Would you turn back to Psalm
62? While you're turning there, tonight
I'm going to be speaking from Hebrews chapter 11 on the city
of God. The city of God. And two weeks
from yesterday, Saturday, The 24th of October, we're going
to have a pig roast here. So everybody make plans for that.
That's always a very good time. October 24th. Generally get here
around 11 o'clock and we eat pig all day together. Psalm 62. Notice the first word of the
first verse, truly. Truly. That word truly is translated
five other times in this song only. I've entitled this message. Truly. Only. Truly. only, and somebody once
said, this song could well be called the only song. Did you notice how many times
that word is used? Truly, my soul waits on God or
only my soul waits upon God. Verse two, he only is my rock
and my salvation. Verse four, they only consult
to cast him down from his excellency. Verse five, my soul wait thou
only upon God. Verse six, he only is my rock
and my salvation. Truly, That which is true is
always only. And only that which is only is
true. Truly only. He says in verse five, my soul
wait thou only upon God. My soul. Look to God as the only
object of your life. Not self, not worldly ambition,
but God only. My soul had no care, but to please
only God. Do not be as those the Savior
described in John chapter 5. How can you believe that receive
honor one from another and seek not that honor that cometh from
God only? My soul, look to God as your
only dependence and trust nothing else. Say with David, my soul
wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not
be moved. My soul, look to God only as
your only guide and your only confidence. Look to the Word
of God alone. The Scripture, God's holy book
that reveals God's Holy Son, the Holy Scripture. Look to the
Holy Scripture, the Word of God, as thy only rule of faith and
practice. Not men's traditions, not this
is what we've always been taught, not our customs, but the Word
of God only. Look to Christ only as all your
salvation, not Christ and anything. Look to grace only as everything
in your salvation. Grace only. Oh, here's a word
that goes well together, grace and only. Only grace will do
me or you any good. Faith only, not faith and. Faith only, looking to Christ
alone. His glory as the only motive,
all other motives are bad motives. My soul, look to God only as
your guide and your confidence. My soul, look to God only as
your protection. Some trust in chariots and some
in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God. Now, only, only is true. only, only is true. One of the most important words
in the Bible is only. When Paul warns us of being corrupted
from the simplicity that's in Christ, he's speaking of the
onlyness that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He, listen to me,
He is the only message of the scripture. He's the only message. There is no other message. So
much so that Paul said, I've determined not to know anything
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He is the only
reason God saves. He doesn't save you because you're
sorry. He doesn't save you because you do anything. He saves for
Christ's sake. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. He's the only reason that God
saves, but He's all the reason God needs. He is the blessed
and only potentate. The Lord of lords and the King
of kings, and he is the only one who gets any glory. All glory goes to him so much
so that we say from the depths of our hearts, not unto us, not
unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy
truth's sake. He's the only one who gets glory. Now, the word only. Is necessary. for us to understand ourselves,
for us to understand God, and for us to understand God's salvation. Now look in verse four of Psalm
62. The word only is necessary for
us to understand ourselves. May God give us grace to really
tune in to what's being said. Look at verse four. Now, David
is talking really about every unbeliever here. And he says,
they only consult to cast him down from his excellency. They
delight in lies. They bless with their mouth,
but they curse inwardly. This is all they do. Turn to Genesis chapter six,
same thing. I go to this scripture a lot
and there's a reason for it. It's a very descriptive scripture
regarding man. Look in verse five. And God saw, and God sees things as they are. What God sees is what really
is. What you and I see, we don't
see the real thing. I mean, everything's cloudy to
us, but what God sees, that's what's real. Look what it says
in verse five. And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart. He's not even talking about the
works right now. He's talking about what passes through the
mind and the heart. Every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was what? What's that next word? Only. Only. Evil. Continually. Now that's God's
testimony of man in a generic way and it's God's testimony
of you and I as individuals. only evil non-stop. Now what that's talking about,
that's talking about the total depravity of man by nature. Everything that goes through
his mind, this is talking about the way you are, this is talking
about the way I am, everything that goes through his mind is only evil
continually, non-stop. And as you read this verse describing
man, this is man's fault. It's man's crime that he is only
evil continually. There's nothing good about this.
You can't blame, well, I can't help it. No, this is wicked.
This is blameworthy. Man's responsible for the plight
he's got himself into, total inability and total deservedness
of punishment. And that's what David meant in
Psalm 51, 4, when he said, against thee and thee only. Do you hear that? Against thee
and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight.
Now, wait a minute, David. I think Uriah felt some interest
in this sin you've committed. And what about Bathsheba? You
sinned against her. You murdered Uriah. You committed
adultery with Bathsheba. What is this about thee and thee
only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight? Now, we have
not understood sin at all until we've seen that it's against
God. That's what the problem is. Somebody said, I never hurt
anybody. Well, you've missed it. Now I want to ask myself and
I want to ask you four questions regarding this verse of scripture.
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. Four questions. Have I seen that
I am only evil. Have I seen that? Second question, have I seen
that it's all my fault? That I'm not a victim in this.
It's all my fault. If someone is guilty of the crime
of murder and they're brought before the judge and they say,
I can't help it that I'm guilty of this crime because it's my
nature to commit this crime. I can't help it. It's just natural
for me to do it. I was born a murderer. Does the
judge say, oh, well, you're set free then. I mean, you know,
it's not your fault then. No. You say, lock him up and
throw away the key. That's what said in that circumstance. It's all my fault. Now I'm talking about being only
evil and knowing it's all my fault that I'm only evil continually. Now here's the third question.
Have I seen that I am only powerless to change that condition. I'm
only evil, and it's all my fault, and I am powerless to change
that condition. And fourth, have I seen that
my sin is only against God. Now somebody says, I can't honestly
say that I see those things. I see it's what the Bible says,
but I can't honestly say that I see those things. I can't honestly
say that I'm only evil continually. I can't. I know it's what it says, but
only evil continually. I can't honestly see where it's
all my fault and on and on. But if, if that's the case, if
you say, if I say, I can't honestly see that it's because I've deceived
myself. That's the only reason. Men have
an amazing ability to deceive themselves. And if I don't see
this, what I've said, it's only because I have willfully deceived
myself. And that scares me. That scares
me. It's a scary thought to know
that you can deceive yourself so completely because that's
the truth concerning me and that's the truth concerning you. God
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only, only evil,
non-stop. Only. It describes me and you,
doesn't it? But this is also a wonderful
word to describe God. We read in John 17.3 of the only, true God, as opposed to the many
false gods. There's only one true and living
God, the God of the Bible. And this God of the Bible is
nobody less than Jesus Christ, the Lord, who is called, listen
to this, the only begotten Son. We beheld, John said, His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. David said in Psalm 2, God speaking,
God says, I'll declare the decree. Here's God's decree. I'll declare
the decree. Thou art my son, this day have
I begotten thee. Now, the only begotten Son of
God is the sole representative of the being and the character
of the one who sent him. He has the only unoriginated
relationship with the Father. This begetting, the only begotten
Son, this begetting is not an event of time, but a fact. irrespective of time. The Christ did not become, but
necessarily and eternally is the Son of God. He is a person
possessing every attribute of pure Godhead. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, He hath declared Him. only, the only begotten Son. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and this is very important for us to understand this, the Lord
Jesus Christ is not made of parts. He's not part God and part man,
and a sum of things that make the whole. He's not part gracious,
but part just, and kind of like there's a balance, it gets the
right balance. Not at all. He's all God. He's all man. He's all sovereign. He's all just. He's all holy. As a matter of fact, Revelation
15.3 says, Only thou art holy. Only thou art holy. Now, if I'm a believer, I'm holy. It's because He made me holy.
Only He has holiness in Himself. So much so that every attribute
He possesses is described as holy. Now, if you ask the average
religious person what's his chief attribute, they'd probably say
love. If you go out on to, what's God's chief attribute? Well,
He loves. Well, what about wrath? Is there such a thing as loving
wrath? Is there such a thing as loving
hatred? Thou hatest all workers of iniquity? Is there such a
thing as loving hatred? You can't use that word to describe his
attribute. He's got a holy love. He's got
a holy wrath. He's got a holy sovereignty.
He's got a holy justice. He's got a holy hatred. Holiness
is his chief attribute. Only he is holy. He's all holy. He's not part holy. He's all
holy. Every attribute of the Godhead,
he is completely. That's who he is. He is Now,
here's an illustration of this. Would you turn with me to Matthew
chapter 17? Matthew chapter 17. You know, I love to speak of the infinite
greatness of Jesus Christ the Lord. Look at Matthew chapter 17, verse
1. And after six days, Jesus taketh
Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into a high
mountain apart, and was transfigured before them
And His face did shine as the sun. Now, is this speaking metaphorically
or literally? His face literally did shine
as the sun. At this time, He's giving them
a glimpse of who He is. His face did shine as the sun,
and His raiment was white as the light. And behold, there
appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him." And
we know from Luke's account what they were talking about. Here's
Moses and Elijah talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. You know
what they were talking about? The Scripture says in Luke 9.31,
they spake of the decease which He should accomplish. That was
the subject, the deceased, which he should accomplish. Remember,
he accomplished something by his death. He accomplished the
salvation of every single person he died for. What an accomplishment
that is. Now, let's go on reading. Verse
4. Then answered Peter. I don't remember anybody asking
Peter anything, but here he answers. He's always got to say something.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, it's good for us to be here.
If thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and
one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the
cloud which said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye him. And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. And
Jesus came and touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. And when they lifted up their
eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only. You see, when you see him,
you see him only. And if you don't see him, in
his onlyness, you have not seen him, period. They saw no man
save Jesus only. So we see this word only. It's
a wonderful word to describe me and you. And it's a wonderful
word to describe God in Christ. But this word only is also a
wonderful word to describe God's salvation. Now, would you turn
with me to Psalm 71? And while you're turning there,
I want to ask the question, what is the word that most describes
the Gospel other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? What word
would you pick out that most describes the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ? What word in the Bible would
you pick? Well, let me quote a passage of Scripture from Romans
chapter 1 verse 16. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein,
in the gospel, is the, anybody know the next word? Is the righteousness
of God revealed. Now, if I was gonna pick out
one word, well, there's other words, you pick out the word
cross, that's a wonderful word to describe the gospel. But when
Paul speaks of not being ashamed of the gospel, This is what he
says is revealed. Now I could say the grace of
God is revealed and it is. Or the love of God is revealed
and it is. Or the mercy of God is revealed and it is. Or the
wisdom of God is revealed and it is. Those words are true,
but Paul picks out this word. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. Now look here in Psalm 71, verse
16. David says, I will go in the
strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. Now, why does he say even of
thine only? Now, there's only two types of
people in this world. The righteous and the wicked. Bible makes that clear, doesn't
it? The righteous and the wicked. David says, I'll make mention
of thy righteousness even thine only. Now, why does he only mention
God's righteousness? There's only one way to answer
that question. Because the righteousness of God is the only righteousness
there is. You believe that? The righteous have His righteousness
imputed to them. They don't have imputed righteousness. That is error. Imputation is
never used as a description of righteousness. It's not like
there's imputed righteousness and there's imparted righteousness
and there's some other kind of righteousness. No, all there
is is God's righteousness. God's righteousness imputed The
righteousness of Jesus Christ, His perfect obedience, God taking
that and imputing it to me. The righteousness of God imparted. That's what He does in the new
birth when He gives His righteousness, this new righteous nature. This
is the righteousness of God. And David said, I'll make mention
of Thy righteousness even Thine own. Do you understand what Paul
meant? Turn with me to Philippians 3.
This is a familiar passage of Scripture, but I want you to
see it in God's book. Philippians chapter 3. I want to go ahead and start
in verse 1. Philippians chapter 3. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me indeed, is not grievous, but for you it's safe." You know,
I don't suppose there's anything I've said this morning that I
haven't already said a thousand times. But Paul says, that's not a grief
to me. It's not grievous, but for you it's safe. Verse 2. Beware of dogs. And he's talking
about preachers. That's who he's talking about
when he's talking about these dogs. He's not talking about canines. He's talking
about preachers. Beware of dogs. Somebody once
said, especially dogs with collars on. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the concision, for
we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit. by the Holy Spirit, in the Spirit. We rejoice in Christ Jesus and
nowhere else and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might
also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised
the eighth day of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin.
A Hebrew of the Hebrews is touching the law, a Pharisee. Concerning
zeal, persecuting the church. I was so jealous I felt the need
to persecute anybody who differed. Touching the righteousness which
is in the law, I was blameless. But what things were gained to
me, those things that I thought were to my advantage, those I
counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless. And I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,
my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things and to
count them but dung. You know what that is? You know
what that is? that I may win Christ and be
found in Him." Now when God comes looking for me, this is the only
place I want to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that I
may win Christ and be found in Him. Now look what He says next.
Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God. God's righteousness, the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Isaiah 54, 17 says their righteousness. Their righteousness, it's talking
about all the righteous, every believer, their righteousness
is of me. You may remember, three or four
weeks ago, I brought a message on Abel. Abel, righteous before
God. By faith, Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by the which he obtained
witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts.
And by it, he being dead yet speaketh. He was righteous. Righteous. Doesn't say he was
counted righteous, although he was. Doesn't say he had righteousness
imputed to him, though he did. Didn't say he was viewed by God
as righteous, though he was. It says he in his person was
righteous. And the only righteousness there
is, is the righteousness of God. I'm righteous in him. I'm righteous because I'm united
to Christ. If He's righteous, I am too.
I'm righteous because God imputed righteousness to me. I'm righteous
because He gave it to me as a gift. I'm righteous by nature. He's
given me a righteous nature. I'm righteous by faith. This
is the heritage of every believer. Righteousness before God. Turn to Matthew chapter 8. I've made mention of thy righteousness,
even thine only." I want you to look how only is used here
in Matthew chapter 8. Verse 5. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him and
saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home. sick of the palsy, grievously
tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will
come and heal him. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I'm not worthy that thou should come under my roof, but speak the word only. And my servant shall be healed. You don't have to come, you don't
have to move. All you have to do is will it. Speak the word
only and my servant shall be healed. Look in Luke 8. Verse 43. And a woman having an issue of
blood 12 years, which had spent all her living upon physicians,
neither could be healed of any, came behind and touched the border
of his garment and immediately her blood stanched. And Jesus
said, Who touched me? When all denied Peter and they
that were with him said, Master, the multitude throngs, they impresses
thee and say, is that who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody
has touched me, for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me.
And when the woman saw that she was not hit, she came trembling
and falling down before him. And she declared unto him before
all the people for what cause she touched him. And she was
healed immediately. And he said in her daughter,
be of good comfort. Thy faith has made thee whole
now. Somebody was watching this. Somebody witnessed all this.
It was this man by the name of Jairus who'd come to the Lord
for the Lord to heal his dying daughter. He watched all this. Now while he yet spake, there
cameth one from the ruler of the synagogue's house saying
to him, thy daughter is dead. Trouble not the master. It's too late. She's dead. But
when Jesus heard, He answered him, saying, Fear not, believe
only, and she shall be made whole. Now what does it mean to believe
only? only. Believe it, because He
said it. No other evidence is needed. Believe it, because He said it. Believe that there is such saving
power in Christ, that all He has to do is will it, and you
are made completely Do you believe? Do you believe
that there's such saving efficacy and power in Christ, such glory
in His righteousness, such power in His precious blood, that He
makes you whole right now with no help from you? That's what it is, to believe
only. Turn to Matthew chapter 14, verse 34. And when they were gone over,
they came into the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place
had knowledge of him, They sent out into all that country round
about and brought unto Him all that were diseased. And there,
let me remind you, the word means evilly sick. It's not just talking
about somebody you feel sorry for. It's talking about somebody
who's brought their sickness on themselves. And we feel sorry
for those people. Good grief, if I bring a sickness
on myself, I sure enough feel sorry for myself. But the point
is responsibility. Responsibility. And they besought
Him. that they might only touch the
hem of his garment." That's at his feet. They besought him that
they might only touch the hem of his garment. And evidently,
he gave him permission to do it. Because it says, as many
as touched were made perfectly whole. One last scripture, turn
to Psalm 4. David says, Hear me when I call,
O God of my righteousness. Can you say that? He is the God
of my righteousness. My righteousness is His. I mean,
that issue is settled. There is no other righteousness.
Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. I need it again. Have mercy upon me and hear my
prayer. Oh, ye sons of men, how long
will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity
and seek after leasing? But know that the Lord has set
apart him that is godly for himself. The Lord will hear when I call
unto him. Stand in awe and sin not. Commune with your own heart
upon your bed and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of
righteousness. Whose righteousness? And put
your trust in the Lord. There be many that say, who will
show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light
of thy countenance upon us. Thou has put gladness in my heart
more than in the time their corn and their wine increased. Now
catch this, verse eight. I will both lay me down in peace
and sleep." Now, when you're asleep, how vulnerable
are you to everything? You're completely vulnerable,
aren't you? Anybody can get you. You can't
protect yourself. You're totally vulnerable. You can only sleep in a place
you feel safe. I will both lay me down in peace
and sleep, for thou, Lord, only, only makest me to dwell in safety."
Being in Christ, how safe, how secure, how blessed am I? Now I've tried to use these verses
or this verse when I'm having a hard time sleeping. And it
never has worked for me for that. When I try to make myself sleep,
I just get all the more wired and I start feeling guilty that
I don't trust this verse enough to make me sleep in peace. But
that being said. Whether I'm physically asleep
or not, I still have this peace. He is my peace. And Thou, Lord, only, makest
me to dwell in safety. Now, can't you see where this
word, only, is such an important word in understanding the gospel? This describes me, only evil. It describes God. They saw no
man save Jesus only. And it describes God's salvation.
I've made mention of thy righteousness, even thine only. Let's pray together.