Psalm 73. Before we get to our
text, which will be verse 24, I'd like for us to notice briefly
some key words in the psalm. And of course, the first one
is in verse 1. It's where David starts with these words. Truly, God
is good to Israel. God is good to his people, always,
forever, as Bobby just sang. Even though, as David confesses,
as he begins to tell us the nature of his temptation in the very
next verse, even though he confesses, I may not always remember this,
and I may not always act like I believe it, It's still true. God has taught me that it's so. Truly, God is good to Israel. The same word is true concerning
all of his people. Not only David, but every believer
who's ever lived. God is good. Everything he does
is for their eternal good. This word truly reminds me of
what our Lord often introduced His sentences with, His words. And you know what I'm referring
to. He would say, verily, verily. And it's the same thing. It means
truly, truly. That night, that night before
He went to the garden, He said, verily, verily, one of you shall
betray Me. And it happened. Judas betrayed
Him. He also said in that same chapter, John 13, verily, verily,
I say unto you, Peter, Peter who said, I'm ready to go with
you to death. It's not possible that I would
ever deny you. And Peter was sincere as he could
be. He was leaning up on the arm
of flesh, and he was going to learn what a terrible mistake
that was before that night was over. And our Lord told Peter,
verily, verily, I say unto you, before the cock crows twice,
you're going to deny three times that you even know me. And then
in chapter 16, just before going to the Garden of Gethsemane,
He said, verily, verily, truthfully, truthfully, you can count on
this. You can rely on this. This is
so. It will be. Verily I say unto
you, ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice.
But your sorrow will turn into joy because I will see you again. Verily, truthfully, surely, you
can rely on this. You can count on it. You can
fall down on it. You can fall down on the promises
of God. You can fall down upon his blessed
words to his children, and you'll find no one doing so. You'll
find when you fall down on God's precious word that underneath,
supporting you, are the everlasting arms. David says, truly, God
is good. And that'll never change. That'll
never change. The only way that can change
is if God himself changes. Now you see the impossibility
of that? The only way any promise of God to His people can ever
be uncertain is if God Himself changes, that He's uncertain. And that's impossible. That's
impossible. God cannot change. He's immutable. He changes not. And the fulfillment
of the promise, the blessing of the promise, is not dependent
upon you and I. is it? If that were so, David
would have been in trouble here, wouldn't he? I mean, he confessed,
I was a beast before you. I was foolish. I was ignorant.
But he says, nevertheless, nevertheless. As we said in the reading, in
verses 2 through 16, he looks back in retrospect and he says,
this was the nature of my temptation. This is what led me astray. This is what happened when I
had my eyes off of God who truly is good to Israel. Hindsight,
they say, is 20-20. And then in verse 17, this was
the pivotal point. David gets into the presence
of God, and he learns, he learns what he had forgotten. And what
God himself tells us, God says, my thoughts are not your thoughts. And my ways are not your ways. They're so much higher. And then
in verses 18 through 20 of the psalm, David tells us how things
really are. with those who don't know God. And then in verses 21 and 22,
you have David's confession. And then in verse 23, another
key word, nevertheless. I like that. Nevertheless, I
am continually with thee. Always. I am now as I always
was. I'm continually with thee. In
spite of my foolishness, in spite of my ungratefulness, in spite
of my ignorance, you never let me go. Nevertheless, I am continually
with thee, thou is holding me by my right hand. In spite of anything, in spite
of everything, I am continually with thee, but mostly, mostly. And brothers and sisters in Christ,
I think we can all rejoice in this on the same grounds and
reason that David did, mostly in spite of ourselves. Aren't
you glad God doesn't deal with us after our desert, but after
his mercy, according to his mercy and grace, we are continually
with him. Like Peter that night, after
our Lord had fed 5,000 men, besides women and children, with just
a few loaves and fishes, he tells the disciples to get into a boat
and cross the sea while he sends the multitude away. In Matthew
14, we're told a great storm arises and the winds blew and
the waves arose and beat into the ship. And our Lord Jesus,
the creator of heaven and earth, the master of everything, comes
to them walking on the sea. And Peter looks out. and says,
if that's really you, he shouts over the roaring waves, if that's
you, just bid me come. Bid me come, and I'll come to
you. And you know the story. Peter
steps out of the boat, and he, just like his Lord, as he has
his eyes fixed on Christ, he's walking on the water. But then
he saw the wind, or the effects of the wind and the waves, and
he was fearful, and he began to sink. He began to sink. As soon as he took his eyes off
Christ, like David, he began to sink. And he cried out, Lord,
save me. Save me. And that's why I say,
aren't you glad God doesn't deal with us after the way we would
deal with someone? He didn't say, well, Peter, it's
your own fault. You were fine long as you looked
at me. Why did you look away? No, no,
no. We read when Peter cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately,
immediately, Jesus reached out, stretched out his hand, and lifted
Peter up. He did the same thing for David,
and he does the same thing for you and I. David says, thou hast
holden me up. It's no wonder that Peter, In
both of his epistles, in chapter 1 of 1 Peter and 2 Peter, he
wrote these words. Grace and peace be multiplied
to you. I've pointed this out before.
Multiply to you. God's grace and peace, his continual
presence, his continual goodness, they're always multiplied. They're never divided. They're
never less. They're never taken away. He
doesn't deal with us according to our deserts, but according
to his mercy. Grace and peace are always multiplied. Then look at verse 26 of Psalm
73. David says, My flesh and my heart
faileth. They faileth. I'm altogether
weak. But right alongside that confession
of his weakness, David speaks of his God's faithfulness. My
flesh and my heart faileth. There's just no getting around
that. I'm just flesh, but God. But God. Oh, the winds blow, but God. The God-man comes walking on
this troubled sea. There's nothing, nothing in nature,
in man, in time, in eternity, there's nothing that can keep
the great shepherd away from his sheep. Never. David says,
my flesh and my heart faileth, but God. But God is the strength
of my heart and my portion forever. Now look at, if you will, at
verse 24, our text. The title of our message is afterward. David uses that word in verse
24, afterward. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel. and afterward receive me the
glory." This psalm is not a very complimentary picture of David,
is it? It tells the truth. David is
just telling the truth about himself. He tells it like it
is. Oh, but David's God, that's a
different story. because it's meant to exalt him. David confesses, I was foolish. Oh, but God's ever faithful.
This word afterward presupposes two parts, doesn't it? Afterward,
I mean, something must have come before. and something must follow
after, and David tells us what it is. That which went before,
thou shalt guide me with thy counsel. And afterward, after
that, after keeping me in this life, after guiding me as the
faithful shepherd of the sheep, leading me beside the still waters,
afterward, after that, thou shalt receive me the glory. in Mark, that we preached from
this morning, chapter 5. In chapter 7, after our Lord
had continued to perform miracle after miracle, raising the dead, opening the eyes of the blind,
unstopping deaf ears, feeding multitude, The folks gathered
around and said to one another, they looked at one another, they
said, he's done all things well, in Mark chapter 7. He has done
all things well. And all those things that come
before the afterwards, and all those things that follow after,
he has done all things well. And we haven't got to glimpse
hardly of it yet, but by his grace afterward one day we will. We'll look back on every trial,
on every heartache, on every storm, and we'll see that his
marvelous grace, he hath done all things well. An old preacher
of years gone by expressed it better than I can. He wrote a
hymn that includes these words. How sovereign, wonderful, and
free is all his love to sent for me. He plucked me as a bran
from hell. My Jesus hath done all things
well. And since my soul has known his
love, what mercy has made me prove, mercies which all my praise
excel, my Jesus will do all things well. Oh, for a heart prepared
to sing to God my savior and my king. With all the saints
I'll join to tell my Jesus hath done all things well. First notice before this word,
afterwards, David says or afterward, thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel. And afterward, thank God there
will be an afterward. This life, with all that we endure,
that all that we're called upon to face, is not all. Truly, verily, we have a sure
and a steadfast hope. We have an anchor for the soul. We have God's word, God's promise
to his people. in right before us in his book,
the Word of God. And then we have also the Word
made flesh in glory. Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6, the writer tells us of these
two blessed things. And he calls them an anchor,
an anchor for the soul. Something that we can rely on. Something that holds our little
ship secure in the storms of life. In Hebrews chapter 6, Verse
17, we're in God, or verse 17, chapter 6. We're in God, willing
more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability
of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable
things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have
a strong consolation. who had fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth
into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered. for us entered, Christ the firstfruits,
even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Truly, we have a sure and a steadfast
hope. But first, there's that which
goes before, that which goes before, before heaven, before
eternity, before glory, there's this life, this journey. And the Master said, through
much tribulation, through much tribulation, we will inherit
the kingdom of God. For this, we have his blessed
promise on this side of eternity. David says, thou shalt guide
me with thy counsel. David experienced painfully He
learned what his own wisdom produced, what leaning upon the arm of
flesh, what came of it. And now he's determined to look
to God alone, not to lean upon the arm of flesh like a blind
man walking home. But he's leaning upon the arm
of someone who can see. He has his arm on the arm of
one who can see. And he'll arrive safely home.
David says, I've learned. I've learned. God has reminded
me again not to lean upon the arm of flesh or my own understanding. God, by his sweet mercy and grace,
has directed my vision back to him. And truly, he's good. Truly, he's good. And he says,
he shall guide me with his counsel. Christ is the very wisdom of
God in everything. He promises in everything He
does, in everything He directs He does for His people. He shall
guide us with His counsel. This is why the word of promises
are so sure and steadfast. They're founded upon Christ,
and everything in Him is yea and amen. In Romans chapter 8,
verse 28. Now, this is a verse that's tossed
around all the time. People that don't know God, don't
know God, have no interest in God or his word, when they have
a little trouble, they'll say, oh well, the Bible says all things
work together for good, for everybody. That's not what it says. That's
not what it says. Paul wrote and said, for we know
that all things work together for good to them who know God,
to them who love God, to them who are thee called. Thee called. That's not everybody. Everybody's
not called. The promises of God are not little
superstitious rabbit's foot that people can reach and use and
bring them out of trouble. Oh, no. They're the sweet promises
to God's people. And how do we know that all things
work together for good to them who are thee called according
to God's purpose? How do we know that? How can
we be sure of that? Because it's God that's doing
the working. It's not our work, but God's
work. That's how we know. And that's
the very thing that Paul says after that verse in Romans 8
and 28. Because it's God that foreknew us. And it's God that
predestined us. And it's God that called us.
And it's God that justifies us. And it's God that glorifies us. It's God that's doing it all.
That's how we know that all things work together for good. Because
our finger's not in the pie. It's all God's work. That's how
we can know and rest assured that it's bound to come to pass.
That's why we can fall down on this blessed promise of His grace. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel, and thou shalt afterwards receive me to glory. It's all
your work. And based upon that, David could
exclaim, what shall we then say, or I'm sorry, Paul would ask,
what shall we then say to these things? If God's doing all this
for his people, If God is for us, for us in the way of predestination,
for us in the way of everlasting love, for us in the way of calling,
for us in the way of bringing us all to glory, if God is for
us in such a way, who can be against us? Who can separate
us, Paul says, from the love that is in Christ Jesus? Who
can do it? Shall tribulation, shall persecution,
shall distress? And Paul says, I'm convinced.
God help me to be convinced as well. I'm convinced, Paul says. I'm persuaded that nothing can
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. God's doing the work. Paul said
in Ephesians, we are his workmanship. We're his workmanship. We don't
produce our own salvation. We're not responsible for our
own keeping. It's God's work. And Paul says,
he that's begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jeremiah, I think it's chapter
18, we're told that he went down to the potter's house. God told
him, Jeremiah, go down to the potter's house. And Jeremiah
went down and he said, behold, the potter wrought a work upon
the wheels. The potter was responsible for
the clay. And that's the word that Paul
uses in Ephesians. We're his workmanship, and he's
molding us with trials. He uses all these things into
the image of his own dear son. Before the glory, there's the
cross. Before Canaan, there's the wilderness. But David says, in the meantime,
thou shalt guide me with thy counsel. In another place, he
said that most familiar song, the Lord is my shepherd. He leadeth
me. Oh, blessed thought. Isn't that
a blessed thought, brother Lord? He leadeth me. Oh, blessed thought. Turn if you go to John chapter
10. He who declared himself to be the great shepherd of the
sheep spoke these comforting words for his sheep. In John
chapter 10, verse 3. Remember, he's speaking to the
Pharisees. who claim to be the shepherds of the people, and
Christ tells them, no, you're not. You're thieves and robbers.
He says, I'm the true shepherd. And he says, to him the porter
openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and he leadeth them out. And when he putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice." We're committed into the hands
and the care of the great shepherd of the sheep. God entrusted the
salvation of all his people to him. And Christ accepted the
terms in that everlasting covenant of grace. He agreed to do whatever
God required, whatever was involved, whatever's necessary to bring
all the sheep to glory, to be with him where he is, he agreed
to do. Isn't that comforting? There's
no hope of glory otherwise. If I'm kept, he must keep me. He must keep me. Like David learned,
he's prone to wonder, prone to go astray. Oh, but thou shall
guide me with thy counsel. This is exactly what David said
and what a blessed lesson it is considering what I am. What does the scripture say?
Man, that includes all of us. Man at his very best state. Not man at his worst, but man
at his very best state is what? Altogether vanity. Altogether
vanity. Considering what I am, weak,
sinful, David found out what would happen, taking his eyes
off God who is truthful. Peter found out, and considering
my enemies, considering that I'm weak and sinful, and considering
what fierce enemies I have, the world, oh, how the world allures
me, and it finds something in me that's more than willing to
respond to the attraction, the flesh, the devil. What hope would
any sinner have except the hope that's in the grace of God? Old
Martin Luther wrote a hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Do we know
that? If not, we ought to learn it.
A mighty fortress is our God. And Martin Luther wasn't an armchair
theologian. He wasn't writing about something
he didn't know to be true. I mean, the Pope wanted him dead
more than any other man at that time, but Martin Luther lived
the full life. until God called him home. The
Pope wanted him dead, sent assassins to kill him on a regular basis,
and it never did happen. God's hand was on him. But old
Luther wrote this, did we in our own strength confide, our
striving would be losing. We're not the right man on our
side, the man of God's own choosing. Does ask who that may be? Christ
Jesus, it is he. Lord, savvy off his name from
age to age the same and he must, he must win the battle. Bless God, he must win the battle. And he himself said, I give my
sheep eternal life and they shall never perish. not one shall ever
perish. They're weak, but they'll never
perish. They may wonder, but they'll
never perish. They may fall, but they'll never
perish. They may deny they even know
me, but they'll never perish. Why? Why? Not because of any
reason in them. Oh, all the reason why they should. But the Lord says, because they're
in my hand. They're in my hand, and I give
them eternal life. And nobody, nobody can pluck
them out. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, it
speaks of having been saved, being saved, and will yet be
saved. All three tenses of salvation. God has saved me. 1 Corinthians
1 verses 9 through 10. He will yet save me and he continues
to save me. First to last, from the pit of
my depravity, that he came and reached down his mighty hand
and brought me up out of, until I'll walk on the streets of gold. Salvation in its entirety is
all of the Lord. He does it all. And that's what
David says here, thou shalt guide me. You shall do it. Another
night on the stormy sea, our Lord comes walking to the disciples. And they were afraid and said
one to another, perhaps it's the Spirit. You remember what
our Lord said? I so often think of this passage
of Scripture. During trials and heartache and
difficulty, when things seem out of control. Our Lord spoke
these words to his fearful disciples. It is I. It is I. Don't be afraid. It is I. The storms of life might be raging,
but it is I. Don't be afraid. I'll never leave
you, He says, and I'll never forsake you. There's not a storm,
there's not a heartache that can keep you or rather keep me
from you. It is I. Don't be afraid. And then in the second place,
notice what David says in verse 24. Thou shalt guide me with
thy counsel and afterward. Afterward. What? What afterward,
David? Like the so-called Jehovah Witnesses
teach, my soul with my body will just lie in the grave. No, no. Afterward, or I'll be annihilated. Afterward, receive me to glory. Afterward, receive me to glory. Imagine that. In Hebrews chapter
12, we read that our Lord, for the joy that was set before him,
endured the cross. The joy of bringing many sons
to glory. The joy of having all those he
was shed his blood for with him forever. Notice what it says. Doubt shalt receive me. Christ
himself shall receive us. Christ himself will welcome us
to glory. Man, imagine that. And he told them, it's your father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And God the Father says,
I shall do all my pleasure. And this is included in God's
pleasure, God's purpose, God's will, that we be with Christ
in glory. Thou shalt receive me. Me. David. David who confessed. I was ignorant. I was foolish. I was unthankful. But thou shalt
receive even me. Remember what he said to Peter.
When Peter said, Lord, I'll never deny you. I want to go with you now. And
our Lord said in John 13, Peter, you can't follow me now, but
you'll follow me afterwards. You're coming after me. I go
to prepare a place for you, and I'll come back and receive you
afterward. Peter's going to curse and swear.
that he never knew him. But our Lord said, you will follow
me afterward. Oh, thank God, he can't deny
himself. It's not my love for him that
secures the promise. Because I sure don't love him
as he deserves to be loved. And it's certainly not my faithfulness,
but it's his love and his faithfulness Afterward thou shalt receive
me to glory. Glory. Now what a word that is. Glory. It's a place, yeah. Our Lord said, I go to prepare
a place for you. And it's also a state. Paul in
Romans 8 said, I reckon. I've reckoned that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the
glory that shall be revealed in us. Will it not be glory? Will it not be glorious in that
day to be with Him forever without a trace of sin whatsoever? No evidence of sin. no remnants
of the serpent's trail. When we awaken His likeness,
won't that be glory? Oh, but the glory of glory, the
heaven of heaven, you know what it is. There's a multitude of
redeemed sinners, that's true, without any more sorrow, without
any more pain, without any more death, without any sin in them
or around them. That is indeed glory. But they're
they're not what I'm looking for. No, I'll be looking for
just one among so many. A multitude were told that no
man can number. Our lord shall have a glorious
crown. A glorious crown. He didn't die
to make the salvation of a few people possible. He died for
a multitude of people that none can number that will most certainly,
barely, truly, surely be with him in paradise. Among so many
in that day, how will I know him? Oh, that's easy to answer. That's easy to answer. Like the
Bride of Solomon song said, there's not another like him. He's the
fairest among ten thousand. He, by himself, purged my sins. Not another did that. He loved
me and gave himself for me. Nobody else like him. And he's
the only one that everyone else there will be bowing down to. He's the lone one whose name
they'll be praising. He's the one who gave them all
the grace. He's the one that brought them
to glory, and He's the one they'll sing to unto Him. Only Him that
loved us and washed us white by His own blood. To Him be the
glory forever and ever. And He alone is the very reason
that all the rest are there. I'm the door, He said, the door
to glory. He's the firstborn among every
brethren. He's that corn of wheat that
fell into the ground and died and by his death brought forth
much fruit. Everything is from him and because
of him. That's why we make so much of
him in this place. It's all about him and no one
else. I saw a sign at the big church
the other day. I think it's either, was it today
or next Sunday, it doesn't matter. They're having a hallelujah hoedown. Ain't that special? No, no. The subject here is all about
Him. You come in here hurt. You come
in here bearing a heavy load. Your heart's breaking. What's
going to help you? What's going to do you any good
at all? What's going to give you hope?
What's going to encourage you? It's to hear about him. To hear
such a sweet word as this. To be reminded of this. To have
him by his spirit. Take his word and drop it in
your heart. Something like this. I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. I know
you feel alone. But you're not. But you're not. I know you feel like your world's
tumbled in and things are all out of control, but I'm still
on the throne and I'm never going to leave you. My purpose is to
bring you to glory and I'll bring all my sheep to glory afterward. Oh, a better day is coming. A
perfect day. An eternal day. an everlasting
day. Someone once said concerning
the verse in Genesis where we're told that Enoch was found not
because God took him. A preacher said, God told Enoch,
come up and spend the night and he never came back to earth because
there's no night there. We now often have and your sorrows going to be
turned into joy, everlasting joy, joy unspeakable and full
of glory. In closing, let me quote another
verse or two of the hymn by Samuel Medley. He doeth, he hath done
all things well. Soon I shall pass this veil of
death, and in his arms shall lose my breath. Yet then my happy
soul shall tell, my Jesus hath done all things well. And when to that bright world
I rise, and join the anthems in the skies, among the rest
this note shall swell, my Jesus hath done all things well. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Amen.