Psalm 116. Now this is one of those Psalms of
David which should be read often, prayerfully, carefully. You see, David didn't pluck these
words from a book of theology in order to argue doctrine. debate with his fellow man. David didn't find these words
in a church creed or catechism. He didn't recite them as his
confession of faith. David found these words in his
heart. These words issue forth from
a believing heart. from a broken heart, from a blessed heart. God had
shed abroad his love in the heart of his servant, David. And he
called David a man after my own heart. Keep thy heart, that's what the
scripture says, out of it are the issues of life, the real
issues of life. They're out of the heart. My son, the Lord says, give me
your heart. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. And this was Simon Magus' problem. His heart wasn't right. It's more important for us to
give diligence to make sure that our hearts are right more than
our heads. And in this psalm, David deals
with some critical heart issues, these living words for dying
saints. Down in verse 15, the psalm seems
to build up to this. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. And we'll begin with verse 1
and see how these issues spring forth. deals with each one, such
important words. He begins in verse 1 with the
most critical issue of all. He says, I love the Lord. I love the Lord. I do. He said, He's my shepherd. I
can't speak for others, I can speak for myself. my shepherd. The Lord is our shepherd, but
He's my shepherd. That's the critical issue. That's
the one that must be settled first. I love the Lord. The Lord who made heaven and
earth, who reigns, that's the Lord I love. The Lord who created
all things by the word of His power and for His glory and for
His pleasure. I love the Lord. I love the Lord
who purposed to save a people, who came to this earth in the
person of his beloved Son, who died on the cross for our sins.
That's the Lord I love. The Lord revealed in the pictures
and types and shadows and promises. I love the Lord, he said, the
Lord, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Jehovah. I love
the Lord who's my Redeemer. my priest, my advocate. I love the Lord, the Lord. And
I love him because he first loved me. And I love those who bear his
image. If we love him that begat, we
love those who have begotten of him. I love his word. I love those who bear his image
and wear his name. And this is the first and foremost
issue. to love the Lord. Because if
any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles said, let
him be accursed. Let him be anathema. He that
loveth not knoweth not. So David begins, I love the Lord. And that's where we begin. I
love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplication. And then he says in verse 2,
here's another critical issue. He talks about continuing in
that love. Continuing in that love. Listen
to him. I love the Lord because he has
heard my voice and my supplications because he has inclined his ear
unto me. Therefore, Will I call on Him as long as
I live, all my days? How can a man be so positive? I love the Lord, and I'll always
love Him. I love the Lord. He's heard my
voice, inclined His ear unto me, and I will call on Him as
long as I live. How can a man be so positive,
so certain that he'll always love the Lord always call on
his name. I'll tell you how. This is not the old man speaking,
this is the new man. The old man can get religion,
learn doctrine, even change doctrine, change habits, and change a lot of things. But
when God saves a man, He creates a new man in Christ Jesus. And
this new man is the one speaking here. I love the Lord. And I'll call on Him as long
as I live. This is not the old heart speaking. This is the new
heart. Listen to two scriptures. Turn
to Ezekiel. This is a new man, a new nature,
a new heart. Ezekiel chapter 11. Listen to what the Lord says
here. Actually, this is Christ speaking, who dwells in us. Paul said, I'm crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the Christ who lives in the
new man, new heart, can say, I'll always love the Lord. I'll
call on Him as long as I live. I know I've passed from death
unto life. Ezekiel 11, listen, verse 19. I'll give them one
heart. I'll put a new spirit within
you. This is the new spirit. I'll take away the stony heart
out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. This is a divine
operation. This is regeneration. This is
a new creation, that they may walk in my statutes and keep
my ordinance and do them, and they'll be my people and I'll
be their God. In Jeremiah chapter 32, he says in verse 38, Jeremiah
32 verse 38, They shall be my people and I'll
be their God. There's no change in that. That's an arrangement
that'll never change. Like father and son can never
change. Father and daughter, mother and
daughter can never change. God and His children can never
change. I'll be their God. They're my
people. And I give them one heart. I give them a new heart and one
way. They can't go but one way, that they may fear me forever.
Unchangeable covenant. For the good of them and their
children after them, and I'll make an everlasting covenant
with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good.
I'll put my fear in their hearts, and they'll never depart from
me. I'll never turn away from them, and they'll never turn
away from me. And a person who's experienced
that, that new creation, that regeneration, that new heart...
I'm not talking about a person who's got religion, decided to
accept Jesus, decided to change his ways, decided to go to heaven.
I'm talking about a person born from above and knows it. He can
say, I love the Lord, and I'll always love the Lord. I'll always
love the Lord. I'll love Him as long as I live.
That's what David said. Surely goodness and mercy will
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. No doubt about it. No doubt about
it. I love the Lord, and I always
will. The third issue, verse 3, but
I found trouble. Verse 3, the sorrows of death
encompassed me, the pains of hell got hold of me, and I found
trouble and sorrow, even though I sincerely, truly love God.
And God loves me, David said. Even though I'm faithful in worship
and will never deny Him and call upon the name of the Lord, the sorrows of death and the
pains of hell got hold of me. Now this statement, more fittingly,
applies to our Messiah. This is a Messianic psalm like
most of the rest of them. This applies to our Master, but
it applies to His people too. It belongs to His people. He
was a man of sorrows, and so are they. Paul said that, I have
continual sorrow. Heaviness of heart, he said,
and continual sorrow for my people. He was a man of sorrows. He was
acquainted with grief, and so shall they be. They that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer. To be without suffering
and trial, you're not a child. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.
In this world, you'll have tribulation. I've found trouble. and sorrow. 1 Peter tells us that. 1 Peter 4, verse 12. Beloved, you who love the Lord and who
are loved of God, beloved, think it not strange This is not unusual. Think it not strange concerning
the what? Fiery trials. The fiery trial,
which is to try you so some strange things happen to you. But rejoice
inasmuch as you partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when
His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding
joy. If you be reproached for the
name of Christ, happy are you. But in these troubles and sorrows,
three things encourage a true believer. Number one, the steps of a believer
are ordered by the Lord, wherever those steps lead, and difficult
they may be, and painful they may be, they're ordered of the
Lord, a believer now. Secondly, and all these things
work together for good to them who love the Lord, who are the
call according to His purpose. And thirdly, the weeping will
endure for the night, but oh, the joy that's coming in the
morning. The joy cometh in the morning. So you can take heart
if you are a child of the King in those three things. Every
step is ordered by the Lord. For your good and His glory and
the direction you're headed is joy when you're awake in His
likeness. And then in verse 4, he raises
another issue. He talks about prayer. Are these
not the issues, the critical heart issues of a believer's
life? I love the Lord. I will continue to love the Lord.
But on this road I found trouble and I found sorrow. And then,
notice that word, then, when I found trouble, that's when
I call on the name of the Lord. Usually real prayer is born in
real trouble. Usually that's when most of our
better praying is done. And people who say, I'm not too
good at prayer, become suddenly pretty good at it when they have
a need. If we have a sincere need and
know where that need's met, we can find words to ask for it. Then called I on the name. So many times that word is used
in this scripture, name of the Lord, the name of the Lord. Whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord. If you ask anything in
my name, what is this name? Oh God help me? No. This name
is Jehovah, God my Savior. Jehovah, Jireh, the Lord who
provides. way comparable to his holiness. Jehovah-Jireh, that's the name.
I call on the name the Lord will provide. Going up that mountain,
Abraham leading his son, his only son, whom he loved, to burn him on an altar. He said
to that boy when he was asked, Father, here's the wood and the
fire, where's the lamb? He said, My son, Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord will provide. That's the one. Religious people everywhere,
everybody says, Lord, Lord. It's not going to enter the kingdom
of heaven. But it's the name. Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord. I'm
the Lord that healeth thee. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that's within me. Bless His holy name, who healeth
thy diseases. Jehovah Shalem, the Lord Jehovah,
our peace, who made peace by the blood of His cross, a perfect
peace, an effectual peace, an unchangeable peace. People who believe men are saved
today and lose that salvation, they're not calling on that name.
That's the wrong name they're preaching. This is the name Jehovah-shire,
Jehovah-raper, Jehovah-shalem, the Lord our peace, Jehovah-sidkenu,
the Lord our righteousness. He is my righteousness. Folks that preach their own holiness
and their own righteousness, their own goodness and their
own works, know nothing about this name and never call on this
name. Then call I on the name of the Lord. I know His name. Jehovah-Raya, the Lord my shepherd,
who leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. The Lord
my banner. The Lord, my hiding place. I
know His name. And I called on His name. And
I said, listen, I beseech thee, Lord, O Lord, deliver my soul. We're praying for the wrong things. We're praying for the wrong things. My body's not the issue, my soul's
the issue. my souls, they deliver my soul. When Peter, and our Lord rebuked
Peter, he said, I prayed for you that you won't get your feelings
hurt. No, you're going to get your
feelings hurt. That you won't get depressed and discouraged.
No, you're going to get depressed. That you won't cry. You're going
to weep. That you will suffer, you will
suffer, but I pray for you that your faith fail not. The rest of it you need. Oh Lord, deliver my soul. This man knows how to pray. Deliver
his soul. Deliver his soul. Deliver his
soul. If his body is wrecked and his
soul is saved, best thing that ever happened to him. If his body is poor and broken
and lame and God saves his soul, best thing that ever happened
to him. You ask and receive not because
you ask amiss that you may consume it on your desires and your lusts. I found trouble and I found sorrow,
and then I called on the name of the Lord, and I said, O Lord,
I beseech you, deliver my soul. And you know what I found? I
found him to be so gracious. He talks about grace and mercy.
Now listen to verse 5. Gracious is the Lord, and he's
righteous. He's not going to be gracious
at the expense of his righteousness. That's what all these Pentecostal
and free wills need to learn. He's not going to be gracious
at the expense of his righteousness. He's going to be just and justified.
He's not going to compromise his holiness. Gracious is the
Lord, and righteous, and just, and holy. He will by no means
clear the guilty, but our God is merciful. That's the sinner's
hope. the mercy of God. Psalm 130,
David said, Out of the depths, out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord, O Lord, deliver my soul. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquity, who would stand? But there is forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord there's plenty of mercy. He's merciful. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
because with the Lord there's mercy. Our God is merciful. David uses himself as an example
in verse 6. He said the Lord preserves the
foolish. It's simple. Here's the foolish.
Just write it in your margin. He preserves the foolish. The
dumb, that's us. Foolish. I was brought low, he
helped me. I'm an example. I'm example number
one, he said. The Lord's merciful. The Lord's
gracious. The Lord preserves the foolish,
the dumb, the stupid. I was brought low and he helped
me. Return unto thy rest. Be at rest, O my soul, be at
rest. Enter the rest of Christ. For
the Lord hath dealt bountifully, mercifully, abundantly with thee. Thou hast delivered my soul from
death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling. And I will
walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Turn to 2 Corinthians
chapter 1. That word deliver, the Lord has delivered my soul,
the Lord has delivered my soul from death. My eyes from tears
and my feet from falling. The word salvation is deliverance. In 2 Corinthians 1-9, listen
to this, we had the sentence of death in ourselves. We'll
have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not
trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead. He delivered
us from so great a death. He doth deliver us in whom we
trust. He will yet deliver us. There's
our hope. He delivered me. He doth deliver
me every day. And he will yet deliver us. Verse 10, he talks about the
foundation of faith. I love this verse. Paul loved
it so much he applied it to himself. He quoted David here. Paul in
2 Corinthians 4.13, you needn't turn to it, it's written there
in your margin. David says in verse 10, I believed, therefore
have I spoken. Every question has the same answer. did for Abraham, Abraham believed
God. It was counted to him for righteousness.
Abraham believed that what God had promised, he was able to
perform. He believed God. I believe, therefore I've spoken. And every question has the same
answer. For example, why do you preach, instead of evolution, why do
you preach that God created the heavens and the earth and created
man and all things creeping and living, that brings forth after
its kind, and that man is in the condition he's in because
he fell into sin and disobeyed God. Why do you preach that?
I believe God. I believe God. Why do you preach
that God made an everlasting covenant back before the foundation
of the world and gave a people to Christ and chose a people
in Christ to be like Christ, to reign with Christ? Why do
you preach that? I believe God. Every question
has the same answer. I believe God. Why do you preach
that in order to be just and justify our sinners that God
had to come to earth in the form of a man, in the flesh, obey
the law, perform a perfect righteousness, fulfill a perfect righteousness
in every jot and tittle, and die on the cross as a sacrifice
for sin? And in Him, sinners are redeemed.
Why do you preach that? I believe God. Why do you preach that no man
can or will come to Christ except he's quickened and regenerated,
born again, made alive, taught of the Spirit of God? Answer? I believe God. Why do you preach that he that
believeth on the Son hath life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall never see life? I preach it because I believe
God. I believe God, therefore have
I spoken. And we've got no right to speak
otherwise. We can't speak because we think
something. We can't speak because we heard
somebody say something. I believe God, therefore, why
do you think you are saved? I believe God. That's the answer. And then he says in verse 11,
I was greatly afflicted, and I said it in my haste, all men
are liars. The Bible says in Romans 3, 4,
let God be true and every man a liar. And all men will prove to be
liars if we put our trust in them. Put no confidence in this flesh.
If you do, you'll find that it'll fail. But some men, by God's
grace, are honest and truthful. And David said, I was greatly
afflicted and I said this in haste. Psalm 31, he said something else
in haste. Psalm 31, verse 22, he said something
else in haste. It has an element of truth. He said, I said in my haste,
I'm cut off from before thine eyes. He knew better than that.
But it seemed that way to him at the time. I said, in my haste,
I'm cut off. Nevertheless, you heard my voice.
And there's a sense in which, like Paul said, let God be true
and every man a liar, but there are men who tell the truth. I'm
telling you the truth tonight, preaching from God's Word. There
are men who can be trusted. There are women who can be trusted.
Honest people, men of integrity by God's grace. but in the flesh
dwelleth no good thing. It's that new man. All right, verse 13. So he talks
about a commitment now. He says in verse 12, What shall
I render the Lord for all his benefits towards me? You remember
Psalm 103, he used that word, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that's within me. Bless his holy name. And forget
not all his benefits. What shall I render unto the
Lord for all his benefits? Well, listen to what he says.
Number one, I will take the cup of salvation. You remember when our Lord gathered
his disciples together in the upper room before he went to
the cross, when he sat at the table with
them and instituted the Lord's Supper? And it says he took the
cup, and after he had sucked, he gave
it to them. And he said, this cup is the
new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. Drink ye all
of it. He took the cup and drank, and
gave them the cup and said, drink. He took the cup of God's wrath.
Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but thy will be done. Shall I not drink the cup
that my Father has given me to drink? Shall I not be baptized
with the baptism wherewith he has ordained for me? I'll drink
of that cup. He drank of the cup of the wrath
of God for us in order that he might give us the cup of salvation. Drink it. Ronnie, I'm going to
take it. By his grace, I'm going to take
it. Here he said, this is the cup.
This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for
you. Take it and drink it. That's what David's saying. I'll
take the cup of salvation. What shall I render the Lord
for all his benefits? I'll take that cup. And I'll
call on the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. I'll call on his name privately,
in verse 14, publicly. And I'll pay my vows. My vows,
you see, are my commitment to whom I'm committed. And I'll do that in the presence
of all his people. I'll do in public what I've done
in private. I'll confirm in public what I
do in private. I take the cup of salvation.
And when God's people gather to take the table of the Lord,
I'll join with them, publicly owning my Lord. He says
that again in verse 18, I'll pay my vows. unto the Lord, now
in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the Lord's house,
in the middle of Jerusalem." That's where I'll pay my vows, publicly, in the presence of
all his people. Verse 15, and that leads to this glorious
end of the journey. Balaam said, let me die the death
of the righteous. You don't die the death of the
righteous unless you live the life of the righteous. People
die like they live. That's right. Die like they live. And this fifteenth verse applies
to no one to whom the first fourteen does not apply. I love the Lord. And I'll always love Him. And
I'll call on the name of the Lord. And I'll take the cup of
salvation in the presence of his people. And therefore, my death will
be precious. I read it like David says it,
precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. The death of his people is not
always precious in our sight at all. Not at all. And that's not what it says.
But it's always precious in his sight for four reasons. I'll give you carefully four
reasons why the death of his saints, his people, his own,
his elect, bought by his blood, why their death is precious in
his sight. Number one, because he doesn't
see as we see. That's why it's precious to him,
not precious to us. He doesn't see as we see. He
doesn't trace our lives by years. He died so young, 21. She died
so young, 40. He died so young, 50. He doesn't
trace our lives by years, youth, middle age, Old age, well, he
lived his life, it was time to die. That's not what makes it
precious. We're forever young in his sight,
eternally young. He doesn't weigh our joys and
happiness in the scales of earthly enjoyment. We do, we measure things by earthly
enjoyment, by needing someone. by being blessed by someone.
But he measures our happiness in the scales of heavenly blessings.
He blessed us with heavenly blessings. And that's what he sees, our
heavenly. And then he doesn't look upon us as part of an earthly
circle and family. He sees us as part of his family. His family. His church, His people. We see this person as a part
of us. He sees that person as a part
of Him. You see what I'm saying? We look at one another and we
say, well, it's for the man 70, it's 5, 10 more years, it's time
for him to go. But that don't make my death
precious. God doesn't. I'm eternally young in His sight. And then we think a person gets
so sick, you know, and then we're glad to die because they're suffering
so much. But in his sight, we're not sick,
we're well. But we're his family. It's his
child. And then the second reason why
their death is precious is because that's why he came to redeem
them. He said, John 14, listen to him. He said to his disciples,
let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? You do believe
in God. Believe in me. In my Father's
house and many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have
told you, and I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
to prepare a place for you, I'll come and receive you unto myself. And where I am, there you may
be. He came to prepare a place for
us. for this very reason that we
might be with him, that where I am, there ye may be. Listen
to him in his high priestly prayer. He says this to the Father. Father,
I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold
my glory which thou hast given me. I want them where I am. That's why their death's precious.
It's precious to him, not to us, because he sees things entirely
different. And that's why he came to this
earth, to redeem his people, that he might take them home.
That's so. Their death is precious. Paul said that, I'll have a desire
to depart and be with Christ. That's why he came to redeem
me. And thirdly, it is precious to him because it puts an end
to all their suffering, their sinning. It translates them into his eternal
rest and glory and makes them into his image, the fulfillment
of every promise. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
he'll dwell with them, there'll be his people, and God'll be
their God, and God'll wipe all tears from their eyes." There'll be no more death. There'll be no more sorrow. God
didn't create his children to die, or to weep, or to be sorrowful,
and no more pain or to hurt. He created them to be like Christ,
and that's the reason their death is precious, because there's
no more of that stuff. No more. They're with him. And then, fourthly, because their
entrance into glory will glorify him, his glory, his holiness, and
his love. My friends, there's a war. There's
a warfare that's been going on since Satan fell from heaven
between God and evil, between the kingdom of darkness and the
kingdom of God's dear Son. And one day that's going to be
over, and God's going to win. And he's going to gather together,
turn to Ephesians 2. It's a warfare. It's a conflict. It's a battle. He's going to
come and he's going to conquer every enemy. The last enemy destroyed
his death. He's going to destroy everything
that worketh and maketh alive. Every evil principalities, powers,
dominions, force, thought, word. Warfare is going to be cast into
the bottomless pit, eternally banished forever from all the
universe. Chapter 2 of Ephesians, verse
1, you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin. In times past you walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
pile of air, that spirit, that enemy, that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation,
Adam's race. In times past, in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of the mind,
and we're by nature, birth, choice, nature, children of wrath, even
as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace
are you saved. and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together spiritually in heavenly places in Christ.
That, in the ages to come, He's going to show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
He's going to show the whole universe, His power, His glory,
His majesty, His holiness, His triumph, His Lamb, His Son. And when you and I die, takes
us to glory. Trophies of his grace. Trophies of his grace. 1 Peter
3, let me read this to you. 2 Peter 3, verse 12. 2 Peter 3, verse 12. We're looking
far and hastening unto the coming
of the day of wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
you look for such things, be diligent, that you may be found
of him in peace, without spot, and blameless, precious in his
sight. death of his saints, because of the glory which they
will bring him when they stand in his presence, conformed to
his image, work of his grace, undeserved and unmerited through
Christ's blood.