Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 3417
“Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:5.
IN this delightful Psalm, one remarks how David finds something of praise within him in everything of which he thinks. There are some desponding, morbid, murmuring, ungrateful souls who find reasons for complaining everywhere, but a man of David’s spirit, on the contrary, sucks honey out of every flower and praises God in connection with everything! I noticed, while I was reading just now, how many of these things would have made others mourn, but they only called forth from David’s soul, songs of praise! For instance, “Who forgives all your iniquities”—some would be forever complaining that they had sins and that those sins were a burden, but David sings of sin as pardoned! Some would be mourning before God that they were not well in health, complaining of their sicknesses, but David sang of Him, “Who heals all your diseases.” Morbid minds will be fretting about death and about what might come after death, but David says, “Who redeems your life from destruction.” And now, in the view of his temporal and spiritual blessedness, he pens this verse with which to crown his song, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
I invite you first notice in this verse and as you notice, ask that you may enjoy— I. SATISFACTION.
David speaks of his mouth being satisfied with good things. Satisfaction. A rare word! It rings like a silver bell— satisfaction. The richest man in England has not found it. The greatest conqueror has never won it. The proudest Emperor cannot command it. Satisfaction! It is no more natural to man than it was to the horseleech to cease from craving and crying for itself, “Give! Give!” As well might the sea be thought to be full or its billows to be still, as the heart of man to be thought to be satisfied! It is a spiritual blessing—it is a Divine Grace that comes from the great satisfying God—the God who is, Himself, All-Sufficient, is the only One who can be sufficient to fill the heart of man. Satisfaction! Why, that means enough, and enough is a feast!
David had enough of temporals and so, I trust, have we. If we are of the Apostle’s mind, we have, for having food and raiment, we are therewith content. David had spiritual riches and that satisfied him, and so have we, for if we have Christ, we have all things, for, first, Christ is All and next, He that spared not His own Son, but freely gave Him up for us all, how shall He not, with Him, also freely give us all things? For all things are yours, whether things present or things to come; all are yours and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. You have enough, then, for you have all things! Your spirit is content with what it has—no, more than content—you can say with David, “My cup runs over.” In receiving Christ into your soul, you have received more than your soul can hold—you are filled with all the fullness of God!
The text, in speaking of satisfaction, uses terms which denote satisfaction.”Who satisfies your mouth with good things.” In the mouth is the palate. It is the place in which there is a sensuous kind of enjoyment, which is here put as a figure of a higher and spiritual delight. We do not merely receive God’s good mercies—we enjoy them! We have not lost our taste for them. We do not swallow the honey of the Divine Mercy as though it were so much tasteless white of an egg, but we know, through having our senses exercised and taught of the good Spirit, how to get the flavor, the taste of the Word and to enjoy it. “He satisfies your mouth.” We have, all of us, desires after pleasures which are natural to us, but believing men have desires after higher pleasures—and these desires are, for the time being, satisfied until we get into yonder realm where our capacities are enlarged, our desires shall be increased and there, too, we shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of His house, and shall drink of the river of His pleasures forevermore! Until then, we are satisfiedwith Christ, satisfied with His salvation, satisfied with the Holy Spirit, satisfied with all His gracious operations, satisfied with the Covenant of Grace, satisfied with its sureness, satisfied with the largeness of its provisions, satisfied with the love of God, satisfied, indeed, with all that the Lord wills, for we can say that His will is our will! There is enough, then, and there is enjoyment of that enough.
Note as you take the words, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things.” See the variety of the satisfaction that is given. The mercies bestowed are not only good—they are not a good thing—but ‘“good things.” The Christian’s spiritual wealth consists of all manner of good things. As we showed you last Thursday night—of Christ’s fullness have all we received, and Grace for Grace. He gives more Grace. He is the God of all Grace. All sorts of blessings are provided for the Believer and the satisfaction which he enjoys is the result of receiving all the blessings that he can ever need. “He satisfies your mouth with good things,” that is, with pardons bought with blood, with justifying righteousness, perfect and complete—with adoption and all the privileges belonging thereto—with sanctification and all its gracious results! Good things, superlatively good things, Beloved! Not merely on good doctrines and good opinions shall you feed, but on real things, real blessings, and these not all of one sort, nor after one fashion, but like the fruit of that tree which becomes near to the Throne of God, and which bears its fruit every month, and has a variety of fruits to suit the tastes of all who come hungering to eat thereof!