My Meditation of Him

Psalm 104, I have read two or three times
in the last six months in this congregation. Someone said that
Psalm 104 is the psalm of nature. It is the creation of God viewed
by the eye of faith. And he went on to say, to look aright on a mountain
or a valley, he who has learned to look aright on the sea and
the forest, on the beast and the bird, on the sun, the moon,
and the stars, will see God in all these things, will see his
wisdom, his power, his greatness, and he will praise the Lord as
David did And he will say in verse 34, my meditation of him
and of his works and of his power shall be great. I see the wisdom
of God in creation. I love nature. I love the mountains. I love the sea. I love the valleys. I love the green fields. I love
the things that God has made. I can see his power in it all.
But I feel that I need to learn, and I feel that you need to learn,
as one author said, to pause and smell a rose occasionally.
We need to learn to enjoy the rain, enjoy the sunshine. We need to enjoy the things that
God has made, and to give thanks to him for all these things,
and to praise his name, my meditations of him. and of his works shall
be sweet. David said the heavens declare
the glory of God. The firmament showeth forth his
handiwork to praise the Lord for all that he has made and
all that he has given to us. But there's a greater theme than
creation, and that's the theme of redemption. God is to be admired
and God is to be praised and we're to give thanks unto him
for creation, for the things that he has made. But there's
a greater theme, a theme for admiration and praise and adoration,
and that is the theme of redemption. It's a greater theme. Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the
hand of the enemies. It's a greater miracle. Redemption
is a greater miracle than creation. I can see and I can understand
why God would create the worlds. I really can. I can see why God
in his power and in his majesty would make the heavens, put the
planets out there, the sun, the mighty sun to rule by day and
the moon to rule by night, the stars. I can see why God in his
power, I can understand why he would make this world in its
original beauty. But I cannot understand why God
should redeem fallen men. A man came to Charles Spurgeon
one day, and he said, I have difficulty with your Bible. Spurgeon
said, you do? He said, yes, sir. He said, I
have difficulty with that scripture which says, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Spurgeon said, well, I have a
lot of trouble with that myself. And the man said, well, I'm glad
to meet an honest preacher. Spurgeon said, but I'm sure my
difficulty is not the same as yours. What is your difficulty? The man said, well, I don't understand
how God can hate Esau. The Bible talks about God's love
and God's grace and God's mercy, and then it says God hates Esau. Spurgeon said, that's not my
problem. The man said, well, what's your problem? He said,
I can understand how God could hate Esau. Esau was a hateful
person. Esau was a treacherous person.
Esau was a rebel. Esau was a wicked man in his
heart. And I can see how a holy God can hate wicked men. What
I don't understand is how God could love Jacob. I don't see
how God could love Jacob. And I don't see how a holy God
could love sinners like you and me enough to send the jewel of
heaven the diamond of the universe, the sun of glory. He has only
begotten his well-beloved into this world to die such a cruel
death for our sins. I can understand how God could
make a world. I can understand how God could
throw all these things out into space to the glory, to the praise
of his matchless name, his wisdom, his power. But I don't see how
God could ever love and keep on loving folks like us. We're not lovely. We're not lovable
by nature. But he did. And Redemption's
not only a greater theme than creation, but it's a much wider
theme. It's a much wider theme. The
seasons come and go. We're entering into the fall.
Summer's gone. After a while, fall will be gone,
and the cold winter will be here. And then spring will come. The
trees live and die. Doris and I were driving from
Alabama Yesterday, day before yesterday, and down there the
trees are still beautiful. The farther north we got, the
uglier they got. The leaves had fallen off and
they were dead. The trees live and die. The seas
have their boundaries. Even the stars burn out. They
do, they burn out and fall. Heaven and earth shall pass away.
There's an end to everything God's made, all of creation. The Scripture tells us that heaven
and earth shall pass away. It shall melt with a fervent
heat. But when I think of redemption, his love has no limit. His grace
has no measure. His power has no boundary known
unto men. For out of his infinite riches
in Jesus, he giveth, he giveth, he giveth, he giveth, he giveth,
he giveth. There's no end to it. We're talking about infinite
love. Not limited love, infinite love. He said, I've drawn you
with an everlasting love. We're talking about the love
of God now. We're not talking about the love of men. But infinite
love for bottomless sin. We're talking about everlasting
grace. Everlasting grace. Grace that
knows no beginning or end. Just grace. Continual grace. Infinite grace. For unlimited
guilt. We're talking about eternal life.
a life that has no end, as opposed to eternal death. The theme of
redemption, the theme of nature and creation, all these things
are limited. They all have their boundaries,
but oh, when you talk about redemption, God and man, holiness and sin,
life and death, heaven and hell, these are infinite subjects.
Who's sufficient for these things? I'm not. And then redemption
is always fresher and newer than nature, I love nature. I love to walk by the seashore,
but pick up shells. I get tired of it. I'm ready
to come home after a while. I like to walk into the forest,
into the woods. People say, oh, I just love to
go out and get along with nature. I do too, but I want some relief
after a while. I love the garden and the flowers.
I love to watch things grow, but I get tired of it. I can
sit out at night and look at the moon, but I'm ready to come
in after a while, aren't you? I get enough of it. I want to
move on. But I preached for 30 years the
gospel of God's grace, and it's just as fresh this morning as
it was 30 years ago. I'm just as excited. Don sang that song, it was, All
the Way My Savior Leads Me, it was that first of I've sung that
10,000 times, but this morning it just blessed me a whole lot,
didn't it, you? Just like it was brand new. All
the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask besides? Can I
doubt His tender mercies? I never get tired of it. Amazing
grace. Jesus loves me. Even the little child song that
I sang when I was four years old, it's brand new. And the
gospel of Jesus Christ is as fresh and as new and as delightful
as it was the first time I heard it. Where are the books of men
that you can read over and over again? Where are the songs of
men that you can sing over and over again? I get tired of it.
You know why they have to keep bringing out new songs? Because
the others are getting older and you don't enjoy singing them.
Once a round's enough. But I never get tired of singing
these hymns. I never get tired of hearing
this gospel. And then redemption. You talk about nature being essential. Well, I'll tell you this, I love
the moon and the stars and the trees and the valleys, but I
can't get along without them. There'll be a day when they shall
perish. I love the rolling hills and the fountains of the deep
that God has put forth, the springs that flow down the mountainside,
but I can be happy if God changes them. And I'll tell you this,
I can't live without Christ. Without him, I could do nothing.
Without him, I'd surely fail. Without him, I'd be like a ship
drifting without a sail. Without him, I would be dying.
Without him, life would be hopeless. For he's the one who brings peace
to my soul. The rich young man said, soul,
take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. A soul can't live
on eat, drink, and marry. A soul can only feast on Christ.
That's the only source of peace. He's the one who atones for my
sin. He's the one who reconciles me to God. He's the one that
someday shall receive me up unto glory. I can't live without Christ. As much as we love one another,
we can live without one another. We can say goodbye to a close
companion, we can say goodbye to a son or a daughter, we can
say goodbye to all things upon this earth, but not to Him. Because
without Him, you can do nothing. My meditations of Him, in His
redemptive power, in His redemptive character, in His redemptive
work, I want us to appreciate nature. I don't know whether
we know God if we don't. But I'm telling you this, the
main theme of our song is Christ. My meditations of him, oh, they
shall be sweet. I will be glad in the Lord. Three words I want you to underscore
in verse 34, three words that I wish to deal with, upon which
I want to focus your attention. The first word is my, M-Y, my
meditation. The next word is hymn, my meditations
of hymn. And the last word is sweet, s-w-e-e-t,
sweet. Those are the three words. Now,
first of all, my meditations. Let's dwell on this word a moment.
Not another man's meditations. You think for a moment now, stay
with me. Not another man's testimony. I like to hear Paul's testimony
and read Paul's testimony. But I can't live on Paul's testimony. Another man's faith, another
man's prayer, can't live on that. It's my meditation. My meditation. Now, you can live on another
person's property, you can eat another person's food, you can
sleep in another person's bed, you can enjoy another person's
fellowship, but you can't live on his faith. Our Lord gave us a three-word
sermon one time. This is all he said. He turned
to his disciples, and he said, Remember Lot's wife. Remember Lot's wife. Lot's wife
was a woman who was married to a godly man, but she perished. Lot's wife was a woman who lived
with a righteous man, but she perished. Lot's wife was a woman
who heard the special messengers of God as her companion heard
them, but she perished. Lot's wife was a person who went
through the motions, the same motions he went through in leaving
Sodom, but she perished. Lot's wife. And my friends, you
can be a companion of the pastors, you can be a good friend of the
pastor, of the elders, of the deacons, and still not know the
God they know or the God they You, dear ladies, can be married
to a minister of the gospel. You can be married to a man who
preaches and teaches the gospel. You can be married to a man who
loves God with all his heart, who really knows God. But that
won't do for you. And you boys and girls, your
father could be a minister, or an elder, or a deacon, or a Sunday
school teacher, or the most godly man in the church, and you perish
in your sins. Do you know that? Remember Lot's
wife, it's my meditation, and I'll tell you this, I'll say
this to the pastor of this church, you can stand in this pulpit
and preach 30 years and not know God. It's my meditation of him
shall be sweet. Turn to Romans chapter 10, and
I want you to look at this scripture here, Romans chapter 10. The
Scripture tells us to give diligence to make our calling and election
sure. The Scripture tells us, examine
yourselves whether you be in the faith. And here in Romans 10 verse 9,
that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, or
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in In thine heart, your heart,
my friend, your heart, your heart, Don, my heart, your heart, Jeff,
if you believe in your heart, if you confess with your mouth,
thou shalt be saved. Thomas came to the Lord Jesus
and fell down before him and cried, My Lord and my God. Can you say that today? Is Christ
your Lord? Is Christ just a historical character? Is he just a God image? Is he just a person who lived
in the past? Is he just someone about whom
the preacher preaches? Or is he your Lord and your God? Job said, I know my Redeemer
liveth. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I don't know what other men may
do, Joshua said, but as for me, I can't speak for you, I can't
speak for my wife, I can't speak for my children, I can't speak
for my friends. I don't know what you're going
to do, but I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to serve the
Lord." That's what he said. Solomon said, My beloved is mine,
and I'm his. In 1 John 1, verses 1 through
3, listen to what John says here, 1 John 1, that which was from
the beginning. That which was from the beginning,
talking about Christ, 1 John 1, "...which we have heard,"
have you heard him speak through his word? "...which we have seen
with our eyes," our eyes of faith, not these natural eyes. They
are men who saw him with natural eyes and perished, crucified
him, cried out for When John said, we saw him, we saw him
with eyes of faith, which we have looked upon, which our hands
have handled of the word of life. My eyes. I love him. I love him because he first loved
me and purchased my salvation on Calvary's tree. Paul said,
I know whom I have believed. I am persuaded he is able to
keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. God doesn't save men. God doesn't
save nations. He saves people, individuals. God doesn't save churches. He
saves individuals. God Almighty doesn't save families.
He saves individuals. And this thing of a knowledge
of Christ is a personal knowledge. Do you know him? Do you trust
him? Have you committed your soul
to him? That's one reason why I don't
go into these present-day evangelistic methods of, at the end of the
service, dragging a lot of people down here to the front of the
church to go through a mass ceremony. Here's what I want you to do.
As I preach this blessed gospel of Jesus Christ, as I show you
from the Word of God what we are by nature, not just you,
what I am by nature, a fallen creature, a sinful creature,
a hell-deserving creature, but how God loves sinners, and how
he in mercy and grace sent his Son to die for sinners, and how
Christ is the propitiation for sinners, and he's the redeemer
of sinners, and he delights to show mercy. I want you to get out and go
out there in the churchyard behind the post and say, Lord, I want
to know you. Would you save my soul? Would
you be my Redeemer? Would you be my Savior? Would
you reveal yourself to me? I'd like for you to reveal yourself
to others, but Lord, I can't think for them, I can't repent
for them, I can't weep for them, I can't mourn for them, I can't
pray for them, but I can weep for myself, I can mourn for my
sins, I can pray for my needs, and Lord, be merciful to me!"
As you drive home in your car from the service, meditate upon
the Word of God, Lord, I'm not what I want to be, I'm not what
I ought to be, I'm not what I expect to be. But O Lord, by thy grace,
make me a new creature in Christ. Do something for me. Let me fellowship
with thee. Let me, like Enoch, walk with
thee. Let me, like Abraham, be a friend of God. Let me, like
David, be a man after God's own heart. Let me, like Peter, preach
the gospel, if not from the pulpit, at least in my home or where
I work or with one individual. Let me share what you've done
for me. Do something for me. My meditations of him, mine. That's not selfish. It's just
truthful. It's just being honest. It's
just dealing with God for ourselves. Every man shall give an account
of himself under God. Every man shall bear his own
burden. Sure, we bear one another's burden.
We share one another's sorrows, and we share one another's trials,
and we're supposed to share one another's needs. But this thing
of a relationship with Christ is not something I can share
with you. It's something God must do for
you, and he will do it for you. He calls his disciples one by
one, Matthew, follow me! Zacchaeus, come down! Individually. My meditation. Brethren, we can't
all pray together or worship together, except as we worship
and pray individually. individually, and then we can
worship and pray together. But you can have a congregation
of 350 people like this group here this morning, and out of
the whole crowd only one man really be praying because he's
talking to God. Maybe 10, maybe 20, maybe most
of them. I hope so, but it's my meditation. Now notice the next thing. The
next word says my meditation. of him. Now then, let's get down
here just a moment together. My meditation of him. I'm not
talking about his doctrines. Now, brethren, I love, you know
I love the doctrines of Christ. I do, I love them. I love to
study them, I love to preach them. I'll hear somebody preach
about them. Because you can't have Christ without his commandments. You can't have the great teacher
without his teachings. But I'm not talking here about
his doctrines. I hear people say, well, I love the sovereignty
of God. Well, I'm going to be honest
with you, I really don't love the sovereignty of God. I love
the God who's sovereign. Do you see the difference there?
I hear people say, well, I believe in prayer. Now, don't let me
disturb you, don't let me upset you, and I'm not trying to be
smart. Believe me, I'm not, I'm serious. I'm trying to get you
to see something. I don't believe in prayer. any
more than I believe in a rabbit's foot, any more than I believe
in a good luck charm. I don't believe in prayer. My
faith is not in prayer. My faith is in him who hears
prayer. You see the difference? You see
what I'm saying? Prayer is not a good luck charm. Somebody says,
Well, I believe in the prayers of Christian people. I don't. I believe in Christ. Prayer is
a means of communicating with Christ. I don't believe in the
means, I believe in Him. I hope you see what I'm saying.
Just like the doctrines of Christ, you can't be saved by trusting
and believing a doctrine, you're saved by receiving and believing
a person. I'm not talking here about the
work of Christ in which I'm employed. I love to But my meditations are not on
my preaching or my work. I'm afraid many churches are
just spinning their wheels. They're just going about activities,
activities, activities. They're employed and engaged
in activities. But one word spoken in the power
of God is worth ten million words spoken in the flesh. One prayer
of one sentence prayed in the Spirit of God is worth 10,000
ritualistic, ceremonialistic prayers prayed in the energy
of the flesh. One moment in the presence of
God in the real attitude of love and worship are worth 10,000
religious services where God is nowhere near. You'll find the prayers of this
book here are all short. We're not heard for our much
speaking or our many speakings or the time in which we speak.
You think because you get up at four o'clock in the morning
and pray, God's going to hear you? God has no clock. God's eternal. My meditation's not of his doctrine. Not of the work of Christ, not
of the activities of the Church, not even of the people. I love
this people here. I know a lot of pastors that
are always moving around. They move about every two or
three or four years. Wherever I go and preach, the average
pastor is looking for another church. He's always ready to
move, always ready to go, if something better opens up. We
have something here that most places don't have. We genuinely
and honestly love each other. God has brought us together.
But that's not it either. My meditations of what? Not of
you. Not of doctrine. Not of activities. Not of the Church. Not of ordinances. My meditations of Him. Him. I don't want to go through
the motions of religion, the motions of church activities.
Do I love Christ? He sat Peter down beside that
fire and he said, Peter, do you love me? If you love Christ, you can get
upset with a pastor and you still stay around. If you love Christ,
you can get upset with the way people do things and you can
still stick around. If you love Christ, you can get
upset with a lot of things and still still be anchored to the
rock, because he is your affection. He is your bond of fellowship. It's Christ. Meditate upon his person. He's
God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things
were made by him. He's God Almighty, the very God
of very God. And he became a man, my surety,
my representative, my head, my Savior. He came down here in
the flesh and walked among us, tested in all points as we are,
yet without sin. He is the God-man. My meditations
of his power and of his condescension, his glory and his grace, his
majesty, his humility, my meditations of him, the infinite one, my,
my. meditate upon his life. You know,
we've grown accustomed to comfortable living. Can you imagine what it would
be like? Just think for a moment. Can you imagine what it would
be like? Now, we've been down there, some of you have been
to Mexico, where Walter and David preached and ministered. And
we get in a car and go out to those pueblos, and they're just
dirt and rock. One of those ladies one time
was grinding corn. She had a She had a stone that
would look like a rolling pin, and she had corn up here on a
slope like an old-fashioned rub board, except it was smooth rock.
The rock opened up here, and she had this rock on top grinding
that corn. And as the little boy put the
corn in up here, there wasn't any grain escaped that wasn't
ground up into powder down here. I stood there and watched, and
I said, Let me try that. Walter translated and said, I
got on the stone, you know. You talk about a mess. I thought
I could, you know, was agile and had some ability. I couldn't
even grind corn between two stones. And then you see how they live
and how they sleep in hammocks and walk around on a dirt floor
and cook on the rock. Let me ask you something. How
long do you think that I would last or you would last? If you
lifted us out of this lap of luxury and comfort and plenty
and ease and all of these things, and just all of a sudden dropped
us right down there in the middle of poverty and nothingness, well,
and we had to survive with those people, their habits and their
food and their water and their ways, it would be rough, wouldn't
it? Untold, you talk about misery.
I don't imagine any of us would live over a year, we couldn't
survive. And yet, our Lord came from infinite glory, infinite,
infinite, infinite majesty, beauty, down here to this jungle, this
paganistic, this heathen, this sinful world, and he walked down
here on this earth for thirty-three and a half years. I tell you,
if an angel from the throne of God came down here and turned
into a worm tomorrow, it wouldn't be near the condescension that
it was for Christ, the Infinite One, to become a man lower than
the beast. What love! Meditate upon his
life. He did that for me and for you.
Meditate upon his death. Oh, to go to Calvary and see
there how Christ suffered for my sins. It was necessary in
order for God to be just and justify the ungodly. He had to
die. God must punish sin. He spared
not his own son, delivered him up for us all. Christ didn't
die as an example. He died as a substitute. Christ
didn't die as a reformer. He died as a redeemer. Christ
died in our place. He took our sins. He was wounded
for our transgressions. By his stripes we're healed.
He died in our place. That's what we're preaching.
That's what the Word of God declares. It's not the Christ and the covenant
that saves. I believe in covenant mercy.
Anybody who doesn't, doesn't know a thing about the Bible.
God made a covenant with Adam. He made a covenant with Noah.
He made a covenant with David. He made a covenant with Abraham.
He made a covenant with Christ. He gave him a people. That's
so. Not deep. It's just so. But it's
not the Christ of the covenant that saves. It's not the Christ
of the manger that saves. I believe in the virgin birth.
I know it's so. It has to be so. Christ was born without sin. He knew no sin. I believe in
the Christ of the pulpit. He's the greatest speaker. He
spake as one who had authority, not as the scribes and Pharisees.
He startled them with his doctrine. I believe in the healing Christ.
Preacher on television this morning says people say they believe
in God but they don't believe in healing. I never met anybody
who said that before. I never met anybody who believed
in God but didn't believe in healing. I believe in the healing Christ.
I know he heals. All healing is of God. God, the
scripture we just read, it says here that he gives them breath
and they live. He takes their breath and they
die. He's the God of life and death. If you get well, God made
you well. If you don't get well, God slew
you. It's not the healing Christ, it's the Christ of the cross
that saves. The Christ of the cross, that's
the theme of our song, the wonderful Christ of the cross. He atonement
has made, he our ransom has paid. So we'll just praise him, the
Christ of the cross. That's the reason Paul said,
I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ,
him crucified. Sure, Christ is an example for
us to live according to his teachings and his example. Sure, his word
sets forth our daily duties and obligations and responsibilities.
But I'll tell you, it's his blood that cleanses us. It's his blood
that saves us. He had to die. He didn't, it
was no accident. He came to die. He said to his
disciples, they said, don't go to the cross. He said, for this
cause came unto this world. And when he prayed in Gethsemane,
he said, Father, the hour has come! Now glorify thy son, that
thy son may glorify thee. And when he finished his death,
he said, It's finished! Meditate upon his death, meditate
upon his present glory, meditate upon his coming glory. I'm listening
for a trumpet. I'm listening for the voice of
the archangel. I'm listening for the shout.
I believe Christ is coming back. He wore my crown of thorns that
I might wear his crown of glory, and I'm going to wear it. He
took my nakedness that I might wear his robe of holiness, and
I'm going to wear it. He bore my shame that I might
share his honor, and I'm going to share it. He endured my sufferings
that I might share his infinite joy, and I'm going to enjoy it.
He lived in misery that I might live in happiness, and I'm going
to live there. He died my death that I might live his eternal
life, and I'm going to live it. He went into the grave that I
might come forth in victory, and I'm coming forth. He ascended
into glory that one day I might be perfectly conformed to his
image, and I'm going to be. So he's coming back. My meditations
of him, him, him, him, him. This is something I've had the
most difficulty getting across to congregations where I try
to preach, here and elsewhere. There are things in life that
are important, but nothing so important as Christ. There are
people in life that are precious, but none so precious as Christ.
There are responsibilities in life that are to be fulfilled
and to be met, but nothing as important as Christ. I don't
care who it is or what it is or where it is. Jesus Christ
is Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. He's not only first in
your life, he's first and last. He said, I'm Alpha and Omega.
I'm the beginning and the end. I'm the first and the last. I'm
the author and finisher of faith. It's not a matter of Christ as
my fire escape to take me to heaven when I die. It's not Christ
my insurance policy to be kept down there in charge of the preacher
at the church in case I die. It's Christ my life. And when
Christ, who is my life, shall appear, then shall I appear with
him in glory. And it's impossible for us to
lose him. Everything in this life has someday
got to be laid down. You know that and I know that.
Well, let's lay it down, and lay it down submissively, and
lay it down humbly, and lay it down with praise to God, and
lay it down without grumbling. Just lay it down, because you've
still got the greatest treasure. And when you find that pearl
of great price, you go and sell everything else. You may keep
it in your possession a while, but it's sold. It's committed. It's laid on the altar. It's
his. Take it, Lord, or leave it, whatever
you want to. But Christ is my pearl. And then
last of all, my meditations of him shall be sweet. Shall be sweet. My meditations
of him sweetens my bitters. Now, sin is bitter. David said,
My sins are ever before me. I never forget them. No one knows
my sins like I know them. Let's don't pretend now. Let's
don't be pretentious. Let's don't be Pharisees. I hate
Pharisees. Christ hates Pharisees. Our Lord's
words of comfort were for sinners. He had words of scathing condemnation
for religious hypocrites and Pharisees who professed to be
and claimed to be and pretended to be what he knew they were
and what they knew they weren't. My sins are ever before me, David
said. I'm aware of them. My sins of
spirit, my sins of thought, my sins of motive, my sins of attitude,
my sins of omission, my sins of commission. I've sinned and
come short of the glory of God and do every day and so do you.
I get uncomfortable in the presence of religious people, pious people,
because I know that I'm a sinner. But I'm telling you this, the
bitters of sin are sweetened by the meditations of Christ.
I know this, if I confess my sins, he's faithful and just
to forgive them. I know that his sins I mean,
his blood puts away all my sin. His blood atones for my sin.
His blood is propitiation for my sin. His blood cleanses all
my sin. With his spotless garments on,
I'm as holy as God's own Son in Christ. And then sorrow is bitter. You've
been there, I've been there. Sometimes we feel like our sorrow
is more than we can bear. Has your heart ever felt like
a stone in your chest? Has your throat ever burned and
your tears so plentiful and so hot on your face and you just
feel like you're going to choke to death? In that bitter time,
Christ is sweet. There are no words of men that
can comfort you, but his words can. There is no hand of a friend
that can lift your burden, but his hands can. When your enemies assail and
your heart begins to fail and your soul is almost sinking in
despair, he'll never leave you there. He'll go with you to the
end, take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. The
bitterness of sorrow is sweetened by meditations on Christ. I promise
you this with all my heart. When the way is the darkest,
you lift your eyes to Christ. I'll guarantee you the light
will dispel the gloom. It will, if you know it. When
the road is the rockiest and you just feel so weary, if you'll
just turn your thoughts off yourself and off your difficulties and
off your burdens and off your trials and off of these things
and quit trying to be a martyr and turn your eyes on Christ
and thank God for his mercies, I guarantee you the light will
flood around you Sickness is bitter. I don't know anything
about this some of you do I've never been sick But I know the old song says
this when your body suffers pain and your health you can't regain And your soul is almost sinking
in despair Jesus knows the pain you feel he can save and he can
heal Take it to him and leave it there. I know that I can't
talk about that. I know so little about sickness,
but some of you do. And I just believe that upon
a bed of sickness, like I went in to see Anna Lee before she
was operated on, and I said, Are you afraid? She said, No.
I've been singing that little song, Only Believe. All things
are possible, only believe. That's the thing to do. Think
of Christ. Meditate on Christ. Sing about
Christ. My meditations of him are sweet,
sweet. And then doubts. Doubts. I have them. You have them. I
know we do. It's not always. I see that funny guy from New
Orleans on television, that silly guy on television, the chaplain
of Bourbon Street running around hollering, it's fun being saved.
I wish he'd tell that to John Bunyan as he sat 12 years in
Bedford Prison. Come on, John, it's fun being
saved. Eating the bread and water is fun being saved. Won't you
tell that to Peter as they crucified him upside down? It's fun being
saved! Or go to Paul when they raised
the axe to cut off his head and say, It's fun being saved! That's
stupid. Sometimes the way is very dark
and sometimes the way is very cloudy and sometimes our hearts
are filled with doubts and fears. But I'll tell you this, if you'll
turn your eyes on Jesus and look full in his wonderful face, the
things of this earth, they will, they'll go strangely dim in the
light of his glory and grace. He'll make your doubts to fly.
He'll make the bitterness of doubt and fear to be sweet. if
you think on him. Now, if you try to think, if
you're in a time of doubt and you try to say, now, am I a Christian? Well, let's see, let's go back
and did I believe, remember that decision I made, was it genuine?
Well, I don't know. When I was baptized, was it genuine?
Well, I don't know. When I rededicated, was it genuine?
Well, I don't know. You're looking to the wrong place
for assurance. When you have doubts of your
relationship with Christ and doubts of your interest in Christ,
Let your meditation be on Christ, not on yourself, or your decisions,
or your professions, or your experiences, or your feelings.
Go to the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. Let His Word speak to you. Let
His Word decide the issue. Let His Word settle the doubts.
Do I believe, am I a sinner? Is Christ my Lord? Do I trust
Him, Him alone? And then last of all, when I
close, death is going to be bitter, maybe. It may be a struggle. It may take this soul a while
to leave this old body. It took Lula, what, nine years
she lay there. I may have to do that. I am serious
about this. It may take a while for this
soul to leave this body. How long take Raymond to die?
Two years, two and a half years? And I do know this, I know my
meditations of Him, they're sweet. And I believe this, that through
it all, through it all, I have learned to trust in Jesus through
it all. And if I can trust Him when the
sun's shining, I can trust Him more when it's not shining. I can trust Him when the day
is bright, I can trust Him when the day is dark. I can trust
him when things are happy, I can trust him when things are sad.
I can trust him in youth, I can trust him in old age. And I can
trust him. Somebody said one time, Preacher,
I'm afraid, I'm afraid I don't have dying grace. I've heard
about men of God and women of God who lay down on their deathbeds
and could praise the Lord through great pain and great suffering
and great agony and great years of this. But I don't know whether
I can do it or not. I don't have dying grace. Well,
let me tell you this. You're not dying, so you don't
need dying grace. God will give you the grace to
meet the need when it arises. That's right. He'll give David
the sling when he goes to meet Goliath, not before. And he'll
give you and I the grace we need for the trial that's to come.
I believe that. If our meditations are on him.
And if our meditations...

My Meditation of Him

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My Meditation of Him

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