Well, your Bible should open up at the psalm number 34 as we continue to make our way through the Psalter, the psalm book, and we're in the psalm number 34. We do warmly welcome you. Thank you for making the effort. We really do appreciate it. We don't just say that. Week after week, we're so glad to see you. and to fellowship with you in the gospel. And I trust that God will encourage your heart and speak to your soul and that you'll be ready to hear that which the Lord would say to you this evening. So Psalm 34, it is a psalm of David and the title reminds us and tells us of when this particular psalm was written, when he changed his behavior before Bimelech who drove him away and he departed. And so let's hear what the psalmist writes by inspiration David writes here, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. many are the afflictions of the righteous but the lord delivers him out of them all he keepeth all his bones not one of them is broken evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate the lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate amen may god bless even these words to our hearts as we have read them together now it's not my intention this evening to preach through the entire psalm that we have just read together you might be very much relieved with regard to that that would take i believe a series in and off itself Think of the many tremendous verses that we've just read together. We could spend just a night on some of them. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Or the verse 4, I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. Verse 6, this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. Or verse number 8, O taste and see. And so we could take one of those verses and preach on them this evening. But this evening, I want to turn your attention to a little section in the middle of the psalm. Oftentimes we think that whenever we read the psalms, the climax comes at the end. That often happens in books. It always comes at the end. The climax to the story always reaches the end. The author builds up to the final plot and the final twist in the plot. And sometimes it's left on, as it were, a ledge, a cliffhanger, you would call it. in order that you buy the next part of the series, but often a book finds its climax at its end, but not so with Hebrew poetry. In actual fact, the climax is in the center of many of the psalms that is how the hebrew writers the hebrew poets would have written their pieces of literature it came to the climax in the center the very pinnacle it comes at the very center of the psalm and so we're in the very center of the psalm and we read in the verse 11 these words come ye children Hearken unto me and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. Brethren and sisters, the Christian life is not a complicated life. Sometimes we make it complicated. Sometimes the preacher makes it complicated. What it is to be a Christian and what God expects of us as believers. And I believe in this portion of God's Word, we find some very simple instructions. And the benefit of these instructions is that we'll enjoy life here on earth. We all want to enjoy life. We all want to get the most out of life here on earth. We certainly don't want to be always in the doldrums. We certainly want to enjoy living. in a church community, in our home community, in the communities in which we live. And so while we wait for our best life, obviously, in the world that is yet to come, yet there are things that we can do in this life that will see to it that we will come to love life and enjoy life as God intended us to enjoy life on this earth. You see, I believe that if we follow the divinely given direct is presented to us in these verses if we follow and fulfill the requirements that are laid out he's facing the verses 13 and 14 of the psalm then we'll enjoy life as God intended for us to enjoy life and there are simply five requirements for all of us to fulfill if we are to live a blessed a happy and enjoyable life on this side of the grave And so let's think about these things that we're instructed to do. First of all, the first requirement is that we are to keep our tongues from evil. Verse number 13, keep thy tongue from evil. Now we spoke about this on a number of occasions whenever we find ourselves in the book of James. James has a lot to say about that little member in our bodies that gets us into a lot of trouble many times. in our lives. In James chapter 3 in the verse 6, God's servant, he pulls no punches when he speaks about the tongue. Under inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, James writes, the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So the tongue among our members, so is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell. Such is the importance of what we do with our tongue that James then goes on to say in his epistle that a person who has a loose tongue, a person who repeatedly loses control of their tongue is a person whose religion or profession of religion is an empty profession. James 1 verse 26, if any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, But deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. What proceeds, brethren and sisters, out of our mouths, what we utter with our tongues, comes to evidence the genuineness or not of our profession of faith. David states in the verse number 12 that the one who desireth life and the one who wants to love and experience many days will be the one who then controls their tongues. They will refrain their tongues from speaking that which is evil. Just think about all of the misunderstanding. Think about all of the troubles in life that has come about because of hasty, unwise, unkind, untrue things that we have said with our tongues. The story is told of a suicides body that was found floating one night in a river and a note was found on her person. The note only had two words written on it, they said. said. Obviously something had been said about the girl and as a result she took her own life. They said, they said, believer do not underestimate the power of your words. In the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 18 verse 21 we read death and life are in the power of the tongue. Think of the deadly power that there is in careless words. Careless words. How much harm has been done by light and careless conversation among friends. Think of the harm that's done through mocking words. I'm sure you and I, I'm sure you have been on the end of a mocker's tongue. Someone who has maybe mocked you by how you look or what you wear or what you believe. And while you may have laughed it off, With regard to what they said, it deeply hurt you, the words that were said about you. Hurtful words, mocking words. Think about the damage done by slanderous words to take a person's good name and then to destroy it by slander. It's a tremendous crime in the sight of God. So great. that God promises in Psalm 101, in the verse number 5, to cut off the person who slanders their neighbor. Psalm 101, verse 5. Slanderous words. Think about the damage that's done through profane words. Many take the name of Christ in vain. They break the third commandment, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Words, words can wreck a church. Words can mark a child for life. Words can disrupt the harmony of a business or a place of employment. Words can destroy a marriage. Words can end a long-term friendship. Words can devastate, can tarnish a testimony. And therefore, we are to refrain, we are to restrain, we are to stop, we are to cease altogether our tongues from speaking that which is evil, if we are to love life and if we are to see good days. I've often given advice or sometimes I've given the advice about our words. Our words should pass through three gates before they're ever spoken. Three gates that our words should pass through before we even utter our words. Gate number one, is it true? Is it true? What you're about to say, is it true? Or is it based on rumor? Is it based on second hand, a second hand account? Is it true? Is it factual? Or is it based on mere hearsay? We are exhorted in Ephesians 4 verse 25 to speak every man truth with his neighbor. So is it true? Before you utter it, is it true? Make sure it's true. Second of all, is it needful? Is it needful? Does a person need to hear what I'm going to say to them? Do they need to hear it? Will it benefit them in their Christian walk? Or will it be detrimental to them? Will it advance them in their love for Christ and their love for the Lord? Will it advance them in their walk with God or will it hinder them? Is it needful? Do you need to say it? Do you need to say it? Thirdly, is it kind? Is it kind? Will my words build up someone or will it pull down a person? Is what I'm about to say, is it going to be helpful or hurtful to them? Ephesians 4 verse 32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you and yes we're to be kind in our deeds no doubt about that we're to be kind one to another in our deeds but that also goes on to speak about our declarations about each other be kind one to another with regard to what we say about one another and so is it true is it needful is it kind I think if we would allow our words to pass through those three gates, we would save ourselves a lot of trouble, a lot of problems, and a lot of hurt. Oh, how we need to heed the advice of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4 verse 29, to the use of edifying, the building up that it may minister grace onto the hearers. We are told what we are not to say, corrupt communications. And then we are told what we are to say, we're to allow that which comes out of our mouths that will see to the edifying, to the building up of others. And if you can't say anything like that, don't open your mouth. Don't open your mouth. And so we must be on our guard. We must be on our guard against gossip, and slander, and backbiting, and tittle-tattle. Instead, employ our tongues by speaking the truth in love, as Ephesians 4 verse 15 encourages us to do. And so the first thing is that we are to keep our tongue from evil. And then the second requirement that God places upon us is that we are to keep our lips from speaking guile. The word guile, certainly not a word that we would use today. I haven't heard it for a long time, I'm sure you haven't. The word guile, it translates to mean craft or deceit or subtlety. This is really referring to the practice of saying something that would lead other people astray. And brethren and sisters, when we refrain our lips from speaking guile, we are being Christ-like in our behavior. Turn there to 1 Peter chapter 2, and I'll show you that. 1 Peter in the chapter 2. And you'll find in this portion of God's Word, Peter speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Peter chapter number 2, and let's read from The verse number 21, For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. who when he was reviled, reviled not again when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. And therefore, brethren and sisters, we are being Christ-like when we keep our lips from speaking guile, because Christ, with regard to him, no guile was found in his mouth look at the verse number one of that chapter with us being there in first peter chapter number one or two first peter two verse number one therefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings speaking guile is speaking really lies Telling lies. Lies are often the source of conflict, division, heartache in our lives. Again, how many a friendship has ended, a marriage has hit the rocks, a church has been divided, a business partnership has been terminated because lies have been circulated by deceitful lips. We are to keep our lips from speaking that which is of a false nature. Someone wrote a little poem with regard to the power of words. A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wrack a life. A bitter word may heat and still. A brutal word may smite and kill. But a gracious word may smooth the way. A joyous word may light the day. A timely word may lessen stress. A loving word may heal and bless. So then what can we do? What can be done on our part so that we will not be guilty of then uttering that which is evil or deemed to be that which is guile? Well, we can do what the psalmist encourages us to do in the Psalm 141. We can do what he did, Psalm 141, the verse number 3, the psalmist David, or the psalmist here, Psalm 141, and the verse It is the psalm of David, the verse number three. David said, By making such a petition, David was acknowledging that he was unable enough himself to control what came out of his mouth. And thus, he needed God to regulate his speech. He needed the Lord to regulate his speech. You know, of godly men like Moses, The meekest man on earth spake unadvisedly with his lips. If Job cursed the day of his birth, in Jeremiah the prophet, he did the same. And if Peter cursed and swore when he was challenged about his association with Jesus Christ, then none of us must dare presume that we could never do these things ourselves. And if we find ourselves in similar circumstances, we must keep our lips and ask God to keep our lips. from speaking that which is untruthful, speaking that which is termed as being guile. Don't deceive others by your words. Fear to utter any statement which is not true. Resolve not to make any promise that you cannot and you will not keep. Oh, may we be known as people who speak the truth, as people whose speech is becoming that of a Christian. It's very simple, these instructions. It's not complicated, brethren and sisters. This will bring to you enjoyment in life. It'll most certainly cause there to be less trouble in your family and in your home. If you're an individual who resolves by the grace of God from this night onwards, not to speak evil. Keep your tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. The third thing that we're required to do is that we're to depart from evil. The word depart has the thought behind it of a complete avoidance, a staying well clear off, a turning away from, an inclining away from, a withdrawing oneself from that which is evil. And we're to depart from evil. Yes, we're not to speak evil. We're to keep our tongue from evil, but then we're to depart from evil. We are to depart from evil in all of its various guises in which it comes to meet us. The child of God is to avoid all kinds of evil, to hate it, to abstain from the appearance of it, to have no fellowship with it. We're to set ourselves at a distance from that which is evil. And thus a drawing near to that which is evil and a living in close proximity to it is something that will bring us into danger. We are therefore to avoid evil. like the plague. Are we not taught this in the disciples prayer? We're taught to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. With the prevalence of evil around us in these days, this prayer is one that we ought to honor every day. We have no problem we will have no problem with departing from evil when we understand a number of things. Number one, we'll have no difficulty in departing from that which is evil when we come to understand the potential harm that it'll do in our lives and in the lives of others. To play with evil, fast in this with evil, to engage in that practice that is evil will certainly bring harm into our lives and into the lives of those whom we love. Number two, we'll have no problem with departing from that which is evil when we come to understand the great affront that it is to God who lived and died and rose again for us. We'll have no problem with departing from that which is evil, that which is sinful, when we come to understand that it is a tremendous affront to the God who loved us and gave himself for us upon the tree. And we'll also have no problem with departing from evil, that which is sinful, when we come to understand the hurt that it inflicts upon the testimony of Jesus Christ when we are caught doing that which is evil. Oh, the damage that is done to your testimony, to the testimony of a local congregation, to the testimony of the church of Jesus Christ at large, when we are engaged in that which is evil and we are caught red-handed, it does tremendous damage to the testimony of the church and of Jesus Christ, most importantly. You might ask, so much evil around us. How can I avoid that which is evil? How can I avoid that which is evil when it's so much in our face in these days? Well, I believe that we read of a man in Scripture, his name was Job, and Job was able to avoid that which was evil. Let me read his testimony in Job 1 verse number 1. That simply means he departed from that which is evil. And really that verse, it really gives us the key to how to eschew or how to avoid that which is evil. And this is how you'll be able to do it. when your fear of God is greater than your desire to do that which is sinful. Because it says there that Job feared God and the byproduct of that was that he eschewed evil. He departed from that which is evil. Why is there so much sin in the church of Jesus Christ? The reason is that there's so little fear of God in the church of Jesus Christ. That's why. Why is there so much sin in our lives? Because there's such a lack of fear of God, a reverential fear of God in our lives, a reverence for God. and understanding that God is holy, that God is true, that God is just, was instilled into this patriarch's mind, and thus he eschewed, he avoided that which was evil. Instilled into his mind that to have fellowship with his God, and to have God's favor in his life and in his blessing upon his life, the only course of action was for Job to avoid that which is evil, because he understood that evil and that which is holy cannot coexist. You and I will depart from that which is evil, whatever form that evil takes, whether it be evil words, thoughts, actions, company, worship, doctrine, whatever it is, when we truly fear the Lord. May God develop in us all a healthy fear for God. I fear God. Help us to fear God. Lord, help me to fear God the next time temptation comes across my way. When tempted to sin, help me to fear Thee. Help me fear bringing dishonor to Your name. Help me fear Thee. That ought to be our prayer. The fourth requirement is that we're to do good. Do good. Now, once again, when we do good, we're being Christ-like in our behavior. Acts chapter 10 and the Acts of the Apostles chapter 10 and the verse 38 we get a little summary of our Savior's life on earth that's very succinctly put it really encapsulates the Savior's earthly ministry and we find here in verse number 38 Peter opened his mouth he's speaking here in the home of Cornelius, and this is what he said, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. The desire to do good to others is Christ-like. Doing good is Christ-like. Sometimes we're called do-gooders. Well, that's what we ought to be. Doing that which is good. Not doing that which is evil, but doing that which is good. John Wesley, he made a statement, you've heard it before. Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, in all the times you can, to all the people that you can, as long as ever you can. You take that statement from Wesley, think about it for a minute. We are to do good in all places. Not just in the church. Not just when we gather together, but everywhere, at home, at school, in our neighborhoods, in our places of employment. It was said of the Lord Jesus Christ that He went about doing good. Wherever He went, wherever He went, He went about doing good. We're to do good at all times. God would always have us to be doing good. not just engaging in fits and starts with regard to our good deeds, but all time. So all people, how quick we're doing good, how quick we are at doing good to those who would repay us the compliment. And yet the Lord Jesus Christ said that we are to do good to those who cannot recompense us. Luke chapter 14 verses 12 through to 14. To do good to those who cannot repay us to recompense us. Aye, and to do it as long as ever you can. We must do good while life lasts. Death really only terminates. Death only terminates our performance of good works. In Ephesians chapter 2, we read that we're not saved by works. That's very clear. We're not saved by our works. But we are saved unto good works. Ephesians 2.10, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And so we come to evidence that God has done a work in our souls by our good works. two verses speak about us doing good and who we are to do them do our good works to Matthew 5 44 but i say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good onto them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you Galatians 6 verse 10 as we have therefore opportunity let us do good on to all men And so our good works are to be directed as much towards our enemies as towards those who belong to the family of God. And failure to do good is sin. James 4.17, Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Oh, let us have a testimony like Dorcas. Remember Dorcas? Well, this was her testimony. She was full of good works. She was full of good works. Are you full of good works? Am I full of good works? Are we doing good? Are we doing good? The final requirement, seek peace and ensue it. We are to seek peace firstly, obviously, with God, and then with our fellow man. Peacemakers, they are the blessed ones. According to the Savior's teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, we are not to be the sower of discord, but we are to be the seekers of peace. We are to ensue it. The word means to follow or press hard after. The word literally means this, to ensue after peace. This is our to pursue after peace. It literally means this, to pursue as one does a fleeing enemy or criminal. That does not mean that we are to seek peace at any price, because righteousness must always be the basis of peace. It simply means that the Christians should exercise moderation. as they relate to and as they interact with other people, and that they do not create problems because they want to have their own way all the time. Seeking to be at peace with God, a man is something that is pleasing to God because God is the God of peace. He gave His Son, the Prince of Peace, to make peace, and He dispenses peace. on the sinner's reception of the gospel. He is the God of peace. And therefore, we are to pursue it. We are to chase it down. We are to do all that we can in our homes, in our marriages, in the church, to seek peace. We are to be peaceable. We are to be peaceable, not at war, but peaceable with one another. What about your relationships? Are they marked by peace? Is there tension there, conflict there? How's your relationships within the family of God? Do you speak with your brother? Do you speak with your sister? Or do you ignore them, snub them, turn the cold shoulder to them? Listen to these words in Romans 12, verse 18. You know, as I thought about these five requirements, I thought, and I've hinted at it as we've been through the message, I've thought, how every one of these requirements were met by the Lord Jesus Christ. He refrained his tongue from speaking evil. He spoke no guile. He eschewed evil, departed from evil. He did good. He sought peace, pursued after it. And so, if you and I are to know the blessing of God, of which we read of here in Psalm 34, then we are simply to be like this, brethren and sisters, we are to be Christ-like. Christ-like in our conduct. I trust we are, and if we're not, that we will be from this night onwards. You might say, preacher, but that's Old Testament teaching. That's Old Testament teaching, is it? Turn to 1 Peter 3, and honestly, this is the last verse. I better speak the truth after what I've said. It's the last verse, or verses. You say this is only the Old Testament teaching. No, it's not, brethren, sisters. 1 Peter 3, verse 10. For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile, let him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue it. This is Old Testament teaching. This is New Testament teaching. What is revealed in the Old Testament is now reinforced in the New Testament by one of Christ's apostles, Peter. Thus, it is binding on us. It is binding upon the child of God, whether it be found in the old or the new, it would matter not. But it's emphasized by Peter. This is what it is to be a Christian. This is what God expects of us. I trust that we will follow the Lord's counsel in all of our lives from this day forth and forevermore for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Our loving Father, we come now to Thee, and commit, Lord, now the teaching of the Word to all hearts, we pray. We ask that we might then follow the instruction here given, and that we might come to have our lips, our words regulated by the Lord Himself. May, O God, these matters come before our minds. We would be maybe tempted O God, to say that which is evil, to speak that which would be termed guile. O God, help us to do good. Help us, Lord, to seek peace. Help us to pursue it. Help us to be peaceable. And grant, dear Father, the peace of God to rule our hearts and minds. We pray these, our prayers, through the Savior's precious name.