the news media. With trouble
for our youth, the direction that our young people are going
is alarming, just devastating. With trouble over the wholesale
apostasy in churches. This is a day when the churches
have all but left the gospel entirely. tender hearts are being broken,
on every hand families are being scattered and shattered and divided. There's very little, if any,
interest in the gospel except in little groups here and there
yonder around the country. And I think 2 Timothy chapter
3 pretty well describes it. Verse
1, This know also that in the last days perilous times, perilous
times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, perversion,
trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, raging,
despisers of those that are good, traitors, traitors, heady, high-minded,
lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, but yet having
a form of godliness, religion. but denying the power thereof,
from such turn away. I know a psalm which was written
by David in just such a time as this in his life. Psalm 34. Brother Simpson just
read it to us. This psalm was written at just
such a time in David's life and in the life of Israel, the nation
Israel. They tell me that this psalm
was written during some of the darkest days of David's life. It says right there under the
number, Psalm 34, Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior
before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed. You remember
when he was a fugitive. He was a fugitive fleeing for
his life. David was, when he wrote this,
a fugitive fleeing for his life. Not only from the enemies of
Israel, but he was hunted like a wild beast by his king, King
Saul. And the armies of Israel, they
were after him, tried to kill him several times. He was compelled
to live in caves. He hid in the forest. At the
same time, he had to seek food. He had to feed 400 people who
were with him, some of his followers. He had to find enough for them
to eat. It was a difficult, difficult time. And the whole nation of
Israel was on the verge of destruction, not only from without, but from
within. The Spirit of God had literally departed from the kingdom
and from Saul the king. And it was a divided, so divided
nation, so divided. And David knew, though, that
he was anointed king of this nation. And I understood, I understand
from reading the different folks that are supposed to know, that
David wrote this psalm during those most trying and difficult
days. And perhaps as we study it tonight, We'll be able to draw from his
experience and be able to demonstrate the spirit and attitude of this
man, who was a man up to God's own height, and see how he handled
the situation. All right, starting with verse
1. whether bounding or abased, and
he knew both positions like Paul, whether in war or peace, whether
in sorrow or joy, I will bless the Lord at all times. That's what I'll do. I will bless
the Lord. And his praise shall continually
be in my mouth, regardless of what's happening around and to
me. I'm going to bless the Lord.
Who I am, I will. He didn't say we will, though
I bet they joined him, but he said I will. Who I will. What? I'll praise the Lord. When? At all times. How? With my mouth. Continually with
my mouth. Psalm 107 says, let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, say so. Well, I love the Lord, well,
say so. I bless the Lord, well, say so. Tell somebody. Let it
be known. Let it get out on you. Our Lord said, in this world
you shall have troubles, troubles and trials and tribulations,
but be of good cheer. Be of good cheer, wash your face,
comb your hair and smile when you're going through a trial
and trouble and fasting. Be of good cheer. Why? I've overcome
this world. So instead of dwelling on our
troubles and everybody's got them, everybody has them, David
was snowed under with them, depressed, fearful, running for his life.
Instead of dwelling on our troubles and our unpleasant experiences,
let's start talking about his grace and his goodness and his
mercy to us. His compassion and his mercies
are new every morning. Troubles are there too every
morning, but his compassions and mercies are there every morning.
Instead of mourning over those who don't preach the gospel,
let's rejoice in those who do preach the gospel. Is that right?
Instead of mourning over those who have departed from the faith,
let's rejoice over those who kept the faith. There's a bunch
of them. A whole bunch of them. Oh, he said, I will. When he
sat down to write this psalm, motivated and inspired by the
Holy Ghost. He said, we'll just start right
here. I bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul, listen to verse two,
my soul shall make her boast in the Lord. Is boasting ever
commendable? This boasting is. This boasting
is. My restored soul shall boast
in him who restored it. My new heart shall give glory
to him who gave it. My blessed hope shall praise
him who bought it. The Apostle Paul said, God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross. I'm not going to glory
in anything I've done, but I'm going to glory in the cross.
of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world is crucified unto me
and I unto the world. Jeremiah said, Thus saith the
Lord, Be careful that not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
that not the mighty man glory in his might, that not the rich
man glory in his riches, but let him that glory, glory in
this." This is all right. Let him do it. Let him glory
in this. that he understandeth and knoweth
me, that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment,
and mercy in this earth, and in these things I delight. I
delight in these things, and I delight in the man who knows
these things, and give me the glory from him." And David says,
the humble are going to hear me boast, and they are going
to be glad. They're humble. Who are these
folks? These are these folks that are like Him. They're rejoicing
in the Lord. Our God hates pride. He hates
pride. God's people hate pride. Our
Lord said over here in Proverbs, there's seven things He hates.
In Proverbs chapter 6, verse 16, He says there are six things
the Lord hates. Yes, seven are abomination to
him, and the first one is a proud look. A proud look. God hates pride. Those who exalt themselves and
promote themselves and glorify themselves. But oh, when somebody
rejoices in and glorifies God, the humble are glad. They're
so glad. The humble shall hear me boast
and praise my God, and they're going to be glad. And then he
calls on these humble, he calls on these people in verse 3, and
he says, magnify the Lord with me. Would you join with me and
let's exalt his name together? Who can praise the shepherd like
the sheep that was lost? That's the humble. Who can praise the shepherd like
the sheep that was lost? Who can exalt the healer like
the man who was blind? Who can praise the loving Father
like the Son who came home to such a wonderful welcome? Oh,
he can praise the Father, can he? The humble can. Who can rejoice
in the forgiving Savior like the dying thief? And that dying
thief rejoiced to see the fountain in his day, and there may I,
though vile as he, wash all my sins away. Oh magnify the Lord
with me. Let's all exalt his name together. Why was David so beloved to these
people? I talked about a while ago, this
400. Turn over here to 1 Samuel chapter 22. They loved him. They loved him so much, David.
I think two of them at one time risked their lives to get him
a drink of water from a certain Spring, spring, what? Put their
lives on the line. David one day said, I wish I
had some water from this spring in enemy territory. And these
fellas said, let's go get it for him. And they took off out
through the enemy lines, went down there and got that water,
and David wouldn't drink it. It cost them too much. But they
loved him. And here's why, listen. In 1
Samuel 22, 1, because of the condition in which he found them.
and improved their lot. David therefore departed thence,
and escaped to the cave of Dullam. And when his brethren and all
his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him."
They found out where he was, and they went down. Everyone
that was in distress, everyone that was in debt, head over heels
in debt, everyone that was discontented, gathered themselves to him, and
he became a captain over them. And they were with him, about
400 men, and they loved him, stayed with him all the way through
to the throne. And nobody could rejoice in David
like these folks who were in death, distress, and discontent. And I'll tell you, nobody can
magnify and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ like those people he found
in distress, in debt, and discontented. Oh, magnify the Lord with David's
self. Let's exalt his name together. Read this verse carefully here.
This is what we preach. We preach this. Our Lord delights
to show mercy, don't we? He delights to show mercy. We
preach this. Our Lord is plenteous in redemption,
isn't David said in another psalm, he said, Out of the depths have
I cried unto thee, O Lord. O Lord, hear my voice. Lord,
if you should mark iniquity, who would stand? But there's
forgiveness within. There's forgiveness. And he knew it. He said here
in verse 4, I sought the Lord. He heard me. Why don't you, he's
implying, seek the Lord. He'll hear you. I sought him,
he heard me. He delivered me from all my fears. I sought the
Lord. You want to read about David seeking the Lord, turn
over to Psalm 51. Listen to him. In Psalm 51, he cries, Have mercy
upon me, O God. According to thy loving kindness,
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
my transgressions, wash me throughly, oh, throughly, I need a washing
from top to bottom, outside and inside, throughly from my iniquity,
cleanse me from my sin, acknowledge my transgression." He said, I
saw him, he heard me. He heard me, and he not only
heard me, but verse 4 of chapter 34, he delivered me from all
my fears. Let me tell you something, let
me tell you something now. That's just so. No one ever truly
sought the Lord and was turned away. That's right. Nobody. If he doesn't hear you and receive
you and bless you, it's your fault. You're not seeking him
with all your heart. You seek me, he said, with all
your heart, and you find me. That's just so. I sought the
Lord, and he heard me. And he'll hear everybody who
seeks him. We have not because we ask not. Or we ask amiss that
we may consume it on our lust. But nobody ever sought the Lord
in reality, in truth, and was turned away. I delight to show
mercy, he said. I delight to show mercy. He's
plenteous in redemption. Let not conscience make you linger.
or a fitness-bonded dream, all the fitness he requires is to
feel your need of him. You go through the whole New
Testament, everybody who had a need, everybody who came to
Christ and was received and blessed had one thing in common, they
needed him, desperately, desperately needed him. My God shall supply
all your needs, your needs according to his riches in glory through
Christ Jesus. So call on him, seek him. I sought
the Lord, he heard me, he said. Look at verse 5, And they looked
unto him, and were enlightened. Who's they? It's all his fathers
before him. It's Abel, and Enoch, and Noah,
and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. They sought the Lord. They looked
to Him, only to Him. Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
Christ said. Moses wrote of me. Enoch walked
with God. Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
Abel came with the blood. They looked. They didn't look
to a preacher. They didn't look to a doctrine. They didn't look to a ceremony.
They looked to Him. They looked to Him. They looked
to him. And they were enlightened. And
their faces, they were never disappointed. They were never
put to shame. And nobody ever will who looks
to him. Let me read you what Paul wrote over here in Romans
9. He said it in Romans 9, verse
33. Listen to this. Romans 9, verse 33. Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling
stone, a rock of offense to these religious Jews, but whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed." They looked, they were
enlightened, and they were not ashamed. Now, this next verse,
these next two verses, Mr. Spurgeon has a great sermon
on this. These next two verses. The poor man cried. Listen to
verse 6. This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. And
the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him,
and delivereth them. Here was his five points. This
is beautiful. Listen. The poor man's heritage. What's the poor man's heritage?
Trouble. That's his heritage. The Lord
said, let them marry, but they'll have trouble. You'll have trouble
in this flesh. In the world, you'll have trouble.
Trouble. That's the poor man's heritage,
is trouble. Trouble. What's the poor man's
prayer? He cries. Troubles in this world,
real troubles bring real cries. Real desperate need brings real
tears. The poor man's heritage is troubled,
and the poor man's prayer is he cried to the Lord. And the
poor man's friend is the Lord. It's the only friend he's got.
Nobody else can help him. They can't help themselves. They
can't redeem themselves, let alone a friend. But the poor
man had a friend. The Lord heard him. The only
one who could help him, hurt him. And what was the blessing
he gave him? He saved him. He saved him out
of all his troubles. He saved him and put a robe on
his back and shoes on his feet and a ring on his finger and
killed a fatted calf and called for every one of his friends
to come and rejoice. And then you know what? The poor
man's legacy. The poor man's heritage is trouble.
His prayer is unto the Lord. And his friend is the Lord, and
his blessing is saving him. But then, you know what he did?
He gave him a legacy. The angel of the Lord encamps
round about him. The angel of the Lord. That's
right now. Our Lord talked about his children. Not little children, but his children. His children have angels that
appear before the Father. And He'll give His angels charge
over thee, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And everybody
who's poor man that cries unto the Lord, and He saves him, angels
encamp round about him to deliver him from whom? Well, not from people down here.
Angels don't fool with folks down here. They don't mouth nothing
anyway. Angels deal with principalities and powers and rulers, darkness,
demons. See, there's a whole lot going
on around about you you don't know about. When Satan appeared before the
Lord in Job 1, when God asked him, have you considered my servant
Job, the question he asked him, If you set your heart on my service,
Joe." The Lord wasn't challenging Satan to examine Joe. He was asking him, if that's
what you're here for, your target is Joe. And you might be surprised
at who's got you in his sights right now. That's right. You might be surprised. But that's
what this, he gives his, this is what it says, his angels in
camp round about them that fear him. And they're busy delivering
them. Busy delivering them. That's
right. We wrestle not against flesh
and blood. We wrestle against principalities and powers, rulers
of the darkness, spiritual wickedness in our place. Put on them the
whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in that
evil day. All right, let's look at verse
8-13. Listen to this. This is interesting. Oh, taste and see. The Lord is
good. The Lord is good. Blessed is
the man that trusteth in him. Hear the Lord, ye his saints.
There is no want to them that fear him. Now the young lions
do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord, taste
the Lord, hear the Lord, Seek the Lord, you shall not want
any good thing." Now, let me put that together. The Lord is
good. Did not he say, come for all
things are ready? My feast is prepared, coming
down. But his goodness and mercy, God
is good. His feast is rich, and the wine
is on the leaves, and the honey and the sweet things and the
mercy. They're good, but they'll remain unknown unless we taste. Oh, taste. Taste. Taste and see. You're not going
to see until you taste. You know what it says? What does
it say? Taste and see the Lord's good. I know He's good. How do I know He's good? I've
tasted, haven't you? I know He's good. Taste and see
that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one who tastes
Him. Blessed is the man who trusts
Him. You can't know the benefits and the blessings unless you
take them. Taste them. Trust Him. Trust Him. And verse 9 said,
fear Him. What is fear? It's worship. It's
rest. It's respect. There's no want
or lack to those who reverence him, who fear him. O fear the
Lord, ye his saints. There's no want to those who
do actually fear the Lord. Stand in awe of him in his majesty
and holiness and greatness and power and wisdom. Actually do
stand in awe of the King. There's no want to them. Taste
the Lord's good. fear the Lord. There's no want
to them who fear the Lord. He said in verse 10, these young
lions are strong and fierce and cunning and they seek their food
all by themselves. And sometimes they get awful
hungry because there's nothing to be found. The young lions
do lack because they're hunting the food themselves and they
suffer hunger. But they that seek the Lord,
those sheep those sheep, those unoffensive
sheep, those certainly not fierce sheep, those dependent sheep,
that seek the Lord, that wait on the Lord, that fear the Lord,
I promise you," he said, they'll never want anything good from
them. They'll never lack anything good
from them. That's a promise to those who
taste. And see, the Lord is really good. They trust him. They fear the
Lord. And there's no want. All the
young lambs, they're fierce and cunning and powerful, but they
suffer hunger. But those dependent sheep who
seek the Lord will never want for any good thing. So come,
my children. Listen to me, David said. Listen
to me, hearken to me, pay some attention. I'll teach you the
fear of the Lord. Now then, I ask this question.
This phrase is used frequently in the scripture, the fear of
the Lord, the fear of the Lord. And I know what it means, respect,
awe, reverence. That's right. Can it be taught? My word of mouth. Can it be learned
by the hearing of the ear? Can I communicate faith and fear
of God to another human? Perhaps not. Perhaps not. Perhaps not. But I can tell him
what it is. I can't teach him. God the Father
has to teach him. No man can come to me except
my Father draw him, and they shall all be taught of God. He
that's taught of God and learns of me, he comes to me. So, fear
of God, I can't teach it by word of mouth and I can't teach it
by bending someone's ear and I can't impart faith and impart
fear. But I can tell them what it is
and they can seek the Lord. What is it? I believe it's three
basic primary things, the fear of the Lord. wrapped up in these three basic
things. First of all, the fear of the
Lord is to be fully persuaded in heart and soul and mind of
the Lord's great majesty and sovereignty, power and wisdom,
and our total, complete weakness. Now, Nebuchadnezzar experienced
that. in Daniel 4. Let me show you
that. Daniel chapter 4. This is what
I'm saying. This is the fear of the Lord. It's to be fully persuaded, convinced
in soul, mind, and heart of his great sovereignty and majesty,
power, and wisdom of our God and our total weakness. Verse
34, Daniel 4. Listen. At the end of the days,
I never confess it. Lifted up mine eyes to heaven,
and my understanding returned to me." Boy, that's a good blessing
of understanding. And I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion
is of everlasting dominion, whose kingdom is from generation to
generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing.
And he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven,
among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his
hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? And at that same time my
reason returned unto me, for the glory of my kingdom." Oh,
fear the Lord. Then secondly, the fear of the
Lord is to see the holiness of God, the immaculate, infinite,
indescribable holiness of God in our wickedness. And Isaiah
saw that. Turn to Isaiah 6. This is the
fear of the Lord. Isaiah 6, verse 1, listen. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord. Sitting upon a throne, I lifted
up his train, filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim,
each one had six wings, with two he covered his face, with
two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one
cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. And the post
of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house
was filled with smoke. And then I said, Woe, oh woe
is me, I'm cut off. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean
lips. I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. That's all. That's respect. That's
worship. Why? What have you done? I've
seen the Lord. I've seen the holiness of God. And thirdly, fear the Lord. Be fully persuaded
of his great sovereignty, majesty, power, and wisdom. inability,
weakness, is to have some understanding of his absolute indescribable
holiness and our wickedness. And thirdly, is to experience
the love and mercy of God, his goodness and grace in Christ
Jesus. Turn to Philippians. Paul talked
about that here in Philippians, in Philippians chapter 3. This is where the fear of the
Lord is born. In Philippians 3, verse 7, what
things were gained to me, I counted loss for Christ. Any doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency and the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and I do count them but dumb, garbage, that
I may win Christ and be found in him. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness of God by faith, that I may know
him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings,
that he may conformable to his death. That's the fear of the
law. All right, this is interesting.
Now listen. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many
days, that he may see good? Now listen carefully to me here.
This may have a reference to the future, but I don't think
so. Read it again. What man is he
that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
right here on this earth. He's talking about a happy life,
a good life, right now. Mere existence is not life. A
long life is not necessarily a good life. Long, many days
are not necessarily good days. Sometimes those who live the
longest live the least. So it's not the length of life
that makes it good or happy, but how it's lived. What man
is he that desires a good life and happy days? True biblical instruction is
to teach people not only how to die, but how to live. Isn't that right? I'm not just
here to tell people how to die. But how to live here while they
live? A good life. Happy days. Meany days. See good. All right, he'll tell
you. Verse 13. Keep your tongue from
evil. Keep your tongue from speaking
evil of people. That's how you make enemies.
That's how you hurt folks. Talking mean. You can't have
a good life, a happy life, while you're cutting folks to pieces.
Keep your lips and speak in deceit. Speak the truth. Don't be deceitful. You can't have a good life, happy
life, and be deceitful. Put a watch on our tongue. Speak
kindly of people and to people. Paul said, let our conversation
be seasoned with grace, salted with grace and love, tenderness. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another as God, for Christ's sake, forgave you.
Verse 14, depart from evil. Depart from evil things and evil
people. Evil companions corrupt good manners. You can't have
a happy, good life walking with God and walk with evil people.
and do evil things. Can't do it. Do good. Spend your life doing
good deeds. Do good. Reach out. Lift the fallen. Encourage the
faint. Help the lonely. Give yourself. It's more blessed to give than
to receive. You receive by giving. You get
happiness by making people happy. You want a good life? It's not
just to sit in an ivory tower and argue doctrine. It's to do
good. Live people. Make somebody happy
today. Do good. Seek peace. In all places, with all people,
be a peacemaker. Be a peacemaker. Seek peace. Seek peace and pursue it. That's
to pursue it. Blessed are the peacemakers,
they'll be called children of God. Now, what verse 12 is talking
about is right here and now. Right here and now. Good life.
Happy life. What man is out here desiring
life? A good life. Who loveth many
days, that he may see good. But there it is right there,
verse 13 and 14. And the eyes of the Lord upon
those people, verse 15, the eyes of the Lord upon the righteous,
to supply their needs, to bless their hunger and thirst for righteousness,
they're going to be filled. They're going to be filled. Because
his eyes are open upon them, his ears are open to their cry.
Lord, help me, you're going to help. Inspire me, you'll get inspiration.
Open the door for me, he'll open it. But verse 16, but the face
of the Lord is against them that do evil. Spurgeon says the evil
person will be checkmated. I never played chess before,
but I looked that up and said, indeed, the king's dead. You
know what I mean? Wiped out. The game's over. And he says the face of the Lord
is against them that do evil, they're checkmated, the game's
over. Listen, you cut off even the remembrance of them from
this earth. They're not only checkmated, persecuted, but they're
forgotten. Evil people don't please the
Holy God. But here's the blessings of affliction, and we'll read
this and finish the message. the many blessings of afflictions.
Can afflictions be blessed? Yes, Paul said he rejoiced in
his heart. Here it is, verse 17-20. Listen. The righteous cry, and the Lord
heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The
Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. The Lord saveth
such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, many are their afflictions. but the Lord delivereth him out
of them all." One of the old writers said,
afflictions help us in five ways. They make us pray. None of us pray like we pray
when we are afflicted. They make us pray and seek his
face. Secondly, they teach us his ways.
Good for me, David said, that I've been afflicted that I might
learn thy statutes. It teaches us his ways and his
providence. God moves in mysterious ways
his wonders to perform. Plants his footsteps on the sea
and rides upon the storm. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
take, the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and
will break with blessings on your head. Thirdly, they help us learn patience
and to wait on the Lord. They help us to learn to wait
on the Lord and patience. And fourthly, they bring us into
his presence because the Lord is nigh unto them of a broken
heart. The Lord is nigh unto them of
a broken heart. Ever mother here, when her babies
The children come in crying, the first thing she does. That's
just the first reaction. Bring them close. Bring them
close. And the Lord's now to them with
a broken heart. He savors such as be of a contrite
spirit. He embraces them. And then deliverance
brings rejoicing. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Back one
page. Psalm 30, verse 5. His anger endureth but a moment,
in his favor is life. Weeping may endure for the night,
but joy is coming in the morning. And our afflictions are going
to give way one of these days to the highest, most awesome
praise you've ever heard. One more verse. He keepeth all
his bones, not one of them is broken. Preacher, does that refer
to Christ? Yes. John 19, let's look at it. John 19, verse, here it is in the margin
of your Bible, verse 36, isn't it? When they came to break the legs
of the thief on the cross, they didn't break the Lord's legs.
Verse 36, For these things were done, that the scripture should
be fulfilled, a bone of him should not be broken, not a single bone
in his body broken. Who is his body? The Church. Why is this here? He keepeth
all his bones, his body. And I know that referred to him,
but his body is his church, and not a one of them, not a one
of them will be destroyed. Not a one of them will be out
of place. You break a bone, it's all out of place. It can't be. It can't be. Preserved intact,
his body. That's what that's talking about.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous. And don't you let
any preacher come along with a bunch of charismatic foolishness
and tell you that because you have afflictions you don't have
faith. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but you just
know this, the Lord will deliver them out of them all. Ever one. Because not a bone of his will
be broken. All right, we're going to sing
a closing hymn. Praise the Lord. I will praise
him. Praise the Lord, the Almighty.
That's number 13 in your hymn books.