Turn back, if you will, to Psalm
39. We've read it already together. Our text will be primarily David's
answer to his question in verse 7. Now, last Sunday we preached
from Psalm 118. This verse, the stone which the
builders refused the leaders, the teachers, is become the headstone
of the corner. And we consider this They rejected
it, but still, the Lord raised him up. This is the Lord's doing,
and it's marvelous in our eyes. God's marvelous work, laying
the foundation for His church in the glorious person of His
own Son. I want to consider this morning
some of the blessed, blessed fruit of that glorious transaction. There's some sweet, sweet comfort
to be derived from that. God has exalted His Son What's
that mean to you and I? I think, as I mentioned last
Sunday, I'll repeat myself. If it is well with Him, if it's
well with Him, Christ the Captain of my salvation, it's going to
be well with me. I'm not responsible. I like that. I'm not responsible for my own
keeping. I'm not responsible to guard
and keep myself and present myself before God in glory. That's not
my responsibility. That's His. That's His. And I'm
in good, good hands. David, after he considered, as
we read in the first six verses, the vanity. The word means the
emptiness. The emptiness. The dissatisfaction
that this world has to offer. He turns himself back to his
God. Turns himself to God. The God who is self-existent.
The true God. All creatures will die, but the
fullness of our Redeemer shall abide forever." That's where
David looks, with expectation and confidence, away from the
sand, the vanity of life, to the rock that God has laid and
not man. David had but one hope. You notice what he said, my hope,
not my hopes, plural, One hope, my hope, is in thee. And that hope entered within
the veil, where he bought his boat to a safe anchor, to the
harbor of rest, and after seeming to drift for a little while,
now he rests easy. Everything, I repeat on earth,
must fade and die. Everything. Everything. No wonder David said, Lord, you
teach me this. I can't learn it on my own. I'll
forget it on my own. You teach me this. Teach me this
again and again and again, because it's a lesson I tend to forget.
Do I ever really learn it? Teach me the number of my days.
Teach me how frail I am. Everything on earth will fade
and die. Last night, I read an email Bobby
sent me. She said, Larry, it's been sort
of a bittersweet day. Attended the funeral of her daddy
Herman's cousin that died 94 years old. She said, Larry, he
was the last mansion. The last mansion. It's ended. Oh, but thank God. Thank God. That one in whom we live because
he lives, Oh, he has an inheritance that will never end. God will
remain unchanging and everlasting. Flowers will wither and fade. Creature comfort will all dry
up. But the tree of life, the tree
of life, the Lord Jesus Christ will always flourish. How about
that? will always flourish. The wells
of salvation will never run dry. They'll always be full. Our great
high priest, there is never a time that this can't be said of him.
He's always full of grace and truth. How much? As much as you
need. As much as you need, as much
as you require. More than that. No wonder The
Lord by the prophet said this, Oh, everyone that thirsteth. See, that's not the problem.
God can quench every thirst. Every thirsty soul that wants
salvation. Every true sinner being made
that way by God the Holy Spirit. That sacred work that only He
can do when it gets men lost and gets them thirsty. Oh, that's
a blessed place to be. That's a glorious state in which
to find yourself if God makes you thirsty. There must be more. Is this all there is to life?
I live a little while, then I lay down and die. Is this all there
is? Oh, I'm thirsty. I want more. Why am I here? What's the reason
for all this? Where am I going? Are you thirsty
to know the living God? Listen, ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And here's good news, he that
have no money, no money, Come ye and buy and eat, yea, come
buy wine and milk without money and without price. It's free. It's all free. Why do you spend
money for that which satisfieth not? And we come to our text. Here's the title of my message
from verse 7. Hope's sure foundation. Hope's sure foundation. David, again, call your attention
to it, begins with the question, and now, Lord, what wait I for? What is my expectation? What
is my confidence? To whom shall I look? He's already
said, I'm nothing. All earthly things are nothing.
There are no basis for confidence or consolation in them. What
wait I for? In life, in death, in a dying
world, in a coming judgment? In that time when I stand before
a holy God, what do I need most? What will matter then? Oh God,
get my attention. What will matter then? I made
mention of this in my article in your bulletin this morning.
When they put me into that operating room, or that area just before
they wheeled you into the operating room, and the fella came over
and he said, we're gonna put you to sleep. I said, all right,
that's just about all I remember until I woke up. But I had this
sweet thought, as I mentioned in that article. One of these
days, one of these days, John, when I close my eyes, when I
go to sleep for the last time, and as David said in another
place, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. He's ever watching over his sheep. And I open my eyes, I'll be beholding
the king and his beauty. Wow. Wow. I can't think of a
better word. Wow. Behold Him, O what is my
greatest need? For what salvation for a sinner,
works or grace? What wait I for? What consolation
for an earthly pilgrim, a sufferer, earthly or heavenly? Remember
what Peter asked, or rather exhorted, Sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts, he wrote, and be ready always. to give an answer to
every man that asks you a reason. A child of God has the best reason
in the world as the basis for his hope. Now religious folks
just talk about what? Facts and figures and doctrine. Our hope is in the Lord. Our hope is in the Lord Jesus
Christ and all those glorious doctrines. Doctrines of grace
are what you want to call them. They all center in Him and they
find their beauty in Him. It's in Him that we were chosen.
Jesus Christ died for us. Jesus Christ rose again. Jesus
Christ intercedes for His people. Our hope is in Him. That's exactly
what David said. Peter said, be ready to give
an answer. of every man that asks you a reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear. Hmm. A hope of heaven. That's not a small thing. A hope
of eternal salvation. I know just about everybody you
know, most of our neighbors, most of our relations, they all
say they have a hope. A hope to go to heaven when I
die, when it's all over, a hope to be there when I die. What's
the reason? What's the basis of it? What
reason do you have to think such a thing? A hope of eternal salvation. The hope of hearing these words
that our Lord spoke in Matthew chapter 25 when he spoke about
that day. when all men will gather before
him, and he'll separate them as the shepherd divides his sheep
from his goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king
say, the king, his word has power. The king speaks as never a man
spoke. The king speaks with absolute
authority. What he says goes. And the king
was saying to them on his right hand, come, come, you blessed
of my father. Oh, can you imagine that? To
tell you the truth, John, I can't. My imagination just won't reach
that high. And the king was saying to them
on his right hand, come, you blessed of my father. Inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. But he didn't stop there, did
he? In verse 41 of Matthew 25, he said this, Then shall he say
also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me. Lord, my hope
is in thee. Depart from me. There's no grace
except by thee. Depart from me. There's no salvation
except you condescend to do so. Depart from me. Abandon hope. All ye that enter here, depart
from me, ye cursed in the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels. Oh, how sweet to turn to these
words and answer to David's question, Lord, what wait I for? My hope,
my hope is in thee. My hope is in the triune God. Sweet it is that our hope should
rest on him who is never shaken. who shall always abide, who never
changes. Isn't that sweet? Change and
decay all around, I see. Oh, but thou who changes not,
my sovereign, my God, my Savior, oh, He abides with me." Edward
Mote was a preacher some years ago, a pastor. He wrote the hymn,
The Solid Rock. We used that tune for our bulletin
hymn a moment ago. When he was dying, he said this,
I think I'm nearing the port, the harbor. But the truth I have
preached I'm living upon. And they will do me to die upon.
Oh, the precious blood, he said. The precious blood which takes
away all my sin. It is this which makes peace
with God. You remember what he wrote? My
hope is built on nothing less, all this is sweet, than Jesus'
blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. His hope, His oath, His
covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood. When all
around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. My hope is in Thee. Nothing else,
nothing less, and nothing better. There is nothing better. I only find hope when God makes
me to realize that there's no hope anywhere else. That's exactly
right. That's exactly right. You'll
not have Christ as your only hope until you cast aside everything
else, like blind Bartimaeus. Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy
on me. And he's told, Barnabas, come.
The master's calling for you. And he cast aside his robe, his
filthy rag. He threw it aside. He came to
Jesus empty-handed and found all that he needed in him. Justification,
redemption, atonement, sanctification, glorification are glorious truths. in God's Word, but they are also
truths that are experienced in the heart of a believer. There's
a vast difference, a vast difference in studying doctrine and having
that stamped upon your heart in the new birth by the Holy
Spirit. Then you can say, oh, I have
comfort. I have comfort. I don't stand on the outside
any longer looking in. Oh, I embrace Him like Simeon. I've taken Him in my arms. I've
experienced His mercy. I've experienced His grace. I
know that my Redeemer liveth. The Lord is my hope. It's not an imaginary thing.
No, no. The sure foundation on which
a believer rests, his hope for time and eternity, is as real
as Christ Himself. It's a sure foundation, a real
redemption. The believer's hope is called
this. In Romans chapter 8 verse 34, we are saved by hope, Paul
wrote, but hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth,
why doth he get hope for? Chapter 15 of Romans verse 4,
whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. Galatians chapter 1 verse 5. The hope which is laid up for
you in heaven. How about that Billy? The hope
that is laid up for you in heaven. Peter said reserved for you in
heaven. I think I probably told you this
before. It used to be when Donnie Bell,
the pastor there in Lantana in Crossville, Tennessee Montana
Grace Church would have me up sometimes, and he'd say, Larry,
I'll book you a room. I'd say, that'd be fine. And
I was working then, and I'd leave on Saturday morning after working
all week and get down there. Sometimes, a few times, I'd check
in, or tried to check in, and say, Larry, Chris, there's a
room for me. No, there's not. No, you're making a mistake.
No, there's no mistake. Somebody's forgot. Nobody's booked
a room for you. And I'd say, that Donny Bell,
listen, Jesus Christ, in His name, has made a reservation
for me in glory. And it's never going to be canceled.
It'll never be forgotten. Oh, that's a good hope, is it
not, laid up for you in heaven. Titus chapter 2, verse 13, looking
for that blessed hope, that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 6, that
by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to
lie, we might have strong consolation, and who have fled for refuge
to lay hold upon the hope that is for us, which hope we have,
present tense, as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,
which entereth into that within the veil. Hope cast its anchor
upon the rock of ages within the veil. And though on this
end, holding the anchor, the chain, we might be tossed upon
a stormy sea, oh, that chain enters within the veil, held
fast there in the hands of my sovereign God. It must be. How could it not be? Well, with
my soul. 1 Peter 1, verse 3, Blessed be
the God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to His abundant mercy, have begotten us again unto a living hope,
a lively hope. Oh, these are not dead things.
These are realities. A living hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. And you remember, we're told
that Christ rose as the first Prince of His people. Because
He's entered into glory, we'll follow Him into glory. These
are they, we read in Revelation 14, concerning that multitude
before the throne. These are they which follow the
Lamb wherever He goes. wherever he goes, we'll follow
him. Father, this is my will. This
is part of my last will and testament, that all those you've given me
be with me where I am. They'll follow me wherever I
go. Blessed, blessed thought. That's
a good hope, is it not? 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 16. Now the Lord Jesus Christ himself
and God, even our Father, The Lord said, I send unto my God
and your God, unto my Father and your Father, go tell my disciples
that, Mary, which have loved us and have given us everlasting
consolation and good hope through grace. Good hope through grace. Think of that. Not good hope
through works. No, no, no. Not good hope through
my worth, through my merit. Oh, not my worth. but he is. How much is he worth? How worthy
is he? How much value to God the Father
is he? Of how much merit is he that
stands before God as my representative? No wonder Paul says, God hath
forgiven you for Christ's sake. What will God not do for Christ's
sake? Will God deny his son any good
thing? Oh no, he promised that he wouldn't.
And all these blossoms that sprang from a good hope find their root
right here. The triune God of all grace. There's hope, sure foundation. Isaiah chapter 28 again, the
Lord speaking. Therefore, verse 16, therefore,
thus saith the Lord God, behold, behold, Pause. Take a look at this. Behold,
I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth in him
shall not make haste. Don't worry. Don't panic. It's well. Compare that to what
our Lord told Peter in Matthew 16. Peter, whom do men say that
I, the Son of God, am? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed art thou,
Simon Bar-Jonah. You can take those words of our
Lord and make them your own. He speaks to every child of God,
not just Peter, but he says to everyone that has this blessed
confession that Jesus is the Christ. He says to them, Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. for flesh and blood have not
revealed this unto thee. You can't learn this by yourself,
neither can you be taught it by any other man. But my Father
which is in heaven, and Peter, I say unto thee, upon this rock
I'll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. And Jesus Christ is that rock. My hope is in thee, God Almighty. The psalmist turns back to his
God, knowing all this is true of what he said about the vanity
of this world. As our Lord himself said to that
poor woman at the well that day, that hot afternoon when she came
out to the well, why at the hottest part of the day would she come
to carry water? Because she didn't want to be seen. She figured
that would be the time most likely she could slip into the well,
get her water, and go home without anybody knowing she was around.
because they all knew who she was, what she was. And our Lord,
the fountain of living water, said to her, whoever drinks of
this water shall thirst again. Whosoever drinketh of this water
shall thirst again. Drink as long as you like, as
deep as you like, as often as you like, but you're going to
thirst again. it won't satisfy. You won't find
satisfaction in that. Oh, but when the soul finds here
no true content, and like Noah's dove can find no sure footing
to take, she does return from whence she first was sent, and
flies to him that first her wings did make. David said, Lord, I'll
return back to you. My hope is in thee. Oh, how sweet
is that hope. that rest upon him who is never
shaken, should abide in him who never changes, should bind us
to him who can hold us fast, who alone is the full contentment
of the soul. Whosoever shall drink of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst again." Someone
said that the Father, God the Father, is all the fullness of
the Godhead invisible. No man has seen God in any time.
Oh, but God the Son, He's the fullness of God manifested in
the flesh. If you've seen me, you've seen
the Father. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. And the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as the only begotten
of the Father full of grace and truth, and the Holy Spirit is
all the fullness of God acting upon the chosen sinner." 1 Corinthians
2, verses 9 and 10. But as it is written, I have
not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God had prepared for them that love him. But God had revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. In fact, wherever you
find the three persons of the Holy Trinity presented together,
it's always in connection, always in connection with redemption
and grace and salvation. Wherever you find God alone,
oh, someone wisely said, I want nothing to do with the Holy God
outside of Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, God is nothing. He can be nothing. except a consuming
fire. Oh, I want to be found. And the
all-seeing, all-knowing God shall find every one of us. Oh, but
by His grace, I want to be found in His Son, accepted in to be
loved." In other words, the whole being of God, in all of His attributes,
in all of His glory, in the Trinity of His blessed persons, is set
for the everlasting salvation of His Think about that. Salvation is of the Lord. Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Salvation is of the Lord. Listen
to what he says in Jeremiah chapter 32. And I will make, this is
God speaking, verses 40 and 41. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them. and I will not turn away from
them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts that
they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them
to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with
my whole heart and with my whole soul." That's God's purpose. That's God's will. The fountain
of all grace is from God the Father, of Him. The medium, the
channel of all grace is through God the Son. And God the Holy
Spirit is the administrator of all that grace. That's why in
scripture it's called what is just about unheard of in most
churches today, the covenant of grace. God's covenant of grace. Hebrews chapter 13, now the God
of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,
that great shepherd of the sheep. through the blood of the everlasting
covenant." Brought again. Brought again. In the Greek,
it would read this way. Not a God of peace that brought
up again. Brought up again. What did Pilate
say when the builders, the Pharisees asked for a guard to be placed
at the tomb of our Lord? When he was dead, Pilate said,
he spoke, I think, prophetically, without realizing it. He said,
here, I'll give you the guard. Seal the tomb. Make it as sure
as you can. And they did, didn't they? They
made it as sure as they could. I imagine they said, well, we're
done with him. We're done with Jesus of Nazareth,
son of God indeed. We're done with him. Oh, but
up from the grave he arose. Up from the grave he arose with
a mighty triumph. or his foes, and now he's seated
at the right hand of God. God brought him up, and the shepherd
will bring the flock up too, to be with him wherever he is. Make you perfect, Hebrews 13
again, in every good work to do his will, working in you,
that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. the sweet psalmist. When he lay upon his deathbed,
again, perhaps the most sweetest time of all, he said, my hope
is in thee. My hope is in thee. 2 Samuel chapter 23. Now these
be the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, said,
And the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, Although my
house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things ensured, for this is all my salvation, in all my desire, though he make
it not to grow. My house, David knew that it
was corruption, grace, not grace that ran through his bloodline.
Simple nature is what his children inherited from him, not grace. When our hearts break, what a
comfort it is to look away to the covenant. Look away to that covenant, ordered
in all things ensure. And there are times when it seems
like God is making it not to grow. Oh, but yet, don't you
love that sweet word, yet? Blessed certainty, no matter,
listen, no matter what our outward circumstances might be at any
time, God's covenant stands sure, ordered in all things insure,
yet. There is an everlasting covenant
of grace ordered in all things, according to not our works or
our worth or our will, but according to God's eternal purpose of grace
given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ before the world began.
That's all our salvation. That's all of our hope. And there
it stands, sure. Sure. As sure as Christ cannot
fail. As sure as the Holy Spirit comes
to every chosen sinner, that was chosen by the Father and
redeemed by the Son and gives them life and faith in Christ,
as sure as that. In other words, as long as salvation
is of the Lord, it shall be sure. I like this, Isaiah chapter 53. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him, to crush him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.
He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities."
Psalm 132. The Lord has sworn in truth unto
David, he will not turn from him. Of the fruit of thy body
will I set up upon my throne, incline your ear and come unto
me. Herein your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. Behold, David's son and David's
God." He's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. My hope is in thee,
the triune God. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Picture this. There's an ark
being tossed on a raging sea. The heavens are black above.
It's been raining for days. Neither sun nor stars appear.
All around is a waste of wilderness and nothing but water. But look,
look. There's a window opened in the
ark, and a worried bird is seen fluttering and bearing in its
mouth an olive branch, a picture of hope. Picture again. an old weary patriarch, the father
of the faithful, making his way through a wilderness, a world,
looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. He's got a staff in his hand,
he's leaning hard upon it. You know what it is? It's the
staff of hope. Another picture. There sits a
man in dust, cloth, and ashes. He's lost everything. He's lost
everything, but not really. Because hope turns his heart
to sing, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Nothing's changed that. Nothing can touch that. Now the
God of hope, Romans 15 and 13, now the God of hope, fill you
with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through
the power of the Holy Spirit. Let me close by just reciting,
reading to you a few lines from an old hymn. I think I've used
it before, but it's a good one. Listen to these words. And when
the weary pilgrim gains the height of some overlooking hill, His
heart revives if across the plains he eyes his home, though distant
still. While he surveys that much-loved
spot, he slights the space that lies between. His past fatigues
are now forgot, because his journey's end is seen. Thus when the Christian
pilgrim views, by faith his mansion in the skies, the sight his fainting
strength renews, and wings its speed to reach the prize. The
thought of home his spirit cheers, no more he grieves for troubles
past, nor any future trial he fears, so he may safe arrive
at last. Tis there, he says, I am to dwell,
with Jesus in the realms of day." My hope is in day. It's a good
hope, a sure hope, a steadfast hope. It is there, he says, I
am to dwell with Jesus in the realms of day. Then I shall bid
my cares farewell, and he shall wipe all my tears away. My hope is in thee. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention.