I want you to open your Bibles
to Psalm 34. Now, I've been considering this psalm
for two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, yesterday and today. And I feel it's very appropriate
for myself, for me, and for you. I was blessed by the study of
this psalm, and I pray that God will enable me to be a blessing
to you tonight in teaching it. There are some tremendous things
here. And I understand, first of all,
that the author of this psalm is David. And most of the writers
agree, the fellows that are supposed to know these things, I don't
know where they get all their information about when these
psalms were written, in what part of David's life or Moses'
life or whomever the writer may be of the psalm. But most of
them agree that this psalm was written, as you'll see there
underneath the number, in one of the darkest some of the darkest
hours of his life, when he was a fugitive, when David was a
fugitive. This was before he became king
of Israel. And he was fleeing for his life.
It was a dark time. He was not only fleeing from
the enemies of Israel, all of these heathen nations, the Philistines
and Amorites and the Hittites and all these folks, heathen
rulers and heathen kings. But he was hunted like a wild
beast by his own people, by Saul the king and by the people in
command and in authority. He was everybody's enemy. And he was compelled to live
in caves. At this time he was living in
a cave, a cave of Adullam, and hiding in the caves and in the
forest and and also trying to supply food and provisions and
supplies for those who were with him. There were 400 men with
him. Let's read about that. Just hold Psalm 34 a moment and
turn to 1 Samuel chapter 22. 1 Samuel 22 verse 1 and 2 tells
us about these days. Briefly, 1 Samuel 22, 1, David
therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Balaam. And when his brethren, all his
father's house heard of it, they went down thither to him where
he was hiding, and listened to the folks who came. And every
one that was in distress, And everyone that was in debt, this
sounds like the folks that come to the Son of David. Christ doesn't. The Navy come to the Savior.
But listen, everyone that was in distress, everyone that was
in debt, everyone that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him,
and he became a captain over them. And there were with him
about 400 men. Now, Israel had a king, Saul
was king, but the Spirit of God had departed from him. And the
nation, the beloved nation, Israel, was on the verge of destruction,
not only from without, but from within. And every personal interest David
had, every personal interest that he had, to all appearances,
was hopelessly shattered. the fugitive, an enemy. He said in Psalm 27, he said
this, I would have fainted. This is David talking. I would
have fainted. I would have given up. I would
have been totally overwhelmed and overcome unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. If
I had not believed that one day it was going to be all right,
one day by his grace, by his power, that it was going to be
all right, I'd have given up. Unless I had believed to see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, so wait on
the Lord, he said. If you experience this situation
and circumstances, wait on the Lord. Don't quit. Don't give
up. Be of good courage. He will,
he will strengthen your heart. So wait, I say. Wait on the Lord. And that's what he's doing, the
fugitive. Hiding, running. Saul came after armies of men. The heathen were chastened. Saul
was chastened. And it was during these days
that he said in Psalm 34-1, I'll bless the Lord at all times,
at all times. I'll bless the Lord. I'll pray.
His praise shall continually be in my mouth. I received a
letter a few days ago from a preacher friend. I've never met this man. He's written to me several times
over the last several years, but we've never met face-to-face. He's a man who loves the gospel
of grace, the doctrines of grace. Lives a good ways from here.
And I haven't heard from him in quite a while. Quite a while. I'd say over a year. But here
came a letter just a few days ago, a three-page long letter,
handwritten. And the letter, he spent most
of the time in the letter describing the evil day in which
we live, as if I didn't know about it. But he spent the whole letter
describing this evil, corrupt day, false preachers, apostate
churches, what we don't hear, what preachers
don't preach. where people are headed. And
when I wrote him, answered his letter, I said, my dear friend,
your appraisal of this world situation and religious situation
is all too true. It's just too true, and it's
sad. The condition certainly exists. You're right on every
score. But do I have to spend my time
dwelling on those things? And I asked him to read Philippians. if you will turn to it, chapter
4, Philippians chapter 4. It says
here in Philippians 4, verse 7, and the peace of God, the
peace of God, I know there's no peace among men, never has
been, there will be no peace in this world, but the peace
of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus, O brethren, finally." Whatsoever things are
true, not the false, the true. Whatsoever things are honest,
not the dishonest people of the world. But whatsoever things
are just, and I think of the just one, And whatsoever things
are pure, and whatsoever things are lovely, and whatsoever things
are good, report. Bring me a good report, if there
be any virtue, if there be any praise. Why don't you think on
these things? I don't have to spend my time
dwelling on the evil when I can think on these things, do I? I don't have to dwell on preachers
who don't preach Christ. I can rejoice in those who do. I know lots of them who do, who
preach the gospel of Christ. I don't have to spend my time
moaning over those who've left Christ. Somehow, I can rejoice in those
who have recently come to Christ. Isn't that right? You know, when you're always
talking about the tragic things that have happened, people who
have left Christ, it's like gnawing on a bone when you could have
a piece of meat. Just sitting out there gnawing
on an old dry bone. That's what a dog does, just
gnaws on an old dry bone, just keeps gnawing on it, gnawing
on it, gnawing on it. When you can sit down at the table of
the Lord, His mercies are new every morning. Dwell on these
things. Think on these things. I don't
have to dwell on the unpleasant and the disagreeable experiences
in life and people whom I've met, when every day is grace
and mercy is fresh and new. Isn't it? Lamentation says that,
his compassions fail not, they're new every morning. And so this
psalm is an example of that, what our attitude and conduct
ought to be, especially in the time of adversity. Here, David,
things couldn't be any worse. How could there be any worse?
A fugitive fleeing from his own people and fleeing from the Lord's
enemies and hated by most everybody, Everybody around him was in debt,
and distressed, and weary, and troubled, and, you know, he heard
their complaints, and troubles, and sorrows, and trials, and
yet he says here, say, what I'm going to do, I'm going to bless
the Lord. I'm going to bless the Lord.
I'm going to bless the, who? I will. I will. That's what he said, look it,
I will. Who? I will. What? I'll bless the
Lord. Whom? The Lord! I'll bless the Lord,
I'll praise and adore Jehovah. That's who that is there, capital
L, capital O, capital R, capital V. I told you about that, that's
his name, Jehovah. I'll bless Jehovah. Who? I will. What? I'll bless the
Lord. Who? The Lord, Jehovah. When? At all times. at all, especially
in the time of adversity, especially in the time of trouble, I'll
bless the Lord. And how am I going to do it?
I'm going to do it continually. His praise, His praise shall
continually be in my mouth, not just in my heart, not just in
my heart. Mr. Spurgeon said this, should not only be in my heart,
but in my mouth, because thanksgiving is not a dumb thing. The scripture
says, let the redeemed of the Lord what? Say so. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. I'll bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. Not complaining, not murmuring,
but rejoicing. You see, the condition of this
world, and the support of friends, or the hatred of enemies, or
the success of business or its failures, the amount of possessions
or lack of them, the health or weakness of this body, has really
nothing to do with the great object of our faith. Not a thing. David, in my message last week,
said this, I'll be satisfied when I awake with His likeness,
when I behold His face in righteousness and awake with His likeness.
That's my goal. So all of these things that happen
day by day have nothing to do with that goal, have nothing
whatsoever to do with that ultimate objective to be like Christ.
So I bless the Lord. Oh, look at verse 2. My soul
shall make her boast in the Lord. Is boasting ever commendable?
Aren't we taught not to brag and not to boast? This boasting
is commendable. My soul, my heart, my restored
soul shall boast in glory in him who restored it. And my new
heart shall praise him who gave it." This kind of boasting is
commendable. Paul said, God forbid that I
should gloat, and I will gloat in that, in the cross of my Lord
Jesus Christ. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord. Spurgeon said this, when I read,
I can do all things, that's unacceptable. But when I add, I can do all
things through Christ that's strengthened in me, that's acceptable. And not only acceptable, commendable. Be commendable. All right, look
at the next line. My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord, and the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. The humble are God's people.
And God's people are grieved over proud speeches, but they
rejoice over those who honor the Lord. The humble shall be
glad. When I bless the Lord, when I
exalt his name, when I make my boast in the Lord, they're glad. Now look at verse 3. And he's
talking about the people whom he just mentioned. The humble
shall hear their arm and be glad. So he turns to them and he says,
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, magnify the Lord with me. Who
can make God great like those who know themselves to be small,
the humble? Who can praise the shepherd like
the sheep who was lost? Who can magnify the love and
mercy of the Father quite like the prodigal son? Who can exalt
the sight giver like the man who was blind? One cannot tell
what he does not know, and one cannot praise one whom he does
not love, and one cannot be grateful to him to whom he owes nothing.
So the humble, to them David said, you magnify the Lord with
me. Magnify the Lord with me. You
know something about his greatness, and let us exalt his name together
and make our boast in the Lord. Verse 4, I sought the Lord, I
sought the Lord, and he heard me, and he delivered me from
all my fears. You know, this is exactly what
the Scripture teaches all the way through. Whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. I sought the
Lord, He heard me and delivered me from all my fears, my fear
of sin, my fear of condemnation, my fear of death, my fear of
hell. I sought Him and He delivered
me. He said, that's what the word salvation is, is deliverance.
Delivered me. Delivered me. I sought the Lord. David said in Psalm 130, out
of the depth have I cried unto thee, out of the depth of sin.
I cried unto thee, O Lord, if thou shouldst mark iniquity,
O Lord, who would stand? But there's forgiveness with
thee. I sought the Lord, I did, out of my need and inability
and sin and guilt, I sought the Lord. And what did He say? He
heard me. He always does. You seek me,
And find me when you search for me with all your heart." He delights
to show mercy. With Him there is mercy. I sought
the Lord and He heard me. He delivered me. And He delivered
me effectually by His precious blood and by His grace and by
His mercy. He delivered me from all my fears. All my fears. All my fears. In verse 5, he goes back to the
Old Testament believers. He said, they looked to him.
They looked to him. By faith, Enoch looked to God. And God took him. They looked
to him. By faith, Noah being warned of
things not seen, moved with fear and built an ark. By faith, Abraham
left the house and his family and father and friends and went
to a land that to which God called him. By faith, Moses would not
be counted or considered the son of Pharaoh's daughter. They
looked to him. They looked to him in prayer
and in faith and listened. And they were lightened. They
were lightened. That word is enlightened. I know
it says in your margin, they flowed under him, but the first
line says they flowed under him, they looked under him. They looked
to Him, they believed Him, but this part says they were enlightened. As they looked, more light was
given, more understanding was given, as they looked to Him.
And their faces were not ashamed, they were not disappointed. Like
Abraham said to his son Isaac, he said, the Lord will provide.
You can be sure that He will provide. He will provide. Now what's verse 6? In the treasure
of David, there's an outline by the old village preacher. I like his comments on this 6th
verse here. He says, the poor man, I'll read
it and then I'll give you the comment. This poor man, this
poor man, poor and needy, this poor man cried, and the Lord
heard him. and saved him out of all of his
trouble. First of all, the poor man's
prayer, he cried unto the Lord. He cried unto the Lord. Oh, how
he cried. Psalm 107 said, hungry and thirsty,
having no city in which to dwell, lonely, weary, he cried unto
the Lord. four or five times, I cried unto
the Lord. I cried. That's a whole lot different
from having a little talk with Jesus. Somebody said, let's bow
for a little word of prayer. There's no such thing as a little
word of prayer. I cried. This poor man cried. He cried. And he said, the poor
man's friend and the Lord, the Lord heard We read that while
I go over here in Exodus, chapter 33. Turn over there a minute.
This, every time I read this, it just has a special meaning
over here in the book of Exodus, chapter 33, where it said, verse
11, and the Lord spake unto Moses, face to face, as a man speaketh
under his brain. as a man speaketh under his friend."
This poor man's prayer was a cry, and this poor man's friend was
the Lord. David said, when my mother and
father forsake me, you take care of them. He's my friend. He's
the friend that sticketh closer than a brother. And then the
poor man's salvation, he says, this poor man cried, the Lord
Heard him. The Lord heard him and saved
him. And saved him. What did He save
him from? The poor man's troubles. He said,
out of all his troubles, all his life was filled with troubles
and sorrows. But the Lord saved him out of
all his troubles. Now watch the next verse. And
here's the poor man's legacy. You see the poor man's cry? It's
a cry. And the poor man's friend is
the Lord. And the poor man's salvation
is the Lord saved him out of the poor man's troubles. And
here's the poor man's legacy and the angel of the Lord. Now,
a lot of writers believe that that's the Lord Jesus Christ
himself. And it's all right. That's all
right. But I believe it's the angels
of the Lord also. Because it says, "...the angel
of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth
them." Keeps on delivering them. Keeps on protecting them. Keeps
on providing. The angels of the Lord. Don't
turn to these. Let me just read you several
scriptures. In Exodus 23, the Lord said to Israel, I send my
angels before thee to keep thee in the way." Psalm 91, 11 says
this, "'For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways.'" Matthew 18, 10, our Lord said, "'Take
heed that you despise not one of these little ones who believe
in me. For in heaven their angel do
always behold the face of my father Hebrews 1.14 says this
the angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those
who shall be the heirs of salvation Psalm 103 verse 20 says bless
the Lord ye his angels That excelling strength. Now watch this. These
angels are not imaginary creatures. The boys and girls appear in
these church cantatas and Christmas plays and they paste some wings
on their back, you know, and put them in a white lace outfit
and they go flopping around the state. These angels we're talking
about here are not imaginary creatures. They're not cloud
dwellers. They're not harp players. One
man said they're not fluttering fairies. They are real, living,
unseen messengers of God that surround his people. That's what
he said. Bless the Lord, ye his angels
that excel in strength, that do his commandments, that hearken
to his word. They go and come like the lightning.
at the Word of God. That's right. Now watch this. Turn to Acts 12. Acts 12. I want you to go over and look
at this. Acts chapter 12. And it says here, oh boy, this
poor man, this poor man. Talking about me and you. Talking
about every sinner that comes to Christ by faith. He cried,
cried on the name of the Lord, called out of his out of the
depths, the Lord heard him, saved him out of all his trouble, and
gave his angels charge over him. They camped round about him.
Look at Acts 12, verse 7. Peter was in prison, and the
angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison,
and the angel smote Peter on the side. and raised him up,
saying, Arise, get up quickly. And his chains fell off from
his hands. And the angel said, Gird yourself,
and bind on your sandals. And so he did. And he said unto
him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out."
That's the angel of the Lord. That same angel. I'm talking
about the angels of God that excel in strength, that do His
will. that hearkened to his word, that
encamped round about his people, that same angel that set Peter
free, a little while later killed the king. Look at Acts 12, same
chapter, same chapter, verse 23. And verse 21 says, "...upon a
set day herald a raid in royal apparel." This is the fellow
that put Peter in jail. sat upon his throne, and made
an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout,
saying, It is the voice of a God, and not a man. And immediately
the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory. He was eaten of worms, and gave
up the ghost." The same angel that delivered
Peter smote Hagar. This says here, the angel of
the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, that love
him, that believe him, that trust him, that are saved by his grace,
robed in his righteousness, washed in his blood, whose names are
written in heaven. He gives his angels charge. Do
you believe that? I do. I do. So why not bless the Lord at
all times? It doesn't keep us from being
anxious, I know that. It doesn't excuse our anxiety,
does it? I shall not be afraid of the
terror that walketh by day, nor the terror that walketh by night. He gives his angel character.
Surround your house, surround your family, surround you. That's what it says. This poor
man, this fella, this poor angel, look after a poor man, that's
the only one they look after. God's poor man. That's right. All right, verse 8, let's look
at this again. Oh, taste and see. Now here,
we've had all these good things I've been talking about. Now
taste and see that the Lord is good. Someone wrote this about
this verse. Here's a picture. I love pictures. Our Lord used illustrations to
preach. There's a table spread, like
when we get all this together back there on New Year's night.
There's going to be a table spread. I'm telling you these, they do
the job. There's a table spread. Tenderest
meat, the freshest vegetables. the softest bread, the bread
of the master, fruit from the finest trees, desserts and cakes
and all these things. But that goodness spread on that
table will continue to be unknown to me unless I come and taste
it. Taste it. Unless I taste it. And he says
to us, in every believer, oh, taste and see that the Lord is
good. He is good. Listen, blessed indeed, blessed
happy is that man who can trust him, and that woman who can trust
him, who can really enter into that which is promised and that
which is real. Taste and see. This is good.
It's so good. It's not a doctrine. It's an
experience. And that table spread back there
is the table spread. The Lord is good. He supplies
every need. He encamps round about us. He
cares for His own. Taste it and see if you enjoy
it. Happy is that man. Blessed, well
favored is that man. who can really trust Him, who
can lean on the everlasting arms, who can rest safe in the arms
of Jesus, free from the clamor and clatter all about Him. Just
rest. I'm beginning to understand a
little of what I'm talking about here. And not be moved by it. Leave it alone. Leave it outside. Turn off your hearing aids. Turn
them off. Turn them off. Don't refuse to
listen. Refuse to be a part of it. I'm going to bless the Lord,
David." He said, sitting in his chain, all looking around that
motley crew around him. And he said, well, bless the
Lord. Bless the Lord. It's going to be all right. We're
going to sit on a throne. We're going to feast at the table
of God. We're going to drink from the
water that flows from the throne of God. We're going to eat the
twelve fruits and their seasonings. I'm going to bless the Lord contiguously.
This poor man cried, he hurt, and delivered me out of all my
troubles, and then gave me the angels to take care of him. Oh,
taste and see. Now, what's this? What's this? This is interesting. bring you
to a close. I'm not going all the way through
this. I didn't plan to. Now, verse
9, "'O, fear the Lord, ye here.'" He said, don't fear men. Don't
fear what men can do to you. Our Lord said to his disciples,
don't fear them which kill the body, and after that they don't
have anything else they can do. I'm saying to you, fear him,
fear the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord?
All right, what is the fear of the Lord? But it's not a slavish
fear, it's a reverence. The fear of the Lord is a holy
reverence, it's a respect. It's like an obedient, loving
son has a respect for his father. There's a stitch in which you
could use that word, he fears to offend his father, he fears
the chastisement of his father, he fears separation from his
father's fellowship. He doesn't like to be out of
fellowship with his father. And that's what this is. It's
a holy reverence. It's a respect. It's an adoration. It's a worship of God. It's ascribing
to him who he is and what he is, and our dependence upon him. It's to believe him. It's to
take him at his word. It's to trust him. It's to tremble
to offend him. It's to dread a separation from
him. That's what it is. And I'll tell
you, for those people, there's no want. Absolutely. There is no want to them who
fear him. Now, he doesn't give us luxuries,
he doesn't promise to, but he supplies needs. There are a lot of whims, I have
a lot of whims and wishes that are not supplied, they don't
need to be, but my wants are always met. That's my needs. He supplies all my needs, every
one of them, according to his riches in glory through Christ
Jesus. Now he says in verse 10, the young lions do lack and suffer
hunger. Well, what do you bring that
in for young lions? Well, young lions, what are they?
They're strong. They're fierce. They're not afraid
of anybody. They're cunning, crafty, powerful. And yet these young lions, sometimes
they howl from hunger. Even so, the people of this world
who are cunning and fierce and strong and greedy and crafty
men of the world, they'll soon have a lot of want. And they'll
cry, like you read tonight, for the rocks and mountains to fall
on them. But that simple believer who
fears the Lord, who seeks the Lord, who loves the Lord, who
believes the Lord, will never, he said, but they that seek the
Lord will never want any good thing. Not any good thing. What
is a good thing? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. It's all in Christ. I don't want
or need or lack any good thing. And anything for me that's good
is that which is for my eternal good. Isn't that right? I'll
never want any good thing. Fellowship, friendship, acceptance,
righteousness, holiness, wisdom, redemption, forgiveness. Oh,
you'll never want any good thing. Now, here's what I want to close
with. Boys and girls, young people, listen real good right here.
Just give me five minutes of your time. Come, you children. Come, you children. Hearken to me. I teach you the
fear of the Lord. I teach you this reverence and
respect and adoration and fear and love for the Lord. Here's David, the warrior. Think
about it now. Where he is over in that cave,
he's a fighting man. Four hundred people have come
to a fugitive and appointed him their captain. He's somebody.
He's a warrior with a mighty arm. Killed a Goliath, killed
a giant. He's an anointed king. David,
with his head full of care, and with his hands so busy providing
for all these 400 men, yet he has the time and he has the heart
to say, you children, gather around me here. I've got something
to teach you. I'm not going to teach you to
play the lute. He could play one. I'm not going to teach you
to take care of sheep. He did that a lot of years. I'm
not going to teach you how to use a sword. I expect he could
teach you. I'm not going to teach you how
to draw a bow or shoot an arrow. I'm going to teach you the very
foundation of life. I'm going to teach you that which
is better than all the arts and sciences and all the accomplishments
this world can possibly afford. I'm going to teach you that without
which everything else is nothing. The fear of the Lord. That's what I'm going to teach
you. David, mighty man, warrior, psalmist, king. Come on, children. I'm going to teach you the fear
of the Lord. You see, the knowledge of earthly
things without the fear of the Lord will bring you sorrow. Get all the knowledge and wisdom
and accomplishments and possessions that this world has to offer,
ten thousand worlds, gain it all, and without this fear of
the Lord, you'll come to your sorrow. It'll be like so much
salt to us. But if you can learn the fear
of the Lord, Fear the Lord without the knowledge of these earthly
things will bring you life eternal. Come on now, I'm going to teach
you the fear of the Lord. A man who truly fears, knows,
loves, adores, worships and believes the living God, he has the best
of both worlds. That's right. He has the best
of both worlds. You pick any of the richest,
most powerful, most influential people in this world, and I wouldn't
trade places with them for ten million worlds. Would you? I've got the best of both worlds.
The best of both. That's right. The person who
can teach young people how to live in happiness and die in
hope deserves a hero. You see, there are a lot of people
who can teach young people, eat, drink and be merry, tomorrow
you may die. Get all you can, can all you
get. And Kim James says, sit on the can. That's what they,
a lot of people can teach you that. Greed and power. money and success and all these
things. A lot of people teach you that.
They teach you that. And after that, tomorrow, you
can't handle that. Other people, now watch this,
other people, I call them religious scrooges, they teach you don't
eat, don't drink, don't be married. Go around like a hermit and set
yourself off somewhere in fear and maybe you won't die. I'm going to tell you something
better than all of that. I've found real life right here
in this world. Real love, real fellowship, real
joy, real happiness and along with that a good hope of eternal
life. I have the best of both worlds,
a happiness here and a happiness there to preach to you. It's
no great matter to live a long time, the matter is to live happily.
I got a card from a fellow one time who says, well, what's important
is not how long a man lives, it's how many people are glad
he did. And these next few verses are
the instructions that he gives. Listen. Come on, children, listen
to me. I'm going to teach you, first
of all, the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth
life, life here and life there, happiness here and happiness
there, loveth many days that he may see good, good now and
good then? I'll tell you what to do. Now listen. Verse 13. Keep your tongue from evil. What is that, from speaking evil
of God or men? Those who speak evil of God do
not know God. Those who speak evil of men do
not know God. Keep your tongue from evil. Set
a watch on your mouth and keep your tongue from evil. Speak
praise to God and good things to men. The tongue's a little
member, but it's a critical, crucial member. Keep your tongue
from evil. Secondly, keep your lips from
speaking guile. Don't play the hypocrite. Be
what you truly are wherever you are. That's what he's saying.
Don't talk one way in church and another way down the road.
Don't be one thing here and something else with your peers. Don't try
to impress God and turn around and try to impress the wretched
people of this world. Be what you are. Be courageous
and be what you are right now. Everywhere. That's what he said.
Keep your lips from speaking deceit. That's that word, deceit,
hypocrisy and guile. Don't be one man in the church
and another man among natural men. Be the same. be the same. Thirdly, depart from evil. Depart
from evil people. You see, evil communications
corrupt good manners. You young people, don't hang
around with the bad crowd. Depart from evil men. You say,
well, I'll try to help them. Their evil company, they'll help
you out. A rotten apple will spoil all
the other apples. You put a good apple among a
bunch of bad apples, it won't turn them good. That natural
influence, you see, God has to make men good. You don't do it.
God makes them good. Give them your witness and pray
for them, but don't hang around with evil people. Don't do it. Depart from evil people. Depart
from evil ways, lies, and adultery and homosexuality and drugs and
drinking. That's evil ways. Just stay away
from it. Just stay away from it, depart
from it. And evil works. There's so much, and I know these
young people today are disenchanted by a lot of politicians and so-called
leaders because they're just, they're all going to jail. They're
going to have to start having the Congress meet out here Federal
penitentiary. Well, these days there's going
to be more of them out there than in Washington. And I know young people have
got to be disappointed, but don't. That's not the way. Dishonesty
and greed and theft and trying to get something for nothing,
that's not the way. Don't join any of these pyramid
deals and all. The folks on the bottom that
pays, you know, that's all dishonesty. Depart from evil men and evil
ways and evil Evil works, and listen, do good. Be generous,
be benevolent, be kind to others. Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving
one another. God, for Christ's sake, forgive
you. That's a good life. That's what I'm talking about.
That's a good life. Fear the Lord. Love for God. Listen, seek peace. The first
peace to seek is peace with Him. He made peace through the blood
of his cross. The peace of God. Peace with
God. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Seek peace. Peace with God. Settle
that matter. And then peace with everybody
else. Peace with your neighbor. Peace with me. And avoid quarrels.
Pursue it. Pursue it. Avoid confrontation. It doesn't accomplish one thing.
The wrath of man does not accomplish the purpose of God. It does not
do it. And always remember this throughout
your life in walking with him, verse 15, his eyes are upon you. Now, most preachers preach that
as if, well, I better be careful, God's watching. No, that's not
it. No, that's not it. That's not
what he's saying there. He's saying the eyes of the Lord
are upon you because he loves you. He's watching out for you.
He knows what you are. He knows what I am. Peter said,
Lord, you know everything. Preachers present this thing
wrong. This is a glorious, wonderful, this is a wonderful promise,
the eyes of the Lord are upon me. Like a mother with one little boy, two or three years old, she's
down at the park with him, never take her eyes off of him. She's
not looking at him to whip him if he does something wrong. She's
looking at him to keep him from bothering him, to make sure he's
happy, make sure he doesn't hurt himself, make sure he doesn't
fall, make sure he doesn't fall off that slide. He climbs up
on the top of that slide and her eyes are on him. And when you're on the slide,
his eyes are on you because he loves you. See what I'm saying?
It's all how you read this. The eyes of the Lord are upon
the righteous, not to condemn them, not to find fault with
them, not to judge them, not to whip them, but to protect
them. He's watching out for us. You
know what anything happens to us. Oh, that's what this is. And listen. And his ears are
open to their cry. Mother! Oh, she's right there. Right there. Oh, boy, the ears of the Lord.
Ask him! We have not because we ask not.
Boys and girls, this is the good life. You look around, you look
at your dads and moms. They're good examples. You look
at their, most of your buddies in school are from homes that
are already divorced and broken up. Your mother and daddy loves
God and loves you. They've stayed together. Your
mother and dad's happy. They're not the richest people
in the world, no. They're not the most influential. They're
not the most well-liked. But I tell you, they know God,
and they're happy. They're happy. They got the good
life. Good life. And I'll tell you something,
they got a good life ahead of them. They got a hope of eternal
life. I wouldn't take anything for
the heritage of my home, the instructions, the way I was brought
up, in the house of God. Would you? I'm just thankful.
And you boys and girls, you'd be thankful for these devoted,
dedicated, loving parents who bring you to the house of God.
That's the good life. Best of both worlds is what it
is. I hope that's a blessing. It was to me. It meant a lot
to me.