to do exactly what he wants to do. How long will you love the
pride? How long will you seek after
the leasing? If he leaves that man alone,
he is leaving that man alone to do exactly what he wants to
do. And if he saves a man, if he intervenes on a man's behalf,
it is simply by his grace. And he looks for the reason to
do that to his son alone, not in the object. Now, Here's the final thing David
wants us to see here. Look at verse one of Psalm four. He says, and he opens this way,
he says, hear me when I call, Oh God. Now I think this is interesting. David starts by saying, hear
me. I want to be heard. I want to be heard. And when you get
down there to verse three, he says, the Lord will hear what
I call on him. He's very confident. This isn't
just pie in the sky. Well, I hope he hears. He says,
no, I'm going to pray and the Lord is going to hear me. He's
promised he's going to do this. And I think if there's a confidence
here, David has so much confidence. He has so much comfort. Well,
here's confidence and comfort. If you're a believer, that God
who controls everything, who sets apart, he actually hears
your prayer. He has promised him. He has promised
that prayer is not going to go and stop at the ceiling. He is
actually, Christ is going to take that prayer, he's going
to make it acceptable before God, and he's actually going
to lend that attentive ear of pity, where he's touched with
the feelings of your infirmities, and he's actually going to hear.
This is David's confidence. This one who can control everything,
he actually hears me. Now, talking to other people,
trying to get good advice is good. There's nothing wrong with
that. A multitude of counselors, good stuff. If you're a believer,
you actually have the ear of the one who can change things,
who controls all things. There's a cause for comfort and
for confidence in there. But I find this interesting.
I wanted to look in this psalm, what did David actually ask for?
What did he ask for in this psalm? It turns out he only asked for
two things. Two things. In verse one, he says, have mercy
upon me. And then down in verse six, he
said, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon
us. And what that literally means
is be gracious to us. That's the little meaning of
that. David asked for three things here. Hear me, be merciful to
me, and be with me in grace. And I think there's something,
I learned something from this and I'll pass it along to you. Maybe, maybe
y'all get something from this too. What I noticed here, this,
he did not go about telling the Lord what to do. Well, here's
what I want you to do. I want you to stop Absalom from
doing this, and have Joab go over here and do this, and then
move me over here. None of that. None of that. Lord,
hear me. Do what you promised to do and
hear me. And deal with me on the grounds of mercy and grace. And you know what? If you'll
do that, I'll be satisfied. Whatever you bring, however you
answer, whether it feels good, whether it feels bad, however
it may be, if you simply hear me, you'll bend down and you
give that ear of a pity and be touched with the feelings of
my infirmities and deal with me on the grounds of mercy and
grace. Whatever you sent, I'll know that's what's best. I'll
know that's what's good. I'll know it couldn't possibly
get any better if you'll just do what you promised to do. I'll
be content with that. You know what? That's how you
approach a benevolent sovereign. Now, this is good news, isn't it?
For distressed sinners whose only hope is in that captain,
meaning Christ, we have this conference. You've been set apart.
The work has already been done. You have been saved. And everything,
everything that is happening is simply God's purpose and will
for you, for good. Every single time, no matter
what. This is a cause for great excitement right now. If I am
that distressed sinner, and all my hope is Christ, and everything
couldn't possibly get any better, and this is an unchangeable state,
what do I do now? What do I do now? David gives
us four things in this psalm to do. Four things. Here's the
first one. He says, stand in awe and say
not. Now, I looked at that word all. And it's commonly translated
fear. And to be quite honest with you, it's not kind of like
the fear of God, which is presented on a positive thing, beginning
of wisdom. It's a quaking, it's a trembling, it's a being terrified.
I only found a couple of places where it's used in a good sense,
but I found this one. And I think this sums up what
it means. He says, stand in awe and sin not. What does that mean?
This is Jeremiah 33 in verse nine. It says, and it shall be
to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations
of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them. And they shall fear, same word
as all. They shall fear and tremble for
all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure
unto it. What does it mean to stand in
awe and sin not? It means to stand in all this
of His goodness to me. This is very, very personal.
Now, there's a sense in which we stand in all and we simply
contemplate the Lord's person in all His sovereignty and His
holiness and His long-suffering and His mercy. It's all wonderful.
But this is where the rubber meets the road. This gets very,
very personal. He has been good to me. If you're a believer,
He's been good to you. How has He prospered you? How
does loving kindness flow out toward you? You've been saved. You've been brought to a knowledge
of God. You're going to dwell with Christ for the rest of your
days. Everything is working together for your good at all times. This
goodness, what did you do to earn this goodness? Nothing.
I demerited it every step of the way. His goodness toward
who? Toward the group? No. Toward
you. His goodness toward you. Stand
in all of that. That He chose you. That He sacrificed
His Son for you. Stand in all of that. And to
not stand in all of that. To not take a second every day
and just sit back and say, could things get any better? That's
sin. Stand it all and sin not. It's
ungrateful sinfulness. How good things are. And I think
this scripture works in here somewhere. I don't know how to
fit it in, but this is 1 John 3, 2. He says, Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be. John's saying we don't really understand this thing. We don't
know what sinlessness is going to be like. We're still dragging
around this old man. But he says this, but we know
that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. for we shall
see him as he is. Standing in awe of that, I mean,
I don't know what to say about that. What's it going to be like
in glory? I'm going to see him. I'm actually
going to know God. One on one. What am I going to
be like? I'm going to be like him. Just
like him. Not dealing with this body, this
flesh. Actually worship him. Actually have a relationship
with him. Great news. Great news. Stand all that. Stand
all that. Do not do that. That's great
sin. Great sin. And he says this, he says, commune
with your own heart. Flip on your bed. This has something
to do with being alone and being honest. Now, as much as I want
to be honest with you, and I'm sure you want to be honest with
me, if you get us together, there's one thing we cannot be, and that's
honest. We're always going to tell the story a little bit different
so it makes us look better. We're always going to paint things
in the best light for us. Even when we're self-deprecating,
we're going to do it for the purposes of manipulation. I see
the smiles because you know I'm right, right? When we're together,
one thing we can't be is this. We cannot be honest. We're going
to be honest before God. We got to be alone with God.
He says, you go on your bed and commune with your own heart.
I thought about this. When I lay on my bed and I'm
honest before God and I walk the halls of my heart, this is
not a joyful thing. This is a very sad thing. Because
if I walk the halls of this heart and I'm honest and I actually
examine those little creases and crevices inside there, here's
the conclusion I come to. That my best work My most selfless
act, my greatest act of love to God, to one of his people,
is this. It is sinful wickedness before
God because it's backed by evil motives and evil intentions,
self-serving, self-luring motivations. If I wander those halls and I
am honest, I come to this conclusion, I never have done anything good
and that's not gonna change. That's a sad thing. Until, until,
and this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation,
that Jesus Christ came to this world to save who? Sinners, of
whom I am chief. And if that's the case, if there
really is no good inside this heart, when I walk these halls,
I don't see any good whatsoever. The logical conclusion based
on the word of God is this, Jesus Christ really is my savior. He
really did die for me. He really has made me acceptable
for his father. I actually have been saved, and
saved by him. Starts off as a sad thing, because
you get a glimpse of what you really are before God. But this
is a joyful thing, because if all you are is a sinner, that
means Christ really is your Savior. He's the Savior of sinners, nobody
else. And he says this, he says, be
still. Means two things. Number one, stop worrying. Be
still. Who's our God? The God who controls
everything. This is what David said in Psalm
46. He said, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted
among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. The Lord says, be still, stop
worrying. I'm going to be exalted on this earth. When I'm exalted,
you know who gets exalted too? You do. I'm going to be exalted
on this earth. Everything is happening exactly
as I spaced it out, exactly as I've ordained it. If you stop
worrying, I'm going to be exalted on the earth. You have the God
of Jacob as your refuge. You have this hiding place. He's
never going to leave you. He's never going to forsake you.
Stop worrying. Be still and know he's God. Trust him. It also means this. Be still. Don't you dare go back
to that wall. You've tasted this great grace.
You've tasted this great grace. You have this freedom in Christ.
Freedom to do whatever you want. You're free. The law has nothing
to say to you. Christ paid all the debt. Don't
dare go back to that law and try to justify yourself before
this holy God. Be still. Work not. To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness, or rather that faith is the evidence that
God has made him righteous. Do not work. And finally this,
it's twofold, or at least it appears to be, but it's all saying
the same thing. He says, offer the sacrifices
of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord. That's not
two things, that's one. Who offered the sacrifices of
righteousness? Abel did. He offered the sacrifice of righteousness.
He stepped up to that altar. After Cain, he brought his best.
the fruit of the ground, and God said, I have not respected
you or your offering. He stepped up to that altar,
and the only thing he placed on that altar was what? A slain
lamb. That picture of Christ and Him
crucified. And by that, he was saying this,
this is my way of acceptance. Live, die, sink or swim, it's
this boat that I'm on. This is everything I've got,
Christ and him crucified, Messiah and him crucified. This is all
I have, and if I won't be accepted on these grounds, then I won't
be accepted at all, because this is all I've got. What did the
Lord say to Abel, on Abel and his offering? God have respect. Turns out, this is the only way
God can be approached through the Lamb, the slain Lamb, Christ
Jesus. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness
and put your trust in the Lord. It's the exact same thing. Everyone
in this room, every distressed sinner in need of mercy, you
are called upon right now, this very moment, this very second.
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to abandon your works
or any hope of salvation in any other means, to abandon all that
and to come to him and believe on your captain. And everybody
who comes to him, he becomes captain over them. He fights
the battle for them. I suppose I'm going to leave it there.