In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of finding solace and guidance in the Word of God. He encourages listeners to search the scriptures until they find the message that resonates with their hearts. The preacher also highlights the numerous titles of Jesus, each representing a specific aspect of His ability and willingness to help and bless believers. He shares a personal anecdote about a man who found comfort in reading the Bible during a difficult time. The sermon concludes with the reminder that God has done everything possible for humanity's salvation and that turning to Him and His Word is the ultimate remedy for any struggle or hardship.

I was preaching in the church out in western Tandrus, and the front seats were empty like these are. And I asked, why? And a dear old fellow got up and he said, the preacher, what we had here before, the present incumbent, used to spit on us when he preached, and we had to get out of his way. Now, I'm a dry preacher. If any of you folks way back there have one nice seat here, the collection's already taken, so just come and enjoy this front. Won't bother me at all. Get close to the preacher. We like it better. Now, you'll notice the Lord Jesus had to die for two different reasons. He died for our sins, according to the scriptures, as you get in 1 Corinthians 15. That's our conduct. But in Romans 5, he had to die for us. That's our character. He had to die for what we are, and he had to die for what we do, both. Now, you know, if you have anybody working for you in the home, a maid or a servant, or a stenographer, a helper, you want the deeds done right, but that doesn't mean you want the person. You see, the Lord Jesus gave himself so we could be his, not only get forgiven for what we've done, but belong to him. So he had to have both. He died for our sins, and he died for ourselves. Let's remember that, because it'll make us better Christians and more intelligent Christians, when we realize that he had to bring us to himself. The sinner only wants to be forgiven for his sins, that's a rule. But he forgets that he has to be fixed up himself. And so Christ died for us, as well as for our sins, all of which has nothing to do with my sermon. Turn, please, to Psalm 119. Psalm 119. Remember that the Bible is the only book written by Jews that's loved by Gentiles. It's the only book written in the Orient that's loved in the Occident. It's the only book written in the world which increased in sale as it's given away free of charge. And it's the only book that I, in all my medical life, have ever had anybody ask me for in the sick room or the death chamber. Just the precious Word of God. As far as I know, it's the only book in all the world that sinners hate. You can take any other religious book around the saloon, or any other joint like that, and they won't hate it. But you take the Bible in there, and something happens. I've seen it over and over again. It's a wonderful book. And it's the only book I know of that brings the comfort that the broken heart needs. Turn to Psalm 119. In this psalm, the psalmist makes a number of confessions. I'm glad we had one man come down at the front. I see you folks who have back seats or backsliders anyway. There are some confessions in this psalm, eight of them in fact, or seven, which the psalmist makes. And I want to notice them with you, the wonderful confessions this dear man makes. You know, everybody ought to make a public confession of their relationship to the Lord Jesus. Then the preacher knows what to say at your funeral. See, you might have to guess at it, you know. Preach somebody into heaven that didn't go there. And then our friends will know how to treat us if we confess Christ. They'll know whether to tell us a dirty story or not, whether to invite us to do some wicked thing or not. We owe it to our friends to make a public confession of our relationship to the Lord Jesus. And then we owe it to the folks we do business with, because they might want us, if we're working with them, to cheat or to lie or steal. And if they know you've confessed Christ and you're His, they won't ask you to do that. They won't expect you to do that. You see, beloved, the Lord wants us to confess Him before men. It doesn't say confess that you're a Christian. It says confess Him. So we tell what we think of Him and what He is to us and what we think of Him and how much we love Him and what He's done for us. We confess Him before men, and then the Lord Jesus confesses us before His Father. And we ought to do it for the reasons that I've just mentioned. Now, this man does it. Look in verse 19 at his first confession. I am a stranger. By the way, some of you didn't find it. It's page 619. I am a stranger in the earth. Isn't that a strange thing? You might as well say if you're a fish, it's a stranger in the sea, or a bird, it's a stranger in the air, or a cow, it's a stranger in a pasture. We belong to this earth. We eat the stuff that comes out of it. We wear the things that it produces. We talk its language. We sing its songs. We are of the earth, earthy. We can't help it. And when we die, we go back to dust. From dust out came and dust returned. Why does this man say this? I am a stranger in the earth. Well, you see, beloved, there's something happens when you get saved, and God gives us a new life and a new nature and a new relationship that makes us citizens of heaven. And if that doesn't happen, we didn't get saved, that's all. No use fooling ourselves. If God didn't do something to us when we got saved, then nothing was done, because all our resolutions and decisions aren't worth a thing in this business. It's what God does to us that saves us. Remember, it's what He does. He has to give us eternal life. He has to make us righteous. He has to put away the sins. He has to bring us into His family. Thirty-three things take place when you trust the Lord Jesus. Thirty-three things. Not just one, thirty-three. I haven't time to give them to you, but you can look them up. And there are wonderful things that transform. Do you remember in the second chapter of, no, in the twelfth chapter of Romans, verse 2, Be not conformed to this world, it's in the passive voice, it's something God does to us. Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. And that word transformed is metamorphosis. A metamorphosis is what takes place when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, or a bug down in the green scum pond turns into a dragonfly, or a bunch of sand turns into an opal, or a bunch of black carbon turns into a diamond, or a bunch of black, of yellow clay turns into a sapphire. That's a metamorphosis. And the Lord says, I'll do that to you. And if it didn't happen, we didn't get converted, that's all. We just fooled ourselves, and we're a nice, lovely sinner trying to be like a Christian. And that's the reason there's so much disappointment. I am a stranger in the earth. God did something to him that made him a different man. We don't know who wrote this. I think Ezra wrote it, really. That's my own personal opinion. It's a Wilson opinion. It takes a lot to work. But he said, I am a stranger in the earth. Now, when I was in Norway, I was a stranger there. I couldn't understand a word of it. I don't know how anybody else could either. That's an awful difficult religion. But wife and I went to the restaurant with a waitress and pointed to what we wanted, because we couldn't say a word of it, and we didn't look for the price of real estate or anything else. We were strangers there, and loved it. We'd like to go back to it. It was delightful, and the people were so kind and friendly. But we were strangers there. And we went to Switzerland, beautiful, beautiful country. And we were strangers there. In fact, everywhere we've been abroad, we were strangers there. We wanted to get back to Kansas City, where we had good old Republicans. I am a stranger in the earth. Do you feel that way, beloved? We sing, Oh, to be over yonder, and then when we get sick, we sing to the chiropractor and the doctor and the dentist and the druggist and the prayer meeting, and to keep out of heaven. Now, I started for heaven last October, but saints ganged up on me and wouldn't let me go. But as I was lying there with that terrible, terrible pain, I thought how wonderful it would be out of faith and to sight and out of the shadows into the light of His presence. I thought of it. And yet I kind of thought, well, I haven't been to Winona Lake for a year. I'd better live long enough to get back there once. Let's remember, when the Lord does something to you, and you ought to test yourself, every one of us ought to test ourselves, because in my experience in practicing medicine, I have found many a case in the death chamber where they found out they weren't saved at all. Going out into the dark, they had a religion but didn't have a Savior. Let's examine ourselves and see, did God do something to me when I professed to be saved that made me a stranger in the earth? Now, that's a test. Look at the next one, in the 63rd verse. In verse 63, I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. I am a companion. Do you remember in John, we know he's passing death unto life because we love the brethren? Now, that's a wonderful truth there. You know, if I had a strange animal here, and had a bill like a pelican, and had feet like a chicken, and had wings like an ostrich, and had a tail like a turkey, and I don't know what the thing is, I could easily find out. I'd take it out and set it down in the barnyard. Whatever animal it goes with, that's what it is. That's what he's talking about here. God saves us and gives us a nature that loves other Christians, loves to be with them. We don't just visit with them, we are companions with them because we have the same life that they have, the same nature that they have. And we're in the same family, in the same father. We've been born again like the others, and there's a union of hearts there. There's something that knits our hearts and souls together that makes us love each other and want to be with each other. I am a companion of all them, not just the Methodists, the Baptists, the Praetorians, the Episcopalians. I am a companion of all them that fear Thee. You know, the love of God unites our hearts, doesn't it? I was coming home one time when I was a paperboy, and every Sunday morning I used to wrap some tracks up in the newspaper so they'd have something to read besides bringing up proverbs. And one morning about 6 o'clock I was coming back home and there was a Kurd man, a very elderly man, white curls on his head. He was the caretaker of a rich family where I had thrown a paper. And he was standing out by the gate when I came back reading the paper. And he said, I said, And he was. I loved it. You can sit down beside anybody on the bus or anywhere. If he knows the Savior and you know the Savior, you're right together just like that. You know your past from death unto life because you love the other folks that are like that. What a sweet fellowship that is. I found it everywhere I've gone, in the airplane, on the train, in foreign countries, all over this country. I've seen that very thing. I don't ask what you belong to, I find out who you belong to. And if you belong to our Lord Jesus, oh boy, you can put your arms around that if you dare and say, thank God for you. Let's remember that God does something to us when we get saved. You don't just say, well, I came to Jesus, or I took Jesus, or something like that. That's nice, that's all right. But we want to know, did he do something? I wish you'd turn just for a moment over to Malachi. That's the last book in the Old Testament. I want you to notice something there in Malachi, chapter 3 and verse 16. I expect many of you could quote it. Then they that feared the Lord speak often one to another. Now, they that feared the Lord, that's character. Speak often one to another, that's conduct. And the Lord heard it, a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, that's character. And as thought upon his name, that's conduct. And they shall be mined, saith the Lord of hosts. That is, the mine of ownership and the mine of workmanship. This Bible is mined by ownership, but not by workmanship. And this suit is mined by ownership, but not by workmanship. But we are his both ways. He bought us with his precious blood, if you're saved by grace, and made you his, you're his by ownership. And then you remember in Ephesians 2, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. So we're his both ways. And we ought to be wanting him to work on us. We ought to. Every day making us more and more like the Savior. Like Robert Murray McShane said, a lovely word, he said, Lord, make me as near like Christ Jesus as is possible for a redeemed sinner to be. That ought to be the cry of our hearts. Workmanship. We are his, they shall be mined, saith the Lord, that's the mine of ownership and the mine of workmanship. In that day when I make up my jewels, not when he makes his jewels, we are made down here, but he makes us up. See, I have a business here, I don't know what it is, but one of my children gave it to me, and she had it made up for a stick pin for me. And some of you have seen that lovely stick pin I have that has eight diamonds around it, and an opal in the middle. You see, when I was 70, my children came home, each one bought a diamond. Eight of them, I have eight children, so does my wife. And we put these eight, we took it to a jeweler, and he made it up. He put the opal in the middle, eight diamonds around it, so I'd have a family on my neck all the time, you see. Very lovely. Now, the Lord makes up his jewels. Down here there are many groups, you know, that love to work together and serve together, and over there he gives us the joy of being together. I think that's what it means. The sinners the same way, in the 13th of Matthew, bind them in bundles to burn them. He makes those that live in sin together suffer in hell together. But I'm getting off the subject here. Now look at verse 13 again, 17. I will spare them as a man spares his own son, that's character, that serveth him, that's conduct. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, that's character, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not, that's conduct. Now the deceiver has to die for both. Both our character and our conduct. And what a blessed thing that he did it, and makes us his own. Now come back to Psalm 119. By the way, there are 22 sections in this psalm, and there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and each of these sections is for one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. That's the reason there are 22 sections. You notice it's Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Golis, Hei, Vaugh, Sion, Heth, Teth, Yub, and each one of those Hebrew letters is a number. It starts with number one and runs up to Yod, that's number 10. And then it begins with Mechon Koph, which is 20. Then Lamed is 30. Mem is 40. Nun is 50. Sion, Psalmok is 60. And Ion is 70. And Peh is 80. And Sodhi is 90. And Hoph is 100. Then Reis is 200. And Sheon is 300. That's the way the Hebrew numbers run. And the last one is Torah, which is 400. And by the way, look in your Bible at verse 161, where you'll find the letter Sheon. You notice that letter? Look at it. It's three points sticking up and joined together at the bottom. And for centuries the Jews used that letter to tell of God, that when they wanted to write the word God, they used that letter. Three in one. For the real Unitarian Jews until about 200 years after Christ, all the Old Testament Jews were Trinitarians. They believed God had a son. Kiss the son, lest he be angry with thee. Now perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. What is his son's name? His name and his son's name. You'll find many references. They all believed in the Trinity way back before Christ. But coming back to this subject, I'm getting off it. You see, my tree has a lot of branches on it. I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. Do you love to be with God's people? And when you choose to go on a fishing trip, or a hunting trip, or a picnic, do you pick out God's dear people? Are you just as happy with the ungodly as you are with Christians? If so, you're not saved at all. Because light loves light. You notice this summer in the pasture, two horses. And one's tails, they're opposites, you know. And one's tail's keeping the flies off this one's neck, and this one's tail's keeping the flies off this one's neck. That's fellowship. But you don't find a cow and a horse doing that. You don't find pig and sheep doing that. Horses like horses, because they have the same nature. And if you belong to the Lord Jesus, and he has given you eternal life, we belong to a royal nation, a priesthood, a holy nation. We are a different people. We're separated from the world. We have to make our living there, and we have to mingle with them. But when it comes to fellowship, and the loving to be with those that you love, you want those that know the Savior. So I'm a companion of all them that fear thee. That's verse 63. Now look at verse 83. Oh, this is a sad one, verse 83. I am become like a ball in the smoke. My, what a mess. That's the third confession. I am become like a bottle in the smoke. Now, they didn't have glass bottles. They had skin bottles. Do you remember when you were a boy or a girl, and went out in the snow, and got your feet all wet? Mother said, Don't set your shoes by the stove. Remember that? They'd dry out, and don't set them on the radiator, because they'd get hard, brash, brittle. You know, you're hard to get them on. That's what this fellow said. Isn't that strange that he would be a stranger in the earth, and a companion of God's people, and yet have that kind of a mess in his life? I am become like a bottle in the smoke, dried up, shriveled up, shrunken up, and brash, and not soft and pliable anymore. You know, things do happen in your life that harden you. It's strange that if you lay clay out in the sun, it gets hard, and you put wax out in the sun, it gets soft. You put eggs in hot water, and they get hard, and you put potatoes in hot water, and they get soft. You put a man in hot water, and he gets hard. I am become like a bottle in the smoke. Did you ever get that way? And you get up in the morning, beans again, burnt toast. Can't you watch it, take care of it? And I ordered soft boiled eggs, and he gave me hard boiled. Where's my collar button? You get down and look under the bureau, that's where it is. It rolls back, you know, when you drop anything. And we're as miserable and mean as we can be. Well, there's something gone wrong. That's what he said. I am become like a bottle in the smoke, and we're not tender-hearted anymore. We're miserable. Something's gone wrong, and nothing's right. Did you ever get that way? That's what he said. So you know what he did? He jumped in the river. Now, what he did was to go and get some carbolic acid, and drink that, and then jump headfirst in the river with his pockets full of stones. That's what he did when he got like this. Read it. Read it for yourself. Verse 83. I was in John Zoller's home one time, one Sunday at lunch. And the telephone rang, and John, just as we sat down, John went to the telephone, and he was gone so long that we hadn't finished eating before he got back. When he came back, he said, There's a man on the phone who wants to speak to you. Come in here, girls. Come right in here. Don't be bashful. The collection's already been taken. The man wants to talk to you on the phone. He says he's going to commit suicide. So I went to the phone. Are you Dr. Wilson? Are you preaching down at the tabernacle? I said, Yes, sir. Well, he said, I'm going to commit suicide, so I want to tell you goodbye. I said, God bless you. I'm glad you are. And I heard a kind of funny noise at the other end. I said, How are you going to do it? With a shotgun, or a carbolic acid, or what? No, he said, I'm going to jump off into a lake. I said, Say, bud, pier number 54 has the deepest water. The water's very deep up at pier 54. Now, let me suggest that you wait until midnight before you go. Fill your pockets with stones, and on the way this evening, you stop somewhere and get some carbolic acid. And then you go up at 2 o'clock in the morning, out to the end of there where the water's very deep, and you swallow the carbolic acid, and then jump off head first. And you'll do a good job. Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Well, what are you telling me that for? Well, I said, of course. I'll tell you. God has given the Lord Jesus, His own Son, to save you. He's given you a Bible and kept it through the centuries, from the carelessness of its friends and the hatred of its enemies. He's given you friends and flowers and every lovely thing. God can't do any more for you. Well, you might as well jump off, bang, and run up to the receiver. But that night he came to serve you, and John's little lady cried. What does it say? I am like a bottle in smoke. But what's the rest of the verse? Yet do I not forget thy statute. He went right to his Bible, right to the Word of God, when he felt like a bottle in smoke. Now, that's the remedy. That's the remedy. Go right to your Bible. And if you don't find it in the first place that you read, look for the second place. And if you don't find it there, look for the third place. I remember one day when I was way down in the dumps, and I did this, I went to my Bible, and I had to turn five places before I found the message that's true to my own heart. How many of you raised on a farm last season? Anybody here live on a farm? Oh, a lot of you. Did you ever notice a calf nursing? And she's sucking away and sucking away and pushing. You see a butt in the old lady. You know what's the matter? The milk isn't coming down. And she isn't going to be satisfied. And if one tip don't bring it, she brings, tries another tip. There are four of them. And you have to do that, beloved. If you don't find the thing that mends your heart in the first chapter you read, turn to another place and another place. And until God in his loving kindness and grace gives you the thing you need for the kind of a heart you have that day or that feeling that you have that day. I am become like a bottle in the smoke, yet do I not forget thy statute. You find in the word of God everything that your heart needs. Everything. That's the reason I mentioned to you 33 things take place when you trust the Savior. But you know, the Lord Jesus has 226 titles that I know of. I have a list of that many on my desk. And each title tells something he wants to do for you and me. Each title tells of his ability and willingness to do a certain thing for you and me. I have a few titles. Some people come to me as a doctor. Some people come to me as a preacher. And for years, tent and awning men all over the United States came to me to build tents for them. I used to build Charlie Ringley's tent and Buffalo Bill's tent and Pawnee Bill and Hayden Beck Wallace and John Robinson and L.G. Barnes and Yankel Robinson and Sells Florida. I knew all those fellows and made their tents for them. And they came to me for that. But when my children got in college, they came to me as their banker. See, I have lots of titles. Now, if I move to Winona and I put out a sign Walter L. Wilson, M.D., medical doctor, then a few days later, I put out one dentist. Then a few days later, I put out one plumber. And then a little while later, I put out another one, barber. And I keep on putting signs out in front of my office until I have 226 signs there. You wouldn't need anybody else. That's the reason the Lord Jesus said in verse 27, Matthew 11, 27, All things are delivered to me of my Father. Therefore, you come unto me and I'll give you rest. He has it. You don't need to look all over the country. Christ is a one-stop station for the Christian. A one-stop station. Everything your heart needs, He has it for you. Now, let's look at the next one. Verse 94. Oh, this is a lovely one. I am thine. Save me. This is the fourth confession he makes. I am thine. Save me. Now, beloved, does a saved person need to be saved? When you belong to Him, aren't you already saved? Well, I was at C. Cliff Long Island one time, and the tabernacle was up over a hill. You couldn't see it from the little station. The station was just a little shed to keep people out of the rain. And we had, every day, we had a receptionist down there. So when people got off the train, they could tell where to go where you couldn't see anything from there. And so one day we had a receptionist down there, and Archie Payne came. Some of you may remember him. He was a great evangelist from England. And he got off with his Bible under his arm, and this receptionist said, Were you looking for the Bible conference? Yes, sir. Well, you just follow this path up over the meadow, and just over the brow of the hill, you'll find the tabernacle. Are you a saved man? Yes, sir. Have you been saved a long time? Well, he said, The last time I was saved was about 20 minutes ago. Oh, he said, You're not going to feel at home here, because we believe when you're once saved, you're always saved. Well, he said, I'm sorry. I used to believe that too, but I don't anymore. Well, she said, You're going to be miserable around here, I tell you. You won't enjoy being here. Well, he said, I'll tell you, lady. You see, when the conductor called out C. Cliff, I rose to get off the train, and so did that heavyset lady over there. And when she got up, she stepped on my sore foot, and the Lord saved me from saying what I wanted to say. I'm blind. Save me. Boy, the things we need to be saved from. Isn't that right? Saying things we shouldn't say, doing things we shouldn't do. Oh, how our hearts. If you're honest, you'll tell the Lord a good many times every day, God save me. We need to be saved from stinginess. I came down to church one morning, and a man met me in the lobby and said, Can you change a dime? He read three meetings. He was going to put a penny in one, two pennies in the next, and three pennies in the next, or something like that. He wanted a dime change so he could have something to put in each offering. And lots of people put in nickels. You know, the Bible says God hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans. It says so. I am thine. Save me. Oh, beloved. When my boy went away to college, University of Illinois, he went away to study office work. I forget what it's called now. Business administration. And when he left, and he's my oldest boy, Walter Jr., I said, Walter, I hope you'll remember when you get over to Champaign, Illinois, that you belong to Jesus Christ. You're in God's family, and you're one of God's children. He said, Dad, I'll never forget that. And I also remember that I'm the son of Dr. Walter L. Wilson. Boy, then I kissed him, gave him ten dollars. We want to remember that we belong to a wonderful family. Have you noticed in the book of Ephesians, in the first chapter, we are members of his body. In the second chapter, we're members of his temple, living stones in the temple. In the third chapter, we're members of his family. In the fourth chapter, we're members of his school, students in his school. In the fifth chapter, we're members of his bride. In the last chapter, we're members of his army. And in each of those cases, he expects us to live like him, and show it, and act like that, like he wants us to act. What does it say? I am thine, save me. And we ought to want to be saved from everything, beloved. We ought to want that. Because if you were a doctor, as I am, and have seen what I have seen, and heard what I have heard in the sick room, it would give you a double desire to be as near like the Lord Jesus as is possible to be. Because the devil isn't going to let you die in peace if he can help it. He'll bring up to your mind all the things you forgot years ago, sins and evils of calmation. You see, there are five kinds of sins. He'll bring them all back to you. And I have seen it. I've seen people, lovely Christians, and the devil brought back terrible things. I saw that with a man that used to be on this platform. Paul and I went to see him. He was dying. And that man was in terrible distress of soul over things passed in his life that had been washed away years ago. Remember, beloved, the Lord doesn't want you to bring up things He's buried. Now remember that. I think I told some of you about my black cat that died, a dear little thing, and died sideways. And every funeral I'd been to, the head was up, you know, looking up. Face up. I tried to get this face up, but it wouldn't come because it died sideways. And so I got a shoebox and I made a coffin because, see, my father was a Methodist preacher. He was a state evangelist for Ohio and Indiana for the Methodists. And I'd been, I thought maybe, the way to begin to be a preacher is to preach a funeral. And so I got a shoebox and made a coffin out of it and put my cat in there. And I called the children together around the neighborhood and I was going to preach this funeral sermon. And I couldn't get that head up. And so I cut a hole in the other end of the box and I let the tail stick out. I thought it didn't make any difference which end you see as long as you see the cat. And then we formed a procession and went way back in the backyard. We dug a grave under a peach tree and we let the corpse tenderly down the cords. And then we caught hands and went around saying God be with you to meet again. And then the boys pulled their stuff in, you know, the dirt and covered it and we went away. But I made them leave the tail out. And every two or three days I went around and pulled the thing up by the tail to see how it was getting on. And I did that until the tail pulled off and then I couldn't do it anymore. But that's the way some of you dear folks do. You confess your sins to the Lord and you keep dragging them up and making Him smell them all over again. When He says your sins and your iniquities will I remember, aren't you glad there isn't a period there? How should I feel it? No more. No more. I'm dying. Save me. Save me from thinking you keep remembering my sins all the time. When He blots them out, leave them to stay blotted out. Don't drag them up anymore for Him. Well, I'll look at the next one. And let's see where is the next one. At verse 107. Oh, this is wonderful. I am afflicted very much. I am afflicted very much. You wouldn't think a man like this would be afflicted. A man who's a stranger in the earth who keeps company with God's dear people and goes through that experience like a bottling smoker and becomes so devoted to Him he doesn't want to grieve Him. You wouldn't think this would happen, would you? I am afflicted very much. But you know, beloved, that's true of everything. Now, this glass I have is a it used to be up here by Lake Michigan, I think. A sand pile. But somebody got it took it out and melted it and put it through a lot of trouble and ground it and now I can see a little bit through this. Of course, this is a hypocrite in this eye. That's a plastic eye. I don't know what it's made of. I don't care. But there's one thing sure. The Lord has gave somebody wisdom to mistreat that sand so as to make an eye for me. I have a suit on. I always get second-hand suits. See, a sheep wore this before I got it. And then I have second-hand shoes a cow wore them before I got them. But they had to go through a process. The cow had to die before I could have these. And the sheep had to be sheared before I could have this. And the food you eat today is all dead stuff. That's all they serve us up there at the hotel. Dead stuff. That's right. Dead beef. Dead pork. Dead lamb. All kinds of dead stuff. And the bread we have gone through all sorts of trouble before it's fit for us to eat. And I was going to show you my diamond, but I never owned one. But that gold there, and that's good gold. My wife put that on my finger many years ago and it's still gold. I bought a ring once when I was 12 years old to give to the next-door neighbor girl. I cut grass and saved up 50 cents and I went down 12th and Main and bought her a nice gold ring. And then I went down to sell her and practiced the speech. And then I came upstairs and gave the speech and gave her the ring. But about two weeks later she came to me and said, Walter, this ring has a funny color. Yeah, I bought a special kind of gold for you. Paid 50 cents for it. You see, beloved, we can put on a form, but trouble and work wears it off. Now when he gives this, I'm afflicted very much, it's because he's getting down to what we call brass tacks in our lives. And we need the affliction. We don't know whether we have any patience or not until it's tried. I was holding a meeting in Milwaukee in the big Methodist church there. Two of us were preaching. And I was sitting on the front seat. No, I was sitting right on the end like this lady here, on the end of the seat. And right behind me was an elderly gentleman who had no teeth and he was gumming gum. You could hear it, you know, for half the church. And I thought, I'm going to see how much patience I have. I found out. I stood there for about ten minutes and then I had to move. I couldn't stand it. You don't know whether you have patience or not until it's tried. You raise eight kids, you'll find out whether you have any patience or not. We found out. I won't tell you the results. You don't know whether you're stingy or not until some missionary comes along that needs help badly. I want to tell you a secret. I have the joy of being president of the Flagstaff Mission to the Navajos. And once a year I go out for our corporation meeting. We have ten, twelve missionaries out there working among the Navajo Indians. And people send us clothes. Now listen. When I went out there the other day, I picked out some things that were out of a barrel that came to us on which we paid the freight. The first thing was a pair of men's pants and there was no seat in it. That's the honest truth. There wasn't any seat in the pants. The next thing was a bathing suit for these Indians out in the desert. And there were so many holes in it we couldn't, there wasn't any chance to put it on. Full of holes. Another, there was a suit of underwear and it was air conditioned, I'm telling you. It was just held together by a few threads. A pair of dancing slippers for these Navajo Indians. And a party hat, a beautiful big hat, three or four years old, for these Indians. And they didn't wear hats at all, you know. That's the kind of stuff, I want to tell you, we burn up about half the stuff that's sent to us. Just about half. That Christians send to us to give to those Indians. Well, look what we read here. I am afflicted very much, the Lord does things to us to find out whether we're gold or not. Whether we can stand the pressure or not. Whether we'll endure or not. Whether we are liberal and kind and thoughtful and helpful or not. I wonder how we stand that, kids. The neighbor next door, you know, lets the radio run till two o'clock in the morning. What do you do about it? Or lets the dog bark or the cat yowl. You know, every dog has his day and every cat has her night. How do we stand it? And somebody in the next room to you is, you want to throw a brick at them. How much do we stand? You know, we have to have the affliction to see what we're worth. And remember Job said, After I am tried, I shall come forth as gold. The Lord does that because he wants to make us into something. The Lord is more interested, beloved, in making us what he wants us to be than he is in giving us what we'd like to have. Now you put that down your soul. The Lord is more interested in making us what he wants us to be than he is in giving us what we'd like to have. And he's molding us and shaping us for that long, long time we're going to live with him. And so I am afflicted very much. Then look at verse 120. That's the next impression. I am afraid of thy judgment. I am afraid of thy judgment. I want the word of God to do something to me. Does it do something to you, beloved? What he says. I remember one time in my factory, I had a tent factory, and I took the place on the trouble desk. I wanted to find out what our customers thought of our business, and I found out plenty. And there was one very wealthy woman, and our boys had promised to put her awnings up on a certain day, and they didn't do it. And when I got on the phone that Monday morning, she cursed me with blasphemy. This woman, very wealthy woman, prominent in Kansas City. And she told me what she thought of me. When I went home that night, I said to my wife, Sweetheart, if that woman calls me up tomorrow morning, I'm going to give her something that she'll never forget. And my wife was very cruel. She put her arm around me and said, Remember, you're a Christian. I didn't want her to tell me that. I wanted to vent my spleen on that woman. But when I went and sat down at the telephone, you know what came up in my mind? James 1 training. And the Spirit of God kept that before my mind like great big red letters. And all I could say to the woman was, Yes ma'am, yes ma'am, yes ma'am, yes ma'am. That's what this verse is about. I am afraid of thy judgment. We ought to want the word of God to speak to us, beloved. Not just read it like you read a newspaper, but say, Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth. That's what he wants with us. Do we let it do that? And then the last one we have time for is verse 141. A lovely ending to his confession. I am small and despised. That's his last one. I am small and despised. I was reading about a man walking through the fair. He had a full dress suit on, Clyde shirt, stepladder collar, silk hat, and silk gloves and gold-headed cane and spats on his patent leather shoes. He was walking slowly through the park. And a little newsboy came up and said, Say, mister, do you happen to be somebody? That punctured his balloon. And we get to thinking we're somebody. We don't see our own faults. I think I may have told you one time I was riding in Chicago on the train and an old gentleman, fine-looking old man, nice long white beard, and he'd shaved and he'd left a lot of lather behind his ears. And I thought I'll tell him because he's such a fine-looking gentleman. There'd be nice people waiting for him at the depot and he'll feel ashamed when they see this. So I thought I'll tell him. And then I thought, well, I don't think I'll tell him. He might say it's none of your business. So I didn't tell him. And I got in the taxi cab, went up to the hotel to eat breakfast with Dr. Ironside, and I gave my bags to the page. I said, take them up to room 523, please. I'm going to eat breakfast with Dr. Ironside. And dear Dr. Ironside looked at me and said, Walter, you'd better go up yourself. You've got a big spot of smut on the end of your nose and you ain't going to wash it off. Was I glad I didn't tell the old man what was behind his ear. That's the way we are. We think we're somebody. I saw a turkey gobbler strutting up and down on a country road near a house, and right beside was a peacock. Spread tail, spread. And they were walking past each other, vying with each other. I was sitting in the car watching them. And pretty soon the peacock dropped his tail, ran off down behind the barn, jumped over the fence and went down the apple orchard. I said, chill. What's the matter? He said, that peacock saw its feet. It won't be back up here for three days. Whenever a peacock sees its own feet, it won't come back for three days. So ashamed of itself. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could live in this verse? You know, when you're small and despised, nobody can hurt your feelings. Nobody can hurt your feelings. I remember dear old Mr. Somerville over in Ayrshire, Scotland. He went out on a road to hold a meeting up in a cottage. And he had a folding stool in his arm. And a fellow that hated him met him on the road. Now Willie said, I got to where I want to, and I'm going to tell you what I think of it. And he did. And Willie listened very closely. Then he got up before the stool and said, thank you very much. If you knew the truth about me, you'd say worse things than that. I am small and despised. And beloved, when we get to that place, we're safe. Nobody can hurt your feelings. Nobody will throw a wet blanket over your zeal for God. What a confession. The Lord bless His precious Word to our hearts, and make us want to have these experiences. So we rise while we pray.