WEBVTT 00:00:01.510 --> 00:00:05.870 Let's pray what's more than please Father we 00:00:05.870 --> 00:00:08.929 do thank you for your help thus far for meeting 00:00:08.929 --> 00:00:11.470 with us and encouraging us with your presence 00:00:11.470 --> 00:00:15.230 We're thankful now for this time when we get 00:00:15.230 --> 00:00:17.690 to open your word once again to study it and 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:19.629 to learn from you and pray that you would speak 00:00:19.629 --> 00:00:22.710 to us through your word this morning That you 00:00:22.710 --> 00:00:25.910 use me as your instrument to accomplish those 00:00:25.910 --> 00:00:29.089 purposes Help me then to be true to your word 00:00:29.089 --> 00:00:32.780 and helpful to all that are here We do pray again 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:34.920 for the loss that they would be found of you 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:38.000 today, that those who are gathered in among us 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:41.939 as well as in other Bible -believing and truthful 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:45.679 -speaking churches would hear the gospel for 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:49.579 the first time and be saved. We ask that all 00:00:49.579 --> 00:00:52.200 that you might be glorified, that we would be 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:56.200 strengthened in our walk. We pray in Christ's 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:10.930 name. Amen. Well, I had quite a time. It took 00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:20.189 me all week to come to a subtle conclusion as 00:01:20.189 --> 00:01:22.450 to what the Lord would have me to preach this 00:01:22.450 --> 00:01:29.969 morning. And I had attempted other things, other 00:01:29.969 --> 00:01:36.280 passages, other topics. Had no real Conviction 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:38.739 that that's what a boy would have me to do but 00:01:38.739 --> 00:01:42.780 on Friday he finally I Shouldn't say that on 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:46.420 Friday. I finally realized What he would have 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:50.159 me to speak on and I've confirmed in that Because 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:54.400 of all that's already been said today from the 00:01:54.400 --> 00:02:05.030 opening It's it's what one common thread throughout 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:10.330 the service, so I'm going to bring a probably 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:25.069 brief word from Psalm 16 this morning and I'm 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:27.229 really going to shock everybody because I'm going 00:02:27.229 --> 00:02:30.569 to do it from the New American Standard Bible 00:02:34.569 --> 00:02:41.729 So it's one of these places where I really do 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:47.990 like this translation. So I'm doing it there. 00:02:48.969 --> 00:02:54.069 So we've got to set the background a little bit 00:02:54.069 --> 00:02:59.330 here. David's on the run. He's running from salt. 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.879 He's got no permanent residence, obviously. He's 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:10.240 got nothing. He's got a few of his mighty men 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:13.000 and his people with him, and they're going from 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.460 cave to cave and place to place, fleeing just 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:20.759 in the nick of time to escape Saul and his murderous 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:25.599 plots. That's what this psalm, when this psalm 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:30.020 is written, and it's what it's depicting. And 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:35.439 it's also... depicting David's cover. We looked 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:40.539 at cover last week, how it's impossible for us 00:03:40.539 --> 00:03:46.000 to cover ourselves. We can't do anything to cover 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:52.560 our sinful ugliness before God. But David, in 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.719 that Psalm, told us what a blessed thing it was 00:03:55.719 --> 00:04:00.740 that we have God's cover. God covers His people. 00:04:01.229 --> 00:04:04.330 What we could never do ourselves He has done 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:09.550 for us. So now we're proceeding on then in this 00:04:09.550 --> 00:04:16.069 Psalm to evaluate our lives under the cover of 00:04:16.069 --> 00:04:21.870 God. We're in the regeneration. We have the Spirit. 00:04:23.329 --> 00:04:26.850 And as we were called to stand fast throughout 00:04:26.850 --> 00:04:29.689 the service, as we were called to get in the 00:04:29.689 --> 00:04:34.069 battle. This is what David is facing here, and 00:04:34.069 --> 00:04:38.949 so he's giving us a good example of what it is 00:04:38.949 --> 00:04:44.290 and how it is that we can and must stand fast 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:50.170 in our faith. There is a cause. There is something 00:04:50.170 --> 00:04:55.110 to fight over. The souls of men, our own souls, 00:04:56.089 --> 00:05:01.629 the cause of truth. It's all worth every ounce 00:05:01.629 --> 00:05:06.509 of our energy that we pour into it. Men waste 00:05:06.509 --> 00:05:09.629 their lives fighting and battling over nothing. 00:05:11.509 --> 00:05:15.009 It's all foolishness. It's not worth the effort. 00:05:16.550 --> 00:05:20.209 That cannot be said in our walk with the Lord. 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:26.230 And in this Psalm then, and really in all the 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:33.350 Psalms, Some more than others and this is very 00:05:33.350 --> 00:05:38.970 very clear here in this song that there's three 00:05:38.970 --> 00:05:43.949 Participants in the song There's David this is 00:05:43.949 --> 00:05:47.790 a personal testimony of David This is a this 00:05:47.790 --> 00:05:51.370 is what he's testifying to in all of his troubles 00:05:51.370 --> 00:05:57.689 So he's he's one he's also giving us a picture 00:05:57.689 --> 00:06:01.839 of Jesus Christ in this song The life and death 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:05.339 and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:09.279 on display in this psalm. And so those two things 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:14.360 being true, it's also of necessity true for all 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:20.459 of us to be in this psalm. We're under the cover, 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:26.139 reunited with Christ. We're at one with David 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:33.339 in our service of our God. So you can get all 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:35.540 of those things out of this. We're obviously 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:39.000 going to look at how this psalm affects us primarily. 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:42.660 We're going to learn from David and from our 00:06:42.660 --> 00:06:52.100 Lord how to walk, how to stand. So we'll begin 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:56.779 to read that in the first verse. I won't be long 00:06:56.779 --> 00:07:02.939 on any one of these topics. Again, this is something 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:08.639 to consider, to think on. It's not something 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:13.500 that you can just hear once. I could stand here, 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:16.279 I couldn't today, but normally I could stand 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:19.600 here for quite a while, probably at least an 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:24.379 hour on this sound. The Puritans would take one 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:29.930 verse of this song to preach for an hour. That's 00:07:29.930 --> 00:07:32.750 how much is here. That's how much you can open 00:07:32.750 --> 00:07:37.730 it up. And you can do it for yourself. If you 00:07:37.730 --> 00:07:42.449 want to. If you have a mind to. It's not difficult. 00:07:43.850 --> 00:07:47.209 David begins, preserve me, O God, for I take 00:07:47.209 --> 00:07:52.470 refuge in thee. It's wonderful to be able to 00:07:52.470 --> 00:07:56.560 pray that prayer. I take refuge in thee, Lord. 00:07:56.660 --> 00:08:02.439 I'm depending upon you. Preserve me. He's not 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:05.160 claiming any merit. He's not claiming any ability. 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:09.800 David's only claiming his relationship to God. 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:13.800 And because he's in this right relationship to 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:20.399 God, he can pray, preserve me, with faith. That's 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.720 how we can all pray. We have to pray believing. 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:30.800 Do you have, the old timers used to say, what 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:35.179 is the warrant of your faith? Do we have a warrant? 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:39.840 Yes! We're covered in the righteousness of Christ. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.340 We have every warrant or every right to come 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:51.159 to Christ for His perseverance. That's what David's 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:55.980 doing here. All of his confidence, all of his 00:08:55.980 --> 00:09:00.139 trust is in the fact that he is in Christ, or 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:03.899 he is in God. He has taken refuge in God. Or 00:09:03.899 --> 00:09:06.419 we would say of ourselves, we have taken refuge 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:11.299 in Jesus Christ. I said to the Lord, thou art 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:18.590 my Lord. I have no good besides thee. Okay, so 00:09:18.590 --> 00:09:21.350 here it is. This is again how we have to come 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:23.610 to this understanding. This is what we have to 00:09:23.610 --> 00:09:27.970 believe. This is my Lord. That's what David says, 00:09:28.169 --> 00:09:31.129 right? I said to the Lord, thou art my Lord. 00:09:31.250 --> 00:09:36.450 He makes it personal. It's always personal. We're 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:39.669 going nowhere in this life if it's not personal. 00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:44.570 Do you pray to the Lord? You are my God. You 00:09:44.570 --> 00:09:50.509 are my all Jesus Christ. And then he goes on 00:09:50.509 --> 00:09:57.129 and he says, I have no good beside thee. Now 00:09:57.129 --> 00:10:01.230 again, are you willing to contemplate? Are you 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:03.750 willing to meditate? Are you willing to think 00:10:03.750 --> 00:10:09.730 on the essence of that statement? Nobody knows 00:10:09.730 --> 00:10:16.190 but you, whether that's true of you or not. Nobody. 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:20.740 Do you really believe that? Could you pray that? 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:29.899 I have no good besides thee. It's quite the statement. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:38.620 So he's declared his love and devotion and dependence 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:44.799 upon God in these first two verses. He has nothing 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:50.139 besides. It's all about you, God. I'm not the 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:52.980 center of my own life anymore. Nothing is at 00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:59.000 the center of my life but you. I'm casting everything 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:04.360 else aside to make every effort to have you as 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:10.580 the center of my existence. You know when I was 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:15.230 first converted when we were, you know... just 00:11:15.230 --> 00:11:17.629 beginning to learn all of the truths about God. 00:11:18.669 --> 00:11:23.509 There were two groups of folks. We encountered 00:11:23.509 --> 00:11:28.950 both of them in our travels. One, had no use 00:11:28.950 --> 00:11:36.210 for any doctrine. Just loved Jesus. Jesus as 00:11:36.210 --> 00:11:41.190 your Savior. But all the emphasis was on loving 00:11:41.190 --> 00:11:46.379 other people. You had to love your neighbor as 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:49.559 yourself. And every Sunday you'd get a sermon 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:55.659 on that. Everything revolved around a horizontal 00:11:55.659 --> 00:12:00.460 relationship with other people. Another group 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:04.200 was just the opposite. They didn't have any concern 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:09.440 for the dynamics of the relationship of the people 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.039 of God in the church. Their whole emphasis was 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:20.389 vertical. learning about God, loving God. Now, 00:12:21.309 --> 00:12:23.769 both of those things are absolutely essential, 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:29.629 but not to the exclusion of the other. You've 00:12:29.629 --> 00:12:32.309 got to have both. You've got to have both of 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:37.629 those goals in your Christian life. And David 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:40.450 demonstrates that in the third verse. And he 00:12:40.450 --> 00:12:43.789 says, as for the saints who are in the earth, 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.220 They are the majestic ones in whom is all my 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:55.480 delight David understood if he claims to love 00:12:55.480 --> 00:13:00.159 God he has got to love his neighbor These are 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.980 not Possible without the other you cannot love 00:13:03.980 --> 00:13:06.580 your neighbor without loving God and vice versa. 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:10.980 It's all there is to it If you're not willing 00:13:11.149 --> 00:13:13.769 If you're not willing to declare that you are 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:16.610 the least of the saints, then your thinking has 00:13:16.610 --> 00:13:21.169 got to be changed. It's got to be amended. If 00:13:21.169 --> 00:13:24.649 you can't consider everyone else before yourself, 00:13:26.190 --> 00:13:31.309 that's what he's telling us here. That's our 00:13:31.309 --> 00:13:36.529 attitude. Again, that's huge. And nobody can 00:13:36.529 --> 00:13:39.970 see it but you. You can give hints to it. by 00:13:39.970 --> 00:13:43.269 the way that you act but you can we can all put 00:13:43.269 --> 00:13:47.730 on a good show we can all pretend but what's 00:13:47.730 --> 00:13:52.690 in your heart what's in your mind are you really 00:13:52.690 --> 00:13:56.809 ready to die for one another are you really ready 00:13:56.809 --> 00:13:59.830 to sacrifice whatever you have for the good of 00:13:59.830 --> 00:14:02.809 the other are you willing to empty your pockets 00:14:02.809 --> 00:14:08.159 if needed be for the good of your neighbors That's 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:10.820 what he says. He says they're the majestic ones. 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:14.500 So we've got here in these first three verses 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:17.980 what every Christian should be. I mean, I could 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:21.860 quit right now, really. I've given you enough 00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:26.299 to think of for days already in these three verses. 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:34.360 But I'm not. I want to go on. And here in verse 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:40.919 four now, is a negative. The sorrows of those 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:44.480 who have bartered for another God will be multiplied. 00:14:45.259 --> 00:14:48.480 I shall not pour out their libations of blood, 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:55.919 nor shall I take their names upon my lips. In 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:58.080 other words, that's describing those who have 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:04.960 embraced false gods, false religions, sinful... 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.960 practices of worship. The whole ball of wax. 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:15.659 So we have to be aware that there are those people 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:18.259 out there. They're still there just as they were 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:21.259 in David's day. They're still preaching a false 00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:24.899 gospel. They're still worshiping false gods. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:30.139 They're not telling the truth. Their practices, 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:35.000 their worship practices are unacceptable. Now, 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.100 we have to love those folks. We have to give 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:39.340 them the gospel. I'm not saying anything else 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:43.659 but that. But we can't embrace them. We can't 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:47.080 include them. They're welcome to come and they're 00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:49.000 welcome to learn, but they're not welcome to 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:53.580 teach. They're not welcome to promote any false 00:15:53.580 --> 00:16:04.240 religions. personal responsibility in our personal 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:08.000 lives. You need to know who your friends are. 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:10.580 You need to know what they believe. You need 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:13.480 to know if they're Christians or not. You need 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:18.100 to know these things so you can accurately witness, 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:22.039 but so you can accurately protect your family 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:27.960 from any ungodly influences. It's part of the 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.700 battle. It's part of the standing. Oh, but these 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:34.220 people are so nice, and the overwhelming majority 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:39.940 of them are. They're so friendly. It doesn't 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:43.860 matter. They're not helpful. They're not honoring 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:49.019 God. They're not good for us. So then it goes 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:52.360 on in verse 5. The Lord is the portion of my 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:57.720 inheritance and my cup. Thou dost support my 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:01.379 lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant 00:17:01.379 --> 00:17:06.759 places. Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me." 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:09.160 Now, you remember, this is David on the run. 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.559 He doesn't have a house. He doesn't have a home. 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:19.400 Well, what's he saying? He's declaring, the Lord 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:23.779 is the portion of my inheritance, my cup of my 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:29.000 standing, my lot. The lines have fallen in pleasant 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:36.039 places. Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:40.220 Now this is really depicting like the dividing 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:43.099 up of the land and all the tribes and the families 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:47.539 of the tribes got their portions and they had 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:49.920 their boundaries set up and so on and so forth 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.740 and everything was fixed supposedly. And they 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:57.789 were to enjoy the promised land. whether how 00:17:57.789 --> 00:18:01.569 much enjoyment they actually had, we wonder at. 00:18:01.990 --> 00:18:05.190 Some of them probably had quite a bit. But David 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:10.289 is saying that that's not important to me. That's 00:18:10.289 --> 00:18:15.930 not my inheritance. The Lord is my inheritance 00:18:15.930 --> 00:18:20.730 and my heritage. He says the lines, the boundaries 00:18:20.730 --> 00:18:28.869 of my heritage is falling to me in pleasant places 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:39.450 you are the you you are my support so again how 00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:49.890 are we going to apply that well i don't i don't 00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:53.970 know how much trouble you're going to have i 00:18:53.970 --> 00:18:57.450 don't know how much Heartache is gonna come your 00:18:57.450 --> 00:19:03.869 way God knows and he's preparing us all for what 00:19:03.869 --> 00:19:09.430 he has for us But David was in the middle of 00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:13.069 a lot of problems a Lot of problems that he would 00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:15.509 never have had had God not selected him to be 00:19:15.509 --> 00:19:26.329 the next king But anyway Try to imagine yourself 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:30.569 with nothing Try to imagine yourself without 00:19:30.569 --> 00:19:36.670 a nice comfortable house Try to imagine yourself 00:19:36.670 --> 00:19:40.670 with no no supporting family members nothing 00:19:40.670 --> 00:19:47.529 no no good church Are you going to say that your 00:19:47.529 --> 00:19:51.609 lines have fallen to you in pleasant places David 00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:59.200 David did. That's how serious David was about 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.140 his God. That's how much he actually experienced 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:09.380 God. He knew the truth of God, and he experienced 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:13.420 the truth of God. And he really meant it when 00:20:13.420 --> 00:20:17.359 he says, I have nothing besides you. But I have 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:24.829 you. And that is what I want most of all. He 00:20:24.829 --> 00:20:27.329 says, I will bless the Lord who has counseled 00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:31.410 me. Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. 00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:37.150 Boy, that is a mouthful. Who can say that? Can 00:20:37.150 --> 00:20:42.809 any of us say that? I bless the Lord who has 00:20:42.809 --> 00:20:47.390 counseled me. Probably we can all say that. We've 00:20:47.390 --> 00:20:50.069 all received counsel from the Lord, haven't we? 00:20:51.470 --> 00:20:55.930 I hope so. It should be a common thing, really. 00:20:57.589 --> 00:21:00.190 If you're really attuned to the Lord and in His 00:21:00.190 --> 00:21:04.650 Word, it's not hard to find counsel. You don't 00:21:04.650 --> 00:21:06.470 have to go searching for it. All you got to do 00:21:06.470 --> 00:21:10.390 is ask. All you got to do is pray about it. Pray 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:13.950 over the Word. Put your confidence in the Spirit 00:21:13.950 --> 00:21:18.329 to be working in you through the Word. But how 00:21:18.329 --> 00:21:23.000 about that other statement there? Huh? How many 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:27.700 of us can say that? Indeed, my mind instructs 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:36.619 me in the night. Can we all say that? And that's 00:21:36.619 --> 00:21:41.579 one of the reasons I really like this translation, 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:46.960 because it doesn't change it. It's talking about 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:50.019 the mind. It's talking about how we're thinking. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:56.000 Do we have enough of the Word of God in our minds 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.940 to be able to be instructed by our minds? It's 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:06.319 dark. It's night. He can't read anything. It's 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:11.380 not like you flip on a light switch. You gotta 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:18.119 know it here. And he's saying that his mind has 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:23.069 been his counselor. Obviously not his... unconverted 00:22:23.069 --> 00:22:26.890 mind or his untrained mind or his unlearned mind 00:22:26.890 --> 00:22:31.630 but he had enough of God in his word in his heart 00:22:31.630 --> 00:22:36.930 or his mind that he could be counseled by it 00:22:36.930 --> 00:22:42.750 you know you don't need a Bible verse you don't 00:22:42.750 --> 00:22:46.730 need a Bible reference I should say in order 00:22:46.730 --> 00:22:50.250 to be counseled by the Word. You just have to 00:22:50.250 --> 00:22:54.109 know what the Word says. I know countless things 00:22:54.109 --> 00:22:57.609 that I can't give a reference for. It's my shame. 00:22:57.809 --> 00:23:00.569 I probably should be able to do a better job 00:23:00.569 --> 00:23:08.930 of that by now. But what I'm saying is it's not 00:23:08.930 --> 00:23:13.809 Bible trivia that we're after. It's a thorough 00:23:13.809 --> 00:23:20.410 understanding. of the truth of the word. And 00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:24.410 I hate that game, by the way. And I've always 00:23:24.410 --> 00:23:27.569 steadfastly refused to play it. And I don't even 00:23:27.569 --> 00:23:29.710 like to mention it. And I don't know why it just 00:23:29.710 --> 00:23:33.109 came out of my mouth. But it did. So I don't 00:23:33.109 --> 00:23:37.130 recommend Bible trivia to anybody. The word itself 00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:41.529 is almost blasphemy. How can anything in the 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:46.420 Bible be trivial? Okay, well, let's get back 00:23:46.420 --> 00:23:53.480 on the subject here. So, in verse 8, I have set 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:57.519 the Lord continually before me. Because He is 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:01.240 at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Okay, 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:03.779 how are you going to stand? How are you going 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:07.079 to face the foe? How are you going to face all 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:11.279 of the powers of evil, the devil himself? How 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:16.490 can you make this statement? Or can you? David 00:24:16.490 --> 00:24:24.650 could. He says, you're at my right hand. The 00:24:24.650 --> 00:24:29.750 Lord has set... I have set the Lord continually 00:24:29.750 --> 00:24:35.910 before me. Do we do that? Do you invite the Lord 00:24:35.910 --> 00:24:41.829 to be with you continually? Do you have a... 00:24:42.719 --> 00:24:47.599 knowledge and experience of him being with you 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:54.359 right there with you and David says because of 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:57.619 these things are true I I will not be shaken 00:24:57.619 --> 00:25:02.480 I will stand it's nothing to do with David's 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.720 strength or his mighty men that were with him 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.599 or anything at all apart from God that's what 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:13.250 David's telling us it's all of God And that's 00:25:13.250 --> 00:25:16.630 what the armor is. It all points to God, right? 00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:21.170 Yeah. It all points to what God has done and 00:25:21.170 --> 00:25:24.190 is continuing to do. And this is what David is 00:25:24.190 --> 00:25:29.369 declaring to us now. Do you want to stand? Do 00:25:29.369 --> 00:25:32.869 you just want to flow with the river, wherever 00:25:32.869 --> 00:25:38.160 it goes? Or do you want to stand? You've got 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:40.299 to acknowledge the Lord. You've got to be with 00:25:40.299 --> 00:25:42.359 Him. You've got to know He's right there with 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:46.380 you. Somebody said living in the presence of 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:51.140 God, that's what we need more of. More conscious 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:55.059 knowing of. We are all living in the presence 00:25:55.059 --> 00:25:58.960 of God, but how does it affect us? We're living 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:02.880 in the presence of God. It should make all the 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:07.670 difference. in the way we act and what we do 00:26:07.670 --> 00:26:11.130 and how we think, how we love our neighbors, 00:26:11.230 --> 00:26:14.829 how we love God, if we're living in the presence 00:26:14.829 --> 00:26:20.789 of God. And then he says in verse 9, therefore 00:26:20.789 --> 00:26:25.990 my heart is glad and my glory rejoices, my flesh 00:26:25.990 --> 00:26:31.569 also will dwell securely. So the whole man is 00:26:31.569 --> 00:26:36.130 what he's referring to here. Because he is. conscious 00:26:36.130 --> 00:26:40.190 of the presence of God in his life. His whole 00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:46.289 being is rejoicing. He's glad. His heart is light. 00:26:47.470 --> 00:26:54.009 It's rejoicing. It's happy days. And my flesh, 00:26:54.210 --> 00:26:58.170 the flesh, not only the spirit, the mind, the 00:26:58.170 --> 00:27:07.599 whole man himself will dwell securely. Again, 00:27:08.019 --> 00:27:11.740 think about it. Take it home with you. Do you 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:16.220 want security? Do you want a light heart? Do 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:20.259 you want to be rejoicing? Live in the presence 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:28.180 of God. Acknowledge Him in all your ways. That's 00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:34.019 what David is saying. Then in verse 10, now David 00:27:34.019 --> 00:27:38.309 was saying this in the physical... a place that 00:27:38.309 --> 00:27:42.970 he found himself in. And I don't know how much 00:27:42.970 --> 00:27:45.890 he knew about the prophecy that he was going 00:27:45.890 --> 00:27:49.450 about to write, but this is a prophecy of the 00:27:49.450 --> 00:27:52.490 Lord Jesus. And we know it is because Paul and 00:27:52.490 --> 00:27:55.789 Peter both quote this verse in regards to the 00:27:55.789 --> 00:28:01.930 Lord Jesus. We know it is. So it says, for thou 00:28:01.930 --> 00:28:05.450 wilt not abandon my soul to the grave or shield. 00:28:06.309 --> 00:28:09.930 Neither wilt thou allow thy holy one to undergo 00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:15.730 decay or to see corruption." So again, that's 00:28:15.730 --> 00:28:18.369 a prophecy of the Lord Jesus. That's why we say 00:28:18.369 --> 00:28:21.089 David, or one of the reasons why we can say David 00:28:21.089 --> 00:28:24.950 was a prophet. Now, did he understand that or 00:28:24.950 --> 00:28:28.650 was... We don't know that. Peter later on says 00:28:28.650 --> 00:28:32.569 that the prophets wrote... as they were led by 00:28:32.569 --> 00:28:34.849 the Spirit without having a full understanding 00:28:34.849 --> 00:28:37.829 of what they were writing, as they wrote it for 00:28:37.829 --> 00:28:43.049 us. So that's very possible that that's what 00:28:43.049 --> 00:28:47.309 happened with David here. But if we understand 00:28:47.309 --> 00:28:50.910 it spiritually, it's true of us. This is it's 00:28:50.910 --> 00:28:55.470 true of our Lord Jesus, and it's true of David. 00:28:56.549 --> 00:29:01.279 Those are true statements for us. for each of 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:05.200 us. Why? Because Christ did go through it. Christ 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:09.279 did come before us. Christ has been the forerunner. 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:13.359 Christ is ascended into glory. All of those things 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:15.640 are true of us because they're true of Christ. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:18.599 Everything that is Christ is ours, remember? 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:23.980 So again, this should be great comfort to us. 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:28.039 And it never was for me until maybe the last 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:32.380 10 years. when I became more and more aware of 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:36.539 my growing weaknesses and frailties and the age 00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:39.880 that I was approaching. Because we're all going 00:29:39.880 --> 00:29:42.940 to face it. We're all going to go through death. 00:29:43.579 --> 00:29:47.119 We're all going to have to battle that last enemy. 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:51.380 We're going to be victorious. But you're going 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:53.680 to have to battle just like you did the rest 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:58.819 of our lives to maintain your testimony, to maintain 00:29:58.819 --> 00:30:03.759 your faith. to give glory to God in your death. 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:07.019 In the face of death, what will be coming out 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:17.980 of our mouths? At least that verse is true. For 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:25.680 that reason, we live in hope. And then finally, 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:28.700 thou wilt make known to me the path of life. 00:30:29.549 --> 00:30:33.990 You see the confidence in there? David is so 00:30:33.990 --> 00:30:37.569 confident in God. All of his confidence is in 00:30:37.569 --> 00:30:42.250 God. He's not begging God to make the path of 00:30:42.250 --> 00:30:45.289 life known. He's confident God's going to do 00:30:45.289 --> 00:30:51.369 it. He's going to know. It's a truth. Thou wilt 00:30:51.369 --> 00:30:54.930 make known to me the path of life in thy presence 00:30:54.930 --> 00:31:00.259 is fullness of joy. Joy unspeakable and full 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:05.119 of glory. You know the reality? David didn't 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:12.180 know nearly what we know. You know that? None 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:14.960 of the Old Testament saints know what we know. 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:20.420 But they talk of all these glorious things, all 00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:25.079 this happiness, all this joy. We ought to be 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:28.920 really Wondering how can I not be so these be 00:31:28.920 --> 00:31:32.980 more happy? How can I not be more rejoicing? 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:44.440 We should be We we know the path of life And 00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:46.900 we're confident that God is going to keep us 00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:51.440 on that path. That's what David is saying He 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:54.460 knows he's going to bring me I know he's going 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:59.400 to bring me to himself. There's no doubt. I don't 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:06.480 doubt that a bit. At thy right hand there are 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:13.960 pleasures forever. If you don't enjoy God now, 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:19.660 how are you going to enjoy him in heaven? In 00:32:19.660 --> 00:32:23.559 heaven it's all about God. you're going to lose 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:27.039 all the rest of your cares and concerns all of 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:29.079 the battles with everything you're going to set 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:31.799 all that stuff aside and your whole attention 00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:37.180 is going to be upon God. Pure service of God. 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:42.460 You'll have no other obligations. Is that going 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:49.539 to be fullness of joy for us? Can we spend a 00:32:49.539 --> 00:32:54.690 half an hour contemplating God? A half an hour 00:32:54.690 --> 00:32:59.769 a day contemplating God? Can we do that? Well, 00:32:59.769 --> 00:33:04.690 we can, but will we do that, I should say? Is 00:33:04.690 --> 00:33:08.849 God so interesting to us that we can look for 00:33:08.849 --> 00:33:13.470 good books to read about God? Theology books? 00:33:14.809 --> 00:33:18.619 I don't mean books that are hard to read. We're 00:33:18.619 --> 00:33:21.900 not professors or theologians, but there's all 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:24.500 kinds of good books, all about God, all about 00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:27.920 Christ, all about systematic theology, all about 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:32.720 biblical theology, readable books. What are we 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:39.019 pursuing? What are we spending our time on? There 00:33:39.019 --> 00:33:40.799 are certain books that every Christian should 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.559 read. We always talk about Pilgrim's Progress, 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:49.099 yeah, that's one. The Forgotten Spurgeon. That's 00:33:49.099 --> 00:33:52.119 another one. You know Spurgeon's got these big 00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:54.779 books and thick and Forgotten Spurgeon is just 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:59.619 a little paperback. But that will inflame you 00:33:59.619 --> 00:34:03.880 and inspire you and encourage you in your walk. 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:07.619 You want some burning in your chest? Read that 00:34:07.619 --> 00:34:15.340 book. Moiter's John Bunyan biography is another 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:18.619 one. It's just a paper bag, a little paper bag. 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:27.460 I don't even know why I started yet, but I'm 00:34:27.460 --> 00:34:30.380 stopping now, but that's not all. There's a lot 00:34:30.380 --> 00:34:34.460 of other ones. But there's no shortage, is what 00:34:34.460 --> 00:34:37.880 I was trying to point out. The only shortage 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:41.780 is us. What are we interested in? What are we 00:34:41.780 --> 00:34:45.139 pursuing? How are we studying? How are we learning? 00:34:46.699 --> 00:34:52.260 You've all been to school, right? Nobody's had 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:55.780 no education here. You all know what it takes 00:34:55.780 --> 00:35:01.179 to pass a course in school. Do you think of your 00:35:01.179 --> 00:35:05.099 learning of God and Christ in that way? Is it 00:35:05.099 --> 00:35:08.059 just as important to you to pass that course? 00:35:09.099 --> 00:35:11.659 To grow in your faith and knowledge of the Lord. 00:35:11.699 --> 00:35:13.679 That's what we're called to do. That's what the 00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:20.860 Bible says. joy, happiness, peace, abundance 00:35:20.860 --> 00:35:27.500 of life. And it's forevermore, forever. All of 00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:34.440 those good things have no end. Hope in God. Serve 00:35:34.440 --> 00:35:39.559 Him. Love one another. Amen.