The Happy Man 03 Righteousness-Palm Tree — James K. Boswell

Psalm 92 and the Happy Man

Now please open your Bibles to Psalm number 92, the 92nd Psalm. It's saying concerning the late Alexander Marshall, the author of God's Way of Salvation booklet, that if his text had scarlet fever, the sermon would never catch the infection.

They're all but so far apart. I told you last night I was going to speak on Psalm 1. It's a woman's privilege to change her mind. That's why it's always so clean, by the way. If I change my mind tonight, I believe the Spirit's changed it for me.

And we're going to speak tonight on Psalm number 92, still dealing with what does a happy man look like. So Psalm 92, verse number 1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High, that shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery, upon the harp of a solemn sound.

For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work. I will thrive in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works, and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man kneweth not, ne 'er do the fool understandeth.

When the wicked springeth the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. For thou, Lord, art most high and forevermore. For lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for lo, thine enemies shall perish.

All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered, but my horn shall exalt the horn of a unicorn. I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemy, and mine ear shall hear my desire of the wicked rise up against me.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those to be planted in the heart of the Lord shall flourish in the corpse of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age.

They shall be fat and flourishing. They shall know that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. The Lord reigneth. Give clothes of majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength.

The Lord add His blessing to that short reading from His word to our hearts tonight. This is a psalm which is sung at the offering up of the morning sacrifices and still is. And notice how it starts. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises in thy name, O most high.

Where you have a thankful heart, there is also with it a praiseful disposition. And a thankful heart is one of heaven's choicest gifts. And I repeat, where you have a thankful heart, there will also be with it the praiseful disposition.

The Body as an Instrument of the Holy Spirit

And notice verse number two. It says, Praise God this evening on for the fact His ten-thousandth love is ever like His mercies new every morning. Always fresh, always up to date. And now we come down to the spot here where it says, Now it speaks about the instrument of ten strings.

I love to suggest this to you, that our bodies are an instrument of ten members. We've got two eyes, two ears, two lips, two hands and two feet. And when these are synchronizing and in harmonious relationship, and our bodies are yielded to the indwelling Holy Spirit, and now through these bodies, these members yielded to the Lord, there shall be a manifestation of the life of Jesus Christ.

And you will really see a truly joyful man. A man filled with real joy. For Christ Himself is joy personified. And when He, the unspeakable gift, who brings with Him unspeakable joy, plants and fills the heart, there is an overflow.

Others, my friends, see, not I. That's a secret. Oh, may His beauty rest upon me as I seek the lost to win. And may we forget the channel, seeing only Him. Go down to verse four. Jesus says in verse four, and I like this too, For the Lord hath made me glad through thy work.

Is this not true in your life and in my life? Our hearts are made glad. Our hearts are filled with joy because of the work which He accomplished at the place called Golgotha. I will triumph in the works of thy hand.

I love that, don't you? I will triumph in the works of thy hand. His triumph is our triumph. Thanks be unto God who always gives us the victory, who leads us in a triumphal array through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Victory Through Jesus Christ

Paul cried, Who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And the captive in Romans 7 became a conqueror. In Romans 8 he cries, We are more than conquerors through Him that loveth us.

I love these words, I will triumph in the works of thy hand. I'll come back to that just in one moment. But notice now the next phrase, or the next verse. O Lord, how great are thy works! We look around us in these beautiful surroundings, we see God's great handiwork in creation, we meditate upon His creatorial glory, and our heart goes out to Him in worship and in adoration.

The Greatness of God's Works in Christ

O Lord, how great are thy works! We think of the work in the Incarnation, God, a very God wrapped in human clay. No wonder John waves to that great theologian and says, The great Creator contracted to expand indescribably made man.

For Paul cried, Great is the mystery of God, and of God manifest in flesh. As we meditate upon that, see our hearts cry, O Lord, how great are thy works! We think of His works here among men as He continually went about doing all manner of good.

No disease was counted incurable for Him as concern. He was the master over disease, and over demons, and over death. We think of His work upon the cross. And we think of this One who is the Prince of Life, becoming obedient to the will of the Father which made dead.

We think of that Holy One upon the Roman cross. His hands and feet kneel through to that Roman gibbet. We hear the cry ringing from His holy heart, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Then you hear the note of triumph.

It is finished. The great work of salvation being triumphantly accomplished. God's throne has been forever vindicated. All His right requirements have been fully made. So we, back to God's presence, stand open wide.

Yes, we stand back and we cry, O Lord, how great are thy works! As by faith we gaze upon that scenic Vilgatha, where we go to an empty tomb, and thank God the cross is empty, and the tomb is vacated, and again we cry, O Lord, how great are thy works!

The crying to die now lives, and lives in the power of an endless life. And the mighty conqueror of sin and death and Satan and hell lives in God's right hand, crowned with glory and with honor. Yes, we lift our eyes to night, and we see Him there.

No wonder we cry. Rise, O soul, behold the Jesus. Jesus fills thy wandering eyes. See Him now in glory, see where thy sins no more can rise. And there again will God, Jehovah, smite the shepherd with a sword.

There again will cruel sinners fear it not, our glorious Lord. And as we gaze upon that scene, we see another unchanging great high priest, the one touched with the feelings of our infirmities, and we cry, O Lord, how great are thy works!

Christ's Return and the Hope of His People

But you know something, beloved? He's just about to rise. He's just about to descend to the air. And my friend, we're going to hear that sweet voice saying, Rise up, my love, my farewell, and come away.

And all the redeemed of all ages will be there, gathered around the throne. We shall gaze upon Him, and as we gaze upon Him, we shall worship and we shall adore. And the air receives the tribulation of His soul, and is completely satisfied.

Then we've got to cry, O Lord, how great are thy works! And your heart says, Amen, Hallelujah, for what a Lord and Savior is ours. But then one day, beloved, He's coming back, and the heavens will glow with splendor, and every eye shall see Him, every knee will bow to Him, every tongue will confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

His enemies shall lick the dust. Yes, what a miracle that's going to be. Yes, for He shall come to be glorified in His face, and admired in all them that believe. And those who pierce Him shall gaze upon those hands and feet, and shall ask, What are those wounds in thine hands?

And we together with Him shall have to cry, O Lord, how great are thy works! Friend, has this work reached your heart? Has the Spirit of God done this in you? Is Christ a living reality in your heart tonight?

Sharing Christ's Victory Through Union With Him

We go back now to verse number five, or verse number four, rather, that says these words, I will try in the works of thy hands. He strives, and I will try. You know, the first football match I ever saw, in your beautiful country of the United States of America, was Georgia Tech playing Auburn University at Georgia Tech Stadium.

I'd never seen at all one of your football matches. When we played football, we played with our feet back in Scotland. We called that soccer. But there you fellows pad yourself up with about fifty pounds worth of padding, and you put a crash helmet on, and now you call that football.

Well, America, I got there, I made this approach to the Lord Jesus. I was teaching there at Georgia Tech. He and his school, his teacher, were saved the very same Lord's Day there in Atlanta. And so being on this faculty, he got a very good vantage point of view.

And he being my friend, I went along with him. And if you see the whole field, because see those men that worked there on the field. They called it play. To me it looked like murder. But there it was.

And of forty-four thousand people in that stadium, I said, if only I could get to that mic, just for five minutes, to give a wee word in the gospel. Well, you know, the word will net me to that mic. Of course, I never asked to go really.

But the point was, they had a minister there, and of course, he prayed, and prayed very nicely. He prayed that we play a clean game, and be true sports. And of course, he had quite a religious flavor about it, the whole game.

But, you know, the first quarter, I didn't know a thing they were doing. I couldn't understand those 422 full bloody strong men, running after that little pumpkin, and fighting. I didn't know what they were doing.

And when they got into the puddle, I thought they were having a prayer meeting for the next move. I didn't know what they were doing. And when they stood up, I stood up. When they yelled, I yelled. But I didn't know what I was standing up for.

I didn't know what I was yelling about. By the second quarter, I began to get into the idea of it. By the third quarter, I was well into it. And by the fourth quarter, when I stood up, I knew what I was standing up for.

When I yelled, I knew what I was yelling about. Georgia won 44 to 7. A glorious victory. On the way home, my friend, he was also champion wrestler of the Southern Colleges, and his wrestling name is Booch.

His real name is Hosea. Hosea Batten. Very, very fine fellow. I'll be staying with him next week, God willing, there in Atlanta. But I never get this in all my life. When driving along, he came to a stop sign, and by the way, he stopped.

Always a wise thing to do that. And so he stopped there, and he said, a man just tried, he said, who won? He said, we won. I touched him and said, we won? What do you mean, Booch? You didn't play in that game.

I said, you have no right telling that man we won or you didn't play. Well, he said, but Jim, he said, don't you understand? That team, they represented the whole college. And because the team won, the whole college shared the victory.

In fact, all Georgia shares the victory. It's a wonderful victory. I said, that's all right. But you have no right telling that man we won or you didn't play. I said, you told that man a lie. So he went back all over again.

He said, Jim, don't you understand? See, that team was representing the whole college. And because the team won, we share. We share in the victory. They represented us there. Because they represented and because they won, we share that victory.

I said, I can understand that you're saying all right, Lucia, but you did not and you have no right telling that man we won or you didn't play. So he looked at me and said, haven't you any gray matter at all?

I said, not very much, really, but I know that much. So he went back all over it again. I looked at him and said, Butch, I've been trying to get that into your skull for the last three weeks. That when Christ got upon me, on that cross, you did not, literally, Diana, you died in the person you represented.

And just as you did not play in that game, so you did not play at Calvary's cross. Literally, you died in the person you represented. And just as Christ rose from the dead, you now share His victory. His victory is your victory.

His triumph is your triumph. Oh, you said, Jim, I see how stupid I've been. I said, Jez, I've thought that for three weeks. But let me ask you, have you seen that tonight here? Or are you still trying to die?

Trying to die. You're trying to put yourself on the cross. You're trying to die a little bit. When all the time the Lord says, You are dead. And your life is hid with Christ. You have died. I am crucified with Christ.

I'm not trying to die. I speak very reverently when I say this with all the sincerity of my heart. You don't go up to a cross and say, die daily. You feel a bit more dead today than you did yesterday.

You don't say that to a corpse. The corpse is dead. And Paul said, You are dead. You have died. And Paul said, I died daily. He didn't mean to put the old man on the cross day by day. And just as Bush didn't play in that game yet he shared the victory because the team represented the whole school.

So tonight each and every believer who recognizes his and her union with the Lord Jesus in death and in burial and in resurrection and now with him upon the throne sharing with him now the fullness of that throne life reign with Christ in life now over sin over self and over circumstances and over satanic influence reigning with Christ in life here and now in part of the past.

This victory is your victory. How may I know victory than any Christ. Commit thyself to Calvary consent to die. God's way of gain is seeming lost. We die to live and His life comes as to the cross. My life I gave in the measure which I reckon by faith what God has reckoned by grace my union with Christ in death.

Reverend 611 comes in here and says Reckon ye yourselves be dared unto sin that's the negative side but alive unto God where Jesus Christ our Lord that's the positive side. As I said last night it's no longer I but Christ that lives in me not my trying to live the Christian life no He lives His life through me day by day that is the Christian life that's what I am going to talk about tonight we come now down to verse number twelve shall we?

The Righteous Flourish Like a Palm Tree

That was all introductory to my message. I have five minutes extra tonight. Notice the contrast between verses seven and twelve will you? Verse seven says When the wicked spring as the grass and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish it is that they shall be destroyed forever.

What a contrast in verse twelve the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. I've been looking at your beautiful palms around here and I am very fond of palms probably you say palm.

I don't know but it's still palms and I want to draw one or two very practical lessons from the trees we will tonight. First of all the palm is the only tree that has got its growth from its heart it grows from within and develops and matures.

I was in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania at a conference a few weeks ago and I was staying with a family and I looked out through my bedroom window one day and I noticed he had got a ring right around the tree.

The bark removed about two feet deep and all round the whole tree that two feet deep piece of bark all removed. And I said to him Ray whatever are you doing removing the bark. He said I want to kill that tree.

I want to kill it. And because I want that tree killed I remove that bark. You can't do that with a palm tree. Oh no my friend you may tear the bark off you may chip the bark. But you'll never kill the palm tree by removing the bark for the lesson for us.

The New Heart and Fruitful Christian Life

Ezekiel 36 says. A new heart will I give them. Isn't it lovely. A palm tree you know begins to bear fruit when it's between seven and eight years old. A palm tree begins to bear fruit between seven and eight years old.

And you know something it bears fruit for over a hundred years. The bible says even in old age they shall still bring full fruit. There's no retirement in old age. Fruit unto holiness fruit unto righteousness fruit unto God manifesting the fruit of the spirit a reproduction of life of Jesus Christ.

I always love to be with older people. I used to when I was a youngster. I'm giving up myself now a little bit. You know when you turn 50 you begin to wonder well and the palm is made use of and the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree.

And these days you've had in conference here over the weeks and months and you've allowed the spirit of God to operate in you and form Christ in you as you go back to your home. And as you stay here in these beautiful surroundings your life is going to be pleasing.

It's going to be attractive. It's going to look up. And it's going to be made use of. You know why. Because it's his life being lived in you in the energy of an ungreed Holy Spirit. So I repeat with all my heart let us all purified even if he is pure and he's going to make use of the purified life number 382.