I have enjoyed so much also the
fellowship of brethren here and being at the conference, but
especially being with your pastor. And I want to take this opportunity
to once again thank you for your love and support for us. And we pray for you and I know
that you pray for us also. It's just words cannot express
how thankful I am to God. That's why we'll spend all eternity
giving Him thanks. I want us to look here tonight
in Psalm chapter 40. While you're turning there, I want to say a few things. We who by the grace of God believe,
we who by the grace of God believe God. We believe that it is by the
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ that we are saved. You don't need, well, go ahead
and turn there, Galatians, hold your place there in Psalm 40,
but Galatians 2.16 I think says it as clear as anybody can want
it. Galatians 2, 16, knowing that
a man is not justified before God by the works of the law,
but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ. That's your faith in Him. But
that your faith in Him doesn't save you. It's His faith. That we might be justified by
the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For by
the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. The apostle
Paul said, I don't want to be found in my own righteousness.
I don't want to be found in my own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
of God by faith. And tonight I want us to look
and by the grace of God, see the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So that's the title of the message, the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 40. These are the words of the eternal
Son of God in flesh. And I know that it's also the
words of every believer. But once you see the words of
our Lord Jesus Christ, you won't want to see your words. See the
Lord Jesus Christ. These are the words of our Lord.
And the Apostle Paul quotes this Psalm in Hebrews 10. So we know
these are the words of our Lord. This says in verse 1, I waited
patiently. Oh, the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ. I waited patiently. Patiently for the Lord. And he
inclined unto me and heard my cry. He's speaking as a man now. What he did, he did trusting
God. Everything he did, he did not
do in the power of the flesh, though he was a perfect man.
He did by faith, by faith. He waited. Salvation is of the
Lord. He waited on God. This is confident
expectation. And I just marvel to see the
waiting of the Lord. This is not reflecting doubt
or fears. You and I, we wait and we just
fidget, fret, doubt, have fears, unbelief. But that's just not
the waiting the Lord Jesus Christ did. He waited because He knew. He believed God. He believed
God that He would deliver Him. Patience. I patiently waited.
You and I, we're learning patience. We're learning patience. That's
why we get trials. Trials produce patience. But
the Lord Jesus Christ, He waited patiently. He waited patiently. No doubts, no fears, no murmurings,
no complainings. Always trusting in God His Father. You and I, we need, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, this is way too marvelous to me, but as a man,
the Lord Jesus Christ depended on God for wisdom. As man, he depended on God for
power. As man, he depended on God for
all his provisions. When he was tempted, for instance,
when he was tempted, he was taken away into the wilderness and
was tempted 40 days. He waited. After 40 days he hungered
and he waited patiently on the Lord to provide him. He said
the angels came down and ministered unto him. He waited patiently
in the garden when he prayed. Not my will, but thy will be
done. And sweat came out of his, blood came out of his pores.
He would have died, but he waited patiently. He never did anything. He never did anything to sucker
himself, to leave his sorrows and trouble on this world. You
and I, by our disobedience in Adam, we forfeited all, everything. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
to this world and he suffered, but he always trusted God. I
waited patiently. He hungered, but he didn't make
this bread. You know, Satan knew that. He
said, if you be the son of God, command these stones to be made
bread. He waited patiently. He waited. And when he was crucified,
when he was crucified, he waited patiently for the Lord to deliver
him from the dead. How wonderful. Though He slay
me, yet I'll trust Him. He says, He inclined unto me
and heard my cry. He bent over and heard my cry.
In the Lord's own time, the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ was
tried, and when the trial was accomplished, His purpose was
accomplished, God heard my cry. God heard my cry. Listen to this. God doesn't need us. We need
Him. But what a miracle, what a wonder
that He would stoop down and hear our cry. That's mercy. That's grace. It says here in
verse 2, He brought me up also out of a horrible pit. You and
I cannot understand the horror of what sin and our corruption,
what is our sin and our corruption. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ, He
who knew no sin, was made sin for us. What a horrible pit. A horrible pit with no deliverance. He waited. He brought me up out
of a horrible pit. None of us can possibly understand
the horrible pit that is the corruption of our sin. The sin
of His people. God says, Cursed is everyone
that not continueth not in all the things written in the law
to do them. And he is in that pit, cursed of God. Cursed! Cursed! He waited patiently. And the Lord inclined and brought
him up out of a horrible pit. Brought him up out of a horrible
pit. The eternal Son of God, according to His own will and
mercy and grace, came here. The eternal Son of God was made
flesh. Was made flesh. And paid our
debt. And on the third day, the Lord
delivered him out of that pit. What a wonder. What a wonder.
How wonderful and marvelous that is. And he set my feet, he says
here. He brought me up also out of
a horrow pit, out of a miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock. Where is the Lord Jesus Christ
right now? He's on that immovable throne of God. He's sitting. Hebrews 1 says, after that he
had purged our sin with his own blood, sat down at the right Verse 3 says, "...who being in
the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when
he had by himself purged our sin, sat down on the right hand
of the majesty on high." He set him on a rock. It's unmovable. Now you and I, we're on that
rock too. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
rock. And we're sitting with Him in
the heavenly places right now. You know, I said I want to see
the Lord. But when I see the Lord and I
see the inseparable union of my Savior and my soul, I think,
this is too wonderful. I'm sitting there. But we're
saved by His faithfulness. And this is what the Lord is
saying. He set my foot on a rock. And he established my goings. He was justified. Everything
he said, God justified him. He said, I and the Father are
one. He justified him in that. He
is God. Equal with God the Father. He
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, because he is
God. The eternal Son of God. He established my goings. Everything
that He did, God established it. Raised Him from the dead.
Set Him on the throne. How wonderful. How wonderful
that is. Hallelujah. He set Him on the
throne. Well, not only that, He put a
new song in my heart. Put a new song in my mouth. This
is a song of praise to God. This is most amazing to me. But in Zephaniah chapter 3 and
verse 16, it says, In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem,
Fear thou not, and let not thy hands be slack. The Lord thy
God in the midst of thee, that's the Lord Jesus Christ, in the
midst of thee, is mighty, and he will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy, and he will rest in his love, and he will
joy over thee with singing." With singing. And no one is singing
more loudly or more beautifully than the Lord Jesus Christ. He
sings a song of praise, a song of victory over all his enemies. That new song is a new song in
our hearts also. We sing song of praise to Him.
That song is a song that is sung around the throne. It's a song
of redemption. You've washed us. You've washed
us with your blood and made us kings and priests of God. And that song can be learned
by no one except those that are redeemed. It's a song that's
put there. It's put there. Establish my goings. Put a new
song in my mouth. Even praise to our God. Many
shall see it. Many shall see the Lord Jesus
Christ in His person and Word. How many? Every one of God's elect. It's
a number which no man can number. Many shall see. This is the will
of the Father that sent me. I want to read that. In John
chapter 6. This is the will of the Father
that sent me. That everyone that seeth the Son, many shall see
this faithful one. The faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter 6. And this is the Father's will,
verse 39, which hath sent me, that of all that she hath given
me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every
one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting
life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. See, many shall
see. Many shall see the Lord Jesus
Christ and His faithfulness, see the beauty You know, the
reason men trust in their own righteousness is they don't see
the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read in that Psalm 110,
when it talks about thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. Usually a stop right there. But what is it that makes
God's people willing in the day of His power? Psalm 110. Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties
of holiness, from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew
of thy youth." In the beauty. People don't come to Christ because
He has not revealed Himself to them. But when the Lord Jesus
Christ reveals Himself to them, in the beauty of His holiness,
in the beauty of His perfection, the beauty of His faithfulness,
And you come running. You come running. They'll come
willing. It's a revelation in the beauty
of His holiness. Many shall see it in fear and
shall trust in the Lord. Now those I see are the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here in verse 4, I see the
words are here as it were the church interrupted, if you will,
the church, or maybe it would be God the Father. Blessed is
the man. And don't we say the same thing?
Blessed is that man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed is that
man that maketh the Lord his trust. As singular as that man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. God says, blessed is that man.
That's the same as we read in there in Psalm chapter 1. Blessed
is the man, in Psalm chapter 1, blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly. It's speaking of one. Nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
There's one that's blessed. God says, blessed is that man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we, the church, we're right
in there with you. Blessed is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed is Him forever. Blessed is the man that maketh
the Lord, Jehovah, his trust, and respecteth not the proud.
I was thinking about that a little bit. And, you know, our father
Adam, he was a man, the first man. And he had respect to the
proud. He had respect to the proud.
Satan came to him through Eve. He came to Eve. And he had respect. He believed the lie. He believed
the lie. That's the proud, the one that
said, I'll raise up and I'll sit on the hill. I'll be just
like the Most High. And men believe a lie. They'd
rather believe anything than believe God. But he says, has
no respect of the proud, nor such as turn to lies. Turn to
lies. His word, the word of the Father
is in his bosom. He doesn't turn from that. He
trusted God. He believed God. He said, the
words that I speak, I received from my Father. Okay, now look
here in verse 5. Many, O Lord, my God, the Lord
Jesus Christ, they're speaking again. Many, O Lord, my God,
are thy wonderful works which thou hast done. Wonderful works. And anything God does is wonderful. But you can think of the works
of creation, the works of providence, but especially the work of salvation.
Wonderful. Many. The work of salvation. Oh, how wonderful. The work of
salvation. O God, are the wonderful works
which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us. And
this, I couldn't get away from this, thy thoughts which are
to us. How long has God had his thoughts
on his people? How long has God had his thoughts
on his people? Ever. Forever. How many are they then? How many
are they then? Everything. You know, this is
why all things work together for good. This is why all things
work together for good to them that love the Lord, to them that
are called according to His purpose. Because His thoughts are on His
people. His thoughts are on His people. You know, the scriptures say
in Isaiah 53, by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many. His knowledge, his knowledge
of all that you require, all that you need, all that he requires,
and his thoughts are always from eternity on his people. To us,
they cannot be reckoned up in order to thee. If I would declare
and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." More than
can be numbered. They cannot be reckoned up in
order. How mysterious is the providence of God in the life
of His people. God's purpose is always going
forward, but as we see it, we can't reckon it in order. Sometimes
it looks like we're going backwards. Sometimes it looks like it's
going sideways. But in God's purpose, it's always going forward.
They cannot be reckoned up in order. If I would declare or speak of
them, they are more than can be numbered. And the Lord says
in verse 6, Sacrifice an offering thou didst not desire. Mine ear
hast thou opened. Burnt offering and sin offering
hast thou not required. Then said I, Who says? I. The eternal I am. Then said I. Then said the eternal
Son of God, I come. You and I didn't come into this
world. We began, right? We had a beginning. But the Lord
Jesus Christ is from ever. He came into the world. Then
said I. Lo, I come and the volume of
the book is written of me. Stop here for a moment and I
want us to go back to Hebrews chapter 10 and look at what the
Apostle Paul says here concerning, he's quoting this psalm. In chapter 10 verse 1, For the
law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image
of the things, can never, with those sacrifices which they offered
year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect.
For then would they not have ceased to be offered, because
that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience
of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again
made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. Wherefore, it
is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take
away sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is faithful even to the death
of the cross. To put away the sins of His people,
He must have blood. He must have blood. Without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. He said, wherefore,
when he cometh into the world, he said, sacrifice an offering
thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. I want
us to stop there for a second. It says here, my ear open, and
right here it says, a body hast thou prepared me. Well, what
is the Lord saying here? This is the faithful, Lord Jesus
Christ. He says, The sacrifice and offerings
that are offered under the law, they can never put away sins.
Thou dost not desire. That is, there is no pleasure
in them. They were never given to put away sin. They were only
types of that one true sacrifice. They were only types of the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Only types. But
it says here, mine ear hast thou opened. And in Hebrews it says,
a body hast thou prepared me. Mine ear hast thou opened. That
has reference to a willing, loving slave. In the law of God, when
a man got into trouble and he couldn't get out of debt, he
could go into servitude or slavery. And he must serve six years.
At the seventh year, he must go free. But the Lord said, If
he goes in by himself, he comes out by himself. But if his master
gives him a wife, and he has children by that wife, and he
comes out, he must come out by himself. The wife and the children
are the masters. But if that slave freely says,
I love my master, I love my wife, I love my children,
and I won't go out free." The master is to say, very well,
we're going to go before the judges. We're going to go before
the judges, and he's to confess before everybody, I love my master,
I love my wife, I love my children, and I won't go free. And the
master is to take and bore his ear, an iron, and
bore his ear. He is to be marked. And that
mark was to witness to everybody. From then on, this is not a forced
servitude. This is a loving, willing servant. And this is what our Lord Jesus
Christ did. He not only came into the world
and obeyed God's holy law, to perfection. But having established
God's righteousness here on the earth, he's the only man that
could go into glory by himself. By himself. But he said, I love my Master. I love God. I love my wife, His
chosen people. I love my children and I will
not go free. And God took him out and hung
him on the cross and pierced his hands and his feet and his
side. And he wears those marks for
all eternity. I'm convinced he's the only one
that has marks in glory. Let no one say. It was the love
for his God. It was the love for his people
that hung him on the cross, that kept him there. I love my master. A body has now prepared me. My
ear hast thou opened. God cannot die, and man, mere
man cannot satisfy, but the God-man, he both could die and satisfy
God. My ear hast thou opened. Burnt
offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said
I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me." Now, the volume of the book, as I understand
it, is the beginning of the book. If you go to a library and you
want to find a subject on, I don't know, geometry or something like
that, they have a, well, this one has a Holy Bible. And it
would say who wrote it. Well, this is the volume of the
book. There is a book. that's written and has seven
seals. The purpose, the counsel of God
is written and it's all of Him from the very beginning. And
you may also understand it this volume when the volume of this
book is written too. From the very beginning, this
is a book of Him. The book of the Lord Jesus Christ
is written that you might believe. He is God. Then said I, Lo, I come, and
the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do
thy will, O my God." It wasn't that he was just doing his will,
he delighted to do his will. Delighted to do his will. Servile service. Am I saying
that right? They're serviceable and they're
servile. Serve our service is not accepted.
Serve our service is not accepted. He delighted to do His will. I delight to do Thy will. What
will is that? To come to this world and redeem
His people. To save His people from their
sins. Yea, the law is written within my heart. It is His Word. His Word. Now look at here in verse 9.
I have preached righteousness in the great congregation. There
are several things that are mentioned here in these verses. And I want
us to consider this. Except the Lord Jesus Christ
reveal God to us, we cannot know God. John 1.18 says, No man has
seen God at any time. the only begotten which is in
the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." He hath pulled
him out. And I have preached righteousness in the great congregation. Righteousness. Justice. What is it that we know about
God and His righteousness? Look at Romans chapter 10. Romans
chapter 10. God is holy. God is just. And He will punish sin wherever
sin is found. Wherever sin is found. And our
Lord Jesus Christ, He was made sin for us and He bore the guilt. And He died on the cross. He took away our sin. But there
are people who believe that by their own doing, they can establish
a justice, a right standing or righteousness before God. And the Apostle Paul is dealing
with that here in Romans 10. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. They don't know. For being ignorant
of God's righteousness, This is what the Lord Jesus Christ
declares, His righteousness, God's righteousness. And going
about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted
to themselves unto the righteousness of God. The righteousness of
God is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in the preaching of the
gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed. It is in
the preaching of the gospel we see how God can be just and punish
sin. to the utmost degree, and at
the same time, be merciful. God, be just and be merciful
at the same time. And it's in the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. They're going about to establish
their own righteousness, but they have not submitted themselves
to the righteousness of God for Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Everyone
that believeth, he's the end of the law for righteousness.
The person that believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has the righteousness
of God. The righteousness of God. I've
declared thy righteousness in the great congregation. Everyone
that is in this great congregation, that innumerable company, says
there in Hebrews chapter 12. Everyone that is in this congregation
has that same righteousness. You know why? Because He's declared
that righteousness. He's revealed that righteousness.
Everyone in this congregation is dressed in the Lord our righteousness,
Jehovah Tithkanen. I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, Thou knowest. I have not hid Thy righteousness
within my heart. I have declared Thy faithfulness
and Thy salvation. He is faithful. He is faithful. The Lord is faithful to His Word,
to His promise, to His purpose. His purpose is to save a people.
He's declared His faithfulness. God gave the Son a people. God gave the Son a people before
the foundation of the world. And not one of them will be lost.
Is He faithful? Is He faithful to His Word? Is
He faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ? Is He faithful? Is the Lord Jesus Christ faithful?
I've declared thy faithfulness. The faithfulness of God is the
faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the salvation. I've declared thy salvation.
Simeon said, Lord, thou lettest thy servant depart in peace.
I've seen thy salvation. I have not concealed thy lovingkindness
and thy truth from the great congregation, thy mercy and thy
truth. Lovingkindness, grace and truth. These are not opposite in God.
They're not opposite. He is a loving, merciful, and
faithful. He's a just God and a Savior. A just God and a Savior. Withhold
not Thy tender mercies from me, O Lord, let loving kindness and
Thy true contentment preserve me. I see the Lord crying out,
crying out. Though He was made sin, though
He went to the cross and bare our sin in His own body, yet
He always trusted God. And we're about to see something
that we cannot understand. We cannot begin to understand.
It says here, for innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Innumerable evils. We can't even
begin to count our own sins. Each one personally. I read this
in the commentary and I thought it was real good. James says
if you break the law of one, the one commandment, you're guilty
of all sin. So whatever number you think you might have, that's
multiplied by ten. But we can't even count ours.
We can't even count our sins. Innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Mine iniquities, the Lord says,
mine iniquities. Corinthians says, He was made
sin for us who knew no sin. He was made sin for us. We don't understand that, but
we believe it. He was made sin. My iniquities, my iniquities,
not the iniquities of my people, my iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I'm not able to look up. They are more than
the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart fails me."
When the Lord was in Gethsemane praying, the horror of being made sin
came upon him, the horror. We cannot understand that because
we are born in this world in sin, in our nature. Just like they tell me that there
is one atmosphere of pressure on my body right now. I've never
felt that. They tell me there's one atmosphere
of pressure on our body right now. What is that, like 14-something?
But you can fiddle a little bit when you go on a plane or you
go on a mountain or you go diving. You feel the pressure change.
But you and I, we cannot feel the horror. We see it a little
bit. We see it a little bit when we
see the Lord Jesus Christ made sin and on the cross and crying
out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We see a little
bit, but we cannot feel it. No, the Lord Jesus Christ, He
said, my iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I'm not
able to look up. There are more than the hairs
of my head Therefore, my heart faileth me. But I want us to
look one more time to the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be
pleased, O Lord. Be pleased, O Lord. To deliver me, O Lord, make haste
to help me. In other words, if it be possible,
let this cup pass for me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
Thy will be done. And that he drank the cup dry. But as soon, make haste, as soon
as that payment is made in full, make haste to help me. Make haste to help me. And then
the Lord says in verse 14, let them be ashamed and confounded
together that seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be driven
backward and put to shame that wish me evil." All those that refuse, all those for whom the Lord never,
He said, I never knew you. That's why they don't love Him,
because He never loved them. And that's why people who die,
they die because they hate Him. They die in their sins. They
hate Him. But it says, "...let them be ashamed and confounded
together that seek after my soul to destroy it." Imagine how Satan is seeking
to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. And the weakest point of our
Lord in His humanity on the cross, God said, Bruce is healed, and he's going
to crush your head. Think of the confoundment. The
religious leaders, do away with him. We will not have this man
reign over us. And on that third day, him raised
again from the grave. Talking about being confounded. Let all those that seek Thee
rejoice and be glad in Thee. Let all those that seek Thee.
Who are those that seek the Lord? Be glad in Thee. Let such as love Thy salvation.
Thy salvation is a person. Let those that love Thy salvation.
And you know, the only way we love the Lord right now is because
He shed abroad His love in our hearts. If you love Him, it's
because He first loved you. And if you love Him, it's because
He shed abroad His love in your hearts. And it says here, those that
love, love the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the salvation. And let
them say continually, the Lord be magnified. Blessed is that man. The Lord
be magnified. This is what we'll be saying
for all eternity. Let the Lord be magnified. But
I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art
my help and my deliverer. Make no tearing, O my God. Well, I just read it. But the Lord could use it. It's too much. It's too much
for me. May the Lord bless you. Thank
you.