1 00:00:00,970 --> 00:00:03,710 Meditation this evening, I'm asking you to turn, 2 00:00:04,230 --> 00:00:06,890 please, to the Book of the Psalms. 3 00:00:07,630 --> 00:00:09,670 I'd like to talk a little bit about 4 00:00:09,670 --> 00:00:13,690 Psalm 3, the third psalm. 5 00:00:15,239 --> 00:00:17,340 I'm going to read the title of this 6 00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:21,040 psalm, and as I've chosen this, I'm not 7 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,620 unmindful of the fact that I have spoken 8 00:00:24,620 --> 00:00:26,880 on this psalm in other places in this 9 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:32,240 city, but I, in keeping with the subject 10 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,840 which has been assigned to us for today, 11 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,500 the subject of salvation, I would like to 12 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:41,740 take the last verse of this psalm as 13 00:00:41,740 --> 00:00:42,540 my text. 14 00:00:43,780 --> 00:00:46,500 But let me read the whole psalm, including 15 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:47,100 the title. 16 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,780 The psalm of David when he fled from 17 00:00:52,780 --> 00:00:59,720 Absalom his son, Lord, how are they increased 18 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:01,040 that trouble me? 19 00:01:02,220 --> 00:01:05,020 Many are they that rise up against me. 20 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,700 Many there be which save my soul. 21 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,720 There's no help for him in God, but 22 00:01:15,220 --> 00:01:18,320 thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, 23 00:01:19,660 --> 00:01:21,680 my glory and the lifter up of my 24 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:22,160 head. 25 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,440 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, 26 00:01:26,580 --> 00:01:28,060 and he heard me out of his holy 27 00:01:28,060 --> 00:01:28,420 hill. 28 00:01:31,550 --> 00:01:33,230 I laid me down and slept. 29 00:01:34,870 --> 00:01:38,130 I awaked, for the Lord sustained me. 30 00:01:39,370 --> 00:01:42,230 I will not be afraid of ten thousands 31 00:01:42,230 --> 00:01:45,050 of people that have set themselves against me. 32 00:01:47,850 --> 00:01:51,170 Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, 33 00:01:52,090 --> 00:01:54,670 for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon 34 00:01:54,670 --> 00:01:55,530 the cheek bone. 35 00:01:56,950 --> 00:01:59,810 Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 36 00:02:01,750 --> 00:02:05,430 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. 37 00:02:06,630 --> 00:02:08,690 Thy blessing is upon thy people. 38 00:02:09,970 --> 00:02:10,570 Selah. 39 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,620 Those of you who were present this morning 40 00:02:15,620 --> 00:02:19,780 to hear Dr. Crichton will recall that he 41 00:02:19,780 --> 00:02:21,660 spoke on the three tenses. 42 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,060 There is a sense in which we believers 43 00:02:27,060 --> 00:02:30,520 in the Lord Jesus Christ can say we 44 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,180 are saved, saved by grace. 45 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:36,400 There is a sense in which we shall 46 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:38,820 yet be saved according to the eighth chapter 47 00:02:38,820 --> 00:02:39,600 of Romans. 48 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:43,040 We are saved in hope of that glorious 49 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,400 day when our bodies as well as our 50 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,640 spirit and soul will feel the effect of 51 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:53,940 the wonderful work of our Father on Calvary's 52 00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:54,100 cross. 53 00:02:55,790 --> 00:02:59,730 But in between these two there's another tense 54 00:02:59,730 --> 00:03:02,050 of salvation and that's the present tense. 55 00:03:04,060 --> 00:03:05,240 It is of this that I want to 56 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,940 speak a little bit tonight because I think 57 00:03:08,940 --> 00:03:11,080 it's a very necessary word. 58 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,740 One of the first things you become aware 59 00:03:14,740 --> 00:03:18,500 of after you declare yourself on the side 60 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:22,300 of the Lord Jesus, you suddenly discover that 61 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:25,260 you're living in a very hostile world. 62 00:03:26,540 --> 00:03:28,400 And this has been true of the children 63 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,060 of God from the very beginning, way back 64 00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:35,220 to the days of Cain and Abel, and 65 00:03:35,220 --> 00:03:36,420 all along the line. 66 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,340 You find that God's children have had to 67 00:03:41,340 --> 00:03:43,200 live in a hostile scene. 68 00:03:45,140 --> 00:03:47,100 And yet it is this very thing that 69 00:03:47,100 --> 00:03:49,720 the Lord Jesus said would happen. 70 00:03:49,980 --> 00:03:51,440 He said, In the world ye shall have 71 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,420 tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have 72 00:03:55,420 --> 00:03:56,460 overcome the world. 73 00:03:58,730 --> 00:03:59,930 But we have two enemies. 74 00:04:00,150 --> 00:04:02,550 We have one from within, that's ourselves. 75 00:04:04,550 --> 00:04:05,970 And this is a great struggle. 76 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,460 This is something that gets some people down 77 00:04:12,460 --> 00:04:17,100 so low that they wonder whether they're going 78 00:04:17,100 --> 00:04:17,200 to be saved. 79 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,160 And it's all because they don't finish reading 80 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,040 the chapter and read on into the next 81 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,180 chapter in Romans. 82 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,480 Because at the very close of Romans 7, 83 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,740 the Apostle Paul asks the question, Who shall 84 00:04:28,740 --> 00:04:30,620 deliver me from the body of this death? 85 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,400 I thank God, through Jesus Christ. 86 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:35,380 There is deliverance. 87 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:38,260 So I'm not going to speak about that 88 00:04:38,260 --> 00:04:41,640 side today, because that will probably be emphasized 89 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,080 more tomorrow, when we talk about sanctification. 90 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,200 But this evening, to talk about that present 91 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:55,340 tense of salvation, that deliverance from things that 92 00:04:55,340 --> 00:04:56,540 are hostile to us. 93 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,040 And according to the title of this psalm, 94 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,180 you'll notice that this comes pretty close to 95 00:05:03,180 --> 00:05:03,480 home. 96 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,580 Every time I read this title, I heave 97 00:05:08,580 --> 00:05:11,800 a sigh of relief that I never had 98 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:13,100 an experience like this. 99 00:05:14,990 --> 00:05:17,010 I have only one son living. 100 00:05:17,210 --> 00:05:17,970 One is in heaven. 101 00:05:20,500 --> 00:05:24,260 But I'm thankful to say that the son 102 00:05:24,260 --> 00:05:26,140 whom God has given me never treated me 103 00:05:29,820 --> 00:05:29,920 like this. 104 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,120 When he drove his father from his home 105 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,140 and from his throne and from his family, 106 00:05:34,820 --> 00:05:39,880 and actually defiled his father, one can't think 107 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,900 of a more despicable, heartbreaking thing than that. 108 00:05:45,260 --> 00:05:48,440 You wonder sometimes how anybody could get anything 109 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,340 out of an experience like that, except by 110 00:05:51,340 --> 00:05:52,400 passing through it. 111 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:54,680 You say, what good does that do me? 112 00:05:55,580 --> 00:05:58,060 We read stories like this, and we say, 113 00:05:58,120 --> 00:05:59,080 well, this is terrible. 114 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:03,450 But it is out of an experience just 115 00:06:03,450 --> 00:06:06,690 like that, that the psalmist got this beautiful 116 00:06:06,690 --> 00:06:07,730 third psalm. 117 00:06:09,310 --> 00:06:12,210 And I wonder sometimes if Jonah had this 118 00:06:12,210 --> 00:06:15,050 psalm in mind, because he used the very 119 00:06:15,050 --> 00:06:17,170 same words at the close of his prayer, 120 00:06:17,350 --> 00:06:19,950 down in the whale's belly, that you have 121 00:06:19,950 --> 00:06:22,050 at the close of this one, when he 122 00:06:22,050 --> 00:06:23,630 said, salvation is of the low. 123 00:06:24,970 --> 00:06:27,170 But you'll notice that immediately you get into 124 00:06:27,170 --> 00:06:30,410 the psalm itself, and you find that the 125 00:06:30,410 --> 00:06:32,610 psalmist not only has one enemy, but he 126 00:06:32,610 --> 00:06:33,370 has a lot of them. 127 00:06:34,470 --> 00:06:37,830 He says, Lord, how have they increased that 128 00:06:37,830 --> 00:06:38,450 trouble me? 129 00:06:39,730 --> 00:06:43,090 Many there be which rise up against me. 130 00:06:43,110 --> 00:06:44,130 Many there be. 131 00:06:44,330 --> 00:06:46,490 Notice the emphasis on the numbers here. 132 00:06:48,540 --> 00:06:50,140 This is overwhelming, isn't it? 133 00:06:50,940 --> 00:06:53,140 When you remember that we Christians are really 134 00:06:53,140 --> 00:06:53,920 in the minority. 135 00:06:54,780 --> 00:06:59,300 You study comparative religions and study missions, and 136 00:06:59,300 --> 00:07:01,240 you discover that we Christians are in the 137 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:01,700 minority. 138 00:07:02,740 --> 00:07:06,940 We're hopelessly outnumbered by non-Christian faiths, as 139 00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:08,620 well as those who have no faith whatever. 140 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,160 Hopelessly outnumbered. 141 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:13,760 If we're ever going to win because of 142 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:15,140 numbers, we're lost now. 143 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:17,440 We've lost the battle. 144 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,180 So that when we think of these hosts 145 00:07:21,180 --> 00:07:24,260 of enemies against us, we say to ourselves, 146 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:25,480 what's the use? 147 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:27,120 What's the use? 148 00:07:28,340 --> 00:07:30,360 But we're going to see, dear friends, that 149 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,060 in spite of this fact, that we're facing 150 00:07:34,060 --> 00:07:37,440 a hostile foe, and he's there in numbers 151 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,280 far outnumbering our own. 152 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:42,440 Nevertheless, we're assured a victory. 153 00:07:44,020 --> 00:07:46,380 I remember as a student, in my student 154 00:07:46,380 --> 00:07:49,860 days, I was witnessing to a fellow student, 155 00:07:49,980 --> 00:07:52,460 who by the way was the son of 156 00:07:52,460 --> 00:07:54,700 a missionary but he didn't share his father's 157 00:07:54,700 --> 00:07:55,020 faith. 158 00:07:57,180 --> 00:07:58,740 In fact, he said to me one day, 159 00:07:58,940 --> 00:08:01,900 he said, don't you know that you've come 160 00:08:01,900 --> 00:08:03,160 up here on this hill? 161 00:08:06,430 --> 00:08:08,190 Don't you know that you've come up here 162 00:08:08,190 --> 00:08:09,330 for a liberal education? 163 00:08:09,490 --> 00:08:09,910 I said, yes. 164 00:08:12,650 --> 00:08:14,070 Well, he said, how much longer are you 165 00:08:14,070 --> 00:08:15,310 going to fool around with this? 166 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,640 He says, come on, climb on the bandwagon. 167 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:22,300 Get with the crowd. 168 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,600 I said, Bob, you know the story of 169 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:28,460 the crucifixion? 170 00:08:28,860 --> 00:08:30,580 Oh, of course, he said, every Christian knows 171 00:08:30,580 --> 00:08:30,860 that. 172 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:33,860 Well, I said, since you know it so 173 00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:36,240 well, you'll be ready to answer the next 174 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:36,740 question. 175 00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:41,539 Tell me, who was right at Calvary? 176 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,300 The majority or the minority? 177 00:08:48,560 --> 00:08:50,360 Who was it that set away with him 178 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:51,420 away with him crucifixion? 179 00:08:53,260 --> 00:08:54,340 It was the majority. 180 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,620 And I said, Bob, I traveled with that 181 00:08:58,620 --> 00:09:00,900 crowd long enough, even though I was saved 182 00:09:00,900 --> 00:09:03,820 as a teenager, I traveled long enough with 183 00:09:03,820 --> 00:09:04,440 that crowd. 184 00:09:06,370 --> 00:09:08,570 I may not be with the majority today. 185 00:09:12,770 --> 00:09:14,190 He had no answer for that. 186 00:09:15,810 --> 00:09:17,670 But you know, it's not only the numbers 187 00:09:17,670 --> 00:09:20,430 that the enemy would threaten us with, it's 188 00:09:20,430 --> 00:09:21,490 what he says. 189 00:09:22,010 --> 00:09:24,050 Do you ever notice this discouraging language? 190 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:28,210 It says here, verse two, many there be 191 00:09:28,210 --> 00:09:32,970 which say of mine, there's no help for 192 00:09:32,970 --> 00:09:33,770 him in God. 193 00:09:35,190 --> 00:09:37,430 Much as they say even God can't help 194 00:09:37,430 --> 00:09:37,730 him. 195 00:09:39,310 --> 00:09:42,970 You know, this kind of discouraging, pessimistic language, 196 00:09:43,750 --> 00:09:45,670 when I read some of these modern day 197 00:09:45,670 --> 00:09:53,320 novels, such as the works of John, perhaps 198 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,120 some of you know his book called No 199 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:01,300 Exit, or some of Camus' works, and every 200 00:10:01,300 --> 00:10:03,520 last one of them impresses me with the 201 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,460 hopelessness of their situation. 202 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:08,960 They have no hope to offer. 203 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:11,740 As a matter of fact, John Paul Sartre's 204 00:10:11,740 --> 00:10:14,760 book No Exit would almost drive one to 205 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,740 suicide if he didn't have any real hope. 206 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,060 And here they give expression to this in 207 00:10:21,060 --> 00:10:22,320 saying it about you and me. 208 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,840 And you know the mischief of it is 209 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:32,080 sometimes, as one of the great politicians, I 210 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,700 wouldn't call him a great man, I'm referring 211 00:10:34,700 --> 00:10:37,960 to Adolf Hitler, peace be to his ashes, 212 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,680 who said you repeat a lie often enough 213 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:44,780 and people will believe it, and the enemy 214 00:10:44,780 --> 00:10:47,440 repeats this lie to us, there's no help 215 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:53,060 for him, there's no help for him in 216 00:10:53,060 --> 00:10:53,460 God. 217 00:10:54,420 --> 00:10:56,080 But you know at this point in the 218 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:58,240 psalm we have that little word selah again, 219 00:10:58,820 --> 00:11:03,430 which we said the other day, stands for 220 00:11:03,430 --> 00:11:05,330 give your time to think this thing over 221 00:11:05,330 --> 00:11:06,670 that you've just heard. 222 00:11:07,670 --> 00:11:10,170 And then comes a tremendous change. 223 00:11:10,970 --> 00:11:13,970 How I like the contrast in that third 224 00:11:13,970 --> 00:11:14,850 verse, but. 225 00:11:16,330 --> 00:11:19,790 Oh, these conjunctions of contrast, how wonderful they 226 00:11:19,790 --> 00:11:20,010 are. 227 00:11:20,990 --> 00:11:23,630 But thou, you bring God into the picture. 228 00:11:24,710 --> 00:11:26,910 And three things are said here about God 229 00:11:26,910 --> 00:11:28,630 which I want to pass on to you 230 00:11:28,630 --> 00:11:30,970 tonight, and the first of these is, but 231 00:11:30,970 --> 00:11:33,790 thou, O Lord, art a shield for me. 232 00:11:34,690 --> 00:11:36,830 I want you to notice, friends, it's not 233 00:11:36,830 --> 00:11:38,370 only that he gives me a shield. 234 00:11:39,350 --> 00:11:41,310 For many years in reading that verse in 235 00:11:41,310 --> 00:11:44,010 Ephesians 6, where it says above all taking 236 00:11:44,010 --> 00:11:47,210 the shield of faith, I thought that that 237 00:11:47,210 --> 00:11:48,850 shield was made of my faith. 238 00:11:50,370 --> 00:11:52,210 And one day when I needed the shield 239 00:11:52,210 --> 00:11:54,210 very badly I thought I'd use that. 240 00:11:55,410 --> 00:11:58,170 But I discovered to my disappointment that my 241 00:11:58,170 --> 00:11:59,930 faith was more like a sieve than a 242 00:11:59,930 --> 00:12:01,710 shield, full of holes. 243 00:12:03,690 --> 00:12:05,470 So I looked at this verse again. 244 00:12:06,850 --> 00:12:08,770 Maybe I haven't read it correctly. 245 00:12:08,970 --> 00:12:10,310 Yes, I'd read it correctly. 246 00:12:11,370 --> 00:12:13,650 I consulted my Greek testament to see whether 247 00:12:13,650 --> 00:12:14,950 there was any difference there. 248 00:12:16,270 --> 00:12:21,350 And I discovered very easily, quite suddenly, that 249 00:12:21,350 --> 00:12:23,230 this was in the genitive case, as we 250 00:12:23,230 --> 00:12:27,780 say in English, and that I could translate 251 00:12:27,780 --> 00:12:33,080 this, above all taking faith's shield. 252 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:35,020 Not too easy to say, especially if you 253 00:12:35,020 --> 00:12:36,720 have a little lisp in your tongue, you 254 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:36,900 know. 255 00:12:37,940 --> 00:12:39,540 But this is the force of it. 256 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:42,720 It's not a shield made of faith, but 257 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,000 it's the shield that faith takes. 258 00:12:45,980 --> 00:12:47,300 It's faith's shield. 259 00:12:48,220 --> 00:12:50,380 And way back in the fifteenth chapter of 260 00:12:50,380 --> 00:12:52,360 the book of Genesis we have God saying 261 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,100 this to Abram, Fear not, Abram, I am 262 00:12:55,100 --> 00:12:58,960 thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 263 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:01,860 Somebody said, but how can you use the 264 00:13:01,860 --> 00:13:03,020 Lord as a shield? 265 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:06,760 Well, I had a good illustration of that 266 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,360 some years ago up in western Montana. 267 00:13:11,740 --> 00:13:14,340 A dear brother up there, who was faithfully 268 00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:17,320 ministering the Word, was invited to a rather 269 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:18,460 small town. 270 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,140 He got there on a Saturday afternoon and 271 00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:24,380 went to the hotel where he was told 272 00:13:24,380 --> 00:13:25,820 there were accommodations for him. 273 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,660 And they told him his room number, and 274 00:13:29,660 --> 00:13:31,620 he went up to it and discovered as 275 00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:33,300 he looked around that there were no towels 276 00:13:33,300 --> 00:13:34,020 in the bathroom. 277 00:13:35,380 --> 00:13:37,640 So he lifted the receiver of the telephone 278 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,040 and called the office, called the desk to 279 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,500 say, there are no towels in my bathroom, 280 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,960 I'd like to take a bath, and would 281 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:48,000 you please attend to this? 282 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,440 And the clerk apologized and said, well, I'm 283 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,920 sorry, sir, we'll have a maid there in 284 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:54,140 a few minutes with the towels. 285 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,660 And sure enough, in a few minutes the 286 00:13:56,660 --> 00:13:58,500 maid came in with a towel draped over 287 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:01,080 her arms, but instead of leaving the towels 288 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,900 in the bathroom, she sat down on a 289 00:14:02,900 --> 00:14:05,740 chair and proceeded to engage the guest in 290 00:14:05,740 --> 00:14:06,560 a conversation. 291 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:09,260 And it was very evident to him by 292 00:14:09,260 --> 00:14:11,340 the turn the conversation was taking, which was 293 00:14:11,340 --> 00:14:14,460 rather one-sided, that she was there for 294 00:14:14,460 --> 00:14:15,360 no good purpose. 295 00:14:16,740 --> 00:14:19,260 And when he sensed what she was after, 296 00:14:19,900 --> 00:14:23,040 and I'll let you guess for yourselves, he 297 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,900 didn't know just what to do, whether to 298 00:14:25,900 --> 00:14:29,660 call the desk again and say, I ask 299 00:14:29,660 --> 00:14:31,540 you to remove this woman from my room. 300 00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:34,720 But in quick thinking he thought, if I 301 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,920 do that, she'll probably accuse me of making 302 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:37,560 the advances. 303 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,280 So he reached down in his briefcase and 304 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:43,340 he pulled out his Bible. 305 00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:45,560 He says, you know, I'd like to tell 306 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:47,860 you what the Lord Jesus Christ means to 307 00:14:47,860 --> 00:14:48,220 me. 308 00:14:48,700 --> 00:14:50,840 His towels in the bathroom in thirty seconds. 309 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:54,660 What had he done? 310 00:14:55,620 --> 00:14:58,100 He had used the Lord as his shield. 311 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:01,760 Just as simple as that. 312 00:15:02,300 --> 00:15:04,460 He didn't even have to begin to talk. 313 00:15:05,260 --> 00:15:06,780 Just to show this book. 314 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:09,960 And dear friends, that in itself sometimes is 315 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:11,800 so powerful and so wonderful. 316 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,060 I had this experience not a few weeks 317 00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:18,840 ago over in Switzerland, returning from a visit 318 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:19,720 to the Middle East. 319 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:22,300 We all had to be frisked at the 320 00:15:22,300 --> 00:15:24,060 airport in Zurich in Switzerland. 321 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:27,600 I'd gone through this experience on my way 322 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:27,940 out. 323 00:15:28,460 --> 00:15:30,380 So I was quite prepared for these men. 324 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,200 I had to hand over my baggage and 325 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:34,640 I opened my coat before I actually got 326 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:35,940 in the room where the man was going 327 00:15:35,940 --> 00:15:36,700 to look me over. 328 00:15:37,780 --> 00:15:40,360 And he looked at me for a moment. 329 00:15:40,500 --> 00:15:42,300 He says, I think I can believe you. 330 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:44,220 You can go. 331 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:45,580 So I started out. 332 00:15:46,140 --> 00:15:48,080 But outside was a man going through my 333 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:48,580 baggage. 334 00:15:49,340 --> 00:15:51,460 He didn't know it was my bag until 335 00:15:51,460 --> 00:15:52,240 he looked at me. 336 00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:54,240 He had my Bible in his hand. 337 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:55,620 He stuck it in there and put the... 338 00:15:58,790 --> 00:16:00,610 I wasn't frisked after that. 339 00:16:01,950 --> 00:16:03,810 The word of God is a wonderful shield. 340 00:16:05,430 --> 00:16:10,770 When I first got my first automobile, it 341 00:16:10,770 --> 00:16:14,310 was an open car, four door. 342 00:16:15,770 --> 00:16:18,210 I conceived the idea of having a gospel 343 00:16:18,210 --> 00:16:20,310 text painted on each one of those four 344 00:16:20,310 --> 00:16:20,750 doors. 345 00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:24,070 Door number one had all of sin that 346 00:16:24,070 --> 00:16:25,530 controlled the glory of God. 347 00:16:26,270 --> 00:16:28,210 Door number two had the blood of Jesus 348 00:16:28,210 --> 00:16:30,190 Christ, God's Son cleansed from all sin. 349 00:16:30,310 --> 00:16:31,490 I had two more on the other side. 350 00:16:32,710 --> 00:16:34,910 Insurance man called me up in town. 351 00:16:35,030 --> 00:16:36,250 He said, say, I hear you've bought a 352 00:16:36,250 --> 00:16:36,790 new car. 353 00:16:36,970 --> 00:16:37,990 I said, yes, I have. 354 00:16:38,710 --> 00:16:40,130 He says, how about getting insured? 355 00:16:41,130 --> 00:16:43,410 I said, well, I'll bring the car down. 356 00:16:43,490 --> 00:16:45,890 If you think I need any insurance, I'll 357 00:16:45,890 --> 00:16:46,630 buy it. 358 00:16:47,150 --> 00:16:48,530 He came out and took one of them. 359 00:16:51,580 --> 00:16:53,260 I could leave the key in that car. 360 00:16:53,700 --> 00:16:54,440 Nobody took it. 361 00:17:10,589 --> 00:17:11,530 But you know, there's more. 362 00:17:14,849 --> 00:17:16,730 He's the lifter up of my head. 363 00:17:17,410 --> 00:17:19,849 I don't have to go down as one 364 00:17:19,849 --> 00:17:23,150 who's ashamed of his faith or to have 365 00:17:23,150 --> 00:17:26,230 the look of defeatism, but with a head 366 00:17:26,230 --> 00:17:30,550 up, not in pride, but looking forward as 367 00:17:30,550 --> 00:17:33,630 one who's unafraid of the world, thou art 368 00:17:33,630 --> 00:17:37,810 the lifter up of my head, and my 369 00:17:37,810 --> 00:17:40,310 glory, the one in whom I boast. 370 00:17:41,070 --> 00:17:43,310 You notice, dear friends, that all of these 371 00:17:43,310 --> 00:17:45,370 things here constitute a real defense? 372 00:17:46,510 --> 00:17:48,750 The Word of God, the Lord himself, he's 373 00:17:48,750 --> 00:17:50,450 our glory, the one in whom we boast, 374 00:17:50,990 --> 00:17:52,510 he's the lifter up of our head. 375 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,000 Yes, somebody says, now that's very wonderful, but 376 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:58,640 how does it work out in practice? 377 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,880 Well, in the next two verses, verses 4 378 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,660 and 5 and 6, you'll notice that the 379 00:18:09,660 --> 00:18:12,680 psalmist goes on to tell us something about 380 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:13,520 his experience. 381 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:16,980 And the very first thing he talks about 382 00:18:16,980 --> 00:18:19,260 is a thing that you and I should 383 00:18:19,260 --> 00:18:21,100 have been able to talk about very soon 384 00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:22,260 after we were saved. 385 00:18:23,140 --> 00:18:26,440 Notice what it says in verse 3, verse 386 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:31,260 4 rather, I cried unto the Lord with 387 00:18:31,260 --> 00:18:33,400 my voice, and he heard me. 388 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,120 You know, reduced to its simplest terms, it's 389 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,660 just this, I prayed and he answered. 390 00:18:41,260 --> 00:18:44,940 You ever consider what a wonderful apologetic, what 391 00:18:44,940 --> 00:18:47,620 a wonderful defense answered prayer is? 392 00:18:48,780 --> 00:18:51,400 You know, people can argue themselves blue in 393 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,600 the face, but when you point out how 394 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,880 time after time God has answered prayer, and 395 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,060 down the years now you multiply this as 396 00:19:02,060 --> 00:19:06,200 I can for more than sixty-five, sixty 397 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,980 -six years knowing my Lord and Savior, what 398 00:19:09,980 --> 00:19:12,140 a wonderful record of answered prayer. 399 00:19:13,140 --> 00:19:15,540 But very early in my Christian experience, I 400 00:19:15,540 --> 00:19:18,300 had occasion to go to a doctor who 401 00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:20,640 was also an ordained Baptist minister. 402 00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:25,280 I needed his help for my body, and 403 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:26,520 the day I went to see him, the 404 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:28,020 office was quite full of people. 405 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,300 In those days, the doctor did his own 406 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:34,920 reception work, and when he saw me in 407 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,400 there, he knew me well and knew that 408 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:38,260 I was at the end of the line. 409 00:19:39,020 --> 00:19:42,280 He disappeared into his office again, and presently 410 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,080 he came out with a loose-leaf book. 411 00:19:45,950 --> 00:19:47,990 He said, maybe you'd like to look over 412 00:19:47,990 --> 00:19:51,090 my prayer book while you're waiting. 413 00:19:51,950 --> 00:19:52,730 Prayer book? 414 00:19:54,250 --> 00:19:56,850 My parents were Lutherans, they had a prayer 415 00:19:56,850 --> 00:19:57,150 book. 416 00:19:58,790 --> 00:20:01,990 I still have the prayer book of the 417 00:20:01,990 --> 00:20:04,430 Episcopal Church, which we call the Church of 418 00:20:04,430 --> 00:20:08,790 England, yes, and I read it frequently. 419 00:20:10,510 --> 00:20:12,810 But I never knew of the Baptist having 420 00:20:12,810 --> 00:20:13,530 a prayer book. 421 00:20:14,030 --> 00:20:17,650 This was a new one on me, and 422 00:20:17,650 --> 00:20:19,050 when I saw that it was a loose 423 00:20:19,050 --> 00:20:20,790 -leaf book, I wondered even more. 424 00:20:21,530 --> 00:20:22,770 It was the kind of a book that 425 00:20:22,770 --> 00:20:24,490 you could buy in those days for two 426 00:20:24,490 --> 00:20:25,970 bits, I mean fifty cents. 427 00:20:27,890 --> 00:20:29,750 It was just a small, cheap book. 428 00:20:30,990 --> 00:20:32,750 But as I looked through this book, it 429 00:20:32,750 --> 00:20:34,150 was the most wonderful book. 430 00:20:34,870 --> 00:20:37,350 It was absolutely unique. 431 00:20:39,740 --> 00:20:41,440 At the top of the page, the doctor 432 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,680 had written a prayer that he had prayed, 433 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:45,140 and the date when he prayed it. 434 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:47,920 And then he put down the dates when 435 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,260 he repeated this prayer. 436 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,460 And page after page, page after page, at 437 00:20:54,460 --> 00:20:56,820 the bottom of the page he wrote, answered 438 00:20:56,820 --> 00:20:58,420 such and such a day. 439 00:21:00,150 --> 00:21:01,510 Dozens of pages. 440 00:21:02,490 --> 00:21:04,410 I said, when I got my chance to 441 00:21:04,410 --> 00:21:05,570 go in to see the doctor, I said, 442 00:21:05,630 --> 00:21:07,370 well, Dr. Brown, this is a very interesting 443 00:21:07,370 --> 00:21:07,850 book. 444 00:21:08,650 --> 00:21:13,260 I said, where'd you get the idea for 445 00:21:13,260 --> 00:21:13,560 this? 446 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:15,980 You know, I was brought up in a 447 00:21:15,980 --> 00:21:17,480 school where you had to have scripture for 448 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:18,760 everything like that, you know. 449 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:20,700 Where'd you get this? 450 00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:22,660 Well, he said, the Bible tells me to 451 00:21:22,660 --> 00:21:24,740 continue in prayer, and this is evidence I'm 452 00:21:24,740 --> 00:21:25,380 doing it. 453 00:21:26,100 --> 00:21:28,340 And watch in the same with Thanksgiving, and 454 00:21:28,340 --> 00:21:29,780 that's evidence I'm doing that. 455 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:32,640 So he had two good scriptures for his 456 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:33,140 prayer book. 457 00:21:34,180 --> 00:21:35,680 Well, I said, I don't suppose you have 458 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,220 much use for this except for your own 459 00:21:37,220 --> 00:21:38,280 personal enjoyment? 460 00:21:39,020 --> 00:21:40,760 Oh, he said, every once in a while. 461 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:42,720 He said, I get a skeptic and an 462 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,820 agnostic or even an atheist come in the 463 00:21:44,820 --> 00:21:45,440 office here. 464 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:47,660 And he said, I like to keep them 465 00:21:47,660 --> 00:21:48,920 waiting and say to them, would you like 466 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:50,520 to look over this prayer book while you 467 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:50,760 wait? 468 00:21:52,980 --> 00:21:55,020 This is a tremendous apologetic. 469 00:21:56,460 --> 00:21:58,660 And you know, dear friends, they can talk 470 00:21:58,660 --> 00:22:00,040 to you about all the mistakes in the 471 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:01,500 Bible and all that sort of thing. 472 00:22:02,460 --> 00:22:03,540 Don't argue with them. 473 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:06,460 Just tell them what God did for you. 474 00:22:08,650 --> 00:22:10,830 But you say, brother, God doesn't always answer 475 00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:12,290 my prayers in the affirmative. 476 00:22:12,510 --> 00:22:13,090 That's true. 477 00:22:13,350 --> 00:22:14,690 I know something about that. 478 00:22:15,950 --> 00:22:17,850 You know, you don't live more than four 479 00:22:17,850 --> 00:22:20,790 score years without discovering that God has more 480 00:22:20,790 --> 00:22:21,850 than one answer to prayer. 481 00:22:22,290 --> 00:22:24,470 Sometimes he says yes, sometimes he says no. 482 00:22:24,630 --> 00:22:26,290 Then again, he says, wait, you've heard that 483 00:22:26,290 --> 00:22:26,650 before. 484 00:22:29,090 --> 00:22:30,930 I've had so many answers to prayer, but 485 00:22:30,930 --> 00:22:32,650 I've also had times when the Lord said 486 00:22:32,650 --> 00:22:32,950 no. 487 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:38,200 What then? 488 00:22:38,740 --> 00:22:40,760 Ah, the next verse answers that question. 489 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:43,120 Look at this, verse five. 490 00:22:44,220 --> 00:22:46,520 I laid me down and slept, and I 491 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:47,500 waked for what? 492 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,000 The Lord. 493 00:22:51,330 --> 00:22:53,370 And you know, dear friends, sometimes this is 494 00:22:53,370 --> 00:22:57,050 even a better testimony than to say the 495 00:22:57,050 --> 00:22:58,430 Lord heard my prayers. 496 00:22:59,470 --> 00:23:01,190 If he didn't answer your prayer, but he 497 00:23:01,190 --> 00:23:02,610 gave you sustaining grace. 498 00:23:02,710 --> 00:23:03,390 Wasn't that wonderful? 499 00:23:05,690 --> 00:23:07,690 That's exactly what he did for the Apostle 500 00:23:07,690 --> 00:23:08,070 Paul. 501 00:23:09,450 --> 00:23:11,510 He gave Paul a thorn in the flesh. 502 00:23:13,170 --> 00:23:16,190 And Paul sought him thrice, three times over. 503 00:23:16,290 --> 00:23:17,590 He asked him to take it away, but 504 00:23:17,590 --> 00:23:18,770 he didn't. 505 00:23:18,970 --> 00:23:20,950 But he said, my grace is sufficient for 506 00:23:20,950 --> 00:23:26,420 thee in the providence of God. 507 00:23:28,580 --> 00:23:31,800 I had a most wonderful lady as my 508 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,700 life companion for forty-seven and a half 509 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:37,200 years. 510 00:23:37,220 --> 00:23:42,640 For twenty-three of those years, she was 511 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:43,080 an invalid. 512 00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:51,960 We often prayed about that, but the Lord 513 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,120 didn't, wasn't pleased to remove the sickness. 514 00:23:55,540 --> 00:23:58,520 The doctors said after they diagnosed that she 515 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,280 would be dead in two years, but she 516 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:02,220 lived twenty-three. 517 00:24:03,780 --> 00:24:06,780 And when I said to the doctor, how 518 00:24:06,780 --> 00:24:07,340 come? 519 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:09,620 Did you miss your guess? 520 00:24:09,700 --> 00:24:12,060 No, he said she just had the will 521 00:24:12,060 --> 00:24:12,740 to live. 522 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,520 And I remembered how one time when they 523 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,380 had given her up, and she opened her 524 00:24:21,380 --> 00:24:23,580 eyes again and was coming back to life. 525 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,300 And she said in her scotch, I'm no 526 00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:29,180 dead yet. 527 00:24:34,020 --> 00:24:36,300 But God had given sustaining grace. 528 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,720 And all through those twenty-three years, wonderful. 529 00:24:40,940 --> 00:24:43,860 You know, I wouldn't change him for anything 530 00:24:43,860 --> 00:24:44,460 in the world. 531 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:47,820 Beloved, don't ask the Lord to take away 532 00:24:47,820 --> 00:24:49,800 something that he's using for your blessing. 533 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,580 It may be the very best thing that 534 00:24:52,580 --> 00:24:53,260 ever could happen. 535 00:24:57,850 --> 00:24:59,150 The Lord sustained me. 536 00:25:00,270 --> 00:25:03,350 And then you notice in verse six, he 537 00:25:03,350 --> 00:25:04,190 has courage. 538 00:25:05,430 --> 00:25:07,650 He says, I'll not be afraid of ten 539 00:25:07,650 --> 00:25:10,450 thousands of people that have set themselves against 540 00:25:10,450 --> 00:25:11,210 me round about. 541 00:25:11,490 --> 00:25:12,950 You see, this is the fruit of that 542 00:25:12,950 --> 00:25:13,630 experience. 543 00:25:14,710 --> 00:25:16,110 A man gets to the point where he's 544 00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:16,690 unafraid. 545 00:25:18,710 --> 00:25:21,790 You know, sometimes people wonder at you when 546 00:25:21,790 --> 00:25:22,530 you're unafraid. 547 00:25:23,830 --> 00:25:25,370 I remember as a young man down in 548 00:25:25,370 --> 00:25:29,630 Honduras as a missionary, my companion and I 549 00:25:29,630 --> 00:25:33,730 were stoned by a whole mob up in 550 00:25:33,730 --> 00:25:35,490 Colinas de Santa Barbara. 551 00:25:39,820 --> 00:25:43,520 Thirty years later, it was my privilege to 552 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:44,680 visit the field again. 553 00:25:46,060 --> 00:25:48,920 I visited my hometown in Santa Rosula. 554 00:25:50,540 --> 00:25:52,480 And in my audience that night was a 555 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,480 man whose eyes fairly bored through me. 556 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:58,380 I like eye contact when I'm preaching. 557 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:01,840 But I could hardly take it from this 558 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:02,140 man. 559 00:26:02,900 --> 00:26:04,760 I tried to hide behind a bouquet that 560 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:06,720 was on the table before me, but I 561 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:07,600 couldn't get away from him. 562 00:26:08,860 --> 00:26:10,720 And after the meeting, he came up, he 563 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,280 said, did you at one time visit a 564 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,180 place called Colinas de Santa Barbara? 565 00:26:17,820 --> 00:26:20,120 About 30 years ago, I said, yes, sir. 566 00:26:21,180 --> 00:26:23,420 All in Spanish, of course, this conversation. 567 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:27,960 He said, you remember being stoned in Colinas 568 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:28,740 de Santa Barbara? 569 00:26:28,980 --> 00:26:30,580 I said, oh, I could never forget it. 570 00:26:33,060 --> 00:26:34,940 We heard them crying for our blood. 571 00:26:37,790 --> 00:26:39,570 He says, I was one of those that 572 00:26:39,570 --> 00:26:40,330 stoned you. 573 00:26:42,540 --> 00:26:47,000 And his face didn't register anything else. 574 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:48,900 I thought maybe he'd come to finish the 575 00:26:48,900 --> 00:26:49,300 job. 576 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:56,740 Instead of that, he said to me, you 577 00:26:56,740 --> 00:26:59,920 know, after that, I went to a little 578 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:02,040 place called Santa Cruz de Yohua. 579 00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:04,960 And I heard you preach again. 580 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,280 And he says, I can tell you the 581 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:09,600 text that you preached on. 582 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,480 And I was beginning to search my memory 583 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,160 to see what that text might be. 584 00:27:15,460 --> 00:27:17,420 But he said it was the fourth chapter 585 00:27:17,420 --> 00:27:17,920 of Romans. 586 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:19,920 And I immediately remembered it was. 587 00:27:20,740 --> 00:27:22,800 He said that night the Lord spoke to 588 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:22,920 me. 589 00:27:22,980 --> 00:27:24,820 I've been waiting 30 years to tell you. 590 00:27:26,810 --> 00:27:30,710 Friends, how well repaid one was for such 591 00:27:30,710 --> 00:27:31,890 an experience as that. 592 00:27:33,010 --> 00:27:35,490 May I just address myself particularly to my 593 00:27:35,490 --> 00:27:37,330 younger friends here this evening. 594 00:27:39,070 --> 00:27:40,950 Are you wondering what's in it for you 595 00:27:40,950 --> 00:27:43,390 on the mission field in the service of 596 00:27:43,390 --> 00:27:44,290 our Lord and Savior? 597 00:27:46,450 --> 00:27:48,550 This little incident I've told you can be 598 00:27:48,550 --> 00:27:50,050 multiplied by hundreds. 599 00:27:52,150 --> 00:27:53,290 If you're willing to give your life to 600 00:27:53,290 --> 00:27:55,490 him, he'll do it. 601 00:27:56,170 --> 00:27:58,030 And you'll have the courage of faith. 602 00:27:58,870 --> 00:28:00,570 And I said to this man after he 603 00:28:00,570 --> 00:28:03,350 told me all this, I said, Don Federico, 604 00:28:04,190 --> 00:28:06,510 what was it that impressed you, if anything 605 00:28:06,510 --> 00:28:09,650 did, when you were stoning us? 606 00:28:10,870 --> 00:28:12,690 He said the thing that impressed me was 607 00:28:12,690 --> 00:28:17,090 that you were absolutely without fear, unafraid. 608 00:28:18,590 --> 00:28:21,970 And thank God for every evidence of courage 609 00:28:21,970 --> 00:28:24,670 as one faces his foes. 610 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,220 But you might think that the close of 611 00:28:28,220 --> 00:28:30,760 this psalm contradicts all we've said so far, 612 00:28:32,380 --> 00:28:36,530 because you notice in verse 7, verse 7 613 00:28:36,530 --> 00:28:40,530 he gives us, Arrive, O Lord, and save 614 00:28:40,530 --> 00:28:40,830 me. 615 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:45,360 What kind of salvation is he talking about 616 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:45,640 now? 617 00:28:45,700 --> 00:28:47,780 He's not talking about salvation of his soul. 618 00:28:49,020 --> 00:28:51,360 That's salvation in the past tense, you see. 619 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:56,800 He's talking about salvation now, from these very 620 00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:58,040 things that are threatening him. 621 00:28:58,060 --> 00:28:59,360 O Lord, save me. 622 00:29:00,420 --> 00:29:03,820 O my God, for thou hast, notice the 623 00:29:03,820 --> 00:29:05,160 tense of the verb here. 624 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,520 We'll not go into the question about tense 625 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:09,960 in the Hebrew language. 626 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,900 It's somewhat different from our way of making 627 00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:14,500 the tense. 628 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:16,320 But we're going to leave it just the 629 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,360 way it is here in this Authorized Version. 630 00:29:19,740 --> 00:29:22,040 Just as you've often heard, it was good 631 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:23,460 enough for David and good enough for the 632 00:29:23,460 --> 00:29:25,340 Apostle Paul and good enough for me. 633 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,320 And it is, too. 634 00:29:28,620 --> 00:29:30,200 Thou hast smitten. 635 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:31,340 I like that. 636 00:29:32,820 --> 00:29:35,600 I know some versions translate this, Thou wilt 637 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:36,080 smite. 638 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,580 But I like to leave it just the 639 00:29:38,580 --> 00:29:39,260 way it is here. 640 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,040 Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the 641 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:43,560 cheekbone. 642 00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:46,920 Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 643 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:48,900 What's the psalmist doing here? 644 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:51,100 He's anticipating the victory. 645 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,940 Because you can see he had these enemies 646 00:29:55,940 --> 00:29:56,900 all around him. 647 00:29:58,020 --> 00:29:59,820 As St. Peter puts it in his epistles, 648 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,820 Your adversary the devil walketh about as a 649 00:30:02,820 --> 00:30:05,220 roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 650 00:30:06,460 --> 00:30:08,320 And how the enemy likes to frighten us 651 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:10,300 with his speech and roaring, doesn't he? 652 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:15,100 And here's one who can say, Lord, thou 653 00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:17,620 hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 654 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:20,900 Thou hast already robbed him of the power 655 00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:22,100 to do anything to me. 656 00:30:23,500 --> 00:30:27,380 This recalls an incident out in California some 657 00:30:27,380 --> 00:30:28,040 years ago. 658 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:32,160 I was visiting a zoo, which they had 659 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,000 at that time outside the city of Los 660 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:34,380 Angeles. 661 00:30:34,580 --> 00:30:36,320 It's since been discontinued. 662 00:30:37,300 --> 00:30:39,000 But I like to go to a zoo 663 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,780 and feel the safety of it, you know. 664 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,920 You see the animals behind the iron bars 665 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:47,800 or otherwise with a moat between you and 666 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,180 them so they can't get at you. 667 00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:50,860 You feel quite safe. 668 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,380 It's wonderful, not only to look at these 669 00:30:53,380 --> 00:30:56,540 big elephants, but lions and tigers. 670 00:30:57,540 --> 00:30:58,780 I feel perfectly safe. 671 00:31:02,140 --> 00:31:03,940 But I stood before the cage of a 672 00:31:03,940 --> 00:31:09,170 wildcat, and I was pondering this wildcat, wondering 673 00:31:09,170 --> 00:31:10,750 what in the world the Lord ever made 674 00:31:10,750 --> 00:31:11,730 wildcats for. 675 00:31:11,930 --> 00:31:13,750 He must have had a good reason, but 676 00:31:13,750 --> 00:31:16,070 he hasn't told me yet what it is. 677 00:31:17,730 --> 00:31:20,030 But anyhow, while I was standing there wondering 678 00:31:20,030 --> 00:31:23,670 what good a wildcat could be, a man 679 00:31:23,670 --> 00:31:25,830 stepped into the cage from the back. 680 00:31:26,110 --> 00:31:27,550 He opened the door, and he had nothing 681 00:31:27,550 --> 00:31:28,770 in his hand but a broom. 682 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:32,900 He closed the door behind him and started 683 00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:34,300 sweeping the cage out. 684 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,120 The wildcat was asleep in a corner of 685 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:38,660 the cage. 686 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:41,900 And I was watching this thing. 687 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,480 The shivers were going down my back. 688 00:31:53,340 --> 00:31:54,500 I guess where that cat is. 689 00:32:00,890 --> 00:32:02,130 When he got over where the cat was, 690 00:32:09,780 --> 00:32:10,980 he went down and laid somewhere else. 691 00:32:19,990 --> 00:32:21,630 Well, I said, then that cat must be 692 00:32:21,630 --> 00:32:21,790 tame. 693 00:32:24,990 --> 00:32:26,790 Well, I said, if you're not brave and 694 00:32:26,790 --> 00:32:27,850 he's not tame. 695 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:34,520 He said, he's old. 696 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:35,720 He ain't got no teeth. 697 00:33:03,340 --> 00:33:05,340 Now is the judgment of this world. 698 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:09,480 Now is the Christ. 699 00:33:11,730 --> 00:33:16,430 Now is the Prince of Beloved. 700 00:33:17,410 --> 00:33:19,850 Our enemy may be strong, but he is 701 00:33:19,850 --> 00:33:20,190 defeated. 702 00:33:21,830 --> 00:33:22,890 And I want you to go out of 703 00:33:22,890 --> 00:33:24,850 here tonight, God helping you with a note 704 00:33:24,850 --> 00:33:28,710 of victory in your heart, and be able 705 00:33:28,710 --> 00:33:30,230 to say in the language of the last 706 00:33:30,230 --> 00:33:32,150 verse, which is my text for this evening, 707 00:33:33,050 --> 00:33:35,150 Salvation is of the Lord. 708 00:33:36,290 --> 00:33:38,250 Yes, do I need help in my Christian 709 00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:38,590 life? 710 00:33:38,690 --> 00:33:40,850 Do I need help against the foes that 711 00:33:40,850 --> 00:33:42,050 rise up against me? 712 00:33:42,590 --> 00:33:44,590 Thank God I have it all in Him. 713 00:33:45,550 --> 00:33:46,790 I have it all in Him. 714 00:33:47,810 --> 00:33:49,310 And there is no need for any one 715 00:33:49,310 --> 00:33:50,830 of us to live a defeated life. 716 00:33:51,350 --> 00:33:54,950 Every one of us can live victoriously because 717 00:33:54,950 --> 00:33:57,610 we're on the winning side. 718 00:33:59,070 --> 00:34:01,910 Will you please turn to hymn number 407?