Would you turn with me to the
40th song? Let's read this song together. I waited. patiently for the Lord. And he inclined unto me, and
heard my cry. He brought me up also out of
an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a
rock, and established my goings. and he hath put a new song in
my mouth even praise unto our God, many shall see, and fear,
and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn
aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are thy
wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which
are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, there more than can be numbered. And here's that part we just
read from Hebrews chapter 10, sacrifice and offering, thou
didst not desire. Mine ears 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, I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy
law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness
in the great congregation. Lo, 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. I have not concealed thy lovingkindness
and thy truth from the great congregation. Withhold not thou
thy tender mercies from me, O Lord. Let thy lovingkindness and thy
truth continually preserve me, for innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I'm not able to look up. They're more than
the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver
me. O Lord, make haste to help me. 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. Let them be desolate
for a ward of their shame that say unto me, Aha! Aha! Let all
those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, 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 tarrying, O my God. I have entitled this message
A psalm of Christ. A psalm of Christ, now it says
it's a psalm of David, and indeed it is a psalm of David. David
wrote this, but we know from Hebrews chapter 10 from that
passage of scripture I just read that the first application of
this psalm is it's the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
As a matter of fact, when I read Robert Hawker, On this song,
he said the whole song should be looked upon strictly as the
words of Christ and not the words of David and Charles Spurgeon
hinted at that being true from the first verse, he said, I waited
patiently for the Lord. And who's the only one to ever
do that? Have you ever waited patiently for the Lord? He said
we could make it our statement if we said I waited impatiently
for the Lord. And he inclined to me and heard
my cry. He's heard us anyway for Christ's sake. But which
of us have ever truly waited patiently for the Lord? Now,
this without doubt describes the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some
of these words just can't be David speaking. Look in verse
six. Would this be David speaking
when he said sacrifice and offering that it's not desire? Mine ears
has now opened, burnt offering and sin offering has now not
required. Then said I, lo, I come in the volume of the book. It's
written of me. I delight to do thy will. Oh,
my God, yea, thy law is within my heart. That's the words of
the Lord Jesus Christ. I quoted in Hebrews chapter 10. Look in verse 12. You say, well, how could these
be the words of the Lord Jesus Christ? For innumerable evils
have compassed me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I am not able to look up. They are more than
the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart faileth me.
Now that shows us the realness of imputation. He said, my sins. And my iniquities, that's how
real when my sin was imputed to him, it became his. So he
confessed it as his. Now, these are the words of the
Lord Jesus Christ. So let's look at this whole psalm
as the words of Christ. It's preeminently the psalm of
Christ, but we can make the word David's words, your words do
so, because when he says innumerable evils have encompassed me about,
have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt that your iniquities
have taken hold upon you so that you're not able to look up? They're
more than the hairs of your head and your heart fails you. Your
heart is no good. Now, those are David's words.
So wherever you can take this is your words. Wonderful. But
this is preeminently a psalm of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
verse one. I waited patiently for the Lord. And he inclined to me and heard
my cry." Now, the Lord Jesus Christ never had unbelief. He waited patiently for the Lord. Even when He was made sin, He
never committed sin. When He cried in His torment,
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? He still never ceased
to wait patiently upon the Lord. Now, can I understand that? No,
I cannot. Do I believe it? All together. He said, I waited patiently on
the Lord. He's the only one ever to do
that. He said, though he slay me, yet
will I trust him. He waited patiently on the Lord.
Would to God that you and I can do that right now. Wait patiently
upon the Lord. Verse 2, He brought me up also
out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet
upon a rock and established my goings. Now, the first application
of this is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He brought
me up out of this pit, out of this miry clay. Now, In those days, dungeons
were pits that men were thrown into and made to stay in those
pits. And the miry clay comes from
the fact that those dungeons were never cleaned. Now, can
you imagine the filthiness of such a place, the miry clay and
the pit? I can't even imagine. You see,
The Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's tree bore all that hell is. What all is hell? I don't know. It's frightening to think about
it, but I know that all that eternal hell and damnation is. He suffered on Calvary's tree. He was brought into the miry
pit, but yet he brought out. How come? Because he, by his
own glorious person, satisfied the justice and wrath of God
so that God said, I can ask no more. And he brought him up out
of the horrible pit and out of the miry clay. Now, how many
times in your own experience have you felt as if you are in
a horrible pit that you can't get out of. And there's no way
you can pull yourself up out. And you're in the miry clay. And the only way you're going
to be brought out of that is if he brings you out. Now, first,
this is the resurrection and the accomplishments of our Lord
Jesus Christ. But it's also true with regard
to every one of God's people, everybody here that knows the
Lord, knows what it is to be in the pit of sin. unable to
get out in the pit of despair concerning being able to save
yourself. And the Lord brings you out out of that miry pit
and the horrible place. And here's what happens in doing
this. Verse three. And he, God the Father, had put
a new song in my mouth, bringing me out of that pit even praise
unto our God. I love where it said that regarding
the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of the church will I sing
praise to thee. Can you imagine hearing him sing?
I love to think about me singing in that great choir, but to hear
of him singing. He put a new song in my mouth,
even praise unto our God. Many shall see Many, not just
a few, many are going to see what I accomplished when God
the Father brought me out of that pit and raised me from the
dead. They're going to see how I am salvation. And not only
are they going to see, they're going to fear. That's the fear
of the Lord. That's the beginning of wisdom.
And they shall trust in the Lord. They're going to learn what it
is to actually trust who I am as their salvation. That's the
result of his glorious resurrection. Now, look what it says in verse
four. Blessed. How blessed by God is that man
that maketh the Lord his trust. And respecteth not the proud,
nor such as turn aside to lies. Now that man who makes the Lord
his trust and has no regard or respect for the proud, false
gospels, lies, how he has been blessed of God. Now, if you are
somebody who actually you're relying on the Lord Jesus Christ
right now as the only reason as to why God would have anything
to do with you, but you trust him, you really believe that
he's all you need. You believe his righteousness
is the only righteousness. You believe his shed blood is
the full sin payment. You believe that if his mentions
your name before the Father as your great intercessor, everything's
fine. If he remembers you, everything's
fine. You believe that. That's making the Lord your trust,
not such as the proud, those who believe somehow in their
own righteousness, or such as turn aside to lies, turn aside
to false gospels. You make the Lord your trust.
Are you somebody like that? You've been blessed of God. What
blessing you've experienced By grace are you saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. You've been
given the gift of God. Not of words, lest any man should boast.
How blessed. Are you somebody right now who
trusts the Lord Jesus Christ? He is your salvation. You're
not looking anywhere else. He's all you got. How blessed
of God you are. Blessed is that man that maketh
the Lord his trust. And he respects not the proud.
You know, regarding this world, I want to be nice to everybody.
Don't get me wrong, I really do. I want to be nice to people,
but I don't respect the proud. I don't respect the ways of this
world. I'm not impressed with what men are impressed with.
I'm just not impressed. If you know the living God, how
can you be impressed with that which sinful, weak men are impressed
with? I'm not impressed. I'm not impressed,
nor such as turn aside the lies, false gospels. Verse five. Many, oh, Lord, my God. Are they
wonderful works? Which Dow has done and I thought
which are to. That's what I notice when the
Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the thoughts of God, he says, many
of our wonderful works and I thought which are to us. Remember, everything
the Lord did he did is in us. And when he's thanking the Lord,
he's thanking the Lord for his blessings to all of those who
were united to him. This is the same thing as when
John the Baptist was nervous about being baptized or having
to be baptized in the Lord. And he said, come without me,
I need to be baptized in me. And the Lord said, suffer to
be so now, for thus it become of us to fulfill all righteousness. Everything the Lord did, he did
as in us. Don't you love that? Many, O
Lord, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy
thoughts which are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee. If I would declare and speak of them, there more
than can be numbered." Now, I think of his many wonderful works,
the works of salvation. I've got to begin where I always
begin. I'm so thankful God chose me. I am utterly amazed that
I'm somebody that he elected before time began to be saved.
What a wonderful work. And I thank him from the depths
of my heart. People complain about election.
Well, how could God choose some and not choose others? Well,
I don't have any problem with that. I really don't. I can see why he passed by me
and let me go to hell. And he'd be just and holy and righteous
in doing so. But how thankful I am for his
gracious choice. What about justification? Talk
about wonderful work. He made it to where every one
of his people stand before his law without guilt, justified,
perfectly righteous in his sight. That's a wonderful work. What
about his work of redemption, where he actually put away my
sin so that I don't have any guilt? I don't have any sin.
That's what he accomplished on the cross. That's a wonderful
work. What about the fact that he gave me a new heart? A heart
that was not there before. He gave me a new heart that loves
him, that believes his gospel. What about the fact that he's
preserved me? I'm so weak, and yet he's preserved me all this
way to where I haven't wickedly departed. And I would if he didn't
preserve me. Many are your wonderful works. Don't you love his wonderful
works of salvation? And what about his thoughts?
What about his thoughts? Now, I know that most of the
time, in my experience, When I think of the Lord thinking
about me, I think of him being disgusted.
I think of him tolerating me for Christ's sake. That's what
I think. But let me show you a passage
of scripture in Jeremiah 29. Verse 11. For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace. And not of evil. To give you
an expected end. Perfect likeness to Christ. Then
shall you call upon me and you shall go and pray unto me and
I'll hearken unto you. And you shall seek me and find
me when you search for me with all your heart. I know the thoughts
that I have of you. Is there any wonder David said,
many are your wonderful works, your thoughts can't be reckoned
up in order. If I would declare and speak
of them, there more than can be numbered. Now, verse six,
this is what was quoted in Hebrews chapter 10. Sacrifice and offering
that it's not desire. And you think in the Old Testament
economy of the thousands, the hundreds of thousands, the millions
of lands that were slain. Lord says. You didn't desire
these things. The reason being, these things
are nothing but pictures and types. There are pictures about
the only way I can come into God's presence is through the
Lamb slave. But did they please God? No. As a matter of fact, they've
been to all the Old Testament laws, all the Old Testament types,
everything has been done away with. It's been done away. It's
gone. Do you believe the law is your
rule of life? No, I don't. No, I don't. All that is gone.
I live by the faith of the Son of God. All that stuff has been
done away with sacrifice and offering. It's not desire. Mine
ears hast thou opened. And this is a reference to the
bond slave who said, I don't want to go free. You know, the
Lord Jesus Christ, he could have come here and kept the law and
gone back to his father. He could have done that. But
what good would have done me and you? Absolutely nothing. But he said, I love my wife. I love my children. I will not
go free. Mine ear has thou digged. Burnt offering and sin offering
hast thou not required? Then, verse 7, said I, lo, I
come. In the volume of the book, and
that's the same book that's spoken of in Revelation, chapter five,
where the Lamb opened the seven seals of the book. It's the decrees
and the purposes of God. This book was written a whole
lot longer than before. This book we're looking at right
now. This is the eternal, irrevocable
decrees of God. He says, Lo, in the volume of
the book, it's written of me. I delight to do thy will. Oh, God, now, what did he accomplish
in doing God's will? Hold your finger there and turn
back to Hebrews 10 for just a moment. Verse nine. Then said I, lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, the
old covenant, that he may establish the second by the witch will,
by God's will, by Him saying, I come to do thy will, O God. Here's what happened as a result
of that. We are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ. We're declared by God
to be completely holy through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ. Once for all. Perfectly completed,
never to be repeated. That's the heritage of every
believer. That's what our Lord did when
he came and did the father's will. Lo, I come in the volume
of the book. It's written of me. I'd like
to do that will. Oh, my God. Yea, thy law is within
my heart. Oh, what a glorious description
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in the next few verses,
the Lord describes his preaching. He says in verse nine, I have
preached righteousness in the great congregation. Lo, 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. I have not concealed thy lovingkindness
and thy truth from the great congregation. Now, first, let's
consider the manner of the Lord's preaching. He says, I've preached.
He says, I've not refrained. I've not held back, I've not
hid, I've declared, I've not concealed. And that's our Lord's
description of his own preaching. He preached, he declared, and
in so doing, he did not refrain, he did not hide, and he did not
conceal in his preaching. You understand this? It's very
important. A false prophet quite often is
not identified by what he says, but by what he conceals, what
he hides, what he doesn't actually say. Maybe everything he says
is good. You may agree with everything
he says, but he leaves out that which is essential. And the Lord
said, I didn't do that. Now, look at his message. He said, I have preached righteousness
in the great congregation. That's his message. I have preached
righteousness. And we don't have to wonder as
to what kind of righteousness he's talking about, because he
says, I've not hid thy righteousness within my heart. Now, understand
this. There is only one righteousness. the righteousness and the merits
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what the gospel declares. It's a message regarding the
righteousness of God. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel, for it's the power of God and the salvation to everyone
that believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greek, for therein
in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed. God's righteousness. Now, remember, Satan's ministers
come as ministers of righteousness. They mean something else other
than what the Bible means, though. I preach righteousness. He preached
the righteous character of God. He preached God's righteousness,
his utter, essential, righteous character, altogether holy without
sin. He declared God righteousness
in damnation. If God sent this sinner talking
to you to hell and never offered me mercy and put me in the lowest
pit and shut the door for eternity, holy and reverend is his name. The punishment fits the crime. And that's true with regard to
every person in this room. If God cut you off and sent you
to hell and said there'll be no mercy for him or her, holy,
righteous, reverend is his name. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? But he also proclaimed God's
righteousness and salvation. I am saved by the very righteousness
of God given to me. That is my righteousness before
God. My sin became His sin, and His
righteousness is my righteousness, so that I am the very righteousness
of God. That's every believer. 2 Corinthians
5.21, He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God. In him, he says, I've
not hid thy righteousness within my heart. I've declared thy faithfulness. Oh, the faithfulness of God.
You know, the reason I'm saved. Is because he's faithful to do
what he promised to do. He promised his son when I was
given to him in the covenant of grace, he's going to be saved
and he's faithful to what he promised. I've not concealed
by loving kindness. David said, have mercy upon me
according to thy loving kindness. He didn't say have mercy upon
me because I'm sorry. I promise I'll never do it again.
Somebody once said this is the Old Testament word for grace.
Thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
Verse 11. Withhold not thou thy tender
mercies from me, O Lord. Don't withhold them. He felt
like they were being withheld. Is this the Lord speaking? Certainly
from the cross it is. Withhold not thou thy tender
mercies from me, O Lord. Let thy loving kindness and thy
truth continually preserve me, for innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Now look at this language, and
we don't have any right to believe that these are not the words.
We see all this other stuff as the words of Christ, but not
this. Now you wait a minute. This shows how true and real the imputation
of sin is. For innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Todd's iniquities that were counted
to me. No. Mine iniquities. Mine iniquities. who his own
self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. My sin became
his sin. He experienced everything about
sin, all the shame, all the guilt, all the helplessness, all the
despair. He experienced everything about
sin, but the commission of it. Now, he never sinned, but this
is worse. This is worse. He was made sin. That's what he became. Do I understand
that? Of course, I don't understand
it. I mean, the Lord turned the lights out to let us know we're
not going to understand this transaction between the son and
the father. We just can't enter in. But he said, the Lord Jesus
Christ said, mine iniquities. What's painful to think about,
isn't it? To think of the Lord, the holy, spotless Son of God,
bearing our sins. They're His sins. Mine iniquities
have taken hold upon me so that I'm not able to look up. I'm
so ashamed. They're more than the hairs of
my head. Therefore, my heart fails me. Now, while those are the words
of the Lord on the cross, are they your words? Is this your prayer? Innumerable evils have surrounded
me, pressed on me. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me. They've grabbed me so I can't
move. I'm not able to look up. They're more than the hairs of
my head. Therefore, my heart fails me. Now, somebody like
that, here's all they can pray. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver
me. O Lord, make haste to help me. Now, if you know you're a sinner,
if what he said in verse 12 describes you, you know the only way that
you can be saved is if God is pleased to do something for you.
You know that. You're convinced of that. You're
like that Syrophoenician woman. She comes to the Lord. Lord,
my daughter, have mercy on me, thou son of David. My daughter
is grievously vexed with the devil. Oh, she came with a great
need. He answered her not a word. He
ignored her. She kept crying. The disciples
said, send her away. She won't shut up. He said, it's
not right. Or he said, I've only come to
save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I didn't come to save
everybody. I've only come to save the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. You know how she responded? Then came she and worshipped
him, saying, Lord, help me. If you don't help me, I won't
be helped. If you don't help me, if you leave me in my cell,
I won't be helped. I'll split hell wide open. Lord,
help me. Make haste to help me. I tell you what, I can say this
with full conviction. I know the only way that I'll
be saved is if he sovereignly wills my salvation. Do you know
that? Do you know that so? Now, notice he prays against
some people. Let them be ashamed and confounded
together to seek after my soul to destroy it. Now, these are
the words of the Lord. He's praying against some people.
He's not praying for them. Remember in John 17, 9 when he
said, I pray for them. I pray not for the Word, but
for them which you have given me, for they are thine." Now,
he's praying at this time against those he was not dying for, against
those who hated him. Look what he says. 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. Let them be desolate for reward of their shame that say
unto me, aha, aha. Turn over to Psalm 69 for a moment.
And this is another one of those, all the Psalms are messianic
songs, but look in verse 21. They gave me also for my, they
gave me also gall for my meat and in my thirst, they gave me
vinegar to drink. Now, is there any question about
who's speaking there? That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, look what he says. Let their table become a snare
before them, and that which should have been for their welfare,
let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that
they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour
out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take
hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate,
and let none dwell in their tents, for they persecute him whom thou
hast smitten." And they talk to the grief of those whom thou
hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity,
and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted
out of the book of the living, and be not written with the righteous."
Now, he's praying against those people, isn't he? Now, back to
Psalm 40. But now he prays differently
for somebody else. Verse 16, "...let all those that
seek thee." Now that describes every believer.
I'm seeking the Lord. That's all I want is to be found
in him. I'm seeking the Lord. Let all
those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such
as love thy salvation. I do love his salvation to think
that me, a sinner, What I am can be perfectly conformed to
the Lord Jesus Christ. I love His salvation. I love
the fact that it's all of grace. I love the fact that all that
God requires of me, He looks to His Son for, and I'm complete
in the Lord Jesus Christ. I love His salvation. I love the fact that He was made
sin. I love the fact that my iniquity
became his iniquity. What all that means, I don't
know, but I sure love it. It's mysterious. It's glorious.
My sin became his sin. And just as truly as my sin became
his sin, his righteousness becomes my righteousness so that I love
his salvation. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, the Lord be magnified. The Lord be glorified. Verse 17. But I am poor and needy. Now remember who's speaking.
I'm poor and needy. In Psalm 22, that Psalm that
most people think he quoted that whole Psalm while I was hanging
on the cross. That's where he starts out saying, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? And why art thou so far from
helping me in the word of my roaring? That's the Lord Jesus
speaking from the cross. You know what else he said in
that song? He said, I'm a worm. I'm a worm. That's the Son of
God. That's the uncreated, eternal
Son of God who created the universe. He said, I'm a worm. I'm not
even fit to be called a man. That's why he said, I'm poor. On the cross, he became poor.
He became poor of righteousness. He became poor of acceptance.
He was totally cut off by his God. I'm poor and I'm needy. But, you know, this is David
speaking too, isn't it? And this is me speaking too. I'm poor.
I don't have anything. And I have great needs. I'm poor. I don't have one thing. to recommend
myself to God right now. I'm poor and I have great needs. How I need the Lord Jesus. How
I need His grace. How I need His mercy. Poor and
needy. I'm poor and needy, yet the Lord
thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer. Remember where he said, be pleased
to deliver me, oh, make haste to help me. He's asking for it.
And here he says, I've received it. Thou art my help and thou
art my deliverer. Make no tearing. Oh, my God. Now, in this thing
of the Lord's help, you're in a hurry to get it, aren't you?
I'm in a hurry to get it. Lord, make no tearing. Let's pray.