Psalm 115. We're going to read
the first three verses in a moment. But it might be helpful if we
just have a little refresher course concerning the book of
Psalms. It's the largest book in the
Bible, 150 Psalms. And the subject of this book
these Psalms is the worship of God. As we mentioned in the reading
of Psalm 100, that was why they were inspired by God and given
to aid in the worship of our great God. Psalm means praises. Praises, that's what the word
means. Christ said his disciples after his resurrection, when
he appeared to them, In Luke chapter 24, he said to them,
these are the words which I spoke unto you when I was yet with
you before his death and after the resurrection, that all things
must be fulfilled. I just like that. All things
must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and
in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. As someone well
said, the Bible is a H-I-M, Him Book. And then in that same chapter
of Luke, after our Lord ascended in the very presence of the disciples
back to the glory He had with the Father, before the world
began, we read, and they worshipped Him. They worshipped Him and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy. May God allow us to do the
very same thing today. Worship means prostration. It
means to prostrate ourself before the Lord God, taking our place
in the dust. That's where we belong. The dust
thou wert taken and the dust thou shalt return. But in true
worship, I tell you, I see these fellas on television and they
just strut back and forth and just want to be seen. And people
standing in the pews or in the aisles and just waving their
hand. That's glory in the flesh. True worship is really the very
opposite of such demonstration. No, those that worship God bow
before Him. If not bodily, in their heart. It's to prostrate themselves,
take their proper place. My soul, we're coming into the
presence of God Almighty. How can a worm strut before the
August God, the great God and Savior? So it's no wonder worship
means to prostrate. Psalm 86. Look at a few of these
with me, will you? Psalm 86. We read this. And every
psalm is a song of praise and worship to that one who alone
is worthy of worship. Psalm 86, verse 8. Among the
gods, little g, there was none like to thee, O Lord. Neither
are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou
hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall
glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest
wondrous things. Thou art God alone." Now turn
the page over to Psalm 95. Psalm 95. O come, verse one, O come, let
us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to
the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence
with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms, psalms. For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places
of the earth. The strength of the hills is
his also. The sea is his, and he made it. and His hands formed
the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow
down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our
God, isn't that sweet? He is our God, and we are the
people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Again, that is so contrary to
what is commonly called worship, because men are exhorted on every
hand. by pastors, by preachers. Stand
up. Be recognized. Be counted. Men are given the impression
like they just couldn't function. God's church, God's people just
couldn't carry on without their blessed appearance. So contrary
again I say to the true worship of God. I remember reading an
article and I think I used it in our bulletin a year or two
ago. Brother Frank Tate said he was
watching TV one day, and he turned the sound off. And it was one
of these television preachers at one of these super-duper mega
churches. And Frank said even without sound,
he could tell that man wasn't preaching the gospel by his showy
attitude. his gestures. It was like watching
a peacock strut around. That's not the worship of God.
A strutting peacock wants to be seen and is easy to detect
even without sound. Oh, but the book of Psalms teaches
us that we worship God. We worship God in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Psalms teaches the delight
in his providence. to remember His works. You want
to be encouraged? Remember our God, doeth whatsoever
He will. They speak of His greatness,
His care of His own, His glory, and they celebrate and teach
us to celebrate and praise Him. our great God. We bow down to
Him. We prostrate ourselves before
Him. We look up to Him and cry, Hallelujah! What a Savior! What a Savior! One old hymn writer asked this
question during times of difficulty and trial and tribulation. And
no child of God is exempt from those. It seems like No sooner
do we come out of one trial that we enter into another. Our Lord
promised that it would be so, we need not expect anything else.
But the hymn asks this question, Oh, where could I go but to the
Lord? Where could I go but to the Lord? Where else indeed? We received
news Friday, God of call, concerning a man that I've known for years,
years. Friday morning, he went in, got
a shotgun, blew his head off. His wife was in the yard, heard
the shot, and went in and found him. And he's got a daughter. They don't have a clue. I don't
know how many times Robin and I, she said the same thing to
me, left our hearts up to God for his dear wife. God help her. God give her grace. I cannot
imagine what she must be going through. Oh God, prove to her
the sufficiency of your grace. As we read the Psalms, our hearts
often echo the words that we read. Is that not so? Is that
not why we turn so often to the Psalms? Because we read our own
experience there, don't we? These Psalms express our own
doubts and fears and joys and sorrows, our burdens and our
blessings as we attempt to worship and serve our God. The Psalms,
moreover, speak of Christ. But there are also true expressions,
honest expressions of personal emotions and feelings and experiences
of those who wrote them. For example, when David wrote
in the first verse of Psalm 22, my God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? There is no question that was
a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Those are the very
words that he said while he hung up on the cross. David was also
speaking of his own experience. As I said, these are honest expressions. They're not sugar-coated. They're
not covered up, are they? It speaks of those believers
who, though they rejoice in God, also know what it's like to weep. Weeping may endure through the
night. Anybody here that hasn't had
that experience I would like to meet with you after service
and tell me how that's possible." No, it's not possible. No. And
more than one night. But also we know this, that joy,
joy is going to come in the morning. Joy is going to come in the morning,
especially that eternal everlasting morning, that dawning of a new
day where the sun shall never set. Joy shall come in that blessed
day. My prayer is that God will enable
us to lift up our eyes to Him. that setteth king forever. He setteth upon the flood, Psalm
29, yea, the Lord setteth king forever. His throne is never
vacated. Remember Elijah on Mount Carmel? He mocked the prophets of Baal.
What were they, 400 of them? And they offered their offering.
And they prayed. They tried to get their so-called
God's attention by cutting themselves and just acting like a bunch
of crazy Pentecostals. And Elijah said, well, maybe
he can't hear you. Maybe you need to yell a little
louder. Maybe your God's asleep. Maybe
he's on vacation. Oh, no, but our God, he's always
on his throne. He's always ruling. He's always
sovereign. He's always mighty. He's always
God, high and lifted up. Oh, Lord, remind me of that. In Isaiah chapter 40, would you
turn there for just a minute? Isaiah 40. Beginning at verse 10, God describes
himself. Want to know who God is? God
describes himself here. And he describes himself none
other than great. Great. Verse 10 and 11. Behold,
the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for
him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work before him. He shall. He shall. He won't
try to. He won't attempt to. He won't
ask for your help. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather his lambs with his arm and carry
them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young."
Yes, we can never overestimate how great God is. I don't need
to be concerned about that, Billy. Some things I can legitimately
be concerned about, but I don't have to ever be concerned that
I can overestimate the greatness of my God. I can never exalt
Christ enough. I can never speak of His mercy,
His grace, His person, His glory, who He is and what He's done. I can never exaggerate that.
No, the opposite is true. The opposite is true. Every time
I leave here, I think, oh Lord, make your word effectual, because
I didn't exalt you like you deserve to be exalted. Override the frailty
of the messenger and make your word effectual. When you read
Isaiah 40, look at verse 25 again, Isaiah 40. To whom, God says,
will you liken me? And shall I be equal, saith the
Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high, verse
26, and behold who hath created these things, and bringeth out
their hosts by number. He calleth them all by names.
by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power,
not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob? Why
sayest thou, O Larry? And speakest, O Israel, My way
is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from
my God. Hast thou not known Has thou
not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there
is no searching of his understanding, he giveth power to the faint.
And to them that have no might he increaseth strength." That's
our God. Only a blind man could read that
and not determine, God says he's great. He's great. He's greater than the works that
He performs. What's greater, the creation
or the Creator? He's greater than all nations
that He's made. He's greater than all the gods,
the so-called gods that men have invented. He's greater than the
world that He created. He's greater than the greatest
men that this world ever produced. He's greater than the heavens
above. He's greater than all our troubles. He's the great God. It's the
greatness of God which inspires our faith and gives us peace,
is that not so? And comfort and confidence and
hope in this world of woe. God's goodness is wonderful,
but His goodness would be meaningless if not for His greatness, His
power. that he is able to do all that
he promised. Otherwise, what use is the promise
if he's not able to bring it to pass? The king asked Daniel
when he was tossed into that lion's den, Daniel, Daniel, is
your God able to deliver you? Is your God able? Is our God
able to give us peace that passes all understanding? Is he able
to do that? Is Christ our Savior? able to keep me from falling
and to present me without fault before the throne of a holy God?
Is He able to do that? Is our Great Shepherd able to
comfort us with His almighty grace in all our difficulties? Well, if He's our Great God,
He can. And that's exactly who He is,
our Great God and Savior. In our Songs of Grace book, those
hymns that were written by our dear friend that's now in glory,
singing as he never did before, to the praise of his God. Don
introduces that book of hymns with a short article entitled
Congregational Singing, Galatians 3.16. Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns, in spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And Don wrote this, one of the
most important aspects of public worship is the singing of hymns
to the praise of our great God. That needs to be remembered,
doesn't it? Our songs should always be filled with the glorious
attributes of our God and the wondrous works of his free grace
in Christ. No song should ever be sung that
is not a song of heartfelt prayer and praise and thanksgiving to
the Lord our God for the glory of His great name. The standard
for music is the Word of God, the theme is the work of God,
and the object is the glory of God. And that's exactly what
we find here in Psalm 115. Now let's read these first three
verses. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, the scoffers and the mockers, where is now their God? And we
have the answer. But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." Mr. Spurgeon, in his
commentary on the book of Psalms that he calls the Treasury of
David, made this observation concerning this psalm, 115. He
wrote, this psalm was sung at the Passover, and therefore it
bears relationship to the deliverance from Egypt. The burden of it
seems to be a prayer that the living God, who had been so glorious
at the Red Sea and the Jordan, should again for his own namesake
display the wonders of his power. That's what they were praying.
The people undoubtedly wished for relief from their the insults
of idolaters, but their main desire was that Jehovah himself
should no longer be the object of heathen insults. Every child of God desires that,
don't they? It's very likely that this psalm
was the one our Lord sang with his disciples before they went
out to Gethsemane. In Matthew chapter 26, verse
30, we read this, when they had sung a hymn, they went out into
the Mount of Olives. And since Christ, our Passover,
has been sacrificed for us, this is our song too. With every redeemed
sinner, those on earth, yet and those already in heaven, we all
unite in this same blessed song. That's right. Not unto us. That's what they're exclaiming
in glory. And that's what we endeavor to do here. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. This blessed truth demands
the praise of God's children that they give in verse 1. Verse
3 says, but our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever
He hath pleased. In other words, we're told, who
gets the glory? That's the title of the message,
Bob. Who gets the glory? Who gets the glory? And verse
1 tells us plainly, who doesn't? It's not us, no matter who us
is. Is that proper English, Carol?
You're a school teacher. If it's not, I don't want to
know. It matters not who the us are,
or is, or ever will be. They don't get the glory. Not for mercy, not for salvation. Well, then who does? A true child
of God will push it away and say, no, no, no, no. He must
increase. He must increase, and I must
decrease. A true believer is so thankful,
aren't you? Aren't you, John Copeland? Aren't
you thankful that nothing about salvation, and that's a big word.
One time I probably told you, but I'm getting old, so I forget
what I've told you. My granddaughter, very young, was just beginning
to read, and she crawled up on my lap one day when I was visiting
their home, and she said, Paul, Paul, I want to read you a story.
And she began to read, and then she stopped. She looked up at
me and said, oh Pawpaw, that's a big word. What's that word? Salvation is a big word. It's a big word. God's salvation
is an everlasting salvation. It reaches back to eternity past
and everlasting covenant of grace, God's purpose. He saves people
on purpose. How else could he do it? And
it reaches all the way to glory when all the sheep are with their
shepherds singing God's praises forever. It's a big word. It's a great work. And aren't
you thankful that nothing from eternity past to eternity to
come, and everything necessary in between is not dependent upon
you. Aren't you glad that's so? Doesn't
it make you glad to say, not unto us, O Lord, anywhere you
want to put your finger, In God's glorious chain of grace, you
can say, not unto us, O Lord. There's not a place where you
can say, well, God did this part, and then I did the rest. No,
not according to the God of Scripture, not according to the glorious
gospel, not unto us. We must not imagine. We must
not imagine. And we do, I do, that we deserve
anything from God by our own righteousness. You ever tempted
to think that? It's the gift of His pure mercy,
and therefore He must have all the praise of our songs. Our
songs must be sung to this humble tune. This must undergird every
song every message, every testimony, not unto us. When we come through
those doors, in our hearts, we ought to be praying, Lord, not
unto us, not unto us this day, O Lord, but unto thy name give
glory, for your mercy, you had mercy on this sinner. True believers,
they don't grit their teeth at the fact of God's sovereignty
that we read there in verse three. People hear that you believe
in God's sovereign mercy and grace. And they look at you like
they feel sorry for you. It's not of him that willeth
or of him that runneth. And they say, oh my soul, why
would you want to believe that? Because it's the only thing that
gives a sinner hope. Nothing else does. I'm thankful
that it's not of him that willeth. or of him that runneth around
trying to do religious exercises, but it's of God that shows mercy. That's the only hope that a sinner
has, that salvation is of the Lord. Nothing else gives us comfort
and hope. If I thought that anything concerning
God's salvation was determined by or dependent upon me, my soul,
forget about it. Just give it up. Give it up.
Oh, but when I read That salvation is by God Almighty, through God's
glorious Son. That gives this sinner hope.
The other day, Robin and I went to lunch with John and Kate. And I wasn't in the car too long,
and John started telling me about his grandson, Jason. And I might have asked. But I
imagine if I hadn't asked, I'd have still heard. He started
bragging about him. And I do the same thing about
my great-grandson and my grandson. I mean, I've sent John pictures.
I've told him, I remember talking to him on the phone. I said,
John, I think the boy's a prodigy. I tell you, I mean, he's just
something, my grandson. And he'll say, well, let me tell
you about Jason. Bragging on him. All grandparents do that. We don't want anybody running
down our children or our grandchildren or telling lies about them. No,
we won't stand for that. And every salvation, besides
grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, any other message
does exactly that. It dishonors my God. And I won't
give an ear to it. It says, unto us be the glory.
But God's Word declares, God forbid that I should glory save
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rebel, the mere religionist,
the hypocrite, they hate the truth of God's sovereign grace.
The self-righteous do. The so-called free-willer despises
God's free grace. It destroys their so-called foundation. But a real sinner in need of
real mercy rejoices to declare, I am what I am by the grace of
God. To God be the glory, great things
he hath done. Not have I gotten, but what I
receive. Grace hath bestowed it since
I have believed. Boasting excluded, pride I abase. I'm only a sinner saved by grace."
The quote on page one of your bulletin that heads your bulletin
by J.C. Rowe said this, the standard
of the world and the standard of the Lord Jesus are indeed
widely different. They are more than different,
they are flatly contradictory one to the other. Never be satisfied
with the world standard of Christianity. I would rather my sons, my family,
my loved ones, And I told them this, I would rather they stay
home than go hear somebody tell lies on God. I would that they
go somewhere where the gospel would be and preach. But I don't
want them to go somewhere just so they can say, I went to church. I don't want them to go somewhere
and sit down and hear a false prophet preach a false gospel
and give them a false salvation that produces a false hope. God
forbid, I'd rather they stay home and sleep, do nothing, than
to sit under that. Oh no, because that gospel says,
God's done all he can. That other gospel says, that
it's up to you. It's up to you. It's a cooperative
effort between you and God. And really, you have the upper
hand. Am I telling lies here? Am I misrepresenting them? Do
they not say, boldly say, instead of ashamedly say, God's done
all he can, now it's up to you? And you really have the upper
hand. You make the deciding factor. God's done all he can. And if
you don't cooperate, if you don't take the first step, if you don't
make a decision, if you don't give God a chance, then it's
all for nothing. My soul, how dishonoring to God. How dishonoring to God. Thank
God that's not so. And now here, let's join in the
song. You feel like singing? You feel
like singing to God's grace and glory? Well, then let's join
in. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give
glory for thy mercy and for thy truth, say. Can any sinner who's
experienced the sure mercy of God so great and His grace that's
so free do anything less than bow down and worship Him? Bow down and praise God. Ascribe
ye greatness unto God. Brag on Him. Because every believer
has received of His mercy and His faithfulness. I ran across
this the other day. How Can I Keep From Singing is
the title of this hymn. It's by a man named Robert Lowry
that lived in the 1800s. There's some of his hymns in
our book. This one's not. He wrote, though
all the tumult and the strife, I hear that music ringing. It
finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?
Well, though my joys and comforts die, the Lord my Savior liveth. Well, though the darkness gather
round, Songs in the night he giveth. The peace of Christ makes
fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing. All things are mine
since I am his. How can I keep from singing?
No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to the rock I'm clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven
and earth, how can I keep from singing? I spoke to Bobby and
Lester the other day on the phone concerning their daughter. And
Bobby doesn't know this, but what she said about her and Lester
just encouraged me, encouraged their pastor. She said, Larry,
Lester and I want to honor God through this time of difficulty
concerning our daughter's illness. We don't want to talk about our
belief in God's sovereignty and then act like we don't believe
it. To God be the glory. That's the
first thing. That's the first thing. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be glory for thy
mercy and for thy truth's sake. Verse 3 again. And here's the
reason for it. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. It doesn't make any
difference what the mockers say. It doesn't make any difference
what the scoffers say in verse 2. In verses four through seven,
the psalmist makes a clear, distinct contrast between the one true
God, his God, and those heathen idols. He made, our God made
everything. Those gods made nothing. They
were made by man. Our God does whatever he pleases.
They can do nothing. Our God sees our distress. He
hears our prayers. He comes to our rescue and secures
our salvation. Their gods, the psalmist said,
are blind, deaf, dumb, senseless, motionless, impotent to hear,
and impotent to say. But thank God our God is in the
heavens, and he's done whatsoever he has pleased. Psalm 135, whosoever
the Lord pleased, whatsoever rather the Lord pleased, that
did he in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. Isaiah chapter 46, verses 9 and
10. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there
is none like me. Verse 10, declaring the end from
the beginning, and from the ancient times, the things that are not
yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do. I will do all my pleasure. I want to remind us, you and
I together, of a few things that God has been pleased to do. Things
you know, but it might be good to be reminded of it. It was
good for me in the preparation of this message. Five things our God is pleased
to do. In 1 Samuel chapter 12, before
the faithful prophet of God departed this life, he said to the children
of Israel in verse 22, the words of the faithful prophet Samuel
to Israel. And remember God's true Israel,
the church, the bride of Christ, that's God's Israel. But Samuel
said, for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's
sake. It is pleased the Lord to make
you his people. And he does whatsoever he is
pleased. He was pleased to make you his
people. Isn't that astounding? Isn't
that a marvel? You? Not you. Me? Make you. Make you. Again, the
free will hears that and says, oh no, I don't like that. Oh,
I love it. I love it. Because if he didn't
make me one of his own, I would have never been one. If he didn't
make me a believer, I wouldn't be one. If he didn't make this
sinner a new creation, I wouldn't be one. If He didn't make me
willing, make me, I've got no problem with that. Thank God
He didn't leave me to my will, but by His might, sweet, restraining
grace, He made me willing in the day of His power, and He
makes us fit for heaven. I'm thankful for that, aren't
you? And our response is this, not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory. Isaiah 53, verse 10. It pleased
the Lord to bruise him. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. Only
God could do that. What a marvel that is. God laid
sin, all the sins of all of His people, on His Son. Man could never do that. Only
God. And He did. He, God, had made
Him, Christ, sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. It pleased God to do
that. And I have no idea how that could
happen. I have no idea how that could
happen. I know that it did, and I rejoice in it. But I cannot
explain, I cannot fathom, I cannot understand how God Almighty,
how Christ was made sin. Not something like sin. No, no, no. No, no. Not a pasted
on. No. He was made sin. That's why those two words in
2 Corinthians 5 and 21, to be, are in italics. No, what it really
says, God made Christ sin for us. He did. And Christ, by being made sin,
accomplished eternal redemption for us. By Himself, He purged
our sins. And He purged them all away.
They're gone. They're gone. God said in Jeremiah,
in that day they'll be looked for. The sins and transgressions
of my people will be looked for, but they shall not be found. They're gone. In the response of everyone,
as they bow before our great God and Savior, in adoration,
with thankful hearts, we cry, O Lord, not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, but to thy name give glory for thy mercy. In
1 Corinthians 1, Verse 21, we read this. For after the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God. It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That's
why you were brought to hear the Gospel. Not another Gospel. Not another Jesus. Not a false
hope. But God brought a preacher of
the glorious gospel that concerns God's Son to you. To you. And when you heard the message
of free grace, you really heard it, remember? You may have heard
it many times. But that day, that hour, something
changed. God gave you ears. God said,
live. And you heard. You heard. You really heard it. Lazarus
come forth, and Lazarus was you. Bartimaeus cried for mercy, and
Christ said, bring him to me. And you discovered that Bartimaeus
was you. Saul of Tarsus come down, and in that hour Saul of
Tarsus was you. You. You heard, you believed,
you cried to God for mercy and you became a follower of Jesus
Christ. You! Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing? And this
became your testimony from that hour to this. Not unto us, oh
Lord. Oh, not unto us. But to thy name
give glory. Galatians chapter 1. Listen to
these words. Paul wrote, you've heard in verse
13 of my conversation, the way I live, my manner of life, a
self-righteous Pharisee. In times past in the Jews' religion,
how that beyond measured, I persecuted the church of God and wasted
it, and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals
in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the tradition
of my fathers, but when it pleased God. who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me. O my soul, God revealed His Son
in me. His Son, the only mediator there
is between me and God, the only Savior of sinners, the only one
in whom a sinner will be brought to glory and be forever accepted
and be loved, God revealed His Son to me. And what could be the reason
for that other than this? As our Lord said, even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. The last one, Colossians
1, 19. You remember this one. This is
familiar. For it pleased God that in him,
that is Christ, should all fullness dwell. Where else would it dwell? Who
else but Christ could contain all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily? Where else is God going to deposit
all of His glory? Who else is He going to trust
with? All grace, all mercy, all that we need for time and eternity,
where else would it dwell? Who else could contain it except
the Lord Jesus Christ? And Paul went on to write, that
being so, that all fullness dwells in Christ, It's no wonder that
we're told, and in him, you're complete. He's all fullness,
and you're complete in him. I saw this in Brother Clay Curtis's
bulletin, I think it was just yesterday, written by a man named
Thomas Bradbury. He wrote, what is it that comforts
and cheers our hearts when troubles and trials surround us, when
our poor spirits are depressed with fear, trembling, and perplexity,
is it not this, that all things are working together for our
good? God has his measuring rod, not a rod to thrash his children,
but that by which he measures out all their pains, sorrows,
and troubles. Oh, what a mercy for us to know
that in unchanging love he has measured out to us every affliction
and disappointment, Herein we find our sweet comfort and consolation. Our sorrows in the scale he weighs
and measures out our pains. The wildest storm his word obeys,
his word its rage restrains. When our dearest comforts fall
before his sovereign will, he never takes away our all. Himself
he gives us still. Himself. Let me close. A few weeks ago, as you know,
Robin and I went up to Winston, Georgia, where Brother Terry
Worth and Pastor Paul Mahan was preaching up there. Pat and Terry
were there that night, too. And the closing hymn, they said,
we're going to close with number so-and-so. I didn't have a clue. I looked at that hymn, and I
thought, man, I've never heard this hymn in my life. I tried
to fake it, but that just made it more obvious. I just didn't know it. But by the grace of God, I know
this song. I know this hymn. God's taught it in his teaching.
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name give glory
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. And pretty soon, I'm going
to sing it perfectly, in every way, with an unsinning heart. I'm going to sing it perfectly.
Revelation 5 verse 9, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou
art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof,
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy own
blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. I read a story the other day,
and I'm done. A pastor was visiting a dear friend, a fellow believer,
as he was dying. This poor man, well, no, not
really. He wasn't poor. He had experienced
the riches of God's grace. He was soon to be in glory. But his friend asked him when
he visited, how are you doing today? And this man answered,
my head is resting very sweetly on three pillows. God's infinite
power is infinite love and is infinite wisdom. I can rest there,
can't you? And when, in scenes of glory,
I sing the new, new song, it will be the old, old story that
I have loved so long. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us. God bless you. Thank you for
your teaching.