Today I would like you to turn
in your Bible to the book of Psalms, the book of Psalms, and
let's turn to Psalm 135. I'll be speaking to you today
from verses 4, 5, and 6 of Psalm 135. Let's read these three verses
together. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. For I
know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all
gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places." Now, there are many precious truths that are taught
throughout the Bible, throughout Scripture, but there is one that
seems to gleam and radiate on every page of Holy Scripture,
and that is the truth of God's sovereignty, that of divine sovereignty. Our God is indeed God. Beside Him there is no other. It is recorded in Isaiah 45,
I am the Lord, there is no God beside me. I girded thee, though
thou hast not known me. God that's described in the Bible,
the living God, the true God, He's on the throne of absolute,
universal dominion, directing, controlling, and ruling all things
after His wise and eternal counsel. Now, you listen to this scripture
in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11. God works all things after
the counsel of His own will. When God reveals the gospel to
His people, He reveals Himself as the absolute Sovereign. If you listen to this scripture
in Daniel 4, verse 35, all the inhabitants of the earth are
reputed as nothing. God doeth according to His will
in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth
none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Sounds like
somebody's in charge, doesn't it, my friend? Well, God's in
charge. He rules and reigns over all
things everywhere. All men, all creatures, everything. God is absolutely sovereign over
all things. To be occupied with thoughts
about God as He's revealed in Scripture will increase our faith. and comfort our soul if we are
His, if we believe Him, if we look to Him. The way to have
strong faith and the way to have real comfort is to have a mighty
and sovereign God and to rest in His blessed person. Nobody's faith can be stronger
than he believes his God to be. The strength of faith is not
in faith. The strength of faith is what
faith lays hold of. If you have a God that is almighty
and eternal and absolute sovereign, you have strong faith knowing
that God is in control. But if you have a weak, impotent
God that wants to and can't, my friend, you will have puny,
small faith. If you want to have strong faith,
look to God who is absolutely sovereign. Now, our Scripture
today declares in Psalm 135, verse 6, Whatsoever the Lord
pleased, that did he in heaven and in earth, the seas, and all
deep places." Now, here is my question today. What does the
Scripture say that it pleased the Lord to do? It says in our
text, Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that's what he did. Now, what
did it please our Lord to do? There are many things we could
consider, but there are four things that are plainly revealed
in Scripture. Here is the first one. It pleased
God to choose a people. It pleased God to elect a people. Now here is my Scripture, 1 Samuel
12, 22. Now you listen. The Lord will
not forsake His people for His great namesake, because it had
pleased the Lord to make you His people. Before the world
began, God chose to save some men in eternal electing love
and predestinated them to be His sons by sovereign adoption. He made us heirs of God and joint
heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ." Now, when did this choosing take
place? When did God elect and choose
His people? Well, the Scripture is plain
on this. God did this choosing and God did this electing in
eternity. Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4 declares, God had blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, according as He had
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. When did He choose
us? Before the foundation of the world, my friend. That's
when God sovereignly chose His people. Now, why did He choose
some and pass by others? Why did God choose to save some
of Adam's fallen race to save them effectively from their sin,
and to pass others by, leading them justly to perish under the
wrath of God. My friend, because God is sovereign
in salvation, He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. Now, you listen to this Scripture
over in Romans, chapter 9, verse 11. For the children being not
yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said unto her, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid, for he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on on whom I will have compassion, so then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
Now clearly, clearly it is declared in Scripture that God will save
whom He will. All those who were chosen by
God in eternal election and given to the Lord Jesus Christ shall
be saved. Not one of God's elect shall
perish. Now, listen to what the Lord
Jesus Christ said. It's recorded in John 6, verse
37. "'All that the Father hath given
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out.' Who are those that are coming to the Lord Jesus
Christ? Well, he said, "'All that the Father hath given me.'"
That refers to those people chosen in that covenant of grace and
given to the Lord Jesus Christ. "'For I came down from heaven. Our Lord said, Not to do my own
will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me
I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day."
The Lord Jesus Christ is the surety of those people, and he
declares plainly that all those that God gave him, he will return
to glory with all his people. Now here is the second thing.
First of all, we know it pleased God to choose a people. The second
thing we know, it's revealed in the Scripture, whatsoever
the Lord pleased to do. It says in Isaiah 53 that it
pleased God to bruise his son. Now, you listen to this Scripture.
It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall
see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand." The Lord Jesus Christ
stood as a mediator of all the people that were given him in
eternity. In order to redeem them and to
justify them, he had to shoulder their sin debt. That's what happened
at Calvary, my friend. Do you know what happened? Substitution. God laid on him the iniquity
of those chosen people. He became a substitute, a sacrifice
to put away sin of God's chosen people. Substitution and satisfaction. By his death and by his blood,
the Lord Jesus Christ made eternal satisfaction to God's offended
justice. Now listen to me. The death of
the Lord Jesus Christ was not an accident. He died the appointed
death at the appointed time, God's appointed time, as a sacrifice
for sin. He died as God's appointed sacrifice
for the sin of His elect people. Now, my friend, the Lord Jesus
Christ didn't die for all of the sin of all men. That's not
taught in the Scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ said the
Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. The Lord Jesus
Christ made sufficient sacrifice for all that the Father had given
Him. God laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. God made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." He said, for my people, for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. The work men did at Calvary was
not sufficient to put away our sin. It's what God was doing
at Calvary that's our hope. It pleased God to bruise his
son. It pleased God to put away our
sin by the blessed sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
thirdly, we know this, whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he. The third thing, what did it
please God to do? It pleased God by and through
the preaching of the gospel to effectually call out and save
His chosen people. Now, here is the scripture, 1
Corinthians 1.21, For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world
by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. It pleased God by preaching
to call out His people. Never underestimate the importance
of preaching. Now, not just any preaching.
Never underestimate the preaching and the importance of preaching
the gospel, the gospel of His grace, the gospel of His glory,
the gospel concerning His dear Son. Paul said, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believe it. God in His perfect and sovereign
wisdom, purposed by the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified,
to irresistibly and effectually call out and quicken his chosen
people by the very means this world calls nonsense." Now, you
listen to the scripture, "...of his own will," James 1.18, "...beget
he us with the word of truth." Peter said, "...we are born again,
not of a corruptible seed, but of an incorruptible by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever." And this is the word.
whereby we preach the gospel unto you." It pleased God through
preaching to save and to call out His people. Well, lastly,
in the time that we have remaining, let's consider the fourth truth. What did it please God to do?
Well, lastly, it pleased God to eternally save His people
by sovereign, free, justifying grace. it pleased God to save
his people by grace." Now, here is the scripture, Galatians 1,
verses 15 and 16. Paul said, "...when it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me
by his grace to reveal his Son in me." Now, notice what he said. When will a man be saved? When
it pleases God. When will a man be saved? When
he walks in awe. when he prays through, when he
prays the sinner's prayer, or when he makes a decision, or
when he shakes the preacher's hand, is that when a man is saved?
My friend, that's not what the Scripture declares. Those things
have nothing to do with salvation. Your eye-walking, your raising
the hand, your decision, shaking the preacher's hand have absolutely
nothing to do with salvation. According to the Scriptures,
Sinners are saved by God's almighty grace when He is pleased to reveal
the gospel of Jesus Christ to us and in us. Salvation is a
heart work. Salvation is begun and carried
out and finished by God's almighty grace. It is Christ in you. Notice what Paul said, "'When
it pleased God who separated me and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, not by works of righteousness that
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.'" Mercy
and grace is God-given, God-sent. Now you listen to this scripture,
Philippians 1 verse 6, being confident of this very thing,
that God who has begun a good work. Who began the work? God
did. God who has begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day the Lord Jesus Christ
returns. Ephesians 2 verse 8 declares,
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself,
it is the gift of God. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places.