Turn if you will back to Psalm
20. Psalm 20. Give you just a little bit of
the background of this psalm. Of course it was written by David
and given to the people to be offered as a prayer. A prayer
on David's behalf for David. The king's subjects here pleased
for their beloved sovereign and with loving hearts they cried
to God, God save the king. Save our king. But behold, as
our Lord said, a greater than David is here. The people in
this song, you may have noticed, before their king went to battle,
felt so sure of the victory that he had to be successful with
God. Therefore, they began to rejoice
beforehand. How much are we to do the same
thing who have seen the victory, the accomplishments, our King,
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The hymn, this prayer, this hymn,
is prophetical of the Lord Jesus and is the cry of the ancient
church on behalf of her Lord as she sees him enduring a great
fight of afflictions on her behalf. This psalm is the prayer which
the church might be supposed to offer up had all the redeemed
been standing on Mount Calvary and seen the Lord Jesus Christ
being made sin on their behalf, seeing the captain of their salvation
as he trods the winepress alone. Who else is going to do it? Who
else is going to do it? Who else is going to satisfy
God? Who else can offer himself without spot to God? Who else
can make an atonement for sin? Who else can bring in an everlasting
righteousness? Who but the Lord Jesus Christ
can satisfy divine justice? And they rejoice that it is so.
His church does. They see him trod the winecrest
alone and they hear him cry out with a loud voice, this once
and for all proclamation, this shout of victory, victory on
behalf of himself and his people, it is finished. No wonder they
rejoice. They rejoice. Mr. Spurgeon said
this, if joy were more general among the Lord's people, God
would be more glorified among men. The happiness of the subjects
is the honor of their great king and sovereign. Rejoice in the
Lord, Paul wrote to the Philippians. And again, I say rejoice. Even so, even so, the people
of God spend much of their time here in mourning, don't they?
That's just a fact. That's just a fact. That's just
so. On our journey to heaven, on our journey from here to glory,
often we go with tears in our eyes. Is that not so? That's
just a fact. But so is this. So is this. That we sorrow, yes. There's
no denying that. We weep, yes. We sorrow, but
not as others which have no hope. Because a child of God has hope. They have a good hope. And it's
a good hope founded upon grace. God has given us a good hope
through grace. Therefore, we can rejoice while
we sorrow. It is thus, this pleasant psalm
of the sweet singer of Israel, that is, David himself, that
set forth the fillings of the redeemed for their great Savior,
the head, their King, whether in his sufferings or in the glory
that was bound to follow." That's bound to follow. And our text
is taken from verse 5. Robin asked me on the way to
church, as she often does, or before that, What's going to
be your message today? What's the title of your message?
And I said, rejoicing in God's salvation. She said, oh, I like
that. I like that. I pray that God
will make it effectual. Look at the first few verses
or first few words here in verse 5 of Psalm 20. We will rejoice
in thy salvation. Rejoicing in God's salvation.
And first of all, first of all, because it is God's salvation,
That makes it worth rejoicing in, doesn't it? Salvation was
purposed by God. God saves people on purpose. It's not an afterthought. God
saves His people on purpose. He purposed to save His people.
God the Father purposed their salvation. God the Son purchased
their salvation. And God the Holy Spirit performs
that salvation. Or there would never be a salvation.
I've had people say to me, when you begin to speak along those
lines, as the Word of God teaches, but doesn't God give everybody
a chance? Doesn't God give everybody a
chance? Well, first of all, salvation's
not by chance. Nothing really is by chance,
especially something as great, as marvelous, as glorious as
the salvation of a sinner. Yes, salvation begins with a
choice, I'll admit that, but it's not your choice. Salvation
begins with God's choice. God's choice. Listen to this,
Psalm 65 verse 4, Blessed, blessed, happy, happy and blessed is that
man whom God chooses. Happy is that man whom thou choosest
and causes, causes to approach unto thee, that he may dwell
in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thine house, even of thy holy temple." Ephesians
chapter 1. Y'all all know this very well.
Paul uses the same expression, blessed, blessed. Be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why, Paul? Why? because he had blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as
he has chosen us. Chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, could words
be plainer? God who has saved us and called
us with the holy calling not according to our works. Now if
it was, there'd be no reason for you to rejoice. If your salvation
in any degree depends upon your works, depends upon anything
you do, there's no reason to rejoice. There's all the reason
to be the contrary sorrowful. But Paul says, God who hath called
us with the holy calling, not according to our works. Well
then what's it according to? But according to his own purpose.
His own purpose. His own immutable purpose. His
own unchanging purpose and grace. Saving grace. Reigning grace.
Ruling grace. Conquering grace. Keeping grace.
Grace that brings us all the way to glory. And that was given
us in Christ Jesus. Well, there's a safe place for
it to be. Oh, I can rest secure if my salvation rests in Christ
my Savior. I can rest there. I can fall
down there. I can wrap myself up in this
glorious blanket of God's free grace and purpose of salvation.
Salvation was purposed by God, and we rejoice in God's salvation. We can definitely sing, it is
well with my soul, because it is well with the captain of my
salvation. If it's well with him, then it's
well with me. If it's well with my great shepherd,
then it's well with the sheep. If it's well with my head, it's
well with every member of his body, his church. Not only did
we rejoice because God purposed salvation, we rejoiced because
it was purchased by Jesus Christ his son. That's why he came into
this world. God's salvation, the everlasting
salvation of our souls is by His free grace. And it was earned. It was earned not by you. What
could you do to merit or earn God's salvation? But it was earned
by Jesus Christ. It was purchased for His people
by His incarnation. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. by His obedience, by His death,
the Son of God is our all-sufficient Savior and representative, our
glorious substitute. 2 Corinthians 5 and 21, where
God hath made Him, that is Christ, God made Christ sin, sin for
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the very righteousness
of God in Him. I like the sound of that. Wrapped
up in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians
1 and 7. Jesus Christ, in whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
did not come here to make salvation possible. Now most people, religious
people, that's what they believe. that Christ did something for
someone that somehow has something to do with salvation. Oh, no,
no. Christ did not come here to make
salvation possible. He did not come here to provide
the possibility of salvation. or to put sinners in a savable
state. That's not what he did. The Lord
Jesus Christ came here, as the angel told Joseph, to save his
people from their sin. Give him the name Jesus. That
name means Jehovah is salvation, the salvation of God. And the
reason he's given that name is because he will do exactly what
his name means. He will save his people from
their sin. And either he did or he didn't.
Either He did or He didn't. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world to save His people. And I'm here to tell you, according
to God's Word, that's exactly what He did. Oh, bless his name,
that's exactly what he did. Oh, when you lay your head upon
your pillow tonight, and all these things that clamor for
your attention, they just seem to surround you, so many demands,
so many reasons to be downcast. Oh, remember this, your salvation,
was accomplished, was performed, was perfected by the Son of God,
He was made sin for you. The Lord of glory does not try
to save. Man, when I hear people talk
about a God that tries, I want to think, I want to ask them,
who are you talking about? Who is that? Well, if God had
His way, I had people tell me that all my life, Terry. If God
had His way, If God had his way, if God would, if God could, and
I'm thinking, well, who is that? That's not the God of Scripture.
We're told that the God of Scripture is in the heavens doing whatsoever
he had pleased. That's God Almighty. He has his
way all the time. What did our Lord Jesus Christ
himself say? Before he went to the cross, he prayed to his heavenly
Father and said, Father, I've given eternal life. You've given
me power over all flesh. They're all in my hand to give
eternal life to as many as you have given me. The Lord of Glory
does not try to save. He saves. He does not cooperate
with you if you cooperate with Him to help you save yourself.
That's not good news. He does not try to save all men.
He saves some, and He saves them by His mighty grace. He saves
a multitude that no man can number. The sinner's only hope is substitution. Substitution. He died for me. He took my place. And our only
substitute is Christ. And what a glorious Savior our
Lord is. And salvation is not only purposed
by God the Father and purchased by God the Son, it must be applied. It must be applied. That redemption
that He wrought out for His people must be applied in time, in the
experience of grace, And salvation is performed by God the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn't come
to invite us or encourage sinners to be born again. No, no, no.
Or to trust Christ or to be saved. Not at all. Not at all. We are,
according to God's Word, we're saved, born again by the power
of His irresistible grace. Called from death to life by
that same power. Given faith by that same power.
and be preserved unto eternal life and glory in Christ by that
same irresistible power and grace. Nothing less will help me, will
it you? If my salvation is a compromise
between God and I, I'm in trouble. If God needs my help, I'm in
trouble. This is what the Lord himself
said in John 6 verse 63, it is the spirit that quickeneth, that
is, gives life. The flesh does what? Nothing. Nothing. There's an article in
your bulletin today by Martin Lloyd-Jones. None. None. There is none that understand. There's none that seeketh after
God. That's just a fact. When Adam failed in the garden,
What did he do? He tried to hide from God. He
didn't come seeking God. Who did the seeking? God came
seeking Adam. And He still does. Christ, when
He came here, He came seeking sinners. He said, I've come to
seek and to save. He's the great shepherd of the
sheep. And He says, I leave the ninety and nine, and I go out
into the wilderness, and I seek until I find Him. What do I do
when I find him? I put him up in my, I pick him
up in my mighty arms and I bring him home and I tell my neighbors,
rejoice with me. I found that sheep that was lost.
He seeks and saves his people. It's the spirit that gives life.
The flesh profits nothing. The Lord said, the words that
I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. God never
offers to sell. I mean, I know that's the religious
talk in our day, but the scriptures doesn't speak that way. God doesn't
offer to save. God doesn't attempt to save.
God saves. God saves. Look unto me, Isaiah
45. God says, look unto me, and what? You might be saved. Look unto
me, and I'll try to save you. No, it says, look unto me, what
happens? And be ye saved. Look unto me,
and be ye saved. There's never been people here
that you believe sovereign mercy, that God has mercy on whom he
will. And that's what he said. He has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. And they think, well, then that
shuts people out. Oh, no, no, that puts them in.
That puts them in. God says, look unto me and be
ye safe, for I am God. That's why you'll be safe, for
I am God. Nothing's too hard for me, and
that's still true today. There's never been a sin. There's
never been a blind Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting by the
wayside that ever cried, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy
on me, that the Lord Jesus Christ did not stop for, did not hear,
did not grant salvation to. There's never been one. There's
never been a leper that ever come to the Lord Jesus Christ
and fell down before him and said, if you will, if you will,
you can make me clean. What did Christ do? Oh, I will. I will. And he touched him. Oh,
he touched me. He touched me in all the glory
that floods my soul. Jesus Christ is able to save
to the uttermost every sinner, every sinner that comes unto
God by him. Aren't you glad that salvation
is of the Lord? God's salvation is worth rejoicing
in. A salvation that I might have
and then lose? That's not rejoicing in. Not
worth rejoicing in. That's not good news. Jonah rejoiced
enough. That salvation was up the Lord
that day. I remember listening to Brother
Jack Shanks years ago preaching Danville. And he said, can you
imagine someone getting in a rowboat and rowing out to where Jonah
was in the belly of that great whale, that great fish? and just
cupping their hands around their mouth and say, hey Jonah, if
you will, if you will, you can come out of there. Jack said,
Jonah would reply, it's my will that got me in here. It's my will that got me in this
trouble, but it'll take the will of God Almighty to get me out. And Jonah cried, salvation is
of the Lord. Oh, behold, a greater than Jonah
is here. I'm so thankful. People read
this or hear it read and they grit their teeth. Oh, I rejoice
in it. So then, it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Oh, that's so much more of a
solid foundation than man's will, God's will, God's purpose, Christ's
purchase, and the Holy Spirit's application. It is by the power
of God's Spirit that sinners are born again. You're not born
again by moving your feet. You're not born again by being
ducked in water. You're not born again by making
a decision. You're born again by the power
of God's Holy Spirit. That's when men are born again.
In John 3, our Lord talked to that religious Pharisee, that
religious teacher of Pharisees, Nicodemus, and he said, Nicodemus,
you must be born again. And nobody's going to enter heaven
who's not born again, who's not given a new nature, a new heart.
But he didn't tell Nicodemus, it's something you can do for
yourself. He said, it's the Spirit's work, Nicodemus. Nicodemus didn't
have a clue. He looked at the Lord like Donny
Bill says, like a calf looking at a new gate. Didn't have a
clue. The Lord said, you're the teacher, you don't understand
these things. The Spirit bloweth where it listeth, where it wills
to. And you can't control it. You
don't see where it comes from. You don't see where it goes.
So it's everyone that's born of the Holy Spirit. It's by the
power of God's Spirit that sinners are born again. Just like when
our Lord stood before the tomb of Lazarus. That's a picture
of the new birth. That's a picture of a sinner
being raised to walk in newness of life. Lazarus, if you'll take
the first step, I've told you the story, you've heard it from
other preachers. In the Catholic Church, they claimed they had
a saint one time, St. Dennis, who had died. No, St. Dennis was beheaded. That's how it went. He was executed,
beheaded. And they said a great miracle occurred. What was it?
Dennis picked up his head and walked 2,000 miles to St. Peter's
Basilica. People believe that. And some
gentleman heard the story, and he said, well, now, I don't have
any problem at all believing that 2,000 miles is not the problem.
It's that first step that's the issue. If Dennis can take the
first step, he doesn't need anyone else to help. If a sinner can
take the first step to God, if their salvation is dependent
upon them taking the first step to God, they don't need God to
do anything for them. Oh, but the very fact that they're
dead in sin, they're dead in sin, that's a picture of helplessness. And just like Paul told the Ephesians,
you have he quickened. God's given you life. God's done
something for you you couldn't do for yourself. God gave you
life. That's why you believe. That's
why you repent. That's why you're willing now
to come to Jesus Christ because you've already been born by his
Holy Spirit, born and given the very nature and life of Christ. Our Lord said to his disciples
that night before he went to the cross, because I live, ye
shall live also. Isn't that a comforting thought?
The same life that's in our glorious head, the head of the church,
Jesus Christ, the same life that's in him is the same life that's
in every member, his body, the church. Therefore Christ said,
you'll never perish. The life I give you is eternal
life and no one will ever take it from you. No one can pluck
you out of my hand. It is by the Holy Spirit's power
that we're sanctified. It is by the Spirit of God that
we are preserved in grace and persevere in faith. Thank God. Thank God every day I'm more
thankful that God will not let me go. It's not my grip on Him,
I repeat it again. It's not my hold of Him. It's
His hold on me. He refuses to let me go. The
Lord asked the disciples, When they saw that multitude turn
their back on the Son of God, when He spoke some things, they
thought, this is just too tough. Is the Spirit that quick enough,
He said? Well, we don't like that. No man can come to me except
God Almighty draws him? Well, they didn't like that.
They cut against the grain. That robs us of our glory. That
destroys our foundation. So they turned and walked away.
And the Lord said, do you want to follow them? Do you want to
go away? And the truth is, child of God,
the truth is, if God for one moment, one moment, left us to
ourself, that's exactly what we would do. We would go away.
Oh, but bless His name, He refused us. He will, not because of myself,
in spite of myself, He will not let me go. I'm thankful for that. David in Psalm 73, isn't it? He said, my soul, I've been so
foolish, so ignorant. I've been no better than a beast
before you, God. After you've done so much for
me, bless me with the spiritual blessings in Christ, the real
riches of your grace. I was envious at those who just
have a temporary riches here in this life. Their end is destruction. He said, oh God, I was as a beast
before you. And he said, nevertheless. Oh,
sweet nevertheless. Nevertheless, I am continually
with thee. You have hold to me by your hand.
You will not let me go. You will not let me go. Oh, thank
God. I know people hear that, and
they say, oh, man, you're giving folks a license to sin. Oh, they
don't need a license. We don't need a license to sin,
do we? Oh, no, the truth is, it's the
fact that he will not let me go. I am continuing with him. That doesn't make me want to
excuse my sin. That makes me want to draw closer
to my Redeemer. Just snuggle up to him and be
safe. and to be thankful. Because salvation
is of the Lord, we're assured that. We're assured because salvation
is of the Lord. Every sinner chosen, redeemed,
and called by God's almighty grace shall be saved. There's no question about it.
Every sinner who looks to Christ alone as his only and all-sufficient
Savior shall be saved. Every sinner saved by God's free
grace in Christ Jesus shall be perfectly saved. with an everlasting
salvation. Therefore, therefore we rejoice
in thy salvation. And here's the second thing.
We will rejoice in God's salvation because that's the only salvation
there is. It's the only salvation there
is. Our Lord asked the Lord, our disciples rather, asked the
Lord on one occasion because they had been impressed with
this rich young ruler. He sought out the Lord. He came
to the Lord, and he bowed down before him. And the disciples
looked at him, and he said, good master, what must I do to inherit
eternal life? And the disciples, as our Lord
said, looked up on the outward appearance, and they said, oh
man, what a godly young man. And our Lord sent the young man
away sorrowful. Imagine that. Sent him away sorrowful.
I mean, if anybody did that in most churches today, Oh, you're
saved, you're saved. Go on your way. Don't you ever
doubt it. Don't you ever doubt it. Our Lord didn't do that.
You know why? Because that young man, he bowed
physically, but he never bowed in his heart. And no one that
doesn't bow before the Lord Jesus Christ can be saved. They must
deny themselves, and only by grace can they do so. But our
Lord said, how hard it is for they that have riches to enter
into the kingdom of heaven. It's easier for a camel to go
through the eye of the needle. And the disciples said, They
scratched their head and said, my soul. Who's going to be saved
then? Who then can be saved? If this young man can't be saved,
what hope does anyone have? Our Lord told them, with men
it's impossible. It's not the labors of my hands
that can fulfill God's laws, demands. It's not by righteousness
which we have done. If I'm saved, I must be saved
by God's free grace alone, or I won't be saved at all. I won't
be saved at all. If I'm saved, I must come to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace reigns, grace saves, but
it only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the fountain
and He's the conduit. He's the channel that saving
grace comes through. Our Lord again said, because
with men it's impossible. It's impossible. Most churches,
most preachers today, Try to convince people how easy it is,
how simple it is. Oh, they would be better served.
The souls of those poor, deceived sinners would be better served
if they were told how impossible it is. It's impossible for you
to be saved unless God Almighty, by His pure, free, sovereign
grace, does something for you. He doesn't have to. He doesn't
owe it to you. Like most people think, oh, but
He likes to show mercy. That's our hope. If you asked
a dozen people to describe salvation, if you asked them what salvation
is and where it is to be found, you'd get a dozen different answers.
Some would say, well, salvation is in the church. It's in the
Catholic Church or the Baptist Church. Salvation is in baptism. Some people believe that. Salvation
is in observing the Lord's Supper. Salvation is found in prayer
and meditation and after religious. Salvation is in my religious
works. Salvation is in being a good moral person. He's a good
man, good man. Salvation is in love and kindness
to my neighbor. Salvation is in having the right
doctrine. Salvation is in a decision. Salvation
is in my experience. Salvation is grace plus. It's Christ plus. No, it's not. It's Christ only, Christ alone. Salvation is the deliverance
of our souls from sin. from its curse, its dominion,
its consequences, and one day, even from its very existence,
from its very being, my soul, no wonder with men it's impossible. Salvation is our complete restoration
to God and holiness in eternal glory in heaven. Salvation must
be of the Lord. Who else could do that? Who else
but God could do that? With men it's impossible, but
our Lord went on to say, but not with God. Not with God. Listen to this, Psalm 68 and
20. He that is our God is the God
of our salvation. And unto God the Lord belong
the issues from death. This is the universal message
of Holy Scripture. Salvation is of the Lord. He planted it. God the Father
did. He purchased it. God the Son
did. He performs it. God the Spirit does. He preserves
it. He perfects it. And He shall
have all the praise for it. In heaven, in heaven, there's
only one song they sing in heaven. Only one gets the glory in heaven.
It's the one from whom they received all the grace. It's the Him that
sets up on the throne. He that loved us and redeemed
us with His own precious blood. He's worthy. Nobody else is worthy,
but He's worthy. He did it all. Jesus paid it
all. All to Him I owe. When you thank
or talk about God's salvation, remember these two words in our
text. Thy salvation. Thy salvation. Therefore we rejoice
in thy salvation. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling." Ah, so that's not a small thing, is
it? To keep me from falling? I mean, with the Apostle Paul,
I have to confess, in me dwelleth no good thing. I want to do good,
but how to do it, I find not. The sin that I don't want to
do, I find myself doing. It's like a dead corpse tied
to my back and I cry out, oh wretched man, who's going to
deliver me? Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless. Faultless? Faultless? Wow! My soul, who
can do that? Who can do that? In Revelation
14 we read, they are without fault, the redeemed, are without
fault before the throne of God. To Him that is able to keep you
from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior,
be glory and dominion, power and majesty, both now and forever. Amen. The last thing. I will rejoice in God's salvation
because He saved me. He saved me. Psalm 118, I will
praise thee where thou hast heard me and art become my salvation. The truth that salvation is of
the Lord is proved in the experience of every saved sinner. Every
saved sinner, they know who gets the glory. They know who's responsible. Who but the God of salvation
could have saved me? Man, my grandma tried to save
me. Didn't work. Just didn't take. Her pastor
tried to save me. It didn't take. Other folks tried
to save me. It just didn't take. Didn't take.
Didn't work. Oh, but God, God, it worked. God's grace taught my soul to
pray. Grace made my eyes o'erflow.
It's grace that's kept me to this day. It will not let me
go. Will not let me go. Thank God
for making me a beggar before Him. Teaching me that I owe the
debt to divine justice and I had nothing to pay. That's the article
I wrote for you in the bulletin today. When they had nothing
to pay, the Lord said. There's two debtors. And they
had nothing to pay. And when they did, when they
had nothing to pay, then the Lord freely, I know the word
there is frankly, but it really is freely, He freely forgave
them both. Oh, how I love the way our great,
gracious, all-holy God teaches us to use this personal, possessive
pronoun in connection with His great gift of grace, my salvation. My salvation. My salvation is
God my Savior. It's not doctrine, it's Christ.
It's not a decision, it's not experience, it's Christ. He is
my salvation because God gave it to me and wrought it in me.
God gave me faith. It's my faith, but God gave it
to me. My righteousness, but it's the
righteousness of Christ. My acceptance, but it's Christ.
It is my salvation because I received it as a gift of His free grace. It's my salvation because I own
it by faith, faith in Christ. This is what Moses taught the
children of Israel, didn't he? Taught them to sing as they stood
on the glory side of the Red Sea, the other side of the Red
Sea. The Lord is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation, my salvation. Oh, I like that.
He is my God, and I will prepare him in habitation. My Father's
God, and I will exalt him. Again, Psalm 18 verse 2, the
Lord is my rock, on Christ the solid rock I stand, and my fortress
and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust,
my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Verse 46 of
that same Psalm, the Lord liveth and blessed be my rock, and let
the God of my salvation be exalted. Psalm 25, Verse 5, lead me in
thy truth and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation.
On thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 27, verse 1, the Lord is
my light and my salvation. My salvation. In whom shall I
fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 62, truly my soul waiteth
upon God. From him cometh my salvation.
He only is my rock. and my salvation. He is my defense,
I shall not be greatly moved. Verse 5 through 7 of that same
psalm, Psalm 62. My soul wait thou only upon God,
for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense, I shall not
be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my
strength and my refuge is in God. I obtain mercy. You know, Paul, after years of
preaching the gospel, of suffering, he's in prison, he knows he won't
be delivered this time, but he's still not gotten over the wonder
that God saved him. He wrote to Timothy and said,
Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. He said, Timothy,
I was a persecutor, I was injurious, I was a blasphemer, but, but,
Timothy, but, I obtained mercy. Paul still looked at that as
the greatest wonder to his soul. God had mercy upon him. God called
me out of darkness. God saved me. That's amazing. God saved me. John Newton said, if I ever reach
heaven, I expect to find three wonders there. The first is to
meet some I had not thought to see there. The second is to miss
some that I thought I would see there, and the third, the greatest
wonder of all, is to find myself there. Let the God of my salvation
be exalted. As our Savior, the Lord only
shall be glorified. We should rejoice in the Father's
election, the Son's redemption, and the Spirit's regeneration.
In heaven they sing unto Him that loved us and washed us from
our sins in His own blood, and that same song The church below
sings now. Let's practice. Let's practice
here for that song we'll sing up there, that God be the glory,
great things he had done. Thank God for such a great salvation. All this mercy is given to us
in our king, the Lord's anointed. And those are blessed indeed,
who as his seed can expect mercy to be built up forever. The Lord
was faithful to David. and he'll be faithful to the
Son of David, David's son and David's God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah chapter 45 verse 24, Surely,
shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.
Even to him shall men come, and all that are incensed against
him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel be justified, and shall glory. The prophet Again, from
Isaiah 45, refers to God's salvation as an everlasting salvation.
Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed nor confound
the world without end. Salvation reaches in both directions,
doesn't it? Eternity past to eternity to
come. Sinners saved by grace shall
never perish. They're beyond the reach of condemnation. They're in Christ Jesus. God's
love is everlasting. Election is everlasting. Grace
is everlasting. Redemption is eternal, everlasting. And the seal of the Holy Spirit
is everlasting. There was an old black preacher
in Richmond, Virginia years ago. And someone asked him, his name
was John Jasper. Someone asked him one time, John,
when you get to heaven, suppose somebody stops you at the pearly
gates like they do down here and tells you you don't have
a right to be there. like they do here in restaurants and in
railroad cars and in other places. And they say, what right do you
have to be here, John Jasper? What are you going to say? What
are you going to say? And he replied, I'm going to
say I ain't here on any rights of my own. I ain't got no right
to be here. I'm not here on my rights. I'm
here on the righteousness of another. I'm here on the righteousness
of another. And he said, when they hear that,
they'll open up wide the pearly gate and say, well, John Jasper,
you just come on in. Come on in. If your righteousness
is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we believe
that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be
saved. Therefore, we will rejoice in
thy salvation. Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, the Lord be magnified. Now, let us sing. Only a sinner saved by grace. Only a sinner saved by grace.
This is my story. To God be the glory. I'm only
a sinner saved by grace. God bless you.