In this sermon, the preacher references two passages from the Bible - Daniel 4 and Acts 4 - to emphasize that God is still in control despite the rise and fall of earthly rulers. He mentions historical figures like Kroosches, Hitler, and Mussolini to illustrate the temporary nature of human power. The preacher encourages the audience to place their trust in God rather than material possessions or worldly leaders. He concludes by quoting Psalm 16:8, which speaks of setting the Lord before oneself and finding stability in Him.

Now, as you know, all the time I am to be with you, in the will of the Lord, I like to speak from the book of Psalms. Now, for those of you who are not here this morning, we pointed out that the Psalms are about two persons in particular. They're about you, and about Jesus. The Psalms will always be a favorite, especially as we grow older, because the Psalms reflect the experiences through which we pass through. David, and Moses, and Asaph, in the Psalms, tell out of their deepest humiliations, out of their tragedies, out of their defeats, as well as out of their victories, what God has done for them. And, you and I turn to the Psalms in our tragedy, in our disappointments and distresses, because we feel that the psalmist understands what we are going through. Now, while that is true, the Psalms are given to us concerning the Messiah, Jesus Christ the Lord. There are messianic Psalms. They speak about him. Our Lord told us himself that the Psalms spoke about him. And, the apostles frequently quote from the Psalms in their speakings and in their writings. Now, this morning we began to speak about four men of Psalms. I wonder if you'd like to go over with me what we learned this morning. Psalms 1, Psalm 22, Psalm 14, and Psalm 32. Now, you ready? The fruitful men of Psalm 1 became the forsaken men of Psalm 22, in order that the filthy men of Psalm 14 might become the forgiven men of Psalm 32. Thank you. Now, we're going to read in three Psalms again tonight, please. First of all, in Psalms number 10. 10. Psalms number 10, please. Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasted of his heart's desire, and blessed the covetous whom the Lord abhors. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous. Thy judgments are far above, out of his sight. As for all his enemies, he puffeth them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit, and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages. In the secret places doth he murder the innocent. His eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den. He lieth in wait to catch the poor. He doth catch the poor when he draws him into his net. He crouches and humbleth himself. That word, humbleth, really means boweth himself down. Not in humility, but as the words that follow show us. He crouches and boweth down, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God has forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it. So let's read in Psalms number 30. Psalms 30. And again in verse 1. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cry down to thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks that the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment. In his favoured life weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And in my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord, and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me. Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and encouraged me with gladness. Till the end of my glory, or my soul may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever. And thirdly, please, in Psalms number sixteen. Psalms number sixteen. I have sent the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is bled, and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. Neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In my presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. May God bless to us the reading of his words. Now, I'm sure you would notice that in these three psalms we read the same words. I shall not be moved. That is my subject tonight. I shall not be moved. In my first psalm, there's a godless man who says it, and he says it foolishly. In my second psalm, there's a good man who says it, but he says it forgetfully. And in the third psalm, there's a man who says it, and he says it fearlessly. I shall not be moved. I shall not be moved, and you can say it foolishly. I shall not be moved, and ye can say it forgetfully, although you might be a good man, a good woman. I shall not be moved, and you can say it fearlessly. Whatever the future may bring, because you have set the Lord always before your face. So, we're going to meditate, the Lord willing, in these three psalms tonight. Will you please turn back then and notice the psalms one by one, psalms number 10 to begin with. Now, you'll notice this man is somewhat like the man in the second psalm, which I read to you, the smarty. Three things we'll notice, please, about this man. He's a boaster, for in verse 3 we read, for the wicked boasts of his heart's desire. He's a boaster. In verse 8, he's a bandit, for we read that he sitteth in the lurking places of the villagers. In the secret places, doth he murder the innocents. His eyes are privileged and against the poor. He's a bandit. Then he's a base, in verse 9, for he lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den. He lieth in wait to catch the poor. He doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his net. Now, the world is filled with people like that today. We have them all over the world. There are the lords of communism, and the lords of crime, and the lords of finance, and the lords of labor, and the lords of politics. We have them everywhere. People who say in their hearts, I shall not be moved. I say we have them in the lords of communism. Some years ago, our hearts began to get just a little bit uneasy, because at one and the same time, we had Stalin over there in Russia, and then we had Shackelgruber, alias Hitler, over in Germany. And we had Mussolini over there in Italy. And all were pledged to bring up their nation to be the lord over half the other nation. And we had all three of them at the same time, shaking their fists, and rattling their arms, and telling us that they were going to conquer the world. But you know, there are two verses I'm going to give you after a while. One very precious verse in the Old Testament, and one very precious one in the New Testament. Just to remind you that God is still sitting in the heavens, dear friends. For Stalin passed away, spirited away to his death. And Hitler fell apparently amidst the falling walls of his chancellery. And I saw a picture of Mussolini hanging by the feet, dead by the roadside. So after Stalin, we had Khrushchev. There was a writer in the Saturday Evening Post that some years ago, that Khrushchev was greatly misunderstood. If we just knew him better, we should find out he was a kindly old gentleman, a very kindly baby-kissing old gentleman. The trouble was, we didn't know him well enough. But in the subsequent editions, there were people wrote in. One called Khrushchev the butcher of the Ukraine, and charged him with the death of 10 million people, men, women, and children. Half the population of all Canada. And I say, friends, our hearts fear when these folks rise up. But you know, the rise up to fall, and God is still on the throne. Amen? Let me give you two good verses. The first is in the book of Daniel, chapter 4. Just keep your hand in the place here where we have been reading, and underline these in your thinking, as well as in your mind. You'll notice in chapter 4 of Daniel, it says in verse 25, that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Won't you notice, please, that word, whosoever. He gives it, the kingdom, to whosoever he will. Look in chapter 5, where the word is repeated. In verse 21, spoken to his grandson, Belshazzar, and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild animals. They fed him with grass like oxen, his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew, that the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. Now let's read the one in the New Testament, please, Acts chapter 4. 10 verse 26, and Peter is speaking. Well, the apostles are lifting up their voices of thanksgiving to Lord. Verse 26, chapter 4. The kings of the earth stood up, the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a troop against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. Amen? I want you, friends, to underline that whomsoever, and that whatsoever in your hearts. And remember that whatever be the lords who are apparently in the ascendancy today, who are blatantly shaking their fists and raising their voices in defiance against God, and saying, I shall not be moved. That God is still on the throne, and he appoints over the kingdoms of the world whomsoever he chooses. And one is raised up, and another is put down, and thrones change. But God is still there, and when these men actually put on the throne, they do, in the last analysis, whatsoever his counsel determined to be done. And you and I, friends, can sit back and thank God that his program is still going on, and will come to complete and successful fruition and finality. Amen? Amen. Now, I was telling some folks not too long ago that if you're a sister, a woman, and you say, Amen, quite loud, you know, I think the Lord will forgive you. I believe he will forgive you. Now, let's turn to the second one, please, in Psalms 30. And as we go on, just ask yourself this question, in which of these am I found? In which of these three Psalms am I found? Well, you might be quite agreed that you're in the second one of these. Let's begin again, reading from verse one. Here's a man who says, I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. You'll notice then that this person is extolling one whom he calls his Lord, and he's rejoicing that God has not made his foes to rejoice over him. In verse two, he says, O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. Here's a man who can thank God for the healing of his body. He says, O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. And that word grave is sheol, often translated hell in the Old Testament, signifying the unseen world. Thou hast lifted up my soul from the grave. I think the word is sheol. If it's Hebrew, it is the grave. And it might be there, I just forget for the moment, I think it's sheol. Thou hast kept me alive. Thy should not go down to the pit. And then he says, sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. He appeals to the saints of God, and gives thanks of the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment, his favor for a lifetime. As it really says, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. So here is a man who undoubtedly is a good man, a child of God. He can say, Lord, I'm thankful that you brought me up from where I was. Perhaps in the language of the party of Saul, he could say, thou hast brought me up out of a horrible pit, and from the miry clay, and hast set my feet upon the rock, and established my way, and hast put a new song in my mouth, even praise to my God. This man can thank God that God has delivered him from hell, and delivered him from death, taken him from the very jaws of death, healed his body as well as his soul. He says, you know, the Lord I know is one who, speaking comparatively, his anger is but for a moment, while his favor is for a lifetime. And I'm sure we can all join in that tonight. He says, weeping may endure for a night, but you know, joy comes in the morning. Here's a man who can thank God genuinely for all the blessings of God, spiritual and physical. But let's read on. And in my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. Here's a man who seems to declare it fearlessly. Lord, you have made my mountain strong. But then notice what follows. Thou hid'st thy face, and I was troubled. There's something wrong somewhere about this man's confidence. Oh, you say, Mr. Fraser, I was ready to put myself in class number two, because it's so like myself. Well, here's what I want to challenge yourself with, my brother, my sister. What is your confidence in? The psalmist says, here thou hast made my mountain strong. What really is the mountain that you have, whereby, as you would think of the future, you say, I shall never be moved? I think that when you're young, your mountain might be your youth. You've got youth ahead. You're strong. Or if you're a woman in youth, you're attractive. Then as you think of the future, you would say to yourself, I don't have a great deal of qualms about the future. My mountain is my youth. My mountain is my attractiveness. But then a little bit later, when you're older, your mountain changes a bit. You know, my mountain now is my education. I really have had a splendid education to face life with. I believe I can earn my living anyplace. Or your mountain might be the secure job that you've got into now. A little bit later still, perhaps, in middle life, or a little bit after that, your mountain has somewhat changed again. Your mountain by that time might be in the fact that your house is all paid for, and you've got quite a little bit money in the bank, and you've got a fair measure of health and strength, and you've seen quite a lot of your ambitions realized. Your mountain is strong. You're not worried about the future particularly. But then as you get along towards that retirement age, your mountain seems to shift again. Your mountain might be the settled position you have in life. You have now accumulated a little bit more money than you had. You perhaps have a comfortable pension, or perhaps two pensions, and you really don't have any great financial burdens anymore, and you have a fair measure of strength. So you're not worried really, because as you look into the future, you state to yourself, I think that I'm well provided for. I shall not be moved. I'm wondering tonight, dear friends, if there isn't a danger that we're falling short of that fearlessness with which the third men speak. Let's beware that our confidence is not in the possession of things, rather than in the Lord himself. For the Lord sometimes hides his face from us, and that mountain of ours in which we are confident will be strong. Against the adversities of the future, the mountain crumbles. There's a long and lingering illness perhaps, whereby that money we had set aside for our comfort is eaten up in doctor bills and the like. Or the financial picture changes. Our country passes the peak of its prosperity, and something else sets in. And the Lord seems to take away the mountain, and what have we got left? We're plunged into despair. And we realize all too late that our confidence has been in the possession of things, rather than the open face of the Lord. Now let's turn to the third scripture. Psalm 16. Psalm 16. And verse 8. I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Now of course, the first speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ. As we learn from Acts chapter 2, where it is quoted by the apostle in regard to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. But then again, it is spoken, and is the portion of all who can say, I have set the Lord always before my face. Now let me ask this question. What is it to set the Lord always before your face? I submit that it means three things. It means you set the Lord before you, your face, in the day of your adversity. In the day of adversity. Now Joseph did that. When his brothers finally were broken down and confessed their guilt, Joseph said, it was not you, but God. Not them. Had they not hated him without a cause? They had. Had they not plotted his death? They did. Did they not sell him into the slavery of Egypt? They did. Was he not in prison for two years, part of which he had changed upon his feet, which hurt him? That you learn from the Psalms. Was he not misjudged and misrepresented? And rejected? And tortured? Yes. And now he's saying to those brothers of his, it wasn't you. It was God. He looked beyond the human channel, and he saw not only the permissive will of God, but the very plan of God. Not only for himself, but for them. He says, you know, this famine is going to last for five years more. There won't be a thing to eat, but God has brought me here to sustain you. He's brought me here to be a savior to all my father's house. I want you all to come down as my guests, all 70 of you, and dwell in the land of Egypt. It wasn't you. It was God. One day a man called Shimei came out and cursed David. One of David's men said, let me go and take his head off. And David said, no. No. It's God. It was God that made him curse me. Why did David say that? Because David was looking beyond Shimei, and I think he was thinking of Uriah the Hittite. And his conduct towards Uriah the Hittite. And that he was guilty of the blood of Uriah the Hittite, and was suffering under the hand of God. And he looked beyond, and he saw the hand of God. And Paul did that, you remember? Killed all the day long. Now, we are more than conquerors through him that loveth us. For all things work together for good to them that love God. Dear friends, you must look beyond your adversity. Beyond your bereavement. Beyond your suffering. And see God. Set him before your face. Even in your adversity. Amen? And then it means secondly, that you must set the Lord before your face in your ambitions. In your ambitions. In other words, you now live with the will of God ever before you. It's not that I'll make that investment of my money because I think it's a good place to put my money for the best return. That's not your prime motive. You say, is this investment for the glory of God? What will this be in the balance of the sanctuary? Will I have more or less now? I have made this investment to invest in that which is for eternity, and for the eternal welfare of people. This move I'm contemplating, is this move just for my own advantage primarily? Or is it really for the glory of the Lord? You say, setting the Lord before your face in your ambitions for the future. And then it must mean also, setting the Lord always before your face in your affections. That he is going to have chief place in your life. Not even the love of a wife. Not even the love of a husband. Not even the love of children. Being supreme in your life. But that the love for God and for Christ must be such that it even looks like hate in comparison. And that's what Jesus meant when he said, If any man will come after me, and hate not his father, mother, wife, children alike, he's not worthy of me. Now the language is comparative with Christ. All language, all words that define emotions are comparative. And such to be a love for the Lord, that a love for our very dearest otherwise, is a hate. Now when we can set the Lord always before our face, in our adversity, that disappointment, that trial, that trouble, and see God. And in our ambitions, and in our affections. We can truthfully say, I shall not deny. Notice what it goes on to say. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory, or my soul rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope. Now you say, but suppose I die this year, what then? Thou wilt not suffer, my holy one, to see corruption. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. That thy right hand bid our pleasures for evermore. May God grant, beloved, that the Lord shall be supreme. And the Lord save us from thrusting in things. Be thee ever so strong, even though we are slaves. I can thank God for salvation, as the second man did. The Lord save us from having confidence. Just because things are looking steady, and stanch, and rosy for the future. For you know, the Lord might hide his face, and we might be in trouble. And our best laid schemes gang after the late, as the poet has said. May we set the Lord supremely, ever before. So that as we face the years, the years, all the years ahead, to be able to say, I shall not be moved. I shall not be moved by the ever-rising tide of lawlessness and wickedness. For the Lord is in the heavens, and he appointed over the kingdom of men, Whomsoever he shall choose. And when he does, they only move to do whatsoever his decree and his counsel demands. We are a safe people, friends. The winds have fallen to us in unpleasant places. And blessed be his glorious name, for ever and ever. Amen. Let's sing that hymn. 248, I believe. Nothing but Christ. And it's all legal, I think that's it. Nope, it's only like that. I'll give it to you in a minute. Page 24. Thank you. 310, 24. Nothing but Christ, and on we tread. The gift on Christ, God's living bread. With staff in hand and feet well shot. Nothing but Christ. The Christ of God. Shall we stand to sing in the main standing, please? For the closing benediction. O God our Father, may this be a happy portion of us all. To set the Lord always before our face. So we shall save the despair from the tragic disappointment of those that have no hope. Help us to show that we have been with Jesus. Help us to show that we believe in the promises of God. Lift our hearts up, we pray. In hope, as we face the future, that God is still using his Whomsoever and his Whatsoever. Part us, Father, with thy blessing. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.