The Discipline and Instruction of the Lord

Please take your Bibles and open them up to Psalm chapter 30.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

Psalm chapter 30 this morning, if you don't have a copy of God's Word that you brought with you,

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

! feel free to use one in the seat back nearby. There should be one close by to you. But our aim every time I come up here or Treg comes up here or anybody stands up here is to open up God's Word and see what's there and then to explain it and apply it with his help.

And so if you would, turn to Psalm chapter 30. We're concluding our series in the Psalms that we've been in the Psalms for the past several weeks over the summer.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

And we're concluding it here with chapter 30. And it's fitting that we end here with this theme of David praising and worshiping and giving thanks to the Lord for what he's done.

So if you would, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word once you've found that in your Bible. Psalm chapter 30. Let's stand together.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

Listen along as I read. Psalm chapter 30 is a psalm of David, a song at the dedication of the temple.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

Psalm chapter 30.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

Psalm chapter 30.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me. O Lord, be my helper.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we praise you for this word. And we have much to thank you for, Father.

And we have much to praise you for.

And so we pray now that as we open up here to Psalm chapter 30 and hear this psalm of thanksgiving together,

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

we pray that our hearts would be filled with thankfulness and move to praise you as you deserve.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

If you ever want to be encouraged, spend some time reading some of the conversion stories of some of the great saints of Christian history.

As I read through Psalm 30 this week, I was reminded of Charles Spurgeon's conversion and the story, his testimony of God saving grace in his life.

And I want to read it to you. It's a little bit long, so be forewarned.

But I want you to hear it from his own words.

This is his account of how he came to know the Lord.

He writes,

I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God and sending a snowstorm one Sunday morning while I was going to a certain place of worship.

I turned down a side street and came to a little primitive Methodist church.

In that chapel, there may have been a dozen, maybe 15 people.

And I had heard of those primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache.

But that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved.

He said the minister did not come that morning. He was snowed up, I suppose.

And at the very last minute, a thin-looking man, a shoemaker, a tailor, something of the sort, went up into the pulpit to preach.

And he goes on to describe how this man probably wasn't too bright.

He wasn't educated, wasn't that smart.

And so he says he was obliged to stick to his text for the simple reason that he had very little else to say.

The text was this.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 45, verse 22.

Isaiah 45:22

He says he did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter.

There was, I thought, a glimmer of hope for me in that text.

So the preacher began thus.

This is a very simple text indeed.

It says, look.

Now, look and don't take a great deal of pain.

It ain't lifting your foot or your finger.

It is just look.

Well, a man needn't go to college to learn to look.

You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look.

A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to look.

Anyone can look.

Even a child can look.

But then the text says, look unto me.

I, he said in broad Essex, many on ye are looking to yourselves, but it's no use looking there.

You'll never find any comfort in yourselves.

Jesus Christ said, look unto me.

Look unto me, he said.

I am sweating great drops of blood.

Look unto me.

I am hanging on a cross.

Look unto me.

I am dead and buried.

Look unto me.

I rise again.

Look unto me.

I ascend to heaven.

Look unto me.

I am sitting at the Father's right hand.

Oh, poor sinner, look unto me.

Look unto me.

Look unto me.

As Spurgeon says, when the man had managed to spin out about ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether.

And then he looked at me under the gallery.

And I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger.

And just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew my heart, he said, young man, you look very miserable.

Imagine that.

Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before.

However, it was a good blow struck right at home.

He continued, and you will always be miserable, miserable in life and miserable in death if you don't obey my text.

But if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.

And lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a primitive Methodist could do.

Young man, look to Jesus Christ.

Look.

Look.

Look to Jesus.

You have nothing to do but look and live.

Spurgeon says, I saw at once the way of salvation.

I know not what else he said.

I did not take much notice of it.

I was so possessed with that one thought.

I had come in waiting to do 50 things.

But when I heard that word, look, what a charming word it seemed to me.

Oh, I looked until I could have almost looked my eyes away.

There and then, the cloud was gone.

The darkness had rolled away.

And that moment, I saw the sun.

And I could have risen that instant and sung with the most enthusiastic of them,

of the precious blood of Christ and a simple faith which looks alone to him.

Oh, that somebody had told me this before.

Trust Christ and you shall be saved.

Don't you love to hear testimonies like that?

This is a testimony.

It's a story of somebody who has been rescued by a gracious God.

He's been plucked up out of the pit.

Our psalm this morning, Psalm chapter 30, is a testimony a little bit like this.

Psalms 30 · chapter mention

No, this isn't David's conversion story.

But it's a testimony nonetheless.

It's a story of the Lord rescuing David from some deep distress.

And here we see, just as with Spurgeon, the response of somebody who has experienced the saving grace of God.

What is it?

It's praise, worship, thankfulness, exaltation.

So we see it here in our passage.

Let's take a look.

And we'll see it in three parts this morning.

This will be our outline if you're taking notes this morning.

First, we see we are called to praise a God who delivers.

We are called to praise God who delivers.

Look there with me to verse 1.

David says in verse 1,

David gives three reasons here why he will praise the Lord.

First, he praises him because the Lord drew him up.

He protected him from his enemies.

He did not let his enemies rejoice over him.

That's one.

He praises him, second, because the Lord heard his prayer.

David cried out for help.

And the Lord healed him.

That's two.

And he praises him, third, because the Lord brought up his soul from Sheol.

That's the grave.

So whatever this distress was, we've seen time and time again as we've gone through the Psalms this summer.

It seems like David was again near to death.

But here the Lord intervened, rescued him, and restored him to life.

The Lord has acted in David's life in such a way as to bring this physical deliverance to David.

And it may be that you have experienced a similar type of deliverance before.

In fact, I know that many of you have shared with me stories, times, where the Lord has delivered you from some physical threat.

Maybe it's a diagnosis that had you scared and worried, but the Lord intervened and healed.

Maybe you had no clue how you were going to make ends meet for the month,

and yet somehow, sovereignly, there's this mysterious, in his own timing, in his own way,

he provides exactly what you need at the right moment.

Or maybe you have enemies like David had, trying to tear you down.

Co-workers, neighbors, friends, family members.

It looks like they are going to succeed, but at the last moment, their plans fall apart.

The Lord delivered from these physical threats.

But we know, don't we, of course, as wonderful as physical deliverance is,

that is a fraction of the greatness of the spiritual deliverance that God has brought us in Christ.

This salvation, this deliverance that David is experiencing here,

it finds its ultimate fulfillment, its true fulfillment,

in what God has done for all his people in Christ.

If you are in Christ by faith, what's happened to you is that you have been delivered,

you have been converted spiritually,

in a way that far surpasses any physical healing, monetary provision, relational restoration,

any sort of physical deliverance that we might desire.

The testimony of a Christian is what we read in Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

We were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked, Paul says.

Following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work and the sons of disobedience,

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved,

and raised us up with him,

and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches

of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

Church, the gospel is the good news that our God,

in sending forth his Son to live for us,

and to die for us,

and to rise for us,

to say to us,

look unto me and be saved.

God has raised us up with him above our enemies.

They will not rejoice over us.

He has heard our prayers for mercy.

He has healed us spiritually.

He has resurrected us spiritually.

He has rescued us from the pit of death.

He's restored us to life in Christ.

That's the testimony of a Christian.

I wonder if you can see yourself here in David's experience of deliverance.

David has been delivered,

and this personal, individual deliverance,

it leads to personal, individual praise, exaltation.

He praises the Lord who delivered him.

I wonder, does your heart praise God this morning

for the gospel of Christ?

Does your heart want to extol the Lord for what he's done for you

in sending Christ for you?

Do you have a testimony of his deliverance?

David does.

But it doesn't stop at the individual level, does it?

Look there to verse 4.

David's personal experience spills over into corporate praise.

Look there to verse 4.

David turns his attention now to the community of God's people.

He doesn't just keep this experience to himself, does he?

He instructs them, verse 4,

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints.

Give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

You know, there's a reason why God's people

are commanded to gather together,

as we're doing right now, this morning.

There is a reason why we're not just to remain

as individual, isolated, free agent Christians,

but we are called to come together

with God's people to join in with the church

and to worship the Lord together.

And we see it in Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

He says,

Let us consider

how to stir one another up

to love and good deeds.

That's the command.

Let us consider

how we might stir one another up

to love and to good deeds.

How can we do that?

Well, he tells us,

Now, someone asked me this week,

what's the point of gathering together

with the church?

What's the point of joining a church?

Why can't we just be on our own,

individual Christians?

What's so bad about being a Lone Ranger Christian?

Our gathering together

has this horizontal,

one another dimension to it.

Yes, of course,

there's a personal,

vertical, individual element to it.

Yes, of course,

if God's worked in your life,

you individually respond with praise.

But that individual praise

spills over

into horizontal, corporate worship.

where we gather together

and encourage one another

and share God's work in our life

with one another.

We share our testimony

with one another.

We sing together.

We lift up our voices together

and praise him as one body.

We gather to stir one another up

and encourage one another.

I wonder if when you come together,

when you come to church,

is that on your mind?

Do you come together

with the purpose of encouragement?

Do you come looking for reasons,

looking for ways to encourage

your brother,

your sister in Christ?

Do you come ready to sing loudly?

Do you come ready to share

what God has done in your life?

Do others around you know your testimony?

Your story is not just

for your own individual benefit.

It is for corporate up-building.

The praise of God's people.

David here praises the Lord

who delivers

and then he calls God's people

to join him in that praise.

That's the popular message.

But here in verse 6 through 10,

second, David's going to give us

a less popular reason

to praise the Lord.

Okay?

That's the,

everybody might agree with that one.

Here's a little less popular.

Second,

we are called to praise God

who disciplines.

We are called to praise God

who disciplines.

Look there,

starting in verse 6.

It's like David sort of

has a flashback here

to what happened

before this deliverance

at the beginning of the psalm.

It's like he starts off

the psalm saying,

praise the Lord,

he's brought me up,

he's saved me,

but now,

let's back it up a little bit.

Let me tell you where I was.

Let me tell you

what was going on in my heart

before he did that rescuing

in my life.

Look at verse 6.

He says,

As for me,

I said in my prosperity,

I shall never be moved.

I shall never be moved.

By your favor,

O Lord,

you had made my mountain

stand strong,

but you hid your face

and I was dismayed.

You hear the tone

of David's heart here?

David apparently

was puffed up with pride.

Do you hear what he said?

I shall never be moved.

He was prosperous

and successful.

He thought that all of his success

was stable.

He put his confidence

in himself

and as a matter of discipline,

the Lord hid his face.

You know,

there's some conversation,

some debate

on the background

of this psalm,

but I wonder if you realized

something peculiar

about the heading

at the top of the psalm.

Do you notice this?

Look back there

at the top of the psalm.

The context that we're given

is it says,

A Psalm of David,

a song at the dedication

of the temple.

Now,

what's so strange about that?

Think about it for a minute.

If you know your Bible,

you might recognize

that what's so strange

about that

is that David

wasn't around

for the dedication

of the temple,

was he?

David,

as a matter

of the Lord's discipline

in his life,

because he was a man

of blood,

we're told,

he was not permitted

to build the temple.

Solomon,

his son,

would build it.

So what's going on here?

Well,

my belief

is actually

what our friend Spurgeon

believed

about this psalm,

which is that David

was writing this psalm

prophetically

for that moment

of the dedication

of the temple.

And he's writing this psalm

not for his own sake,

but for his son Solomon

to teach Solomon

and us

that there is great benefit

in the discipline

of the Lord.

As if to say,

don't be prideful

like me.

I wasn't permitted

to build this temple

because of my sin.

Don't fall into

the same patterns

of sinful boasting

and pride as I did.

And if you do,

don't despise

the discipline

of the Lord

because look at where

it ultimately brought me.

It brought me

to this place

of humble thanksgiving,

a humble praise,

a humble prayer.

You realize

it is good for God

to discipline

his children.

And the end result

of that discipline

is praise.

Has the Lord

ever humbled you?

Has the Lord

ever brought you

low?

Has the Lord

ever taken

something away

from you

in order to

reorient your trust

around him

and not his gifts?

If so,

as painful

as that is,

praise God.

What a kindness

that is

for him to do

that for his children.

Y'all may know

there's a trend

called gentle parenting.

Y'all ever heard

that term?

This is kind of

an aside here.

As I understand it,

gentle parenting

is instead of

speaking in the negative,

right,

like stop doing that.

Don't hit your brother.

Don't run

in the street.

Instead of talking

like that,

that's too harsh.

That's too negative.

Instead of doing that,

they try to replace it

with the positive.

Let's hug our brother,

right?

Now let's say nice,

run in the yard

instead of the street,

please.

And it's a teamwork

based approach.

So you and your kid

are equals

and you work together

to keep each other happy.

You don't always have

to take the lead

as the parent.

Sometimes a kid

can take the lead

and you just,

you work together.

I'll tell you,

I got,

in my limited experience

as a parent,

y'all can probably

affirm this too,

no is a perfectly

appropriate word

a lot of the time.

Amen?

Right?

No is a good word

to teach your children

a lot of the time

and it is okay

if your child

is not happy

for a moment

if that temporary

discipline

redirects them

to something

that is actually

good for them.

You understand?

Some people think

that God loves us

so much

he would never

take anything

from us.

He's not a God

of no,

he's a God

of yes.

He'd never do anything

to make us upset.

He'd never do anything

to hurt our feelings

and make us sad

for a moment.

Friend,

that could not be

further from the truth.

God loves you

so much

that he is

willing to do

whatever it takes

to fix your heart's

affections

entirely on him.

He loves you

so much

that he will

refine you

often through trial.

He loves you

so much

that he will

sanctify you.

He will make you

like Christ

often

through the most

challenging moments

of your life.

He loves you

so much

that if there's

pride in your heart

like there was

in David's heart here

he will turn

his face away

and humble you

so that you

call out to him

in faith

for mercy.

He loves you

so much

that as a loving

father he will

discipline his

children for sin

in their life.

Hebrews chapter 12

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

tells us

my son do not

regard lightly

the discipline

of the Lord

nor be

wary when

reproved by him

for the Lord

disciplines the

one he loves

and chastises

every son

whom he receives.

It is for

discipline that

you have to

endure.

God is treating

you as sons

for what son

is there whom

his father

does not

discipline.

If you are

left without

discipline in

which all

have participated

it is a

different time

back then

then you are

illegitimate

children and

not sons.

Besides this

we have had

earthly fathers

who disciplined

us and we

respected them.

Shall we not

much more be

subject to the

father of spirits

and live?

For they

disciplined us

for a short

time as it

seemed best to

them but he

disciplines us

for our good

that we may

share his

holiness.

For the

moment all

discipline seems

painful rather

than pleasant

but later it

yields the

peaceful fruit

of righteousness

to those who

have been

trained by

it.

David here

is disciplined

for his

pride.

Hear the

posture of his

heart.

I shall never

be moved.

In my

prosperity I

said I

shall never

be moved.

I wonder if

you have that

same posture

towards anything

in your life.

what is it

that you're

tempted to

put your

pride, put

your trust

in rather

than the

Lord?

Some of us

may be tempted

to trust in

our bank

account, our

401k.

We say in

our prosperity

I shall never

be moved.

This will

always be

there.

You remember

the 2018

crash?

How many

people thought

they were

secure only

to have

everything

wiped out

almost

instantly?

Some of

us trust

in political

stability.

My

candidate's

in office

everything's

okay,

everything's

stable,

everything's

great,

I will

never be

moved,

give it

time.

Every four

years there's

a shake

up isn't

there?

Maybe you're

tempted to

trust in

the life that

you've built

for yourself,

your job,

your home,

your family.

Jobs can be

lost,

homes can be

destroyed,

families can be

destroyed.

Let's be

reminded church

that we are

called as

God's people

to put our

whole trust

in something,

in someone

that cannot

be taken

away from

us.

We are

called to

humbly put

our full

faith in

the Lord.

God

disciplines

the one

he loves

and the

result of

that discipline

in our

life is

that he

strips away

every idol

of the

heart as

painful as

it may

be and

leads us

to cling

to him.

Look there

to verse

seven.

David says

that God

hid his

face from

him and

he was

dismayed.

So the

result,

he cries

out to

the Lord

in faith.

He prays

this prayer

of desperation.

He throws

himself into

the arms

of the

Lord,

which is

exactly

where he

needs to

be.

To you,

O Lord,

I cry

and to

the Lord

I plead

for mercy.

What

profit is

there in

my death?

If I go

down to

the pit,

will the

dust praise

you?

Will it

tell of

your

faithfulness?

Hear,

O Lord,

and be

merciful to

me.

Here's a

dangerous

prayer to

pray.

Okay?

You ready?

Lord,

do whatever

you have to

do to

make me

like Christ.

Be careful

praying a

prayer like

that.

Lord,

take

whatever

you have

to take

to lead

me to

cling to

you in

full

dependence.

Lord,

shatter

the pride

of my

heart

so that

I love

you and

trust you

and honor

you and

depend on

you and

worship you

as you

deserve.

Have you

ever prayed

a prayer

like that?

David

desires to

praise the

Lord as

a result of

the discipline

in his

life.

That's

exactly what

he does

here at

the end

of our

psalm,

verses 11

and 12.

Here we

see our

final call,

third.

We are

called to

praise God

who deserves

all praise.

Look at the

fruit of this

discipline in

David's life.

He praises

the Lord

who has

turned his

mourning

into dancing.

He praises

the Lord

who has

loosed

his sack

cloth and

clothed him

with gladness

that his

glory may

sing God's

praise and

not be

silent.

O Lord

my God,

he says,

I will

give thanks

to you

forever.

This is a

picture of

total praise,

isn't it?

This is

praise that

involves all

of David.

That's what it

means when he

says,

my glory

will praise

you.

This is his

entire self

inside and

out,

body and

soul.

This is the

response of

worship that

involves all

of him.

He's moved

internally to

thankfulness.

How is that

demonstrated?

He sings

and he

dances.

He's clothed

internally

with gladness.

How is that

seen?

He changes

his clothes.

He takes

off his

sackcloth.

There's an

internal and

external element

of worship

here.

It is all

encompassing,

body and

soul.

It's all

of him.

When I

make my

coffee in

the morning,

I boil

water in

a kettle.

I pour

it in.

I know

the water

is hot

inside when

the lid on

the outside

starts to

dance.

There's

some steam

coming out.

Then what's

inside doesn't

pour itself

out until

the whole

body is

bent over.

There's a

necessary

demonstration.

The external

has to work

with the

internal for

the whole

thing to

work.

You and

I are

made body

and soul.

God made

us this

way, body

and soul.

Both body

and soul

are meant

to engage

the Lord

in worship.

Sometimes

just the

external

expression

is empty.

Sometimes

it's just

a show.

I'm not

saying do

that.

Sometimes

if the

insides

are boiling

over with

thankfulness

to the

Lord,

you can't

help but

just do

something

with your

body.

I wonder

if you

sit in

silence

when you

come and

gather with

God's

people or

if you

use your

voice and

you sing

out loudly

with thankful

hearts to

God.

Do you

ever lift

your hands

in worship?

I know

that might

seem strange

at first.

It might

feel a little

strange at

first.

It might

feel unnatural.

Do you

ever get

down on

your knees

and pray?

Or lay

flat,

outstretched,

don't fall

asleep,

be careful.

Do you

ever lay

yourself out

and pray

to the

Lord?

Do you

ever nod

your head

as you

hear God's

word preached?

Do you

ever say

amen when

you hear

something you

agree with?

All of

this is

okay,

church.

We are

made body

and soul.

That internal

thankfulness

ought to boil

over and

spill out

of us.

David here

responds with

singing and

dancing and

thankfulness to

the Lord.

He responds

by worshiping

that involves

all of him.

Not only

this, he

responds with

praise for

all to

hear.

My glory

will sing

your praise

and not be

silent.

His praise

is an audible

praise,

isn't it?

Others can't

actually hear

it.

Others can

hear him

singing of

what God

has done.

We've seen

this application

a few times

already,

haven't we?

God's people

are called,

commanded even,

to sing

praise to

the Lord.

God's people

are commanded

to sing.

Why do we

come and we

sing songs

every Sunday?

It's not just

because that's

what we like

to do,

although we

do like

to do it.

It's because

God has

commanded us

to sing.

Not everybody

needs to sing

into a

microphone,

right?

Amen?

But we

are all

commanded

to sing.

Paul tells

us in

Ephesians,

we're called

to address

one another

in psalms

and hymns

and spiritual

songs,

singing and

making melody

to the Lord

with your

heart,

giving thanks

always and

for everything

to God the

Father in the

name of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

That internal

thankfulness is

expressed,

it's heard,

it's out loud,

it's boiled

over and

spilled out

together in

singing.

It's praise

for all of

him, it's

praise for

all to

hear and

lastly,

verse 12,

we see this

is praise

for all

time, he

says in

verse 12,

O Lord

my God,

I will

give thanks

to you

forever.

here's the

good news

church,

no matter

what comes

into your

life,

no matter

what trial,

no matter

what hardship,

no matter

what discipline,

no matter

how low

you are

brought,

no matter

what threat,

no matter

what danger,

no matter

what sickness

or temptation,

God's

redeemed

people will

spend the

rest of

eternity

giving

thanks to

the Lord

for who

he is

and what

he's done

for us

in Christ.

Do you

look forward

to that?

This

gathering is

a foretaste,

is a sample

of what

eternity has

in store

for God's

redeemed

people.

Paul tells

us in

chapter 2

of Philippians

that Jesus

though he

was in the

form of

God,

did not

count

equality

with God

a thing

to be

grasped,

but emptied

himself

by taking

the form

of a

servant,

being born

in the

likeness

of men

and being

found in

human form

he humbled

himself

by becoming

obedient to

the point

of death,

even death

on the

cross.

Therefore,

God has

highly exalted

him and bestowed

on him the name

that is above

every name

so that at

the name of

Jesus

every knee

should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under

the earth

and every tongue

confess

that Jesus

Christ

is Lord

to the

glory

of God

the Father.

How much

do we have

to be thankful

to the Lord

for,

for what he's

done in

Christ?

Christ is

the one

who went

down to

the pit

and was

raised up

for us

so that

all who

call to him

in faith,

though we

may fail

like David,

though we

may temporarily

be disciplined

for our sin,

all who are

united to

Christ by

faith,

have the

promise of

everlasting

life,

eternal

joy,

glory.

This great

reversal that

David experiences

from mourning

to dancing,

from sackcloth

to gladness,

from weeping

in the night

to joy in the

morning,

that is true

for all who

trust in

Christ.

Christ,

how do we

respond to

a hope like

this,

church?

We respond

with total

praise,

because he

deserves all

praise and

glory forever

and ever.

Amen.

Charles Spurgeon

wrote about

that day of

his conversion.

He said,

that happy

day when I

found the

Savior and

learned to

cling to his

dear feet

was a day

never to be

forgotten by

me.

I listened

to the

word of

God,

and that

precious

text led

me to

the cross

of Christ.

I can

testify that

the joy of

that day

was utterly

indescribable.

I could

have leaped,

I could

have danced,

and there

was no

expression,

however

fanatical,

which would

have been

out of

keeping with

the joy

of that

hour.

He says,

I thought

I could

have sprung

from the

seat in

which I

sat,

and have

called out

with the

wildness of

those Methodist

brothers,

I am

forgiven.

I am a

monument of

grace.

I am a

sinner saved

by blood.

My spirit

saw its

chains broken

to pieces.

I felt that I

was an

emancipated

soul,

an heir of

heaven,

a forgiven

one accepted

in Jesus

Christ,

plucked out

of the

miry clay

and out

of the

horrible pit,

with my feet

set upon a

rock and my

goings

established.

between

half past

ten o'clock

when I

entered that

chapel and

half past

twelve o'clock

when I was

going back

home,

what a

change had

taken place

in me,

simply by

looking to

Jesus.

I had been

delivered from

despair and I

was brought

into such a

joyous state

of mind that

when they all

saw me back

at home,

they said to

me,

something

wonderful has

happened to

you.

I was eager

to tell them

all about it.

Oh, there was

joy in the

household that

day when all

heard that the

eldest son had

found the

Savior and

knew himself to

be forgiven.

That's Spurgeon's

story.

Friend, do you

have a story like

that to tell?

Has the Lord

delivered you?

If so, friend,

give thanks,

sing,

and rejoice,

and if not,

friend, look

unto Christ.

Look unto

Christ.

Look unto

Christ and

give him all

praise.

Let's pray.

Father,

we have so

much to be

thankful for

for your work

in our life.

We thank you

for delivering

us.

We thank you

even for

disciplining us

at times.

Lord, we

confess that

you are worthy

of all praise

and yet our

efforts to

praise you are

often so feeble

and half-hearted.

Lord, would you

work thankfulness

in our hearts

for who you

are and what

you've done.

I pray this in

Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.