His job, as Brother David did
so ably, is to point men and women and young people to Christ.
That's his job. You did your job, David. John
the Baptist was called a harbinger. And that means someone who points
the way and points to Christ the way. That's what John did.
And Brother David said he had one message. He kept preaching
the same thing every Sunday. That's what we do, is point men
to Christ. John, every time they came to
hear him, it was, behold the Lamb. Behold the Lamb. The preacher
is like that pole upon which the serpent of brass was lifted
up. There's one purpose for that pole, to lift up that serpent
from dying sinners who look to Him. And so that's our purpose. And you did your job. Whether
we feel like we have any liberty or not, if we can just point
people to Christ, we've done our job. And you did well. Thank you. That was a blessing.
True story. There was an old preacher in
London, England years ago, back in the days of horses and And
he was to preach in the town of Bath, England. We say Bath, well they called
it Bath, England. Well he hired an old coachman,
a very simple old fellow, to drive him to Bath. And he was
a simple old coachman, and while they were on the road to Bath,
the preacher would ask him a question. He'd see something interesting,
and he'd say, Coachman, what is this over here? And the coachman
would take it and say, I don't know. And he'd keep trotting,
keep going. Well, the preacher, after a while,
he looked and saw something else of interest. And he said, Coachman,
what is this over here? And the coachman, I don't know. And he kept going. So finally, the preacher said,
Coachman, what do you know? He said, I know the way to Bath. That's our job, brother. That's
it. Now turn with me to Psalm 103,
Psalm 103. Knowing I was going to preach
second, both today and Sunday, you've
got me second fiddle. That's fine, fine with me. Sophie's second fiddle is fine. She plays in a concert, in an
orchestra, and we watched a concert. She's second fiddle. Well, you
know what the word concert means? It means two or more playing
or joined together in perfect harmony and accord to do one
thing. And we're in one accord, aren't
we? We're not first preacher, second
preacher. It doesn't matter, does it? But
knowing I was gonna follow this man, I knew he was gonna preach
the gospel. Sunday, I knew he was gonna preach the gospel.
I thought, I'm just gonna give the benediction. That's what
I'm gonna do, the benediction. That means blessing. And we'll
say the blessing, and we're gonna leave, okay? Well, here in Psalm
103, David talks about the blessing, and isn't this a blessing? Do
you not consider this the most blessed thing there is on this
earth? There is no greater blessing.
Oh, bless the Lord for this great blessing of being able to sit
here and hear the gospel and sing these hymns and call upon
the Lord and be in perfect concert or harmony. Isn't it a blessing? No place I'd rather be, would
you? I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God. But he begins
this way, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within
me, bless his holy name. Now the word bless, I love to
look up words and you do too. The word bless means to kneel
to, to bend the knee to. And we bow our knees, don't we?
And hopefully all that is within us, we bow our hearts, our heads,
our knees, our heart. We want to praise and glorify
and worship our Lord. He's worthy. We bow the knee. Every knee shall bow and every
tongue will confess that He is Lord. This is salvation. It's
to do it now. For Him to cause you right now,
willingly, lovingly, to bow the knee to, to bend the knee to,
to bless the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know how blessed
we are. If we know his holy name, the
world is cursing his name, the world is blaspheming his name,
the world is taking his name in vain, and God will not hold
him guiltless who takes his name in vain. And such were some of
you, but God. Now you know His name is holy.
Now you fear His name. Now you glorify His name. Now
you worship His name. Now you don't take that name
in vain. You bless His holy name. How does God bless us? If bending
the knee is a blessing, how does God bless us? When he stoops
down to where we are. Like that woman caught in the
act of adultery. It says the Lord forgave her
sins, Brother Darvin. He stooped down where she was.
He bended the knee. He condescended. Bless the Lord.
All is within me, bless his holy name. Mine heart, soul, bless
the Lord, verse two. Oh my soul, and forget not all
his benefit. Our God is the great benefactor,
and he's our benefactor. All blessings come from him,
from above. Everything comes from him. Every
good and perfect gift comes down from our Father of life, with
whom there's no variableness, no change, no shadow of turning. And there should be no shadow
of doubt in our heart or unbelief. He's the great benefactor and
we're the beneficiary. That's what we are. The beneficiary
of all these blessings. What are them? When Paul wrote
of the blessing in Ephesians 1, when he starts speaking of
blessing, he said, bless the Lord, forget not all his spiritual
blessing. He blesses us with all spiritual
blessing in heavenly things in Christ Jesus. Now look at the
first blessing, the greatest blessing. Look at verse three.
Who forgiveth all thine indignant. That's the first time. The first
and greatest, and that's the blessing that we're gonna be
singing of throughout eternity. Unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own precious blood. All thine iniquity, all
thine iniquity. Who forgiveth, and notice with
me, it's a present tense here. Forgiveth, who crowneth, or surroundeth,
who satisfieth, who executeth. It's an ongoing thing. Forgiveth
and forgiveth and forgiveth. All that iniquity. Iniquities
basically means what's wrong with us. Inequity, unequal. We're weighed in the balances
and found wanting. Unequal, we don't weigh up. Well,
God forgives us for everything's wrong with us. How? How did he do that? He laid on
Christ the iniquities of us all. Christ was perfect. Christ is
our righteousness. That's not just a doctrine, it's
a person, you see. Our salvation is not a doctrine,
it's a person. He is our righteousness. It's
not just, you know the word, it's never imputed righteousness. It's righteousness and purity.
Right, Brother Darwin? It's him. He is our righteousness. It's not that you just believe
a doctrine and then you're made righteous. No, that's what he
said. We trust a person. We look to a person. He is life. He is righteousness. He forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. All thy diseases. Now, Deuteronomy 32, 39. The Lord said, I kill and I make
alive. Meaning. Things don't kill us. God did. It's appointed unto
man once to die. Who does that appoint him? God
did. It's a bound that is set and we cannot pass. Our days
are determined. They're with the Lord. He determines
the means. He may use this. He may use that. But it's the Lord. My brother
was killed in Vietnam in 1969. Who killed him? God did. Who
killed God's son? God did. He said, I kill, I make
a life. He said, I wound and I heal. We may get a sickness, okay,
who sent it? Who gave it to us, huh? I wound and I heal. He's the one. He may use means
to heal it, thank God for me, thank God for modern technology,
for doctors, for medicines and all that, but it's the Lord.
He must get the glory and all that. He healeth all that. But
now here are the diseases that all of us are born with. You
know where I'm going. We're all born blind. We're all
born deaf. We're all born lepers, aren't
we? Halt, lame, the Lord healeth. His people, this is talking to
His people. Healeth all thy diseases. Verse four says, He redeemeth
thy life from destruction. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction.
The word redeem means to buy back from destruction. You remember
the story of Naomi and Ruth, don't you? Their husbands died
and they lost everything. Well, we died in Adam, don't
we? In Adam all died. And we were married to the law,
and the law killed us. We lost everything. And Naomi
and Ruth lost everything. Well, how did they get it back?
They had a kinsman redeemer. And that's our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction. And it also means a wasted life. A life wasted in sin. Destroyed
in itself. Like Obarabas. Like the thief
on the cross. What a wasted life. His whole
life was a waste, wasn't it? Good for nothing. What happened?
The Lord redeemed him. The Lord redeemed him. That wasted
life. He wasn't destroyed. He was redeemed. Now you know we're not redeemed
with corruptible things such as silver and gold by our vain
conversation or tradition received from the elders, but how? The
precious blood of the Lamb. who redeemeth thy life from destruction,
who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercy. That
crown means surround you with loving kindness and tender mercy.
No matter what it is, it's God's mercy. It's God's mercy. Barnard used to say that anything
this side of hell is mercy. His tender mercies are over all
his work, but his special mercy is around his people. He surrounds
them like Job, he has us hedged about. Yes he does, and nothing
moves and nothing harm does, except what he allowed, what
he directs. Verse five says, who satisfied
thy mouth with good things. Thy mouth. He said, was it Psalm
86, 81? He said, open thy mouth wide
and I'll fill it. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. And you know that righteousness
is crying. Open thy mouth wide and I'll fill it, he said. Who
satisfied thy mouth? Our granddaughters have always
had a healthy appetite. And so we have to stock up on
extra food when they come to visit and other things. But our first one, when she was
a little girl, four or five years old, She was at the table and
she was helping herself to taters and beans and all that and she
was just taking half the bowl and her mother said, Isabella,
that's too much. That's too much. Okay, a little
while later she came to visit us. You know, grandparents. And so we said, how much do you
want? She said, I want too much. I want too much, meaning I want
all you can give me. Can you ask God too much? How
much mercy do you need? How much grace do you need? I
want too much, don't you? How much you got, Lord? I need
it all. Here you go. You can't ask him too much. He's
full of mercy, mercy full. Go on now, it says, he satisfied
thy mouth with good things, and good things, that's the gospel
isn't it? Is the gospel sweet to you? Is the gospel good news
to you? Good things, the word things
is in italic, good. Oh, he satisfies his people who
have a desire and a need for Christ. And they hear the gospel. Isaiah 55 says, here in your
soul shall live, eat. This is the mouth of the soul
right here. This is the mouth of the soul. Oh, if you need
to hear the gospel, oh, he satisfied your soul's mouth with the gospel
so that that youth is renewed like the eagle. Do you not come
in here sometimes crawling? Come in here, you know, the world
brings us down and we feel so dead and so lifeless and so sinful
and so rotten, and then your pastor preaches a gospel, and
then, Brother Russ, we'd go flying out of here, don't we? Like your youth is renewed, like
you're born again. One of the preachers once said,
every time the gospel's preached, I'm saved. Born again. The Lord, verse six, look at
that. Executeth righteousness. Executed. Listen to this. I wrote
this down. The word execute. This is good.
You'll like this. It says it means to do. It means to make. It means to accomplish in the
broadest sense. Are you with me? It means in
the widest application. It means to get it done. He executed
righteousness. Who did that? Our Lord Jesus
Christ did. Worked out a perfect righteousness. Wove a seamless robe, the wedding
garment of all his bride that we all wear. Isn't that wonderful?
He executed the righteousness and judgment. Judgment for all
the oppressed, all that are oppressed. He went through the judgment.
He endured the wrath and judgment of God against our sin, didn't
he? And therefore we are pardoned,
guiltless, faultless before the throne of his glory. All that
are oppressed by Satan, by sin, by self. Verse seven, he made
known his ways unto Moses. I want you to turn to Exodus
30, 33, Exodus 33. He made his known unto us ways,
his ways unto Moses. and his acts unto the children
of Israel, Exodus 33, you know this. And it's just wonderful, Exodus 33.
It says down in verse 16, Moses said this. Moses had seen quite
a bit up to this point. And the Lord said, I'll go with
you. You found grace in my sight. And here's what Moses said in
verse 16. He said, wherein shall it be
known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight?
Is it not that in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated
or sanctified. I and thy people from all the
people that are upon the face of the earth. This is this sanctification,
this separation of God's people from the world. He makes known
his ways. And the Lord said to Moses, I'll
do this thing that thou hast spoken. You've found grace in
my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech
thee, show me thy glory. Show me thy glory. Verse 13 says,
show me thy way. What did the Lord show him? He
said in verse 19, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee.
That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the goodness of God. I'll
proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lord our righteousness. Jehovah said again, and I'll
be gracious. The grace of God is in Christ
Jesus. I'll show mercy. All the mercy of God is in Jesus
Christ, our Lord. The Lord has made known his way,
he does it. I must be a son of Jacob, I know
the way. I must be a preacher, I know
the way. One way, he made known his acts
unto the children of Israel, his work, his great work of redemption,
because the Lord, verse 8, is merciful. You see that? Full
of mercy. And gracious, slow to anger. Oh, throughout the psalms, It
says that they provoked him and provoked him and provoked him
and provoked him, but it said, nevertheless, they pardoned him. No matter. Because he's so merciful. He's so slow to anger. And plenteous
in mercy. Verse 9. You know, whom the Lord
loves, he chastens. That's the word chide. But he
will not always keep chiding. Neither will he keep his anger
forever. Whom the Lord loves, he chastens. And we need it,
we need much of it, don't we? If you don't chase in your children,
you don't love them. You love yourself, Scripture
said. The Lord, whom the Lord loves, he chases, corrects, loving
correction. It's not punishment, mind you,
but it's correction. But he doesn't keep chiding all
the time. His anger, we need to feel something
of his anger. Yeah, we do, his displeasure.
God's children love him and want to please him, but without faith,
it's impossible. So where is the anger of God
diffused? Where is the chasing of God found? It's in Christ. It's in Christ. We see him. What chastens us
more than anything is when we look and we see what Jesus Christ
did for us on Calvary's tree because of our sin. What God
did to Christ because of me. That chastens us more than anything.
Are you listening to me? Nothing will correct us more
than that, more effectively than that, to see that every sin I
commit, Christ had to pay for it. That's chasing them, you
understand? Oh, man. He hath not dealt with
us. Verse 10, he hath not dealt with
us after our sin, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
But God's just, Brother Darwin, isn't He? He must punish sin.
He said, I will by no means clear the guilty, didn't He God? Well,
how? How can He not deal with us according
to our sins and reward us according to our iniquity? How can He just
let it go? He didn't. He didn't. Somebody paid for
Him. The just for the unjust. The righteous for the unrighteous.
God laid on him the iniquity of his people. He dealt with
Christ after our sins. God's people, that's how. He
hadn't dealt with us after our sins or rewarded us according
to our iniquity, but he rewarded Christ with what we've done.
He got the wages of our sin, death. We get the wages of his
life, life. and write, mm, bless the Lord. See, this is to bless Him, to
know that, to believe Him. He says in verse 11, as the heaven
is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that
fear Him. He speaks of the fear of the
Lord in verse 13, the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. Verse 17,
His mercy is upon them that fear Him, fear Him. You know, I've tried to preach
the fear of the Lord, and I know you men have too. It's something
that we always feel like we fail on. We really don't fully understand. We don't do it, Brother Dave,
we just don't. It has something to do with such an amazing, I hate that the world uses the
word awe, but just a profound amazement and reverence and respect
and awe for something or someone who is so far above us and so
powerful and so glorious, like you see, like the raging ocean
or the thunder and lightning or things like that, that you,
oh, but you, it's a fearful thing, isn't it? It's a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God. that we love him,
we're amazed by him, we glory in him, but we fear him, we never
quit fearing him, do we? Never. Those that fear him, those
that fear him, fear his name. Reunite my heart, David said,
fear thy name. Verse 12, as far as the east
is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from it. How far is the east from the west? Huh? If you start
heading east, wherever east is, Russ knows he's tripping out.
Okay. If you start heading east, Russ, will you ever make it all
the way? Keep going. Keep going. You come back where
you started and you're still going. Well, it says as far as
the east is from the west, he's removed. Meaning, they're gone. You're not going to find them.
Like that scapegoat. in the wilderness, a fit man,
a man able to walk a long distance and take that goat upon which
the sins of all of God's people were confessed on the head of,
a fit man, one who's able to walk as far as it takes, that
that goat will never come back. All right? It was a fit man that
walked that goat as far as he could from where and deposited
that goat in the wilderness so it'll never be found again. and
came back to tell it. Is he coming back? Nope, gone. Who's that fit man? Christ, Christ. Old brother Jack Shanks preached
on that one time. And he said, and God ain't going
goat hunting. He said, there's sins and iniquities
I remember no more. Why can't he remember them? This
is an amazing thing. That what we can't forget, God
can't remember. Our sins are ever before, so
long as we live on this earth. And we're even gonna be thanking
him through eternity for our sins forgiven. And he won't bother
us then. You'll see him like the children
of Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. He can't bother
us anymore. This great gulf fixed between
them. But how is it that he can remember our sins no more? Well,
when something's gone, it's gone. It can't be remembered. Put away.
Forgotten. That's forgiveness, it's forgetting
it. It's over, it's gone. Oh my, bless the Lord, oh my
soul. Like a father, look at this, verse 13. This is one of
my favorite songs and this is my favorite verse in this song.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth
them that fear him, for he knoweth our frame. He remembers. That we're dust, a father that
pities his children. Jeff, you pity your children
more than anything else. Well, you love them, but the
next thing you pity them, don't you? You remember when those
children were born? You remember feeling that? Just
pity. Knowing what all they're going
to have to go through? Hmm. You know, our children, especially
when they become teenagers, they think, mom, dad don't understand
me. You don't understand. I remember thinking that, that
we don't understand us as well as our parents do, do we? How
is it that our father, that our father knows us so well? He became us. He was tempted
at all points like as we are, yet without sin. He knows our
frame because he took part of the same. He had power, Brother
David. He had the ability. We don't. He knows that. He's the one that
said that to his children in the garden who fell asleep, who
couldn't watch with him for one hour. He's the one that said
the Spirit is will, but the flesh is what He knows. He remembers that we're dust.
Because you know what? When it's all said and done,
we're not gonna be remembered by too many people. When our
life is over, look at verse 15 and following. As for man, his
days are as grass, as the flower of the field that flourishes,
grows up and then it's gone, the wind passes over, it's gone,
the place thereof shall know it no more. You've got a short
life, don't we? That's the reason Moses told
us to teach us, asked the Lord to teach us to number our days.
When older you get, you know, the years go by like months,
the months go by like weeks, and the weeks go by like days,
and days go by like hours, not minutes. Teach us to number our
days, that we might apply our hearts to wisdom. What's that?
Christ, know him, to have eternal life. But we live this short
life, and we wake up, and Psalm 90 says our life is like sleep. You wake up, and you're 67 years
old. And you think, I can't believe
it. Where'd it go? 72 years old.
It's over. Practically. And we're going
to die. And only our very closest family
is going to remember us. That's right. I was driving home
one day. And I saw in front of me a squirrel
went out in front of a car, and that car ran over that squirrel. I felt pity for that poor creature. Ran over that squirrel, and he
died in the road. Well, the next day I came by,
more cars had run over. Next day, next day. About a week
later, you couldn't tell that squirrel ever existed. And that's
us. So who is it that is important
that remembers us? The thief on the cross, everybody
wanted him forgotten. Everybody but his mama, Glenn.
You know what the Lord said, what he said? Remember me. What everybody forgets, the Lord
can't. What we can't forget, the Lord
can't remember. What we can't remember, the Lord
can't forget. We forget his mercy. We forget
his covenant all the time. The Lord says he remembered it
for them. My, my. The place thereof shall
know it no more. Oh, but if he knows me. Paul
said that in Galatians one time, he said, talking about turning
to the beggarly elements, how is it that after you've known
the Lord, rather, are known of the Lord, are turned back to
the Lord? This is our salvation, that he
knows us. Whom he foreknew, he did predestinate. And though everyone forgets us,
he can't, he won't. But now, here it is, verse 17. The mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. How much
mercy do you need? Too much? How much mercy does
the Lord have? He's full of mercy. The thing
I need the most is what he's full of, and he delights to show. I love this verse. It says, the
Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, and them that
hope in his mercy. I find myself saying more than
anything else three words. Have mercy on me. My prayers are generally, my
private prayers are generally very short. Lord have mercy. Please have mercy, have mercy.
He's merciful. How long will it last? Everlasting,
everlasting. And his righteousness unto children
of children. Our children, we don't have all
these programs for our children. We don't have all these things
for our children. What do we have? The gospel. There's nothing else. That's
the one thing we want for our children, to know him. Well,
this gospel and our children are more blessed than any children
in all of religion, that they hear this gospel of God's righteousness. And it's there for them if God
would be pleased to give it to them. But they gotta be under
the sound of it. The Lord's gotta make them someday
hear and feel their need of Christ, their righteousness. Oh, verse
18 says, that such as keep his covenant, lay hold of the gospel,
and those that remember his commandments to do them. What is his commandment?
There are many, Christ's commandments are many. Don't say that there's
just one, there are many. And God's people like to keep,
they want His yoke is easy, His commandments are light, but here
it is. Our Lord said, this is the commandment,
that you believe on Him whom God has sent. And love one another
as I have loved you. Is that it? That's it. By His grace, I can do that.
By His grace, Brother David, I believe, don't you? Do you?
Do you believe what you just preached? Brother Charles Spurgeon was
preaching one time, or listening to a young man preach. He went
to hear a young man preach. And after the service, and he
noticed the young man was kind of flustered. And after the service,
he went up to greet the young man, and the young man said to
him, Brother Spurgeon, he said, I'm sorry, but I got that message
from you. That was your outline, I just
preached. Virgin had tears in his eyes.
He said, I know. I know it. I recognize it. He said, you
know what? I believe what I preached. I believe it. Don't you, David?
I do. Have you laid hold of Christ?
We have. You love his brethren? Now look at this, let's close.
The Lord had prepared his throne in the heavens. The Lord Jesus
Christ, after he put away, purged our sins by himself, purged our
sins, he said he sat down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. He sits on a throne. What kind of throne is it? A
throne of grace. We can come bold to find help
on time of day. Throne of grace, a throne of
mercy, a throne of access to every single child of God can
come to the throne of the king. Why was Solomon's table so big?
Why was there so much food on that table? Why, why, why? Because
anybody that wanted to come eat with them, the lowest peasant
could come to the king and say, can I eat? Yes, sure, sit right
here. And that's our Lord. Oh, bless
the Lord. He prepared His throne. He ruleth
over all. Say unto the heathen, the Lord
reigneth. Say unto thy people, the Lord reigneth. He ruleth
over all. Oh, bless the Lord. Verse 20.
Bless the Lord. Bend the knee. Praise His name.
All ye His angels that excel in strength, that do His commandments,
hearken ye unto the voice of His word. Bless ye the Lord all
His host. Ye ministers of His that do His
pleasure. You know, this pleases the Lord. It's a good thing. He said that
in Psalm 92. It's a good thing to give thanks
to the Lord. This is very pleasing of the Lord, what we're doing
here. Enoch had this mark that he pleased
God, didn't he? How? He believed. He trusted. He worshiped. He walked alone. He walked with God. What does
that mean? He agreed with God. He blessed
God. He worshiped God. I do, too,
by His grace. Oh, it's well pleasing to the
Lord. Those that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord all His works
and all His places of all His dominion. And he ends up where
he started. Bless the Lord, oh, my soul.
Oh, my soul. Bless the Lord. Amen.