Good evening to each of you. Will you open the Word of God to Psalm 25. Psalm 25 verses 12 through 15 will be our text for this evening's message. The title of this evening's message is, He That Fears the Lord. Some wonderful blessings found in this text. These are the words of God. What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease, and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. David here is the psalmist. He is the author of this psalm, and in this psalm, of prayer and meditation. It is most likely written when David is old, for verse 7, he requests that the Lord not remember the sins of his youth. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions according to thy mercy. Remember thou me for thy goodness sake, O Lord. When one is old, that is when they would say, please forgive the sins of my youth. This psalm, full of instruction, and guidance for us. The man after God's own heart is here used to reveal God's heart to his people, what it is that we ought to do and the blessings that come along with obeying the Lord God. The first part of verse 12, we see what fearing the Lord looks like, or we see what is the condition for these blessings. There are always conditions for temporal or earthly blessings. Salvation, what the Lord Christ did on our behalf, was conditional, but not on us. The conditions were all laid on the Lord Jesus Christ, and he fulfilled every one of them. For us, our portion of salvation, it is unconditional. The Lord causes us to know at a designated point in time, when the fullness of time has come in his mind, then it is made known to us what it is that Christ has already accomplished on our behalf. But he is the one who fulfilled all the conditions for it. As far as earthly blessings, those are conditional. The Lord has given to us the conditions for these blessings in the text. What man is he that fears the Lord? What does fearing the Lord look like? Do we have any examples that we could look at? We certainly do. Job 28 and verse 28. will give us a hint on what fearing the Lord looks like. We could certainly look through David's life. We could look through Paul's life. We could look through Peter. We could look through Josiah. There are so many, so many actual examples of this. We'll just look at a few texts that describe it. Job 28, 28. And unto man, he said, behold, the fear of the Lord That is wisdom. So the one who fears the Lord will be wise. They will be a wise person for they fear the Lord and to depart from evil is understanding. Fearing the Lord and wisdom is equated to departing from evil and understanding. Psalm 111, Psalm 111, verse 10. So the one who fears the Lord will be a wise person. Psalm 111 and verse 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do his commandments, his praise endureth forever. Fearing the Lord, while this person will not only be wise, but fearing the Lord is only the beginning of wisdom. It isn't the end of wisdom. It is the beginning. It is the starting place. It is where one is first deemed to be wise when they fear the Lord. A good understanding. Have all they that do his commandments. Fearing the Lord will result in doing what he says. Because if you do not fear the Lord, you won't do what he says. If you do, if you reverence, by the way, this is not a trembling, terrified, I am so scared fear. This is a reverential fear. You think of the way that you may have thought of your father. You respected him. You understood that you were his son and that he was your father, though many of us may not have behaved perfectly in that way all the time. If my father were here, he could attest that I did not always do that properly. But you understand that you are in a position underneath him, and you respect his authority. And you do what he says when he says it, because you know that he is right. Now our fathers are sinful men, but God is not. As our heavenly father, we are to reverence him. We are to hold him in high esteem. We are to have a reverential fear of the Lord, holding him in his right position. In fact, the very previous verse to this, he sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant forever, holy, And reverend is his name. Now we have lots of preachers that take the name reverend. Here, reverend is a name for the Lord. Reverend, he is the one to be revered. He is the one to be held in reverence. Not the preacher, not any other man, but the Lord himself. Proverbs, Proverbs 8, chapter 8, verse 13 will give us a conclusion. of the matter, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Now, do we get to decide what evil is? No. If we're fearing the Lord, we're hating what he calls evil. We get, he gets to decide what is evil and what is good. We do not get to decide, we don't get to define what is evil and what is good. In fact, there's a specific woe to, in Isaiah chapter five, to those who will call evil good and good evil. Those who swap sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet. That is not a good, we do not get to make those decisions. We ought not to change language. That's a bad thing to do. You want the Lord to be against you? start changing language. The Lord will be against that right quickly. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogancy and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate. This is wisdom speaking. We know that Christ is the wisdom of God, 1 Corinthians 1.24. And he is here speaking as the wisdom of God. And he hates these things. We are also, we ought to also hate the froward mouth, pride, arrogancy, and the evil way. Anything that would be against the Lord God, that is something that we are to hate, that we are to despise, that we are to hold in low esteem. This is illustrating a fear of the Lord. When we're agreeing with him, it illustrates that we are holding him in his proper place, that we are reverencing him as he ought to be reverenced. The blessings, the ending of verse 12 through verses 14, the blessings of fearing the Lord are immense and are many. Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease and his seed shall inherit the earth The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. The one who fears the Lord will receive these blessings. He shall teach him in the way that he shall choose. This is the Lord teaching the man in this, in the way that the Lord shall choose. This isn't, I fear the Lord, so I get to choose how I'm going to be taught. No, This is the Lord choosing how he is going to instruct us. He chooses how he's going to instruct us. Psalm 16, verse 11, thou wilt show me the path of life. He is the one who shows us the path of life. He is the one who shows us the path that we ought to walk. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. He is the one who chooses that way. He is the one who teaches us. Is that not what Jesus also taught? As we saw this morning, he that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. But also in John chapter six, John chapter six, verse 45, right after he said, no man can come to me, can implying ability, no man has the ability. If he said may, he would have been discussing permission to come unto Christ. But he didn't say may, he said can, and so thus he said, no man has the ability to come unto me, except the father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. The one that the father draws is the one that Christ will raise up at the last day. It is written. He's not making something up. This isn't some new doctrine that he's just pulling out of thin air. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the father cometh unto me. Isaiah 54 verse 13 is what he was, what he just is, what Christ cited and is a supporting element of what it is that he said in verse 44. God is the one who determines what way we will be taught. John said we're in, we're in the gospel. According to John come to chapter 16. How does he do it? John 16, Verse 13, how be it when he, that is the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. It is the Holy Spirit of God who teaches us. He is the one who guides us into all truth. That is one of the reasons he was sent. It is one of the reasons he was sent in his fullness. He's always been with God's people. He had a ministry in the Old Testament, but it was not, he did not come in his fullness until, uh, until Pentecost. That is when, when he was sent in his fullness, the fullness of his ministry, uh, occurred at Pentecost. One of the things that he does is he teaches us, he guides us into all truth. He is the one who leads us in the way that God shall choose. He shall dwell at ease. His soul shall dwell at ease. The marginal reading here, he shall lodge in goodness. Lodge in goodness. Dwelling at ease and lodging in goodness. We understand how those are related. When you're lodging in goodness, how much fear do you have about what's going on around you? Very little. Very little. If you don't fear what's going on around you, are you at ease? Think about in the, I know some of you were in the military. When they told you to stand at attention and then they told you at ease, you got to kind of relax a little bit. But in the middle of a battle, you're not at ease. The one who fears the Lord gets to dwell at ease. We don't need to be concerned. We don't need to be hyper-focused and aware and absolutely at our wits end about what's going on around us. The Lord will take care of that. The Lord will take care of us. He'll see to it that we have what we need. This one that fears the Lord gets to dwell at ease. Psalm 23, back just a couple of Psalms. Look at verse six. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Not just in the future, but now. We can dwell in the house of the Lord now, as in dwelling at ease. Fellowship with the Lord, fearing the Lord, will cause us to dwell at ease. The Lord ensures those things are taken care of. Notice next that this isn't just a blessing to the individual. God's blessings are very often not just to the individual that is the one meeting the conditions. Very often the blessings proceed to their children. How many times have now, I think we've got brethren amongst the Presbyterians and those that are of the Reformed type. They baptize their children. But one of the reasons that they baptize their children is because they believe that their blessings are going to be passed to their children. I think that there is an element of truth taught in the scriptures about blessings being given to the children as is pointed out in our text. Was it Acts chapter 2 where the blessings are to you and to your children? and as many the blessings are to you and your children and All those that are far off as many as the Lord shall call We are of those that are far off is speaking of Jews and their children But nevertheless God's people their children are blessed because of their parents their children are blessed because of their parents behavior David. Think of King David. Think about all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Why was Rehoboam on the throne? Rehoboam was a wicked man. But if you read about Rehoboam, he was on the throne because of David's sake. Because of the promise God made to David was Rehoboam on the throne. Rehoboam didn't deserve to be on the throne, but because of David, he was. So through and through blessings passed to the children because of the parents. This and his seed shall inherit the earth. The blessings even go on to the children. Our God does not skimp on blessings. Our God is not a God of just a little bit, just enough. No, he goes over and beyond. Just as we read in Psalm 23 some time ago, David said, my cup overfloweth. He didn't just fill it to the brim, he overflowed the cup. That's the kind of blessings that our God gives, more than we can handle, more than we could ever thank him for. It's gonna take all eternity for us to thank him enough for the blessings that he has given us. And since he'll be giving us blessings in eternity, I don't know that even in eternity we'll be able to thank him for all that he has done. Psalm 128, I want to show you another passage in this regard. Psalm 128, verse one, blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways. What are some of those blessings? Look down at verse three. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. She'll be fruitful, productive. She'll do the things that she needs to do. That fruitful vine is a productive vine on the side of the house. Provides food for the house, provides shelter, provides shade, and provides comfort for that household. like olive plants round about thy table. Thy children are good things round about thy table. Eat with your children is another thing that we can draw from this text. We do not eat with our children very often in our society. That was something that was very common. Growing up, we didn't do that all the time, and there are times that we can't do it now, but we try. Try to do that. Try to do that. that thy children shall be around thy table is because that was the intent. That was the intent, that we eat together. Olive plants, productive plants that produce something that is tasteful, that is tasty to eat, your children will be productive, what we might refer to as productive members of society. Because we have plenty of members of society that are unproductive. Your children will not be that way, the one that fears the Lord. That is certainly a great blessing passed on to your children for your behavior. That is certainly a wonderful, wonderful thing that we do our absolute best to instill in our children, to behave in the way that we train them up and the way that they should go, so that when they're old they will not leave it. We do our best, we do what we can do, and the Lord takes care of the rest. Fearing the Lord, fearing the Lord is one of those items that we ought to look and ensure that we're walking in accordance with. Further, verse 14, the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. What is the secret? This word for secret is also translated as counsel six times, assembly, Five times. And it is defined as a company of persons in close deliberation. When you are deliberating things with your wife or your business partner at work, you are in a secret council is how this is really being used. A secret council. It's not out in the public. The one who fears the Lord will be in council with the Lord. It is implying intimacy. with the Lord, a consultation, a consultation with the Lord. Look at Psalm 55, Psalm 55 verse 14 reads, we took sweet counsel together and walked unto the house of God and company. This is the type of counsel that the one that fears the Lord has with the Lord, a sweet counsel with the Lord. Is he not called counselor? I believe we sung a hymn about the Lord's names. Isaiah 9.6, what Christ is. Is he not called counselor? Wonderful, full of wonder. It's a noun there, it's not an adjective. He is a wonderful counselor, but it's not simply that he is a wonderful counselor. He is wonderful, full of wonder, and a great counselor. He is the one that we seek counsel from. The one that fears the Lord gets his counsel from the Lord. And he will receive that counsel. Noah, Noah would be an example of one that had this secret counsel with the Lord. Noah, come to Genesis six, verse 11. The earth also was corrupt before God. The earth was filled with violence and God looked upon, upon the earth and behold, it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me for the earth is filled with violence and through them, uh, filled with violence through them and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Verse eight tells us why he spoke with Noah. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. He did not literally walk with God, but he walked in fellowship with the Lord. He did what the Lord said to do. He walked in all the ways of God. He was a just man. He was not perfect as in absolutely perfect. He was perfect Relatively perfect in his generations. He was relatively perfect. Perfect compared to those around him. Perfect or complete, mature compared to those around him. Abraham would certainly be another example. Abraham called the friend of God. You know why he's called the friend of God? Because God would not hide from Abraham what he was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah. Uh, that's why he is called the friend of God in the book of James. The disciples come to John, John 15, John 15 and verse verse 13 greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends. If you do whatsoever, I command you. Henceforth, I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you. Do you know why we're called friends of the Lord? For the same reason Abraham was called friends of the Lord, because he doesn't hide things from us. He tells us what he's going to do. We have his word. We know that God doesn't change. We know that what he has done in the past is what he's going to do now. It's one of the reasons we have the Old Testament, Romans 15.4. Whatsoever is written aforetime, Romans 15.4 is talking specifically about the Old Testament. Whatsoever is written aforetime, the Old Testament, was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Patience. It takes time to learn these things. It takes time to delve in and dig them out. Because it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search it out. It takes time. It takes patience to learn these things from the Old Testament. And, uh, but it receives, it gives us comfort and hope to know that God has not changed. He has never allowed unrighteousness wickedness to rule, uh, forever. He will always, he will always, uh, squash the wicked. He will always have his way in the wind and the whirlwind. The disciples, the disciples here are called the friends of the Christ calls them friends because he tells them what he is going to do. what is going to happen. And this covenant, he will show them the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. This secret counsel, he will show them and he will show them his covenant. It's not talking about Israel's covenant. That covenant was made known. That covenant was made known to the righteous, to the just and the unjust amongst Israel. It's not talking about Israel's covenant. It's not talking about the covenant with Abraham. It's not talking about the covenant with David. It's talking about Christ's covenant. It's talking about the new covenant. It's talking about our, the everlasting covenant, the gospel of the blessed God. Those that fear the Lord, notice even Cornelius was a man that feared God. Often theologians refer to Gentiles Before they come to know the gospel in the New Testament, they refer to them as God-fearers. Cornelius was a God-fearer. He already had a new heart, but he didn't know about the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter would come and tell him. He would be one that fears the Lord. That was then shown his covenant. It was then shown the covenant that he would be a part of. the gospel of the blessed God. He that doesn't fear the Lord will never understand, never understand what perfect fellowship with God means. They will never understand what peace is. They'll never understand what, they may understand that God's not killing them in that moment, but they'll never understand what shalom, that type of long everlasting peace that we have with God is through our Lord Jesus Christ. They'll never understand what that is like. When we're supposed to live peaceably as much as we can, as much as we are able amongst all men, the wicked don't know what peace is. We do. That's why we're told to live as much as lies in us in that manner, in a peaceful manner, as much as lies in us. The wicked don't always allow that to happen. The wicked don't always allow peace to occur. but we can, we know what that is like. For the one that we follow, the one that has purchased us is the Prince of Peace, is the one who brought peace between us and God. Verse 15, we see the conclusion of this matter. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. His eyes are continually, perpetually on the Lord God. Although this is the case, we, just like the disciples, just like David, need our feet washed as we walk in this world. You remember when Christ washed their feet? He didn't do that so that we would wash each other's feet, even though he said that you should do this to each other. He did this as an example. Feet washing isn't meant to be literal, it's figurative. After they showered, their whole body was clean, right? But then as they walked, their feet would get dirty because they didn't have closed shoes like we do. So whenever they'd come into somebody's house, they would wash their feet because their feet were dirty. Well, that teaches us a spiritual lesson. We might be washed all the way through by the Lord Jesus Christ and we are eternally, but we still get dirty as we walk in this world. We need our feet washed from time to time. We get our feet trapped in the net. Just here as David said, has anybody here ever used a net to actively catch something? I've never used a net to actively catch something. It's hard to do. It's hard to do. I imagine it can be done. Nets are typically used for something to catch itself, like fishing. Birds would be one way. But if you think of fishing, fishing with a net, as Peter as Peter and some of the disciples did. Fishing, especially with a net, you are not actively fishing. The fish are catching themselves. You're just drawing them up. This is what happens to us with this net. We are catching ourselves. We are the cause of our own pain and suffering. We are the ones that are doing it. What do I mean? Come to James chapter one and I'll show you what I'm talking about. James chapter one, very often, very often, this is the case. I'm not saying it is absolutely every single case, uh, but very often, uh, very often, this is the reason for pain and suffering. We have done it. Uh, Job would be an example of where that is not true. Job did not do anything to merit what he went through. Uh, he was, he was a just like Noah. perfect in his generations. It doesn't say that, but he is a perfect, upright, just man that hates evil. James chapter one is what David is referring to is the idea that David is referring to. Dave, James one 14, but every man is tempted when he has drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, they bring forth sin and sin. When it is finished, bring it forth death. He has just got done saying, gotten finished saying, no man, don't let any man say he's tempted of God. Oh, God tempted me. No, God doesn't tempt any man, neither can he be tempted by any man. We are tempted when we're drawn away of our own lusts. We allow ourselves to be tempted. Where does the desire to commit wickedness come from? It comes from us. It comes from our dirty old heart. It comes from our dirty old heart. That doesn't come from God. And that's what James is saying. Our bent towards wickedness comes from us. That comes from within us. We are the problem with the law. The law is perfectly holy and just. We're the problem, the flesh. The flesh is unable to keep it. We're unable to do things that are righteous in the Lord's eyes in and of ourselves. We are the ones who cause ourselves to be caught in this net that David is speaking of. David with Bathsheba and Uriah, God didn't have anything to do with that. God didn't, the devil, all of that, all of that was David. David was enticed. David was the one who gave into that temptation. David was the one who did all of those things, but yet he knows. He knows that the Lord is the one who will pluck my feet out of that net. We may get our feet dirty, but our feet are not allowed to stay dirty. We may get caught in the net, but we're not allowed to stay there. We will be taken out of that net. This is why we need our eyes on the hills from whence cometh our help. This is why we need our eyes on the Lord. The one who fears the Lord will not stay, will not stay in that net forever. May we be in the fear of the Lord all the day long, that he might be praised, that he may be further glorified in all that he has done. Let's bow before him. Our Father and our God, we thank you for the instruction of your word. We thank you for the blessings.