Back in Psalm 39, David, as we mentioned in the
reading, after seeing and experiencing the uncertainty of earthly riches,
along with the shortness of life, his life, our life, he then turns
his eyes heavenward to the eternal God over all. He had looked around
and he said, all is vanity. He had looked within and drew
the same conclusion. All but now, verse 7 beginning
there, he looks to where his help is really found. He looks
up, not around, not within. He looks up to God, his everlasting
portion, all now. Now the ship is beginning to
steady. Now he's standing on solid ground. He's resting now on the eternal
rock of ages. That foundation that God said
he laid, not man, that rock of which our Lord said he was, and
the church being built upon him, every individual believer, the
gates of hell shall not prevail against them. There is a hymn
in our book, our hymn book, called Count Your Blessings. Count your
blessings. And the hymn says, count your
many blessings, name them one by one. Now that would be a profitable
exercise. It would do us good, but it's
an impossible task to count them one by one. Psalm 139, Turn there,
if you will, for a moment. We'll come back to Psalm 39.
Psalm 139, beginning at verse 14. Again, one of David's Psalms,
and he says at verse 14, I will praise thee for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. Not the result of a big bang.
The result of my Creator and my God. Marvelous are thy works. and that my soul knoweth right
well. My substance was not hid from
thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance,
yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of
them." And David's response to that wondrous thought is this,
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God, my soul to think. God thought of me." I believe
it's Isaiah 55. He says, your thoughts are not
my thoughts. Your ways are not my ways. My
thoughts are much higher than yours. And among those thoughts,
God thought of his people. Never been a time, there's no
time with God. Never been a time, I don't know
how else to put it, that God didn't think upon his people
good thoughts. Thoughts of everlasting love,
mercy and grace. David says, oh how precious also
are thy thoughts unto me, oh God. How great is the sum of
them. If I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with
thee. Yes, the count your many blessings
would be, like David said, an impossible task. Too high can
attain unto it. Along probably with most of you,
this past week I watched the funeral of President George H. W. Bush. And I learned something
that I didn't know that the route that the funeral procession took
to the place where the service was to be conducted was the same
route that he took when he was first elected president. going
to the White House. When I heard the news anchor
say that, I thought of what Paul wrote to Timothy. He said, it's
certain that we brought nothing into this world. And it's certain
we're not going to take anything out. Just like you came, you're
going to go. I also thought of this. Some things that all men saved
and lost alike, all men, all women, we all have in common. It happens to every one of us.
It has happened, some of these things already, and it will happen,
these other things. We're born into this world one
time, just one time. We have one life. Some may live
longer than others, but still all have only one life, and then
we die. One time. One time. Paul in Hebrews
9 said, it is appointed unto men once to die. Behold, I go the way of all flesh. But that's not all. This, too,
we all have in common. Every one of us, after death,
shall stand before God in judgment one time. Again, Paul in Hebrews
9 said, yes, it's appointed unto man once to die, but after this,
the judgment. You remember when Paul was in
Athens? He went to Mars Hill where all
the philosophers gathered to match wits And Paul said, let
me tell you something about whom you confess is an unknown God
to you. Let me tell you about Him, the
true God. Verse 31 of Acts 17, Paul says,
because that is God, had appointed a day. My, so what a solemn thought. God has appointed a day in which
He will judge the world in righteousness. his own righteousness, his own
standard of righteousness. By that man whom he had ordained,
whereof he had given assurance unto all men, and that he had
raised him from the dead. The child of God. We may not
always do it, but we should. There was nothing about judgment
that should be a matter of fear for a child of God. Because as
the hymn writer put it, dressed in his righteousness alone of
Christ, that makes me faultless to stand before the throne. God's not angry with his people.
No, God's already judged his people in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're accepted in to be loved. We're not fearful. We shouldn't
be fearful of that day. No, because we'll not hear depart
from me. Oh, by the mercy and grace of
God being accepted in Christ Jesus, we'll hear enter into
the joy prepared for you. But for some, those things that
we all have in common as men, there are some for some rather,
that something takes place between their birth and their death that
will bring them before God except. That will present them before
God without a fault or a blemish or any such thing. That will Be the reason they shall never
hear, as we've already mentioned, depart from me, but enter in. They have an experience that
all men don't have. As God told Moses concerning
the children of Israel, they're going to know. Everybody's going
to know that God puts a difference between Israel and the Egyptians. God made a difference. And it's
only that that makes us to differ. God didn't redeemed Egypt. He redeemed his people. God didn't
bring Egypt through the Red Sea. They were drowned in the Red
Sea, so many of them. But his people, he did. He led
them to the promised land. And so it is. For his people,
they experienced the grace of God. They're called out of darkness
into his marvelous light. They have Christ revealed in
them. They're given life and faith
by the mighty operation of God's Holy Spirit to see the Redeemer. My soul, when you think about
that, bless God, are we not bound to give thanks? God chose us. Selah, selah. That demands a
selah. That demands a pause. That demands
a time out. That demands some holy wonder. God chose them to salvation. Here's another. Christ redeemed
them with his own precious blood. Now I know in our religious day
people talk about a redemption made for people who end up in
hell anyway. My soul. What? What comfort could you get out
of such a thing as that? If Christ did no more for me
than he did for Judas, now it's Judas' fault that he went to
hell. It wasn't God's fault, it was Judas' fault. If any man's
lost, it's his own fault. It's because he will not come
to Christ. And yet, if I'm redeemed, it's
because Christ redeemed me. He shed for me his own precious
blood. And by doing so, he obtained
eternal redemption for his people. He did it then at Calvary. Nothing I do in time shall ever
affect that, or add to it, or take from it. And the blessed
Holy Spirit of God, he comes to those that were appointed,
purposed by God to salvation, redeemed by Christ, and gives
them life and faith in Christ again. See, think about that. Billy, think about that. My soul,
what a wonder. No wonder that old slave trader,
after being called out of darkness into God's marvelous light, sat
down and wrote, ooh, this is amazing. This is just amazing. It's amazing grace that saved
a wretch like me. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians
6 and 11, after giving that list of thieves and revilers and extortioners
and adulterers and whoremongers, he said, and such were some of
you. And such were some of you. But But, you're not like that
anymore. You're washed, you're sanctified,
you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Spirit of our God. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, Paul
says in verses 9 and 10, For God had not appointed us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation eternal salvation everlasting salvation
but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ that's what
we're appointed to who died for us that is Jesus Christ that
whether we wake or sleep we should live together with him again
Peter wrote in his first epistle chapter 2 but You're a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, my what descriptions, a holy nation, a peculiar people,
that you should show forth the praises of him who has called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in times
past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which
had not obtained mercy, but now have attained mercy. Or as David
put it, sum it all up, put all in one basket, and he says in
verse 7, my hope is in thee. Period. Period. Now there are multitudes of people,
God's word teaches us this, that are without hope, that have no
hope. How could they have? They're
without God. They're without God because they're
without Christ. Without Christ, they're without
salvation. Therefore, they have no hope. And then there are multitudes,
the Lord taught, that have a false hope. That's even worse. In ways, that's even worse. Worse
than having no hope is having a false hope. Being lost and
not knowing it. Trusting something other than
Christ. That's how the Pharisees were,
weren't they? Again and again, they said to
the Lord Jesus Christ, we don't need you. Who do you think you
are? What do you mean you're the way,
the truth? We've got Abraham for our father.
We've got Moses. We don't need you. A false hope. Oh, but then there is the believer's
hope. The believer's hope. That's to
assure certain hope that rests on, that looks to, that trusts
in Jesus Christ. That's what believers have. A
God-given, a God-honoring hope in the triune God. Blessed is
the man who can say with David, my hope is in thee. That is, God alone. The psalmist, therefore, right
in the midst of this song, turns to God in disgust of all things
else, everything else. He's thought on the world and
everything in it and is relieved to know that such vain things
are passing away. Thank God. Thank God that this
world is not our home. Thank God that we're just passing
through. Would you want to live here forever?
No. I think often, often, when someone,
I've heard this, I don't know from how many suffering saints,
when the time draws near, they say, Larry, I'm tired of this. Boy, I want God to call me home. They're ready. They're ready.
God makes them ready to let go. The Lord, the self-existent,
true, living God, His fullness will abide forever. David looks
to Him with expectation and confidence. Away from the sand to the rock,
as a wise master builder, he builds his hope. David had but
one hope, and that hope entered within the veil, where he brought
his vessel to a safe anchor. And after a little drifting,
all was well. All was at peace again. Though
everything here on earth must fade and die, God changes not. God will remain unchangeable
and everlasting. Flowers and gourds, as Jonah
found, will wither. The streams of all creatures
come will sooner or later dry up. Every relationship will be
dissolved, everyone. But the tree of life will always
flourish. The wells of salvation will never
run dry. Lady, our Lord said to that woman
at the well, you drink of the water that I'm talking about
and you'll never thirst again. Behold Jesus Christ full of grace
and truth. Verse 7 again of the psalm speaks
up a believer's hope. It begins with the question though
the verse does, and now Lord what do I wait for? What's my
expectation? David asked himself. Where's
my confidence? To whom should I look? Because
I'm nothing, the world's nothing, All earthly sources of confidence
and consolation fail. So what do I wait for? In life,
in death, in a dying world, in a coming judgment, in an eternity
at hand? What is it that I need? What
do I wait for? A salvation based on works through
grace? What do I wait for for my consolation
as a sufferer? Earthly hope or a heavenly hope?
And here's the answer. David's answer, every believer's
answer. He says, my hope, my hope is
in thee. Sweet it is that our hope should
rest on him who is never shaken, abides in him who never changes. Oh, what a glorious hope. Someone
said this, put it this way, The Father, that is God the Father,
is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible. No man has seen God
at any time. Oh, but the Son is all the fullness
of the Godhead manifested. If you've seen me, you've seen
the Father, Christ said. The only begotten Son which is
in the bosom of the Father, He had 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 chosen sinners. 1 Corinthians
2 verses 9 and 10. For it is written, I have not
seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But,
it doesn't stop there. Verse 10 says, But God hath revealed
him unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God. In fact, I learned this in preparing
this message. In fact, whenever the three,
all three persons of the Trinity are presented together in Scripture,
it is always, I couldn't find an exception, it is always in
connection with redemption, and grace and salvation. No wonder we sing, praise God
from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here
below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. They all, they all play the part
in our salvation. Whenever on the other hand, only
one person of the Trinity is presented alone by himself, the
result is judgment. Notice that in reading the scriptures.
Whenever they're presented alone, apart from one another, the result
is judgment. In other words, I want nothing
to do with a holy God to you outside of Jesus Christ. There's
one mediator between man and God, and it's not Mary, and it's
not the Pope, and it's not the preacher, and it's not the Baptist. There's one mediator, and that
mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ. God allow sinners to come to
Him, nothing, nothing takes place, nothing comes from God to us,
nothing ascends to God from us, except it passes through the
channel, the mediator of the Lord Jesus Christ. When all three
of the divine persons are set before us together, the consequence
is always mercy, always grace, always redemption and salvation. Is that not what we're told in
Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3? You know the verse well. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with some spiritual blessings. You know better than that. He
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. How? In Christ Jesus. And Paul goes on to say we're
chosen in Christ. We're predestinated in Christ,
we're adopted in Christ, we're accepted in Christ, we're redeemed
by Christ, called to Christ, and kept by Christ. In other
words, the whole being of God, in all his attributes, in all
his glory, in the trinity of his persons is set for the everlasting
salvation of his elect. I put a note at the end of that
statement. Repeat that. The whole being of God, the triune
God, in all his attributes, in all his glory, in the trinity
of his persons is set for the everlasting salvation of his
elect. No wonder David said, my hope
is in thee. Oh, and what a glorious hope
it is. The fountain of all grace is God the Father. It originated
with Him. It was His purpose. The medium,
the channel of all grace is God the Son. It comes through Him. And God the Holy Spirit is the
administrator, if you will, of all grace. He bestows this grace
God purposed and Jesus Christ purchased. Redemption was effectually
accomplished for God's elect by Christ at Calvary. And it
is effectually applied to all the redeemed by God the Holy
Spirit in effectual calling. Without the sovereign, gracious
operations of God the Holy Spirit in calling sinners to life and
faith, we would never know. We would never become the beneficiary
of grace. What I'm talking about, God's
purpose, Christ's purchase, the Spirit's application, The Scriptures
speak of it as the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace. Along with so many blessed truths
of God's Word. Most professing believers don't
have a clue what that is. Don't want to know. Oh, but we
rejoice in it, don't we? This is what Paul was speaking
of when he closed his epistle to the Hebrews. Now the God of
peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,
that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood, through the
blood, meaning as agreed to, as the father promised his son
he would do once he fulfilled all the stipulations of the covenant.
Through the blood of their everlasting covenant. In the Greek where
we read brought, it is brought up again. I will give you the healing for
your inheritance. Son, sit thou at my right hand. God hath highly exalted his son
and given him a name above every name. Why? Because he failed?
Because he only made something possible? Oh no, because he accomplished. Call his name Jesus. Now we'll
hear that over and over. You'll see that on churches marquees
all over town. in the next few weeks, Christmas
time. Call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sins. Oh my soul. And never stop and
consider the truth of that, the glory of that, the hope of that,
the comfort in that. He shall. He shall. Blessed be his name. He shall
save his people, all of his people, from all of their sins. Glory
to his name. He has and he will get the job
done as promised. God brought again from the dead
the Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep. God brought
the shepherd and the shepherd is going to bring the flock.
God raised up the shepherd and the shepherd is going to raise
up all the sheep. God honored the shepherd and the shepherd
is going to honor his sheep. open the gates of glory to welcome
his victorious son, and the son will bring all of his sheep to
glory as well and say, Father, they're all here, I've lost none,
everyone you gave me, everyone you put into my hand in that
everlasting covenant of grace before the world was, that I
promised to do for, die for, live for, intercede for, every
one of them, Father, they're here, I've lost none, I've lost
none, woo, my hope is in The verse 21 of Hebrews 13, make
you perfect 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. And of course, David,
2 Samuel chapter 23, this is what he speaks of on his deathbed. Now David looked back like every
believer. He says, man, I got some regrets.
Got some regrets. Wish I'd have never done that.
Wish I'd have never allowed that. As the faithful prophet told
him, the sword's never going to leave your house, David. And
it was his own fault. But then he speaks of a yet. Second Samuel 23 verse 1. Now
these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said,
the man who was raised up on high and anointed of the God
of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, verse 5, although,
believer, we all say the same thing. We all say the same thing.
Although my house be not so with God. Oh, rebels, just rebels. Would the God, David cried that
I could have died for you Absalom, oh Absalom, Absalom, my son Absalom,
you died like a fool. Though my house be not so would
God. Yet, yet, He had made with me
an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things insure. This is
all my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow."
David knew that it was corruption, not grace, that he passed down
to his children. Grace doesn't run in bloodlines.
Sinful nature is passed on to our children. We say he's a chip
off the old block, and I found out, yeah, he sure is, sad to
say. When our heart's breaking, what a comfort it is to look
away to the covenant, ordered in all things insure. Sometimes
it seems God's purpose in our life comes to a standstill. He maketh it not to grow, but
beneath the scaffolding the building is rising. Under the ground the
harvest seeds are swelling. they'll bring forth our Lord
said he will rather much fruit yes yes don't you yes I have
regrets yes I have so much to change I would change
it but yes blessed sir no matter what our outward circumstances
might be at any time God's covenant is standing firm. Yet, there
is an everlasting covenant of grace ordered in all things,
not according to our works, our worth, or our will, but according
to God's eternal purpose of grace given us in Christ Jesus before
the world was. And David says, that's all my
salvation, and all my hope, and that stands sure. as sure as
God is able to perform all that He purposed, as sure as Christ
did not fail, as sure as the Holy Spirit comes to every chosen
by the Father, redeemed by the Son's sinner, and gives them
life and faith in Christ. In other words, as sure as long
as salvation is of the Lord, then it's sure. It's sure. Isaiah 53, Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him, that is, his son, his shepherd. 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 him
to develop his soul, and shall be satisfied for the joy that
was set before him. the joy of bringing many sons
to glory. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Psalm 132 verse 11. The Lord has sworn in truth unto
David, and he will not turn from it. Of the fruit of thy body
will I sit upon thy throne. Isaiah 53, verse 55 rather, verse
3. Incline your ear and come unto
me, hear, hear, and 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, the Lord Jesus Christ." Oh, how blessed we are if we
can say truthfully, my hope is in thee, the triune God. You
know the hymn that says, God moves in a mysterious way, his
wonders to perform. Ah, but he plants his footsteps
in the sea, and he rides. In glorious sovereign majesty,
he rides above the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works
his sovereign will. He fearful saints, fresh courage
take. The clouds he so much dreads.
are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. My hope is in thee, the triune
God, God the Father, God the Father. Who is more blessed than
that man or woman who has the everlasting God, who rules over
all as his heavenly Father? Our Lord said to Magdalene, Mary,
Mary, you go tell my brethren that I send unto my Father and
their Father and my God and their God. God who rules over everything. To hear our God declare, I am
God and there is none else. I am God and there is none like
me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand
and I will do all my pleasure. I like that. I have spoken it
and I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it and I will
also do it. With such a God being for us,
who can be against us? Oh, let us bow down before him
in wonders adoration rejoicing that of him and through him and
back to him are all things to him whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. The triune God my hope
is in thee. God the Son, too. Oh, what a
good hope we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. God said concerning
his Son, he shall not fail. He shall save his people from
their sins. Before he was even born, Joseph
was told that. That's why he was named Jesus.
The word means God's salvation, the salvation of the Lord. And
some 33 years after that announcement, This same Jesus shouted from
the cross of Calvary, it is finished. It is finished. And he obtained
eternal redemption for us. God made Jesus Christ sin for
us, his people, and unless God Almighty is unjust, his people
are made the righteousness of God in him. And our glorious
Savior says of His sheep that they shall never perish, but
each will be preserved until they're with Him in the Father's
house forever. My hope is in Thee, God the Holy
Spirit. What a good hope that is, which
the mighty Spirit of God works in every redeemed sinner when
He gives them life and faith in Christ. Judy used to sing
a song in Danville Part of it said, thank you, Lord, for giving
me faith to see Jesus. While she sang it, while I listened,
we were both looking through a glass darkly. Oh, but now she
sees him face to face. The Holy Spirit gave us eyes
to see Jesus Christ. And he will, by his grace, keep
us looking unto Jesus until time shall be no more. And we behold
the King and his beauty. Again, I ask you. who is more
blessed than the man or woman who can say, my hope is in thee,
the triune God. I like the hymn in our hymn book,
Grace is a Charming Sound. Grace is a charming sound, harmonious
to the ear. Heaven with the echo shall resound,
and all the earth shall hear. It was grace that wrote my name
in God's eternal book. It was grace that gave me to
the land. who all my sorrows took. Grace
taught my heart to pray and made my eyes overflow. It is grace
that's kept me to this day and will not, will not let me go. Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abandon hope through
the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Amen. God bless you.