Now, the text of Scripture that the Lord has laid upon my heart is verse number 34 of our psalm that we've read this morning. I'd like to also welcome our sister, Mrs. Audrey Stewart. Nice to see Audrey back out with us after a recent surgery, and pray that she'll know that good recovery from the Lord. Our text this morning is Psalm 37, verse number 34, and that verse says, wait on the Lord. and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." Now, Psalm 37 was the psalm that was penned by David in the latter period of his life. You'll see that from what he says in verse 25 there. He says, I have been young, now I'm old. He's writing here in the latter years of his life. And in this psalm before us, he deals with a problem that constantly confronts the people of God. What is that problem? Well, that problem is the apparent, or if you like, the seeming prosperity of the wicked, while God's people themselves often face hardship and trials and difficulties. And dealing with this problem, you'll see here how David, he counsels the believer not to be consumed with care over the rise of evildoers. Look at verse 1 and verse 7 of the psalm, he says, "'Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.'" Verse 7, he says, "'Fret not thyself because of him.'" who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Also, you see here how he reminds God's people that the Lord's eye is ever upon them, even in difficult times and in evil days. Look at verse 18 of the Psalm. He says there, the Lord knoweth the days of the upright. In other words, God's eye is upon the days of His people. And we see also here how the Christian is reminded that the Lord will not forsake His people in evil days and ungodly times. Look at what David himself testifies often. In verse 25 of the psalm, he says, "'Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.'" And there he's testifying to the fact that the Lord had not forsaken his people. Again, in verse 28 of the psalm, he says of the Lord's people, of the Lord, and he says, "'And the Lord forsaketh not his saints.'" There in the middle of verse 28. Following these tremendous statements, you see then how David, he tells God's people what they are to do in evil days and ungodly times. And what is that instruction? Well, you see how he instructs them to go on living for the Lord, no matter how evil the days, no matter how ungodly the times. And we see that in the words of our text in particular in verse 34 when he says, wait on the Lord and keep his way. And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. What instruction he gives there to the people of God. And child of God, I believe this is God's word also for you and I today. Yes, you and I as God's people, we live in very ungodly times when wickedness abounds in every hand around us. We see this in the evil laws that our land now promotes. God's plan of marriage of one man to one woman is now being rejected more and more. The awful matter of transgenderism is also being promoted more and more even to our children and our young people in society and in the public domain. Recently, our own government has sanctioned the murder of the unborn child by the new abortion laws that have been introduced to Northern Ireland. The mother's womb is no longer a safe and secure place for the unborn child. Very liberal abortion laws, as you know, also were brought in recently to the Irish Republic. What is it, one, two years ago? One to two years ago, maybe a year and a half ago. Now, he's reading recent statistics regarding the practice of abortion in the Irish Republic since that new law has come in. And it is estimated that at least six and a half thousand children, since that new law has come in in the south of Ireland, have now been killed in abortion. People think about that. Six and a half thousand unborn children who have been denied the very basic right of human life. Now, there's almost half the population of the town of Enniskillen not being allowed to live. How awful the days are that we're living in. On the top of this also you see increasing calls for euthanasia, which again is the murder of the elderly and the vulnerable in our society. Think also of the increased desecration of the Lord's Day, drunkenness, gambling that has been promoted very much by the national lottery. drug addiction, breakdown of family life, and then on top of that you have promotion of all kinds of false religion, especially in the days in which you live the promotion of Islam and Roman Catholicism. Yes, it goes without saying that we live in days of terrible ungodliness, days of terrible wickedness. And such circumstances really lead to the question, and the question is this, how are God's people to live in such times and in the midst of such ungodliness? Well, the answer to that question is given to you and I here in verse 34 in our text this morning, where it says, wait on the Lord and keep His way. To your believer in Christ in our meeting this morning, I believe this is God's counsel, indeed God's encouragement for us also in the ungodly age and day in which we live. And as we would look then at this encouragement for evil days, there are three things I want just to share with you, and I trust it'll be an encouragement and a blessing to you as a believer as you seek to live for God and witness for Christ in our day and generation. First of all, in this encouragement in evil days, you see how God's people are to exercise a patient faith. Verse 34 there says, wait on the Lord. And my all throughout Scripture, the believer is constantly exhorted to wait upon the Lord. And Psalm 27, verse 14, it says, wait on the Lord. In verse 8 of Zephaniah chapter 3, the Lord says, Wait ye upon me, as saith the Lord. Indeed, it has been said that patient waiting is often the highest way of doing the will of God. And Christian, to wait upon the Lord, it means you and I listening. to God's Word, to be of that spirit of Samuel of old who said, "'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.'" He had an ear to listen to the Word of God and what God was going to say to him. Also, to wait upon the Lord means you and I trusting the Word of God. As the psalmist could say, he said, "'For I trust in thy Word.'" As the hemwriter himself said, "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word." Also, waiting upon the Lord means us being faithful in prayer. You read through the book of Ephesians, in particular chapter 6. In the midst of that chapter, Paul speaks to God's people about the evil day, a day of unprecedented evil and ungodliness and wickedness, and in conjunction with that, in verse 18 of the same chapter, he says this to God's people. He says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all sins. encourages God's people there to give themselves to prayer. Believer, in these evil days, you and I were not to forget, nor are we to forsake the place of prayer. Rather, we are to be all the more diligent in private prayer and in public prayer. It was C. H. Spurgeon who said, prayer is the breath of faith. He said, prayer meetings are the very lungs of the church. We all know how important our lungs are to our physical bodies. If there's a problem in our lungs, it will affect our entire body. And by that illustration, that preacher of old was really highlighting the importance of the prayer meeting to the church of Christ and the work of God. Also, waiting on the Lord means us keeping the Lord's day as a day of worship. The fourth commandment says, Remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. And in keeping the Sabbath day, we are to meet together wherever possible in the morning and the evening of the Lord's day, and worship the Lord with our heart and our soul and our mind. The Bible says, God is the Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The Bible says we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, and then also to wait upon the Lord. It means you and I as believers rejoicing in the Lord's salvation, indeed praising Him for His saving grace and keeping power in our lives, no matter how dark the day, no matter how ungodly the times. Praising Him for the forgiveness of our sins, for peace with God, for fellowship with God through Christ, our mediator and our redeemer. Turn with me in your Bible over to the book of Habakkuk, the prophecy of Habakkuk, way near the end of the Old Testament. You'll see this is what Habakkuk did on godly days, days of discouragement and trial and difficulty for him. Look at Habakkuk chapter three. Go down to the end of the chapter to verses 17 and 18. And look at the example there set for us by Habakkuk of old. He says, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Look at verse 18, he says, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. Oh, there was darkness all around him. There was many things to discourage him. Yet here he is rejoicing in the Lord his Savior, rejoicing that Christ would come for him and die on the cross to be a propitiation for his sins. He could rejoice in the forgiveness of his sins through the blood of Christ, that he who was once far off from God was now made nigh unto God through Christ, brought into fellowship with God. He now knew the Lord as his loving Heavenly Father all through Christ. Child of God, that is what you and I are to rejoice in day by day as the people of God, that Christ has come, that He's died for our sins upon the cross. He lived a perfect life. He has given to us a perfect righteousness whereby we are accepted with God. We're no longer far off from God. God is now our loving heavenly Father, and through Christ we can cry to God, Abba, our Father. what blessings we have in the Lord so great as salvation, how we should praise and thank the Lord day by day as His people for His saving grace and power in our lives as the people of God. Yes, in evil days God's people we see are to exercise a patient faith, Notice secondly here in connection with our text this morning that in this encouragement during evil days, God's people also are to continue. I want to emphasize that today. They are to continue in the ways of the Lord. Look again at what David says in this little text. He says, wait on the Lord, and then look at his next statement. He says, and keep His way, that speaks of continuance in the ways of God. That speaks of perseverance in the ways of the Lord. He says, wait on the Lord and keep His way. It's very important to notice there what David says, keep His way, the way of the Lord. In ungodly days, you and I are not to follow our own ways. nor are we to follow the ways of man or the ways of the world. The Bible says to the Christian, thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, but rather we are to follow the ways of the Lord. This is what we are to do in ungodly days. We're to follow the ways of the Lord. This is the path that you and I are to follow as believers in the Lord. we're to keep his way, we're to keep the way of the Lord, though we bear reproach from others. Though iniquity abounds in every hand, we're to keep the way of the Lord. Though the love of many should wax cold, you and I are to keep the way of the Lord. Indeed, even if others walk no more with us in the ways of God, you and I are to go on keeping the way of the Lord, even though others may oppose us or discourage us, we're not to turn back from following the Lord and the ways of the Lord. We're to have the spirit of that person who wrote the little children's course of a bygone day, when they said, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. no turning back. We're not to turn back from following the Lord and keeping the way of the Lord. This was the testimony of David. He said, my soul followeth hard after thee. There was a following after the Lord with every fiber of his being and the soul of David. Again, this was the testimony of Job and study the life of Job. Think of the trials, the difficulties, the afflictions that he faced. Yet in Job 23, verse 12, he says these words, he says, neither have I gone back from the commandments of his lips. He was continuing on in the way of the Lord. That is what we are to do in these days in which we live. This keeping of the way of the Lord, yes, it means us obeying God's Word. The Bible says, behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. It was Martin Luther who said, before the Word, everyone must give way, emphasizing the importance of obeying God's Word. Also, we can say further, keeping the way of the Lord means living a holy life that is separate from the evils of this world. The Bible says to you now, as Christians, abstain from the appearance of evil. And then we can say further, keeping the way of the Lord means separation from false religion and from worship that is contrary to the Word of God. And the Bible says, Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. We can add further, also keeping the way of the Lord means us abiding in God's will for our lives. In 1 Corinthians 7 verse 20, it says there, let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. We are to abide in the calling of God to us and in godly times. In keeping the way of the Lord means us continuing to serve the Lord in whatever way we can. It means us doing all we can to help spread the light of God's Word, to witness to others, to seek by our words and by our example to lead others to Christ and to lead others in the ways of God. At the end of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 it says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Despite ungodly days, despite the restrictions due to the COVID virus, you and I are to be always abounding in the work of the Lord. Why? Because the Bible tells us, the night cometh when no man can work. Turn with me, please, with your Bible over to Philippians chapter number two. Philippians chapter number two, and look there at the counsel of Paul to the believers in the church at Philippi, and it just didn't apply to the Christians in Philippi in the day of Paul, but this applies to you and I in these days in which we live. Philippians chapter two, verses 15 and 16, it says to God's people that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life." That's what we are to do, always abounding in the work of the Lord, seeking to hold forth the Word of life, even though as it says there in verse 15 that we live and move amongst a wicked and a crooked and a perverse generation. You think of Enoch. He lived in a very ungodly day before the flood. Yet what does the Bible say about Enoch? It says he walked with God. He continued on in the ways of God. You think again of Noah before the flood. Lived in very, very ungodly days. Yet what does the Bible tell you and I about Noah? It says that he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah's a just man, the Bible says, and it says, and he walked with God. He went on serving the Lord, and he built the ark that God told him to build prior to the flood. Yes, in evil days, brethren and sisters in Christ, you and I were to continue on in the ways of the Lord. But notice one final thought then in connection with our text here today in Psalm 37, verse 34. In this encouragement for evil times, we see also how God's people are promised, and I want you to see this, to be exalted. by the Lord. Look at the latter part there of verse 34 of Psalm 37. It says, And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. What does this exaltation entail? I believe this exaltation, yes, it means the believer, the faithful child of God being blessed here on earth itself by God. No matter how dark the days are, You think of the words of the prophet Jeremiah, he says, thus saith the Lord, he says, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. And that speaks of the blessing of the Lord and his faithful children in evil times and ungodly days. You see, the Lord says, them that honor me, I will honor. Believer, when you wait on the Lord and keep His way, you will know the Lord's favor and the Lord's blessing upon you in your life. My, the Lord is one who cannot deny His Word. He cannot break His Word. And believer, when you honor the Lord, He will honor you. He will honor you with His peace. Listen to the words of the psalmist in Psalm 119, verse 165. He says, Great peace of they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. You will know that peace that passeth all understanding. Isaiah says to the Lord, I will keep them in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on thee. Now, you'll also know the honor of the Lord's provision. Notice the testimony there of David in his very own life in the psalm before us. In verse 25 of the psalm, he says, I have been young and now I am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken or a seed begging bread. The Lord also will honor you with his protection. In Psalm 84 verse 11, it says there, for the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. What a promise. He will honor you with his presence with you and round about you in your life. Remember the Lord's promise to Joshua? And being faithful to the Lord and to the Word of God, in Joshua chapter 1, verse 9, it says this, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. And this honor also means, dear child of God, the blessing of the Lord upon you in your life, in your work, and in your service for the Lord. Remember the promise of Christ to his disciples. He says, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. To your child of God, let me say this, you never are the poor. No, you're the richer for keeping the ways of the Lord and following the Lord. Turn over to 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4. Here's a verse especially for young people in our meeting this morning, maybe coming to the years when you leave school, leave home. away to university, college, or go out from the fold of the home, so to speak. Look at verse 8 of 1 Timothy chapter 4. It says, For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness, notice it, is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is. That speaks of God's blessing upon the godly life, be that a young person or an older person. And they're going out and then they're coming in as they seek to live for God day by day. Yes, this exaltation, yes, means the believer being blessed on earth. But we can add further, this exaltation also means the inheritance of heaven wherein dwelleth everlasting righteousness. You think of the words of Peter to God's people in 1 Peter 1, verses 3 and 4. He says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. which according to his abundant mercy have begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that feedeth not away reserved in heaven for you." That speaks of the believer's inheritance as exaltation in heaven and glory. Believer in heaven, you have eternal life. Keep that before you. There your soul will be perfect. There your soul will be free from all sin. And at the return of Christ, whenever your body rises from the grave, it will be reunited with your glorified soul in heaven, and your body too in heaven will be perfect. It will be immortal. The Bible says it shall be made like unto Christ's glorious body. Never again, believer in heaven, will you be affected by sorrow, or by sickness, or by sin, or by death, or by separation. Never again in heaven. All that will be absent. All that will be gone. In heaven you will have unbroken fellowship with the people of God and unbroken fellowship, best of all, with Christ your Savior, Christ your Redeemer. The Bible says, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. What a hope we have as God's people, even on godly days. Think of the words of the Heimreiter speaking of the believer's inheritance in heaven. He said, there shall we see his face and never, never sin. There from the rivers of his grace drink endless pleasures in. My says at the right hand of God there are pleasures forevermore. What a hope we have, what a prize, what an inheritance to look forward to as the people of God. To go up to glory, to be taken to be with himself, with Christ forevermore. But also we can add further that this exaltation for the believer means I'm seeing the judgment of the ungodly. You see, in this life, God judges the ungodly, and God cuts off the ungodly, and the psalmist speaks of that in the psalm. Look at what he says there in verse number 28 of the psalm. He says at the end of that verse, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Look again at what he says in verse 35 and verse 36. He says, I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not. Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." Go down to verse 38, he says there, but the transgressors shall be destroyed together, and the end of the wicked shall be cut off. Dear people of God, this is something that we see in life. From time to time, God judges the wicked. God judges the ungodly and the wicked are cut off in their sin. From this scene of time, that is a fact, something that God declares in His Word, the holy judgment of God upon the ungodly. And then also whenever the Lord returns in power and great glory, then the believer will see the complete overthrow of the workers of iniquity and see them being cast into hell where they shall be tormented forever and ever and ever without end. Turn with me your Bible over to Revelation chapter number 20, and you'll see that for yourself. Revelation chapter 20, look at verse number 12 and verse number 15 of the chapter. John says there, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books. According to the works, verse 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. There you read about the terrible end of the ungodly, the terrible end of the unsaved, the terrible end of the Christ-rejecter, the terrible end of those who have turned their back on God upon His Word, upon His truth, and upon His gospel. The Bible says, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. What an end, what an awful end sin brings. And child of God, please see this today and understand this because of Christ, because of Christ's death on the cross for you. because of His sacrifice being a propitiation for our sins, because of the shedding of His blood, His death, His resurrection. Child of God, realize this, understand this, that you've been saved from this judgment. You've been delivered, the Bible says, from the wrath to come. The Bible says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The Bible says, for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy! What a blessing! To be saved from the wrath to come, and to be sure of heaven, and to be sure of glory. Believer through faith in Christ as Savior. What has God done with your sins? He's pardoned all your sins. He's blotted out your transgressions. He has given to you eternal life, life that will never end, life that will never die or decay, and a certain home in heaven. The Bible says, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Oh, dear Christian, this is something to rejoice in day by day. This is something for you and I to daily thank God for. that we've been saved from the pit. Think of what the psalmist says in Psalm 40. He praised the Lord for lifting him, saving him out of the pit of corruption, out of the miry clay, setting his feet upon the rock, even the rock Christ Jesus, giving him a glorious inheritance, an eternal inheritance, not just for time, but for all eternity. Let me say, if you're unsaved in the meeting this morning, If you are to be delivered from God's judgment and certain judgment in hell, then now in time before God, you must repent of your sins. And by faith, ask the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith alone, ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to blood out your sins by the precious blood that is shed upon the cross of Calvary. You know, when you ask the Lord to be your Savior, God gives you a wonderful promise. This is the promise of God's Word. He says, when I see the blood, I will pass over thee. In other words, you'll be saved from the judgment of God, the wrath to come. The Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that it cleanse of us from all sin, The Bible says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Man, woman, young person, boy or girl, if you're not saved today, be wise. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call ye upon Him while He is near. Ask the Lord into your heart today to be your Savior, to take away your sins. The Bible says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That means your sin is forgiven, saved from the wrath to come, brought into the family of God, made sure of heaven and sure of glory.