Psalm chapter 1. Now the title of my message tonight, the title of this message is
The Blessed Man. The Blessed Man. The word blessed
might be interpreted happy. The happy man. And when I say
man, I'm not talking about males. I'm talking about male and female.
I'm talking about Jew and Gentile. I'm talking about old and young.
Old and young. Happy. Happy. Happy is the man. Blessed. See the word blessed? Blessed
is the man. Happy is the man. Another word
we might use here is highly favored of God is that man or woman. Highly favored of God. Someone
said you might read this, oh, the blessedness of the man. Blessed. Now we're in, this is rich, greatly to be coveted. This is the paramount, the acme,
the zenith, the tip-top, this is happiness. Happy is the man. Blessed is the man. Twice. Blessed is the man. Oh, the blessedness
of the man. Highly favored of God. That's
what we're talking about. Folks ought to be interested
in this. Because there's no happiness
to be found here. You can forget it. Oh, temporary
happiness. But nothing real, permanent,
lasting, or eternal. Not on this earth. Not in anything
that you are, have, do, or know. Or any one. you've ever met or
ever will meet. Any job, vocation, profession,
no happiness. I guarantee you, it'll all fade. It'll all perish. The fashion
of this world faded away. But here's happiness. Here is
the happy man. Here is the blessed man. Here
is the highly favored of God man or woman. Now, first question
I'm asking you is this, who is this man? Who is this highly
favored person, man or woman? Well, first of all, I see this,
he or she, he is a man, she is a woman. That's the first thing. Blessed is the what? Man. Man. This man or this woman is subject
to the sorrows of life, every one of them, because we are men. We're a person, we're human beings.
Most of the time when you think about someone who's favored of
God, like the angel said to Mary, thou hast highly favored of God,
found favor in the sight of God. We think about somebody like
Mary. We think of someone who maybe is just not exactly a human
being like us, huh? We're prone to make this person
who is blessed, happy, highly favored of God to be something
other than a mere human being. Certainly not like me, certainly
not like you. Well, this is wrong. This is
totally wrong. If there's any distinction among
men and women, it's by the grace of God, not by human nature.
If there's any happiness, if one person is happy and another
is not happy, it's by the grace of God, not because of anything
in that person. I guarantee you that, first of
all. This man, blessed is the man, M-A-N, man. In other words, it says, blessed
is the man. That leaves it open for me because
I'm a man. And this person must suffer sorrow,
and sickness, and pain, and old age, and death, and afflictions
like any other M-A-N or W-O-M-A-N. Now let that be the first thing.
This is a man. Blessed, highly favored, oh the
blessedness of the man. Secondly, this man is subject
to all the infirmities of the flesh. Do not dream that this
blessed man is without fault. He can't be without fault, Tom,
and be a man. He can't be without fault and
be a man. He may have a quick temper. He
may battle the flesh. He may fight with pride. He may struggle with all kind
of difficulty because he's a man. He's a man. That's why, can you
understand what I'm saying? Blessed is the man, man, M-A-N,
man, not some special person, but the M-A-N, man. He's subject
to all the sorrows of life, he's subject to all the infirmities
of the flesh. When he works out there in the
mill, or the store, or the plant, he's not blind, he sees what
everybody else sees. When he walks down the street,
he's got eyes. He's not blind. He's not walking
around with a white cane. He sees what you see. It affects
him like it affects you. He's a man. She's a woman. He's
not deaf. He hears the words around him,
just like you do. He's a man. Out there in the
plant, he hears what they say. He hears the songs, and he hears
the music, and he hears the blasphemy, and he hears the profanity, and
he hears the suggestive words. He hears every one of them, just
like anybody else. And they have their effect on
him, just like they do anybody else. He's a M-A-N man. She's
a woman. He's not dumb. He's not dumb. He's tempted to retort back when
somebody says something hurts his feelings. He's tempted to
fly back. The man mashed his finger working
down in the basement of his house one day, and he said something
he ought not have said. His wife said, I thought you
was a Christian. Well, his finger hurts too, you
know. He bleeds like anybody else. And he gets upset like
anybody. He's a man, Woody. Blessed is,
that's what I'm trying to get across to you. Blessed is the
man. The man. He's a man. He's not dumb. He's
tempted to defend himself. He's tempted to knock somebody's
block off when they mess around with his children. He's a man. And he's not dead. He's not dead. He's alive to the rebellion about
him. That rebellion may live under
his roof. That rebellion may sit at the table with him or
sleep in the bed with him. He's aware of that rebellion.
It hurts him like anybody else. He's only a man. But God's blessed
him. He's a blessed man. You see what
I'm saying? Blessed is the man. Blessed is
the man. I was talking to a man just before
the service tonight, a dear friend who's retired. We arrived at
this conclusion. Retirement wouldn't be so desirous
if the surroundings in which we work and the people with whom
we work knew something about God. In other words, work would
be pleasant to go to. Man is made to work. And he can't
be happy not doing something productive if it's just gardening
or working around the house. Well, what makes retirement so
desirous is to get out of that cesspool where you have to work.
That's what makes it desirous. Get away from those people you
have to work with. To get away from the blasphemy and the filth
and the rottenness of this world. To get out of that mess. That's
what makes it glamorous. Certainly it's not to get away
from exercise and get away from some kind of employment. Blessed
is the man. He's not blind, he's not dumb,
he's not deaf, he's not dead, he's a man. Thirdly, he doesn't
hold a high and lofty position. It doesn't say blessed is the
king. It doesn't say blessed is the scholar. It doesn't say
blessed is the rich. It doesn't say blessed is the
talented. It doesn't say blessed is the preacher, the deacon,
or the elder. It says just blessed be the man. Blessed is the man. Just a man. Maybe he's a plumber,
a carter, an electrician. Maybe he's a street sweeper.
Maybe he's a garbage collector. But he's just a man. Position
has nothing to do with it. High and lofty standing has nothing
to do with it. He's just a man. He's just a
common, everyday, ordinary man. God said blessed is the man.
That's the whole thing. Highly favored of God, happy. Oh, the blessedness of the man. There's something else about
him. He's a man that needs help. He's described down here in verse
3 as a tree planted by the rivers of the water. You know what a
tree is without water? Just an old dead stick. The nourishment
and the life's in the water. You let that tree stand just
a little while without that water, and it's fit for nothing but
burning. But all of the leaves and the nourishment and the beauty
and the fruit and all these things that come from that tree, because
of the water, not because of him. So he's a man that's empty
in himself and lifeless in himself and without any ability in himself,
but he's planted by the rivers of water, and that's Christ,
the living water. He's a man who needs help. He'll
be the first one to acknowledge it, that he needs help. And without
Christ, he can do nothing. Tell you something else about
him, down in verse 6, he's called a righteous man. A righteous
man. Not in himself. He will deny
any righteousness of his own. He'll be the first one to tell
you that in him dwelleth no good thing, that in the flesh no man
can please God, but he will say with Isaiah, in the Lord have
I righteousness. He'll say with Jeremiah, the
Lord is our righteousness. And yet he knows that by the
power of God that his life has been drastically changed. His
life has been changed by the grace of God and by the power
of God and by the presence of God's spirit within him. Once
a highly proud man, now a broken, humble man. Once a rebellious
man against God, now submissive to the will of God. Once a blasphemer,
now he sings the praise of God. Once hating and being hated,
now loving and being loved, but only a man, but only a man. The brightest stars that wave
the palm branches in glory and cry with the angels, worthy is
the Lamb, were but sons of Adam on this earth. They were but
sons of Adam on this earth. Blessed is the man. I hope I've
worked on that enough so that every person in here will know
that this person who is so highly favored and so blessed of God
is but, by birth and nature, a man. And I'm a candidate for
these blessings as well as Moses, Abraham, Jacob, or David, because
I'm a man. All right, the second question.
Now watch this carefully. What this blessed man does not
do, what he does not do, this happy man, this man who has found
satisfaction, This man who has found joy and found favor with
God, this man who has found peace and joy and rest, even in a world
of infirmities, afflictions, turmoil, and trouble, it says,
blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. See it? Does not walk in the
counsel of the ungodly. Now let's take that word by word.
Number one, what is a man's walk? What is a man's walk? It is the
tenor of his life, t-e-n-o-r, the tenor of his life. It is
the general direction of his life, of his conduct, of his
thinking, of his philosophy. A man's walk is the general tenor
of his life. A man's walk is the general direction
of his thoughts. A man's walk is the bent of his
will. This is what he is. This is who
he is, this man, who he does not walk in the council. Now, notice how that word spells,
C-O-U-N-S-E-L. That's not to be confused with
C-O-U-N-C-I-L. A C-O-U-N-C-I-L is a council
sitting around a table trying to decide which way to go. That's
a council, C-I-L. C-O-U-N-S-E-L is wisdom, ideas,
and opinions. You follow me? If I had a meeting
with the elders this afternoon, I'd say, the Council of Elders
are going to meet, and we're going to come up with and give
you our C-O-U-N-S-E-L, our ideas. our opinions, our thoughts. Now,
this highly favored, blessed man does not walk in the ways,
in the philosophy, in the wisdom, in the ideas and the counsel,
c-o-u-n-s-e-l, of the ungodly. See that, John? In other words,
this blessed man has a higher counselor. He has higher counsel. It's the wisdom of God. It's
the philosophy of grace. It's what the Word of God says.
That's what he walks in. Just for example, the counsel
of this world is evolution. Man came from something else. That's their idea. That's their
philosophy. That's not my counsel. My counsel is in the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth. The philosophy of the
world is get all you can get and forget everybody else. That's
not my counsel. That's not my philosophy. My
philosophy is, look not on your own things, but on the things
of others. It's better to give than to receive. The counsel
or ideas or philosophy of this world is this, you're okay and
I'm okay. and look out for yourself, and
God helps them that help themselves, you see. That's the idea of philosophy
of this work. That's not the believer's counsel.
That's not his philosophy. His philosophy is the Lord loveth
them that be of a broken heart, and a broken and a contrite spirit,
O Lord, thy will not despise, you see. So this man, this highly
favored, this blessed man, the direction of his life and the
bent of his will, the tenor of his life, his philosophy, His
philosophy, his opinions, his wisdom is the wisdom of God,
which the world does not understand. He does not walk in this council
of the ungodly. Now wait, the ungodly, I'm not
talking about murderers and harlots and drunkards. The ungodly just
may be your next door neighbor. The ungodly just may be church-going,
respectable people. The ungodly just may be those
for whom you work or with whom you work who are morally outstanding
people, but their philosophy, Cecil, is all wit. All wit. The philosophy of this world
is, as a flame of good in every man, we must appeal to it and
try to get him to follow God. The philosophy of Scripture,
the wisdom of Scripture, is men are dead in trespasses and sin,
God has to make them live. A dear lady called me last night,
real late, I don't know who it was, maybe one of you, but I
want to make this point. She was concerned about babies.
of unborn babies and newborn babies and little babies that
die. And she said, you don't believe babies go to hell, do
you? I said, no, ma'am, I do not. She said, well, I just can't
believe God would send a baby to hell. I said, I don't believe
he does either. She said, after all, they've never done wrong.
They've never broken the law. Well, I said this to her, I said,
well, As far as turning to a passage of Scripture and reading something
to you which says emphatically and positively, all babies go
to heaven. I can't do it. I can't do it. It's not there. Cecil, it's not
there. But I do know this. Babies are in good hands. They're
in God's hands. I said, I know this. The judge
of the earth will do right. He's never done wrong. The judge
of the earth will do right. And I do know this, if any baby's
in heaven, it won't be because he hadn't done wrong, it'll be
because of the blood of Christ. That's just so. Well, she kept,
she said, well, I just don't believe, you know, the laws,
they hadn't met the law and they hadn't broken the law. I said,
now that has nothing to do with it. That's not my, my argument
is, God will do right. God will do right. Whatever God
does is right. You see that? That's my counsel.
That's my philosophy. He'll do right whatever he does. And I'll tell you this, anybody
who's in heaven who's a member of Adam's race, whether he be
a baby or a dog, he's going to sing, Worthy is the Lamb. Now,
see, the counsel of this world is, well, I don't see and I don't
think and I don't suppose and I just don't believe. That's
human wisdom. That's rationing with human philosophy. And the man who knows God doesn't
walk in the counsel of ungodly philosophy and ungodly wisdom. And ungodly wisdom is coming
from the pulpit. Ungodly philosophy is coming
from the pulpit. He does not walk in that direction,
in that philosophy. He walks in the wisdom of the
Word. He has a higher counselor. and
the counsel of the ungodly. Now that's what that's saying
there. This happy, and I'll tell you this, the only real happiness
you're going to find is in the wisdom of God. The only real
contentment and peace you're going to find is when you quit
arguing and reasoning and trying to establish some religious principles
on your logic and just say, Lord, I'm a child, teach me. Whatever
you say in your word, I believe and I'll bow to it and I'll receive
it and I'll walk in it. That's right. The ungodly, this
blessed, happy, content, peaceful, restful man, highly favored of
God, does not walk in the wisdom of this world. Secondly, he does
not stand in the way of sinners. You say, what does that mean?
Well, you drive down the street and you see the boys standing
on the street corner. They're standing on the street
corner because they enjoy one another. They have all things
common. They go down to the street corner
and down to the barber shop and other places. That's their crowd.
That's their fellowship. Birds of a feather flock together
because they enjoy being together. They're a whole lot alike. But
the believer finds much better company and much better companionship
than that company and companionship of evil men. of evil men. Although we once were one of
them, and although we still love them, we seek our conversation
and our communion and our fellowship with those who love Christ. That's
who you enjoy being with. This highly favored man does
not stand in the company and in the fellowship and in the
communion and in the way of ungodly men. He does not. That does not
where he finds his happiness. And then watch the next line.
He does not sit in the seat of the scornful. You know what the
scornful is? The scornful is the scorner. He is the critic. He's the critic. He's the know-it-all.
And he's the one who has sat down in his seat of human wisdom,
of human righteousness, and of his own self-righteousness, and
he finds fault with everybody else. He finds fault with God,
he finds fault with God's preacher, he finds fault with God's church,
he finds fault with God's people, he finds fault with the gospel,
he finds fault with everything. He's sitting in the seat of a
judge, of a scornful, critical judge. You see that? That's what
he said. And this happy man does not sit
there. He does not sit with him nor side with him. He avoids
him. He avoids that seat. It's a seat,
you see. It's a seat of judgment. It's
a seat of where a person has arrived and sat down. And that's
where he's going to be, and he's not going to move. He's going
to stay there. He's going to be a critic all the rest of his life. He's
going to be a scorner. He's going to be a judge. He's
going to be a fault finder. He's going to be a person that
sees the spots in everybody but himself. Now, notice the progression. Go back just a little bit and
notice the progression. It says, first of all, that he
does not walk in the counsel or the wisdom and ideas and philosophy
of the ungodly. But once he moves into that realm,
once he moves into the counsel of the ungodly, then he begins
to fellowship with them. You see that, Bob? He begins
to find enjoyment in that. Here's a man that turns from
the simplicity of Christ. He turns from the simplicity
of the Word. He turns from the simplicity
of faith and grace. I've seen men get into education
and do this. And they begin to follow the
philosophy of the world. They begin to follow the wisdom
of the world. Well, everybody's not right,
but everybody's got his opinion. Live and let live. This philosophy
of the world. And after a while, he begins
to shun that preaching of grace and that
preaching of the gospel, that preaching of the simplicity of
Christ, and he begins to find his companionship and friendship
over here with this crowd that is wise, logical. See what I'm saying? And then
where does he go? He goes to the seat of the scornful.
He goes to the seat of the critic. He finds a delight in his self-righteousness. He finds delight in his logic
and wisdom, and his delight is not in Christ. All right, notice
now what this man, we've seen first of all he's a man. Secondly,
what he does not do. He does not walk in the wisdom
of the world. but in the wisdom of God. He
does not stand in the company and companionship and fellowship
of sinful men. He finds his fellowship with
believers. He does not sit in the seat of
the critic and the scorner and the fault finder. He is a man
who sits and walks with Christ in love and fellowship. Now verse
2, what this man does, his delight is in the law of the Lord And
in his law doth he meditate day and night. Now I've said this
so many times that I hesitate to say it again. But when you
come across the word law in the scripture, it may mean sometimes
the Ten Commandments, the law from Sinai. It may mean sometimes
the Levitical law or all the types and promises and prophecies
of Moses, the Levitical law. It may mean sometimes the royal
law of Christ, that you love one another. This is my commandment,
that you love one another. Sometimes it means the whole
Word of God. It just means the Word of God.
And that's what it means here. But this happy man, his delight,
now everybody has some delight, some supreme pleasure of spirit
and heart. I'm not talking about the pleasures
of the flesh now. I'm not talking about something
like that. I'm talking about that which, after all, spiritually
and in heart and soul rejoices him the most. And you know what
this man's delight is? It's in the Word of God. It's
in the Word of God. It's like when I was sitting
here a while ago and these fellows were reading. Did you delight
in the Word, delight in those promises, delight in those provisions? Did you just delight in the Word
of God? delight in the gospel of God?
This man does. David speaks here of the whole
Word of God. And let me tell you something,
in David's day, now think about this, he said this blessed man,
his delight is in the Word of the Lord. And in God's Word does
he meditate day and night. Now this is not the Ten Commandments.
David didn't lay on his bed meditating on Ten Commandments. That wouldn't
give him any joy or delight. It was the whole Word of God
he meditated and delighted in. And back in David's day, do you
know what a small volume of inspiration there was? Possibly just the
five books of Moses. Maybe Job. Perhaps Ruth. Did she live before David? Perhaps.
But look what a treasure we have to delight in. What a fulfillment. the Word of God. And in that
Word does he meditate day and night. It's the children's bread.
It's the green pastures in which he feeds. It's his comfort and
assurance. It's his rule of life. It's his
strength and trial. It's his daily delight and evening's
repose. It's his sole rule of faith and
practice. He delights in the Word of Let me read you an old hymn they
used to sing years ago in the church. It says, laden with guilt
and full of fears, I fly to thee, my Lord, and not a trace of hope
appears except in your written word. The words of my Father's
grace does all my griefs relieve as I behold my Savior's face
almost on every page. Here the blessed fountain flows
to quench my thirst within. Here the tree of knowledge grows,
no danger dwells therein. This is the rule that ends all
strife where wit and wisdom fail. Here is my God to eternal life
through all this gloomy veil. Thy word is everlasting truth,
how pure is every page. That holy book shall guide me
in my youth and support me in my old age." Alright, who is
this man? He's a man. What he does not
do doesn't follow the wisdom and the counsel of this world
or find his fellowship with the people of this world, nor does
he sit in the seat of a scorner and a critic. But his joy and
his delight and his pleasure is in the Word of God. And in
the Word of God does he meditate day and night. He rejoices in
it. He finds it to be his bread and
his meat and his milk and his drink. And then it says in verse
3 what this blessed man is. He shall be like a tree planted. You see that? A tree planted.
He's not just a wild tree that sprang up. He's not just a stray
branch that sprang up. But he was planted. He was planted. Somebody planted him. Somebody
planted him. Somebody chose him. Nurtured
him. Set him apart, dug a hole and
planted him. He is one of the elect of God.
Let me show you a verse over in Matthew chapter 15. He'd been
planted. He's no accident. He's no accident. In Matthew 15, look at verse
13. Listen to what it says here. Well, the disciples came around,
they said, the Pharisees, in verse 12, they said, the Pharisees
were offended after they heard what you said. And he answered
and said, every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted
shall be rooted up. It'll be rooted up. It's got
no place in his garden. Got no place in his nursery.
he plants his own trees. And this happy, joyful, highly
favored man shall be like a tree, not a sapless pole, a living
tree, a living tree, a tree with life, life. And a tree planted, and where
is he planted? Watch it, by a river, no, by
rivers, by rivers of water, rivers of water. He's not fed with a
bucket. He's not fed with a hose. His
roots are joined to rivers of grace and mercy and peace and
abundant supply. Rivers of water. Rivers of water. Never dried up. Rivers of water. He's got blessings from every
source. Rivers of water. And watch this. Now, hold on carefully. He's
like a tree planted by the Heavenly Father. by an inexhaustible source
of grace and mercy, rivers of water, that will bring forth
his fruit in his season." His fruit in his season? Yes, in
the time in which fruit should come, in its own season. It's not unseasonable fruit.
It's not frozen fruit or canned fruit or preserved fruit. It's
fruit that comes forth in its season. What do you mean by that? the joy of the Lord in the time
of sorrow, His fruit in His season, when it's needed, when it's needed. The fruit will be there in His
season, when the season is ripe for the fruit, and it's ripe
for the fruit. In other words, in a time of trial, patience
will be the fruit. It will be manifested when it's
needed. That's exactly right. Now, he brings forth his fruit
and his seed. A lot of folks got a lot of patience
until it's needed. Then they ain't got none. A lot
of folks are all lovey-dovey until somebody tries them. Then
they ain't so lovey-dovey. A lot of folks are hoop-de-hoop
joy all the time except when joy is needed. A lot of folks got a lot of meekness
until they're mad. Yeah. A lot of folks got a lot
of gentleness and goodness. That's the gentle and it's the
kind until somebody rubs them the wrong way, and then it ain't
so gentle. But this tree brings forth his fruit in season. There's
a season for joy. And that's when joy is needed,
when folks are hungry for joy. Love when love is needed, joy
in time of sorrow, peace when trouble brews, patience in time
of trial, gentleness when cruelty abounds, faith in time of doubt,
meekness in time of success. A lot of folks are very meek until
they get in a place of authority. And that's when the meekness
is needed, when you're in a place of authority. Temperance and
all things. He'll bring forth, He'll produce
fruit in His season, in His season, in His season. And that fruit
shall feed others in that season. That's that tree that's planted
by rivers of water. It brings forth His fruit, His
fruit in His season, in His season. All right? His leaf shall not
wither. It will not fade. Oh, it's true, he'll never perish,
but that's not what this is saying. It's not saying he'll never perish.
Oh, he'll never go to hell, but that's not what this is saying.
It says his leaf will never wither. He'll have that life and love
and truth all through life and through eternity. His beauty
in Christ shall continue in life and bloom full in glory. It's
not going to fade. That's what the Hebrew word there
is, fade. His leaves shall not fade. Too
many folks fade out. Too many folks fade out. And
he says, this man planted by God by the rivers of water that
bring forth his fruit and his seed is not going to fade. He's
not going to fade. Yes, he'll get old, but he'll
still be beautiful in Christ. Yes, his days of strength are
limited, but he'll still have a usefulness in Christ in this
life. He'll never fade. And what's
this? And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Whatsoever he
doeth, what a promise. What he does will prosper. It
will prosper. It's the same as Romans 8, 28.
All things work together for good to them who love God, to
them who are called according to his purpose. Now, we're not
talking about outward prosperity. That's not what we're talking
about at all. Or you couldn't call the apostles prosperous.
You couldn't call the martyrs prosperous. You couldn't call
faithful, godly missionaries like Cary and Judson prosperous.
We're talking here of soul prosperity. So whatever he does will prosper. Because sometimes our worst things
are our best things. And he prospers. David said,
it's good for me that I've been afflicted. Because in affliction
I learned your statutes. So he prospered in affliction.
It's good that I've been troubled because in my troubles I learned
to look to Christ. So he prospered in time of trouble.
His soul prospered. Whatever he does, whether it
be success or failure, whatever he does, whether it be in a hilarious
experience or a time of deep sorrow, he prospers. Whatever
he does, prospers. The pleasure of the Lord prospers
in his hands, in Christ's hands. The pleasure of the Lord prospered
when he was healing a leper. The pleasure of the Lord prospered
when he called Zacchaeus down from the tree. The pleasure of
the Lord prospered when he was hanging on that cross. The pleasure
of the Lord prospered when he was in the darkness of the tomb.
The pleasure of the Lord prospered when he arose victoriously. But
the pleasure of the Lord prospered no matter where our Lord was
or what he was doing. So would the believer. If he's
one of God's trees planted, then the pleasure of the Lord will
prosper in his hands too. Whatever he does will prosper.
Whatever he does will prosper spiritually for the kingdom of
God and for the glory of Christ and for his own good. Somebody
said this, and listen, you'll have to listen carefully to get
it. Somebody said there is a curse, there's a curse wrapped up in
even the mercies of an ungodly man, even the mercies that he
enjoys, even the The good things that he enjoys, there's a curse
wrapped up in everything he enjoys, the mercies even of an ungodly
man, even his mercy. But there's a blessing concealed
in the godly man's crosses, losses, and sorrow. There's a blessing
wrapped up in it somewhere. God causes it to rain on the
just and the unjust. God causes his son to shine on
the just and the unjust, his mercies. Now, his grace is to
a believer. His mercies are to all men. The
mercies of the Lord are plenteous. But that ungodly man, in all
of the mercies that God puts in his hands, there's a curse,
there's a snake in it, there's a worm in every one of them. But even in a godly man, even
in a believer's sorrows, even in his disappointments, even
in his tears and trials, There's the love and favor of the Heavenly
Father. There's a mercy in every trial.
A mercy in every trial. I hope that's beneficial and
a blessing. Maybe we'll stay in the Psalms a little while.
They are so rich and so edifying. I've been reading some
of the Psalms and putting a C beside verses that refer to Christ,
the Messianic Psalms. David blessed our hearts with
these scriptures which God led him to write. I hope this lesson
has been helpful tonight. Our Father, we are just so astounded
at the way the Word is so rich and has so many blessings for
us, and we're able to identify with so much of it, we pray that
you'd be pleased to open more of the Word to us. Give me wisdom. Teach me that I might teach others.
And these men and women here, teach them that they might instruct
their children in the things that will give us a love for
the Word. Give us a delight in thy word. Let us commit it to
heart and meditate upon it daily and in the evening, upon our
pillars at night, and learn just to savor every word, every phrase,
every statement in this blessed book. You said in your word that if
we desire the word, we'll grow thereby. And faith cometh by
hearing the Word of God. And Lord, we believe thy Word
and trust thy Word. May this pulpit and this church
be a place where the Word is preached and people love the
Word and they delight in the Word and they share the Word
with one another. We're grateful for What you've
taught us tonight, these things that we feel that you've shown
us from this psalm, we pray that you'd be with us as we prepare
for the Lord's Day. Give us a feast at the table
of our God. In the name of Christ we pray,
amen.