May the Lord be pleased to bless
us together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let us
turn to the book of Psalms and we'll read Psalm 126 and the
third verse. Psalm 126 and reading the third
verse. The Lord hath done great things
for us whereof we are glad. I'll just read the psalm, it's
only six verses. When the Lord turned again the
captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our
mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then
said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things
for them. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord,
as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth
bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him. we have here really in this short
psalm a description of the life of the Church of God and as it
also therefore touches individuals and I believe that really without
exception there will be that common agreement in the life
of the true believer to come and say The Lord hath done great
things, well it says here for us, but the Church of God individually
would say, hath done great things for me, whereof we are glad. Now, we don't know of course
precisely when this was written, we don't know precisely who it
was written by, we think it was probably David, but nonetheless
it has an application to so many situations throughout the history
of the world. We read together in that last
chapter of the Chronicles an evidence of such an occasion. Because in that last chapter
we have the picture there of Israel being taken into captivity. And what a disastrous occasion
that was. and how they had rebelled again
and again against the words of God, against the words of the
prophets, and had continued in their own way, concerns to not
take heed to the voice of God through the prophets. Well, that
which God has spoken came to pass. And of course they did
go down to Babylon, and of course Jerusalem was destroyed and the
temple was destroyed and there they were for a long time in
captivity 70 years and then so remarkably Cyrus the king the
king of in Babylon moved by the Holy Spirit of God to direct
the people to return to Jerusalem and to once again rebuild it. Well, what was there? Rejoicing
was there not. Here was a time of release. Here was a time of favour. They didn't deserve it. And there was nothing that they
could do. to bring about a change. They
were slaves, really they were captives in Babylon and yet you
see the Lord God wonderfully moved the heart and of course
not only we know Cyrus but later on Darius and it was a wonderful
time for Israel and we see the wonderful mercy of God and how
that eventually The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt and the
temple was re-established and Israel were able to continue
their worship of God. So what a favor and what a blessing
there was at that time. Well, that's a very clear example
for us to realize how God is on the throne and also how God
keeps his promises and how also God in his love and mercy doesn't
deal with his people as they deserve. Well, as we come and
ponder such words this morning, have we the evidence in our lives,
and I hope we have in some measure, to be able to come and confirm
the Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad. The Psalmist tells us, when the
Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that
dream. And what do we observe there?
It is the work of God. It is the work of God who turns
our captivity, who frees us indeed from captivity. And we are captive,
we were born captive. Captive by sin. And there we
remain until the time when God graciously comes and turns our
captivity. We might say what occurs then,
we are released from that place of captivity. We're released
from the prison house which we've been kept in. since the day we
were born, because of our sin, because we've turned against
God, because we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity and
therefore there is no freedom until the Lord comes. The Lord comes and he, as it
were, opens the door to the prison house and we find then that the
Lord Jesus himself, as he so gloriously tells us, I am the
door. It's through him we enter into
that place of blessing and that place of liberty. And it's only
through what the Lord Jesus Christ does for us. Without him, without
me, he can do nothing. We remain captive, we remain
in chains, We remain in darkness, there's no freedom. But if the
Lord has come and turned again our captivity. And the psalmist
describes it so very ably when he tells us, we were like them,
that dream. Because when the Lord comes and
brings us out of captivity, we're really in a new situation. It's
a new world. We see things in a different
light because it's the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. And what a change has occurred.
And therefore, it is like this. We're in a bit of a daze to think
of what God has shown us or is showing us. and bringing us out
into the light, delivering us from the darkness of that prison
house into the glorious light of the everlasting gospel. And
surely, blessed with such a situation, we understand, and perhaps we
have been blessed with this wonderful liberty, because this is the
liberty which God grants to His people. Then we were like them,
the dream. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue with singing. What a change takes
place. What a change had taken place. What a blessing if you and I
know something of that change in our lives. To realize that
God has touched our tongue. and touched our heart so that
our mouth is filled with laughter and our tongue with singing.
That's the evidence, is there not, of God's gracious work in
our hearts, which is evidenced because here we have this testimony
among the heathen, the Lord saying, then said they among
the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. Now this
is wonderful but it's also very sad because we have this position
here, the heathen are recognising that the Lord has done great
things for them. That's good to be able to recognize
that the evidence is there in the life of those who have believed
and demonstrated as such an effect that the heathen take notice
of it. But what a sad thing that it's only, it stays there with
the heathen. The heathen, the Lord has done
great things for them. And what a change in the next
verse. when we realise what the psalmist
says, the Lord hath done great things for, not for them, but
for us. And so this morning, really the
great question for all of us is, have we the wonderful evidence
that the Lord hath done great things for us? Look into your heart this morning. Observe there whether there is
something which God has done for you. And if there is something
which God has done for you, it is a great thing. It is a great
favour. It is a great blessing. Never
underestimate the favour of God. Never underestimate the blessing
of God because it is a great thing. The Lord has done great
things for us and those great things will be to reveal by His
Spirit our need of the Lord Jesus Christ as a great and glorious
Saviour. He's shown us, and I hope He
has shown us, that we are in a lost condition. We're in captivity. We cannot free ourselves. We're
in darkness. We cannot see the light. It's
a place of death. But then, to be found seeking
unto the Lord that He will have mercy upon us. And he will come
to us and bring us out of this captivity so that we are able
to tell those who are indeed favoured to be in the same camp
that the Lord has turned again our captivity. The captivity
of Zion, it represents indeed the church of God and The captivity
of the Church of God is turned. People do not go to heaven who
are in captivity. They go to heaven who have been
set free. And they've been set free not
because of what they've done in their own strength. They've
been set free because of that which Christ has done for them.
And they've been given that faith to lay hold of the precious promises
set forth in the Gospel, in the Word of God. And they've received
the personal application of such promises which have been applied
to their hearts, such as that which Jeremiah tells us in the
31st chapter when he says, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, Beloved Kindness,
have I drawn thee. And there's been that wonderful
effect. We've been drawn to the Lord,
not perhaps willingly, perhaps we haven't wanted to leave the
world and its deceitful things, but if the Lord has a purpose
of love toward us, he will draw us. And it's like this. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. He shows
to the church of God his secrets. He shows the church of God the
blessed work of salvation. He shows to them the need they
have and how that need is supplied as they are directed to view
what Christ has done. Now what is this? Great things. Great things indeed. Nothing
greater is there really than to be shown our need of a saviour
and then be directed to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the only true saviour. The only one who can save our
souls. The Lord hath done great things
for us. Well, the psalmist here is looking
back. Can we look back this morning?
Can we look back to see what God has done? And what God has done will never
be removed. It's like it's written with a
pen of iron in a rock. It cannot be erased. The devil
may try and erase it. He may try and tempt us to believe
that it was not of his spirit, it was not of his work, but he
will never be able to succeed. That which God has done, it's
done forever. The Lord has done great things. What a favour us then this morning
if we can, we can observe in our spiritual life and this I'm
talking here really about our spiritual life. I know the Lord
does great things for us also in Providence, which we should
not ignore and neglect. But nonetheless, it is far more
important to realise that the great things that the Spirit
of God is directing us to here is the things relating to our
eternal soul. Those things which are forever
and ever, and the evidence of his great grace toward us. If he has loved us with an everlasting
love, then he will show us his great grace, which is his wonderful
unmerited favour to hell-deserving sinners. And that's why we read
here, we were like them that dream, amazed, to think that
God should have revealed himself to us should have opened our
eyes, our spiritual eyes, should have perhaps unstopped our ears
to hear the great truth of the Gospel, to bless Him for these
wonderful revelations, which they are. And they are not of
the flesh, they are outside of ourselves, because they are the
work of the Spirit. And because they are the work
of the Spirit, therefore we can come like this and say, them
is our mouth filled with laughter. It's a heavenly rejoicing to
realise that God has looked upon us. He hasn't cast us off. He hasn't passed us by. We may
have been fearful, and rightly so, that the Lord might pass
us by. The Lord has come to us, and
the Lord has appeared for us, and the Lord has blessed us.
Well then, can we not say this morning, the Lord hath done great
things for us? Well, if I ask you this morning,
can you put your hand up? Can you answer that? Can you
say yes? To God's glory, and through His
grace, He has done great things for me. Well, my friends, let
us never underestimate the greatness of the things that God does.
Yes, how quickly we may find that we have opposition to these
things, but When the Lord works, there will be that praise to
our God. Isaiah, in that short twelfth
chapter, he says, And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I
will praise thee. Though thou wast angry with me,
thine anger is turned away. and thou comfortest me." Now,
if we felt God's anger because of our sin, and we felt His wrath
upon us because of our sin, and we realised it was just and righteous,
and we have to say, and if my soul were sent to hell, thy righteous
law approves it well. We could not disagree with the
great word of God and realize his anger against sin. And it's a fearful thing, therefore,
to fall into the hands of the living God as an undone and unsaved
sinner. But then he says, thine anger
is turned away and thou comfortest me. Well, The
work of the Lord, the word of the Lord in our hearts is a work
of comfort and a word of encouragement. And it is a great thing. And to be able to come and say
as Isaiah was, behold, God is my salvation. There's no one
else. There's nowhere else. No one
else who can save my soul. There I was, lost, helpless. But the Lord has come and done
great things. Can you not say, behold? And that means we are to observe,
we are to bear testimony and bear witness of it. Behold, God
is my salvation. Will trust and not be afraid
I will trust and not be afraid For the Lord Jehovah is my strength
and my song and he also is become my Salvation this word therefore
is fulfilled. Is it not the Lord has done? great things for us Because the
Lord has revealed himself to us, as he did to Isaiah, as the
great salvation. He has become my salvation. He
says, therefore, with joy shall we draw water out of the wells
of salvation. It is a joyful time in our soul's
experience to recognize the great work of God which has commenced
and which is moving on in our souls and I realise that work
will continue and bring us safe home at last into glory. And so he goes on, and in that
day shall you say, praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare
his doings among the people, make mention that his name is
exalted, sing unto the Lord, for he hath done excellent things. This is known in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy
One of Israel in the midst of thee." It's wonderful when the Holy
Spirit moves our heart to such an extent that as we observe
his gracious work in our heart, we realize it is Indeed a great
thing that God has done for us and it brings us into the liberty
of the gospel So that we desire to praise him for his great salvation
And what does it do? It does direct us to the Lord
Jesus Christ and we perhaps then Realize just a little perhaps
of his great love toward us unworthy sinner And yet God has touched
our heart. It's because of his love toward
us. And he is now become our salvation. We see then our need of his finished
work. We see that without it, we are
lost. But with it, if we're under the
blood, if we're blessed with that wonderful favor of knowing
that Christ Jesus, almighty God, who took on him, human flesh,
that he might suffer in our place, that he might bear the punishment
instead. Well, I believe, blessed with
a little view by faith of that truth, we come to this position
and we say from our heart, what a saviour, what a saviour that
should have saved a wretch like me, What a Saviour! They should have had mercy upon
me. And yet I rejoice now, and I
come this morning, and I am able to say, yes, the Lord hath done
great things for us, the Lord hath done great things for me. Individually, and yet you see,
joined together with the Church of God, because all the Church
of God will join together in this song and come and agree
and say these words yes the Lord hath done great things for us
none are exempt from that wonderful truth and what a blessing it
is then for us today to be able to come together and say that
you know the psalmist says let us exalt his name together it's
a blessing you know when the church of God do join together
when they're united in their desire to praise God for what
He's done, and they're united to speak of those things which
He has done for them. You know, this was so clear,
wasn't it? You see, their mouth was filled
with laughter, and their tongue with singing. They could not
keep silence. The work of God was done. The work of God had appeared.
They were a new creature. Old things were passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. There had been that wonderful
and blessed change which had occurred. Well, this morning,
my friends, do we know something of this wonderful change, this
blessed change, this wonderful favor, that we are able to come
and say, yes, by the grace of God, the Lord has done. great
things for me, done great things for us, and now I can indeed
confirm, yes, the Lord is my strength. And remember what we
read in the gospel, in the epistle to the Corinthians, I will go
in the strength of the Lord God, not our strength. I will go in
the strength of the Lord, Lord God, and we're mentioned, of
His righteousness even of thine only. See that is the outworking
of the blessed work of the Spirit in the soul's heart to come and
desire to declare what Christ has done, to declare His wonderful
favour and His wonderful blessing. And so the Prophet tells us,
therefore with joy should he draw water out of the wells of
salvation. There is drink here to the thirsty
soul. If you and I are thirsting after
Christ, we find the satisfaction of that thirst in the wells of
salvation, where we observe what the Lord Jesus Christ has done
in giving His life, that we might possess life and that eternal
life. What a wonderful favour it is
then. to be granted such a blessing. The Lord hath done great things
for us. Isaiah, a little bit further
on, in the same prophecy, encourages us again with the words of his
prophecy, and he speaks to us, and he says, Awake, awake, put
on strength. O arm of the Lord, awake as in
the ancient days. In the generations of old, art
not thou it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the dragon? Art thou
not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep,
and hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to
pass over? Then he says, therefore, here
we have the evidence, here we have the testimony, therefore
the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing
unto the Zion. Neverlasting joy shall be upon
their head. They shall obtain gladness and
joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Well, those
who are able to declare this, the Lord has done great things
for us. Who are they? They are the redeemed of the
Lord. They are those for whom Christ
has paid the price of their salvation. They are there for whom the Lord
Jesus Christ has ransomed their souls and brought them into the
covenant brought them into the Church of God, brought them into
the household of faith. What a blessing, what a favour
for you and me this morning to have the evidence of His work
in our hearts. The grace and glorious work and
to be able to acknowledge the effect of it. Yes, our captivity
has been turned. there's light and there's life. And our eyes are looking up to
our great Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy it
is to have such a Saviour and to realise that there are these
great things. And we should not put things down and think, I'm
not sure when that's a very great thing. My friends, the least
favour, the least blessing, the least word from God is a great
thing. It's a great thing. And it's
a great thing that you and I can rejoice in. The work of our God. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof We are glad. And he goes on, you know, just
to say, turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the
south. You may wonder what that means.
Well, the picture really is this, that it was a place of desert. The south was a place of desert.
But, you know, when the rain came, and we can think of that
occasion, you know, when Elijah's day, when there was that great
rain. You remember, there'd been no
rain for those three years. And he'd gone up to the mountain
and sent his servant to look and see if there was any sign
of rain. He said, well, there's just a little cloud, just like
a man's hand. And Elijah said, up. It's the
beginning. It shows the rain will be coming. And so it did. And there was
a tremendous downpour. And what occurs is the streams
in the south, all those furrows in the desert, are filled with
water and rain, and it's turned into a flourishing place. Turn again our captivity, O Lord,
as the streams in the south, and Lord, come and grant the
wonderful outpouring of His Holy Spirit, so there is the evidence
of this great and glorious work in our hearts and in our souls.
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, and in the first
chapter, He speaks to us in similar lines really. It's like this
when the Holy Spirit comes and we can acknowledge that great
things have occurred. It's like this. The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened. It's when the light shines. It's
then you see the eyes of our understanding are enlightened.
And what a blessing that is that you may know It's something to
be known, and again a wonderful blessing if we know it, the great
things have been done, that ye may know what is the hope of
his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead, and set him in his own right hand in heavenly
places far above all principality and power and might and dominion. And every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and
has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him, that filleth all in all." Well, that surely is a very clear
statement of those who are blessed with spiritual light and those
who therefore are able to declare, yes, the Lord has done great
things for us, great things to give us this spiritual understanding. It is wonderful when the Holy
Spirit works in our hearts to give us this spiritual understanding. You know it's something that
we say, well I'm amazed I didn't understand it before. I'm amazed
I didn't really realise the wonder of these things. I didn't really
appreciate the truth of what I read. But when the Holy Spirit
does great things, it is then you see, that the eyes of our
understanding, the eyes which we didn't see before, now we
see things far more clearly. The eyes of our understanding
being enlightened, that we may know what is the hope of His
calling. We realise, yes, the Lord has called me. He's come,
come to me, He's called me. Yes, the Apostle Paul knew it.
called, the whole Church of God know it, a call and it's a wonderful
thing. And may you and I therefore have
this evidence that we may know what is the hope of his calling
and then and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints. See that work which God has begun
he will complete and that completed work will be to bring us safe
home to glory, to therefore be found eternally with Christ. Now then, surely we can understand
what the Psalmist says when he says, the Lord has done great
things for us, whereof we are glad. Are you glad this morning? Can you rejoice this morning?
Because God has done a great thing for you. And again, let
me just reiterate, whatever God has done for you, it is a great
thing. And so this morning, can you
go on your way rejoicing? Because you do have the evidence
that God has done. And remember, it's what He has
done. The Lord hath done. And when
the Lord has done it, what is the end? The end is that he receives
the honour and the glory. Because you've been passive in
it. You've been impotent. The Lord
has come. The Lord has blessed you. The
Lord has quickened you. He's given you that spiritual
life. And you have the evidence of
it within. And the evidence of it is really
summed up very simply like this, a perishing sinner and a precious
Christ. That's a very short and very
simple definition, isn't it? But what a wonderful thing when
the Holy Spirit gives us the evidence of his work, which is
a great thing to bring us to realise what we are before a
holy God as a perishing sinner, and then to direct us to a precious
Christ. Now, something which is precious
is of course rare. Well, Christ is the only one
who can deliver our souls from the wrath to come. The only one
who can save a perishing sinner. So what an amazing blessing this
morning to think that Almighty God should have looked upon you,
looked upon you, Perhaps you were in bed, perhaps you were
in the garden, perhaps you were in the park, perhaps you were
in some wrong place. And yet to think the Lord looked
upon you, looked upon you in love to your soul and brought
into your heart the conscious realisation that you were a perishing
sinner and you needed a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if
so, well, this morning you can then join with the Psalmist and
the Church of God and say, the Lord hath done great things for
us, whereof we are glad. Glad to know that the gracious
God, the Almighty God, how humbling it is, is it not, to think of
this? The great God has come to me. Yes, amidst his vast concerns,
he could not me forget personal application of the work of the
Holy Spirit. What a wonderful blessing it
is. Now, David in the 18th Psalm,
he confirms his trust in the Lord and he says, because of
his wonderful favour, I will love thee. O Lord, my strength,
the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my
strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my
salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who
is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. Well, may we all be found this
morning calling upon the Lord with thankfulness and praise
for what he's done for us and to be able to come and join in
with the psalmist this morning from the bottom of our heart
and realize, yes, the Lord has come, he's turned my captivity,
he's brought me out of prison, he's brought me into the marvelous
light of the everlasting gospel, he's directed me to the Lord
Jesus Christ and all his great salvation, and therefore I can
say, humbly say, the Lord hath done great things for me. I can join him in the church
of God and say the Lord has done great things for us, whereof
we are glad. Amen.