Now, Psalm 39, for a moment this
evening, I'm calling this message, The Believer's Hope. The Believer's
Hope. If we know something of the vanity
of this flesh, the vanity of the old, fallen, rotten, sin
nature that we've all inherited in Adam, certainly we have to
say that all of our hope of salvation is not found in us. Our doing,
our works, our giving, but our whole hope of salvation is based
upon the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. That's
all our plea. That's all our hope. That He
loved us and washed us from our sin in His own blood. Now notice in Psalm 39, a psalm
of David. A psalm of David. Now, David
didn't pin the words of all the Psalms, but all the Psalms are
God-given, God-breathed, God-inspired to show us Christ. It says here,
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my
tongue, I'll keep my mouth with the bridle, while the wicked
is before me." David was a man after God's own heart. It says
that in the scripture a couple places, Acts 13 and others. David
also was God's chosen king. He told Samuel, arise and anoint
him, this is my king. The young shepherd boy David
was brought in from the field. His father Jesse said, well you're
not interested in David And he said, we will not eat till you
bring him. And when he was brought in, God revealed to Samuel, that's
my man, that's my king. And he was anointed, chosen of
God, and blessed as the king of Israel reigned for 40 years. David was one who trusted God
for all of salvation, who waited upon the Lord. However, as you
look over David's life, David's experience, David was not exempted
who's not exempt from what every one of God's children experience
in this life. And that is conflict, sorrow,
trial, and grief over various issues. Man that's born of woman,
few days, and full of trouble. Full of trouble. We've all experienced
that, haven't we? Where do we turn in a time of
trouble? Who do you turn to in a time
of heartache, in a time of trouble? Well, the believer has just one
place to go. He has just one refuge. He has
just one source of comfort, hope, and strength, and that is looking
unto Christ alone. Oh, for grace to do so. And may we look at verse 1 now.
And I said, I said, I'll take heed. I'll pay attention to my
ways. And David's praying here, said,
I don't want to sin, that I sin not even in thought or even in
tongue. He said, I'll keep my mouth with
a bridle. You know, a bridle, that's, some
of you younger ones may not know, but when you'd ride a horse,
you'd put that bridle and that bit in his mouth and that bridle
to guide the horse along. Be difficult to ride a horse
without a bridle, wasn't it? Without something to guide the
horse along. He said, I'll keep my mouth with
a bridle while the wicked, while the unbeliever, is before me. Oh, for grace to learn this lesson,
to muzzle our mouth and to subdue our tongue." James talks about
the tongue being an unruly member. Remember? And our Lord said,
Out of the mouth proceedeth all these evil thoughts, and they
come forth from the heart, but they're spoken through the mouth
and with the tongue. The tongue is but a small member
of our body, isn't it? Very small. But capable of great
evil. Especially when speaking about
God Almighty. I'll tell you a story. One time
Pastor Mahan was preaching somewhere, and he was a guest speaker in
that meeting. And he preached, as he often
does, about the particular redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is, Christ dying for his elect. Christ redeeming, affectionately,
his own chosen people with his own blood. And the pastor later
said, concerning the message that Pastor Mahan had preached.
Well, if Jesus Christ died only for the elect, he's no savior
of mine. Can you imagine such a thing? The tongue sometimes is a very
unruly member and speaks and is capable of speaking great
evil. So David prays here, oh that
I may sin not with my tongue." Have you ever said something
maybe just out of sorts and you think in your heart and your
mind, oh, I wish I wouldn't have said that. We've all done that,
haven't we? We need to be very careful when
we're speaking, especially in regard when we're speaking about
the precious things of the gospel, the precious things of God. May
God be pleased to guide our mouth with a bridle that we might speak
rightly and truly of God Almighty. And especially while we're before
unbelievers. Before unbelievers. We need to
be careful. We need to guard our language,
guard our actions before those who are ungodly and unbelievers. Look at verse 2. Now I was dumb.
I was dumb with silence and I held my peace even from good and my
sorrow, my sorrow was stirred within me. Now, sometimes it's
very good to be dumb with silence. Now, let me ask you something.
Have you ever learned anything by talking? You learn by the ear gate, don't
you? You listen. You listen. Sometimes
it's very good just to shut up, sit down, and listen. We're encouraged
in Scripture to be swift to hear. Be swift to hear and be slow
to speak. Can you find Ecclesiastes? You
find Isaiah, then Song of Solomon, and then Ecclesiastes. But in
Ecclesiastes chapter 5, there's a scripture there when it says
this about being silent being silent I was dumb with silence
I withheld my peace and my sorrow was stirred stirred up within
me Ecclesiastes 5 verse 1 keep thy foot when thou goest to the
house of God be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice
of fools for they consider that they that they do evil, they
consider not that they do evil, be not rash with thy mouth, let
not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God, for God
is in the heavens, thou upon the earth, therefore let thy
words be few. Few. Seems like everyone is quick
to express their opinion, aren't they? About most every subject,
especially about their ideas about God. by salvation. Everyone seems to have their
own idea how God saves sinners. Everyone seems to have their
own conception about who God is. But really very few know
the true and living God, that He is altogether sovereign and
holy. He says over here in Psalm 50,
verse 21, These things hast thou done, and I kept silent. Thou
thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thyself. Our thoughts
of God left to ourself are always too small, too little. We serve a great God and great
Savior. He said, I'll reprove thee and
I'll set them in order in thine eyes before thee. Every believer
should be concerned about speaking carelessly, wrongfully about
our great God and Savior. I'd hate to say anything that
would tend to diminish his character, that would tend to diminish his
priestly office as prophet, priest, and king. I know when you're
a public speaker and in the ministry and charged to preach the gospel,
I try to weigh each word I speak very carefully and I try to Meditate
ahead of time, study ahead of time, write things down, and
pray about it, mourn over it, weep about it, and then try to
bring that message that would be honoring to God Almighty. I don't want to speak a word
that would be dishonoring to God and to the gospel of Christ. Look at verse 3 now. My heart,
my heart was hot within me while I was musing the fire. I reminded of the Lord with those
two men on the road to Emmaus. And he started preaching the
gospel to them, remember? He opened unto them their understanding,
and he opened unto them the Scriptures, and all the Scriptures, the things,
and turning himself. And they said one to another
later, they said, those two men, didn't our heart burn within
us while he opened to us? the Word of God. The Word of
God has a profound effect upon the believer. Turn over here
to Jeremiah chapter 20. Jeremiah the weeping prophet
of God. My heart burned within me. You
know, Jeremiah was God's prophet in a very troublesome time. Very troublesome time. He didn't
have very many followers. Most of the people in the city
of Jerusalem and Judah and Jerusalem, they hated his message because
Jeremiah said, judgments coming, judgments coming. And Jeremiah,
because of the persecution and heartache, he said, well, I'm
just going to quit the ministry. I'm just going to leave it and
walk away. In Jeremiah 20, verse 7, O Lord,
thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than
I, and hast prevailed. I'm in derision daily, and everyone
mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out,
I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made
a reproach unto me, and a derision daily." Not a popular thing to
be God's preacher. It would cause you great anguish
standing for God's truth, God's word. Then I said, I will not
make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. I'm just
going to quit. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire
shut up in my bones. I was weary with forbearing and
I could not stop." I could not stop. I could not stay. While David held his words, he
meditated upon God, his heart was melting with sorrow. While
we should carefully guard our language before men, we are encouraged
to pour out our heart before God. Lord, make me to know. Verse four. Lord, make me to
know. Then I spake with my tongue. Verse three, the last part of
verse three. While I was meditating upon his truth, his word, it
burned in my heart, and then I spake with my tongue. What's
he gonna speak? Verse four. Lord, Lord, Lord,
make me to know. my end, and the measure of my
days." Here's a vented cry of every believing heart, Lord. Our cry is God word, not man
word. Our cry is to set our affection
on things above, not on the things of this earth. Our cry is toward
God. As he says over here in verse
12 of this psalm, Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear unto my cry. Lord, hear my cry. make me to
know he said make me to know my end what it is what is the
end of the believer turn over here to psalm 17 verse 5 we are
predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ David
says over here in psalm 17 verse 15 psalm 17 verse 15 as for me I will behold thy face in righteousness,
and I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." That's
our end. That's what predestination is
all about. Predestinated to be conformed to the image of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, make me to know my end.
Someone said all things should be judged by their end. The believer's
end and goal is to be just like Christ when He shall change our
vile body." Think of it! Think of it! To have a new body
without sin? To have perfect knowledge of
Him? To worship Him and love Him like
we ought to, like we should? Oh, my soul! We should judge
all things by their end. The believer's end is to be just
like Christ. Therefore, he said, Lord, make
me to know my end and the measure of my days, what it is that I
may know how frail I am. We'll get to that hand breath
down in verse 5 in just a minute, but I want you to find Psalm
90 Psalm 90. Teach us, Lord, to
measure the measure of my days, what it is. Psalm 90. This is called, Psalm 90 is called
a prayer of Moses, the man of God. And he says over here in
verse 12 of Psalm 90, So teach us the number our days, that
we may apply our hearts. unto wisdom." Christ is wisdom. So, make me to know the measure
of my days, what it is, how frail I am. Make me to know, make me
to know, Lord, what it is that I may know how frail, how weak
I am, how sinful I am. Do you ever consider yourself
as the Apostle Paul, O wretched man that I am? Do you ever consider
yourself, do you ever notice in scripture as the Apostle Paul
grows in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, how he grows in less
and less esteem? He said, I'm the least of all
the apostles. I'm not meet or worthy to be
called an apostle, a believer, chief of sinners. You see, a
growth in grace is not thinking higher thoughts and better thoughts
of yourself. A growth in grace is thinking
lower thoughts of self and higher thoughts of God. Lord, make me
to know how frail, how sinful, how weak I really am. Lord, make me to understand how
temporary and mortal this flesh really is. Mortal is this flesh
turn over here to Psalm 103 Psalm 103 Look at verse 13 like as a father
pitieth his children. So the Lord pitieth them that
fear him for he knoweth our frame and He remembers that we are
dust. As for man, his days are as grass,
as the flower of the field. So he flourished. The wind passeth
over it, and it's gone. The place thereof shall know
it no more." There's no hope in this flesh, is there? But
the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear him, and is righteous unto his children's children,
every man. Therefore it says, knowing this,
how frail, sinful, and weak we are, knowing this will humble
us, won't it, in His sight, and cause us to look to the Lord
Jesus Christ to supply all our need according to His riches
in glory through Christ Jesus. Now look at verse 5. Behold,
thou hast made my days as a hand breath. My age is as nothing
before thee, considering what if we did live two or three hundred
years? What is that in the light of eternity? That's nothing,
is it? My days is but a handbreadth.
They say a span is from here to here. A handbreadth is just
how wide your hand is. That's how they used to measure
things, a handbreadth. They still measure horses that
way, don't they? So many hands high. Behold, thou hast made my days
as a hand breath, swifter than a weaver's shuttle. How many
times have you thought back over your life and you think, well it just seemed
like yesterday I was 20 years old. It just seemed like yesterday
I was a young child and now here I'm, I'm almost 60 years old. went by so quickly. A hand breath. A hand breath. What is life?
It's a vapor that appears for a little while and it's gone.
Behold thou hast made my days as a hand breath. My age is as
nothing before God Almighty. Barely therefore truly every
man at his best point, at his best state. It's all together. vanity. Now we generally consider a young
man in his late twenties or early thirties to be in his prime,
prime of health. His mind is probably sharp, his
eyesight is good, his hearing is clear, his blood, his pressure
is well, and he's just in perfect health. But even every man at
his best state, altogether, altogether vanity. What weight does that
carry, considering eternality in God Almighty? What weight
does that consider? Does that carry? And what consideration
is that before God? None. None. Vanity. Less than nothing, it says over
here in Isaiah 40. All nations before Him are as
nothing, men individually and collectively. They are counted
to him less than nothing. Less than nothing. That's pretty
low, isn't it? Less than nothing. Vanity. Altogether. Altogether. Vanity. Vanity. Turn over here
to Psalm 62.9. I was looking at this just a
moment ago. Psalm 62.9. Surely... Psalm 62.9. Surely men of low degree are
vanity. Men of high degree, or they're
a lie, to be laid in the balance, they're altogether lighter than
vanity. Lighter than vanity. Every man
in his best state, unprofitable, unsatisfactory. Man is empty
of all that is good and full of that which is evil. He's emptied
of righteousness. All of our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags and he's full, full of iniquity, isn't he? I like the description of, found
in the book of Job, man drinks iniquity like the water, like
the water. Man in his best state. Vanity. Man at his best state. The best
of men are only men at best. Sinners. Sinners. Saved by God's
grace. Therefore, our hope is this.
We rejoice in Christ Jesus. We worship God in His Spirit.
And we have no confidence in this flesh. You wouldn't trust
that that God says is curse, would you? Said that Jeremiah
17. Cursed is everyone that trusted
the arm of the flesh. You wouldn't trust that which
God puts the curse upon, would you? Oh, but blessed is that
man that maketh the Lord his trust. That hopes for salvation
in Christ Jesus. Look at verse 6 now in Psalm
39, Surely every man walketh in a vain show. This is us left
to ourselves, it's just a vain show. Surely they are disquieted,
they rage in vain. And even if they do heap up riches,
knoweth not who shall gather them. You have no control after
your death. You can write all the wills you
want to, and they'll take them to court and contest them and
change them. The Lord's the only one that has the will that's
uncontested. He never lives to intercede and
enforce His last will and testament. This vanity is illustrated here
in three things that are mentioned in verse six. Every man walks
in a vain show or a vain image of who God is. They are disquieted
in vain, the vanity of sorrow. Men are shadows, someone said,
pursuing shadows while death pursues them. All the tumult, this quietedness,
all the tumult of this life is vanity and shall soon pass away. The fashion of this world will
soon pass away. And here's the vanity of possessions. Possessions. Every man walked
in a vain show, in a vain rage, and they heap up vain riches. Turn over here to Luke 12, Luke
chapter 12. Accumulated riches, accumulated
wealth of earthly treasures will not benefit a guilty soul before
God. Luke chapter 12, our Lord gives this parable about
the rich man There was a certain rich man, he said in verse 15
of Luke 12, take heed and beware of covetousness, for man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Boy, that's contrary to this world's philosophy, isn't it?
This world's philosophy is get all you can, can all you get,
and sit on the can. It's mine, me, mine, and myself. Take heed and beware of covetousness,
for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesses." And then he gave this parable. the ground
of a certain man, of a certain rich man, brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
what shall I do because I have no room where I to bestow my
fruits? And he said, this I'll do. I'll
pull down my barns and build greater. And there I'll bestow
all my fruits and my goods. There I'll store them up. And
I'll say to my soul, soul, thou hast much good laid up for many
years. Take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. God said unto him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee, then who shall
these things be which thou hast provided? So he that layeth up
treasure for himself is not rich toward God." Not rich toward
the vanity of a vain walk, the vanity of raging against God,
oh the vanity of possessions, the vanity of riches. Now verse
7 in our text. Now and now, Lord, what do I
wait for? What do we really wait for? What
do we really hope for and wait for? Well, he says, Lord, my
hope is in thee. I wait on the Lord, and my hope
is in thee. David, along with all believers,
had considered a thing to this world, and have come to the same
conclusion as Solomon, all is vanity, vanity of vanity. What wait I for? What is there
to interest me for my hope? My hope is in thee. It's a good
hope. We have everlasting consolation. He's given us an everlasting
consolation and a good hope through Christ. A good hope through grace.
My hope is in the Lord. You see, it's of the Lord's mercies
that we are not consumed. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy. He saved us. My hope is in Christ Himself.
He's called in scripture, Christ our hope. Christ in you is a
hope of glory. My hope is in His atonement.
The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. My hope is in His sacrifice to
put away my sin. Not what I've done for God, it's
what He's done for me in Christ Jesus. It's Christ. In Christ
the believer shall live. When all else dies, our Lord
said to Mary and Martha, He said, I am the resurrection and the
life. He said, I am He that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys
of hell and death. In Christ a believer shall be
full when all else is empty. In Him dwells all the fullness
of a Godhead bodily, and in Christ we are complete. In Christ a
believer shall stand when all else fails. We're built upon
that rock, Christ Jesus. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. It says in that chapter
on love in 1 Corinthians 13, His love never fails. Never fails. My hope. What wait I for? Him. I'm waiting on Him. My hope is
in Him. Our total hope of pardon, righteousness,
all of salvation, justification, sanctification, all things are
included in salvation are in Christ and Him alone. Christ
is all and in all. Now deliver me, verse 8, from
all my transgression. Make me not the reproach of the
foolish. The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God. Deliver me from all my transgression. Who is the blessed man? You remember
Psalm 32? Turn back over there a moment.
Psalm 32. Who is the blessed man? Psalm
32 verse 1. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered, Blessed is a man unto whom the
Lord imputeth not iniquity, in whose spirit there is no guile.
That's the blessed man. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
was wounded for our transgression. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared
once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. and the Lord Jesus Christ died
for our iniquity he bear our sin in his own body on the tree
therefore we cry unto him Lord deliver me from all my sin all
my iniquity all my transgressions verse 9 I was dumb I was silent I opened up my mouth. I like
this phrase here, because you shut me up. Thou did it. My dear pastor of many years, often time when new folks would
show up from time to time, there at 13th Street where he pastored
for over 50 years, often times they would come with many questions.
Well, what about this? What about that? What about that?
You know what he'd tell them? Sit still and listen and all
your questions will be answered. Just sit still and listen. Oh,
I tell you, it's a good thing to have your mouth stopped before
God and to sit and listen. God is the only one that can
silence Silence the murmuring heart. Nature can't muzzle the
mouth, but grace does. Turn over here to Psalm 46.10.
Psalm 46.10. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. Be still and know. Be still,
and know that I am God. Beside me there is no other,
no other. Remove, verse 10, back in our
text, remove thy stroke away from me, for I am consumed with
the blow of thy hand. whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth with a blow of his
hand." You remember as a young boy, your dad would get a hold
of you and he'd whack you with that hand, wouldn't he? If he
couldn't get a hold of a stick or a belt, he'd use that hand.
You know, that was a loving correction of your loving Father. And the
Lord corrects us with His hand. He corrects us because He loves
us. We're His children. Look, look at verse 11 now. When
thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest
his beauty, his righteousness, his goodness to consume away
like a moth. Surely he repeats himself. The
quote worth re-quoting, surely every man is vanity, vanity. God's dealings with us causes
us to know our sinful nature, the only way you know it. God
teaches you, you're a sinner. God's dealing with us causes
us to know our sinful nature and to weep over our sin. He's
not an item of a broken heart. He saves such as be of a contrite
spirit. He makes us to see and understand
that all our so-called beauty or all of our self-proclaimed
glory is nothing but a moth-eaten garment. It's vanity, vanity,
vanity. All of our righteousness does
are a filthy rag. This causes us to seek true beauty. When we see our ugliness, our
rottenness, our unrighteousness, it causes us to seek Christ who
is altogether lovely. He is the Lord, our righteousness. He's made unto us that. He's
our righteousness. But of Him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that we might glory in Him with His rebukes. Oh, to be rebuked of the Lord.
That's a blessing. Thou makest our beauty to consume
away like a moth. that we might seek true beauty
where it's found. He said, verse 12, in closing,
hear my prayer, O Lord, give hearing to my cry, hold not thy
peace at my tears, for I'm a stranger, I'm a stranger with thee. Now notice here in verse 12,
he said, not a stranger to thee, but I'm a stranger with thee.
The Lord Jesus Christ was considered A maverick, wasn't he? They considered
him a stranger, didn't they? I'm a stranger with him. They
called him a devil, a wine-dipper, a friend of sinners, a foreigner,
a maverick, a sojourner. And that's us. That's us. This
world thinks of us who love sovereign grace. Man, he's preaching strange
things down there. For I'm a stranger with thee.
I'm a sojourner here, aren't you? I'm like Abraham, we're
looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. We're just
passing through. We're just passing through. Oh
spare me, verse 13, that I may recover strength, that I may recover strength before
I go hence and be no more. Gaze upon me, look upon me, have
mercy upon me that I may be strengthened inwardly, spiritually before
I depart and die, which is a blessing. God will give dying grace. He
said my grace is sufficient. Is sufficient. Oh spare me. Have mercy upon me. And He will
by His grace, His purpose in Christ Jesus. He said I will
have mercy on whom I will. God will punish sin because He
is God. God will show mercy because He
is God. He delights to show mercy unto
His own.