Series: Psalms
Title: Preserved by the LORD
Text: Psalm 12: 7
Date: September 30, 2012
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Our subject: Preserved by the LORD--Psalm 12: 7: Thou shalt keep them, O LORD,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.
Preserved means: to guard,
to protect, to attend to, too keep safe. Parents—when we were children—our parents
preserved us. Children—you depend upon your parents to
preserve you from danger, to attend to you, to keep you safe. Our pets depend
upon us to preserve them from danger. So
do we have the concept of preservation: to guard, to protect, to attend to, too
keep safe?
Proposition: The reason the believer perseveres in faith unto the end is
because God preserves us: God guards, protects, attends to, keeps safe—each of
his redeemed children.
We will take this one
sentence word by word for our divisions this morning. But we will start with this question:
I. WHO WILL THE LORD PRESERVE THE BELIEVER FROM?—from this
generation
The generation God keeps his children from is the generation of the wicked.
Genesis
3:15 And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Galatians 4: 29: But as then
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the
Spirit, even so it is now.
Psalm
12: 2: They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and
with a double heart do they speak.
The wicked generation is
those who would have our attention focused on anything and everything except
Christ. Men and women get so taken up
with things other than Christ: worldly things: ambition, honor, lust of the
eyes, lust of the flesh, the pride of life; even in religion: history,
denominations, dispensaltionism, prophecy, signs.
Christ was rejected the
first time by religious men looking for a temporal kingdom. And he was rejected by those looking for
signs.
Matthew
12: 38: Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying,
Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there
shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth.
Isaiah
7: 14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Satan is subtle. He’s got a
million noble causes to entangle you in. Paul said,
2
Corinthians 11: 3: But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ. 4: For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we
have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received,
or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Believers have but one
object to keep our eye of faith fastened upon—the Lord Jesus Christ. The simplicity of Christ is salvation by
Christ. Christ is All. Of God we are
in Christ Jesus; of God we have the mind of Christ—Christ is made unto us
Wisdom; of God Christ is made unto us Righteousness—the LORD our Righteousness;
of God Christ is made unto us Sanctification—both he that sanctifieth and they
who are sanctified are all OF ONE; of God Christ is made unto us Redemption—we
have been “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise
of his glory.” Brethren, when it comes
to this wicked generation…
Colossians
2: 8: Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are
complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
I doubt Mary knew much at
all about the things this vain religious world is taken up with—but she sat at
Christ’s feet—the Lord said,
Luke
10:42: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken away from her.
Christ is the Treasure hid
in the field; Christ is the Pearl of great price; the apostle Paul said,
Philippians 3: 8: Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9: And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith:
If a sinner ever meets
Righteousness the sinner will lay aside all else and follow him.
Hebrews
12: 1: Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
God’s
called out children are “a CHOSEN GENERATION, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people;”—and God will keep his people from this evil
generation so “that we show forth the praises OF HIM who hath called us out of
darkness into HIS marvellous light:” (1Pe 2:9).
II. WHO IS DOING THE PRESERVING?—Psalm
12: 7: THOU—O LORD
Every
point of salvation is of the LORD. If I could sum up to you in one sentence all
that this book teaches, all that I believe, preach, and rest in, it would be
this:
Jonah 2:9…Salvation is of the LORD.
Salvation means sinners are saved by a Savior outside of our
selves. Sin and self is what we are
being saved from. We need to be made
alive spiritually—we can’t do that---John
3: 5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. We need to be made holy—we can’t do that—Tit 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost. We need to be made perfectly
righteous, justified, pardoned of all sin—we can’t do that— 2 Cor 5:
21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We need to be kept, preserved from all evil—we can’t do that—Psalm 12: 7: Thou shalt keep them, O LORD,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Philippians 1: 6: Being confident of this very thing, that
HE—HE—HE—which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ.
2
Corinthians 1: 10: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in
whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
Salvation is of the Lord—THOU, LORD. God the Father purposed salvation. God the Son purchased salvation. God the Holy Spirit applies salvation.
Psalm
37:39: But the salvation of the righteous IS OF THE LORD: he is their strength
in the time of trouble. 40: And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he
shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
Psalm
68:20: He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong
the issues from death.
Illustration: Robert and Carol working.
Now you appreciate more what your fathers have done in providing
for you all these years. Imagine if you
had to take on all the responsibility for your families right now. When the sinner is shown how great the work
of redeeming and keeping a sinner is, we are so thankful salvation is of the
Lord.
III.
SHALT—THOU SHALT
God only works in absolutes.
Whatever God purposes and promises to do, he does. He never speaks in maybes—only shalls and
wills.
2
Corinthians 1: 20: For all the promises of God in [Christ] are yea, and
in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
1
Corinthians 1: 8 Who SHALL also confirm
you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9 God is faithful, by
whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
We have been told lies so much and we have lied so much, that we
have great difficulty entering into just how pure and true God’s words
are. But read what God says in verse 6.
Psalm
12: 6: The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times.
These
Scriptures are the words of God, as "silver tried in a furnace, purified
seven times." Free from dross—completely, perfectly pure
Proverbs
30: 5: Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that
put their trust in him.
“the sincere milk of the word.”
The
words of the Lord are more valuable than silver or gold.
Illustration: Imagine if someone gave you a gold mine
full of treasures of all kinds. That is
what this book is. When is the last time you locked this book away in a safe
like we do our valuables. Don’t have
to—the world doesn’t consider these jewels valuable.
Proverbs
8: 10: Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice
gold. 11: For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be
desired are not to be compared to it.
Application:
Why do I have you turn to scripture? Why do I urge you to do it? Why do I insist on it that you have a bible
and use it when I teach you? I want you
to see that the words I speak are not my words but the words of God who sent me
to preach this to you. If you will not
believe, it is not my words you do not believe, it is the word of God. These are the pure words of the LORD that are
sure to everyone that trusts the Lord.
Psalm
12: 7: Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation
for ever.
IV.
KEEP, PRESERVE THEM
v7:
Them. Everything God does in salvation he does for a particular
people—them. Who are the “them?” --v5:
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise,
saith the LORD
Oppression: violence, ravaging destruction, robbery, spoiling,
wasting—our text particularly speaks of it done with the tongues of men.
Poor and needy: you can be poor and still provide. But to be poor and needy means you are poor
and you have no way of providing for yourself or defending yourself.
Believer, we lost all in the fall.
Christ said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Believers are so oppressed,
so poor and needy that there could be no perseverance of the saints was it not
for God preserving us. But look at this sure word…
v7:
Thou shalt keep them: to hedge about as with thorns.
Illustration: In
Africa they often have to build a circle of thorns to protect them from lions.
Satan a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour—He said of the LORD’s
protection of Job, “Hast not thou made an hedge
about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?”
v7:
Thou shalt preserve them
Illustration: The
waterfowl preserve
Lu
5:38: But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. [his
Spirit]
Jude
1: 1:…sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
You
see the “them” are God’s elect whom he loved from everlasting, the sheep for
whom Christ died; members of his body of whom he is Head, those of whom Christ
said, “None shall be lost.”
Christ justified us; God remembers our sin no more. If one were to
perish God’s glory would be blemished. We have been called and trust the word
of the Lord that he will do as he says he will. Therefore God shall do as he
says he will.
Romans
8: 33 Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it
is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
V. HOW LONG WILL THE LORD DO THIS FOR THOSE
WHO TRUST HIM?—V7:…FOR EVER.
As long as we need to be preserved, God shall preserve us.
Psalm
121:8: The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time
forth, and even for evermore.
When you meet someone you can trust, who loves you, who protects
you—you are drawn to them because of their love and trustworthiness. That is our God. I do pray he will convince you of his
faithfulness and goodness and draw you to himself.
Psalm 12: 7: Thou shalt keep them, O
LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Amen!