STRONG FAITH IN A FAITHFUL GOD
Text: "I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me."
(Psalm 57:2)
DAVID was in the cave of Adullam.
He had fled from Saul, his ruthless foe, and had found shelter in the clefts of the rock.
In the beginning of this psalm he rings the alarm-bell.
"Be merciful unto me," he says, and then the clapper hits the other side of the bell.
"Be merciful unto me."
He expresses his misery again and again.
"My soul trusteth in thee; yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."
With these words, he comforts himself by faith in his God.
For faith to be true faith, it must be active faith.
Its activity, however, must begin with prayer.
This should precede any action.
"I will cry," he says, "unto God most high."
Do you know that when he was in the cave, he was graciously saved by God, even when Saul was close at his heels?
God used the winding caverns to conceal him from Saul and his men, while they were close at hand.
There is an ancient legend that contains a note about this, which may or may not be true.
It states that a spider spun its web over the door of that part of the cave where David was concealed.
If that’s the way it was, David would probably have written about the little things God had done for him which had great results.
If God makes a spider spin a web to save his servant's life, David traces his deliverance not to the spider, but to the wonder-working God, and he says, "I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me."
It is wonderful to hear the prayers of these great men of God when they face adversity.
It’s the sick oyster that makes the pearl, and not the healthy one.
And it’s the Christian in trouble and pain that prays the best prayers.
Our text is capable of three meanings.
I want to call your attention briefly to these three meanings.
David said, "Unto God who performeth all things for me."
First, he could be thinking about God’s divine intervention.
Secondly, there is a possibility he is referring to unbreakable faithfulness. David was confident that God would work out the fulfillment of the promises he had made.
Thirdly, there is a definite certainty that God is going to work it all out according to the covenant He had made with David.
To begin with, the first meaning of the text concerns:--
I. THE DIVINE INTERVENTION.
The text, talks about a service--"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me."
"All things," suggests the idea that in everything that I have to do, I am only an instrument in His hand; it is God that does it for me.
The Christian has no right to do anything that he cannot ask for God's help to do it.
In effect, he should have no business which he could not leave with the Lord.
Any work in which he cannot ask for God’s help, or that he can’t give the care of into God’s hands, is unfit for him to be engaged in.
You can depend upon it, if I cannot say about my whole life, "God performeth all things for me," there is sin somewhere.
Let’s think about our day-to-day life, and apply the text to it.
Should we ask God every morning to help us through the day?
Although we are not going out to preach or going to church for worship, and even though it is only our ordinary business, that ordinary business ought to be a consecrated thing.
We ought to find opportunities to serve God in our common and ordinary activities and by our service glorify God.
On the other hand, we may do something to hurt the cause of Christ as we go through an ordinary day.
Therefore, let’s begin the day with prayer, and continue all through the day in the spirit of prayer, and at the end of the day thank God for anything that was accomplished.
Any success that we have had, if it is real success, is from our God who gives it to us.
Doesn’t it say in the Bible, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it?"
That is a statement that can be applied to the whole Christian life.
If we are going to be blessed, as Jabez craved when he said, "Oh! that thou wouldst bless me indeed," it must come from God, and it can come from nowhere else.
So then, if you’re a Christian, pray continually to God that performeth all things for you.
Could it be that right now, some of you are worried about some petty little thing, or you have spent the whole morning trying to work out some trivial matter?
Don’t you think we often suffer more from our little troubles than from our great ones?
A thorn in the foot may make you ill-tempered, while a dislocated joint would expose your grit.
Often the man who can bear to lose a fortune with the composure of Job, will cringe and seethe due to a trivial annoyance that should only excite a smile or a groan.
We are apt to worry about things that never happen, or if they do, don’t amount to much.
Is it because we forget that God performeth all things for us?
Don’t we ignore the fact that our success in little things depends upon His blessing?
Don’t you know that God can make the gnat and the fly a greater trouble to Egypt than a severe storm?
So never ignore your little troubles, but instead give them all to God.
Thank God for the little things.
Put the little things into His hand, because it is nothing to God to work in the little, for the great is little to him.
After all, there is not much difference in our littles and our greats to the infinite mind of our glorious God.
Cast it all on Him who numbers the hairs of your head, and who won’t allow a sparrow to fall to the ground without his decree.
Pray to God about the little things, for he performeth all things for us.
I believe that all of us at one time or another has prayed about some great thing like changing jobs.
Friends, don’t take a step without waiting upon the Lord, but if you are convinced that the change has God’s approval, go ahead with it, because he performeth all things for you.
There’s too much anxiety around today that causes physical and emotional sickness when we try to deal with our forebodings ourselves.
Some of those knots we try to untie could better be cut by the sword of faith.
We should put an end to our difficulties by leaving them with the Lord.
Hasn’t He been your guide up until this moment?
Then follow Him like the Israelites followed the cloudy pillar through the wilderness.
Follow Him confident that all is well and keep close to Him, for He performeth all things for you.
Just now, perhaps, you are surrounded with real trouble and grief.
I want to encourage you to pray to God when you have hard times; He will show himself once again to be a God who is all-sufficient to his people in their times of need.
He is always near.
I do not believe that He has said, "When thou walkest through the green pastures, I will be with thee, and when thy way lies close by the river of the water of life, where lilies bloom, I will strengthen thee."
I believe he will do it, but I do not remember such a promise in His Word; but "When thou goest through the rivers, I will be with thee," is a well-known promise of His.
If He is ever present with you, it will be when you are hurting: if he can be absent, it will certainly not be when his servants most want His aid.
You rest in Him then.
But you say, "I can do so little because of this problem I have."
Do what you can, but leave the rest to him.
If you can see no way of escape, does that mean that there is none?
If you can’t see any help, is it to be inferred that help cannot come?
Thy Lord and Savior couldn’t find a single friend among the whole family of man, "Yet," said he, "could I not presently pray to my Father, and he would send me twelve legions of angels?"
If it was needed for your help, the squadrons of heaven would leave the glory-land to come to your rescue, even if you may be the least and poorest of the children of God.
He’ll do it for you, so be obedient, trustful, and patient.
It is your place to obey, it’s His to command; it’s yours to see, it’s his to perform.
He will perform all things for you.
It is always unwise to anticipate our troubles.
Didn’t God say, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof?"
Of all the ways a person can torture himself, the most foolish is to import future trouble into the present.
Instead of worrying about what might happen, think of some gracious promises you found in the Word, and lay hold of them with faith.
Then, whatever you perceive is going to happen in the future, will be in God’s hands.
He rules and He overrules: he will make all things work together for good; he will surely bring you through.
Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life, and you shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
He is the one who will perform all things for you.
It seems strange to me that you see your weaknesses, you see the temptations that will attack you, and the troubles that threaten you, and you are afraid.
Don’t look at these things and don’t think about them.
This is no business of yours.
Leave it in His hands, for He will manage it all very well, and He will do the kindest and the best thing for you; so be confident and rest in peace.
And it should be the same even at life's close.
He performeth all things for me.
I am at the age when I think I can see the end of my life coming up, and I think about dieing more than I used to.
Unless the Lord comes before my term expires, I must close these eyes, gather up these feet in the bed, breathe a last gasp, and yield my soul to Him who gave it to me.
Well, I am not afraid; he helped me to live, and he will help me to die.
He has always helped me to perform my allotted task, and when needed He has performed it for me, giving me His grace and working his will with me.
Should I worry that he will desert me at the last?
He performeth not just some things, but all things, and He cannot omit this most important thing, which often makes me uneasy.
No; that must also be included, for all things are mine-- death as well as life.
So, I will leave my death in His hands, who performeth all things for me, and I am not going to worry about it.
Friends, I want to leave this impression in your mind; that in the great business of life, whatever it is, while we do not sit still and fold our hands for lack of work, nevertheless God worketh in us to will and to do His own good pleasure.
We have come to recognize that if we are successful at doing anything, it is God that performs it, and we give Him the glory.
The second thought which the text suggests is that of:--
II. UNBREAKABLE FAITHFULNESS.
The verse says: "Unto God that performeth all things for me."
Our Heavenly Father, who made the promises, made them because He plans to fulfill them.
God is the One who does the work of bringing about everything declared in the covenant of grace that He made with His people.
Our Savior-God has performed all things for us.
Our sin is gone, since He took it all upon Himself--every particle of it.
The righteousness that wraps us up is complete, since He has woven it all from the top to bottom.
I no longer think I have to wash away my sins, because, as a believer, my sin has been pardoned.
All things are performed for me.
Don't forget amid your service for Jesus, the great work that Jesus has done for you; do all things for Christ, but let the motivation be that Christ has done all things for you.
There is not even one little thing that you need to do to complete the work of Christ.
The ransom He has paid for you doesn’t wait until you add the last dollar.
It is all done.
As far as our souls are concerned, if Jesus has saved you, He has done all things for you as your Representative and Substitute.
All things within us that have ever been created there were created by God for us.
The Holy Spirit has created everything good that is within our souls.
Nothing grows within the garden of our souls naturally or as the result of our own efforts.
Jesus is the one that sowed the seed and began the work of salvation.
He led us to the foot of the cross; he helped us when we followed him with staggering steps.
The eyes with which we looked to Jesus and believed were opened by him.
Christ was revealed to us; we did not discover Him on our own.
It was the Spirit of God that revealed the Son of God to our spirit.
He performed it all for us.
As I look back at my own spiritual life to this point, I can see that God performed all things for me.
If He hadn’t done it, it would be impossible for me to stand here now to tell you of the wonders of his grace.
I would never have believed in Him if He had not taught me to believe.
That is not only my testimony, but the testimony of all my brothers and sisters in Christ who through a personal experience with Christ were saved, because He performed all things for us.
Since then, and up to this present moment, if there has been any goodness in any one of us, what do you attribute it to?
I believe you must say along with me, "It’s all of God".
You could not have done without him.
If you have made any progress as a Christian, believe me, your growth and progress, have all been a mistake unless they have come entirely from him.
What a relief it is to know that our God never changes!
What he was yesterday He is today.
He will be the same a thousand years from now as He is today.
Are you struggling against sin?
Please, don't struggle in your own strength: it is God who performeth all things for you.
Victories over sin are only fake victories unless we overcome our sin through the blood of the Lamb, and through the power of divine grace.
I am afraid of backsliding, but I think I am more afraid of growing as a Christian in my own strength; because anything I do by myself will not last.
Men may appear to have a strong faith, but it’s all on the outside; inside there is no deep spiritual faith.
Every good spiritual thing is from Him, who performeth all things for us; and, you want to know something, whatever struggles may come your way, whatever temptations assail you, or whatever thunder-clouds may burst over your heads, you will not be deserted or destroyed.
In spiritual things it is God who performeth all things for you.
Rest in Him then.
There is nothing you can do to save your own soul; Jesus is the Savior, and no one else.
If he cannot save you, you certainly cannot save yourself.
Give up your burdens to Him, because He cares for you.
Rest all your hopes on Him, where they ought to be.
Rely completely on Him and put the burden of your care on him who performeth all things for you.
Finally, there is one more thing our text could refer to:--
III. THE FINISHING STROKE OF A GRAND DESIGN.
David said in his psalm, "I will cry unto God most high--unto God who perfecteth all things concerning me."
David's life was full of excitement and danger.
He had been anointed when he was a boy, by Samuel.
The Lord said, "I have provided Me a king among the sons of Jesse."
And Samuel had taken "the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren."
He was therefore clearly ordained to be king over Israel.
His way to the throne was by way of the cave of Adullam.
That seems to me to be a strange route for him to take!
Before he could become the king over Israel and Judah, he must first become a rebel, a wandering vagabond, hunted by Saul, the reigning king.
He must seek refuge in the courts of his country's enemies, the Philistines.
It was a strange way to the throne!
Yet the Son of David, the Lord Jesus, had to go that way.
David is so confident that what God has said will come to pass, and so sure that Samuel's anointing was no charade, and that he will be king, that he praises God, while He is making him a homeless wanderer.
It may not look like it, but God is training him and leading him on a surefire path to the throne.
Now, can I believe that Jesus, who promises that I will be with him in heaven and that I will behold his glory--can I believe that he is perfecting that for me?
The point is this: that if God is taking care of us, then He will keep on caring for us until Christ returns or we pass on, what ever happens first.
All of God’s people are in the hand of Jesus, and they will be in that hand for ever and ever.
Didn’t He say, "None shall pluck them out of my hand?"
Sanctification is a big theological word that means our progress in becoming more like Christ.
Every child of God is set apart by Christ, and is in Christ, and the Holy Spirit is working to subdue their sin, and this work is going on at this very moment.
He has promised to bring us to glory.
We have the deposit of that great glory in us now.
The new life is there; the Holy Spirit is within us, and He will perfect all this.
He will not allow one good thing that he has planted within us to die.
It is a living and incorruptible seed, which liveth and abideth for ever.
He will perfect all things for us.
There isn’t anything that God won’t give to make His saints complete.
What a marvelous thing it is to be a Christian!
How near to hell I was, and now how close to heaven!
How fallen I was, and now I am lifted up!
I was able to do nothing, but now I can do all things!
I do nothing; yet I accomplish all things, because God is within me, and he performeth all things for me.
Let’s pray for God to give us the grace to look away from ourselves entirely, and to depend entirely upon him.
Now is there anyone here that desires salvation?
Try this one simple thing.
Look to him: he performeth all things for you.
Everything that is needed to save your soul will be given to you by your heavenly Father.
All you have to do is to come and take what has already been provided.
You might say, "I cannot save myself."
Well, you don’t need to: there is One who performeth all things for you.
"I am a terrible sinner," another says.
Then he adds, "There is nothing good in me, or that can come from me."
Friends, it is not what you can do, but what God can do-- what Christ has done--that must be the grounds for your hope.
Give yourself up to God, who performeth all things for thee, and you will be blessed indeed.
May our God send you away with His own blessing, for Jesus' sake.
