The Lord willing, if we do that
a few weeks, I think we'll all learn those courses if we don't
already know them. The title of my message, I want
you to turn with me to Psalm, the book of Psalms tonight. And the title that I've given
my message tonight is A special recipe. A special recipe. Over the years, I've heard of
ladies in various groups putting together cookbooks. And the ladies
who do so, they have a favorite recipe that they put in to the
cookbook. Pat has several of these books.
In fact, they were looking at one the other day. Pat and Winna
to give to Andrea, I believe. And it's a favorite recipe of
Betty Gruber. But I want to speak to us today
on a special recipe from Psalm 37. Psalm 37. And this recipe
is a recipe for a blessed life, a happy life. You notice the title of this
psalm is simply, A Psalm of David. A Psalm of David. And if you
notice down in verse 25, David wrote this psalm when he was
in old age. For here he says, I have been
young and now, as he's writing this hymn, this psalm, now, Am
I old? One Bible commentator by the
name of Scott said that he wrote this psalm three years before
his death. If that's true, that would mean
that he was 67 years of age when he wrote this psalm. Now by today's
standards, that may not seem like that old, but it was in
David's time. 70 years was old age. If you can call it an advantage
of anything that comes with old age, it may be that an older
person has many experiences from which he or she may draw. Experiences
that have been both good and bad. And you can imagine someone
like David who was raised up from following the sheep to be
the leader of God's people, to be the king over a mighty nation. I was thinking of how many hats
David wore. He was a shepherd. He was a musician. He was a captain of a great army. He was a sovereign king, a judge
of the nation of Israel. How many experiences he had to
draw from as he wrote this psalm. I want you to notice in verses
one and two, he says, fret not thyself because of evil doers,
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for
they shall soon be cut off or cut down like the grass and wither
as the green herb. It's been suggested that as David
was writing this psalm, he remembered a man by the name of Nabal and
the experience that he had with Nabal. And so naturally, he could
write about evildoers, workers of inequity. Let me refresh our
minds, if you will. Let's turn back to 1st Samuel,
chapter 25. Fret not, he says. Fret not. Don't let them get
under your skin, as we might say today. Evildoers, workers
of iniquity. Don't be envious of them. Fret
not. That's a snare that should be
avoided. And maybe he had his experience
with Nabal in mind when he wrote those words. Here in 1 Samuel
chapter 25, verses 1 through 3, we read, And Samuel died, and all the
Israelites were gathered together and lamented him and buried him
in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down
to the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in Maon whose
possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great. And he
had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep
in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal,
and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding
and of a beautiful countenance, but the man was churlish. and
evil in his doings. And he was one of the House of
Caleb. Let me just speak for a few minutes
about this experience that David had with this man, Nabal. Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
because here was an evildoer, Nabal. At this time, David was
being pursued by King Saul. He was living in a cave, part
of the time, living the life of a vagabond. And he and his
men, they had to live off the land, whatever they could scavenge.
They had to fight Israel's foes to survive. And this man, Nabal,
was a rich man. And not only, as you read through
this chapter, do you discover that Not only did David and his
men out there in the wilderness, they did not molest this man
and all of his sheep and all of his possessions. In fact,
they were actually a wall around them. They protected them, David
and his men, his army. They served as a protecting wall
around Nabal and all of his possessions. And when you stop and think about
it, if it had not been for David going out and killing Goliath,
Nabal, he couldn't have had a life, a wealthy life that he had there
because the nation of Israel would have been in defeat by
the Philistines. This man owed a lot to David,
but he was a fool. That's what his name means, and
that's what his wife said about him. He was churlish, we read
that just now. He was a foolish man, but he
was a wicked man. David said, fret not thyself. because of evildoers. And we
must remember this, that in Israel, at the time of sheep shearing
or harvest time, it was a joyful time. We read about that in the
book of Ruth. You remember when Elimelech and
his harvesters were reaping the fields and it was a time of joy
and a time of sharing God's bounties with others. And so When David
heard this man, a wealthy man, but an evil man, he was sharing
cheap and they were going to have a festival, a feast, and
enjoy the bounties of God's blessings upon them. And David sent some
of his men down to ask that they would share some of that. And this man responded, who's
David? Now the man knew who David was. There's no way an Israelite did
not know who David was. Because the women said, King
Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.
He was a famous man by this time. Because God by him had delivered
the nation of Israel. But rather than share with David
and his men, He said, who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Are we going to reward everyone
who runs away from his servants? And David's men, remember, they
came back to him and they told him what Nabal had said. And David, and I'll paraphrase
now, but he said, boy, strap your guns on. We're going to
take care of this man. And they strapped their swords
on, they didn't have guns. These were mighty men of battle,
400 men he had that came to him in the cave of Adullam. And they're
on their way, and David is determined in his heart he's going to take
care of this man, he's going to take everything he has. And wouldn't you know it, as
foolish as Nabal was, he had a wife just that wise, Abigail. One of Nabal's servants told
Abigail, David's men came and asked our master to share with
them, and he responded in this way, just put them off as though
they were nothing to him. And Abigail, being the wise woman
that she was, she said, prepare the products that I can take
to him. And she finds David and his soldiers
coming to do harm. And not only to do harm, but
he was on the point of doing something that he would have
regretted for the rest of his life. Think about that. He was at the point of shedding
innocent blood, because not only would Nabal be destroyed, but
also his family and his servants, they would all be destroyed.
And Abigail interceded with David. You know the story, David thanked
her for the wisdom, how God had used her in keeping him from
doing that foolish thing. Threat not thyself because of
evildoers. And then notice what he says
next. For they shall soon be cut off. Ten days later, Nabal was dead. Ten days. They shall soon be
cut off. Like the grass, wither as the
green herb. Not only was Nabal cut off, cut
down like the grass, but David sent and took Abigail to be his
wife. She was a wise woman, and the
scripture says she was a woman of beautiful countenance. Austin
stared me to a message recently to listen to, and the pastor
took Nabal and Abigail as a type. You know, when two marry, they
become one. And the pastor used this as an
example of a believer. We have two natures. We have
an old man and a new man. And just as foolish as the old
man is, that loves sin, so we've got a new man, a new nature,
who loves God and loves the things of the Lord. I had never heard
that presented like that before as a type, but sure it was. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against
the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like
the grass. No one envies the grass. Everyone
in this building, we've all been guilty at some time or the other
of envy. We all have. So I've never, yes
you have. Yes you have. You've seen something
or someone and you've been envious of that. In your heart at least,
you've envied something. But you've never envied the grass,
have you? I don't think so. None of us
have ever envied the grass. Why would we be envious then
of wicked men who prosper in this world as many do? Why would
we be envious of them? They're just like the grass.
My grass at the house there, it springs up, we try to keep
it green and keep it growing, and then I just come along and
cut it down. And that's a picture of man by
nature, isn't it? We're all like the grass. We
spring up, and the pride of man, the glory of man is like the
flower of the grass. We all wither, fall away, and
we're here just a little while, just like the grass. But now,
I want us to look at these next few verses, verses three through
six. What I'm calling David's recipe
for a happy life. And it has three ingredients.
And each one of these ingredients has a promise attached to it. The first ingredient is trust
in the Lord and do good. Now, when David admonishes us
to trust in the Lord, we need to know something about this
one that he tells us to trust in. I mean, if we're really admonished
to trust in someone, and we are, then we need to know something
about this one in whom we should trust. Well, you notice in your
Bible there that this is the name of God, Jehovah. It is Jehovah
in whom we are to trust. Well, what do we know about Him? Well, we know this. Now listen
to me. We know this about Jehovah. He
is the only, now get that only, He is the only independent being
that there is. The only, only, only independent
being that there is. There's no one in all the universe
of all space to whom we may liken Him. Everything in creation is
dependent upon Him, and yet He is not dependent upon anything. He is independent of all. Trust in the Lord. We need to
know something about this one in whom we are admonished to
trust, that He is the Lord, the only independent being that there
is. And we, what we do know about
Him, we know because He has chosen to reveal what He has revealed
unto us about Himself. And this name Jehovah reveals
that He is a covenant God. A covenant God. He is the one
who gives to all, but receives from no one. Even the Lord Jesus Christ, as
the God-man, tells us that His goodness extendeth not unto Him. God is a perfect being, needs
nothing, always has been, always shall be. Nothing may be added
unto Him. He said in Isaiah chapter 40
and verse 25, to whom then will you liken me, or shall I be equal,
saith the Holy One? This is one of the reasons that
idolatry is such a wicked, awful sin, to liken God Almighty, a
true spirit to anything material, how evil and wicked it is, and
God will not hold them guiltless. who worship idols. If you look in the Ten Commandments
there in Exodus chapter 20, you will find this is the one commandment
that especially promises God's wrath upon not only the perpetrators
of it, but their dependents. It's an evil thing. You know,
parents, As parents, we're all so responsible, and we all feel
so inadequate, don't we? And when you get up to my age,
you think of how many mistakes you made, and you see those things,
and you are somewhat sad over those things, but you can't go
back. But parents have such a responsibility
with their children to teach them the truth about God. Because in so many places today
what is said about God doesn't even come near the true God of
the Bible. He's more a being to be pitied
than he is to be worshipped. Trust in the Lord. We need to
know something about him. We know this about him. I want
you to look with me in Romans chapter 8. Keep your places here.
We'll come back. But in Romans chapter 8, we know
this about this Lord in whom David admonishes us to trust. In verse 32, we know that he
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? There's two things
that we know about God from that verse, the Lord in whom we are
admonished to trust. We know of his incomprehensible
goodness, his incomprehensible goodness. When man, God's creatures,
had by sin rendered ourselves incapable of any happiness, of
ever having any happiness because of our sin, when we by sin made
ourselves incapable of restoring ourselves unto God or receiving
any assistance to any power in heaven or earth, It was then
that God spared not His own Son. God gave His own Son, who alone
was capable to restore the breach between God and men. and every
gift of God is good. And we have received, you and
I, we've received so many of his wonderful good gifts, but
all of them together cannot compare with the unspeakable gift of
his son. He spared not his own son. And number two, we know of his
incomprehensible holiness. When his son appeared in our
nature and undertook our cause and was charged with our sins,
though he was the Father's well beloved, he spared not his own
son. Awake, O sword, and smite the
shepherd, my fellow. Yes, my friends, he spared not
his own son. Trust in the Lord, David says.
Trust in the Lord. Why wouldn't we trust in the
Lord? Why wouldn't anyone trust in the Lord? And someone like
this who's given, what more could he give than his own dear son? For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. David says, trust in the Lord
and do good. One translation has this, trust
in the Lord and be doing good. The life of the believer, the
life of the believer, those who trust in the Lord, you and I,
our lives should be continued acts of doing good to others
and worshiping God. And here is the promise. So shall
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Now the land,
the land that David would have had reference to here would be
the land of Canaan. To dwell in the land of Canaan
would be to dwell under God's protection. It would be to dwell among God's
people. And it would be to dwell where
the gospel was preached. Now the land that was promised
to Abraham, the land of Canaan, We recognize that that was symbolic
of the heavenly land. Abraham sought a city that had
foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Trust in the Lord
and do good, and verily thou shalt dwell in the land, the
land, Emmanuel's land, that is in heaven itself, and thou shalt
be fed. with all the good things that
God has prepared for them that love Him. Now that's the first
ingredient. Here's the second. Delight thyself
in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Delight thyself, take extreme
pleasure in the Lord. That's what this really means.
Take extreme pleasure in the Lord. Delight thyself in Him. Delight thyself in His names. Take the names that God has given
of Himself. All of them tell us something
else about Him, don't they? A name, I'm trying to think,
I believe it's Elohim, that promises us that he will supply all of
our needs. All of our needs. Think about his names. Think
about his attributes. Delight thyself in the Lord,
in his works, his works of providence. delight thyself in his worship.
This should be, this should be the, and I'm talking about Sunday,
this should be the highlight of a believer's week. When we
meet together with God's promise that where two or three gather
together in my name, there am I in their midst. This should
be the highlight of our lives to come together and worship
the Lord and experience the presence of the Lord God Almighty. To hear His Word, to hear about
Him, to learn about Him, to sing about Him. Of course, we were singing a
little while ago, It's the sweetest name I know. Is that true with
you? Is it true with me? Do we delight
ourselves in the Lord? Turn back to Psalm 28 with me
just a moment. Psalm 28. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD
my Rock, be not silent to me, lest, if thou be silent to me,
I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice
of my supplications when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my
hands toward thy holy oracle. Draw me not away with the wicked
and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors,
but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their
deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavors. Give them
after the work of their hands, render to them their dessert.
Now notice this, because, because, Why would David pray that God
would render to the wicked the deeds of their hands, their wicked
deeds? Because they regard not the works
of the Lord. They do not regard the Lord's
works in creation. They talk about a big bang. They do not regard the Lord's
works in providence. They talk about Lady Luck and
good fortune. And they do not regard the works
of the Lord in redemption. They talk about the dignity of
man and man's free will and how God needs men. They do not, the
workers of iniquity, they do not regard the works of the Lord. But David admonishes us to delight
ourselves in the Lord, in His works, consider His works. Do
you ever take the time to just stop and turn off all the gadgets? Turn off all the gadgets and
just sit there and if you can, turn off the lights. Sit in the
dark and think, and think, my friends, about God's providence,
of how he has brought you to the place where you are tonight. How, when I think about my life
and my friends that I grew up with, And no doubt many of them,
some of them at least, are already in hell. And here I am. Consider the works of the goodness
of the Lord, the works, delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall
give thee the desires of thy heart. When you make the Lord your delight,
then your desires will be His desires. Not my will, but thy
will be done. If the Lord asked you tonight, or told you, you can have anything
that you want, what would it be? Someone asked
Charles Spurgeon that one day. If the Lord would give you anything,
Mr. Spurgeon, that you ask for right
now, what would you ask for? And he didn't have to stop and
think. He said, I'd ask to be made just like the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what I'd ask for. I'm
telling you that's what God's purpose is for everyone that
he saves, to make us like his son. Now the third part of the
recipe, the third ingredient, commit thy way unto the Lord.
Trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. If you have
a Bible that has a marginal reading, you might look there and say,
roll thy way upon the Lord. Roll thy way upon the Lord. It's
similar to 1 Peter 5 and verse 7, casting all your care upon
him for he careth for you. Matthew Henry said we must roll
it off ourselves. We've got our will and our directions
and what we're going to do and roll it off of ourselves so as
not to afflict and perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events. not to cumber and trouble ourselves
either with contrivance of the means or with expectation of
the end, but refer it to God. Roll it off of ourselves, our
future, everything about, roll it off of ourselves and roll
it onto God. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Leave it to him by his wise and
good providence to order and dispose of all our concerns as
he pleases, as he pleases. If God is in a matter, it is
going to come to pass. If he's in it, it's going to
come to pass. One writer said, if God built
a house, it's going to stand. When David wrote these words,
commit thy way unto the Lord, remember he had an experience
in his early life of Samuel coming one day to the city where he
lived, and he was out there taking care of the sheep. And his daddy
Jesse had a number of sons, and God told Samuel, go and anoint
one of Jesse's sons. He's going to be the king. And
you know the story, the first one came, he was a fine, handsome
young man, and Samuel said, phew, boy, that's him. God said, no,
that's not him. Another one came by, the second
one, that's him, no. They all passed by, and God said,
Or Samuel, rather, he said to Jesse, are these all your sons? Have I made a mistake? Did I
misunderstand God? Oh no, I've got a younger son. He's out there taking care of
the sheep. Bring him in. And when he came in, Samuel poured
that oil on his head, didn't he? But think of all of the things
that David went through before he came to the throne. And on
two, at least two occasions, he had Saul under his hand. He could have destroyed Saul
and become the king. He had been anointed to be the
king. But remember, he said, the word of God says, touch not
thou mine anointed. And Saul had been anointed to
be king. And so David committed his way
unto the Lord and he brought it to pass in the fullness of
the time. he was brought to the throne. I think this is a recipe for
a happy life, a blessed life with these three ingredients
that David gives us. Trust in the Lord, delight thyself
also in the Lord, commit thy way unto the Lord. May the Lord
bless his word to all of us here tonight. Now we're going to sing a hymn
number 389, the Lord willing, number 389.