Okay, this evening, we want to
take a look at Psalm 57. Psalm 57, we consider this psalm
as we did all the psalms when we studied through all the psalms,
and we looked at this one about 10 years ago. It doesn't seem
like it's been that long, but according to my notes, it's been
about 10 years. Now, I'm entitling the message this evening from
the words found in verse 7, and we could use many other verses,
but it says in verse 7, my heart is fixed. And it's not saying, you hear
people say sometimes, well, he got fixed up. That's not what
this is saying. He's saying that God, my heart
is prepared or my heart has been made new, oh God. Now what does it take to fix
a broken heart? God. He's nigh them of a broken
heart. He breaks it and then he heals
it. My heart is fixed, oh God, my
heart is fixed, prepared. I will sing. and give thee praise. If God ever does something for
us in our heart, we'll know it's God alone that has operated upon
our heart. My heart is fixed, or as a marginal
reference has it, my heart is prepared. Both are true. The heart of the believer is
fixed upon, set upon the exalted victorious Lord Jesus Christ. We can also say our heart has
been prepared, prepared by God to serve Him and to worship Him
in spirit and in truth. THAT IS BY THE SOVEREIGN PURPOSE
AND WILL OF GOD THAT HE HAS DONE A WORK OF GRACE IN OUR HEART. AS MY DEAR PASTOR USED TO SAY,
SALVATION IS A HEARTWORK. IT'S A HEARTWORK. NOW NOTICE
THE TWO WORDS IN THE SUBTITLE AS I MENTIONED IN THE READING.
AL-TASKITH MEANS DESTROY NOT. DAVID PRAYS FOR SAFETY. WHEN
HE FLED FROM SAUL, You remember David said, there's but a step
between me and death. Saul hunted him and hounded him. He said, I feel like a partridge,
a little bird that's been hunted. Destroy not David prays for safety
and he looks to the Lord from which cometh my help my help
cometh from the Lord and then the word of Mictam which means
a golden psalm or a precious psalm or a secret psalm of David
David called a man after God's own heart. You want to know what
his secret is? He trusted in the Lord for all of his salvation. He reveals unto us the secret
of his strength and the joy of his heart. The joy of his heart
and the secret of his strength is both in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. While David was fleeing from
King Saul in body, he was fleeing in his heart and soul to the
King of glory for refuge, strength, and for grace to help in time
of need. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
says to us. You're laboring and heavy laden,
come unto me and I'll give you rest. Let us come boldly, we
read a moment ago, unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, not earn it, Obtain it. How do we obtain it? His sovereign
will, purpose, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need. David writes in another Psalm,
Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in trouble, therefore we will not fear. He said it again in
another place, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom
shall I fear? When the wicked came upon me,
they stumbled and fell. Because God was his refuge, God
was his strength. AT ALL TIMES. NOW, I LOOKED UP
TODAY, I'VE GOT ONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS ON MY COMPUTER WHERE
I CAN PUNCH IN A WORD AND A PARTICULAR BOOK AND SEE HOW MANY TIMES ONE
PARTICULAR WORD IS USED IN A PARTICULAR BOOK OR IN ALL THE SCRIPTURE.
BUT I GOT TO THINKING ABOUT VERSE 1 WHERE IT SAYS, BE MERCIFUL
UNTO ME AND HOW MANY TIMES IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS THAT DAVID
USES THE WORD MERCY. MERCY OR MERCIFUL. MERCIFUL IS
USED 16 TIMES, TWO TIMES IN THAT FIRST VERSE. AND I FOUND OUT
ALSO THAT MERCY IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS IS GIVEN 99 TIMES. 99 TIMES. AND THAT'S A CONTRAST
BECAUSE I GOT TO THINKING ABOUT THIS. MERCY AND GRACE How many
times is the word grace used in the book of Psalms? It shocked
me, two times. So David relied upon the grace
of God, the favor of God, but he cries for mercy constantly,
don't we? And that's what we are, mercy
beggars. I listen back to the sermon that
the brother from Ashland brought to us. from Luke 19, and he used that
term mercy beggar, mercy beggar, Eric Floyd. And he gets that
from the same place that I get it, from the old brother that
was a dear, dear elder there in the church in Ashland, Cecil
Roach. And often when he prayed, Lionel,
you probably remember, ALWAYS USED THAT TERM, LORD, WE'RE MERCYBEGGERS. AND THAT'S TRUE. LET US NEVER
GRADUATE ABOVE BEING A SINNER SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND
A MERCYBEGGER AT THE THRONE OF GRACE. NOW, WISE MEN TAUGHT OF
GOD WILL PRAY AND ASK FOR MERCY. AS DAVID SAYS IN VERSE 1, BE
MERCIFUL UNTO ME, O GOD. It'd be a wise thing to ask and
seek mercy where it's found, wouldn't it? Would you seek mercy
in the law? There's no mercy there. There's
mercy in Christ. Be merciful unto me, oh God.
Be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee. Yea, in the
shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until the calamities,
these troubles, these heartaches, One day they'll all be over when
we put off this sinful flesh. A wise man taught of God will
pray and ask for mercy. You remember the publican prayed
that way. One man asked me one day, he said, I don't know how
to pray. And I said, well, pray this.
He said, I don't know what to pray. I said, pray this. Lord,
be merciful to me, the sinner. That sums it up. Lord, be merciful
to me, the sinner. That's what the publican prayed
and the Lord said he went down to his house justified rather
than the other. And the delightful thing is this,
God delights to show mercy. He delights to show mercy. When
Moses asked the Lord to show me your glory, remember what
he said? I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful. That's his glory. My greatest
need is mercy. My greatest need is God's greatest
glory. And he'd like to show it. The
foolish and the self-righteous man, like the Pharisee, will
brag on himself and condemn others while the publican cries for
mercy. The Pharisee brags on himself.
He says, God, I thank you. I'm not like that man. Boy, you
ought to be. That man was justified before
God. It's right to pray for mercy.
It's right to seek mercy where mercy is found. He's called in
Psalm 59, turn just one page. I think we can find this. Psalm
59, verse 17, unto thee O my strength will I sing, for
God is my defense and the God of my mercy. Wow. He's a God of my mercy. Since God is a God of mercy and
the God of all grace and the Father of mercy, God of all comfort
and delight to show mercy, it's most fitting, therefore, that
we should seek mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that good
news? Now, you might be sitting and
wondering, what is the difference between grace and mercy? Grace
is God's favor, graciously, sovereignly giving to us what we do not deserve. All spiritual blessings come
by the free and sovereign grace of God, being justified freely
by His grace. The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life. But mercy is God not giving to
us what we do deserve. For we deserve nothing but judgment. That's what I deserve. God would
do everything right if he sent this sinner to hell, because
that's what I deserve. But mercy is God not giving us
what we do deserve. I don't want what I've earned.
I want what God in his mercy is determined to give. We read
in Lamentations chapter three, it is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed because his compassion, his love does not
fail. His mercy is undeserved. Not
by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to
his mercy, he saved me. In Psalm 103, it says there that
his mercy is plenteous. He has a storehouse full of mercy
that never runs out. His mercy is unfailing, new every
morning. His mercy is eternal. You remember
Psalm 136? Don't turn, let me just read
it to you. I remember when we, you remember in Psalm 136, every
verse, with maybe the exception of one or two, talks about His mercy. O give
thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of
God, for His mercy endureth forever. O give thanks to the Lord of
Lord, for His mercy, it endures forever. Because we have an eternal
soul. We need eternal mercy, don't
we? Sure we do. His mercy is eternal, everlasting. From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. His mercy is sovereign mercy. He said, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. It's not of him that willeth
nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy. His mercy is my greatest need. You remember in Ephesians chapter
2, for it's the mercy of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. In
Ephesians chapter two, in those first three verses, it talks
about everything we are by nature, dead in sin, children of wrath,
disobedient, even as others, but God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love, wherewith he loved me, even when we were
dead, in trespasses and in sin, God commended his love toward
us. Christ died for us when we were
yet without strength and ungodly. Be merciful unto me, O God, be
merciful unto me for my soul. Verse one, Psalm 57, my soul
trusteth in thee. IT'S A BLESSED THING TO TRUST.
WHAT IS TRUSTING IN THEE? IT'S FAITH. THAT'S WHAT FAITH
DOES. FAITH IS A GIFT OF GOD. FAITH
IS A GIFT OF GOD. TRUST ONLY IN THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST. MY SOUL TRUSTETH IN THEE. WHERE
ELSE CAN A GUILTY SOUL LOOK FOR GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED
BUT UNTO THE GOD OF ALL GRACE? HE CAN BE TRUSTED. I used to
tell my boys when they were young and growing up, I used to tell
them, you can trust me. I'll never lead you wrong. You
can trust me. How much more? That pales in
comparison compared to trusting the Lord. Whatever he does for
us is right, and it's right and honorable to believe him and
to trust him. That's what faith does. Remember,
it says if Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory unto the
Lord. He trusted the Lord. Abraham
believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. So
we trust him. He has all wisdom to guide us. He has all power to save us. All power is given to me in heaven
and earth, he said. He has all righteousness to clothe
us. That's why we say with Saul of
Tarsus, the apostle Paul, would count everything else lost, dung,
and ruined, that we may win Christ, and be found in him, not having
our own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is to the blessed, blessed faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. So
he has all power to justify, all power to save me, all righteousness
to clothe me, he has all grace to sustain me, and all wisdom
TO ENLIGHTEN ME AND TO TEACH ME. AS A MATTER OF FACT, GOD
COMMANDS THE LIGHT TO SHINE IN OUR HEARTS. WHEN HE FIXES OUR
HEART, HE COMMANDS THAT LIGHT TO SHINE IN OUR HEARTS. AND WHAT
DO WE SEE WITH THAT LIGHT SHINING? WHAT DO WE SEE? WE SEE THE GLORY
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. NOW THE NEXT PART OF VERSE 1,
IN THE SHADOW OF THY WINGS WILL I MAKE MY REFUGE. IN THE SHADOW
OF THY WINGS Now, this is symbolic language. God
doesn't have wings, nor does he have a shadow. But in the
shadow of his wings, I will make my refuge. In other words, in
his presence, under his power, in his person, in the shadow
of thy wings, will I make my refuge until this calamity be
overpassed. Now, here's a metaphor and here's
the type of language. As a little helpless baby chick
finds refuge from a storm under the wings of the mother hen,
protection let us seek refuge under his wings. Remember our
Lord said to Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if you knew, if you knew the
gift and power of God, You would run to me and I would hide you
under my wings. Over here, and let me see if
I've got the right reference here in Psalm. Don't turn, let
me just read it to you. Psalm 36, verse seven. How excellent is thy lovingkindness,
O God. Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of his wings. Now, if we can
find refuge under the shadow of his wings, That's a good place
to be, a good place to be. Listen to this. You remember
the story of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz, the kinsman redeemer? Naomi said to Ruth, the Lord
recompense thy work and a full reward be given unto thee of
the Lord God of Israel, whose wings thou art come to trust. Now, she came to the fields of
Boaz and gleaned in those fields, and there was a handful of purpose
given to her, and she came to Boaz and took her place at his
feet. And that's all a picture of redemption
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Naomi told Ruth, you came to
a good place. Under the shadow of the wings
of Boaz, you'll be safe. He's our near kin. And that speaks
of Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. This also has reference to the
mercy seat of God. And the winged creatures, remember,
the cherubims over the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies, where
the blood atonement was made, all of which is a picture of
Christ, our mercy seat. That high priest went in there
under the veil once a year with the blood of others. which he
offered for himself in Israel, and he put that blood on the
mercy seat that made an atonement yearly, pointing to the Lord
Jesus Christ, one offering for sin forever. And that's all a
picture of Christ. He is our mercy seat. Our Lord,
our prayer is, Lord, let me hide under your mighty hand. wings
of grace, wings of mercy, find strength and grace to help in
time of need until all these wicked days be gone, and then
take me home where calamities will be no more tears, no more
sorrow, no more death. Hide me, O my Savior, hide. We
sang just a moment ago. Hide me, O my Savior, hide till
the storm of life is past. Hide me in thy sheltered place
and take me home to glory when it's all done. Now, notice verse
two. And I'll move along here a little
quicker. I will cry. I will cry, and it's a cry of
mercy. It's a plea. Oh God, hear my cry. How many
times did David say that over and over? I will cry unto God.
I will pray unto God. I will ask God. He's the most
high God. There's none higher than God.
Our God's in the heavens, David said. He's done whatsoever he
is pleased. I will cry unto God most high. Unto God, the almighty
God, that performeth ALL THINGS FOR ME. NOT SOME THINGS,
NOT MOST THINGS. IN THE REALM OF SALVATION AND
REDEMPTION, ALL THINGS ARE OF GOD, WHO RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF
BY JESUS CHRIST. HE PERFORMETH ALL THINGS FOR
ME. IN SALVATION, IN MERCY, IN REDEMPTION,
THE LORD UNDERTAKES FOR US, AND EVERYTHING THAT HE UNDERTAKES
FOR US, will be accomplished, right? Turn back over here if
you want to. The book of Job, Job 23. Job
23, 13. Verse 13, Job 23. But he is one
mind who can turn him, and what his
soul desires, even that he doeth, he performeth the things that's
appointed for me, and many such things are with him. Boy, he's
appointed us not unto wrath, you remember, but unto salvation. He performeth the things that's
appointed for me. Salvation is by his decree, his
appointment. We cannot accomplish salvation,
that's impossible, but the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished that
for us. He said, matter of fact, he said
on Calvary's Cross, didn't he? It's finished, it's finished. Psalm, rather, Isaiah 44, speaking
of Christ our shepherd, says this, he is my shepherd, and
shall perform all my pleasure. That's what God said. He's my
shepherd. Remember, our Lord said, I came to do the will of
him that sent me and to finish his work. Well, he did, didn't
he? I will cry unto God most high
and to God that performeth all things for me, David said. Our performance is nothing but
sin. His performance is absolute righteousness. Verse three, he shall send from
heaven and save me. Well, if God's gonna perform
all things for me, God must come and save me. He shall send from
heaven and save me. Who did he send? He sent himself. That make sense? He sent himself. THE WORD GOD WAS MADE FLESH AND
DWELLED AMONG US. HE SHALL SEND FROM HEAVEN AND
HE SHALL SAVE ME. WHAT WAS THE MESSENGER FROM GLORY,
THE THRONE OF GLORY DISPATCHED TO JOSEPH AND MARY? WHAT WAS
THE MESSAGE? HE'S THE SAVIOR. CALL HIM WHAT
HE IS. HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM
THEIR SIN. GOD SENT FROM THE HIGHEST RESOURCES
POSSIBLE, FROM HEAVEN. And he saved his people with
his own precious blood. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. God shall send from heaven and
save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. What is the reproach that would
swallow and consume us? our sin, our sinful self. God saves us from ourself. Save me from the approach of
him that would swallow me up. We're so swallowed up with pride
and self-righteousness. If God doesn't come and save
us, we'll surely, surely die in eternal judgment. The last
part of verse three, God shall send, and he did, He shall send
forth his mercy. He shall send forth his Christ. Merciful and he shall send forth
his truth. The Lord identified himself as. I am the way. I am the truth. I'm the life. God shall send
forth his mercy and he did. And he accomplished our salvation
and his truth. I've got a note in here in Psalm
85, verse 10, where it says, mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Reconciliation
at the cross. God reconciled us to himself
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Law satisfied, justice honored. In the sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ, he shall send from heaven and save me The wise man
Solomon said, by mercy and truth, iniquity is purged. And he honored
all the attributes of God are honored in the sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ. My soul, David says, is among
lions. Roaring lions, Satan is described
as a roaring lion going about. to devour whom he will. Our Lord
told Peter, Satan had desired to have you, to sift you like
wheat. But I prayed for you that your faith fail not. My soul
was among lions. I lie even among them that are
set on fire, whose sons, even the sons of men, whose teeth
are spears and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword. His
word is a sharper sword. Dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any
two-edged sword, sharper than the words of man. Oh, they may
say things to harm us and abuse us, but their word will never
save us. The word of God will. He's magnified
his word above all his name. My soul is among lions, he prays
for us. No weapon that is formed shall
prosper against thee, Isaiah 54, 17. Verse five and verse
11 repeat this. Be thou exalted, O God, above
the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the
earth. THE ANGELS DESCRIBED WHEN THE
HEAVENLY HOSTS FILLED THE HEAVENS upon the birth of the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Glory to God in the highest,
peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Glory to God in the highest. You see, that's the bottom line
of everything that God does. He is so decreed, appointed,
and fixed the way of salvation that it gives him what? All the
honor, all the glory. You remember the song of the
redeemed? Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive all
honor, glory, blessing, and power, both now and forever. Be thou
exalted. You remember Philippians chapter
two, where it said God has given him a name, which is above every
name. At that name, every knee will
bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. And we confess it now. We own
him now. We're not ashamed to exalt him
now and say that God is sovereign in all things that he does. They
prepared, verse six, a net for my steps. A net is like a trap. They set a trap for David. My
soul is bowed down. David said, I'm sorrowful. They've
digged a pit for me and they've made a net for me, but God put
them in their own trap. where they are fallen themselves. You remember in the day of Daniel,
when they put Daniel in the lion's den, and the king came to check
on him and said, Daniel, you there? He said, the most high
God has sent his angel and shut the mouth of the lion. Those
wicked men prepared Daniel, a pit for Daniel, and put Daniel in
there with those lions. God delivered him. And you know
what happened to those wicked men? God took those wicked men
and their families, their wives, their children, and they put
them in that den that they'd prepared for Daniel. And it said,
the lion breaks their bones. They prepared a net for my steps.
My soul is bowed down. They've digged a pit before me
in the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Haman, you remember wicked Haman,
built gallows for Mordecai. You remember the story. Who got
hanged? It wasn't Mordecai. He was exalted. Haman got hanged. Joseph's brethren
sold him into slavery. and they ended up 400 years in
bondage. The Jews sought to destroy the
Lord Jesus Christ, but they ended up bringing destruction upon
themselves, their families, and their cities. In verse seven,
down through verse 10, David gives all the thanksgiving, praise,
and honor, and glory to the Lord alone. He said, Lord, you fixed
my heart. You prepared my heart. David's
called a man after God's own heart. Every sinner saved by
the grace of God, that's true of them too. He made us a man
after God's own heart, seeking the glory and the will of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, not my will, thy will
be done. My heart is fixed, or the marginal
reference, my heart has been prepared and fixed. If that's
so, I'll sing and give praise unto him. God did it. God broke
my heart. He's neither of them of a broken
heart. And then he gave me a new heart. He took away that old
stony heart and he gave me a heart of flesh. When the scriptures
talk about believing with a heart, he's not talking about the physical
organ in our chest that pumps the blood in our body. He's talking
about our mind. our understanding, our will,
our affections, all things that make up who we really are. With the heart, man believeth
unto salvation. With the mouth, confession is
made unto salvation. When Peter, or rather Philip,
had that conversation with the eunuch, and the eunuch asked
him, what hinders me to be baptized? And Philip said to him, that
thou believest with all your heart, you may. He said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, and he believed with a heart. By
his almighty grace, our hearts have been made new, Man being
Christ, he's a new creature. Grace has changed our mind. We
now think upon him. Grace has changed our understanding. He's given us the right understanding.
Grace has changed our will. He's made us willing in the day
of his power. Grace has changed our affections.
We now love him and hate ourselves. Isn't that what Job said? I've
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. Now my eye seeth
thee, wherefore I abhor and I hate myself. My heart is fixed. It's not frustrated, but fixed
upon the object of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our heart
is established upon the foundation God has laid in Zion. His word
is the foundation of faith. My heart is fixed, my heart is
prepared or made ready. to worship and honor him, to
wait upon him and his good providence, to serve the Lord with gladness
of heart. What a privilege to serve the
Lord. With gladness of heart, singleness
of heart, to witness to others of his great mercy, and to sing
of his goodness. Look at verse eight, wake up
my soul, wake up my soul, wake up, and I'll sing with a Salt
tree and a harp, I myself, I will wake early. Verse nine, I will
praise thee, O Lord, among the people. I will sing unto thee
among the nations. Praising the Lord is not meaningless
words when it's done in a sense with a heart of worship. I praise
the Lord in my heart. That is, I honor him in my soul. And I do that among the Lord's
people. And I will sing even among the ungodly nations of
the Lord. God's people are not ashamed
to own him as the sovereign king. For your mercy is greater than
the heavens. How great is his mercy? Great is God. How great is God? We can't even describe it. Words
can't even describe it. Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised. We say with David, bless the
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy
name. For thy mercy is great unto the
heavens, and his truth THE TRUTH OF GOD, THE TRUTH OF
HIS WORD, THE TRUTH OF HIS GOSPEL NEVER CHANGES. TRUTH. LIES ALWAYS MOVE. THEY CHANGE. TRUTH NEVER CHANGES. IT'S LIKE THAT NORTH STAR. ALWAYS
RIGHT THERE. NEVER CHANGES. HIS TRUTH NEVER
CHANGES. God is true. Let God be true
in every man a liar. Be thou exalted, O God, above
the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the
earth. And I can assure you that it
is. His glory is above all the earth.