I would like for you, if you
will, open your Bibles with me today to Psalm 66. We're going to stay in this psalm
this morning, and I trust the message the Lord has given me
will be a message that will be a blessing to everyone here. I want you to notice, first of
all, the psalm begins with a general exhortation. Make a joyful noise
unto God, all ye lands. I said a general exhortation
because the exhortation is to all people, all ye lands, all
nations. And all people should praise
and bless the Lord God. And there are three things in
these first few verses that I notice that all of God's creatures should
bless him for. The first is creation. If you notice in verse two, saying
to God, how terrible art thou in thy works. Through the greatness
of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
The greatness of God is seen in creation. God testifies to every creature,
every person who lives upon his earth, that he is God. He testifies by creation of his
wisdom as we see how things are created so wisely. And he testifies of his power. Only God could create all things
that are created. And all men may see this. All
men in this world. And then secondly, we think of
his providence in verse five. Come and see the works of God. It is terrible. It is great. It is awesome. God's works and
providence. how he directs men and the affairs
of all men. The heart of the king is in the
hand of the Lord. And not only the heart of the
king, but the heart of every man, woman, boy, and girl is
in the hand of the Lord. And just like the water brooks,
he, that is God, turneth it, whithersoever he will. God's providence causing you
to be born into the family in which you were born, at the time
when you were born, at the place where you were born, giving you
an education, allowing you to learn to read so that you might
read his written word. God's good providence. You could
have been born in a country and been deprived of an education,
never learned to read, and maybe in a place where there was nothing
to read as far as the scripture is concerned. The goodness of
God. You see, the psalmist says, oh,
sing unto the Lord his works of creation, his works of providence,
and his rulership. In verse number seven, he ruleth. By His power, He raises up one
and He puts down another. You study the history of the
world and you see these great kingdoms have flourished, have
been raised up, and then they've been put down. And they're gone. And they're leaders, many times
forgotten. Oh, sing and praise the Lord.
But beginning with verse eight, if you notice, it seems to me
that he moves from, the psalmist said is he moves from an exhortation
to all people to praise the Lord, all of God's creatures, to those
who know God and are able to call him our God, my God. Oh, bless our God, ye people. Are you able this morning to
refer to God in truth, in sincerity, my God, my God, my Father. Oh, bless our God, you people,
and make the voice of his praise to be heard. Now, my message
this morning has two divisions. Concerns verses 8 through 15. And in these verses, I want us
to see a testimony of the Lord making and keeping his people
in life. Notice verse 9, which holdeth
our life or holdeth our soul in life. We're going to look at this first
taking the marginal reading, for that word holdeth. If you
have a Bible that has a marginal reading, you see that the Hebrew
could well be translated, which putteth our soul in life. Do you see that? God, which putteth
our soul in life. Another rendering of this would
be which put us among the living. God put us among the living. And I'm not talking about just
life, this physical life. We're talking about spiritual
life. The people of God know. If you're
a child of God here this morning, the people of God know. who put
them among the living. We didn't put ourselves among
the living. Who putteth our soul in life. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans
chapter 5 and verse 12 that death passed upon all men. Not physical
death, although men will die physically because of Adam's
sin. But the death that passed upon all men, when Adam, by his
one sin, by his one sin, as a representative of all men and women, by his
one sin, his one sin of disobedience, Paul says, death passed upon
all men. Which tells us that when we come
into this world, we are dead in trespasses and sins. Someone
asked a man one time, how long have you been saved? He said,
I've always been saved. And that man wisely responded,
that's too long. That's too long. You haven't
always been saved. You haven't always had spiritual
life. If you have spiritual life today,
When you came into this world, you were dead in trespasses and
sins, spiritually dead, enmity with God, needing to be reconciled
unto God. O sing, the psalmist says, O
bless our God, which putteth our soul in life. This is just another way of saying,
of declaring what Jonah declared when he was in the fish's belly. There he was in the fish's belly
at the bottom of the sea, I suppose. And what did he say? Salvation
is of the Lord who putteth our souls in life. Just another way
of saying that salvation is God's work. God's work, the Father
planned it, God the Son purchased it, and God the Holy Spirit applies
it unto His people. David confessed in Psalm 100
in verse 3, Know you that the Lord, He is God. It is He that
hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. You say, well, he's talking about
physical, our physical creation. Maybe. He made us physically. He formed us in the wombs of
our mothers. I understand that. That we were
all created in the image of God. I understand that. But I also
understand spiritually that he made us and not we ourselves. He made us his people. He gave
us to Christ to be his sheep. A shepherd must have sheep to
be a shepherd. You would never call a man a
shepherd if he had no sheep. And yet the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ is a good
shepherd, the chief shepherd. We know that from the word of
God, but how could he be a shepherd if he had no sheep? Well, the
scriptures are very clear that in that covenant of grace before
the foundation of the world, God chose and gave unto his son
a people and gave them unto him as his sheep and gave him to
be the shepherd. He made us his people. In 1 Thessalonians
5 and verse 9, the apostle Paul said, for God hath not appointed
us to wrath. Now he's talking, he's writing
to believers, to a church at Thessalonica. He said God has
not appointed us to wrath, but he has appointed us, but to obtain
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Men are not saved by
chance, they're not saved by luck, there is no such thing
to begin with. But men and women are saved on
purpose. God's purpose. God purposed from
before the foundation of the world to save his people. He putteth our soul in life.
If you know Christ today, It's because God purposed it. Not
because you just happened to be at a certain place at a certain
time and heard some preacher preach and make some appeal and
you walk down some church aisle or something like that. If you're
saved this morning, if you know God, it's because God purposed
your salvation and gave you to his son. And he said, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. James, in his first, in his letter,
he wrote of his own will. Whose will? God's will. Not man's
will. God's will, of his own will,
begat he us with the word of truth. Now that's what the scripture
says. Our soul being alive is the Lord's
work. So that's the first thing we
see here, which putteth our soul in life. Now let's look at it
as it is translated here in our text this morning. which holdeth
our soul in life. The Lord saves and keeps his
people. He saves and keeps his people. He will not suffer, the psalmist
said, who putteth who holdeth our soul in life and suffereth
not our feet to be moved. Why is it that a child of God
doesn't move off the rock? Why is it he does, if he comes
to Christ and is established on the rock, why is it that he
doesn't move off the rock? God keeps us. He not only puts
our souls in life, He keeps, holds our souls in life. You
know, there are those who claim to be believers and they teach
and believe, I suppose, that a person can be saved today and
lost tomorrow. How foolish and how demeaning
such a teaching is to the glorious God of the Bible. to think that he begins a work
and doesn't finish it? That he's trying to do something
if man would only cooperate? Is that the God that you worship? I hope not. And I know it's not. Dear God, if you're a part of
this congregation, we know better, don't we? And we do so because
God has taught us, and because we believe the scriptures. We
believe the word of God. Someone said, well, that's not
fashionable. That's not what people want to hear. We're not
here to please men. That's not my purpose. I love
each and every one of you. Some of you I see for the first
time. So I can't say I really love you, but I will if you give
me the opportunity. But most of you here I've known
for a long time. I love you. You're my family. And I know you love me. And I'm
not here to try to entertain you. And I'm not here to please
you. If I be a servant of man, I will
not be a servant of God. I'm going to preach what the
scriptures reveal. And I know that's what you want
me to do. That's what you want to hear. And the truth is, we see it here
in this text, which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not
our feet to be moved. Why is it that a believer, once
he starts, and he's truly a believer, a child of God, and he starts
towards heaven, why is it he doesn't turn back? In Hebrews
chapter 11, The writer mentions all of those various men who
threw faith. He begins with Abel, and Enoch,
and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Sarah, and Joseph,
and so forth and so on. And he says, if we had desired,
we would have had an opportunity to turn back. All of them did. No doubt all of them were tested
in some way. and tempted to turn back, but
they didn't. Why? Because they were in his
hand. Because he holdeth our soul in
life. Let me give us a few scriptures
to support this. Being born again is a miracle
of God. What was that little course that
took a miracle to hang the world in space? And when he saved my
soul, it took a miracle of love and grace. Salvation is a miracle,
being born again. Not only is being saved a miracle,
but being kept for the glory of God is also a miracle. You see, salvation, sometimes
people get the idea, well, I was saved. And they go back to some
experience they had, and sometimes they even have a date. I was
saved. No, I'm saved. Present tense. Yes, I was saved. I'm being saved. And one day I shall completely
be saved. You say, well, that, what does
that mean? I was saved from the penalty of sin. I'm being saved
from the power of sin. One day I'll be saved from the
very presence of sin. We know that. But in the, in
the intermediate time, we're kept. We're kept by the power
of God through faith. In 1 Samuel chapter 12, let me
read just a few scriptures that speak to us of the security of
the believer. We're secure. People say, that's a dangerous
doctrine. Not to God's people, not for God's people. Nothing
dangerous about it at all. The more you hear about how God
loved you from before the foundation of the world, gave his son to
redeem you, and is saving you, what does it do? It makes you
love him more, makes you want to serve him better. No one's gonna take these truths
and say, well, if I'm saved, if I'm secure, then I can just
go out and live like I want to. That's foolish talk. Scriptures
don't teach that. But the scriptures certainly
teach that we are secure. 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse
22. For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake. Now listen, don't miss this. Let me read that again. 1 Samuel
12 verse 22. For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake because It pleased the Lord to
make you His people. It pleased Him to make you one
of His chosen people, make you one of His children. It pleased
Him to do that because He loves you. He's not going to forsake
one for His great name's sake. How would His name be tarnished
if someone that He had saved somehow He ends up in hell. That's not gonna happen. No,
for His great name's sake, He keeps His people. He will not
forsake you. In Psalm 37 and verse 28, we
read, For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints. They are preserved forever. Every person who is saved is
made a saint, sanctified by God the Father. Separated by God
the Father in eternal election, made a saint. And that verse
simply tells us, he forsaketh not his saints. They are preserved
forever. Psalm 125, one and two. They that trust in the Lord shall
be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains round about
Jerusalem, So the Lord is round about his people from henceforth
even forevermore. He's round about you, just like
he was Job. Remember what Satan said to God? He said, you've put a fence around
him. He's put a fence around you if
you're one of his children. The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear him. Isaiah 46 in verse 4. And even
to your old age, I love this. It's true. I've got here. I know it's true. Even to your
old age, I am he. And even to whore hairs will
I carry you. I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver
you. You know, it seems like some
people, when they hear something like this, they always say, yeah,
that's true, I understand that. God will never forsake us, but
what if we forsake Him? Have you never read this promise
in the everlasting covenant? I will make an everlasting covenant
with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good.
Now listen, but I will put my fear in their hearts that they
shall not depart from me. He puts his fear in the hearts
of his people, that reverential fear. I'm not afraid of God,
are you? I have no reason to be afraid
of God. I do fear God. I wish I feared him more. I want
to fear him more. He's worthy. of absolute reverence. I understand that. And I desire
that, but I'm not afraid of God. Why? Because Christ took my place. He suffered in my stead. The penalty's been paid. Justice
is satisfied. No, but I do fear him, and I
want to fear him more. And one other passage in John
10, verse 29, the Lord Jesus said, my father which gave them
me is greater than all. He's talking about his sheep.
My father which gave them me is greater than all. And no man
is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. Okay, now we've seen the Lord
puts our soul in life. The Lord holdeth our soul in
life. That must mean what you said
here, preacher, from the word of God, what you've pointed out
here from the word of God, that God puts our soul in life, God
holds our soul in life. That must mean we'll never have
any more problems. That has to mean that we'll never
have any problems in this world. No more problems. No more difficulties. No more
disappointments. No more setbacks. Never! God puts our soul in life and
God holds our soul in life. It's smooth sailing from here
on. Well, let's read on. Verse 10. For thou, O Lord, has
proved us, thou hast tried us as silver is tried. Who does
this? The Lord. For thou. How is silver usually tried? It's tried by heat, isn't it?
By fire. It's tried by fire. And God sometimes,
many times, puts His people in the fire to try us. Someone says, but that's Old
Testament. Well, listen to the Apostle Peter
in the New Testament. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some
strange thing happened to you. When the goldsmith or the silversmith,
when he puts that metal to the heat, he does it to remove the
impurities, but he's very careful, isn't he? He doesn't want to
overheat that because he will waste his metal. And we know
it is God, as this scripture says here, for thou, oh God,
has proved us, thou has tried us as silver is tried. He's watching
on. He'll never suffer you to be
tempted above that which you are able, but will with the temptation
make a way of escape. God's faithful. He'll never heat
that trial too hot. He's always there watching over
his people. But yes, he does try us as silver. that the trial of your faith
being more precious than silver, the scripture says. Notice the
next verse. Thou broughtest us into the net,
thou laidest affliction upon our loins. Who did it? God did
it. He may use the devil. He may use circumstances. We understand that. He uses everything
to accomplish his purpose. But ultimately, the first cause
is God. Thou did. Thou broughtest us
into the net. Thou laidest affliction upon
our loins. And the word there is God put
the burdens upon the man's loins where his strength is. That's
where God placed a burden upon him, pressing him, pressing him
down. And then verse 12. Again, it's
the Lord thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. We went
through fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into
a wealthy place. Now what I like and what I want
to point out about that verse is that word through, T-H-R-O-U-G-H. Thou hast caused men to ride
over our heads. We went through fire and through
water. We didn't stay in the fire. We
didn't stay in the water. We went through it. Yes, we went
into it, but we didn't stay there. I love that passage in Isaiah
43. Fear not, for I have redeemed
thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Through. Yes, he brings us into
the water, but he brings us through the water. He brings us into
the fire, but he brings us through the fire. He does it. Arthur
Payne, he suggested three reasons for God decreeing that the general
state of his people on earth shall be one of hardship, opposition,
and persecution. What are they? To arouse them
to spiritual diligence. When everything's going fine,
money in the bank, no sickness, no problems, good job, good car,
beautiful home, everything is going well, We have a tendency
to forget God. But you let those things be taken
away at all. We've got time to pray now. We've
got time to go to church now. Yeah. That's the first thing,
to arouse them to spiritual diligence. We go through these things. Number
two, to wean them from the world. Some people, I heard a preacher
say this so many, many years ago. He was preaching about that
rich young ruler, and he came running to the Lord and said,
what must I do to inherit eternal life? And this preacher said
he had so much money, he was rich, that he wanted to live
here two lives. You see, whenever things go against
us, And they do, and we experience things, and so do lost men. But I tell you, heaven starts
looking a whole lot better when you're laying on a hospital bed,
barely able to breathe, and you've got a good hope in Christ. Why
would you want to get better? Why would you want to? Heaven
starts looking a whole lot better, a whole lot closer. And number
three, to conform them more fully to the image of Christ. Our Lord
suffered in this world. He really did. He suffered. He suffered all kinds of persecution,
ridicule, slander, physical suffering, all kind to help to conform us
more. to the image of Christ. We know
that in trials and troubles, men often make vows of thanksgiving,
and that's what the psalmist here says in verses 13 through
15. I'm going to do this. When I was sick and I promised
the Lord, Lord, if you'll raise me up, I'm going to go to the
house of God and I'm going to offer the best of my flocks and
offerings unto thee. A lot of times people make promises,
don't they, and they don't keep them. They get better, the affliction
passes away or whatever, they forget about their promises.
David said, that's not gonna happen. I will go, verse 13,
I will go into thy house with burnt offerings. I will pay thee
my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken when
I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt
sacrifices of fatlings with the incense of rams. I will offer
bullocks and goats. In other words, the very best
that I have. The very best that I have. That's
what I'm going to offer. And then that word selah. You
know what that's for, don't you? Stop and think. Stop and think. Now, I'm going to stop here. I'm not through, but I'm going
to stop. The last part of this psalm,
I'll just mention this in verse 16. Come, now it's personal,
come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what
he hath done for my soul. Isn't that a wonderful thing
to be able to speak to others about Christ and tell them what
God has done for your soul? I was lost without Christ, without hope,
running toward hell as if it were heaven, running from God
as if he was Satan. And he apprehended me. He caught
me. Oh, let me tell you what God
has done for my soul. He's given me a new nature, given me a new home, a new father. He's given me everything. And all I can say is, bless the
Lord, oh, my soul. and all that is within me. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth
all thy diseases, who crowneth thy life with loving kindness. Amen? We're going to sing a hymn, and
we're going to stand as we sing this hymn, and then if you need
to