Psalm 85. We've already read
it. I'd like to introduce the message
by reading from a hymn, just one verse and then the chorus.
I find a lot of help from these hymns. They help me express what
I have difficulty expressing otherwise, like the song we just
listened to. But this hymn was written in
1996. It's not an old one, but it was written by Daniel Parks,
whom you know And it was written as an exhortation to preachers
before our conference in 1996 in Danville, Kentucky. He wrote,
we have gathered in this chapel, having come from far and near.
We are wary from our travel, some good news we long to hear.
So to him who is our preacher, we would make this one request.
Prove yourself to be the teacher of the one who'll give us rest. Tell us not of self-salvation
through an act of man's free will. It will bring no consolation,
having heard we're hungry still. Oh, we long to see the glory
of our God in Jesus' face. Tell us now that blessed story
of his free and sovereign grace. Now that will bring consolation. That will bring comfort. And
that's exactly what the psalmist David does here. He sings of
his Redeemer. The psalms were psalms. And David
here is always, his subject is his blessed Redeemer. Of course there's an application
to the nation Israel, Jacob as it's called in verse 1, their
deliverance, from their enemies again and again by the hand of
God. But more than that, more than
that, David sings of the son of David, his kinsman and king,
David's son and David's Lord, the sweet singer spoke of him. Christ is the subject of his
songs, even on his deathbed. I should say, especially on his
deathbed, David found this to be the sweetest source of comfort
for him. Let me just read a few verses.
from that place in 2 Samuel chapter 2. Listen. Now these be the last
words of David. David the son of Jesse said,
and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, the spirit of
the Lord spake by me. And remember what our Lord told
his disciples. When the Spirit is come, he'll
not speak of himself, but he'll testify of me. He'll take of
mine and show it unto you. The Spirit of the Lord spake
by me, and his word was in my tongue. And the subject of David's
songs was Jesus Christ himself, the coming Redeemer. You remember
again what our Lord said in Luke 24? He meets with his disciples
for the last time on Mount Olivet. And he opened their understanding,
we're told, that they should understand the scriptures. And
he showed them from Moses, from the prophets and from the Psalms,
the entire Bible at that time, the things concerning himself. And then we're told in the next
verse, verse 45 of Luke 24, after he'd done that, then opened he
their understanding. Then opened he their understanding
because he had given them the key. himself. All those scriptures
testify of me." Then, with that key, they could open the scripture
and understand it, which they couldn't otherwise. They couldn't
otherwise. If you don't see Christ in scripture,
you don't understand the message of the book. Oh yes, David speaks
of him. In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul
exhorts, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. In
psalms, in psalms, making melody in your heart to the Lord. So
let's join David and sing praise to our God. The first verse of
the psalm begins this way, Lord thou, thou. That's the first
note, Lord thou. Where else would David start? He starts with the Lord, thou. Two times in each of those three
verses, two times in each verse, David speaks of the Lord. Val, Val, six times all together
in just the first three verses to remind us, to teach us that
these blessings, these great blessings that David speaks of,
forgiveness, wrath taken away, Sin covered. These blessings
all come from God. They're all of the Lord. As the psalmist says over in
115, Psalm 115, look there for just a moment. This is what he
reminds us of in all of his psalms. In all of his psalms. Verse 1
of Psalm 115. This is the reason for all of
them. Not unto us, O Lord. Not unto
us. Wouldn't that be marvelous if
everywhere where any man stood up today to speak in the name
of God, that would be his attitude. That would be his prayer. Not
unto us, Lord. not unto us, but into thy name
give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. We'll sing in this place, to
God be the glory. Men may sing of their free will.
They may sing of man's merit. They may sing of what God is
obligated to do for man. But in this place, we'll sing,
to God be the glory. In every song, in every message,
in every service, may God give us grace to be determined that
that be our theme. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory for thy truth and for thy mercy's
sake. Lord, David begins his song with,
Lord, that is Jehovah. That's the word Jehovah. That's
the distinguishing name of God alone. It belongs only to Him. I am the Lord, He said, that
is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither
my praise to graven images. Not Jehovah. The self-existent. Think of that. Jehovah, the self-existent
One. Can you wrap your little brain
around that? No. And neither can I, Lester. Jehovah, the Lord, the self-existent
One. He had no beginning. That's beyond
me. And He shall have no end. The
self-existent One, the all-sufficient One, Jehovah. This is the name
that he revealed himself to Moses, remember? At the burning bush. Moses turned aside to see this
sight. And he said, Moses, put off your
shoes. Put off your shoes. The ground
you stand on is holy ground. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. That is Jehovah. Jehovah. From everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God. Look at another psalm, Psalm
86, along this line. And look what they sing here.
Verse 8 of Psalm 86. Among the gods, O little G, deservedly,
there is none like unto thee, O Lord, Jehovah. Neither are
there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou
hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall
glorify thy name. For thou art great and doest
wondrous things. Thou art God alone. So that's where David begins
his song of praise. That's the foundation for all
these blessings that he speaks of. Otherwise, they could not
be realized. Now look again at verse 1 of
Psalm 85. David says, Thou, Lord, has been
favorable to thy land. Favorable. You remember when
Gabriel appeared to Mary? He came to that virgin. and said,
fear not, fear not. This angelic being comes into
her presence and says, fear not, but immediately with these words,
because thou hast found favor with God. You don't need to be
afraid, Mary. God has looked upon you with
favor. And David says, Lord, thou hast
been favorable to thy land, to thy people. The most common definition
of grace is unmerited favor. Unmerited favor. And I like that. It's as free as the sunlight.
Unmerited. Nothing of merit to attract it. That's right. That's free. God's grace is not attracted
by anything in us. It's not attracted by any merit
in us, or it's not repelled by any unworthiness in us either. Oh no, there's no merit to attract,
but no unworthiness can stop it. If God is pleased to show
favor, that is His grace. That was brought about The captivity
of Jacob, the second line of verse 1. The captivity of Jacob. And he has done the same for
his people spiritually. Again, referring to Exodus chapter
3. When God, Jehovah, appeared to
Moses, he said, surely I've heard the cry of my people in Egypt. I know their bondage. I know
how they're made to serve with hard and fierce bondage. I've heard, I'm aware, and I've
come down, Moses, to deliver them. Oh, yes. And surely you must be thinking
of that greater deliverance of our great emancipator who said,
I come to do thy will, O my God. Oh yes, he came to set the captives
free. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son. made of a woman, made under
the law. To what? To what? To take a stab
at Lonnie? to endeavor to do something,
that's not our God. That's not Jehovah. And that's
not Christ. No, He came to redeem His people
from their sins. Bless God to set the captives
free. Turn, if you will, over to Isaiah
chapter 61. Isaiah chapter 61. Our Lord quoted this passage. No, he didn't quote it. When
he came to Nazareth, where he'd been brought up and took the
scroll of the book of Isaiah, he turned to this passage and
read it in the ears of the people. Here in Isaiah chapter 61, the
Spirit of the Lord, verse 1, the Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to
the meek. This is what Christ read in Nazareth.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, those who are held captive by sin, those who
are held captive by their own depravity. Those who cannot free
themselves, and nobody else can either, but he says, that's why
I've come. I can do it. I shall set the
captives free, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound, to redeem them. to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that
mourn. Don't you find that comforting?
To appoint unto them that morning's iron, and to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called the
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He, Oh, yes. And you remember, after
he read that, he handed the scroll back to the leader of the synagogue,
and he turned to the people and said, today. Today. They didn't like it. They understood
what he said. He said, today is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears. He told them, that's talking
about me. And you remember how they reacted?
They tried to throw him over a cliff. but his time was not
yet come. Oh yes, he came to set the captive
free. He had ascended up on high, we're
told in Ephesians chapter 4, and led captivity captive. I remember reading that when
a Roman army would conquer another people or country, It was the
custom for the commander-in-chief, the general, to come into Rome
with those taken captive tied to his chariot behind him. When
the captain of our salvation cried from the cross this glorious
proclamation, It is finished. It is finished. It's done. I've accomplished eternal redemption
for all my people. And three days later, arises
from the grave, and he ascends back to glory with all the enemies
of his people conquered, leading them captive behind his chariot
of grace Death, Satan, sin, they're all defeated. He triumphed over
every one of them. That's our Redeemer. Isn't He
glorious? Isn't He glorious? There's none
like Him. Is it any wonder that He's the
theme of all these songs? Could David find anything else
better to sing about, to comfort his heart, to find sweet consolation? This is the result of the free
favor or grace of God. This is why David sings his praise. Do you know the psalm? Do you
know the psalm? Have you been set free? Has this
great liberator, Jesus Christ himself, come to your heart and
lifted you up out of the miry clay, out of the pit, and set
your feet up on solid rock, and clothed you in the garment of
his own righteousness, and put a new song in your heart, even
a song of praise unto your God? Do you know the song? Oh, if
you have experienced His favor, His grace, you know it. One hymn
writer said, sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer. And we sing this
hymn on occasion, don't we? Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer.
With His blood, He purchased me. On the cross, He sealed my
pardon, paid the debt, and set me free. Oh yes, not unto us,
O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy
mercy, for thy truth's sake. And then in verses 2 and 3, David
sings of forgiveness, of sin covered, and of wrath, all God's
wrath taken away. On more than one occasion, more
occasions than I can remember, Dear brother Scott Richardson
would often say, was his custom to say during a message wherever
he was preaching, he'd make this statement. And this is important. God must do something for himself
before he can do anything for you. God must do something for
himself before he does anything for the sinner. And that's exactly
so. And that's what David says here.
God does something for himself and David rejoices in that. David finds the theme of his
song. The rejoicing of his heart rests
here. Not in what he did for God. Now what comfort could you find
in that, Lonnie? Now you look back over, since
God saved you, look back over, can you find any comfort in anything
you've been able to do for God, even by His grace? Can you find
any comfort in that whatsoever? Oh no, it's all been tainted
with sin and we all have to confess even after that we're unprofitable
servants. Oh no, David rejoices in what
God did for him. what God did for him. In these
blessings that he mentions, thou did it, Lord. Thou has forgiven
the iniquity of thy people. Thou has covered all their sin. Thou has taken away all thy wrath. You've done it all. David says,
salvation is of the Lord from beginning to end. I remember
hearing my father say often, because it was necessary. He
would tell me or one of my four brothers to do something, and
we would neglect to do it. And he'd say, if a man wants
anything done, he's got to do it himself. He said, man wants anything done,
he's got to do it himself. Well, man couldn't do this. These marvelous things that David
writes about, that David sings about, they're all the work of
God. This is God's doing. This is
God's work, and it's marvelous in our eyes. Turn again, if you
will, to Isaiah, this time chapter 59. Chapter 59 in Isaiah. The evangelical prophet joins
with David. Because Moses, the Psalms, the
prophets, Christ said, they all wrote of me. So the theme is
the same. In verse 14 of Isaiah 59, And
judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off.
For truth is fallen in the street, and equity justice cannot enter,
yea, truth faileth. And he that departeth from evil
maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased
him that there was no judgment, no justice. And he saw that there
was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, none
worthy among men. Where therefore his arm brought
salvation unto him. He did something for himself.
Christ the God-man, the intercessor, he satisfied divine justice. That's why all those attributes
that the psalmist mentioned in verse 10, they meet together
and kiss one another in perfect harmony at the cross in Christ
Jesus. Therefore his arm brought salvation
unto him and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put
on righteousness as a breastplate, this is our Redeemer, and a helmet
of salvation upon his head. And he put on the garments of
vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. Oh, that's worth singing about.
God's blessed work in our Redeemer, that alone can give me peace. That's right. That gives me peace. and hope and comfort. Nothing else will. Nothing else
will. Now let's look at the second
note of David's psalm. Actually the second and third,
verses two and three, let's consider them together. First he says,
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people. Verse three, Thou
hast taken away all thy wrath. And the reason being, The second
clause of verse two. Oh, here's the reason for both
those things, forgiveness and wrath being taken away because
Dow has covered all their sins. That's the reason the foundation
for iniquity forgiven and wrath being removed can only lie here. Thou has covered all their sins. That's why we enjoy forgiveness.
That's why there's no condemnation. Thou has forgiven their iniquity. Thou has covered all their sins. Covered. It's the same word used
concerning the covering on the mercy seat, the mercy seat that
covered the broken law of God. This is the picture here. Sin
has been put out of sight. Oh, but more than that, sin has
been blooded out by the blood of Jesus Christ, making it, listen,
making it in the sight of God cease to be. ceasing to be, taken
away forever, the blood of Christ, we're told, cleanses us from
all sin. When His blood covers our sins,
it's not merely that it's hid from the view of Christ, like
I may put a band-aid on a sword. Oh no, the blood of Christ does
away with sin. It effectually removes it altogether. No wonder the psalmist seems
as he does. Notice again, Thou has covered
all their sin. All their sin, brothers and sisters,
all of our sins were laid on Him. He bore them all away. Oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought! My sins, not in part, but the
whole, are nailed to His cross, and I bear them no more. Praise
the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul. All their sin, there was not
a speck of sin, not a spot, not a wrinkle, which was not judged
in Christ by God. All the sins of God's searching
eye, all the sins that He could detect in us, He laid upon our
substitute. and our substitute effectually
and completely and eternally bore them away. If he had not, he would never
uttered that glorious word, it is finished. What a song. What a song. Isaiah again said, for he shall
bear their And again, and he bear the sin
of many. And that is why he, my righteous
servant, shall justify many. Why? Because he bore the sins
of many. And it's only right on the part
of God, once those sins are done away, judged, eliminated, that
he forget his people. that his wrath is taken away,
all of his wrath, because the reason for it has been taken
away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Thou hast forgiven thy people.
Forgiven. The Hebrew word used here for
forgiven is born. Born. The same word used in Leviticus
16 for the scapegoat. The scapegoat. the one that was
driven into the wilderness, the one that the high priest, after
he came out, after offering the blood of the one goat, came out
and placed his hands over the head of the scapegoat confessing
all the sins of Israel and transferring them ceremonially to that scapegoat
and then the goat was taken out and led into the wilderness never
to be seen or heard from again. That's the word used here. He
bore our sins away. Oh yes, what the scapegoat only
did ceremonially in type, Christ did actually. He did in reality. That's what the psalmist says.
All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord had laid on him
the iniquity of us all. And he bore them away forever. That's exactly what Peter said.
Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Now look at verse 3. Thou hast
taken away all thy wrath. All thy wrath. Wrath is because
of sin. But we read in verse 2, Thou
has covered all their sin. The cause is removed. The cause,
the reason for wrath is removed, so the wrath, therefore, is removed. All of both are taken away. All my sin is taken away by the
blood of Christ, my glorious substitute. Therefore, all the
wrath of God is taken away as well. No wonder the psalmist
says at the end of verse 2, Selah, Selah. That deserves a pause,
Lester. That deserves some consideration.
That deserves to get along and consider what God had done for
my soul. That deserves worship. That deserves
a heart of gratitude, bowing down before Him, my glorious
Redeemer, and exclaiming again, glory to thy name. Selah. Selah. There's not a God
like unto our God. I hear many men speak of Christ's
atonement, sadly, sadly, as though it was a vague, uncertain thing,
that perhaps it did something, they're just not sure. At least
it can only be successful if man adds something to it. What's
man going to add to the death of Jesus Christ? If he didn't
accomplish what he intended to by it when he died, nothing I
do in time is going to change it. If he didn't succeed when
he said it's finished, nothing I do is going to make a difference.
Oh, no. They say he did something or
other which somehow or other was in some way or other connected
with man's salvation. And they call that good news?
Oh, no. It's our delight. and privilege. to sound a clearer note than
that on this glorious theme, simply to repeat what we find
in Scripture. God had made Him, who knew no
sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the very righteousness
of God in Him. There's no question, there's
no doubt, there's no guesswork about that. He made Him sin. He didn't pretend to do it. He
didn't simply act like He did it. He was made sin. And the result of him being made
sin is just as certain, and it speaks just as clearly, and just
matter-of-factly, we shall be made, have been made, the very
righteousness of God in him. Oh yes, without a doubt. He entered in one time into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption For us, I'll tell
you what, wintertime has came back with a vengeance. And it
may not, this may not do anything to warm you when you step outside,
but surely it'll warm your heart, it'll warm your soul to know
that I'm in Him. He's in me and I'm accepted with
Him before a holy God forever. He took away all my sin, the
reason for all God's wrath. Therefore, in Christ Jesus, I'm
not condemned and never will be condemned. Selah, selah. Think
about that. Think about that. Isn't that
glorious? This is not some deep, dark point
for theologians to sit around and debate and discuss and see
who's the smarter. Oh no, this is what my pastor
calls shoe leather theology. This is for a sinner like Larry
Crist to walk through this world in, to draw comfort from. This is the answer of a good
conscience before God. This, my glorious work of my
glorious substitute, enables me to sing. Arise, my soul, arise. Shake off thy guilty fear. The bleeding sacrifice in thy
behalf appears, so act like it. Live like it, preach like it,
witness like it. Jesus Christ took away my sin. Glory to his name. Before the
throne my surety stands. My name is written on his hands. Let's look at verse 10. Verse
10 of Psalm 85, this note. And we'll wrap this up. Mercy
and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Where in the world could that
ever take place? Where could that take place?
Didn't take place on Mount Sinai. Oh, no. No, no, no. Or we see
justice in all its dazzling, holy righteousness. But no mercy,
no mercy. Where do these four attributes
meet? Meet in peace. Mercy and truth
are met together. Oh, you know the answer. They're
on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace
was free. They meet there. And they both
found satisfaction in Him. Righteousness, their very righteousness
of God himself and peace have kissed each other. These divine
attributes each found common ground, common ground on which
to perfectly blend together without argument, in perfect harmony,
where? In Christ. Because only He can
satisfy the demands of all four. And He does. And He does. Listen to these words. Yes, mercy
reigns, and justice too. In Christ they both harmonious
meet. He paid to justice all its due,
and now he feels the mercy seat. Such are the wonders of our God,
and the amazing depths of grace, to save from wrath's vindictive
rod the chosen son of Adam's race. In mercy God sent forth
his son to die, As the righteous God, justice demands satisfaction,
and both met in Jesus Christ. Awake, O sword, against the man
who is my fellow. Smite the shepherd, and then
the shepherd can say, if it's me you seek, let these go their
way. Are we not bound to give thanks
unto God for his unspeakable gift? Last of all, look how David
ends his psalm on another note of praise and thanksgiving, verse
13. Righteousness shall go before
him, and he shall set us in his steps. In John's Gospel, chapter
10, our Lord said, And when he put forth his own sheep, that
is the good shepherd, When he putteth forth his own sheep,
he goeth before them. And the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. The sheep follow him. This is what the psalmist speaks
of in verse 13. His was a work, a life, a walk
that is Christ of perfect obedience before the Holy God. He was the
only one ever on earth they could say this and be true, I do always
those things that please Him. From the time Lonnie he drew
that first breath in that stable in Bethlehem, Until that last
breath when he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,
everything in between was absolutely, perfectly, pleasing, acceptable,
and honoring to God Almighty. Every step of his holy life was
pleasing to the Father. And then we see him ascend to
Mount Calvary where he surrenders to divine justice. where he trod
the winepress alone. Now with that in mind, look again
at verse 13. Righteousness shall go before
him and shall set us, us, his redeemed in the way of his steps. I remember I maybe shared this
with you. When I was just a young boy living
up a holla in West Virginia, one winter near Christmas, The
snow was so deep, the car, the truck, my uncle's truck that
was coming to bring presents to us couldn't even get down
to the house. It got so far, then we walked
out the meeting. Had a sleigh to put them on. But I remember following my father
in the snow. Boy, Lester, he was the biggest
man I ever knew, and I was fearful of him a lot of times. And with
good reason, I deserved what was coming. But I remember that
night, walking out of that snow, into that snow rather, and I
was behind my dad, and he was leaving prints in the snow. And
I would stretch, it took all I could do, Kenny, to reach out
and put my foot in the print that he'd made. In the steps
of Jesus Christ, God considers us to have walked. Isn't that
something? His life of perfect obedience,
His death is attributed, is put down to the account of all His
people. And wrapped up in the best robe
of Christ's righteousness, we can truly sing, with His holy
garments on, as holy as the Holy One. Turn, if you will, again
to Isaiah. One more place in Isaiah, chapter
61. Isaiah chapter 61, verse 10. The prophet says, I
will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He
hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself
with her jewels. Oh, what a robe, with his holy
garments on, as holy as God's own Son. And that feels so good,
so warm, so acceptable before a holy God. God won't accept
any other robe. It doesn't matter what went into
the making of it. He'll consider it filthy rags. Only the righteousness of His
Son do we stand accepted before Him. Our Lord, in His parable
of the marriage supper, said the master of the feast came
in and he saw one there that didn't have on the wedding garment.
He said, how did you even get in here without the wedding garment
on? Cast him out. Cast him out. Oh, but dressed in the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, This sinner stands accepted before the holy
God. Now let me say this, let me say
this in closing. God delights, delights to dress
sinners in this robe of his son's righteousness. You remember in
Luke 15, the Pharisee said, this man receiveth sinners. Look at
him as they stood outside the circle, looking down their self-righteous
noses. Look at him. He's a friend of
publicans and harlots and sinners. And our Lord looked at him and
said, you got that right. I not only associate with him,
I go out looking for him. And he gave that parable. And
in the last one, he said, and you know the story, about the
prodigal son. He wasted his substance in righteous
living. He came to his self by the grace
of God. And he started home. And he was
making up what he was going to say when he got to the father's
house. And the father had been watching day in and day out for
that prodigal son. He'd been on the roof looking
down that road ever since the boy left. And he saw him. Oh, he's lost a lot of weight. Mmm. He looks bad. Sorry. But that's my son. And he runs out to meet him.
And he says, kill the fat lamb and bring the best robe. I'm
going to put the best robe on him. Because this is my son was
dead and is alive again. He's lost. And now he's found. He's wrote this sinner in the
very righteousness of Jesus Christ. God bless you.