The people of this world, the
people in whose midst we live and work
and play, they have some very strong ideas about what it means
to be blessed, what it means to be content,
to have happiness. that these are the four things
that matter most to the people of our country especially. I'm talking about America. The
first is to be physically healthy. That's the important thing to
most people today. Health, strength, and beauty.
That's the order of the day. Physical power, strength, beauty,
and good health. I would say that that was number
one with everybody. Number two would be to be prosperous,
especially here in this country. A good job, a good high salary,
a nice home, debts paid, no financial worries. People who have that feel like
they're greatly blessed, greatly blessed. The third would be to
be popular, especially among young people and older people
as well, respected among our peers, well-known and accepted
or famous. America is a hero-worshipper.
They run around getting people's autographs all the time, you
know. They'd like for somebody to come
get their autograph, too. That'd be really living. And the fourth thing, in summing
this up, is to be young. Everybody wants to be young.
We don't even tell our ages most folks want, because they want
to be thought to be young. a picture on television on the
same station I was on, and he's not an old man. He's quite young,
but his hair turned white, and he dyed it because he wants to
be young. And these things have two things
in common. Physical health, strength, beauty,
prosperity, popularity, and youth. They have two things in common.
Number one, they have an awesome appeal to every one of us. Now,
let's be honest. You know, Brother Barnard preached
a sermon one time called Honest People Don't Wind Up in Hell.
You just be honest. Now, tell the truth to God and
to yourself. Be truthful to yourself and to
God. But these things have an awesome
appeal to our flesh and every one of us if we're honest. We'll
confess that we'd like to have those things out there, health,
strength, beauty, popularity, prosperity, and we'd like to
hang on to our youth. And the book of Ecclesiastes
has something to say about that. Let's read in Ecclesiastes chapter
5, Ecclesiastes 5. Solomon was a wise man and an
honest man. He dealt honestly with everything.
And he deals here with, and most of us are healthy and most of
us are prosperous. And we have a lot of friends
out here in this congregation, friends. And we have eternal
youth spiritually, but we have these things, we enjoy these
things. Now listen to Solomon, Ecclesiastes 5.12. Behold, that
which I've seen, it's good and comely for one to eat and drink. and have our friends in and have
a good meal and entertain one another. It's good. It's good
to enjoy the good of all labor that he taketh unto the sun all
the days of his life. A man works hard, builds a home,
builds a business, works hard, has a nice yard, which God giveth him. It's his
portion. It's good to enjoy those things
that our hands have worked hard to earn and to build for our
families. That's good. Every man also to
whom God had given riches and wealth, and Americans, we have. Have you ever gone to bed hungry? Never in your life. Always had
nice clothes, nice home, air-conditioned in the summer, heat in the winter,
nice cars. We're rich. Everybody here, everybody
here is rich. God's given him power to eat
thereof, to take his portion, to rejoice in his laboring. This
is the gift of God. This is the gift of God. And
you give thanks for all these things. I give thanks for what
we have, what God's given to us. It's the gift of God. And
it's meant for you to enjoy and to share and to help others.
But the second thing all these things have in common, the second
thing is this. They're temporary. They're but for a day. They're
here today and they're gone tomorrow. They're ours just for a season.
That's what he says in 1 Corinthians. Let's look at chapter 7 of 1
Corinthians. They're just here for a little
while. In 1 Corinthians 7, verse 29,
Paul says, But this I say, brethren, time short, it remaineth that
both they that have wives, as though they had none, and they
that weep, as though they wept not, and they that rejoice, as
though they rejoiced not, and they that buy, as though they
possessed not, and they that use this world is not abusing
it, for the fashion of this world passeth away." These things are
just for a moment. James says, what's your life?
It's but a vapor. It appeareth for a little while
and then vanisheth away. And the point I'm making is real
blessing and joy and happiness cannot be found in something
that's so temporary. It cannot be found in something
that may at any time be snatched away from us and perish forever. So the happiness and contentment
and blessing is not found in things. Turn to Psalm 1. This is my subject tonight. Where
is the blessing? And David begins the book of
Psalms with this expression. Blessed is the man. Blessed is
the man. So we're going to find out where
the blessing is. But what does the word blessed
mean? The word means favored of God. The word means truly happy. The word means twice blessed
in this world and the world to come. The person who's truly
blessed is the person who's blessed of the Lord with a permanent
blessing here and in the world to come. And you can understand what I'm
about to say, but the world won't understand this. The angel of
the Lord appeared to a young woman, very young, and told her she would mysteriously
bear a child. And she became pregnant. And when she was nine months
pregnant, she had to ride a donkey 60 miles to a strange city. And when she applied for a room,
she and her husband at the local inn, they turned her away. And she had to bring forth her
son that night in a stable. and lay him in a trough where
they provide hay for the cattle, her firstborn, her dear little
son. Then she had to grab that child
up and flee to Egypt, pagan country, to keep the King from killing him. When he began his ministry
at 30 years of age, she had to listen while the world hated
and despised him, and ridiculed him, and called him a wine-bibber
and a glutton. And then the sword pierced her
very soul when she stood one day and watched him crucified on a Roman cross, while
all the hundreds and thousands of people around laughed at him
while he died. The sword pierced her soul. Well, by the way, what did that
angel say to her back yonder when that angel told her she
would have this son? You know what he said? He said, Hail Mary, thou art
highly favored of God. Blessed are you among women. Blessed. Thou hast found favor with God.
Now, the world wouldn't understand that, but this woman was blessed
among all women, and yet that was her life's work. One day the Lord Jesus asked
the Apostle Peter, whom do you say that I am? Peter said, You
are the Christ, the Son of God. He said, Blessed are you. Bless
you to you, Simon. Blessed of God. My Father revealed
that to you. You're blessed of God. You're
highly favored of God. And yet this man knew what it
was to fail miserably. He knew what it was to succeed
gloriously. He knew what it was to deny his
Lord. He knew what it was to preach
Him to the largest crowd ever assembled at Pentecost. He knew what it was to be imprisoned
for the gospel. He knew what it was to be set
free by an angel, only to be delivered into the hands of his
enemies and crucified on a cross upside down. Blessed of God. How can any natural man understand
that? That's not blessings. Yes, it
is. Yes, it is. And the Apostle Paul,
I want you to read his life story. Turn over here to 2 Corinthians,
chapter 11. 2 Corinthians, chapter 11. And you know while you're finding
that, James says, count it all joy when you enter into diverse
trials and troubles. Count it joy. You're blessed
of God. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.
Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 24. Now you listen
to this. Of the Jews, five times I received
forty stripes, save one. Three times I was beaten with
rods. Once I was stoned. Three times
I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been
in the deep. in journeyings often, in perils
of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen,
in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils
in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watching often, in hunger
and thirst, in fasting, in cold and nakedness, and besides all
these things that are without, that which cometh upon the day
to the care of all the churches, blessed of God, I suppose as
much as any man who ever lived, Paul the Apostle. It just shows
us and confirms to us that the blessing is not in material,
physical things of this world. It's in knowing God. And let me just read you a few
scriptures from the Psalms. Now you listen while I don't
turn to all these. There are about 12 that I want
to give you. Blessed are they that put their trust in thee. Blessed is he whose transgressions
are forgiven. Blessed is the man under whom
the Lord will not impute iniquity. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh
the Lord his trust. Blessed is the man whom God chooses
and causes to approach unto him. Blessed are they that dwell in
the house of the Lord. Blessed is the man whose strength
is in thee. Blessed are the people that walk
in the light of God's countenance. Blessed is the man whom thou
chasteneth, O Lord, and teacheth out of thy word. Blessed is the
man who fears the Lord. Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. And blessed are they that keep
his testimonies." True joy, happiness, and blessedness
is to have a relationship with the living God in Christ Jesus. Now then, I want to take this
psalm and talk about that blessedness. And four things that I see from
this psalm, Psalm 1, four things. Number one, who's the blessing
for? Who's it for? Secondly, where
the blessing is not found, but that's the way the psalmist deals
with this now, where it's not found first, and then where it
is found. And then fourthly, what does
the blessing bring to us who receive it? He says in the opening
statement, blessed is the man. It's not blessed is the king. Blessed is the man. It's not
blessed are the strong. It's not blessed are the rich.
It's not blessed is the scholar. It says blessed is the man, just
plain folks like you and me. The scriptures call them the
common people. Did you ever notice that scripture in Matthew 12?
Turn over there, in Mark 12, Mark chapter 12. Common people,
common folks like you and me. Not blessed are the rich, or
the great, or the famous, or the scholar, or the king. Blessed
is the man, or woman. In Mark 12, verse 37, listen
to this. Let's go back to verse 35. And
Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, I'll
say the scribes that Christ is the son of David. But David himself
said, By the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou
on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
David therefore himself called him, called Jesus, Lord. And
whence is he then his son? How can it be David's Lord and
David's son? And look at that next line, and
the common people heard him gladly. The rulers didn't, the great
didn't, the so-called wise didn't, but the common folks did. And this term is used several
times. It talks about those common people
have common faith. It's a faith that's common to
all of us. God's children are all the same.
They're His children. They believe Him. Every one of
them have this in common. They love Christ. They believe
Christ. Then another thing in 1 Corinthians,
it says they have common trials. 1 Corinthians 10 and 13 says,
These trials that we're going through, they're common to all
God's people. We haven't been singled out for special adversity,
they're common trials. Common folks, common faith, common
trials. And then it says we have a common
salvation. James, Jude, chapter, verse 3. And these men and women, blessed
is the man, the woman, common folks, They're people who are
subject to the infirmities of the flesh. They're people who
are not without their faults and their failures. They're not
without trials and sorrows and tears and heartache and disappointment. But these people have this in
common. They have seen the glory of the Lord in the face of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and they have found him to be all they need. righteousness, sanctification
and redemption, and they are blessed. Turn to 1 Corinthians
1 just a moment. This is the heritage of those
common people. Listen. In 1 Corinthians 1, blessed
is the man. In 1 Corinthians 1, beginning
with verse 26, you see your calling, How that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world. But people the
world calls foolish, they're not foolish, but the world calls
them foolish. To confound the so-called wise,
God hath chosen the weak things of the world. The world considers
them to be weak. We are strong in Christ to confound
the things which are mighty and base things of the world, things
which are despised that God chose in him, things which are not
to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh should
glory in his presence. But of him is our blessing. Of
God are we in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus by his divine election
by our Lord's sacrifice and righteousness and by faith and by begetting
of God in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption, blessed of God. And according
as it is written, he that gloryeth, let him glory in the Lord. When
I look back at my text, I'll answer my second question. Who's
the blessing for? ordinary folks like you and me,
blessed is the man. But here's where the blessing
is not found. This man didn't find this blessed state walking
in the counsel of the ungodly. What is the counsel of the ungodly? Well, it's their so-called wisdom.
It's the so-called wisdom of the ungodly, their philosophy.
It's their values. It's their ideas of how we should
live. We've got that in this day and
age. We've got a media, and we've got books and movies and television
programs that keep bombarding us with this so-called philosophy
of living and life and their ideas and their values, which
are not valuable at all. But we're being bombarded with
this. And the natural man denies the scriptures, and he adopts
human ways and a human walk. Now, you're not going to find
happiness and blessedness walking in their counsel. You're not
going to find it in their philosophy. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1, just
a moment. This is what Paul called it in
1 Corinthians 1, in verse 19. It's written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise, the counsel of the wise, the worldly wise. I'll bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the debater of this
world? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? Just about everything that's
popular today, the scriptures are against. Did you know that?
I found a scripture in Proverbs 29 that pretty well defines this
slippery slide that America is on in Psalm 29. It's just the home, the schools,
the authority, the lifestyle, all this wickedness that you
are beggared if you don't agree with it. But in Proverbs 29,
verses 1 and 2, he that being often reproved, and hardeneth
his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. When
the righteous are in authority, with righteous principles, and
values, and truth, and home, and authority, and obedience,
when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. people mourn. It's a sad day. It's a sad day. When we're governed
as this nation to some extent was many years ago by the principles
of the Word of God, people rejoice. But when the unrighteous and
the wicked rule, there's nothing but tears ahead, heartache and
crying. So this blessedness is not family. And walking in the philosophy
and the counsel and the wisdom of this world, the music, the language, you can't sit down
and watch a television program with your children anymore. Can't
go to a movie. They say, why don't they make
more G-rated movies? Nobody will go to them. They
can't sell it. You've got to put the Lord's
name in vain and gutter language. That's common now. And that's not where the blessedness is. Come
ye apart, be ye separate, saith the Lord. The second thing is,
it's not standing in the way of sinners either. That's not
where you find blessedness. You see, the Lord has a way,
and that way is Christ. Christ is the way of life. Now
there's a way that seems right to me, there's a way that seems
right to these people. Let me show you that in Proverbs
again. Turn to Proverbs 16. Let me just
show you a couple of scriptures here in Proverbs. This seems
like the right way to do this thing to them. It just seems
right, Proverbs 16. It says this two or three times
in Proverbs, I'll read it just once, but Proverbs 16, verse
Verse 25, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man. It
seems right, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the wisdom of the world, nor in the way of the world.
The way they're walking, the way they're going, the way of
man is the way of self, the way of materialism, the way of prepotentiousness. In religion it's the way of works.
It's the way of form and entertainment. Don't stay there in Proverbs
now. Look at verse 2 of Proverbs 16. And all the ways of a man
are clean in his own eyes. It's contrary to scripture, but
it's clean in his eyes. But the Lord waves the spirits.
And look at Proverbs 12, verse 15. Listen to this. And they really think you're
a beggar. They think that you're not up to date when you don't
agree with the principles. Look at Proverbs 12, verse 15. The way of a fool is right in
his eyes, but he that hearken unto counsel
is wise. You're not going to find this
blessedness. in the counsel and wisdom and
philosophy of this world, as it is today, you're not going
to find it. And you're not going to find it in their way, standing
in their way. Nor, he says, sitting in the
seat of the scornful, the mocker. Oh, they have a seat. The mocker,
the scornful, they have a seat. They're so scornful, it's a seat
of human opinion. as opposed to the word of God.
It's the seat of the unteachable. They're unteachable. They've
reached that state where they're just sitting down in their own
opinion and they're absolutely unteachable. And they're the
seat of the mockers and scoffers. Listen to Peter. Turn to 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 3 and
4. Listen to this. In 2 Peter 3, verse 3, knowing
this first, Peter is talking about the last days of this world,
before Christ comes. Now, know this, that they'll
come in the last days, scoffers, scorners, mockers, walking after
their own lusts, saying, well, where is the promise of his coming?
Your Savior, your Jesus, where is the promise? Since the Fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of our creation. Talk about the end of the world. If you talk
about the end of the world, they'll make fun of you. You talk about
Christ coming, may it come at any time, they'll make fun of
you. Well, where is his promise of his coming? Where is it? Show
me a sign. Mockers. How do people get in the state
of mockery and scoffers? Well, it's entered into gradually. I've watched it through the years.
I've seen folks whom I know real well, they start out, young people,
children, with a tender heart and some wide-eyed curiosity
about Scripture, and singing the courses in Bible school,
and taking notes in their Bibles. They start out that way. And
then they get up a little bigger and they begin to walk with and
move in the circles of those who doubt God, those who do not
believe. They get out into the world and
they walk with them. They walk in the council of the
ungodly, walk with them. And evil companions of corrupt
good manners, they walk with them. And then after a while
they stop and stand with them and begin to listen to them.
and begin to listen to their ideas and counsel and philosophy
and really listen to them. And then after a while, they're
sitting. They're no longer moving. They're
no longer just standing. But they themselves are mockers
and scoffers. That's right. And scornful. They sit down and they become
part and parcel with those who are enemies. of the Son of God. Blessed is the man who walks
not, nor stands, nor sits with the so-called wise sinners, corruptors,
corruptors of morals, and sits with the scoffer. Unteachable,
unmovable. Well, here's where the blessing
is found. Here's the good news. Verse 2. But here's the blessing. His delight, this man who's blessed,
his delight is in the law of the Lord. We're talking about
the Ten Commandments? No, we're talking about the Word of God. And in his Word that this man
meditates, the Amplified Version says, his delight and desire
are in the Word of the Lord and in God's Word, in God's precepts
and promises and teachings. and gospel and commandments. This man meditates and ponders
and studies, not only by day, but by night. His delight, his
joy is in the Word of God. He calls it the children's bread.
It's the green pastures in which the Lord takes him. It's the
foundation of his faith. I believe, therefore I've spoken.
It's the sole rule of his practice in his home, in his work, in
his life. It's his comfort in sorrow and
trial. It's his hope in death. And the
Word of God, he meditates in it day and night. It's not to
him a textbook to be taken out on Sunday morning and carried
to church. That's not what it is. It's not just the denomination
of creed, a source of doctrine. by which he can find out where
he disagrees with other people. And this word is not a collection
of quotable proverbs. This word is life. It's love. It's joy. It's peace. It's comfort. It's precious. I found the answer. That's it. I found the answer. There are several things called
precious in the Bible, about five that I can remember offhand.
He's precious. The Lord Jesus Christ is precious. This is my beloved son. To you
that believe he's precious, whom having not seen, we love. Faith
is precious. Oh, precious faith. Faith is
the gift of God. You'll never receive anything
as important as faith. I prayed for you, Christ said
to Peter, that your faith fail not. You're going to fail, but
oh, that your faith fail not. Believe. The blood of Christ is precious.
We're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Think how precious
it is. The death of the believer is
precious. We've seen some here. You'll
see where they used to sit. The Lord took them home. I envy him, don't you? That's
right. Took a loan. That's precious. But his word's precious. Most precious gift, it's as precious
as he is because he is the word. It's as precious as faith because
that's where we get faith. Precious. The hymn writer said,
Thy word, O God, is everlasting truth. how pure on every page
thy word shall guide my every step and support me in my old
age." Thy word, O Lord, that is where the blessing is. If
I could leave any kind of legacy to my family, friends, brethren,
any kind of legacy, it would be the word of God. That's what Paul said when he
left those elders over there. Let me just read it to you. When
he left those elders, he said, you'll never see my face again.
But when he left them, he said, he said here, I commend you,
I commend you to the Lord and to his word. His word. That's where the blessedness
is. All right, let's see the results. This man's delight is
in the law of the Lord, in the word of the Lord, in the word
of God as he meditates day and night. And listen, if you can
get a hold of this, and I can get a hold of this, meditate
on this word. Love it. He'd be like a tree
planted. He'd be like not a weed sprung
up overnight and fit only to be cut down. Not a seasonable
flower, a seasonal flower that vanishes when winter comes. Not
a tumbleweed blowing from place to place, but a tree planted
by God. That's what he says over here
in Isaiah. He said they shall be, listen to this, they shall
be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. that
he might be glorified. Every plant which my heavenly
Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." I do want you
to turn to Jeremiah 17. Listen to this, Jeremiah 17,
verse 7, "...Blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord." You got that? Jeremiah 17, 7. Blessed is the
man that trusteth in the Lord, whose hope the Lord is. He'll
be as a tree planted by the waters, spreads out her roots by the
river. He'll not see when heat comes.
Her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year
of drought. Neither shall ye cease from yielding
for us the planting of the Lord." He'll be like a tree. He feeds
on the Word of God. Be like a tree. He said, you'll
be planted by the rivers of water. That's Christ. Christ said, you
come to me and out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.
And then he says here, listen, you'll be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water, an inexhaustible source of living water. He said to that woman by the
well, he said, if you knew the gift of God, you'd ask me and
I'd give you living water. And he'll bring forth his fruit
in his season. He'll bring forth God's fruit
in God's season. God matures him, establishes
him, and settles him. The God of all grace, after you've
suffered a while, he'll settle you, and establish you, and firmly
fix you. And you bear fruit in his season.
But also, you bear fruit in the season where the fruit is needed. Love, when love is needed, you
come forth, you produce. Joy in time of sorrow, you produce.
Peace when trouble brews. Patience in time of trial. Gentleness
when cruelty abounds. Faith when everybody's beginning
to doubt. Meekness even in success. You
know how to be abound and how to be abased. temperance at all
times. He bears fruit in his season. And what's this? And his leaf
will not wither. God's trees are evergreen. They
never die. That's what they said over in Jeremiah. No cold winter,
no drought, no dry summer will cause his leaves to wither. Actually,
the trees of God shine brighter when it's dry and thirsty land.
That's right. They furnish the shade and the
wilderness. He that believeth on me, though
he is dead, he lives. And he that liveth and believeth
on me will never die. And what's this? That blessed
man who delights in the word of God, who is like a tree by
the rivers of living water, bringing forth his fruit, his leaf shall
not wither, he is secure in Christ, and whatsoever he doeth will
prosper. Let me tell you about that. From the time of his birth, that
child of God, from the time of his birth to the end of his days,
his steps are ordered by the Lord. That's right, the steps
of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. And they're ordained
of God to accomplish God's purpose. and God's glory, and to accomplish
God's will for his life. And therefore, whatsoever he
does, he'll prosper. That's right. You understand
what I'm saying? Joseph followed Joseph's life from a lad. He
was a man of God, a child of God. And the things that happened
to him are just unbelievable and indescribable. Whatever bit of it was ordained
of God, every step he took, every contact he made, God used it
to accomplish his purpose. That's right. For he says of
us, Paul says of us, we always triumph in Christ. Always. All things work together for
good to them who love God and who are called according to his
purpose. Everything. Whatsoever he does. We look back
on our lives and say, boy, I blew that. Well, you did. But it was in God's will and
God's purpose. If you're his child, that's right
now. Well, I did well that time. He enabled you to do well. It's
ordained of God. I believe that. How can all things
work together for good? for God's glory and for the good
of his sheep and his people, unless all these things are ordained
of God, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the
prosperity and the failures. It's all ordained. Whatever he
did shall prosper. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. That's right. Now, that's a wonderful promise,
and you study that a little bit. I believe I've got what they're
saying there. He's a tree. God planted him. His leaves shall not wither.
He'll bring forth fruit in his season, and whatsoever he doeth
will prosper. Prosper? Paul, he talked, I read
a while ago, beaten, shipwrecked. in fastings and nakedness and
cold in prison. I'll show you all of that. He says, I'm in jail, but the
Word of God is not in jail. I'm bound, but the Word of God
is not bound. And all these things happen to me for the furtherance
of the gospel, the accomplishment of the will of God, reaching
some person that belonged to him. He used me as that estimate,
or you. But they are ungodly enough so,
they are not trees planted, they are like chaff which the wind
drives away. I've got to read you about that
chaff, if you'll just be patient and listen. I've already got
it here. Thus saith the Lord, Jeremiah
17.5, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, that maketh
flesh his arms, whose heart departeth from the Lord. Cursed is that
man that departeth from the Lord. He'll be like a heat in the desert. That's a little old scrubby tumbleweed. And he won't see when good comes,
and he'll inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a
salt land not inhabited, chaffed with the wind out of the way. Verse 5 says, And these ungodly
shall not stand in the judgment, or they'll appear to And they'll
stand before God, but they won't stand long. They won't stand
long. Now, sinners in the congregation
of the righteous, and watch this, the Lord knows the way of the
righteous. He knows your way. Listen, Job said this. Turn to
Job 23. I've got to read this before
I make the last closing comment. The Lord knoweth the way of the
righteous. Now, we don't claim righteousness
except in Christ. We kind of hesitate to call ourselves
saints and righteous, but we are. We're children of God. We're
saints. We're righteous. We're sanctified. We're his children.
Job 23.10 says, God knows the way I take. He knows the way I take. And
when he's tried me, I'll come forth as gold. He marked that one. God knows
the way of the righteous. You know why he knows it? Because
he ordained it. And he knows here's our way.
Listen. We walk by faith, not by sight. We walk by faith, not by sight. I don't believe what I say. I
believe what I read. And he knows that way. He knows
the way that I come to the Father, come boldly before the throne
of grace through the way he opens with
his blood through the veil. That's how I come to God. He
knows that way. That's the way we take. Apparently,
the way we seek justification is through the blood of the Lamb,
no other way. And we know this, our righteousness, our acceptance
is in the beloved, and God knows the way we take. He knows the
way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly, the way that seems right to men,
the ways of a fool are right in his eyes, but they'll perish. Set your affection on things
above, and your heart on the word of God. All right, let's
sing the closing hymn.