One question which is often on
the mind of men and women, which takes up their daily thoughts,
upon which they wonder is what the future will hold. How much
of our worries and our concern regards the future? It is so
uncertain. People plan, they work, They
try to do what they can to order their steps to ensure that the
future turns out well for them. But they know that it is uncertain. We know not what an hour may
bring. Into the most peaceful of homes comes tragedy. Into the healthiest lives comes
illness. Into the happiest lifetime comes
sorrow and anger. Upon the most peaceful nations
come war. Upon those who have plenty comes
famine. We do not know what an hour will
bring. But one thing we can be sure of is that at the end of
our days we shall all die and we shall pass from this world
into the next. It is appointed unto men once
to die and after this the judgment. We go to sleep each night, we
wake up the next morning. We go to sleep, we wake up. We
go to sleep, we wake up. The days pass, the weeks pass.
The months pass, the years pass. But they are fleeting. And as
each year passes, we get closer to that day when we will pass
into eternity. One thing we can be sure of,
we will die. And the fear for most is that
death is so uncertain in terms of what follows. Most people,
possibly you included, walk backwards towards death. They plan for
the future, they plan for the day when they're older, they
plan for their family, they plan for their retirement. But they try not to plan for
death. Some, knowing its inevitability,
might plan their funeral and make arrangements for their money,
their estate, to be passed on to loved ones. But they don't
plan and they can't plan. in a material sense for what
follows. They like not to think about
it. They think of it almost as though they're going to fall
asleep one day and enter into peaceful sleep from which they
do not return. Others realize that is unlikely. Some presume on an afterlife,
a heaven and an earth, a heaven and a hell, and presume on some
vain hope that if there be a heaven and a hell, they're destined
for heaven. They think if there is a heaven, if there is a God,
that he will reward them for what they see as their own goodness.
And they presume that they, along with most people, will enter
heaven. But truly they have little ground
for such a hope. What is your ground? What is
your hope based upon? If there be a heaven and a hell,
which is yours and why? Others hope for annihilation
because they know that they do not deserve heaven. and they
cannot think of the awfulness of hell. But shutting our eyes and shutting
our ears and shutting our minds to the reality that one day we
will die and that there must be something after death is just
foolishness. David the psalmist knew his life was brief. David
the Psalmist knew that one day he would die and he had a hope he had a hope of salvation he
had a hope that one day he would live forever and his hope was
not vain his hope was not blind His hope was grounded in truth,
was grounded in reality, was grounded on facts, was grounded
in experience, was grounded in faith. He knew that one day he
would dwell forever with his God and Savior. He knew that
on that day that he entered into that sleep known as death that
he would awake and he would awake the other side and behold his
God. And he had reason to hope. Do you have hope of life eternal? Do you have reason for that hope? Or are you a fool? who like a
lemon will follow the others over the cliff to your destruction. Do you presume that God will
forgive you of all your iniquity and your sin and your rebellion
and your disinterest in him and his ways and his truth? Do you
live a life where you shut your ears to the knowledge of God
and the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of the truth?
and then presume that that God that has made that knowledge
known in his gospel, in his Bible, in his word, will then have mercy
upon you when you have utterly rejected him. If that is your
presumption then that hour of death will be terrible. because
God is just and if you live all your days in utter disinterest
and apathy and effectually hatred of God you live as though he
doesn't exist, you live as though he doesn't matter, you live as
though he doesn't care then what foolishness it is to presume
that one day you will stand before him and he will look upon you
and say all is well. Surely he will reward you for
your unbelief, he will reward you for your disinterest, he
will reward you for your hatred of him, his son and his ways. Yes he will. But David had a hope. David said in Psalm 17 in the
final verse, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness,
he says unto his Lord. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. As for me I will behold thy face
in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness
He knew that there would come that day when he would sleep
in death and he knew there would come that day when he would awake
out of death and he would behold the face of God in righteousness
and he would awake with the likeness of his saviour. And therein lied
his hope and his firm belief. He knew he would be righteous
on that day. He knew that he would stand before
his God and his God would look upon him and his God would look
upon all he had done and said and his God would find no fault
in him. And he knew that that was necessary,
that was vital for his salvation. It is appointed unto men once
to die and after this the judgment. We will die and there will be
a judgment. And when God looks upon us and
judges us, he will judge us righteously. He will judge our thoughts. He
will judge our deeds. He will judge all that we have
done and said in this world from the day we were born to the day
we die. He will judge it righteously
and if he finds one failing, then our sentence will be death. Yet David had a hope that when
he stood before his God he would stand in righteousness. How so? Will you stand before
God righteous? Will he look at the catalogue
of your life? Will he look at your deeds? every hour, every moment of your
life and find no fault in them. Can you look at your life and
find no fault? And how could David have such
a hope? And how might you have such a
hope? Because David looked to a saviour. He writes in this psalm as in
the other psalms. and expresses his own sentiment.
But through his own sentiment we see the expression of the
sentiment of his saviour in whom he hoped. And it's because of
what he was in him, and it's because of what that saviour
had done for him, that David could write in such faith and
assurance. If you have a saviour, in whom
you are righteous, then you will live forever. If you know not
the Savior, if you have not his righteousness, if you stand before
God answerable for your own deeds, then you have no hope, no hope. David opens the psalm with these
words. Hear the right or the justice. Hear the justice, O Lord. Attend
unto my cry. Give ear unto my prayer that
goeth not out of feigned lips. Let my sentence come forth from
thy presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. Thou hast proved mine heart.
that has visited me in the night that has tried me and shall find
nothing I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Oh what a declaration what words
for David to open with but they are words which speak of justice
of righteousness and of judgment. Hear the right O Lord, hear the
justice, hear this justice. Attend unto my cry, give ear
unto my prayer that goeth not out of unfeigned lips. Let my
sentence, let thy judgment O God, come forth from thy presence.
Judge me when I stand before thee God, when I stand before
thee on that hour of judgment. which shall come after death
unto all men. When I stand in that judgment,
let my sentence come forth from thy presence. Judge me. Let thine
eyes behold the things that are equal. Judge me according to
righteousness. See if there be any fault in
me. Thou hast proved mine heart.
Thou hast visited me in the night Thou hast tried me and shalt
find nothing I am purpose that my mouth shall
not transgress. He presents himself for judgment
before Almighty God, the perfect, the holy, the living God, who
cannot look upon iniquity, who cannot look upon wickedness without
the wrath of God being kindled and brought forth. He presents
himself before this God, who could slay him in a moment if
he found any fault in him. and he presents himself boldly
before him and says let thy sentence come forth let my sentence come
forth from thy presence look upon me you know thou knowest
oh lord my heart thou knowest my deeds thou hast seen me in
the night Thou hast tried me and shalt find nothing, shalt
find no fault in me. He knows that as he stands before
God, he is righteous. He is perfect, he is without
blemishes. God will find no fault. Well,
it's David that writes here. And David, just like you and
I, was a sinner. conceived in iniquity, born speaking
lies. He was deceitful, at times he
was unfaithful, he was rebellious, he complained, he doubted, he
feared, he grumbled, he complained, He committed all the sins of
any man. He committed adultery. He committed
murder. He covered it up. He lied. He stole. He stole another man's
wife. He had that man put to death. And yet this man, David, in this
psalm, can say before God, Thou hast tried me. and shalt find
nothing. Well how can that be? God would
look upon David and find everything, everything worthy of death, everything
worthy of condemnation and if he looked upon you or I, he would
find much the same. You may say, well I've never
murdered like David, but you fought murder, you fought things
against your fellow men. your brother, your sister, your
father, your mother, your neighbor. You've fought hateful things
against people. In your heart you'd put them
to death. You've deceived and you've lied. You've been selfish. You put
yourself before others. You're as wicked in your own
heart as David ever was. We're all sinners, we've all
gone astray. Then how can David, just like
one of us, stand here in this psalm and say unto almighty God,
let my sentence come forth from thy presence? Thou hast proved
mine heart, thou hast visited me in the night, thou hast tried
me and shalt find nothing. In himself, he could not. He knew that in himself, in his
flesh, there dwelt no good thing. He knew that if he stood before
God alone, in himself, by nature, that God would find every reason
to condemn him. Every reason. But his hope wasn't
in self. His hope was found in another. His hope was found in Jesus Christ. And he knows that in Christ he
can stand before God and God will find no fault in him. He
knows he has a Saviour who's already paid the price for all
that he's done. He knows that his adulterous
heart has been washed clean. He knows that his adultery, he
knows that his murder, he knows that his theft, he knows that
his lies have all been washed away in the blood of the Lamb
of God. It's all gone, it's all blotted
out. He knows that he stands before
God, whiter than snow. He knows that he stands as the
blessed man, unto whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. but unto whom God will impute
righteousness. He knows that he stands before
God perfect because he knows that his Saviour took his sins,
or would in the future take his sins and take them all away. He looks by faith through the
ages to the Saviour upon the cross and sees all his sins flowing
away in the blood. there's his hope and through
that hope he can say in faith and confidence unto his God,
hear the right oh Lord, let my sentence come forth from thy
presence thou has proved mine heart there's no sin there because
I'm in Christ. That's why he can say in the
conclusion of the psalm, As for me, I will behold thy face in
righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
Because he sees himself in Christ, he sees himself as having died
with his Saviour. and his old man having died with
his Saviour, and his sins having been crucified with his Saviour,
them having been washed away in the Saviour's blood, and he
sees himself rising again with the Saviour. He's one with the
Saviour, he's one with Christ, and he knows that his God will
look upon him as he looks upon his own son. He knows that he
can write unto God and say, as for me, I will behold thy face
in righteousness because he's one with the Saviour. And truly
these words of David, when he expresses these things, not only
express his confidence by faith that because of who he is wed
to, he can stand in righteousness, but they also as such convey
the very words and thoughts of Christ himself. Christ can truly
say, on David's behalf, hear the right, O Lord, attend unto
my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of unfeigned
lips. Let my sentence come forth from
thy presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. Thou hast proved mine heart. thou hast visited me in the night
thou hast tried me and shalt find nothing i am purpose that
my mouth shall not transgress god could find no fault in his
son because his son was perfect and david in christ was as perfect
as christ is perfect what hope did david have every hope Every
hope in Jesus Christ his Saviour. Every hope in the Son of God. What hope have you got? Outside
of Christ none whatsoever. You will stand before God and
answer for your sins of which there are many. What hope have
you got in Christ? every hope. If you are in Christ,
if he is your hope, if he is your saviour, if God gives you
faith to behold him, to know him, to see him crucified in
your place, if he died for you, if he bore your sins, if his
blood washed you clean, if you're in him, as Noah was in the ark
in the storms. If you're sheltered in the ark
which is Christ then the judgment of God upon you will be not guilty. God will look upon you and see
his Son and see the heart of his Son. Thou hast proved mine
heart. that has visited me in the night,
that has tried me and shall find nothing. Hear the right, hear the justice,
O Lord. David's hope that when he awakes,
he will awake with the likeness of his Saviour. David's hope
of eternal glory, David's hope of heaven, David's hope of eternal
life and the forgiveness of his sins stands in righteousness. Hear the right, the justice,
O Lord. This is at the heart of the gospel
in which David hoped. He didn't look for salvation
from a God who would turn a blind eye to his sin. David didn't
take a light view of sin. David didn't have a erroneous
view of the justice of God or the just nature of God. He didn't
hope in some Father Christmas God who just turns a blind eye
to sin and says well I know you've done that but it doesn't matter. His lips weren't feigned. He didn't continue to sin and
think his sin didn't matter. When David sinned greatly, he
was brought to feel the pain of it. And the sorrow of it and
the consequences of it. And the greatest sorrow was the
impact it had on his walk with God. He felt God's fury at that
deed. He knew God hated his iniquity
and he knew it mattered. And so much of religion and Christendom
today brings the justice of God down to nothing and makes a mockery
of the righteousness of God and turns a blind eye to the day
of judgment. and whitewashes over our sin
and causes people to treat their iniquitous ways lightly. It's full of so-called converts
in its midst who live lives like hell, who live lives full of
indulgence and wickedness as though it doesn't matter and they have little idea that
if they are saved then every wicked deed that they committed
brought a stripe upon Christ back and to Almighty God every
wicked thing we do matters and a price will be paid and that
price will either be paid by us or it was paid by the Saviour. Justice is at the heart of the
gospel because God is just. He cannot save a people except
he upholds his righteousness, which is why the only way he
could deliver his people from their sins, the only way he could
deliver David was to slay his own son in David's place. And the only way that he could
deliver you and I is if he slayed his own son in your place and
my place. That's what salvation costs. Salvation is not free and easy. Salvation is not cheap. We do
not come before a God who just turns a blind eye and says, I
love everyone, come into heaven. The true and the living God who
saves sinners, saves them because he gave his son as a sacrifice
for their sins. Every stripe which should justly
come upon your back, if you're Christ's, it came upon his. And the suffering that we would
pay in eternity in hell, if we know not God, is the suffering
that Christ paid in eternity upon the cross in the place of
his people. Let my sentence come forth from
my presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. When Christ said that unto God,
he as it were said it twice. In himself he could stand before
God and God's sentence was that he was perfect. But when he took
the sins of his people upon his own back, when he bore them in
his own body on the tree, when he stood as the substitute of
sinners and was made sin in their stead, when he stood on that
cross and God laid on him our sins and made him sin, when he
stood as the substitute and said unto God, let my sentence come
forth from thy presence, that sentence was death. God slew
him. The fires of God's wrath came
down from heaven upon him. That sentence came down because
of what he was in our place. Because of what his people had
done. And he suffered it. And he drank
that cup of God's wrath to the dregs. He put himself under God's
wrath. He put his head upon the block.
and the sword of God's justice came down upon him. He felt the
pain. He felt the anguish. He felt
the loneliness. He felt the heat of the fire.
He suffered. God's salvation comes not at
the expense of justice. It's the heart of the gospel
and it is the reason for the cross. If God's justice could
be set aside or could be lowered, then God would not have had to
have slain his own son. Christ would not have had to
have come into this world of sinners. The Son of God would
not have had to have been crucified upon the tree, but He died because
He must bring forth righteousness for His people. He must pay the
righteous judgment of God against them. He must wash them clean. This justice cannot be set aside. Hear the right, the justice,
O Lord. Attend unto my cry, give ear
unto my prayer. that go if not out of feigned
lips. He had unfeigned lips, a true
heart, totally unlike the natural man, especially in religion. Oh how we like to say one thing
with our lips when our heart is in another place. Oh how men
like to say what's right. Oh how many in religion like
to say what's right and quote the right verses and quote the
right doctrine and make the right profession when they know that
their heart is full of sin. They have an appearance of godliness
and deny the power thereof. Don't presume on God's salvation. Are your lips feigned? Do you
say one thing? when you know in reality that
your heart loves another? Do you make a profession of believing
in Christ your Saviour when you know that you love sin and you
know that you have no true love of Him and you know that His
blood has never been applied to you? Or can you with the same
faith as David say truly, as for me, I will behold thy face
in righteousness. Because I know I'm a sinner.
I know by nature I'm guilty. I know God is just and would
be just to slay me. But I know that Christ has died. And I know his blood has been
shed. And I know that it was shed for
me. and I know that he bore the judgment
against my sins and I know that he's taken that blood that he
shed as the priest took the blood of the sacrifice and I know that
he's entered into the holiest place and I know that he's sprinkled
that blood and I know that the sentence of God on seeing that
blood is that there is peace and I know that he's taken that
blood and he's sprinkled it upon my heart And I know the sentence
within me is peace. I know I'm forgiven. I know in
Him I am righteous. I know that I can stand in Him
before God and say, oh my God, Thou hast proved mine heart.
Thou hast visited me in the night. Thou hast tried me and shalt
find nothing. Now God visited Christ in the
night. when he came upon him in judgment.
When he judged him in the darkness of the cross he visited him in
the night and he poured out his wrath upon him. But David knew
what it was to stand before God in the night. And he knew what
it was to go to sleep at night with faith in his Saviour and
know that in Christ all was well. And David could approach his
last days. He could approach the hour of
his death. And unlike the worldling who
knows not what the future may bring and knows not what the
other side of death may bring, he knew that he could, when the
hour came, lay down his head in death, go to sleep, and that
all would be well. How do we cope with death? How
do we cope with our own death? How do we cope with the approach
of death? When illness comes our way. When
we know that our days cannot be much longer. How can we face
death? We can face it when God has given
us that faith. To know that the blood of Christ
was shed for us. To know that it has been sprinkled.
To know that it's been sprinkled within us. and to know that when
we arise from our sleep of death that we will awake in His likeness. David goes on, concerning the
works of men by the words of thy lips I have kept me from
the paths of the destroyer hold up my goings in thy paths that
my footsteps slip not. He knew what it was to walk through
this world and have enemies. He knew what man could do under
him. He knew how easy it was to be influenced by others, how
easy it was to fall. But his trust was in his God
and in his word, by the word of thy lips. I have kept me from
the paths of the destroyer hold up my goings in thy paths that
my footsteps slip not we have a pathway in this world which
takes us through darkness through destruction it's a path upon
which there is a destroyer who would seek to destroy us, who
would seek to lead us away from the truth, to lead us away from
the words of the lips of God, to lead us away from the Saviour,
to lead us away from the cross, and how easy it would be to be
led away. But when God sends His Gospel,
and God sends His Spirit, and God puts His hand upon one of
His children, as David was. He will keep him. David knew
what it was, as he said in the last psalm, to be shown the path
of life. And he knew that that path of
life was one which came through the death of his saviour in his
place. And as he writes of this pathway
here, he writes in spirit as Christ who knew what it was to
walk in this world of wicked men who sought to take him and
sought to destroy him and it was because they came that hour
when they did take him and when he was crucified that he might
bring life to those who were once dead. I have called upon
thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God. Incline thine ear unto
me and hear my speech. Show thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest by thy right hand them which trust in thee
from those that rise up against them. I have called upon thee. He cries out in faith. As we've
seen before, David was a man of faith. Faith was that which
gave him his hope. Faith was that by which he walked.
Faith was that by which he lived. Faith was that by which he knew
the truth. Faith was that by which he saw
the truth. Faith was that by which he looked
down through the ages, hundreds of years to a saviour who would
die for him. And faith is that by which we,
if we have it, will look back hundreds of years to a Saviour
crucified upon the cross for us. I have called upon thee,
for thou wilt hear me, O God. Have you called? Do you know? You will hear. Show thy marvellous
lovingkindness O thou that savest by thy right hand them which
put their trust in thee from those that rise up against thee.
God saves with the right hand of his power all those who trust
in him. Keep me as the apple of the eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy
wings. How God kept his son. How he hid him under the shadow
of his wings. Though all men around him raged. Though Satan raged. Though he
was surrounded and compassed about by enemies. He was the
apple of God's eye. God loved his son and he loves
all those who are in his son. He loved David as the apple of
the eye. He kept David under the shadow
of his wings. Keep me as the apple of the eye,
keep me from the wicked. Verse nine, from the wicked that
oppress me, from my deadly enemies who compass me about. They are
enclosed in their own fat. With their mouth they speak proudly. They have now compassed us in
our steps. They have set their eyes bowing
down to the earth like as a lion that is greedy of his prey and
as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise O Lord
disappoint him, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked
which is thy sword. How Christ was compassed about
by his enemies, how they were moved as a lion. Moved by Satan,
who moved their hearts, who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may destroy. Oh, the enemies of God were moved
by that lion, to take hold of the Son of God and slay him.
And they're moved against all who are in Christ, to take hold
of them and slay them. They were moved against David,
to take hold of him and slay him. And they will be moved against
you, child of God, to take hold of you and slay you. but your
hope is in that God who saves by his right hand keep me as
the apple of the eye hide me under the shadow of thy wings
keep me from the wicked that oppress me they have now compassed
us in our steps and we saw this when in the end they took Christ
and took him to the cross and led him in his steps to the cross,
and nailed him upon it, and then reviled him. In Matthew 27 verse
39 we read, And they that pass by reviled him, wagging their
heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest
it in three days, save thyself, if thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests
mocking him with the scribes and elders said he saved others
himself he cannot save if he be the king of israel let him
come down from the cross and we will believe him he trusted
in god let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said
i am the son of god The thieves also, which were crucified with
him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the 6th hour there was
darkness over all the land until the 9th hour. And about the 9th
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Ilai Ilai, Lama
Sabhakhvani. That is to say, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? They are enclosed in their own
fact, with their mouth they speak proudly. They have now compassed
us in our steps, they have set their eyes bowing down to the
earth, like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it
were a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, O Lord,
disappoint him cast him down deliver myself from the wicked
which is thy sword oh they did it to him they said those things
to him they mocked him and scoffed him they nailed him to the tree
they with their own hands put him to death but they were merely
God's sword Deliver my soul from the wicked which is thy sword. They could do nothing except
God said, do this. They crucified the saviour but
truly they were just God's sword because God slew him because
God would deliver David and all those like David who put their
trust in this saviour who was crucified for him. Arise O Lord, disappoint him,
cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked which is thy
sword, from men which are thy hand. O Lord, from men of the
world which have their portion in this life, and whose belly
thou fillest with thy hid treasure, they are full of children and
leave the rest of their substance to their babes. As for me, I
shall behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Oh these men did these things,
they mocked, they scoffed, they crucified him and they had their
portion, they had their pleasure, they had their treasure, they
had their riches. Now They have their portion in
this life and who's buried out filleth with thy hid treasure.
They are full of children and leave the rest of their substance
to their babes. Oh they seem to have it all.
They were in control, they were the chief scribes and rulers
of the people. They had all the adoration, they
had all the name, they had all the status, they had all the
wealth, they had all the pleasure, they had all the children, they
had all the treasure. for a moment and but a few years
later they were all gone and all those who knew not Christ
perished in the grave and they suffer today in hell
with the wicked who die without a hope. What of you? Are you amongst
that company who as it were when thou hearest the gospel mocks
and scoffs and says well if he's the son of God why didn't he
save himself? And do you fill your heart with
pleasure? Do you have your portion in this
life? Is this all you've got? What is your hope for eternity?
Will you join those who God judges? Or do you, like David, know this
Saviour who suffered in His place? And will you, like David, when
you enter death, enter it in faith, knowing that you will
behold God's face, the Saviour's face, righteousness knowing that
you shall be satisfied when you awake with his likeness has he
given you that faith with his likeness with his righteousness
with his perfection with his holiness perfect without spot
or blemish when we awake Will we awake with his likeness? Can
you say with David, as for me? As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Amen.