Our text will be taken from verse
23 of Psalm 118. And the title of my message is
this, The Lord's Doing. The Lord's Doing. In Acts chapter 5, we'll come
back to our text in a moment. In Acts chapter 5, you have the
record of the Sanhedrin having all the apostles, it seems all
of them, arrested. and were told there that their
intent was to put them all to death, to slay them. But one
stood up in the midst of them, Gamaliel, that had a little more
sense, it seems, and told him, now, be careful about that. You might want to rethink that.
And he gave this as a reason. Verse 38 of Acts 5. Now I say
unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone. For
if this counsel or this work be of men, It will come to naught. It won't amount to a hill of
beans. We've got nothing to worry about. If it's just them, it
won't amount to anything. It'll come to nothing. But, but,
however, but, if it be of God, if it be of God, you cannot overthrow
it. If it's not them, but God, then
you're wasting your time. You can't stop it. He had more
sense than most preachers today, didn't he? If it be of God, you
cannot overthrow it, lest happily ye be found to fight against
God. And that's what our text says.
It's the Lord's doing. In the context, the exaltation
of David, despite all of Saul's devious exploits to the contrary,
David yet ascended the throne. The son of David, David's God,
David's king, he likewise, it being the Lord's doing, ascended
the throne. The salvation of the sinner?
It's the Lord's doing. It's His work, not man's. If it's man's, it'll come to
naught. It's not our hold on Christ that saves us. You know
that, don't you? I hope you know that. It's not
my hold on Christ that saves me. It's His hold on me. Last Sunday, when we gathered
here, I concluded, or near the conclusion of the message, by
quoting from a hymn. I would like to do that again.
When he reached down, his hand for me. John, I wasn't saved
when I reached up. Oh no, oh no. But when he reached
down his hand toward me, once my soul was astray from the heavenly
way and I was wretched and vile as could be. But, but my Savior
in love gave me peace from above when he reached down his hand
for me. I was near to despair when he
came to me there. Oh what a What a painful work
that is, but how necessary when His grace teaches our hearts
to fear, when He strips us and brings us to despair, to despair
in anything in ourself or in anyone else except His mighty
grace. I was near to despair when He
came to me there, and I was. I remember it. I remember it.
As Jeremiah said, I still have the gall. I still have that in
remembrance. And I was near to despair when
he came to me there. And he showed me that I could
be free. He lifted my feet and gave me
gladness complete when he reached down his hand for me. How my
heart doth rejoice when I hear his sweet voice. And from the
tempest to him I can flee. there to lean on his arms, safe
and secure from all harm, since he reached down his hand for
me. Again, I repeat, it's not my
hold on him, Don, but his hold on me. His grasp of me and his
mighty grip that will not let me go is the reason a sinner
is saved. That's all my salvation and all
my hope. Somebody asked Brother Henry
Mahan one time, Henry, is salvation forever? Is it forever? And Henry said, well, it depends.
It depends on who does the saving. Who does the saving? If this
work be of man, it'll come to naught. Won't amount to anything.
Oh, but if it be of God, if this is the Lord's doing, then you
cannot overthrow it. The wise man wrote these words.
I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. Nothing
can be put to it, nor anything taken from it. If this be God's
work, it shall be forever, and so it is. Many believe that this
psalm, Psalm 118, was written when the foundation of the temple
was laid. That's recorded in the book of
Ezra. You need not turn there, but
just listen while I read it. in chapter 3. And when the builders
laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priest
in their apparel with trumpets. It was a great occasion. And
the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord
after the ordinance of David, king of Israel. And they sang
together by course, one after another, in praising and giving
thanks unto the Lord, because he is good. His mercy endureth
forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with
a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation
of the house of the Lord was laid." Now compare that to this,
this other temple and this other foundation. that our Lord spoke
of when he set upon this rock. Paul said concerning that same
foundation that other foundation can no man lay other than that
which is already laid Christ Jesus the Lord and concerning
that rock our Lord said he would build his church upon it and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The words in that
Psalm that we just read in Ezra are the first verse and the last
verse here in Psalm 118. It begins and ends the same.
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for his mercy endureth forever. Mercy is a great part of God's
goodness. Remember when Moses said, Lord,
show me your glory. Show me your glory. And God said,
Moses, I'll let my goodness pass before you. And remember what
he said? I will have mercy. He whose purpose
cannot be denied, who has his way all the time, says, I will. He who declares, I will do all
my pleasures, says, I will have mercy. There's no doubt about
it. This is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes. It's because of God's mercies
that we are not consumed to despite your sins. Despite my sins, God's
mercy endures forever. Even in our trials, our most
bitter trials, through many dangers, toils and snares, old Newton
said, his mercy endureth forever. There's never a change in God's
mercy. Never a change. Change and decay
all around I see. Out here and in here. All but
God's mercy? God's mercy changes not. It endures forever. He abideth
faithful. He cannot. He cannot deny himself. And to deny his mercy or to suspend
his mercy would be a denial of himself. There will never be
an end to God's mercy. As the psalm began and ended,
it endureth forever. God's mercy is indestructible. And his mercy is not dependent
upon our faithfulness. I want to be faithful. I want
to be faithful to my God, my Redeemer, his glorious gospel,
to you. I want that. I want that. God
helped me to want it more and more. But God's mercy to this
sinner is not dependent upon my faithfulness. And I'm so thankful
that that's so. It's no wonder that we're exhorted
to give thanks unto the Lord. And the life of every child of
God, like this psalm, will begin and end with mercy. Turn, if you will, to Isaiah
chapter 46. Some familiar but such comforting
words here by our God to his people. Isaiah chapter 46. Look at verse 3. Hearken unto
me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel,
which are born by me from the belly. which are carried from
the womb. Someone said, especially in view
of the next verse, which we'll read in a minute, verse 4, from
the womb to the tomb, God's mercy endureth forever. God tells us
here, I was there when you came into the world. I carried you
from the womb. Verse 4, and I won't desert you. Even to your old age, I am he. Nothing will change. Nothing
will change. And even to whore hairs will
I carry you. I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver
you. I won't desert you. One old hymn
says, when I'm growing old in people, stand by me. But our Lord says he'll do more
than that. He'll not simply stand by us. He says, I will carry you. I was there when you entered
the world, and I'll be there when you go out. When I'm leaving
this world, Christ promised I'll be there. I'll never leave you
nor forsake you. What a sweet word of promise
that is. Let every believer, Rip that
with the hand of faith and store it up in your heart because you'll
need it. The time's coming, you'll need
it. That blessed promise that I will never leave you nor forsake
you. Our Lord says never, never. Though your heart be often faint
and you're sick of yourself. Anyone ever told you, I think
I've had it said to me a time or two, I can't stand you. Imagine
that. I can't stand you. And I'll tell
you what, I've got news for them. I can't stand myself, Lester.
I can't stand myself. Is that what Paul said in Romans
7? John referred to it this morning
in his lesson. Oh, wretched man that I am, I
can't stand myself. Who shall deliver me? Oh, but
the Lord says, When you're sick of yourself and your many failures,
and there are so many, and infirmities overwhelm you, even then the
promise will not fail. I'll never leave you. I'll never
leave you. Never. Though the devil whispers,
has he ever done this to you? I'm going to have you at last.
You can end your You're going to quit believing, your faith's
going to fail, and then you're going to be mine. But Christ
says, never. I'll never leave you. Never,
never. When the cold chill of death
is creeping over you, and friends can do no more, they can do no
more. And you're starting on that journey
from which you shall never come back. There's no return. Christ
says, even then, I'll never leave you. I declare. It makes you look forward to
it, doesn't it? To think that in that hour, he'll
hold to my hand. He'll be there. He says, I'll
never leave you. Never. And when the day of judgment
comes and the books are opened, and the dead are rising from
their graves, and death and hell give up the dead that are in
them, and there's no hiding place from the presence of a holy and
just God, Christ's promise will be true even then. Even then
it will bear all the weight of all of his people. Christ says,
I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Many of the Psalms like
this, from which we take our text, are songs of praise to
our God for his faithfulness to his people. Indeed, the very
word Psalm means praise. Did you know that? Psalm means
praise. The Psalms are praises to our
faithful God. Let's look at one or two. Turn
back to Psalm 73. Psalm 73. Hear Aesop or David
who perhaps penned the Psalm and gave it to Aesop. It doesn't
matter. But it's one of God's people, one of those pilgrims
making their way through this journey. And it's an honest confession
of a terrible trial they went through. And the essence of the
trial consisted of this. They were envious at the wicked. They were envious at the wicked.
That's the essence of the trial. Look at verse 22. After confessing
this, The psalmist says, so foolish was I and ignorant. I was as
a beast before thee. That's just the truth. That's
just the honest, truthful confession of the tempted and tried child
of God. But it doesn't end there, does
it? It doesn't end there. God's mercy endureth forever. It's indestructible. Verse 23,
never the less. Don't you like that? Yes, I was
ignorant. Yes, I was as a beast before
thee. Oh, but never the less. Never less mercy. Never less
grace. I am continually before thee. At all times, in all places,
in all circumstances, child of God, there'll never be a moment
in your life, there'll never be a circumstance in which God's
mercy won't abide with you, won't hold you up, won't hold you up
in his mighty arms. He's already reached down for
you, and he'll never, ever let you go. When David, as a young
shepherd lad, tending his father's Father Jesse's sheep. Oh, can
you just picture that? Oh, what sweet fellowship he
had with his God. Lying out there under a tree,
looking over his sheep, he loved them, he protected them, he provided
for them. And then his thoughts soared
toward heaven and he said, oh yeah, yeah. Just like I'm their
shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord's my shepherd. He's
my good shepherd, my chief shepherd, my faithful shepherd. The Lord's
my shepherd. I won't like anything. I shall
not want. Oh, he makes me lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside the still
waters. He restores my soul. He prepares a table for me right
in the presence of my enemies whether they like it or not.
and he'll be with me forever. Surely goodness and mercy, mercy,
everlasting mercy, shall follow me all the days of my life. And after that's over, I'm going
to dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Oh, sweet, sweet
thought. The Lord is my shepherd. For
those other occasions, the opposite of that, when with the heart
aching, and sobbing, that same man says, O against thee, thee
only, have I sinned, O God. I've sinned against you. I've
done this evil in your sight. I'm the man. When faithful and
unfaithful, David tells us, nevertheless. Nevertheless, I am continually
with thee. Why? Because God just won't let
him go. Won't let him go. You know why
you sat here this morning? Desirous, having a heart, the
fellowship with God's people, to hear another message about
your Redeemer. You know why that's so? You know
why you're not in the world and didn't stay in bed? You know
why you came? because God's given you grace, grace that will not
let you go. His grace has brought you safe
thus far, and that same grace, reigning grace, conquering grace,
mighty grace, abundant grace, the kind of grace this sinner
needs, will not let me go. That's what David said, nevertheless.
I am continually with thee. Why, David? Because thou hast
holden me by my right hand. You will not let me go. You remember
when your children were just learning to walk. It's one of
my favorite memories. When they were just learning
to walk and they would just take those faltering steps and they
would grip your hand so tightly. And then when they were a little
bit older, And you'd be with them, crossing the street, and
take their hand, and they would hold your hand so tight, and
I remember telling them, don't be afraid. I'm not going to let
you go. I'm not going to let you go.
Child of God, our Heavenly Father will not let us go. He will not
let us go. You're mine. You're mine. I've
redeemed you. You've been bought with a price.
I've loved you with an everlasting love. Before I created the worlds,
I loved you. I sent my son to die for you. I will not let you go. I'm not
going to let you go. Look at Psalm 118, just a page
over from our text. Psalms 119, I'm sorry. Look what
we read here in verse 116. Psalm 119, 116. Uphold me according unto thy
word That I may live and let me not be ashamed of my hope
hold thou me up Hold it down me up And I shall be safe. I shall be safe When my children they're tear
you two years apart my children their ages Misty's to then Larry
and then Roger two years between One time I took them down to
a, in the woods, and we sat down next to a creek. Took off our
shoes, and as the creek went by, you know, as the rain by,
we put our feet in the water. There sit Misty, there's me,
there's Misty, there's Larry, and there's Roger. And just not
far below where we were sitting, there was a waterfall. Went down on rocks and things. I just happened to glance away
and turned back and there goes a little white head in the creek
float by me and I reached down and snatched him up. It's Roger.
I took my, I didn't take my eyes off of him for half a minute,
Don. And there he went and I reached down and grabbed him, grabbed
him up. Lord, you hold me up. You hold me up in your mighty
hands. And I'll be safe. I'll be safe. And that's what David said. I
was a fool. I was ignorant. I was like a
beast. But nevertheless, nevertheless,
he won't let me go. He won't let me go. Historically, as we say, the
psalm here refers to David. He was anointed by Samuel. You
remember the story. in the house of his father after
all Jesse's sons had passed before him. And God said, no, that's
not him. He told the faithful prophet
Samuel, he sent for the youngest son. And when he came in, the
youngest son, whom they thought wasn't even worth having there
at the time, God spoke to Samuel and said, that's my choice. That's
my choice. God doesn't look as man looks.
He looks upon the heart. Arise and anoint him. There's
Israel's future king. But it was sometime after that
before David actually ascended the throne. The psalm speaks
of that time. Because Saul did everything he
did or could do to the contrary to prevent David from ascending
the throne of Israel. But it was God's purpose that
David became. That was God's purpose. John,
that should be enough said. If it's God's purpose, then that
should be enough said. If God Almighty purposed something,
then it shall come to pass. If God Almighty wills something,
it's as good as done. If he's who he says he is, if
he's God over all and blessed forever, then anything he wills
must come to pass. What can stop it? What can stop
it? He said so in his very self. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God. I'm God. And there's none else. I am God and there's none like
me. There's none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And
from ancient times, the things that are not yet seen, are not
yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand. Now we hear people
all the time say, If God had his way, if God had his way,
that's what people are hearing all around us this morning, if
God had his way, and I just want to... Is anybody home? Hello? What do you mean if God had his
way? If he's God, he's having his way. There's no if about
it. He himself says, my counsel shall stand and I will do... I like that. I will do all my
pleasure. Not some of it. Not most of it. I will do all of my pleasure. Prophetically, though, these
verses don't refer to David. They refer to a greater than
David. They speak of the son of David,
David's king, and David's God. Our Lord took this very text
in speaking to the religious leaders of his day, the scribes,
the Pharisees, the chief priests, and he said, have you never read
in scripture? Have you never read this? And they had. They had. Have you never read
that the stone which the builders refused, the stone is still become
the head of the corner? This is God's doing. You can't
stop it. You can't stop it. This is the
Lord's doing, and it's marvelous in our eyes. And Peter said the
same thing in Acts. The builders were the religious
leaders of Christ's day. They rejected Christ, didn't
they? We have Abraham, they told him. We don't need you. What do we need you for? We have
Abraham for our father. We'll not have you rule over
us. The leaders cried. He must go. Crucify him. And even after that, they weren't
satisfied. They went to Pilate and said,
we remember that that deceiver said when he would get alive
that after three days he'd rise from the dead. And then everything
we've done will be for nothing. Because his disciples will spread
that rumor that he's really risen from the dead, and all this will
be for naught. Do this for us, they said. Give
us a Roman guard. Seal the tomb. so that they can't
steal his body. You remember what Pilate said?
Go and make it as sure as you can. Make it as sure as you can. And they did. They did. Oh, but
now is Christ risen from the dead, Paul said. Despite all
of their conniving, all of their effort, all of their plotting,
now is Christ risen from the dead. Up from the grave he arose,
victorious over death, hell, and the grave, thereby vindicating
every claim that he made. Did he not? Every claim that
he made. Improving beyond any doubt God's
satisfaction. When our Lord triumphantly, not
in defeat, but triumphantly cried with a loud voice. It is finished. It is finished. God Almighty,
three days later, when He raised His Son from the dead and set
Him at His own right hand, right hand of the Majesty on high,
and declared that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father, in doing so,
He was saying, that's enough. Yes, that's enough. I'm satisfied. He proved beyond a shadow of
a doubt when God raised him from the dead that he was everlastingly
satisfied with the sacrifice of his dear son. He said, that's
it, it's enough. It's enough. He was delivered,
Paul said, because of. for or because of our offenses
and raised again because of our justification. As the psalmist
here said, the stone which the builders refused has become the
headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. This is God's doing. My salvation
is dependent upon God's doing. As we said at the beginning,
it's not my hold on Him. but his hold on me. Oh, what
mercy! God says he'll uphold you. He'll enable you to bear your
afflictions and bring you safely through all your troubles. He'll
do it. Now, think about it this way.
If one of Christ's sheep should ever perish, who would be the
greater loser? Who would be the greater loser?
It would prove Jesus Christ a failure because he said they'll never
perish. And if one should perish, that
would not be true. He said none can pluck them out
of my hand. If one should ever be plucked
out of his hand, that would not be true. And the prophet said,
he shall not fail. Behold my servant, God says. Behold my servant, my righteous
servant. He shall not fail. He'll hold to my hand. None can
pluck me out. He will not let me go. Satan
whispers, I'm going to trip you up. But God says, I'll hold you
up. It won't happen. Unbelief says, you'll die one
day and fall and perish. But God says, I'm going to hold
you up. And your flesh cries out, I can
never bear up under this cross. You ever thought that? You ever
been there? Well, sure you have. Let's join David. And just to
be honest, I was so foolish, ignorant before you as a beast.
Yes, I thought I cannot bear this. This is too much. But God
says, I will hold you up. Your feeble heart may say, how
can I endure such bereavements, such temptations, losses, and
fiery trials? And God says, I'll tell you how,
I will hold you up. I will uphold you. The Bible
testifies that all believers go from strength to strength,
Psalm 84 and 7. Every one of them in Zion appeareth
before God. In weakness, the Lord strengthens
them. In poverty, the Lord supplies their needs. In sickness, the
Lord sustains them. And in death, the Lord gives
them the victory. If the Lord delights in a man's
way, Psalm 37, he makes his steps firm. Though he stumbles, he
will not fall. For the Lord upholds him with
his hand. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. Oh, this very day, can we not
say this is a day? This is the day. My times are
in God's hands. All my times. This is the day
which the Lord hath made God give me grace to be glad and
rejoice in it. Oh, consider what marvelous things
our God does for us every day. If he allows us to do so, and
I think he has, we enjoy fellowship with the God of glory. Imagine
that. Imagine that. My soul, that a
man can know God, that a man can have fellowship with God.
Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich
man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. My soul, when I was one of nine
children, The son of a coal miner running around barefooted in
that coal camp. If someone had come up to me
and said, Larry Criss, God Almighty, God Almighty has purpose to save
you. God Almighty has loved you with
an everlasting love and one day, one day God Almighty is going
to bring you to his son with cords of everlasting love. He's
going to draw you to his son. One day, you're going to be saved
by his marvelous grace. And one day, that same grace
is going to keep you all your life and then it's going to bring
you to glory where you're going to behold his face. I can't believe that. I just
can't believe that. That is just too much to believe. That's just too hard to swallow.
Oh, but thank God, he's done so. What a wonder that a mortal
man can have communion with the everlasting God. Is that not
marvelous? Is that not marvelous? I remember,
I think I've shared this with you before. Years ago, one of
my younger brothers came by to visit And it was after dark and
we were sitting in the backyard and he was into astronomy. Did I say that right? Astronomy. And then he looked up and he
said, Larry, do you realize, and of course Larry didn't realize,
but he said, all you can see, all you can see, that's just our galaxy. And they
don't know how many galaxies there are. It's unending. And
he said, isn't that a wonder? Isn't that a marvel? And John
looked at him and said, I tell you what, Ernest, it is. You're
right, it is. The heavens declare the glory of God, but let me
tell you what, Ernest, I'll tell you a greater marvel, a greater
wonder. I know who did that. I know who did all that. God
in the beginning said, let there be light. And God has been pleased
to reveal Hisself to me. Oh, what a wonder that is. God
will never change. God has continued to be to us
what He's always been, the glorious sovereign of the universe. ever
faithful, ever loving, the great shepherd watching over his sheep. Not one perished today and not
one will perish tomorrow. They'll never perish. They'll
never perish. You talk about seven wonders
of the world. What a wonder is this, if a sinner
can say, I know whom I have believed.
Blessed art thou son of a virgin. Blessing blood didn't teach you
this, but my father, which is in heaven. The triune God has
given us the honor of approaching him, of worshiping him, of having
fellowship with his son. Oh, blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto thee. This is the day the
Lord hath made. He calls the hours his own. Let
heaven rejoice, let earth be glad, and praise surround the
throne. God has also promised that he
which had begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ. Today, our salvation is nearer
than when we first believed. Remember what Moses said to the
children of Israel just before God parted the Red Sea and allowed
them The cross. Moses said, this is what you
need to do. You people need to shut up. Be
quiet. Stand still. That's the hardest
thing in the world for us to do, isn't it? A sudden trial
comes, and man, we want to do, do, do. Last thing we want to
do is just stand still. Be quiet. Trust God. Trust God. He'll hold to my hand. And Moses said, these Egyptians
that you see right now, that's the last time you're going to
see them. After this, you'll see them again no more forever. And bless God, concerning my
sin and this sinful nature, one day soon now, I will see it again
no more forever. It'll be gone. And I'll be satisfied
when I awaken his likeness. Today, his blood, the precious
blood of Jesus Christ is still cleansing us from all sin. You say, oh, but I'm still weak
today. Oh, but he's still the mighty
God. I feel so alone. Yes, yes. There are times we
do. There are times we do. But don't
trust that. Don't trust that child of God
because you have a friend as taketh closer than a brother.
Time would fail to rehearse all that he's done for us this day. But remember this. This is the
Lord's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. It's
marvelous in our eyes. The Lord's doing. Go home. When you go home, and tonight,
when you lie down to sleep, I pray that God will allow us to remember
that our faithful shepherd never slumbers. He never sleeps. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall never slumber nor sleep. The Lord shall preserve thy going
out and thy coming in from this time forth and even for evermore. The mercy of God endureth forever. And when in scenes of glory We
sing the new, new song to obey the old, old story that we have
loved so long. Thank God for his matchless mercy
and endless grace. God bless you.