I please Almighty God to be with
us and bless us tonight as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the 119th Psalm
and we'll read verse 117. Psalm 119 and verse 117. It's easy to remember this because
the 119th Psalm is the longest Psalm and the 117th Psalm is
the shortest Psalm. So Psalm 119 and verse 117. Hold thou me up, and I shall
be safe, and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. It's a prayer here of David. There's many prayers in the Bible
of David, and we're thankful there are, because we believe
that they do echo the prayers of the true Church of God. And therefore, surely we can
understand what he desires here, that he may be held up and not
left to fall or to slip. And he tells us if he is held
up, He will be safe and if he's safe also he will have respect
unto the statutes, the statutes of God continually. Well it's
three statements really, hold thou me up and I shall be safe
and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. So it's a good prayer and it's
a good testimony for us to desire and indeed be concerned to follow
that God would indeed hold us up. David could pray this from
his heart knowing how easy it was to not be held up. We know that in David's life
he was left to himself and he sinned grievously with the sin
of Bathsheba and adultery and then the murder of her husband.
So he recognized the need there was to pray this prayer, hold
thou me up. And as David realised the relevance
of it, there are many people in the Word of God who also,
we know, recognised the relevance of it. We can think of the Apostle
Peter when he was in that judgment hall, how he denied his Lord
with oaths and curses. Yes, it wasn't just a gentle
statement. He wanted to make sure that people
understood his hatred to the situation. And yet, you see,
we also read that the Apostle Peter sought for mercy when he
says, kept by the power of God in that first chapter to Peter.
Again, he knew it was the power of God. And it's good for us
today to realize that you and I are only kept by the power
of God. It's easy to make an assumption
that we're strong and that we wouldn't fall into this sin or
that sin. It's probably the most dangerous
situation when we think we can stand by ourselves. Because in
God's mercy and sovereignty, he very soon shows us left to
ourselves. We're only a weak, unworthy and
poor sinner. And therefore we need to continually
pray to our God that he will look upon us and keep us. It's a good desire, isn't it,
to be kept by the power of God. That gives honour and glory to
God. We don't claim it ourselves because we've asked for God to
do it. And also here, hold thou me up. It's very easy to fall. It's very easy to slide. Things appear to be okay. And we think we can just take
a little step in going into this situation or that situation. But perhaps we don't realize
that such steps can be very dangerous. and they can lead us into a disastrous
situation. We read that 73rd Psalm, the
Psalm of Asaph, which again gives us good instruction. He tells
us in the second verse, But as for me, my feet were almost gone,
my steps had well nigh slipped, For I was envious of the foolish
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.' Again we see there
the natural man. We see him looking around and
becoming envious and wondering perhaps why others had prospered
and he hadn't. And therefore the result was
his feet were almost gone. Thankfully they weren't and his
steps were well and I slipped but they didn't. What a blessing
therefore that we have words like this to encourage us to
be on our watch as we journey on day by day and to realise
we need the power of God to keep us, keep us in that narrow way,
keep us in that straight way and not to wander into the broad
way. The devil is very active. The
devil is very keen to destroy our soul. And we should not forget
that the devil knows what our weaknesses are, probably better
than we know ourselves. And the devil hones in on our
weaknesses with that desire to destroy our soul. So we have
to be on our watch and careful. It may direct us to the gracious
words of the Saviour when he taught his disciples how to pray. One of those statements was,
lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. Again,
very familiar to us, but very real. What a blessing it is if
God enables us to pray that. Because the devil will try and
lead us into temptation and will try and overcome us. And left
to ourselves, we're easy prey. But what a mercy to be able to
go in the strength of the Lord God. and to recognise his support
and his strength and not therefore to be left to ourselves and foolishly
rely upon our own ability. He tells us again in this 73rd
Psalm, encouraging words, verse 23, he tells us, nevertheless
I am continually with thee, thou hast holding me by my right hand
isn't that wonderful to think that God takes us as it were
by our hand and leads us on we would go in many wrong places
we would do many wrong things left to ourselves but Asaph was
able to say nevertheless having confessed previously So foolish
was I and ignorant I was as a beast before thee. That's a very honest
confession, isn't it? And it's good, you know, when
God gives us strength and desire and ability to confess our weaknesses
and to confess our sins to our God. We're told, aren't we, if
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's the great and glorious
and merciful God that you and I have to deal with. We do have
to deal with that God. What a mercy that God deals with
us in love to our souls. He goes on, thou shalt guide
me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. That was
a good desire, wasn't it? And that should be our prayer
as well, to seek that God will guide us, that he will hold us
up, that he will be round about us, and that he will bless us
and guide us with his counsel. and after would receive us to
glory surely that should be our concern that should be our desire
to have the assurance that we are on that right road that narrow
way that leads to eternal life and we're not being sidetracked
we're not wandering into that broad way which leads to destruction
The Proverbs tell us, there is a way that seemeth right unto
a man, but the ways thereof are the ways of death. We need to
examine our way. We need to bring it before God
and desire that he will direct us and show us. Whom am I in
heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth
that I desire beside thee. We could classify that as heavenly
mindedness. What a good position to be in. To be able to come and confess
there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. What does that mean? Surely that
means that Christ is precious to our soul. and yet so often
perhaps we feel far off perhaps we feel that we're slipping away
you know sometimes if we slip we're on perhaps on the downward
slope and the more we slip the faster we slip and it's easy
to slip down it's not so easy to come back It's uphill. It's a great, wonderful and difficult
struggle. And yet what a mercy it is to
realise that we have a kind and gracious God. It really reminds
us of what David himself said again in the 40th Psalm, where
he tells us, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined
unto me. Yes, he wasn't impatient. Sometimes we want God to do things
now. The Word of God tells us your
time is always, but my time is not yet. God has a perfect time. Our time is far from perfect. We don't know what's involved. in God hearing and answering
our prayers. God has a great plan. Many people
are often involved in God's great plan and therefore we should
be patient. I waited patiently for the Lord.
David's able then to confirm. And he, almighty God, inclined
unto me and heard my cry. Surely We should be thankful
for that truth and realise it's what I mentioned in prayer, the
effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avoideth much. And he tells us then, he brought
me up also out of a horrible pit and out of the Maori clay. Well that's just a figure. We
don't know what it really involved and you and I can apply it to
our own lives. We might find ourselves in a
horrible pit It may seem as though it's Maori clay Maori clay is
very difficult to cope with it's very slippery and you can imagine
being in a pit and trying to climb out of that pit with all
slippery clay, Maori clay all around and therefore David's
able to tell us He, Almighty God brought me up also out of
a horrible pit out of the Maori clay He didn't dump us on the
side and set my feet upon a rock, the rock Christ Jesus, and established
my goings. That makes us very appreciative
of the power and might of Almighty God, and the mercy and favour
of Almighty God. He didn't leave David in the
pit, did he? We don't know exactly what time in his life David wrote
this, but he may have been very oppressed because of his sin,
deserves to be left there, but God didn't. God is gracious. God is still gracious. God is
merciful. God is still merciful. And what
a blessing it is, therefore, to be able to come to this God
and to believe that he will deliver us. He will bring us up out of
a horrible pit. And He will set our feet upon
a rock, and He will establish our goings. And then He says,
and I have put a new song in my mouth. And what was that?
Even praise unto our God. When do we last praise God? It's
important, isn't it? That we do praise God. When do
we last praise Him? We often complain. What a mercy
when God gives us a song of praise. Our God is worthy. of all praise. He is worthy to receive our praise. Unto our God many shall see it
and fear and shall trust in the Lord. It's a good result, wasn't
it? A good result from it and to really therefore be able to
bless God for such a wonderful appearance. And so come back
to Asaph when he says, so foolish was I and ignorant I was as a
beast before thee. So a low place, but God was dealing
with him. God brings us sometimes into
low places to show us our need and to show us the truth of those
words, no man can keep alive his own soul we may struggle
to do so we may fail but what a blessing it is God keeps us
alive and when God does so what does it result in? well what
it should result in is thankfulness and praise unto our God and he
finally draws a conclusion to this psalm by saying but it is
good for me to draw near to God I put my trust in the Lord God
that I may declare all thy works. Note the finish. If God hears
and answers his prayer, he says that I may declare all thy works. To thank God for answers to prayer. To thank God for appearing for
us. thank God for directing us and
guiding us and not leaving us to our own understanding. How
glorious and how merciful is this God. The great God who I
trust, we do indeed adore. And so David tells us then, hold
thou me up and I shall be safe. It's a good place, isn't it? To be held up by God. In Deuteronomy,
we read underneath are the everlasting arms. And God's arms are so strong. And my friends, they support
us in every need. What a mercy it is to come and
to cast all our care upon Him, believing He cares for us. That's a very humbling realization,
isn't it? To think that Almighty God cares
for such unworthy people, unworthy sinners. We don't deserve any
mercy. We don't deserve any blessing.
We don't deserve any comfort. But yet we have a God who is
full of mercy. A God who is compassionate. Often perhaps we're not compassionate. Perhaps we are not very good
to our friends and neighbours because we don't deal with them
very well. Perhaps we're a bit abrupt perhaps in our dealings
with them. Yet we see how God is kind and gracious and long-suffering. hold down me up and I shall be
safe safe from despair. If we were left we might despair
because of our total failure and yet to realize we have a
God who looks after us and delivers us just like David he was in
that horrible pit He might have despaired, but God brought him
up. And God delivered him. And it's
good to realize that it was God that did it. David wasn't able
to. Sometimes we get ourselves into
situations we can't see any way out. Everywhere seems to be hedged
up. Everywhere seems difficult. and
hard. Perhaps remember the account
that Jeremiah gives us in his Lamentations. We read of course
the book of Jeremiah and then we have his Lamentations where
he describes his spiritual situation. We should be very thankful that
God has given us such words from men of God he tells us in the
third chapter I am the man that has seen affliction by the rod
of his wrath he has led me let's note that he has led me and brought
me into darkness but not into light we might think, might we
not that we seem to get in a worse and worse place And this can't
be God. And yet here we have Jeremiah,
a true man of God, who tells us, he has led me, brought me
into darkness but not into light. Surely against me as he turned,
he turneth his hand against me all the day. Well, sometimes
it does seem, doesn't it? Perhaps in our life, that God's
against us. You might expect the very opposite
and yet what is happening? God is leading us and God is
teaching us and God is showing us his love and his mercy and
his compassion. and this goes on for a bit it's
just worth just following it through because it's instructed
to us my flesh and my skin hath he made old he hath broken my
bones he hath builded against me encompassed me with gore and
travail he hath set me in dark places as they that be dead of
old He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out. He hath
made my chain heavy, and when I cry and shout, he shutteth
out my prayer. That's a pretty desperate situation,
isn't it? Just think of that, it's like
being in prison, chained up. We can't free ourselves. There
we are. And when we try and pray, our
prayers don't seem to make any headway. No, it's a difficult
path. And then he says, he hath enclosed
my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. He was
unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places
he hath turned aside my ways, pulled me in pieces, he hath
made me desolate, He hath bent his bow and set me as a mark
for the arrow. He hath caused the arrows of
his quiver to enter into my reins. I was a derision to all my people
and their song all the day. He filled me with bitterness
and he hath made me drunken with wormwood. He had also broken
my teeth with gravel stones and covered me with ashes. Now this
is a description of a prophet of the Lord of a man of God,
as it were, opening his heart, writing down that which he truly
felt, his innermost being. He wasn't trying to impress anybody. He wasn't trying to say what
a great chap he was. He was just being exceedingly
honest. And yet, the Lord sometimes brings
us into these situations. And we may think we've made a
great mistake in our life. We've gone totally the wrong
way. Jeremiah hadn't made a big mistake. He hadn't done wrong things. He'd actually done God's will. It was a very difficult path
that he had, but he was honourable in it. And God brings him into
this situation. But we should realise Jeremiah
wasn't left there. He was held up. Hold down me
up. It appeared that he was going
to completely collapse. And now to remove my soul far
off from peace, I forgot prosperity and I said my strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord. Well, it's a desperate scene,
isn't it? It's a desperate scene and you
may think well why has God granted that such an account should be
written in the Word of God? It's because sometimes the child
of God walks in a path like this and wonders why? And they find they have a companion
with Jeremiah. Jeremiah was delivered. Jeremiah
was held up. Yes, he wasn't left totally. And then he said, remembering
my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall, my
soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. Isn't that
a wonderful statement? You see, God does humble us.
He humbles us to realize that as the Apostle Paul said in me
that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing that's not a pleasant
position to have to acknowledge but then he says this I recall
to my mind therefore have I hope and then he breaks out in the
22nd verse it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed
because his compassions fail not. Jeremiah was held up. David was held up. The church
of God are held up. So we come to this position and
able to confirm it is of the Lord's mercies. We could be cut
off, but we're not. it could give up but we don't
we could be consumed but we're not and then he says because
his compassions fail not this is the God that we have a God
who deals with us in love to our souls that's the
great bottom line love to our souls we may think well I don't
know this is a very tough path I'm walking well the Lord leads
us he led them about Israel of old he instructed them he kept
them as the apple of his eye his compassions fail not they
are new every morning every morning great is thy faithfulness. How unfaithful we are. How faithful
is our God. Great is thy faithfulness. Surely this should cheer us when
we see how faithful God is. And then he goes on. The Lord
is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in him. It's God. that gives us strength to hope
in Him takes us away from ourselves it's easy you know to find we're
looking to ourselves to deliver ourselves we think we can do
this and we can do that and things will change and things will improve
what a blessing it is when God takes us in hand because God
deals with us in the perfect way that way which is good for
our soul and the way which brings honour and glory to his great
and holy name so that we come to this position and are able
to say the Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore
I hope in him well I trust tonight we hope in the Lord The Lord
is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh
Him. You see, there is a waiting.
There is a seeking. Your time is always, my time
is not yet. Don't forget that. The Lord is
good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh
Him. It is good that a man should
both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. You may be waiting. I don't know.
You may be waiting for the salvation of the Lord. You may think, well,
it hasn't come. I've prayed. I've sought for
it. And God doesn't seem to hear
and answer my prayers. Well, read the third of Lamentations. Be encouraged by such statements. and recognize what Jeremiah was
able to say it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth
what a mercy then to have a God like that well we can go on there's
a lot of instruction in this short book of the Lamentations
to be able to meditate upon and to lay it alongside our life
to see how we compare with those things which are written. So
the Word of God is written for the encouragement of the Church
of God. It's not all a bed of roses. It's not all wonderful success. It's not all wonderful joy and
happiness. But the consolation is to know
that God is with them. And exactly as we read in the
107th Psalm, speaking about the children of Israel, who must
have wondered whether the right way was being followed. And the psalmist tells us, He,
Almighty God, led them forth. He led them forth by the right
way. they might go to a city of habitation. Sometimes we seem to lose sight
of the fact we're on a journey. This world is not our rest, it's
not our home. The Lord is preparing us for
our home. And if he's preparing us for
our home, we should realise that he's ensuring that we don't take
this world as our home, but we look forward to that rest, the
rest that the Lord has prepared for his church, that time to
come, that eternal time of glory. That wonderful prospect for the
whole Church of God. So may we truly be encouraged
to realise, hold thou me up and I shall be safe. Even in that
position where I thought I was in the wrong way, I thought I
was going the wrong place. No, says God, no. here is the truth hold thou me
up and I shall be safe and he goes on and I will have respect
unto thy statutes continually that means respect unto the law
of God respect unto the direction of God to realise that God's
way is right and God is teaching me sometimes we're not very good
at learning some of us are pretty slow and we need God to be with us and
to bless us and to direct us and encourage us we don't often
refer to the Song of Solomon and yet it's a very lovely book
and it's good to sometimes turn to it and we have a statement
there about the Church of God and the question was I charge
you in the eighth chapter and the fourth verse I charge you
O daughters of Jerusalem that ye stir not up nor await my love
until ye please and the question was then who is this? that cometh
up from the wilderness leaning upon her beloved. The Church of God leans on the
Saviour. We need that support. There's
much opposition. Here we have a very clear picture. Who is this that cometh up from
the wilderness And this world is a wilderness to the true believer,
to the true church of God. It's not our home, it's not our
rest, it is a wilderness. And what a great mercy if we're
found leaning upon Christ. Oh, my friends, there's a wonderful
strength, there's a wonderful support in our glorious God,
what a mercy therefore to be able to recognise he is there,
he is always there he is always ready to strengthen us to help
us to support us to deliver us let us not look to our own ability
and yet you see the devil continually sets traps for us sets traps
for us to try and to entrap us to walk contrary to our God. It's a very short book in the
Bible. It's just before Revelation. It's called the Book of Jude.
And it has some very important statements in it to direct us. And right towards the end of
this little book, 24th verse, we're told this. now unto Him
unto God unto Him that is able to keep you from falling keep
you and me from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy well that's a wonderful
prospect isn't it To think of that, you and I,
unworthy sinners. Our God is able to keep us from
falling and then to present us faultless before the presence
of his glory with exceeding joy. Joy over a sinner saved. Joy over a sinner redeemed. Joy over a sinner brought safely
home to glory. Joy to the only wise God, our
Saviour. Be glory and majesty, dominion,
and power, both now and ever. Amen. Well, is that our desire? To be in that place and to be
in that position and to hear such words and to desire to honour
and glorify our God. To the only wise God, our Saviour,
be glory and majesty dominion and power both now and forever. You know we do come into hard
testing times and we have examples like for instance God's servant
Elijah. You may remember Elijah was wonderfully
blessed on Mount Carmel when there were all those servants
of Baal And he thought he was the only one that worshipped
God, but in actual fact he wasn't. There were 7,000 of Israel who
still didn't worship Baal. But he thought he was the only
one and he prayed to God that God would come and send fire
from heaven to take the sacrifice that he put together. Baal's
servants had utterly failed. and everything they could, nothing
had happened. And now Elijah prays. And down came the fire and consumed
the sacrifice and the altar and all the water that was in a trench
round about. What a great and wonderful deliverance. And we would think, wouldn't
we, therefore that Elijah was going to be strong and he'd never
have any worries again. He would always be confident
in the great ability to God. But we read, I think it was only
the next day that Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, sent a message
and said that she would have his head off by the end of that
day. And what did Elijah do? He ran. He ran away. He was fearful. You see how easily
we can be left to ourselves. Of course, he did go and he had
to go a long way to gain the strength of the Lord for 40 days
and 40 nights until he came to the mount and there he stopped
in the cave that was there and There was a great storm and he
thought the Lord would be in the storm. No he wasn't. Then
there was a great earthquake. He thought the Lord would be
in the earthquake. No he wasn't. Then there was a still small
voice. Sometimes we think there's going
to be a wonderful revelation. My friend, sometimes there's
not. Sometimes it's a very simple thing. Perhaps to our mind a
very small thing. But it was a very real thing.
And the word to Elijah was very simple. What doest thou hear,
Elijah? It was a question. And Elijah
knew the word had spoken. The Lord had spoken his word
to his soul. What a blessing it is in our
little lives when God speaks to our heart, perhaps not in
the way that we expect. Perhaps we expected some Wonderful
revelation. Sometimes people pray for wonderful
revelations. If God granted those wonderful
revelations, you know what would happen? They would claim the
glory for themselves. They would tell people how they
prayed and how God answered their prayer. God receives the glory. And God does things in his way. And in Elijah's case, God came
in that way, in that still, small voice. Let's just say this. Don't despise the day of small
things. Hold thou me up. Perhaps the
Lord supports us in our time of need with perhaps
just a small quiet voice perhaps a text which may stand out and
as apply to our case apply to our souls perhaps it didn't come
in the way we expected but nonetheless if it has come You can praise
and bless God and thank him for his love and his mercy towards
you. Hold thou me up and I shall be
saved and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. He would have respect unto what
God did for him. and how it was worked out. It's
a blessing isn't it when you and I have respect to God's plan,
respect to God's ways and have to dispense and throw away perhaps
our little plans. We may have hatched a nice little
plan and we may have thought it was good and it was going
to bring honour and glory to God but if God enables you and
me to analyse these things a bit more we'll find perhaps there's
pride tucked away in such a solution. And God will have all the honour
and glory. And what a blessing, therefore,
if God brings us to see his love toward us, his mercy toward us,
and his grace toward us. If we see those things, oh, the
work of God will have done the work, and we shall rejoice. that God has been mindful of
us and heard our prayers and answered them perhaps in a very
different way to what we expected and yet he has heard and yet
he has answered and there is therefore much reason and much
cause to praise God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.