Series: Psalms
Title: O LORD MY Rock!
Text: Psalm 28: 1-3
Date: June 1, 2017
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Psalm 28: 1: « A Psalm of David. » Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2: Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. 3: Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
The child of God knows, but for God choosing me by his grace, except Christ had redeemed me and the Spirit sanctified me there would be no difference between me and the wicked. God alone made the difference. And God alone continues to make the difference by keeping me.
Therefore, knowing ourselves to be poor, weak sinners, the sanctified child of God fears being drawn away with the wicked. When we find ourselves fearful and weak by the reproach men cast upon us. We become fearful of being led away with the wicked when we are unable to bear witness as we ought in the midst of ungodly associates. When we tolerate this or that sin just to get along with ungodly associates it makes us afraid of being led away. We are fearful when we feel we are being led away by inordinate affection for the world or for loved ones. When I was young in the faith I found peer pressure to be the most dangerous thing I faced. I am sure it is the same for young believers right now.
So knowing we do not have strength in ourselves, the child of God constantly casts ourselves upon our LORD to keep us—“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”
Proposition: We pray aright when our cry is importunate for the LORD our Rock alone, asking him to speak his strength and his wisdom into our hearts.
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
The believer’s safeguard is to be always crying unto the LORD—“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD…”
Christ our Redeemer is who we follow in all things. When Christ walked this earth, the one Righteous and Holy Man faced a multitude of enemies—many that we cannot see. Satan constantly tempted Christ like he did in the wilderness—and I am sure in the Garden of Gethsemane. Religious men were Christ’s second great enemy. He experienced the weakness of human flesh. Though our Lord knew no sin, he experienced how weak our human flesh is in the garden of Gethsemane. When he said, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” he experienced that himself when he shed great drops of blood and God sent an angel to strengthen him in the flesh.
So we find our Lord Jesus constantly engaging in prayer. In the morning and evening he was continually alone in the mount. He prayed when he was in a crowd surrounded by people. We see him crying unto the LORD his rock in the wilderness and in the garden of Gethsemane. And do not forget the cross. Most of the Psalms—this one included—is Christ praying to the Father while he endured the cross in place of his people.
For example, here he cries “Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” In Psalm 22: 1 & 15, which we know to be our Savior’s prayer from the cross, he cried much the same thing, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?...My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”—the dust of the pit, the grave.
So we find our Lord Jesus constantly engaging in prayer unto Jehovah, especially as he endured the cross for his people. Shall our Lord Jesus, who is holy and spotless, constantly call upon the Father and shall we, who are helpless sinners, not do so even more!
You who work in public places—amongst sinners of every kind—you ought to cry unto the LORD throughout your day.
If we find ourselves slipping away from the assembly of the saints then we ought to cry unto the LORD fervently to save us and the whole assembly ought to cry unto the LORD for that dear sliding saint.
Whatever the situation—sickness or prosperity, sorrow or joy—the Spirit of God teaches us to pray continually. Spurgeon said that he saw men fall away for many reasons but prosperity was number one. God says to his people, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess 5: 17)
Ephesians 6:18: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
What is it we pray for? Houses, cars, jobs, stuff? That is praying amiss to have what our fleshly lusts want. The prayer God makes his child pray is for Christ our Savior alone, for Christ to speak into our hearts in spirit and in truth.
OUR ONLY NEED
Our only need is Christ our Rock, to hear his voice speak into our hearts—“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me:…”
Every true believer has but one solid rock, Christ Jesus—“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock;”
Moses preached Christ our Rock when he declared, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deut 32: 4)
Our Sister Hannah spoke of Christ our Rock when she said, “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.” (1 Sam 2: 2)
Isaiah preached Christ our Rock when he said, “Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Is 8: 13-14)
The reason we sing these songs is because the words glorify Christ. Tonight I asked three songs be sung:
First, we sang “He hideth my soul in the cleft of the Rock!” In Christ the Rock, we behold the glory of God our Father—where Moses saw God’s glory—
Exodus 33: 21: And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
The glory of God we behold in Christ our Rock is how God can be a just God and a Savior; how he can in no wise clear the guilty and yet have mercy on chosen sinners. It is only by the perfect, sinless Lord Jesus Christ being made sin by the Lord laying on him the iniquity of all his people. Bearing our sin Christ was made a curse for us and then justly bore the justice of God in our place. Christ came to declare the righteousness of God so that his people might know that God does only that which is altogether just and righteous! For that reason Christ had to bear the sin of his people that God might satisfy justice on him in place of his people. God only does that which is righteous. He says,
Deuteronomy 25: 15: Thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 16: For all that do such things, all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Secondly, we sang “The Churches One Foundation is Jesus Christ Her Lord.” We preach and believe on Christ our Rock only “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3: 11)
Isaiah 28: 16:…thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Last, we will sing, “The Solid Rock.”
“My hope is built on nothing less,
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness,
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’name,
on Christ the Solid Rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand.”
To trust in man, to trust in the arm of our flesh, in the will of man or in our works to save is sinking sand. Christ alone is the Solid Rock. All who hear him and obey his word—by believing only upon Christ—are established forever upon the Rock. Christ said,
Matthew 7: 21: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22: Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23: And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26: And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Christ is our Solid Rock of Righteousness and Justification from all our sins by his finished work of redemption on the cross.
Christ is our Solid Rock of Sanctification. He is our Sanctifier and our Sanctification who makes our hearts pure and grows us in grace and knowledge of him through the gospel, through the Holy Spirit, in the new man.
Christ is our Solid Rock of acceptance with God. If you have Christ you have eternal life and shall not see death. Christ shall present all his people to God without fault.
But here and now—in the midst of life’s storms—Christ is our Solid Rock of preservation. By his strength and wisdom alone we are made to persevere and continue in the faith. He begins the work in his people and he continues it until the perfect day when he shall present us faultless to the Father. He preserves us by speaking into our hearts.
Therefore, our only true need is for Christ not to be silent unto us—“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me:…” How and where does Christ speak to those he redeemed?
Christ speaks to his redeemed in creation. When you see something that glorifies him in creation and your heart is moved, it is Christ speaking.
Christ speaks to us in providence to make us experience what he teaches in his word. Never discern merely by providence. But take providence to God’s word for light on providence.
But above all, Christ speaks SAVINGLY in the hearts of his redeemed through the preaching of the gospel. “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” From the first hour to the last hour it is through the preaching of the gospel that Christ speaks savingly into the heart of his people and keeps us persevering in the faith.
The very reason Christ said we would rejoice in his preacher and call their feet beautiful is because through the preaching of the gospel, Christ said, “My people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.” (Is 52: 6)
Christ laid this message on my heart to preach tonight because he is speaking to someone through it. Someone has been asking to hear his Voice and this is Christ’s answer to you. He is teaching someone that he alone is our Rock. His voice is reminding someone of his past grace toward them. His voice is infusing new strength and courage to trust him alone in the present trial. His voice is moving someone to do what he would have us to do at all times, which is, cast all our care on him alone! Christ speaks into the hearts of his redeemed through the preaching of his word which gives him all the glory in our salvation!
PRAYING ARIGHT
We pray aright when we pray with importunity, ever confessing to God that we have no strength in ourselves and that only Christ is our Strength—“lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”
In eternity, when God chose his people by his grace, Christ became our Surety and God said of all his people, “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” (Job 33: 24)
In time, Christ came and carried the sins of his people away forever by bearing our sin and judgment on the cross so that we say, “thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” (Is 38: 17)
In the season of his love, he finds each of his redeemed the same place as all other sinners are by nature, in the miry pit of sin and death. But through the Holy Spirit, through this gospel, he gave us life and lifted us out. We rejoice in Christ confessing, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3: And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” (Ps 40: 2-3)
Brethren, God promises to continue to keep our foot from sliding by continually planting us on Christ the Solid Rock. But he will have us ask in helpless importunity, depending upon Christ, crying, “O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”
Notice from the urgency of the prayer that there has been some silence from the LORD. But though there has been silence, he continues to cry unto the LORD. Brethren, do not lose heart if the LORD does not answer immediately. God always answers the prayer of his saints. But when we pray amiss the LORD’s silence is the best answer.
Look to Christ for God’s faithfulness. When God forsook Christ on the cross in judgment, God did not answer the prayer of Christ immediately. But when justice was satisfied, when Christ cried it is finished, he heard him and raised him, along with all his people in him, and sat our Redeemer at his own right hand declaring Christ the Salvation of his people. Notice the end of this Psalm,
Psalm 28: 6: Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. 7: The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. 8: The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. 9: Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
Right now, Christ is glorifying God as “his strength and his shield.” Christ is teaching his people through the gospel that “the LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.” And Christ is interceding for us with God, saying, “Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.”
So when the LORD is silent toward us, understand, it is to make us pray aright in importunacy. That is what Christ is teaching in these two parables:
Luke 18: 1: And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2: Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4: And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5: Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6: And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7: And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8: I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.
Luke 11: 5: And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6: For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7: And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8: I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9: And I say unto you, Ask, [importunately] and it shall be given you; seek, [importunately] and ye shall find; knock, [importunately] and it shall be opened unto you. 10: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
When we pray amiss, God bears long with our prayers in silence until he brings us to stop asking amiss.
James 4: 3: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
He makes us truly importunate to make us cease asking for stuff so that we cry only for him!—“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”
We pray aright, importunately, when our cry is for the LORD our Rock alone to speak his strength and his wisdom into our hearts. When we have him and his voice speaking into our hearts we have all.
Luke 21:36: Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Amen!